My luck is changing!
I had never found a four leaf clover before this trip!
While Lily has found over 25 in the last months, I found one, I really did!
She has her clover glasses on and this whole trip has accumulated and gifted quite a collection of four leaf clovers.
I think it’s remarkable !
It’s rubbing off on Cedar also.
Have you ever found a four leaf clover?
Hope you’re feeling lucky!
We {read I} have been making regular batches of buckwheat pancakes. mm mmm
i’ve written about the origin of my recipe from lovely gluten free blog what baby{and boy} ate; here…
and other pancakey berry adventures here…
for my non measure recipe; I use about 1 and a 1/2 cups of raw organic buckwheat and soak it in the blender overnight
in the morning add 2 eggs and some extra water and whizz it up smooth
cook in coconut oil
I have better success if I heat the cast iron pan very well first and keep it well oiled. they take a little longer than wheat flour pancakes to cook. be patient, it’s worth it!!
Buckwheat is one of my favorite gluten free seeds for porridge {soak overnight with almonds, currants, quinoa and nuts, simmer about 15 minutes in the morning} and pancakes. I have done some sprouting of them but find the slimy tendency in this humid climate off putting!
a good protein source apparently and easily digestible for most tummies.
a nice buckwheat quote…
“The properties of buckwheat are: Neutral thermal nature; sweet flavor; cleans and strengthens the intestines and improves appetite..” According to Paul Pitchford in Healing with Whole Foods (1993)
notice the jar of rapadura sugar? this has lately replaced the maple syrup bottle while stocks are out. it’s been a good experiment to see that Lily can now self moderate a teaspoon sprinkle of sugar on her pancakes. Yay! it has paid off, all that strict mama monitoring of sugar … now i can relax abit about it and know she knows i know she knows; how to self regulate sugar intake and feel good in her body! luckily Cedar copies her…
what do you do with buckwheat?
oh my!! berries are sooo delightful! i sure am looking forward to another summer in Tasmania….
http://hopeave.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/how-to-talk-to-your-daughter-about-her-body/
Inspiring words to share for all us parents aunties uncles grandees and friends at this link above which i read this morning. It has inspired this spontaneous stream of thought. enjoy.
I sure can remember things people have said to me about my body or being
gangly, awkward, too thin, too tall, big bum, bony, unco-ordinated, shy, weird, daggy
most of the above is from other kids! who taught them to think this way about bodies? who criticized them? or who did they hear criticizing themself?
it’s these words which come into me at times of negative self reflection.
i also aim to remember the beautiful observations
graceful, beautiful, healthy, strong, elegant, flexible, brave, calm, reflective, kind, generous
it is such a habit to focus on the things i struggle with or think are my weaknesses
i’d like to move towards recognizing my skills and strengths, accomplishments and achievements and keep on working with the weaker aspects but not dwell on it so much. positive thinking. is it really so simple?
also reflecting recently on how we compliment Lily on how beautiful she’s looking.
i’d like to keep working on replacing this generality with specifics
great outfit, i like the color combo
you look strong when you are climbing
it looks like you are having so much fun with the dog right now
you look happy after you’ve been running around
you are adventurous
you look peaceful this morning, i guess you slept well
your hair is healthy and shiny
i see you so calm and self contained in your crafting, it’s lovely to watch
your body is growing so well and is healthy
i heard you speak so kindly and patiently to Cedar
when you climb so high on the rocks i think you are brave
you thought up a creative solution to that argument
etc etc
dear daughter of mine
it is an honor to witness your adventurous soul explore the world. I see qualities such as kindness, creativity, patience, strength, courage, softness, grace and good hearted fun shining from you and I can only wonder what the future holds. This moment is quite beautiful with you and I cherish your presence dear Lily. Thankyou for the gifts of self reflection and joy you have given me. You came to me when I was so young and I have grown into the mama/lady/woman I be, on my journey shaped with your presence. Love you my precious darling. xx
what do you have to say on this topic of woman’s/girls body talk?
