Housewarming

We celebrated the Mr's birthday and our new home has now been warmed by wonderful friends.  It is still rather chilly here in the evening and so a beautiful orange 44 gallon drum was sourced and cut in half for the comfort of our guests. We had a fantastic time.

Mx

CWA

Yesterday was our monthly meeting for the CWA. Next time I need to sit where I can read the motto to recite it (though I'm sure I'll know if off by heart soon enough).

Not that I don't love the rest of the day, but my favourite part is morning tea, those ladies know how to bake!

I helped sew a couple of doctor dollies for the young patients at Princess Margaret Hospital. The Dr's draw on the dolls to show kids where they are going to perform a surgery or such on them,  and then the kids get to keep and hold on to the dolls as a comfort.

Mx

Another Weekend

A trip to Perth to meet a little man who's birth was a healing experience, and have lunch with a friend who's birthday in four days will also be the first anniversary of her beloved younger sister's passing.

I hope you got to spend time with good friends over the weekend.

Mx

The Weekend

Saturday was that glorious kind of warm perfect day that I wish we could have more of between the cold of winter and the blistering heat of summer. So delicious! I spent quite a bit of it outdoors in the rose patch pruning my little heart out. I'm still going, and I started the weekend before!

Sunday was a sunday drive out to visit my sister and her wife to see their new abode, a fun fifth wheeler caravan on their hundred acres. I had such a good time. We were also lucky enough to have a visit in the morning from my Aunt who bought Granny with her and my Uncle Geoff, the family historian. Little video clips were taken of the outside of our house and all of us having coffee in the kitchen. I like the thought that Charlie will have these pieces of family history from when he was a baby.

Monday my Aunt turned 60 and I bought my first Pandora charm, I like that she has a little reminder of us and her special birthday. I also shot this canola field on the way over for dinner which is the perfect change for my header, seagull footprints at the beach aren't relevant now we're in the wheatbelt.

Mx

July

was a month of

:: unpacking and settling in
:: making new friends
:: visits and visiting
:: party planning
:: lots of trips by pram
:: learning to light the fire
:: three sewing machines, not one working
:: me giving up trying to keep breads and foods apart from fruits and veges (and breast milk) out of Charlie's diet. It's tiring being seen as the food nazi.

Mx

Breakfast lately

Inspired by baby food. Generally consisting of... 2 bananas, 2 apples, 2 pears, and 2 good handfuls of spinach. Yum! this one has a small handful of walnuts too.

Really just a green smoothie without the water. I made one on the weekend with maca powder, cacoa powder and half an avocado that was left out overnight on the bench. That tasted delicious!

I'm still breastfeeding, and still losing weight (I don't weigh myself, but my wedding rings are rather spinny on my finger and I just about need to wear a belt in my skinny jeans). That statement probably isn't arousing any sympathy, poor me right? I'm not too thin or anything, but I need to be more prepared for feeding myself. With bread, milk and cereal on my 'prefer to avoid' list I often go hungry and then eat the bread anyway because I'm ravenous. I'm totally not eating in line with my ideals. Green Pudding however is a breakfast I can feel good about... except maybe the cost of the bananas.

Mx

Captain Charlie

Only having sent out the last of my baby thankyous last week, I am licking and sticking the envelopes to send out the invites for wee man's first birthday next month.

I do not know when our baby suddenly changed in to a little boy, but it happened right in front of my eyes somehow. That imperceptible day by day growth!

When the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out there were lots of pirate party ideas floating about the interwebs, so I thought it was a good theme to go with and I made a pinterest board here.

For the invite I used the pirate scarf and eye patch image in the free photobooth props from Oh Happy Day. I was thinking of a treasure map for the invite but this was easier and I like the way the photo personalises it.

Now I need to finish sewing the pirate bunting and get on to the streamers!

Mx

$700 +

Here is a collection of things I would much rather spend $700 on rather than my 'WTF' how did that happen?!! phone bill.

Hang it all

Ptolomeo standing bookcase

Image source [Apartment Therapy]

Silhouette SD Digital Cutter

Canon Lens 15mm EF f2.8 Fish Eye Lense

Diana Eng Fortune Cookie Coin Purse

I wasn't sure if this exercise would make me feel better or worse. I trawled my pinterest boards for things that I want and it appears I'm really not that wanty, so that is nice, but I still want to cry at the thought of all the other bills we need that $700 for.

Telstra please take pity on my stupid ass. The stupid ass that should have looked at the call rates when it changed carriers. I have never, ever, even come close to getting near my cap in the past, let alone blown past it by over seven hundred dollars.

Pretty please
Mx

June

We're more than halfway through July and I'm posting my June mosaic.

June was
:: a month of panic
:: knowing we had a short number of days at our current rental
:: a flying trip to our new town and a lease agreement signed
:: one week to move
:: unpacking

phew!

