Getting In Early - Practise Run

New Year's Resolution starting early, you know, like a dress rehersal, getting ready for the real thing.

Resolution is - use up your stash Joyce, before you buy more, you are running out of (hiding) storage space you silly girl!

So ok, I can do this, it's easy, a weekend at home without the boys, a weekend at home with no car, a weekend at home with a clean house, lots of fabric, chocolate, thread, music, and wine.

I found my fabric, this floral piece was going to be used for a little bag, however, with a little help from a black panel, I was able to make it into a skirt.

Oh, I didn't have a black zipper over the weekend to complete it. . . .

. . . . so with the jobs I had to do out and about yesterday, I purchased a black zipper and put it in. Oh gosh it worked, the zipper is straight, I didn't have to unpick, it looks lovely and even partially hidden. . . .

. . . . I also didn't have interfacing but I still kept going, with just the fabric for facing. . . .

. . . . Joyce has a new skirt for summer and a very small space in her fabric stash box to fill.

Stop it Joyce, you are supposed to be making spaces in your fabric stash, you are NOT allowed to go shopping until you have lots of spaces in your fabric stash.

Shhhh, don't tell anyone but once the fabric stash box is at an acceptable level, I can then begin sewing on the op-shop loveliness that is spilling from my linen cupboard *ahem*, which will then allow me to op-shop more and more and MORE loveliness to refill the linen cupboard.

If you won't tell anyone about my linen cupboard, I promise I won't tell anyone about your bottom draw, your linen cupboard, your stash box/es, or your special secret hiding place that just 'magically' grows lovely stashy goodness when you are 'not looking'.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Have a wonderful day at your place, and may the stashy angel bless you too.

Oh and a P.S. I am wearing today the green floral sac dress that I made Here, and hubbie made a lovely comment about my new dress. I told him it was one of the ones I made on the weekend and he didn't believe me. *giggle* He totally made my day in saying that.

Pike River mine/News.com.au

My thoughts and prayers go to the families and friends of these 29 men.

My thoughts and prayers go to their co-workers, managers, other staff, police and rescue personnel.

Bless.

The one about the sac dress, a little party, and hooky progress.

Joyce is in da house!

I have just had a weekend of home alone. Yep, my three boys went away for the weekend in the caravan. The school each year has a Mother/Daughter camp and a Father/Son camp. Held different weekends, its just a casual weekend, you book a cabin, take your tent, camper/caravan and hang out for the weekend.

Because I don't have a daughter, well it was just me at home, and I loved it. I played music, I cleaned, I sorted through things, I sewed, I hooked, I cooked. I did start to get a bit 'boy sick' Sunday mid-morning tho and was pining for them to return home.

They had a wonderful time, and I love that the three of them spent that time together. Hubbie works hard and most nights the boys are in bed when he gets home. As the boys get older, they love that time with their Dad, they need that time with him as much as he needs that time with them.

So here are some of the things 'Joyce did'.

#1 sac dress. It's ok you can laugh, cause I certainly did.

It was huge, it was bigger than huge, it was mammoth - but I adjusted it as best as I could and the above is the finished result. It's lovely and comfy, and will be perfecto over my bikini this summer.

#2 sac dress. Yep, I went back for seconds. Still a little boatie-floatie, but comfy all the same. These fabrics were from spotlight from the quilting department. 100% cotton and so soft and summery. They have actually grown on me and I do quite like them now, however, they will just be caravany-beachy type clothing. With our school break up for the year just around the corner, and long long days of the beach, they are certainly going to get a work out between mid December to the first week of February. Not sure you can see my 'belt' but it's my crochet bead strand from Here. I do love an item that has many talents.

A little stitchery experimentation that didn't quite work like I imagined. I envisioned a dreamy, floaty, summer scarf, but it hasn't come together quite right.

If these motifs look familiar, then yes, you are correct. They are op-shop goodies from Here. Oh well, back to the plans for this lot, I have a few more options of use available that I will play with later on.

