last presents

Sometimes the last presents prove to be the most difficult or time consuming. i know exactly what i want to get but finding this item is proving to be a little difficult so we have changed plans and gone to plan b!

Still looking for cranberries and chestnuts although I have been informed that it should not be too difficult. The places i tried are very small and only stock limited items so that might not have been the best choice however tonight we have my favourite supermarket to visit in Hawthorn. This place has everything including the kitchen sink.

Our little petal was sick last night, amazing how children only vomit when things are dark and quiet. We have told her about the buggies in her tummy and she is refusing to limit her food intake. She absolutely loves her food and has been enjoying all the lovely delights of summer and our garden and now I have to stop this for a bit and give her plain bland food. There has been tears, threats of dying from starvation and lots of crying and complaining that she is VERY hungry. I am not surprised given that her stomach was emptied completely. We are hoping to get her back on top of things for Christmas and in the meantime all holding our breath to see if our hurricane gets it as well. So i am off to do washing whilst there is no rain and a bit of sun. The out for a bit of gardening.

Have a lovely sunny day.

Nearly Christmas

Goodness not many days left till Christmas. I have one more present to get, a couple to make and I am done. Except for the food which I am working on. The turkey I am going up the street to attempt to get now. The cranberries and the chestnuts well goodness knows where I get them? The seafood is being bought tomorrow morning at the Market and the veggies are being collected at the Farmers Market (twilight ones). I am hoping to get the BEST EGGS in the world and garlic at the farmers market!!!!

Oh you missed my birthday, it was nice, I had some lovely friends come the following weekend and that felt more like my birthday than the day which was hmmmm......... I think the less said the better.

We have been busy in the garden again, I have been chipping away each day and all I could see was the mountain that was not getting any smaller until my dear dear friend pointed out that I need to stop and look at what I/we have done. When I did that I managed to smile, there are lovely pockets of garden looking beautiful especially with all the rain that we have had. The lush plant life is there making the garden beds look quite full and beautiful. They are flowering and now that a lot of the weeds have been removed you can see how much they have grown and how lovely some of the plants really are we make wonderful discoveries. The water feature is flowing and makes the whole effect quite peaceful. I love pointing out the new fruit on the blueberries, the strawberries and the apple trees. Quite amazing to see what is happening in the garden now and we are all enjoying it a bit more.

Painting has come to a grinding halt I had better get to the paint shop very soon before they close for Christmas and get the paint needed to finish the jobs. That can wait for a bit.

We were all busy the other night making Christmas trees from this wonderful blog.http://www.craftypod.com/2010/12/07/how-to-make-japanese-inspired-upholstered-ornaments/ It was quite late however they both stuck with it as best they could and the result is just so sweet. I am wondering if they are going to gift them or keep them.

Happy Birthday My Petal

My little Petal is 7 already. I can hardly believe that this much time has gone by. My girl had a lovely day at school and bought home a little present which she was very happy about and a dress covered in stickers from all the teachers. She is loved! We had a little party for her, well it was a gathering, (A couple of surprise visitors) fish and chips and CAKE, which seems to constitute a party. I love that she had a table of pink presents and was thrilled with each and everyone of them. the cupcakes turned out well on the second attempt. I found that using natural red colouring does not give it the correct colour and adding un-natural red colouring turns them BROWN ARGHHH so on our second attempt we stuck to the recipe and they worked a treat. The cake which I did was not grand, it was very simple butterfly cake decorated with icing and hundreds and thousands. (I realised that I desperately need to do a cake decorating course if I am going to continue the tradition of making them each year) was very happily received by all. That is what really counts. My petal told me at the end of the night that she was VERY happy that she received quite a few books, a barbie, a strawberry shortcake girl and other lovely things. I didn't make her something to wear this year. I was a bit distracted so I will have to save it for Xmas I think.

Last night we went to Bunnings to see Vasili! HOW MUCH FUN DID WE HAVE!!!! YEAH. I won a prize, by answering a question on water savings amazing that one of the facts and figures floating around in my head came in very handy. It is his new magazine "good gardening". This is not the first time that we have spoken to him however the kids are a bit older now and thrilled to bits. Especially as we were watching him on tv just before we went to see him. My red headed hurricane told him that he is VERY magical as he was able to pop out of the tv at our house and come down to Bunnings even when the tv was turned off! It was a wonderful evening of amazing things that we learnt. About grafting as many species of citrus to the lemon tree as we like. 23 or more! Look out lemon tree, he solved the problem for our little lemon tree in the wine barrel. We learnt about life cycles of the gall wasp and his campaign to have a national gall wasp pruning day. I do hope he succeeds! He talked about eco-oil and other natural remedies for getting rid of pests in the garden. Told stories of his lovely house that he used to have, more importantly of the garden that he has left behind and would desperately wants to buy it back. We had pizza and was entertained with Greek music. We made friends and watched the children play on the jumping castle, do crafts and listen to Vasili and get our book signed and a photo taken nothing was too much trouble! What an amazing man he is. Make sure you watch him on Chanel 31 7:30pm Wednesdays or download his show from the website. All in all it was a great night.

http://www.vasilisgarden.com/

I bought my first online magazine. Toffee! I haven't had a look yet been so busy culling, more culling and painting. I am trying to get the rest of the inside open plan area painted or at least undercoated. I need to keep busy at the moment. Plus it is a busy time of the year. Ideally I would like to renovate during the day and sew in the evening however that is not happening at the moment.

Being summoned I will talk again soon

so much has happened....

I have to start with our beautiful big black monster boy died the next day and that is all I have to say at the moment. All our hearts are very sad.

It is my girls birthday tomorrow. I always find this time a very difficult time, We have 2 Anniversary's for our loved ones that have left us. Now a third one with Stanley. First is Lily and oh I cannot even talk about that day. Next Stanley and then my dad. On the last day of October we have our wedding anniversary and it always reminds me that with death there is still life and on it goes.

We went for a lovely pre-birthday stay down the coast. It was lovely even though it rained. We visited Toast to the Coast and had friends come and visit and did all the things on my girls list that makes her feel very special. She went swimming with her daddy whilst mummy made breakfast, a big cooked breakfast no less. We went to the organic shop and bought lots of lovely things for lunches and dinners. We had the CURRY night and Fish and Chip night and a sleepover so that they are in the Bunk beds. We had a walk and bought milkshakes and went to the beach to make sandcastles. We went Op shopping to get a book or 2 and a toy! I love her precious little list for the simplicity and enjoyment.

I am busy preparing cupcakes for our Petal to take to school and Fairy wands., it is funny how she always chooses 2 things for her birthday and we happily compile... I think I am thinking of both my girls then and it just makes it a bit easier doing things for both of them or that is what it feels like. (The red velvet ones) http://melbourneepicure.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-red-velvet-cupcakes.html and the Fairy wands (I cannot find the direct link however I am sure that the lovely Kate from Fox's lane gave us all the amazing conception and as it is her birthday today Pop over and say Happy Birthday) http://foxslane.blogspot.com/ They are both amazing women and fabulous blogs and goodness I have no idea what we would be doing for our girls birthday if I didn't have them!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY My lovely Daylesford Women (Belated) for ROB and (today) for KATE and (tomorrow) for my other very good friend JENNII (fellow Scorps) You look fabulous and what an amazing women you are!! I feel very privledged to have you as friends.

