uke love...

It's no secret that I LOVE my ukulele... not particularly original, I know, but hey, it's fun, it's simple to learn, and it's made me write songs!

I was searching for some music to listen to, and found Beirut (I know, I know I'm so behind), then found this great site, then found this beautifully dark ditty by a very cute lady.

Just what I feel like listening to today...

Mrs change-about...

Anyone familiar with the Enid Blyton story "The Magic Faraway Tree" will get the title of this post.

Mr Fixit has initiated a "family clean up day" on Wednesdays. This week, I managed to vacuum and then mop the floors with lavender oil, which made me feel so happy! I love clean floors, and with two cats and a black floor, it can get a little difficult at times...

I also had a little move around of several pieces that were not quite in the right place. The china cabinet was where this set of drawers is now, and as the floor joists are loose, every time a certain small person thundered past, a rattling, shattering sound emanated from its glass shelves... not conducive to a calm mummy!

Said cabinet has just been re-arranged to include the crazy tea set my mum passed on to me this Christmas. It's just waiting for an occasion to christen it... She also gave be some of the best kitchy Australiana tea paraphernalia I've ever seen... stand by for more pics.

The top still needs work... although I finally hung the wire work our friend Sebastian McIntyre made for us years ago - called "Chicken Egg Orafice". Such an art school name don't you think?

Also, I got around to hanging this great ammunition box top I found at a market in Robertson. I love it!

Illawarra Folk Festival...

Last weekend my band played at this fantastic local (to me) festival, along with some amazing bands I'd never heard of... Think crazy Japanese country singers, trad bluegrass four part man-harmony, uber-fast Gypsy punk, happy-go-lucky folk pop, banjo-swinging foot-stomping, the list was so diverse.

And what's a Festival without a little mud, eh? The torrential downpour on Sunday morning gave everyone a sense of common purpose...

Jack Flash - the band with the fastest beat - definitely foot stompin' not hip swingin' music!

The Bearded Gypsy Band - all under 20 - amazing jazz fusion folk...

Skipping Girl Vinegar - ultimate folk-pop party band - fantastic!!

red hair, yellow paintings...

Yet another amazing visit to GOMA in Brisbane... this time to see Yayoi Kusuma's vibrant and exciting works in Look Now, See Forever.

This woman is an incredible practitioner, and to see her work in all its immersive technicolour wonder was a fabulous experience.

Yayoi seriously rocks the boat on serenity, passivity, and the comfortable consumption of art...

The room with her large scaled sculptures felt like I'd fallen down the rabbit hole...

Now where is that caterpillar?


And the Obliteration Room, which started out pristinely white, was deserving of its name by the time I saw it!

The room photographs so well, and to be part of this process was an exciting experience. I am truly amazed I managed to get a shot with no-one in it! It belies the frantic sticking that was going on...

After this blast of colour and frantic form (you MUST go to the Dots Obsession room) it was a relief to walk into the city, across the bridge, and past one of my favourite works at neighbouring QAG.

If anyone can remember the name of this beautiful work, please let me know!

holiday play...

Mummy play...

Wil and mummy play...

Wil play...

Wil and grandma play...

Wil and papa play...

road trip...

There's something quite special about road trips in Australia... There are usually 15 different ways to get where you're going. We discovered a great way to get to Singleton, in the Hunter Valley, via Peats Ridge.

And so much open sky!

Mountains... or should that be hills...?

Crazy rest area, home to a dozen or so roaming roosters... obviously very well fed!

And our new favourite motel, at Crowdy Head. For those in need of a rest north of Sydney, it's a fabulously vintage motel on the headland overlooking a beautiful bay. Fish a-plenty.