Screen Printy Goodness :D

As promised, screen printy goodness from yesterdays Brown Owls meet.

The apple design is mine. It is quite daunting being presented with a blank sheet of paper, and there was quite a bit of sitting and staring at the page around the table!!

The cute little helicopter belongs to Justine (who organises the Perth Upmarket, which BTW is on next Sunday, 7 June at the Perth Town Hall. Go to www.perthupmarket.com.au for deets).

And check out those two little puppers!!! Too cute, Ebony and Ashy *head tilt* ahhhhnnnn :)

Thanks heaps to the wonderful Kirsty for letting us take over her home for the afternoon (and threaten to steal the puppers away!!!).

Much fun was had by all.

I may be heading off to obtain screen printing supplies...

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Day 31 of 31 (definitely NOT 365!!!) Whew! Kind of glad that those 31-days are over. Not that it was particularly onerous or anything, but sometimes I felt like I was grasping for something to write...But, the exercise WAS good for getting me used to regularly blogging, no matter what the content :). So, whilst I doubt that I will be blogging every day, I will certainly be doing it much more regularly than I was prior to the month.

Brown Owls - hoot! hoot!

Crafty Brown Owl goodness went on today.

!!!!!!!!!!!!SCREEEEEEEEENNNNNNNN-PRINTINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

*ahem*

So. Much. Fun. Haven't done screen-printing since art in High School (which I took to a TEE level thankyouverymuchandlearntallaboutimpressionistsandthedadamovementblahblahblah).

My last attempts at screen printing seem to have been a tea-towel with a rather terrible rendering of a plant of some description in a delightful primary red and navy blue. My mum still has (and uses) this terrible attack on the fine art of screenprinting. I also seem to recall doing tee-shirts in Applied Art. Sopme trite copy of a surf shirt design slithers through my memory.

Todays efforts? OMG!!!! So much cooler.

Pictures are ready to be uploaded. More on this tomorrow. Promise :D

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Day 30 of 31 (or a not-very-likely 365) Bought a snuggly new jacket yesterday. Wore it today. Mistake. Still too hot. Sweaty. Yech. But I looked cool :)

..I've got Friday on my miiiiinnnndddddd.....

Yay!

Foundation Day Long Weekend here in WA.

Three consecutive days of craftability.

Brown Owls meet tomorrow (ooooh, screenprinting...) and other big plans afoot to actually FINISH the Bento Box Quilt...course, I have said that to myself the last three weekends...

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Day 29 0f 31 (or 365...or not) Meh. Friday's suck ar$e. Longest. Week. Eveeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr.

My Creative Space

How cute is this little set of drawers that my Mum bought me for my birthday last year!

She reckons its supposed to be a spice drawer, but I use it in my craft room to hold all sorts of sewing pins, safety pins and small buttons.

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Day 28 of 31 (or 365) Is a Cup Noodle considered a balanced meal, do you think? Perhaps if I also have a banana?

Cookies

I can HIGHLY recommend the Double Chocolate and Chilli cookies from this cookbook.

Sans chilli.

Delicious, chocolatey goodness. And easy to make :D

My cookie-filled, fattened up co-workers agree...hehe...
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Day 27 of 31 (or 365) Very, very, very cold in the outdoor pool at training this morning. I suggested to my coach that we hop out of the pool and go indoors to watch the men's waterpolo team train (um, PHWOAR!!!!!), but she said no. Heart of stone, I tells ya :)

Crafting

*gulp*

I swear that there HAS been craft content here at the WKDN household.

Honest.

I'm just finishing something up and taking progress photos and when it's finished I PROMISE all will be revealed (ooh...that made it sound a tad more exciting than it really is...)

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Day 26 of 31 (or 365) Wow. I've got a lot of 'stuff' in my freezer. And by 'stuff' I mean food. And by 'food' I mean indistinguishable frozen lumps of what might be actual food...hmmmmm

Breaking up is hard to do

Tony The Physio broke up with me today.

That is - he doesn't want to see me again...not until next time I injure myself!!

Which means, I am officially cleared to go back to run training.

Yaaaaayyyyyy!!!

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Day 25 of 31 (or 365) - Baked goods went down a treat at work. At least if I can't be thinner, i can actively fatten up my co-workers so I at least look thinner :D

More baking :D

Ooooh yeah baby...

Mmmmmhhmmmm.

Melting moments sandwiched with rhubarb custard. Stewed the rhubarb and made the custard MYSELF!!!

Double choc cookis.

::Drool::

So gooooooood.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes. Lemon curd made by my own fair hand.

Apple and Custard Teacakes.

::phew::

It's been a baking extravaganza here today, peeps. I really, really needed that!

Quite frankly, I am pooped (and my belly is full of 'broken' baked goods. Quality control. Yep)
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Day 24 of 31 (or 365) Did my funrun this morning. No rain (which was a good thing). 5 degrees (which was a bad thing). Brrrrrr. Had to break out my cycling armwarmers to wear so my arms didn't freeze!! Luckily, my hip didn't play up and I managed to finish in a reasonably respectable time of about an hour for 10km. :D I'm not even sore at the moment, but I'll bet that Tony The Physio will find the sore spot tomorrow...

Winter is here

(note...photo above is not of Perth, but of lovely hometown of Albany...feels like a comparable temperature today and the wind is still strong!!!)