As for us today is cake(fingers crossed) and clean up time I am dashing off to do this. SO many things to do preparing for a birthday.

Have a lovely day ESPECIALLY the birthday girls! :)

I am a hoon?????????????

Today i had another interesting experience with the Nasty neighbour desperately trying to bully me again, it is really getting old now. We have managed to avoid him except for the junk that ends up in our driveway from his ongoing building works and a few other minor issues, blocking the street, making it difficult to get in and out of driveway, parking across our driveway the usual trouble. It has been good that way however today he decided to call the police on me and tell them that I had fishtailed all the way up our street. I am one of the slower drivers and pride myself in going slowly along out street as it is a dirt road. I did leave almost quickly as he was out the front and it is great to see the dust land on the black car that is illegally parked blocking the turning circle nothing new there! He didn't have a chance to stand watering the road this time. So the police arrived at about lunchtime and spoke to me and asked me questions about our neighbour. I told them some of the problems we and other neighbours had had, of his bullying and I felt that this was another one of these occasions. They informed me that I should contact them immediately if is gets out of hand. I agreed and now I will continue with just living in our lovely sanctuary and enjoying the surroundings well almost all of them lol. At least the one lovely thing that came out of this was that they were making a note so that he couldn't try and involve them in a petty war that he is trying to wage, that was nice to know. My red headed hurricane was very happy to have the police there for his enjoyment. (Someone always benefits from occasions!)

i have to do some baking this week, I have found on Cathie's wonderful blog http://melbourneepicure.blogspot.com/2010/01/sugar-spice-and-market-tomorrow.html the perfect recipe for "sshhhh it's a secret function" at school this week . I have as a gift a new Dalek cookie cutter that is crying out to be tested and used and my Petal and myself agreed that we could do all different shapes which will look lovely. I have just escaped having to make a fascinator that attaches to a headband. I have no idea how to do this however she decided to wear a crown instead. I don't know if I am a little disappointed or not, the high expectations that Mummy can just wipe up anything is very very demanding and taxing at times. I will go searching as I think this might come up again in the near future especially with the cup goings on.

I am still searching desperately for a blueberry muffin recipe, please please if anyone knows of one I would love it before Saturday. (thank you) We have a brunch to attend with our lovely church people. Always very enjoyable.

i have just seen the weather forecast for this week and as always when I see the 15th October to be raining my heart sinks. It is our daughters anniversary and we love to have a picnic at the cemetery next to her grave with the children running around enjoy themselves with balloons and flowers and a candle. This always proves to be very difficult when it rains as it did last year. After the last couple of days of lovely weather I had my hopes up for a beautiful day. I will just have to see what unfolds.

Goodness in all the goings on today I forgot the really important ones. Firstly my Other Half ordersed the timber supports for the verandah as I have been told it cannot be a deck as it will have a roof. So exciting we went around to the timber places and had a lovely look at all the beautiful timbers and things. It is being delivered tomorrow.

Secondly our poor old boy Stanley, our lovely lovely newfoundland is not going well. He is nearly 12 now and extremely old for a Newfewie however up until recently been doing extremely well and he still tried to bite the man wanting to cut down our trees. He is a greenie our old boy. We are waiting to see what happens and what choices we have. He has been having regular injections that help his poor old joints and he has lovely cuddle with the kiddies and lots of attention. They like to decorate him and he tolerates them extremely well. They put petals on him and make him a king and give him grass as he likes to eat it plus other treats that they can find.

Hearts

After school my Petal and myself sat down at the table with our craft things all spread out. We decided upon the colour and started to make a heart together. I took over a bit and my Petal was a little dismayed at the end at her lack of involvement so the second one she was given free rein and I was just allowed to help her upon request. It was a fabulous result and I am so pleased. My boy not to be out done went out to the garden and found a beautiful heart shaped leaf to give to me and proudly presented it to me. "My heart Mummy!"



Some afternoons are just so lovely!



We found all the information for the heart here http://www.purlbee.com/valentine-heart-pins/2009/1/28/mollys-sketchbook-valentine-pins.html



I also have to make the lovely bag of beans for her. She came home during the week and explained a task at school that she had had trouble with. The task was to throw a bean bag up in the air and clap before catching it. I thought she might be a little more motivated to practice if we firstly had a bean bag. and secondly if it was PINK. So after looking found a lovely one here http://www.purlbee.com/wool-felt-jelly-beans/2009/3/17/bag-of-beans.html and I am about to cut it out and run it up on the machine, of course if I make one for the Petal then the Red Headed hurricane will be making his demands so another one in Blue. He also wants to make a blueberry not a pink heart. Next I am looking for a blueberry pattern or modifying a pea on that I found as well.

our beautiful girls gift.

http://namesinthesand.blogspot.com/2010/10/lily-taylor.html

progress

Yesterday we made heaps of progress around the house, not big things but lots of little things that all add up and make it lovely. The kitchen was tackled. So we now have a rangehood (working and lovely) we were measured for a splashback and FINALLY chose the colour. We had a list and were able to narrow it down easily and my little Petal made the choice, this one mummy and we all agreed. A yucky and very temperorary (12 years!) fluroscent light was removed and new one installed above the kitchen sink which is quite lovely to do the dishes now. The kitchen is actually starting to look finished. Today I am measuring a cupboard and getting those lovely inserts cupboard thingies that help keep me organised. I did all this under the sink and it has worked a treated so I continue to the next one. Pull out baskets seem to be the order of the day for the potatoes and another for the onions. I read somewhere that you shouldn't keep them together as we have been. Something about the onions releasing gasses that are not good for potatoes but don't quote me on that. Anyhow that is my excuse and I am happy to use it.

Off to do a load of washing and ironing whilst the sun is still out. Multitasking is good.

I forgot to add tonight me and the kiddies are going to tackle Felt animals or food. I found a couple of free patterns and we will see how we go. Strawberries and donuts are the favourite at the moment,

my 4 years old dictionary.

I have my red headed hurricane who has from early on given things different names. I thought about writing them all down like I did with my girl and her words however somehow I didn't. until now.....

Bum bum, is a bin located outside.
Fox Tail, the subscription that you get for paid tv.
Wetting, the act of marriage.
Boundy barrel, a barrel with wheels that is used in the garden to relocate things generally soil or compost.
Gondalean, a big round thing in the middle of the road that cars go round and round. This is only referred to when a GPS is on.
Music box, a box that plays music normally cd's.
Grassy Man a grass tree growing in the garden or in a pot.
Rubbbbbeee dubbeeee a tummy rub with cream after a bath.
Buddled up, wrapped up in the towel after a shower or bath and carried around whilst being given Kisses!
Nanna Bread, naan bread served with curry.
Garlic Nanna, as above but garlic on top.
No thank ewes, food that is not appealing in either smell or texture.
Morang a Tang, a large orange monkey.
Bummet Train, the bullet train in Japan that goes extremely fast.
Woofy cushion, a cushion that you sit on that makes funny noises.
Gangle a pathway in the garden leading to somewhere secret.


