A bit about Home…

Well hello again!

It’s been such a long time hasn’t it. I thought I would just jump right back in – there’s no other way really. Just start.

Since last we met, there was the Christmas order rush, Christmas, New Year and another wonderful trip home, which inevitably lead to jet lag and the need to acclimatise back to winter in February. But there has also the feeling of getting back into the swing of things here at home in Hamburg and the studio, which makes me happy too.

I find the beginning of each year a little bit of a rollercoaster – so thanks for bearing with me until now. How has your year been so far?

We were lucky enough to have a few lovely snow covered days here in Hamburg, before flying to summer in Melbourne. Snow is so much nicer than rain, isn’t it?  Even though it’s usually colder when it snows, there’s just something about the white stuff. It turns our neighbourhood into a fairytale. 

White trees, soft squeaky snow under foot, as we shuffle through it, so as not to slip and fall. Bikes and cars buried thick, rooftops peaking out, warm lights shining through the windows. I can’t help but smile, grab my camera and get out there in it.

Our kitten Minty has had a few months of firsts – her first snowfall, first Christmas and first time home without us. I can confirm she survived them all and loved every minute.

She thought the snowfall was, of course, designed just for her – pawing at the windows as her new playthings fell from the sky. Our Christmas tree was a big hit – both the smell and all the glass ornaments –  but all survived to tell the tale.

We had amazing friends move in – to help ease Minty’s transition in our absence – who not only spoiled her rotten but sent us daily updates! We can’t thank them enough, as it was hard for us to think of her here without us too.

Summer down under is always a welcome relief, when flying out of subzero temperatures. What a breath of fresh air it is, to stand and take a photo like this!

We were so happy to feel heat from the sunshine, to dust off our sunnies and dive into the drink. My trusty sock monkey Clive always enjoys the ride too and loved meeting lots of lovely new people on this trip.

The coffee, the people, the light and ease of being home never gets old.

Thus started 5 weeks of drinking flat whites, enjoying poached eggs with mushrooms, applying sunscreen, walking down laneways and through art exhibitions, diving under waves, watching the tennis, eating pancakes, rummaging through op-shops, playing golf, feeling grateful for air-conditioning, fainting at the cost of EVERYTHING, belly laughing till we cried, lots of hugs, falling asleep to the sound of cicadas and waking up to the sound of kookaburras and magpies. To put it simply – being home.

Home for us is everything you can think of, that reinvigorates mind, body and soul. We are so grateful to be able to have this time together each year and with those we love.

Goodbyes are inevitable and always hard. We have to do this each year too and it never gets any easier. Time seems to speed up, as soon as we land. In no time, we are back in front of those doors at the airport, wondering where the time went.

I make it through security, then customs, having filled out another of those little green forms. I stock up on Tim Tams and Cadbury’s chocolate, before heading to the gate. I check my noise cancelling headphones are fully charged for the 27 hour flight ahead of me and the feeling is always bittersweet.

Happy to be going home, but sad to be leaving my home too.

But flying back also means seeing our family here – our friends, our snuggle puss, sleeping in our own bed, cooking in my kitchen, and dusting off the scissors and sewing machine once again in the studio, ready for another year of making and fun. It’s not all bad. Not at all.

The longer you’re away from your hometown, the more your heart lives in both places. We now have two homes, two families, two lives and we love them both to bits.

More soon,

jx