This is... The Space In Which I Create

Thanks to Quilting Mick for picking another great theme for This Is... Last year I when I was feeling completely unsure of where I was headed I started reading a book called "I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was" by Barbara Sher. This lead me to another of her books called "Refuse To Choose", for those of us who want to do it all. I found her books extremely helpful in getting some of the answers I needed, making some decisions and moving forward. In fact, I found her books life changing, but am just embarassed to admit that a self-help book helped me quite so much. Anyway, all of that is beside the point.

One of the exercises in "Refuse To Choose" was to draw a floor plan of your house and note down where in the house you had creative projects happening. Mine looked like this.

No wonder my partner sometimes felt like our old house was being overtaken by my projects. Now that we have moved to a much bigger house and I have the craft room it's not nearly as spread out. I love my craft room. It's a sanctuary and an expression of my soul. It's also a place where I can make as much mess as I want without inconveniencing anyone which is fantastic.

However, there's still creative bits of me around the rest of the house. At the moment I spend a lot of time in the lounge in the evenings with my knitting or crochet.

I have this lovely craft basket that my Mum gave me full of all the bits and pieces I need.

You can check out other places where people create if you visit Three Buttons.

This is... My Favourite Travel Memory

I missed the weekly This Is... last Sunday but it was such a great one that I didn't want miss it all together. However, when I started thinking about which travel memory to share I was completely stumped as to how to choose. I decided to let it sit until it came to me. This afternoon while I relaxed in the bath it came to me. I was so excited I had to jump straight out of the bath and get this post organised.

I love to travel and have been very fortunate throughout my life to travel quite extensively. I have spent time in every state and territory in Australia, and not just the major cities. I had a job for 2 years where I managed a National Indigenous funding program for a philanthropic trust and got to spend time in many remote parts of Australia. My favourite places that I visited a number of times were Yuendumu and Fitzroy Crossing. However, I also visited Groote Eylandt, Tennant Creek, Warakurna, Geraldton, Katherine, Uluru, Broken Hill, Toomelah, Broome, Albany and many more. Some places that people have never heard of and a quite a few that most people will never visit. It was such a privilege to go to these places. Add to this list a reasonable amount of time spent in all the capital and other major cities. Lastly, add most of Victoria to the list.

Now, let's head OS. I lived in the USA for about 2 1/2 years split between 2 trips. The first trip I lived in Colorado and Missouri, and the second Michigan and Florida. I managed to visit about 25 US states during those trips as well as driving across part of Canada (a shortcut from Michigan to upstate New York). I love the USA. Some of the major events in my life took place there - my 18th birthday, learning to drive a car, my first love and the most significant of all - my current relationship started there.

I've spent a little bit of time in Europe and can't wait to do more, fell in love with New Zealand on a 2 week trip a couple of years back and I've been to Bali too (I hope some of you Aussies picked up the little tease there). I've spent a mad afternoon in Tijuana buying all kinds of Mexican treasures and trinkets fueled by Tequila. 4 days in Dubai in 2003 wasn't nearly enough time to explore all it has to offer. Next year we are planning to do Thailand and are currently dreaming of an extended trip in a couple of years to France, Spain, Morocco and Italy.

Oh, and I musn't forget Cairns and The Great Barrier Reef last year. If you haven't been snorkling on the Great Barrier Reef you must, must, must put it on the list of things to do and see before you die. It is one of the most truly stunning experiences of my life.

How do you select your favourite travel memory from so many diverse and incredible journeys? You go back to the beginning.

This is me at Disneyland California on my 7th birthday. My Mum won a holiday and we went to the West Coast of America. I remember pretty much every bit of it too. Being terrified as we flew in the smallest plane on earth over the vastness of the Grand Canyon, toasting marshmallows over an open fire in the Redwood Forests in Fresno, Fisherman's Wharf in San Fran, getting static shocks from everything I touched in Las Vegas, and of course Disneyland. That trip began a love affair with experiencing new places and cultures that I couldn't possibly have understood at the time. It has stayed with me and grown stronger as I've grown up.

