33!

I celebrated my birthday this past weekend with some of my favourite people and favourite things. Having already had an early birthday present farm stay didn't stop my sweet family from making the weekend all about me. Dave took the children to visit the big dinosaurs so that I may wander through the wonderful Bristyle markets in the Whale Mall, we all explored the children's art room at GOMA, and then I left them busily making their own Magic Lands (and you can too) while I visited the Future Beauty exhibition, luxuriously alone. 

It's such a shame photography wasn't permitted, as words alone can not do justice to the experience. The space, the designs, the elegance and the outrageousness. If you are a lover of design, fashion or art, there is something in this collection for everyone - except possibly children. We meandered back to the car through the museum and gazed at dinosaur bones, pinned beetles and a formaldehyde shark. I stumbled upon a crystal and mineral collection tucked away on a landing in a stair well and drooled over the contents until my husband dragged me away. (I shall share pictures with you tomorrow.)

Yesterday there was flowers, wine, a lovely lunch and even a delightful nap.

Happy birthday to me and my beautiful twin sister! xx

Weekending

1. I'm over half way now on Emerson's Camilla Blanket and I am still in love with knitting it. It is my biggest project to date and I was worried I would fall out of love with it along the way. So far so good. I love watching those fans forming.The nights are getting cooler now and I hope she'll be using it by Winter.

2. We've had a week of rain, with another week forecast. There has been Lego, play dough and balloons to keep a certain boy amused, as well as rain coat and gum boot jaunts in the garden.

3. We visited the Qld Art Gallery and the Museum yesterday. Another perfect rainy day activity. I brought this $10 print home with me from the gallery store. Cheap, beautiful art. (The framed picture in photo 2 is another gallery store purchase.)

4. My cheeky little laundry helpers, who played 'throw the cloth nappies at Mama' and rolled around laughing.

5. My veggie-store-brought sweet potatoes sprouted, so I'm growing slips from them. I recently harvested my first sweet potatoes from the garden and I'm hoping for an even bigger harvest next time!

6. Cut flowers from the garden. My dream of filling the house with flowers I've grown is slowly becoming a reality.

7. And they smell amazing.

8. These delightful roses change from pink, to peach, to yellow as they open.

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My second eye surgery is today. Hopefully I will be able to be back in this space in a couple of days. In the meantime take care.

"I can like the City"

I remember my excitement when Cohen was learning to talk, yet people often commented that I would eventually wish he wouldn't talk so much. I couldn't even imagine such a thing. Oh, how I understand these sentiments now. Toddler speak. I love it. But at times my brain reaches saturation point and I begin to tune out to the incessant chatter. Cohen is like his own commentator and talk back radio host rolled in to one.

But there are many moments where his grasp on language surprises me, and times where he applies his logic and his vocabulary and comes out with some sweetness. For instance, recently he pointed to a ink stain on a thrifted wool blanket and asked, "What's that bruise on the blanket for?" He uses "all days" to mean all the time or always. And lately he lets you know his opinion with either an "I can't like that Mama," or an "I can like that."

Yesterday we spent a family day making the most of the delights of the cultural precinct in the City. We explored Southbank, visited the galleries, made paper birds in the children's art center at GOMA, ate by the river and wandered through the museum. Cohen assured us as we walked back to the car, "I can like the City."

Me too.

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A lovely rainy day trip to the Sciencenter and Museum in Brisbane. Cohen quite happily showed off his lack of sharing skills and selective inability to answer to his name. Meanwhile Dave and I attempted to balance tending to both of these traits on the one hand, with letting Cohen loose to explore and have fun on the other. Either way, Cohen had a wonderful time and Dave and I had a chance to spend time as a family.