Party preps for my now turned 8 years of age darling boy. They got home late Sunday and we had a little celebration that night. The bunting I cut from scrapping papers in my stash and dotted little sequins on them randomly for a little sparkle.

Cup cakes to take to school for his class. Iced in his fave colours of orange and blue.

The Cake!

Oh gosh, how fast those 8 years have gone by, and as he blew out his candles, I made myself a little wish that the next 8 years don't speed by me quite so quickly. I know, I know, it's the birthday person that makes the wish, but I did so all the same as I watched that little face blow out his candles. I also know that you are not supposed to reveal the wish either. *sigh* Silly Joyce!

It's a rainbow crochet-fall, not a water-fall. This is what has been spilling from my lap of an evening as I do my edging. It's lovely, it's more than lovely, it's totally dreamy, it's real and touchable now. Something that has been inside my head, is now cascading down my comfy lounge spilling onto the floor in all it's lush, rainbow-y real-ness.

I hope you had a lovely weekend at your place.

I am coming to visit you all and see what you have been making lately too.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Postie Joy. . . .

Just you look and see what arrived in the post for me today. This darling little package from Rosie at notions. Thank you Rosie, oh my gosh, you know how to make a girl smile.

. . . . these are the little treasures that were inside the little brown bag all tied up with string. My order from Rosies Etsy shop. These little earrings are so pretty, so summery, so me and this darling little brooch is going to go perfectly on my new denim upcycled shoulder bag. (Not the bum part of the bag, that is waiting in the sewing pile to be made into a peg bag. The pretty brooch is for the legs part of the bag that currently carries my study notes and crochet - yes, all at once.) If you like pretty earrings and fabulous brooches, make sure you pop on over and have a look.

The other little bit of postie delivery joy today were our Sunflower seeds for the Junior Landcare Challenge. We have signed ourselves up and we are going to see how big our sunflowers will grow. Wish us luck! Did you join the challenge? If so, let me know, so we can grow sunflowers together. Oh and if you didn't join the Junior Landcare Challenge, that doesn't matter, just plant some sunflower seeds with us anyways, it will be fun to grow them together.

I may not be on over the next few days, it's busy, busy, busy bees for me.

I am going to miss visiting everyone.

Take care of you, take care of the ones you love.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Bless.

I've Been Tagged

MonetPaisley has tagged me in a little questionairy game. I love these games, I love to read other peoples 'moments in time'.

Ok so before I begin, MonetPaisley has a lovely little blog, and she makes little girls cossies. They are so cute and you really need to go and have a look. I tried to paste her blog button to my side-bar but for some reason it's not working, so here is a picture that I hope will take you there.

Make sure you say hello while you are there, and browse her beautiful photography. Oh drool, such lovely photos.

Ok now onto my tagged bits - I think this is how it works, I answer the questions, then I tag 4 lovely people at the end.

4 things I always carry

1. Lip gloss

2. Knitting/crochet

3. Pencil

4. Purse

4 things that are in my bedroom

1. Book/s

2. Jewellery making stuff

3. Hidden gifts - shhhhhhh

4. My pillow - I know, I am just too exciting. lol.

4 things I would like to do but haven't yet.

1. get my nose pierced - diamonte stud

2. take singing lessons - gosh I would love to sing properly

3. volunteer as a Pink Lady at our local hospital

4. travel around Australia

4 things you don't know about me

1. been skinny dipping in the surf early hours of the morning

2. took belly dancing lessons - (would like to take up again one day)

3. I can whistle in my throat. (yes, true!)

4. I don't like to drive - at all - anywhere - anytime.

4 things I often wonder

1. what would my Grandma say to me right now, today, if she could?

2. what my little ones are thinking, at any given moment, how do they see the world they are growing up in.

3. why are boys 'bottom burps' so stinky? Oh and why are they so often?

