fiveandtwo

Generosity

Guess what was waiting for me when I got home from St Andrews on Sunday? A parcel containing this:

It's very inspiring. And check out that wonderful parcel tape.

This was therein as well:

A pom-pom bird kit made by Bex herself - the sender of this lovely parcel. The birds end up with fluffy pom-pom wings! Clare and Ally are going to really enjoy making these.

All this for a felt mare and foal, and instructions for making more.

Thankyou Bex!

And today: the first day of school 2008. Clare and Ally were ready by 7.30am. The other three took rather longer. I suspect this early readiness is a one-off like last year. Tomorrow - back to their usual dragging the chain. The small fry are in separate classes for the first time. A decision made after talking with their teacher last year. Clare and Ally were baiting each other and fighting in class! Disruptive as you can imagine. Summer school holidays throw my routines out of whack entirely - must remember to pick them up...

Linsey's wearing a green T-shirt because Years 11 and 12 don't wear a school uniform. She begins her final year of school, now where did that time go?

St Andrews post is in the pipeline.

Quickie Op Shop Post

Yesterday's finds.

From the flannelette fairy:

I'm going to make myself some pyjama pants with the navy/red/white piece.

From the silk sprite:

Actually, the gold is synthetic, but will be excellent for princess costumes. The beige is a wool mix. I'm planning to overdye all bar the gold because these colours make me look like a corpse!

Haven't seen the like of this before. Little wooden blocks printed with multiplication tables. The front side of each has the answer printed on it.

I like Ravensburger puzzles. This is number seven that Clare and Ally have - all from op shops.

And who can resist calendar and souvenir teatowels? Well, probably lots of people...not me though.

1976 and 1980, neither of them good years for me!

I'm planning a visit to the enormous Salvation Army Family Store in Traralgon tomorrow on my way to the Big Smoke.

TT

Well, TT stands for teeny tiny. Linsey's got herself a car.

An extra small Suzuki SV880 so I'm told. Registered as a panel van. A two seater with "room" in the back - not much I can tell you. Engine capacity 0.8l, 3 cylinder. Yeah teeny tiny!

These pics were taken by Linsey (and  buddy) with her polaroid camera. Boy, since she bought the polaroid camera about three years ago she has taken some extraordinary photos. And then she saved and bought a Holga camera. She uses this less because it is a film camera and therefore more expensive to get the final result. The attraction of the Holga camera is that it's a really crappy Eastern European product and the results of taking photos with it causes random effects. "Oh, I didn't really mean the light to leak in the back of the camera", "Oh, that wasn't really meant to be a double exposure". Stuff like that. Usually unexpectedly good.

Anyway, the girl has been no trouble to teach to drive. I won't say it's not stressful - it is. This weekend we're tackling some city driving. Oh heck, that'll be stressful. We're going to visit a good buddy who lives in St Andrews, so really, it'll be city driving without traffic snarls - I hope. We'll be in the Tarago, which is a big car: the car she's been driving until Teeny Tiny came on the scene. Used to it a bit? Gosh I hope...

Funny that the letters on the Teeny Tiny numberplate are UUO = Uh Uh Oh (look out she's on the road!). Hahaha.

New Needlebook

My old cardboard needlebook was falling to bits. Plus I wanted a small project to actually finish.

A plain green leaf didn't look right, hence the stitching.

Inside I was able to use some of my collection of old flannelette. Leaf : flowers, goes together, right?

The leaf template came from a kid's sewing book that I picked up at the op shop recently called Busy Little Hands - Sewing, illustrated by Douglas Hall and published by Hamlyn.

There's also a pattern for a little hedgehog (echidna?) pincushion where the pins form the quills.

Clare and Ally have been inspired to sew. I must say it's easier to teach them now than it was even a year ago.

Clare's flower brooch and angel, Ally's bracelet. They used my felt and fabric scraps. I helped with needle threading and knot tying.

I'd forgotten how relaxing it is to sit stitching and chatting. Or to be lost in thought if I'm on my own. I think there's something magical about handwork.

Op Shop Catch Up (Includes Garage Sale Goodies)

This is couple of week's worth. But firstly, yesterday, when I was procrastinating (I was sorting my embroidery floss into colours, a most urgent task...) my husband rang. He was on his way to Paynesville to do a quote and had driven past an interesting-looking garage sale. Rather thoughtful of him, don't you think?

Man, I was into the car and over there in a flash.

Interesting it was. Think old lady who's lived there for decades, is moving into a small unit and must pare back her belongings. There were ten garbage bags of fabric. I spent a good hour sorting through every one of them. Lots of knit fabric and quite a bit of old seersucker. I'd say this woman hated ironing! Here is a selection, artfully placed to also display two old suitcases - part of my recent op shopping haul.

