Portable projects

I like having a small project to work on that's easy to take with me when I have to go out somewhere.  

By small I mean that it can fit in one of my handbags (yes..ONE of), or just in a small bag of its own so I can work on it while I'm waiting for an appointment or at the park with the kids.

I like that the project is relatively small too which means I can complete something regularly, even when I'm working on a large blanket or some other lengthy project.  

My current portable project is butterflies.

I went through a number of different patterns to try and find some I liked doing but I have to say that I had a pretty horrid time of making them.  I have no idea why but my fingers just didn't want to work properly and I ended up getting so frustrated.

I didn't want to buy any new yarn for this project so went searching my cluttered shelves for some cotton.  I only found 3 colours which surprised me so I had to work out some colour combinations using them.

I also had some Stylecraft Special DK leftover from working on Miss R's blanket.  I really wanted to use cotton for this project but in the end I faffed so many of the butterflies that I tried a few different combinations with this yarn too.

Out of the first 6 butterflies I made, only 2 of them are worthy of any consideration.  The other 4 ended up being pulled apart or binned.  No excuses.  They were crap!

I was hoping to make some prettier ones but my patience ran out in the end and I made do with the ones that I was happy with.

Then while suffering from a little insomnia the other morning I came across this Sweet Simple Butterfly pattern on Ravelry and decided to give it a go with some leftover acrylic baby yarn I had.

I enjoyed making this butterfly I have to say and can now show you the final 3 that I have made.

All of them are in different yarns and all stash busters that helped pass some time in waiting rooms.

So these little butterflies will now be winging their way to the otherside of the world to be a part of the Yarndale venture and I will be onto another small project soon.  

Well I will once I've finished Miss R's blanket.  I don't have much to do now and the closer I get to being finished the more impatient she gets.  :)  Crack that whip!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and were able to do something you loved.

I got to share a special day with some special people but more on that soon.

xx Susan

Friends

If you've heard of the term Pen Pal then you are a minority in the world these days it seems.

With our lives full of instant messaging via twitter, facebook, Instagram and so many other social media sites, the days of putting pen to paper are well and truly over.

Can you remember writing about what was happening in your world and taking the time to really explain things properly, especially when you sometimes had weeks worth of your life to write about.

 When you were finally done and signed off with a flourish there was a  ceremonial sealing of the envelope (or the old thin, blue airmail paper), and wondering if you had forgotten anything that so desperately needed saying.

Once you had put that precious letter through the sometimes freaky and sinister looking post boxes, you knew it was out of your hands.  You could only then wait for a reply, sometimes months later before the whole cycle would begin again.

If you remember that then you might be interested in this story.

I would like you to meet my sisters.    

Liz on the left.  Sandy on the right.

Everyone I know recognises Sandy and thinks that she's my only sister because...well basically she is my only blood sister.

I also have another sister who has been a part of my life since I was 6 years old.

Sandy and Liz have been pen pals for 38 years.

On the left you have Liz.  She grew up in Yorkshire, England.  On the right you have Sandy.  She grew up in Queensland, Australia.  

Oh how I wish I had a photo of each of them at that age to show you but sadly I don't right at this minute.  (I may in the future.. be prepared girls!)

Through mutual aquaintances (thanks Aunty Alison on our side) and an introductory letter passing hands, I don't think either of these wonderful women realised at that age just how long their friendship would span. I have also just found out that Sandy still has the first letter she ever received from Liz.  How lovely and extraordinary is that!

Every part of their lives has been lived alongside each other, sometimes delayed depending on the postal service or just the reality of living your own life half a world away.  

The one constant is that they have always been friends and know that each of them are there for the other, if only in spirit when it's physically not possible to have a shoulder to cry on or a friend to laugh with.

 For me, Liz has always been a part of my life.  For as long as I can remember she has been mentioned and I can remember being so excited when a letter would turn up in the mail.  Not only would my sister get to hear from her friend but if I was lucky, she would let me know (or even READ..sQUeaL!)  the latest letter and I would get to hear about life on the other side of the world.  

The first time I met Liz was when I was 20.  Sandy had already had her first trip to the UK to meet Liz and her family a few years before that.  

I also have so many fond memories of the time she first came out to Australia.   I mainly remember putting her in a car and the three of us driving to Cooktown and back visiting the Great Barrier Reef and plenty of other places in between.  It was well over 4000 kilometres in total and many memories made along the way.  

