Merry days

Here is our Christmas tree. Hope we all have a wonderful day. Frankly I'm looking forward to the day being over. It is a wonderful exiting day for the kids. I just feel that there is such great expectations. Everyone wants it to be perfect. Can it ever be so? I always had such a beautiful Christmas as a child. Not sure if my rosy glasses are making that memory so but I think it true. I just hope the kids grow up with similar memories. So have a wonderful day!!



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More sewing

More Babushkas for Christmas!

I've been making more dolls for Miss E's kinder friends. The one on the far right is one Miss E made herself! Here is a closer image:

By Miss E

Talking about my lovely daughter, she had an accident last week. She fell onto the edge of the wheelbarrow and knocked out 4 baby teeth! It was very traumatic (for me and her Dad), blood everywhere, one tooth still hanging. We spent the evening at the Children's Hospital but all ok now. She is just having trouble eating an apricot as I write and she speaks with more of a lisp. Here is some of the kinder art she brought home: 

Peacock feathers in a vase

I can't believe it is so close to Christmas. I feel like I should have more to do. I have a small amount of sewing to do and just presents for Mr M and my Mum. I'm sure I am forgetting something....

This isn't a good photo but it is our nativity candle holder for our table It is so sweet!

Little chick

Our chook snowy has been sitting on the nest for weeks. Mr M got some fertilized eggs from somewhere and they've been under for 3 weeks. Today I noticed an extra movement in the chook yard. One little black chick!! Snowy is so proud, all fluffed up and clucky. Hope it's not a rooster chick. I could do with more eggs.





Today was our last kinder day for my eldest. I seemed to be the only mum who needed the tissues. Is that because I'm older? Our kinder teachers have been so wonderful!! A new stage about to begin and my daughter is so proud. So am I. I'm all fluffed up and clucky!!


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Trying not to get stressed

Add caption

This Christmas I have decided to try and make some xmas gifts. The Babushkas were from here
The other ones were Ruby dolls from Here.
I also made some bean bag frogs for my nephews which I haven't got photos for. For my step sisters I have got plain canvas bags which I am embroidering. I'll put photos when I've finished. I look at all the other wonderful blogs around and my things are definitely daggy and not very well done but at least I am trying.
I find Christmas a bit worrying.  I don't like the crowds, and the feeling of the time rushing forward. Making things this year gets one more person off the streets.
The kids and I went into the city on Monday. I have started a tradition when they were born. We go into the city on the train, get photos with Father Christmas, buy a new decoration each and finish off with a visit to the Light Spectacular at the Crown. The kids love it! I just wish for a peaceful, worry free Christmas one year. I hope yours is!

Stormy

Here are a few shots of the storm coming in on Friday










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Lamp

I bought a new lamp shade from Tamara at Retro Print Revival. She made it to order. What a lovely girl. I have had two antique ceramic ones break so this one is great.




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Edit - I just checked this out after I tried my first post via my phone and I realize this is not the best photo. I will try and take a better one. Also here is the link: http://retroprintrevival.com
 One day I will learn how to make it look pretty!

zippers

I was all set today. I finished Mr N's cape and I was going to try sewing a zip. I have never tried it before. I watched a couple of you-tube tutorials first and decided I would make a little simple purse out of an old tie. Had it all organized.... No zipper foot! It has either been misplaced or I never had one in the first place. I have an old Husqvarna, I think 70s model. I have no idea how to go about searching for one. I have Googled it but no luck yet. I don't even know if they are made specifically for that model or if they are universal. Really, I am a novice. I can thread it, I can sew straight, zig zag and button holes and that's about it. I am determined to learn more, if only to teach my daughter.

Super Hero

Mr N has been enjoying being a super hero. Today he is spider man with the wings of Buzz Lightyear. I bought some red velvet and some material, red with silver stars. My plan is to make a reversible cape so he can choose to be a super hero or a wizard. Now the challenge for this very amateur sewer is to find some sort of pattern or make one up! I also have a few ideas for Christmas presents. I have heaps of material and zips and I was thinking of making little purses for my nieces. Only problem is I have never sewn a zip in before. Time to learn!! Have a nice day!!

Vegetables and backyards

A few photos from our backyard: (taken with the iphone)

I forgot to prune the roses last season so they have gone a bit crazy. Cut some back and put them in my Grandma's vase.

Our potato harvest, they grew from last year's planting

This was a mistaken shot but I sort of like it.

Pumpkins from seeds given to us by the kinder teacher.

