Morning Pages - an everyday practice

1. Tea, pastries, library books and camellias from the garden - happy days

2. Busy nights at the bench

3. Dew drops like strands of pearls, in a spider's web in our garden

1. Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing,
   done first thing in the morning. *There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages*–
   they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about
   anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes
   only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and
   synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put
   three pages of anything on the page…and then do three more pages tomorrow. - Julia Cameron

My first week of morning pages has been disappointing, and yet I'm committing to the daily practice long term. 

I've heard mention of 'morning pages' over the years from so many creatives that I admire, and after Pip's encouragement last week I committed to the daily practice. A morning routine that allows one to clean out their mind and allow for more creativity and greater focus throughout the day? A way to discover buried thoughts after hitting the magic three pages? A way to gain perspective, keep your thoughts on track and anchor new habits? Yes please! 

Pip advises that the key to successful morning pages is getting up early and getting straight to it. Rising early to have a quiet house to yourself. Only, I am not a morning person. I'm only awake before the sun because I have three early risers. I'm much more of a tea and blankets morning person, preferring to snuggle in and cuddle my babies for as long as possible. More often than not I will pop out of bed to boil the jug, grab my overnight oats from the fridge, and jump back in to bed. But I was prepared to change for my creative betterment.

And so I did on Monday morning. With tea and notebook I sat at the kitchen table in a quiet house. Then five minutes later all three children joined me and demanded breakfast. I scrawled a sentence here and there, but it was far from stream of conscious. I was coming down with a cold and Cohen was sporting a runny nose and a cough, so I declared a sick day. As the day progressed the cold got worse. Monday I did not write three pages. 

Tuesday I'd optimistically planned to awaken earlier and put pen to paper. However, at 11 pm Cohen had his first wheezing asthma attack and I spent half the night standing in his door way listening to his breathing. I slept badly and dragged my cold-addled self to the table and wrote my sleepy sentences at 5 am when the baby woke. We got the first available doctors appointment. I did not write three pages. 

In fact all week, despite my best efforts, I did not write three pages. I gave up sitting at the kitchen table and kept my book on my bedside table and wrote in bed if I could. I wrote with tea. I wrote with a baby on my lap. I wrote between making breakfasts, lunch boxes, changing nappies and wiping up spilt milk. I grumbled. I wrote in my pages, 'surely Julia Cameron wasn't envisioning morning writing with three children under six'.  

Looking over the week's pages I felt disappointed that I had not achieved my task of writing three pages each day. I wallowed in that feeling of failure for awhile. Then I made a greater realisation and found the positive. I HAD achieved something equally wonderful. I had managed to write everyday, despite what life threw at me. I might not have hit the magic third page, but each day I had written two pages and captured thoughts, ideas, to dos, memories, complaints, plans for new collections in fourteen handwritten pages I may not have written otherwise. And I felt good. And I committed to the practice. Maybe I will write three pages, maybe I won't. But I will keep trying, because an attempt is better than nothing.

Meeting Pip!

I'm right in the midst of a miserable cold at present, surrounded by tissues and cups of tea, and three sniffly nosed, fussy little people. Yesterday though, before the cold was released upon my household, I was blissfully unaware of my runny nosed fate. Rather, I was enjoying a day out in the City, where I met Pip Lincoln!

After following her blog for years, she was exactly as I had imagined her to be. I would very much like to discuss this little outing at length, but the constant sneezing and pressure in my head make even these few sentences difficult to write in a comprehensible manner. (How I miss cold and flu tablets while breastfeeding.) In brief, the lovely Kirsten was in conversation with Pip at the Brisbane library yesterday. While my husband kept Cohen, Emerson and Oscar amused at the Botanic Gardens, I joined 100+ women in listening to the insights and inspirations of one of the first bloggers I ever started reading. The Pip and Kirsten touched on topics from craft to confidence, blogging to business, inspiration to idea generation. It was such a thrill to be in a room full of like minded women and to finally meet Pip. I gushed quickly as she signed my book and recognised my name. Then it was time to join my family in the gardens.

I really enjoyed the talk and was excited to buy her book. I wrote a quote from the chat in my notebook, "dig deeper in to who you really are and enjoy being yourself." As a result of declaring today a sick day, I was able to stay in my pyjamas and read most of Craft for the Soul. And honestly, if you are a creative type, if you love Pip's blog, or you are looking for a shot of inspiration, you will love this book!

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PS. Back in 2010 Pip did a blog tour and posted a tutorial on my humble blog, over here.

Yarn Along

I've been listening to an audio book once again, while adding rows to this garter stitched cot blanket. Not my usual choice of novel, 'The Rosie Project' was a book club obligation, and one that took me awhile to warm to. It's been wildly popular, apparently, so you may not like my assessment of it. I really wanted to love it. A friend's Nana recommended it to me with such joy at a children's party, and it sounded wonderful. But I just couldn't. It is still not my kind of book. I can't put my finger on what it was exactly - the predictability, the cliched rom-com moments, the make-over? Parts were charming, as was Don, the main protagonist. Though I found elements of his character difficult to digest. I enjoyed the idea of a neurologically diverse novel, though I wondered at the accuracy on several occasions. 

There is a follow up book, but I have decided to leave it to the adoring fans and find something else to knit to. 

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What have you been reading or knitting?

Joining in with Ginny

On Ravelry here.

Reading and Listening

Sometimes I feel the gap left by my identical twin's move to Canberra more keenly than other times. I miss her dearly, for she is not only my sister, but my best friend. She is also my creative partner in crime, and together we visit galleries, museums, poetry readings, markets, fairs and book shops. Neither of us has been able to find a suitable replacement since her interstate shift. Despite talking daily, face timing and letter writing, there is still a Fiona sized gap. As a result, I often feel a need to inject a little extra creative conversation and company in to my days, particularly as I work from home in the company of my little ones.

