My people (the cafe test)

Image via fat owls

There's a bit of a theme going on in my blog lately, about home and where to find it.

I'll try and make this the last one for a little while, but the essence of the discussion is this: if you have loved ones scattered all over the world, and you no longer live where you grew up, and you have moved many, many times (across towns, across states, across countries, even across hemispheres), where is "home"?

I don't have a town I call "home" any more, and it confuses me.

Recently, over dinner, a friend said something that resonated:

"If you can sit alone in a cafe and look around at the other customers and think 'these seem like my people. I want to know them more,' you've found somewhere to rest your bags."

We are moving to another state, yet again, in one week. I hope I find a place with "my people" in Adelaide. No doubt I will drink a lot of lattes on this quest.

How about you? What says "home" to you? How do you find "your people"?

A good weekend

I had big, crafty plans for this weekend. We were going to make peach cobbler, decorative vases, and photo frames out of vintage books. We didn't quite get there, but we did make some pretty good stuff. For starters, we made and played this game of personalised Monopoly, made up of places we'd visited, places we'd lived, and places we wanted to see.

At one point, I owned London (yep, all of it), The Plaza New York, Magnolia Bakery and Machu Picchu. These were returning some decent rent but, unfortunately, this was negated by my ownership of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in India. Mr B and the girls once stayed there, and it was so horrible that in our game, the first person who landed on this hotel owned it by default, and thereafter had to pay $200 apology money to anyone else who stopped by. I had a lot of guests.

Em also made a cake with multicoloured swirls, topped with white and dark chocolate, which gave me diabetes just from the looking.

The rest of the weekend? We picked Em up from Brisbane airport at 8am, popped over to Southbank for an al fresco breakfast, roamed through market stalls, walked over the bridge and into the mall where I looked at kitcheny things I couldn't afford, popped into the gallery (ok we wanted to use the loos, but we did take a little look around), stuffed ourselves with three tiers of things we shouldn't eat at High Tea, then home to take the dog to the park and play with a balloon helicopter thingy I bought for Em at Australian Geographic.

Favourite things: make this

Ah, Friday. Any minute now, my muscles will begin to unwind. (Any minute now, shoulders and neck, you hear me? Any minute...). Em's coming to stay this weekend. Happy joy time! We always love a good project together, so I've gathered up five fun things to make this weekend.* Be sure to let me know if you try any of them yourself. 1. Peach cobbler On a scale of one to 10, how much is your mouth watering right now? I'm not ashamed to tell you I'm drooling in a socially uncomfortable manner. I only discovered cobblers a few years ago, while living in New York, and I'm SO excited to try this recipe, adapted by Tina Jeffers over on Blissful Blog. Roll on summer. Roll on peach season.

2. Your very own newspaper No kidding! Newspaper Club will put your portfolio in print, pull together a unique and pretty darn special family newsletter, get crafty in telling your school or charity's story. These are a bit pricey but they get cheaper the more you order. One day, I'll use this to publish Em's and Meg's wonderful stories, drawings, fashion designs and photographs. What a family treasure!

3. Art, made out of maps Inspired by artist Shannon Rankin, as featured on this post on Yellow Bird + Yellow Beard. I know I know, I don't have her talent. Maybe you do? If you create a map collage, please show me!

4. Decorative vintage bottles Using the downloadable vintage cheques and clever advice from Cathe Hoden at Just Something I Made. I've already printed these lovely cheques off. All I need now is a stash of bottles. At the very least, I suspect I can talk Em into drinking a bottle or two of soft drink this weekend.

5. Photo frames from vintage books I am so excited to make these, I want to do four or five and hang them up in my new study above my desk. The problem is, I can't bring myself to destroy any of my beloved books, so I'll need to go shopping for replicas before I put knife to paper. Thanks to Lauren, on Papersnitch.

*Of course Dreamworld also calls, so who knows if we'll actually manage any of these projects in the next two days. What are your plans for the weekend?

