Heart at Home

2010-11-06T21:25:00.007+10:00

I do still exist, contrary to popular belief. I have been knitting, learning to spin and trying to keep up with the whirlwind of activity that the end of the year creates. The lovely little school my children attend is closing in 5 weeks, so I have been organising their transfers for the new school year.

Above is my first attempt at spinning. It's a bit lumpy and strange, but I like it. I didn't get a lot out of the first attempt, so the plan is to knit it into a hot water bottle cover. The next lot is looking much more promising.

I have been enjoying the birdlife in our tiny suburban garden this spring. This little fairy wren is hanging around with his harem. In this phot he was actually scolding the blue peg for infringing on his territory. The males are only blue in the breeding season, and the wrens remain brown throughout the year. I was so excited to discover a tiny nest in the shrubbery outside my bedroom window.

The kingfisher has been hunting from his fence perch. He pointedly ignored me with my camera, sneaking up on him behind the yuccas. They are such sedate birds. We have also been entertaining kookaburras.

My other little visitor has been a baby possum, badly photographed below:

I found him on the road outside our house, valiantly fighting off two crows who clearly thought he would make a most excellent lunch. I gathered him up, and possum sat for the afternoon, until I could take him to the vet to be passed on to licensed carers. He was unhurt, and quite snuggly once he had recovered from his fright. My guess is that he had fallen from Mama possum's back, as there was no sign of a parent anywhere. It's illegal to keep the wildlife as pets, so I had to reluctantly give him up. Josh and I are resolved to investigate becoming wildlife carers next year, so that we can help these 'furry friends'.

2010-08-29T13:17:00.000+10:00

Still here, still knitting.

And baking cakes.

2010-07-06T17:22:00.002+10:00

I've been doing some internet housekeeping. I have set up a new blog, just two posts so far, with the intention of using it as a craft specific blog. It'll be mostly knitting, with a little sewing thrown in too. Family related posts and pictures of the kids will remain here, where my heart is.

I hope I'll see you all in both places!

2010-07-02T21:04:00.003+10:00

Knitting like a maniac at the moment. Winter has well and truly arrived and the needles are in overdrive. I seem to believe that if I start a pair of socks tonight I will be able to have warm feet tomorrow. So here are a few finishes:

Spiral Scarf, a kit I bought at the Morris and Sons stand at a craft fair in March. I also bought cheap bamboo needles so that I could cast on while waiting for Brett to come get me. It was such an easy pattern, and looks pretty amazing.

Star crossed slouchy beret, a Ravelry pattern, knitted in Malabrigo Worsted, colour Pearl. This was another quick and easy one, though Brett was away that week, and I do tend to hyperfocus on stuff in the evenings without him around.

And Cedar Leaf Shawlette, knitted in bronze Handmaiden Lady Godiva, one of the most sensual knitting experiences you could ever have. This yarn is divine.

There are more projects going, of course, a couple very close to completion. Let's hope winter lasts more than the weekend!

2010-06-18T15:32:00.003+10:00

The first of June, the first day of winter. Our fair city had a small winter celebration, The Saviours of the Lost Arts, an extravaganza of workshops, markets and tea drinking. The local Council invited the knitters of the city to do a little yarn bombing. The green heart is a logo they use a lot on local council stuff, so hundreds of green hearts were knit and attached to places around the city centre. I searched and searched, but never found any of my contributions. I did love the possum one so much. It's such a cute bronze statue at the bus station.

City hall was taken over by a vast spider's web, with a wooly spider in the centre. There was also the cutest line of baby clothes strung on the other side.

Notable legal minds clearly have interesting hobbies!

There are some large metal spherical sculptures outside the city library. These were wrapped into enormous balls of yarn. I was amused at how many passers by would pause to touch the yarn. The trees also gained a little wolly warmth.

And this kangaroo sculpture is exceptionally well dressed!

2010-06-14T15:32:00.003+10:00

My favourite shoes and socks combination at the moment. The shoes are made by Colorado and the socks are a simple stockinette stitch made from Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn.

This weekend I finished my Cedar Leaf Shawlette, knit from the luscious Handmaiden Lady Godiva, a silk and wool blend. The colour is Bronze. It still needs blocking to bring out the shape of the leaf border, but it's just lovely as it is. I am a little sad that this one is going to be given away, and think I might have to make another for myself.

I am such a Bad Blogger. I have been reading, but failing miserably in the commenting and blogging stakes. I have been knitting like a woman possessed, so many finished shawls, scarves and hats and no photos to prove that it really happened. I promise that I'll be doing a whole lot of blocking, photographing and blogging to catch up.

2010-04-13T14:03:00.003+10:00

Firstly a find, this gorgeous brooch was snapped up by yours truly at the nearby Salvation Army thrift store. I have been searching for appropriate shawl pins and this treasure makes a wonderful start to my collection.

Just Enough Ruffles was my winning entry into the Tangled Yarns Malabrigo March competition. I knitted this up with Malabrigo Worsted in Damask Rose, with a Pearl coloured edge due to the lack of forethought of the knitter. I only bought one skein of Rose when I really needed two, and when I went back to the store they had run out of Rose entirely. I won another skein of Malabrigo from the store, so I think I came out on top!

And this is the Simple and Effective Shawl, which I knitted with Noro Silkgarden Sock, using two balls to make it larger. Very snuggly and the colour range goes with almost everything I own. Perfect!

All patterns are available at Ravelry.com.

2010-04-03T15:35:00.002+10:00

March has been crazy busy ...

with a Teddy Bears' Picnic,

Easter Bonnet Parade, one with an Easter theme, one with a Weather theme and one with an Australiana theme,

a day out on the water for Christopher,

and a bit of game playing down time.

and Earth Hour.

There was also a bunch of knitting and a thrift store find, but that's going in another post.

Have a lovely Easter!

2010-03-15T11:23:00.002+10:00

It has been a busy time around here, with extra choir commitments to work around as well as impromptu guests while my grandmother was in hospital. She has made a great recovery, in spite of being a 'difficult' patient. The only thing I have had time for, with plenty of sitting around by bedsides and in the car waiting for choristers to finish up, is knitting. This is the year of lace for me, and I am very pleased with the results so far.

This delicious shawl is Luna Moth, from Ravelry. I used Malabrigo Silky Merino, in the Smoke colourway. The yarn was purchased from Tangled Yarns, my all time favourite yarn store. I have bought yarn from them online and the speed of delivery would make your head spin. I have also been going to their social knitting morning as often as I can, and always seem to leave with more yarn than I had when I came.

And these two pictures are of my Swallowtail shawl, also a pattern downloadable free from Ravelry. I knitted it with very fine silk from Kaalund Enchante in the shade Glasshouse. I bought this at a craft show, and would certainly buy more. I had to get a circular lace needle, as it was far to frustrating on regular needles, but it is oh so soft and feather light. I used beads to replace the nupps (pictured below) and like that they give the shawlette a little weight, so that it sits really nicely around my neck. I am reknitting this pattern in Malabrigo Lace as a gift for a dear friend having a milestone birthday this year.

2010-02-10T09:12:00.002+10:00

We have a baby kookaburra hanging around our neighbourhood at the moment. He and his parents spend a lot of time in the trees surrounding our yard. He is still learning to laugh, and sounds more like a very sickly chainsaw trying to start, rather than the familiar kookaburra laugh.

This morning he was carrying on continuously, and the kids went out to see if they could spot him. They came rushing back in to tell me that he was choking on a shoelace. Riiight. So I went out to take a look. Sitting on a branch was the proudest bird I have ever seen, proudly displaying a (very small) snake he'd caught all by himself. Obviously the noise was because he wanted us all to see how clever he is!

2010-01-29T14:00:00.003+10:00

Australia Day

We have really been out and about this month, in spite of the sweltering heat. Last weekend we spent a few days in the bush, only an hour or so down the road from our place. We enjoyed the opportunity to explore a little further than a day trip allows.

We paddled in creeks filled with guppies and water skaters. Josh was disappointed to discover that this version of paddling did not involve canoes. It was so hot, and our car airconditioner is once more on strike, so any accesible creeks were considered fair game to cool ourselves off.

My favourite spot was Natural Bridge, a fascinating arch and cave caused by a creek eroding the sand stone. There are glow worms, but they are not visible during daylight hours.

Outside looking into the cave.

2010-01-12T16:14:00.002+10:00

Birthday Drive

Another birthday out of the way. This year we took the kidlets, crammed them into the car and forced them to endure some aimless wandering through the mountains behind Brisbane. The 'are we there yet's started about ten minutes in, while we were barely through to the other side of the city. The above photo was taken at Jolly's Lookout, on the way to Mount Nebo. We meandered up the mountains, drove in to Bellbird Grove to see if we could hear bellbirds (we didn't) then up through Boombana and Mount Nebo (so many bellbirds, as well as a whip bird!! Follow the links to hear their calls.) before having lunch at Mount Glorious. So aptly named!

Exploring a creek at Bellbird Grove

Some of the picnic grounds at Bellbird Grove.

