Capture... Cambodia

Craft, create, CAPTURE.
Other than capturing photos of what I craft, it has been a long time since I really got out with my camera...until the recent Hootchie Catch up in Cambodia. We missed one of the group terribly, but did our best to make up for her absence with an extra cocktail, almond croissant and massage where we could.

Here are some of my favourites:

The Overland Track, Tasmania

Christmas is not my only excuse for not posting recently, we have been away hiking the Overland Track in Tassie.  6 nights and 7 days of hiking the Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair region, camping in gorgeous locations each evening and wondering at incredible and ever changing scenery each day.  Plenty of wildlife - wombats, pademelons, wallabies, echidna, a HUGE possum attempting to enter our tent and not just one but about 6 platypus!

Amazing weather (aside from rain on the last night, which we paid for by having set up camp in what turned out to be a very large puddle by morning).  Yummy home made gourmet dehydrated dinners and our favourite end-of-day snack: popcorn with plenty of salt cooked on the trangia.

The only downside to the whole trip was getting back to Perth to have the awful pain I had been experiencing in my feet on the last day of walking being diagnosed as stress fractures of my heel bones.  At least I've felt justified in how much I'd been hobbling since finishing the hike, not even able to limp given it is both heels!  'Keep off your feet as much as possible' is what I am meant to be doing.  Ha!  Washing all the stinky hiking gear, hosting of Christmas gatherings, a 20 month old who is increasingly mobile and an ingrained need to always be doing something.  It hasn't been easy, but still worth it!

Organising heaven

Part of our extension has been to build another room at the side of our house.  The name of this room has gradually morphed from being the 'utility room' on the plans to the 'activity room' at the start of the build, the 'craft room' as the building took shape to now being known as 'My room'.  The last few days I have finally had a chance to begin to sort through my accumulated crafting goodies and begin to settle in.

                             

There are some of us in this world who enjoy the time spent arranging and organising our crafty world as much as crafting itself. I am definitely one of those.  Immersion in all the bits and pieces that can fit together to make something new is wonderful in itself.  Feeling the soft, slippery and grainy fabric textures, arranging the cotton spools and embroidery threads in their kaleidoscope of colours in boxes, letting buttons pour through my fingers, flicking through piles of patterned cards and papers, opening an assorted box of beautiful ribbons and beads.  Oh the joy!  Ideas for new creations and craftiness flitted through my mind at times, but for the most part I was just content this afternoon pottering and enjoying the moment.  Even Little Imp seemed to understand this contentment and pleasure when she woke from her afternoon nap and joined me.  She spent well over an hour happily engrossed in a bag of coloured pom poms. 

                 

Nature Ranger

Gnarled Trunk (Husband) proudly led me to see the blooming roses in the front garden this afternoon and I then got a bit carried away with the camera. Made a wonderful contrast to yesterday's mammoth task of beginning our extension, jackhammer-time pounding for most of the morning to dismantle the patio concrete and relocate it into the old swimming pool pit in the backyard.

When I was little-er I thought I might become an entomoligist when I grew up.  My love for all creatures great & small (except for cockroaches that is) earned me the nickname of Nature Ranger.  Today the bug-loving Nature Ranger in me today couldn't help but not just see the kangaroo paws in the front garden but also the teeny tiny ants harvesting their pollen.

The first passionfruit

Hiding away between the leaves of the passionfruit vine the first fruit has been spotted - and it is a big one!

Time to 'Capture' something

 The aim of this blog wasn't just to create and craft, but also to 'capture' things outside of these domains.  Had a chance over the weekend to do just that with a visit to Kings Park with overseas visitors.  The local wildlife was very friendly to begin with, and became very, very friendly when I produced Little Imp's corn puff snacks.  Made for some easy close up photo's.

Little Imp seemed oblivious to it all, and after crawling and rolling through the copious duck droppings decided it was time for a spot of 'down-face-dog'!  Good thing I hadn't dressed her in her Sunday Best.