Remembering

Yesterday was a day of remembering, not that I don't almost every day.  My mother past away five years ago, and as most of us these days are saying, where has the time gone.  I miss the chats that we had and the things we had in common, both of us being very crafty,  my mother taught me  most of the things I know.  Sometimes I still go to pick up the phone to talk to mum and tell her something that has happened during the day or something new that I have just done.   Mum was my biggest fan when I started  patchwork and quilting, she received the first quilt I made, and although it was not perfect she admired it.   During the week before she passsed away she was crocheting a shawl that she was to enter in a local show, even though she was not well she was determined to finish it, and she did.  It was entered on her behalf where it won a prize, she would have been very proud.  My niece Laura now proudly owns that shawl.   One of my sisters and I organised to meet with my dad to visit the cemetary on the anniversary of her passing and then have some lunch together.  My son Daniel said that he would like to join us so he was volunteered to do the driving.   I wanted to buy flowers but with Mothers Day just a couple of weeks ago I knew there wouldn't be any room for fresh flowers at the grave side  and they don't last long anyway.  I found a little squat shaped pot of  cacti in the florist shop, mum used to have a lovely cacti garden in the back garden of the house we grew up in, so I knew she like them, just perfect.   It seems that my youngest sister also had the same idea, there was another pot of cacti resting on the side of the headstone. It seems mum has her cacti garden to keep again.    My brother-in-law also joined us and while we had a lovely lunch in the heritage listed hotel in South Morang we had a few reminiscences, a day mum would have liked. Miss you.

A little knitted jacket

Noah in his new jacket

It is a wet day here today, just the sort of weather for sitting inside and doing something crafty.  I am almost finished the little jacket I started a couple of weeks ago for my youngest grandson, just knitting the hood and then I will be able to sew it together.  Next week I will be flying interstate to spend some time with my son and his family, so instead of posting the two little jumpers and beanie that I've knitted, I will be able to give them to Noah and see that they will fit.  I am looking forward to this trip, I don't see them often enough and the children are growing so quickly.  The eldest of my sons boys will start school next year,  it seems such a short time since my daughter-in-laws mum and I were waiting in the lounge of the hospital for news of his birth, we were both so excited to hear that it was a boy and to see this perfect little baby for the first time.

Dog wash

This morning I decided that both my dogs needed a bath,  they are both inside outside dogs but when the weather is good mostly outside.  I'm not very keen on washing them when it cools down because it means that I'll have to have them inside till they dry off.   I have a very old dog she is a mixed breed terrier and I also have a ten month old, he is a poodle cross.   The old dog Casey, is easy to lift into the laundry sink to wash, she has been bathed this way for a long time so she just sits quietly till I'm finished.  I quickly dry her off  and leave a towel on the floor which she uses to rub herself on all over till she is satisfied that she is dry.  Tyler on the other hand is not at all fond of water so bath time is more difficult, firstly  he is a bit bigger and heavier to lift into the tub and then he just wants to get out, so I am usually very wet by the time we finish. Then he shakes water every where, definately doesn't have Casey's manners. Once they are both dry I let them out into the yard, and of course the first thing they do is rub themselves in the garden. Clean for such a short time. Haa.

Mothers Day

Yesterday was Mothers Day and I was looking forward to spending the day with my family.  My daughter Taneesha is a single mum of a very busy two year old,  I don't need to tell anyone how much energy it takes to care for a child, work part-time and run a household plus a popular cooking blog. I thought she deserved a sleep in and a lovely breakfast so asked her and Deacon to stay over night on Saturday so I could do this for her.   I had given her a choice of yummy breakfast ideas to choose from, and from these she chose rosti, smoked salmon, poached egg with hollandaise on sour dough toast.   Deacon rose early, as kids do,  I had closed the door to Taneesha's room, because he often stays overnight with me he wasn't even aware she was here.  The two of us worked in the kitchen, Deacon being my little helper, while I tried to keep him quiet till we had produced a yummy offering. Table was set with lace tablecloth, china and flowers.  He was surprised to find his mummy here, he thought his Aunty Jacinta was sleeping in the spare room because I had asked him to be quiet and he had noticed the closed door.  Taneesha was happy with her sleep in and enjoyed her breakfast . After clearing away breakfast and the dishes the rest of the day was mine to enjoy, along with my daughters, daughter- in-law, son and grandsons. Taneesha cooked a lovely roast lunch, we had a few glasses of wine and relaxed around the table.

