OH YES, I HAD A BIRTHDAY AS WELL AMONGST EVERYTHING ELSE.

But don't ask me about it, cos I've slept a few times since then.  I seem to remember lunch at the Botanical Gardens in Cairns, the family coming round, a day out with friends and something else.  My mom phoned me to wish me happy birthday, normally she's about a month late but this time she was a couple of weeks early.  What did I get - a three legged gold tiny gold pig, a pretty rose patterned china mug, smellys, a bottle of wine, a tarot book, a cook book, a plant book and fushcia pink towels.
I am blessed with a wonderful family and good friends.

How can you accidently mistake my car for yours.

Got a phone message - Er Mum, I accidently put a big rusty cylinder in the back of your car by mistake, sorry.   His car is a silver Magna,  mine is small white Laser hatchback. How can you make a mistake, and when I checked it wasn't there anyway. So where did he put it.  Who's car did he put it in.

He noticed yesterday (when he was going through my food cupboards for things he could 'borrow') that I had a new cheese grater. No dear one, that my nice new one to replace the old battered one you borrowed and never returned - you can keep the old one.

His parting remarks was - It would be really nice if you would invite me round for dinner a couple of nights a week, we could catch up, spend time together.

Note to self - Get all the house locks changed, put a barbed wire fence up (no make it an electric one) and a security gate.

I love my kids, I really do. But this is my time now. You gotta fly my little birds.

The one thing my boys do know is that I really love them and despite my naggings, that there is always  a home for them here if ever they need it. 

Its been a miserable past few days, weatherwise, the sun can't make up its mind what to do, its been a grey old day, drizzly, but luckily it stopped enough for me to get back to my car after TAFE.

Tonight I will make a start on the new designs for the robot amigurumi pattern, the first robot I made up as I went along, now I'll tweak and write it all down as I go. 
Then the lion gets done and another bear and maybe a dinosaur.  

My craft room is back to its old messy self again, definately time for a declutter.  My yarn stash has grown again.  But I have plans for that.

Love, light and hugs

Jan

So Sorry - I've been very remiss

No excuses.  I've just not been in a very bloggy mood.

Updates..........passed the first part of Myob, not going to do anymore, passed my customer service, passed writing documents, assessment for creating text documents next week. Start spreadsheets next week as well.
School hols been and gone, did stuff with the grandgirls - they came armed with a list of things to do with grandma - it was a very long list and I think we will still be working our way through it during the summer hols as well.
Matt has moved out finally into his own place. Ryans split up with his girlfriend, Liams changed his job.
I've finally got my ami patterns up and running and in the shops, I have a crochet ami  in January's Handmade mag. I'm still decluttering, I've had a few job interviews and thats about it.
Discovered that one of my ancestors was Myles Standish, won't mean anything to the brits and aussies but it will to the americans.  Theres also a Prescott ancestor that has a big statue erected in his honour somewhere in Mass. 
Well i promise i won't leave it this long again. I'll be in at the weekend and post some piccys.

love, light and lots of hugs.

Jan

IT feels like the sun is never going to shine again.........

it does, the days have been grey and dreary, everyone seems to be longing for the sun to show its face for anything longer than five minutes. We're all vitamin D deprived.  Winter isn't usually this wet.  My neighbours ducks are loving it though, you can almost hear the pleasure in their quacks. A weekend trip to Kuranda for a day of girly shopping and playing at tourists was not spoilt by the constant drizzle and wind and we managed to stay out all day dodging the rain drops. 
TAFE is going okay, though I am finding it hard to get my head round manual book keeping and MYOB and also getting my 'homework' done. I really need to discipline myself.  I'm going to have to arrange to go into TAFE out of hours to use the computers as they work on
Microsoft Office 2007 and you can't get it anymore, I use Open Office.  I happen to prefer Open Office, less bells and whistles than MS Office and it gets the job done.  But I must admit I do like using 2007.  My touch typing is getting slower but more accurate, I have to have a 98% rate. I'm approaching that but only managing 35 to 40 words a minute. But accuracy is more important than speed so I am not stressing out over it.  I haven't touch typed for many years (try 27) and have got sloppy and my fingers have a touch of the old rheumatiz in them but I just plod along and get the job done in the end.
Still haven't picked up the knitting needles again or the embroidery or even looked at a craft pattern. I did go into Spotty last weekend and bought a bit of stuff but haven't even taken it out of the bag. I just threw it straight in the craft room.
I was rudely reminded that I have a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, I was hoping that everyone would forget. For some time I have been saying I was 52, but then realised in fact I was only 51, silly me. But now when I am asked how old I am people will think I am lying when I say I will be 52.  You are as old as you feel, well right now my body is feeling like its eighty but my mind is still somewhere in my teens.

Jan

No rest for the wicked

Thursday and friday were just as busy as tuesday and wednesday, thursday I continued to run between TAFE and Neato's. No student parking near the TAFE as they are set on the High Schools grounds and there is building work going on so all the school teachers are using the TAFE parking which means parking the car the other side of the school and having to walk a block and then back again, then drive back into town, park and walk to Neato's. Everytime I got out of the car it started to rain, everytime I drove anywhere it stopped. It felt Like I was under this rain cloud following me around.  I was too tired yesterday after cleaning all day to go to get the dogs flea stuff so that was thursday chore as well. Then I decided enough was enough and I met up with a friend and went over to Mareeba to check out the op-shops there.  We also went in the big Priceline chemist and tried all the perfumes - believe it or not and I really hate to own up to this but the Brittany Spears perfume Fantasy is really nice, most perfume go off on me pretty quickly but this one didn't.
Then off for coffee and a late lunch, back to town and then another run to Neato's to make sure everything had gone through okay.
Started the course Friday, wasn't as bad I thought it was going to be. I really thought i would be one of the oldest there, but out of about fifteen there was only a couple of girls younger than 30 and the rest were late forties or early fifties. All being pushed to get back out there into the workforce.
Today started off lazy but then I felt guilty and scrubbed the bathroom floor tiles, not that anyone will notice, I was going to mow but ran out of fuel. I planted more corn, watered the veggies and weeded and now I'm back to being lazy again.
I reckon if I was going to drop dead with a heart attack it would have happened this week with all the hard work and rushing around i've done. But I'm still here alive and kicking.
.......and the bonus is I've lost another kilogram.Back on track with the weightloss.
Haven't picked up my knitting needles since I threw everything into the spare room when Ryan wanted his tv unit back. I went into a beautiful scrapbooking and paperart shop on thursday, while I admire it and thinks it looks wonderful do I really want another craft, can I resist.

