Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Tis the night before Christmas...

Now all the goodies are made, the pressies wrapped, the kids are being nice today, yesterday they were not. Santa is coming tonight! I will go to Church tonight and will return after midnight, play santa and then collapse into bed and hope for at least six hours sleep. This morning I gave each child of mine a beautiful copy of "Through the Animals' Eyes. A Story of the First Christmas" by Christopher Wormell. They were delighted and all of them have read and re-read the book, even though they know the story well. These books are magnificent, with cloth covers and I can see them being handed through their families.

So the year begins to close down, I reflect on what this Christmas means to me and our family. Again it will be just the five of us, no extended family visiting. We will get phone calls from Grandparents of course but we will be just us. In past years this used to make me feel sad and even a bit unwanted but over the years I have become used to it and now strive to build traditions for my own little family, building the foundations for when we eventually expand (ooh imagine being a nan!) So baking certain fare is a must!

Tonight we will all probably have swim in the pool, dinner will be a 'picky" affair with the kids party faves like party pies and sausage rolls, choc , lemon slice, lollies of course! G and I will pick at smoked salmon and antipasto, maybe a bit of salad. Mmmm, easy and yum. Well I deserve an easy meal after tomorrow's feast of traditional fare, with all the trimmings.Yummo!

I am in the mood for Christmas! Bring it on! el

Friday, December 19, 2008

More Cards




Phew, finally they are all out.

End of an Era




This week saw our seventh and final Kinder concert. Yes, Martha has finished kinder and will go to school next year! Oh no our baby is a big school girl. *sniff*. We watched our girl singing her songs, very seriously, ringing her bells and enjoying herself. Later a party and all of us mums sighing collective sighs that the numerous comings and goings, pick up and drop off were finished for the year. But then came the moment to say goodbye to our wonderful kinder teachers. THese two wonderful people had met us with number one kid, helped us through his tantrums and explosions, joined us in welcoming number three, and introduced all of all kids to pre-schooling, not to mention helped us with moral, support and love.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

drowning, not waving

If a garage sale abandoned in the garage isn't enough mess, G and I decided to sort out the cave aka lousy room under the house. So everything has been dragged out into the alfresco laundry ,that had just been liberated for the stuff waiting to go into the garage sale. All day I have been at it and I feel like I have accomplished something : I HAVE A WORK SPACE again!!!!! Yippee.
I made a heap of cards this afternoon for a kids music group we run at our church, yay another thing out of the way. Now I just have to get my stuff back in and the room cleaned and refreshed.

Well I am off to get a few more hours of sorting in..... will post some photos of my space ASAP.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

It's raining, it's pouring...the garage sale is boring

We finally got all our unwanted stuff sorted into category and piled under our carport, balloon garlands decorating the house and street corner along with signs heralding our garage sale. It was finally happening and so was the rain. Solid, non stop, soaking rain. Great! For the water reserves, gardens, parks, sporting ovals and swimming pools BUT not for garage sales! We make $45 in the first hour, but so miserable and the streets being void of bargain hunters (let's face it, we bargain hunters are sensible folk who, quite rightly, decide satying indoors and watching the rain through the steam off bowls of fresh soup is a far better option!
Two and a half hours later we closed the garage door and joined the sensible folk inside.

I am now pondering what I have to do on my "to do list" and wondering what do I feel like making. Cold weather is wonderful knitting weather, maybe something small that I can finish in one afternoon, but what? Will get back to you later...

Thursday, December 11, 2008

I am a little slow this year



Normally our Christmas tree would be up days after Martha's birthday (Dec1) BUT we are running behind time and the tree went up last night. It was Angus' (kid#1) turn to top the tree, due to bad lighting in the room I had to get a few shots and prolong his "pose". Nine year olds just are that compliant about "the right shot", whilst he didn't whinge he did make it clear that my photography was wearing thin!

Garrett now has to do his Clark Griswald thing outside and light up the front lawn. THe christmas cakes (there was so much mixture I made one big and three small cakes)....Now make some gifts and get some teachers gifts and then there is still the problem of my darling husband's present!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

how does your garden grow...




Well my garden usually doesn't grow! I am a failure when it comes to the garden, in fact this year I announced to my "rose garden" that I have been trying to culitvate from a dream into reality, that this was the last year I would be tolerating faliure and loss, I stressed to them that they as roses, so called queens of the garden, had let me down and left me feeling humilated amongst friends that insist that roses are easily grown. In fact they grow themselves. With this being my main consideration, I informed them any non-performers would be ripped out and replaced with natives. I especially pointed at that tart the "Blue Moon" that has yielded me about dozen roses in seven years, was most likely to be first cab off the rank to leave the garden.

Well, it seems to work and those roses have heeded my threats seriously. This year I have been showered with blooms! What is more, I seem to be getting a second showing already, something that has never happened before. Also, my plumbago is about to burts, the aggies are full of spears ready to burst into bloom, the budelias are spurting fronds of purple (goody butterflies!) and the cosmos bounced back from the heavy hail we had a few weeks back....

