Krista | ramblingtart

Wood-burning at the Allora Winter Festival

by Krista | Jul 16, 2014 | Winter

It is so good to be home again after a lovely weekend of medieval camping. It was wonderfully relaxing – just what I needed – with good sleeps, hugs and visits with dear friends, and nourishing food cooked over the fire. (I will tell you about it next week.)

We returned home to all our animals safe and sound, gardens flourishing, and four days of wood-burning my heart out in preparation for my first booth at the Allora Winter Festival this coming weekend.

I’ve been invited to present my work at “Meet the Makers”, an event where local artisans give demonstrations on everything from bead-making, knitting, and sewing to painting, chocolate-sauce-prepping and doll-creating. It is such a fun group of women, jolly, hilarious, and talented, and I’m delighted to be part of it. We’re all looking forward to an excuse to spend the day together.

If you are going to be on the Darling Downs this weekend, do pop on by the Allora RSL between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to say hello, learn all sorts of crafts, and catch live music at PJ Travers Park. For more information, visit the Allora Winter Festival Facebook page or visit the pages of some of my fellow artists:

Frog & Swallow Gourmet Preserves
Beads of Ambrosia
Radha Luxury Organics and Naturals
Twinkle Twins Clothing
Jill Kennett Art Dolls in Cloth

Now I must get back to my wood-burning. Next up – rolling pins!

A Camping Getaway

by Krista | Jul 10, 2014 | Winter

Sometimes life likes to play little jokes. Like scheduling hospital operations in the same week I’m supposed to go medieval camping and teach two demonstrations on medieval medicine. Good heavens. Yesterday I didn’t think I’d make it, but today is a new day and a much, much better one. It’s amazing what a whole lot of rest and good sleeps will do for a body.

I took things slow and steady and bit by by everything came together. My gear is all packed, medieval medicines made, notes printed. I think I’m set.

I’m really looking forward to our weekend getaway, cozy winter nights sleeping in our oh-so-warm Bedouin tent, foggy mornings around the campfire, late nights sipping homemade mead and swapping stories before bed.

Last year was my first time teaching medieval medicine and I was so nervous I nearly made myself sick. This year is different. This year I know my material well and the recipes and uses just come to mind naturally. This year I get to relax and enjoy it, delighting children with talk of bone saws and stitching them up with horse hair, meeting people from all over the world, visiting the myriad camps and learning as much as I can.

Mostly I’m excited to spend time with my Bear and our dear friends. It’s lovely to be with comfy folks, isn’t it? With people who love you and tease you and are glad you’re around. It’s the best medicine.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend with people who love you. xo

A Little Order in Winter

by Krista | Jul 8, 2014 | Winter

I’m home again from the hospital, sore and exhausted but so happy to be home. There were complications with the procedures that will make recovery a bit longer, but it’s OK. The docs were able to do them and that’s what counts. Now I rest up and wait for the results. Thank you so much for all your kind notes and messages. They mean a great deal to me and brought a lot of smiles and comfort. XO

It’s been wicked cold this week thanks to icy winds that seem to find every crack in the floorboards and gap in our clothing. Brrr. It’s a good time of year to rest inside, warm and toasty with multiple layers and innumerable cups of hot tea, steaming coffee, and creamy cocoa.

My recovery days are filled with quiet things: wood-burning, reading, naps. I’ve been reading Robert Frost, remembering why I’ve always loved his words:

“We can make a little order where we are, and then the big sweep of history on which we can have no effect doesn’t overwhelm us. We do it with colors, with a garden, with the furnishings of a room, or with sounds and words. We make a little form, and we gain composure.”

“a little order where we are” – how I love that.

When I am ill or tired or just plain overwhelmed, it’s such a comfort to know I don’t have to fix it all, feel it all, care deeply for it all. My heart gets pulled in so many directions when I watch the news or read the paper, most of which I can do absolutely nothing about.