That is about all I can think of at the moment. I am sure that I will add to this list. It is funny how the little things the children do or say that are the most appealing.

Tooth Fairy and lots of other stuff!

We have been very busy with the tooth fairy in the last couple of weeks. My little Petal has lost 4 teeth now and is quite worried that her smile is not beautiful any more, as another 2 are lose and trying to fall out. I keep telling her that it is not her teeth or lack of them that makes her smile it's all the beauty trying to creep out through her eyes and her face that makes her wonderful. The tooth fairy is draining us at the moment and I am wondering how much will be made this time... she has big plans for this money!

We have been looking at what we might do for her birthday, it's not for a couple of months but we like to be a bit prepared. Given that it is a bit of a difficult time for us as parents as well. First the request was the Coast and stay overnight in the cabins, good that is a simple request. Next it has moved to Queensland, then after that not Queensland but Japan. I told her to go for broke and ask Daddy if we could go to Paris for her birthday and she thought that this was very appropriate. Goodness if this is the request for 7 imagine what 16, 18 or 21 is going to be like! I think we will stick with either of the first 2 as either of those is possible.

Possible because my other half is having a bit of success with jobs now and has a first offer perhaps with another one on the way. We are trying to hold out and see which one is the best and which suits the family the best. The first one gives us NO advantage and that is a bit of a shame. We are also reluctant to let him go back just yet as it is WONDERFUL having him home. The children are so happy and thrilled that he is in their lives sharing their daily adventures as they happen. However i could really do with some tips on money saving ideas (day to day things).

I have learnt a few things, use up the STASH there is a million possibilities waiting within those piles of wool or material. Don't shop on a daily basis and use a list, know what you would like to prepare for the week but allow a bit of flexibility sometimes something is on "surprise special." We do a bit of searching online for the catalogues to see who has the best deals and work with that. Tomato paste can be frozen in ice cube trays so as not to spoil. So too can banana's and lemon juice and a few other things. Take away can be made at home if you be a little creative and the kiddies love it! Making things when you need them and fixing things is a great way to save money too! A cotton ball with some essential oil dropped into the vacuum cleaner whilst cleaning is much cheaper than air fresheners and much nicer. Cleaning products are very expensive and Shannon Lush has some wonderful tips on cleaning cheaply and effectively.

I wore my knitted hat intended for Daylesford last week YEAH!!! I had a lovely visit to take photo's of my dear friend's little boy and to say hello as it has been ages since we have been there. Everyone had a hat and I had made all of them. So I was very happy with the results and everyone staying warm. It is my contribution to the family. I must say that I was happy with the results of mine and have continued to knit although having a break at the moment to cull and Spring Clean or attempt that. I dearly missed going to Daylesford Organics as we have been too sick to go to many farmers markets. It is just not the same...... without taking presents of organic delights. We did make some bread, biscuits and take some fresh things to eat and to give as contribution. All things were well received.

I will keep you up to date on the pirate cushion as my red headed hurricane has informed me that he is a Pirate and needs this. So a black and white cushion is on the needles with a skull and cross bones, I am a little frustrated at following a graph and having many MANY balls of wool on the go at one time so I am taking a break and will return to it shortly.

Sorry all over the place tonight. Still have a few things to do and I am stressing about them, so I must dash they are calling louder than the computer.

a day at the coast.

Today we decided to just go for a drive to the coast, not particularly good day, overcast and cool looking but perfect for us. So packed ourselves and kiddies and off we went.

Our first stop (tradition dictates) is the organic shop just as we arrive. We dash straight in and our redheaded hurricane heads for the last place the coconut dates were seen. This time there is dried apricots and gingerbread men but no dates. He announces in his normal way that the dates are not there but he doesn't mind as he LOVES apricots and gingerbread men. He is immediately re-directed by the lovely lady behind the counter (ALWAYS lovely and friendly people there and it makes the experience) to the new spot. He announces again quiet loudly that he will have coconut ones AND almond ones PLEEEEAAAAAASSSSSEEEEEEEEEE! The children have a lovely time sampling the pineapple and telling the lovely lady about where they are from and what they like to eat. We get a few things, quite a few things lol and pay and head to the adjourning nursery. The children ask if they can go there first by them selves which is fine. We are watching them play happily in among the plants and after a suitable time join them with snacks whilst we walk and look at all the lovely plants and buy one that we are after. A native climber that will be planted later tomorrow.

Next stop is the Op shop that we love to visit. We drop off things first and then happily walk around. I had just finished saying to my other half that I would like to find something today, not something expensive or something that we could sell but just a treasure that we could take home and enjoy. The next second he picks up something that is EXACTLY that and the best find to date. A Kenwood Mixer Glass bowl that I have coveted ever since I can remember. My mum had one and I always remember how wonderful it was to secretly lick the mix straight out of the glass bowl when no one was watching. I have watched the wonderful creations appear in the glass bowl and then popped into the oven. I had been told to be careful with the glass bowl as it was fragile and special. I have my own lovely Kenwood that was a gift from my other half however it doesn't have the glass bowl and the enchantment of it did not happen as it did with the other. NOW we have one and all the wonderful memories have come flooding back!

The children find their own treasures, my hurricane finds a treasure too. A Thomas book and cassette for his player. My petal 2 books, toy story included in this and a free treasure that they both get too.

After this is straight to the favourite place for lunch take away and we take it to the beach for picnic. Watching the people as we sit on the sand playing and passing us by.

A bit more shopping after lunch, a stroll around the town and a drive to have a look at land for sale and a chat to the nearby neighbours and some information on prices in the area and then off to the "Australia's best park", too much tv viewing it would seem for my red headed hurricane boy. A lovely play on the pirate ship a run around and the camera goes flat as I comment on how perfect the photo's are. We will be back again soon I am reminded and that makes just watching the kiddies play perfect as well. I am leaving great prints in the sand so my girl takes chase and follows the prints, faster and faster we run around the playground, until I ending up catching her and tickle torturing her.

Last stop dinner back for a pizza, we haven't had one for a while and decide to double treat ourselves. It was great, so easy and then driving home. After a nearby petrol stop it is not long before the kiddies are sound asleep for the rest of the slow trip home. All in all a wonderful day.

Things Change

Well things have been very interesting this week. It started out normal, school for my petal, home for me and my red headed hurricane and my other half off to work however on Tuesday the company he works for closed without any notice.

First comes the shock, how could this happen, then the panic, what are we going to do. How are we going to survive with no wages. Then the other emotions hit in huge waves and all sleep disappears. Our lovely breadwinner is having panic attacks and looking very warn and weary for someone who is not going to work.