Brrrrr!

Well, the strong winds and driving rain appear to have moderated somewhat. Still windy and still rainy, but not as much as it has been (and certainly - I am sure - nowhere near as bad as in Qld and NSW). Mind you, we did commiserate with the loss of a local Perth landmark in the form of the old pylon at Cottesloe Beach. *sigh*

But BOY! Is it cold today or what!! Or perhaps this city living business, with its airconditioning and climate controlled whatnot has softened me up. I am after all from Albany down on the Sth Coast of WA, where it's pretty much cold all year round, but more so in winter. Took an ex-boyfriend down there in February for a friends wedding (which is still summer peeps) and all he could do was b!tch about how cold it was...

I don't know if I've got soft or not - I've never been particularly fond of cold weather per se, but could always live through it with appropriate heating - but my house is like a freaking barn. It is a reasonably large house, and there is really only one door that can close off any part of it (not a particularly energy efficient abode much to my chagrin). My lounge / kitchen / dining is MASSIVE - probably about the same size as the average 2 bed 1 bath apartment - and luckily can be closed off from the rest of the cavernous house.

But...I am without heating of any description at the moment. (The gas heater belonged to my ex, and obvy he took that with him when he left).

I had thought that maybe I could tough it out for the time being, given that I am looking for a place of my own to buy and didn't want to pay out good money on something that I would have to a) cart around with me, b) might not suit where I move to and c) I am pretty cheap regarding paying good money for electricity and gas when I don't have to.

Sadly, I am not sure I am going to be able to hold out!!! My hands are so cold right now that I am actually having trouble typing!!!

Usually, I shut the interior door and then open the vertical blinds and let the sun stream in through the massive floor to ceiling glass windows (or as I like to call them in winter, The Freezer Panes because obvy they also let the heat escape) and the glass sliding door.
This has the lovely effect of warming the air and raising the ambient temperature without wrecking my wallet or the environment, but also warms the floor tiles to the point where my room-mate actually asked me if we had underfloor heating! (HA! As if!).

Sadly today, there is very little in the way of sun peeping through the clouds, which is rendering it somewhat chillier than I envisaged. I am currently snuggled up on the couch with a quilt and laptop on my lap (the heat generated from the laptop is quite cosy...) wearing socks and three tops.

Would adding a beanie to the mix be taking it too far or should I just buy a heater....
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Day 23 of 31 (or 365) - doing a 10km 'Fun Run' tomorrow. Have always thought of that term as a bit of an oxymoron and given that rain is forecast tomorrow morning I don't think it's going to be too much fun...oh well. For a good cause in Appealathon at least.

Did I mention...

...the cooking?

I love to cook. LOVE.

Baking. Stewing. Casseroling. My own bread, buns and cinnamon scrolls. Biscuits. Soup. Ice cream without using a machine. Brownies. Friands. I have a special madeleine tin. And a Kugelhopf pan. The list goes on :D And, I am very good at it. Past co-workers speak longingly of The Baking. The threat of Not Baking ensures I get my way plenty of the time. I've had marriage proposals. Usually from the already married. And women. But there you go.

Today, I discovered the Smitten Kitchen website.

::swoons::

Oh lordy.

I already had a hankering for some baking to be done this weekend, but now I can barely contain myself. So much so that I decided at lunchtime today that I simply had to have homemade pizza for dinner tonight....Did I mention I live by myself??

Anyways, here is my pizza dough recipe. I mix mine up in a breadmaker cos it's easier but you can easily mix and knead it yourself.

Kylie's Pizza Dough
7g dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups plain flour
olive oil
cornmeal / polenta

A) Mix the first 4 ingredients into a small bowl. Cover with clingwrap and place somewhere warm for 10 minutes. It's ready to go when its foamy.

B) put the yeast starter into the breadmaker pan and then put the flour on top (or per your machines instructions. Mine does it this way. If you are not using a breadmaker, put the flour in a bowl first, make a well and then pour in the starter. )

C) Select pasta dough programme and press start...or, knead by hand. If kneading by hand, you will need to let the dough rise until it's almost doubled in size. Do this in a bowl covered tightly with clingwrap. If using a breadmaker, your machine will (should) take care of this.

Once the dough has risen, you can either make one thick crust pizza or two thin crust pizzas. If making two thin crusts, split the dough into two. The dough can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days or frozen. Defrost in the fridge.

Roll required amount of dough out on a floured surface until it is about the size of the pizza tray you will use. Brush tray with olive oil and sprinkle sparingly with polenta (do NOT go overboard here...I did tonight and it makes for a weirdly crunchy texture, and it's kinda hard to brush off without losing the toppings...just a word to the wise is all). Move the dough circle (or whatever other shape you are going for) onto the tray in whichever way works for you. Half draping it over my rolling pin works for me.

Place your chosen toppings on and awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy you go :D

My pizza had (mostly stuff I found lurking in the fridge...it's grocery day tomorrow) tomato paste from a heap of ketchup sachets I had skulking in the pantry; turkey slices; fat free bacon (ha! Take that freezer! I will empty you); tomato slices; red capsicum slices; artichoke hearts; anchovies; black olives; pesto; and cheese.

Bake in a 210 degree pre-heated oven(non-fanforced if possible. If using fanforced as I have to do (the fan on my stupid oven cannot be turned off), drop the temp back about 20 degrees) for about 20 minutes, taking care that the crust does not burn.

