busy, busy, busy weekend...

and I am knackered! and warning...long post with lots of pics :)

It started Friday when my nephews came to play. We surprised E with their visit picking her up from school (she finishes at 12). They had a ball playing as always!
On Saturday, the boys and my sister came over for morning tea, then at lunch time we went to the airport to pick up Ben's dad... E had a lot of fun playing with her Papa... Then Auntie Marg and her cousins came over...more playing and afternoon tea! Then we had tea Saturday night with mum, my sister and family....so even more playing! And she had made a yummy washing day pudding!

Today has been a little quieter....we made pancakes for morning tea as my sister and family were dropping in again...

And E and I have been playing....cafes, doctors, taking photos, fixing things with the Fix it Fairy....and she chatted on the phone to Ben and so on...

I am no super mum I just try and remember that she will not be little for ever and to enjoy playing with her.

And then my good friend Jo came for afternoon tea....

So very busy but lots of fun and lots of cake.....

I made a couple of Kim Archer's mini wallet albums...from her Hey Dad online class...fabulous idea...so quick and simple....now I just have to print out the photos for them....and more good ideas there waiting to be done! I think I will do a feminine one for my mum's birthday too...
And the most precious thing from the whole weekend...this picture E drew today....she traced the shapes using my tag template and then made them into our family...me top left, Ben top right, E bottom left and her sister (due in a few months!) bottom right...how cute is that! I absolutely love it! And some pics from today that I just like...
Hope you have had a good weekend - Lissy

so far this week...

all is going pretty well here....the weather is mixed and we have been rather busy...nothing exciting...just everyday stuff!

early morning walks with an angel
blowing bubbles
playing with friends
watching TV with the cat
I have been washing and ironing a mountain of fabric...rather tedious but necessary.....so now I really do have to get on with the sewing side of things...though I am having arguments with the sewing machine....so it may take a while....

I am well and truly fed up with moving junk around...but have most of it done and cannot do a whole lot more until the man of the house returns and moves the furniture! I am still clearing out stuff and just about keeping Good Sammies fully supplied at the moment as I am ditching loads of stuff!

Two gorgeous handmade garments arrived this week from an Etsy store - Kinchi - the workmanship and quality of these garments is fabulous and they are so beautiful...a summery dress for E and the back.....
and a wrap dress for baby....I love the fabrics and colours...they are both so unique...my photos do not do them justice I am afraid...

I am trying to finish the birdie album so then I can clear my counter and maybe get onto some scrapping again! Some for the retreat and some for me hopefully...but Father's Day and my mum's birthday are looming too so I need to get cracking there! I am doing Kim Archer's online Father's Day class so hope that may provide the necessary gifts!

I hope you are having a lovely week - Lissy

sunday....

Another good day today!
E set up a picnic this morning....then we met some friends at the Guildford Sunday Market. They came back for coffee and a play...then E painted the house we made yesterday...and we had a sleep...well E had a big sleep, which she doesn't do often and I dozed for a while!

So all in all a good day! And we just saw a wonderful rainbow out side....hope you have had a good weekend too - Lissy

a wonderful day....

We have had a wonderful day E and I, so I thought I would write a second post!

The weather didn't get to 25C but it was still lovely outside! It was a bit windy in the morning so we cleaned and rearranged Evangeline's bedroom and she loved it being all neat and tidy!

Then we washed and played with Missy...she coped very well with her first bath! The cat was outside too... We ate our Vegemite sandwiches outside on the step because it was so nice out! And this afternoon I made a pillow and mattress for E's dolls bed (which used to be mine)...she was rather delighted but soon found some other uses for it in an upside down stool...and took her own photos!The sewing is very dodgy but she does not seem to mind!

Anyway I hope you have had a delightful day too - Lissy

saturday morning....

Plans for today....well we had pancakes for breakfast...yum...couldn't wait until Sunday...lol... Three loads of washing are on the line and nearly dry due to the wind! I hate to use the dryer which fortunately here in Perth we don't have to do often anyway.

I might try and do a little more sorting and so on...the "moving house without moving house" project is progressing well! I need to get all the stuff in 5 rooms moved so Ben can move the furniture when he gets home in two weeks! It would be bliss if we could squeeze in a little painting too. With only 16 weeks until this baby makes her appearance we have a bit to do! Especially since Ben will be gone for about 8 of those weeks!

I really want to get on and do something creative....scrapbooking and sewing and so on....but I feel I really need to get this house in order so I am putting it all on the back burner for now....mostly...still working on the birdie album and such though....

