Why Hello!

Some street art on the Wanaka lakefront. 

Hello 2012. Welcome to my world!

2012 has been good to us so far. We welcomed in the new year camping out with a small group of friends. We woke to a scorcher of a day, into the low 30s in the southern lakes district today. We also discovered an amazing swimming hole to cool down in. So yeah, the year is kicking off to a good start.

My new years resolution this year is a continuation of a goal I have been working on for the last few years- to live with simplicity. Simplicity not just within my physical home but also in my finances and within me, in how I approach life. 

I always find this time of year so exciting, filled with the anticipation of the new, like a nice new crisp book just waiting to be opened.

Wishing you all the very best for the year ahead x

Seasons Greetings

Christmas under the southern skies.

We are up in Christchurch for Christmas, to share this time with our families. Sadly, yesterday the City was hit by another two large earthquakes, a 5.8 and a 6.0. So for many here, it will not be such a merry Christmas this year. Please, hold in your thoughts this Christmas all those who are struggling and suffering. In particular, I will be taking a moment to think of the 165 families who lost a loved one in the February earthquake here. This will be a difficult time for them I am sure. 

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, I hope you all have a beautiful day tomorrow xxx

Summer Solstice

Today, in the southern hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year- the summer solstice.

Early this morning, we went out to look for fairies. We where pretty sure they must have been out celebrating such a day. We where not disappointed. We found by the fairy house, under the rosemary bush, signs of a fairy party. The area was strewn with flowers and they had even left some of their feast behind- yummy strawberries. We didn't see any fairies sadly, we figured that they must have celebrated at dawn while we where still sleeping... maybe we might see one next year if we are very lucky.

Zoo-ing

My girls are animal mad, as our poor perpetually patient cat will attest too. 

In our household, a little ritual has emerged in recent months. Instead of our usual bath, book, bed rhythm, on a sunday night, once the girls are all rugged up in their PJs, we snuggle up together and spend half an hour inthralled in watching a local wildlife vets show. 

So, when we knew we where coming up to Christchurch for the little ones birthday, we took the opportunity to take them to the local wildlife park. The girls had a blast, they saw all their favorites- lions, tigers, zebras and monkeys. They watched in awe as the lions play fought each other. They laughed with glee as the monkeys came right up close to greet them. We all stood in amazement when we saw the usually reclusive native kiwi bird. 

It was such a fun way to spend the day and celebrate Isla's birthday, even the rain could not wash the smiles off their little faces. 

The First Week Of Advent

The first week of advent is almost over. How quickly the days seem to move at this time of year. It is nice to take time to stop and reflect. 

Many people don't realise that advent traditionally starts on the 4th Sunday before Christmas, as most popular advent calendars tend to start advent on the first of December. Under the traditional advent, each week celebrates a 'kingdom' of life. This first week's kingdom is the mineral kingdom. Put simply, the earth we live upon- the dirt, the rocks, the ground under our feet. 

Last advent, I wrote this post about the first week of advent. Re-reading it today, made me so sad. The reverence I paid to the rugged landscape around where we used to live. Little did I know that a few short months later, those same cliff faces that formed a ring around my community would come crashing down, instilling fear into my heart, destroying homes and ending the lives of several people. The memory of watching those cliffs fall before my eyes, will, I suspect, haunt me for the rest of my life.

So this year, we have kept our advent celebrations simple. Our favorite stones, scattered within the wooden ring on our dinner table... Sometimes simple is good.

Welcome

We welcomed in 2011 with some quiet time as a family spent on the foreshore watching our little homemade walnut shell candle boats bob about in a rock pool. A little brief interlude between the year that had been and the year to be. A few minutes to pause and remember, to dream and to hope.

Wishing you all a happy and safe 2011.

Advent- Celebrating The Human Kingdom

Photos courtsey of Danielle Palmer Photography

I think for me, celebrating life at this time of year is easy. I just look at the faces of my two little girls and know that life is a beautiful gift. This time of year is all about drawing together with those we love, of sharing, of loving and being loved. Of the beauty of watching the circle of life as generations come together. When communities draw together, in churches, in schools, in parks. To celebrate and to sing. Tis a time when people smile more in the street, when people give a little more to those in society that need it more. Tis a time of year when I am grateful for the wonderful life I have been blessed with.

Happy Advent.

4 Seasons

Summer Solstice

Today on this, the longest day of sunshine under the southern sky, a little bit of magic was happening at our house. We talked about it last night, how on the summer solstice, the fairies like to come out and celebrate. We talked about how maybe, just maybe,in the morning, if we look hard enough, we just might find where they had been. So early this morning we rose, quietly stepping around the garden, eyes focused for signs of fairies. It was actually our littlest, Isla who found the fairy house first, bouncing up and down and pointing with delight. Their grins was a mile wide as they got down low to examine it and to discover to their surprise that not only had the fairies been celebrating in our garden, they had even left  a little thank you gift- a seashell full of our favorite summer fruits. Oh happy day.

If something special has been happening in your corner of the world, I would love you to link up.

P.S. I will be taking a few weeks off from 4 seasons posts with christmas and summer holidays here but will pick up again on the 11th of Jan :-) 

Celebrating Advent- The Amimal Kingdom

This past week, in our home, it has been all about celebrating the animal kingdom. Not a difficult task when you have two little animal mad girls around. 

Of particular interest to my girls at the moment are bumble bees. We seem to have millions of them, many, many more than I have seen in past years. Holly adores them. She is not in the slightest bit scared of them, sticking her nose right up to them to get a better look. Every day when we pass through our front gate, we have to stop to see how many bumble bees are on our lavender bush. We discuss how bumble bees are pollinators and how they help to pollinate many of the food crops we eat. 

