Out for some fun

The intention was to have a lazy weekend wallowing in front of the air conditioners because of the heat.   I think we handled that end of it quite well actually. 

We did decided to pop out for a bit and go to the nearby Skippy Park to have a play.  It's only takes a few minutes to drive there from our house so we decided to head up there early before the heat really struck.

There was the slide to go on of course and a bee-line is made for it as soon as we arrive.

 

 

 

 It's a truly wonderful big, long slide that the kids love.  It was even better that we had the whole place to ourselves which was a bit of a miracle because even at 8.30 in the morning there's usually plenty of people out and about here.

 

 

 

 

 The spider web is always fun to climb, as well as zooming along on the zip line and playing on the swings.

 

 

 It was pretty hot work even this early...

 

 Another favourite is the log in the sandpit area.

 

 

 I was able to get a little of this done but not much at all really.

 

 

 We were home before 9.30am and ready to put the air conditioners on and enjoy the rest of the hot day in the cool of the house.

Now I know that this outing seems to be truly wonderful and happy and it makes me realise just how much we blog writers can edit out to make things sound nice and idyllic.

The whole time spent at the park was about 30 minutes.  The only happy and peaceful times are what you see in the photos.

Little Miss R screamed and ranted at her brother from the moment she got out of the car because SHE WAS GOING ON THE SLIDE FIRST!!!  He was off like a rabbit and nearly at the slide before she had even got out of the car but I think he even recognised something in his sister at the time and patiently waited for her.

She continued to rant, whinge, scream, cry, throw tantrums and make life miserable for us all...and that was just the first 5 minutes. 

Master M then very subtley started to do little things to get back at his sister.  Things like leaving his shoes on the slide when she was trying to go down and many other small manner of things.    He didn't say anything of course, just got his revenge very quietly.  That just made Miss R's tantrums all the LOUDER. 

She did quieten down for a bit after he shook the bejesus out of the web thing and she was near the top and nearly fell through.  She hung there clinging for a bit until he stopped and she was able to climb down.  She was a bit quiet after that as I think it MAY have got through to her for a few moments not to push her brother too far.

After 10 minutes I was ready to fall in a blabbering heap and was extremely thankful that no other people were around to view my feral offspring or their not coping mother just at that moment.

Things did calm down briefly with short and intense spikes off emotion until both children decided that they WANTED TO GO HOME!!!

I'm hearing you there!! I was so ready to go and was deciding to work out if it was too bloody early for a wine considering Bex is no longer around. 

A lovely cup of tea did the trick when I got home though. (and no I did not put a splash of whiskey in it like I was tempted to do).

So that was our lovely outing for a little bit of fun.

I'm sure you all have very similar stories.  :)

xx Susan

 



Slow

Slow...

 

That is my plan for the weekend.  Slowing things down and spending some quiet time with the kidlettes.

 

Hubby is away at work and there is rain and some storms predicted so I think our outings and jaunts will be kept to a minimum, even non-existent. 

 

The kidlettes are happy with xbox, lego, reading and puzzles so I'm hoping to get through quite a bit of the time unscathed.  I know there will be arguments and fights that will need refereeing but I'm being optimistic and hoping I can keep these to a minimum.

 

I seem to have been quite busy lately with lots of extra little things taking up my time.  I've certainly had to try to keep things organised in my diary so I don't double up or stress too much about things and so far I've been doing well.

 

I've even managed to make my first batch of chutney.

 

 

 

 

This is not your usual chutney as it's made out of dried fruit so I thought it would be perfect for Christmas time as it's sort of a fruit mince texture and flavour.  I'm finding it to be REALLY sweet although I suppose I should have expected that so I'll let the flavours develop a bit then work out what I want to do with it all.

 

This weekend I mainly have plans to do lots of this.....

 

I've been doing bits and pieces of Master M's blanket when I can although there have been some days when I haven't even picked up a hook. 

 

I'm really intending to spend as much time as possible on the soothing ripply rows and enjoy the process as I work.

 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

 

xx Susan

 



Snowflakes

The heat has really arrived here this week so during the day we've had the air conditioners on a bit, especially in the afternoon when the house really heats up.  They will probably be on most days from now until next March/April and that for me usually means more crochet time.

I find it so much nicer to sit in a comfortably cool room crocheting than sweltering away and getting grumpier by the second.

Anyway, I've been crocheting some snowflakes lately to make a garland to hang up around the house at Christmas.  It's a project that's easily portable and takes no time to make one or two up every now and then.  I'm getting quite a nice pile all of a sudden which is good so hopefully I'll be able to link them all together soon.

Once I've finished a few of them then I've been blocking them to give them a lovely open snowflake look.  If  you've never blocked before and are like I was in the early days of my crochet journey then I'll show you what a difference it can make.  

In the above photo, 3 of the snowflakes have been blocked and 3 haven't.  Can you guess which ones are which?