Slice and serve. Yummers ;)

(sorry there are no photos...I got a bit carried away with the culinary creating and eventual eating)
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Day 22 of 31 (or 365) One problem with cooking ones own pizza. It smells soooooo good, that one does not wait until it is cool enough to eat, and therefore burns the roof of ones mouth. To the point where the skin peels off. Yech. But the pizza was totally worth it. Ate nearly the whole thing...

Marie Claire Idees

OMG.

Yum!!

Just picked up the Spring (I think...) issue of Marie Claire idees, and although my French skills are extreeeeeemely sketchy (I do remember that printemps means spring...I think....) it is just FABULOUS.

::swoon::

Love, love, love.

It has the cutest little knitted vegetables, such as cauliflower, turnips, carrots and trussed tomatoes. I MUST KNIT THESE. I dont need them, but I want them :D

I may be spending a lot of time on Babelfish translating the instructions!!
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Day 21 of 31 (or 365) - finally we have rain here in Perth. And what rain!!! Just missed getting drenched at lunchtime and then spent about 10 minutes watching the rain sheeting off the building opposite. It was practically coming down sideways!! At least my garden wont need water this week.

Why....

...do men - no matter what their age - have to be such jerks.

Sheesh.

Honestly.

Sometimes I wonder, I really do.

You'd think that I'd learn.

::shakes head::

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Day 20 of 31 (or 365). Jerks.

Run Through The Jungle & 10 on Tuesdays

(yes...that is me. I am running and not walking...)

Yay!!

Almost got the all clear from Tony the Physio! Despite the bruising I received from his tender ministrations on Friday (which still hurts BTW), I am cleared to go for a 'gentle' run today (which I didn't actually do...) and another 'gentle' run on Thursday. I have to miss training again on Friday, but I do have a 10km Fun Run on Sunday.



Yay again!!



::blinks::

*mutters* I can't believe I am actually so very excited about being able to run again...I may have been kidnapped by pod people... :D



As for 10 on Tuesdays - today the email had two topics...10 Favourite Cities or 10 Celebrities you are most over.



Hmmm.



I think I'll do a mix - 5 of each.

5 Favourite Cities
1 - Perth. The city I currently live in. Great weather. Small city. Easy to get around. All good.
2 - Melbourne. The capital of the state of my birth. Cold. But fabulous.
3 - Singapore. I think, technically, a city state? The city of my father and grandfathers birth.
4 - Kuala Lumpur. Love.
5 - Wellington, NZ. Resembles how I assume parts of England look.

5 Celebrities I am most over
1 - Lindsey Lohan. Enough. Already.
2 - Jordan / Peter Andre. Pfft. Whatever.
3 - Any NRL players and/or their $ex groupies. Yech.
4 - Oprah. Never really warmed to the woman. Dont know why.
5 - Any celebrity who b!tches about being hounded by paparazzi when you know damn well they probably tipped them off about where they would be. You cannot have the fame and fortune and yet still expect your every trip to the 7-Eleven to be paparazzi free. That said I don't agree with hounding people all the time and in their own homes etc. But really. If the paps left them alone...then they'd b!tch about that too!!!


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Day 19 of 31 (or 365) Am I the only history nerd who enjoys watching Time Team on ABC?

My Creative Space

Well...my grandly title 'Craft Room' in any case! Realistically, my actual creative space is more often than not the couch in front of the TV.

I am pretty lucky to live in a large-ish town house with 4 bedrooms, one of which is downstairs and therefore more like an office. But with a built in robe!! Yay!

I hate to think what I'm going to do if I move to a smaller place...yipes!!!
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Day 18 of 31 (or 365) - Meh. First day back at work after a weeks holidays. Bah humbug.

C&QS Schwag

Yum! Delicious purchases from the C&QS on Friday : )


The whole haul - some trims; vintage kimono scraps; buttons; flower trims and Moda fabric

Loving these vintage kimono scraps from Perth-based Sanshi Fabrics. No idea what I'm going to do with them, but they were far to beautiful to pass up.

MMMmmmmmmm. Moda Fabric squares. This is the third lot of Moda squares that I have bought and subsequently done nothing with except pet them occasionally...This pack has lovely spring colours, florals, polka dots, stripes and a cute sewing themed print.

A selection of laces and trims from a trim 'mystery' pack I picked up from one of the stall holders.

And....last - but certainly NOT least!!!

Four camel shaped buttons.

Why the four camel shaped buttons you may very well ask. Well. It's my mother you see. She likes camels. She's ridden camels. She (therefore) collects...camels.

::sigh::

Camels are a very difficult, um, motif to locate, so when I see anything remotely camel related, I tend to snap it up. Don't know what to do with these, but next gift-giving occasion is Christmas, so I guess I have plenty of time to think about it!!

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Day 17 of 31 (or 365) - Well, WA has voted 'NO' to daylight savings. Not quite the 'resounding NO' that the papers are trumpeting - something like 45% of the WA popluation voted 'Yes', but it was simply not to be. Oh well...*shrugs* life goes on as it did before the trial period!

The Great WA Daylighgt Savings Debate...

