*e*

remember when we went 'home' for the first time after moving away? it felt like it had been forever (actually only 18 months!) - i felt like a tree that hadn't been watered in years and going home was like standing under a huge downpour of rain. i wanted to cry (probably did, i was pregnant after all) at the sight of all things familiar - seeing the money, drink bottles in a shop fridge, street signs, the kangaroos!

i'm just as excited to be going home this time but recognize the difference of my 'tree'...not feeling as desparate & thirsty as i did that first time but looking forward so much to basking in the shower with my little sprouts nonetheless. so grateful for this trip we are going on!

siiiigh! yes i do remember when life was more simple...less busy...and i miss it! but i also love the three little 'reasons' my life has become less simple - but i crave a slower pace and try to bring it into our days. and on that note i think that these challenges are just going to come when they come...sorry they have been mia for a few weeks but life has been crazy! another one is coming right up later this week though ;)

if you are joining in or want to check it out, our flickr group is here.

i've been organising my studio room over the last few weeks (it was so bad! we moved in and i threw all the boxes in a corner then started madly sewing for my craft fairs so the whole room was a complete disastor!) and finding all sorts of hidden gems! photos, notes, ticket stubs, cards, kid art. a highway of memories. this teeny photo of tara and i (circa 2003) came floating out of one box, it cracked me up because we look so - well, different?!! and so i put it on my desk to save and show her later. ivy came in to sit and knit with me later and picked it up...studied it for a minute and asked "how did you meet tara anyway?"...to which i told her the story (she loved) and i then found my journal and wrote it down.

ivy found this picture in my studio the other day and i couldn't believe how young we both looked! she asked "how did you meet tara mumma?"...to which i realized i'd never told her the story before of how you contacted me through 2peas - i was shocked and so pleased as i'd admired you for so long. we started emailing leading up to our move to LA, you answered some of my questions and freaked me out even more at the thought of living in such a big city! after we arrived in LA we ichatted a few times and then had an immediately-not-awkward phone call that lasted over an hour. you convinced me to be brave and drive down to your place, so we made a date. i was so nervous to drive on the freeway for the first time, but you stayed on the phone with me when i got lost until i found my way there. i remember feeling so worried and nervous as i got to your gate. but there you were (i still remember what we both wore!), we hugged and instantly felt like we were old friends instead of new. ivy and i stayed the night at your house because none of us wanted to part so soon! the girls played side-by-side like a pair of siamese cats. the beginning of a magical and life-changing friendship.

i love the space to be able to write out some of these random memories. if you want to join in, i'll be posting a new page each week - there is a group discussion and place to share your pages here. come, join!

 

...speaking of tara AND journals...ivy & i are headed to so-cal next weekend as a surprise for anna's birthday! (i'll try not to squeal with delight as i type that)  i'll be holding a fun little workshop in north-county can diego on friday night (jan 27th) - sewing a messy happy journal. there will also be cheese and chocolate! a few spots left. $35...email me if you'd like to come (emilyfalconbridgeAThotmail.com).

ooh so i finally got my journalling ON this afternoon - been waiting for the magic moment all week and finally had a small window of stillness and silence in my house (so rare). i plopped down in front of the fire with journal, crayons and this random basket of, er, stuff that has been in there for several years and just started making some colour and sticking in some stuff without thinking. IT FELT SO GOOD! it has been so long since i have done this!!

i had to dedicate the first entry to my nanna, who i have been carrying thoughts of lately. so many memories swimming around but this one came straight to mind as i'd told the story several times over christmas. feels good to have it written down.

nanny has been on my mind a lot lately, especially this christmas. several people have asked me about our 'traditions' from home, and i always think of nanny's christmas pudding. no kid really enjoys the taste of a boiled and soaked in brandy old fruit pudding! but she would wrap 1,2,5 and maybe a 10c piece in foil and bake it in. so exciting to get a piece and find a coin! after a few years *and i'm guessing too much wasted pudding?) nanny was onto us - the cousins only ate it for a coin and she stopped doing it! sad but at least we weren't expected to eat the pudding anymore! i think of all the work and love she put into her kitchen cooking whenever i think of her.

come and join the 'remember when..?' flickr group! each week i'll post my journal page (perhaps you want to stick with the same theme? perhaps you have a completely different theme? whatever prompts you to journal a memory!) - come and share and squizz at what others are doing...

 

and in other journalling news, i opened the family journal to discover this little number! hoping it was actually meant to be a witch, i complimented the artist herself. to which i learned the frightening truth "its a pikcha of you mumma!"

(i have been a bit of a witch lately)

but journalling is going to be good for us all!