Thursday, December 15, 2011

it's a bad time of year to leave the house

I don't like shopping at the best of times, but at this time of year, I find that it becomes really unbearable. I try to do most of my christmas shopping (and let me just say, there isn't much of it) online, and even rely on the mister to pick up groceries on his way home from work during the week while I'm out here in the sticks. But every now and then, I feel the need to get out, and the other day decided to head into town for a few things , including a sniff through the local oppies which are always beckoning. I should have known better, I knew it was risky with the christmas crowds and jasper's unpredictability in public, but filled with optimism, I went anyway.

he is by no means an unruly child, it's just that he's either "on" or "off". He was switched to "on" by a well-meaning old lady in the first op shop we visited, who handed him a bright green lollypop before I could get a word in. That's the other thing about this time of year, you can't avoid the sugar. That lollypop kept him going through three more oppies, which was good in itself, but after that there was a weird kind of quietness as the sugar did it's thing. And that was when I made my first mistake and did a '"quick" trip into target. I don't know why, I think it was the promise of 20% off lego and secret santa gifts to buy for carols on the weekend, but I actually thought we could do it. And then I made my second mistake, I saw something I wanted to try on and jasper promised to sit quietly on the little seat in the change room, and I believed him. Mid way through this exercise, he decides to exit underneath the door (why can't they make those things go all the way to the floor??). So, I'm in the change room, trying to wrangle my way out of a pair of cossies whilst calmly calling out to him, but he's not answering. And then a horrified voice comes from the change room oppposite "oh my god, he's in here". Right, so he's crawled under the door of another booth, no biggie. I open my door, and she opens hers, and through gritted teeth, says "can you just get him out of here", whilst cowering behind the door. Jasper by this stage has realised his mistake and is in his hiding place, underneath the chair, crying.

Now, I don't know about you, but if I found a small child hiding in my change room, I'd probably laugh, definitely try to make them feel better when they started to cry, and assure the mother that it was no biggie. But no, hostility reigns supreme in the land of fluoro lights and that is exactly why I will continue to do my shopping online and if I do feel the need to get out of the house, it will be by myself.

Oh, and the kicker, the lego I was after was all sold out. Merry bloody christmas, target.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

pants!

according to the calendar, we are 6 days into summer, although you wouldn't really know it with all the cold, rainy weather we've been having. Not complaining, of course, it does make a summer pregnancy a lot more bearable, but seriously, jumpers and trackies in december? I seem to remember trying to avoid getting my feet stuck in melting tar at this time of year when I was kid.
Never fear, the summer pants are here to remind us that the sun will eventually grace us with it's presence and the kids can look totally groovy in the sandpit and at the beach. Then again, they're equally good for just lazing on the lounge when it's raining too.
Sizes 0 to 3 in the shop now!

Friday, December 2, 2011

water, everywhere

for the past few months, our "sometimes" creek has been a real life stream, and after the recent rain we've had, it's been the favourite after-school hangout for the boys. They spend all afternoon swimming and catching tadpoles...good old fashioned fun. To tell the truth, I'm a little envious of their childish enthusiasm, it reminds me of doing the very same things when I was a kid. Finding suitable accommodation for my tadpoles seemed to be the only real concern I had back then. I do love a good stream. Ever since I can remember, I've had a dream of one day having my own little farm, complete with stream. In my mind, it would be something like the one that scuffy sets out on his big adventure upon...it seems I've found it.
Jasper asked his dad to tell him a story the other night when he returned home from work, and he told him a story about a girl who met a boy and had three wonderful children, with one more baby in her tummy, and they lived on a farm and they were so happy because they had all they ever dreamed of in life.
I am reminded to be thankful and cherish what I have.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

i love...

old wooden chairs. Can't go past a wooden chair on a chuckout. It nearly got us in trouble once when we were moving with the help of friends...I remember one of them declaring after about the fifteenth one that he was going to start burning them.
This one was painted in a very scary shade of orange, which I scraped off the other day and found this very agreeable shade of pale yellow, with just a touch of my favourite fifties green. Love that.
The cushion fabric is denyse schmidt. Sometimes I can't help myself and have to buy something new.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