Maybe I have found my inner green thumb?

Monday, December 8, 2008

Enter the Christmas Cake



It has been a month in the soaking! Finally it is in the oven. Martha and I donned our aprons (my mum bought me a gorgeous American vintage style full apron) and mixed it up, boiled the fruit and it is now in the oven!

Road Trip Over

We returned last night from our road trip to the ACT (Christmas present run to rellies aka as my mum). We drove to ACT on Sat, dropped the kids off at my mum's and went to a nice hotel in the city. Even though Canberra is my home town, I really feel nothing but desire to leave as soon as I get there. A nice hotel didn't change this, driving through the CBD I felt like screaming and turning back to the highway that would take me home. The place and the people are bland and the words "please" and "thank you" seen to be out of fashion, at the very least they are not in use in this small city....But enough with the Manners' Monitors' report! So Canberra sucks, but I was on a Christmas mission.

On Sunday my Mum made a Christmas lunch which proffered the usual CHristmas goodies, traditional (to my family's concept of Christmas) fare. Naturally my sister and her family were absent (we don't talk and we aren't welcome at Christmases that she attends) but my kids and Nana and G and I pulled Christmas crackers and ate turkey, baked vegies (darn it! My mum has started cooking vegies a healthy way, not her old fashioned way - I miss those illicit spuds cooked in fat) and trifle! Two hours later we rolled ourselves into the car, groaning at the weight of the seat belts on our full bellies and embarked upon the 6-7 hour journey home. The kids were wonderful and I finished a book.

We arrived home around 9.30pm to discover our dog had been let out by a Tradesman (that was supposed to come last week) who climbed over the fence and let himself in (I am very uncomfortable with this) and fixed the roof....our dog needs to be collected from the pound today at 4pm. Poor Harry.

Well home now and there are so many jobs to do. I MUST go and try and clear some space in my work room, there is stuff EVERYWHERE.

Friday, December 5, 2008

TGIF


My daughter was given this gorgeous little "Kimidoll" keyring for her birthday. I just love it! 

Well Friday is finally here and we are now even closer to the end of the year.  This time of year is always bitter / sweet isn't it?  Rushed off your feet with functions and gatherings, presents and Christmas fare still unmade or bought and the 25th closing in.  I still haven't planned what kind of lunch we are having, casual or traditional? Pudding or ice cream cake?I guess I am close to being done, I just have to get presents for in-laws organised, wrap the kiddies stuff and work out something for DH (now there is a conundrum) and of course make some more cards. 

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Euphoria has Cleared









And I am buggered, exhausted and flat on my bum. Can't get up. Nope. I have just run out of juice.
G was supposed to be having this week off but, nope, worked all week, coming home late....

But I did get making some things. Lavendar bags for my Mum. Yo-yo hair ties for my daughter and niece. And I am going to have a go at making a skirt for myself. Feeling down on the world yesterday, I felt in need of a retail fix. BUT I remembered the "PLEDGE". So off to the OP shop I went. The bounty : a lino cut picture (I don't think I like it now) $4, 4 x quirky souvineer spoons. $4 for a gorgeous little vase and some vintage children's books for making cards. So a nice little haul for under $15!

I'll post some pics in a few hours.


Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Planets are back in alignment

He's Back!  And bigger than before (I shall explain later!) bearing gifts and tales of adventure and intrigue, well at least about snow and long lost brothers. No sooner was he home, he was doing work and the phones were ringing! wtf?!

On a brighter note, Martha turned five yesterday. We celebrated with an ice cream Dolly Varden (sorry to disappoint but I bought it!) a princess feast (but I made this) and just a home made party with no outsourced entertainment.  10 little people and they all had fun and showered Martha with friendship and happiness and lovely gifts.  I deliberately didn't go overboard this year and it worked so well...no special costumes and she loved wearing her best dress (how sick am I giving away the annual "best dress" showing no signs of wear), I curled her hair (divine) and used some old IKEA fabric I bought cheaply years ago that by incident had princess theme all over it (crowns and frogs) crepe paper streamers and bows on chairs.  Not a huge feast but adequate and lovely, fresh flowers on the table. Old fashion games and guess what?! Yes, the unfashionable concept of free play!    Two hours and we had a great time.


It is amazing how different our home feels now that Garrett is home. It is like we have all fully exhaled, that our full level of sercurity has been reinstalled and now we can relax.  I feel safe, whole and happy.
And tonight, a real treat, Garrett is cooking the dinner. Finally a meal that I don't have to cook!
Bliss!

This weeks' agenda:
* buy G's parent's Christmas present
* make calendar of kids art
* Bake Christmas cake
* buy TV 
* organise my mum's presents. Vouchers and lavendar sachets