And I am starting to get organised for the next Scrappin’ Outback Retreat in Hyden near Wave Rock from 19th – 21st of October 2007...I am planning on creating two layouts...a double travel layout (two versions) and a single school photo layout....so I shall share some sneak peaks in the next few weeks! So start thinking about what photos you have if you are coming....call Karen on 98751021 or 0427977672....the other tutors are Ali Paterson and Sharon Manning...and they will be coming up with some great stuff!

Then we plan to wash the dog Missy when it warms up...her first bath....eeek! It is forecast 25C here today...not bad for the last weeks of winter!

Later we will catch up with my sister and family....so I shall keep you posted! Have a good day - Lissy

friends...

I am lucky to have some great friends :) Some I don't see often and some I only chat to by email but still a great bunch of friends.

I have had a lot of friends helping out in the last couple of weeks....babysitting E for me, bringing medicine over late at night so I don't have to go to the late night chemist with a sick child and so on...And there help is so appreciated especially when Ben is away at work! Their support is invaluable! So thanks girls :)

E has an ear infection to add to her cough and a cold and she was in a lot of pain last night until Mel brought over Pain Stop....I have now stocked up! She was pretty quiet all day. I have a cough and a cold too so we had a sleep this afternoon and she has really perked up tonight! Yay! It is nice to have my bright little angel back! note: I use the term 'angel' lightly...lol...

I bought some baby carrots and broccolini to cook so E could see what was going to happen in our vege garden...she thought the carrots were yummy! Here is a fascinating photo! We ate some raw and then we cooked the carrots and broccolini and she ate some of them too! So I am looking forward to the stuff in our patch growing! And it does look like it is growing!

E loves puzzles.
And Mel has given me a nice award :) How nice is that :) The Nice Matters award is blog hopping at the moment! So now I am passing it on....plenty of candidates out there...but not all bloggers so here goes...Alli, Sharon, Rach, Megan....All very NICE girls....so it wouldn't surprise me if they have already been nominated :) Not sure how many I am supposed to do....I want to add more...but need to leave some for others out there to nominate :)

Have a great rest of the week and for those who are fighting coughs etc I hope we are all feeling better soon! Lissy

organising....and de cluttering!

I have been quite productive....I am getting rid of a LOT of stuff around the house....clothes, craft stuff and so on and it feels great! Lots of stuff going to school, loads of stuff to Good Sammies (the boot of the car is filling up), and some stuff for the holiday house! I am a hoarder so I am trying to be ruthless!

And I am rearranging and organising stuff....I figure time is running out before this baby arrives so I need to get on with it! I actually really like things in my house to be neat, organised and aesthetically pleasing although I do not always achieve it!

In my 'studio' I have placed all my nice fabrics on the shelves for inspiration....boxed and labelled my sewing stuff until my meat safe is cleaned up to house it all...

I rearranged things so the scruffy scrap booking stuff is out of sight...and the shelves are neat and organised...it is much nicer and more conducive to creating if things are visually appealing...so one shelf done... ....but the rest of the room is still a bit of a mess! I work on a 9 foot long antique shop counter which is currently covered in stuff....so I need to sort and clean that up too! And I have another smaller shelf to do as well...

I have thrown out heaps of magazines and paper work that is just cluttering up the place too. I figure while I am on a purging roll I need to keep going!

I have to sort out my photos....I have ALL the photos from the family mostly so I am trying still to roughly sort and categorise them...plus all my millions of photos from when I used film...so that is still a bit of a mess...and I do not really have an effective storage idea for them either...

It is raining LOTS here today and only 13'C...cold for us! Alli and her two munchkins came for lunch and a play! E is always excited to see them! A nice way to break up a rainy day!

I am working on the baby's curtains....they are pink gingham and I am planning on appliqueing pears and apples on them....my skills in this area are a bit limited so we shall see how I go! These are the fabrics......

I am also going to attempt a rag edge quilt with these fabrics plus a few others from the stash....I found some instructions by Della Jultak on the Internet...and just have to work out how big I want it...

So hopefully I will have quite a productive weekend! Hope you have a good one too - Lissy

inspiring art....

Over the last few months I have been collecting some art from Etsy....nothing particularly expensive...but all based around a theme of RED...I want to create an INSPIRING ART wall in my studio (a rather grand name for my creative space). My aunt always had a wall of interesting art prints at her house on the farm that I loved as a child...

