Mandarines!

Our Mandarine tree is positively groaning under the strain of the enormous crop this year. The birds are having a party because we didn't get to put a net over it but there are still more than enough to go around for the next few weeks.

Miss M's class have bags of mandies, daycare has bags of mandies, friends have been given mandies - mandies mandies, mandies!!

Mandies, anyone?

Friends, “friends” and FRIENDS!!!

I am lucky. I have six Very Good Friends and have known them en masse for over 20 years. Two of them I have known for over 30, since Year 8. These fabulous women are not just my friends, they are my FRIENDS!!

Last year we decided we needed a weekend away together. This year, we decided we needed another. Because, while we still manage to organise ourselves to meet every couple of months, that just wasn’t enough. Because we were missing things in each other’s lives. Because our own lives were so busy. Because we needed to!

So, we went away.

And we talked.

We talked about our families, we talked about our children. We talked about mothering, home management, food, recipes, time-saving strategies, husbands, marriage, friends, fears, schools, other mothers, books, news, extended families. We also talked about 'paid work'; the paid work which was ours, that we wanted, that some needed, and the reasons for that need. We talked about whether it was ‘worth it’; is there enough balance? No balance? Two of my friends decided to quit their paid work because there wasn’t any balance anymore. And we decided that, whoever is responsible for the saying was right – that you can have everything; you just can’t have it all at the same time!* And then we ate a LOT OF CHOCOLATE!

And we also recognised and acknowledged how lucky we were that we had the support around us, whether other friends, family or husbands, who helped to look after our families while we were away looking after ourselves. Thank you!

And then we went to lunch** and, funnily enough, talked some more!

Sam xx

* Was it Oprah who said that?!

**We had a fantastic lunch at the Aravina Estate, Yallingup - the photo above is the view from our table on the verandah. Yum!

Schoolhouse tunic #3

Last Monday I posted a photo of my next sewing project in cutting out mode, and one kind reader suggested that it looked rather intriguing.

Really?? Well, I suppose it could have been had it not been for my dodgy cutting - I didn't place the back bodice piece on the fold!

I have made this pattern before. I know that the bodice is one piece, but I forgot, and on Tuesday I realised I had two halves for the back rather than one whole piece. So, I packed it away for the day I could get back to the not-so-local fabric shop from where the fabric came in order to purchase some more, and instead, set off to the not-so-distant Spotlight to buy some different new fabric.

I managed to find some beautiful grey linen but was then distracted by a rich, neutral plummy/grey cotton sateen - perhaps not quite the drapey fabric recommended in the pattern but it was such a gorgeous colour, I couldn't resist!

Wednesday, I cut it out. I sewed that night and finished the garment on Thursday. The sateen is a bit stiff but still workable. It just happens to look a bit....fuller...than other softer fabrics.

And here it is*.....Ta-dah!

Surprise, surprise - it's another Schoolhouse Tunic! Not necessarily very exciting, not very original, but at least I now have something new to wear!

And there are more to come.......

Sam xx

*Sorry about the light and colour in the photo - it certainly doesn't look very exciting - more brown than anything, but trust me, there is plum in there!

Yesterday/Today

Yesterday I.....


Made lunches
Got the girls dressed
Did the school run
Took the twins to swimming
Tidied the kitchen
Loaded dishwasher
Washed two loads of clothes and hung them out
Brought the washing in
Folded three other loads of washing
Put it all away
Made lunch for the twins
Cleaned up
Unloaded the dishwasher
Made bread
Took some photos
Finished sewing my new tunic
Rang the shops to see if Miss J's lost toy was there (it wasn't)
Ironed a shirt for G
Picked Up Miss M from school
Chopped wood
Lit the fire
Brought in more washing
Fed the chooks
Collected eggs
Cooked dinner
Looked for and found beach house keys
Bathed the girls
Put them to bed
Wrote my blog posts
Ordered a book online
Paid bills online
Packed an afternoon bag for the girls
Packed my bag
Organised uniforms for tomorrow
Laid out clothes for the twins

....so that Today I can go away for the weekend with five of my very best friends - child free, husband free, and hopefully care free!

We will enjoy!

Sam xx

My Creative Space - hexagon update

The progress of my crochet hexagon blanket so far........

Sam xx

An amazing variety of other Creative Spaces here.

Edited to add: In response to one lovely comment, Yes! I love the join-as-you-go method because you can see it grow-as-you-go! Very motivating and rather exciting. Plus, it keeps you warm and toasty while you are attaching them. It is a winning technique, all in all.

The eyes have it

"I've been expecting you to call," said my Optometrist, earlier this year, as she peered closely at my records. 

Excuse me?

"You are a '68/'69 baby, right?"

Er....yes.

"Well, then, I've been expecting you. You are either one of the ladies who can't thread a needle anymore or someone who loves to read but can't because you can't read the print as easily as you used to. Which one is it?"

Er......both.

"See?"*

No, it seems I can't! In fact, it seems I need reading glasses. I mean, wasn't it bad enough realising that I am no longer in my 'early forties'? Obviously not! But wait. There's more. Bifocals. Excuse me???

No. Not yet. Reading glasses will do for now. I'll get bifocals/multifocals when I really need them.

And this week, not three months since this initial exchange with my Optometrist, I do.

Sigh.

But it's not all bad. Maybe having reading glasses and being able to see close up is the reason why I have been knitting again, sewing again, painting again.

"Life begins at forty"? Not for our eyes, it doesn't!

And for those who like to see things.......a sneaky peek** at my new sewing project.....

Looking*** forward to my new glasses,

Sam xx


* Optometrist's pun, not mine!
** My pun, this time. Sorry.
*** Sorry, again. I couldn't help myself!

Bush Barbecue

Today, we took the girls for a barbecue in the bush. Not far, just to a small nature reserve about 40 minutes or so from where we live. Close to York. We haven't been there before but it was on the map, winking at us, so it seemed as good as any place for us to go.

Of course, it would have been perhaps a bit more organised of us if we had brought gas bottles for the barbecue that actually had, well, you know... gas! But, G took up the challenge and we built a wood fire instead, with the girls helping to collect rocks. Brilliant! And definitely more of an adventure that using the gas barbie from home!

Mountains of cooked sausages, homemade bread to wrap them in and also my yummo homemade tomato sauce..... bliss! The latter part of our visit involved a short walk, punctuated by frequent stops to collect bush bits with which to make patterns and pictures.

 

And, even better, we were pleased to see that the local authorities had fenced off the reserve so that trail motorbikes couldn't access the area and rip the paths to pieces.

Great day!

Sam xx