Jan

Wednesday

Yesterday I was on top of things, I decided to move my room around and managed to lug my heavy mattress off my big wooden bed so I could move it. I cleaned all the dust up under and behind the bed, I polished, I cleaned walls, I put everything back all nice and fresh. I then started on the living room, vacummed under furniture, polished the big tv cabinet, cleaned out its cupboards, tidied everything up. It took me nearly all morning and half of the afternoon. But when I finished it was good to sit back and see everything sparkling and clean. I plonked myself down at the puter to post on Clares Treasure Tuesday. Then............the youngest phoned up "mum, can I have my tv cabinet back please, I'll be up in a couple of hours to pick it up.  So this meant I had to undo practically everything I had done that day. His tv cabinet was bigger than mine so rather than put his in storage he let me use it and my smaller one went in the bedroom, prettied up with a sarong cover and a silk beaded table runner and I put all my pretties on it and stored all my tarot cards and books under neath. All the living room furniture had to be moved, I emptied my cabinet and his, all the stuff from his has just been thrown in the spare room. I dragged out a white chest of drawers I want to paint and which I store a lot of my crafty bits and pieces in. I managed to get all my cards in it plus my spiritual books and covered with the sarong and runner it looks okay.  It was 8.30 p.m. before I plonked myself down to watch Packed to the Rafters with a glass of wine in hand.  Dinner was  oven chips, fish fingers and beans. Today is not going to be quiet either as I have to go clean someones house and declutter, chase around after this course I want to do, go to the gas shop cos my gas bottle connector is leaking, get flea stuff for the dog and shop for dinner.  Thursday won't be any different and if I manage to get Neato's to pay for the course I will be doing my orientation friday morning and my first class friday afternoon.  I have to do Cert II and components of Cert III in Business studies before I can do the Cert IV in justice admin, but with my car and phone both being out of service last week i nearly missed the deadline so theres a good chance of not getting on the course. 
All I really want to do is knit, I found a really great pattern for a cable knit bag, I have knit if before years ago and I want to do a smaller version, I got stuck into it the other night and did the first nine rows, didn't even touch it last night, I'll get some more yarn this arvy cos once I do get into it I can probably do it in two nights.  I found two premmie baby shawls I had started to crochet as well in yesterday clean-up so they'll be finished this week hopefully and I'll get them sent off along with all the little tiny beanies and booties to the Prem baby unit.
Better go get a move on and make a start on the day, got all my washing to do before I go out.

Jan

Saturday (yes I know its Sunday today)

Saturday with my eldest grandchild.  Little Miss Chatterbox, Jessica Rose.  We baked, we found a wonderful girly game site on the net and built virtual cupcakes and dressed up ponies and decorated bedrooms, we went out for a drive and ended up at the Fairy Shop. We had banana sandwiches for lunch with sprinkles on and a plate of hot chips, we talked girly talk and then while grandma settled down with a book on christmas tree decorating Jessica played some more on the internet.  Not long after her parents and little sister turned up early.  I've promised the little one that when school goes back she can come over for a day and we'll do special things together.  She's nearly four and doesn't really like going anywhere strange without her big sister (Yes, grandma is a bit strange) so we'll see how that goes. She's a total different character to Jess, more of a tom-boy.

Sunday is going to be a quiet day, now I have said that it will be hectic and noisy.  Its a bit chillier today, overcast and windy, definately not tropical. Might just spend the day pottering, couldn't find one garage sale to go to yesterday - most disappointing. I'm feeling the need to go out and find a bargain.  I have the urge to rummage.

change of direction..........

 Not quite sure where I am going with this but after discussing things with my job network officer I have decided to look at doing a Cert 4 in Justice Admin course at TAFE. I can't try to get into the Certificate of Genealogy with SAG till next year but if I want to go into the field of forensic genealogy it might benefit me to do the Justice course.  All a bit scary, its something i hadn't even considered but theres no harm in giving it a go.  All the questions running through my head at the moment - am I clever enough, am I capable of the work load, am I too old to study and the biggy - what if I am successful at it.  Do you know that fear of success is what holds a lot of people back from attempting things............once you are successful then others have more expectations of you, you then have to follow through with everything, fear of failure and not being able to keep up with everything creeps in so you self sabatage before you have even got your first course assignment.  Can you see where I am going with this, already I'm thinking up excuses why I can't do this.   I have to admit that I have not got the stamina to do the cleaning/housekeeping and maybe I should be looking in other directions. Again I was selling myself short, refusing to believe in my capabilities and accepting that cleaning was the only thing I was qualified and capable of. 

Putting my worries aside I am going to immerse myself in the threads and stitches of my latest projects, started on number 4 last night, stitched until my eyes were crossed and stinging and I caught myself dozing off with needle in hand.

Yesterday was a sad day for our little township, we farewelled one of our own local men, a young man who chose to live his life how he wanted, a young man who was a son, brother, partner and friend and who gave his life for his country.  Its been in the public eye and now after what must seem an eternity for his parents they can finally have the privacy they need to bury and grieve over their son.  Ben Chuck, God Bless You and may His Love surround your family.

Jan

TUESDAYS TREASURES

Theres no way I can pretty up this little box.  It has a story behind it. Way way back when Mr Mik and I decided that we would get married my future mum in law worked as an O.T. in Social Services teaching handcrafts to a group of elderly mentally challenged people.  She had always spoke to them about her family and what they were up to so when they found out we had finally decided to get married they wanted to make a little gift. So this old chocolate box was gussied up and they put in broken jewelry, old beads, bits and pieces of lace, all sorts of little things. For over 29 years it has been the treasure box, things taken out, things added to it. Homeless bits and pieces all go in the little box.  Its tatty and cracked (just like me) but I hope it will still be sat on the windowsill in my craftroom for many more years to come.

Its current contents are a pair of dolls shoes for the doll I never made, the ribbons and bells from the girls Lindt easter bunnies, two old belt buckles, a plastic bracelet picked up off the street, wooden beads, a badge off one of our old cars (could be off the old Kingswood wagon), hexagon papers, an original lifeboat whistle, broken jewelry and lots of the original pearl and glass beads that came with the box, sea shells, hairclips, a couple of drawing pins and lots of little fiddly bits too numerous to mention. 

Jan

JOIN CLARE over at Clarescraftroom for Tuesdays Treasure, McLinky doesn't want to play today with me so look for Clares Blog in my sidebar

On a roll........

I got my design mojo back, its been a long time coming and very welcome at this moment in time.  Sat playing with threads and colours all weekend apart from a quick trip down to the markets. Weathers been iffy all weekend but the sun finally did show its face for a couple of hours yesterday enabling me to get the washing dry.  New seedlings safely in the veggie patch, all staked and supported. So it was quite a productive weekend.
I decided after much research to make Poppy dog her food, so I set to yesterday and made special dog cookies and wet food.  She obviously knew something was going on in the kitchen, she kept popping her head round the door every time there was a banging of saucepans, she sat in anticipation at the edge of the doorway as the pot stood cooling..........and finally with wagging tail and whole body quivering in excitement she stood in front of her dish. She looked at it, she sniffed it, she backed away, she sat down, she sniffed it again and tentatively pushed the food around, she looked up at me as if to ask what I was poisioning her with.  Finally she tried it, the next second I looked it was all gone and she was sat on the mat licking her lips.  She produced the biggest known burp known to doggykind and then curled up on the sofa and went to sleep. No thank you, no nothing.  When Matt came home I had to tell him, no I hadn't bake biscuits for him they were for the dog, actually there was nothing in them that a human couldn't eat except they might be a bit hard on his teeth, he went away muttering something I didn't quite catch.
Today the sun is shining occassionally but the drizzle has stopped so the washing can get line-dried again today.  Better get to it and make the most of the decent weather.