One way I have been filling the void is with books, magazines and podcasts. I picked up the Frankie and womankind magazines while in Yamba, and have become quite enamored by womankind - an ad free women's magazine with a focus on arts and culture. While the lovely Pippa recommended the podcast The New Normal - in which Emma and Tess chat with creative mothers about their life, work and family - and the website Creative Women's Circle; from which I brought 'Conversations with Creative Women' Volume one and two. I find reading about successful women who have followed their creative dreams so very interesting and inspiring, particularly when they are Australian and it seems they were once not so removed from my current situation.

I have been listening to audio book again lately, having newly discovered the joys of Borrow Box, which allows me to borrow audio books from my local library and download them on my phone, without even leaving home. I listen to a lot of podcasts and books while I work at the bench or knit. Even while I do the dishes or sweep the floor! Recently I fell in love with How to Paint a Dead Man. A wonderfully woven tale with four protagonists in different eras who are dealing with similar themes of love, loss and art in their lives, which are entwined. (Not one to listen to around children, due to the inclusion of sex scenes.) But a thoughtful, moving and beautifully written novel nonetheless. I have also been listening to a book I have long loved, The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain deBotton. Listening to a book one has previously read brings with it a new level of appreciation. Read or spoken, this is the kind of book you can revisit many times, for it covers the work of several great minds from history and applies their philosophies to our modern lives and every day dilemmas; such as a lack of money, anxiety and the pain of love.

There is another pile of books next to my bed currently, which I hope to find time for soon.
But tell me, what have you been reading and listening to?

Weekending

As a stay at home Mama with a breast fed baby, a toddler and a school boy, it's very rare that I go out without children. Where I go, they come. One, two, or all three of them. I had been going to yoga one night a week until the class time changed and I couldn't make it work anymore. That had been my time-out, my 'me time'. But a month or two have passed, and 'me time' just hasn't happened. 

I scheduled some time out this weekend, booking my husband in to solo-parent while I spent the day as I pleased. And it was wonderful. I felt guilty initially. But given the amount of time my husband spends surfing and playing golf, the feeling soon faded. First, I wandered a Sunday market with all it's trash and treasure. Without interruption I browsed the stalls and brought myself a couple of books and some potted herbs, all for a few gold coins. Next I wandered through Freedom Furniture and brought a new throw, a ceramic house and a vintage style light bulb to feather my nest. Most luxuriously of all, I stopped in at a cafe for brunch. eating and drinking my tea alone, before wandering through Ikea and emerging with a cushion cover, a set of wine glasses and a note book. 

Oh how I love my three babies. But how necessary it is to have a little time to ones self, to be oneself, every now and again. I was delighted to see them again, and they were delighted to rummage through my market basket and discover all that I had brought home with me.

I shall be booking in my husband again soon - there is an antique center that I have been wanting to visit.

Yarn Along

 

I am thoroughly enjoying my current knit and read. When I have a moment to myself, it's a difficult decision between the two. Yesterday the children napped at the same time (shocking I know). I shirked my responsibilities to my jewellery bench and sat down with my book instead. Twice tears welled as I read The Memory Keepers Daughter. I'll say no more, as it is a book club book and as a rule we aren't supposed to talk about the book until book club. If you've read it though, I'm quite sure you will understand. And if you have not, let me recommend it to you, even if it means you may find tears pricking your eyes as you read.

 

Two repeats remain of the Twin Leaf Loop, a gift for a friend's birthday. I wonder if she will mind if I make another, the same, for myself?

 

What are you reading or knitting?

Joining in with Ginny.

 

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Thanks for reading and commenting!

I'll be back tomorrow with a completed sewing project.

Stitch. Read. Covet. Blog.

    

Stitch: I seriously love these knitted poufs. I think Cohen and Emerson would too. Practical and fun. There is a tutorial on the Pickles blog, which also features lots of other stitchy goodness. (Like this knitted zig-zag-spread, or this Cabled cradle spread.)

Read: I am a sucker for list of books. Be it The 100 greatest novels of all time (I've only read twenty one of them), or 10 Aussie books to read before you die (I've read five), I love to see what has made the cut, which I've read and which I might like to read. So I was interested when I stumbled across the top 20 Vintage Classics of 2012. I have read seven of them. How about you?

Covet: I've heard that the rule for buying a great gift is to make sure you are buying what they want and not what you want. This is not the case with my twin sister. Instead, I buy her what I want and know she will love it. Our tastes are just so similar. Unfortunately, that means I have been coveting the Geometric Deer brooch I brought her for her (our) birthday. I'd happily settle for the Harlequin Bear though...

Blog: I have recently been reading and enjoying the lovely blog, Mother Down Under. It's written by Caitlin, an American Mother in Australia, who lives in a mindful and sustainable manner. I also follow her facebook page, and a recent post got me thinking about the chemicals in cosmetics. Despite trying to rid my home of as many chemicals as possible, I realised I hadn't given any real thought to the composition of my make up. The New York Times article that Caitlin referred to certainly made me think. I thought the days of lead in make up were long gone, but apparently not. Needless to say as the items in my bathroom cabinet get used up I will be endeavoring to replace them with products containing fewer and safer ingredients. (Sarah Wilson has a list of toxin-free cosmetics here.)

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This post has not been sponsored in any way. The above are genuine items/people/blogs that I am loving.

Care to share your own Stitch. Read. Covet. Blog? Please leave a comment or your link below so we can all check them out.