the rest of the week...and retreat layouts

We are nearly at 32 weeks....so 8 weeks to go....Playschool had a thing on babies today with a little boy bringing his new sister home from hospital and so on...good timing by ABC! We are trying to put the cot up but cannot find the bag of bolts etc! Must be around here somewhere!

Birthday Season is here.....most birthdays around here are in October, November and December...so lots of parties to go to and lots of presents to buy! Most weekends are busy with parties and then it is Christmas! And then a couple more birthdays....And this baby will have a birthday then too! She is due December 5th....both our old neighbours are also both due around the same time as me...maybe we will all be in hospital together!

We did some final clearing out at our old house Friday...a lot of stuff I have been ignoring and will go to the holiday house or to Good Sammies...Ben has finished the tiling....Now we just need a shower screen and the plumbing finished and some painting and it is finished....then we need some nice tenants!

RETREAT LAYOUTS.....And here is the Classic Travel layout for the retreat...the aim here ws to use 6 standard 4x6 photos...no journalling yet as I need to check some details with my mum before I do it! I umm-ed and ahh-ed about adding some embellishments but nothing quite looked right so I have left it quite simple....and I decided the paper was fancy enough!

I did another version yesterday from our outing to the animal farm...this one used some smaller photos as I had eleven I wanted to use....and I have been wanting to use this felt flower stuff... And there will be a theme park one soon too which will have some chipboard embellishments and paper from Scenic Route....some hand cut paper and possibly some doodling!

Here is the School Days layout with the pocket page..for awards, reports and so on...no journalling as I will leave that up to my sister and nephew! I had planned on a couple of small photos above the pocket - in class photos or getting awards at assembly etc...but will have to chase those photos up from my sister...In case you are wondering the papers are Basic Grey...

E and I had a nice morning yesterday (Ben was off cleaning up at the old house)...we went to have a play in the park and brunch at a new cafe with friends...called Menu in Guildford and it was great...The girls were busy with their baby chinos and toast and jam...I had a delicious Eggs Benedict with asparagus...my camera battery ran out so I used my mobile phone...don't know how to get the photos off it though!

Ben's Mum is in Perth so we caught up with her last night(and SIL and nieces)...went out for dinner...E was great at the restuarantand the girls had fun playing....
Ben is off spear fishing today....hopefully he will not get eaten by a shark and will bring home some nice fish to eat....

I am trying to sort out the last of the junk from the old house which is all over the lounge room floor....and so a trip to Good Sammies tomorrow I think!

...and my friend Alli and her boys are coming for a picnic tomorrow...we had planned on the zoo but too much walking for me at the moment and it is forecast rain...so we will hang out here...Anyway I hope you have had a great weekend - Lissy

this week so far....

We have had a busy week so far!Monday we were at home...I started making all the butterflies to applique onto Evangeline's curtains...she helped by colouring in the pattern pieces..and telling me they needed to have stripey bodies...so they have stripey bodies! They are ready to layout and put onto the curtains now...
Tuesday we went off to Riley's 4th Birthday party which was great fun for the kids. E was very upset when her egg broke in the egg and spoon race so she had another go and won! lolThat night I went to see"Hairspray" with my mum's group and rather enjoyed it...you do have to listen to the lyrics etc..and it is a bit all tongue-in-cheek...

Wednesday was going to be a quiet day at home but I ended up babysitting for a friend- but that was fine as E had a playmate and they were very busy inside and out all day!
Yesterday was a mum's group get together at the Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm...the kids had a ball but it was a little warm as there are not many trees...but fun all the same - this kid loves animals! She patted and fed everything she could!
And some of our peas are ready in the garden - E said they were delicious!
So not sure what we are up to today...but the weather is lovely - Lissy

outside...

It's a great time of year to be outside....it started off a bit cloudy and dreary today but the afternoon was lovely....

We are getting ready to light our bonfire...all the dead trees Ben has cut down....it is in the front paddock...we were giving away free firewood to people but now with spring here and the wind and weather right, it is time to light it up! Our vegetable garden is going well...E loves to help and does not stomp on much!I will have to get some more lettuces to plant as we only have about 6 left to eat! The baby broccoli will be ready next too! And some more carrots!

We have flowers in the garden. The secret to great orchids...leave them neglected in the corner of the garden for a couple of years..lol...And I made some bunting for the babies room...this is just part of it but gives you the idea! A very quick easy wall decoration!And here is the bonfire!So that is about it for this Sunday....I am such a busy blogger these days...lol...nothing all that exciting really but I see this as my diary to record our lives and my creative stuff...Well I hope you have had a nice day - Lissy

baby quilt...