Rainy Saturday

It's a lovely rainy Saturday. Miss E is busy painting. Mr N is watching ABC kids (yes, the TV should go off but it is such a lazy morning) I have a hundred things I could be doing but I am reading all the wonderful blogs I keep finding. Such a time waster but so interesting! It is raining so heavily outside, the roses are getting heavy and petals are dropping to the ground like confetti. Last night Miss E and I went to the Coburg Night Market. They had a few stalls and food. We had a quick look around, bought a few snacks, sat on the ground eating and watching people. As we were leaving the heavens opened and everyone got soaked. I loved it!! About time I did something. No photos this week. A bit boring?

Sunny days

It was a beautiful sunny day here today. I've had the back door open but because I have no fly screen door, just some beads, I have a plethora of blowies buzzing around driving me crazy....
Talking about driving me crazy, gee have I been a bit cranky in the evenings lately! I feel sorry for the poor kids. It mustn't be much fun! I have been home with them now for 5 1/2 yrs, 3 of those mostly by myself. I have never felt lonely in those 3 yrs. I have actually felt relieved. But now that they are getting older I am starting to realize that they need more than just cranky old me, that perhaps I need more than just cranky old me. Boy have they been going silly after dinner. It is getting harder to calm them down for sleep. The sillier they get, the crankier I get. It's not nice. Thank goodness for the nicer weather. They go outside and run their sillies out.
So, on that note I am taking the computer to bed to watch daggy old "Forsythe Saga" on iview. Goodnight!!

Making things...

One of my best friends just had her much waited for little boy yesterday. She is in another state so I am missing her. Decided to make something for her new little man. I got the idea from Here;
I was quite pleased with the result. I made the girl one first because yesterday I was convinced she was having a girl. But of course it was a boy. The colours represent her family's bomber devotion.
Now I am having trouble working out how to set the photos and text in the right place!! I know I'm not stupid but I really have trouble setting things on these posts sometimes. Practice I guess. 

Anyway...

One of Miss E's frequent installations

      

Ever Since Miss E was tiny she has been setting up "installations" all over the place. In hindsight I wish I had taken photos. One when she was about 2 sat on the side table for weeks being added to. Bits of paper, toys, flowers. I wasn't allowed to touch them. She set this one up and took the photo herself. I must say, she has never seen an installation in her life. This one was quite complicated but you can't really tell in the photo.

Well the kids have gone off to the farm for the night. I'm doing night duty tonight. I should take something to do, although that will mean a busy night for sure!! I have enjoyed the wonderful weather today, especially getting the washing dry!! 

Breast is best

I was just reading an article on the Herald Sun Website about women breast feeding each others babies. Here. (I'll try doing a link, my first time) A big hoo ha if you ask me. I looked after a young mum not long ago who had trouble getting her babe on the breast but it was quite a hungry little chicken. I came into the room at one stage and baby was settled. Oh, did she feed? Yes, my sister fed her she said. Great! Mum was tired and frustrated, unable to express more than a few drops, baby unsettled, well done Mum, for finding a solution. Sometimes I think people should just mind their own business. Same with breast feeding an older child. I tandem fed my 17 month old and new born. They both gave up the same week, when my daughter was 2 1/2 and son 15 month. I was disappointed that the little one was finished, but it was their own choice. With the 2 year old I had the policy of don't offer but don't refuse. She then went on to find a dummy (which I hated) Then after she gave it to the fairies at 3yo she took to sucking her thumb like her little brother. As I write my 5 and 4 yr olds are sitting watching tele, thumb in mouth. They'll stop when they're ready.
Good luck to all at the Melbourne cup today!! We're off to my Dad's for a BBQ lunch.

All children are talented

  

A Babushka by Miss E 5

 I am very proud of my talented children. Miss E has always had some sort of knack for drawing. She seems to be able to capture feeling and character in her faces, and amazing symmetry and colour sense. Not like me at all. I'm not very arty. Miss E has always said she wants to be an artist when she grows up, (and Rapunzel of course) We had orientation for preps this week and it all seemed so clinical. I'm a bit worried she will get lost in the system and she will loose that feeling she has of being somehow special. I've always been amazed by what she can do, the kinder teacher sees it too (or she's being kind to me) I just hope the school teachers see it. I would love to send her to a Steiner school but I can not really afford it and it's too far away. I don't think her Dad is too into it either, although he is very encouraging of her artiness, He gave her a great big box filled with all sorts of paints, brushes and canvasses for xmas.

By Mr N 4

 Mr N is just starting to get better at drawing. He has been drawing sky captains this week. He gets very frustrated if he can't do it the way he wants, screwing up paper or going to find something else to do.

 A sky captain, by Mr N

 This was the cutest little dragon I ever saw, There was a mother one too.

