thank you

also thanks so much to josephine, danielle and jess for your help with the technical bits!

our lives begin

our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter- martin luther king
to not feel held back.
but let these words live in me:

sight
perception
liberation
wholeness
wholesomeness
movement
health
fullness
sanity
balance
hope.

i have been reading heat (it's about global warming) and taking notes, i'm not sure why i'm taking notes but i am.
along side it i've been reading about poverty and social justice. for a week or two I felt like I could'nt breathe.
How can I make pretty things out of something that takes and consumes. Surely the beauty is not true beauty unless it gives.
Unless we stop kidding ourselves by thinking we can live without limits.

We have found a printer who prints to the green standards, which is more than eco inks and recycled paper.
this is thrilling to me, but only the beggining.
I now have a list that could possibly be unachievable, but i'm going for it anyway.
a list that gives life and dignity to my brothers and sisters in poverty.
How can my joy be complete while someone else is in distress.
i will give.
i will donate.
i will pray and move my feet.

xx
alana

p.s the photo is from Sara on her holiday in tassie, it's so glorious!

eeeeeee.

I know that if i looked somewhere, i would find answers to these very simply questions. Infact, i can almost hear the tutting. i confess i have no idea how to use blogger, and worse still, i'm lazy.
here are my questions, feel free not to help me!

one. how do i reply to comments that people have left
two. what am i doing wrong when i upload photos and they come out looking very odd. almost like a negative.

help!

joy joy joy joy joy joy

our christmas cards are finished, proofed and all tied up with string...
and their brightness has caught the attention of our favourite stores.
(they'll be up on shelves in mid october) not to mention a few other little surprises.....
owww secrets!

when everything is more appealing than drawing, even cleaning dudley's paws so he can come inside.

well, i baked 15 cranberry shorbread bikkies
did the dishes
wrote out a calander of the next months activities
made the bed with extra care
and now i have run out of things to do that have nothing to do with poppies.

looks like i will have to design our christmas range.
You see, we've never been this organised before, it's
always been a last minute thing, when the weather is getting warmer.
when it feels like christmas.
but
it is raining and its JULY.
well. i have till monday to have it done.
plenty of time.

call me simpson

sara received a beautiful card this week.
simply because a man saw one of our tea towels in a magazine,
and fell in love with it, cause it was a way he could bring the birds inside his home.
unfortunately we don't sell tea towels anymore, but do have a few lying around.
sara bundled two up for him, as a gift, and into the country they went.

He wrote,
'My dear Sara,
Thank you for your delightful gift and the sincerity that inspired it!
I assure you, the "little birdies" will have a place of honour in my home
and often remind me of the lovely ladies who created them...
may life continue to be an enriching experince for you and alana'

how he enriched our lives, with his blue pen and handwriting.

new designs

it's one of those days when i really really really should turn spell check on.
finally our new little booklet is finished, all ready to be printed and sent to stores.
its at that moment that your heart ends up in your mouth..
what will they think, have we lost the ability to draw. will no one order and i'll
have to get a 'real' job. ahh the creative mind.
i think that's why i'm posting some pics here before the big send out. like
a great nervous exhale. get yourself together lani.