Jan

Break out........

I am so sick of eating healthy, watching every little thing. Every so often I break out and eat bad bad food......... bacon butties made with stodgy white bread with slatherings of HP sauce.  Soooooooooooo good I'm going to go make another on and I might even stick a fried egg on top. 

jan

Two posts in one day .............

......................what some people will do to get out of cleaning, I don't know!

I've nearly finished putting everything back in the computer corner, only to realise that I have put everything back how it was before I moved it last time. Oh well at least i got to give everything a good clean.  I wonder how long it will take Matt to notice everything has been moved.

I haven't added to or taken away from the pile of files i took out of the cabinet to move it, but it seems to be a rather tight fit getting them in. Thats a job for another day I think. A quick vacumn round the rest of the house and thats it for me I think.  I have been getting my yarn stash down, I crocheted 30 beanies for the Guardian Chemist/Salvo's Homeless Appeal and I can just about get the lid on the yarn box.  WhenI have lots of little bits of yarn leftover I crochet a flower or a leaf and stick it in a box, one day i will find a project to do with them all. I used a few on the coffee plunger cosy I felted and I've sewn a few to hats and scarves. I'm looking for a really pretty granny square to do, something with a rose in the centre, I need to get this yarn stash down a bit more before I allow myself to go out and buy more.  Last year I went mad crocheting blankets for everyone and I have lots of leftover yarn from that. I have two blankets to make up out of squares I did last year, the gingham blanket is still not finished despite me saying it would be by feb last year.  The hexagon grannys flower garden crochet blanket is still not done, though I might get that finished soon and give it to a friend as a gift for winter.   I found some laura ashley fabric remnants I bought 3 years ago when I was in Melbourne. I had only used a couple when i made Jess's library bag when she started school and these others have been lying dormant until i can find something to do with them. They are 15 inches square and mainly florals and until i see something with the WOW factor that I just have to make then they will stay under the bed in their box.     Actually, did I ever post the anemone flower cross stitch I did. Because I have a vague recollection of thinking at the time I had some fabric that would go with the cross stitch to make a nice cushion.  

The house is all clean now, dusted polished and vacumned so the rest of the day is mine, until I have to get dinner.  Might just crawl under the bed and see if I can find the fabric again.  Knowing my luck it will be in the box at the back of everything else.  Would it be too much to hope for that I actually put it in a place where I could get it again easily. Or would that be too easy.  

I couldn't find the fabric but what I did find was a box of yarn under the bed - fallout from the big box and here was me being so proud of myself for using up over 2000g of yarn.  Okay, so when the small box is gone then I will treat myself to new yarn.                           

Monday

Docs appointment first thing this morning and here I am still sat in my jami's.  I've washed the breakfast pots and quickly tidied the kitchen and thats it for now.  I'll have to nip to the store and get the things I forgot on Friday, I'm with you on the grocery shopping Vicky. Has to be done though..........well if I had lots of money I'd pay someone to do it for me.   Actually thinking about it I suppose thats where my social life is - at the supermarket. I bump into all my friends there and we catch up with all the goss.  I usually go in real early now though, straight in, get what I want and straight out again, home before the roads gets busy with school traffic.

Cept this morning I am being lazy, its a bit chilly this morning - it was a lot chilly last night, so much so I filled up the old hotty bottle and put on my flanny jami's.
Yesterday was a miserable overcast day but today the sky is blue and the sun is shining. I took myself off to the antique/second hand shop and had a good browse, gorgeous vintage clothes and bits of china but nothing that shouted BUY ME.                                                               I have this restlessness again, its driving me mad at the moment. I feel that there has to be something more to everything I am doing. I know I am doing way to much - as in too many irons in too many fires.   I want to sit and craft for hours, I want to get the house painted, I want to sit and read, I want to get out there and do something, I want to stay on the puter all day long digging up the ancestors, I want to have coffee with friends and sit by the lake catching up with the goss, I want to go op-shopping, garage saling, antiquing, I want to learn a new craft, I want to landscape the garden, I want to get in the car and just drive.  So many things I want to do yet I can't decide what to do so I do nothing - well except type endless blogs about what I want to do. 
I make lists, I make plans and then I sit and wait for it all to happen.  Guess I'm going to be sitting around for a long time.

Okay, so now I better go get dressed before I'm late for the docs

Jan

I'n back, blood pressure okay so no problems, got my scripts,caught up with a friend while i was in the grocery store and back home again when in a moment of utter madness if took everything out of the filing cabinet and I'm going to move the computer desk, I'm sat here surrounded by files and everything piled up on the table and you wanna see the muck behind the filing cabinet - second thoughts, no you don't. So I now have to get the vacumm cleaner out and the duster. ooooooh and i found all the paint charts. Well i suppose i'd better get a move on and get it all moved before the day escapes from me.  This is what I do when I get restless, I clean and i declutter and make messes.

June already

Thought I'd better post to let you all know I'm still alive and kicking. Job fizzled out, what they didn't tell you was that it was 15 - 20 hours a week but those hours were split between a team of women. So its back to the job hunt.  I've been cold canvassing this week, what a demeaning thing that is. 
Long weekend this weekend, lots going on. Tour de Tableland Bike Race, Peeramon Feral Pig Hunt, African Circus, Row Boat Regatta on the Lake. All in the same area. There will be rolling road closures tomorrow while they do the time trials and at the same time hunters will be rushing to get thier pigs weighed in. Plus all the boaties, all using the same damm roads.  Timed all that well didn't they.   I'm staying home and being a grumpy old woman. One thing I don't want is to be stuck behind a ute full of dead pigs. 
Mind you there might be a lot of extra men around the place, all those male bike riders in tight lycra shorts, might be worth getting stuck behind them.
Number 2 son has finally got the horticultural traineeship he wanted, so next step is finally moving out. He's saving up for his rental bond and a few house things.  At least I won't be worried about him not eating properly - he's a great cook. 

Jan

WHERE DID THE TIME GO

I blinked and there it was and more than a  week had flown by.  I've been training, its not rocket science but everything has to be done just so.  and there are stairs...........I can run up and down them and get my exercise for the day, I think though by lunch time today the novelty had worn off.  I've stretched and I've bent and I've lifted weights, who needs to go to the gym - just get a job as a house-keeper.

Modeling the latest range of kitchen chic is Punky Plunger.  A soft varigated wool knitted in stocking stitch and subjected to much agitating then decorated with pretty little crochet flowers and leavesand a meandering of running stitch between each flower. Three buttons and felted loops (not shown) hold the whole package together.

I got bored so I got creative. Next will be a hotty watty botty cosy made from a felted fair isle jumper from the op-shop.

Red Letter Day

Happy dance around the room, I got the job, I got the job, didya hear me I GOT THE JOB.  Start training on tuesday, though with what I already know it will be a doddle.  Went to a garage sale and picked up a new computer chair in excellent condition for a fiver, a wonderful book on embroider and crafts for $2 and they threw in two crystal wine glasses I liked and a box for my embroidery threads.  How good was my day.

