creative friends

Since moving up to the country I have met some beautiful new friends, all of them creative in their own ways. I've managed to talk a few of them into letting me take photos of them and their homes so I can write about them on my blog. They are a bit embarassed but thank you girls for humouring me!!

The first I want to introduce to you is Cindy (short for Cynthia). Cindy moved up to the foothills of Mt Buller about 6 years ago to live with her partner Paul, who already lived here. They were expecting their first baby and , with the help of some friends, turned what was, apparently, a daggy little ski shack into this gorgeous, compact and innovative home.  Paul runs his own solar electrical business called 'solarphase' and so has included many energy saving measures into their home. The combination of both Cindy's and Paul's creative and practical talents mean that there are so many photo worthy corners in their home - and I've tried to capture some of them here.

Despite having a small yard, Cindy, who is a keen gardener, has made the most of the space and the garden at the front of the house greets you with a mass of different colours and textures, as well as special secret corners for kids to play in. Cindy is also an excellent seamstress and made the skirt she is wearing. In our Thursday Timbertop group she is our mentor, usually having superior sewing knowledge to the rest of us, which has been passed on to her by her grandmother and mother.



After entering the house through the very cool red front door, this view of the kitchen and eating area is the first thing you see. It's so colourful and full of light.

These kitchen shelves are a definite highlight, which Cindy says always surprises her, as they really just happened without a lot of planning...

In this room Paul has installed a fantastic wood fire that not only heats the whole house, but also Cindy and Paul's water supply. Cindy is in the process of collecting and reupholstering some old chairs to go around the kitchen table.

Heading upstairs leads you to the living room, bedrooms and verandah with some pretty stunning views.

The Japanese style cushions, Cindy made from old kimonos purchased while living in Japan.

Cindy reupholstered this old chair herself many years ago (although she wants to change the fabric now, you can see it still totally works in the space) and made the floor cushions too.

The black cockatoos were purchased at the previously mentioned fantastic homewares store in Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, called Wilkins and Kent.

Right along the north side of the house is a verandah that lets in tonnes of light as well as providing a great place to sit and look at the views of the mountains that are just so close...

This is the view from the picture window in the lounge room at the front of the house...

The view of Mt Buller from the front of the house...

One thing that I really admire about Cindy is that as well as taking care of her two little boys, Willow and Max, and running her business making lambswool products (www.lambcare.com.au), she still makes time to be creative, whether it be in the garden, sewing homewares and clothes, or building things from timber. In fact, as well as all that, Cindy just won a prize in the "Writes of Spring" short story competition. "Writes of Spring" was a short story competition open to all ages. Entrants were invited to collect a Writes of Spring postcard entry-form from their local public library and write, draw or paste a story (inspired by Belinda Suzette's vibrant illustration) directly onto the postcard. Over 2,400 creative, surprising and intriguing entries were submitted. Winning entries will be published in a book that will become part of the collection of every public library in Victoria. Winners will receive a $50 book voucher, a copy of the book and a place in Victoria's literary history. Isn't she clever!!





As you can see Cindy's unique style, together with partner Paul's, has created a beautiful home for her family.







the King Valley

Last Saturday I woke up feeling that all was right with the world. It was Saturday, my husband had the day off, I was still in bed with a cup of tea on my bedside table and to top it all off the sun was shining! With all of these factors aligning so perfectly, for us there was only one thing to do - a day out at the King Valley.

One of the great things about living in Mansfield is its proximity to this other (as well as many others too!!) very beautiful place to visit - the King Valley - only about an hour's drive away. Not only is it beautiful, but there also a number of really great places to eat and wineries to visit.

The menu...

Our choice for that day was the King River Cafe in Oxley, just near Milawa. This place suits us perfectly as it has "honest, unpretentious, yet delicious food" (as my husband describes it) as well as a courtyard where we can sit with our children and not bother anyone and a park just across the road! Despite the boys' initial protests about the length of the drive, I think they had as perfect a day as we did. Incidentally, our other favourite  places to eat with kids are the Milawa Cheese Factory and the Mountain View Hotel in Whitfield - and there are definitely others that I haven't mentioned!

The lovely courtyard...

The very conveniently situated park...

With space for a kick of the footy...

Beside the courtyard was a garden perfect for wrestling and chasey...



Food was delicious...

A stop at the apple truck between Benalla and Mansfield yielded a week's supply of  gorgeous fuji apples...



As I've said before, if your children are happy so are you... Each member of our family had their simple needs met that day and what a happy day it was!

farm visit

Last weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to visit the farm of a couple who live just outside Mansfield overlooking Lake Eildon. This is a couple who are really 'living the dream'! They have three children who are now grown up and they are working towards retiring in the next few years. They have worked hard and travelled extensively during their lives so far. Now, their plan is to be able to live here permanently and run their little farm. And what an idyllic spot it is! We were really quite entranced by the beauty of the place and the wonderful enthusiasm and positive spirit that they were radiating.

We walked up to the top of the hill behind the house to better admire the views.

