Winter List

Hi. Hello. This is a very neglected place. There was a lot going on while we were doing the renovation and I really did not have the head space to keep up with blogging as well. But I made a promise to myself that I would start again in July. This isn't a huge house reveal post. It isn't actually finished yet, there is still a boarded up window, cords coming out of the wall where our heater should be, no blinds, and things have very much been plonked on shelves to be considered another day. BUT we are home and it is lovely, the space, the new kitchen, the new bathroom, new soft plush carpet, so many things to be very happy and grateful for. I will take photographs and write about it all soon, for now I figured a nice soft re-entry to blogging was in order. So here is my winter list:

Making: I made Elroy a box car (we have a lot of empty - and not so empty - boxes floating around at the moment), it’s cute, I think, and I enjoyed making it, so simple and yet he has had a lovely time playing with that and another big box that he uses as a garage/house/trailer. 

Looking: forward to my copy of Ok Not Ok on vinyl arriving in the mail (although had a know that the local record store Tommy Gun was selling it, I would have purchased it from there). All the current 90's music nostalgia at the moment is making me feel old, but I think it is pretty enjoyable. I saw Radiohead for the Ok Computer tour, I was 16 and it was a very big thing for me. And I got my cd signed!

Cooking: in my new kitchen. I’m really hoping that I will start to enjoy cooking again after a period of low inspiration. Oh and I also need to make some more bread and butter pickles, because we are out and they are perfect for toasted sandwiches. If only I could find the recipe I used last time….

Drinking: far more coffee than I should, and ever have before.

Reading: I need some new book suggestions (as always), I started the year off quite well but the last few months have fallen off the wagon.

Thinking: and overthinking as always.

Wanting: the house to be properly finished, you know with all new fancy furniture, rugs and artwork. But I know it doesn’t work like that. It takes time and all that....

Playing: Paul Dempsey's cover of Middle Kids 'Edge of Town'

Liking: the Brushes app, David Hockney's exhibition inspired me a little.

Enjoying: being home, sleeping in my own bed, having a somewhat more settled two year old.The last week or so before we moved home, his behavior was a bit crazy to say the least.

Needing: another trip to Mona to see the museum of everything exhibition. So much to see and take in. Also I need to visit the Agrarian Kitchen's new eatery. 

Wearing: my Dana Kinter + Gorman raincoat, a beanie, scarf and gloves whenever I take Jerry for his evening walk, in just the last week or so it has really started to cool down.

Buying: hopefully some furniture for the house, namely a sofa and some bench stools (and a rug – but that is lower on the priorities). We are waiting to get a full assessment of the damage from our builder and I’m really hoping we can do something.

Getting: excited about seeing Sigur Ros and LCD Soundsystem at the end of July! I’ve seen both Sigur Ros (and Jonsi solo before) but never LCD Soundsystem. There is one particular part in Dance Yourself Clean where the beat drops, I just can’t wait to be there in an audience when that happens!

Feeling: intrigued. Perhaps, I'm not sure if that is the right word for it. I went to see My Cousin Rachel at the cinema today, and I enjoyed it, it's nice to see a film that leaves you wondering.

Listening: to podcasts, at the moment I really love Bang On with Myf Warhurst and Zan Rowe, they have such a great way of conversing with one another, it’s funny and entertaining and a lot of the things they bang on about are things I’m interested in. Also I’ve started listening to the Violet Sessions, some are a little bit frivolous (the interview with Plum Sykes) but still engaging.

Considering: what I’m going to do, and try to achieve in the next six months. Moving back home feels like a new start and I want to embrace that and make some plans. How to self-motivate is one of my biggest challenges.

Following: Jen Garrido – I love her work, the colours and shapes in her paintings are beautiful and so warm and summery for me, and her linen printing is so good. It has inspired me to try to do some screen printing on linen.

Disliking :the fact that we don't have a proper heater yet....I feel like we might as well just be burning money right now. But fingers crossed it will be installed tomorrow.

45/52 and 46/52

45/52
Loving the bath and showing his pure joy. Elroy discovered Easter eggs and the Easter bunny, and we had a little egg hunt in my mum's garden, like both his parents he has a sweet tooth.

