Monthly Archive

So, ages and ages ago Estea wrote a really cool post called Worth Every Penny. I thought it was brilliant. Here are my additions:

1. Origins “Never a Dull Moment” facial scrub is kind of expensive but really really good stuff.
2. Sheets. If I have one piece of advice for newlyweds/newlybonkings (oh good grief! as if I’d stop at ONE piece of advice!) it is this. Buy good sheets. Every night you will be happy in bed, even if you don’t get any.
3. Coffee. We have banned instant coffee from our home.We decided quite some time ago that we are Grown-ups now and Grown-ups don’t have enough years to waste any of them of crap coffee.
4. Every woman should own at least one Killer Bra that makes her boobs look fake. This bra (pictured above for your pleasure) makes my cleavage so damn hot I almost turn myself on.

Not pictured but equally valuable:
real garlic (Don’t even tell me if you use pre-minced, dried or *gag* powdered garlic. I will not want you as a friend any longer.)
good quality chocolate (see coffee reference above)
down pillows (see sheets reference above)

OK. Give me the scoop! What am I living without that I desperately need?

Every few years I think, “I should knit something.”
That’s because it takes me a few years to forget that although knitting should be easy, in actual fact it isn’t easy and, quite frankly, I’m not very good at it.
I have no clue why I thought I needed a cardigan. It’s only just dropped below 30 degrees Celcius in the last week (I don’t know what that is in Fahrenheit. Hot.) and it never gets cold here anyway.
The real problem started because I was bored at the shops waiting for my daughter and so I bought a knitting magazine. That evil thing seduced me into thinking
a. I can knit
b. I could need something warm one day
c. home-knitted stuff doesn’t look daggy these days
d. this won’t take long

Ha!

I can’t read knitting patterns so I had to make it up as I went along. I didn’t have a clear vision in my head of what I wanted. I get sick of knitting REALLY quickly.So, I ended up with this…

There are bits I really like a lot. Like the red crosses. They were a good idea (they are on the side seams, too, you just can’t see it in the photo). And the crocheted edge is fine.
I don’t like that it’s heavy (I was hoping for light and snuggly. I got heavy and stretchy and reminiscent of an army blanket). And, of course, it doesn’t look nearly as good on my porky bits as it does on my slender daughter.

But, I am far from discouraged. Remember that cool red and white yarn? I have another cardigan started in that. It’s definitely lighter. Should be a bit cooler, too.More of what you might call a “Tropical Knit”.

Thank you so much from both of us for all those anniversary wishes! We really do feel blessed and grateful.
And, Meredith, you crack me up! STILL moaning about that dress twenty five years after the fact. At the age of five my baby sister lived in shorts and she hated her flower girl dress so much that her bottom lip stuck out for the entire day of our wedding! It was pretty hilarious really. I should probably have tried to accommodate her more. M, I appreciate that you suffered for me and hereby publicly acknowledge your pain. If it’s any consolation at all, I promise that if I ever have another wedding you will be allowed to wear hotpants. In fact, I will insist that you wear hotpants.

On a crafting note: There are quilts being born in this house…

I am very happy

That’s what Peter calls this chocolate cake recipe. He makes a pretty good cake, does Pete.
Quick and Dirty could also describe these recipe pages I’m making. These are no scrapbook pages, works of art, laboured over many long hours.They take about half an hour each (at the most) and I would like them to have a “banged together in a hurry” feel.
In answer to your questions about the last page and the butterfly post, I used a “Whale of a Punch” (that’s the brand!) that cost about $24 at a local scrapbooking shop. The wings are about 1 3/4″ across and they are punched out of a magazine.
The recipe page is squares of envelopes (from our office mail) just glued down with a few of my left-over butterflies glued on top and the recipe hand-written over that. I quite like to write sideways because it makes my writing look better!

We have a series of recipes that are lovingly stored on scratty pieces of paper that live on top of the microwave oven. Favourite recipes that have been scrawled by hand on envelopes by now-deceased loved ones or printed off the Interwebs from long-forgotten sites. I had a panic attack on the weekend when I couldn’t find A Recipe. I had visions of the mouldy, sticky, dot matrix printout having been accidentally turfed in the bin and I Knew What Had to be Done.
A Recipe Book. A recipe book that contains all of the favourites that we would be sad to lose. A recipe book that can have lots of pages added to it over time. Here is page one, made with envelopes and left-over butterflies. It’s our Crunchy Lemon Muffin recipe, shared here and devoured several times a year at our house.

I have had Catherine Swan’s website bookmarked for the longest time. Her butterflies have made me smile over and over again. Then Erin showed us this from Ali Edwards site and I knew it was time to get my act together and make some of my own. (Thanks for the push, Erin!) I was so enthused I cut straight into my new issue of inside design before I’ d even read it…

Me watching the other 7Days guys , after work today. Too tired for anything of Artistic Merit

Day 2 of 7 Days and the theme “Blue”.

“Blue” was…
… being part of a crowd last night that simultaneously all shouted “CUNT!”
My first ever viewing of The Vagina Monologues. There was much to think about, much to nod knowingly about, much to disagree with. I want to see it again in another place with different stories. I’m expecting this to be one of those theatre experiences that sneaks back to visit my thoughts from time to time.

Edited later that day…
Soooo. Veerrryyy interesting… I would have thought a few Vagina-type words would have sent the stats soaring, but noooooo…
All a bit scared, are we?
Nevermind, if the V or C words are worrisome, you could always call it your Thomas Murphy instead!

It’s time for another round of self portraits with 7 Days! I started doing 7 Days for two reasons -
1. Sarah asked me to. And Sarah is lovely and funny and kind and I like her.
2. I thought, “That’s a great way to make oneself more comfortable in one’s own skin.”

Well, it isn’t really. I still look at every photo and gasp at the gazillion imperfections. (can I just point out that my nose looks disproportionately HUGE in this shot because I took it on macro and my nose was the closest point to the lens? I just. needed. to. mention that.)
But sometimes I’m surprised by what I see. Like this one, where I took a photo of myself and inside the camera it turned into a photo of my Dad.

Thank you all for being understanding and sweet. I feel much better thank you *mwah*

I just thought of a third reason for doing 7 Days - I’m a NARCISSIST!!

…you make a public arse of yourself?

And no one tells you? In case you’ve been waiting and wondering why I haven’t posted photos of the quilt I finished a few days ago, the Twelve by Twelve reveal isn’t for another few weeks. I was thirty days early.
Holy cow, there’s a first for you!
Thanks for the heads-up, O Fair Weather Friends

Not that I can talk about being a good mate. My emailing has been negligent for a while.There has been sadness on the Interweb lately, people, and it’s affecting me more than it should. And March 2 would have been my sweet boy’s 21st birthday. And I’ve been busy doing this…

I don’t want to give the impression that I’m wallowing, because I’m not. Just lacking a little spark and needing lots of thinking time.
Normal contact will resume shortly.