The birds have also been playing a part in our week. We have been making sure each morning we put out some bread scraps for them, then the girls like to peak out the window and watch as the birds slowly make a appearance on our front lawn. First one, then two and soon there are many, many birds wanting their share of the bread. Sparrows, blackbirds and the odd seagull all visit our garden to share in this little feast my girls leave them.  I think this is Isla's favorite part of breakfast at the moment, she literally bounces with excitement as she watches the birds appearing.

It is a lovely time of year to stop and reflect on the animals that share this earth with us. Because without them, life for us humans would be drastically different. They provide us with so much of our food. Either directly like cows, sheep and chickens or indirectly like the humble old bumble bee. They provide us transport, with protection and most of all with companionship.

Happy Advent. 

And Then She Turned One...

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Not sure how that happened. How did she turn one so quickly? It seems like only yesterday I was holding her tiny new little body in my arms, amazed that she was here. I remember smelling her sweet milky new born breath, stroking her near bald head and staring into her baby blue eyes.

How fast time flies. Today she turned one. I stare at her, amazed at how much she has grown and changed. The head, once sparse of hair is now covered in downey white hair. The baby blue eyes replaced with grey ones. She see's me watching her and a cheeky grin breaks out across her sweet face. She toddles over to me on feet that grow more and more confident at walking with each passing day. When she reaches me, she wraps her little arms around my neck, puckers her little cherry lips and kisses me several times. My heart swells with love for this sweet little girl.

Happy first birthday Isla, oh how we love you.

4 Seasons

Summer

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I love christmas, I really do, I love every thing about it. Christmas though is a little different under the southern sky, mostly because it falls in the heart of summer. None of the traditional trimming apply- no warm fires, falling snow or turkeys here. Rather christmas is all about getting outdoors. When I think of christmas, I think of BBQs, of warm balmy days, of sitting out in the sunshine with those I love. And, I would not have it any other way- this is my christmas. 

So in line with this. Yesterday, Holly and I sat out in the garden in singlets and skirts and made a wreath from our garden to hang upon our front door this festive season. And because we are doing it southern hemisphere style, we adorned it with all the beautiful summer flowers. 

Now we have a little bit of summer to greet us at our door.

Whats happening in your corner of the world? Why not link up with a seasonal post?

Advent- Celebrating The Nature Kingdom

The second week of advent has drawn to a close. This week passed celebrated the nature kingdom, the plants that nourish us, providing us with food and oxygen. And so for us, we have spent this week learning and enjoying elements from nature.

Together, Holly and I made these clove scented oranges. Inspired by Bending Birches. Holly chose to use her favorite 'baby oranges', otherwise known as mandarins. This was such a fun, festive little project to do with my girl. So much so, that she has been asking too do it every day since. They are lovely though, they give the whole house a beautiful mulled wine kind of smell- divine.

We have done a lot of cooking this week, talking about a lot of the ingredients such as legumes and nuts. Discussing what they are and where they come from. Trying to instill in them that food does not just come from a shop but is grown in and from the earth.

Both my little girls LOVE flowers, most days we go out to collect fresh flowers to bring back to our home. Isla adores twirling them around in the air, singing sweet little tunes as she does so. Holly, is fascinated by all the different types of flowers, always asking me "whats that one?". Often the answer is "I don't know sweetheart",  her response- "It is a Holly Iris flower mummy". What a sweet little girl she is.

Happy advent.

Isla Rose

Today we celebrated out littlest one with a naming celebration. Mother nature was kind to us as usual,  providing a beautiful hot day. Together with friends and family, we drew together. With the backdrop of the Canterbury plains behind us, we celebrated this beautiful little girl whom I am lucky enough to call my daughter.

Isla Rose.

We chose her name carefully. I find naming a child a huge responsibility and one not to be taken lightly. Isla (pronounced I-la) is a Scottish name derived from the island of Islay. Scotland is my birthplace, so, it just felt right to me to name her after a place with which I have such a strong connection. Rose, was my paternal grandmothers name. Holly took my husbands grandmothers name of Iris. We also found it beautifully appropriate that both our girls had flower names and the connotations that holds for us of nature and beauty.

A perfect name for a perfect girl.

Advent

Today is the first day of advent. Many do not realise this, as the popular advent calendars start from the 1st of December. But, traditionally, advent begins on the 4th Sunday before Christmas. The passing of each Sunday evokes a different part of the journey taken by Mary and Joseph in the nativity story. The first week celebrates the earth, as they set off on their journey through the mountains. The second celebrates nature, as they journey through the valley. The third week celebrates  the animal kingdom, as they move across the bare grazing lands. And the 4th week celebrates human life, as they arrive in Bethlehem to welcome their baby.

This is a lovely symbolic time. Even if, like our family, you are not particularly religious. It is a time to celebrate the joy of the coming of christmas, of special times with family and friends, of the sharing of food, laughter and love.

This year, I have created this nativity story scene for our home. Setting out the nativity story  journey with the stones to signify the mountains, the flowers to signify the valley, the sheep to signify the grazing lands and finally the stable where Jesus was born. Each evening before bed, I plan to tell a little of the nativity story to the girls. Then, move one star from the path they take and place it on the night sky behind them.

I set up the nature table last night with this little scene. This morning, Holly got up and started her day as usual, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw our little table. A huge grin broke out across her face as she exclaimed "Whats that Mummy?!". Now she is very excited about the end of the day arriving so she can hear the story and move one of the stars into the sky.

I love that I am able to celebrate with my children in this way, to provide them some of that magic in the build up to christmas.

Happy Advent.