What to wear on Wednesday: spots

Sewing some more dress-ups keeps slipping down my 'to make' list, so, last weekend, I took the chance to finish at least one item to add to the collection. A dancing dress for Elara it was (this is a must for any girl when watching Dorothy the Dinosaur). Thought I'd skip the pastel pink and go for something a little more wild!

Our Australia Day

Sunshine...yawn...bowl of corn flakes...check the sports results and the weather...Possum magic by Mem Fox...put out the wheelie bin...drive past the local blokes cricket game...past the ocean...past the trees and Aussie flags...snags and lamb with family...laughter and jokes...dreaming of lamingtons...

...cricket on tv...out in the backyard...acoustic guitar...homemade damper...

...talk about life...cricket on tv...tennis on tv...fish and chips...hugs and kisses...prayers...yawn

Crafty box

It's what I wanted at Christmases, what I wanted for birthdays, and all I spent my pocket money on in between. Pipe cleaners, buttons, pom poms, wobbly eyes, feathers, paddle pop sticks, papers, cardboard, fimo...oh and polystyrene balls! I had them all housed in a plastic, mustard yellow box, with a white handle. But it was even better inside... with so many little compartments to hold all my stuff, I could be organised and crafty (and you know that still makes me happy!) This Christmas, my eldest daughter Elara got her first craft box, and although the contents are a little different (she's not yet three), her eyes do the same wide-open in amazement thing, when it's time to create. And you know, you can start with anything: crayons; small boxes; pictures cut from catalogues and used magazines; good old macaroni (note: these pictures are not keepers!); bark and leaves from the garden; scraps of ribbon from gifts received; even dud Cd's. So start collecting!

She's strawberries and cream

Before strawberry season is over, and that sweet, fresh taste is just a memory, I wanted to post some photos from my sweet and bright India's first birthday party. The theme was strawberries and cream, and we had a delicious time!


Strawberries and cream outfit...finished just in time

Very tall and wobbly strawberries and cream cake

Easy to sew bunting

Pink, red and cream reigns supreme at the table

Homemade jam and sweets for the little ones

GG's quilt

My youngest daughter, India, is the latest recipient of one of her great-grandmother (GG)'s awesome quilts. Though it is very lovely to look at, it's beauty comes from the unique and special way it was created just for her. It is made in earthy colours: sprout green, rust brown, and barley, just as her nature is easy going and outdoorsy. But with just a flirt of hibiscus pink and mango orange, the quilt beckons her bright and funny personality to shine! It is perfect for her and she just loves it. Thanks GG!

Community

I met my neighbour today for the first time. They have lived across the road for a year. I can't believe it's been a year...it seems like they moved in just a few months ago. That means that I've been 'planning' to go and visit and introduce myself for a year. I've been too busy for a year. I've been too tired for a year. I've been too shy for a year. If I'd visited a year ago I could have had a year of tea, or dinner parties or playdates with her and her kids. A lost opportunity (they are moving house again tomorrow!) but a lesson learned. Meet your neighbours!

What to wear on Wednesday

Dressing up has always been a big thing in my family. My Mum has a fairly large and enviable dress up collection: 2 bedrooms with racks, boxes and shelves full of clothes and costumes, both vintage and new (my girls have fun at her house)! She spends much time researching and putting together pieces to get costumes just right and then loans them, without profit, to friends and people she has never met. It takes a lot of work but does, at least once in awhile, allow her a pause from work and home to imagine, create and be adventurous. "We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing" (Anon). Go Mum.

About wisdom

But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light,
growing brighter and brighter until full day.
She is like a tree of life to those who obtain her;
and everyone who grasps hold of her will be blessed (Proverbs 4:18 and 3:18)

Learning to play

If there is one thing I'm learning from my kids it is 'play' and how to do it! Yesterday, i banged my fist on the floor in frustration at some insignificant thing which didn't work. At the sound of this, my youngest daughter looked up at me with her squinty happy eyes and her teeth-too-big-for-my-little-mouth smile, and began banging her own fists on the floor. But this was no frustrated banging, it was drumming...wildly fun drumming, accompanied by chuckles and claps! Later that day, out on a sunset picnic at the beach with our church family, my eldest daughter was playing with a young friend. They, being different ages, gender and personalities, were a bit mismatched in their games of choice, but continued to play along side one another. In a adult world I would usually do one of two things at this point: decide that we are mismatched and part ways; or work work work at the friendship until a connection was made. Not children. They just continued to play, unfazed, until one of the two rolled in the grass. And that was it. Laughter from both, fun for both and...connection. Children expect the world to keep time with the rhythm of their life, not the other way around. And I like it.

Softies

Ooo. Today I happened upon the "More Softies" book, and couldn't help but buy it...(my first softies book looked lonely and needed a friend??). I think I'll start by sewing the 'owl friend' for a new years gift for a friend (wisdom - what better a thing to wish for this year!) I was actually planning to make the owl from the first book but have to try out my new purchase! I'll keep you posted on this one. These pics are two of the softies I made for my brother, from the first book.

Rainy day baking

A cool change in the hot Queensland weather today allowed me some 'oven time'. We baked these coffee & walnut cream cookies (from the Australian Women's Weekly Cookies cookbook), which were decadent and even delicious enough to offer my (fabulous cook) Grandma, on a visit this afternoon! And, while these were baking we whipped up a half batch of these strawberry mousse milkshakes (which I first made for my daughters first birthday - more on that another time). The recipe for these is in Donna Hay kids 07 magazine. Maybe tomorrow will be rainy too?

Maya Gold

So, I'm not a big chocolate eater, but this chocolate is fantastic! "Rich, dark chocolate with a refreshing twist of orange that is perfectly balanced by the warmth of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla". So good (and fairtraded too).

It's a new year! And this blog is part of my resolution. A way for me to process and reflect on those days that seem a blur of nappies, noise and nemo. A way to puntuate my weeks with small memories that shouldn't be forgotton. A way to respect the simple things, woven together by a master craftsman over the year... 2009!