Blah

That's how I feel today, Gentle Readers, and not just because the Poms trounced us at the cricket.  I slept badly, woke early to farewell our houseguest, then pottered for a bit, including finishing off cutting & trimming 20 5" square lavender bags - more on that exciting news in a moment - then went back to bed until 10.00am.


The exciting news (see, I'm not like one of those sadistic* bloggers who make you wait until the very end to give you the good bits, I just chuck it out there) is that I finally fronted the ladies who run the only homewares store in Newport without wearing too much hairspray and makeup (the ladies, that is, not the store), and they happily agreed to take 20 of my 5" square lavender bags for a trial - I made some as a 'Thank You' gift for lovely Wendy Hendy, who kindly put us all up over Christmas - and before I went off to the post office to send them off, I thought "well, what have I got to lose?  They can only say 'no'".  So I showed them, and they didn't!  Molto eccitante!


Anyway, I spent today stitching, stuffing, hand-stitching them closed, trying a new technique for closing them, wasting an inordinate amount of time pulling out the new technique which is much quicker but doesn't look as nice, I don't think - I must admit to much admiration for those sewers who can stuff their lavender bags whilst the bags are trapped in the machine, because I sure as hell can't.


In between that, I had another nap, then another.  I think I might have an ear infection, it's been groaning on & off all day, which is always a signal to me that something has gone wrong.  Maybe another dose of 'glue ear'?  Who puts glue in their ears anyway?  Whatever it is, it's making me tired.


However, in the "I'm so brave, I'm soldiering on" mode I've adopted temporarily to write this crap, I am now going to bombard you with pictures of said lavender bags, and add some of them to my Etsy shop, so if you feel like making me rich and sick, feel free:

And that's it for now.  Oh yes, almost forgot - Hello to the Gentle Reader from Hawaii - I have a very soft spot for Hawaii because Mr Golightly & I had our honeymoon there.  Ahhhh.  Sadly (or perhaps not) all the photos from 1993 are pre-digital and I'm too lazy to get off my lardy-arse and scan them, so you're reprieved.  For now.


Ciao!


*Not entirely sadistic, anyway.

Greetings from Conchita

Today, Gentle Readers, has been all about enjoying the coolish weather, the cricket and Conchita the Chicken.  Some of you may remember that Mr Golightly bought me "Sew It, Stuff It" for my birthday, and taken as I was by the Owl, I wanted to try making Conchita first, just to see how the patterns were.  


You know how it is, sometimes you jump into making something & it turns out the pattern is incredibly complicated, or it just doesn't work, no matter what you do - my first biased cut skirt was like that.  I had no idea that it would drop so much, or that it mattered that I left it to hang for the time specified - but it made me look like a sock money anyway, so it was consigned to the recycle bin PDQ.  


I did not want this to happen to Conchita, and it was pretty easy to make, but I didn't follow the directions exactly - he recommended 1.2 cm/12mm/1/2" seam allowances, which would be fine except the lace I was using on the top, for the Chicken's comb, would have been completely swallowed up by the seam allowance, so I changed that one to 1/4".  I cheated and filled the bottom with sand, so she could be used as a doorstop if required, and my hand embroidery round the eye is completely different to what was recommended in the book, but hey, it's all good.


She came out OK, I think:

As for the Cricket, I got all inspired to make an Etsy Treasury about the Cricket, given that us Aussies are well represented in the Etsy world, but after finding a disappointing number of '"Rare" Cricket Cages', fabric with the word 'Cricket' in the name, or toy crickets, I've given it up as a bad job.  Nobody outside the Commonwealth really cares anyway!


In other Cricketing News, Mr G is very lucky to be going off to the SCG Members Stand tomorrow to compete in the Paddington Gift for Day Three of the Sydney Test.  He's a bit peeved because you have to wear long pants & a collared shirt to sit in the Member's Stand, but I think he's quite happy about being able to ignore the Mexican Wave, in traditional Member's style.  If any of you lovely Gentle Readers from non-Commonwealth Countries want a translation, let me know.  Also, I'll let you know if he gets arrested.  And if I bail him out.