We are all alright, I keep saying this to remind myself and to reassure everyone. We are alright! Our fabulous friends all have their ears to the ground and jobs and companies are being recommended to us. It is alright. We have a little savings, I watch too much Oprah NOT TO. lol. We can survive for a while without income and we might have to do this. In the meantime the list of jobs that have been patiently waiting might get tackled. I cannot wait. All I need to do is shake this flu that has hung on since the school holidays and I will be back in fine form. Ticking off the every growing list.

We explained it to our petal and she is thrilled to bits to have daddy at home and picking her up from school It is lovely being a family again for a bit and in the meantime we have some annual leave that is going to be used, well that is our excuse.

I am going back to the basics we don't live that expensively however things are being cut and changes being made. Aldi is the favourite place to shop, many more meals are prepared at home and the freezer is being emptied as it is jammed full of supplies. The cookbooks are being used again and life is back to a tight budget. We will live a simple life and sometimes that is great, things are not taken for granted. Supplies are being used. Meals are being planned and leftovers are used not just thrown. It is amazing how many things can be used, reused and re-cycled.

beautiful material

I love this material and I am considering getting some.... so nice.



http://www.etsy.com/shop/KindSupplier?section_id=6366135&page=2



I have to make something for the red-headed hurricane and then something for the petal. I have been making a couple of hats for the girl and the boy has been missing out and complaining quite bitterly. I had to do some for her school so that she was wearing appropriate school colours and not just pink, fancy not wanting pink! So she has 2 new red hats, and very happy and warm which helps with her cough.



So many choices and all soo good. I know exactly which ones to get for the boy and girl and maybe I might get something for me too.



I did end up finishing my hat and scarf for myself yeah as I really need one and of course I am the last to get one. I have a couple of projects on the go again, I am not sure how that happens so much for finishing however I will get back to completing them again, after I get the lovely material and think about something nice for the kiddies. Lol

good friends are the best!

Sometimes i take things for granted... health, friends and family. Mostly I realise that I am extremely fortunate to have these very precious things.

This week I had a reminder of how fortunate I am when 3 people wrote me absolutely lovely messages via email and another popped in with the BEST presents for my children (and family). So when Daddy walked in the door he was immediately demanded to help plant the presents. After a quick phone call asking questions about the seeds the carrots were quickly taken outside and planted along with some broad beans that have been anxiously wanting to be planted and silver beet and fennel. We will have the best salad mix and veggies going. My red headed boy reminds me that he HAS to eat carrots to make sure his hair stays the right colour. It was so exciting and they had lots of fun with daddy doing this. What a shame I didn't think to take photos of the moment.

The email messages reminded me that even though friends live a fair way away that they think of us and they miss us all the same. I am long, long overdue for a visit to the country. I am desperately waiting for the car to be ready so that this will be my first planned trip as soon as I can shake this cold that is hanging on. I have a sick friend who is very deserving of a visit and a couple of presents.

The driveway is being done at the moment, my lovely other half has been putting in the blue stone and making it lovely. The car is away, we blew up the engine on a drive to Warrigal to pick up an ebay item. Thank goodness again for fabulous friends who have the wonderful ability to tow and take care of us when stranded on the side of the road just off the freeway. Nar Nar Goon is not my favourite place to stop!

Plans have changed due to the expense of having to replace a motor so the deck is on hold again and I am happily saving for the splash back which was on the list as next. Thank goodness we had already bought nearly all the driveway supplies especially the blue stone otherwise that would be back on the bottom of the list.

I am thinking about friends and realise after the resent events with the OzMOST that I have some very, very dear friends that will stick by me and value me inspite of gossip, rumours or people saying bad and untrue things. I was shaken a lot by what happened and realise now that I have gained a very valuable insite and perhaps a better understanding and even better friendships from this. These are the real friends that stay in your thoughts and heart. I remember a while ago (a few years now) thinking that there was no room for any more friends in my life and now I realise that this was a stupid thought and Ihave learnt that the journey take twists and turns and I need these special people that I meet along the way, some stay with me for a long time, others fleeting moments that make a huge impact.

My beautiful friends you are ALL so wonderful and I love each and every one of you!

more food!

The holidays are all over, not everything was achieved however we are still working on our lovely little list of important kiddie/mummy things to do together.



Today after school we went to the new Sushi shop that has opened, it was absolutely lovely. we bought it all home and had a feast before dinner. So nice to have a lovely new shop nearby and so good. My petal is so happy it is her favourite new shop.



We made our first baked cheesecake from a recipe that my lovely country Friend, dear dear friend, gave to me, with one change as I forgot to get cream so we used condensed milk instead, I am a little anxious if it will set alright and taste alright however I will let you know and judging by the smell that is wafting around the house it is going to be great. All vanilla and lemony goodness yum. (just to let you know it set and came out far too good)



I have finished my hat and scarf that I will need when visiting my lovely country friend. So cold there but always well worth the visit. I am hoping to get over the cough soon so that I can make the trip.



My other dear friend's son had his next operation today and it seems that things are a bit better for him. My red headed hurricane made sure to light a candle for him at church on the weekend and I told his family of his doing. My little petal did one after the first operation to make sure that someone was looking out for him and getting him better. They really have a lovely view of life.

We have been cooking more, trying to get back into the swing of things before the turkeys get me down. Last night we made this http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2632115.htm and some of this too go with it instead of the bacon.
http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/72/Guacamole_dip

Opps forgot about the amazing Mayonaise that my darling other half made too, first time, using the masterchef cookbook from the first series and a bit of knowledge. We learnt that some olive oils can make it quite bitter, that perhaps using a basic and non flavourable oil might work a bit better. I didn't have dijon mustard so improvised with a french mustard instead. I thought it was brilliant, and the lashings that were going on with the food meant that the rest of the family thought so too.

Back to the ironing, nearly finished serves me right for leaving it so long.

food glorious food

My other half has opened up the blinds (on the outside) and the lovely area has come flooding in, I have forgotten how much I love this area and now everyday when I open the blinds there it is in all its splendour.

I can hardly believe that we are on the 1/2 way point of the 2nd week of the school holidays. They have FLOWN. We have had a busy 1st week with children doing swimming every day at the local pool. They had a ball and even the red headed hurricane stopped screaming and decided to have lots of fun. So that was a huge achievement and something deserving of a reward. He decided on a Thomas that happened to be on sale at the time so that was a bonus for mummy. The girl did extra well in her school results so that too was rewarded with another sale item of Princess Beados kit. We have made some lovely creations this week and even added to the kit and discovered the beados website as well. Craft and cooking is on the agenda for the rest of the week. Lets see if we can do a little bit of sewing for and with both of them.

Today and yesterday has been visiting days, both sets of visitors came here and had some food here. Today we made with the kind assistance and mentoring of our lovely visitor "sausage rolls" I would have to say that these are without a doubt the best ones that I have EVER eaten. We made a lovely big mountain of them and ate them hot out of the oven burning our mouths and lips in the process. It was a great afternoon and so much fun. I don't know if I will do them as well as my fabulous friend but I think they will be requested quite often. They are quite easy now I have a recipe, ha ha and a friend who visits and guides me. I am sure with lots of practice they will be almost.... maybe as good as hers. The rest of the time was spent talking and discussing different issues and funny things, it was lovely being in the kitchen all together sharing food and ideas. I can imagine this is what it would be like having siblings and working together as a family.

