Works of Grace

Mushroom

 The Playroom

When someone hurts themselves badly in our house, or a tragedy occurs (Lily smashing Ruby's china doll on the floor springs to mind) Grace rushes off and draws a little picture of it. It's like she's some kind of war artist, contracted to record the event as it unfolds. She offers the drawing to her stricken sibling who is rarely grateful for it, in the moment. Somehow these little snapshots of mundane outrages always vanish before I can capture them.

Here are some other recent works, including her rendition of our playroom, when it was still new and I was oohing and ahhing over it. She noticed and drew it for me; 'Because you love it so much Mama.'

Instructions, and a Rose

Do not open please! You must find the keys.  The silver will help you and the gold will come in use later.  please do not ask us we cannot help. You must do this bit independent. when you open the chest you will use the gold key so please do not open.  You may think this makes NO sense but it does.

Trip up the mountain and back in 33 days.  That's a whole lot of growing.

My blanket, close up of my room (by Harriet)

At first I thought this read 'Respect vs Mice'.  But for mouse loving Nina, that would never make sense.

I often find funny instructions, diagrams, unfinished books and parts of games by Nina. This is the sort of stuff I throw away constantly, but I know that it is also the stuff that will define her in my memory more than, for example, school reports. Evidence of that quirky, interesting mind at work.

Ruby Tuesday

Drawings of Ruby's I discovered whilst sorting out the playroom this Tuesday. She's been experimenting with different styles of drawing. I like how she always manages to capture a feeling so well - joy, or trepidation or annoyance.

Little Women

I've never read 'Little Women'. Being one of four girls and having four girls I really should I suppose. I made these little women for Lily's third birthday. The dolls are vaguely inspired by this one from Sooz, and the bedding is vaguely inspired by a similar bed from here. The ribbons I bought in Hong Kong and online from Rose Pomar and the lining is from Heather Ross's 'Far Far Away Ch 2'.

I stitched them over the course of a week watching the Seven Up series that was recently repeated here. Did you watch it? Why we are so interested in the largely mundane lives of a group of strangers I don't know, and yet there is something deeply touching about seeing these people grow up.

Of course I'm watching my girls grow up right in front of me. Sometimes, though, I think it is only when I look back that I can see who they really are.

Cup Fever

Lily's third birthday coincided with Cup Day this year. Turning three is an overwhelming occasion, not least because for Lily, it was Cup Day in a very literal sense; no more milk in bottles.  It's fair to say Lily was not thrilled by this turn of events.

But there were consolations - stirring the birthday porridge;



Friends and family for lunch;

My now traditional 'decorate in 5 minutes' icecream cake;

A play put on by her sisters, cousins and friends involving a peacock, a peacock trainer, a princess, Alfredo the spy/groundskeeper and a detective;



And at the end of the day, when everyone had gone home and the fuss had died down, there was some good hard play with her sisters. This morning she asked me 'Is it still my birthday just a little bit?'

The first of the season

We had a barbie in a national park with friends and their daughters. My friend is the sort of person who brings a pot along for the billy (or in this case, small saucepan) tea. Doesn't everything taste better when eaten outdoors?

We found a patch of tiny wild orchids and had our first ocean swim of the season. Despite the warm day the water was bitterly cold, though perhaps I'm going soft. As my father always said, you never regret a swim.