Candy

It's funny...even after 20 years and marriage and children, I still remember my first love, and my first real heartbreak. This song always triggers the memory from 1990, life is crazy!

Peter and The Wolf

I'm taking my 5 year old to see Peter and The Wolf on Friday at La Mama Theatre in Melbourne. I remember being excited but also scared when I first saw a tv show of the production shown sometime in the 1970s. Prokofiev's music has a haunting feel, something I love still.
Its very dramatic and beautiful, and Im pretty sure my son will enjoy it, he doesnt scare easily and he quite likes being frightened in that half laughing hysterically half terrified kind of way! This is recommended for 4-11 yr olds and I think its been given a bit of a comic twist!
Did you see Peter and The Wolf as a child?

Do the Bus Stop

Ive been watching a great documentary on the Islands surrounding Britain.. My cousin has moved to one of these islands in the last 5 years so I was interested to see what life is like in such a remote part of the world! I was touched by the strong support systems they create, they have to all pitch in and get along! It was amazing.  I also love the way they make sure they celebrate their community on Saturday nights at the town hall :)


On the Island of Unst, the most northerly island in the Shetlands..they have created a famous bus stop!  Over the last 10 or so years it's had different themes.  Ahh now wouldn't this make you smile  waiting for the bus! 

We Miss You

 We Miss You

waking up to the reality of dawn

the cupboard echoing my thoughts
we miss you
even your clothes-hanger
looks forlorn and lost

I scrunch my eyes together
trying to kid myself that its all a dream
your smell lingers
and my dreams
are scattered all over the floor

I take the hanger and twist it
much like you did with my heart
we need you
but we wont lie adrift
we will be reshaped and reborn

: Doc Martin :

Well this week's obsession has been "Doc Martin"  Being so cold and dreary this weekend I managed to watch 10 or so episodes of the Doc, and have fallen in love with the series! Even the kids and husband have enjoyed it!
First you have the salty seaside town in Cornwall, steep hills, narrow lanes, whitewashed walls and lots of beached seaweed, then the people who live in the fictitious town of Portwenn..all slightly eccentric and hilarious!
And of course there is the Doc, Dr Martin Ellingham, a rude, gruff, but highly skilled GP who has had to give up a promising surgical career because he freaks out at the sight of blood!  You see him on many occasions hurling into a paper bag while trying to clean up some one's bloody wound!  I just love this character, he is amazingly played by Martin Clunes, because although he is so so rude, so pompous and seemingly without any personal skills whatsoever! there is something endearing about him, his vulnerabilities and awkwardness, especially around women, is just so sweet (oh gawd!)  Even the town dogs seem strangely attracted to him, one fluffy mutt seems to follow him everywhere, much to Doc's annoyance! Now I'm not your classic romantic girly girl...I tend to find most overly romantic films or books a bit cheesy!  I never wanted a man who would worship me and throw rose petals at my feet, I like a bloke who'll fix your car, read  a book, argue with you if he thinks you're wrong, and of course be slightly marshmallowy on the inside while still being burly and blokesome!
Well Doc Martin is pretty much the antithesis to a romantic man, and I guess that's why I just love the dynamics between his character and the character of Louisa, his love interest.  Louisa is a pretty school teacher, sensible, intelligent and not afraid to speak her mind, but with a sweetness that has most of the town bewitched! (one exception being the neck brace wearing pharmacist who has her own designs on the Doc)
Their relationship is very slow going but lovely to watch, he so awkward and still quite rude, but softening whenever he sees or talks to Louisa, and you can tell he infuriates her but also fascinates her at the same time.
Over the weekend Ive watched them shyly clasp hands at a concert, which made me want to cry????  (I shudder at my own weaky soppy crybaby ways!)  argue when after a lovely kiss, he tells her that he can smell her pheromones and they smell slightly of urine!  He manages to insult her often, never realising his Doctorly advise is sometimes better left unsaid, especially after they spend their first night together and the next day he offers her a nasal clip to help with her snoring!
He does finally ask her to marry him, but ahhh....the course of TV drama romance never runs smoothly, and the wedding is a disaster with both realising they really don't think the other could make them happy.

Now I'm on to the 4th series, where Louisa, who had fled to London, comes back to Portwenn 6 months pregnant with the Doc's baby. Yay another series where they fumble, mumble and generally dodge each other until I presume things are ok again..well I hope so??  They better be!!   I wont rest until Martin and Louisa are happily married and I can move onto the next show!

Anyway...give it a look if you'd like :)

Tea Making Tips from 1941!

Dont we all love a perfect cup of tea?  Well this lovely old clip from 1941 will show you how!  I just love viewing these vintage clips from the British Film Institute's channel.

Electric Car - They Might Be Giants

Ive always liked They Might Be Giants amd last year they released Here Comes Science Good way to introduce kids to science.
This song is cute, me thinks!

The Envelope Project at Meet Me At Mike's

 image via Meet Me At Mike's

One of my all time favourite blogs Meet Me At Mike's always makes me happy!  Just visiting Mike's inspires me on many levels, and Pip, who writes the blog, is so full of ways to get the creative juices flowing!
The new project at Mike's involves filling an envelope with any goodies you can find, pretty pics, paper, cards, buttons etc, then decorating the envelope and sending it off to Pip's shop in Melbourne.   Eventually (august 1st) someone will win all the envelopes and all the lovely stuff inside them!
What makes me love this is the feeling of being a kid again and being allowed to do something fun and creative as an adult.
Pip has already posted lots of photos of what has been arriving on her doorstep.  If you're interested look at the flickr group here :)

Designs for UNICEF

This lovely card has been designed for UNICEF by Ingela P Arrhenius. It just makes me smile to look

at it! 

She really does some lovely illustrations.

Book Covers

Dont you just love a gorgeous book cover?   I can be walking past a book shop and be drawn in by a striking illustration or book design.

Here are some lovely ones voted as winners in The APA  Best Book Cover and Design Awards 

blog bogged

Not sure where to head with this blog!  I feel at a complete crossroads, it could be a midlife crisis.
Who am I?
Anyone else know? :)

Casueway Hotel. I love Melbourne's Laneways

Celtic Myth Podcast

If you love a good story and beautiful music you might like the Celtic Myth Podcast...run by Gary Colcombe and Ruthie Smith, its a lovely way to relax and imagine a time and place from long ago. 

I think Kate Rusby has one of the lovliest voices! 

 

You're never too old for dolls!

How Id love one of these dolls and the lovely caravan!  Have a look at.....Du Bah Du Designs

Hand

a shining web of my own

a radiant shape of hope
a mere moment of bliss
is what I hold in my hand

a craving so raw it twists
a desire so lonely for life
a lament often heard from my mouth
when will my hand be full

a woven stream of life

running from childhood to grown 
is what I stuggle to fit
in this hand I clasp to my heart

a happiness born from the past
a memory too painful to share
a wish for release and end
my hands be together as one

making stuff in 2010!

 GoingSewCrazy's Clothespin Doll Tutorial!

Last year I spent many hours sipping tea and reading blog after blog of amazing people and their amazing crafty things! sweet, clever, unique and amazing designs.

SO I think this is the right time to try and make something myself (gulp)
I am fairly new to craft, I can knit a little, sew a little (badly) and I guess I can cut and paste and stick pins in things, but thats about the extent of my crafting up until now! Well it's time to move to the next level.....

and what a good place to start

The Long Thread has a wonderful blog post of Top 100 Tutorials of 2009

My pick for first craft project of 2010 is Going Sew Crazy's Clothespin Dolls!  I can even enlist Mr 5 yr old son to help me with these! 

What would you like to start in 2010?