My other lovely friend who visited was wonderful too. I love seeing her and her 2 kiddies. It was such a good day and left me so uplifted. I got to vent about things, listen to her vent about things and enjoy taking photos and practicing my new skills from the recent photography course that I did. (I did alright too.) We ended the day on a good note too of talking about the children and renovations and cooking. Her beautiful baby was so content, lying down on the couch talking to us, blowing raspberries and being gorgeous.

I have been cooking quite a bit and now that the recipe books are easily accesable on the newly built unit. Museli (Jamie Oliver style) in the morning, cooked lunches (Masterchef) and new items tested for dinner. I am even learning from my lovely mother in law how to do scones and have promised to make cakes for a friend not to mention we are cooking for our church visit this Sunday. It is great. It is saving us so much money on take aways although we did have one last week and I cannot remember the last time that we ordered pizza.... so a nice treat just the way it should be. The kiddies and daddy together on Saturday normally make pizza and eat all the food whilst making it. However the weekends have been so busy that we just didn't get time to even buy the ingredients.

Talking about recipes and cooking don't forget to pop over to Curly Pops as she has a wonderful and easy dessert.

http://curlypops.blogspot.com/2010/07/flos-golden-syrup-dumplings.html I am watching the book on ebay and considering purchasing flo's to add to our collection.

i hope everyone has a good school holidays and fun with the family.

P.S. As I have aquired a stalker on ebay (goodness can you believe that, so embarassing) I am not selling anything for a bit.

Monty Q

This week has flown nothing special but gone quick.

My lovely cousin has returned from his boating, yatching holiday. Visiting so many special places and seeing our family in England. I am catching up with him and his girlfriend "LL" soon. We normally do a curry dinner or something so maybe this will be in order. I have a couple of recipes that I need to try out so they are great at testing them for us and giving good feedback.

I need to do a couple more things around the house so that they notice a differnce... a few things sold on ebay would be a great idea. I ABSOLUTELY have to get motivated and do that asap. Maybe this weekend would be a good time. MAYBE!!!!!

The weather is amazing at the moment. SO COLD! Hard to get motivated to renovate, clean up and organise when I have to go outside to do some of these things. I will we had a hard rubbish collection soon as I have a few things to get rid of, not really enough for a skip but enough to bother me. It just seems to add to the chaos. ROLL ON HARD RUBBISH COLLECTION.

I have been trying to do another scarf for myself in grey however I have unraveled it 5 times now not happy with the pattern, I have changed my mind, now I am changing the needle size to see if this helps. It had better come toghether soon, I think I have it in my mind what I want however it just not turning out that way. Maybe I will stop and think about it for a bit.

Long weekend this weekend... I hope everyone does something nice. Speak to you soon.

PS I forgot we aquired a new member of the family this week too. Myredheaded hurricane as been calling himself MontyQ instead of Ron and his sister does not like the name. So yesterday we purchased a bear from Build-A-Bear for him, something that I promised him a while ago as his sister got one from England. He has been very patient and waited 2 years for his and in spite of a tight budget this had to be included so now we have a snowflake bear names MONTYQ! He has adjusted quite well and slept through the night last night inspite of being cuddled far too tight by the redheaded hurricane. SO CUTE!

One of those WEEKS!!!!!

I know I am wondering why on earth I am blogging today, it has been one of those weeks and now is probably not the time to write in this frame of mind and with EVERYTHING going on and on there is a lot going on.

So instead I will focus on the good things and write about that and try to forget that anything is happening. So off we go, I went with a FABULOUS friend to see King Lear this week. I have never seen a play of shakespear and this one had me totally amazed and captivated. I think there was some tears at the end, being a tragedy I think this is alright. The mistakes that parents or a father in this case and King can make.

I also had a shopping expediction with another FABULOUS friend. It was good to meet up with her as always, I look forward to seeing her and I was hopeless that day trying to make decisons, it was not a decision making day I think however I did find it easy to decide to have a white chocolate hot chocolate. YUM. I am being told that this is not real chocolate but as I am not a big chocolate person this did me just fine, it was a great sugar hit.

Off to the farmers market today, I especially enjoy doing this. I am thinking that it will be a hard day.... most have been lately. I will just take it slowly and keep my head up high.

my chair

I bought a chair on ebay... something for the deck given that the deck is not finished and not even being worked on at the moment (for a long time now) then this is just an impulse buy that I have been trying to resist it has no home as well so its sitting in an awkward spot in the kitchen. It is also solo chair and I am now looking for another one to make a pair. Hopefully this will encourage us to start working on the deck very soon, we have had a lovely offer of help too.

Raining (take II)

Don't you hate it when you are almost finished and somehow without saving anything the computer decides to remove what you have already written. I was just looking at my extra long blog and this happened. (ALL GONE!) SIGH......

Yesterday was an interesting day. We had our first swimming lesson for my Red Headed Hurricane. This is not entirely true as I tried baby lessons for him when I got in the pool and swim with him with a class of mummy's and babies. He screamed for 3 lessons and they said don't bring him back for a while. I wonder what changed for him as he likes going in the pool and especially with me however not then.

This time it was just him and the teacher, I removed myself to the viewing room. At the end of the lesson the teacher informed me that he never stops talking, something that I am VERY aware of and that he is VERY strong willed. Again something that has not escaped my notice. He stayed on the steps most of the time and only came off with her when he had a death grip around her neck. Happy to quickly return to play on the step. Now this contradicts what he does at other times including going down a Giant Water slide with me or Daddy splashing into the deep pool. He also has become fearless with jumping into the deep end of the pool when I am only watching and have to retrieve him quickly before he goes to the bottom. He has no fear of water. He happily blows bubbles with his face in the water, allows the teacher to pour the water over his head and to kick and splash. I asked him later what the problem was and he told me, i have this bossy person telling me what to do in the pool, I don't like it, so it would seem that he is just not going to do what the teacher tells him sigh. It was funny watching them sit on the side and sing with him, goodness i wonder what he will be like at school. He is happy enough to go back again so we will see what develops at least he didn't scream.

Later on that day when taking my little Petal to her swimming lessons, same teacher, same pool, he decided to have a right ROYAL tantrum. It was the full on screaming, kicking and throwing himself on the ground and then yelling in my face. I popped him into the naughty corner that was available unfortunately we were in the observation room for the swimming pool at the time so everyone got the deafening yelling to enjoy whilst I gave him a bit of time at it. I asked him during the break between screaming if he was ready to say sorry and he replied.... "I am still thinking about it!" I had to walk away and a nearby mum was trying very hard not to laugh. It doesn't really help. He did calm down and become that nice little boy again but goodness it is hard going and I missed out on seeing some of my Petals swimming which made me very sad. She is making amazing progress and doing so very well. I am so impressed with all her achievements. She never ceases to amaze me with the things that she is learning to master. Things that we were told she would never be able to do.

