Flickr Game

1. Naomi - Fuel Alley - 1996, 2. Orecchiette with broccoli, 3. Two Globes, 4. Fields Of Fire, 5. Being John Malkovich, 6. Sil0031922, 7. Distance, 8. Panna cotta, 9. valentines day, 10. I can't think, i can't breathe..., 11. wistful, 12. nightsky

via Meet me at Mikes

How to do it:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker and make a lovely mosaic to put on your blog or flickr! Simple pimple!

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Bliss

My current definition of bliss...

• Going out for dinner on Saturday night with my lovely husband (despite dinner taking an inordinately long time and us having to leave before it arrived - and grabbing Rolo's pizza instead)
• Going out to see Keating (again) and then coffee at Starbucks with my sister (where we saw spidey's monkey *waves*)
  
• Knowing my bubby boy took formula in a bottle so I didn't have to imitate bessy the cow.
• Lily having a sleep over at Nanny and Poppy's
  
• Getting to bed horrifically late (12.30am) but not having to get up even once until 6.30am - THAT'S SIX STRAIGHT HOURS SLEEP PEOPLE!!!!
• After putting little monkey back to bed, making a french vanilla coffee, white bread with real butter and homemade marmalade and sitting down to watch the first episode of the Gruen Transfer. Then knitting. Photos to come.
  

Also, I'm hosting a baby shower here this afternoon and I made a nappy cake (diaper cake) so I'm full of crafty pride too. And the sun is shining on a lovely crisp Canberra winter morning. Ahh - I haven't felt this good in months!!!

This is... my pet

Just before the 2003 Canberra Bushfires, Nathan and I went to the RSPCA to get a cat. We found a little cat, about 6-12 months old who was likely to be put down because she wasn't a cute little kitten anymore and decided to take her home. Turns out she would have been burnt to a crisp in the fires even if we hadn't taken her home. She was a big-looking cat, but was actually just really furry. We called her Rosie.

Rosie was the apple of our eye. She spent long hours beside me on the couch when I was learning to knit, and long hours laying on my tummy when I was pregnant with Lil. She'd get a little pissed when Lil would kick her. She's still a valued family member, but doesn't get the billing that she once used to!


Rosie was never a scratchy cat... although she has never liked being touched on the belly. But now I find that if she's been recently persecuted by Lily then she takes it out on me! I'll casually walk past her and she'll give me a not-so-friendly pat with her paws... She also does that when she wants more food, or to be let out or just cos she wants to let me know that she doesn't forgive me for letting not just one, but two little folk into HER family.

Oh, and we have fish too. And snails.

Me me me me me (A gripping case history of a narcissistic opera singer) *

1) What was I doing ten years ago?

I had just started my first 'real' job and re-moved out of home (I'd been asked to leave home at 18 and allowed to move back in at 23 after I got back from overseas).

Looking at it now, it was a significant year… that year I met some wonderful people who are still my friends, did a lot of stupid things, made some poor decisions, grew up a lot and learnt heaps about myself, and met the man who introduced me to my husband (he’s now my brother-in-law).

If you’ll allow me, I’ll just recollect for a moment (tilts head to left and looks skywards).

I was living with two people I went to Uni with – a guy and a girl. The guy was a frustrating individual (think OCD, HDD and Tourette’s all in one person) but a talented photographer and the girl was a twisted warped excuse for a human being who happened to be a rower. Of course I didn’t know this when I moved in. But the frustrating photographer began to grate on the twisted rower. So rather than moving out herself, she decided to begin a reign of harassment against him including playing loud music at 4am when she and her Neanderthal boyfriend got up to train, bagging out his job, making cruel and unkind comments for no apparent reason and generally being a bitch. When I asked her about it she said she had nothing against me, and that I was welcome to stay in the house (which ironically the guy and I had found). Anyhoo, it all came to a head one day – photographer was trying to vacuum and she kept pulling the cord out of the electricity outlet. He’d come to see why it wasn’t working. He’d plug it in and walk away. She’d unplug. Eventually they were facing off and she hit him. He called the police and she called her coach; petrified she’d lose her scholarship. Anyway, the police came and mediated and got agreement that she would move out in a month. Not before her Neanderthal arrived with a car-load of male rowers to try and intimidate us. Photographer didn’t press charges, knowing that she’d lose the scholarship (he was a sweet-natured frustrating photographer at heart). And for the next month the photographer and I lived with our parents rather than cross paths with her. Which was hard for me because my job was 100m from my door. SO she left – didn’t pay a whole lot of stuff and left the place filthy. I subsequently moved on, didn’t see the photographer, but was really close to his then girlfriend so we re-told the story often and composed what we’d say to her if we saw her. Which we never did. Which was odd being she still lived in Canberra.