And finally, the other thing I found today was this, which I've printed out & I think I'm going to make some up as a birthday garland for My Best Friend, whose birthday is in late January, and I might try enlarging some non-copyrighted letters to make some to sell - I usually get my fonts from AlphabetPatterns & they don't appear to have any copyright or usage restrictions... please correct me if I'm wrong here. 


And that, Gentle Readers, has been my day.  I also got in a bit of tidying up, reading, ran the dishwasher, removed the colony of ants that appeared to have taken up residence in said dishwasher whilst we were away, and I am about to prepare fabulous food for Az, who is going to the Cricket with Mr Golightly tomorrow.  I apparently volunteered to drive them in at 7.00am, so they could get good seats (see reference to Paddington Gift, above).  What was I thinking?  


Ciao!

Christmas 2010

Mr Golightly excelled himself this year (not) on the Christmas Front.  Not only did he fail to provide me with a slushy mushy Christmas Card declaring his undying love, devotion and gratitude for the myriad ways in which I make his life complete, but he also forgot to buy me a present.  Ahem.  Lucky for him I was way ahead of the game... I bought myself one.  I've been acquisitively admiring these earrings for a while, and bought them for myself without realising the role they were going to play at Christmas...

Christmas Day was spent at the Hendy's, with Secret Santa occurring just before Dinner.  For the Gentle Readers who may be unfamiliar with the concept, it is also known as Kris Kringle - all names go into a hat, and a person's name is drawn out with another person's name.  You then buy for that person, one gift.  That way it keeps the cost down, and the stress.  Only problem is... I did the draw at MGF Kaz's house, and promptly lost the Secret Santa Assignment pieces of paper before telling everybody who had whom.  So guess who ended up without a Secret Santa gift out of the eight people in attendance?  Io.  Me.  I.  Moi.  

I didn't really mind.  I have more than enough stuff.  I don't need any more things, I really don't, and I got a kick out of seeing what was in everybody else's parcel.  I'm not 11 any more,  I don't need those boardgames now.

However, some amongst the assembled throng felt bad for me, especially as Mr G had also forgotten to bring/buy me something for non-Secret Santa Christmas.  So, these little earrings, which I took with me just for Show & Tell, became the rescue present - you know, like the boxes of Cadbury's Roses you keep under the tree in case of the arrival of unexpected Gentle Readers.... Lucky for him!

In other news, a photo of the spots is in order, so you can see I wasn't over-exaggerating:

And also the unwelcome visitor to my mother's sewing room:

*Shudder*.  I had to leave the room PDQ* after I saw him.

And finally, Mr Golightly and Gus share some Christmas Joy:

I think it's lovely when you can bring happiness to the animals, don't you?

Ciao!

*Pretty Damn Quick

Return from the Wild, Wild West

Welcome, Chullora, West Roxbury, San Francisco... just a quick question (and no pressure here, none at all, norsireebob)... if you're popping in to read, why aren't you signing up to follow, hmm?  Is it because you don't want anybody to know you were here, or to recognise your mugshot on the side?  Why do you think my photo looks like a frog, hmmmm?  Just wondering.  No, really!


Anyway, we're back, Gentle Readers, I have a little tan to show off, and a lot of spots.  Just before we went away, I was attacked (actually, that's too gentle a word.  It was more like they were stalking me & then they pounced...) by hordes of biting midgees, or midges, depending on which hemisphere you're in) - I have more than 50 bites all over my arms & legs, and for the first few days of the holidays, I was a red, itchy mess.  Then I was a red, pink and not so itchy mess, as my lovely Ma took pity on my state and slathered me with calamine lotion (praise the inventors!), and got some Polaramine down my throat.   Now all I have to do is resist the urge to scratch the healing bites so I don't end up with spotty scars.  It's hard being tarred with whatever it is they like - I was out with My Best Friend, the Kidlets and Mr Golightly, and I was the only one bitten.  Ho hum.


