I want to feel giddy.

(webnob.jp)

I have said before that,

apart from the inexorable progression towards death,

I am comfortable with getting older.

I am 44 next month

which I guess pretty much places me in the "mid forties" category.

It doesn't mean much more to me than turning 43 did.

I have more grey hairs, 

I am a bit more saggier and baggier than last year,

and I suspect, judging by the increased effort required by my knees for some Zumba moves,

my joints certainly feel like like they are 44,
if not older.

But you know what?

I am missing those giddy feelings.

Those feelings of your tummy churning, your heart racing,

maybe your cheeks flushing as you breathe a little bit faster.
I am not talking about menopausal feelings.

I am talking about those times where, at least just for a moment, you feel just so happy to be alive

and that all is good with the world.

They are different for everyone.

Sometimes they are big moments.
Sometimes just tiny ones.

That moment  when someone you had a crush on held your hand
or someone you loved kissed you

for the very first time.

The day you opened the envelope to find good exam results

or the offer for that job that you really wanted.

The time you stood at the top of the bridge ready to bungee jump.

That first glimpse of your spouse-to-be on your wedding day.

The time you finally found the best coffee gelati in the world. 

The moment you shared with your partner when that little baby arrived in your life.

Those giddy times are often first times.

But I have realised recently how much less frequent they are as you get older.

Weeing on a stick and waiting to see if you really have a little person growing inside you makes you giddy

but taking a sample to check your bowel health isn't.

Writing the guest list for your 21st or your wedding day fills you with oh-so-much anticipation.

but designing invites for your 50th birthday isn't quite as euphoric.

Breast-feeding your little one at 2am when the rest of the world seems to be asleep

fills your heart with love.

Helping your children deal with life and its stresses

fills you with worry.

A friend of mine,

a lady of similar age with young children,

has just been diagnosed with cancer.

I am pissed off with the world in general right now.

This is happening to someone young and someone who is one of the good people in this world

and it shits me at how unfair it is.

I have realised that there are going to be more times like this in my future

and that these moments are more than likely going become more frequent.

I know that there are still giddy times ahead.

A lot will be the firsts as a parent as my children grow and blossom
and make their own way, discover their own tummy-churning moments.

But they wont be so many of them
and they wont all be my own

and maybe they need to be sought out.

But I am going to embrace them and cherish each and every one of them.

Spam. Keeping life interesting.

From my in-box this week:

Dear Sir/Madam,

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We are really interested to start business relationship with your company so we can supply you best quality products with rock bottom prices to penetrate your local market.

Being a self manufacturer we can modify products as per your needs.  If you have any new design we welcome you, and will fulfill all of your needs under your target prices.

If you can give us a chance to be your suppliers we shell appreciate you, please feel free to write us all of your questions and inquiries.

Awaiting your earliest reply, thanks.

Kind Regards,

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Yes indeedy.

A whoooooole lotta chat about boxing and martial arts going on in this neck of  the woods.

...So I  was headed out with my kime bag the other day

when some idiot chototsu-ed me and I had to stop for a suwate and a kyeshi
before I hit him in the mata...

 

That should get the spammers excited...

Oh and the knitted scarf -for those of you who aren't here to discuss boxing and the like-

is Sugared Violets- Rose Beck- Rav here)

Love is...

(themorleyreport.com)

...never having to say that you are sorry

for biffing your husband over the head with a blunt instrument

when he asks you for your support in facing the dire reality of his first grey hair.

(that would be asking support from the same wife who stopped counting hers a few years back when she hit grey #735

and has been budgeting for hair dyes ever since)

Toughen up, princess.

The moonlighting navigator

When hubby and I travelled around Europe in an old Combie van in 2001,

I had not yet become a knitter.

He was designated driver and I was designated navigator.

No GPS or the like.

A good old fashioned map book and off we went.

