The theme for the January SWAP over at Crafty Mamas was Vintage. I must say, I had a BALL making my gift for my SWAP partner! And it looks as though Lissy had a ball making hers, too! I got her little package on Friday and the kids helped me open it and 'Oooooo'ed and 'Aaaaaahhh'ed over it all. Check it out!

We have a pillowcase under it all, a covered notebook (she even glued the inside front OVER the fabric!), cushion cover with lace panel on the front and a ribbon in the corner, a felt flower pin cushion, a 'Simplicity Rugs + Stitches' pattern (mostly uncut), a felt scissor holder and a card! LURVE 'em!! Thanks Lissy!!

She has been growing her own loofah plants, too and sent me some pieces PLUS some seeds!! Isnt she just GREAT??
YES!!! The kids are off to school today!! Well, not all that good, considering that Lenny starts High School and Weez starts Prep!

Here they are this morning.....ready and raring to go!!




We got to the school a little later than I would have liked! Only just had enough time to put most of her stuff away before the bell rang and it was time to leave! Weez was a little apprehensive to start off with, but soon put a smile on her face and relaxed a little when her friend came up and said hello to her! I thought there would be tears from her up until then!

And here is Weez at school - she has found a friend already!! Looks as though they are comparing shoes! They had already compared skorts!


Happy as Larry, now!


Come on 2:45pm!! I cant wait, already, to go and pick her up and see how her day went!!
6 weeks is a long time to have holidays! For parents AND kids! ALL the kids were at each other's throats during the last week! I dont really blame them, though.....usually they have school and everything like that to keep them apart, but on the holidays, they are basically in each other's faces all the blinkin time!!

We had a nice break, though - Lenny and Moo's G'parents and their Uncle and Aunty came up for a little visit! We had an excellent weekend catching up and just spending time with them! Originally, we were going to put up the camper out the back and have them stay in that, but Cam and Jules have bought a house of their own, so they have moved out of Dad's place, so they stayed there.

They arrived Friday night, said a quick hello and then headed off to bed - dont really blame them, though.....the trip from Ipswich to here hasnt changed much over the years and can be really tiring and boring to the max!

Saturday found us basically lazing around the house, chatting and catching up. We headed to the beach in the afternoon, where the kids had HEAPS of fun! Here are some shots of them:

Just a FEW kids! When we were leaving, there were a couple more, but not ours. I think the parent got a shock when I yelled out that we were leaving and any kids that were with us to come NOW!! LOL.....Quite deserted after that!


AH!! Stuck in the mud!! Its a wonder they didnt run into any Pippy's!


Sea water can be sooooo sticky - especially on a long walk home!
Sorry I didnt get back to this the other day! I was too busy running around like a blue-arsed fly! Being Monday, I had HEAPS to do and not much time to do it in!

Anyway....my new car is here. It is new for me, anyway! It is an old Maxi Taxi (Toyota HiAce) that Pete found advertised in the local rag for a sweet little bargain.........he reckons! Meanwhile, a Taxi is BOUND to have done heaps of k's and the motor should be just about f'ed, I reckon.....but he will see when he pulls it all down and has a proper look at it. He pulled most of the head off it the day that he got it and there is sludge just about all through the top! Yeh.....we will see just how good this thing is!! LOL.

Problem is? This is a long wheel based car! There is NO bonnet in front of me when I drive (yep...have gotten too used to the big, bulky hood of the Landy out in front!). AND the kids will be sitting directly behind me!! Yep - the good old Maxi Taxi with the front seat of the back facing the wrong way! Just GREAT!! I can see it now....driving along and the kids are all playing loudly in the back and I pull over for a break and walk into the bush......not for the toilet or anything, but to try and get away from the racket!! LOL. And that is just for a trip into town (20 minutes away)!!! Imagine me on a long trip, say, just up to Rocky (bout 1 1/2hrs away) or somewhere!! LOOPY LOOPY LOOPY!!!!

Just to clarify - yes, there is a lot of noise in the car from the kids in the Landy, but not nearly as loud as what would be in the HiAce! The Landy gives off a lot of engine noise and there is no air con, so the windows have to be wound down......bliss!! I can sit beside Pete for a long time and not have him talk to me, coz he would have to yell! No...seriously...he would have to YELL!!

So....my old Land Rover County is going to be sold! Such a lovely car and I feel all powerful in it, because of it's height and the pure square, bulky, boofness of it. Will just have to get used to everything being on the 'proper' side now - ignition, indicators & wiper controls, etc. Being of European design, they put things back to front on their cars! Back to front to what us Aussies are used to, anyways!