Music is definitely a new favourite for her and she loves to put a CD on her player that my mum left to her and sing or dance along to it. She has master the cd player and even pauses it whilst she dashes off to go to the toilet or response to a request from the Hurricane.

My Petal got up with the microphone at the Farmers Market on the weekend and sung her little heart out, My hurricane went first, he was fine and enjoyed himself immensely. My Petal was very overwhelmed after the experience and cried a little, we were thrilled to bits and gave her lots of cuddles and told her what a great job she did. SO CUTE seeing her singing and he asked her to do a couple of songs, which she did. It is amazing to see the difference in the pair of them. The confidence seems to be given in excess to my Hurricane and my little Petal seems to have been busy whilst they were handing it out.

The cabinet is in and I have filled it up and changed it around a few times, I am happy with it now what is next..... SPLASHBACK, the colour changes every week at the moment I am thinking SILVER is a possibility it doesn't compete with any of the other colours in the area and seems to look nice. I wonder what colour it will be next week, Blue is the other favourite and glass coloured is also high on the list. I hope I make a decision soon.... I am still trying to source a place nearby that I can view them and also get one made up. No luck to date.

http://www.theglassguy.com.au/sp3.jpg

Last but not least isn't this lovely rain wonderful, i was just thinking a couple of days ago that it felt like ages since we have had rain and here it is. BRING IT ON the garden still needs more. Shame about the washing but I will cope.

Did I tell you that I am knitting at the moment, I have a jacket that needed something and so I saw my Mother-in-law knit up a silk scarf and felt that this would be perfect for me, I am so over it at the moment as I have found after starting that it was not a quick process even though one ball of silk, how hard can it be.... well you cannot undo any mistakes you have to start all over again and as I like to knit at night time after a full day of renovating, cleaning and other lovely things I can be tired and don't concentrate as well as I should. So I have undone it 6 times now..... if I have to again it will remain UNFINISHED, I will keep you posted. It is a lace pattern and I have never attempted anything like that before however I was enjoying it, I am still as long as I finish it soon. I have a new resolution to go and finish some of the UFO's. Before I buy anymore yarn however the beautiful yarn calls to me and it so lovely. I will see how I go with this too.

one of those days....

It has been one of those weeks really. So much happening and we are sick, not the kiddies which is hard going but myself and my other half. It makes things that bit harder.

We had the cabinet delivered today and installed, it is lovely unfortunately not measured correctly (by us) so nothing can be done, it stands 15 cms approx taller than the rest of the cabinets and I am trying to get over it not happy Jan. My lovely friend came up with the perfect solution so that has definitely made things a bit better. We are going to put a lip on top of all the other cabinets, which is more in keeping with the french style that I love. BIG THANKS to my beautiful and clever friend for that. So next thing is getting the little lips made up to even up all the cabinets and then goodness we will be going well. The cabinet is wonderful, we are going to have a lot of fun organising and filling it, so nice to have more cupboards in the house and more shelves.

My little boy must have listened carefully to my lecture this morning as I had asked for help from my little kiddies (not feeling well and seeming to have to do MUCH more) and when they didn't help and made it a bit harder on me this morning I cracked a bit and lectured them all the way to school today. My little petal might have a drawing or present for me no doubt. My little redheaded hurricane made me toast, buttered it (the best lumps that I have ever had) and put one lot with cinnamon (his favourite) and the other with strawberry jam (his other favourite) and got me to sit on the couch and eat it whilst we watched Yo Gabba Gabba together, saying to me "Am I helping you now?" They are really good kiddies. Poor loves, I am truly blessed, the best toast I have ever had and snuggled together too. Great tv too. LOL

My little Petal until this year has had the same best friend and been thrilled to bits, (as we were too so exciting watching our children make friends and especially someone special) now her best friend has a NEW best friend. I tried to talk to her about this, however the response that I received, was "Mummy I cannot talk about this now, it makes me too upset". I have been considering this for a while wondering what to do. I am so sad, my little lone twin was very attached and still is to her friend..... I am going to have to sit down and have a chat and see if we can do something to improve the situation. She has been quite lost without her! Maybe this is just one of those times that I cannot interfere but I can listen.

Just Call Me Ron.....

I have been neglecting my lovely blogspot and feel very sad, I have been busy and thank goodness that my other half is home after a few weeks in Spain. We have come to the realisation that him leaving for weeks or months at a time is not beneficial to our family and causing to much trouble for us, so he is busy applying for engineering positions, so if anyone knows of anything please PLEASE send it our way. He has already applied for a few but no word so we are thinking that those are being ruled out.

I am busy getting ready with my other half to renovate again, we are working on things as we speak and this takes up a lot of our time. A new cabinet is going in the kitchen, lounge area.... we are also insulating the wall and painting, that is my job! This all needs to be done before the mums from OzMOST get here.... on well it wont be. lol.

My red headed hurricane has decided that instead of his name, he will tell people to "just call me Ron". Too much Harry Potter me thinks. He does like the magic and things that they do although most of the shows are a bit too scary for him, he tolerates the one with Dobby the house elf and that is it. He has just had another birthday goodness I can hardly believe my little baby is now not a baby, or even toddler anymore. He is my "big boy" now. i am sending him off to Kinder soon enough sigh.

Ok this is the start of the catch up hopefully somewhere I can fit in a bit more of my lovely blog. Stay tuned for more.

SO SICK OF THINGS!

I am venting today and I am SOOO sick of every public holiday and most weekend being woken early, before 8am with BUILDING WORKS thank you neighbour from hell and the lack of response when you ring both council and anyone else to report this.

I am sick of being alone even if it is a short time this time.

I am sick of washing bedding when my son, wee's or is sick the poor little mite.

I am sick of feeling like I get 2 steps forward with my list of things to do and then have to add 2 pages and redo some of the things already done.

I am very grateful for my health, for my beautiful children and my lovely family and friends. I am very grateful that I have a lovely if unfinished place to live.

Good night

a warm weekend.

Well my redheaded hurricane is now wearing no night nappies and
I have been very busy washing his bedding, I am wondering who will give in first. He is very stubborn and inspite of getting out of bed and going to the toilet he still goes back to bed and has a lovely time marking his territory. He has also started calling out again at night time and waking me. I wish that things were a bit easier at the moment as my back is not playing ball either.

My Little Petal is going to have a confidence boast very soon and is allowed to go and read to the Preps at school and look after them for a bit. I was talking to her lovely Prep Teacher and she came up with this brilliant idea and I am hoping that this encourages her to amazing things that she is more than capable of.

Just a short one today, I have bought the material to finish of the butterfly kimono (vintage) piece to hang up and I need to just finish off sewing in the ends of the scarf that I knitted for my friend and then I will need to finish off a few more ufo's. There are always lots of them waiting and calling to me. No gardening until the back improves!

funny how things go.

What a lovely time in Canberra we had. I was surprised at how lovely the day turned out. It was a good start, we had a very easy flight and managed to arrive 15 minutes early from a 45 minute flight. We flew Virgin Blue on the way there and Qantas on the way home.

