A belated welcome...

to the year Twenty Thirteen: Year of the Snake

cute calendar by one of my favourite designers,  Misako Mimoko

Ah,  it has been a rather busy year already, many a change is a foot.

At home, in the studio, in the garden. No time to dilly-dally. Onward

and upward and forward and in fact that's my new year's resolution. 

To  keep moving  forward. 

To stop looking backward. 

Like everyone, there are aspects of my life that I wish I could change, 

decisions I wish I could reverse, opportunities I wish I hadn't forgone... 

I spend a lot of time in this country of the past. It's a land of memories, 

but not all those memories are correct.  Over time our re-collection can 

become distorted by our emotions and by our present-day experiences. 

Looking back can be more of a visit to the imagination, than a trip back 

in time and it can hinder our journey forward if we choose to spend too

much time looking back. Wise words? They are words of Walt Disney.

"Around here,  however,  we 

don't look back for very long.

We keep moving forward,  opening new doors,
and doing new things,  because we're curious
and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

One of our favourite movies of recent times is 'Meet the Robinsons'.

Based on the book 'A Day with Wilbur Robinson' by William Joyce.

It tells us the sweet story of Lewis, an orphan, who dreams of seeing his

mother again... if only once. Subsequently, he is taken on a wild ride to 

the future, where he encounters a world beyond his wildest imaginings

and in the end he realises- all he has to do to bring that world to life is  

'keep moving forward'

... classic Disney stuff, but the message never grows old for me 

or for Ari, and whenever we watch it it brings tears to our eyes. 

xox

the secret life of insects

I made paella for dinner tonight, and when I sliced through the 

middle of the capsicum and looked inside, there was a little green 

caterpillar (and about a thousand little green caterpillar eggs). 

It just managed to miss the knife somehow. Phew!

It was like a scene from this cute little french animation series....

Ari and I have been watching these together after school lately. 

I think the caterpillar's my favourite of the Minuscule creatures.

Ari calls it 'The Secret Life of Insects'.  Hehe.... so cute! More here.

cute spooks

There is a colourised version... but I love the old B +W classic!

We saw some rather cute spooks out Trick or Treating last night. 

 I love that Halloween is finally starting to gain momentum,  here 

in OZ. The kids had so much fun terrorising the neighbourhood!

lullaby

Over In Killarney,

Many years ago,

My Mother sang a song to me

In tones so sweet and low;

Just a simple little ditty,

In her good old Irish way,

And I'd give the world to hear her sing

That song of hers today.

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Hush now don't you cry!

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, That's an Irish lul-la-by

Oft, in dreams I wander

To that cot again.

I feel her arms a-hugging me

As when she held me then.

And I hear her voice a humming

To me as in days of yore,

When she used to rock me fast asleep

Outside the cabin door.

I'm a strong believer in the power of a beautiful lullaby 

when it comes to sending our little ones off to sleep.

Ari was somewhat of a difficult sleeper to begin with.

He had a few health issues which caused him discomfort 

and made it very difficult for him to settle. Until he was five, 

I sang to Ari almost every night, and often at nap times too.

I still sing to him on occasion, when he asks me to. 

Usually 'Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral'... ah, those Irish roots!

My grandmother sang it to my mother, she sang it to me,

and now I take pleasure in singing it to my own child.

I guess, that's the way it often is with lullabies.

Lately, I've been singing this sometimes... perhaps 

you remember me posting about Arrietty before? 

I bought Ari the DVD for his birthday. He loves this song.

 I looked it up on youtube and lately he's been listening to 

it as he drifts off to sleep. I must say, it works like magic!

Чебура́шка!

Also known as Cheburashka or Topple in English Translations.

Here's an episode. It's in two parts.

At the start, the crocodile is singing about what a great

pity it is, that birthdays only happen once a year.

one...

two...

I love the strangeness of these old claymation films and would love 

to have a go at making one of my own.  The colours in this one are 

particularly lovely I think and the characters and sets are very cute! 

It would be a fantastic holiday project to work on with older kids...

happy bunny day!