Jan

Still haven't hear yay or nay

Interview went very well, i was first off the block, bright eyed and bushy tailed.  Beautiful place. I meditated before I went, set off early. I think I made a good impression - well I didn't do or say anything I regret. I asked the right questions at the right time. But i think because I haven't heard anything I haven't got it, but that doesn't bother me, its one more interview under my belt, one more bit of experience.  Met my friend in town afterwards (she had an interview for an admin job in town).  So now its the waiting game, she's heard about hers and she didn't get in so now I'm on tenterhooks everytime the phone rings, though because its the long weekend I don't think they'll ring till tuesday.  Isn't it awful Cheryl how intelligent people become blubbering wrecks when they are in a interview situation, its like their brains go awol.

The weather is absolutely terrible, drizzly and miserable and not a day to go garage saling.  Mould is growing on everything as fast as you clean it off. One of the downsides of living in the wet tropics.    One of the things I bet you don't miss Cheryl.

Well I was going to have a productive day today, but got stuck in 1914-1918. Norma, I did some research while ancestry was free on the military history, looks like only Harold and Sydney Skeat had any and my mums grandfather on the Neal side, though he had three attempts at getting in and deemed unfit on each one.
but his brother got in and saw active service in France.  I've got someone on The Manchester Regiments forum looking for me to check everything out.  Its all been very interesting.

I need to get my creative juices flowing again, I have been so bored recently, last night was terrible - I was so bored I did the vacumming and mopped the kitchen floor. I hate being like this but I can't put my mind to anything.  Damm , look at the time 10.00 a.m. and I'm still in my jammys. 

Jan

I GOT AN INTERVIEW

I have an interview for a job tomorrow at 9.00 a.m., don't panic. don't panic. Okay PANIC, oh my god what do I wear, what do I say, will I lost lost - don't be silly, its right on the edge of the lake.  Think girl, of all the questions they will ask you, sell yourself.  oooooohhhhhhhhhhhh I can't do that, I'm hopeless at selling myself, I freeze, I forget what I'm saying mid sentence. Don't panic, don't panic. Your're 51, grow up. Somewhere in there is a mature woman, what a time for the inner child to make her entrance.

Okay panic over, I'm calm, serene.  I've polished my shoes, made sure my clothes are ironed, I'll go through the selection criterea again. I'll go put petrol in the car and give it a quick clean. 

On a lighter less stressed out note, I just made roasted pumpkin and parsnip soup, very tasty.
Yesterday I sent off the amigurumi dolls to the magazine - they want them and the cheque for the last design is in the post.  It looks like my life is on the up and up. So even if I don't get the job at least it is experience, one more interview under my belt, I suppose each time it will get better.  See, I can be mature when I want.


ooooooohhhhhh Norma you like Johnny Depp as well, perhaps I should imagine the guy thats interviewing me is Johnny Depp star naked. 

Jan

A Frog he Would a Wooing go.......................

Pucker up Babe, your prince is here..................

Come on, look at me, aren't I a fine figure of a frog. You know you're just itching to kiss me. Take a chance. No tongue though. 

speechless still..........

........croaky and snufling.  Sounds likes an undertakers.

Matt knocked the head off the Balinese Running Duck last night.  How on earth am I going to shut the bathroom door now. I remember walking round Brisbane with it tucked under my arm, we caused a stir when we were waiting to cross the pedestrian crossing, I placed him on the floor and then stood back and watched the confused faces of the motorists.  My friend at this stage had totally disowned me. My husband was having a liver op and as we walked into the hospital to visit him he had been allowed out and was sitting in the hospital cafe with a cousin he had only just met that day. At least she knows now that the insanity doesn't run on their side of the family.  The duck I should say before the RSPCA come get me is a 3ft high wooden one, well he was before his head got knocked off. I got locked in the loo when the lock broke and a neighbour had to come break the lock off to get me out, I was intending to fit a new one, I've got the new lock and I'm hoping that if I look desperate enough I can get someone to fit it for me.  I can do it myself if I try, its not rocket science but until I get that bored the Duck will suffice with or without his head.  So now I shall shout - Locks broken on the loo door, ya'll have to out the headless duck behind the door.
Of course I made Matt feel really guilty, his late father collected ducks, it was a special present for him after his op, something to bring a smile to his face etc etc etc.   I wonder what damage he's going to do today, oh god I hope they don't let him loose with the chainsaw.

Jan

FUMING. SEETHING, ROPEABLE.........................

................. and a little bit mad.  I'd had a burst of energy around about 2.00 p.m. and went out to check the mower fuel. Since there was a little bit of fuel left I decided I would mow at the back of the house until the fuel ran out. I moved my car into the spot my son usually leaves his car and got to work. I finished the whole back lawn. Went in to get dinner on and left my car where it was. Son comes home from work and parks where I normally park my car.  Long story short, he goes out of house in a mood and promptly reverses into my car smashing the headlights. Of course its my fault for leaving the car there according to him.  I am so mad I am finding myself at a loss for words.


Jan 

and still snuffling.................

....................one box of tissues, endless packets of cough lollies and having a choking attack this morning scaring me, my son and the dog half to death have made me book a docs appointment. My throat just closed up and I couldn't breathe in or out, I was hammering on the bedroom wall and rattling the wardrobe doors and staggered out to the phone and had my finger over the 0 just as I managed to  breathe again.   I rarely get coughs and colds and when I do I can throw them off pretty quickly. This has floored me.  I had the Swine flu and normal flu vaccines a month ago  so I thought I was safe. 

I can't concentrate to craft, I'm struggling to read or do sudoku's and I have no appetite (which is good since I might finally lose a bit of weight). Matt starts his new job tomorrow with Parks and Gardens, he's hovering round like a mother hen, making sure I have plenty of  fluids and has brought me chicken soup.

Jan

Still snuffling, doc says its nothing to worry about just a spasm through coughing too much, if it happens again, just relax and wait for it to pass.  I'll remember that when I'm rolling round the bedroom floor going blue in the face.  I had a temp and my B.P was up but nothing major. I've just got to ride it out and hope everything clears up in a couple of days.
A few people I have spoken to about the flu vaccine have said they got a nasty cold shortly after. 

still snuffling

Still feel like crap.  Its wet and miserable and I've no money. Got up early and went into town and did a quick shop and put petrol in the car. Got to drag myself out to pay the phone bill shortly. 
Had a burst of energy last night and tidied up the place before I went to bed so not much to do today.

I'm going to do a couple of pedigree charts today, found out mums dads cousin was married to mum mums cousin.  My lot certainly believed in keeping it all in the family. Its starting to get confusing so I now need to keep track of them all.