...should end - either way - today, once the results of the polled votes in the referendum are tallied. I have to say, for those of you not in WA, the debate between Yes and No (and internally between Yes and Yes and No and No) have been quite, um, strident. There's been all sorts of allegations and claims and research quoted etc, etc. I for one will be glad when the furore dies down, whichever way the vote goes :)

(you may recognise the photo above as my blogheader...it's the only photo of the sunset in Perth that I have...sorry bout the repetition)

I've popped out this morning and placed my vote, which was for Yes. (ducks and prepares to be stoned / hung drawn and quartered by the 'No' camp...just joking peeps!!)

Realistically for me and my lifestyle, DLS or no DLS has very little impact.

Each day of the year my alarm goes off at 4am. Depending on the activities of my day I either snooze with the crackly radio on until its time to get up and shower and change for work and leave the house to catch the 6.41am bus to be at work by 7.00am.

If I have training in the mornings (which is most weekdays) I get my weary butt out of bed and either head to the pool (have to leave the house by 6.00am for a 6.30am start) or to running (various start times, the earliest of which is 6.00am which means I leave home at 5.30am to get to the track on time).

If it's a standard workday, I work 7.00am through until 4.00pm, if I've had training before work I usually leave at 5.00 or 5.30. I work for a large Bank, which has it's head office in Melbourne. Sometimes the time difference is a pain in the butt, but the reason I start so early is to try to kind of match my hours to theirs. I do this for no other reason than it suits me. I started doing it about three jobs ago as I dealt A LOT with the east back then, but not so much now, and it just made life easier with internal approval cut-off times etc etc. Also, it works better for me for public transport and I am lucky in that it works for those around me also.

So, I'm generally home by 4.30pm. When there is/was no DLS this means that I have my own kind of 'natural' DLS. Sure, I leave the house to go to work when it's dark, but I get that time back at the end of the day as I am still able to pop into the shops or go for a run or cycle or do whatever else I want to do in the sunlight.

Why vote 'Yes' then, you might ask?

Well, it's generally always some level of dark for me when I leave the house, which means I train in the pool in the dark, and I run on the track in the dark, and I run on the road in the dark (wearing reflective gear head to toe) and I cycle to work in the dark (again with the reflective gear...I sooooo do not want to be hit by a bus!) or I wait at the bus stop in the dark. DLS doesn't really address this for me due to my personal choice in starting work earlier than the norm.

But, the bit I enjoy most is the afternoons and evenings. Sure it's hotter - not because there's any extra hours in the day but because we have artifically moved the time - but it's not actually hotter for any longer. The daylight available at the end of the day means that I can get in some (more) training if I want and it is still light enough to relax outside afterwards, or go out with friends etc. Plus - you know what - in summer (which is when DLS operates) it's ALWAYS FREAKING HOT in Perth!!! Some weeks this summer the temperature didn't seem to drop below 'stinking-hot-OMG-why-is-my-aircon-so-crap' for weeks on end. I mean, it's May now and we haven't had rain for 22-days (or something) and the temperature is in the high 20's. It's hot I tells ya!!

I also agree that Perth has it's own 'natural' DLS if you like, due to the meridien or whatever that thingy is that passes closely to Perth. This pretty much means that because the fine state of WA is so large, there are already different timezones evident, but which we don't observe. But seriously...one timezone per state is enough methinks!!

So, whilst I appreciate that DLS is not for everyone, and goodness knows other *cough* athletes (I use that term quite loosely in reference to myself BTW) prefer no DLS, and it probably is harder on the kiddies to get to bed when it's still lighter outside (and all the other reasons that people have, which I completely respect), the end result for me is that it works for me; I prefer the lifestyle it offers me and I prefer being able to make my own semi-informed decision on that basis without people getting all huffy about me having an opinion that differs from theirs ;)

So, in any case (and to borrow a phrase from one of my favourite websites, cuteoverload.com) peeps of WA: Vote, Vote, Vote like a Baby Stoat (whichever way you decide!!).

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Day 16 of 31 (or 365) - aaaaahhhh, cool glass of Pepsi Max, Billy Joel on the stereo and beautiful warm sunny weather. Bliss :)

Craft & Quilt Show Perth 2009

Well, am back from the Craft & Quilt Show (let's call it CQS as I am having real dramas typing the word 'quilt' today). Lots of fund. Lots of money spent and am now a bit footsore!!!

The mosaic above shows some of the FABULOUS quilts I saw. Unbelieveable the amount of time and effort expended. The central square in the mosaic shows one of a number of quilts completed around a Royal Flying Doctor Services theme (sorry - I forget if they were for a competition or for fund raising...). What's awesome about this quilt, is that the 'plume' of dust coming from the plane is actually padded, which gives it an amazing 3-D look...not immediately obvious from my slightly substandard photo!

All of the quilts were amazing, but I particularly liked the quiltlet in the first two squares which was of two meerkats. The meerkats themselves were MACHINE STITCHED!!! So cute and cool. (I didn't really cut the head of the tallest meerkat off...that's just how the mosaic has done it...).

I didn't get a photo of the Best in Show Quilt - too many people standing in front of it so I couldn't get a clear shot!! But trust me when I say it was AWESOME. I'm not sure but I think it may have been hand quilted. It was huge. Wow.

My other favourite is the following quilt:

Over 10,000 teeny, tiny little hexagons. Hand pieced.

::blinks::

Jeepers.