Roselinde
ps say something friendly to yourself right now.
forgive me. i have been so negligent here at RosaLindenTree. {gotta change the name one day, too long, any suggestions?}
so here i am banished out of the bus today for being too grumpy and crotchety {yes it’s not all love and coconuts.}
and i find happy refuge with a friends internet connection! yay. hours and hours of electricity. not a bad punishment.
so here comes a massive catch up with lots of photos and words! awesome.
get yourself a cuppa it’s really loooong…. but good!
a day after flying into Cairns, we are guided to Stoney Creek just north of the city, a beautiful cool place to land and have my first QLD freshwater dunk for the year and then take quiet grounding time to balance stones and add to the growing collection in the creek bed. i am so happy, jesse is so happy, the children are so happy scrambling about and crushing ochre stones. it feels good it feels right and i remember exactly why i am committed to this crazy lifestyle! and i am quickly recovering from my ten day solo pack up and leave Bellingen stint while sick and overwhelmed. thankyou dear friends who helped us and fed and housed us… right back to happy…
another favorite camp north of Port Douglas, we often come to the creek here for swimming and picnics, today a good ole spaghetti ragu with local produce for lush salad… maybe a week into the trip and we are still all getting on!! yay
and then another day beaching at Four mile Beach in Port Douglas, if you head to the central or southern end you can completely avoid the holiday crowd…
ah my boy, 
ah my girl,
i think the above two shots could qualify for the 52 week portraits (a year of portraits of my children
from Che & Fidel)
the colours of coconut palm and sky
Lily begins to find her old favorite trees…
The best forest bath at our friends home…
happiness! look at the patch of dirt he has worn clear from spinning…
Our gorgeous friends from Sacred Oz have their incredible Message Stick Vehicle at home this week. I love closely looking at all the diverse Indigenous artworks from all around Australia and often find myself with heart swelling tears. Look here to find out more about this remarkable icon of Australian Reconciliation
a very rare photograph of Jesse and I {thankyou Michael} and it’s even a genuine joy moment! hooray
the trees, the creek, the stones, the hairyman in the forest with a hollow stick…
serious rain business to dress up for, making channels for the smaller streams, floating things dowstream, splashing and getting the hangof the balance bike… and getting nearly all your clothes wet numerous times a day! aaarh 
above you see a variety of phases of coconut, in the silver bowl fresh water from a yellow nut as on the left. on the far right an opened young yellow nut with jelly flesh, above an older brown nut whose thick white meat we grate as you can see in the centre and the empty shell can be used as a handy vessel.. mmmm below you see a young nut with a drinking hole deftly cut open…{not my work, i am more savage…}
monkeying around with slippery coconut jelly meat
campfire buckwheat pancakes… mmm
here i used buckwheat flour, but my favorite recipe using whole groats is from my friend Carly over at
noticing i didn’t photograph the rain moments so it looks so dry and fun…
we cope by making delicious food, playing games, reading, letting the kids play in the mud and water, eating something else yummy, going walking and splashing and adventuring, being patient, keeping the interior of the bus as tidy as possible while it’s a laundry site, allowing space and solo moments despite being so confined, making a bush treasure hint, crafting, knitting, writing, sleeping, listening to the water, singing…
had a little coconut frond weaving and made up this little flag fan… ahh it’s soooo hot… not, but it will be soon.
and this beautiful fruit bowl. more on weaving soon… maybe even a tutorial
inside crafting… the discovery of the one dot holepunch brings hours of amusement. poor deprived kids.
then this bear gets completely re outfitted by Lily lovingly.. 
Just before departure we finalised this upstairs canvas cot for Lily, we had been dreaming it up for years and now it’s manifest and is awesome! keeps the floor space clear and Cedar has Lily’s up front bed even though his little old cot was so cute…. Thankyou Marty for the help. It is two bamboo poles with a canvas cot slung between them. clever. good. smart. simple
i’ve had a jaffle maker for a few years and finally christened it! yum. childhood goodness. {basically took so long because i am so uptight i refused to buy square sliced bread! i let go a little when i found some organic spelt loaf.. so neurotic. but admitting it freely xxx {i trully don’t care if you eat square sliced bread by the way, i will eat it with you happily i just love love love sturdy loaves of bread with hard crusts and chewy centres! i also have a few ridiculously stupid high expectations on myself} ahhh liberation it was soooo yummy!
more good camp food. Babaganusch {spelling?} guacamole, vegies and roast spuds!
can you tell we kept our spirits up by focusing on the meals all week….
Lily’s early birthday present appeared one morning… a slack line which has brought alot of fun and challenge to us all!!
A babushka doll made for baby D by Lily
An easy soft stuffed toy, easily modified or decorated at your whim.
Lily created this doll one day while we visited friends, it really didn’t take long and she was proud of her efforts.