I am so grateful to my Mum for sharing her passion and fostering that love of travel in me. I'm thankful to the universe for giving me a partner who loves to travel just as much as I do.

Thanks Hila for such a great theme and a trip down memory lane, and to Three Buttons for This Is...

1 Rabbit, 3 Dogs, 9 Birds, Numerous Fish and a Love of Cats...This Is...My Pets

Two Peas In A Pod gave us all the opportunity to wax lyrical when she chose This Is My Pet as the theme for this week's meme hosted by Three Buttons. So I'm late but I'm not missing out. Anyone who reads this blog, in fact anyone who knows me, knows I won't pass up an opportunity to talk about one of my greatest loves.

I have been fortunate to always have animals in my life. Some animal friends have stayed with me for many years and some have been shorter visits for various reasons. I can't remember much about the rabbit (including its name shamefully) but I remember having one briefly as a child and that I didn't like it.

I had around 8 or 9 birds across a couple of years, mostly finches, a canary or two and a lovebird. Every bird I had either escaped and flew away (yay freedom) or died mysteriously in its sleep. After many years we finally realised that we had a minor gas leak from our hot water service in the laundry and that this had most likely killed the birds but thankfully not us. It was all a bit 'Canary In A Coalmine' really.

I'm just not cut out for being a dog owner which I am old enough and wise enough to know these days, but certainly wasn't in my youth. We had a couple of dogs as I was growing up. There was a poodle that cried and whined constantly and went back to its owners a couple of days after we got it. I was only 5 or 6 and I didn't like the dog at all. Then we had Pip, for many years. She was a rescued farm dog who had been abused. She spent her days rounding up invisible sheep, attacking anyone male who came near her and eventually due to deafness, anyone at all who took her by surprise. We eventually had to find her a new home where she had a bit more space to run free and crazy, and luckily found a farm through friends where she retired.

My final attempt at a being a dog owner was a puppy I named Zephyr who I rescued from the RSPCA. He was a tiny sweet thing with the biggest paws I had ever seen. Zephyr started growing into those paws in no time at all and I was completely overwhelmed. After a few months of trying my best I had to admit defeat and return him to the RSPCA in the hope they would find him a better home. 17 years later and I still feel terrible about it. I hope he did find a better home. I really believe in the saying 'A Pet is for Life, Not Just for Christmas'. Anyway, I was young and stupid and knew no better. Until my early 30's I still wanted to have a dog. I've finally accepted that as much as I love them I'm just not disciplined enough to be a dog owner. Now I just enjoy everyone else's dogs to the point of being annoying. I always want to pat and chat to people's dogs in the street and often talk to dogs outside post offices and such. I've been bitter a couple of times when I've been overly friendly with strange dogs too.

Moving on to fish. I've had goldfish at various stages of my life and find them so soothing and relaxing to have around. I would love to have a tropical tank next but haven't had the time and energy since our last goldfish Stevie died about a year ago. We had Stevie for over 3 years (a good long time for a goldfish) and were a little sad when he died. So no more fish yet, but someday.

And now for my cats. Oh how I love cats. I am the 'crazy cat lady' in my soul. I think that I am somehow linked to all the cats of this world. However, the ones who have been a significant part of my life total 6. My Gran had 2 cats during my life. Tatsie was a big ginger tomcat who I tried to spend a lot of my time playing dress ups and dollies with when I was little. My Gran also had Sylvester who came to live with us when my Gran passed away. I had 2 childhood friends, Tammy - who I had from the time I was a little girl till my teens - and Johnnie who I brought home on the train in my handbag when I was about 15 and who stayed with my Mum when I moved up and out into the world.

Now we have Holden and Willow. Holden is 10 and I've had him since he was 6 weeks old. He is my friend and my companion and my guardian angel. I don't have enough words to describe how much I love him. He is loyal, funny, feral (especially at the vet), cuddly, wild, loving, naughty, a snuggler and a fighter. He is a brute, will eat anything including trying to get the milk out of your glass while you are still trying to drink, is bossy and sleeps around 20 hours per day easily.

