the thrill of slowing down

pic from madebygirl

This is my first experience of 'summer holidays' and I have to admit that I quite love them. Early mornings sprawl into warm & slow afternoons. The afternoons trickle into still, reflective evenings where the night air is gentle & doesn't bring with it the doom of the next day at work. I feel fiercely lucky to have such an experience & definitely don't allow myself to forget the feeling of returning to the daily grind straight after Christmas. I used to watch oblivious dawdlers saunter into wherever I may have been working at the time and feel an awful envy. They strolled around blissfully with watch-less wrists, browsing and moseying while I grumbled internally behind the counter. I shouldn't have been silly about it because now I've got my turn & I am trying to make the most of every precious second. Being an early riser, I am able to squeeze a lot of hours from the day & today has been one of my favourites. Mr man & I hopped in the car & headed for the shady green Adelaide hills. We trotted around, looked in some b e a u t i f u l bookshops & ate a late brekky at a darling cafe under the trees. I didn't intend on writing about the day but happened to take a quick few snaps before we headed home. 

we may or may not have found some amazing secondhand books to bring home...!

such a beautiful summers day beneath these incredible trees

Petunias? Yes please!

Recently, I have begun to recognise that I possess an annoying habit of getting cross with myself when I have a day where I don't 'achieve anything'. I am trying to teach myself that it's OK to just plop around sometimes. I really want to enjoy moments of said plopping rather than scolding myself that is has been wasted time. Today, I may not have achieved great & noteworthy things but I am slowly learning to just appreciate a beautiful day, regardless of how much may or may not have been accomplished. I need to remember that I do work hard, I try my best to do the right thing & that I am entitled to a selfish day of not-muchness every now & again. Looking through some incredible books & admiring gorgeous gardens & scenery, today, filled my head with fresh ideas & inspiration. That in itself can never be labelled as wasted time. We are constantly surrounded by the message that 'doing' and 'fast fast fast' is good but I have decided I am flipping that message the bird! That's not to say that life will suddenly become a big lump of nothingness but there is a distinct difference between laziness and quiet recharging of the soul battery!!
Tonight, I am diving headfirst into a big art-space clean out... 'Wait!', you exclaim! 'What about your big boring spiel about it being OK to not DO anything?!'. Well, I am sadly one of those freaks who finds sorting & rearranging cathartic & enjoyable so I'm doing it for that reason alone ;)  My shoebox sized apartment is uncomfortably warm but armed with watermelon & Bon Iver, I should be able to sweat it out! Tomorrow is New Years Eve. The day after is 2012. W o w. It is so nice to say I have a fuzzy feeling about the new year & am determined to make it one full of meaning, drive & passion. 
May you have a loverrrly weekend. And as for this year? Remember the good, learn from the bad & look forward to new adventures with an open heart. Happy New Years Eveing.  
xx

Book of the day: Arabella the Heavenly Cat

This tiny hardcover picture book, printed in 1969, is almost too cute for words. It is about a cat called Arabella who goes to heaven in a basket (of course). When she comes back home & misplaces her basket, it becomes her mission to find a way back to cat heaven. The story is gorgeous but the drawings are what completely won me over.
I found this little gem buried in a stall at the Macclesfield market a couple of weeks ago. The stall belonged to a couple who were selling native plants, Christmas decorations and strangely enough only books about... cats. Oh, the people we have met on our market adventures!

xx Jessie

Early minutes

Remember when you were at school and suddenly your teacher announced that you were allowed to have an early minute... just because? It was so exciting and seemed like such a rare treat. Working full-time means limited time to do unworkish things in daylight and today I was lucky enough to finish a tiny bit earlier than usual. The joy I felt at something so small was almost silly but somehow 20 minutes felt like hours & hours of freedom. I took my time walking home in the warm sunshine, shed my work skin gratefully, put on grubby shoes & grabbed the rare opportunity to do happy things in the garden & 'round the house. 
This is what it looked like...

The blue lobelia are loving these sunny spring days

Some of the pots n things from a box of market goodies waiting to be scrubbed & cleaned... another little job done. Always a good feeling!

The last few weeks have been frantic and sadly a little low in terms of arty productions... I plan to turn this around & make the most of this week.

A brand new flower from the Sunday morning markets. Isn't this a lil darling?!

Piles of old books that I have been flicking through a lot lately. Some are falling apart so badly. I'm tempted to carefully dissect the badly damaged ones and frame the pages I really like

yay for dianthus! nice smelly ones too!

The petunias are happily flowering at the moment. They used to be absolutely obliterated by hungry snails but my solutions is to put them in pots out of reach of sneaky sluggish types :)

This miniature rose was a gift from Mum & Dad when I first began my love affair with all things garden. Last year it decided not to flower and didn't do much at all. I was a bit worried I was going to lose it... but it seems to be making up for it this spring!

This gem of a pot that I found in hard rubbish is now overflowing with white lobelia seedlings, spring onions and portulacas... yay!

...Don't you forget it!

ok, so the tin fetish is getting silly but this one is so red & delightful!!! One more can't hurt?

May my fascination with paint never end :)

Gots me some plans for a new series of canvases... exciting!

I couldn't be more at peace than when I'm making this sort of mess in the backyard!!

An owl... that holds a plant.... oh me oh my. My friends know me too too well! One object that combines my favouritist things. BIG. SQUEE.

 It's just getting dark. Time to get stuck into some serious gluing, sticking, cutting, editing, scribbling and moodling... it's long awaited art journal time.
Give yourself a well-deserved treat & take an early minute one day soon?
xx Jessie Lee.

Book of the day: Chinese Kites

I am addicted to old books with beautiful pictures and this is one of my very favourites. These are just some of the simple yet gorgeous illustrations. I'd like to dedicate this week to some of my favourite bookish opshop/market finds! I hope you enjoy them xx