Blocking is really quite easy, especially on a small project like this.  I like to use the kids old cot mattress which sits on my bed nicely and I can move it around if I have to.  I then put protective plastic on it which is the old mattress protector from when they were babies.  I've also used a cheap plastic tablecloth that I got for $2 from the local discount shop.

Then I put a towel or two down and start to pin out whatever project it is I'm working on.  I like to work from the inside out as it blocks more evenly and I find you don't stretch it out too much.

In the case of the snowflakes, I soaked them in the bathroom hand basin for about 30 seconds and got all the fibres really wet.  Then I gently removed as much of the water as possible before pinning them out.  You could also use a spray bottle with water in it and give it a good soaking once it's pinned out.

You can see on the next photo the difference in the top half to the bottom where I hadn't finished pinning it out yet.

The next photo shows a blocked and unblocked snowflake.  The one on left is the blocked one.

I usually have the ceiling fan on in the bedroom too and they dry in no time at all.  Because I'm making a garland out of these I've sprayed them with a bit of starch so that they will hold their shape while hanging up.

Sometimes it's a bit fiddly pinning everything out, especially if you are doing a bigger project but the end result is well worth it.

I have also FINALLY received my yarn order from the UK (2 days shy of 3 weeks to get here).

I couldn't wait to get started on a project and dithered around for a little while trying to work out which one to begin.

In the end I decided that Master M's blanket was the most important project as well as the biggest one so I would make a start on that.  I still have snowflakes to finish so I'll work on those when I want a break from the rhythm of crocheting a ripple blanket.

Aren't the colours just gorgeous.  Master M is pretty excited about his blanket.

I was able to get a little bit done on it before we went away for the weekend.  (Hubby's cousin celebrated her 21st birthday so we packed up the camper trailer and drove out to their farm about 2 hours away....it was a fantastic night).

I got quite a few snowflakes made while I was away for the weekend as it was the perfect portable project.  It won't be long until I've finished them all and then I can really concentrate on the blanket for awhile.  

I'm really looking forward to that.

xx Susan

Crochet Shawl

It's felt so good to make this shawl.  I hadn't picked up a crochet hook in about 6 months and then I really just wanted to make something.

I'm finding that scarves and shawls are things that I like to make best, especially shawls.  It's usually too hot to wear them where I live but I do really love making them.

A few weeks ago I decided that I would make this.....(it would pass the time until my yarn order arrived from the UK).

I was only able to spend a few moments on it every few days.  On one particular cool and rainy day I was able to spend a few hours on it which I found really soothing and relaxing.

I kept a post it note handy crossing off the rows as I went as I had to do them in a repeat pattern of 3 rows.  I found the crossing off the rows system much better than any row counter.  Well it was much better for me anyway although I'm sure there are people out there who swear by the row counters.  It's really whatever system works best for you.

Then all of a sudden it was finished....

There was still the ends to tie in and it needed to be blocked, but essentially it was completed.

  I was so surprised that it took only about 2 weeks because I felt I wasn't putting much time into it at all and thought that it would take me a lot longer to make.

The feeling that knowing you have completed something made by your own hands is truly a wonderful thing.

Once it was blocked it was ready to be wrapped up and put away.

I'm still not quite sure what I'll be doing with this shawl.  I've found that I really, really LOVE making shawls but considering I live in the sub-tropics, they're not really that practical for me.

I will continue to make them though because there's something about them that just makes me want to pick up a hook and order more yarn.  It's soothing and I feel I'm doing something productive with my time.

I just wish I could learn how to photograph them properly!

Oh and my order from the UK still hasn't arrived.  It's well over 2 weeks now so I shouldn't complain too much but my fingers are just itching to start Master M's blanket.

Until then I'm working on a snowflake garland out of some white cotton that I have.  I can make one snowflake with the ends tied in within 5-10 minutes so I'm getting a nice little pile.

The pattern for the snowflakes is really easy and can be found on Lucy's blog over at Attic24.

A midweek jaunt

I've just had a really lovely and extremely rare night away midweek.

My sister has been staying at Marcoola this week and asked if I would like to join her on Wednesday night.

I was able to get my lovely Mum to pick up the kidlettes from school (well just one as Little Miss R decided to wake up that morning quite ill.  She bounced back very quickly around lunch time from a feverish, vomiting child to a hyperactive one in no time at all!).

Hubby was in charge that night (pizza for dinner) and had to get lunches and things for them the next morning which they all survived so I was able to have a night away.

There were no roads to get to the beach as well as a lovely pool which I didn't swim in.  Mainly because it was blowing a gale the afternoon I arrived and I also don't have any togs (swimmers).

I sat with my sister and chatted and enjoyed the view.  There was a great balcony (we were on the 5th floor) that was slightly protected from the blustery breeze so we ended up sitting inside chatting.

 We then headed off on a lovely afternoon ramble along the path running parallel to the beach and the sand dunes to blow the cobwebs away and just to get out and about.

The room I was in was quite spacious and had a seriously comfortable bed and pillows.  How often does THAT happen when you go away somewhere.

Dinner that night was takeaway from the resort bistro.  There were full kitchen facilities in the unit but we had no wish to cook.  