Even without the distraction of crafting in the front passenger seat,

I will admit to a "few" uptight and I might say rather terse moments during those 7 months

when Mr Boozle had NFI where we were going

and neither did his navigator.

Who would have thought Lyon, France, could be such a pain in the butt to navigate?

This time around, Mr Boozle was again designated driver.

(Designated by me.

No way I was driving a 29 foot RV on the wrong side of hilly, windy roads

with 3 children in the back)

That left me to navigate.

Just me and the GPS from hell (but that is another story)

So I carefully chose a relatively mindless project for our recent RV holiday.

Just my favourite colours.

A simple repeating pattern.

No sharp needles with which to stab the driver in an impetuous moment of nagivation rage.

A crocheted blanket.

It filled in those driving hours and those quiet early morning hours.

(For some reason I was bright eyed and bushy tailed between 5 and 6 most mornings)

So I present...The evolution of My Very Excellent USA RV Adventure blanket.

(More on Rav here)

Las Vegas- Zion Canyon- Bryce Canyon- Capitol Reef- Canyonlands- Moab-Arches National Park- Mesa Verde- Canyon de Chelle- Petrified Forest National Park- Sedona- Grand Canyon National Park- Route 66- Las Vegas

I started the day that we picked up our RV

and finished the morning that we dropped it back.

The 4 hour car ride from Vegas to LA

was spent "therapeutically" darning in the ends.

Now if I can keep those sharp-clawed moggies away from it,

I have a blanket to keep me warm

and to remind me of an amazing holiday for years to come.

The bear is back from his travels...





...and so are we.

(More to follow once I have caught up on sleep and washing)

Bear necessities

Interesting priorities emerge as packing for an overseas holiday for a family of five

draws closer.

Mr Boozle is reaching for his bike riding gear as his first priority,

practically salivating at the thought

of tearing wildly down mountainsides in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon.

(Yes, we have travel insurance...

though I reckon there is a clause which prevents middle aged men hurting themselves

doing stupid things from making a claim)

Eldest of the Boozle offspring is working out which books will

give him the most hours of reading time

and how many we can put on an e-reader.

Middle Boozle child has been persuaded that his rock collection

is perhaps not needed,

which is more than I can say for the littlest,

who is, at this point in time, insisting on packing her maracas.

(As you do when you are five apparently)

My first packing priority,

even before knitting,

(Yes, let me repeat that:

Even. Before. Knitting)

is Jean Sibelius.

JS is a little bear that I bought from a Finnish kiosk in 1987

when I was an exchange student.

He is my travelling buddy.

My other travelling companions may fluctuate

but he is consistently by my side

(well, in my luggage)

He is a great companion.

Not too big, not too small.

Doesn't snore or fart or have toilet emergencies.

Doesn't complain about being snuck into hand luggage 

rather than getting his own seat.

Doesn't whinge or demand lollies or constantly ask

"Are we there yet?

He has climbed the Eiffel Tower and walked up to the Colosseum.

He has seen St Paul's cathedral and the gondolas in Venice.

He has seen Barcelona and the Norwegian Fjords.

Indeed, he has backpacked around Greece

and Combi-vanned around Europe.

He has been to numerous family visits home,

sewing weekends,

hospital visits,

school reunions.

You name it.

And, as a true cliche, he gets his photo taken whenever he comes across a famous land mark.

He has been photographed with the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Big Ben.

Amongst our (still yet to be sorted) 2001 overseas photos,

he was with us every step of the way.

So Jean Sibelius is my first priority.

He is out and waiting patiently.

Now, onto my knitting...

Meat for non-vegetarians

I wouldn't make a good vegetarian.

I am a butcher's daughter and I don't like mushrooms. 

Not a good start.

If you don't like meat recipes, look away now.

This is seriously good.

I used to make it a lot when hubby and I were D.I.N.K.S,

before we lost our enjoyment and passion for cooking

as seems to happen when you are needing to feed 3 children

and try to get at least 2 out of 3 of them to eat what you are cooking.