Jan

I woke yesterday snufflng and sniffling. I had to drag myself out of bed to go into town. I parked the car far enough away so I could get a good walk in, walked all the way down to my bank to discover their hole in the wall wasn't working so had to walk all the way back and further to my other bank. Happy discovery that I had money in my account so I could pay the bills. Walked back to where I normally park the car to find I'd parked it somewhere else.  Oh well at least I'd got a good walk in.  Did a quick shop at IGA, remembered I needed rice.  I was home before 9.30, packed the shopping away to find 2 packets of rice in the cupboard already.  I dosed myself up on panadol and went off to a friends to help her sort out her new printer. I just couldn't get my head round it. I managed to get her new webcam up and running though (quite by accident) what a shock that was seeing myself suddenly on the computer screen - not a pretty picture.  Then home, dizzy and aching. Matt made me a cup of tea and I lay down on the sofa while he cooked dinner.
Hardly slept a wink last night, when I did doze I had the ancestors chasing me with all these remedies for colds and flu, the dog had terrible wind all night (thank god I couldn't smell anything). I tried to read, did a couple of sudoku's, got up, pottered around, went back to bed. I don't get colds, well not full blown ones (scuse the pun), just little sniffles I usually throw off after 24 hours. I had the flu jab a few weeks ago so I'm hoping that I can throw this off.
Still its a good excuse to just laze around and do nothing, no guilt over staying bed half the morning with a good book. Though knowing me of old I will probably rush around doing the housework and cleaning so that if someone does come round the house will be tidy and they won't think me lazy (this is a inherited trait from my mother and my nan). The guilt does creep in and I succumb to a cleaning frenzy. Basically I am an untidy person, I could quite easily allow the place to become a hovel but where other people have inner children I have an inner cleaner who suffers from OCD.
I did the thumbs on the mittens (I'm knitting two mittens at once) and because they are being donated to a charity that provides warm clothes for the homeless I did a larger size, the thumbs looks massive. I only have little hands and they drown me. What is the average length of a thumb of a woman about 5'6"+.
I've got to tackle a couple of assignments for the job network I go to. I'm not good on bigging myself up but.
I'll try and tackle that, then get the forms for the mystery shopper job out of the way and posted. Then I can sit and tackle the practise transcribing for the Lancashire OPC. I went to the op-shops and managed to get back the books I'd donated for Excel and Access and I have to try and get this fuzzy dizzy head round all that. This is me being lazy by the way - after my triple by-pass I had to be literally forced to rest while my friends cleaned for me, I moved off the sofa and there was always one of them spying on me. The inner cleaner got really wound up over that, but luckily the inner slattern came to her rescue.  I am hoping she will surface this weekend and allow me to rest.


Jan

Thanks for the hugs Cuz

I was thinking of taking a day off from the ancestors.......................

.....................well I thunk about it, deleted the very long post I made first thing this morning and I'm just taking a breather from cleaning walls and ceiling.  I have to see the dietician this arvy - do you think it would be possible to lose 2 kgs by then, Nooooo, I didn't think so.

I wrote a very long and weighty piece this morning about relatives losing touch with each other even when they live in the same place, even the next street. I asked mum about this and she said each family kept to themselves, there was lots of fallings out over silly piddling things, there was no big scandal that she could remember, just petty squabbles. It seems such a shame now. I have uncles and an aunt that live still in the area their ancestors came from and cousins living near by yet they know nothing of them (or choose not to).

Rereading the original piece I wrote this morning I felt it was way too heavy for a simple craft blog. All those names on that family tree - we share a common ancestor, we have genes added to the pool from other places, we are all individual, we make choices, we move away from the pack. Sometimes the grass isn't always greener but it might be mowed and weed free and occassionally the view is great. There is so much in this lifetime for us to get wrapped up in, so many opportunities to occupy our minds and time with other things that there doesn't seem time to keep up with the reli's and before you know they are gone.  Families are not just for christmas and easter you know.  I am lucky that the people I am close to are family orientated, I have a large extended family full of in-laws and outlaw and I have wonderful new cousins who I feel I have known forever.  I am lucky that through the internet I am able to keep up with the family in the UK using Facebook.  I don't know why my mothers family grew apart and I wish I had stayed in contact other than christmas cards. 
So, phone a reli today, hug a reli today, be a good reli today.

Jan

Ami photo shoot

Here are a few ami's and bears that I have left.  I forgot to go to the yarn shop this morning - Bumped into a friend and we got stuck talking about family history, as we chatted her hubby had finished the shopping, gone through the check out and packed everything away into their car.  I finished the cross stitch. Now I'm going to catch up with the housework now Matts gone off to Taekwando for a few hours. Dinner is leftover spicy sausage casserole with garlic bread and pasta.

Jan

Playing with piccys

I am soooo bored.  I've been playing with my piccys. I know I've posted this little bear before but here she is again only multiplied.  I should make more. I was playing with colour changes and she looks quite nice as a varigated green colour and an orange colour.  Neither of which I have and I think I made this one up as I went along and didn't write the pattern down. Once the mittens are finished I might make a couple more bears up and see how they look.  I can work out how many stitches etc, its not rocket science and with amigurumi's the weirdier the better.

skeletons in the cupboard

Oh boy and what a nasty evil one it is too.   Most of the Australians I have spoken to about tracing their british ancestors are always eager to find a criminal amongst their ranks and they are quite proud of this.  I unfortunately have a fourth cousin just discovered that is a very nasty piece of work. I have discovered more of my nans family and have filled in a few more holes - they have william dying in 1900 as well Norma and don't know much about him.

I googled the family name and came up with a report of a murder trial of a young man with the same name, a horrible murder. He's just been given 23 years.  This was before my new cousin in the UK told me one of 'our' lot had just got 23 years.  Put two and two together and we have one evil evil man.

I'll have to go and immerse myself in getting this cross stitch finished to get rid of the nasty taste this discovery has left. 

Creature from the black lagoon

This is my latest project, as soon as I saw it in a vintage Aunt Lydia's yarn book I just knew I had to make it. What style, how cute. My grandbubs would love it - what kid wouldn't.  Okay so I'm joshing with you. I have posted this little horror before over on Rantings a few years ago. It looks like something out of a B grade horror movie - swamp monster or The Thing that crawled out of grannys knitting bag.  Its got to be the ugliest looking toy ever made. Now I've left you with the prospect of nightmares I'm off to put the bins out.

Oh Yes Norma, its like bread making - punching out that dough LOL.

Another beautiful day today, despite the fact I had to pay part of my council rates.  I treated myself to marshmallow choccy eggs on special at Spar in commiseration at parting with all that money.  The choccy must have given me energy - I sailed through the ironing and ripped a few weeds out as well. Finished the gloves last night and started on some mittens. Something not to taxing on the old grey cells.

I've got till thursday to finish off the cross stitch. Don't think I'll be starting the rose this time round.

Jan

Didn't get one thing at the garage sales and the new second hand shop was hopeless as well, though it did have some very nice vintage clothes in.

This morning I had a lie-in, then fired up by the beautiful blue skies I went off to market. A friend has a stall there so I hung out with her for an hour.  I wanted plants but the plant people weren't there.  I've got the house to myself for a while. Might do some meditation since the house is quiet. Everybody mowed this morning, whippersnippers going off all over the place - making the most of the good weather.  So now its peaceful I might just chill out.

I've got 5 Sue Grafton books to read and a couple of other novels. Plus I started knitting more fingerless gloves last night, just got half of the second one to do and thats it, might knit some mittens nexts. It doesn't get cold enough really here to warrant gloves but I'm sure I'll find good homes for them. I just can't sit and watch tele without something in my hands and I need to use up some of the yarn stash.

