'No balls

If there is anything cuter than a 2 year old in snow overalls throwing 'noballs' it's a two year old in snow boots. I have a ridiculous number of photos of Lily in her adorable borrowed snow gear.

Just back from New Zealand. Stunning country. Everything everyone says is true.

En Zed

I'm still loving our playroom

For the second time in as many years we won't be in town for the AFL Grand Final.  Luckily I don't give a toss about the happy team at hawthorn nor do I cheer cheer the red and the white, so it's not particularly distressing.
Grace is singing 'Feel the spiky spiky cactus'. I assume it's her own composition.  Lily has just rock climbed up the face of the desk drawers and collected a handful of travel books, none of which is for the country we are visiting.
'You can chase me up and down the hall if you want' Ruby offers Lil.  This will absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, end in tears.  I'm letting them stay up later than usual, even though we have to be up very early, because they are so excited I know they won't sleep.
'Nina told Lily to attack me.' complains Ruby.
'She started it.' says Nina 'She breathed in my face'.
I need a holiday.
See you in a week or so.

Class Act

Over the past two terms I've been spending Friday afternoons with Nina's class, sewing a quilt.



Each week I worked with a group of four or five children, and each child did one block. They chose a letter, designed their block and embroidered it. Some were content to leave theirs unadorned. Others turned their letter into a dragon, or added hearts and other decoration. I was amazed at how keen all the children were, even those who started off reluctant. They were all terribly proud of their work too. Many had never sewn at all before, while some, like Sophia who did the block above, are experienced sewers.



I brought my sewing machine in and they all had a chance to sew their square to strapping. Using the sewing machine was a hit, especially with the boys who liked seeing how fast it could go. Lucas particularly loved the machine, and sat by it each session, helping explain it's workings to the other children.



The children did the entire top and then I quilted and bound it. I sewed all their names around the edge.



It was lovely to spend time with Nina's class. Her class ranges from five year old grade preps to eight year old grade twos, with all the variety of skills and abilities you would imagine within that range. As always I was amazed at the expectations that we have of our teachers, who meet this challenge every day. It was a huge learning experience for me, and I think the kids enjoyed it too.

The other thing I liked about this project is that this quilt was made entirely from my stash.  There is an old pair of pyjamas in there, several cut up shirts, some remnant linen and various off cuts from other projects.  The only thing I bought was a half metre of red spots for the binding.  I'm always especially happy when something lovely can be created from odds and ends and I think this is something lovely.  Thanks to all the children of Hannah's class for having me along every Friday.

Lunch Order

Nina's mouse already has a lively correspondence with friends Ross and Mimi. Apparently he also gets lunch orders.



Lunch Order - Mousie Brown. Area 2 (Mousehole). It's an expensive lunch. Check out the $10 note and $1 coin.


 Cheese roll, cheese stick, cheese sandwich, cheese pie, cheese. 
(nb, the matchbox gives an idea of scale)

Angel at my table

Things your father makes you do

Pick out little white stones wedged into decking.

Under new management

Superb Restaurant is under new management apparently. It has changed it's name to 'Fantastic Restaurant' and sports a new menu. This one is heavy on the desserts - truffles, cakes, pies.

Revamped

Our playroom revamp is complete. Now you see books and an inviting couch under the window when you look in, rather than an overcrowded desk. It turns out that quilt does have a purpose after all. Getting rid of about a third of the stuff helped a lot too. Apart from carpet and the price of paint, this makeover didn't cost a penny. The red side table is a cut down old IKEA desk of Craig's that has been in his parents shed these past 30 years, painted badly by me. I repainted our old white table that was covered with years of texta and paint. It was a bit sad painting over those marks of creativity (you can get an idea of how it looked here). The map of Australia was a poster from Nana that I didn't want to put on the wall. I varnished over it but probably didn't let the paint cure sufficiently and the finish is not quite clear. So unlike me to cut corners..... The green bookshelf was a gift from friends who no longer had room for it, and handily matches our old blue one, and the storage unit is a lovely old bookshelf Craig had made years ago that has been living in our garage for the past five years.

These few things have transformed the room from my personal nemesis into what is starting to be my favourite spot in the house. Sometimes at night when the kids are in bed I turn on the light just to look at it. In my typical fashion I had no vision for this room at all. Craig suggested the book shelves either side of the window and I was sure it would look crap. But I was wrong. I'd never have chosen the bright pink and orange bunting (a present from friends) or the lime green bookcase, but they seem to work. No matter how pretty a room looks, though, it has to work as a practical space and I reckon this will.

Spring is sprung

Isn't it ace when you go out and your outfit matches both the food and the cafe furniture?