{i am learning to stay out of the way of her inspirations more and more as her skills develop
and i know she is capable to see it through}
Begin with two large rectangles of felt fabric and a scrap for a face circle
needle and strong thread of various colours
fluffy wool to stuff it
half a cup of rice or similar large grain to fill the bottom of the body
sketch a babuska-esque pattern, fold in half and trim the shape to mirror each side
trace this pattern onto your two felt rectangles {front and back of body}
cut out a circular piece in contrasting colour to become the face,
stitch the face circle into position with small neat stitches around the edge
adorn her with features, hair, etc at this point
lay front piece on top of the back and begin stitching around the body, Lily began at a shoulder and left the head open to stuff the body
pour the grain into the base of the doll so she will stand up
fill the rest with fluffy wool
stitch up your last opening
adorn as you wish, with embroidery, buttons or fabric clothing etc
gift it to a little person who will surely enjoy chewing on the arms….
A grand part of this adventurous lifestyle is the diversification of our diet.
The beauteous, bountiful, delight of flavoursome flavours and seasonal sensations….
What we eat and when we eat and where we are at the time, becomes significant in our days and our memories.
Meals shared, simple or imaginative become one of the threads woven into our travels.
“remember the first cherries of the season, fat and almost black, on that 42’c day, edging closer to Melbourne with bushfire smoke in the breeze and a trail of cherry pips behind us like Hansel and Gretel…”
There is simply more time to apply to our meals, and where and how we procure them {usually}
Sometimes we gather our own.
Often we go grower direct at farmers markets or roadside stalls or community gardens or your garden…
we may invite our hosts, our neighbours, strangers or friends…
I am patient enough to include the children in the preparation when they are interested.
I am relaxed enough to leave the pancake making to Lily and not fret about the floury kiss she leaves.
We often times eat outdoors which brings it’s own magic to dining.
Splendid sky shows or animal shows, scents or sand or sweet water trickling, the diversity of our surrounds keeps us amused as we are cosied up in our own dining room watching the world.
Places are noted by what we ate or found there.
Mealtimes become a simple time of togetherness and sharing.
we may sing or say a blessing while holding hands or we may dig in
we may play apples and onions, a game in which each shares the apple {high point} and onion {challenge} of their day
we may not talk at all or there may be silliness and giggles, playing with food creatively or coaxing children to eat what they aren’t interested in. there may be sadness or stillness, tiredness or crying, tantrums and food on the floor, abandoned plates or plates licked clean, cosy inside, crammed inside, on the ground mat, in someone else’s home, in a carpark, by the sea the creek or the sand, we may be in the park or in your garden, it’s not like the rhythm of our table at home, but in it all there is a rhythm and hum of family time wherever we are sharing food and the making of memories.
sometimes it’s the gratitude of cooking in a kitchen provided by a generous friend, the joy of baking in ovens and hot water on tap and the warmth of friendship around the table
thankyou to all of you out in the world who support our journey, it means so much to me xx
some glimpses…
Oatlands, salmon pasta, each of us making our plate uniquely and organic Callington mill woodfired bread.
Circus Festival, 4 kg organic Blueberries picked ourselves and as big a grapes {well small grapes}
Cockle Creek, cockles found with our toes and served with risotto, tomato mussels and watching Jesse slurp palm sized oysters
Hobart playground, 4kg sweetest apricots, 1 kg silvanberries, 1kg blackberries, 1 kg cherries, and oh more blueberries… mmmmm
Hobart dock front, fresh bread and eggs, kale and tomatoes and basil fresh from market while the others are in bed still, hands cold from the chill morning wind
porridge porridge lots of porridge {and stirred with my new Huon Pine Spurtle to replace my hand lathed NZ pear wood spurtle from 2008}
Niyahitiny’s, pancakes and pancakes and pancakes and hot potato chips salty with rosemary and fresh garden salads and also berry sago coconut pudding
and let’s not forget the yumminess of vanilla icecreams in mini cones with fresh rasberries mashed into it found on the way there…
Cloudy Bay, abalone and fish and 40 strawberries
Ferry off Bruny Island, $50 of cheeses and fresh bread warm from the oven
each cheese round has it’s ‘birthday’ inscribed on it
Liffey Falls, picnic with Lily in the middle of the river on a wide rock, nori rolls and dried fruit
Tasmazia, popcorn in the middle of the hexagon maze, flopping in the sunshine feeling glorious
Cygnet, savory pancakes with punchy Swiss style goats cheese
Port Huon, more pancakes with blueberries watching the sunset over sailing boats and golden hills and then an invitation to go sailing on Thursday afternoons if we return…
Hobart Italian Street fiesta, huddled in the shade with fresh pizza and the italian chatter over our heads
Warburton, raw zucchini pasta salad with all ingredients picked from the public gardens except olives and cheese
Little Peninsula, bean tortillas, the benches are all rotted out and wet so we all perch on the table, it’s really messy and the kids have their feet on the table and love it…
Dancing Ground Festival,400 people, happy queues for wholesome catering under a glowing red tent, kids and parents to the front!
endless delicious meals in the grandparents kitchen, sitting on the stools playing ‘whats your favorite pottery’ with Lily
many meals in our welcoming friends homes and gardens
many meals quietly and unremarkably pass by also…
hmm reflecting on this above, it’s an awful lot of fruit, pancakes, cheese and bread… varied diet?