Some Enid Gilchrist pattern magazines. I love Enid Gilchrist. I posted about them last time I found some, and asked if anyone had any information about her. A commenter called Therese (blogless as far as I can tell) had found a death notice in the paper. Enid died in October last year, aged 90. She was described as being an author, designer and creator of fashion for women and children.

I also found this booklet:

Look at these beautiful ladies. Look at their miniscule waists!

Buttons and trim. I think I'll make my next procrastination project sorting my buttons.

I'm very taken with that nautical trim.

This tiny, weeny tin (it's 2cm high) was in one of the button jars I bought. The little guage thingy - not sure what it is - was inside the tin.

I don't write nearly as many letters as I once did, but I couldn't pass up this lovely stationary set. The envelopes are lined with grey tissue paper. So refined.

A jar made to look like a light bulb. Whatever next?

More from the garage sale. This for my husband.

A chair to fix up.

I also bought a sideboard which needs work. Quite a bit of work. Like I even need more projects.

The floss box, anally sorted. Just to finish a picture-heavy post.

Summer In A Jar

We're well preserved around these parts (sorry, couldn't help it). The glut is dealt with. Behold:

Do I feel virtuous? Indeed.

Probably ten or so kilos of apricots, dried. Two double batches of apricot chutney (excellent with dhal, or a cheese sandwich). Two double batches of apricot jam. A double batch of plum sauce.

Not so much plum sauce as there's still a couple of bottles from last year. It's the recipe from Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion. I find I need to add vastly more sugar (like a kilo or more) or the sauce is tongue-curlingly acrid. Mostly I use it for marinading and as a baste, although it's ok with barbequed snags.

Anyone got a killer plum sauce recipe? Pass it on!

The apricot jam recipe is from the same book, and turns out excellent. Perhaps my plums are more tart than the ones Stephanie uses?

The chutney recipe I found long ago in a magazine, title not remembered. As with many of you, I'm always on the lookout for tasty recipes to manage the glut! Here it is:

APRICOT CHUTNEY

• 750g ripe apricots, stones removed & roughly chopped
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 250g raisins
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped finely
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 chillies (or to taste), seeds removed & finely chopped
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) tomato puree
• 500ml (2 cups) brown vinegar

Place all ingredients in a large, stainless-steel saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Simmer gently for about an hour until mixture is thick and flavoursome. Stir occasionally to prevent mixture sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

Pour into hot, sterilised jars and seal with sterilised lids.

Makes about 1.2 litres of chutney.

Add extra sugar if chutney is too sharp for your taste. I always add more suger, I don't like vinegar to be the dominant flavour!

I might make plum jam. However the blood plum tree is fairly light-on this year, so we'll probably eat the rest fresh. Usually this tree is groaning with fruit. It's actually a relief to "have a break".

Now I need to find somewhere to put all this bounty!

Greetings From The Furnace

In my old age (yes, I turned a year older yesterday - forty three!) I tolerate hot, hot days less and less. I mean, I spent the first twenty or so years of my life in the tropics and then lived for a while in Alice Springs, the heat didn't bother me. Hot was good, it was cold weather I couldn't handle.

Having a thick layer of body insulation doesn't help with heat tolerance.

We hole up inside until the afternoon and then Clare, Ally and I go to the outdoor swimming pool for some cool water therapy. Sometimes we go further afield to one of the not-too-deep swimming spots along the Tambo River.

Windows are shut and covered (kitchen featured here - it has the most interesting curtain). Ceiling fans whirl furiously. Hint for very pleasant evaporative cooling: put bathers on, hop under the shower and get all wet, stand under a ceiling fan turned on full. Lovely. Once upon a time I did it naked (very effective cooling) but but these days I'm reluctant to horrify the teenagers!

If you're a hot dog, you dig yourself a nice, cool hole in a strategic spot. This is just outside our back door, the air coming from under the house is pleasantly cool. To get full benefit you must stick your paws under.

Yes our weatherboards are disintegrating. Major project for this year: re-clad the house. I've almost saved enough. It has to be DIY though. Daunting to think about, but it'll be OK once under way...

If you're a cat you choose the coolest room in the house with a ceiling fan circulating the air just so, then you spend the rest of the day sleeping. I suspect our other cat is enjoying a sleep under the house.

Lemon  tree leaves silhouetted in the bathroom window. Before I shut that door to keep the morning heat from the rest of the house.

Please let tomorrow be cooler. I need to make plum sauce before the fruit is all scorched on the tree and the picked ones rotted. I am done with apricots - dried, jammed, chutneyed and scoffed fresh from the tree. That's a post in itself.

Books 2007

Jumping on the "books of 2007" bandwagon. I feel that I don't read much any more. It worries me - don't want my brain to turn to mush (scary and ever present thought).

I try to anticipate, and make the most of, any opportunity to read. On the train to and from Melbourne is the best = about six hours reading time = a whole book. In bed at night if I'm not knackered is a great pleasure, also early in the morning. A lovely quiet time.