Some I have framed and sitting on top of the bookshelves....others I am waiting to find frames for...then I will proceed to create my wall....soon I hope!< This is my latest purchase called Bird Talk by Sieben Morgen...a little collage...I just love it...it has come all the way from Stuttgart Germany!
The room is all pretty neutral at the moment...but in a HUGE mess so I cannot share any photos of it as yet! Swapping rooms around in the house is creating even more mess and disorganisation around here...I am mainly shifting stuff from one room to another and piling it up where I have recently cleared space and so on....lol...but I live in hope that one day I will have it mostly organised and looking good! I am not the most organised person as most will know but I still believe this is achievable!

I had plans to be creative or sew today...but instead I have played with Evangeline and the puppy...not productive but very satisfying! Hope you have had a good day - Lissy

and still more fabric...

I ordered some fabrics online from Funky Fabrix, Patchwork on Central and from Retro Mummy....they came in the post today...and E and I popped to Spotlight to get some fabrics to coordinate with them...

I just love this one....I am going to make something for E to wear...not sure what yet...the green is a bit brighter in real lifeThese are just gorgeous too...maybe for bags or clothes for Evangeline....
Some fabric for the baby projects and maybe clothes or a bag too...
The fabrics from Spotlight to go with some of the ones above....and some just because! E is home today as she has a bit of a cough and I do not want it to get any worse...so figure a couple of days at home with mum is the go! It looks like art and craft is going to be on the cards as she has been digging into the box of craft supplies! And I want to try and start some sewing today...

And if you are popping into my blog please feel free to say hello :) Have a good Wednesday - Lissy

fabric.....

I have been hording fabric recently...with the aim of a few sewing projects...Mel asked to see it so here it is (please excuse my still photography skills)

I love this bird fabric and coordinating floral and plan to make a very cute bag from it....nice and summery I think!
Some fabric for the baby's room stuff...I seem to have hit on a fruit theme in reds, pinks and greens....need a few more fabrics for this one though...planning on making a quilt, some bunting, a cushion or two and some curtains....to go with the trees I made earlier....lol...the fabrics coordinate better in real life.....
The floral is for a skirt for E and the babushka fabric I have no idea....something for the baby maybe???
And these ones are so cute...no idea what for now...
And I must add a comment about my garden...alas it is only my vege garden that looks reasonable...the rest is a mess....the lawn needs mowing, there are weeds in all the garden beds and the roses need pruning...I do have some pretty bulbs coming up though!

And for Rach....here is a pic...not such a great one but recent...from Sunday...this is E's latest camera smile....and I still do not look pregnant even though we are nearly at the six month mark!
Hope you are having a jolly good week! Lissy

the stakes are up....

Well we have had a few very nice days of 20 -22C here so yesterday we got some stakes and finished off the vege patch....we also planted some sugar snap peas and some snow peas....and I rearranged a few things that were not supposed to grow together! So now I am getting impatient to see it grow!!

In the afternoon we went off to a birthday party which was nice and relaxing as we sat out in the sun!
Back to wet weather today. And it was only 12.8C here at 11 am which is very cold for us! E has Lara over playing again this afternoon and I shall take them both to dance later. The weather has fined up a bit so I took Missy out for a quick puppy lesson! Need to work on the "come" command! Too cold to be out there long!

Hope your week has started well - Lissy

it's done....

...our vege patch.....well part one.....we have another garden bed that I would like to do too but I need Ben back home to did out all the pesky grass etc!
Anyway yesterday we stopped on the way home from school and bought some organic compost and sheep manure. I dug the compost in last night.
Then today after school E and I raked it over, pulled out a few more grass roots lurking and then proceeded to plant! We had to guess at spacing etc as most of the labels gave you no clues what so ever! But I figure there will be some casualties over the time so it should work out OK!
We planted baby carrots, beetroot, lettuce, beans, tomatoes, English spinach, red onions, garlic, baby broccoli and a few herbs...I am just hoping some grow! I am a bit of a vege patch novice!I spread a layer of manure to finish and then we watered! And it looks quite good! We still need to get some stakes for the tomatoes and beans. And I would like to buy some peas too but might not have space...maybe at the back along the retaining wall. Our little pup is growing in leaps and bounds. She is nearly 12 weeks old! We started puppy kindy this week at the RSPCA...Missy was so excited that we didn't achieve anything! E enjoyed it too though....lots of very cute puppies to pat! Most of the other puppies were very good! oh well! training at home is going very well so I will persevere and maybe she will be less excited next week!

So I guess that is it for now...it is nice to have a few sunny days - have a good weekend - Lissy