Space Rockets and Aliens



Deacons new apron



Some time last year Teej purchased some fabric to cover a lamp shade for Deacon's room, well it never happened, she found a rocket shaped wall light instead and so the fabric was put aside. Deacon has a space themed bedroom and this fabric is covered in space ships, rockets, aliens, and robots.  This week she bought some more fabric to make a little apron for Deacon, he often stands at the kitchen bench while she is cooking and helps. While browsing through the shop we came across the craft section and found some light weight wooden rocket shapes, these could be painted or covered with paper or fabric. We had been talking earlier about using the fabric she had purchased to make something for his bedroom walls, so she bought one of the rocket shapes that we could use as a template.  This morning I have been playing with designs, and I have made one and am waiting for Teej to have a look and give her approval before continuing with more, I think it will need some stars as well.

Hand made gifts

One of my daughters friends, who follows my blog suggested I should make and sell the bag that I have just made for my Mother-in-Law for Mothers Day. I have thought about this in the past, but the problem is that by the time you add the costs to produce hand made items the cost is more that most people are willing to pay.  In the past I have made a  lot of different items that I have given as gifts to family and friends. They have been excited to receive what has been made by me so  I will continue to make things for those close to me.  On Monday after dropping rubbish at the tip, my son and I wandered over to the recycle centre to have a look, I spotted two wooden kitchen chairs, almost the same as the chairs that I have. They seemed in need of little repair, or so I thought,  until I asked Daniel to lift them from their hiding place. A dog had chewed quite a considerable chunk from one leg, Daniel promptly put it back, but I have been thinking about this and wonder if the leg could be replaced, of course it could, I wonder how much it would cost? Then I could paint them both and it would solve the problem of not enough chairs when everyone are over for dinner. Should I just keep looking?

cute shopping bag

Last week I decided to make a bag for my mother-in-law for Mothers Day.  Every Tuesday a small group of women, including myself meet for craft morning and a chat.   Sometimes we bring along magazines that we have doubled up on or no longer need for someone else to use.  While scanning through one that was placed on the table I saw a pattern for a shopping bag,  it was in an old Patchwork and Stitching (Vol 11 No1) magazine and thought it would make a great gift.  I find I have trouble finding gifts for the oldies in the family, maybe I should include myself  in that comment. Haa Haa after all,  I have turned 6o years and my grandsons think I'm old.   Back to the bag, I set aside the weekend to make it and as usual did'nt have everything I needed, I had to go shopping to find the rings to attach the handles to the bag and our local store didn't have any in stock. Needless to say  a trip out of town to Spotlight was needed to buy them, and while there I spent some time browsing, so,  I did'nt get the bag finished untill today, it will be in tomorrows post, I just hope it arrives by Friday because it has to go interstate. I'm happy with the way it has turned out, I just hope she will be wearing her red coat again this winter.

Under the weather

I have been feeling lethargic this week, not sure if it's because the sun has departed and left cloud and rain in it's place,  or my Addisons decease is telling me to slow down. Either way I have been taking it easy at home, I don't seem to have much energy to do anything anyway.  Teej and Deacon came to visit today, I haven't seen him in over a week, it is wonderful to see him so excited when he runs at me for a hug. We just had a chicken toasted sandwich and one of Teej's yummy home made banana and walnut cup cakes.  
This week Teej is making an effort to toilet train Deacon,  there have been quite a few accicidents to clean up, and she has been running the washing machine every day  to keep up with the demand for dry clothes.  It seems he is doing much better at day care  probably because there are other children the same age to copy. They also have child size toilets and basins which aren't as scary as the toilets at home.
 Mothers day is next weekend and instead of shopping for something for my mother-in-law, which is difficult because it has to be something I can post, I have decided to raid my fabric stash where I found fabrics I had forgotten I had bought and make her a carry bag.  I have everything laid out on the table, if I cut it out tonight I should be able to finish it before Monday when I can post it off.