I don't do a lot of the needlefelting Norma, it does get rid of a bit of tension - stabbing bits of wool into things with a very sharp needle (which also hurts like hell if you stab yourself).  I haven't tried wet felting yet, though it is on the very long list of things to learn.

Jan

Day 3 - SouseLob

The Lobby is no more, as predicted Matt came in last night and dived into what was left with the last of the crusty bread.  So I can claim a success, it will go down on the list as comfort food. He didn't complain that it wasn't spicy enough (the celery leaves gave it just a little peppery bite) or that it looked disgusting. He listened when I told him about the ancestors coming home from downT'pit who would have been grateful for the meal he'd just had and sometimes thats all they had day after day.

Guess what we had as dessert..............christmas pudding and custard.  I found the last of the damm things at the back of the freezer (I won 3 puddings in 3 different raffles). THis one was the smallest so it should be gone by tomorrow. 

I should really craft today, I felted a knitted square and want to embellish it with a bit of needlefelting and embroidery. Its just a practice piece but I want to make it into a coffee plunger cosy. I need to finish off the cross stitch flowers and make a start on the rose one.  I've gone two days without doing 20 mins a day.

These are the practise piece needlefelted hearts, the biggest is about 4 inches tall.  I bought some hand dyed roving from a lady that spins and dyes her own wool. 

Should I go garage saling today, I want to but the lethargy is setting in. Its a beautiful day today, the rain has gone and the sky is the most beautiful blue, I have enough petrol in the car was a 50 klm round trip, come on girl, think of all the 'pretties' that are out there, thats it hit the publish button, come on you know you can do it, thats it, a little bit further

ScouseLob - Day 1 and Day 2

There are actually quite a few recipes for 'Lobby' as it was known in our house. Its amazing what you get when you google ScouseLob - its where the term Scousers (meaning Liverpudlians comes from).  The history of it is too much to go into here but it is interesting.

All I did for this one was use diced lamb (HeartSmart of course), but gravy beef or skirt which are all cuts suitable for long slow cooking are just as good. Tradionally it was left over meat and whatever veggies you had to hand.
This is Day 1 (8th April)

Antipodean ScouseLob

Half a kilo of meat  - Lamb or Beef - cut in chunks
3 or 4 large potatoes - some chopped small and some chunky (after the long slow cooking the smaller tatties will break down to thicken the gravy
2 large onions - chopped not too fine and not too big
3 carrots - prepared the same way as tatties
1 small swede  "         "        "     "    "     "
Sweet potato - I used half of a gold one. prepared as above (Not traditional I know before the purists jump on me)
olive oil (personal preference) Use your normal method of browning meat
Salt and pepper
Rosemary
parsley
Chopped up celery leaves (These have a taste similar to Parsley, a bit peppery) Optional.
Worcestershire sauce (Again - same comment as for the sweet potato)
Vegetable or lamb stock, I made enough up (Shop-bought liquid stock and added water)

Brown the meat in a large pan with a little oil

Add onions and gently cook till soft, add the chopped veggies and cook for a few mins, do not let burn, keep stirring.
Add the seasonings. herbs, worcestershire sauce and the stock. There should be enough stock to cover everything in pan.

Bring to boil, put the lid on pan and turn down the heat to lowest setting. It should just be simmering gently.
It should have at least 2 hours cooking time, Stir occassionally to check it isn't sticking to bottom of pan.
The constistancy should be thick and sludgy (sounds disgusting) but that is personal preference and it could be more souply if you like (Don't think thats a real word but I like it).  Mine cooked for 3 and half hours, with the lid off and the heat turned up slightly for the last half hour.  Serve with fresh crusty bread and pickled red cabbage.

Tradionally (well in our family) the meal was added to each day, more potaties, more carrots etc. It certainly tastes better 24 hours after cooking. The remains usually ended up being put into pies.

I think a lot of  Northern regional areas had their own versions.  Some say it had to be lamb others say Beef.
I wouldn't put anything other than the stated veggies in it. Definately not celery (apart from the chopped leaves and that is my own preference), definately no garlic (Boy, was that hard not to use - I stick in everything), no capsicums or zuchinni. 

Now it has Welsh connections, Lancashire and Liverpudlian as well and since I have found out I have both Welsh and Liverpool Ancestors as well as the Lancashire ones its definately 'an old family recipe'.


DAY 2 (9th April)

Half a pan left - Added more celery leaves, 2 more potatoes and an oxo cube. There a few pieces of meat left so they should break up even more to flavour everything.

Enjoy

Look at my 'prettys'

On the way back to the car I decided to call in at the op-shop, so glad I did. Since I have been very good and not had one bit of choccy over easter I treated myself to the ceramic tray, its about 12 inches long and PINK.  I'd eyed up the little spoons last time I was in and at 50c for the four it was a bargain. Not sure wether they are egg spoons, they are smaller than a teaspoon. 

I've been busy all day, all I have to do next door is and I'll do that first thing in the morning, my son came round to clear all the tree debris from the weekend he cleared for me, now I can see whats to be done in the garden. I wish this infernal drizzle would clear up so I can mow.

I've cooked up scouselob for dinner tonight, an old family favourite resurrected from the archives.  Its been simmering away for about 3 hours and smell delicious, lets hope it tastes like the one granny used to make.

Jan

The men in white coats will be here soon.............

My wonderful new cousins will be seriously thinking about cutting me out of the family tree after this. Well at least now they know which side the insanity runs in.

........and I wasn't even thinking of the ancestors when I did it.  There I was making breakfast, thinking about fitting everything into the my day, I have a meeting to attend, I have to shop, I have paperwork to do, I have to finish the cleaning job. Here there and everywhere today. I put my coffee and sugar in my cup, put the jug on to boil and got out the cornflakes. It was only when I poured the water into my coffee cup I realised what I had done - the soggy looking cornflakes floating to the top of the cup gave the game away.  In another life I might have thought - oh well, it all ends up in the same place and eaten coffee flavoured cornflakes.  What a start to the day.
I had a lousy nights sleep, the dreaded night sweats have started again.  I did four suduko puzzles in between tossing and turning, tried to read, then the legs cramps kicked in.  The poor dog got fed up with being kicked off the bed so many times. 

I didn't craft yesterday, I did pick up a needle and thread though so that should count, even if it wasn't for me and was just 'normal' sewing. 15 mins before he had to go out my son informs me I had sewn the stripe on his martial arts belt in the wrong place. I remember asking him exactly where it had to go. 'Sons',  no matter how old they get (he's 22) they will always be a pain in the rear end.

Jan

I got the job

Two posts in one day, I'm on a roll.

I've just had a phone interview for the mystery shopper job and I got it. I can fit it in with whatever I am doing, you choose where and when you work and the areas.  I have a cleaning job as well this week. Perhaps yelling at the universe that I was not happy at what it was handing out to me worked after all.
So far this morning I've defrosted and cleaned the freezer, done all the washing, put yesterdays washing away and I'm going to make a start on cleaning next doors holiday home. 

Jan

Look what I found under the Bed

.........apart from all that dust, spiders and an overdue library book.

These little treasures.  I collect pin dishes and mustard pots with the occassional egg coddler thrown in. I must have put them away after a massive clean up. So now I have to rearrange everything in the wall displays to fit them all in. 

