Kaffe and Cupcakes

I had myself a Yarnstorm moment yesterday when I realised that the cupcakes, baked by me and decorated by the kids, matched the fabric I was using.
And a Posie moment when Bella decided that all that fabric on the dining table had to be hers.

Look how big the kids are getting! Yes, that's me at the back.

And this is my newest delight, a cast iron teapot. I like to use a pot for my evening tea. I had two little glass ones, with infusers, that suited the purpose perfectly. I also have a cat who thinks she owns the kitchen benches. Not once but twice in the past few months she has pushed a glass teapot off the bench. Little horror! But now I have thwarted her evil schemes, by getting a teapot that is heavier than she is. And it keeps tea hot just about forever. Joy!

Looking for something fun to do on a Saturday, we found ourselves at Indigiscapes, a lovely little enclave of forest hidden from the busy roads around it. There are three short walks through the bush, and we went on two of them before having a delicious lunch at the tea rooms (really a verandah). Josh was very interested in the scribbly gums. The scribble patterns on the bark are made by the larvae of a particular species of moth, blessed with the highly original name 'scribbly moth'.



The last time I came here, sadly over two years ago, we were in the grip of a drought, and the bushland was dry and brown. This time it had rained the night before, and we had to pick our way through wet puddles and clay mud. The ferns were a delightful surprise, they had been far less visible in the dry weather.

But the real reason we came was to look for koalas. We spent at least an hour with our heads tilted back, squinting up at gum trees for motionless grey lumps. Koalas are not exactly energetic creatures. Finally we spotted one lone fellow, sunning himself right at the top of a tree. Can you see him in the photo below?

Here's a closer picture.

He ignored us entirely.

Not muffins, but my second attempt at soap making. These soaps are scented with lavender oil and have a dash of my favourite lavender and chamomile herbal tisane. They smell delish, but are still curing, so I haven't tried them out yet.

Yet again my photos are sadly dreary, to match the foggy and overcast days that are dominating our corner of the world at the moment.

I am looking forward to more soapy experimentation.

I went on a creative excursion to The Quilter's Store yesterday. I have never seen so many gorgeous fabrics all in one place. The whole store was glorious, but I kept coming back to the Kaffe Fassett collection. I wanted to gather up some fabrics for a project, but the only two I managed to decide upon were the two pictured. Aren't they exciting? They are pretty out there for me, the plain Jane of the sewing world, and I will probably choose some very simple fabrics for the rest of the project, to tone them down a little.

Asian Circles

Paperweight

What a chilly morning! I woke late this morning, after a growing sinus headache disturbed my night. The children were all wide awake, but no one thinks to dress for school and eat breakfast unless I am behind them, prodding them onwards. So they ate a hasty breakfast, throwing clothes on while waiting for the toaster to pop. I have not yet figured out why they bother with the toaster, since they turn it down so low that it only produces warm, slightly stale bread. It seems a farce to me, but I am reminded that I was the same when I was a child. There is hope that one day they will discover the pleasure of golden brown toast.

I managed to get them all to school on time. The school is so windy, and this morning it felt like the wind was coming right off the glaciers of the Antarctic. I rushed home to a bowl of hot porridge and climbed back into bed to warm my toes. I am into the final chapters of a book, so laundry folding was put on hold for a couple more hours.

It's time to get out the half done ripple rug, and keep my knees warm while I finish it.

Stitching Update

Yes, I do still stitch, though I hadn't done anything new recently. I have spent a fair bit of my free time working on knitting, and watching a scarf grow just isn't all that exciting unless you are the knitter.

I spent Saturday creating this smock, from the Simplicity 3760 pattern. Sewing the smock took no time at all.

But the appliqued birdie and flowers took the whole evening, and nearly wore the skin off my thumb. Turns out that the layers were quite thick, and it took a bit of force to get the needle through the calico. But I felt quite domesticated, stitching curled up on the couch next to my honey.

I had a migraine this week, and so I turned to my cross stitch (straight lines that I had already counted and marked). Cinderella is progressing slowly, but steadily.

Once my head felt better I returned to my knitting. It is taking a while because I am scared to stop in the middle of the repeat, in case I never find my place again. So I only knit when I have a guaranteed half hour or more to sit down.

Today I have my pretty top on over a black tshirt, and we're off to the Lifeline Bookfest, where we are going to see the charming Lily and meet her beautiful daughter. What fun!

The children celebrated World Environment Day this morning at school. Christopher's class showed off the posters they had been making. Christopher's reads "Go Green, Don't Waste Power". That explains the light turning off craze of the past couple of days!

