New Adventures in Crochet!

Whipped these up over the weekend... They were surprisingly easy, but it shall remain a teaset for one. Didn't think to make a pattern!

Timewasting 101

My latest distraction...

When he was very little, Liam had a fascination with succulents. Not just the prickly kind, but anything plump and juicy. He would secretly snap cuttings off as we walked down the street, and hide them in his pockets to be found in the laundry at a later date. Some got planted, and after many years we still have a small collection, but now we agree that these new ones are the best!

Queen of Procrastinate-y Stuff (That's me!)

Yup - the new semester at uni began yesterday. I have had the two chunky readers for my last course for, oooh, maybe a month and finally found time to read a measly 5 pages over the weekend! So much for getting a head start!

I did have a million other things to do though - like spending Friday night at The Gov listening to three brilliant rockabilly bands; hanging out with my sis and crafternooning the day away Saturday; and cheering very loudly for my (losing) roller derby team! So, it's not like I've been lazy!


PLUS, tomorrow afternoon, my yr 11 and 12 students have the opening of their SALA exhibition!!! So I had to bake. Any excuse. So I made cone cakes - we are a bit over cup cakes at our place. The taste-tester assures me they are good!


We have Grace Portolesi, Minister for Youth, opening the show, so the kids are a bit nervy and excited!

I also wanted to demonstrate the amazing cake decorating skills of the young bloke - not bad for a 13 yr old! He is a massive fan of Cake Wrecks, so carefully modelled the cake on all the best elements they like to talk about - crappy spelling (Hapey Brithday) and unidentifiable images, namely! (It is a birthday pony, in case you were unsure!) Both are intentional and were designed over a period of weeks...... Max was dubiously thrilled - after all - cake was involved.......

Home from a winter wonderland

sans snow, sadly for the boys! But that's ok... we made up for it with gorgeous blue skies and more birds and mossy things than a stick could be poked at!


We had two days in Hobart, two in Launceston, a night at Cradle Mountain, then back to Hobart for another two. All of our accommodation was terrific - our first place only a five minute walk from Salamanca Place, the city centre and Sandy bay.

We stopped to look at every old bridge and building we passed... we heard from the back seat at one stage, "Pete - do you realise you just drove past an old bridge built by convicts? Just checking..." Too many perhaps?!

A Wintery Weekend,

but a productive one!

I spent most of this weekend on my own - one fella had a boys' weekend in Victor, and the little one had a Scout camp. I had a quick visit to Gaganis Bros. on my way home from camp drop-off and picked up a big chunk of haloumi and some of this very cute pasta - the verdict here is that it's like animal pasta for grown-ups! I made a roast pumpkin, cumin and basil sauce for it... a very fancy dinner for one!
The goal this weekend was to finish off the final essay for my current uni topic - I succeeded beyond my wildest expectations!!! So now I am officially 2/3 of the way to being completely done with my course.

I also wanted to share my gorgeous friend with you... This is Ma-mee. My grandma won her in a raffle in 1950, complete with a wardrobe of beautiful, handmade clothes. She had two young sons, so waited for her first grand daughter to bestow the prize upon... I scored!! I've had Ma-mee since I was too young to remember. She once talked when moved, and walked along if you pursuaded her a little. She stand at about mid-thigh height. I love her!



My two sweet budgies found the weather outside very wearing on Saturday... as soon as they came back in they needed a little nanna nap!

Something new for the collection?

I think Margaux Lange is my newest hero!! Just look at this amazing Barbie-inspired jewellery!!! Who doesn't love Barbie in pieces!? I guess it's not immediately obvious that I am actually a Barbie fan... This really captures the spirit of Barbie for me - it's all the reasons I collect them. I love the fabulous make-up and the shapes of their faces!! Sadly, it's a little out of my price range.

Bought it!

Okay, so I may have only had one guitar lesson EVER, but according to the teacher, I do have some innate ability!! (So what if it was my mum?!)
It has been my goal all year to finish this dumb uni course I started, then next year take up the guitar, become a venturers leader and do a LOT more sewing. So I guess it's all happening sooner rather than later!
Given that mum is interstate, I probably won't get my next proper lesson until December. But she did send me home with a mountain of resources for learning on my own! Thanks, Annie!!