A friend was also having a clear out and had a few of these cups and saucers so she asked if I would like one. I love the strong bold colours. I'm not sure whether the red was supposed to go with the blue saucer, but I like the match whether or not it does.

After cleaning out the laundry broom cupboard I finally found a use for all those shower curtain rings I don't use.

Better nip off now and go get dressed, I've excelled myself this morning. Just read Norma's comment so I suppose I'd better go take my meds as well.

Well I'm still here, didn't die in the night - I'd forgotten to take my heart pills for three days cos I was so engrossed in my new obsession and then I found I'd run out of them and I'd lost the new script, which wouldn't have done me any good anyway even if I hadn't lost it.since it was Easter and the chemists were all closed.  Cost me $25 for a quick in out visit to the docs to get a new script,  I hadn't even got my bum on the seat before he'd got it printed out, he asked a couple of quick questions, did my blood pressure and that was it. It usually only costs $16 if you are ordering a script but they've changed the rules and you have to see a doctor. I wouldn't mind but I was only there just over 10 days ago and that cost me $50, with the medications I've spent nearly a $100 on the docs, I got  a bit back on Medicare.
There isn't any doctors around here that bulk-bill Medicare so we have to pay up front. My own docs usually quite good if she knows I'm strapped for cash, she will waive the fee.  Doesn't happen very often and I'm grateful when it does. Just glad I have acess to great health care and can afford it.

I'm still doing my 20 mins a day, its moving me a little bit forward getting everything finished before I start on anything else.  I renewed my library book with the gorgeous crossstitch flower designs in it and I'm now doing anemones.  Nearly finished and I think that might be it though if I have the book for another week it might just give me time to do a rose one.

Because of my new obsession and equally my old obsession I have dragged out the slow cooker, got a beef curry cooking away in no time and now I don't feel guilty when my son comes home and I'm either sat at the puter digging up my great great great great granny or sat buddha like on the lounge room chairs, surrounded by coloured threads with needle  poised over fabric - just one more ancestor and I'll cook dinner, just wait till I get to the end of this thread and I'll make a start on dinner.  I long for the days when I am on my own and only me to worry about, I can spread myself all over the place with no-one to whinge about needles in the chairs or bits of paper covered in names scattered all over the dining table. 

The Skeat family tree is getting like an octopus,  arms everywhere. I just wish all my grandparents hadn't died young, I just wish we had had more contact with the reli's that we did have while we had them.  But we were strangers and for some reason outsiders.

Jan

So now all the excitement of the last two days has sort of died down a little, its time to start getting back to normal.  Well as normal as this household gets anyway.  The weathers wet and miserable again so gardening is out. My youngest and his girlfriend turned up yesterday and I managed to get him to finish trimming off the trees behind the shed. So now I have this mountain of branches in the middle of the back lawn.  I might potter on the verandah and repot some plants up.
I'm still managing to do 20 mins a day craft, I finished my gloves last night. I got a pair out of one ball of Carnival Soft yarn, its just under $3 a ball so thats not bad.  I think with these and the wool pair I did last year I should be right for the next few years, considering how often we get really cold weather they will not get a lot of wear. I still want to do another pair of socks, masochistic I know.
I need to finish the cross stitch I started the other week. What I really need to do is finish the ufo's that have crept up again before I start anything new. 
I want to start on my new embroidery project, not sure yet wether it will suit prim naive or the more traditional embroidery, perhaps somewhere in betweeen. I love jacobean/crewel work but it can be time consuming on a large design and I love thread painting but that will definately be too time consuming for what I have planned.  I can see two designs coming up now and sitting here at the puter is not going to get them down on paper. I will probably keep putting if off and making excuses like I normally do.  As I am typing away a couple more ideas have sprung up but I really don't want to go there - Applique. 
I'll make a start my sharpening my pencils and rescuing my colours from the grandgirls toy corner.  The desk in the craft room has to be cleared as well, but that means all my threads have to be sorted and put back and that means I might as well finish the cross stitch first and a couple of embroideries. See.....I managed to find that excuse not to make a start on the new project.
I'm trying very hard not to jump into Family Search today.  It is so tempting to just go look for one more clue in my search for the ancestors.  I need to find confirmation on one of my great great grandfathers I think I have finally found.  Its a wonderful feeling finding someone from your past and when you find LIVE reli's its even better no matter how distant the common ancestor is that you share. 
Should I or should I not go garage saling today, theres only two down in the paper.  I would need to put petrol in the car first, and theres a new second hand place just opened up on the edge of town as well I want to check out. Do I ignore the bills piling up, do I ignore that voice of reason that was so good when it came to not going to the Spotlight sale, but what if I miss that elusive bargain of the century I've been searching for, that perfect piece.  Grrrrrrrrrrrr.................


Jan

End of March already

Where has the time gone.  Not much happening craft wise. I seem to have slowed down though I do still do my 20 mins a day.  Easter just like christmas has crept up on me.  It not something we really make a fuss of. Maybe I will have the family round for lunch on Sunday, depending on my mood. I'm not feeling very sociable at the moment.  I'm in my grumpy old woman mode. 
I want to lock myself away from the world and just craft away to my hearts content, no stopping to cook meals or talk to friends. No cleaning or shopping. Its not going to happen so I might as well 'suck it up and deal with it Princess' as my friend would say.
I whizzed round the supermarket this morning, making chimichangas for dinner tonight. Got everything I needed and more while I was there.  I'm going to put the meat on now so it will be cooked enough to shred later.  Then I'm going to find a couple more ancestors to add to my family tree and then settle down while the meat is cooking to an hour of crafting. I have the house to myself for the first time in ages so I am taking advantage of it.


Jan

NEW SHOES

Since I was so determined I was going to come home with a new pair of shoes I practically tried on every size 6 - 7 in the shop.  The pretty trainers with the rose print on were too tight so that was a big disappointment.   To me the shoes that RIVERS sell are a bit quirky, but I decided that quirky was okay - suits me down to the ground in my present mood. So I got a pair reminiscent of little girl shoes. I've always shied away from them in the past but yesterday I bit the bullet and tried something new.  I also got a skirt, a pretty brown swirly skirt with beads and embroidery on, reduced to $29 from $59.  The op-shops turned out to be a big disappoint as far as rose themed items went. Not one thing. So I bought 2 pretty shirts and a cute little pot bunny.  I also bought a cotton overshirt that had aged very well, the faded colour blending perfectly. At a $1 I thought it was a good buy and I plan to do a little surface embroidery around the neckline, nothing too pretty as it isn't a pretty shirt.  I bought a new handle and lock for the bathroom door - no more yelling out to visitors - Put the big wooden duck behind the door.  Now all I have to do is find a capable man to fit it for me.  Actually I am probably quite capable of fitting it myself.

If I don't get new shoes today I will Scweam

and I'll scweam and I'll scweam and stamp my feet.

