yes, I needed it all

I am in Adelaide for a few days. Yesterday Kate and I went to the city and shopped, very satisfying to buy a few clothes for the first time in ages. Then she took me to her newly discovered junk shop - Bakker Bourke, the glory there is magnificent. Some photos - taken with mobile phone so apologies.

Also apologies to Michael who has probably already braced himself for my fully laden return (I am towing a trailer home with an eBay kitchen dresser and it is inevitable that I would manage to fill it with STUFF), but it may not make the reality any easier to cope with.

...and the butterflies are so much more beautiful in real life!

emily

To commemorate Emily's third birthday Sam and I interviewed her on her likes, dislikes and views on the world, her responses to the question of favourites:

food - carrots
colour - pink
people - Sam and Mum and Dad
book - about koalas
outfit - pink or purple top with cut off pants
toy - teddy
thing to play - babies
friend - Sam
song - the song about strawberries (this is actually a song about watermelons)

drink - juice

Sam asked her what she thought about being 3, her response:

I am happy and I am a birthday girl. I will go to Kinder and Mum will help the other children. My bedroom is very beautiful.

So there you have it - that's our 3 year old.

verbascum fertility

The last thing I did before I collapsed in a heap onto my sickbed this weekend was to harvest my Verbascum. The flower heads reached almost 3 metres tall this summer and they have been slowly drying out in the front garden. On Saturday I clipped them and turned them upside down in a paper bag to collect the seeds (and various bugs and wriggly things that I sieved). My seed harvest totaled 45 grams (a HUGE amount!). They all started from one plant in Kate's Adelaide Hills' garden 4 years ago.

This year I am determined to master the art of seeds and cuttings. I have borrowed books from the library, researched websites and magazines and I am ready to spend autumn gathering seeds and cuttings, winter nurturing and cajoling seedlings and then spring and summer enjoying the garden beauty.

on sunday...

I worked all day, wading through mountains of Year 9 waffle and tat in order to mark assignments and write reports.

Michael was charged with keeping the kids out of my hair, he took them to the beach and tuckered them out...

freedom

Sam is on two wheels. Completely happy and wondering why he didn't do it sooner. "It is actually so much amazing fun." I love it when he and Milly speak like Charlie and Lola.

huh?

When we were at the playground yesterday Emily was rambling on about seeing a man with a floating banana. We had no idea what she was talking about but she was adamant. I thought perhaps a blow up banana boat on the river? No Mummy (in uber strident tone). Sam asked if she meant a yellow balloon? She shot him down. The conversation moved on and we were all none the wiser.

Until we were in the car and she started squealing and pointing to the floating banana...

a yellow parachute - of course, Fools.

autumn mornings

On Sunday I went for my walk early and the fog was thick. Tiny droplets of water on twigs and spider webs glistening in the dull light. Later in the day it was over 30 degrees and the kids spent the day at the beach but the autumn morning was lovely.

at last...

They have been promising it for months with a seductive "coming soon" type message on their website, but it is official - Anthropologie are now shipping to Australia. The arrival of any parcel in the post makes me abundantly happy, but if the contents were from Anthropologie I think I would implode. I love their stuff- clothes, homewares, accessories. All of it. It is the best shop I have never been in.

he's (almost) home

I have just ended a four day stint as a temporarily single mother. It was hard work. I am glad it is over. I have not posted for a week now and while I have my iPhone to keep up to date with emails, I have not so much as touched my laptop since Monday. I have reports to write this weekend and I fear I will not get to indulge in thoughts of lovely things for a few more days. Bugger.

chinoiserie

It could be argued that it is futile to spend imaginary lottery winnings when one NEVER buys lottery tickets, but I would argue that it is fun to play. I think I could have this - Chinoiserie by Jasper Conran for Wedgewood dinner set for about three thousand dollars, which would give us the full dinner set in both green and white with a range of designs - peacock, flowers. It is truly stunning, and more so in real life than in these photos ... and as a proportion of a lottery win, a mere pittance.

rain

Milly and I had a glimpse of rain this afternoon as we emerged from a concert, but it started properly when we got home from school and then it hammered down. For the first time in weeks we had an evening engagement and we huddled under umbrellas and sprinted to the car to no avail. It rained for a couple of hours, just long enough to ensure that we got damp as we headed home. We drove through huge puddles and watched the rain splash as high as the windows. The kids were agog at the magnitude of it and then we settled inside to listen to it on the roof.

personal grooming tips

Emily looked at me today and declared: "Your eyebrows are like rainbows Mummy". Makes it worth having them ripped out with hot wax a few days ago.

easter decorations

We have boarded the decorating train to Easter. Today Emily decorated some foam eggs. Very glitzy and I hope will not be setting the scene for the 2010 decorating theme, I am not sure I can keep up with that much glam.