paper & wood bits and bobs

Have been wanting for a while now to post some photos of recent domestic~crafty activity ... including my wonderful new kitchen shelves (a Christmas gift from K) which go a long way to solving the problems of an impossibly small pantry, and the ex science-lab drawers that QUT (fortuitously for our craft room) piffed out. Late last year I saw some floor-to-ceiling driftwood hanging things in Biome which inspired a small driftwood, paua-shell and stone mobile which now adorns our front door. And then there's the world's most ridiculously-labour-intensive paper crane mobile, which I made as a xmas gift (but ended up giving to myself, given the time frittered away making it) ...

new years day, forest's edge, binginwarri

acquisitions, realignments, removals

Last weekend I had an epiphany. I returned to see Kaja, the musculoskeletal therapist who I had a small win with last year. She massaged, she cupped. And realigned my hips. Oh the glory! I am a new woman. All this time and effort to rid myself of ongoing back irks has been largely in vain because my right hip was completely out of whack. I have known for a long time that my back problems stem from this hip alignment thing. But I cannot believe I have waited ten years to learn that half my pelvis could be quite easily manipulated back to its correct position. Meanwhile I've been hobbling around for half a year with this bloody thing. No more. Cupping? Holistic therapies? I believe. Sign me up. Now.

Cracking the back thing has been like a floodgate. The last 24 hours have been action stations. Yesterday I spied more covetable chuck-out items at the university I walk through to work (the one demolishing their science block, pool and gym). So off we trundled last night on another furniture heist. We scored a low coffee table for the deck, a gutsy all-weather storage box with handles, a cute little display case and a bizarre water-level monitor from 1975 (puchased in 1975 for $1221.57; salvaged from a skip thirty-five years later, gratis).

Also last night, the Greeks across the road tipped us off that the council had been round that day measuring up the bus, which has been parked across the road (innocuously, til now, beside a retaining wall). We’ve had a good run. She’s been there since November. And her Northern Territory rego has just lapsed. Council bills heavy vehicle owners $500 for the privilege. So. After our late-night furniture heist, we had a late-night tactical planning session, and today, got up way too early to relocate the (unregistered, mechanically tenuous but adorable) bus.

She is now snugly re-housed out in the burbs somewhere next to a paddock with goats. If anyone knows anyone with a bit of land they’d like to pimp, within say a 200km radius of downtown brisvegas, please get in contact.

Oh. Life is full. We are also ankle-deep in what could become a very large and cumbersome (but potentially very profitable) book disposal operation. And I am plotting some fun webby stuff too. More on all that soon. And photos of acquisitions and recent crafty concoctions. But now, to bed.

renew

 

Just back from a bush Christmas at Binginwarri, which is usually very breezy and contained. This year it became a nest for visiting cousins, kidlings, uncles and friends, and some lovely, overdue catch-ups were had. It was also the first meeting of K and the relics. And K and half the family. Naturally he got the big thumbs up, especially from the older-female-contingent (I'm not sure they’ve seen a bloke wash and fold laundry in… well, I’m stopping right about there).

We made a few easy trips beyond the bush block… a lazy lunch of fish and chips at Port Albert with Cousin B and her bloke M, where we watched their Small Z plop around in the shallows. We also made a much-delayed inaugural trip to the Celia Rosser Gallery in Fish Creek, where Mum scored a very collectable banksia print for her birthday, K scored a personal hello from The Celia, and I scored a $5 teapot from the Fish Creek Op Shop which was having a sale. A visit to our WWOOFer friends up in the Strezleckis provided mucho inspiration for our land/house building dream.

New years was a scorcher… the extended tribe milled about the barbecue before some wild weather from the west rolled in and provided a stellar full moon light-and-cloud formation. Back on the verandah, the bubbles flowed, the sparklers spitzed and the party-poppers provided instant rainbow moustaches for those who’d outdone themselves on the fizz (ahem).

My long-lost brother and his partner also made a visit late in the piece. In fact, the family stuff ran so long that we ran out of time for a sail on Westernport and a quick-stop in Melbourne… so we’ll be scouting for cheap flights soon to remedy that.

It sounds kind of busy, but there was still time to slow down and enjoy late afternoon walks along the Hedley Range in the syrupy sun with butterfly escort and curious cows. Frogs provided a pobble-bonk soundrack for the evenings. We picked paths over goannas, echidnas... and dreaded tiger snakes. And picked alpine strawberries at the front door, wild forest mushrooms on the bush block, and wild plums down the road... mmm! Inspiration for the new year.

Wishing everyone a wonderous 2010 with much love, health and merriment. x