A baby dragon, by Miss E

By Miss E

                                               This week we were without the car for a day. We can walk to kinder but it is a good 25 mins and we decided to find out about the bus. It was something different. On a tues and wed we have 8 trips to and from kinder and I don't think I could do them all so the bus was fun!! For some reason the photo of the backseat boy has merged with the Babushka and I can't undo it!!
Wishing whoever is reading this a relaxing evening!

New week

I was so exited about starting this blog. I thought I would find heaps to talk about. Then I had this feeling of  "who am I to try and write interesting things" and I suddenly dried up on stuff to talk about. It didn't help that I've been reading and hearing things about people much worse off than me in life and other people who are out there helping and doing something for these people in need. I have also been visiting blogs of people a great deal more talented than me, who are making and doing amazing things. It made me suspend this blogging business and think that maybe I was being self-indulgent, lazy and that I really had little talent in writing or creating. Now I think "stuff it" It was never my intention to become a famous blogger. I never meant for anyone to read it anyway!. So, here I am again.
This week has been a normal sort of week. I am knitting a pouch for my beloved iphone with a french knitted strap. It has been a long time since I used a knitting nancy. I remember spending hours knitting with it when I was a kid and never knowing what to do with it once I ran out of wool. At least I have a purpose for it this time.
 I have been reading some interesting letters from midwives working overseas with Doctors Without Borders. Fascinating and brave. The other thing that has been occupying my thought this week has been stories about children close to home that are being abused or neglected. It is just shameful that it is allowed to happen. One little boy I know at 3 was seen to be eating his dinner in bed by himself watching TV while the grownups were socializing outside, smoking and drinking. Some other little girls I know, sisters who I have never known to have a nice thing to say to each other. Instead of using their sisterhood to enhance their difficult, sometimes traumatic lives, they are a divided bunch and fight, bicker and dob. Such a shame and a waste of potential comfort to each other. The parents are too busy, too focused on their own problems to do anything about it. I couldn't help myself and had to say something. I wonder if it will help? My own two spend half of the day in love, being sugary sweet and the other half fighting.
I am just so lucky! I have 2 gorgeous children, a roof over my head and food to eat. I am not in a constant state of conflict, although my marital situation is complicated, I know I  am lucky.

Sausages

The smell of sausages is wafting around my nose. The taste of them still in my mouth. They really are disgusting. Why do I bother? Well, I know for sure the plates will be empty for a change, they are quick, easy, cheap and while you're eating them they're not too bad. I can hear the rain falling outside and the water on the tyres out on the road. I am making a little hairy fairy tonight, a little knitted person. I'm going to try some sequins on her wings. Haven't done sequins before. I'm wondering if I have set this blog up properly. I tried to put a link on a list and I think I've stuffed it up, then I tried searching for my blog on google but it doesn't seem to know me!

Home

We had a stay at home day today. I'm not sure what we really did. It was a wonderful washing day! How incredibly mundane, but so satisfying after all the wet winter weather to put it out and bring it in dry, all in one day! The kids had some complicated games going on and I had to do some serious negotiating to get everything packed away. I want to learn to embroider so I've started practicing on an old shopping bag while listening to Life Matters on the ABC. I feel tonight as if I have nothing interesting to say so I will let someone else say it: "sometimes you force my soul into my nose and I have to snort" (Nikos Kazantzakis)

Sunday

 Well, Sunday night is always a bit casual here.I go and pick the kids up from the farm and it's dinner time by the time we get here. It's usually noodles, scrambled eggs, something simple. There is no hot water up there so they are normally filthy. A nice warm bath soaks all the dirt off and leaves it in a nice ring on the bath. I can tell how much fun they have had by how dirty they are. Miss E was busy painting canvasses this weekend, Mr N was enjoying dressing up as a pirate policeman, complete with dagger and numerous accessories. I tried to take some photos of the yellow fields with my iphone but they don't do the view justice. You can see a tiny strip of yellow which is cannola I think. You may be able to make out some grey humps, about 20 kangaroos in

a line. I wish I had a zoom. My other camera probably would not have done much better. One day I will get a digital SLR. I have a manual one but it's too expensive to develop.
Yesterday I ended up going to the Sisters market in the morning and the Finders market in the afternoon. Both were great in their own ways. So much talent. Makes me humble and realize that my own little efforts really are very amateur but it won't stop me. I didn't buy much because I am pretty broke at the moment. I didn't go to work because I was feeling pretty rotten. It's been a while since I've called in sick. Felt pretty guilty about it, of course as soon as I rang in I started to feel better. Why is that? So, another week begins.  Mr M is away all week up in New South Wales, so it's all up to me.
I was thinking today, I am in danger of spending so much time fiddling with the computer at the moment that I will not have time to live, to do things,see things, then I won't have anything to write about!! So on that note, I will head off. Tomorrow we have a free day. I think I will spend it doing all the things I should have done today!

