Long Weekend

Last weekend we went up to visit one of my Mum's friends, Helga for the night.

Some highlights:

We had bonfires, homemade & home cooked pizza oven pizza's, bonfires, wine & hot water bottles. Walks through the town and delicious coffee at Blueys, and old pug & pine Blacksmith's which is now a delightful cafe and bed & breakfast place.

On the Monday we had family over for breakfast. Delicious bacon & eggs and good company. A wonderful end to the long weekend.

Sickness

We have had a bout of cold, stuffy, sinus sickness around here. The little miss has been the worst off, poor darling, and DB and I are trying to fight it off, with varying degrees of success. Consequently, crafting has been on the back burner. I always find when I am unwell or tired I have so many ideas and loads of things inspire me. I want to launch into a million different projects, but haven't the energy etc.... and then when I'm feeling better, I manage to spend a lot of time procrastinating... hmmm.

Below, some pre-sickness fun:



1. I've got something to say Mum..., 2. Me & Dad, 3. Visiting Cousins, 4. Scrambled Eggs, 5. Ruby, 6. Brunch at Sellick's Beach, 7. Visiting Cousins, 8. Sand Fun, 9. David & Charlie

Hopefully this week will bring some healthy bodies and crafty spirits with it!

Girl's Night Out

I have dinner with my Mum and sister once a week. Ruby usually comes with me and occasionally DB, but this week we took advantage of the Adelaide Fringe and went out for some theatre and dinner. The three of us are big Jane Austen fans, so when the show Austen's Women was advertised it seemed like a definite... and it was fantastic! Rebecca Vaughan who co-adapted the piece along with Guy Masterson (who also directed it), was a triumph!


A narration pieced together from Austen's work, flows effortlessly between her heroine's and (sometimes) villains, to paint a picture of the many women who inhabited Jane Austen's world. Whilst I was familiar with the bulk of the characters, there were three characters from novels I have neither read nor even was aware of! The Three Sisters (Juvenilia), Sanditon and The Watsons, were all new to me and I will have to seek them out!

Characters, in order of appearance (from the Programme Notes):
Narrator Various Writings
Lizzy Bennet Pride & Prejudice
(I think here should have appeared Anne Elliot from Persuasion as I recognised a lot of her character)
Mary Stanhope The Three Sisters (Juvenilia)
Marianne Dashwood Sense & Sensibility
Mrs Norris Mansfield Park
Miss Bates Emma
Mary Musgrove Persuasion
Catherine Morland Northanger Abbey
Emma Woodhouse Emma
Fanny Dashwood Sense & Sensibility
Diana Parker Sandition
Harriet Smith Emma
Mrs Augusta Elton Emma
Miss Elizabeth Watson The Watsons
Lizzy Bennet Pride & Prejudice

I would thoroughly recommend the show and if it is appearing anywhere near you, go along and enjoy!

For dinner we took a short walk to The Apothecary 1878 on Hindley Street and had some lovely wine and delicious tapas. We had Chorizo with tomato sugo & chipotle chilli; Eggplant, green bean, fetta, red onion and mint salad; Baked goat's cheese with roasted cherry tomato & balsamic and Dutch cream potato tortilla with taleggio. These tapas were followed by some yummy sweets of Chocolate pudding & pannacotta with praline. Divine!



Thanks to my ladies and of course to Jane Austen for her "two inches of ivory".

Australia Day

We celebrated Australia Day in style, and perhaps some photos of the day are a good way to get back into the swing of blogging. My sister bought Ruby a bandana to wear on the day. We couldn't work out the best way to get it on her so I made an elastic waisted skirt by cutting it in half. She looked every bit the Vegemite kid!

We had friends around for a bbq and of course listened to Triple J's Hottest 100. Unlike a lot of people I wasn't too unhappy with the countdown. I hardly listened to any radio over 2009, but we've finally got the sound system in the lounge hooked up, so I intend to rectify that this year.




It has been a long time since I've been regularly posting, and we've been up to all sorts of things around here. We had our trip to the United States for five weeks and Ruby's 1st Birthday the day after we got home. Christmas came quickly as did New Year's and then I find myself at the end of January. How does that happen?


Cake by my sister Alyssa


Some US highlights:


1. 1st ride on a carousel, 2. Pina Colada, 3. Hoover Dam, 4. Cathedral Rock, 5. Making cake for Issy's Birthday, 6. Cold Love, 7. Ohhhh can I do it Mum?, 8. Ruby's What Not, 9. Rockefeller Centre, 10. Lincoln Memorial, 11. The White House, 12. On the Way, 13. Cathedral Rock, 14. Yum, 15. Still taking a break, 16. Taking a break, 17. Times Square, 18. Jacqui O Reservoir, 19. Detail, 20. Rockefeller Centre, 21. Baby it's cold out there..., 22. Independence Hall, 23. Mr Barack, let me in!!!, 24. Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, 25. Capitol Hill


I didn't write a long list of resolutions for 2010. I do have some goals for this year though, rather than resolutions.

