Saturday

 A bit late posting this, but....

I think Australia Day was one of my favourite days this year so far.  We had a semi-spontaneous lunch at Lanyon Homestead.  David had seen that they had free entry to the homestead and were also having music in the gardens. 

We grabbed meat and other goods on the way to pull together a great Ploughman's lunch.  Then we sat in the gardens under trees and ate while the girls played.  Nicholas had taken up an invitation to go to the water park with a friend for a day of swimming and slides. 

Before leaving we took a walk around the vegetable gardens (and were inspired by the tomato trellis) and bought homemade ice-cream before heading home.

I think part of the reason I loved it so much is that Lanyon seems to be a backdrop for many memories I have over the years.

I have always loved history, and I remember distinctly that it was year 5 when I decided I wanted to be an historian.  Visiting Lanyon I would dream of living a century earlier....

In high school I was part of a small team working on restoring a plough, which was donated to Lanyon Homestead and was displayed in their machinery shed with a picture of us.

When I was 15 I volunteered as a guide at Lanyon, my faithful dad driving me through the bush to front gate and then down the long drive.  Now it seems impossible that you wouldn't drive through streets and down highways to get there in a matter of minutes.

I also did my year 10 work experience at the Sydney Nolan Gallery.  David Dolan was the curator at the time and went on to curate in some of Australia's bigger museums (such as the Powerhouse Museum). During this work experience I helped hang Nolan's Kelly paintings.  I remember being in awe of the work I was permitted to do, and even kept the white conservation gloves I was given for years!!  The gallery was preparing for an Arthur Boyd expedition, and some months alter I received an invitation to the exhibition opening.   

Many years later after my studies were completed and I was working in a different field, I remember writing to David and thanking him for the exposure he gave me to a field I loved so much.  He replied and asked if he could use me as an example in a paper he was writing about the field and providing real opportunities to young people.  I never saw the article he wrote, and he sadly passed away a few years ago, receiving acknowledgement in the Senate for his contribution to the field of heritage.

Then when I studied Cultural Heritage at university I completed a conservation report on the Lanyon Cemetery, which is located on private property, but still accessible on open days. 

So Lanyon will always have a place in my heart, and it was so lovely just to be there on the public holiday this year.  When I think about it, it is not the homestead that I get the most pleasure from, but the older out buildings - the stables, the kitchen, and thinking about the work that took place there.

Friday

If I had to describe my style I would say rustic.  And eclectic.  Particularly for the home.  My heart skips a beat when I look at things crafted from clay, timber or linen.  I love that old-world feel. 

Toast catalogues (when they produced paper ones and shipped them around for free) were always my favourite coffee table book/style resource. 

And I have kept every one, much to the ire of David :)  But why wouldn't you?

My favourite blogs display beautiful home settings with all the materials I love.

There is also a satisfaction I feel in doing things the slow (a word that has become the movement of the moment) “old-fashioned” way.  One of my favourite books is Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  The exquisite detail of everyday life.   That isn’t to say I want to hunt deer and pig, salt and store the meet or blow up the pigs bladder for Maggie to play ball with! And while it is reportedly like terrine, boiling a pigs head to make “head cheese” does not sound romantic at all.  I tried to read it to Audrey last year, but she didn’t show the same enthusiasm for it at the time. 

 But using essential oils to make cleaning products, or making beeswax candles and sewing linen napkins is appealing to me.   I can waste so much time looking at images of these things,,,  Even in my early teens I always wanted to visit museums and old homes and soak in the images of yesteryear.  At 15 I was a volunteer guide at Lanyon homestead and was always besotted with the out buildings, the kitchen and stables.

When we went camping early this year I loved stopping by huts and looking at the walls, papered with newspapers, now worn and yellowed.  Easy to think romantically about living in such a place and not about the bare necessity of warmth, light and food.

For now I will read the stories and look at the pictures.  I burn beautifully scented soy candles (made by others) and wait for my soft, crushed linen to arrive from Lithuania.  Then I will start by sewing my coveted crushed linen napkins.  :)

Friday

 

The Lord has been using my kids to speak to me lately without them even really knowing it.  Last week I went with Audrey to the National Museum of Australia.  As we walked through the exhibitions Audrey saw something and ran ahead.  It was the word 'Eternity' displayed in a light shining onto the floor.  She stood under the light and immediately folded her hands beneath her chin, closed her eyes and began to pray.  The guide who was near me said "well, that is appropriate!"

 

I looked at Audrey and then looked above her, wondering if she had had some kind of Joan of Arc experience!

 

But really, it meant something more to me.  The story of Mr Eternity can be read here.

Nicholas and I walk to school together on Thursday and Friday.  Lately he has been asking quite a few questions that require a more considered response, and require me to search my heart...

cross stitch

This post from Posie Gets Cozy has lots of lovely detail.  Hmmm.  Will my eyes survive one more?

I have said it before, but I think women, in all cultures and ages are amazing. Mothers especially. This virtual exhibition is brilliant. 

museums

today was an unusual one. various activities took the family apart from each other for a few hours this morning. Nicholas had a friends birthday party. at the dinosaur museum, so he was very excited. David took him along, but he preferred to wheel himself around, which is quite cute. it inspired him to turn the family room into his own dinosaur museum, and i had to go on a tour, so took my camera. :) i had registered to attend the 30th anniversary of interpretation at Lanyon Homestead. mum and dad looked after Audrey for me, so she was able to spend a bit of time helping her grandparents in the garden.
i think i have mentioned Lanyon a few times in this blog. i really should have started using tags earlier... i first volunteered as a guide at Lanyon Homestead when i was 15. i did a year 10 school assignment on Lanyon, and later in university wrote a conservation plan on the family cemetery. i was interested to learn today that the historic houses trust has funding to do some work on the cemetery, which is located on the working property, surrounding the homestead. there were three speakers on the topic of local history in a national context, a presentation on the restoration work undertaken at lanyon and from a much loved former curator, a talk on 30 years of the house museum. - she was very supprotive of my interests in history, curatorship and museum management when i was younger. while i was at university i worked with her (this time paid work) in various historic house museums. it was nice that she remembered me today - even though it was (gulp) over 20 years since we firat met. when i first arrived we had a cup of tea and a danish. the perfect setting, and a blissful couple of hours on my own - even if it was listening to lectures. i even had some time to read a book. see how easy i am to please?!
as David had the camera, pictures can be seen on the Lanyon website.