 Now it's morning again and I'm off the couch, and out of bed! A sleep in this morning, 7.30 is a record since summer!We had poached eggs from our chooks for breakie, which is our Saturday morning standard.

               
Now I have to try and encourage getting dressed and we're off to the market! Maybe the pretzel will be incentive! 

I'm still trying to find the best way to arrange text and photo on these posting. I hope you can read it

Friday

I have been listening a great deal lately to the sound track of "East Of Everything". I really love the songs by Jesse Younan, especially the song "Queeny". It's such a sad song. Then I found out that he died after he finished the album which makes the song even sadder. Now I've heard more of his songs, think I'll have to get the album. Great quote from one of his songs...."Lust for life but don't live for lust"

It's been cold today but in the late afternoon the light was lovely and the kids played outside for a while. Miss E had a rainbow ribbon on a stick and we had fun taking photos of it trying to make a rainbow in the sky. Mr N was wearing a dragon cape made of green sparkly material that was making great reflections. I would add the photos but I really can't be bothered getting off the couch. How lazy is that? Hoping to make it to the Sister's market in Brunswick tomorrow. We like to go and get a coffee and a pretzel then peruse all the fantastic stuff for sale. The kids enjoy chatting to everyone. It amazes me how all the stallholders have so much time for my little chatterboxes. We usually come away with a couple of hair clips and lots of inspiration. I work night duty Saturday nights. Sometimes the kids go to the farm with their Dad for the night, sometimes they stay here and when I get home we have pancakes. They love the little rituals of the week. Maybe I should make the most of the rubbish on tele and go to bed early. 

How late...

Bibbles

Worry people

A wonky Big Mamma

          I don't know how it has got so late! I finished my tea cozy (which I'm very happy with) while watching "Criminal Justice" on iview. Now I can hear the police helicopter hovering overhead and there's only a quiet rumble down the street which tells me it's late. I have been looking for the inspiration for this blog the last couple of days. Miss E and I took a few photos of the things we've made lately. They are all very amateur, a bit wonky and not very groovy, but we made them!
        Well, I thought if I just started writing, the inspiration would come to me. I remember traveling overseas a long time ago, I would start writing letters to people and the word would just tumble onto the page. Interesting observations, poetic notions, good stories. I guess in those days I had time to think, I had wonderful places and people to inspire me. It will come I guess. I have to find the roll again......

Inspiration

This was a chalk dance floor

 I found it hard to sleep after setting this up last night. It made me think about who I was and what I had to say. Who would really want to read my blog? What interesting thing do I have to say that hasn't already been said? What amazing achievement to I have to boast about? ..None. But then I started thinking about all I am grateful for. I could use this as a diary. I have been an avid diary writer since I was a teenager, although I have lapsed in recent years, to writing when things are down. It's turned into a big whinge-fest. So this will not be that and I will start with a few photos I took of things that inspired me.

This was a perfect tiny sculpture made by my little artist

Sunrise on the way home from nightduty

Hot chocolate Sydney Rd

Over the barn at the farm

fairy on a camel

moss

So today I have been inspired by the tea cozy I am knitting. I have loved the texture and colour of the wool. It was so lovely this afternoon, I was putting out my washing as the sun shone down on me & I thought I really have everything I need.Beautiful kids, a house to live in, food to eat so I am grateful today. Next time I will waffle less and be more interesting

This is new

Well this is something new. Wasn't intending to start my own blog tonight. I put the kids to bed and sat down at the computer to read two blogs I discovered today. I have never really known what blogs are. My friend Jenny has one and I am impressed, but never imagined doing it myself. Anyway I was really enjoying "Meet me at Mike's" blog, listening to the music she has put on there and reading the entries, knitting a new tea cozy, having a really lovely evening, then suddenly I found myself clicking on the start a blog button and here I am...
I'm quite exited about my new tea cozy. I went to the annual exhibition and sale of the Pascoe Vale Spinners and Weavers group and bought a wonderful skein of variegated hand spun wool in a beautiful range of colours. It's looking good! I will post a picture when I've finished it. Well, I don't know who you are but I'd best be off to bed. Kinder starts again tomorrow. I have one child starting at 8.30, the other has swimming at 9 (where I sit and have an indulgent latte and read my book, lifting my head at regular intervals to wave and smile in encouragement to my darling fish. The best thing is, I get to do it all again on wed morn, albeit with my other darling fish) Then we have a swap and the other goes to kinder. Just thinking, my daughter (lets call her my little Muffin) and I will have 2 hours free of my son ( we'll call him my Saver) and I have found out about a crafty shop in Kensington called Onabee. Think we will be off there for a snoop and a latte. Hey this is fun!! I can see this is going to be a great time waster.