Yesterdays trip to Mareeba was cancelled yet again, my son turned up at my friends early in the morning to do her mowing and pruning and since we had been nagging and nagging him to do it and the weather was perfect we cancelled our shopping trip.  If we had been younger and fitter I suppose we could have gone in the afternoon but by then it was 90 degrees and neither of us fancied the journey and shopping in that heat.
So today we are going to be two determined little old ladies. We will get there, come rain or shine.
We've given ourselves a project - paint our garden pots, so we're going to the second hand shops to see what they have we could use as pots. Then the op-shops and then we'll end up at the store where hopefully we will have money left for shoes. 
I have given myself a challenge today - to buy 4 rose themed items and not spend over $5 for the lot.  I am so in need of 'pretty' in my life.  Having three boys and a husband who wasn't into frilly and pretty (though to give him his due he did like fossiking around op-shops and garage sales with me) I was overrun with masculine things. So now I only have one son at home I can gradually start prettying things up.  I am hoping that all the prettiness will get to him and he'll move out. Aren't I a horrible mother.

Well better get a move on, pots to wash, clothes to hang, shower, get dressed and prepared for a big shopping trip.

janjan

midnite ramblings

Why was I, at just gone midnight frantically vacumming. I'd had my UK crime fix - The Bill, Blue Murder and then an episode of Midsomer Murders I don't remember seeing before so it just gone midnight when the tele went off. I walked into the bedrooom and there suspended about a foot over the bed was a big spider, closer inspection revealed it had made a web from the top shelf in the wardrobe down to a bed post back up to the ceiling back down to the diagonally opposite bedpost back up to the ceiling and then to each of the other bedposts and was proceeding to weave a gigantic web over the bed.  I did briefly consider sleeping on the sofa but as the vacumm was still on the bedroom floor I set to, the spider fell onto the bed and went under the cushions, I was waving the vacumn around in the air trying to get as much of the web up as I could, the spider tried to haul itself up what must have been an emergency line and I homed in on it.  Just in case it had a mate it was weaving the web for I ended up vacumming all the nooks and crannys and then spraying surface spray all around with one quick last spray up the hose of the vacumn (I wasn't going to let the little pest creep out and get me in the night) Sod the ozone layer just this once, there was no way I was going to sleep there unless I knew I wasn't going to be attacked by a giant spider.  When I finally got to sleep it was very fitful, every little itch woke me and I was looking around for spiders.

The day started off sunny but its just gone overcast, so I'm not going to work in the garden today, I've decided to have a lazy day (I really mean it this time).  I finished the primula cross stitch and have started on crocuses. I went in to town yesterday to get more threads, came home made a start on it and then went back to town for some plant pots and potting compost. I potted up some Cordylines and Mother in Laws tongue.  M.I.L's tongue has just been declared a noxious weed in Queensland just when I've finally got it growing well in a garden bed, so I dug it up and potted it in a big terracotta pot.  I moved pots around on the verandah and made a nice little sitting area.  I did the washing, folded and put away everything.  So today nothing really needs doing. 

So now I'm going to go and continue being lazy.


Jan

NO NEW SHOES

My friend was feeling under the weather again, so I decided we'd leave it till Monday as I didn't want to go over to Mareeba by myself. It was our planned girls day out.

I decided to go grocery shopping instead and feeling energetic I decided to walk beforehand and check out all the op-shops. Parking spaces opened up for me just as I got to them, roads cleared of traffic just as I wanted to cross over. I found a nice pair of pants in one shop with a blue ticket half price sale - that meant only $3, but there was another ticket on it for $3 so she halved that, so I got them for 1.50.  I had ditthered over buying a t-shirt in Millers last week it was marked down in the sale to $8 from $20 I couldn't decide between the pink or green and I finally decided on the pink, but in the op-shop today they had the green one, never worn for $3.  Then I went to another op-shop and got a vintage crochet pattern book for 20c.
I walked back to the car and went to the store and got a parking space straight away - under the shade cover and facing forward.  The day got even better when i was unpacking the grocerys and found I hadn't been charged for the chicken breasts.  Considering how many times I've been overcharged I reckon we're even.  My son was even in a happy mood as there is the chance of getting on a training scheme.  I got on the scales and I've lost half a kilo. So, can this day get any better.

EASY DAY - YEH RIGHT

Why do we do it. What is it with us women. When we say we're going to do nothing and have an easy day why don't we mean it.  What we really mean an easy day on top of all the things we do to run a household anyway. The washing, the ironing, the putting away, then the thinking up meals, the shopping, the preparing a meal. Weeding the garden, dusting, cleaning out cupboards, decluttering, vacumming.  Are we so afraid that if someone comes and says 'and what did you do today' and you reply "oh I had an easy day today" that they are gonna look around the place and say"yep, it sure looks like it".  I'm long since past caring about that.  But whenever I say I'm going to have an easy day I seem to find extra energy to get big jobs done.  Perhaps an easy day for me is one where I can get extra jobs done - but at my leisure. If I want to pull everything out of the cupbaords and then go and sit down for 20 mins stitching then I can. If I want to leave the vacumm in the middle of the room till I get a fresh burst of energy to finish then I will.  Which is exactly what I did yesterday.
Though leaving the vacumm in the bedroom doorway wasn't such a good idea as I forgot it was there at bedtime and went flying.

But today - its an easy day.  Shoe shopping. Theres  big shoe sale over in Mareeba and thats where a friend and I are headed in about an hour.  Which means I better get a wriggle on and get showered and dressed.


Jan

EASY DAY TODAY

The worst thing about laundry is that just as soon as you fold it, put it away there it is back in the washing machine.  I tackled the mountain of clean clothes early this morning and sorted it all out and then put it all away.
Yesterday we managed to get out to my friends garden - WOW. She's been busy, its an amazing place, we felt like we were touring round a botanical garden. We managed to get a few cuttings as well.  When I got home my son had mowed and just left a little for me to do.
Today I think I'm going to take it easy, quielty cross stitiching, maybe read a little. Tomorrow we're going over to Mareeba to see a another friend and do some retail therapy.  This week has been really busy and its nearly the weekend again. Where is the time going.

The wine never got opened I got so stuck into cross stitching I nearly missed Greys and then continued to stitch while it was on.  Should finish it today.  Trying to get out to my friends place again today but it looks like the rain has settled in for the day. Not much fun out in the rainforest when its wet and damp.

The laundry cupboard badly needs sorting out and theres a great big pile of clean washing to sort and maybe one or two things to iron.  I need another big project. Perhaps I'll dig out a couple of ufo's and see if I can get them finished.  A couple of rose ones I started when Mik was still alive so its about time they were done and dusted. My yarn box needs a good sort out yet again.  So if I clean out the laundry cupboard I'll reward myself with 30 mins in the craft room.

Jan

I finally did it

Big sigh of relief. The dolls pattern is all finished and sent off for submission. Now we play the waiting game.
It took all day - to retype out, triple check, add the photo's. I refused to leave the computer until I had hit that send button.  I don't think I had lunch and I've only had one coffee today. So I deserve a proper coffee for all that hard work.  Actually I have a bottle of wine chilling but I'm going to save that for Greys Anatomy later tonight.  My son cooked a beef casserole for dinner which was very edible, unfortunately he left me the washing up to do. 
So now I'm going to settle down to do a bit of cross stitching.

Vicky, if you go over to my other blog I've done the first installment of our move to australia, I know you wanted to hear more.

Jan

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