One of the reasons I have started this Blog, is because there seems to be a community growing among women who spend a great deal of time at home with their children and who are totally committed to motherhood as much as they are the other areas of their creativity. We can so easily feel isolated even though we are surrounded by people. I never feel lonely because Beau is fantastic company but we all need to share what's going on. I have some wonderful friends close by. We have also connected with like-minded people in our suburb, we get together once a month or so to share some food and check out each other's gardens/houses. We are all committed to living sustainably and interdependently and we are in the process of setting up an organic food co op. This makes city living so much richer for me and I look forward to extending the connection here and sharing ideas and information. I find it so inspiring to see what people are making, cooking, watching, reading.....in the midst of everyday life, in the things we do that add meaning and beauty.
I will share with you the painting I have been working on for far too long now. It is a painting of the Tibetan Buddhist Deity Green Tara and was to be part payment to one of our midwives for Beau's home birth and is now an embarrassing two years late!!!!!!
I am so very tired and must sleep before I launch into an epic post fueled by exhaustion and lack of direction and too much chocolate!

bedtime songs

After the 10th rendition of Beau's favourite bedtime song which absolutely must cover every being he has encountered in his 2 year old life to date ( therefore gets longer each evening ), I kissed him and said "I love you darling boy, I'm going outside and if you need me you just call me" and I left the room. For the first time ever he put himself to sleep! All those spectacular 'first times' to look forward to. Beau is my greatest teacher, my perfect mirror. I feel like he is here to show me how to know myself and that whatever I offer him in terms of guidance is a direct result of how much I notice the reflections. Today we had the most fantastic comedic chain of events whereby Beau had proudly shown me the poo he'd deposited in the garden, the phone then rang, I answered to my friend in Sydney who then also witnessed me telling Beau not to stand in the poo please and no don't poke it and no don't drive your truck through it either and then attempt diversion and a few minutes later extract said poo- covered truck from lounge room floor. Immediately after the phone call I went to remove said poo from garden and it had vanished. The dog. The dog had eaten it. So partner, K was informed by Beau on return form work "Flash poo eat all up later" Hereby executing his first 6 word sentence. You talk alot about poo when you have kids huh. I think that's why it's so vitally important to engage in activities outside the home when you're a parent, so that you have more than poo to discuss.
We would love to have another baby. Just so we can do the poo thing all over again. And that's my last mention of the p word.
When I find our camera I will start adding photos to my posts. Part of the reason for my debut into blogging is the hope that I may become more intimate with the camera. I'm quite hopeless when it comes to documenting life. I like to think I'm more into being in the moment than capturing it but I'm really just forgetful in that area. And I so very much enjoy seeing snippets of other people's lives and loves and works and homes (in particular Amanda from Soulemama) that I wish to share some of mine. In fact here is a photo of our garden which once was concrete and hills hoist but now is home to vegetables and chickens and insects for which Joe has developed a great passion, and for which there seems never enough time to all the things I would love to do out there. (Patience has never been my best quality but I have come a long long way ).

Baring of Bones

To blog or not to blog I have often considered. I've marveled at the output of all the countless creative sister bloggers I frequently visit and have wondered how you find the time......but you do and I will. I have kept a diary since I was 14 (now 39) and this seems like a logical step to take! The change of weather has arrived this early autumn Melbourne day. Glorious rain and cool wind. My two year old sleeps, my partner is out for a while, and the house is not too chaotic so here I am writing my first blog posting. It's like sitting in front of a blank canvas. A bit daunting, a bit exciting, and just mundane enough to be able to get on with it eventually. We bought our little house almost a year ago in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. A good deal further than I ever thought we would live from the ocean and a good deal of work to do on the house but I've always looked forward to having my own home, a place that would become a life size art work in progress. Just like life really and all the other sub-works we fill it with!!?? As for the Blog name - Skeleton Woman is my favourite story of all time, told and 'unpacked' so beautifully by Christina Pinkola Estes in Women Who Run With The Wolves. You must find a copy and read the chapter if you haven't already, and marvel at it's poignancy. I read it so many times and was inspired to write songs and paint . Isn't that creative heaven when one thing, one piece of something, one image, fills you to the brim. Skeleton Woman has been right by me rattling her bones whenever I've needed her - negotiating difficult relationships; entering into relationship with my now husband which is good and rich and real; at the home birth of our beautiful boy when I felt my own bones being rattled and transformed forever; grieving the death of my mother finally after 12 years; whenever the winds of change shake me up and render me restless.....and she reminds me to keep a sense of humour too. When I start to feel wobbly I just imagine everyone without their skin on!