Fast forward to late 2007 when I attended the inaugural (and so far, only) craftanoon held in Hackett. I had been looking forward to it for ages thinking how great crafting get togethers seem to only happen overseas. I knew that Kathreen Rickson (of whip up fame) would be there and it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to being a groupie. So I turned up, met Kathreen and her daughter and some other lovely people. And then the rowing skank turned up. She recognised me, smiled, then must of realised that I would not be similarly pleased to see her and her face fell. My immediate reaction was to get the hell out of there. But I’d looked so forward to it. And there was Kathreen. And people with sewing machines. And ideas. So I stuck it out for a while and tried to ignore her. I’d nearly bitten my tongue off from suppressing witty and catty slurs against her. I didn’t want to seem small and bitchy in front of godess Kathreen. But she’d sucked all the pleasure out of it for me. So I just left. Anyhoo. Hardly a story of hardship and suffering, perhaps more impotent rage management.

That year I also met (through internet dating – but that’s another story) a man called James Brown. Not the Godfather of Soul. In fact, he was a tall, muscular, fair-skinned, blonde ex-military type. James Brown loved to exercise, and did not drink or smoke. He was as close as I came to finding my complete opposite. But the thing that struck me was that he chose to stop drinking. I was at the height of my drinking then, and I couldn’t fathom how anyone could voluntarily choose to live their life sober. He told me some sob story about ‘losing control’ and I couldn’t understand it any more than I could if he were speaking Mandarin. Needless to say, the relationship was not long lived. But he was a lovely guy, and I wish I could meet him now and tell him that I understand. And that I wish I’d been ready to listen to him then and saved myself a few more years of alcohol abuse. Having said that, he also said I should exercise and stop smoking, which I've also chosen ignore.

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today? Go for a walk (done), iron, fold clothes, clean the bathroom, cook dinner. I’m on maternity leave so they aren’t really ‘non-work’ as I consider what I do here at home to be work. I probably won’t do any of those things though. Just surf the net. Or watch Foxtel.

3) Snacks I enjoy? On-again-off-again chocoholic, hommus, hot potato with sour cream, cheese, mushrooms and chargrilled sweet potato, chocolate icecream – I could go on and on and on and on…

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire? Anything I want. Pay off houses and travel for me and family. Definitely not work. Lots of random acts of kindness. Sponsor guerrilla gardening initiatives. Fund programs for addicted mothers. Buy lots of plants.

5) Places I have lived? Canberra. Many suburbs, always Northside.

I had 10 months in England in 1996 where I lived for 3 months in Elton near Peterborough and in 2001/2 I lived in a hotel in Brisbane and Coolum for six months while working for PMC on CHOGM.

6) Jobs I have had? Retail (shoe shop), café staffer at Cockington Green, Carer for an elderly lady in England, Synopsis Writer at Media Monitors, Political Information Analyst, Public Affairs and Research/Information Officer for the Minerals Industry Association, Media Adviser to a Senator, Media and Publications officer for CHOGM, Public Affairs Officer at the Department of the Environment and now a policy officer for the Department of the Environment where I managed a database on threatened species information. Also currently the Minister for Treasury, Family and War at home.

7) Peeps I want to know more about? Everyone. Everyone has a story.

* From Frasier Episode "Dad Loves Sherry, The Boys Just Whine"

Stuff I learnt today

You should listen when your gut instinct says 'don't let her play with the glitter. it will only end in tears (and a huge mess)'

It doesn't do your credibility as an authority figure any good when you laugh at your child's insolence. Eg 'I'd like you to go straight to sleep please' - response 'Certainly your majesty'

My daughter thinks that she can't watch Law and Order because its about dinosaurs fighting. What is with the dinosaurs lately?

*Squeal*

You may remember a while ago I mentioned that I won a competition over at Funky Finds and today another gifty arrived.


Are these not the most gorgeous shoes you have ever seen? They are for Paddy (waaaay in the future) and are from See Kai Run. I can't wait for him to wear them. I'm just disappointed that I discovered them too late to buy a heap for Lil (they only go to size 9).