Then 4 years later I had the amazing opportunity to travel to the UK with Sandy and got to not only see Liz again but to meet her family.

That was 20 years ago and even though Sandy has been to England numerous times  since then, this is the first chance I've had to catch up with my other sister.

She's out here with her partner and son who is a similar age to my two cherubs, so it's nice to see everyone catching up and a new generation mingling. 

For now I'll leave you with a photo that I will always cherish and that's with my sisters.  Plural.

Love you both and thank you so much for being incredibly amazing women and so much a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I have Kleenex or Poise available, whichever is most appropriate at this time in our lives. 

xx Susan

Slow

Sometimes I really feel like I need to give my life a bit of a re-boot.  

You know when you feel like you've been stuck in a rut for awhile even though you're reasonably busy.  

Well I feel like I've been in that rut and am slowly crawling my way out and I'm doing that by appreciating the normal and everyday things in my life.

Things like my daily walk with the dog.

We go most school days after we've dropped the kidlettes off at their respective schools.  Not only is it good exercise for both of us (I've lost 15 kilos in the last 18 months - yay!), but it's sometimes the only time I really get out of the house during the day.

The weather has been gorgeous lately too which has made for really enjoyable walks and we're into the last month of winter here so the mornings are still cool and the days are lovely and comfortable.  Pretty well perfect really.

We go at a time and place where it's wonderfully quiet and you don't often see anyone else on the track with you.  We do see plenty of golfers out on the nearby course and get to know some of the regulars on their particular day of the week so we're not entirely isolated but the track is ours the majority of the time.

I love going where we go because it also means I don't have to have my boy on a lead.  I don't really feel like being dragged behind him on our walks so he can run and 'open the throttle' as much as he likes and then keep coming back to me which gives him some great extra exercise too.  

It's also some quiet time out in nature where I can recharge my batteries and ponder things over as I plod along.  Sometimes I just want to zone out and listen to music and other times I need the quiet.  It all depends on how I feel and what I need that day.

I've been crocheting a little too.  Not as much as I would like as I'm STILL working on Miss R's blanket that I started at the beginning of the year.  (She's in High school now so I've decided to drop the 'Little' from Little Miss R).

Somedays it feels like a bit of a slog to pick up the crochet hook and do a few rows and crochet should NEVER, ever be a slog.  It's something I enjoy and I've decided lately to stop feeling guilty because I'm taking some time for me to sit down and do something I love.

The fact that my girl has been cold and is harassing me to finish her blanket might also have something to do with that as well. :) 

I am happy to say that I'm over three-quarters of the way through it so hopefully it won't be too much longer now.  

I'll keep you updated on the progress as blogging a little more regularly is another of those 'me' things that I want to do to help me get out of my rut.  

Just thinking about and remembering to take some photos has already changed how I'm looking at my life again so we'll see what other changes will come about over the next few weeks.  I sometimes find that when you decide to do something and make a conscious effort to change something in your life then it can be like a rolling stone gathering momentum.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and the coming week.  Our family have plans to do some things with friends from England who are out holidaying at the moment.  They have a boy the same age as Master M and the kids all get along wonderfully so they're looking forward to spending time together.

xx Susan

Aunty Rob's and plenty of dogs

We've had a bit happening around here lately.

My father-in-law went to hospital about a week and a half ago in Grafton (New South Wales) and ended up being flown up to one of the Gold Coast Hospitals.

He's had a pacemaker put in since then so there's been a bit of driving around the countryside to see him and get him settled and looked after.  Lovely hubby has had to take some time off work to do most of that for his father.

In the meantime, we've had ANZAC Day and Little Miss R marched with her school as she has done since she was in Prep.  This was her first year marching with the High School and she was proud to wear family members service medals again.  (This time my Uncle's medals).

It was also the most gorgeous of Autumn days for the march and the service which was really lovely for everyone.

On the weekend we took my father-in-law over to his sister's to help him recover from his operation.  

We haven't been to Aunty Rob's in more than a year and the kidlettes had been asking us for awhile when we could go over again.  This provided the perfect opportunity for us which made the kids ecstatic, especially as there's still 6 puppies over there which they were desperate to see.

There was the usual pigs and cows and plenty of chickens.

