Winter Warm

It is hard to believe today, holed up inside while wind and rain beat the trees about outside, that yesterday sister Jen and I went to the beach.

We took Jen's two 'Yellows' as she calls them, Kelly and Pippa, and my Rosie.

 Poor Tuppy had to stay home with Daddy and her brother, Angus, because I didn't think it was fair either to her or the masses of dogs that go to the beach to take her along and let her brains get fried.  Some dogs, just like some people, don't do well in crowded social situations.

It was a wise choice, because as a result I was able to relax and enjoy the company of my very special and gentle ten year old girl, who got to be my only dog for the morning.

    
This cute and amazingly-marked dog was just one of the squintillion pooches we passed on our walk.

Blue eyes too!  Did you ever?

I love winter.  Stormy beaches.  Slanting light.  Bonfires...

Amazing dawns...

Those were taken from nearly the same place on two separate days.  Mind bogglingly inspiring!

And rainbows too.

The chickens are enjoying the green grass, guarded over by an almost fully mature Elvis.

In other news, I've been savaging this cheap new violin case to carry my lyre, because I am off east to go to the 17th OBOD Australian Assembly.

It has been kind of fun to hack apart something new.  :D  Let's hope I can get it back together!

At the Assembly, I am hopefully getting to be initiated into the Druid level, so it is very exciting for me!  I think it is been 13 years of study so far, through the Bardic and then Ovate grades, and now I begin the next stage of my journey.  Also, I get to meet heaps of lovely fellow Druidy people, some of whom I have been friends with online for years but never met IRL before!  Yay!

The live story readings are still going well and am now up to the fifth chapter.  I've made a playlist on youtube, so if you want to get the whole story in one place, here it is, or will be when I finish it.  There are maybe two more sessions to go, unless I decide to belt the story out all the way to the end next Sunday!  Beware, is not safe for work and contains some naughtiness and swearing.

Last week I finally took myself off to join in with a local ukulele group.  OMG, so much fun!  Do it!

And with all this winter busyness, what has Mr Kitty been doing, I hear you ask?  Did you really need to?  :D

See you next time I feel bloggy!

Midwinter Frolics

I know Australia is supposed to be bright all year around, but here was our walk the other morning.

I love a misty winter walk.

And of course, winter means bonfires at last while we are safe from the threat of bushfire!

Sis Jen had a fab one, organised for her by her hubby Rowdy for her birthday, on Saturday night.   It was a biggie!  Many thanks to Gogs for these gorgeous pics!

This one was taken by our other sister,  PJ.  She came over especially for Jen's birthday and that was some dedication because she lives at the top of Australia on the very opposite corner to us!

     
It is always amazing to us how similar the three of us are, even though PJ grew up so far away from us.   There is magic in the three of us together.  Magic and power!  I am very proud of my two high-energy, intelligent, ethical and honest sissies!   I am sooo lucky to have them in my life!

Kelly loves his Aunty PJ too.

 
Midwinter is a time of stillness, and yet change is coming too.  Like a seed under the ground, we rest in the dark time and yet grow, and as the days begin to lengthen once more, we will burst out into new life and plans.   To my friends in the Northern Hemisphere, happy Midsummer!   Have a swim for me! 




 

Just a...

...man and his giant kitty kickin' back.

Just a floating Andrew in a lake...

And a niece enjoying herself with friends.

And a nice new tall chook pen fence!

A snuggly bug Tuppy in a half-made afghan...

An adorable Basset that I met today, name of Huey...

A moonlit bushwalk...

And a damn chicken scratching apart my raked piles of leaves as fast as I can rake them!
 

What can I do?  She thinks we're looking for bugs together.  It's charming and annoying at the same time!    

Bad Bad Blogger!

I don't know, I was so good for more than two years, writing two posts every week.  Now all of a sudden I've fallen off the wagon!

It's not that my life is being boring, far from it.  I just don't seem to find time to do it.  I'll be better, I promise. 