We had a lovely relaxing Christmas staying with the Very Lovely Hendersons, who were kind enough to take four almost complete strangers into their house, feed us, wash for us, cook and clean for us and not let us do anything at all, except provide the services of the resident Chef, who did what he does so well, which is effortlessly produce beautiful food.  Turkey, ham, pork, steak, crayfish, prawns... in addition to vegetables, salad, and sweets/puddings/desserts galore.  I think I've put on three kilos this week.  Easy.  I'm going to eat nothing but fruit for the next week, just to see if I can get rid of the spare tyre I've reacquired.  


So, what did we see?  Here's some piccies, but I will write more later, as the 3-hour time gap has finally caught up with me, it's 9.00pm by Perth time & so I need to go to bed.  I'm still itchy, you know.

Reminds me of...

After a fire

Mr Golightly appears to have lost something.  His mind, perhaps?

Ciao!

Louisville, Tennessee

Hello there Gentle Reader from Louisville, Tennessee!  Please let me know how you found the Journal Cover Tutorial, was it too hard, not detailed enough, boring, useless, what?


Today, Gentle Readers, Mr G is at home to callers.  Also, he's still asleep, as befits a gentleman of Advanced Years, (that is, 451 tomorrow), and taking up an inordinate amount of the bed.  When we were first coupled, we had a double bed (well, I had a double bed, he had a king-sized futon which I refused to sleep on - how bad are they for your back, hmmm?) and we survived about six months before I insisted on buying something bigger, and made him ditch the Futon.  I think we would have been divorced before we were even married if we'd stayed in that double.  He likes to sleep with his elbows out, and rolls into the middle a lot.  I joke quite often about my eighth of the bed, but it's not really a joke.  I frequently wake up right on the edge, with just enough of the covers to stop me from freezing to death in the night.  


Tonight we are staying here before flying out at 6.00am (shudder) tomorrow to Perth... It's going to be a long, long day.  They are three hours behind us, of course, and so we will be arriving at 11.00am for us, but it will only be 8.00am in the wild West.  I plan to be in bed by 8.30pm, after we've done everything we need to do, such as, collecting the seafood, shopping for forgotten Christmas treats, buying wrapping paper Just In Case, buying Christmas Cards for people we didn't think about before, you know.  The usual Christmas last minute panic.  Only difference for us is that it's a different shopping centre, which is why everything will take just that little bit longer - trying to find the shops you know about in your own shopping centre is one thing, but in a foreign shopping centre?  Phew.  


In other fascinating news, the Christmas tree I made for Miss Felicity, at All Toile and No Reward, finally arrived in Bahrain, about a month after I shipped it:

At least now she'll have something Christmassy in her Porno Flat.  More info?  You'll have to read for yourselves!


And finally, in the fascinating news department, I started making Conchita the Chicken from the 'Sew It, Stuff it' book that was amongst the birthday loot - it's huge, but it's going to look very cute.  I promise pictures will be posted when it's done.  Just because that may be next year doesn't mean it won't happen... honest.


And now, the smell of Mr G's vegemite and honey toast is making me very hungry, so I'm off, off to the glamour of the kitchen, and from there, we shall see what develops.   Sporadic posts follow, as time and festivities allow.  


I wish you, my Gentle Readers, a very Festive Yuletide, with peace and joy for all.   Ciao, Buon Natale, Ciao Ciao!

I must have been very good this year...

Because I got lots of lovely things for my birthday.  Mr G excelled himself and bought not one, not two, not three, not four, but five books!  And a necklace.  And two bunches of flowers.  Phew.  It's going to be a very busy christmas break, reading all of that lot.  Actually, I won't be reading number five, because it wasn't really a present, it was Mr Golightly's, and was just in there to round out the gifts & Mr G took it back immediately after I'd opened it.  He's a bit precious about Dr Who - there is of course a whole post in this, but that's for another day.


The necklace was of course the very beautiful pink coral & silver number I chose & paid for myself, but that doesn't distract, really.  No, really.


From My Best Friend and the Kidlets, I got a beautiful origami frog, from that wonderful shop in Mona Vale, Little Paper Lane, and my lovely Ma is saving hers up until we get there on Friday, when we're going to have a big combined present opening, because of course, Gentle Readers, in case we forgot, Friday is Mr Golightly's birthday.  Lucky chap.  