2010-01-11T00:00:00.001+10:00

100 Books I have to read ...

Revisiting my 100 books list. I have been making progress. I have read far more books than the list implies, because this list is merely a guideline. I am inclined to make another, which shows all the other books that have caught my interest since making this list two years ago. It has been a great way to find some new favourites. Wally Lamb and Margaret Atwood spring to mind as two authors I had not really broached, but now read avidly. The Bookfest is coming up soon, and that always is a great spree!

For my 100th post celebration I have decided to branch out a little from the traditional '100 things about me' posts. Instead I have been working on a list of books I really want to read. This is not a finite list, obviously, and there are other books that I will be reading simply because I have them! The list is composed of books that I have always wanted to read, and books that have been recommended to me from various sources. Some of them are already sitting on my shelves (lucky me!), and I will mark them with an *.

1. ~~Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy~~

2. Candide - Voltaire

3. White Oleander - Janet Fitch

4. I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb*

5. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood*

6. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez*

7. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - John LeCarre

8. She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb

9. The Inferno - Dante

10. The Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer

11. ~~Paradise Lost - John Milton~~

12. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackery

13. Tess of the D'Urbevilles - Thomas Hardy

14. The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James*

15. Bleak House - Charles Dickens

16. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald*

17. Sons and Lovers - D. H. Lawrence *

18. The Power and the Glory - Grahame Greene

19. Decline and Fall - Evelyn Waugh

20. Scoop - Evelyn Waugh

21. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh*

22. The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger

23. Madame Bovary - Gustaye Flaubert *

24. The Plague - Albert Camus

25. Middlemarch - George Elliot*

26. The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky

27. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez *

28. The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton

29. Beloved - Toni Morrison*

30. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

31. Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

32. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher

33. Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery*

34. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier

35. Swallows And Amazons - Arthur Ransome

36. Ulysses - James Joyce

37. The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner

38. A Passage to India - E. M. Forster

39. A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemmingway

40. The Old Wives' Tale - Arnold Bennett

41. The Epic of Gilgamesh - Maureen Gallery Kovacs

42. Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf*

43. Memoirs of Hadrian - Marguerite Yourcenar

44. The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve*

45. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini *

46. Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes

47. Walden - Henry David Thoreau*

48. Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

49. Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde*

50. Journal of the Plague Year - Daniel Dafoe *

51. The Color Purple - Alice Walker

52. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

53. Hornblower - C. S. Forester*

54. The Forsyte Saga - John Galsworthy *

55. The Warden - Anthony Trollope

56. Barchester Towers - Anthony Trollope

57. Like Water For Chocolate - Laura Esquivel

58. The Tale of Genji - Lady Murasaki

59. Feast - Nigella Lawson

60. How to be a Domestic Goddess - Nigella Lawson*

61. Cook With Jamie - Jamie Oliver*

62. The Writer's Book of Hope: Getting from Frustration to Publication - Ralph Keyes

63. The Secret River - Kate Grenville*

64. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

65. Everyday - Bill Granger

66. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards

67. The Sixth Wife - Suzannah Dunn

68. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver*

69. A Perfect Day - Richard Evans

70. The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings - Amy Tan

71. ~~The Sacrifice - Beverly Lewis~~

72. The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud

73. Birdsong - Sebastion Faulks

74. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

75. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Graham (read years ago, but want to reread)

76. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

77. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

78. The Life of Pi - Yann Martel

79. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

80. The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus - Margaret Atwood*

81. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers

82. I, Claudius - Robert Graves

83. In a Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson

84. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling - Henry Fielding*

85. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe

86. The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera

87. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

88. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

89. Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

90. Aspects of the Novel - E. M. Forster

91. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide For People who love Books and for those who want to write them - Francine Prose*

92. On Becoming a Novelist - John Gardiner

93. Clarissa - Samuel Richardson

94. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

95. Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome

96. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

97. The Quiet American - Graham Greene

98. Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson

99. Lanark - Alasdair Gray

100. Oscar and Lucinde - Peter Carey

Here I am, a whole day after I started this post. I have read more book reviews than I thought possible and perused more top 100 lists than I dreamed of. I love books with a passion, but found this list a struggle, because I was avoiding books that I have already read, and trying not to list books that I just wasn't interested in.

If you're one of those people who is obligated to buy me a gift from time to time this would be a brilliant place to start ;)

2009-12-23T15:18:00.003+10:00

At last I have a big Christmas tree! We've had tiny trees everywhere we've lived, firstly for financial reasons, then because the kids were little and the tree had to fit in the playpen. Last year we had a pot plant tree, but this year the kids were adamant that we needed a decent sized tree. They call it a 'real' tree, but that's because they don't realise that fake trees are not the norm everywhere.

The wreath is made from Kaffe Fassett yoyos and ribbon. I am very satisfied with how it turned out.
I have stolen this meme from a good friend, Kristin. I thought I'd do it because Australian Christmas celebrations are so different from northern hemisphere celebrations.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, gift bags if it's a hastily bought gift on our way to someone's place.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. It's hard to find a real tree in our sub tropical environment, and they don't really stand up to the heat.

3. When do you put up the tree? December 1st, unless unavoidably delayed.

4. When do you take the tree down? January 6th

5. Do you like eggnog? Never tried it, though it sounds like something I'd like.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? It's a tie between the chemistry set and the teensy Kodak camera. Or the wooden ornaments the Christmas we spent in Germany.

7. Hardest person to buy for? DH, he's so darn contented with what he has, it's hard to get good ideas for him.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Pretty much every female on both sides of the family. We share our good taste ;)

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Not at the moment. The last one was too popular with the kids, and the ones I love are a little too spendy.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I am a Christmas card failure.

11. Worst Christmas ever? None have been disastrous, though we still miss Dad every Christmas.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie(s)? Does Love Actually count?

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?Not soon enough!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so ...

15 .Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? The whole turkey roast thing. It's the best dinner of the year!

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, multicoloured led's. The kids had them set to random flashing, but I really hate that!

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night, though Christopher's choir has restored my love of carols.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? One or the other, some years we travel to Mum's, some we go to inlaws. This year we will drive down to the inlaws just for the day.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes, because it impresses the kids.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning, but not before the coffee and tea are made

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The number of gifts people feel obligated to give their children. Also how everything seems to hinge on the illusion of Christmas Day needing to be perfect.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I lean towards gold.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey, roasted potato, pumpkin and carrots, greens (usually brussel sprouts), stuffing, plum pudding and custard for dessert.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Peace and quiet!

Our room decorations are made from magazine pages this year. The older two made the stars while Josh created a mile long paper chain. Fun and it looks great!

2009-12-06T10:38:00.003+10:00

Please forgive our absence. We have been ...

swimming ...

posing with cousins ...

watching our uncle wed his beautiful bride ...

winning an academic award for best marks in Year 3 and ...

graduating Prep!

We managed to squeeze a bout of gastro into our busy schedule without missing any of the important stuff. Now that's multitasking for you!

2009-11-16T15:31:00.002+10:00

November is turning out to be a productive month.

Shrug This, made from Nepalese recycled silk. It's turned out too small for me, but I am on a weight loss journey at the moment, so I will leave it and try to shrink into it. The silk feels so gorgeous, and I can't wait to fit it! The colour is a bit iffy in this picture, it's actually a peacock blue / green. And I haven't woven in the ends yet. I hate that bit.

My second teacher's Christmas gift has been started. This is one evening's worth of stitching. Once more the colour is dodgy, the thread is a gorgeous silvery blue.

The first teacher's ornament is all over bar the shouting. It will be a biscornu, so I have yet to do a plain square (with names and dates, I think) for the back. I adore this one, and will be making it again for my own home.

And today I made a beach tote to take on holiday while we travel to a gorgeous beachside resort for a family wedding. The pattern came from a newly released book, The Crafty Minx, by Kelly Doust. It was a simple plan to follow, and only took a couple of hours to make, factoring in two phonecalls with my bff and a snack break.

2009-11-12T17:50:00.002+10:00

Field Trip!

The younger two kids have been studying space this term. Today both classes went to the Planetarium, followed by a picnic lunch in the Botanical Gardens. I didn't get to photograph inside the planetarium, but I took plenty of pictures in the gardens.

The Japanese Garden is always gorgeous. I think the intention is that it is a peaceful place, but I have never been there without children intent on falling in the water features and generally explore every square inch of the garden.

The water features are so darn tempting!

These swamp hens were fun to watch. The two chicks just about went mad peeping when they noticed the turtle swimming beneath them. The turtle had no evil intentions, but the chicks fled anyway.

I can't resist photographing water lilies. It's all to do with my Monet fetish.

The tropical dome is filled with the same plants I see when I head north to Mum's place. The geometry of the dome, and the huge leafy plants are so lovely together.

But I do have a headache from spending the better part of the day staring at the ceiling.

2009-11-05T15:55:00.002+10:00

Happy 6th birthday, Joshua!

2009-11-02T10:11:00.002+10:00

Weekend Fun

A week ago I went to the local craft fair. I took Samara with me, and we both indulged in exploring our favourite things. Samara had a great time spending her savings on beads. She'd originally said that she was going to only spend a small portion of her money (mostly earned with chores and tooth fairy payments), and save the rest for a toy she wanted, but halfway through the day she announced that from now on she was only going to save for craft fair spending money.