The perfect place for writing

Imagine the perfect place for writing. What would yours be like? Mine would have to be a place that truly inspires. A place where the everyday rules fall away and the imagination knows no bounds. Everything should available: pens, papers, desks, beanbags, whatever I need to find my muse. Oh, and how about established authors on-hand as tutors, to help get my writing to publication standards? Hey, why not, since we're dreaming. Now imagine giving a place like this to kids, many of whom are disadvantaged. Indigenous kids, migrants and refugees, kids from schools with limited resources in areas of rising crime.

What if you gave them this place as a gift? A safe haven for children to develop their creativity and love of words. A place that frees their imagination, and breaks down barriers to communication and self expression. Wouldn't you be proud to share a gift like that?

I've been dying to tell you about the Sydney Story Factory, a charity that will open later this year in Redfern, Australia. If you go looking, you'll find it behind The Martian Embassy on Earth, a shopfront portal through which the children will pass into a new world of imagination.

Take a look at this incredibly inspiring workshop the Factory hosted in June. You'll thank me. The kid at the very end is just too cute, and sums the whole thing up. How can you not love what they are doing, bringing literacy, a love of writing, self confidence, communication, self expression and pure, simple joy to these kids?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SobsFrTKIs0]

Roll up, roll up

Source: wishwishwish.net via Naomi on Pinterest

Lately I've been thinking about circuses, inspired partly by this post from the rather charming Sophie over at Her Library Adventures. I'm thinking back to a time of elusive magic, when I couldn't see the tarnish, and believed each and every animal in a circus must be the happiest animal alive.

The circus, in my childhood memory, is a place where a carousel may actually spin you into other worlds, if you close your eyes. White horses, plumed pink and yellow, dance with such grace that they seem to float above the sawdust. And aerial acrobats - soaring through hoops and shimmying up ribbons - are the most beautiful men and women the world has ever seen.

Where else does the circus take me?

* To Mr Galliano's Circus, by Enid Blyton. I must have read this book 20 times as a child, wishing I had special, soothing talent with animals and that my family, too, would run away and join the circus. I'm going to hunt Mr Galliano down in a second hand store and revisit the magic.

* To memories of a rare me-and-Dad date at the Lennon Bros Circus when I'm still quite small, sitting on the edge of my hard wooden bench, knuckles white with tension, as a man sways above me on a tightrope. Dad saying "My bum is numb" and me thinking that was the best thing in the world, because "Daddy said a bad word."

* To gypsy caravans. Once upon a time, my friend Deborah and I dreamed of renting a horse-drawn caravan and rambling across Ireland. Many years ago, we said words that hurt each other, and lost touch. Today I found an email from Deborah in my inbox. Precious gift! I am remembered, and forgiven! And I am reminiscing about our gypsy caravan dream.

* To a sweet tune and whimsical video by my friend Nadia Ackerman, the title track to her CD The Circus is Back in Town. I know, I've blogged about this before. But watch this clip and tell me if you can stop singing the little doodle-doodle-doodle-dee ditty at the end. I bet you can't.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGBDFnc3GIM] Where do circus memories take you today?

Weekend on instagram

Saturday: a road-trip toward the tropics; surprisingly good latte from McDonalds drivethru; mapping out our next 20 years together while rolling past banana plantations, deserted farmhouses, lovely Queenslander homes and strange monoliths; a birthday party in a house at the end of a country lane; long table on sunny porch, spread with white cloth and strewn with flower petals; warm winter sun gleaming off wine-glasses, quickly drunk and refilled; children playing piano inside; a toddler in the vege patch; crochet cupcake for the birthday boy; dog and chicken sharing scraps; a tropical garden: trees laden with grapefruit, lychees and avocados; jokes and laughter; coffee inside as afternoon shadows lengthen. Sunday: cushions soften the steps of the stone amphitheatre at Bond University, in the company of the famous Aunty Bev and friends; stretch legs, hug hands to hot drinks; and tap toes to the lovely, warm vocals of Nadia Sunde and guitarist Michael Fix as the breeze catches a chill and the sun slides over the lake and into the night.

