Ker-Ching!

Why are so many blogs dedicated to shopping? I clicked on a new link today, thinking I would be led to a charming blog about boyhood, with ideas for games and places to go and maybe even a few tips on wild-thing management.... but no. Instead I was transported to an endless sea of posts recommending this, that and the other to buy. Grrrr..... and this was a blog written in Tasmania too, where lots of us have come to escape commercialism, and children have the chance to grow up without setting foot inside a shopping mall.

Why would I want daily shopping suggestions? How could I - or anyone else - possibly afford to purchase my poppets item after item, and what kind of message would I be sending them if I did? I have been thinking about this a lot lately because, while I am more than happy to discover the odd beautiful garment, or gift for one of my children (or me....) I am beginning to feel utterly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of blogs enthusing over so much stuff. To buy.

I understand that some blogs are linked with online businesses and thus provide useful advertising space, although even that can get a bit much occasionally, especially if there is little else to read, or you're trying to save and can't afford that gorgeous dress/child's teaset/beautiful artwork.....

Really, do we honestly need anymore shopping opportunities? Aren't we already absolutely saturated with marketing, advertising, magazines, media overload all pushing us to consume? I would really like to see a more thoughtful approach to blogging, especially amongst those of us who aren't actually trying to push a product. And next time I trip off into cyberspace on the trail of an interesting sounding site I hope I end up in an inspiring, informative space instead of being confronted by someone trying to grapple my purse from me.

...and the living is easy

We've been lazy this summer. Grabbing at the relatively few hot days we've had and sprawling on the lawn with rugs, cushions and beanbags. The wild things have been charging around on bikes, dining al fresco, taking cover in a tent made from an old playpen and a sheet, and playing house in the newly fixed-up cubby. We've watched swallows nesting and fledglings make successful departures, we've chatted to the cows in the neighbouring paddock, and we've installed a large white rabbit on the front lawn, sharing her with the school and another family. We haven't been away, although we did see in the new year camped out in a friend's garden. And we've had lots of lovely day trips to beaches, hilltops, meadows, friends' houses, and the rainforest five minutes away. But mainly, we've been lazy.... and I can't believe how quickly this summer holiday has gone by. Two weeks and we're back at school. Where did it all go?

If we weren't vegetarian, the goose would be fat....

Handmade Christmas

Lately I have been stitching Christmas. The shepherds in the fields.....

.... three crowns for my little kings and queen.....

....Mary, Joseph, and an admittedly lumpy and oversized donkey (well, I had to shrink him in the washing machine...)

...tree decorations. The pink bird was stitched by my five year-old son....

....three kings from the Orient....

... and here's my husband's beautiful contribution - a gorgeous wooden stable.

Mary and Joseph are journeying around the house until Christmas Eve, the kings are waiting in their castle (constructed from wooden blocks by my children), and the shepherd is tending his flock in a little felt field.

Today I have been dyeing pieces cut from an old silk sheet which I'm attempting to stitch into cloaks for the children, to go with their crowns. Husband chopped down a pine tree (he regards this as environmental assistance because apparently these trees are a pest here in Tasmania) and brought it home on the back of the ute. The children almost exploded with excitement before helping us decorate it with all the beautiful handmade things we've been gathering and making. I wrapped a little piece of tinsel round some of the branches but it actually spoilt it, so I've hung said tinsel along the edge of the mantelpiece above the fireplace, together with my eldest's fingerknitted Christmas strings. The paper angels from Lark are singing along the shelf, and the tin Santa we brought from London is standing in the middle of them all.

Making Christmas.... probably the best way I've ever done it.

Anniversary...

We've been living in Tasmania's beautiful Huon Valley for a whole year now. During that time we've discovered beautiful beaches, amazing old growth forests, magical caves, waterfalls, rainforest, mountains, quaint little country towns (which would definitely be known as villages if they were in England), and the paradisiacal Bruny Island. We've made some gorgeous friends with lovely people, and woven ourselves into the wonderful community centred on our school. Our veggie garden is bursting at the seams, our garden is rambling with flowers, and the rain is keeping everything green and growing. We've even started fixing up the children's cubby house, so they'll have their very own summer hideout.

After a year in Tasmania, we are so happy we made the decision to flee the heat and concrete of the city, and finally I am happier than ever that I crossed the world in the hope of a better life. I am grateful to say I have found it, and the best affirmation of that is watching my children run through the grass at home, chase the waves at the beach, delight in the wildlife all around them, and enjoy the friendships and the community we have found here. Their sparkling eyes, rosy cheeks, tangled hair and grazed knees say it all....!

Vintage Chaos....

Is it just me, or is anyone else slightly sick of blogs and lifestyle magazines featuring perfectly arranged interiors of vintage collections of this, that, and the other? I mean, I love an old biscuit tin or two, and I'll pounce on anything remotely folk, or handcrafted if it's knocking around in a bargain bin or an op shop, but do I showcase my pickings in beautifully positioned piles around the house? Do I artfully hang old white linens and lace in front of bright white window frames, stack pre-war china on ideally situated pine dressers, or fill up expensively tiled fireplaces with rusty old watering cans teeming with dried flowers? Er, no. I do have an old painted butterchurn in one of my fireplaces, but I also have three children whose chaotic trails of dolls, blocks, cars and books invalidate any attempts at tasteful presentations, even if we do clear up before bedtime. Not only that, but I also look around me and find that I have built up an utterly idiosyncratic collection of stuff over the years, from far flung places such as Mongolia, Iceland, Indonesia, and a variety of other continents and countries that are only characterised by fitting a folk description. There's nothing uniform about my tastes at all.

Now don't get me wrong. I do love vintage collections and often admire the displays I so often see inside, well, every single house, home and fashion magazine available (not to mention the blogroll). But I am beginning to think it's all (dare I say it) becoming frighteningly homogenous. Where's the individuality in all of this? And what about the constant emphasis on Stuff? Sure, we all like to decorate our homes and make them comfy and cosy and personal, but does anyone really need an entire room of vintage nightdresses, or a whole shed full of antique gardening tools? When do we draw the line and say - actually I have enough! And I am sick of shopping!

So - too much consumerism, too much materialism, too much old stuff which is, most of the time (if you choose to get your stuff from admittedly lovely, but frankly overpriced emporiums whose owners no doubt make regular trips to the tip shop and spruce up their findings...) simply superfluous. Not enough representations of real homes belonging to real people, with real messes and real lives. Not enough individuality. I really would like to see a change.... which is why I've posted the above picture of my distinctly imperfect, overly-cluttered, thoroughly chaotic workspace. Bring on the mess!

Gingerbread

Recently, my children's school, Tasmania's beautiful Tarremah Steiner school, held its annual Spring Fair. With such a big emphasis on community, parents are invited to come on board to help create this magical event, and consequently Gingerbread houses have featured in my life for several weeks now. On the day, we secured this cute little dwelling for the wild things, who were seized with a bout of artistic gusto and set about decorating their confectionary as soon as they got home (5pm, after a good nap in the car...). Such anarchic flair is rarely seen after the age of five, so I saw fit to capture it. Everyone was terribly excited and terribly proud, and we began nibbling away at it today. I can see that this is one tradition that may continue for years to come....