Any time spent waiting is excellent, providing it's known of in advance. In Mooloolaba I managed a lot of reading waiting for the Sunbus (local public transport). Holidays are another golden opportunity. Six books read in Mooloolaba (had only three kids with me, and no husband). Only managed three at Cunjurong Point last Christmas (full complement of spouse and offspring).

After enjoyably reading a number of blogs, and checking out what they'd read last year, I decided to peruse the bookshelves and see what I'd actually read. Surprising.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling), yeah, yet to read HP7! F

Beautiful Lies (Lisa Unger)F

Three Dog Night (Peter Goldsworthy)F

The Book Thief (Marcus Zusak)F

Love is a Mix Tape (Rob Sheffield)NF

Hungry Ghosts (Susan Johnson)F

Conversations With The Fat Girl (Liza Palmer)F

Toast (Nigel Slater)NF

Queen Bees and Wannabees (Rosalind Wiseman)NF

Home Truths (Sharon Gray)NF

Running With Scissors  (Augustin Burroughs)NF?

Mister Pip (Lloyd Jones)F

Avalon: Art & Life of an Apartment Building (Ricardo Felipe)NF

Handmade in Melbourne (Jan Phyland, Janet De Silva w. Dean Cambray)

Hamlet's Dresser (Bob Smith)NF

The Gentle Art of Domesticity (Jane Brocket)Nf

Among the Bohemians: Experiments in Living 1900-1939 (Virginia Nicholson)NF

Charleston: A Bloomsbury House and Garden (Quentin Bell, Virginia Nicholson)NF

The Art of Bloomsbury (Richard Shone)NF

Postsecret and Mysecret (Frank Warren)NF

Art and Fear (David Bayles & Ted Orland)NF

Lump:the Dog Who Ate a Picasso (David Douglas Duncan)NF

Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Ed. Paco Asensio)NF

Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt (Ed. Paul Arnett, Joanne Cubbs, Eugene W. Metcalf Jnr)NF

On The Jellicoe Road (Melina Marchetta)F

The Simple Living Guide (Janet Luhrs)NF

The Complete Tightwad Gazette (Amy Dacyczyn)NF

Pigs in Heaven(F), Prodigal Summer(F), Poisonwood Bible(F), Small Wonder(NF) and Animal,Vegetable, Mineral(NF) (Barbara Kingsolver)

The Earth User's Guide to Permaculture (Rosemary Morrow)NF

The Holistic Life (Ian Lillington)NF

Talk to the Hand (Lynne Truss)NF

The Trout Opera (Matthew Condon)F

How I Live Now (Meg Rosoff)F,YA

Buddhism for Mothers (Sarah Napthali)NF

Food Not Lawns (AC Flores)NF

On Beauty (Zadie Smith)F

Inconsolable (Marrit Ingman)NF

If Not Dieting, Then What? (Dr Rick Kausman)NF

Still concerned about the brain...it takes more than reading to keep the grey matter in trim. I'm destroying it in other ways.

However, there's vastly more there than I expected. Loads more books have passed through my hands, but I've only skimmed them, ditched them, or just enjoyed the pictures therein. Roll on reading in 2008!

Thirteen, Finally.

I've been mulling over what to write here for a while now.

Leah is finally thirteen (as of January 4). Officially a teenager now, but she's been in a teenage-state-of-mind for some time already!

Here she is at 3.5 weeks:

And at 3.5 months:

Asleep in my mother's arms. Special.

I took photos of her every day for most of her baby and toddlerhood. In case she died. I wanted an extensive pictorial record.

Her older bother died part-way through pregnancy, you see. I feared I'd lose Leah too. My pregnancy with her was fraught: with grief, with anger, with fear. Leah's birth, alive and healthy, seemed nothing short of a miracle. She was precious beyond measure, my husband laughingly nicknamed her the chosen one!

Leah remains my precious baby. However the arrival of twin sisters when she was five was very difficult for her. I've no doubt she felt usurped in my affections...I just couldn't give her the attention she needed. Two babies sucked up all of my time. I believe this situation has much to do with the current behaviour troubles we've had. I think in her subconscious Leah still feels rejected somehow - I'm guessing that's how a five-year-old would've felt: sidelined. Believe me, I felt massively pained and guilty. I was always breastfeeding or soothing the squawking babies. Or trying to fit in some washing or meal preparation!

Two recent photos of the lovely girl:

We have a bit of an up-and-down relationship at the moment, as she tests the boundaries. I reckon it'll be like this for a few more years, at least. Gah!

Happy birthday Leah.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Purses

Some that I finished while away at Christmas. The ones not completed on the Mooloolaba trip mid-year.

Obviously the tail-end of the group. A couple there that I'm not really pleased with.

So umm, radical, a different shape, well, different for me!

I think my designs for the other shape are better.