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Day 15 of 31 (or 365) - *sigh* another physio visit. Fessed up to the fun run...and I dodn't get in trouble. Altho I do have bruising on my leg from the treatment, so maybe THAT'S my punishment, hehe...And Physio Tony says I can go for a run this weekend! Yay!!

May Update

Yes - I know it's only halfway thru the month, but a few things have been happening around my place, so rather than do interminable small posts, I thought one larger one would be better.

I also notice that I have skewed slightly away from the craft content in the last week or so. *shrugs* Hope nobody minds ;)

The house-hunting is going well, especially since the Budget announcement that I don't have only 6 weeks within which to sign a sale contract. Thanks K-Rudd. Finally, something for meeeeeeeeeeee in the budget! Unfortunately, I am one of those people who tends to miss out on the 'good' budget stuff. I don't earn a six figure income, but I do earn enough so that I hit the highest tax bracket for part of my wage. This means that I don't receive the whole $900 stimulus package as I earn a trifle too much. I don't have children so I don't receive family benefits (hope that's the right terminology!) or baby bonuses or anything children related. I'm not on a pension (thank goodness!) or a family or a student etc etc, so the First Home Owners Grant is one of the only things that directly benefits me. Oh, I realise there are roads and other infrastructure projects which benefit me, but it's different when you can get hold of something tangible ;)

Also, I am far less freaked out than I was last week in regards to actually getting a home loan. After calming myself the hell down and cogitating over it, it's much much less daunting now!!

Am off to the Craft and Quilt Show here in Perth tomorrow. Squeezing my visit in between my early morning cycling training (should be running but I am still out of commission slightly on that front) and a physio visit (see previous bracketed comment...I think my physio is paying off a boat $72 at a time!!). Should be fun, but must try not to spend too much money, both due to trying to maximise savings vis a vis new house purchase and also because I have quite enough craft stuff thankyou very much :)

Tomorrow night marks my official entry into the 'singles scene'. I've been single for nearly 6-months now, which is the longest time in my life since I was about 16. I've been on a few dates with a guy that turned out to be a bit of a chump (no matter!) and met one other lovely guy who is sweet but unsuitable (but lovely!!). So, I'm going to a Singles Party. Gulp. Gents up to the age of 39, which probably means that I will be one of the oldest ladies there...oh dear!! Will let you know how THAT pans out!!

Completed the Mothers Day Classic here on Mothers Day. This event raises funds for Breast Cancer Research by the staging of running and walking events across Australia. Here in Perth there were something like 2,500 entrants this year. Despite my physio's advice, I did complete the 7km run, in an OK (for me) time of 44m22s. NOt too bad for someone who is injured and couldn't train for the two weeks preceding. My hip didn't hurt too much, but I'm sure the physio will have something to say when I 'fess up tomorrow...

Have been on holidays from paying work this week, which has been lovely. Have been doing very little for the last two days which has been rather nice, as I haven't had a break from work where I had nothing to do for nearly 18-months. In fact, if I didn't have important appointments to attend to next week then I'd probably ring my boss up and tell him I wasn't coming in next week as well ;)

Promise that craft content will be resumed shortly!!
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Day 14 of 31 (or 365) - nearly halfway through my 31-day blogging challenge. Hope no one else is bored! I'm actually rather enjoying it at this point.

10 on Tuesdays (whoops...on Wednesday)

OOps.

I appear to have completely forgotten this weeks 10 on Tuesday.

I blame being on holidays and thus away from my work email, to which the reminder is delivered ;)

Anyhoo - here goes.

10 Favourite Places to Shop

1. Cue (for work clothes);
2. Woven ( a little boutique in my local shopping centre);
3. Emporio (for shoes for work AND play);
4. Borders (mmmmm, books and magazines);
5. Saba (a newly discovered favourite...providing they replace the faulty blouse I bought);
6. Diva (great for cheap, on trend accessories);
7. The Fruit & Veg markets in Victoria Park (Best. Fruit. And. Veg. Ever);
8. Amazon.com (I get my running shoes from here every year. Despite $60AUD postage, they are still $80 AUD cheaper...);
9. eBay (selected fabric stores...); and
10. Assorted Op Shops.

There are more. Many, many more ;)

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Day 12 of 31 (or 365). Yum. Skittles. Am now in sugar coma...

I'm baaaaacccck :)

In more ways than one!

Back in Perth (thank goodness...) and back online as my mobile Broadband now works. Yay!!

Wow. Whilst I do love Albany as I grew up there, I have been living in Perth now for nearly 5-years. What I didn't realise is what a 'city girl' I've actually become!!

I haven't been back down to Albany since ANZAC Day last year, so over 12-months has passed. The town itself has changed very little - oh, there's a Spotlight store and one of the shopping 'malls' (I use that term quite loosely) has expanded so there's now a Target Country and a Dome Coffee Shop and a Gloria Jeans. Other than that, it's as though time has almost stood still.

And it's sooooooooooooooooooo quiet. I wandered down the main street on Monday morning about 10am. I don't even think 20 cars passed me. Certainly 20 people did not!!! I had high heels on with jeans and a long-line jacket and felt COMPLETELY over dressed. Even the cafes were closed! Where on earth do cafes close on a Monday?? Not to mention the whole cant-get-mobile-broadband thing. Pfft.