4. why is an orange called an orange but a banana is called a banana and not a yellow? The same goes for a blueberry, so ok, that's fine, but what's with the strawberry? Shouldn't that be a redberry?

Right-oh! Now to tag 4 lovely blog friends.

Lillabilly

Red Gingham

Tiffany's Writing Compendium

Zyatica's Blog

It was rather difficult to choose just 4, but I did. I know everyone is so busy, so if you are one of the chosen and are unable to participate or just don't wish to, please, let me know. I will not at all be offended in any way.

Have a lovely day at your place.

My Creative Space

The creative juices have certainly been flowing. Tomorrow is our little school fete, and last minute donations and some cooking have been going on at my house. I also managed to squeeze in a bit of hooking between trays of biscuits cooling, cooking and wrapping.

Sultana biscuits all wrapped up for the fete cake stall.

I painted up these little glasses to donate to the fete as well.

Oh it's getting exciting now, my little rainbow blanket squares are now being joined in their rows. Thanks so much to Lucy at Attic24 for explaining in my language just how to join them so that when they are folded out, they look so pretty and sit lovely and flat. Gosh I love this blog, there is a lovely, lovely bag that I have on my list to make very soon too.

Pop on over to kootoyoo to see what everyone else has been making.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a lovely weekend at your place.

Lest We Forget - Remembrance Day 2010

Please, all it takes is one minute of silence at 11am today, no matter where you are, or what you are doing, to remember those that fought for their country, they fought for their families, they fought for their friends, they fought for their freedom, they fought for you and they fought for me. Think also of our brothers and sisters, family and friends that continue to strive for peace all over the world.

For more information click Australian War Memorial - Remembrance Day

Thank you and Bless.

It's the little things. . . .

. . . . like apple seeds with little roots/sprouts? We decided to plant them to see what happens.

. . . . like a car boot sale near the markets that I HAD to check out, and discovered for $6.00 this beautiful little perfect set to add to my collection.

. . . . Like a wander down to the local markets to find a new girl in town, Nikki Brown, I love your jewellery. It was difficult for this Libran to choose just one.

Oh and this dress is a Lola Espeleta, and I love it, I totally just love it, and I want more of her stuff like this tunic and this double layer dress and this jacket and, and, and, and. . . . . anyways, back to the little things, sorry the dress doesn't match the choker, but I just had to wear it, cause it's new jewellery and I like to 'feel' how it feels. You know what I mean right? It's a girl thing, yeah? Or is it just a Joyce thing?

What are the little things that do it for you?

Do you have a fave designer that you would like to share?

I would love to check it out.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

An Unexpected Day

It's your usual Monday morning, little ones rubbing sleep from their eyes, wishing the weekend was three days long, cause they didn't get to make, ride, create, play, run, swim enough over the last two days. Lunches being made and packed, breakfast being gobbled down, fresh uniforms ready to put on, teeth brushed, bags packed, digging around for the school hat. The hairbrush comes out, just before getting dressed to walk out the door, 'oh' I exclaim, 'look at all that lovely soft downy hair that is growing around his hairline again.' 'hmmm, hang on, he still has sand in his hair, . . . . *dread* it's not coming out, . . . . . it's stuck in his hair, right stuck up tight type of stuck, it's . . . . . not . . . . . sand. . . . . . aaarrrrrggggghhhhhhh.'

We have been hit, we have been hit with nits. A quick inspection of Minnie's hair, and I find nothing. Go through it again just in case I missed anything, no, zippo, nothing. Ok it's just big brother. No school today bro! We need to get rid of these little nasties.

Drop the little dude to school, he is NOT happy, and in the car tried telling me he was itchy and couldn't go to school ha ha ha ha, very funny, sorry dude, you are fine.