I spent most of my 'allowance' on knitting yarn, mostly silks. I have so many projects in mind at the moment. The knitting above is the first of a pair of socks I am knitting with Noro Silk Garden sock yarn. It feels more like painting than knitting. I am loving every second I get to work with these wonderful rich colours.

I have also started the teachers' Christmas gifts for the year. We have only a few weeks left in the school year. I did the above stitching last night watching tv. I like it so much I think I'll be making a second one for me. The teacher this is intended for has taught one or another of my children for the past five years. She has quite a collection of ornaments I have made. She was telling me last week that she no longer hangs them on her tree, but has a special stand for them. Sadly, this will be the last year we have her. Samara is moving into the next classroom next year, and Josh will not be old enough to move up. The following year our cherished little school will be closing, and we will be moving on to another school, with a whole new set of teachers. It's going to be tough after the close relationships we have formed with all the staff at our current school.

2009-10-23T19:03:00.002+10:00

Jumble Sale

After a stressful morning I deserved a little pleasure. Thrifting was the pleasure that ticled my fancy, so I detoured past every charity shop I could thin of between the kids' school and home. I was looking for linens, but came up empty handed. Then I remembered the church jumble sale that is open until midday on Fridays. It was 11:15, so I leapt into the car and made a mad dash across a couple of suburbs to get there in time to have a browse. I found a couple of very pretty aprons, but the real treasure was this tablecloth.

Hand embroidered, smothered in exquisite flowers, in immaculate condition.

And the cost? Five dollars. I cannot imagine how many hours of work went into this tablecloth, but I promise the stitcher, whoever she was, that I will cherish it.

2009-10-14T16:46:00.002+10:00

This sweet little thrifted wooden kitty found his way to our house recently. He's currently lurking with my most recent batch of soap - coffee flavoured.

Soap making suddenly got easy when I discovered hot process soap making. It's perfect for a family with a tiny house, with no real room for the long curing times required for cold process soap making. I made this batch in the crock pot, and it was an absolute breeze. It seems to have set nice and firm, and passes the tongue test, so, after a couple of weeks sitting on the cake stand, it's ready to hit the showers. Now that I have found my favourite way to make soap it's time to start perfecting the scents I use.

My current knitting project has received the Bella Seal of Approval. It's particularly soft and squishy, and has been a fun, fast knit. I'll be showing and telling more when the time is right.

2009-09-28T10:53:00.002+10:00

Kitchen Garden

I have been longing for a kitchen garden, but have been short on the time required to dig and maintain extensive garden beds. The perfect compromise is to plant up pots with some of the yummies I long for. Now I have tomatoes, lots of lettuce (vital as I am also working on healthy eating and salad has become a staple of my diet), and a plethora of herbs (my passion). There is dill and mint in the above pot.

And a second pot with lemon balm, peppermint, pineapple sage and chamomile. I am looking forward to all the delicious teas and meals I will be creating with this little crop.

2009-09-27T21:55:00.003+10:00

Uncles are cool!

Especially ones who'll keep the kids amused between practising his chef training in my pokey little kitchen. How awesome is my 'little' brother!?

It's been a busy week, filled with knitting, craft shop hopping, soap making, cooking, eating, tea drinking and laughing. I have planted a couple of pots of vegies and herbs, produced most of a sock and made a couple of craft book purchases which are bringing delight to my 'spare' moments.

Photos will follow when I get time to take any!

2009-09-26T10:20:00.002+10:00

Lazy Lizards

On an excursion into the city we took a stroll through the Botanical Gardens. Most of it was fenced off for an event, but we lingered by the ponds for a while, because Christopher had seen eels there during a school trip a few weeks ago. He was right about the eels. They were huge and hung around hoping that we'd feed them. They were not, however very cooperative to photograph.

The water dragons, on the other hand, were very keen to be photographed. The little one above was so cute!

This one was huge, and swam across the pond to check us out. Isn't he just gorgeous! Those spines make him look positively prehistoric.

I love that we find something new and interesting to look at every time we travel into the city.

2009-09-23T16:26:00.002+10:00

Is this the same city?

We woke this morning to spectacular images of Sydney in the grips of a dust storm. We murmured about how awful it looked, and went about our morning, washed the dogs and dried them in the sunshine, and went to a friend's house for a cuppa. As we were sitting on her verandah, admiring the views of the city and the river they started to disappear. The photo above is taken in our back yard, looking over the neighbours' shed. The dust storm has covered most of the east coast of Australia.

And this is our sky. The floors feel like there is a layer of talcum powder, even though all the doors and windows are shut. I am not looking forward to the clean up.

2009-09-20T16:04:00.002+10:00

Today feels like the first day of summer. We packed kids and Gran into the car and dragged them down to Cleveland, about 1/2 an hour away, to see the set of the Dawn Treader. How exciting, that they are making a Narnia movie right here!

Being Sunday, they weren't filming today, but there were a lot of people around having a look, and many stressed out security guards.

We loved the detail, especially the lantern hanging from the tail of the ship. It is entirely built on dry land, with no hull, but the filming is done in such a way that our beautiful bay will be visible in the background.

She's beautiful, isn't she?

And these cockatoos were squabbling nearby. They are such cheeky birds. As we were leaving we saw one hanging from a powerline by its beak. They are so much fun to watch.

2009-09-20T11:34:00.002+10:00

Sunset and the Brisbane River. We picked up Daddy from the Citycat, because we were in a hurry to be places.

We enjoyed the last of the sun while we waited for the boat to arrive.

It was my Grandmother's 90th birthday, and we took her out to celebrate. In spite of the fact that she'd spent the entire day making excuses not to go, she seemed to enjoy the event. She loved seeing her great grandchildren, and we all enjoyed catching up.

The boys have really taken to Uncle Rohan, my 'little' brother. Circumstances have meant that we haven't seen a lot of eachother. He and Mum are down for a couple of weeks, and we are having a ball.

2009-09-13T15:21:00.003+10:00

Sunday Socks

Though to be honest, they actually took a couple of weeks. My very first pair of home knitted socks (that aren't the unbearably sweaty acrylic bedsocks my sweet Nana knitted for me decades ago). I am so pleased with them, my first effort at knitting with double pointed needles.

They fit me perfectly. I have horribly wide feet, possibly a consequence of going barefoot until age 11, so I did the larger size, but shortened them to suit the length of my foot. The pattern was easy, with loads of links to explain techniques.

Then I got distracted by a bee. We have not had many bees around yet. We have a lot of clover in our back yard, and everyone got stung at least once last year. This year, as soon as the clover started flowering, the kids have been saying "Watch out for bees!" every time they step onto the grass. Even though there haven't been bees to avoid until the last couple of days.

2009-09-12T07:11:00.002+10:00

It has been beautiful here. We had a brief storm on Monday, which watered the garden up nicely, and temperatures have been less hot than last week. It's a funny sort of spring, and the jacarandas are so confused that they are attempting to flower a whole month earlier than usual. My new geraniums are happy, as you can see above.

We spent Friday afternoon in the back yard. The cubby house is like a bower at the moment, and is the perfect spot to catch the last rays of sunlight.

Look at my new toy! It's not much bigger than the book next to it, but it is oh so clever compared to the dinosaur I have been using. Hubby went to a Microsoft conference this week, and so I even have the shiny, new, not-even-beta-tested Office 10 on it. Oh my, it's so exciting.

Don't you love my tea mug? Josh bought it for me at the school Mother's Day stall. He presented it triumphantly "I picked it 'coz you like green, Mummy!". I do wonder, however, what he really thinks of me, every time I look at the crazed grin on the side of it!

2009-09-03T11:38:00.003+10:00

If you have to be at home sick it's nice to have friends who love you. Poor Christopher has been suffering the turmoil of a stomach bug, and the dear animals recognise a boy who needs a cuddle. They are usually hovering around my feet, but today they are ignoring me completely. They make excellent nurse maids!

Update: After a full day of violent illness I took Christopher to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with his first migraine. He spent the night in hospital, with a saline drip and some potent medications to settle him down. I spent the night on a chair beside him. He's home now, much happier and once more ensconced on the couch with the kitten.

2009-09-02T19:14:00.003+10:00

Another Day at the Beach

It was Samara's turn to go out on the bay today. I was lucky enough to be invited along a second time. This trip was even more exciting than yesterday's. This squid was the first creature we spotted - as we were walking along the jetty to board the boat. The teachers hosting us said that it's the first time they have seen a squid so close to the shore.

The water was like glass, which turned out to be a huge boon. I was riding at the bow, supervising children who were looking out the front. We were thrilled to see a dugong surface several times, the last time showing us its tail as it dove back down to feed on the sea grass. It was too fleeting to photograph, sadly. We were told that the dugong were very rare to see; they are a threatened species, and it's so amazing to see these huge gentle creatures so close to our beautiful city.

It was amusing to listen to the children, who were so excited by the sighting that they were shouting "I see a dugong" every time a ripple showed on the water.

This is the jetty at Wellington Point, taken from the boat.

Samara enjoyed the sea breezes.

The perfect classroom!