Here it is done and washed and drying on the line....
The instructions I followed were Easy Rag Edge Quilt by Della Jultak ...and I managed to follow them...although I have not actually ever seen one of these quilts in real life so I do not know if it is right but I am happy with it! It is really super quick to put together once you have all the squares cut. I laid mine out on the floor to check the pattern....then flipped each piece over to check the pattern on the back....then piled them up in order and started stitching...not perfect but I love the fabrics!

While I was busy with the quilt yesterday Evangeline was also busy making a bed for Baby Roo Roo who we rescued from the mower that morning...he had been missing for a month or so....


We had a delicious meal of steak and salad last night...using our first lettuce from the garden....how great is that!

Today we have been down to the Farmer's Market to get our vegies....and I have made a Light and Dark Brownie...we were off to Ben's sisters for lunch but they are sick....so now we will have to eat it...if it works out OK I will share the recipe!

So now we have the rest of the day ahead I am not sure what I will do....Lissy

phew....

I am knackered....lol....I have just hand cut 70 fabric squares and 35 wool wadding squares (it had to be wool as any good farmer's daughter knows!) for this baby quilt....

I could not find my quilting ruler.....grrrr....and then I discovered my rotary cutter was too blunt to cut anything any way.....so I just hand cut them....
I am making a Rag Edged Quilt so I am hoping it will not matter.....I am not a quilter so we shall see how this quilt goes! I made a couple of simple quilt tops about 10 or so years ago but they were never finished....hence the old and blunt cutter and the lost ruler...and the mat I used was pretty mucky from Scrap Booking....lol....oh well!

I have a basic set of instructions to follow....but I am never much good at actually following instructions...I have just made up the size of the squares and the quilt proportions to suit myself...I wanted big squares as I want to see plenty of these pretty fabrics!

E was busy cutting with me....chopping up all the off cuts and measuring "things"....

Ben shouted at the TV for a couple of hours and then turned it off in disgust before the game had ended...I gather Geelong were winning easily...

So now I am having a break and may head out side for a bit since it is such a nice day - Lissy

a quick dash.....

...to Spotlight this morning to buy some more gingham and some mushroom fabric....but no mushroom fabric in sight....but found some other fabrics to bring home....these are so very cute! I think I will get some navy polka dot to go with the lady bug fabric...when I go back to find the mushroom fabric....Sorry photos are a bit dull....now they are all washed and ironed and ready to go now as we have a lovely spring day here!

Mel was at Spotlight on the other side of the country (she lives in Tasmania) at the same time...lol...she got some mushroom fabric...and I am wondering what else....I shall head over to her blog and see!

And I picked up some strawberries on the way home....and we ate them...delicious...

So I am onto the baby quilt now! The curtains are finished (except for the hem) - just waiting for the curtain rod to go up before I hem them!

Poor E has another ear infection...that is number 3 this winter...but is pretty chirpy all the same....Ben has mowed the lawns and is now shouting at the footballers on TV...lol...and I am off to cut up fabric - Lissy

Friday.....

This is a picture E drew in my notebook last night of Ben cutting down the trees!
I have realised I am 30 1/2 weeks now so this baby will be here in 9 weeks or so....blimey...must get cracking and get organised before I can't move so well!! The bump is getting in the way now with bending and so on....and it will only get bigger on the down hill run!

And I have so many great photos to scrap at the moment but that will have to wait for now! Sewing is the go this week....still finishing the curtains....and then I want to do a quilt....and E's curtains too....still!

Mostly it is a case of how to sew curtains with a young assistant....helping or continually chatting, asking questions or singing! But so far I do not think I have made any major mistakes...it just takes a LOT longer!

This is part of the applique panel at the top (here you go Mel - a sneak peek!) ...I am just making it all up as I go along so hopefully it will work out and look OK! I figure no one is going to give them a really close examination anyhow! Crawling around on the floor trying to measure and cut out fabric and lining is not fun so had better finish E's curtains next so I can do smaller stuff as soon as possible!

And some E- isms....for joking she usually says choking....and hiccups is hippy upping! These little things are all disappearing now as she is growing up....I have just realised she will be FOUR in less than two months...so I cannot really keep saying I have a three or a three and a half year old!

Anyway here is to a great weekend - Lissy

more....

....well after the BIG post about the sports day yesterday...I thought I should leave the extra stuff for another post...

You would have thought E would have been knackered yesterday afternoon but no! She wanted to paint...she decided to do hand and foot prints which was good as I will save these...she sure is growing! She is about 103 cm tall now and about 18.5 kg!