Funny Little Bunnies: A Walt Disney Silly Symphony 1934

Arrietty

Yesterday morning we went to see Arrietty at Cinema Nova.
(How comfy are those cinema armchairs?!  Wonderful.)

It's based on Mary Norton's fantastical book 'The Borrowers'.

It was so... enchanting.... sad but... beautiful.  How I'd love to slip
into that secret world with it's towering flowers and tiny teacups...

Oh, I do so adore the beautiful animation work of  Studio Ghibli.

Afterwards we enjoyed italian hot chocolates and macarons at Brunetti's

(a Melbourne institution when it comes to cakes) and Ari found another

Robert Crowther Pop-Up Book at the plaza bookstore for $10. Bargain.

I spent the better part of today helping at Ari's school and am just about

to pick him up and head to Swimming lessons. Happy Monday everyone! 

xoxox

halloween, horses, tabby cats and budgies

We found a new little friend for Coo Coo this weekend. We're not sure if we have a girl or boy yet, but Ari named our new baby budgie Winky... 

...because he/she makes very good eye contact ;) Winky is being quarantined (so living in a different room to Coo Coo) but when Coo Coo called for Loco, Winky answered back and Coo Coo seems to be much happier to know there's another little feathered creature in the house. Even if they can't meet just yet. And even though it's not Loco. It makes my heart glad to see Coo Coo happy but I do miss my sweet little fella.

Winky is a beautiful yellow and green Australian Budgerigar.

Well, this weekend was long and busy. Festive with Halloween and long due to the Melbourne Cup Holiday. Personally, I feel a bit sorry for the horses and having spent some years working in the land of Millinery, I always feel rather edgy come Spring Racing (as though I ought to be madly stitching hat brims, trimming fascinators and folding boxes).

Friday night, Ari's school had a Halloween disco, which was great fun, but then we came home to more pet troubles! The cat had to be taken to the vet for a bite abscess, so much of Saturday and Sunday were spent comforting poor Sneaky. That's 7 vet visits for two animals this week. We are SO poor now! Ah, but what can one do? Pets are like children.

Monday we went to see Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone at ACMI. They're playing the whole series there at the moment click here. Unfortunately, we had to leave half-way through because it seems that even when you've seen a movie 20 times at home, Trolls are scary on 'the big screen'. So we spent a lovely afternoon at the Museum and then Ari went trick-or-treating with some friends... which was hilarious fun.

Dolls by Robins Egg Blue (website)

Halloween's not traditionally celebrated as a holiday here so it's always pot luck whether the kids get given any treats or not... last year we took them to Fitzroy and ended up targeting the chocolate shops (yes, it was that bad!) This year we plyed the neighbours with a good supply and had the good-luck to venture upon some festive houses where they'd really gotten into the spirit of the night.  So the kid's had a blast.

Houses by Robins Egg Blue (shop)

Images of bird-dolls and bird-houses found via this blog

I've really had birds on the brain lately and have spent a lot of time talking to Dr Google about budgies, so I thought I'd share a couple of my favourite birdy things with you.

When I visited Alice Springs thirteen odd years ago I happened to find a copy of The Bird Children in a lovely little book shop there. I think they're awfully sweet and would look so wonderful framed in a child's room, with the little bird dolls as companions. Aren't they enchanting?

New editions and other books illustrated by Elizabeth Gordon 
are available from Amazon or you can purchase one of the 
original illustrated book pages to frame from this Etsy store

My own little flock of lovebirds will be flying into the shop when it opens....

Hello Mister Narwhal

A new little friend from the work table...

likes: swimming, playing ring toss, they might be giants

dislikes: oil spills, eating his seaweed, Jaws (the movie)  

(Thanks Emily! For the heads up on these guys... we love them too. xo)

Len Lye

Len Lye's animations are magical viewing for little ones... 

Ari loved them when he was two or three.

I love ACMI. They have some excellent exhibitions which are often great 

for kids (like Len Lye back in 2009), a collection of thousands of flicks 

on DVD and film reel (and available for us Victorians to borrow through 

our local libraries) and a fantastic shop filled with all sorts of cinematic 

resources. If you find yourself in Melbourne, you must make time to visit.

