Moonmum

The trouble with grand adventures

We have been back for one week today. One week. Already I'm missing the momentum of our days on the road, of every day bringing something new. The trouble with such an epic journey is that it has made my old everyday routine seem dull.... the morning alarm, making the school lunches, housework, blah blah blah. And the cold, grey of winter seems to be adding an extra layer of dull to it all.

I sat down yesterday with grand intentions and a blank notebook to crack on with some Moonmum stuff. It was time to write a list, sketch up some new ideas, get inspired and get the creative juices flowing again!

Unfortunately my brain started sulking and i fear it's going to be a while until i get it back into creative gear again. 

 

Returned

After thirty seven days on the road and 11,300 kilometres, we are home...

What a grand adventure! 

I am getting through the piles of washing, enjoying the comforts of home, looking back over hundreds of photos and telling anyone who'll listen what a wonderful trip we had. 

 

 

Planning a road trip

There is something quite delicious in the planning stages of something big, don't you think? The anticipation. The research. The possibilities. And nervousness sliding along in the background too. 

In less than two weeks we are packing up our little family in the caravan and heading west. Way west. For six weeks. And back again.

Thousands of kilometres stretch ahead of us and at the moment that feels daunting yet exciting. Perhaps a little more daunting than exciting if i'm honest. I have a few concerns about how we'll co-exist in confined spaces for so long without driving each other completely nuts... 

Anyways, i'll be shutting up the shop on Tuesday for about two months. And i'll be spending the next ten days running around like a madwoman trying to get organised for the trip. I can assure you that there's going to be a whole lotta list writing!

So this little corner of the blog world will be very quiet over the coming weeks. I will be posting some pics from the road on my instagram though if you'd like to follow along with us, find me as belinda_moonmum.

If you have any golden nuggets of roadtripping advice, good games for the kids to play in the car or recommendations on things to see between here and there please leave me a comment, i'd love to hear from you.

Autumnal

There isn't a nicer word in the english language. Certainly none more satisfying to say. It's the m and n sounds on top of each other that gets me. Like it.

I only mention it because i've been waiting most impatiently for said autumnal weather to arrive in my corner of the world. On the weekend i got my wish. While sitting on the sidelines watching the Moonlets murder a hockey ball, i suddenly found myself wishing i'd bought a cardigan. A cardigan! Even the thought of a cardigan was call for celebration.

And the autumn morning sun that comes with a distinct chill in the air. Asking to be soaked up and not taken as a warning of a stinking hot day ahead.

Yes.

Autumn, i've missed you.

A quiet start

Mornings are usually slow for me. I'm just not a morning person. Give me coffee and a good half hour and i'll get back to you.

But this morning was different. I was immediately wide awake. No fuzziness around the edges, just eyes wide open and ready for the day. So i got up, made school lunches, woke the Moonlets and went for a quick walk with the dog. 

And it was the perfect Monday morning.... quiet, clear, a faint hint of autumn in the air around me and this small leaf on my path. I love these gum leaves that turn around on themsleves and can't help but bring them home. 

A lot on this week and i'm quite thankful for the quiet start. 

Around here lately

I am...

Making lots of stock for market in a couple of weeks.

Getting my reading groove back with a couple of great books, after months with the attention span of a goldfish.

Spending a whole lotta time in the car driving the kids from here to there and back again.

Vaguely succeeding in my new year's resolution to stay on top of the housework.

Finally using google reader to keep track of my favourite blog. I'm so very late to the reader party but it's seriously the bees knees. 

Updating my itunes library with new music.

Trying not to drink so much coffee.

And planning a very large road trip from one side of the country to the other.

 

What's going on in your corner of the world lately?

Mundane tasks

I thoroughly dislike housework. Especially the washing. Which is a shame because there's an endless supply of it.

But even the most mundane of housework tasks can be rescued by that perfect, golden evening light. I wish i was a better photographer to capture it. 

After school play dough

It seems that playdough never gets old. Especially when its still warm and fresh out of the saucepan. When you get to mix the colours in yourself. When, despite worst fears, glitter was finally found at the very bottom of the craft box and added to the dough with glee. 

And after a sweet hour together of rolling and squishing and cutting, with playdough under our fingernails, glitter everywhere, having chatted on numerous topics including spiders and sleepovers...

We ended up with this pink, glittery, pear-shaped love heart monster fellow who is, quite admirably, 'for love.'

Snap happy

A while ago I joined the hoardes on Instagram. Are you on it too? Truth be told, i find it an addictive little app... a satisfying, quick and visual way to see what's happening with everyone and capture little pieces of everyday life that otherwise slip away. I don't post too often, but here's a bit of what January looked like for me.

I think Instagram is my favourite social media thingy at the moment. Followed closely by twitter. Facebook never seems to hold my attention for long. I gave up on Pinterest a while ago because it was just too overwelming and became a vortex where my productive time went to die.

Where do you hang out online? 

 

What got done today

There's been a pile of stock sitting on the table for days now, ready and waiting to be photographed and listed in the shop. 

Funnily enough, school holidays have proved to be not exactly the best time to squeeze in an un-interrupted hour with camera in hand during the good-photography-light hours in the middle of the day...

Today's total productive photography time: 45 minutes. And i reckon i was lucky to get that. 

Today's total number of interruptions, snacks prepared, fights diffused, chores ignored, dogs tripped over, flat batteries replaced, complaints heard, puzzles on the high shelf gotten down and messes made: 1000. Completely without exageration of course ;)