Only having photos for 9 days out of 31 gives you an idea about how I'm keeping up. But I shan't be discouraged, I can always be better next month.

Mx

The Weekend

Camping plans were scrapped due to a rainy weekend forecast, so we had our first overnight guests instead. Our guests were forced to endure an icy cold house until an unspeakably manly fire guard (weld mesh) was forthcoming from the man cave shed and the new chainsaw had its mettle tested on old mallee roots. Oh a roaring fire does the soul good!

Charlie enjoyed having other kids about the house livening things up and putting joke glasses on him.

Hope you all managed to stay warm
Mx

Well we've sucked it and seen.... and we love it! The move went as well as we could have hoped and we are pretty settled in the new place. The Mr is particularly happy as he has been able to set up his tools and bits in a shed. I'm not too sad about getting a craft room either :)

Have you heard of the Shirley club? Well our region has a Margaret club! I will be Margaret 57 once I get my badge, I came to town just in time to make their bi-annual lunch on Monday. I was by far the youngest, but I love the older ladies and I can't wait till the CWA meeting at the end of the month.

This one was for you Mum, Happy Birthday! Love you xx

Mx

The Weekend

{new house}

 

{fig tree!! :)}

 

On Sunday we signed a lease!! After months of waiting we have found (and secured) a place to live in our new town. We will be saying goodbye to the city next weekend. I am happy things are moving along now, but in the end it all happened so quickly my head is in a bit of a spin.

I am also nervous. I know we can always move back if we don't like it, so it doesn't have to be permanent, and I've wanted to move to the country for a long time. But, I've always been a city girl, and what will it be like living 3 hours away from our friends and family? and how will we go making new friends? and not having the services etc available in the city?

Like the Mr said, "we'll just have to suck it, and see".

Mx

Yarn Along

I finished this book last weekend in Geraldton. I loved it, not depressing at all, does make you a bit mad though that all of the international aid money isn't used more effectively the way Paul Polak describes. I think I may just have found where my future donation money will be going.

Crocheting a gift, it's not turning out as long as I want. I may have to rip it out and start again (for the fourth time) with different proportions. I'm using the wool I bought for this project, but didn't buy enough.

BTW the project from my last Yarn Along participation has been finished and worn and I've written out the pattern here.

edit:: oops, forgot to link so you can check out the other Yarn Alongers over at Small Things.

Mx

Last Weekend

{sunset}

{circle work}

                                 

{Charlie}

It's the weekend again already and I'm only just posting last weekend... It was the Foundation Day long weekend, and we went to the beach between Geraldton and Northampton. We stayed in a shack about a 100m from the beach on farm land of family of family.

It wasn't really beach weather but it was a fun weekend. Charlie had a playmate in the form of a little girl born exactly one week later than himself who was the perfect match for him. I enjoyed couch time embroidering a sashiko panel, Jenga is now on our to-get list, and the Canon got a workout with 3 cute babies willing to smile at me, especially Charlie sitting on his Dad's shoulders. Man I love that face.

Mx

May

1. 2011 0502, 2. 2011 0508, 3. 2011 0509, 4. 2011 0518, 5. 2011 0521, 6. 2011 0522, 7. 2011 0525, 8. 2011 0528, 9. 2011 0531

:: friends flying away
:: luxury weekend away
:: getting to jobs that have been on the to-do list for a long time
:: new shoes, new hair
:: waiting, waiting, for news of any available housing

Mx

The Weekend

I like to save my haircuts for days when I have an event on. No point in letting a good blowdry go to waste. Saturday night I met the Mr's first Mrs and thought it would be a good idea to visit the hair dresser to cover up a few greys and get my ends trimmed.



I saw Rose Byrne in Madison Magazine whilst sitting in the chair and decided to get a fringe cut in too (which I haven't had for a long time). This is about as creative as I get these days as the Mr is a long hair lover. If I had my way it would be off boy short.

Anyway, I'm liking the new do and Mrs's old and new were lovely and pleasant.
Hope your weekend was top notch.

Mx

its apostrophe S

I know a lot of people don't, but I care about punctuation and spelling in my text messages and the question of when to use the apostrophe in its has been bothering me for a while.

My brother is my to go-to guy for all questions grammar related, and this is what he told me yesterday...

It's a wise dog that scratches its own fleas.

Now I'll be able to remember it and so can you. Thanks Mikey.

Mx

Little Green Man

I've written the pattern and I finally have pictures of Charlie at the Disney Extravaganza going away party we went to last month.

The beanie was a huge hit and Wee man won best costume.

Here is our L.G.M. with Snow White...

here he is with Tinkerbell...

and here is the pattern I put together with the help of this pattern and this pattern.