If you like this Len Lye animation there are lots more on YOUTUBE

the blue bird

A tale about birth, life, death... and the eternal pursuit of happiness

Written by Maurice Maeterlinck in 1910, 

The Blue Bird first appeared in the form of a fairy play

intended for interpretation as theatre and dance.

It has since been adapted for film. 

Firstly, as a silent picture in 1918 then again starring Shirley Temple

in 1940 as 20TH CENTURY FOX's answer to The Wizard of OZ and 

once more in 1976.  Only the 1940 production managed to leave any 

lasting impression on the general public and the telling of the fairytale 

itself seems to have become somewhat of an obscurity in modern times. 

click HERE to read a story version of the play


It is however, most definitely, one of my favourite fables.

I first saw the Shirley Temple film at my Nana's house

when I was a little girl and I fell instantly in love with it.  

It has held a special little place in my heart ever since, 

and I have been searching for a copy to show to Ari.

I love the scene where the mothers are singing out for their 

unborn babies to sail down to earth and into their arms.

I recently found it on Youtube... and Ari loved it.

I hope that you will love it too. xo

say i love you

Well, since the sad passing of our dear friend Mac , 

we've decided that it's time to get a dog of our own. 

So we're on the look out for a large (fluffy) dog, 

that's intelligent and can be trained to stay within 

 property boundaries (as there's only wire fencing).

A dog that has a reputation as being child-friendly,

that's playfully, affectionate, says 'I LOVE YOU'...

seriously though, if you know of a dog in Victoria

that's looking for a home please do let me know 

i ♥ darth

At our house Jedis are right up there 

with SUPERHEROES of course...

but personally I love a good super villain 

( have you seen 'Despicable Me' yet?)

orphaned plate from Beat Up Creations 

Aren't these just wonderful!  

Ari loves this illustration ↓ 

found via Share Some Candy 

Believe it or not there's no 'telly' at our place though... 

DVDs and videos (and the internet and youtube) are the go.

No we are not hippies (well, not strictly anyway) 

and we are aware of what's going on around the world... 

and we do watch some TV shows, just on DVD.

To be honest if we could afford to get the antenna fixed we probably 

would have telly, but it's just not that high on my list of priorities.  

Mostly, I hate Ads.  Most of them.

Ari doesn't see the ads for junkfood, so grocery shopping is a 

pleasant thing... there's no incessant nagging for rubbishy foods. 

(And Ari has never asked to eat at a McDonalds restaurant.)

Buying organic strawberries is truly a most exciting treat. 

And so they should be... all red and sweet and delicious as they are, 

and home-baked cakes are mouth wateringly anticipated.  

( How I love that they've banned junkfood in Australian schools now! )

Because, we don't watch telly Ari's oblivious to the hype around 

the latest in toys and video games and movies... 

and the old classics win out again and again at our house.

Occassionally, I watch Ads on youtube. Purely for amusement.

Ten years without telly and I've negleted to witness this change 

firsthand, but it has struck me recently that there does seem 

to be a new simple intelligence to some contemporary Ads,

(and I wonder if Madmen has played a hand in this).

Some are even cute and moderately entertaining...

Take for example this car Ad which recently aired in the US.

UP, up and away

found via this wonderful blog  (story here)

    
WELL !

seems that it is possible to lift a house
using nothing but balloons afterall...

Dreams Come True

I know it's Disney, I know, I know! 

But I saw 'The Princess and The Frog' 

for the first time with Ari yesterday, 

on the big screen, and I was touched.  

It was showing in conjunction with

here 

which is exhibiting at ACMI until the 26th April.

There's as much beauty in this movie, 

in it's art and quality of storytelling, 

as in wonderful Disney Classics 

like Bambi, Snow White and Cinderella

and I wanted to share a little of it with you....

My poor boy's been sick in bed all Easter holidays

with the flu, pretty rough when you're a preppy!

I was so looking forward to taking him to see this 

on the big screen, and we almost missed out.

We rarely go to the cinema, it's so expensive

but  ACMI kids' flicks  are very cheap!

'Tangled' is now showing in the ACMI cinema.