It was a very weird feeling indeed. Not nostalgia...more like depression. It's as though I've changed vastly in the last 5-years, but in my hometown time (and the people) have stood still. And I have to say - nothing against the residents of Albany at all, because goodness knows my parents are still there - but it was a really, really odd feeling, to the point where I simply could not wait to get out of there.

Which makes me wonder a little whether it was always like that but I never noticed until I went away...

What's that saying...something about you can never go home again??? Not because home is different - but because YOU are.
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Day 12 of 31 (or 365) - Dang. 800km round trip = nearly $90 in petrol + angst from the parentals (well, mostly my mother...) + freaky return to hometown that depressed me + terrible speeding drivers who are not content with doing 110km/h (which is the speed LIMIT people. Key word: Limit). Whew. Glad to be back home in the city ;)

Technologies.

Pah.

Despite claiming that I will not be stymied by technology it appears that I have been.

I am apparently unable to access my mobile Broadband from sunny, downtown Albany.

Pfft.

So this is your lot for the day, as I am having to use my Dad's Internets and don't want to blow out his usage levels ;)
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Day 11 of 31 (or 365) - Dang and blast. Mobile Broadband? Great invention. But not mobile in some areas...

Happy Mothers Day!!!

A very happy Mothers Day to all those lovely Mum's out there! Hope you have all been roundly spoilt and received gifts that you actually want...

I am not a mum myself, but I do have my very own Mum, and in honour of Mothers Day, my parents 38th Wedding anniversary having been on Friday just gone and the fact that I haven't visited my parents in just over 12-months (*blushes*) I am off on a road trip down south to my lovely home town :) Lovely. But very cold.

So, I am packing up the car and my stuff and heading off on a 800km round trip back down to coastal Albany for a couple of days. Where I will see my folks and might catch up with a few friends and drop into my old workplace to see a few former (but still current) colleagues. B

ut only a couple of days for the visit as a) whilst I love my parents, I can only cope with them for a limited time and b) there's not too many other people down in Albs that I WANT to see and c) I have heaps of stuff to sort out up here in gold, old Perth. Not to mention the Craft and Quilt Show to attend.

Priorities people ;)

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Day 10 of 31 (or 365) - Hmm, is it cheating on the 31 Day Challenge if I pre-schedule posts? I mean its not like I cant get Interwebbal service in Albany (there's only one set of traffic lights, mind. But about 200 roundabouts...) or that I'm going to be so busy that I can't squeeze in a blog post...

Finished!!!!

Yay!! I finished the waistcoat that I was whipping up for a friend.

And - you know what? It turned out much better than I originally thought! Not only did I have to construct an item of clothing that I've never even attempted before, I also had to resize the pattern to fit the intended wearer. It all totally worked!!

Wow! I'm slightly stunned, I mean the fabric was one of those silky slippery types so I was sure I would come unstuck there, or that it would be too large, or the lining would be odd, or something would go horribly wrong...but nothing did!!

Ha! Making my OWN clothing should be a cinch after this, hehe....
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Day 9 of 31 (or 365) He, he, he...life is very funny. When you interact with someone else, the things that you think are important or 'major' often aren't, and we spend so much time worrying about what others are thinking about things and then it turns out that those things are a non-issue, and you spent time worrying about what was essentially, nothing ;)

High Finance.

*gulp*

I just got pre-approved this afternoon for my first ever home loan.

And quite frankly, the thought of all that responsibility is making me feel a little ill : /

I realise that it's unusual for someone of my *ahem* advancing age (and not mention profession) to never have owned their own home, but life events have previously conspired against me to prevent actual home ownership! The good aspect to this is that I am (still) eligibile for the First Home Owners Grant.

So today I bucked up, did some sums, pushed a few buttons and am now the proud owner of a Pre-Approval Certificate.

*gulp*

Now, I do actually work in a Bank, but it has been a number of years since I did any home lending, and ohmygosh, it's really difficult to NOT know. You know what I mean? Like, I know a LOT about business banking and financial statements and cashflow forecasts and ratios and business lending products and stuff...but HOME LENDING??? Not so much. Now I know how the darn customers feel ;)

Egad.

I gotta tell ya, it's all got me slightly freaked out, and I think it's cos I'm going into this all by myself. There will be nobody else to shoulder the burden. Just me. Just little ole me paying all the mortgage payments and bills and costs. And whilst I am pretty sure that I can pull it off (cos trust me I would NOT be doing this if I couldnt...I've seen it end badly too many times for too many people) it is kinda daunting when you know that you've finally grown up and the buck stops with you. I mean, if things got really tough my folks would help as much as they could, but I don't want to be in that position.

So, wish me luck in the actual formal application process and the finding somewhere to buy bit of it also! After all, there is a 30 June deadline. Ha! Nothing like leaving these things to the last minute to add to the nervous feeling in the pit of one's stomach ; )

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Day 8 of 31 (or 365) - listening to some jazz n stuff on the iPod stereo to try and calm my fiscal related nerves. Not sure if it's succeeding...

What hurts worse....

...injuring yourself? Or the treatment to fix it?

I may have mentioned that I've (quite handily, really) developed Greater Troncholo-something-or-other Bursitis in my hip.

*sigh*

Apparently it's some sort of inflammation of the bursa caused by overuse of the joint or my ligaments rubbing against the bursa. Or something. "What's a bursa", I hear you say? Apparently some sort of 'fluid filled sac'. Yech.