But I can make a little order in my life. I can make our little world a bit better for me and my loves, the people that cross our path.

I can plant flowers and herbs and veggies.

I can cuddle baby goats and help them find their mums when they get lost.

I can write notes or emails to beloved ones near and far.

I can brew a cup of tea for a dear friend.

I can give my hubs a hug when he’s had a rough day.

Little things really do make a difference.

What little things are making your world better this week? XO

Igniting Spirits

by Krista | Jul 2, 2014 | Winter

“Walk with the dreamers,
the believers,
the courageous,
the cheerful,
the planners,
the doers,
the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.
Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it…”
Wilferd Peterson

My friend Rachael shared this with me today and I couldn’t help but smile. I love igniting spirits, people who, with their own passion, love, and tenacity, inspire me to press on no matter what.

I’m grateful for the beloved igniting spirits in my life, those who do good and create beauty and show love even when they feel wobbly or uncertain. They give me courage. My heart gives a little leap whenever they’re around. Just being in their presence – be it long distance or in person – makes the heavy things lighter, the dark things brighter, the sad things easier to bear.

It’s been a difficult week with the death of a family member, crippling pain, and an operation looming on Monday. But somehow, thanks to those lovely, igniting spirits, I’m OK, I’m hanging in here, I have hope and peace and comfort. They have made my world better than they found it, and I hope I can do the same for them.

In spite of the hard things this week, there has been much good.

learning of ways we can help newly arrived immigrant families in Australia. This is something very close to my heart since I was once a new immigrant struggling to learn Aussie English and find my place in a foreign country and strange culture.
working on writing my history book and finding fantastic stories that I can’t wait to include.
being invited to join a group of local artisans to do a wood-burning demonstration at the first annual Allora Winter Festival. I knew I’d love this group when, at our first meeting, we managed to get everything done while spending the bulk of our time swapping stories and laughing until we couldn’t sit up straight.
a day out with my Bear, exploring nurseries and hardware stores, thrift shops and markets, ending our jaunts with coffee and pastry at a local bakery.
baby goats. They are a constant delight. I love their cuddles, inquisitive explorations, and all the odd places they find to curl up for naps.

And tonight Bear looked over at me and announced, “I feel like buying you a roast chicken and chips and gravy!” Who could resist such an offer? I burst out laughing and off we went to pick up our favorite comfort food.

So many good things.

Wishing you a beautiful week and encounters with igniting spirits to cheer your heart. xo

Winter Gardens, Winter Babies

by Krista | Jun 28, 2014 | Winter

It may be Winter here on our Queensland farm, but there is so much life and growth that in spite of the cold, it feels like Spring!

The gardens are now producing food that we can actually eat instead of just exclaim excitedly over: chicory, kale, alpine strawberries, and fresh herbs.

My kitchen garden is a sea of green seedlings as broad beans, celeriac, Hungarian peas, and Spanish onions push their way up through the soil.

After looking rather sad and parched during the Summer, the alyssum is flourishing and fragrant.

Late radishes are popping up and snow peas, purple-podded Dutch peas, and sugar snap peas are getting taller by the day. I think I may have gone a bit overboard in the pea department, but really, can you honestly ever have too many fresh peas?

The nasturtiums struggled through the summer too, but now their leaves are so big and hardy they look like lily pads!

And the hollyhocks continue to make me smile and remember my childhood in Canada. Aren’t they beauties?

Our most exciting additions started arriving yesterday: KIDS!!!

Mother McCree delivered twin girls yesterday and they’re achingly cute. This little one is the bravest so far, tottering about to inspect leaves and tree trunks and the neighboring geese.

Her big sister is happiest snoozing in a warm corner, occasionally getting up for a yawn and a feed.

And this sturdy little chap arrived this morning in a tangle of long legs with a white stripe on his tummy.

We are utterly smitten and keep looking for reasons to wander down and watch and cuddle them as they eat, sneeze, and totter around like jerky little puppets.