Off to the chemist and health store for supplies. $101.30 later (!!!!) we come home and lathered up. I know tea tree oil is good, so I purchased items with lots and lots of tea tree oil in them, also buying more tea tree oil and lavender oil as I have gone through the house spritzing everything, and I mean everything!! Sorry to the teddies and mates, but it just had to be done. I know they can't live off the hair and scalp (where they feed from), however, just spritzing every single dot of space makes Mumma feel better.

We made it a bit of fun. Took lots of silly photos of ourselves and had a good laugh about it. I told him only the good looking ones got nits, and I even lathered up myself and went through the process. Mainly to see if I had them too, but to make him feel a bit better that we both smelt as lovely as each other. I was clear, and I can tell you, so glad that elbow length hair of mine is no longer attached to my head. *yikes*

So not having nits at our place in the past, this process seems to have worked for us.

- Thursday Plantation brand head lice gel which I massaged into his hair and leave for 20 mins.

- Into shower to thoroughly rinse off.

- Lather conditioner through hair, leave 2 mins.

- Nit comb through hair from roots to tips, washing comb after each 'comb'.

- Wash out.

- Repeat last 3 steps.

- Inspect hair and was satisfied with results.

- Spritz hair with deterrent.

Every second day for the next 14 days will repeat conditioner and comb process, then go to weekly conditioning and comb process.

I know for a fact that some parents just don't care. I know for a fact that some children are getting nits every few weeks, despite their parents doing the whole routine, over and over again. I also know for a fact that nits are not always itchy. My son didn't itch this morning, he hasn't itched all weekend, yet he most certainly had nits at 8.05am this morning. I had only checked both their hair early last week as a note come home from school saying there was an infestation. It seems the only children that are being sent home are the little ones that happen to be caught scratching their head by a teacher.

I also know for a fact that it's not the teachers responsibility to line the kids up every Monday and do a nit check, sheesh, they do more than enough 'parenting' as it is. I am not sure tho, if I am stepping out of line to offer my services free of charge to visit each classroom and inspect heads. Those children get sent to the office, parents called and they go home. Yeah, great way to make lots and lots of friends Joyce!! ha ha! Stuff them I say, darn well stuff them!! I also know that this would be a full-time job.

If you would like more info on nits and how to eradicate them, go and check this out for more info and myth busters.

I didn't get to work today, I didn't do any study today, instead I spent the day with my darling boy, in and out of the shower, head massages and combing and combing again. Strangely it was a good day together, we talked alot, we read together, we even had a cuddle on the lounge together. He has such beautiful hair, every single strand of hair is a different colour to the one next to it, from quite a dark brown to shimmering orange and gold. Yes, I know, get over it Joyce. *sigh* but he really does have the most beautiful head of hair - to me.

How was your day today, did you have an unexpected day at your place today?

I have this horrid urge to be like a monkey and inspect my kids hair right now. I also have a strange urge to scratch my head right now too. lol.

Are you scratching your head now, or have you already been scratching your head. *giggle*.

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day at your place.

F is for Family

I love me a rainy weekend. . . .

This morning snuggling in bed Minnie and I were reading books together.

There was no hurry to get out of bed, we were all together, a family, at home. The housework can wait, it's been waiting all week while I have been at work, filling orders, fete preparations, studying and being Mum. Tomorrow I will get some cooking done to prepare for lunchbox fillers, but right now, today it's time to recoup, time to be together, time to breathe . . . .

I like our time together, I need our time together.

I picked these poppies and gerberas Friday afternoon, it was raining and when I got home from work, their poor little heads on their long slender stems were kissing the ground from being so heavy with raindrops. These pretty colours are so inspiring me right now. I have a flood of ideas and promise to share more soon.

I have more to share with you towards the end of the week, I am just not able to reveal right now. One of them involves the following items:

cake box

tape and glue

egg cartons

ruler

coloured card stock

toilet rolls and lunchwrap roll

lots and lots of paint.