So this week, we have had a Norse storytelling night at a local sound temple.  It was great!  Someone took a photo of us but now have no idea who took it or how to get it off them!  D'oh!

We also came home from that to a lot of branches from a large Bushy Yate tree that had fallen over on the chook pen and dome!  Yikes!  Our Firey mates came over first thing and worked so fast that I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the downed branches, but here is the poor squashed chook dome with what is left of the offending tree in the background. It still has an equal number of branches to dump next time it feels like it.  We may have to take it out totally before we bother fixing the chook pen.  Sorry tree! 

           
Here we are posed in front of the propped up remnants.  It is working fine with a few additions of pillars inside, cut from the insulting tree branches themselves!   Best news is that every single chook escaped that event unscathed even though they were all asleep in there when it went over!
Amazing!

From L to R: Smutty, Fast Attack Brock, Dave the photo guy, Tigger (Jen), Thor and Blaze.
(Yes, Smutty is me.  Blaze is Andrew.  We jokingly gave each other those nicknames after a particularly grubby fire.)    

 
We called mum into the pic because she made us yummy cake!

Our favourite Lieutenant, Angus, was there too but he took off to walk his dog, Harley, before weekend scheds started, so he missed being immortalised.   Here is his orange-clad backside hard at work, though, just to prove he was there. (Don't you hate bloggers and their cameras?  :D)

As you can see, the fence took a beating as well, but the sturdy gate we put in some years ago with jack-hammered holes into the rock has stood firm!

Last week mum and I took a 'cut lunch and a water bag,' as they say, and did a big drive north and west of the hills to visit mum's cousin, Lorraine.  A couple of other cousins came along too in Greggy and Cheryl, plus spouses and two second (?) cousins in myself and Lorraine's son, Andrew.  We have a lovely family.  So jolly and funny.  Short, though.  Definitely short. 

My two new lyres are coming along.  Both have now been clamped and glued and have their soundboards.

Torc

Fréowine

 
Yes it used nearly every clamp we had to do just one of them at a time.  If you don't clamp a lot,  you might get gaps.

Torc has also been trimmed of extra soundboard and sanded ready for the next stage, which is perhaps drilling the holes for the tuning pins, and for the tailpiece to attach to, or perhaps putting on the design.  Not sure yet.  The design for this one will, of course, be a boar to match its name.

Rosie caught in the hole of the lyre while wandering by.  Nice work, me!

All smooth and boxy!

Do you see the baby chickens up on the compost bins behind Fréowine?

I swear to you, I've taken dozens of pics trying to get good ones of these little wrigglers, and it should be easy since they are forever underfoot, but I barely have even a half decent one.  Baby rooster, not sure which one but quite dark so maybe Sir Grummore. 

Baby rooster showing his growing hackle feathers and cute little puffy baby rooster tail.  Looks smallish so maybe Sir Ector.  I'm going to get them leg bands, because I need to see who it is who has been having goes at my feet so I know who ISN'T staying! (And who gets picked up and humiliatingly cuddled for his pains.) When you see the boys all together you can tell them apart, but not one at a time.  

 

 

I met my sis, Jen, at a local cafe for lunch on Sunday.  We were in the beautiful garden of Mojo Cafe in Mundaring, and it was lovely, including these adorable two lassies who were playing piano accordion duets for us.  My fave tune was the one from the movie, Amelie.  It always evokes whimsy, quirkiness, and happiness for me!  

See you on Friday.  (I promise!)   

  


 

  

It's Awkward Family Photo Time!

Yay!  Been a photo-y few weeks really.   Been a few years since we got pics of the family, so it was definitely time!

Jem's growing family minus their oldest, Teelah, who had other commitments. 

They've grown up a little bit since 2013!

 

The best one?

Nice catch Andrew!  :D  

Uncle Greggy kicking back. 

Niamh, Jen and Molly

Pippa, Jen and Kelly

Mum and Angus

Niamh and Pippa

Tina, Rosie and Tuppence.  

It was worth the awkwardness!  Many thanks to Andyroo for getting out the good camera and taking the pics for us!