nostalgia

I had a sudden rush of nostalgia when I saw this photo. I used to make pikelets for my children like this when they were little. They used to love them! I found this recipe for alphabet pikelets at taste.com.au. It's a pretty good site for a huge collection of recipes from many of the magazines I have lying around and cluttering up the bookshelves, in the cupboards etc etc... Maybe I can give a large percentage of the away now. I've joined up and they have a system where you can create your own 'cookbooks' of recipes you like so they are easy to find again. And all kindly stored on the network not all around my house or on files that get lost when the computer crashes!!!

Really funny

This is really funny.

How to give a man hug.

I laughed out loud and so did my teenaged son and his friend.

Funny...ridiculous

But it just had to be done! The children 'chatting' over the new wireless network!

I had the family all here for dinner, as I mentioned before I was trying to make amends for my inadequacies. Well at least I can cook! My sister and her family, my mum and ron me and the kids and tim. 12 people in all. It was a lot of fun. We managed to avoid an argument between mum and myself about ANZAC day. I think it is important to remember that war is a terrible thing but I object to the glorification of war that can creep into this day. I also think it should be a day where we think of maintaining peace and how conflict can be resolved rather than explaining why we are still involved in conflicts today that perhaps we shouldn't be. I've typed and untyped my ideas here but I think that this enough said. Or we may all end having arguments here too!

Then I nearly put my foot in it again because I said I was shocked that our school chaplin- who is supposed to be working at the school in a completely non religious sense said a prayer at the assembly and invited the children to join in if they like. We are a government school and I thought that years ago there has been a directive to say there should be no prayers said at assemblies.

"What's wrong with a prayer?" asked my niece.

"Well I don't think school is the place for it. It's something you do at home if you want to."

Oops! My sister actually goes to church and her children attend a catholic primary school.

However my sister did call last light to say how much she enjoyed the dinner and that she loves me!

Phew....Now onto something safe. I'm knitting a new capelet, I saw this one and loved it. I have been inspired to make one of my own. Although my wool is purple not charcol and considerably less chunky. It is so nice to feel that I decided to go with it anyway, it's a merino and silk blend.

This is going to be a coral necklace similar to the flower garlands. I have some tiny red glass beads to sew onto it, and am playing with sea creatures that I might add- starfish and snaily things are the front runners at present.

Finally "Crochet Rocks" I've seen these about in blog land and thought I'd give it a go. One of my friends and her daughter (chicky Babe's friend) both thought it was one of the most ridiculous things they'd ever seen. Laughed so hard, called it thoroughly post modern and the daughter pretended to steal it. So I gave it to her as a birthday present. She was so pleased.

Sorting

I've spent the last couple of days I've spent sorting through a mountain of stuff. The children hadn't followed my cord sorting system and the computer area was SOOOOOOO messy. So I grabbed a bunch of tubs and set to sorting through old papers and gathered things together in clusters of things that go together. This sounds very obvious to you I am sure but I have kind of let things get away from me of late and now I am left with a BIG mess.

Today's effort was the huge tub of pens pencils and office supplies that was the result of tossing things from all around the house into the one box! I was horrified to see how much there was! How bad this is in terms of the environment. How much consumerism!!!

The tub.....what a mix!

Mid sort....

Lead pencils...coloured pencils and textas...fine tip markers....red and blue pens....thick markers and whiteboard markers.....all other stuff.

I like this photo of the bundle of pencils. Some smooth some scuffed one covered in paint speckles...I wonder what projects they have seen?

I think the red pen is trying to escape!!!


AHHHHH....... all sorted! Much better!

off the leash again!!!

Whoo Hooo!!!! We've got the wireless network working again! Whats more we've got the big computer fixed and the mini computer working with the Internet! Yay no more arguments and I'm posting at 9:20pm not 1:20am!!!
This wireless thingo so you can plug in a printer so you can print from where ever you are working.

Woe is me...

Suddenly I am all on my own. Bantam Boy is off to a party at the beach and Chicky Babe text me on her way home from Perth this evening asking if she could go to a friends place for a sleep over. Tim had promised to come over earlyish this morning to help me do some stuff. As he has promised this several times and not come because he had slept in till mid afternoon, I was cross with him. He arrived at 5 saying he wasn't feeling well. So I sent him packing not wanting to get ill myself but also cross because I was cross at him when he wasn't feeling well and I'd just assumed that he'd done his usual sleep all day thing. This is an ever recurring theme... He says he'll come then sleeps in and is very very late. I feel cross and then feel guilty for feeling cross because he is not obliged to help. But I do think that it would have been polite to get a call to say he wasn't coming because I've been waiting around for the last two days expecting him to come and he hasn't and saturday was the same. Plus I don't think it is unreasonable that if you promise a friend no matter how simple or complex the relationship might be, it is just polite to turn up when you say you will or at least phone to let them know you are not coming.

