WET AGAIN

We had a couple of days brief interlude from the rain but now its back, just in time for the markets and my planned weekend of visiting garage sales and this big native plant nursery with friends.
Its cooled down a bit, quite pleasant. I'm sooo longing for winter and temps of 40 and 50, its a pleasant 70 this morning but will probably rise to 80+. The days are starting to cool down a bit (not quick enough for me though). Theres still the danger of cyclones right through to the end of March.

My foots okay, nothing broken just bruised and sore. It didn't stop me climbing up on the chair again. Cos someone had put the steps back in their proper place for once and I couldn't get them down.  I found one of my little Wade things on the net. The buyer wanted $38 for each of them so I thought I'd better get them cleaned up - now I know where all those beetles that fly in every night go to die.  They date back to the mid 50's (the Wade not the beetles) and I think I payed $5 for the pair of them about 6 years ago. I also identified a Wade cruet as well from the 50's but I paid $10 for that in an antique market in Brisbane 4 years ago.  I haven't found anything remotely like the pink Johnson Bros teapot, the design on the lid I think is from the friendly village series which was done over a few decades.  I've been through the entire sites of Go Antiques and RubyLane, now I'm cruising through etsy.

I got the most beautiful cross stitch flower book from the library yesterday and they have a gorgeous daffodil and tulip in it and there was also a primrose/primula in it. I'm so glad we get the books for a month now. I'm making a start on the Primula one this morning.  It should cover 20mins to get everything together and maybe make the first stitch. I can't wait.

Jan

OUCH

Well it was a really stupid thing to do, I thought so at the time and I thought so half way through doing it and I even thought so before I did it........but I did it anyway.

...........I climbed on the kitchen chair (the one with the wobbly leg - they all have wobbly legs but this one just had the one) to photograph my collection of mustard pots, I couldn't get one of the doors open on the wall cupboard so I climbed up onto the dining table (which I had polished that day), thats when I got worried. Carefully stepping down onto the chair I thought I was home safe and then my foot slipped. Visions of me lying there with a broken leg flashed through my mind and I managed  to right myself only to slip off the chair, i fell sideway and tried to grab the chair before it hit the deck, didn't quite make it as I trod on my pants leg and couldn't move. So the back of the chair hit my foot. Yells of pain, curses raining down, hopping round the kitchen.  Its fine when I don't walk on it, my toe next to the big one has swollen up, see how it is in the morning before I start panicing.   But me being a brave little soldier I got back on the chair and took the blooming photo's.

So here they are (not all of them though)  Some are glass, some are EPNS, some silver and some are china. My favourite set is the CarltonWare cruet set with the apple pear and plum. Now if you get curious and click on the photo's they come up really big, please close your eyes to the cobwebs, being only little and the cupboards being high up on the wall I never get to see the tops. That can be tomorrows job - only this time I'll get the steps out of the shed.

Mondayitis

Oh boy, I ache all over, if I worked for a living I'd be curling back under the covers right about now and getting someone to phone me in sick. My arms ache, my chest aches, my legs ache, my boobs ache, I feel like I have run a marathon.
What has caused this you ask - a seven year old and a three year old. I'm not cut out to be the 'fun' grandma.
Lifting  stuck kids off slippery dips and climbing frames, swing me higher grandma, catch me grandma, I'll beat you back to the car grandma, lets run in the water by the lakes edge grandma and see how wet we can get grandma, come on grandma Stacey let the dog out we gotta go chase her, you run that way grandma (MOI - RUN, I DON'T THINK SO). I've got We're Going On a Bear Hunt running through my head, I dreamt about being chased by bears all night, that and this silly old man playing nick nack all night long - I know what I'd like to nick nack and it wouldn't be his shoe.  We did have out quiet time though which involved turning half the front room into one giant tent with sheets and the carpet into a minefield of lego and duplo and crayons and buttons and Mr. Game (I resurrected this from the boys old toy cupboard). I managed to get the little one playing quietly by herself while I quickly gave Jess a  sewing lesson and got her started on a little embroidery for her mum. Oh - and we made sock puppets.  While the girls were playing quietly I went and made myself a cup of coffee (which I never got to drink) and watered a few pot plants and put the washing on and made lunch.  All this, which was noted by Matt - Hey Ma, you realise you've still got a sock puppet monster on your hand. 
At the end of the day there was one little old lady with a bar of Tiramisu chocolate in one hand a glass of wine in the other settling down to watch the demise of  Dr. Who.  Oh, David Tennant I'm gonna miss you. You could of whisked me away in the Tardis any day - I can handle my grandkids, I could of handled all those space monsters.