Favourite things: impossible possible

Hooray for Friday! To take you into the weekend with a smile and a sigh, today I bring you: five things that should not be possible but somehow are. And I'm ever so glad they are. 1. Trees that draw pictures using pens attached to their branches and assisted by the movement of the wind, no less (The artist is Tim Knowles, and I learned about him from singer, songwriter, blogger and all-round Seattle sweetheart Shannon Eileen of Happiness Is.)

2. Reliving all the fun of the Ikea ballroom even though you are all grown up, and the balls are now GOLD BALLOONS. So much better (For the joy, the inspiration, and to learn how fun this could be, I have Rachel of The By & By to thank.)

3. A super pretty dress with a matching hat, made entirely out of postcards (Rachel Burke of I Make My Day is making a dress a day for a whole year to raise funds for The Starlight Foundation. This dress was from day 75.)

4. This man's facial hair (Take a look at the World Beard and Moustache Championships website. There are no words.)

5. The Winchester Mystery House, built under the instruction of spirits, complete with twisting corridors, secret passageways, stairs that lead to nowhere, and more than 160 rooms (More about the Mystery House here, and the photo comes from here.)

Happy Friday!

Nesting frenzy

We are moving to another state in three weeks. Again. After living out of suitcases for such a long time, I am nesting in the biggest possible way, even though we're only renting. Here's what's on my shopping wish list:

Image via from-me-to-you

* Lights to string across the back courtyard, where there is a lemon tree, an orange tree, a tiny little salt water swimming pool, and just enough paved space for a table where we will dine with friends, and big pots in which I will grow herbs. * A blackboard that I'll hang up somewhere central, I'm thinking possibly the kitchen? For family and guests alike to leave messages, write poems, draw pictures, do anything they like. * A ping pong table to put in the garage, because our car would probably freak out if it had actual shelter anyway, and we'll need something to do with our friends in between swimming, eating and creating chalk art in the kitchen. * Speaking of the kitchen, a proper mixer, a pasta maker (Mr B's request) and other culinary accountrements. * A home for the 1000+ books I have packed in boxes right now, because our own bookshelves are attached to the wall of our house in Sydney, so our tenants are enjoying them right now. * And some soft, wonderful new linens for our bed, and new pillows, because what we have is tired and old and yellow, and both of us are ready to dream good dreams.Did I miss anything? What else do you recommend?

Don't be afraid to dream big

(Image via Ditte Isager for Bloomingdales) Don't be afraid to dream big and to follow your dreams wherever they may lead you. Open your eyes to their beauty; open your mind to their magic; open your heart to their possibilities. Julie Anne Ford

I dream of so many things.

I dream of owning a big, rambling old home in the English countryside, where I can write books. When I’m not writing I can grow herbs and forage for mushrooms, keep chickens and ride horses, and never once worry about drought.

I dream of becoming a baking queen, making cupcakes, shortcake, French-style bread and cookies every day, and never getting fat.

I dream that one of my books will overnight become a phenomenon of Harry Potter standards, so I can quit my day job and spend the rest of my working life creating worlds and peopling them with marvelous characters.

I dream of taking a whole year off, or maybe two, and exploring the world, digging literally and figuratively for the answers to ancient mysteries, learning new cultures and languages, making new friends.

I dream of moving back to New York, even though I know New York will have moved on without me, and it could never be the same, just as Sydney had moved on without me when I returned to it last year.

So I dream of finding a place that once again feels like home and, when I do, building a community there.

And I have another little dream, but that’s secret for now.

What are your dreams?

Last night

A warm and welcoming home; children smiling, cheezles tinting fingers orange; meeting new friends like they are old friends; devouring casserole, couscous and homemade strudel; elegantly sippingguzzling champagne; inaugurating a Who Is The Biggest Princess competition; storytelling around the table; reminiscing about New York; making sweeping generalisations about the French, just for the fun of it; pondering the meaning of 'home'; debating about James Blunt and the motivations of songwriters and poets everywhere; a story about a dragon who is also a boy; a friend achieving the near impossible - a literary agent; gazing at the Milky Way; spotting my first shooting star; making a big wish.How was your night?