We licked mangrove leaves (I know! Not something I'd planned on doing today!) and discovered that the mangroves secrete salt they extract from the sea water through the underside of their leaves. We squelched through mud, picked up mud whelks, squeezed sponges and left the beach cleaner than we found it by collecting litter as we left. The kids were so proud of their contribution to the preservation of the habitat.

What a wonderful day! Thanks Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre!

2009-09-01T20:19:00.003+10:00

A Day on the Bay

Joshua's Prep class spent a day out today. We boarded the MV Heritage, a boat used by the Education Department for school educational excursions. We sailed to Wellington Point, where we disembarked to explore the sand dunes and mud flats.

We saw an osprey's nest.

There was so much to look at!

We saw little hermit crabs ...

and really big ones! Joshua was intrigued with the stalky eyes. Very cool. And they tickle on your hand.

It was an awesome day. And the best bit is that I get to go again tomorrow with Samara's class. Apparently it's going to involve mangroves, and a whole mess of mud.

2009-08-30T17:29:00.003+10:00

Happy Birthday Christopher

Eleven already! It's all happening a bit too fast for this poor old Mum.

But at least there is cake!

2009-08-26T17:13:00.002+10:00

There were goings on at school today ...

various wild animals were sighted ...

It's lucky I brought my camera!

It was the school's book week celebration, this year with an African safari theme. As always, it was so much fun. We admired costumes as the children paraded, then went off in little groups to sit on blankets and read stories in the shade. I had an audience of two explorers, a lioness and a giraffe. It is an absolute joy to see everyone huddled together with their stories. Older children read to younger ones, parents, grand parents and aunties read. For a whole half hour everyone was still and settled and enjoying the company and stories.

Then we had lion burgers and ostrich burgers for lunch and the usual riot resumed. But for one half hour there was peace.

2009-08-22T18:09:00.003+10:00

Our children love the bright lights of the stage. They sit on the edges of their seats and get really involved in the performances, clapping their hands raw during the encores. Last year we went to the theatre a couple of times, taking them to see The Phantom of the Opera and The Mikado. Both performances were well received. We purchased dvds of the stories and they've been watched thousands of times. Mine is probably the only four year old who went to kindy singing "I'm the Lord High Executioner" and made paper 'chippy choppers'. Blood thirsty little tyke!

Today we went back to see Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was great. The kids loved to see Pharoah as an aging Elvis. They have been learning about Joseph in their school Religious Education classes, so they were able to follow the story easily, though Joshua shed a tear when Joseph was sold into slavery. So now I need to find a dvd of Joseph, to give him a new set of songs to memorise. I am really looking forward to going back to see another great performance. I wonder what we will see next ...

2009-08-19T16:43:00.003+10:00

Spring is sprung ...

And strawberry season is beginning. While my home grown berries are still white and hard, the price of strawberries has at last dropped to a level where I can consider buying them for the ravenous horde.

This afternoon we have dipped some in dark chocolate for a delightful after dinner treat. Darling husband has been working until about 9pm each night for the past week and a half, and we need to do little things to remind him that we love him, even when we don't see him. The poor kids have been asking me if he's even still here, he's been arriving home after they are asleep and leaving before they wake in the mornings.

Our dear little Abbey has been a sick doggie. She has been having seizures late at night, at first one every couple of weeks, but in the past week it has stepped up to every other night. Today she's had a lovely day, firstly visiting a kind vet who told her how beautiful she is and gave her some medications to help her feel better. Then we went and picked up the kids from school, which involved a slow procession from the classroom to the car, as almost every child at the school stopped to pat her. It's so hard being gorgeous!

2009-08-08T21:44:00.002+10:00

Simple enough, though they took me most of a day to sew up. Let's not even contemplate the week or so of squares being cut during spare moments. Our couches are dismal; sad, worn out creatures that deserve to be put out of their misery. But finances will not oblige, so I am in the very slow process of making the lounge room look shiny and new by dipping into my stash.

First on the agenda were three continental sized cushions, perfect for lying on the floor or snuggling on the couch. This was the warm up before the main event - recovering the sofa seats and tweaking a couple of store bought covers so that they no longer attempt to flee every time children approach the couches. That will probably take a bit of effort, but I hope to have it done before Christopher's birthday at the end of this month.

The new comfy additions have been approved by man, child and pet. I am pretty pleased with them too.

2009-08-07T11:20:00.003+10:00

Sometmes you just need a cosy place to hide. We're still battling various flu viruses here. Darling Hubby returned from a work trip with a whole new variety. We've endured multiple cases of conjunctivitis and ear infections. The last two sufferers are home from school today. When they recover we'll hopefully have enough immunities to stay healthy for a while.

I have managed to finish Wisp for my grandmother's 90th birthday next month. I think she'll like it. It's lovely and light, perfect for aging bones that feel cold even in summer. I still need to purchase some buttons for it.

I like it so much that I have cast on another one. It's such an easy knit and looks lovely. The bright pink piece of knitting is a narrow scarf I cast on a knitted and few rows of in preparation for Samara's first knitting lessons. I need to start another one for Christopher, who doesn't want to miss out on any fun.

2009-07-26T10:18:00.002+10:00

I don't know if I should caption this "History Alive" or "Don't try this at home". We (the kids and I, poor hubby is off being businesslike) went to a history festival held at Fort Lytton yesterday. I went in the hope of seeing some traditional arts and crafts, spinning, knitting, soap and candle making. No such luck, I'm sad to say, but we did have a lot of fun. There were explosions aplenty, to keep the boys happy; dueling, gladiators and plenty of chainmail. Samara enjoyed the ladies' costumes, some of which were incredibly elaborate.

The Napoleonic battle was fun, especially with the Bennett sisters sobbing and waving hankies as the handsome soldiers marched off to war.

Plenty of cannon fire. I am a fan of loud explosions too, so we enjoyed this immensely.

The Roman gladiators gave me a teachable moment regarding weapon safety. Lucky the ambulance people were on hand!

Late afternoon over the Brisbane River. It was a chilly day, very windy out near the coast.

We stayed to see the 64 pound guns (or whatever they are called) fired at the end of the day. Sadly only one went off, the other decided to be tempermental, and I can only assume that some men would be up half the night figuring out what went wrong.

It was a lot of fun, some of the displays were marvellously elaborate. We all found plenty to enjoy. I am going to send the organisers an email suggesting a few more arts and crafts, but we'll go back again next year, regardless!

2009-07-25T11:01:00.003+10:00

I am still around, really! I don't know where some weeks disappear to. So very busy, with so little to show for it. I have been working on Wisp. I am about half way. It's an easy pattern, though I still managed to incorporate a couple of errors. That's what gives my knitting its charm,right? I am about half way, and I could probably finish it, if only I could get a couple of quiet days to myself.

This is Christopher meeting his favourite author, Emily Rodda. He has devoured her Deltora Quest series and was thrilled to meet her in person at Riverbend. He also discovered that sushi is actually pretty good. What a great night!

Now we are about to head out and geek it up at a history festival. Expect photos!

2009-07-10T08:50:00.004+10:00

I am still here, still coughing, still sniffly, but still here. I have been trying to enjoy the school holidays, though the odds have not been in my favour lately. The night before last, our little dog, Abbey, had a grand mal seizure. It was all a bit scary for both us and her, and I rushed her to the vet at midnight. Blood tests revealed no obvious cause and so we came home at 2am with doggy valium and the hope that it might not happen again. She could be epileptic, but we have to wait and see if the seizures continue. She's been fine and dandy since then, but I have been stressed and in serious sleep debt.

I have cast on Wisp as a gift for my grandmother's 90th birthday. She lives in a nursing home, and so I wanted to avoid cluttery gifts. Hopefully she'll like it, but if she doesn't, I'd be delighted to keep it for myself. The wool colours are a delight, and remind me of our summer skies, one moment brilliant blue and the next a thundery grey.

This is an unfinished table runner, partially quilted. I am not entirely thrilled with the colours, I think pink for the centre blocks would have been much better, but I was avoiding pinks to please non girly husband. I think next time I will not worry about what he thinks ;) After all, he's not the one looking at the table all day! Poor dear's been working so hard lately that he's probably forgotten what the table looks like.

2009-07-06T15:03:00.002+10:00

I've been all sniffly and whiny, thanks to some kid's germs, but these cheer me up every time I watch them.

2009-06-30T08:50:00.003+10:00

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.

2009-06-29T11:20:00.002+10:00

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!

2009-06-28T14:58:00.002+10:00

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.

2009-06-26T09:55:00.003+10:00

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.

2009-06-18T12:11:00.002+10:00

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

2009-06-11T12:54:00.003+10:00

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.

2009-06-07T10:40:00.003+10:00

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!

2009-06-05T13:37:00.002+10:00

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.

2009-06-02T13:18:00.002+10:00

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!

2009-05-28T13:13:00.002+10:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Things stopping me from blogging:-

- Under Eight's activity day - chaperoning 5 little people in a crowd of 300, took another full day to stop feeling like I'd just run a marathon.

- School camp - purchasing, labelling and packing, emotional trauma of child growing up too soon - still not over that one!

