adventures in vanuatu: home sweet home

With all the big rains and long days of sunshine, the area around my house was getting a bit bushy. My mama finally pointed this out to me when it was clear that I either didn’t notice or didn’t mind. This is something I’m sure my own mom is laughing at right now, as this is usually my custom. So one morning she handed me a rake and told me to clean the area by my kitchen. I soon discovered, after an hour or two of weeding and cleaning up, what a difference it made! Imagine that! My sister, who, like me was only ever grounded due to our messy rooms (but honestly, probably a handful of less trivial things too… thanks for paving the way shosh!) gave me a wise piece of advice in the art of clean room deception: making your bed immediately makes the room feel cleaner, followed by vacuuming. I have now discovered that raking and a little weeding are the “making your bed and vacuuming” of the yard world. My mama was very pleased with my work and I was, too, and continued on with this new addition to my list of mindless/mindful enjoyables.

My home becomes more of my favorite place with each new project. My papa and I built a screen door for my front entrance and a new bench in my main room. The big change came with painting my bedroom. Instead of its unfinished white, it is now mellow shades of purples, blues, and greens. My talented and dear friend Marlee Raber sent me a hand painted picture of Jerry Garcia for my birthday and it resides in a frame I made out of the wood that grows on the fence posts behind my house. I hung up pictures, postcards, and letters and now my cozy bedroom is filled with reminders of home – both versions of it, a wonderful mix of here and there. Here’s a taste of my little cottage.

marlee's badass artwork!

dream station

Mondays at school are work party days. I’ve been dreaming up a chicken coop for a while and with the help of some class six girls, there’s now a 3-bed chicken coop annex off the back of my bush kitchen. Grass-fed, happy chickens make the most delicious eggs with dark yolks and rich taste. I’ve got a couple spots inside my kitchen that are prime laying spots, but now it’s a whole new ball game!