Joshua and Samara's classes united to perform a poem called "Lenny Litterbug". Joshua's class had made hats from newspaper, with ladybugs stuck on the front. They looked so cute!

Samara had a special role as one of the leaders. They read the poem out line by line while the little ones repeated each line after them. They did a lovely job.

And the back yard brought me happiness today too, on the first sunshiney day in a while. I discovered the first hint of strawberries on the way. Winter is a funny season in Brisbane; it seems that the moment the weather cools down all the spring flowers emerge. We had a deliciously foggy morning this morning, and everything is damp and green.

Yes, I like bugs and spiders. Darling hubby thinks I am mad. The kids also have doubts about my sanity, I suspect.

See who I found on the back fence last night while I was "dewatering" the dog! The Phantom Pawpaw (Papaya) Pincher! It's my own fault, really, for growing such delicacies. My compost heap is also a failure due to possums, who consider it a delicious smorgasboard. I don't mind feeding the native critters though. I have a soft spot for marsupials.

My sister, Sasha, has tagged me for a meme. I don't think I've ever done one before, but there is always a first time, isn't there? Let's see how we go ;)

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. My bedtime cup of chamomile and lavender tea, with a dash of honey.

2. Using the soap I made last weekend, 'flavoured' with lavender oil and a generous heap of my night time tea - only 5 weeks to go!

3. Queen's Birthday weekend - even though I don't work outside the home, a three day weekend spent with my lovely family always feels like a holiday.

4. A family wedding - BIL and his beloved are planning a 'destination' wedding, and I can't wait for the chance to take a little vacation somewhere special, with a whole bunch of family :)

5. Kids that are tall enough to wash the dishes properly.

6. My grandmother's 90th birthday - hey Sasha, you gonna come down for it??

7. The next Craft and Quilt Fair. Roll on October! Hey Sasha, maybe that's when you should come down! I just thought, while I had the dates in front of me, I should go mark it on the family calendar, but it's already on there. Guess I am REALLY looking forward to it!

8. Lifeline Bookfest!! I just googled it, and it's this weekend! Yay!!

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. Cooked Carrot and Ginger Soup for dinner.

2. Laundry, laundry, laundry.

3. Wrote.

4. Took Samara to Brownies.

5. Emailed back and forth with Darling Hubby throughout the day.

6. Stitched a little on Cinderella. I'll have to take some update photos, but we're having another wet week, and the lighting is bad.

7. Snuggled my honey on the couch.

8. All that usual boring stuff - dishes, sweeping etc.

Yesterday was a very quiet day. I've had a 3 day migraine, which makes me disinclined to go outside at all.

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Go to Angkor Wat. This is a lifelong dream of mine. I am hoping that we'll do a big holiday the year my honey and I turn 40.

2. Live in a cold climate. This one keeps eluding me :( Never mind, life is good here too, just not ... cold.

3. Wake up early. I was, a long time ago, an early riser. Unfortunately my chronic insomnia and fibromyalgia have made me a grouchy bed monster in the mornings. I miss my sunrises!

4. Own a bookstore. But then I'd go broke from reading all the stock and never doing any actual work.

5. Go back to the Torres Strait. My family lived on Badu Island for two years in the early 80's. I think that those years had a huge influence on who I am today.

6. Be a cat lady. I have been limited to two cats. I keep trying to convince Darling Husband that we still have room on the bed, but he's not easily swayed ;)

7. Have a craft room.

8. Be more patient with my kids. But I am pretty sure most Mums feel this way.

8 shows I watch:

1. Life on Mars, until it finished last week.

2. Good News Week. I have had a crush on Paul McDermott for almost 20 years. The show is a 'quiz show' based on the recent news, with a lot of hilarity thrown in. It's so very Australian, with our complete irreverance for authority.

3. Masterchef Australia. We have been watching this as a family, and I am proud to say that I am winning, with a consistent grade of 10/10. Though last night I was informed that the soup only got 10/10 because Josh didn't want to hurt my feelings. Hehehe! I'll have to try harder tonight.

4. House. But it's not on at the moment.

5. Dr Phil. Occasionally, if the topic is particularly bizarre. I like strange people.

6. Lost in Austen was on the ABC a couple of months ago. Lucky me got the dvd for Mother's Day, so I get to watch it whenever I like.

I am sorry, there aren't a lot of shows I am drawn to at the moment. I usually end up reading a book.

So there you go! I have to run now - gotta go pick up kids from school :) Swimming lessons this afternoon!