- 36 pretty pink cupcakes - Samara's birthday is turning into a week long saga. Her birthday fell on Under Eights' day, and so the classroom celebration was put off until today. Extras had to be made for the older students who were unable to go on camp, as they are participating in the younger classrooms for the rest of the week. Throw in a few more cupcakes for teachers and a specially gift wrapped one for Joshua's teacher (whose birthday is today).

- laundry

- The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver - finished reading it between cake batches. Awesome book on so many levels. It tells the story of a missionary family in the Congo during the period of upheaval as Belgium handed over the government to the Congolese. I could really relate to the daughters arriving in the Congo, as my own childhood was eerily similar, though thankfully a lot safer, and happier.

- Riverbend Books and Teahouse - We had made a reservation here last week, and then the restaurant (basically a verandah for the bookstore) was closed due to the rain and wind. We went last night, perfect timing for the purchase of my next book, Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood. Any excuse, hey?

Hopefully next week I will have something to show for my time!

2009-05-24T09:04:00.002+10:00

We had a 'small' celebration for Samara's upcoming ninth birthday yesterday. I say 'small' because we only invited grandparents, nearby cousins and our very best friends, but that still results in 9 children and 8 adults crammed into a house not much bigger than a shoe box.

I have to show you the fairies on the cake. Aren't they cute? Our supermarket is stocking more and more great cake decorations.

Even though they look to good to eat.

Yet to be made: cupcakes for a classroom.

2009-05-22T13:07:00.004+10:00

This cute little 'bag-ette' has been created by my talented little sister, Sasha. She recently had her second baby, AND moved house, and still found time to set up an Etsy store. To win one of her creations, head on over to Connie's blog and leave a comment!

2009-05-20T12:03:00.002+10:00

It's probably too late to start building that ark, huh?

This is runoff from the inch of rain we received in the past hour. On top of the four - five inches we've already had in the past 36 hours, it's more than the earth can soak up.

I think the brick fence just got on to my list of things that have to go.

The forecasters are saying that we can expect more of the same for today and tomorrow. This birthday party is looking more and more 'interesting'.

2009-05-20T11:08:00.003+10:00

We have a birthday celebration coming up in our house, and in anticipation of a gorgeous autumn day, I planted the cool weather blooms that make winter so beautiful here. My violas, most obligingly, have started flowering, and yesterday morning everything was looking lush and lovely.

Today, however, our backyard, which serves as drainage for seemingly the entire suburb, is ankle deep in water. My violas and alyssum are decidedly soggy. The goldfish's pond has overflowed.

But isn't it still pretty? Other than the tragically sagging clothes line.

Our car is still at the workshop, giving me a wonderful excuse to keep the kids at home today. It's a 500m walk to the train station. Convenient in fine weather, but certainly not my idea of fun in the current deluge. It's chilly, and I didn't want to think about the wet, cold children in drafty classrooms all day. Far nicer to stay home and drink hot chocolate! Even if homework still needs to be done. Hopefully the car will be done today.

2009-05-19T12:53:00.002+10:00

We're expecting a "rain event" in our part of the world. It's making life interesting, as we had over 55 mls of rain overnight, and had to take our car down to the mechanic this morning. The teachers are on a (well justified) strike, so I had three children with umbrellas trudging home in the rain.

I do love the back yard in wet weather, though. Loving the rain is a prerequisite for living with me.

Dandelions are a feature in my garden.

These are two of the three first limes on my tree. Years of low rainfall meant that it would flower and then the tiny fruit would fall off before they had a chance to grow. This year, at long last, we have actually had substantial rainfall, and here is my reward - three gin and tonics!

2009-05-14T11:46:00.002+10:00

Someone's been messing with my placemats.

Can I blame her for loving a sunbeam?

Edited to add: Hehe, now she's snoring!

2009-05-13T11:53:00.003+10:00

It is a well known fact of my life that I usually jump in at the deep end. None of that easy beginner's stuff for me! So, having knitted up this scarf for my beloved in only a week, naturally I felt ready to take on something 'a little more challenging'. Because surely, having successfully knitted a rib stitch scarf, I am ready to start lace knitting!

Moments after having cast off the ribbed scarf, I was casting on the 39 stitches required for Brooke's Column of Leaves Scarf. Three times. With the help of knitting reference books and youtube videos. It only took an entire day, but I managed to do 3 repetitions of the pattern. Only lots and lots left to go!

If you are even a little interested in knitting and crochet, you must go and join up at Ravelry. Seriously. They have more patterns (many free) than you can poke a (pointy) stick at. And you can keep a record of your stash, WIP's. So many knitters, all in one place.

2009-05-11T12:48:00.001+10:00

When I finish cleaning up the disaster zone that is my post-Mother's Day kitchen I will post some pics of the pressies I got. My kids are too cute for words.

And I won't complain about the mess too much - this mother got a way worse Mother's Day treat.

2009-04-29T11:38:00.002+10:00

I have been wanting to try making this bag for a while. It's another design from Handmade (which isn't nearly as saccharine as the website colours, thankfully). Because I am a little frightened of cutting up favourite fabrics, I did a trial run with some inherited fabrics that went well together. Trouble is, it turned out so well that I wish I'd used more "me" colours. Still it makes an excellent home for my current knitting.

2009-04-25T10:33:00.004+10:00

Winter is on its way. At least, we hope it is. Nights are that little bit cooler, and the mornings hint very gently at chilly days to come. Time to do a little knitting. Joshua is the proud recipient of the first of a series of winter scarves. This pattern was designed by Lily, from block-a-day, and published here.
The wool, a cheap and nasty from Large Craft Chain Store, does not do justice to the pretty, and very simple to knit, basketweave pattern. Next time I will use a much less randomly coloured wool, to allow the stitches to show to their full advantage.

I finished knitting and cast off last night, cutting the tassels while watching The Duchess, a movie full of spectacular fabric and extraordinary wigs.

The morning photo session was closely supervised by this lovely old gentleman. He pretends he's a wild outdoor cat, but his aging bones just crave sunbeams. He's actually black, but his love of sunshine has bleached him red. When the sunlight disappears he's most definitely an indoors cat.

2009-04-16T13:54:00.002+10:00

We have had visitors. This precious little girl and her family have been staying at our house while she got her new hearing aids. The first sign that they were working was when she noticed that the kids (out of sight) were in the back yard and rushed to look out at them. She spent some time pointing at all the things she could hear for the very first time. Birds chirping, people talking, her own name, it was all so amazing, and a real honour to watch.

2009-04-08T16:05:00.002+10:00

It's Easter activity day again! Some of us have been looking forward to it all year. Others of us tolerate it, but really look forward to the cup of tea afterwards. We spent the morning with the younger half of the school divided into groups, which progressed around activity tables. I was in charge of making bunny rabbit cards. They trusted me with scissors and glue! Heh. I only had to sticky tape together a couple of mistakes.

The Easter Bonnet Parade is the highlight of the day. We have spent weeks thinking about our creations. The Year 6 and 7 children had a theme, "True Blue", to work with, while the younger ones could do what they wanted. Christopher opted for a green and gold Aussie colour scheme.

Samara created an entire garden scene, with little chicks, flowers and eggs. She and Joshua did their hats all by themselves, and I was very impressed with the results.

Joshua has secured his status as heart breaker as far as all the mothers are concerned. He blows me kisses constantly, during Easter Bonnet Parades, cross country races, swimming lessons, whatever. He's so darn cute!

2009-04-06T13:11:00.002+10:00

The light was atrocious for photography, but I had to share. I made these pretty placemats for my new dining table. There was a bit of trial and error regarding the binding, and they do not stand up to close scrutiny, but they are nice for everyday use, and don't seem to mind the odd bit of dinner spilled on them. I am slowly working more pretty into our house. Darling Hubby resists any 'girlification' of his environment, but he's not the one who knows how to sew, so I get the last word ;)

2009-03-29T14:45:00.000+10:00

March Reading List

Reading has been taking up a lot of my time in the past few months. I have always been a book worm, losing entire days to a good book, or three less good ones. Reading has taken a back seat throughout my university years and the kids' early years. I kept telling myself that I didn't have time to read whole books, that it was an indulgence. That I had other, far more important things to do.

It's only been in the past couple of years that I have come to realise that reading is hugely important, both in understanding who I am and discovering who I want to be. Now I am wondering if I'll live long enough to read everything I want to.

The point of this ramble is that I have decided to start recording what I have read each month. Maybe you'll spot something interesting in there too, or you could just skip my self indulgent rambling. Either way is fine with me.

So this month I have read:

- The Anatomy of Wings by Karen Foxlee

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really connected with the author of this book. We're close in age, and she comes from the same outback town as my husband, the same one I lived in for a number of years. The novel is set in a fictitious mining town which bears striking similarities to that town. The story is narrated by a young girl, and covers the final year of her teenaged sister's life and the effect her sister's death had on the entire family.

Having lived in the town that was the inspiration for the fictitious, the sense of place had a strong influence on my enjoyment. Karen Foxlee has captured the strangeness and the beauty of these isolated towns, where the next decent sized city can be a full day's drive away. I was particularly struck by the description of her grandmother's back yard, where the lawn gives way to desert with no visible boundary - the thin and fragile veneer of civilisation masking the true wildness of nature.