......and dogs.  Lots of dogs.  Augie's getting on a bit now and is finding all the extra dogs on the farm a bit much so he keeps hiding under the back stairs to get away from them all.

Aunty Rob has 4 dogs and then there's my father-in-laws 2 dogs which are having a holiday with him.

Don't forget the 6 puppies though...

...they were the biggest hit over the weekend.

If Little Miss R was missing, we knew exactly where to find her.

The puppies kept trying to eat her hair and then they kept trying to all get on her when she sat down with them.  She yelled at her brother to help her so he lifted her hair out of the way! 

She still had to deal with the puppies.

There was some helping out around the place too which was thoroughly enjoyed and a nice change from computers and xbox playing at home.

Another night away would have been lovely but school needs to be attended (although I'm sure the kids would be happy to have a day off).  Lets hope it won't be as long until our next trip over there.

In the meantime, I've come home armed with a really amazing Moussaka recipe and an incredible pumpkin pie recipe.  I'm happy.

xx Susan

January

Can you believe that January is already behind us?  Wow.  I can't say that it has gone fast because it seems forever ago that we were celebrating Christmas and the New Year. 

We've been busy though and life has been pretty full for a lot of January which meant that the days continued to roll on with their usual regularity.  Then I woke up one morning and realised that it was February.

 

January consisted of quite a bit of family time as lovely hubby took a little time off work which was really nice.

 

We went out for a picnic but took the boat instead of the car. 

 

 

 

That meant that hubby could do some fishing once he dropped the kids and I off at the northern tip of Bribie Island (Caloundra end).  We walked across the tip to the beach on what was a really beautiful day for the first day of the year.  (Yes, this was WAY back on January 1st).

 

 

 

  

 The kids had a great time cooling off in the surf...

 

 

 

...and watching the ships head into the port of Brisbane. 

 

It certainly wasn't a bad way to start the year.

 

 

Little Miss R's best mate came to stay for a few days so we went swimming and a zoo trip and a few other things to keep them occupied. 

 

Master W moved away mid last year and this is only the second time they've caught up since then.  They were pretty excited (understatement :) )

 

 

 

 

We also celebrated a 10th birthday.  I can't believe I no longer have any children with a single digit age now.

 

 

 

There were more trips to the beach while Dad was home too.  This time late in the afternoon on a really hot summers day to cool off.

 

 

Then we just had to have fish and chips at the beach before heading home.

 



 

 

The kids and I had a couple of outings of our own, usually when we had appointments or needed to get school supplies.

 

We treated ourselves to Churros from here which were very much a hit.

 

(I can't seem to get the link to work today.  It was San Churro café at Sunshine Plaza shopping centre in Maroochydore)

 

 

It was lovely to spend some time with the kids doing something a bit different and having fun.

 

 

 

 

It wasn't all about food though.  There's also a new project on the go with colours picked by Little Miss R for her blanket she's been harassing me to make for more than 6 months!

 

(more on this another day)

 

 

 

 The biggest news came from the very end of January when a new school year started.  Little Miss R is no longer Little and will probably be referred to as Miss R now that she has started high school.

 

Yes my girl is now Grade 7 and off to high school.  Eeeek!

(She's loving it so far by the way)

 

Hoping you are all enjoying your start to 2018.

 

xx Susan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing you joy

So that was Christmas...

 

It passed in not quite a flurry this year.

 

The days leading up to it were quite full.  There was lots of baking and cooking the roast etc and basically stocking up on some of those excessive treats we seem to have at this time of the year.

 

There was a night when we drove around town to see the Christmas lights which kept the kidlettes happy.

 

 

 

We don't decorate the front of our house and yard as I would seriously have a meltdown going up and down ladders putting the lights up.  I think I would end up a bit cranky actually and then the thought of having to take it all down again in the New Year.....

 

No thanks.  Not for me, but I do appreciate the effort and joy others seem to take in making their homes festive for the rest of us to enjoy.

 

Christmas Eve was quite lovely.  A few years ago I made a tradition in our house of having just nibblies for dinner as I've usually been working in the kitchen for days getting things ready for Christmas.

 

By the time the evening comes I have no wish to cook dinner for the rest of the family, especially when the 3 of them had been on their devices all day while I slaved away.  Perhaps they should cook dinner for me (ha ha)... now there's a thought.

 

 

This year we had cheese and crackers, dip, chips, teriyaki chicken pieces, kabana, pretzels and prawns.  Can't forget the prawns at Christmas in Australia.

