Yesterday I was working on location at a lovely house in Laren (pronounced Laa-ren). The house was surrounded by this beautiful forest. I found myself gazing out of the large windows to this view every chance I got, wanting to wander out there to hear the crunch of the leaves beneath my feet, listen to the early spring birds sing to each other, and watch the branches sway and creak in the wind. I imagined these naked trees to be looking forward to Spring just like me, their trunks and branches breathing sighs of relief as the clouds part to make room for the sun to shine on their arthritic joints.

I could imagine how lush this forest would be in it’s Summer months. And I could imagine a treehouse nestled in it’s depths, wouldn’t that be grand?

I think I have been to Laren once before a few years ago, and from memory it is a rather gorgeous village with lots of quaint boutiques and restaurants. There was no time to explore yesterday, but I would like to get back there sometime and just stroll around. I remember there was a really nice homewares boutique where I bought quite a few gifts from to take home to Sydney. And a restaurant that was so nice and gezellig (cozy), lined with dark wood panels and walls filled with books.

Let’s hope I can make some time to go exploring in this direction again.

xx

PS oh it’s so good to be back in the (blog)house! I have something fun in the making for my next post…

top left:snow! pathetic i know, but that’s all we got here in Amsterdam; top right: i made a banana smoothie for breakfast; bottom right: more evidence of snow on the boat rooftop; bottom left:a morning visitor

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty fab – the highlight being a Valentine-inspired dinner over at our friends on Saturday night. We brought the champagne, melted chocolate and strawberries, and they provided a feast and great conversation. and oh how we laughed!! I don’t remember what about exactly, but it was hilarious at the time.

this gorgeous gal decided to land on the roof of le petit bateau and stomp around.

I also spent the weekend working on something that I can’t wait to ‘reveal’ to you very soon! Yes, it has something to do with this (blog)house of mine. Shall I tell you? No? Yes? No? Let me know. Because if you want to know, i will tell you! But if you like surprises instead, then I shall not give it away. but oooh I can’t wait for it to be completed!

beautiful creatures but awfully aggressive, non? this guy was making grunting noises at me. that can’t be good?

I also want to take this post to say a big thank you for all your awesome comments. Please be sure to read the comments to the posts if you have a moment because they add so much to my initial words and often provide the answers to questions, or simply different perspectives… and you all have an incredible imagination! I love it when you add an idea to my photos or creation, it creates this wonderful layering effect.

my messy desk, my morning guest leaving, and one of my many notebooks

One of my favourite (how many times do I say this word on the blog?!) commented posts is one from last month called a little tucked away treasure – it is my photo of bakers twine which I found tied to a branch in the Jardins Des Plantes in Paris, and I had this fanciful idea that someone had tied a love note to the branch for their lover to find. Raluca wrote a fabulous comment which showed I wasn’t too far off – she explains a tradition in Romania that totally explains the twine tied to the branch, I’m convinced now that the person who tied this string is Romanian! Go back and read it if you didn’t catch it at the time. Thank you Raluca! I am always amazed at how many corners of the world this blog reaches, and to learn these amazing facts about other cultures that I never would have known otherwise. Yay to comments!

Okay, I’ll let you get back to work. Have a wonderful day! But before I go, I made a little creature, just for you…

A friend of Harriet’s perhaps? She needs a name – suggestions welcome…

xx

…yes, I have lots of them. And I am busy busy trying to get them completed. It’s at times like this that I forget to eat. When my mind is alight with creativity. When I start one thing and then another, and another, and another and keep going in this strange manner led by some innate direction. I can’t create a routine or prioritise my work, no matter how hard I try. I just fly in what appears to be some crazy, chaotic pattern for an undetermined period of time.

I take photos when I should be writing. I write when I should be recording. I record when I should be taking photos. I pick up a pair of scissors when I thought I was going to pick up a pen. I start cutting something that I thought I was going to stitch.

And at some point I suddenly feel it is the right time to stand back. And observe. And sign my name.

But I’m not there yet. I’m still flying about the place going from one project to the next, forgetting to eat. I look forward to the time when I feel it’s right to stand back and say “I’m finished”.

…while I wait for the kettle to boil.

PS The fabric is by Maramiki – it is hand drawn then screenprinted onto cotton. I bought one of Maramiki’s remnant stashes a couple of months back and have been using them endlessly in my shoots. I will show + tell soon!

…from my cousin (aka the sister I never had). She always knows what I will love. Right now it sits proudly on my prop shelf. I have not yet used it but tomorrow morning, I think I just might.