BeautyScope 215: Cork oak climbing

cork oak 

climbing challenge

insect adventureland

Would you climb it?

Dress ups

The other day my nieces, twins Grace and Hope came to visit. They were getting up to speed with their driving ;-)
When they arrived I threw some dress-ups at them, and this is what stuck.

 

 

 

Aren't they gorgeous?!

Even Winter and Mr Artist got into the act.

 

Although here it looks like Winter is saying...help, get me out of here!

They're good mates really.

(Incidentally, do these look like photos of someone with a dog phobia? Winter has been the best therapy.)

Mr Artist decided to show his cousins his Hetty the Hatter trick.

 

And his version of a scarf dance!

 

 

Not forgetting to stop and smell the roses.

Here's trouble..a trio of trouble!

I will leave you with a video I made for Dana of Danalovesfashionandmusic. A snippet of a lullaby.

 

Sleep tight!

'Til next time, keep on creating!

Love,
Jazzy Jack

BeautyScope 214: Bark Braille

natural Braille

for the short sighted 

leading the way

Tell me, do you touch trees too?

The Big Foot Family

As a celebration of our time together, our family has put together a little story, featuring all the faux fur I seem to have collected!
Storyboarded and photographed by Mr Artist.

 
This is the Big Foot family who live in a cave.

 
They have two almighty leaders.

 
And a very cute curious little Big Foot

 
who is much loved.

 
They like to have long expeditions, and on one of their expeditions they found a mysterious inscription on some rock.

 
What could it mean?

But the little big foot thought "look out" meant "look for human"...wait come back!

 
In the morning he is still missing.

"He must be looking for da human"

And the family set out to look for him.

They look under the stairs

 
In the lantern

 
and  under the plants (how big are humans?)

 
Oh look, there he is!

 
and he's with da human! 
"Sup?"

 
"Please come home with me".
There was much rejoicing as he agreed. 
Grandad Big Foot learnt about technology

 

and their baby had returned!

 
The end.
 
Thanks to my parents for being great sports!
'Til next time, keep on creating.
 
Love,
Jazzy Jack
 
PS Linking up with Patti's Visible Monday on Not Dead Yet Style. Come on over and be visible with us!

BeautyScope 213: The high road or the low road

will you take the neat smooth road in life

or the bumpy challenging one

with its chance of discoveries?

Quiet down!

Simplicity, Focus, Creativity, Relaxation

These are the watchwords I have written on the wall at the moment, as I attempt to redesign my life.

I have put in place a few changes to achieve this.

Firstly I issued the following statement to Facebook and Google+.

My life is going through a health, and therefore a lifestyle, flux at the moment.

In an attempt to simplify things and allow me to focus on only a couple of goals, I will be withdrawing once more from Facebook and Google+.

If you would like to stay in regular contact I would love you to stop by my blog naturalmedley.blogspot.com.au and say hi!

I will still be posting on Instagram and Pinterest @naturalmedley.

Quiet corner

I made a quiet corner/altar where I sit and breathe and slow down, thinking about whatever beautiful stuff I have on the chair.

A corner of my living room which is generally dedicated to quietness,
is specifically dedicated to quietness.
A chair with a nice piece of fabric, and some themed items to meditate on.
A cushion to sit on. A bell, some water, some rocks and scented candle to waken and soothe the senses.

Yoga

I'm trying to do yoga once a day to stretch out and tone my muscles that want to cramp and to quiet my mind.

Focus

I'm deciding on one focus for the day and writing it on the whiteboard that is my pantry door. This helps me utilise my focus ability.

I have two brain modes. To brainstorm and bring in multiple thoughts and ideas which really helps with my creativity; and to focus and never want to stop doing the one activity...to obsession!

I have been too much in my brainstorming mode, allowing the many visual cues (mess) distract me, and I've been running hither and yon trying to achieve some neatness in my life. Of course becoming way over stimulated in the process!

In receiving my health motivation, I've had to stop and rethink. Focussing on one thing has allowed me to achieve something at the end of the day, and I'm also learning to walk through the mess and leaving it alone. I'm hoping this will help me in my everyday sensory onslaught.

Cleaning and tidying in 15 minute bursts.

Since I've been unwell for so long, the house has been slowly falling into an unacceptable state. This is fuelling my stress.

So now, when I do turn my hand to cleaning and tidying, I am putting the timer on, and doing it in 15 minute bursts, so I don't end up running the same rat race again, and forgetting to stop.

Drop everything

I have executive function issues, and find it tricky organising my own brain, let alone training my kids. And yet they probably need more help than some.

I want to teach them how to look after themselves, but have been having woeful success, with the result I start screaming at the mess and them.

