:: thank you, my family ::

there are so many things one can be grateful for and today I am so very grateful for my family in all senses of who they are for me.  THANK YOU, MY FAMILY.

:: and the clock struck twelve ::

...we have an elderflower tree outside our bedroom window and after the flowers come lovely deep burgundy...elderberries cluster droopingly on the end of arching boughs.  Berries most attractive to this little guy...AT MIDNIGHT!
he THUNDERS over the roofing panels of our back deck like a heavy-footed, stumbling drunk, then on over the rest of the roof, until he settles on this tree next to our bedroom window...!

Finally we snapped him - proof!  For those that do not know, he is a 'possum' - and here in Australia they are a protected creature.  Hailing from NZ we are more familiar with an over-abundance of these 'introduced' animals and them being treated as a pest. Our disdain for them is met with confusion as most people here think they are cute and special...hmmm, not at midnight!

:: my favourite flower ::

one of the many reasons living in this part of the world is so pleasant...and especially at this time of year...warm and not too hot, not too wet...YET...and the fragrant blooms of frangipani bursting open - joy on a tree!  I love that Phoebe found the monstera leaf and laid it into the bowl - I was simply going for floating some flowers...together it is so much more...

:: beauty ::

...just because...

.

:: ordinary yellow things ::

for some this may be a little odd, ok, maybe a little more than a little odd...and yet it is significant for me today.  Today I was struck by this little grouping of ordinary 'things with yellow'. For me, I love to see beauty, colour, patterns, texture, rhythms and to notice the beauty and colour of ordinary everyday stuff is a satisfying thing for me.  Fulfilling, even.  Small stuff and it is satisfying - I'm easy to please, really.
And, lately, I haven't been noticing these things...life has had a few challenges, a few worries, concerns and doubts...downs, plus...it's rained here for weeks (it seems - or maybe I'm playing the Eeyore card, here?!) and I think we've been in a faster and faster groove - hurry is not love, they say.  + I've been living inside my head a little too much -  getting stuck in conversations with myself - you know those ones - the ones where there is no instant answer - and around they go again and again....
...so today was a turning point - small, ordinary yellow things, by the front door - and smiling again - the happiness of discovering this little grouping.

Phoebe's kite flies HIGH!

the beach at Brunswick Heads...

one of those absolute thrill moments... and, of course, 'touch and go' just before the successful lift-off!  While Phoebe had been given her kite at Christmas time last year, we'd not managed to have a really good, proper go with it until now.  So, on a very dull, wet and windy [Father's!] day recently and we could be contained no more - out we tripped to a local beach for some fresh air and a gasp at nature.  So good for our souls, thoroughly feeling the elements, paddling in the surf and all taking turns, finally - after we claimed it from the Father (aka biggest kid!). And here is Phoebe's own-all-by-herself-inaugural kite-flying moment - such a 'swell' moment for a parent.  Oh - and what was with all the rainbow colours?  Well, a dull day does call for colour!!!

:: more Kookas ::

not one...

...not two...

...but THREE of these beauties on our gum next to our verandah!