I just realised too that I missed my two year blogiversary. Phew. Where did those two years go? I note that I still haven't completed many things on the to-do list I posted either.... !

This is... x2

This is... how i recycle

Apart from your standard home recycling we tend to do a lot of transferring/sharing/recycling. My husband and I both worth for the federal environment department and it has a really active online bulletin board so we often put things up on there like baby stuff and household items we don't use anymore. The department also has active recycling within the department so we can recycle at home and work (when I'm there). We share lots of things amongst our group of friends, like children's clothes, books and toys so we've always got enough 'new' stuff without having to purchase new stuff. We also compost - great recycling! And I don't mind using our old clothes in my craft either. So there you go.

A catch up from last week
This is... what reminds me of my mum

My mum is a classic for mixing her metaphors. A short list of her more memorable ones:

• Beauty is in the eye of the tiger
• He's the head poncho
• You've made your cake and now you have to lie in it
• Knocking on death's doorstep
• He's barking on thin ice

You the stinkiest I ever seen...

I was just surfing the net and overheard Lil in the shower. She plays in the shower by herself for a while after the water's been turned off so it can be entertaining to hear her chatter... Tonight she had a little posse of dinosaurs and they were saying 'You the stinkiest I ever seen' 'Pwah, you even more stinky' and ' poohwee you stink, move away..' As Nath went to get her out of the shower, I stopped him so that he could listen to her banter too. We giggled, but agreed we should probably tell her not to say mean things like that to others (it starts with taunting the dinosaurs and next thing she'll be bullying everyone at daycare).

But upon investigation we found the storyline behind the game.

She had pooed in the shower. She and the dino's had huddled in the opposite corner of the shower throwing insults at the offending item. Like it was the poo's fault that it smelled.

Parenthood is sooo glamorous.

This is... me pre 1985

I love this photo. Its me and my sister, just kicking back with the swans and ducks at some park in Wagga Wagga. I'm guessing its probably 1983 or 84 judging by our sizes. I love that our hair is exactly the same colour. And - given that neither of us has had seen our natural colour for at least a decade - I wonder if it still is...

This is...the pair of shoes that I would sleep in if I could..

Actually I'd prefer to sleep in them because they are sooooo bloody uncomfortable.... but they are pretty... the Freudian Slippers would be great too!

How cool is this???

Terrorist Tea Pot! At Suck UK.

Pretty, pretty socks...

I received a package from an anonymous source recently... containing beautiful socks for my Paddy boy... they are gorgeous and soft and beautiful!

Feijoa! A bumper crop after last year...

This is my ... favourite book

I've been conspicuously absent from posting my 'this is my' - so I'll get right on it this week. And may even catch up on a few of the old ones!

My favourite book would have to be My Family and Other Animals by Gerard Durrell. An English family relocates to Corfu just before WWII. It describes the life of the Durrell Family on the island in a humorous manner, the cultural differences, and also richly discusses the fauna of the island. My copy was an old penguin, orange cover, with a huge dragonfly on the front. I've read and re-read it so many times...

Other contenders would be Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, The Timetravellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell.

ANZAC Day and cupcakes

We too have been in Sydney - although our view was from the other side of the Harbour.

*Notice how many office lights are on those buildings. That was last night - a public holiday before a weekend - and had been on since the night before. So much for Earth Hour affecting real change...

Anyhoo, the main reason for our visit was ANZAC Day. I wrote about ANZAC Day last year, and what it means to me. This year there were fewer of Pa's group, but more family (13 all up). There were only five men from Z Special Unit, and only three of them active members from Pa's Unit. It broke my heart to see so few of them marching. When I first started going with Pa and Nan there were at least 30 men, and their wives that came to march, and then went for lunch (and lots of rum) afterwards. Now Pa's family outnumbers the members by nearly 3 to 1. Last year and this year we went to the Young Alfred restaurant in Customs House. I think it meant alot to Pa that we were all together. I get the feeling it may be the last year his Unit march.

Dick, Eric (my grandfather) and Henry

Caffeine Faerie has the poem 'The Fallen' on her site, and it prompted me to find the poem that is usually read by my grandfather's mate Bill at their wreath-laying. It is glorious and sad in equal measure.