I am a have-to-have-precise-amounts of ingredients kind of gal

If you are too,
tough cheddar.

You will have to forgive me as this is a throw-in-to-taste recipe.

BEST EVER THAI BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Season Frenched (or not) lamb shanks with salt and pepper

then seal in a hot pan and remove.

(I don't use salt at this point as the later sauces 

cover any salt cravings)

Cook in a large pan:

chopped onions

chopped garlic

julienned ginger

whole chilli, sliced in half

chopped coriander roots

Stem of lemon grass, edge chopped

Add oyster sauce and ketjap manis

(lots)

(and then some more)

Return shanks to pot.

Add chicken stock and kaffir lime leaves.

Cover and cook an hour till tender

(I cook for hours.

I have tried this in a slow cooker and it doesn't work as well.

Best on the stove top)

Serve with rice (or even mashed spuds)

I serve with a side dish of stir fried healthy things 

like snow peas, capsicum, bok choy, baby corn etc.

Sorry that you can't photograph taste.

Lamb shanks are not the most photogenic food in the world.
They have a face only a mother shank could love

but man, they taste mighty fine.

Enjoy!

Green.

Unpicking seams and re-sewing a green op shop dress so that it fits.

Knitting more hats.

(Rikke hat- Sarah Young. Rav'd here)

Finally finishing a green skirt cut out months ago.

(Nicole Mallalieu's A Line skirt.

Fabulous pattern)

Sewing granny squares instead of crocheting them for a change.

(Ottobre women's tee 303)

Wearing my hat-that-looks-suspiciously-like-a-snail-having-a-snooze-on-my-head.

Cos everyone needs a hat that looks like a snail, right?

(Slouchy beehive hat- Flora Cheung- Rav'd here.)

Making clothes for holidays in the American desert.

(Hot Pattern's Cool, Calm and Cowl necked top)

Knitting a green jumper with lush, lime-ish yarn

that is beautiful to wear.

(Chandail cardigan- Triona Murphy. Rav'd here.)

I like green. 

This week..16th August, 2012...Oh, who am I kidding?

This month...the past 4 weeks...

...My children are being overly gracious and very forth coming
with their "thank you"s for taxi driving them,
letting them go to the school disco
and even for their dinner.
All that whinging about not being appreciated
seems to have finally paid off.

...We can attest that yes, indeed, live in Australia
and kangaroos will hop down the city streets.
Well, at least, koalas might climb (and pee in) your gum tree.



Little Winifred tunic-
Sarah Ronchetti

...Doing Zumba with a chair somehow makes me feel like I am pole dancing

...I am wondering if you can get banned from entering California if you arrive
with tan-free legs.

(mirror.co.uk)

...My oldest asked "Who won the Olympic Games?"
It is so good to see the end of that stupid Olympic Medal tally
where nothing counts but how many gold have been won.
How can society and the media dare make these athletes who are the best in their countries and the world
feel like a failure because they haven't won an Olympic medal,
let alone a gold one?

...I went on my annual interstate road trip

complete with op shopping, loads of wine and chocolate,

late nights and the company of gorgeous like-minded crafters.

(creativequiltkits.com)

...I am bemused that a fabric line called "Down Under" (Mint Blosssom Studio) has prints of  Kiwis

and, according to one review,  "spiny ant-eaters" on it.

(uncrate.com)

...the more that I think about my family in a 30 foot RV travelling around the Grand Canyon,
the more I worry that we will end up channelling the Griswolds from a National Lampoon's Vacation movie.



Liesl cardigan-
Ysolda Teague

...I finally beat my nemesis in the knitting pattern world
but I never want to make it again.




Funky Pants- Crafty Mamas

...I have been sewing. Lots.

...School bullies suck
and I want to take my beautiful boy,
smother him with hugs
and turn back time
so that he (and I) don't have to face the crap that comes with growing up
out there in the big, wide world just yet.