hello, from here

ok, ok, I know it's been ages since I wrote anything here, but there has been so much going on in our lives that I simply didn't know where to start. And really couldn't be bothered, if the truth be told. At the start of last term, we made the move to our little farm, enrolled the boys in the local school and generally decided to just give it a go. Nothing to lose, everything to gain. I had my reservations, but I've been grumbling about living in close-knit suburbia for so long that I really had to try. I knew that it was going to be hard, no washing machine, no running water in the house, very close living quarters...just a whole lot of space (outside!) and freedom, and an amazing little school that is everything I ever dreamed of for our kids. They cook, garden, craft, play music, watch chickens hatch and generally just have an awesome time. Not to mention the great friends they have made. We actually thought this would just be a short term thing, but this place has really got under our skin, and we are still here, despite the lack of facilities (they will come), and I don't think any of us ever want to go back to the burbs. In fact, I think we would have mutiny on our hands if we tried.happy kids, happy dog, happy chooks. Happy life? I'd be lying if I said it wasn't difficult, but yes, it's a happy life. And, it's about to get a whole lot happier too...well, busier, anyway, with a new little person joining us early next year. Must be all that fresh country air.

p.s. as you can see, snowy has two new friends, chooka and atilla-the-hen. we are now enjoying fresh eggs once again, although snowy has chosen to retire from the egg laying business and leave the hard work up to the young ones.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

little dream come true

ok, so there's a little something I haven't mentioned, something which really does deserve a mention. And it's not really so little either. Little in terms of size, but not in terms of grand scale projects...it's a big job.I have 10ft of vintage caravan goodness sitting in my driveway, while my car sits decaying under the trees. But who cares about a silly old (well, kinda newish) car when there's a vintage caravan that needs attention.
you see people, I have waited a long time for this little dream of mine to come true, and apparently this particular little one has waited a long time for me. 51 years to be precise. For the last few it has sat in a suburban backyard quietly gathering moss and mould, housing a teenager and several of his mates (and all the paraphernalia one would expect to find in a teenagers' lair, including approximately 27 cigarette lighters amongst other, less desirable things).
never fear, the mouldy plywood has been removed, and new stuff is appearing and everything is gradually becoming shiny and new. In a vintage kind of way. Those pink cupboards will remain
and I will work around their pinkness. Down the bottom there is the original ice chest (with matching pink door) which somehow survived the teenagers unscathed...it's a miracle really.
I have this system, you see. If I really want something, I put a picture of it on my fridge. I've had the above picture stuck on there for about 5 years, quietly hoping that a little vintage van would someday walk (or be towed) into my life. I never made a big fuss about it, I would just glance at it every now and then and think about the day when I might be sitting in a little van of my own, sipping tea and crocheting or maybe doing one of my vintage jigsaws or playing patience with one of my vintage decks of cards or some such other lovely pasttime. I have all the stuff you see, I just needed the van. Well, now it's here, and although my work is cut out for me, I'm enjoying every minute of it. I hope to one day tow it, but even if it just sits in a paddock (or the driveway), that will be fine too. Yes, little dreams do sometimes come true.
Incidentally, the picture before that one was of a smeg. I'm sad to say that one did not materialise. One day.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

growing up

I stood by the side of the road and waved goodbye to my biggest boy yesterday morning as he set off on his year 5 camp. They are growing so fast, these boys. Fin will be 11 next month, and he's quite the man of the world, packing his own bags and heading off into the great unknown. Willow has become a lean, lanky 8 year old, and jasper is heading towards 4 a little too rapidly for this mama's liking.
so, feeling a little melancholy at this rapid passing of time, I came home and made jasper a new library bag. He loves to go to the library and it's high time he had his own bag, goodness knows I've made enough for other people. Owls, because he loves them too, grey cord on the bottom and for the handles and a little pocket on the front for that elusive library card and the all important receipt (if I don't have that I have absolutely no hope of knowing what we have at return time). Sweet. Now, apparently, willow needs one too.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

chilly







it's turned chilly here. Cold and blustery winds and a bit of rain. I have one boy home from school with the sniffles...honey and lemon and blankies are helping. On our last stay at the farm, we awoke to a world of white. The temperature dropped considerably overnight and the whole valley froze, as well as water in buckets and baths. Having hugged the coast all my life, I've not had a lot of experience with cold weather...we've always got by with light quilts and clothes. But now, I find myself seeking warmer things. The boys are sporting alpaca beanies, knit by one of our neighbours who also spins the yarn herself. We eventually plan to have a couple of alpacas on the farm, so maybe I'll be knitting with it myself some day. I'm excited and inspired to be becoming part of a new community; experiencing a different climate and looking at life from a new perspective.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

happy mothers day and all that

we had a lovely mothers day weekend (at the farm), followed by our double whammy birthday yesterday. At least it wasn't on mothers day this year, like last year...we managed two days of spoils this time around. Lots of flowers, chocolate and good food, put on by my little sister who is turning out to be a dab hand in the kitchen. The mister and I even managed to pop over to our favourite pub for a glass of dogbolter (oh my, if ever there was a beer) and an hour or so of uninterrupted conversation whilst dinner was being prepared, probably the most enjoyable gift of all...I love those boys to death, but geez is it hard to get a word in when they're around.
Fun times.