Other news:  Yesterday I  made a "Birthday Wishlist" Treasury, and included a cuff from Waterrose.  Her embroidered cuffs are exquisite, and I've been coveting (crash!) one of those for a while now... Rose has returned the favour by including my pink froggie, Petunia, in her Treasury.  And she sent me a nice note.  I wonder if that's part of the Treasury Etiquette I couldn't find out about on the Etsy website?  Hmmm.  


More other news:  Mr Golightly only has today to work, then he is off until the 6th of January, which is lovely, and we fly on Friday morning (at 6.00am, shudder) to the wild west to spend Christmas with My Lovely Ma and Hank, MGF Kaz & Az, the Hendy's and various animals:

So, for now, Gentle Readers, after my Frantic Friday, Swamped Saturday, Stunning Sunday and Manic Monday, I am going off to look into making an Owl, playing a little computer solitaire, and reading.  What a life, eh?

Ciao!

Yesterday was...

cold.  When I got up about 7.00am, it was 13C in Avalon.  That's the suburb next to us, people from Ocean View, New Jersey, because I just know you care all about Sunny (or not so much) Newport and its weather.  It also happens to be the closet suburb I can get information on from WeatherBug, which sits on my desktop.


windy.  I had a sloppy-joe on.  For people inside continental US, that's maybe what you call a sweatshirt?  


a long day.  Up at 7.00am (see, getting older now, losing my mind, repeating things.  Also, repeating things and losing my mind).  Out with My Best Friend and the Kidlets for shopping at Warringah Mall.  Warringah Mall is the biggest shopping centre within reasonable driving distance to me (read, 45 minutes on a bad day, 30 on a good day, 5 days before Christmas, what do you think?).  Why, in Ghod's name, did you go there, 5 days before Christmas?  Well, Gentle Readers, it's a sad, sad story.  I bought one of these for Mr Golightly's niece, and I've... misplaced it.  I know I got it home & I know it's here somewhere, but I can't find it.  Normally I'm very organised with gifts that have to be retained for some time until I can see the recipient in person, because I don't really like to do the mail-y thing if I know I'm going to see them again, which is why I had a souvenir bottle of Limoncello from Rome, 2008, in my cupboard for 2.5 years before it went off to its new home.


Anyway, I had to go & buy her another one, because otherwise the symmetry of the gift giving would have been shot to hell, and there's nothing worse than one sibling getting more presents than another, relative values mean nothing to children.  One of my worst Christmases ever (and there have been a few, just quietly) was the one where I got a guitar, and my sister got... everything else.  I had no idea how much a guitar cost.  Or that boardgames were so cheap.  And abundant.  And plentiful.  And fascinating.  And... not mine.  Still got some of those boardgames (still not mine).  Guitar long gone to Vinnies*.


Anyway, that took us until 2.30pm, we actually had to pay for an hour's parking ($5.00) before we whipped off to Mona Vale for Dental Floss (forgot it), Crewel Needles for the present bag, chocolate money for the Kidlets, a Handbag Butler for the present bag, ribbon, leather cord (don't ask), Muesli (for the best friend) and, finally, lunch.  We were still eating lunch as they closed up the coffee shop around us, lucky for us we're regulars and they don't think we're nuts for eating lunch at 3.00pm.


Then home for whole half hour to deal with mail, phone calls, a change of clothing (off with red angora cardi, on with said sloppy joe), then back up the hill to mind the Kidlets whilst MBF had her hair done:  

Bit worried about that for a while, but the end result was lovely!  And then, we met up with Mr Golightly who had been patiently waiting at home for me to return, to have dinner out, with much hilarity, and me calling young Master H "Helen" all night.  See, I'm older now, and losing my mind, because yesterday was:

My birthday!

Thanks to all involved for the calls, cards & gifts, there will definitely be return calls made today!  And now, Gentle Readers, it's time to go back to bed, because I'm older now and need my beauty sleep!

Ciao!

**aka Charity shop