At my son's class, they have a system called DEAR- drop everything and read. I'm implementing a new chores idea for the kids of drop everything and clean/tidy for 15 minutes on the clock.

I'm hoping this new system will help with both the cleaning and the teaching!

Expert help

Mum and Dad are coming over today to visit for a few days while Bushy is away for work, and I've asked them to cast their tidy eyes over my place and give me some sorting and storing ideas. I hope to go to a storage place and put in place some new systems.

Crossing fingers!

Simplicity Spot: Wings
Here are some of my meditations this week as I thought about Wings. I call it my Simplicity Spot.

A butterfly Bushy brought me back from Papua New Guinea,
feathers birds have left in my path, crystal birds gifts from Bushy,
glass mushroom from Lava Glass in New Zealand,
wooden egg made by Mr Artist in woodwork
(he also made a matching spoon - convex and concave!)

bedraggled and torn

stilled beauty

can even now

make your spirit fly

Take a moment to breathe and think about wings and feathers and flying things.

Such fragile objects made of silk threads and fabrics, but they ride the air!

May our fragility be our strength today.

I've been meditating on the flight and nesting of birds.
Their life is balanced between movement and soaring, and stillness and rest. Also, when we fly we have the chance to fall. But if we don't accept the risk, we never have the chance to fly!

A newly thrifted poncho reminded me of wings,
with little feathered fringes all over it,
woollen shorts and hat- thrifted, slippers - too old!

Hat DIY

I sewed a peak on my hat, so I could use all the depth to cover my ears in Winter, but still look smart.
This hat came in a give away bag, with bent wire in the brim, so I undid the stitching removed the wire and resewed the edge. Voila, straight brim. Never say never!

'Til next time, keep on creating and showing it to the world.
And try to spend some time in simplicity.

Much love,

Jazzy Jack

PS I finished my medication reduction on Monday...yeehah!

Edit: Linking up with Style Crone to give her a hat attack. Come over and join the hatted beauties.

 

Why not leave a three word impression (poem) or a smiley if you enjoyed your visit? :-D

BeautyScope 212: Please shut gate

grass wins tug o' war 

with conscience

BeautyScope 211: Follow the leader

sons follow

their father through 

the mists of life

And the beat goes on....

I thought I'd update you on how my journey is going, two weeks later.

 

I can't lie, it has not been easy, but it could have been a lot worse.

Lately I'm dealing with a lot of muscular tension and pain, and my mind state is turbulent. I've had days where my thoughts all unravel and fill my mind with meaningless stuff. All my decisions and thought processes from my adult life are unzipped and reanalysed and remade. Talk about confusion and depression!

However I am holding firm and trying to remain in the moment.

My initial response to the medication reduction is:

increased - muscle tension/pain,
                - allergies,
                - mind turbulence,
                - sensory overload.
               
decreased - puffiness,
                - dryness,
                - oral thrush,
                - heart rate,
                - heart pounding,
                - sleepiness.

One more week of alternate day medication, and then nothing for 3 wks and then ECG. Da da daaaah!

On a brighter note, I received a lovely gift from Shawna of The Director of Awesome, who is awesome!! Go and visit her now, I'll wait.

She sent me this fabulous glass bead necklace as it doesn't suit her wardrobe colouring anymore.

This is what I was wearing, so I tucked the necklace into the braces for a belt!



Thrifted - Silk scarf headwrap, yellow braces/suspenders,
white cotton shirt, pinstripe shorts, converse sneakers;
Gifted - glass bead necklace/belt

And tomorrow if all goes well, we are off to Heartwoods for the Easter Long Weekend!
We have plans of bike riding, chopping firewood, and hammock lounging....but they are predicting rain, which we desperately need. So maybe we will be reading, eating and drawing around the pot belly stove inside the shed listening to the raindrops filling our tank and dam!



As we enter the shed



Looking to the left a bit

 


Looking further to the left

You can see all the work Bushy has done on his holidays, levelling the dirt floor, adding sand, plastic and carpet tiles; lining metal walls with foam for some insulation and covering the base with plywood; filling the holes in the roof with insulation batts, so air doesn't blow in; mounting a sink and cupboards to provide a more pleasant work space.The pot belly lived for years in our garden as a sculpture, but took up the reins again despite rust, and does a stirling job heating and cooking. No windows, just a skylight and two roller doors, and all our old castoffs which suddenly look glamorous again at Heartwoods!

In order to cheer myself up I've been going through old works and discovered this poem I wrote many years ago when in a similar state. I liked it so much I put it on Instagram for people to read and download if it spoke to them. So here it is for you to enjoy!

Keep on creating and showing your amazing self to the world in all its uniqueness and craziness.

 

Love,

Jazzy Jack