Beaches, Treasure and Mud Pies.

We have just had our first proper weekend of camping with the boys at the beach. They spent the whole time either playing with rocks and waves or concocting cement from sand and dirt. It has been one of those moments when you see the tips of your own childhood meeting up with theirs and the magic they are creating returns to too. When we arrived home we built a fire in the back paddock and cooked damper. As the family of a dairy farmer, weekends are extremely precious as they are very rare so for once, it was the best feeling to know that every minute was eaten with relish.

The golden coins above were hidden by a crafty female pirate that snuck down to the beach moments before her family. An astonished little boy fishing with his father watched as the boys kept discovering treasure. I noticed him creep over when the frenzy had finished to see if there were any left undiscovered and noting his disappointment, we shared some gold with him. I know their expectations of that beach will now always be ridiculously high but it was so wonderful to see their delight.

Crepe Myrtles

The eureka of creativity - when an idea stands out from the rest and receives you with open petals.

Our crepe myrtles lining the drive are in bloom. As we head towards our house we are heralded by lines of magenta. Autumn, bringer of colours and good smells, you keep reminding me why I love you so much.

The World on a Vase

I love finding the boys' free form sculpture around the house. A perfect moment of ponder.

Origami Lampshades and a Few Flowers

A morning of actually finishing a couple of paintings. I feel as though of puzzle pieces are starting to butt against eachother in the hopes of creating something slightly cohesive..... I also cooked a proper meal for the first time in three weeks (I haven't been able to hold a knife) with actual chopping and no potatoes thrown casually into the oven.... and biscuits too! It's odd how easily some afternoons can flow with so much achieved and how others can be like wading through molasses. What is the freeing up factor and does it come in pill form - actually, I think I just described speed and that is not good so I might just avoid drug references next time.

Fingers crossed that Jonno can get the video player picking up Prime so I can record 'True Blood' with Anna Paquin. It's by the makers of 'Six Feet Under' which is one of my all time favourite shows and even better, is about vampires. It has been way too long since 'Buffy' finished and I am ready to see some more fangs on TV.

Fabric Covered Notebooks

Just going through some old archives - some fabric I printed used to cover books and then a bit of wool for some pizazz.

Babushkas

This is one of the first paintings from when I first started on this painting kick. I have a million beads and really don't need to be making more jewellery so I thought I could make people to wear them. Except, now I wish I had some of those necklaces too.

Deer and Flowers

I just found this photo of a deer I printed on fabric and then embroidered around with blue flowers. It's so good to go back through the archives for fresh inspiration. My fingers still have a little bit of healing to do before I can get my embroidery needles out but I am beginning to form a few ideas in my dreaming space.