Then she was outside with Ben while I did some food shopping...she had a ball getting very mucky! And at night time she was determined to start a sewing card...this was a hand-me down from a friend and she has been asking to start it for days....and she soon got the hang of it! And here is a pic of Ben at the Maersk Training Centre in Denmark...this is one of the simulators...love the sea out the window which I presume is fake.....a very flash centre by all accounts...the company has three centres - Denmark, UK and India

We are now on school holidays but have no particular plans today!A bit of cleaning so far and some playing outside... ...we are lucky to have lots of room for bike riding!And spring is here....A nice day today - Lissy

sports day....

yes...today was E's first sports day...and she had an absolute ball! And she won her running race...I was amazed when her hat fell off and she didn't hesitate and just kept running! They played lots of games and had a lot of fun which is what it should be all about! Here is another photo or two....I just loved how much joy she got out of it all! She actually was quite skilled for a 3 1/2 year old, which I have to admit must come from Ben's side of the family!



So that is about it for the day...well there is more but I shall share that tomorrow - Lissy

hard at work...

Well we have all been hard at work these last few days.....

E has been swimming....

And having a friend over to play after school( the little girl from the birthday party we missed last Saturday...)...tractor rides, on the trampoline, gardening and so on...
Ben has been tiling, weeding the vegies for me,mowing the front paddock and chopping down dead trees...
He is still jet lagged and getting up at odd hours!

E ate our first carrot from the garden!
Missy has remodelled her bed I am still working on the curtains as every day life seems to be interrupting sewing! So we will see what happens in the next few day. Lissy

Sneak Peeks....

I thought I should show some sneak peeks of the retreat layouts so far....The first is for scrapping those school photos...a double page with a pocket for certificates etc....

The second is one of the travel pages...the classic one...again a double page...sorry my pictures are not all that thrilling!
I will be doing a theme park version (just waiting on photos from Ace's trip to Euro Disney) using brighter papers and then hopefully one using photos from the Kimberley...so get those holiday photos sorted and come to scrap...I have used only 6x4 photos on these layouts...a total of 6 photos on each double layout...3 portrait and 3 landscape orientation...

Karen from Scrappin' Outback who is organising the Wave Rock Retreat which is 19th – 21st of October 2007 will give you all the requirements for the classes and various kits will be available too

Other news...Ben got home at 1 am...he was up a bit in the night and so were E and I but sleeping soundly now! Jet Lag is not fun! I just saved him from E and her box of musical instruments as she was off to wake him up!

E and I had a nice day yesterday....I dropped her at a friend's place to play while I went to the Farmer's Market...got there a bit later this week so it was not as good but still worth while..things like fresh eggs for $3.50 a dozen..and I bought some very yummy homemade canoli (custard filled Italian dessert things...not sure of correct name or spelling) ...I went back to have lunch with my friend which was a nice way to pass some time - her partner also works away...E had a great time playing too!

Then we came home and did some gardening...the vegie patch is coming along very well and there are lots of flowers in the garden now it is spring! Missy was outside with us mainly playing with E...she is a good puppy mostly...except for always chewing up her bed and dragging them out in the rain! It is raining again today after a fabulous day yesterday! But it's good for the farm...if it gets through that far... and good for the garden!

And last night I got the applique for the baby's curtains done! YIPPEE! So I may actually get them put together today!

Hope your week has started well! Lissy

so....

We have had one of those days...nothing too bad though....just a bit frustrating
Firstly I discovered that E had cut holes in the ironing board cover I made her yesterday....grrr....

Anyway we recovered from that and proceeded to clean and sort the playroom a bit...We need shelving but it looks a lot better...

E then did some letter writing!
Then I started making a bag to put her dance shoes in...it was supposed to be child size but turned out bigger...lol....but I was pretty pleased with my efforts considering I had no pattern and just made it all up! E rather likes it! E just about drove me mad chatting and singing all the time I was trying to sew and asking if it was done yet!
We were all set to go to a birthday party this afternoon at the Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm- we were in the car and heading off just before 1pm - when I realised that is started at 10 am and finished at 1pm....poor E was devastated...I felt so terrible...so after lots of crying, she recovered walking around saying mummy made a big big mistake...lol...she wanted me to call the mum straight away and tell her! But I sent a message explaining and suggesting the birthday girl might come over for a play this week!

So as a distraction we took Missy out for a play and I managed to get E to get on the old truck and took gazillions of photos of her antics....she hardly sat still for a second but here are a few shots I rather liked!




And here is Missy

And E has been racing around the house on the office chair and ringing bells and trying to make as much noise as she can with her box of musical instruments!

Anyway I hope you have had a lovely Saturday! Lissy