46/52
Playing in the autumn leaves at Mt Field, Elroy had the most wonderful day. We walked to Russell Falls and around Lake Dobson and he walked most of it himself, looking for owls and owl houses (I'm not sure where that came from), talking about pencil pines and collecting sticks. We will definitely be doing more of these short walks with him because I think he got a lot out of it. He has been more settled over the last few weeks, perhaps he is more comfortable with our current state of homelessness.

52 catch up (40, 41 and 42)

I'm so many weeks behind with this catch up. Fortunately I have been taking the photographs! Apologies for the flood of photographs.

40/52
Elroy's second birthday. I don't know why but it felt like Elroy was two before he had his birthday. I know that sounds crazy, but I guess because he is so confident and articulate it felt as if he had already moved on from his babyhood. He had the best birthday party and ran himself ragged at the park. On his actual birthday, he was a bit moody and grumpy, I took him to the beach and he refused to go anywhere near the water, but he did enjoy his birthday dinner and second cake that night. Sadly I didn't really get any good photographs.

41/52
Probably the last picture from our old living room, before it was demolished. Elroy running around like a nut with his dinosaur hand puppet he was given for his birthday. Those little feet do really still make a noise when they go, and the squeals of delight.

42/52
Watching tv and grandma's and laying about like a layabout. He watched far more tv than I would like when we were staying there, mostly because the house is big and not completely child proof and it was difficult for me to have a shower and keep him otherwise entertained. He also became pretty keen on playing with playdough, although someone usually had to play with him. I think he took a while to adjust to staying somewhere else and not be at home. We didn't take him to the house too much because we were a bit concerned that seeing the place in such a state might have a negative effect on him. Of course it is hard to know, but he was a bit unsettled.

44/52

One of the lovely things about staying with my parents for five weeks was seeing Elroy play and enjoy their garden (which is much nicer than ours). It has different zones, and you could see Elroy's imaginative play develop and grow. He loved all the attention at my parents, spent a lot of time playing with play dough, discovered bubble baths, watched the children play soccer on the ground down the road, and sang about 'lello submarines'.

(My catch up post is still on the way....).

Seven things: from the Easter bunny

Does anyone else feel that the Easter bunny must deliver more now than ever before, that the gifts are becoming rather extravagant? I admit that I like the idea of buying gifts for Elroy, who doesn't want to be able to do that for their child, but I feel that I need to keep my feet on the ground. So this year he will get one of the gorgeous Oeuf bunny hats (which I managed to get on sale), and I will decorate one of his little bolga baskets for him to use for an egg hunt in my parents garden, I will also make some little surprise crepe paper carrots. The eggs will be for all of us to share. As a few additions I found some egg shaped chalk and there might be a book for a treat. We already have the bunny leggings which Elroy wears as pyjama pants.

1.  Mini Rodini bunny leggings 2. The Tale of Peter Rabbit 3.  Oeuf rabbit hat 4. Surprise carrots 5. Ostheimer wooden rabbit 6. Olliella petite bolga 7. Micador Egg Chalk

43/52

Given all the changes going on in Elroy's life at the moment I think he is coping relatively well. I think it must be confusing for him though. He has asked about going home, and if we are out and I say we are going home now, he will correct me and say 'grandma's house'. Lately he has been starting to ask the 'what's that mummy?' question about lots of things, which is cute, is finally saying thank you which sounds very sweet, 'Elroy like it' which can be either like or dislike, the tone usually makes it very clear which one he means.

(Note: Posts 40, 41 and 42 are still to come -  I've been rather slack with editing photographs and I've been using Matt's laptop rather than my computer and I'm missing lightroom!).

weekend

We've been living away from home for almost three weeks now. It wasn't until we moved out that I understood what people meant when they said that renovations were challenging. I have been feeling a bit displaced, don't get me wrong we are so lucky to be able to stay with my parents for a while and next up it will be with my grandmother, but I miss my home, my normal routine, and now each time we go there it is in a new state of destruction and dust. It's weirdly sad and really exciting at the same time.

After the builders spent the first ten weeks working downstairs on the extension, this week they pulled our living room and half the kitchen apart and put the framing up to turn it into a bathroom and bedroom. It's nuts.

I'm tired, we are all tired. Weekends have been spent packing and moving stuff, but today we took the day off! We had an early start, thanks to the end of daylight savings, and after breakfast at a local cafe headed off for a drive, spent some time on the beach and ate fish and chips at Dunally. Hopefully we can spend a few more weekends doing this now, and I'm looking forward to the easter break....not to mention moving back in to a new house!