Lazy lazy Saturday.

Didn't do much today, been a Mum taxi and feed the family, otherwise very little, so I am relying on a wee project I did a while ago for show and tell today.
I made this wee character for my niece a month or two ago. The body is a ready made wire and wood doll I got from Little Sparrow and her clothes are felt, wool and some lovely ribbon from my stash. She is so simple and quick to make. The dolls stand and sit really well and so are great for dolls house play or puppet shows. The face is left without detail on purpose in the tradition of waldorf dolls.

It is nice sometimes to complete a project from beginning to end in under an hour. Today I couldn't even manage that. :) But I did manage to write a post - third day in a row.

A pressie

picture stolen from Curious Little Oyster

First point of order for this my return to blogging land is to acknowledge a present I received while I was away on my little blog holiday.

Annaliese from Curious Little Oyster sent me not one but two of her lovely lip balms. I sure feel treated, the little packages are so pretty, the lip balm is sure making my lips feel better on these cold and windy days, and the mint slice flavour almost cures my chocolate cravings (almost). I will be visiting her wee shop soon to stock up for presents for my loved ones.

Are you tempted? quick, go here, Annaliese is having a Spring give away so you could have your own lovely balm, be quick it is closing soon. If you miss out never fear just head to her shop in St Kilda or on Etsy.

Happy Birthday to my childhood friend Rachel who also shares the day with Tiffany of "I think we're alone now" fame.

Blogtoberfest

It has been over a month since my last post (how did that happen) and because I am a little bit all or nothing (I realise that is a contradiction in terms to be a little bit all or nothing) I thought I would get back into the swing of things by joining Tinniegirls Blogtoberfest.

Because I am better now... and the computer is mostly better now.... and surely I have a lot to catch up on... and I feel it is rude for me to just continue to listen in on the conversations of my favorite bloggers without sharing a little of myself..... so here I am reporting for a task I have set myself.... to blog daily for a month.... I am really not sure how I will go.... expect some of them to be short... but I don't want to wait till next year to join in the fun..... so here we go........ quick before midnight

Watcha Wearing Wednesday- embroidery and crochet

A very dark picture but look at that. Crochet loopy scarf made for me by Princess Mandy, so many colours and long so I can wear it round and round my neck . Brooch made by me, my latest version of felt, reverse applique and embroidery and although it is hard to see in this pic I have even added some bling, ya gotta love a bit of sparkle.

A lesson in morals

I have always been a very good girl, I am a bit of a rule follower and have to work hard to break the rules and be a bit naughty. I put effort into sometimes being a bit selfish and in the past was bribed to lie around in bed all morning, bribed with ice cream no less, slothfulness and gluttony!

Bear this in mind as I share with you this great 'moral' version of snakes and ladders. I found it in an op shop a while ago, and have never seen anything like it before or since. I am not sure what I want to do with it. At the moment I am thinking I might just frame it. Or take some prints of it for some collaging or to print onto fabric...... suggestions welcome... but I just love to own it and look at it and laugh.

All the ladders lead you from a 'good' behaviour to a 'reward', patience to attainment, industry to success or thrift to fulfilment. The snakes take you from a 'naughty' behaviour to some sort of 'punishment', conceit to friendlessness, temper to regret, mischief to woe. I love the illustrations, the colours, and most of all the high moral ground of it. We haven't played it yet but think it would be a great inclusion in a games evening.

Some quiet shopping

With the stress of it all lately, my body decided I needed a wee rest and I have had a very heavy cold. Never mind, I view this as a chance to sit around on the couch- movie watching, crafting, and taking nana naps.

I'm feeling better now but have lost my voice. For the last three days I have gone from squeaking and croaking to no voice at all. Luckily I am a super fine actor with absolutely no shame and have been acting my way through all the mummy directions that need to be given. Also the girls and I know just a little bit of sign language, that has helped too. The girls dragged me out for a shop last night and giggled every time a shop assistant was confused by my mute response. You see the girls know that given a chance I will make friends with every shop assistant that looks kindly my way. I am that annoying person who is inclined to answer the "how are you" question honestly. I promise I don't go on and I am always positive but I am never just fine "I am great/fantastic/excellent, thanks for asking, how is your day going?"

This morning I headed out on my own with a note book in hand. An op shop happened to be in the middle of all my messages and I found these lovely tins in the window. I had to write a note asking if they were for sale and they were, which ones she asked, all of them I signed. And for how much? just $1 each! excellent. I already gave one away to a friend who will appreciate the Scottish theme, the rest will be used in my play space to store some of my bits and bobs. Of course these days I can't look at a tin with out thinking of Tinniegirl who has the last of her tins avaliable at her shop, if you want your own full of treasure go her see her before she sells out.

Not being able to speak has sure made me think about what I really want or need to say and given me a chance to be a lot more introspective but I have missed singing at the top of my lungs when at home alone or driving around the city. Anyway; I'm great thanks, how has your day been?

edit to add Little Sparrow has some of Tinniegirl's tin as well.

A long week/fortnight

A fortnight ago I logged off wondering if it would be a long week. It sure was, perhaps evidenced by my lack of blogging, I have just been to busy dealing with life to have the time to reflect here. Having a mixed readership I have been wondering about how much to write here, my uncertainty has lead me to say nothing.... however I have felt privileged to share the ups and downs of many of my blogger friends, and your honesty has encouraged me to share this wee stumble.

The short version is this(and hang in there, I tried to keep it short): A fortnight ago we made the decision to withdraw our very unhappy 2nd born out of her school and leap, hoping that we would find a soft place to land. Moving to a new city, and country has been an adventure for us and really the only thing that has been difficult has been the girls schooling. Only one thing, but oh that one thing is a major.

We resolved the problem for the first born at the beginning of this year and had plans for the second born for next year, but then a fortnight ago it was clear that this was just too far away. So we took the leap and to my great joy and relief the soft place arrived, and after a crazy week of interviews, Dr visits, uniform and stationary shopping, rearranging of finances and farewells, our gorgeous girl headed off, nervous but happy. Most importantly she came home happy and the most relaxed I have seen her in a long time. I am so relieved and now guilty and a little lost. I have been worrying about this situation for some time and relieved though I am, I find myself unsure what to do without the worry. I was unaware of how much it was hanging over me until it was gone. That feeling hasn't hung around to long, already my focus is shifting, (more about that later) but briefly I felt strange and lost without the weight of worry.

Why does it take me so long to leap? I have always found that everything works out ok but I still struggle to hold on, to have all the i's dotted, t's crossed and the ducks lined up, to know for sure before I let go. I need to remember to have some more faith, that I do not have to have all the answers and that I can handle whatever comes my way. Although I know mother guilt seldom does anyone any favours. Choosing school is part of my job and I feel guilty to have failed in this aspect. On the other hand I also know that this journey has lead both my daughters and myself to some good friends, friends we wouldn't have otherwise found. And life is a journey isn't it and an adventure and sometimes it is smooth and sometimes it isn't and as far as life stuff goes this was just a wee stumble along the way.

So there you are out the other side of this little stumble with only a grazed knee.

And on the way my creative space went around in wee circles starting like this on my return to Australia

Getting a bit of a tidy up

And then returning to chaos as I tried to keep on making things amongst everything else going on

before being sorted again.

This cycle is pretty constant for me and the first time I have been brave enough to share the chaos, but while I'm being honest right? For more creative spaces go see Kirsty