Beach stroll, Normanville

We all have those times.  Times when we are too busy.  Sometimes our busyness is having too many things to do.  Other times its simply having one stressful thing.  Whatever it is there has to come a time when life stops.  Where we have a pitstop from our busyness.  Relax and unwind.  Refocus our lives.  Re-evaluate what is really important and restore our physical and mental wellbeing.

The other day Ben and I took the kids down the beach.  We were both feeling the busyness of life.  We took a leisurely walk and finally found a place to settle down and just sit.  The kids built sandcastles, found feathers and shells.  We on the other hand did nothing.  I don’t even remember talking that much, we just simply absorbed our surroundings.  It was very quiet, the waves crashed gently on the shore, and there was a very gentle breeze coming from the west.  I sat leaning against Ben watching the waves and the surfers riding them.  Occassionaly people and their dogs passed by. Or there was movement from local fishermen casting and reeling out there lines.  The action, if any, was very slow and soothing.  It was like life stopped.  The stress that I felt faded away.  I knew that I would eventually have to return to my busyness, but for a moment the stress didn’t matter.  I was refreshed, renewed to keep up the momentum of my day to day life.

"Cherished One"

… She dressed up in her princess dress, “I’m a princess!” she said as she twirled and danced about…

The magic of childhood; imaginative and unhibited.  My daughter with her precious curls, her beauty is the magic God gave her, her smile is a blessing, her cheekiness is lovingly endured.  Such a precious gift, one to be cherished.

As I watched my daughter twirl about before me I was reminded of what it felt to dress up pretty, to feel special for a moment.  She reminded me of something uniquely pertaining to a woman; beauty.  Not everyone of us dress up in a princess dress and not everyone feels like a princess, however, every woman is made to be a princess.  Precious, priceless, unique, one to be loved and cherished.

Join us

Food, coffee and other drinks

"Waiting"

Something that my husband, Ben and I love doing when we get a free moment is going out to a coffee shop. He usually orders his strong latte and I order my quater strength latte (I hear many of you say a what!). We either sit and chat, catching up on each others life or just read the newspaper catching up on life beyond our world. Its a good way of reflecting on things good and bad as well as reminding each other of our friendship and love for each other. We unwind, talk, reflect and listen. Our kids are so use to our coffee shop moments that they know where to find the toys and the colouring books and love sipping away at their babyccinos (okay sometimes they’re a bit rowdy, but most times they are happily content). Ben and I recently had a coffee shop moment when we went to Melbourne for the weekend.  We had some spare time before our plane was due to leave and chose to use our last hours in Melbourne visiting the cafe strips along Degraves street and Centre Place.  Like usual we ordered our coffee’s, sipped away while we read our newspapers, however, an added bonus for me was having my camera.  To me the magic of a camera is how it captures a memory and stops time.   Stories can be told with the release of the shutter.  A moment, a happening imprinted in a picture.  I sat there happily doing this very thing, releasing the shutter and freezing a moment.  These two little allyways have so much life in them I couldn’t help but photograph.

"Stopped"

Koi Pizzazz, Acrylic on Canvas

I have had this painting brewing now for about 8 months after walking into a Japanese merchandise store and seeing a beautiful water colour Koi painting on the wall.  This painting was delicate and gentle, showing the graceful movement of Koi.  I dreamt of doing a painting similar to this, however never had the time or inspiration to do it.  Last night while catching up on the blogs I follow.  I was looking at Aletha Kushcan ‘crudely’ drawn Koi http://alethakuschan.wordpress.com/and was inspired. Aletha’s is an artist who manages to capture movement, spontaneity, vibrancy and colour so well.  Her work is definitely not as dreamlike and gentle as the water colour painting I had seen before, but somehow it seemed to sit better with me. I was motivated!  The kids were in bed, it was 7:20 pm, and I had time.  I set up my easel and paints.  Did a quick sketch from a photo I took of Koi in Hawaii.  I wanted to capture my memory of them.  The moment I walked onto the bridge crossing their stream they all started to jostle each other to get my attention.  It was a beautiful dance of flickering colour, light and swishing water.   My rendition of Koi is not as all gentle as the painting in the store, nor is it the same as Aletha’s, but it is a painting which is in tune with me and my memory of them.

The Observatory

We had booked in to view the stars at the observatory, however, the clouds, wind and rain came out tonight making viewing impossible.  Probably a good thing though, because I am really tired.  Hopefully the weather will be kind tomorrow on our last night here and we will get to see the stars.  I would so like to. Signing off now with a sample of today’s delight:

"Post card" image of Tekapo from Mt John

Alone

Family challenge

A tired Ewan toward the end of the walk

Evening Light, Yorke Peninsula. Acrylic on Canvas

On a recent trip to Yorke Peninsula I was mesmerised by the vast space that surrounded me.  It was beautiful and peaceful.  I kept saying to my husband would you just look at those clouds in the sky, or look at the colour of those green fields…  When you live in a normal suburban yard (although not far from the country) you can forget how much space there is in Australia!

I was relating how much I loved it on the Yorke Peninsula to some fellow travellers who had recently immigrated from another country.  They were use to a somewhat crowded, fast moving and noisy place.  One of them asked me if I found it relaxing, in which I replied “yes”.  He responded just how overwhelmed he was by the space, and found it a little stressful; there was not enough noise and that it wasn’t busy enough for him.

A fellow artist who had immigrated from Singapore made a similar comment to me recently.  He couldn’t believe the space and the amount of landscapes he could paint.  He commented that it seemed “endless”.

The painting I have today I guess is a tribute to this vast place which I call home.  While travelling down to Port Rickaby (Yorke Peninsula, SA) I noticed this ruin.  I immediately asked my husband to stop the car.  With two kids in the car and the sun about to set I quickly took some photos.   This painting is a study of those photos.