- I'd like to supplement my current $0 income with some crafty things that I enjoy doing.
- I want to continue spending as much time with Ruby as possible, exploring the wonderful world we live in.
- I want to continue meeting regularly with other parents, exchanging ideas etc, but also some time without the little to explore some crafty ideas (oh to live in Melbourne and be a Brown Owl!)... note to self - have just discovered Adelaide Brown Owls, which I missed by a day - must keep my eyes open (apparently I have been under a rock)...
- To cook lot's more!! ... new recipes!

I also want to get involved with a few not-for-profit endeavours, the first I've come across is being organised by Lizzy, and I have to say I am very much looking forward to participating in Project Patchwork.

Here's to an action packed 2010!

Life Changes

Such a long time between posts, how boring for anyone dropping by! Life has been full, changes are afoot, Ruby is thriving. I've tried numerous times to get to a post, but have been sidetracked one way or another, but I have been making. Making and thinking about making things... and thinking about our up-coming holiday to the States. We are so very excited (it's all Ruby can talk about ; ) Ha!)

What's been happening around here?

We had a visit to Adelaide from my brother-in-law and his family from Port Lincoln. We had a fantastic long weekend of lunches, dinners, ten pin bowling, poker, picnics and dam building, not to mention my mother-in-laws' birthday.




My 32nd Birthday was celebrated in style. My wonderful sister took Ruby for her first sleep over, leaving DB and I to dine here, and enjoy cocktails here. I was spoilt the exact right amount!



Our work lives have been going through a bit of an upheaval. DB and I have decided to sell our share of our business (of which I have been involved very minimally since Ruby was born). DB is ready for some new challenges, and for now I'm going to concentrate on the Little. It's been pretty stressful few weeks making the decision to move on, but I think it's the right thing for us at the moment. I'm going to miss working (even it it has been a little bit), and having the option to go back to my job whenever I wanted was nice. Now I'll officially be a stay-at-home Mum, and while I am really happy about that, I still have lingering weirdness about not having a 'paid' job. DB is fantastic, so supportive and happy for me to be at home with Ruby, or go back to work, or a bit of both and so on, I am so thankful for him.

Countdown is on now... three weeks until our overseas jaunt to the United States. We are planning a bit of a driving holiday, a slightly extended stay in NY and then some time down in Kentucky with DBs brother and family. It will be wonderful to see all of them again, and to meet Milly!

At this stage our loose plan is to fly into LA and drive over to NY, NY - checking out the sights along the way (our loose itinerary includes: Las Vegas, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Colorado Springs, Denver, through Kansas up to Chicago down through Indiana/Ohio to Philadelphia, on to Washington and then up to New York). Stay in NY for 4 or 5 days, then fly down to Kentucky for a 5 days or so, and then home. Very Exciting! If anyone has any must sees in, please let me know!

Birthday Wishes...

There have been two birthdays and a birth 'round these parts since I posted last. On the 10th we celebrated Nan's Birthday (My Mum), and then on the 17th, darling DB's. Ruby celebrated by posing for these glamour shots:





On the 16th, my brother and sister-in-law, along with their littles, Isabella and Zach, welcomed a new daughter, Amelia (Milly) Jane in Kelwona, Canada. What a treasure! We are very excited, and can't wait to visit the whole family in November, when they've returned to their temporary home in Wilmore, Kentucky USA. Yay! More on our trip another time.


And of course, last, but not least, my darling baby girl turns 7 months today! Hurrah! What a little person she is! Changing so rapidly it's hard to keep up. Smiling lots and generally being a darling. Love you Ruby!

6 Months

Ruby was 6 months a couple of weeks ago. Whoa. Time flies. She's starting to sit up now, grabbing at just about anything and becoming a good little eater (not interested in meat though, but I won't go into that debacle).


She was very spoilt by her grandparents and Aunty, receiving some lovely '6 Month Birthday' presents.

From Nan, this lovely book, Ruby Makes a Friend:


From Aunty Lyss, a lovely hoodie and some blocks, which have become favourite at playtime.



And from Poppy and Meme, this lovely customised bowl and plate set.


All in all, a very spoilt little munchkin.

Fleur Playmat

This week has been a great one for sewing. I have a new neice on the way in the next few weeks, and needed to get a gift made to post this week (my brother-in-law and his family currently live in the States). I've been wanting to make a Fleur Playmat by Onegirl Designwrks for ages. I got the pattern in a copy of Australian Homespun (Kids Issue) which I picked up at the Stitches and Craft Show for $5. Talk about a bargain! I missed it when it came out, so was super happy to get it eventually!


The only alterations to the pattern I made were with the face. I appliqued the yellow face and polka dot cheeks, and blanket stitched the eyelashes. I think it came out really nicely, although I could have done with cutting the batting for the circle a little bigger. I followed the instructions, so am not sure what happened (perhaps my allowance was smaller), but it is a bit short of the edges, so next time I will cut it a couple of cm's bigger (can always make it smaller if it needs to be!)