What you missed.

In all fairness and accuracy,

that should be "What I didn't share with you"

(Kina cardigan and vintage sheet skirt)

I have been knitting and sewing as usual

but haven't gotten around to blogging the results.
Pretty much due to apathy on my part.

(Farbenmix Amelie)

(Farbenmix Leni)

Today, as I am packing for an 8 hour road trip,

which will be with good company, some knitting,

and hopefully lots of coffee and op shops,

ending up at a sewing/craft weekend with some lovely ladies,

I thought I'd do what they do on telly.

Provide filler.

(Farbenmix Quiara)


(Japanese dress)

I don't feel too bad as I am not recapping.

You know, how you come back from an ad break and spend the next 5 minutes going over
what you watched in the last 5 minutes of the show.

I am merely showing you things that I prepared earlier.

...Think of it as the good parts of Masterchef
without than all the padding and crap...

(Pink Fig Girly skirts)

(Flirting the Issue skirt- Anna Maria Horner)

You know, I don't want this to be the end of my sewing journey.
I don't feel that it's my time to stop blogging now.
I think it is my chance to show what I can really do with a needle and thread
and a kilogram of truffles and lard.

Oops. Sorry. Got carried away channelling my inner- reality TV show contestant.

Hopefully when I return,

I will be refreshed in mind and in spirit

(though not body- there will be lack of sleep and an excess of coffee, chocolate and wine)

(Amy Butler Barcelona skirts)

Hopefully I will be keen to blog and write and

able to keep up with life again.

(Lady Kina cardigan)

(Milo vest- Georgie Hallam)


(Ripple beret- Wendy Bernard)

In short, I'll be back to annoy you soon.
Have a great weekend.

It's not just a saying. They really do grow up too quickly.

This year the baby in the family exchanged nappies for undies.
This year she swapped the Wiggles for Dora.
This year she left kindergym behind for kindergarten.
This year she went from 3 to 4.
This year she went from a little girl to, as she will tell you,
 "I am four and I am a big girl now"

I do miss my little girl, my last toddler.

But my big girl is adventurous, entertaining, funny and lovable.
She is increasingly independent but
she still hugs me, tells me that she loves me
and calls for me when she is hurting or having bad dreams.
As long as she does those things,
I can cope with her growing up.

Happy birthday, gorgeous girl.


"We mothers are learning to mark our

mothering success by our daughters'
lengthening flight"

 Letty Cottin Pogrebin

Escaping with Johnny Depp.

(A girl can dream, can't she?)

(movies.about.com)

What is better than getting to ogle Johnny Depp for a couple of hours?

(top10movie.com)



That would be getting to ogle him in 3D...

In the comfort of Gold Class cinema...

With a mojito in hand.

Tough life and all that.

(thespotlightreport.wordpress)

My, can that man carry off a heavy application of eyeliner.

(And, as with the previous POTC movies,

do sit through the (let me tell you- very long) credits for the teensy scene at the end that always follows)

The birds and the bees...and the spiders.

When our spider first set up residence a few months back,

I talked to the kids about spiders and webs

and wildlife in our suburban garden.



When she started getting fatter and then one night laid an egg sac,

we talked about spiderlings, predators and Charlotte's Web.

(footnote- thank goodness she didn't do a "Charlotte" and curl up her toes
after making her sac! My 6 year old still holds me accountable for reading that book
to them)

When she promptly started swelling again,

we talked about natural selection and mortality in baby spiders

and whether girl spiders really eat boy spiders after making babies.

Now she has laid her second egg sac and has promptly started swelling up again.

This week we will be talking about wanton promiscuity, the need for better education about birth control
and whether a one-spiderling policy is called for.

Next week we will watch an earthworm...or a slug.
That's got to be safe......right?

As luck would have it.

Anyone will tell you it is the men in my family that have all the luck.

We aren't talking "winning-first-division-in-lotto" type of luck

but if there is a meat tray to be won, my dad or my pop would be in with favourable odds.

Every now and then my planets align and I seem,

 in spite of my  lack of a Y chromosome,

to have a bit of a run of good luck.

No, sadly, still not the "winning-first-division-in-lotto" type

but, in the past months,

 definately the

"win-an-Ikea-food-hamper" sort of luck

and "win-a-slow-cooker-for-Mother's-Day" type of luck.
(Let me tell you-
an Ikea food hamper is oh, so, good)

Winning the blog giveaways of two of my favourite blogging ladies

capped off a fortunate couple of months.

Beki over on the other side of the world

generously posted out this fabulous book Down Under.

 

My kids (and I) will love it.

Tania is amazingly talented and her parcel was a joy to behold.

I have coveted her tea towels for yonks.

Such beautiful , beautiful morsels.

And Tania, I know exactly where I am putting that tattoo!

