Christmas Past...the Written Word

'Tis the season to see how Christmas was done long ago in magazines...From "The Ladies World" magazine, December 1896 and 1905.

Cowboy Up!

My little Boo has been struggling when it comes time to leave for his new Early Intervention Preschool. On Friday, after just two weeks, he put on a happy face and ran to his teachers joyfully. I am so proud and I also need to learn from his courage!



"Courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway."
- John Wayne

Seeking Hope

I am just having one of those days....




"Hope" is the thing with feathers
by Emily Dickinson


Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Fall Snapshots from the Australian Bush

I took the little Boo out to the NASA Deep Space Center here in Australia. It was a beautiful drive because Autumn has arrived.

Skipped the Dishes

“The women one meets - what are they but books one has already read? You're a library of the unknown, the uncut. Upon my word I've a subscription.” 

― Henry James, The Wings of the Dove

Instead of cleaning while my little boy napped, I watched a beautiful film, "The Wings of the Dove. It is definitely worth having the house remain messy for awhile. I think I loved it for the costumes and for the memories it brought me of being in Venice when I was a little girl.

After watching period films, I definitely think that fashion has NOT progressed but regressed into something rather uninspired.

The Charm of a Doll

"Dolls ought to be intimate friends."
- Sara, from "A Little Princess"

I am surrounded by all things boy. The theme of our home is Star Wars. I decided to be crafty this month and create a new arch nemesis for Darth Vader.

Hints of Easter

While the Fall weather is upon us in the Australian Capital Territory, I am striving to bring Easter indoors.

Seeking Valentines

I needed to start doing something crafty. I started to make my Valentine gift tags for treats I plan to give to friends and neighbors.

A Vintage Christmas Gift

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your 

 - Khalil Gibran

I received a wonderful Christmas gift this last year. It is an antique Edwardian hair comb. It is just a costume piece, but I wonder how many wonderful parties it attended in the last 100 years!

Fruit and Flowers

Look what I found at my local chemist. A chemist for you Americans is our version of a drugstore. Is it just plastic fruit and flowers???

You can flip open the tops for lip balm.

They are by an Australian cosmetics company Miki. Check out their very cute website: http://www.mikicosmetics.com/main.html .

Yummy Mummy

One of the Australian fashion magazines, Madison, included a free Butter London nailpolish with the December 2011 magazine. I snagged the one with Yummy Mummy. It has the color of ashes of roses, which is an old color name for a pink taupe color. It reminded me of the color my new hybrid rosebush (yes I am a dork) named Julia. For those who are a bit older..ahem...it also reminded me of the dress that Maggie wore in the Thornbirds movie.

Butter London Yummy Mummy Nail Polish

Julia Hybrid Tea Rose



Thornbirds

A New Habit

" When Aunt Elizabeth Murray permitted Emily to drink real tea - as a matter of course and not as an occasional concession -  she thereby tactility consented to let Emily grow up."

 - Emily's Quest by LM Montgomery

I have been having trouble sleeping at night. Of course it could be the gallons of Diet Coke I consume all day to keep up with a three year old. So here is a new goal and habit for me that I have started tonight. No more Diet Coke after 1pm. Herbal non caffeinated tea will be my drink of choice before bedtime. I have to admit though, I still want my Diet Coke.

My new over and over and over and over song.....

I haven't found a song that I love hit the repeat button on for a long time.

Eet by Regina Spektor

It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song
You can't believe it
You were always singing along
It was so easy and the words so sweet
You can't remember
You try to feel the beat

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, eet, eet, eet
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeteeet, eet, eet, eet

You spent half of your life trying to fall behind
You're using your headphones to drown out your mind
It was so easy, and the words so sweet
You can't remember
You try to move your feet
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, eet, eet, eet
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeteeet, eet, eet, eet
[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/r/regina-spektor-lyrics/eet-lyrics.html ]

Someone's deciding whether or not to steal
He opens the window just to feel the chill
He hears that outside a small boy just starting to cry
'Cause it's his turn but his brother won't let him try

It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song
You can't believe it
You were always singing along
It was so easy and the words so sweet
You can't remember
You try to move your feet

It was so easy and the words so sweet
You can't remember, you try to feel the beat

Sunday Safe Nail Polish

While all of the Northern Hemisphere is cozying up to the dark and ruby colored nail polishes, here in Australia the summer colors are revving up. I call this OPI Butterflies nail polish, Sunday safe because it won't shock the grey hair ladies on Sunday.

Sunday Drive

                                              MY COUNTRY
                                             A poem by Dorothea Mackellar

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance,
Brown streams and soft dim skies,
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

Boo was sick for several days and was tired of being cooped up in the house. I didn't want to inflict him on the general public, so I strapped him in his carseat. As I was driving, I was reminded why I love Australia so much.

The Someday Shoes

    Someday

          By Author Unknown

Someday I'll jump through puddles,
Take a stroll or run a race.
Someday I'll walk across the street
Or maybe walk in space.
Someday I'll scale a mountain
Or I'll join a nature corps.
Someday I'll walk a tightrope
Or explore the ocean floor.
Someday these feet will do some things
That only heaven knows,
BUT
For today they're happy
Just to wiggle all their toes.

                                                                                   

These are the most romantic, impractical shoes I own. The picture does not do it justice. They are made of a beautiful green and gold tapestry. I cannot remember the last time I wore them. Wait, I dimly remember a time before I was pregnant or chasing a toddler. These days it is about comfort and ease. Unfortunately, I am embarrassed to admit that crocs grace my very big feet. At least they can be sprayed off with a hose.

A Highland Hour

"Scottish by birth, British by law, Highlander by the grace of God."
- Anonymous

A few weeks ago I took Boo Boo to the Scottish Highland Festival in Australia. Good times were had for all and my son left loving the bag pipes.

Nailpolishes inspired by the plaid.

I snagged a piece a jewelry as a souvenir.

Food we avoided.

Spring on Norman Fisher

These days, with what is almost homesickness, I watch for the first robin. - Frances Theadora Parsons

Finally there are signs of Spring in Canberra, Australia. While my American friends are preparing for the Winter months ahead, I am warming my face in the sun.

Seeking the Sun

It is the end of winter here in Australia and I feel like I will never be warm again. I started looking at the pictures from a vacation in Cyprus in 2005 to try and imagine being warm. The picture below helped.

At least I can paint my toes in summer colors.

From left to right, Essie Barbados Blue, Orly Lemonade, and Orly Cabana Boy.