On trails to Kokoda, On beaches to Lae,
the sacrifices called for our comrades to pay
was the price of our freedom to be here this day.
To stand here this morning, remembering why,
our comrades fell, But they did not die.
They are not dead, the men who fell,
though sounds for them the vesper bell,
and loved ones gather at the shrine,
they live in hearts of yours, and mine.
They live on mountain and in glade,
in shearing shed or place of trade.
At school, or on the fields of play,
they live, those men who marched away.
They are not dead, the men who fought.
The sons of valour, who feared naught.
Of man's devising, but who trod
the deathless path that leads to god.
Their call down bush tracks still is heard,
Their whistle in the song of bird.
Their laughter, like a wood note wild,
is heard in some Australian child.
They are not dead, but gone before,
though crosses mark on Borneo's shore,
in Markham valley and Balikpapan,
where rest those mates, who never ran.
The hills near Moresby, the valleys deep
sound no more to their trudging feet.
But they are still here, at our side.
The men who fell, but never died.
They are not dead, they cannot be.
They're a part of you and a part of me.
The friendly hand, the steadfast look,
could never perish at Tobruk.
Though seas and land and years divide,
our comrades live, they have not died.

On a lighter note, we went to visit Cupcakes on Pitt. We always stay at the Meriton on Pitt because its close to the end of the ANZAC march, and a cupcake and coffee have become traditional. I like this place as much as Kuka did when she visited in January. Although the staff/management seemed decidedly more grumpy than last year. Unfortunately I cannot provide beautifully staged photos - like this one from Kuka.


Because I was there with Lily. And our experience looked like this. She only 'eats' the icing - and most of that was up her nose...


But it was fun. And I snapped this interesting pic across the road. The windows of the building were making the most beautiful patterns on the blank wall... and with the trees and the old building etc it just looked purty.

I'd best be off. This has been a mammoth post for me. I don't want you folk getting used to it. Its just that I'd rather be writing this than doing all the washing that results from a weekend away!

I'm not usually a fan of aubergine

But really - could you have walked away from this at the supermarket?

'Brave mother' is my mate!

This article about my amazing friend Sarah was in today's Canberra Times. If you feel like making a donation, the website is at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/kokoda08.

More stuff

Nicole got so much cool stuff for the kids... then Nana and Old Nana (my grandmother) got in on the action. Seriously, Saturday was like Christmas! Freakiest thing was the 'Percy Pigglets' - complete with pork gelatine....

Presents from afar

My sister is back from her sojourn - with presents!

The pendant is from Mexico and the shells from Argentina (now cunningly made into great big earings).

I've got heaps of pictures to share at the moment and very few moments to blog, so I'm just going to dump them here and write about them later. Maybe. If I've got time.

gifts and cockington green

I won a competition over at Funky Finds a little while ago and the first present has arrived! A wonderful monogramed T for Lil from Oliver Lane. Isn't it the most gorgeous thing?? I love pink and brown.

And during the week we went to Cockington Green. I love the little plants more than the other little stuff - but the playground (with about 10 dolls houses) was a hit with Lil.

Canberra's Got Style: Looking forward to: Re-fab

Canberra's Got Style: Looking forward to: Re-fab

This sounds fantastic, although Crafts ACT could do some better promoting of the Clothes Swap a Rama... there are very few details online.

Where my needles at?

Today I made a circular needle holder.

I've had this idea buzzing around in my head for a while and I thought I'd give it a go. I was kind of thinking that if they look like they might be practical and pretty then I could make some for the wool fest at the OBDM. It measures about 7" by 3" and was based loosely on a similar one I found somewhere online or at craftster. There are 6 needle sleeves, made from medium weight pvc. I'm planning a dpn case too, based on the same principle.

I do have some issues though... I don't know if I should go for the pvc or plain fabric. The pvc means the stitching looks a bit messy although PVC has some great benefits - the obvious benefit being that it's see-through so you can see the needle; you can write the size and length on the front in sharpie; and the pvc sticks together to stop the needles from slipping out. BUT - fabric would hide the stitching and make the whole thing a little more tactile and softer (the pvc can be a bit stiff).

So, gentle reader, would you use such a holder? And if you did, do you think you'd prefer pvc or fabric...

This is... a little late

but This is... the contents of my handbag. Its really way too small. I can't even get my sunglasses in. And I notice most mothers have some motherly items in their handbags - but I hate pulling out my wallet and slinging a dummy across the room.