{absolutely, I just don’t photograph the steamed veg and rice meals and other as they are all too familiar …}
are you hungry now?
is food central in your family connection?
do you grow/make/forage your own?
do you have a lovely foodie memory with us?
xx
peace and mung beans
I bought my second ever Frankie magazine to enjoy while having long soaks in this great claw foot bathtub here~!
the first one i bought because the cover image was completely embroidered tiny replicas of everyday items did you see that one?
anyway, somewhere in it’s depths {the mag not the bath} I found an article about Eggy Cosy Critters and was inspired to felt craft with Lily.
She completely was not interested, {oh poor me, I’ll have to do it myself….;)}
until it turned out too small for an egg and I gave it up to be transformed to her liking! I think you will like the end result! I’m wondering which friend she is planning to give it too…
Here are some guidelines if you’d like to make your own or similar…
We started with 2 rectangles of wool felt fabric 7cm H x 8cm W {bigger if you want to put a real hen egg under it, you could always run another stitch line in closer}
and some scraps for ears. I used craft glue to detail the ears.
make sure you cut the ears with an added 1cm bottom length as it will tuck between the two larger pieces.
embroider on a cutesy whiskery face…
lay the ears on top of the backing, then place the face on, secure with pins and stitch about 3mm from the edge leaving the bottom open.
ahh soooo cute! but too small mumsy… Another possibility at this point is to pop a couple of holding stitches between the fingers and make a finger puppet… or two or three…
so I surrender it over to Lily and she creates….
with a couple of nifty outfits…
this girl could be a fairy’s dressmaker…
have fun with this** i’d love to see a pic if you make one…
ps had a nap, had a massage, had a hug, had some friendly phone calls, feeling better 🙂
thankyou for your support lovely people
when Lily was on her way to two years old, we pulled up in the fringes of Fremantle WA to make our home for a while. We initially house sat for friends of ours and then stayed on for a few weeks after their return. Their wee boy Fern was only four weeks older than Lily and soon these two where playing, cooking, working, eating, walking, peeing and making mischief companionably alongside each other
We nicknamed them straighty and curly (their hair) and told funny stories about their adventures.. during the years we lived nearby, they surely where besties and devoted fans of the Amazing Drumming Monkeys! {do you like all my made-up words?}
we’ve all had a lot of adventures since then, but the connection is alive in our hearts and when I sat letter writing during the week, Lily joined me to write to Fern who now lives in NZ.
We haven’t seen him since late 2008 but the occasional letter or gift or joke passes over the sea between them.
Lily drew in pencil on the pillow case and I carefully embroidered the artwork. Age 4
shortly after our arrival in NZ, they haven’t seen each other for a year
I was quietly hopefull this letter writing would go without frustration (hers) and outwardly, gently encouraging as Lily focused in on this task. She has only recently begun writing more than a few words spontaneously and she seemed abit daunted by the long blank page. Enthused, but asking me to help her decide what to write, she eventually decided to write about her life because he doesn’t know what she’s been doing. {dear Fern I live in a bus it is powered on blueberry gas… thats 8 year old humor for you}After the first paragraph she copies jokes down for him to giggle over, and then drew a cartoon story on the back about life in the bus and so it became a good laughing session and I was so pleased to see her persistence and interest and enjoyment of the ink flowing onto the page, even if some of it was blobs.
Sometimes I am anxious about her ‘official educating’ when she has spent so much time absent from school, yet we have not officially taken up the homeschool banner. I question whether she is stimulated enough or if her skills are developing as they need to. I doubt myself and my ability to guide her along the paths of interest and learning and sometimes wonder if she is simply bored bored bored! I fall into the trap of comparison with other families and how they get on with their lives and education, I worry and celebrate and come up with great ideas and sometimes am at a complete loss.