I must say, driving a Landy has been a real experience, though! Pete has gotten to know yet another car and how it works, but there seems to immediately be a friendship with other Landy owner/drivers! I will be driving along and they will automatically wave to me! Just a flick of the finger off the steering wheel most of the time, but a wave and friendly all the same! I found myself doing the same....once I worked out the difference between a Landy and a Cruiser (Toyota Land Cruiser)! LOL. Yes, they are very much the same in size and only a little the same by shape, but when I dont have my reading glasses on, they all look the bloody same to the untrained eye!! LMAO!! That is MY excuse and I am sticking to it!!
I was stuck for most of the week doing the books for Pete!! Moo helped me out a bit (payment, bribery and threats involved, there...hehe), so it made the job a little bit less monotonous....but BORING to the max, all the same!! Sitting on my butt doing bookwork all day is NOT my idea of fun at all!! Especially when your husband is working off paper and you are working off the computer and they dont match up and you have to wait until HE is ready to talk about it all and work things out with you!!

So, my evenings have been spent doing whatever I can without a sewing machine and making as little mess as possible in the lounge! Friday, however, I DID manage to make a trip to the local curtain/sewing shop that is closing down and get the following bargains:

A roll of quilting batting (about 2m I think) for $2.50/m

The habby items were just $1 each! Couldnt go past THEM!! That fabric was just $5/m (I think). It is a dark marron/wine colour and is just GORGEOUS! I got another piece of curtain remnant for just $2.50.....it is just PERFECT for a bag!

Sorry the quality of the photos are a little off, but I had to take them with my phone! Lucky Pete doesnt come here and visit!! He doesnt know that I went there and bought these...hehe.

Yesterday was a more productive day for sewing.....when my bloody machine was working!! I had to pull it apart and try and fix the bobbin winder (cam completely out). I found the little missing piece, then promptly lost it, again! LOL.....bloody Murphy! I swear I am gonna KILL him when I find him!! THEN I didnt put it back together properly, so I had to take it apart, again!! Bloody MURPHY!!!

But......I got in and did a few UFO's (unfinished objects) and actually completed them, so I am happy! I also started on a bag that has been sitting in my UFO drawer, cut out for AGES, so I am REALLY happy! Here they are, here:

These are just some tissue holders like the ones Moo made. They are made out of upholstery fabric samples I got off eBay recently and have turned out quite well! I still have a fair bit of these samples left, so goodness knows WHAT I am going to do with them!! LOL. Not to mention the curtain fabric sample books I got from the same sewing/curtain shop a fortnight ago!!

I also got in and completed my project for the latest SWAP over at CM (vintage theme)! So a really productive day all round (no photos of that, just yet, coz she hasnt got it)! Amazingly enough, I was able to sew with the little ones around.......mainly because Pete was here with a new car for me and he was pulling it apart, ready to fix it all up! I will post more about that tomorrow, I think!
I am just sooo proud of my girl!! Moo has taken to the sewing bug well and is producing some wonderful things! Here is a photo of just some of what she has been able to do:

They are pincushions and tissue covers found from simple tutes on the net. She has actually done a whole heap more (sort of working in a congo line fashion), but these are the main colours that she has chosen from my 'little pieces' pile.

She is currently in the middle of an apron, but is unable to finish it, because she has abused her rights on the sewing machine and is grounded from it! Hmm....maybe I should do that to myself - ground myself from the puter, because I neglect the things I should be doing to sit on here! hehe.

Nothing completed by me, I am afraid! Both machines were taken up by these projects last week. Plenty cut out and ready to go, though! Must get into that list on the right, methinx!
Just thought I had better come in here and catch up with the last couple of weeks! No....I havent been forgetting to post things - just been too busy!! With school holidays well under way and Pete doing minimal work until February (just enough to feed us, really), my days have been full of interesting fights to referee, things to find for the kids to amuse themselves (if I hear "I'm bored!" one more time, I am seriously going to consider shooting the kid that says it!!) and just general life things!

Not much crafting has been getting done, as a result! CM have a challenge this month to reuse the Chrissy stuff - like wrapping, cards, etc - so I have been thinking about what we could do with what I WAS able to salvage - mainly boxes that the kids stuff came in.

I was able to teach the girls the basics of the sewing machine and Moo and I got in and did a couple little projects together last week (tissue pockets). Corky wasnt here, so she is ITCHING to get back into it this week! Yesterday was a pretty full day, so we will try to get into something at lunch time, when the babies go to sleep. Now, both the boys are interested in giving sewing a go! I tried to teach them all crocheting last Christmas, but that didnt last long...so we will see how long THIS lasts, hey? LOL.

Busy weekend!! I became an Aunty TWICE!! My SIL (Pete's sister) had her little girl on Saturday night and my best friend had her little boy on Sunday night! Ok, so not such a busy weekend for US, as such, but I could not sleep Saturday night and didnt know just WHY until the phone call came through at about midnight!! I am planning on making them both a set of burp cloths each and a travel nappy holder to match. I will have to send SIL's up to her, but she is in a private hospital and this is her first bub, so she wont be out of there for another couple of days. My best friend should be out today.....providing all went well last night!