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.

must be christmas

because there's a weird fake tree in our living room, and an unmistakable air of excitement around the place. In case I don't get back here later (and let's face it, that's highly unlikely), merry christmas wherever you are!

we are christmassed

and apparently it's a new year. How did that happen? One minute a peaceful valley...No, seriously, we've had a lovely christmassy break. The boys, as usual, made out like bandits, which kind of freaks me out a bit because I don't like the expectation that inevitably comes with that. Must have a quiet chat with the gifters who seem to come out of the woodwork at this time of year.
After all the festivities of last week, catching up with family and dear friends who have moved interstate, we couldn't muster up the strength to even go across the road to celebrate the new year with friends. Instead, we stayed on our own front porch and watched the possums doing acrobatics in the trees, and were in bed by 10pm. Saving ourselves for a big celebration this saturday...

finishing off

some very bright bunting for a newbie's room,

a (more) traditional stocking for same newbie,
and some matchy sets for some christmassing cousins.

I've also just finished off about 60 "sherry balls" (I'm just not that keen on rum) and am also half way through a batch of cocnut ice. What's a christmas without copious amounts of sugar?

christmas is making me crackers

yes, I'm still here, my little plan didn't work, and baby is still giving me a hard time on the inside! I think the reduced blood flow to my brain and all of the other stuff that's been going on around here (moving out of my shop, car breaking and requiring new starter motor three days before christmas, one child with nits and the other with the flu...need I go on?) have made me a little bit mental, and I have spent the past two days making and baking, because I've been feeling restless. Now I don't feel so much restless, more "ratshit". (For anyone unfamiliar with this terminology, it's australian for being very exhausted).

This is but a small sample of what I've been making, "vanilla kipel" (recipe from our local mag, the peninsula voice), and iced jumbles in different shapes, thanks to bill, only modified to use honey rather than golden syrup and omitting the mixed spice, because it's not very nice. Apart from this, there are chocolate spiders, a weird mix of fried noodles and chocolate, which sounds really funky, but is actually really yummy, I promise. Thanks to my aunty rose for that one. Rocky road, my first attempt, how does one stop the marshmallows from melting when you mix them into the melted chocolate? Coconut ice, also my first attempt, and I must say, a great success, and last but not least, fiona's chocolate balls. I did consider adding a bit of sherry to some, but I thought I'd better not, as I'd probably get the kids' ones and the adults ones mixed up in my current state of mind. Now, don't worry, all this stuff is not just for us, I plan to give a lot of it away as gifts tomorrow. It would probably take a year for us to get through all of it anyway, and seeing the amount of sweetened condensed milk (how did someone come up with that little gem?) and icing sugar that went into these little babies, I don't think I could manage too much of it on my own anyway. I'll sure give it a good crack, though.

So, I bid you all a very "sweet" christmas, because that seems to be the theme for us this year, and I hope santa is good to everyone.

stocking up on stockings

since everyone else in this house has christmas stockings, I decided it was high time I made one for myself. This very yummy apple print stretch cord was obviously the perfect choice for an apple lover like myself, god knows I was never going to make anything more taxing out of this piece, not being one to enjoy stretch sewing. Also, being stretchy, one can fit more in the stocking. Good thinking, hey? Alas, when this little piece of goodness appeared on the mantle yesterday, mr. willow decided that his purple stocking was no longer appropriate, and he wanted the apples for himself. I must say, I kind of anticipated this, as his favourite colour is no longer purple as it was last year, but is now red, just like mamma. What can I say, he takes after me when it comes to being fickle. Needless to say, though, he's not getting the apples, but we have reached a compromise on red cord, but not with a sweet mushroom print I have, because no, mum, I don't like mushrooms. So, here's the thing,

I now have this equally yummy stocking up for grabs. This stocking , with freshly hand-stitched "w" on the front (I did that last night, didn't quite get around to it last year), is in brand new, pristine condition, and is looking for a new home. It is made from a beautiful, rich purple corduroy (also stretch), with a funky green and blue retro flowery cuff. So, if you have a "w" person in your life who you think might like this stocking, simply leave a comment below, and I'll have the little man draw a name out on sunday, so that I can post it to the winner before christmas. I know that this is a bit of an obscure little competition, but I'm sure there must be some waldos, wurzels, wilmas, wandas, or even wilberforces out there who need this little stocking in their life. Maybe even a pooch or catty? I look forward to hearing from all you lovely w people!