• Cigarettes
  
• Lighter
• Mobile
• Swiss Army knife (doesn't every mother have one?)
• purse that won't close
• hand-me-down mascara from my sister
• hand-me-down lipstick from my sister
• emery board
• receipts and bits of cigarette paper
• a Brumbies balloon (naturally...)
• keys
• work pass (i went for a visit yesterday)
  

And here's a little pic of Lil in the Parisian outfit... at half time in the easter egg hunt (ie, before we had stolen them from her basket and re-hidden them!)

Knitting in literature

And when I say literature, I mean children's books. Because that's about all I get to read now days. So how delightful to find an Australian children's book which mentions knitting. Not only that, but a male knitting. Ruby Roars is about a Tasmanian Devil who tries to make scary noises, but can't seem to frighten anyone. But then she finds her mojo and scares the bejesus out of her parents. Her dad is knitting when this happens...

"You little devil!" said her Dad. "I've dropped three stitches - you nearly scared me out of my wits!"


"Excellent," said Ruby.


I like to imagine Ruby saying 'excellent' in a Monty Burns kind of way...

Earth Hour... whatever

My blog title will no doubt startle some... While visiting QuiltingMick's blog this evening she mentioned Earth Hour and her cynicism. I soundly second it. I commented on her blog with the following

Earth Hour, Clean Up Australia, Plant a Tree Day... they all give folks the impression that they've 'done their bit' for the environment rather than making long-term changes for the other 364 days a year. If WWF was serious about getting people to change then they could have pushed a couple of messages about turning the lights off in empty rooms EVERYDAY. Or turning your appliances off at the wall EVERYDAY. I'm happy to go along with the crowd on these days too, but maybe we should say to ourselves 'for every "day" that I do, I'll do something "every day"...

I've worked in the environment department for several years and have always been frustrated by the 'days'. I understand that it raises the profile of many issues and for that we should be happy. But it more often absolves people of their guilt for not doing anything the rest of the time. So that is my challenge to you. Make a commitment to do something for more than just one hour a year.

20 Questions For Women Who Aren't Us

From The Park Bench website -

20 Questions For Women Who Aren't Us

This is my favourite -

• Why do you wave your hands in front of your face when you cry? Are you trying to keep the mascara dry or are you doing LOLCat jazz hands? I hope it’s the latter because everyone loves LOLCats.

Some of the questions remind me of your recent post Spidey...

Beautiful creations

My Mum's partner has just come back from a work trip to Paris and brought back the most gorgeous clothes for Lily. The man has an eye for fashion, no doubt. This outfit is not only lovely for its beachy design, but also because it is not pink. A constant frustration to me is that I can't buy interesting coloured clothing for Lil. Just pink mostly. Or pastels. Anyhoo, I love this and I can't wait for her to wear it! Its from www.DPAM.com - well worth a browse!

All the idiots are out today*

I was just singing to Lil (part of our bedtime ritual) and some maniac with a 5000 decibel engine tore past our house, did a burn-out around the corner and sped off. This of course startled her out of her alpha sleep making it a damn site more difficult than in needed to be to get her to sleep. This kind of thing makes me so angry for several reasons.

1. It is thoughtless and dangerous.
2. It makes me rehearse arguments/remarks/things to shout.
3. It makes me imagine creating devices or items that i could use to slow them down or damage their cars without being detected (i was just considering throwing a bouncy ball with nails all through it)
4. It fills me with totally impotent rage. I can't do anything to relieve it.
5. It fills me with negative thoughts such as the above when I could be sitting and contemplating the wonder that is my daughter falling asleep.

arggggggggggggggggggggggh. Does anyone have a magik trick to zen that kind of feeling away?

In other news, I've finished a mitten. Thumb and all. I've been walking around with it on in the 33 degree heat just admiring how clever I am. I'm very proud of myself for knitting on dpns!

check ya later.


*This is what Lil and I say when people do dicky things when we're driving around. Like sticking in the right-hand lane even though they're not overtaking or turning, or doing 75 in a 40 zone... more things that fill me with impotent rage.

I'm a what now?