*sigh*

It appears that I did this to myself at the beginning of April when I did a 'Double Header' weekend consisting of a Triathlon on Saturday and then a 10km Fun Run on the Saturday. I will admit that whilst it sounded good in the planning stage the execution was more difficult than originally envisioned.

At least, that weekend was the first time I recall the excruciatingly burning pain in my knee that radiated up and down the outside of my leg, coming home to roost as a dull ache in my hip that caused me to limp badly for a few days...I'm pretty sure I would have noticed this if it had happened before.

So, now I'm banned from running (according to my physio, the lovely Tony). Banned. Well, on my second visit he didn't specifically say I was 'banned', just to 'try not to run'.

He, he, he...

Of course, there is always the promise of cortisone injections in my hip if I don't do what he says...

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Day 7 of 31 (or 365) *sigh* I actually miss the running...and I SERIOUSLY never thought I would say that.

10 on Tuesdays

This weeks 10 on Tuesdays is 10 Awesome Bands.

***WARNING****WARNING***WARNING***

*coughs*

Just a wee warning - I have, ummmm, eclectic taste in music. Please don't judge me ;)

1. The Beatles;
2. My Chemical Romance;
3. Electric Light Orchestra;
4. Eskimo Joe;
5. ABBA (helloooooooo!!!);
6. The Presidents of The United States of America;
7. The Bee Gees;
8. The Travelling Wilburys;
9. AC/DC; and
10. The Eagles

*sniffs* There you go. I don't even care if some of them are 'technically' groups and not bands. Those are my choices and I stand by them. ;)

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Day 6 of 31 (or 365) - Swimming training this morning. What I want to know is this...6.30 am training session. Burly blokes in the warm cosy environs of the HEATED INDOOR POOL. Womens Tri Training? Outdoor pool. Not even the slightly sheltered one, the one riiiiiiiiiiiiiight out the back where it's windy. It was 10 degrees this morning people. TEN STINKING DEGREES!!! Pfft. Who do I have to bribe to get a gig in the indoor pool. Seriously.

This....

...is what happens when friends know you can sew...

My roomie (and good friend) Bec is going to a Ball on Saturday with her fella (hey CS!!! *waves*). And he needs a waistcoat. This - this folks - is where I come in : )

Hmmm, how am I going to do this???

I figured that I don't have a mens waistcoat pattern (not to mention CS is a reasonably talltalltall fellow, so standard patterns are prolly not gonna fit), so my BRILLIANT idea is to get hold of one of his business shirts (or similar) and see if I can't draft a vague, waistcoaty shaped pattern...

Whaddaya think???

Did I mention its THIS SATURDAY!!!!!

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Day 5 of 31 (or 365) - mmmmmmm, F&N Grape Soda. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmm. Sugary, aghnnghghgnnnnghgngh (that would be the noise Homer Simpson makes when he drools peeps)

Wip Week Wrapup

Oh dear.
WIP Week wasn't wildly winning...
No matter tho' - I did manage to make a teensy-leetle bit of headway into the great unfinished projects hole. And at least now I know I only have 7 bits of unfinished craft business ; )

So, because there are ONLY 7 of them, I had a bit of a sit down and a sift through the detritus that is my craft room (good lord! It's like an historic excavation in there at times. What future generations will make of the different strata of debris, I simply do not know!!!).

And, after I crawled out from under the piles and piles of stuff and dusted myself off slightly (darn those cobwebby bits...), I managed to compile what I am going to call My Project Wishlist (or MPW...I love acronyms...hey! I work in a bank, it's all acronyms all the time...).

My Project Wishlist (in a sort of order, which will be subject to change and or addition without notice by the blog owner)