Right now, I am enjoying the sound of my eldest spending time with Dad, I am enjoying the sound of my youngest digging in the lego box exclaiming with glee when he finds just what he is looking for. I am about to fold more washing and replace it with another lot just finished in the machine, and snuggle down with some hooky. (Crochet for those that were wondering!)

Do you love a rainy weekend at your place?

Does it make you a little bit crazy?

Do you shave your legs?

Do you colour in?

Do you play dress ups and sing?

Do you get to snuggle in bed a little longer reading books and cuddling?

Do you pull all the cushions off the lounge and use blankets to build a cubby to drink cups of tea with your teddy bears?

Do you sit by the window having raindrop races?

Do you bake something sweet, taking turns to lick the bowl?

Do you bribe members of your family to brush your hair?

Do you go stomping in puddles and squishy mud?

Tell me what do you love to do when it's raining at your place?

Thanks so much for stopping by.

My Creative Space

Painted, baked and filled frangapani jars for the school fete.

Crochet Rainbow Blanket - An Update.

I can't believe it looks just like the picture in my head.

I can't believe it's coming together so sweetly.

Soon we will have a snuggle under its lovely soft warmth.

I am still hooking little blue grannies, and am loving the gentle blue that will become the sky to surround our rainbow.

What is in your creative space this week?

Pop on over to kootoyoo to see what everyone else is being crafty with.

It's study day for me today now that the bathrooms have been cleaned and the house vacuumed, oh and an spot of washing to be done as well.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a lovely day at your place.

We Love. . . .

Fruit sticks.

You know, little sticks of fruit, oh with a marshmallow too.

What summery snacks do you love at your place?

Giddy Up!

I am in a bit of a rush this afternoon, so it's going to be a short post today - *giggle* oh my, aren't you lucky to not have to put up with my ramblings on!! So ok, you didn't need to answer that, it was just a comment *giggle*.

Here are my crochet bead strand orders finally completed. I did have troubles sourcing just the right shade of purple bead that I was after, but finally succeeded.

I hope they enjoy wearing them just as much as I enjoyed making them.

This one above is for me, I love these colours together.

Crochet flower ring order x 12. Ages 14 down in any colours.

I am wearing my own ring in photo.

This is what we are having for dinner at our place tonight.

Our lovely neighbour gave me a heap of fresh spinach from her garden. Yummy!

I am off here now, I have a date with two very cheeky little boys and their lego box.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a lovely afternoon at your place.

Never, never, as in never-ever let me 'trim' your hair!

It's that time of year again,

the weather is warming,

the days are lengthening,

the sun reaches out and gently kisses the garden

and before you know it -

. . . . whoosh - the tibouchina hedge explodes.

A mass of fresh green and lush purple reaching for the skies.

I decided to give her a 'trim' before the heat of summer really sets in on us. This way she has a chance to shoot fresh and be well protected from the harsh burning summer sun. We will get many more bursts of purple flower the next few months because of the trim as well.

You can see how much has been 'trimmed' by looking at our roof - like I said, don't let me near your hair with a pair of scissors, not unless you want a whole new short do. *giggle* no point doing half a job now is there!!

While in the garden with the camera, I snapped this little gerbera to share. I can't believe they are still flowering. I need to google more info on these beauties. I want to plant some more, they are just so pretty. They have happy little faces that nod hello on their tall slim stems. I cannot resist but to bend down and say hello back.

And finally, my photo of the day. Do you know what this flower is? It's a poppy bud. Oh my goodness, I finally have poppies in my garden. The seeds have taken and gosh, they are beautiful. It's November, and on the 11th of November we take time to remember those that have fought to keep our country free, to keep our country safe. It would be so nice in my life-time to see more energy put into respecting Remembrance Day rather than the commercial hooo ha of Halloween in Australia.

If you would like more information on Remembrance Day, click here.

So tell me, do you take to your garden with gusto? Perhaps you talk to your plants too?

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely evening at your place.