mandies today

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Last weekend my hubby travelled back to our old place to collect the last of our 'stuff'. After a 4 hr drive and a mountain of odd things to pack on the ute he said his last goodbyes to the house that been our home for the last 8 years.

This is the place that saw many happy birthday parties, our kids screaming down the front driveway hill on bikes, family times in the garden, planting sunflower seeds on Fathers Day, watching storms rolling in from the veranda and playing in the rain. many treasured family moments.

We had planted an orange and Mandarin tree a few years ago, on the most part the fruit wasn't so good because of lack of water. a couple of years ago I had been watering the mandy tree from the rain water tank before I went away for the weekend. the next night whilst phoning home I was 'informed' that I'd left the tap on and the tank was empty....oops

That season was the best mandarins we ever had. plenty of juicy, yummy mandies.

My hubby returned from the pack up trip with 4 mandies from the tree.....there was only 4 left on the tree. thank you, thank you Universe. this morning felt like the right time to enjoy them. we all sat down together and celebrated our togetherness, our letting go and our new beginnings and enjoyed our juicy offerings

being real

i am at a loss for words...not sure what to say or what not to say. but this is the place where I am real and true, not just about arty pictures, but about the realness of life and the role creativity plays in it.

my darling friend who was also my neighbour for the last 18 months, passed away earlier this week. She has began the next part of her journey.....

I felt the impact of loss when she recently moved back to Melbourne, knowing our friendship as we knew it was changing.I am deeply grateful for the many wonderful lessons I have learnt through our friendship and they will stay with me for a long time.....some small things and some HUGE. some that have become part of our daily life; cutting cucumber the 'Greek way', cooking turkey meatballs with tomato and garlic sauce and BIG things like learning to set boundaries, being true and looking fear in the eye. not forgetting to mention inspiring me to use the word BuBu for my card business.

the list could go on, but i know in my heart that in many ways her spirit lives on.
all is as its meant to be.

Rose Coloured Glasses No More!

No More Rose Coloured Glasses by Nic Hohn on Polyvore.com.

I felt inspired to create a journal page on Roses Coloured Glasses and before I knew it I was creating this on line.....Have you tried this yet?

purple iris be with me

a little sadness came up for me this week. I was buying myself some flowers and I was thinking lilies ? gerbra's? then out popped some purple iris....they went straight to my heart. my eyes became teary.

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October is a special time, it is the time when our daughter came into the world. I remember my husband coming to the hospital and bringing in some purple iris from our garden. it meant so much to me.I had been waiting for them to bloom, I'd planted a huge area of them and was waiting patiently as they didn't flower the season before....Darryl brought in the first few flowers.



these beautiful purple blooms connect to my memory.... of walking up and down our hall way for 8+ in labour , waiting for the right time for me to say "ok honey, I think its time we went to the hospital" and 12 hours later having a beautiful little girl. this memory has been with me the last few days....

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we are in the process of selling this home, where these memories began. it was the first memory that came up whilst thinking about letting go of our sacred space. We haven't been living there for a while now (we have been beach dwellers for the last 18months) but its still a process of letting go.



so it is with sadness and joy that purple iris are in our kitchen today. I have no doubt the love and the reason shall always be with me. and that it is time to let go, so we can move on to the next chapter. just for this moment, purple iris be with me.

open heart, grateful mind

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yesterday I taught a special workshop by request for Ashana ( one of my darling students)....it was a follow on theme from Fraser Island Retreat and Brenda was also part of the workshop from a distance. This workshop was more about process and content, rather than the outcome of the finished page.

When I'm teaching journaling there is always just as much in the workshop for me as there is for my talented students. yesterday vulnerability came and said hello on my journal page. vulnerability with an open heart.for me this feels a little scary, putting myself in a place where hurt can easy enter. but I know this is where the greatest of all emotions can be felt. so I am slowly opening up my heart more and allowing more love to flow in... and more to flow out.

"with an open heart I am brave

with an open heart I feel

with an open heart I acknowledge the fear

with an open heart.....I am vulnerable.

with an open heart I can truly be Love."

Nic Hohn

deep blue - the dream

my 8 year old daughter and I, along with 2 darling friends enjoyed the Deep Blue Orchestra on Friday night. it was eyeopening.violins, viola, cello and double bass...the musicians loved what they were doing, creating on stage. stage smoke, lighting, dancing with each other whilst playing, and the audience were encouraged to text in their dreams or song requests throughout the night.

Shaiyl (my 8 year old) plays the violin ..her take on it was "good and weird". One of the many highlights was listen to 'Popcorn' with one of the cello players playing on stilts.

all of it questioned convention, opening up a new world so the audience could see and experience differently. love that!

i love my creative life

my heart shape piece of wood I found on my early morning walk.There it was on the road...perfectly smooth like it had been on the beach.

I see this one every day, an oil leak from one of the builders truck around the corner. I am amazed where these hearts pop up from time to time.

Today I am giving gratitude to my creative life. Lately I've not seen the forest because of the trees. So I shall take many moments today to feel grateful for where I am and what I am doing....and open my eyes to see the love around me.

Gliding into Grace

This week I have been learning all about NOT getting overwhelmed. That's a little challenging when there is a long list of things to get done that aren't about creating at my table. Slowly one by one is getting ticked off my list. I've also realised how important it is to get to my journal, even in the mix of phone calls, writing and tending to other important house and family needs.

It makes me feel human again, fuels my stations and encourages me to keep going. creating is my own saving grace.

Rose Petal Tea Celebration

The first day of Spring has come and gone and I seem to be more aware of flowers growing in the gardens, the warming sun and the knowing that summer is really just around the corner. I did get to celebrate the first day of Spring, in my own way with a cup of Rose Petal tea at a lovely cafe...life has been full pace this week with many 'things' needing attention other than creating.the reality of life. I have managed to make time to do some drawing.... once the house is quite and the kids are snugly tucked in bed.

I feel things maybe at this pace up for a while, so I'm mindful a scheduling some time out...Oh I hear my creative space calling....soon, soon.