I'm going to go get dressed now, make the bed, sort the washing out, put the pots away, vacumm and then thats it for the day from me.  I'll be spending the rest of the day in a leisurely fashion recuperating. Unless of course the 'real' world has something else in store for me which it normally does.

Jan

LATE RISING

Oh boy, it was 8.45 a.m. when I climbed out of bed this morning. Not a happy camper at all.  We have bandicoots here, they squek like an old teddy and they love to dig up the lawn with their long snouts, searching for bugs and worms.  Especially when the ground is soft after rain.  I was rudely awakened by frantic squeking in the early hours, I actually thought they were under the bed, the dogs hackles are up and she's growling like mad. Our house is raised off the ground on stumps so we store all the building timber under there, I could hear the timber being moved and dull thuds. I really don't know what was going on under there. Then it went quiet for a while, the dog still growling though. Next doors dog  in the high set started growling and barking as well.  I dozed off to be awakened shortly afterwards with scratching in the wall above my bed., the dog sat on my pillows wondering why she can hear something but can't see it. I really don't think bandicoots climb internal walls so it must have been a rat. Oh great just what I need.  If it was a burglar I probably scared him away anyway - me thumping round the house, cursing and muttering things about I'll shoot the damm thing and rip it limb from limb - when I am disturbed from my peaceful sleep I'm not a very nice person to be around.  If it is a rat, its probably sitting in the wall cavity laughing at me thinking its going to stay there till it dies and then stink the house out.

We did have beautiful blue skies - I managed to pry my eyes open and squint into the sun, but now they are grey again, more rain and storms threatened.  So many things i want to do but I just can't be bothered, this apathy is killing me.  I forced myself into the shower this morning, my hair needed washing and I couldn't bear another day of having it tied back to hide the fact it was looking a bit tatty. I'm so close to getting the doll pattern finished, I managed to get stuffing yesterday. I was out all morning, bumping into friends and catching up on all the goss and then coffee with another friend, a cruise round the craft shop and then off to grocery shop. It was lunchtime before i got home. 

I can't even be bothered to go to the library, I've read all the books I got on Tuesday   I hate being like this, I want to go off garage saling, looking in antique shops, I want to find that elusive bargain.  The last one I got was a sweet little chest of drawers, its needs a new bottom in one of the drawers, new handles and a new coat of paint. But it sits in the spare room waiting to be brought back to life.   Perhaps I should just go jump in the car and go for a drive, who knows what I will find.


Jan

SHOPPING DAY

I really really do not want to go shopping today, only the temptation of meeting a friend for coffee in town is enticing me.  Its wet out there, its miserable and theres more to come.  If the roads on the coast get cut off with floods, as they are very likely to do then the food lorries can't get up here so while I have the energy I'd better get in there and do things. I need soft toy fill as well, I bought the last few bags that Crazy's had before they closed down and now I'm down to enough to stuff a hand.  I hope I can get some as I'm on a roll with these dolls and hope to get them off to the mags next week.  The storms are getting worse here, I've never known thunder and lightning like it. The Transformer outside my friends house about 7 klms away took a direct hit the other night and she narrowly missed being hit as a bolt of lightning shot through her house, she lost her computer and the electrics to all the plug sockets in the back of her house burnt out.  They don't usually start till about 3 in the arvy, so I get the dinner started and all the chores in and out done before then, then I curl up with my craft or a book on the sofa with the dog pressed as close to me as she can get and watch the storms build up. 
I rearranged the books shelves yesterday, dusted and polished so I can actually see and smell that I have been busy.I'm into table runners at the moment, I've picked a few up at garage sales and op-shops with the intent to do something with them.  The book stand in the main living area is only very narrow so I want to make one for the top of there. I might crochet one in white, I keep the family photo's on there and there is a white mirror over it.  Well better get off, got to go get petrol first.

Jan

BORED

Me getting bored is a dangerous thing. Who knows what I can get up to.  I've done double my 20 mins crafting today, the washings on and the breakfast pots washed. Dinners planned and I'm restless. I'm actually looking at paint charts - now you should be worried.  I tinkered around with a piccy of some of the flowers i crocheted and made a pretty piccy for the blog head. I love playing around with piccys though I have no idea what I am doing.
I need to get the pattern finished for the ami dolls so I can submit them to the magazine.  I am getting so slack again at finishing things off.  I'm half way through another doll just to make sure the pattern is okay, a few tweaks here and there and it should be done.  I haven't even started the polyanthus/primrosey embroidery yet - I found a nice cross stich tulip design when I was tidying up the wardrobe so I'm working on a trim for a nice pink handtowel. 
I think I am finally nearing the end of my decluttering.  Now all I have to do is rearrange all the stuff that is left.  The book cases need redoing. I did get rid of a few books for the garage sale so things just need moving around a bit.  I'm going to start on the entrance area. I