And then there is Willow. She is 4 and was my partner's choice when I won the battle to get another cat. So technically she is my partner's cat but I still think of her as mine too. She is a princess, adorable, aloof, picky with her affections, cuddly, warm, funny and demanding. She likes 45 minute cuddles when you are trying to get ready to go to work. She spends most of her time alone in the backyard and particularly seems to like windy days that blow her hair around make her feel especially pretty. She captivates me in a way that only such an aloof and fascinating creature can.

So there you have it my friends...a little piece of my soul.

This is...Something I Got, But Still Haven't Used

I bought myself this IPOD maybe 8 or 9 months ago. I told myself that I could use it once I was exercising regularly and had a good routine happening. I'm still waiting. Anyway, I think I'm going to start using it now. It's been sitting around looking pretty and shiny for long enough.

Thanks to flossy-p for the theme. Check out who else is playing over at Three Buttons.

This Is...Playing Catch Up

The theme for This Is... this week was what reminds me of my Mum given that it was Mother's Day and all. I was missing in action on Sunday so thought I would post it today.

My Mum bought this bag in Tijuana in 1978. She won a prize in some competition of $1500 worth of travel. A pretty huge amount of money in those days I imagine. We had an amazing trip to the West Coast of the USA and a day trip to Tijuana. Right about this time 30 years ago in fact. I was there when she bought this bag even though I don't remember it - I was only 7 at the time. Now it has been passed on to me and I love it. It is the most beautifully crafted bag. I love that it was my Mum's before mine and I am reminded of her whenever I have it with me. I am also reminded of the love of travel that she instilled in me.

Owls remind me of my Mum too. She collects them and has done for years. She has hundreds and hundreds of them. When I saw one of these old Avon perfume bottles on someone's blog one day (I can't remember where sorry) and I wanted one I just had to go and ask Mum. She had two, of course.

And finally this blog reminds me of my Mum - I Op Therefore I am. My Mum has been a keen op shopper for years and is even the voluntary manager of an Op Shop in outer Melbourne. I only became an Op Shopper recently and this year I bought her gift from an Op Shop. I think she liked it better than many presents I have spent loads more money on. It's always the way isn't it.

All my older photos of Mum are in an album that I made her at her house so here is a recent one. She's a good and strong woman and I love her.

This is... My Favourite Shoes

Oh yeh, it's true. I think I love my slippers more than any other footwear. They are just so damn comfy - I can't beat them. I also love what they represent - comfort, home, relaxation and nowhere you need to be. I am particularly loving them this weekend as I am struck down with the dreaded lurgy.

Perhaps if I didn't have Size 11 flat feet my favourite shoes would be quite different....

Anyway, I'm going to park my slippers and take myself back off to bed. Oh, and thanks to ThreeButtons for the Meme, and choice of This Is... thanks to Hip Hop & Banana Bread

Be back when I'm feeling human again.

This is...My unconditional, passionately loved and favourite book

This is such a hard one. I love books. I always seem to be reading a million of them at any one time. I also love book shopping. In fact I don't even love to read as much as I just love to have books around me and to buy them. There is something magic about books.

So, one of my absolute all time favourite books that I refer to all the time and couldn't live without would have to be Stephanie Alexander - A Cook's Companion.

As for novels I couldn't narrow it down to one. But here are a few of my fav's:

• In The City of Shy Hunters - Tom Spanbauer
• The Time Travellers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
• Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
• Dirt Music - Tim Winton
• Modoc - Ralph Helfer
• The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

All of these stories captured my heart and my imagination. If you haven't read any of them I would suggest picking up a copy of each and every one. And besides, why not add more books to your collection.

Theme courtesy of Daisy in lala Land. Meme courtesy of Three Buttons. Pop over there to see who else is playing along.

This is...My Newest Discovery

Just yesterday I found this goodness in the garden. It's very exciting. We only planted the seeds last week. One is a parsnip and the other is garlic. We also planted cauliflower, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, snap peas, all kinds of onions and some lettuce. Lots of wonderful vegies to keep us going through winter along with fantastic herbs that are already well established.

My other new discovery was this fabulous crochet pattern by mk carroll. I told myself I could get one as a reward for finishing the job I have been trying to get done at work. I finished it on Friday so some Etsy shopping will be in order today.