So you see, when these moments happen and I am shown how naturally her writing and punctuation and word structure and creative writing have developed without formal classes I am so, so excited! From last week to this her skill has remarkably improved in this area, and since this day of letter writing she has written a few more short stories and in depth captions to her illustrations. {she had a fever over the weekend and I do have to wonder about the picture from Anthroposophy in which children often come out of a fever having grown or developed or moved into a new place, or something fantastic like that}
cheeky happy monkeys!
the stump in the garden became the centre of long imaginative plays involving fairies and diggers
in Mike Lillian’s {wind willow basketry} abundant woven garden
I have subscribed to this wonderful blog Simple Homeschool {never let your schooling interrupt your education}
Here I find writings which are so encouraging with regards to some of these struggles I have. One point which is repeated is along these lines
“the connection and relationship and enjoyment of each other take priority over
getting the comma in the right place every time”
And so, I am enthused and inspired about this child’s learning which evolves in front of me, mirrored by my own personal learning amidst it all. Particularly the gift of humour!
did you enjoy the amusing photo’s of the little ones amongst my musings?
{i just couldn’t resist sharing them once I got back into to my old library of photographs}
do you home school, school school or some other?
how have you and your child/ren approached literature skills?
or how do you imagine approaching this with them?
any thing you want to share on this topic?
have you a love of the written word?
peace and ponderings
Roselinde
xx
on Easter eve we are visiting friends on the journey north from Sydney. The children go out in the sunset pink to cut grass to line the easter basket and to feed the Easter hare
while they cut I retell an Easter story about the journey of the Easter hare and the purpose of the eggs as i have adopted it from this great book. Easter in Autumn. i deeply enjoy storytelling without a book in front of me as i took the time to learn the story and make it my own. They are both captivated and i feel peaceful with this serene wash of calm coming over me as i bask in the moment and the beauty of the simple now-ness and connection we are sharing. i am inspired to learn more stories to tell.
this basket was woven in Arnhem land, jesse gifted it to Lily on return of his trip there last year. {i got a lady version for my birthday}
the light is soft and pastelly and embracing and look below, it hints to the sky of the dawn…
Lily and I have made a date to silently watch the sunrise on Easter morn.
we are camped by a river and the light bounces from the water in a myriad of pastel delicacies..
Pelicans join us and we are gifted this close observation of a much loved bird
Lily points out the Pelican has made a heart with it’s own reflection
i resolve to make more dates with Lily, the peace of simply being together touches us both deeply. It is grounding and loving and sets us up for a rich connection through the day.
finally a golden peep through the clouds melts the dew from waxy leaves
a new day
a new beginning
as we walk back we pick golden sunny flowers to decorate the bus and the easter baskets, glistening with dew
Cedar and Jesse are awake and after the children exclaim over the gifts from the Easter hare in their baskets, they go outside with a poem of clues to find the Easter treasures
oh whats under here??
skip to a quick ant bite interlude….
then the treasure hunt is back on….
looking looking looking, Lily can see the silver paper on the tyre and is encouraging Cedar to find it and giggling about his looking but not seeing… i remember Lily at this age needing very obvious eye level treasures to find… 
I found it!!
and up here Cedar!
i am wondrous to see Lily turn the seeking into a game for Cedar in which she is showing and helping him in a thoughtful way, instead of rushing around claiming all the treasure. it reveals the change out of early childhood i am seeing into a less selfconcerned world view. beautiful.
the treasure is in and unwrapped and eaten.
after struggling in the night with my staunch anti chocolate stance, i realise the experience of my uptight stress is less beautiful than the joy the children will have when unwrapping 2 squares of organic chocolate before breakfast!
and it was fine, and they were so happy, and they did not have sugar meltdowns!
it’s good to let go a little now and then. but yes i am pretty strict about sweets in our own home and prefer to savour these type of treats for specials.
later in the day we prepare eggs to decorate and enjoy an omelette for lunch
you may know how already but here
the simple steps to blow eggs ready for decoration and hanging
use a large pin to pierce one end of an egg, i use a series of punctures in close proximity to open a 2mm hole, repeat on the opposite end and remember to have a bowl ready to catch your egg insides {make an omelette or cake…}
apply your lips and lungs to the task of blowing a stream of egg insides to the outside. rinse by submersing in water and blowing out once more. towel dry and there they are, light and ready to decorate. we often use water colour pencils or paints, or dye with onion skin…
in the weeks coming up to Easter i scout around town for white shelled eggs.. {In Bellingen they are sold at the Providore from a local farmer….} this year we had little choice as we travelled…
the easter bounty which the children are happy happy happy with
during our afternoon drive i watch Lily singing out the window like a puppy with her face in the wind…
i imagine her reflecting on the day and she is singing her happiness to the world…
some sweet sweet moments in our day
blessings and happy new beginning to us all…
The littles playing with our friends childhood animals
Out of the box and dusted off
New imaginings amuse them endlessly
While the big ones are
Delighting in the company of friends
And I’m savoring sore cheeks from smiling
A lot
RosaLindenTree 