Now I'm at home waiting until I have to go and pick up Bantam Boy from his party. I asked Chicky Babe what was I going to do all on my lonesome. She replied Knit away on your weird lady knitting stuff. Hmmmm.... I am making some more knitted stuff. I'm working on a capelet like this one. Well it is not as chunky because the wool I have is only 10 ply and mine will be purple and I'm not sure about the flower. Maybe red or perhaps green and definitely removable so maybe one of each. Oh! I've got some deep yellow with a hint of brown that might become a sunflower to go on it. Bring on more coffee dates with unruly teenage boys (Chicky Babe says -Keep dreaming Mum. She has been careful to text when she says she will and to furnish me with as much info as I need!)

On that front, the dust is beginning to settle. B told her dad that she had been the one pushing Chicky Babe to call me to see if they could get a lift with the boys and that CB panicked when confronted as she never has to deal with that kind of yelling at our place. So she is no longer banned from seeing CB and is not going to be transferred to a school in the country. However there are all sorts of rules that she has to follow, what they are I don't know. And the grounding has been reduced from a year to three months! The boy has very bravely offered to go and apologise in person the the father and has thus earned some brownie points.

Having got that off my chest I am going to pop in a chick flick DVD (we can rent them again now that bantam boy has fixed up his $150 late fees problem!!!) and do some more knitting and embrace my alone time which is actually quite nice when I think about it.

PS. I was watching them both as we walked from the coffee shop yesterday and had to wipe away a wayward tear. They have grown up and it has taken me by surprise in some ways. I watched them and as they walked I saw the shadows of my little chicks follow beside them. They are ours for such a short time. At the moment I am reminded of little birds in a nest that I watched outside my window a couple of years ago. At first you got little glimpses of the tiny little chicks popping out from under their mother then they grew and grew and wriggled and squirmed in the nest jostling the poor mother from side to side as if she were riding a stormy sea. Finally they hopped onto the branch and before I knew it they were gone.

I am being jostled about in my nest at present and I know in the blink of an eye they will fly away!

Holidays

I've been busy doing all sorts of things but nothing particularly of note. On Good Friday I spent the day making fabric bags to stash all my projects into. My long term Babette rug project that is growing oh so slowly has a lovely pattern made up of squares on it. My scarf project has a floral drawstring bag. The children's hats and vests have a bag with cowboys on it. This is so I can just grab the right bag when the urge hits to do a certain project.

This hat and the vest below are for the winter warm project. I'm knitting hats and vests for the save the children fund for children who will be freezing in the Afghanistan winter- follow the link in the side bar if you want to know any more apart or how you can join in.

This vest was made from a pattern my grandmother 'Cammy' used to make for our kids. They are quite quick to make and take about 400g of yarn. They were so good to pull over the kids long sleeve tops and the kids were always happy to wear them so I'm assuming they are comfortable. Cammy always made them quite long in order to keep their kidneys warm. She had such a preoccupation with this and as teenagers my sister and I would dread the birthday gifts of cotton undies, usually washed out colours and floral patterns. These undies were full briefs of the fullest type designed to embarrass any teen and of course keep our kidneys warm!

I finally got round to planting a tree in the middle of my paving in the front yard. This area is the hottest spot imaginable. Paving may not require watering but it gets bloody HOT. Especially as this is on the western side of the house and gets sun continuously from 12 o'clock onwards. It's not a nice place to be in summer. So I've planted a Chinese Tallow- especially for its non invasive root system and deciduous habit, shade for summer and sunshine in winter.

I planted some veggies and herbs in amongst the flowers, I figure if I'm going to tend it it's got to give me something back!! (Both the kale and the silver beet are going well. The snow peas not so well. And the coriander is dead... I don't know what it is but i can never get that right.)

I made a new garden bed just out from the patio. (That's Chicky Babe in the hammock.)

This little frangipanni earns it's keep by providing unusual little flowers with lovely perfume.

I've just finished these felt place mats. They were inspired by a design on a piece of fabric I am crocheting around to turn into a tablecloth. I am in need of some long tablecloths to cover my long outdoor table. I had mum and Ron here for lunch and was mortified by her sideways look at the shortness and unironedness of my tablecloths. That and the fact that I didn't have any place mats to pop on the end where it didn't quite meet the end of the table.

As my sister and her crew are coming for tea next Thursday along with mum I thought I might just be able to redeem myself.

Technology... don't you love it?

I just got a text message on my phone from Chicky babe it read thus...