For more new discoveries visit Three Buttons where you will find lots of people sharing.

PS. Can someone tell me what the etiquette is with posting photos of people's craft things like I have here? Do I need to get permisson to post a picture from someone's Etsy shop?

This Is... My (Belated) Dinner Party List

Sunday somehow passed me by. Lily and Agathe came up with the most fantastic theme for this week's This Is... which is hosted by Three Buttons. So you get to invite any 6 people of your choosing - dead or alive, famous, unknown, real or fictional for a fabulous dinner party, and share your reasons for inviting them. I figure better late than never and I wasn't going to miss such a great theme.

I have had a wonderful time thinking about it and it has been hard to limit the numbers. In fact the longer I spent thinking about it the more I want to have a cocktail party with more people. Anyway, dinner parties should be fabulous. They should be filled with fabulous people, stories, conversations and ideas so my list looks like this:

• Annie Leibowitz - what an extraordinary woman. I love her work and am fascinated by her life. I would love to spend an evening listening to stories about the people she has met and the way that she sees the world.
• Florence Broadhurst - this woman was a fascinating mystery. She re-ivented herself so many times over and proved that you can do anything you set your mind to. Her life story is incredible and I highly recommend either the book or film about her (including her untimely murder).
• My dear friend Shaun - this man epitomises 'fabulous' as far as I am concerned. He is witty, charming, talented, a natural performer and the life of the party. An essential dinner party guest.
• Kevin Spacey - one of my favourite actors. He has made so many incredible films including American Beauty and The Life of David Gale. He seems such a diversely talented man and I would love to spend an evening getting to know him and talking with him.
• Bobby Kennedy - a politician who had a vision. In this day and age I would love to meet a politician who saw the bigger picture and seemed to have aspirations for a truly inclusive society.
• Cate Blanchett - beautiful, intelligent, accomplished, artistic, innovative and risque. This woman is awesome. I would love to have her to dinner.

And now for the menu which you were welcome to include if you wanted to:

• Cocktails
• French Onion Soup with Gruyere Croutons
• Rack of Lamb with roast potatoes, carrots and pumpkin, asparagus and broccolini
• Chocolate Molten Puddings with Vanilla Bean Icecream and Cream
• Coffee and Liqueur Muscat

Ok, now I just need to set the date and work out how to get in touch with these people. Anyone????

This is...The Contents of My Handbag

Many thanks to Three Buttons for the great meme. And this week thanks to Sharon for the great choice of theme.

Firstly I have to say a woman can never, ever have too many handbags. I have tonnes of them and always want more. I currently have my eye on about 3 possible new purchases that would look lovely in my collection if only I had the funds.

So here are some of my current stock.

And finally, the contents. I change around between bags a lot but I always carry these standard items everywhere I go. Wallet, notebook and pen, hankie (Mum taught me well), glasses and sunglasses - one of which will usually be on my face, chewie and keys. Along with these I also often have a change purse, my diary and other random bits and pieces.

This is...My Creation

I had a Moroccan dinner party last night. Chicken, lemon and olive tagine accompanied by beetroot salad, carrot salad and almond harissa couscous. It was delicious. A lovely evening with good food and great friends - the best kind of evening.

It's too hot today to do anything. I wanted to do some painting. I wanted to organise Art Swap. I wanted to go to the Stitches and Craft Fair. All I can manage is lying in front of the fan watching bad TV.

Maybe tomorrow...

This is...

I'm joining in Three Buttons meme (I still haven't worked out what meme means by the way). The theme this week is thanks to Boobook Sausage Dogs. I am using a little bit of interpretation for the sake of greater interest.

This is...looking out my back door


Every night this fella gets about making his web right across the exit of the back deck. Sometimes he even has a lady friend over to visit. It's been going on for weeks now. It means that I no longer go out in the back yard after dark and have had to train myself to check the web isn't still hanging around in the morning before I walk out there. I'm terrified of spiders, especially big ones like this but I am also generally in awe of the wonder of all living things so I am happy to adapt my life to accommodate us both. Besides it really is a an example of excellence in craft.