Happy Valentines day

Well there won't be any cards, flowers or choccies coming my way this year. No man on the horizon for me. I'm just too fussy.  I like being on my own (when I'm allowed to be). I really don't think I want to go through all the hassles of building a new relationship up. But if it happens it happens and if he's rich as well - then maybe I'll make the effort.
But for now I LOVE ME, there are parts that I have fallen out with though, but I'm sure I can learn to love them - grey hairs, wrinkles, saggy bits.

My youngest and his girlfriend dropped in last night on their way home from riding motorbikes and quad bikes all over the hills, muddy, bruised and very happy and very tired. I was worried about them driving down the mountain range late at night but Linda had to get back so we fed them, poured coffee into Ryan and off they went. 

I'm going to settle down today to watch the winter games, I used to like the Luge but after that poor Georgian luger was horrifically killed I think I'll give that one a miss. I hope they do ban it.  It showed the arial view of the Luge track on the news last night, its hard to imagine travelling along it at 148+ klms, with really no control at all.  I didn't think they would show the actual moment of impact, I thought they were just showing another Luger on the track.  Prayers and thought go out to his poor family.

On a lighter note I'm trying to find photo's of all my past craft work, I lost a lot when my puter crashed but I have a lot of 'real' photographs in a suitcase I can scan.  Despite losing my mojo I have been quite busy these last couple of months. In fact when I look at all the stuff I have made in the past 9 months I am amazed. Not bad for someone who isn't feeling crafty.  I was forced into it though and if thats what I can do when I'm not in the mood what can I achieve when the mood finally does hit.

These gloves I knit before last winter, first attempt and I was quite pleased with them.  I used the itchy grey vintage wool and since they've been worn in and washed a few times they are not too itchy and have softened up.  They'll probably last a few years since there probably only a couple of weeks of really cold weather in our winter. 

....and this little beauty is the first sock I knitted, the second one looks pretty good as well.  First time I had knitted on four needles, took a while to get the hang of it, needles flying everywhere, the poor dog diving for cover every five minutes but I mastered it in the end, turning a heel and doing the toes were easier than I expected and I will definately be doing another pair ready for this winter, might be a bit braver and do a patterned one. 

The weather is fine at the moment but storm clouds are around, the monsoon rains will probably wait till this arvy so I want to try and get the lawns around the house done while the grass is still dry.  Now, do I have brekky first or after I've mowed. Looking at the dark clouds that have just come over and the way the birds are behaving outside I might be better rushing out now and getting it done. The weather here is very unpredictable at the best of times but with all these 'worst/wettest/hottest/driest/snowiest/coldest etc weather since' patterns around the world who knows what its going to do.  But there again I might just go into the kitchen and make myself a bacon butty, hopefully the aroma of cooking bacon might waft through the house and waken my son and he might get out there and get the lawns done. We live in hope.

UPDATE: 12.59  - well fat chance of that happening, he's gone off to Kuranda to see a mate, I got out the mower and made a start, done half of the back lawn and half of the driveway side of the house.  Pulled out my 100 weeds a day, hung out the washing, put 100 crosses in a crossstitch, had my bacon butty, just about to have my fourth coffee of the day and then defrost something for dinner tonight, might put yesterdays washing away if I get a burst of energy after my coffee.  No-one could call me lazy, so I'm going to plonk myself down soon and just take it easy for the rest of the day.

The Stars of the Show

These beauties first made light of day on Crochetvilles CAL (Crochet A Long),  I started off learning the pattern with a 6 point, then 12 and then 24 (which I won't be doing again anytime soon)  They became very addictive and I'm think that maybe I could do a rainbow one with all my yarn stash, just a little baby 6 point.. I did follow the original pattern  but then after making a few serendiptidous mistakes went my own way with them. Most of the yarn used was already in my stash and I think I only had to buy a couple of hundred gram balls for the 24 point one. I love the varigated yarn thats in the middle of the 12 point and the outer edges of the blue one, unfortunately I can't get that one any more. Its funny because I didn't like it when I bought it but needed a more masculine yarn, it crocheted up really well but the craft shop in town decided at the same time I wanted more that they weren't going to stock wool anymore and were just going to be beading, patchwork and scrapping.  A new shop has opened up that supplies all the old dears for their charity knitting and she will order in small amounts but looking through the Magnum books this one seems to have been discontinued. I live in hope that perhaps I'll find some on my garage saling and op-shop forays.