1. Thimbleberries Block of the Month. A previously covered off WIP. SImply MUST finish this and get it off the back of the craft room door;
2. Bento Box Quilt. Another previously mentioned WIP. This is just getting ridiculous;
3. Hardanger Napkins - hmmm, perhaps these should be # 1 due to impending Mothers Day gift issues...
4. Scarf - for a friend (yes, yes, OK it's ANOTHER WIP...I know, I know...);
5. Knitted Afghan WIP. Only about, oh, 40 blocks to go...
6. Les Lapins Cross Stitch. I suspect this is a bit of a long-term WIP. Although I do enjoy cross stitch and other embroidery, it is a somewhat laborious endeavour;
7. Baby Blanket. Dammit. The child this was intended for has nearly started school. I've moved house THREE TIMES since I started it. IT MUST BE FINISHED;
8. I'm going to make my first ever piece of clothing. A skirt for work. I have the pattern. I have the fabric. I have the lining. I have the other requirements, including an ability to use a sewing machine;
9. I want to knit myself a pair of socks. I picked up some lovely self-patterning teal coloured sock yearn on the weekend;
10. I got a GREAT Japanese craft book with felt cakes and whatnot in it. I sooooooo badly want to make some of this;
11. Numerous baby items. One of my good friends is currently preggers and I have soooo many projects I want to do for her and bub. I think I'll just call them all # 11. A Clochette baby hat; fabric bibs; knitted booties; etc
12. Fun Fur Kitschmas trees from Monster Yarn's blog. I have a ludicrous amount of novelty yarns, so this will be an excellent way to use these up (actually, this could probably go further down the list...);
13. Make some toys for the Toy Society;
14. Mending. Yes, that's right. Mending. I've recently lost a few kilos, which has resulted in almost none of my clothes being able to fit me properly. This has resulted in a great amount of expenditure both on new ensembles and also on tailoring those clothes I cant manage to sort myself. I hope you all appreciate the sacrifice I am making for the retail purchases led economic recovery.
15. A rag rug. Saw a great pattern on Moda Bakeshop. Want.
16. Lollychops Wendy Bird Pattern. I made one of these for a friend and it was fabulous. Therefore, I want more for me;
17. ABC booklets for my littlest niece. I think I saw these on Craftypod the other day. 8-page booklets with a letter on the front for the kiddies to fill with pictures cut out from magazines, where the item in the picture starts with the letter on the front of the book. Geniusly (I don't think that's a real word BTW) way of learning ABC's;
18. Key chain lanyard. I've got a swathe of access and security cards I need for work, and at the moment they are on a daggy black ropey lanyardy thing (which I dislike intensely);
19. Use some of my Sublime Stitching patterns. Not sure what for, but inspiration surely MUST strike : )
20. Bookmark pyramids. Fabric pyramids, filled with rice (or similar) to keep cookbooks (or similar) open;
21. A bag for my swimming gear. Partifularly my training fins. Carrying them around in the clear plastic bag I bought them in is just, icky....
22. Drawing. I used to do a lot of drawing in primary and high school and I'd like to get back into that;
23. Geisha quilt panel. I bought this such a long time ago because I loved it. And you know what? It's sat in the bottom of my fabric basket since then. Time to shake a leg;
24. Fabric covered bulletin boards. Too cool.
25. Hmmmm, surely there's more....watch this space

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Day 4 of 31 (or 365) - I'm now seeing granny squares everywhere people!! The fashion parade that everyone has mentioned in the last week; The oppy; and last night on the news when someone was visiting a hospital somewhere. I vote Granny Squares for Prime Minister...

Granny Along

(Visit Pip @ Meet Me At Mikes for some instructions about crocheting granny squares)

I don't think I was ever taught to crochet - I learnt to knit both from my mum but also at Brownies when I was a wee girl (just the basics obvy). My mum was a reasonably good knitter, and I can recall have all number of knitted ensembles for myself and for my Barbie Dolls too. Everything tricky that I know knitting wise I have picked up from patterns or books or natural attrition.

My Dad's Dad also was a knitter. He spent some time incarcerated in Changi Prison as a POW during WWII, and apparently learned to knit there. He liked to knit his own socks - but he was also quite an accomplished crocheter.

This blanket is one that he crocheted for me after I was born, and considering that Grandpa has not been with us for 22-years, it is something that I treasure deeply. Unfortunately, blankie has previously met with a small 'incident' (as can be seen in the lower left hand corner of the above photo) when my Mum & Dad's dog took a bit of a liking to it one day. Very distressing, but no one that I trust has been able to fix it, partly because the yarn is over 30 years old and we don't really know what it's made off...(please also excuse my feet peeping out of the end...)

It's quite unbelievable - to me anyway! - how tight the crocheting (crochetry??) is in the squares.

Anyway, despite this proud history...below are my own efforts at granny squares..

In ascending order of completion...

Uh-huh...

Did I mention self-taught from instructions found on the internets??? Only been crocheting for a week???

Could be PLENTY worse I reckon

(except I didn't take any photos of the really really baaaaadddd ones that I pulled apart...)

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Day 3 of 31 (or 365) - I bought some fabric yesterday to attempt to make my first ever item of clothing...a skirt for work...it has a lining...this may have been too ambitious...

WIP Week - Update II

Hmmm - WIP Week is appearing to be a teensy bit of a washout...

Not a lot to report on updated situations vis a vis WIP's, only a little more work on the set of hardanger embroidered napkins.

I made the critical mistake of trying to work on these last night after spending several hours surfing the net...sadly the eye strain made it almost impossible, so I had to call a halt to proceedings and move onto my afghan project as I was having actual trouble focussing my eyes!!

I probably should have included a 50 cent piece for scale - or something - but the fabric is an incredibly small weave. The heart motif is only about an inch tall.

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Day 2 0f 31 (or 365) - Brown Owls here in Perth today, where we 'Granny-ed Along'. Fun was had by all (I hope!) with varying degrees of perfection : ) More on that later...

31 Days of Blogging

In an effort to not neglect my blog, I've decided (and in the spirit of those who blog 365 days) to attempt to blog everyday during May.


Starting today (umm, obvy!). Whilst the topics may not always be scintillating, I think it will get me into a good frame of mind for regular updates to become habits. After all, I seem to recall that it takes two weeks of doing something for it to become a habit!!


I guess we'll see how I go. Perhaps if I can stick it out for the entire month, I'll try another full month maybe all the way up to 365 days in a row!


Wish me luck : )

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Day 1 of 31 (or 365) - Gee this is easy really, isn't it...in bad news, went to the physio yesterday and it seems I have Greater Tronchi-something bursitis....Well, that would explain the searing, burning pain in my hip when I run : ( The bad (or good) news is no running for me for the foreseeable future 'cos if it doesn't heal properly then its cortisone injections in the hip for me...Quick! Someone just order me a zimmer frame and get it over with : )