 

This was all accompanied by the thwacking sound of the fly swat as they swarmed once the food came out.

 

Afterwards I enjoyed a little quiet time, just me and my chardonnay out the back with the fire roaring in our rusted out fire pit.

 

 

Christmas morning arrived in a flurry of excitement as Santa had been so the presents were ripped open and warm cinnamon buns were consumed for breakfast.

 

The family turned up for lunch and thank goodness there was a slight breeze out the back as it was HOT!  We had a lovely Queensland Christmas with temperatures in the mid 30's (celcius) and sticky humidity. 

 

The air conditioning had been put on early to keep the house cool but we can't fit everyone in our little place which is why we had lunch out the back in the shade.  The kidlettes made use of the cool lounge room after lunch to watch some movies they had been gifted.

 

It was lovely to catch up with family all in the one place and graze our way through the afternoon.

 

At least we had a late night storm to cool things down a bit.

 

I hope you are all enjoying your festive season and keeping cool (or warm) wherever in the world you live.

 

xx Susan

 

 



December...... so far

Somehow December seems to be sneaking past quite quickly. 

 

It started in a flurry of activity as the final days of the school year came and went.

 

Then we had lovely hubby's birthday which he was actually home to celebrate this year.  (Bought cakes though as I had been in a frenzy cooking a million mini Christmas cupcakes for class parties at school.  I just didn't have the time or energy to make a birthday cake as well.  Bad me...I know :) )

 

 

 

 

We have had a graduation.

 

Little Miss R has now finished primary school and is off to high school next year.

 

How on earth did that happen so fast!

 

 

I even got the chance to get a rare photo of my family.

 

 

 

The school holidays have been very homey so far as we haven't really had any outings. 

 

There have been sleepovers though with Cousin R coming to stay for a couple of nights. 

 

THAT has made it an extremely noisy house as three children chatting and getting excited constantly can make you want to walk around with ear plugs in most of the time.

 

I love the movie time snap of them all bundled up together and focused on the goings on in movie land.  So sweet.

 

 

 

There has been Christmas tree decorating. 

 

It all starts off with them carefully placing decorations and then when they start getting bored (which happens quite quickly), everything gets thrown on.  As a result it looks a bit like some creature has barfed up tinsel onto the tree!

 

We love it though and it's making the house nice and festive.

 

 

 

We've also put up the battery operated lights again which I bought last year. 

 

I really love this garland across the top of the tv cabinet.  There's something so magical about fairy lights and I find it quite extraordinary that a few little lights can bring so much happiness and content.

 

 

 

They also have a great practical side as we had a pretty huge storm whip through here on Saturday.  There was A LOT of damage not far from our home with a whole strip of trees uprooted, roads blocked, property damaged and power lines down over the roads and along the train lines. 

 

It was a mess and the clean up has been huge but we dodged the worst of it which was good.

 

We lost power for nearly 12 hours (others around town lost it for 24 or more hours) and luckily we had just finished dinner when it went out.  That's when the fairy lights came in handy as the kidlettes and I sat in the lounge room listening to the window rattling thunder and the bright flashes of lightning. 

 

There was also a game of Harry Potter trivial pursuit in which I got my butt whipped by Little Miss R.  I have come to realise that even though I've read the books years ago, I don't know a lot about the movies.

 

 

Another birthday has been celebrated.  This time it was my Mum's birthday and we all went out for lunch.  (no photos of this though).

 

Patch has been a bit sad lately too.

 

We don't seem to walk as often during the school holidays.  I know I should take the kidlettes with me, and I do sometimes when I think they need to get out more, but the walks are usually for me.  They're often my de-stress time and sometimes the only chance for quiet time I get.

 

Hubby's been home the last couple of days so we've had a happy Mum and a very happy dog.  I swear that he's had a smile on his face the whole time he's running and sniffing and piddling.  That dog squirts on everything.

 

 

We're nearly halfway through December and hubby goes back to work today.  He won't be back until just before Christmas so I'm going to have to work out what I need to do before Christmas and try and get organised and get things done soon.  That way I won't be in a panic and do things at the last minute when hubby gets home.

 

I may have to call on family to help out with the kidlettes and make a mad dash up the coast or somewhere.  We'll see.

 

I hope your December is going well and isn't too stressful.

 

xx Susan