The Flight arrived right in time for a bus to take us to the city and 5 minutes later another bus took us directly to the gallery. We hadn't really had breakfast so after a couple of hours of looking at the most amazing paintings we grabbed a pass out and had some lovely cooked breakfast, recharged and let the flat lining blood sugar even out a bit. Then straight back to it. 5 rooms of wonder. I loved all of the paintings and even those that I didn't love were still given time to appreciate.

After that off for some lunch Japanese of course, a little cafe with lovely Udon noodles yum and time to watch the world go bye... then for a walk around the area, a bit more walking, looking at some foodie shops and a bit of buying for the kiddies and then PUB TIME, now that has been years since me and my other half have done that. Then well another walk, it was just such a lovely day that needed to be enjoyed and taken advantage of and especially with no great big hills to climb, then back to the pub for a meal of MUSSELS, 1 kg in white wine and chips with mayo... so much for the walking!

Back to the airport and a little time drinking in the Qantas lounge, thank you frequent flyer points and home. ALL IN ALL a very enjoyable day.

Now that we were home, my other half had to start getting ready to go to Spain, holiday was cut short unfortunately. So a bit of research needed to be done and a desperately needed hair cut and some ice cream for the kiddies.

After he left on Saturday afternoon, we spent the day just working out what we needed to do and having a quiet time. Everyone was exhausted and a bit over things.

Sunday I spent the afternoon explaining about CP to my Little Petal as too many questions were being asked about why she was different. It was taken better than I expected and now she has popped herself in the Special Category. Sigh Not something that I wanted to do and we had put it off so long it was left up to me alone to do. It is so hard watching the little ones discover the world. I wish it was very different.

So now we are up to now, back at school, just plodding along and making a little progress each day. I have cleaned the fridge, done the ironing and started sorting out things. Never ending process.

Speak again soon.

French Masters

OK, we are all set now to go early tomorrow morning to Canberra.... the French Masters are calling.

the kiddies are at Nanny and Pops all settled in bed, and hopefully asleep by now inspite of all the excitement of a sleepover.

My other half is off to Spain on Saturday so there goes the rest of the weekend, however before then will be good.

We had a good day today with a little sleep in this morning, a visit to the hairdressers a very long over due visit! My redheaded hurricane was not impressed when our lovely stylist spiked up his hair, "put that flat and don't put that yucky stuff in my hair, don't make it stick up I am not having it that way!" Then off to Moppit http://www.moppit.com.au/ for a bit of shopping and playing with toys. My little Petal got a new coat, sparkly and a new twirly skirt, the twirling is important however the ric rac along the hem was the most important part, I must remember to add some when next making her a skirt. I picked up beautiful vintage ric rac at St Andrews market not that long ago.

Good night, an early one now.... up very early tomorrow.

Going away....

Easter didn't quite start off as I thought it would. An early morning call certainly changed the direction and now it is Spain, no not for me, for my other half, how long for I hear you asking well that is the million dollar question, especially with the red headed hurricanes birthday fast approaching.



It felt like a cloud hanging over us all the whole of the Easter break. Sad really as it goes quickly enough although we did manage to fit in quite a bit. Including a visit to http://www.manningham.vic.gov.au/play/playgrounds/templestowe_lower_playgrounds/wombat_bend.html?s=1001 Wombat Bend on a lovely day. Also a quick trip to the movies to see http://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/ How to Train your Dragon it was lovely and the 2 kiddies thoroughly enjoyed it as did the adults. Later off to Grilled and then to Trampoline for a great ice cream. Inspite of the insistence of my little Petal to try a different flavour, I did only have vanilla, but it is wicked vanilla bean vanilla.

A visit to Hurstbridge farmers market was lovely also... not much veggies to be had but still very enjoyable.


Now I am off to do a bit of research about Spain, wondering what I will find. Hopefully some good Tapas recipes and some foodie things and other items for him to bring home, also find out some lovely things for my other half to visit whilst there.


Have a good day.

Easter Already

Where has this year gone, Easter Sunday today and I am still struggling that I didn't get my summer list done. HAPPY EASTER everyone.

My friends beautiful boy is home from hospital waiting for the team to get ready for the next operation. It feels a little like the calm before the storm. I spent the day with her and you know it never feels like it is enough. I did take chocolate so that has to earn a few brownie points.

It was so sad seeing all the very very sick children and families and how they function as this being normal for them. It really breaks your heart and makes you very aware of how hard things can be. I feel that I have done my fair share of hospital time for a little while with my own family. I know a little of how they feel.

One plant today planted, a few more the other day and we also collected a few more today sigh at Hurstbridge farmers market so I think we are back to where we started with LOTS to plant, at least now is the right time of the year to be out in the garden and the children are enjoying being out there too. Especially after today's effort of finding FAR TOO MANY eggs and eating FAR TOO MANY AS WELL!!!!!

The red headed hurricane is sleeping the chocolate high off now. We are off to visit our Angel and take some flowers, lilies of course and pink ones. We left some for the other 2 twinless twins as well, Amy and Charlie.

Going to have some lovely scallop and white wine pie.

PIE!

Worry

Today has been a lovely day, nice and warm not too warm but there have been dark clouds hovering.

Our beautiful friend is asking for prayers for her son, I am praying and hoping and wondering why these things happen especially to children. So we wait now. I will be with her Thursday, my day is being cleared of anything else, my children have a friend taking a day off to mind them and I will just be hers for the day. I wish it was for better circumstances.

I planted today but didn't feel in the mood. 3 more plants including a passion fruit and some mulch however lost interest in that too. Today was not the day for gardening.

The children were ratty too, I think they pick up on the mood of the household. A bit of Madagascar and playing outside with Daddy when he came home from work lifted every ones spirits a little.

My Redheaded Hurricane asked me today when I was going to die, I told him that I had no immediate plans, that i wasn't sick, that I wasn't doing crazy and dangerous things and I was eating my veggies, he seemed satisfied with this answer.

Craft is on hold till tomorrow. We had a lovely day and hope to finish some projects later this week.

A short one today, we will see what tomorrow brings.

First Week Day of the School Holidays.

Today is a lovely rainy day and I am about to set the children up for painting, an indoor sport. We bought all our missing supplies that we needed yesterday and have a wonderful collection of paint, fabric paint and other necessary items to entertain and help the creative juices to flow.



I also collected a couple of shells last week from our visit to Bonbeach and to collect an item from Ebay. The redheaded hurricane had a ball playing in the sand and falling in the water with his clothes on. He has his blue shell. I am going to thread up the shells and make a little present for my Petal.



I am also hoping to make a couple of these for my Petal.... just searching for perfect material to use in my stash. http://jezzeblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/flat-pattern-hair-band.html



So our inspiration for the paint was from an amazing artist and author Kelly Rae Roberts. My Petal and myself saw her beautiful work and decided that we should together make our own creation, so armed with hearts stickers, paint and lots of imagination we are going to attempt our own beautiful piece of artwork http://kellyraeroberts.com/shop/art-plaques/quiet-courage-art-plaque/ Stay tuned for the results.