"can you get me a towel"

She was in the shower and there were no towels in the bathroom. I'm puzzled as to why she didn't just open the door and yell. And then I wondered why she had the phone in the shower with her! It wouldn't do to miss a text from a friend!!

ooops! and a life lesson learnt.

Boy have I made a very bad error in judgement!
Chicky babe went out into freo to watch a movie with her friends from drama. This group has expanded to include some friends of one of the girls. Their ages range from 15 up the almost 18. Any way Chicky Babe took along another friend from school, a girl who is like a part of our "family". This girl's dad is a bit restrictive in my opinion, and Chicky Babe thinks (as all teens do,) that I am a bit restrictive.
They were at a movie and then rang to say that they would be going to go and have pizza. I said that that would be ok as long as it was fine with the other parent. Then as Bantam Boy was stuck in Gossnells -a good hour and a bit and two bus transfers by public transport away on good friday with limited buses running Tim took my car to go and pick him up. I had intended to pick the girls up when he got back. Then they rang to say that James could drive them home.
Do you trust him?
Has he been drinking?
And is it OK with the B's folks?
I'm not really happy about it but I suppose it would be Ok and quite convenient as Tim has my car in Gosnells.... ( I have been listening too much to her tell me how evil I am for not letting her do stuff and being too careful and fussy- having grown up being fussed over and overly protected I have been determined not to over parent and allow them both a certain amount of freedom.)
All the while I forgot to listen to how CB was saying over and over "You can say NO but....."
Well apparently B's parents didn't know and the boy dropped them off with a screech and a whole lot of yelling and noise leaving great skid marks down the street.
B has been grounded for the rest of the year, Her father rang me up and proceeded to tell me what he would like to see happen with CB in a most condescending and bullying manner.
I have dealt with the situation here on my end and I will not be grounding CB for a year I replied- (I think that is a ridiculous amount of time and being SO authoritarian and extreme only sets up for more lies and deception ,that or running away from home!) I didn't say the part in brackets to him but I did say when he said that I needed to do something - I said again that I have dealt with the matter at my end and I actually thing that the rest of the year is an unreasonable amount of time. - Then he proceeds to tell me that I obviously don't care if my daughter ends up dead! -What a WALLY!!!!! I was so angry about that how dare he speak to me like that. It was B who was pressuring CB to ask me in the first place and it was she who did not ask her parents. I on the other hand was fairly informed (albeit not fully as I was under the impression that B's parents also agreed.)
Then his partner rang to talk to me about it, she did agree that he has a tendency to over react - and that he didn't feel I did a good job of parenting CB and was too lenient and this was a bad influence on B an that he was going tomorrow to the high school in Karratha where he works to enroll her there to get her away from CB's bad influence!- Then I did a bad thing and let her know what I thought of his authoritarian style and how I thought the outcome of that would go. And how outraged I was that he would say that I wanted my daughter dead! I personally don't care If I never have to talk to them ever again! But poor CB has had the punishment - well natural consequence of her actions in that B has been banned from having anything to do with her again until B moves out of home. She has lost their trust and suffers their bad opinion of her. I see no need to "punish" her further.
Oh and by the way she won't be getting lifts with this young man any time soon!!! And I feel so bad that I didn't listen to my gut and go and pick them up myself, thus saving them the pain of this commotion but then it wouldn't have been a life lesson....She is attempting to write to them to try to make amends..
It's hard to watch your kids go through these things... especially when you feel a little responsible, I should have known that there would be no way in a pink fit that B's parents would have agreed to it!

Mad Hatter

On Friday I discovered that I actually have a teapot collection.

Tim the tool man put up some shelves so I could display my teapots, at first I asked for a couple of shelves but it soon became apparent that it would not be enough as I gathered together teapots from cupboards around the place. (The morning light comes in here and has washed out the photo a bit but you still get the picture!)

I also had him put in an extra shelf above the ones I had already in the kitchen for every day china etc. I wasn't feeling too well on Friday so I took the day off and spent some time dusting, scrubbing and re-organising my kitchen. I also seem to have a collection of jugs too!


And to my huge relief at last I have a lovely clear bench below to make my breakfast.
I won't show you my lounge room yet as it is definitely NOT clear and organised, I had intended to finish that job yesterday but spent most of the day playing taxi driver and driving miles to purchase school books that I couldn't afford at the beginning of the year and were now a priority. I did manage to get a bit of gardening done though. Boy it needed it as it is almost dead after all the heat and inattention! I'm off to buy some soil wetting agent as it is as dry as desert sand out there at the moment. I have about 20 pots of herbs to plant out and I think I'll put in a lavender hedge near the limestone garden edging/seat.