I can highly recommend the slow cooked lamb, olive, sundried tomato, haloumi, and pesto pizza.  It was divine and the sweet potato chips were pretty awesome too.

The next morning we were up early and I ventured down to the beach for a short meander.

The whole time I was there I kept thinking how much the kids would love it and I had to keep telling myself to enjoy my time.

Once I left the beach I wandered back along the path for a short way then up to our lovely rooms.

We had breakfast at a little cafe across the road which had possibly the best coffee I've ever had.  I can't remember the name of the cafe but it had something to do with Gecko's.  Possibly it was something as simple as The Gecko.  Awesome coffee anyway!!

The time seemed too short and then it was back home where I found that hubby held the fort easily without me and the kids were fine too.  Nothing fell to pieces just because I wasn't there for one night.  :)

I hope you're all having a lovely week.

xx Susan

Eleven

My sweet, sweet girl turned 11 this week.

I won't say that the time has flown or anything because really, some weeks feel like they've taken 11 years to get through to be honest.

So not only have I been making more tomato relish this week, I've also been baking cakes.

Yes that is cakes plural as we had to have one for home...

...and one for school.

There were croissants for breakfast which are always a favourite.

After school some family members and neighbours kids came to visit.  Little Miss R got an extra special gift from my Mum which you can see in the next photo.  No that's NOT a chicken nugget in her mouth.

It's actually a crumbed lamb's brain which Little Miss R absolutely loves.  Nana cooked some up especially for her only granddaughter for a birthday treat.  She's welcome to enjoy them all herself!!

Then it was time to light the candles and make a birthday wish.

Happy Birthday beautiful girl.

xx Mum

Busy pottering

It was a bit of a mish-mash of a week (and previous weekend) which truthfully has been quite fine with me.  

Last week was quite busy-ish week so when Saturday rolled around I decided that it would be a nice At Home day for the kidlettes and myself.  Daddy was away at work so it was just the three of us and we were happy to potter around.

I admit that I encouraged x-box playing a bit so that I could play in my happy place without too many interruptions.  As we have the one x-box and kids who argue a bit when they play together, we set the timer for each child.  We give them a fairly decent go on it and once the timer goes off, it's time two swap over.

There was plenty of outside play when it wasn't their turn on the machine (especially for Little Miss R).  Master M headed to his room and played with his lego and later on in the day there was plenty of outside play with the neighbourhood kids.  All extremely noisy but fun.

I took the time to go through my stash.

There's not much to my stash these days as I got so sick of the clutter and odds and ends that I had a very good cull of some of my crafty stuff a couple of months ago.  There's still plenty of other things to cull but my yarn stash has been depleted.

I've been eyeing off some projects that I want to sink my teeth into.  I'm having to contain myself a little because I will confess I do have some more yarn on order from the UK.  I have definite plans for that yarn and have been really trying very hard to be patient while waiting for the delivery but it is getting a bit difficult.

The waiting got to me and in the end I couldn't help myself.  I found some yarn in my stash and decided to make the above shawl with it.  

It felt so good making those first few rows.  You won't believe how good, especially as I hadn't picked up a crochet hook in over 6 months!!

Yes, I had truly lost my mojo for nearly everything but it all seems to be bouncing back now and I've got plenty of projects running through my brain.  I'll let you know more about them when my package arrives.  It's all very exciting!

I also made a batch of tomato relish.  It's not my Sweet Tomato Relish which I usually make up a big batch of.  I've pretty well got that recipe down pat and will probably make a batch of that soon.

This recipe uses only 500 grams of tomatoes, enough to make one decent bottle full.

I've been playing around with the recipe for awhile and keep making adjustments to the amounts until I get it just how I want it.  Unfortunately I only make this one every six months or so and can never remember which variation I like best.

Then I was give this wonderful bounty by my lovely mum.

So over the first few days of this week I've made up a couple more batches and adjusted the amounts in each batch or the kinds of vinegar I've used. The difference in the flavour is quite astonishing really when sometimes only a small change is made.  I've given some of each to my mum and dad so that they can taste test for me and we can work out which recipe we like best.

In between doing all that I even took the kidlettes to the movies to see Storks.  (That was on Sunday.  I can't believe we're already halfway through the next week!)

We all really enjoyed it and my brother and his boys came along too so the kids all got to spend some time together.

I also tried out a recipe for some Onion Jam which is really yummy.

I've given some of that to my dad too and will get the verdict later this week.  I think it's bloody good though.

The next few days will be busy too.  We have a birthday for Little Miss R coming up so there'll be cakes made for home and school.

The neighbours have given me some tomatoes and I've still got a container full from the earlier bounty even after all the relish I've made.  This time I'll make my big batch of Sweet Tomato Relish which uses about 2kg of tomatoes and I'll make sure I preserve it properly for Christmas gifts or just for future use as we do go through a bit of it.

Hope you are all having a lovely week and I'll show you how my shawl is going when I get the chance to photograph it.  

xx Susan