You Are An ISTP

The Mechanic You are calm and collected, even in the most difficult of situations. A person of action and self-direction, you love being independent. To outsiders you seem impulsive, surprising, and unpredictable. You are good at understanding how all things work, except for people. In love, you tend to be very easy going and flexible. The only thing you can't stand for is someone trying to change you or your life. At work, you can stay completely calm under pressure. You handle stress well. You would make an excellent pilot, forensic pathologist, or athlete. How you see yourself: Logical, flexible, and unconventional When other people don't get you, they see you as: Indecisive, flippant, and disrespectful

What's Your Personality Type?

via Mogs Blog

I'm back on the knitting bandwagon... with mittens! I've even been to two SnBs - accompanied by my beautiful little man. Although he wasn't a very attentive date - he was found shamelessly holding (or being held) by other women!



Anyhoo, the mittens are from Knitting-and and are pretty easy. I haven't done the thumb yet and the red strip is where I've used waste yarn and will now pick up those stitches to do the window where your fingers can pop out. Picture's a bit dodgy, but you get the idea...

I've also finished four roman blinds for my lounge room - only taken 2 years since we moved in, and one year since I got the fabric. But the camera is flat so you'll have to wait for those.

Must go, Master Paddy is bellowing.

A different meme

Just because I feel the need to 'get back on the horse'... and that 7 weird things meme has been so, like done

The One Word Challenge

1. Where is your mobile phone? handbag
2. Your significant other? sleeping
3. Your hair? up
4. Your mother? babysitting
5. Your father? riding
6. Favorite thing? reading
7. Dream last night? swimming-pool
8. Favorite drink? milk
9. Your dream/goal? happiness
10. Room you’re in? messy
11. Your ex? scary
12. Your fear? greyness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? relaxed
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you’re not? slender!
16. Muffins? chocolate
17. One of your wish list items? ring
18. Where you grew up? canberra
19. The last thing you did? knitted
20. What are you wearing? jeans
21. Your TV? on
22. Your pet? sleeping
23. Your computer? sloooooow
24. Your life? blessed
25. Your mood? ok
26. Missing someone? Yes!!!!
27. Your car? functional
28. Something you’re not wearing? makeup
29. Favorite store? Ikea
30. Your summer? declining
31. Like someone? Yes
32. Your favorite color? Orange
33. When is the last time you laughed? 1pm

Instead of tagging people, I reckon you should do it if you're currently wearing any item of red clothing. And I'll know.

Going coastal

We're in Nowra at the moment... going coastal so we don't go postal hehehehehe

But the reason I'm blogging is because Nath's aunt has a wifi laptop. I never knew that my computing life could be so good! I never want to surf any other way!   

See you next week!

Videos anyone?

I've been doing mucho cleaning out recently and have taken loads to friends and the Salvos and the tip. Nothing to rival TSS and Taph's 7 things efforts of course, but a fair slab of the 'this adds no further value to our lives' type items have been relocated. Best of all was getting rid of the maternity clothes - yay! But I digress. I have found some videos and thought I'd offer them up here first. I've got the first three season of Cold Feet (3x 2 video set), the two-video set of Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Palin) and the two-video set of Gone with the Wind. Let me know in comments and I'll shoot them over. Not literally of course.

Time, time, time, see what's become of me...

Last month I made this.

It's an ongoing project, and I'm working on it every day. Its grown 1kg (2.2 pounds) since I started it primarily because its feeding incessantly. Some days I've been unable to put it down because of various problems, but I think they're all ironed out now.

Since I've been so tied up with that project I've not had much time for anything else... But I did embroider this little picture - a facsimile of a picture that Lily drew of her family.

The egghead on the left is Daddy, the amoeba with eyes was 'the baby' (the picture was drawn before PJ arrived), the one with the big smile is Lil and the one with the wonky head (or enormous ear coming out of her head) and insanely long legs is me. Apparently the tallest person in a child's family drawing is the most important (or perhaps that should be 'most scary' given aforementioned head/nose issue)...

I decided afterward to add a clock so we could hang it in Lil's room, but I need to paint the hands black because it looks odd as is.

And in other news, I got this delicious package from Miss Dot - resin artist extraordinare. My dodgy camera skills do not capture the majesty of her work.

My favourite is the lady in profile.

Thank you to all of you who sent kind wishes welcoming Paterson - and for those Canberra folk, we promise to pop in to an SnB soon. And hopefully I'll be able to get posting/crafting a bit more regularly now that things have settled into some kind of routine.

Announcing...

Paterson Jens arrived 31/12/2007, 7.45am after a nine hour labour. 3.4kgs or 7.5 pounds, 50cms long and 34cm head circumference.

We’re all well and back home now.