Friday, April 29, 2011

sleepy pants

cute little snuggly bum pants made from vintage flannelette. I can't guarantee these pants will make your kid sleep, but hey, at least they'll look good. In the shop now.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

down on the farm

no need to explain where we've been, I think it's fairly obvious. It's getting harder and harder to come back to suburbia. We'd rather be here.

bathing under the stars,

catching sweet morning rays,

making mud puddles,
working together,
climbing trees,

and blowing bubbles.

Life's good.

Monday, February 21, 2011

shop talk

some new ellies just toddled on in to the shop...jeez they're slow. Also some bags and little pants too!

Friday, February 4, 2011

one chook down

a couple of days ago we sadly lost one of our chooks, mymble. I don't really know what happened, over the past couple of weeks she just got really weak, and her comb went flat, and I think the heat we've had this week just proved too much for her. It's never nice finding one of your little friends dead like that. "She's sleeping", jasper said. "no, darling, she died". "oh".
I don't know what was sadder, the dog barking at the chook, trying to wake her up, or the other chook, snowy, looking back over her shoulder as she left the coop, to see if her friend was coming. After I had buried her in what is now known as the pet graveyard down the back, snowy let out the loudest, most heartfelt cry I've ever heard from a chook. She crowed for about ten minutes, a fine farewell to her sweet friend. Sensitive creatures, these chooks. there is a happy ending to this story, though. Today snowy laid the first egg we've seen in months, and was very proud of herself too, I might add. It seems that mymble's sickness must have been affecting both of them, and now snowy can get on with her own life. Either that, or it's a one-off.
The question now is, do we get another chook, to keep snowy company?

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

progress, at last!

well, school is well and truly back, and peace and quiet has returned to my little nest between the hours of 9.15 and 3.15. Jasper is once again his sweet little self, pottering about and mostly not demanding too much from me, and as a result I have managed to start on some work. First cab off the rank was this sweet little set for a good friend who has been waiting for far too long, she is very patient with me. She has a baby girl, as well as three boys (yes, I know), and she is very much in love with pink, so as a result, everything has to be pink for the little one. I have to confess I do not share this passion for pink, and indeed it is scarce in my fabric collection, but I am managing to persuade her into letting a few more colours into her little girl's wardrobe. So far I've had success with green, red, and now this very cute blue gingham and flowers. No brown though. Never ever.
I had quite the brain wave moment whilst making the bloomers. I was instructed to leave the elastic out of the legs, as the child's legs fare better without it, which I was happy to do as I remember it being a pain in the backside last time I had to put it in, and at which point in time I swore never to make another pair of bloomers again. But this time, as I was about to put them together, I realised that I could sew the (homemade) bias tape onto the legs before sewing up the side seams. These bloomers are from a vintage pattern, and they are cut in one piece, with side seams only. So, where before I was sewing them up and then tackling the leg hems, having to sew into a circle and match the ends, I have now managed to do the hard part whilst they are still flat, making the finished product a lot neater.
I am thinking I am probably not the first person to realise this, and indeed, anyone who can sew and is reading this is probably thinking "um, der", and anyone who doesn't sew and was reading this probably lost interest and went somewhere else long ago. But I am quite thrilled with my new discovery, as it means that I can now do much neater arm holes (and neck holes) on the tops I sometimes make for myself, and maybe also make more bloomers for my shop.
Yes, a very productive morning indeed.
In case anyone is wondering, that dress has a cross over back, very hard to lay flat and take a decent photo of. That's why it looks a bit wonky.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

hazyjane on sale!

when is blog not blog not a blog? When no one's blogging. And when is a shop not a shop? When there's no stock in there. In an effort to remedy this sad situation, I have relisted some old stock on sale, so if you'd like to pick up a bargain, head on over. Some groovy new bags are making their way in there too.