I'm trying to arrange a play date with my friend, we need to catch up, I really do need to vacumm though before I do anything else and wash a few blankets, if I'm lucky I might get stuff out on the line for a few hours. The storms have been starting early these days but if I get a couple of hours drying time that should get everything dried. 

Hex quilts

Since I've been looking at blogs with hexagon quilts on I thought I'd show you my little offerings.  I had a mad passionate affair briefly with hexagon quilts a few years ago.  This was the first one.    I also started collecting rose patterned fabric at this time. From this little darling I went onto bigger things, but just before you scroll down make a guess on how big you think this quilt is.  Okay so then I started my lifetimes work.  My late hubby would patiently follow me around craft shops, garage sales and op-shops on my hunt for rose patterned fabric, he would be amazed as each evening I would sit cutting up old chrissy cards to make the templates and then spend the next evening watching me cutting fussy cutting up perfectly good metres of fabric, then he would mumble something about womens logic as he watched me sewing it all back up again. We joked that it would never be finished until we were pensioners. It started off a hexagon, then it went star shaped and then back to a larger hex with the addition of smaller hexagon pieced hexs. Not quite sure how it ended up diamond shaped, it took on a mind of its own and I managed to slowly get it into a rectangle shape.  Other things took over our lives, the unfinished quilt occassionally brought out by a proud hubby for a show and tell session.  But it didn't get finished, there were over 7000 mini hexs in that quilt, all stitched by hand over a period of about 8 years.  The quilt made its final trip into the outside world a few days after my beloved passed away.  I gave it to the undertaker and he wrapped by husband in it. He probably thought it was very strange, but that quilt was made out of memories and I had plenty to spare so I gave it with love. I still have a few of the hexs left and might one day make a small wall quilt.  When laid flat on the floor and standing over it looking down it had a very strange effect, very hypnotic so it was called the gypsy rose mandala quilt.   

                    I'm finally getting to the end of the de-cluttering in the craft room. I decided that the tapestry frames had to go and a quilting frame. I found a quilt, dusty and full of spider poo and gubbins.  I really should clean it up and finish it once and for all.  Its a dresden plate, started when I was pregnant with my second son 23 years ago, the bets were on at quilting class wether the quilt or the baby would get finished first. I'm quite sure that if Matt had decided to arrive on time and not 2 months early I would have finished the quilt.  Every so often I get it out and put a few more stitches in, its embellished with embroidery and hand stippled quilted.  Hopefully i can finish it for when matt has kids and since there isn't even a current girlfriend on the horizon I reckon I've plenty of time. You can the first hex quilt hanging on the rail over the single bed in the craft room.

Decluttering

I have been decluttering for the past three years.  Seriously that is, being ruthless and determined.  A friend is having a garage sale to raise funds for our Relay for Life team so yet again I'm sorting out stuff for her. Over 100 craft magazines - I'm never going to make any of the stuff in there and they are just taking up room. Tapestry yarn in colours I would never use, I've kept a few skeins back for dolls hair but out the rest of them go, glasses to use as candle holders - out, lots of crafty bits I picked up at garage sales, never used - out they go.  Clothes, bagged up for the op-shops.  Where does it all come from, surely after all these years I should be getting to the end of it, my home should be neat and tidy, I'm only bringing in things that I know I will use.
Books I buy from the op-shops are read straight away and then passed on.  The yarn stash is mysteriously re-growing. I keep finding odd small balls in strange places - why did I have a ball of lime green yarn in my underwear box. I opened a unused cupboard and found three unfinished projects hidden away - cardigans started for my grandkids three years ago, well at least I know the larger size will now fit the youngest - a wool scarf knitted in lacy panels, the yarn horrible and scratchy (it was vintage, never used and came from an old haberdashery shop), so I'll frog that and use it for felting, an embroidery that was meant to be finished four years ago, the child who's birth it was meant to celebrate nearly five years old. 
I've decluttered friends and relationships, those past their best and those who have just faded away.  Sometimes that happens, we outgrow them or they move away their lives taking a different path. I no longer worry that 'was it me', I've let then all go and moved on.  Grateful to them though for the wonderful memories. I need to de-clutter a few more feelings that are not serving me well. Fear being a big one I can't seem to let go of, inadequacy another. My mind definately needs a good de-clutter, lots of unused stuff in there, locked away, very dusty and old-fashioned, very vintage.  
So this is the year of the grand final de-clutter, the big one, the ultimate upheaval. 

Thanks Tallis, the lillies are from my garden, rescued just before a big storm hit. 

Jan