My 6 year old son, who doesn't colour in with exceptional talent

but does colour in with an exceptional amount of love,

keeps winning colouring competitions.

But maybe the luck hasn't completely skipped the women after all.

Thank you, Beki and Tania, for such fabulous giveaways!

I'm just on a coffee break.

(theboardroombistro.com)

I have not felt like blogging this past week.

The cold weather has set in,

I seem to have a never-ending and ever-increasing "to do" list at the moment,

I am sewing and knitting but not wanting to say much about it

and I am generally not feeling very inspired to blog.

I am not far away.

Just here, pottering,

drinking an every increasing amount of coffee

as the days get colder and shorter.

Which was OK yesterday when I was told that consuming 4 cups a day will stave off Alzheimer's Disease.

Not so good today when I have been told that it is the most likely factor to

rupture any brain aneurysm you may have.

I think that I would rather be awake and artificially hyped and energised,
 taking that calculated small risk,

compared to being naturally grumpy and lethargic but with my brain vessels intact.

I think I'll go and boil the kettle and make myself another cup of coffee

while I think about it.



(It is worth noting that sex, blowing your nose, getting angry and straining on the loo

as well as drinking cola or strenuous exercise are also factors that increase the likely rupture of an aneurysm.

Thankfully most of these activities are not things you would do all the same time

or else you might be in real trouble)

Nature Series: Natural predators- part 5

The natural predator of the at-home Zumba enthusiast

is Felis catus.

My money is soooooo on the Zumba enthusiast....

Freak. Me. Out.

My thinking this week has gone like this:

"Oh, hubby needs a new car.

Yes, certainly does.

The old one is literally falling apart at the seams.

So we need a little run around for city driving. For his work.

Needs 4 doors though. Better for the kids getting in and out when they use the car.

Which model? Which is best for the environment?

New or second hand?

Most importantly- what colour?

Does it need to beep going backwards? Beep when you go overspeed?

Beep when you get another grey hair?

Well, we want it to last a long. long time.

Really, we don't want the super-zippy model-

'cos this will be the car that we will be teaching our kids to drive in."

...

...

...

Sorry?

Say that again?

This will be the car that we will be teaching our kids to drive in.

O.M.G.

(yesterdaytodaytomorrow-michellet.blogspot.com)

My oldest is nearly 8.

Another 8 years and yep, he will be learning to drive.

Given how fast the past 8 years have gone,

I can honestly say I find the time line a little unsettling.

I am still stopping him from using words and phrases like "stupid"

and "poo poo head" (losing the battle I must say) 

Yet it will be no time at all that I will probably be relieved that he is only using the "s" word

and not the "f" or "c" word.

I am telling him now that those "girl germs" that he finds so repulsive now

will be the cause of his teenage broken heart

(and some other, dare I say nicer feelings)

in the future.

I feel like I have spent the best part of 8 years getting him to eat solids (even green vegetable ones),

aim when using the toilet and believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy.

In another 8 years, all that hard work will be out the window.

I am telling him...no, daddy is telling him a few boy basics.

I can't even think about male teenage hygiene without feeling faint
and wondering if there is some adult education course that would cover such things.

Then there are those other teenage things...

like hormones, a belief in their own immortality,

hormones, peer pressure, hormones, not wanting to acknowledge their parents' existance,...

In 8 years, my first baby will be trying to start making decisions

as to which direction he wants to go with the rest of his life.

I don't think that I read the fine print of parenthood

before getting myself up the duff.

The fine print might well have told me how fast life would  move

once children were involved.

It might also well have told me that I would be signing up

to give driving lessons.

Well and truly freaked out.

(hutnyk.wordpress.com)

Quote of the Week

(beautycv.co.za)



Three year old to her ever-increasingly-thinning-out-on-top father:

"Daddy, you need to go to the hairdresser

and get some more hair"

Out of the mouth of babes...

"Ze Wagon Wheel. Eat ze Wagon Wheel"

Remember those ads?

Those commercials are some of my all-time favourites.

I have to say that Wagon Wheels are one of my all-time favourite treats.

Making them is quite easy, quite messy
 and quite fun.

It is a perfect "cooking with children" recipe.
The work isn't too delicate,
there aren't any precise measurements
and, most importantly,

they get covered in chocolate and get to lick their fingers.

The end result is a bit like eating home made mashed potato and gravy

amd comparing it to the KFC variety.

They don't taste the same

but they are both fabulous in their own right.

(Please don't email me to tell me that KFC potato and gravy

isn't a real food. I know that.

But it does taste good)

Recipe: Wagon Wheels

(I didn't use as much marshmallow or jam- they were rich as it was.

I also didn't use 100s and 1000s.

Why would you put 100s and 1000s on a Wagon Wheel?)