I am still attemtping to plant the remaining 20 odd plants and me and the Redheaded hurricane managed to do quite a few the other day. The rain is great. Plus the significant other planted up the veggie garden with a few more additions of dwarf snow peas and some lettuces. YUM!

So all in all there is a bit of progress happening in the garden and I am hoping to enlist the Petal to do some gardening too.



Have a good day, I am thinking of you and my beautiful friend I am praying for you and your beautiful family.

And that would be four now!

The farmers market had a special addition of the sustainable event and my little Petal was out celebrity spotting today and managed to get a photo with our favourite gardener.... Vasilli. He had some fabulous advice and was absolutely lovely, I hope his back gets better very soon. (so that is 4 now, Coxy, Ricky Lee, Paul and Vasilli.) It was a lovely day meeting up with my very good friend and some of her family. Later we dashed off to a nearby childrens park and had another play with the kiddies, mine had face painting donw. My petal had rainbow and butterflies, my redheaded hurricane was a tiger!

Talking about backs (keep up i am sure that I mentioned something a while ago) I have done my an injury and things are very slow at the moment hense the lack of bloging going on.

I hope when you get a chance you check out my new addition to my blog list... Tania would love a visit and a few followers. Kootoyoo has a beautiful recipe today and Tinniegirl will just make you stop and pounder a little.

Nearly the school holidays, planting has come to a grinding halt as of Tuesday and so I have over 25 plants desperately calling to me to plant. My new favourite is ebay and getting them delivered, it worked a treat this week and so 20 plants came through the post. Love ebay!

At least on Sunday we had a busy day and managed to put in about 4 hours in the garden without too many interruptions. i love having an answering machine I just wish that people would leave messages when they ring, sometimes i am as far away as the garden and trying desperately to get to the phone sigh.

Ok all over the place, I will be a bit more organised tomorrow if my back allows me to sit at the computer.

My dear friend have a lovely flight and see you when you get back.

Bye for now when i have a bit less pain I will be back!!!! (I promise!)

Rain lovely Rain

Today was a great day, i managed to catch up with my friend and her beautiful boy. Make sure that you don't miss the photo of her boy enjoying his lunch, like my redheaded hurricane he does enjoy his food. Anyhow we met up for http://www.magnoliasquare.com.au/ and had a lovely time making a few purchases (I love my chairs) and chat. After that to Acland Street for lunch and her boy made a great choice of lunch places. Thank goodness I had my lovely friend with me as I have discovered that it is always good to only purchase as much as you can carry!



We saw Michael Klim there and I even had the courage to say hello. No photo this time but I will next time I promise. My Little Petal who celebrity spots and gets photos was not with us. It just would not have been right to get one without her. We agreed that it was the best Magnolia Square to date, although I did love the last one at Malvern Townhall.



We even had a job offer to go and work at some of the markets so my friend and myself are going to work out the logistics and off to markets we will go to sell some Ricci's Bikkies. I have to admit that I might eat more than I sell as they are SOOO lovely, hows that for good sales technique, just practising!!!



My next adventure is today now (forgot to publish that would be a blonde moment) I have your bikkies in the car already for you and that will be another blog..... see you after the farmers market.




Bye for now.


Ps will publish the photo's on the next one (another blonde moment).

A long week....

So it has been a busy couple of days.

I will go back to the french provincial design course/seminar that I attended. It was wonderful, started the evening with a glass of champagne, fruit and cheese. Then settled down to learn a few things, I have ideas swirling around in my head. I had a plan to milk wash a table in the bedroom however it is part of a set so I am not rethinking this and looking for the perfect side table. I am also looking for a Louis chair (A copy) of course I would have to sell my first born son to get the real thing. The last and most expensive with be the big ticket item of an amoire that is my dream list.

So who would have thought that a style that was around over 400 years ago would still be current and popular today. A relaxed style that translates well in Australia.

Next was last night we saw the new movie of "Alice in Wonderland" 2D, (I don't like the 3D option that much.) It was great, had a lovely evening of gold class comfort. Well worth going to see and very enjoyable night of lovely light entertainment.

In between this my little redheaded hurricane and myself have been planting and having a lovely time in the garden... today was a bit humid, so not so long. We did manage to do some weeding and planted a lovely new olive tree, that would be 2 now. We also managed to find and plant the passionfruit and a clematis (native of course). The garden is getting at least 1 hour of attention everyday lately. The results are starting to be visible. Even the parcel delivery man commented on how much things have changed since the last delivery. Nice to know we are making progress.

Ok well that is it, off to work on some more ideas for the french provincial look in the bedroom. Good night.

not here AGAIN!

another night away, please don't forget to feed the fish! Goodness it almost sounds like I have a life!

Nothing Tonight!

Actually there is quite a bit tonight and today.... but it will have to wait till tomorrow. I am off to do a short course tonight on French Design... I will tell you about it tomorrow bye for now.

My Jars

I have 2 jars that are my current projects. Firstly the one on the left is the result of the gardening group on Sunday. We found out that we have to test our clay, yes, we don't have much soil but we do have lots of clay. To find out if it will respond to clay breaker. So this jar is filled with a bit of clay and water. Keeping our fingers crossed. After this it will be a quick trip to Bunnings to buy gypsum if the results come up positive. Then lots and lots of soil improving will be necessary, mulch and organic matter. I am sure that we will be able to empty both compost bins now and still need more!

Secondly we have tadpoles. They are about 25 days old now and growing nicely,no signs of little leggies yet. The children were given eggs and watched them hatch and grow feeding them on a daily basis. We have a lovely destination for the frogs in our neighbours pond. I love the noises of the frogs at night time.

I have already learnt a little about blogging it's only going to be possible at night times after the redheaded hurricane is in bed.

Then there are numerous and probably too many to mention projects on the go, the more the better it would seem however maybe not. We are doing a bit of screening, I am sure that many have heard me venting about the current situation occuring with building going on nearby. So the plan is to plant more screening plants and it has been suggested by knowledgeable gardeners that a passionfruit might do the trick or a clematis. I am taking both these ideas on board and doing both!

I am trying a new tactic of one thing at a time or maybe 2....hmmm, we will see how I cope with this plan later in the week.

Now all I have to do is find a moment for a bit of sewing I have a skirt that is calling and a scarf that needs to be finished knitting for a very dear friend. (You know who you are!)

The Beginning

You know those weekends, where you look up and it is all over! It was so busy that we hardly had time to breathe.

It started with fish and chips with Nanny and Pop and ended with a blog instructions albiet a bit go for it you will work it out from a good friend! (Thanks Phil)

So this is it, my best friend from Daylesford said that we had to do this so here it is... I cannot imagine what on earth is going to be put here just yet but stay tuned.....see you when I get another moment.

I might add that there have been a few great blonde moments setting up this blog hmmm.

Also my twin moment for today was at the gardening group... another mother with twin girls and a boy, one of the girls names was Lily. I wish that had been me with the 2 girls running around. What would I give!