View all my reviews.

The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Book 1: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sometimes I go searching for a book, but this one found me. It was the name of the wicked step mother, Oonagh, that pushed me into buying it. I could see that it was fantasy, which is not usually my genre, but the Celtic basis for the characters tempted the historian in me. This book is set in Ireland and England in the ninth century, and is based on a fairy tale that I have loved since childhood. I am not going to say which one, but you'll figure it out once you get into the book.

The novelisation of fairy tales has been an idea that appealed to me, and I find it even more interesting after reading this novel. I am not much of a series reader, but I will be searching out the next one in this series.

View all my reviews.

Sula by Toni Morrison

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow. This book, like all of Toni Morrison's has layer upon layer of meaning. Sula and Nel are childhood friends, who grow up in a poor, African American settlement. The novel deals with friendship and love between women, between friend and mothers and daughters. Be warned, though, that Toni Morrison does not do happy endings. Her prose are wonderful to read. This is a book I see myself coming back to time and time again. There is too much in it to absorb in a single reading.

View all my reviews.

2009-03-28T21:43:00.003+10:00

Happy Earth Hour, World!

Earth Hour is a much anticipated event in our household. We like candles! Though the lack of tv did begin to sting by minute 57.

We walked up the hill a little way, to a spot where we have a good view of the city. The lights were dimmer than usual; many of the offices had left their lights off for the weekend. It was exciting waiting for the lights of Story Bridge to be switched off, but all three kids weren't watching when it actually happened. Josh was disappointed that there were no fireworks. We strolled home and ate cheesecake by candlelight on the patio, watching bats and debating which planet is hottest.

It was lovely, without the constant noise of the television impeding every conversation, though I doubt our willing volunteers would be so amenable if we did it too often. So very different to my own childhood, which was without television until I was 11.

* The gorgeous wall sconce is from Dusk.

2009-03-23T12:55:00.002+10:00

This little darling made his appearance at around 3 am today. I am still waiting to hear any details, but am thrilled that my sister sent me a picture.

Welcome little Ryan! We love you!

2009-03-19T16:31:00.003+10:00

Please excuse the poor lighting; the sun has entirely deserted us today, and I am far to impatient to wait for a suitable day to photograph my little Easter critter. The jury is still out as to whether he is a bunny or an albino bilby that sadly has been born without a tail. He is very popular in our house, though.

The pattern came from Heart Strings Fibre Arts, and is incredibly simple. It uses a 6 inch square of stocking stitch, and the ears take moments to knit up. It must be easy, because I, the world's slowest knitter, managed to produce it in a matter of days. It'd take even less time if I wasn't so darn distractible.

The patchwork he sits upon is hoping to be my next completed project in the coming days.

2009-03-18T14:05:00.001+10:00

I had to share this song. It's been getting a heavy work out on my ipod recently. Heavenly harmonies!

2009-03-18T11:02:00.002+10:00

I have not had my cherished laptop for a couple of weeks, so I have a bunch of photos to catch up on. This moon picture was taken the day before Cyclone Hamish started affecting our weather. It was a spectacular sky, with a halo around the moon and wind swept streaks of cloud.

It was amazing, how you could see the influence of the cyclone, even though it was hundreds of kilometres away.

This picture was taken at the same time the following night. It was a very dramatic sky.

My rosella bush flowered this week. I am looking forward to jars of delicious rosella jam. The flowers last less than a day, so I felt quite lucky to spot and photograph this pretty blossom. See the sneaky little freeloader? Lucky for him I am a soft touch when it comes to bugs!

I have no idea why they are called rosellas, but the strangely shaped fruit remind me of parrot feathers when they are made into jam.

There is craft work going on, so I'll take some more pics and update on that front tomorrow.

2009-03-12T11:13:00.003+10:00

Hey! I am still alive, and I do remember the password for my blog ;) Here's a random update:

* New furniture has involved a massive amount of work, as I declutter (those who know me understand what a monumental task this is) and shuffle things to fit. Christopher is thrilled to finally have a desk in his room, I am delighted to have a new dining table, after way too many tv dinners, and Darling Hubby is pretty keen on the new-to-us TV he purchased from a workmate.

*We had a lovely trip into the city last week, to share a meal with my sister, her husband and their youngest baby. Maehbh is more gorgeous every time I see her! She's like a little doll, huge blue eyes, whispy red blonde hair and a constant smile.

*After all the excitement and buildup, Cyclone Hamish was a bit of a let-down. Damp windy days, but not nearly the rainfall we had been preparing for. The cooler overcast days have been very welcome, though! I know I am not the only blogger who pulled out the wool in readiness for autumn crafting.

*Less happy news: Our eldest child (10) was in strife at school yesterday. There has been a bullying situation, and yesterday, when it turned physical, our little guy struck back. The bully has been more severely punished, but sadly for Christopher, the fact that he punched the bully back has meant that he too is being punished. He will not be allowed to go to the end of term "Rewards Day". It is sad that he gets punished for defending himself when tackled to the ground by a larger kid. I feel guilty too, because I had become aware he was having trouble last week, but he didn't want me to go to the school, and I had started keeping a record of 'good days' and 'bad days', rather than taking immediate action. I wish I'd taken more action, but in my defence, I had no idea it would go so far. So now I am suppressing a desperate urge to mollycoddle my son, who seems far less scarred by the incident than I am.

*I am not receiving emails through my main account at the moment, though I can check my gmail account online, so it's cherubsmummy at gmail dot com if you need to contact me.

2009-02-19T17:09:00.000+10:00

You're telling me this is your computer?

You snooze, you lose!

2009-02-14T20:38:00.003+10:00

Happy Valentine's Day

My Sweetheart bought me a shiny new Mixmaster (moments after the price induced heart attack at the Kitchenaide display). Naturally, when a mixer enters a home, cake must inevitably follow. This Honey-soaked Lavender and Poppyseed Cake was a hit with the younger members of the household. It smells divine!

2009-02-11T09:57:00.002+10:00

I am rather proud of this full moon photo, taken on Sunday or Monday night. Don't ask me which night, I really cannot remember!

I have a very experimental approach to photography. I have a few settings, including ones called S and A. I usually only use the auto and macro setting for extreme close ups. Taking photos like the lightning, I set it to S and try alter the settings by increments until I find what I want. I have not actually investigated what the S means, though I suspect that it's something to do with shutter speed, and I discovered that photographing the moon and lightning require very different settings. It's fun, and the triumph when I get that long sought after image is well worth the fiddling around in the dark.

2009-02-09T15:31:00.005+10:00

Australians this weekend have been shocked by the terrible fires in Victoria. So far there is an official death toll of 130, but that is expected to rise as rescue workers manage to access more areas. Entire towns have been erased. Smoke has lifted to reveal car wrecks and untold horror as people tried to flee. Australians are generally prepared for these types of disasters, but the speed with which the fires spread in the 47C (116F) heatwave was more than anyone could anticipate.

On top of that, two thirds of our state, Queensland, have been inundated by floods for weeks. The monsoon is above average, but not excessive. I think it's a bit of a shock after years of below average rainfall. I am waiting to see if my family start developing webbed feet. If only the rain could be shared around the whole country.

We are blessed to be safely out of range of both disasters. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has lost life, loved ones and possessions in these hard times.

Edit: Donations can be made to the Red Cross. Coles Supermarkets have promised to donate all profits made on Friday the 13th to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. Lucky for us (and the Red Cross), that's our monthly pay day, so I'll be stocking up big on Friday.

2009-02-07T17:17:00.004+10:00

Lazy Saturday Afternoon

Afternoons at my sewing machine are bliss. The sun streams through the glass doors, but the airconditioner lets me pretend that it's not stinking hot. I spend some time playing with my button jar, a pleasure that reminds me of my Nana and the jar that fascinated my sisters and I thirty years ago.

This is the little treasure I have produced today. It is a sweet little bag, the Everything Pocket Bag, purse sized, so I can pop into my handbag. So many uses! But this was my first need:-

I can see many more of these ingenious little darlings in my future.

2009-01-27T09:45:00.002+10:00

Back to School

It's a bittersweet day for me today. All three children went off to school together, Joshua for the very first time. They are all happy and excited, and were ready way before time to leave. It seems like just yesterday I was taking Christopher for his first day of school, carrying my tiny baby. Mrs Thomas has taught all my children their first year at school, so both Josh and I were very comfortable in her classroom.

He looks so cute! This was the smallest shirt they stock, and still has plenty of growing room.

Playdough makes any transition easier!

And this is what he was doing as I left. I got a quick kiss and a hug and he turned his back and started playing with the boys. Suddenly I am not the most important thing in his life any more.

2009-01-19T11:36:00.004+10:00

I found Nemo!

In our neglected pond! In October we had a heat wave, which turned the water of the pond tepid. The heat made the algae I had been trying to fight off flourish. The three goldfish in there vanished that day, and I spent at least a week searching for them in murky water. They stopped coming up for food, and I gave them up for dead.