Apparently this spot overlooking the lake is the favourite for evening drinkies. Was wishing I could stay for that...

The very inviting swimming pool just adds to the bliss of this place..

The garden has received lots of love and attention already but there are many more plans yet to be put into action.



I was given permission to pick some lemons from the tree and went home with the a gorgeous selection of produce - lemons, limes, herbs...

I then spent the afternoon pottering around rearranging things to accommodate my bowls of fruit. Easily amused...probably should have been cleaning out some cupboards or mopping some floors...

Later I used some of the produce - firstly mixed herbs with lemon rind and butter to stuff under the skin of our roast chicken.

And then Jamie Oliver's Lemon Curdy Pudding - very popular with the family.

All in all it was a very uplifting day - not only to visit such a beautiful place but also to see two people so joyfully working towards living their dream.



milestones

Recently, some friends who live here on campus had a new baby girl. While they were still expecting we asked them if they would like to have our cot as the birth of their baby coincided pretty much with Teddy turning 2, and they said they would. Our cot was built by our brother-in-law and has been used for all three of our boys plus another friend's baby in between. It's beautiful quality and still looks as good as they day we got it. The friends with the new baby didn't need the cot straight away as they were using a bassinet. Then on Sunday they said how about we move the cot today before school goes back and while we have time. So that afternoon Teddy had his last sleep in his cot...

I was suddenly faced with saying goodbye to the cot and moving Teddy into his little toddler bed from Ikea, which had also been used by our other two boys, that night.  It was actually a great way to do it - not giving me too much time to think about it.

I was, of course, a little worried that once Teddy could get out of his bed, he wouldn't stay in it and go to sleep happily, as he had been in the cot. But even more so, I felt rather nostalgic about the fact that my last baby was moving from a cot into a bed, which was probably almost the only thing that still made him seem like a baby rather than a little boy. We made a big fuss of the fact that Teddy had a new bed and the two big boys were very excited about it. All this rubbed off on Teddy and he loved it. I had to sit with him for about 15 minutes until he felt comfortable and started to drop off to sleep and he has been fine ever since, even for daytime sleeps. So, even though it feels like the end of an era for me, I do feel excited that we are entering a new stage - where we have three little boys rather than two boys and a baby - and am trying to embrace the change, taking my lead from little Teddy! Being a person who just loves babies, my excitement at reaching a new milestone is always mixed with a little tinge of sadness. I remember feeling this way on Teddy's first birthday ...Do you feel this way too?

Teddy's 1st Birthday party at the Mansfield playground

Speaking of milestones, I felt like I had become a proper grown-up mummy when I did my first canteen duty at Sam's school the other day! It was a lot of fun actually, chatting with my friend Cassie while we chopped fruit and handing out food to cute kids.

I wanted to take a photo of the kids too but once the rush was on there was no stopping for that...

It's great to reflect on these little milestones often and remember to appreciate the significance of the simple 'stuff' that makes up our everyday lives.

beach

On a walk with a friend yesterday, we were discussing how your idea of a perfect holiday changes (and simplifies) once you have a couple or more children in the family. She and her husband have two children and after going to the Anglesea holiday park to see some friends during the holidays, they went home, packed up all their stuff and promptly went back there to stay the rest of the week. This is a couple who like to have very adventurous holidays, even with children, like cycling around Africa or Indonesia and they hadn't thought that a holiday park would be quite their cup of tea...but this time they appreciated the simplicity of a holiday where their children were fully entertained and so they were able to do things that they wanted to do too. The main theme of the conversation was that, on holidays, if your children are happy then you are too. We also talked about how you and your partner tend to negotiate taking turns looking after children so that the other can do something that they want to like a run, a bike ride, a haircut, shopping, sewing etc...Of course if you can manage a babysitter at some point, so you can go out for dinner or do something together, then that is extra special.

Our family spent the second half of the school holidays on the Mornington Peninsula near Sorrento. We have been coming here for some years now and for us it is a place that has something for everyone - a place where our children are happy and so are we.

There's the child-friendly, calm Bay beach....

The playground where you can always find other Mums, Dads and kids to chat and play with...

Cafes with yummy food that give Mum and Dad a break from cooking...

Our cousins live close enough to come and visit for the day - for our boys their cousin Ethan is their hero...

A really, really fabulous homewares store called White Nest...with paths all the way that are perfect for little boys to scooter on...

Banks of sand for flying off...

Holidays are a great chance for brothers to spend time together...

Baby Teddy on the same beach a year ago...we hope that coming here will become a tradition or ritual for our family...

And I haven't mentioned all the wineries and attractions that we didn't even get to these holidays...

So, a holiday where everyone's simple needs are met keeps everyone feeling simply happy! As we drove home to the mountains in the pouring rain - the weather turned on the day we left - we talked to our boys about just how lucky they are to have spent time in one beautiful environment and then be going home to another completely different, yet equally beautiful one. Not sure how much they appreciate it right now but sure they will one day - they certainly had fun anyway...