Size: 6 mo
Yarn: 100% Acrylic Little Grins Yarn in Apple, less than 2 x 50 g balls (it doesn't say what ply but according to the info sleeve a 10cm knitted gauge square on 4.5mm needles is 19 stitches by 25 rows)
Hooks: I used a 3.5 mm for the antenna and the top part of the hat, switching to a 4 mm hook once I started on the sides for quicker progress.

Antenna & Beanie (worked from the antenna down)
Start with a magic loop. Use a stitch marker to mark the first stitch of your round and move it up to mark first stitch of the next round as you go.
Round 1            -   6 single crochet in to magic loop
Round 2            -   2 sc in each sc (for 12)
Round 3            -   *2sc in next sc, 1sc* around (for 18)
Rounds 4-6       -   sc around (for 18)
Round 7            -   *sc2tog, 1sc* around (for 12)
Round 8            -   *sc2tog, 1sc* around (for 8)
Rounds 9-27     -   sc around (for 8)
Round 28          -   *2sc in next sc, 1sc* around (for 12)
Round 29          -   *2sc in next sc, 1sc* around (for 18)
Round 30          -   *2sc in next sc, sc in next 2 sc* around (for 24)
Round 31          -   *2sc in next sc, sc in next 3 sc* around (for 30)
Round 32          -   *2sc in next sc, sc in next 4 sc* around (for 36)
Rounds 33-43   -   continue with above pattern increasing the number of sc between 2sc by 1 for each round (you can always add more rounds if your child is older/has a bigger head, mine was about 13cm across)
Rounds 44-61   -   sc around

Ear Flaps (just continue on from where the hat finished for the first one and then start the second one on the opposite side of the hat)
Row 1   -   sc 17, chain 1 turn
Row 2   -   sc2tog, sc in next 13 stitches, sc2tog, chain 1 turn
Row 3   -   sc across, chain 1 turn
Row 4   -   sc2tog, sc in next 11 stitches, sc2tog, chain 1 turn
Row 5   -   sc across, chain 1 turn
Row 6   -   sc2tog, sc in next 9 stitches, sc2tog, chain 1 turn
Row 7   -   sc across, chain 1 turn
Row 8   -   sc2tog, sc in next 7 stitches, sc2tog, chain 1 turn
Row 9   -   sc across, chain 1 turn
Row 10 -   sc2tog, sc in next 5 stitches, sc2tog, chain 1 turn
Row 11 -   sc across, chain 1 turn
Row 12 -   sc2tog, sc in next 3 stitches, sc2tog, chain 1 turn
Row 13 -   sc across, chain 1 turn
Row 14  -  sc2tog, sc in next stitch, sc2tog, chain 1 turn
Row 15  -  sc across, ch 1 turn
Row 16  -  sc2tog,
chain stitch for ties and fasten off.

Ears
Row 1   -   chain 9, chain 1 turn (for 9)
Row 2   -   sc 9, chain 1 turn (for 9)
Row 3   -   sc 9, chain 1 turn (for 9)
Row 4   -   sc 2 in next sc,sc 8 to end of row, chain 1 turn (for 10)
Row 5   -   sc 2 in next sc, sc 8 along, sc 2 in last sc, chain 1 turn (for 12)
Row 6   -   sc 2 in next sc, sc 10 along, sc 2 in last sc, chain 1 turn (for 14)
Row 7   -   sc 2 in next sc, sc 13 to end of row, chain 1 turn (for 15)
Row 8   -   sc 14 along, sc 2 in last sc, chain 1 turn (for 16)
Row 9   -   sc 2 in next sc, sc 13, sc2tog, chain 1 turn (for 16)
Row 10 -   sc 15 along, sc 2 in last sc, chain 1 turn (for 17)
Row 11 -   sc 2 in next sc, sc 12 along, sc2tog, sc2tog, chain 1 turn (for 16)
Row 12 -   sc2tog, sc 13 along, 2sc in last sc, fasten off.
sew ears on to beanie.

Stuff antenna tightly with hobbyfill so it will stand erect, and glue goggely eyes on front in an arc.

I hope that all makes sense. This is my first go at writing a pattern so if you've got any useful feedback please let me know. I'd love to see any photos if anybody makes one, they are serious cute overload when they are being worn.

Mx

The Weekend

...was Margret River with friends.

the house

the view

the river


the walk

Charlie on the walk

all packed up and ready to head home

I do not complete enough projects for this to be craft blog, and looking back through my posts I enjoy the reminder of what's been going on, so I will endeavor to at least post weekly after the weekend. For myself, and memories.

Mx

Happy Mother's Day

I've enjoyed my first Mother's day and want to share a favourite photo of my beautiful mother.



My Mum is an extraordinary lady and I know how lucky I am to have her. She has always let me follow my own path and loved me unconditionally. Not something everyone gets I've learned.

Love you Mum.

And thanks to my Mr* for making me a mother, it's the best thing I've ever been given, such an honour and a joy.

Mx

*he doesn't read my blog, but anyway...