Sunday, January 31, 2010

Shorty & the Rain Dance

This morning it was blue skies all the way as we drove to Ballarat. I love the drive through the green & tan fields under the big country sky.

We were on a turtle mission. Bill has been saving up and waiting & wishing for his turtle for a couple of years now. And today was the day!! I was pretty excited too, having had a turtle when I was little and loving him so much. At the pet shop we looked into the tank at the little turtles swimming & sunbaking on rocks and then...suddenly...there he was!!!

Shorty!!


He seemed to blink in a kind of 'hi there' way, and soon he was in a container and heading home with us. Bill is one happy fella and we're all a bit in love with our newest family member. He is so tiny. About the size of a fifty cent piece.



After getting him settled at home the lights and power suddenly went out. The sky became dark and the biggest thunderstorm in ages arrived. I don't think it's rained since New Years Eve.



Sunday started the rain dance...



...Lucy joined in &

they twirled, and whirled in the rain.





Rain, glorious rain!


Do you remember dancing in the rain when you were little?


Well we're all snug & dry now and the power is back on. Our garden is breathing a sigh of relief as it's been so dry lately. The ducks and chooks were pretty happy too.

I'm off to read some more of this fantastic book. I'm loving it. Set in Melbourne by award winning author, Joan London, it's a really enjoyable read. Hope you are snuggled up too, getting ready for the week. Have a happy one xo

Saturday, January 30, 2010

My Place & Yours, Shoes.....

I



need



new

shoes.
(That's all, I need.)

Quick, run!! There are actual, nice, colourful, real life shoes over here!! Thanks Vic for hosting & Gypsy for being the Theme Queen this weeks My Place & Yours, you're both superstars xo

Flea Market Finds



This is my first time playing along with Sophie from Her Library Adventures with her excellent meme Fleamarket Finds. As you may already know I am a compulsive op shopper & also love junk shops, bazaars, markets of all kinds & garage sales. I've also been known to peek into skips, poke around at the tip & eye of hard garbage. I think it's a genetic thing. Like my bunions but a whole lot better.


Anyways, this week I found this sweet little Japanese music box, and guess what? Although I have four daughters who would all love it....I kept it for myself!



It plays Raindrops in a funny, jaunty kind of way. I love it's little red door way,



and of course the ballerina who lives inside.





It seems that half one of her arms has broken off but that doesn't stop her from dancing.
This lovely treasure cost all of $1.50. Ahhhh...country op shops, you're the best.




From the same oppy came these two books. Check out the kooky/evil eyes on the March sisters above! Is that Bette Davis top right?




Jennifer sure new how to give a good present back in the 60's. Wonder where she & Barbara are now?


Also on the book front I'm loving the illustrations in this book, Mary Goes Travelling (by Gilbert Delahaye & Marcel Marlier).


You may recognise them from Pip's banner. On each page a wonderful scene unfolds, usually with a little sausage dog called Poppet.



Lastly I must show you this doona cover I found for Bill. It's covered in vintage Australian stamps & he loves it!


What a great score. This one is definitely too good to cut up!


For more Flea market finds go and have a look here, and enjoy the rest of your weekend, where ever you are xo

Thursday, January 28, 2010

My Creative Space

At the last Maker's Market a lovely woman asked me to make two Bunnies in Beds for her twin daughters. The bunnies are to be special birthday presents for the girls are turning three in early February.


Fast forward to the end of January and guess who is a bit absent minded? Yep, but I'm on the job & am whipping up those bunnies as we speak.


Cutting them out and choosing fabric for their ears & skirts.




Oh & juggling four end- of- school- holiday- bored & tetchy kids. Lets just say that the conditions are not ideal for clearing thinking, organised making!
Good thing I've got the nights to sew too.


Tomorrow we'll get the Jigsaw out and make the beds. And paint them. And make up the bedding - little patchwork bedspreads I think!
So, it's going to be a busy few days but I"m so excited to be making twin bunnies! Yippee! Hope you are having a creative day, for more spaces pop over here xo

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Australia Day



Today was Australia Day, what does that mean for you? I love Australia but I don't feel like I need a special day to appreciate it. We didn't celebrate but we did have a lovely day. Perhaps today was more a celebration of our Australian/Swedish/American family in a way, and our life in a small country town.




There was buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, a big hit with all of us! Then the kids set up a stall just down from our house, with Ruby from Nextdoor. They sold eggs, herbs, plums, jam and flowers.




Inspired by Kate, who is always whipping up beautiful dresses for her girls, and Charlotte, who threw this little number (see below) together this morning, I made an attempt at a dress for Sunday.





We were in Ballarat yesterday & went to a great opshop where amongst other things I bought two white singlets.




I sewed a part of this pretty pink & yellow flowery sheet onto one of the singlets & suddenly it was a dress! Sunday was so excited and looked so pretty in it. I really enjoyed making something special for her.



