dearest bathroom...

it has been five years since we meet. do you recall those early days? when mossy shed was so neglected and in need of some serious loving care. how i spent days, months nursing her back to health and in return she so very kindly became all i wished to have as a family home? and then i stopped short of you, and there you stayed, waiting patiently 

with your faux mustard marble counter top and shower enclosure, 

with your green 'seen better days, no never saw better days' carpet

with your lacking in door and privacy

and with your papered and painted several layered walls, and let us not forget your rusted sink and tap

(which we had to do a quick fix on when the plug hole fell through your bottom)

yes waiting patiently for your moment to shine, quietly for five whole long years, as all around you was loved. well my fine friend of a bathroom, it would appear your waiting days are over. 33 whole years on from when you were first put together, this week you are being taken apart and slowly but surely over the coming weeks, your neglected sad ways will be no more and like the ugly duckling, you will become a swan

not just any swan, my fine friend of a bathroom, no sirree!

 my vision of a swan

Tif x

small and mighty...

there's a saying somewhere, 

i don't know where 

and i don't know exactly how it goes, 

but it is a long the lines of 

'out of small changes come big things'. 

and that my dearest reader, 

is exactly how i have been living since last september. 

its been my motivation to keep on keeping on.

to not feel beat

when my body told me so... 

small little changes is all that was needed 

to make the mountain

into mole hills

and slowly but surely 

it has added up to a mighty big change. 

a change for good.

one small change:

growing seeds... 

sunflowers, sweet peas and geraniums beginning to shine 

the seeds i planted,

 just a little while ago, 

have become seedlings and grow stronger by the day,

it makes me marvel

at their winning ways

i want to be that seedling

small and mighty

one small change:

homegrown strawberries

quite possibly the sweetest most delicious strawberries

i have ever tasted.

1 for me

and 

2 for Our #3

 just the other day...

how wonderful it felt

to offer up some homegrown goodness

to my child

albeit small

but it felt most mighty

one small change:

succulents and sedums

truth be told,

i did not think i had inherited my father's

magical way with greenie goodness

but now i am beginning to think 

i just never gave it a chance,

i never took the time to stand still long enough

till now that is.

now all i wish to do is nurture my little green friends...

when i find them, i bring them home

and i re house them in a thrift store find,

be it ceramic, tin, wicker or glass.

and that is all i need to do

for them to know i love them.

and in return, they start to grow

and before i know it,

i have myself a little indoor garden of my own.

one in the family room

and one in the kitchen

(not shown)

a miracle of greeny goodness

reflecting how they might be small

but together with friends

they can be mighty

one small change:

home cooking

not my forte, nor my craft

i have always so wished it to be,

however it took my body to final shout loud enough

for me to make the food i eat a priority

in my day to day living

and in turn

what i feed my clan.

will i ever be a master chef?

no sirree! not me,

will i ever be able to knock up a simple cake?

yes sirree! yes me!

simply a small gesture,

making my lads of three

mighty happy

one small change:

putting things in my shop window

patches of positivity 

and other handmade goodness...

slowly but surely

adding small amounts at a time

makes me know

things are beginning to look mighty fine

one small change:

yoga

(not shown)

twice weekly

(if my bod and my head is willing and able)

meditating

(as and when)

cocooning

(as and when)
finding my light
(each and every day)

this small tiny change

has alone moved a mountain,

proving to me

small surely can become mighty

all these small changes 

alongside of help from friends, family & drs

have led to big changes...

over the past 9 months

along this journey of searching

and indeed finding my way,

i continue to take one day at a time,

knowing some days will be good days

and others are less so

but always

being thankful for the small things

and marveling how they in turn,

have helped me grow in a mighty way

flea-market finds...

last weekend me and my lads of three went to the flea-market. i had pocket money burning a hole in my handmade frock pocket and it did not take me long to find a few forsaken little souls who spoke to me

forsaken little soul #1:

a most delightfully yellow parrot complete with mushrooms!! seriously little itty bitty mushrooms! in all my born days of collecting these most rare and kitschy birdie figurines i have never found one with mushrooms before. this fine fellow only cost me the princely sum of $4 due to a chip, 

chip or no chip, i loved him and so he came home to live in the kitchen and do a most marvelous job at holding a few vintage fabric flowers

forsaken little soul #2:

a birdie picture in most spiffy colours complete with fabby plastic fake basket weaving frame. golly i am a sucker for plastic fake basket weaving, gets me every time and even more so if it surrounds a birdie picture of this magnificent-ness. this little sweetie cost me 6 tidy $1 notes.

and it would appear, once home, she was always going to fit right in...

forsaken little soul #3:

a cheeky chappy of the utmost kind. okay, i realize she is not a chappy but it sounds so much better than cheeky dolly. so cheeky chappy she is. my man rolled his eyes to the sky and followed his action swiftly with a "really Tif?" but i knew what i knew, and what i knew was this. cheeky chappies don't come by every day of the week with this sort of wonderfulness about them. obviously the stall owner knew this too and would not take less than $5. i could see why, this cheeky chappy was expert at cheering...

upon arrival back at mossy shed, cheeky chappy found himself/herself most at home in my 'recently made' cabinet of curiosity.

"umm, i'm thinking you might like a bit of crocheted goodness too" says little brown bunny with his warm ears 

"yippee"

"hello hello, here i am"

now surely that's worthy of a cheer or two

:)