Time passed. The chaos of the end of the school year and Christmas took centre stage, and I left the pond to clean out when I got a little less busy. It would be a biggish job, as I had to dig it deeper and larger to keep the water cooler for the inhabitants. This morning I was looking at the now black with algae water, and figured it was time I bit the bullet. I began scooping water from the pond and tipping it on thirsty plants. As I filled the bucket I caught a glimpse of a bright orange leaf. I dumped the bucket on the garden bed, only to see a very upset goldfish flipping around on the mulch! I grabbed him and threw him back in the pond, and finished the emptying much more carefully after that.

He's currently residing in a bucket, while he waits for the freshened and extended pond water to settle down. The kids are excited to see him. Naturally he is now called Nemo 'coz we found him!' He has to be the reason the icky pond never had any mosquito larvae, which was the main concern I had been keeping an eye on.

2009-01-18T09:42:00.002+10:00

Stitching Post Saturday

(on a Sunday)

A stitching friend of mine, over at Miriam Pauline's Monologue, has started a new updating post she's named Stitching Post Saturday. I like the idea, especially since I have been very slack about updating on my crafting.

So here is my update, which I completed on Saturday night. This cushion is from the most recent Australian Handmade magazine, my all time favourite source of craft inspiration. I am new to the art of patchwork, and my corners are not all precise, but I am pleased by the finished project and keen to decide what to work on next.

2009-01-16T20:21:00.003+10:00

In other exciting news, a good friend of ours has heard today that he is to receive an Australia Day Award. He was involved in the investigation and prevention of a planned terrorist attack and deserves every accolade he receives.

2009-01-16T19:54:00.004+10:00

Science Centre and South Bank

It's Darling Husband's last official day of vacation today (excluding the weekend, because lawn mowing never counts as vacation). We packed a picnic, clothed the kids, hopped in the shiny, fixed car, turned the key ... nothing. So we got out of the car, and walked to the train station instead. We were going to have a good day no matter what!

We went to the Science Centre, and bought a family yearly pass ( a bargain at only slightly more than two family day passes). It was full of kids, and so noisy. Who knew science was so loud! It was fantastic though, so much to see, and almost every exhibit was hands on. Because it was so busy, we didn't get a chance to do everything, but because we have the pass we didn't care :)

Joshua experimenting with light, and the three different colour shadows from the spotlights above. The moment he got into that spotlight he started dancing, and probably could have gone on for ages, but there were a bunch of other kids waiting for a turn.

Christopher was so poorly behaved that we had to turn him into a fruit platter. Sorry, Grandma and Pop! The senses room was so cool, with optical illusions to trick our senses. There is a rotating tunnel, which, when you stand in it on a stationary platform, feels for all the world like you are moving. Too long and it can give you motion sickness.

There is just too much to put into one post. Samara is riding a bike which lit up the skeleton next to her. The skeleton copies the pedalling movement of the rider, and shows how the joints work. This had them all fascinated. Josh has decided that he's going to be a scientist when he grows up, although he may still superhero on the side.

After lunch we walked up to our favourite spot at South Bank, a simulated creek, where the kids can build dams and swim away from the insanely crowded beach area at the same park.

Science experiments are so much fun! Especially when Mum and Dad get to read a book in the shade.

On the way home we dropped in to visit Aunty Sarah and beg a loan of her spare car for a little longer. Thanks so much Aunty Sarah and Uncle Doug!

2009-01-15T10:04:00.003+10:00

Summertime Love

After several days of car problems and general hiding from the heat, it was time to get out and stretch our legs a bit. This is Colmslie Beach Reserve, a lovely park on the river not far from our house. It has a delightful little sandy beach on the river, but that's not what we visited on this day.

We were far more interested in the pathways designed just for kids to swoop down steep little hills on brand new scooters and let momentum carry them to the top of the next one. With swerving corners and intriguing little detours.

With a flying fox that's enough thrill for the ten year old and not too scary for the five year old.

With a dark cool cavern in the middle of the sandpit.

And a musical ship wreck. These pipes have clappers at the base, which make a soothing hollow music.

There is so much more to this park than the parts I have shown here, slides down the side of a hill, swingsets for many, an obstacle course of little bridges and tunnels shaded by sprawling fig trees, an avenue of jacarandas which turn the park purple in October. And then there is the river bank, with lovely trees and a passing parade of boats.

This is one of the most fun parks I have been to. It used to be for wet play, with fountains and oldfashioned pump taps, but the drought brought about change. Not necessarily a bad thing.

2009-01-11T18:28:00.002+10:00

Well, it's birthday time again. They seem closer together than they were twenty years ago. Having my birthday so close to New Year's Day, I frequently postpone any resolutions until after my birthday. Who wants to be ten days into a diet when there's chocolate cake to be had?

It's shaping up to be a different year. After ten years of raising young children, my youngest starts full time school in two weeks time. I am at a cross road, and I am afraid the signs must be written in Welsh, because I have no idea which way to go.

2009-01-04T23:32:00.003+10:00

Joshua is not feeling well today. He has a bit of a temperature, and a headache. After he ate dinner he went and climbed into our bed and fell asleep. The older of our two cats, St John (name chosen from Jane Eyre), has always adored our small boy, and usually joins him for naps. I am quite sure pets know when you're not feeling well. I had two (different) cats which sat with my in the bathroom through bouts of morning sickness.

2009-01-04T11:08:00.002+10:00

This spectacular web has been appearing daily in our yard. It goes right across our front door, so we have been knocking it down because it freaks the kids out a bit. I have a policy of not killing spiders that can't kill me. The spider is a garden orb spider, about 2 inches in size, and harmless.

The web building technique is amazing as I have read here. In our spider's case, the top 'bridging thread' spans from our gutter, across our little access road, up a very high retaining wall andto the top of a lamp post on the nearby main road. It is unbelievably high and so strong!

2008-12-27T17:41:00.002+10:00

Country Christmas II

At long last the waiting paid off, and, all adults suitably fortified with the caffeine of their choice, presents werre distributed.

Santa is a good listener!

Can anyone guess what the rest of my summer will be spent doing?

And listening to?

The rest of the day was spent eating, laughing, and talking on the phone with the much loved absentees. By telephone we shared Uncle Jason's London Christmas (hard to imagine, way over there in the cold!). Naps were enjoyed by a lucky few. We had a delicious dinner of steak and salads, and the grown ups enjoyed a raucus board game while children fell asleep watchin Christmas movies.

It was a joyful, relaxing little visit, and we are very grateful to our generous country 'lations. Hope those Wii-stiffened muscles stop hurting soon!

2008-12-27T17:20:00.002+10:00

Country Christmas

A pleasant drive to my sister in law's new home in the country was the perfect way to start our Christmas celebrations. We all enjoy getting out of the city, and spent the drive spotting baby farm animals.

My in laws are Catholic, and we attended Christmas Eve Mass. The children were invited to join the choir with their country cousins, and had a great time in the choir loft while we enjoyed the service downstairs. I love this beautiful church.

Christmas Day dawned bright and early. Brighter and earlier for some than others. This picture was taken at about 5:30am, when I got up to keep 5 excited children company while they waited for the rest of the family to wake. The sixth child had far more sense, and had to woken by an over excited grandfather who couldn't wait for present time!

Isn't this cubby house fabulous! Although still under construction, it was much admired. A veritable Taj Mahal. We can't wait to see it completed, with window boxes and numerous other exciting features. Good job, Uncle Brian!

Meanwhile, inside the house, children waited ...

... and waited ...

2008-12-23T12:37:00.002+10:00

O, Christmas Tree!

We are having a downsized Christmas this year. Our plan was to donate our old tree to charity, and purchase a larger one, since the kids are big enough to be trusted not to maul the tree. The first part of the plan worked perfectly, and the old tree was removed from the house. The second part? Not so much.

We discovered on a foray into the Christmas sales, that our taste in trees runs towards the more expensive end of the market. Way beyond our planned budget. So a compromise was reached. As we will not be celebrating at home anyway, we decided to get a live tree, in this case a native pine tree, and keep the decorations small. It's rather pretty with the lights on at night.

We're all crammed into a small hired car at the moment. It's been one issue after another having ours repaired, and at this stage we won't have it back until January 7th. The biggest car we could get was a Corolla. We were not impressed, especially with travelling to spend the holiday with family. At least the insurance policy covers the replacement vehicle.

This will probably be my last post before Christmas, so I am wishing all of you a wonderful holiday season. Take care, and I'll see you all again soon!

2008-12-18T18:15:00.003+10:00

A sweet little apron for a sweet little baker.

I had fun with this project, inspired by embroidered doilies rescued from a St Vincent de Paul op shop. I halved the embroidered piece, hemmed it and created the apron from a template traced from a commercially produced apron. It came up so pretty, I think. I can't wait to give it to its new owner!

2008-12-17T18:10:00.004+10:00

City Excursion

We caught the train into the city. This is what I got when I asked the kids to smile. Not a clue!

After lunch with Daddy we went and admired the Myers window display. Every year they depict another Christmas book. It's always a fascinating display.

We saw the city Christmas tree.

And climbed on the nearby artworks, which reminded me of gifts beneath the tree, or perhaps a bauble knocked down by a curious kitten.

My favourites are these leadlight angels, which look down on you throughout the Queen Street Mall. I am sure at night they are divine. We are going out for dinner in the city in a few days, so I will take my camera back at night.