Ok so then Rosie wanted a big of the action. Lucky I had two singlets!




A sweet cotton nightie was cut into two and hemmed, and the bottom part sewn onto the singlet no.2.


You can see that they were both pretty simple but it was satisfying, fun & quick.
Rosie loved her dress too & danced in it till she was exhausted.


One day I'd like to learn more about how to sew from a pattern & I'd love to be more confident & make more clothes for the kids, and hopefully myself!


Charlotte has started packing to go back to school. It's a tricky time for us all as we feel the sand disappearing under our feet, the water dragging her back into the big ocean of Melbourne & school. We've had so much fun together, this summer, it's been the best. I hate her going away and last night I found myself crying in bed, anticipating her not being around. I know I'm a big sook & prone to crying at the drop of a hat, but it's just hard. I'm not great with change & always have this difficult time when Charlotte leaves.


It's a good thing she was being silly today because that really cheered me up! The girls played dolls, yes even Charlotte, and sat on the back steps being funny.


Then it was back to more sewing, Ruby made a book cover & Lucy started on a softie from the Meet Me at Mikes craft book.

While they got crafty I got out the new family calender & chore charts that we bought in Sydney. I'm hoping they will make life run a little more smoothly once school goes back. Anything that gets me more oganised can't be a bad thing. I'm half looking forward to returning to school routine & half terrified that I'll sleep in, or forget something important. I'm really going to miss the relaxed pace of the holidays & having lots of unscructured time with the kids, but I will enjoy having some more time to myself & hopefully I'll get some sewing done too!


What's happening in your world this week? Hope you're having a good one, see you soon xo


Sunday, January 24, 2010

What I'm reading & Sydney Part 2




The night before we left for Sydney I found this funny old book in a bookshop in Brunswick St.

It has some great real life stories in it and I'm loving reading about the history & people of a long ago Sydney. I couldn't help staying up late on Friday night to read it, finding myself in a world of crime & punishment & scandal! I hope to catch up with what other people are reading so I'll be hopping over to Punky & Me to see later on.



On Saturday morning Charlotte & I took the train & bus to Bondi Beach. What a magnificent beach it is, my photo's just don't do it justice. I think because we live so far from the sea I really crave these beachy views. I can't get enough of that never ending sky & sea.







We were silly to leave our bathers at the hotel so in a moment of inspiration we found a swimwear shop that had a $10 sale! After trying on some pretty freaky and ill fitting bathers we settled on the best of a bad lot and hightailed it down to the beach. The water was cool and so delicious. It was one of those shiny, white hot days, when you feel your skin almost sizzling as you enter the water. We could have stayed there, floating, vaguely body surfing, and people watching all day. What a beautiful swim it was and so lovely to be sharing the experience with Charlotte.







We didn't have towels and just put our clothes on over the top to keep us cool on the bus ride to Paddington. It was hard to say goodbye to Bondi Beach, Sydney sure has some amazing beaches.



Then it was off to Paddington Market! The last time I visited this fantastic & super creative market would have been over ten years ago. I was happy to find it is still as good as it was back then.


Lots of young and new designers - alot of jewellery & clothes. Interestingly there wasn't much that reminded me of things I've seen at Melbourne/Victorian markets. Not much crochet or many brooches, bags or softies etc.



I bought a great little blue leather purse from Amber Gaye, a much needed replacement for my tiny plastic Care Bear purse!




Charlotte bought a goreous dress from Pretty In Pink who sell yep, you guessed it, lots of pretty dresses and vintage inspired clips, purses, shorts, robes and other sweet things.


It was soon time to go but not before we accidentally caused a car accident! Charlotte hailed a cab to take us back to the hotel and as the cab stopped quickly to pick us up the silver car behind it also braked too hard. This meant the car behind it crashed into the back of the silver car! It was all pretty crazy and Silver Car Guy was not impressed. People were watching from the cafes and we just stood there as the drivers argued and swore! Should have caught the bus!


Back at Potts Point we had just enough time for Char to get her nails done at USA Nails! Don't they look fancy?


Sadly our trip was coming to an end. We took a cab out to the airport and headed home. I think it was one of the best holidays I've ever had. We had so many laughs and just loved looking around beautiful Sydney together. I lapped up the time with Charlotte, loving every minute. She is such good company and we didn't have one bad moment. The hard part is that she is going back to school this week and that made the time together even more special.


Today I'm having trouble adjusting to family life, folks. It's so great to be back with the kids and Mark but I have to admit I could get used to a holiday lifestyle!! While I'm looking forward to the school routine in one way we're also coming to the end of summer holidays & the transition can be hard. At least I have some great memories of our holiday to Sydney to day dream about, might have to start planning the next trip!

Hope your week is a happy one, see you soon xo