2008-12-16T19:31:00.002+10:00

Bella demonstrates the vital importance of wearing a seat belt at all times. We often find her sleeping belly-up in bizarre positions. She's a contortionist kitty.

In other news: My data has been rescued, but apparently dh didn't have enough memory to load my enormous amount of data onto his laptop to bring home. He's taking our external drive thingy to work tomorrow to complete the transfer. He's my hero, even though he emailed me the full story during the day, forgetting that I have no email set up yet. Silly him!

2008-12-16T08:11:00.002+10:00

Lament

I have lost my cookies. This is completely different to losing your marbles. Perhaps losing my marbles would have been preferable. I rely entirely on my smart little laptop remembering all the passwords for me. I am not even sure of my email password. But yesterday my laptop died. Complete with every photo I have ever taken (not backed up, naturally). And my precious little cookies.

Everyone cross your fingers that Darling Computer Genius Husband (who brought home the new-to-me laptop I am using at this moment) can retrieve all my data from the old hard drive and put it on this one. Until then I'll muddle through without my passwords. Sigh.

2008-12-11T11:14:00.003+10:00

What have I been doing lately?

December has been its usual rush of activities. I have had little time for blog updates, as well as a few days there where I had no internet at all, through my own clumsiness. I knocked my laptop off the little table it sit on, and it fell straight onto the external modem plugged into the side ( I have a very well loved hand me down computer, no fancy internal modems for me!) It snapped the modem in half, and it took me a few days to get back online. Everything else is fine, and fortunately we had a spare modem, so it was not an expensive mistake.

The Christmas party was a delightful evening. Fantastic dinner and a dessert table laden with delicious little delicacies, including my all time favourite, Creme Caramel, a dessert that brings back memories from a very happy childhood holiday. We stayed the night at the Marriott in the city, and relished the exquisite linen and an actual bath tub. The view of the Brisbane River was pretty good too. We eventually retrieved our children from their ever indulgent grand parents on Sunday. It was a lovely little holiday, just what twe needed to launch into the couple of weeks since then.

We smiled back at the moon, Jupiter and Venus. Blurry picture, because heat has melted the glue in my tripod, so I need to stick it back together.

My cherished frangipani (plumeria for you North American types) finally bloomed after two years and a transplantation to a better spot. It looked good, but the kids picked all the leaves off it one day, sparking a parental explosion of epic proportions. It has recovered slowly, and finally rewarded me for my patience.

We said a fond farewell to Mr Brown, one of the most outstanding, patient teachers I know. Josh is so excited about moving on to school, but I am already feeling quite sad.

I stitched this Victorian Lace Snowflake, designed by Rosewood Manor (JCS 2007) for Christopher's teacher.

And Peace, also by Rosewood Manor (I didn't notice the coincidence until just now!), from JCS 2008 for Samara's teacher. This is the fourth year in a row that I have had a child in her class, and now I hear a rumour that she'll be teaching Samara again next year. She is very pleased with her growing ornament collection. She has more of my ornaments than I do!

Samara won the academic prize for her year level at the school awards night. Auntie Sarah was the designated photographer that night, so no pics just yet. We were all very proud of her effort. Christopher did not win a prize this year, but impressed us enormously with a solo performance at the concert. His confidence is amazing, to stand in front of a crowd and sing so well!

I have so much yet to do before Christmas!

2008-11-27T14:02:00.002+10:00

Sheer Madness

I have been planning my outfit for darling husband's work Christmas party, an event of massive proportions that I spend the whole year anticipating. Yesterday I went out to find shoes, and brought home these little neck breakers. I am not a regular wearer of high heeled shoes. In fact, I've only started wearing shoes during the day this year, and then only because the doctor made me. Sneakers are the order of the day at the moment, while I wait for a pretty good case of heel spurs (plantar fashy-something complicated) to heal. But these shoes were so tempting, higher that anything I have ever worn before. With my sore feet, dancing was never on the cards for this party, but at least now I'll feel pretty after months of sneakers.

I struggled to find a dress I liked. I searched the stores, then moved on to try and find a pattern I liked. Every pattern I chose was out of stock, so I gave up and went home. Then I remembered my favourite very simple, very forgiving black dress. It's a bit casual, so I have made this stretchy bolero (New Look 6559) to go over the top, and tizzed it up a bit with the bead fringe. That bead fringe is a pain to sew on!

So tomorrow we ship the kids off to Grandma and Pop's place, and head into the city for a night of wine and fine dining at the Mariott, followed by a fancy motel room and room service breakfast.

Thanks Grandma and Pop!

2008-11-20T19:59:00.002+10:00

Serious Weather

Brisbane has been in the line of fire for some serious weather this week. Sunday night saw a storm front with devastating winds. Some suburbs suffered considerable damage. Homes and sadly lives were lost. Then last night (Wednesday) another storm front moved through, bringing flash flooding and more loss. Our little hobbit hole, tucked snugly in its hollow, was spared the worst of the storms. In fact we blissfully slept last night, unaware of all the strife in other parts of the city.

Tonight a third front swept through, and although much more brief, it was a big excitement for our kids, as we received hail, and plenty of it. These photos were taken after the storm. I was thrilled by them, having never taken good storm photos before.

Christopher and I stood outside with the tripod, in ankle deep ice water, to get these shots.

It turns out that our yard is the local drainage, and the water is pouring through around the house.

We were supposed to be at the final choir rehearsal of the year, but the storm was looming, and, suspecting that it would be a doozy, I elected to stay home. I am glad I did. It was scary enough at home, let alone being out in a car. I will call the choir organisers tomorrow to see if we can have Christoper's exam results, which would have been distributed tonight, mailed to us. I doubt many kids showed up at all.

We won't know the full extent of the damage until tomorrow morning, but the glass in the car held up, we still have a roof, and the rest we can cope with. I doubt there will be many tomatoes left on the vines, though.

2008-11-20T14:20:00.003+10:00

Counting down until Christmas

Only five weeks left until Christmas, three until school finishes for the year! Where's my paper bag *gasping frantically*? Ahh, that's better! As much as I love the slower pace of school holidays, it seems we lose half our summer to Christmas preparation and celebration. I have finished the stitching part of two of the four teacher's gifts this year. I am ahead of the game, compared to previous years! The top one is a design by Little by Little Design Co., found in the 2007 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue. This is for the first male teacher our family has had. Mr Brown teaches kindergarten, and is one of the most wonderful, caring teachers I have ever known.

And this design, by Mosey and Me in the JCS 2003 Ornie issue, is for his teaching assistant.

Keep an eye out for plenty more Christmas projects between now and December 25th. I have way more plans than hours in the day.

2008-11-16T13:46:00.002+10:00

Kindy Art Show

In the lead up to the end of the school year, Joshua's kindergarten has organised an Art Show. We were just blown away by the effort that the teachers and children put into this exhibition. I have never seen the artwork of a collection of four and five year olds look so great. They experimented with media, colour and many different styles. The above blurry photo is of stitching buttons onto hessian.

This installation was created from twisted rainbow coloured wire.

I was hugely impressed by the pastel still life fruit. The kids were encouraged to look at shapes, light and colour, and there were some very impressive results!

And here is the proud artist, showing us one of his works. I am really looking forward to these creations coming home!

Anyone googling Ashton Street kindergarten needs to know that this place is fabulous. The effort the teachers put into every child is above and beyond what we'd hoped for. Love, love, love this kindy, and I am going to miss it so much next year.

2008-11-10T10:26:00.003+10:00

Five Friendly Frogs

We had the birthday barbeque yesterday. After some nervous speculation regarding the weather, and a rainy preceding night, the day dawned overcast and cool. No rain fell, but the cloud cover kept temperatures pleasant, so we had no complaints.

I have two gorgeous men celebrating birthdays in my house, five days apart, so we had to have two cakes. It was a very enjoyable celebration. The kids (cousins and friends) got along so well together that we barely had to do anything except keep a ready supply of food on hand. No party games were organised (though the packet of balloons turned into an impromptu water fight), yet ten children played for five hours with barely a disagreement and not a murmur of boredom.

It's on days like yesterday that we realise, in spite of the many moments of worry, we are raising good kids, our friends and us, and we can be proud.

2008-11-07T17:01:00.003+10:00

I am not a fan of hot days. When other people are racing out to enjoy the summer sunshine, I am busy lining my airconditioned cave and hibernating for the summer. I was not designed for summer. I wonder how I ever made it through a childhood of tropical homes and sometimes not even a ceiling fan. I have very clear memories of these places, and yet I don't remember too many really hot days. Must have been too busy playing.

Anyway, this is our backyard, lining up for summer. We have a friarbird nest in one of our trees, which is providing much entertainment. I had to comfort the kids during a wet day, saying that the baby birds would be fine with their mother acting as an umbrella.

Delicious refrigerator biscuits, a very old recipe from a very old cook book. Most of the main courses are not so useful now, with the different ingredients we have now, but the biscuit and cakes chapters are fabulous.

The swing set had reached the end of its usefulness as a swing set, but the frame is still good, so I got a hammock to use instead. A very popular decision.

Now all we need is the holidays! Only five weeks to go!