the year of endurance, leassons and happiness

Wishing you all a very happy new year with a bright 2008 to look forward to and a full 2007 to reflect upon. For me, this year has been absorbed with being a first time Mum and experiencing all the highs and lows and making adjustments in my life to be responsible for another life. The changes in my boy this year are going to be the most rapid I will see in his life and bearing this in mind, I have tried to enjoy this year as much as I can, despite the tough days (or nights). I have managed to let go of the early anxiety about feeding, pooing and sleeping and now with those things under control focus on other, more enjoyable areas. My time is never my own and I am OK with that now, knowing soon he will be at school and these close days will be over. I am appreciative that when I get the chance to snatch a few minutes to myself I am really grateful. I realise that although I can handle a lot, I find it difficult to handle a LOT of things at once, so some things slip and its OK, now. The things that have kept me sustained, loved and sane this year are my most special loved one, life partner and soul mate, Soony, my dearest family, my friends and of course Long Long. Without all of them I cannot survive, this year more than ever, I apprecitae you all. Thank you.

We have an exciting year planned for 2008. There will be many changes still to come and I am looking forward to seeing, doing, eating, smelling, learning and listening to new things. There was a guy on TV the other night who said they had found a new patch to drill for gas and it has enough energy to last for 60 years. There was once a time when I thought 60 years was a VERY long time, not so now. I thought about how old I would be in 60 years (very) and what I would be doing. I realised in 60 years time, I will not be able to easily pack up and live overseas and I will be much more limited in doing things that I 'always wanted to do'. I am looking forward to 2008!! Lots of love to you all, always xxx

Long Long unravelled

Long Long has a new blog you might want to read: http://whippetlong.blogspot.com/

hap hap happy christmas!!

Happy Christmas to everyone, even though now it is a bit late now. It was a very noisy but happy and sunny day with too many presents for the little one. I have just boxed them up ready to be shipped without opening them. We can re-discover them as the months pass. Only 4 weeks now until we leave, not long. I am starting to feel a bit sad these days especially when the weather is very sunny and nice. I do not like winter so we will have just grin and bear the remainder of Tokyo winter until Spring arrives. Long Long now has his own special coat like this one Lucky him!! Hopefully he wont get too cold now. His travel box has arrived and the plan was to get him used to it before his trip, but he hates it. Pei loves to crawl around in there but the dog just stands back and looks....I need to work hard to get him in there and feel comfortable....

Christmas also means cherries. I love cherries and as it turns out so does Pei. Between the two of us we ate most of what is in this bowl.

Here's hoping your Christmas was enjoyable and fun and you are looking forward to the new year. I hope to post a bit more often since we will be away and it will act as diary so you can keep track of the places we go and things we see.

Lots of luck and love Paula

snot

My little moo is sick. It is awful. I feel miserable like him.....

swim

I have been swimming almost every week for the past 7 months with mini moo. It is one of the nicest things to do, very relaxing for us both and so much fun! Now the weather is better the whole trip is enjoyable. I feel a bit sad to be leaving summer days to a very cold winter but soon after we will have spring and cherry blossoms so that will make up for a month or two of cold.

dinosaur designs dismay

How beautiful is this bowl and spoon? I bought it from Dinosaur Designs, you know how much I love them... I bought this to replace the salt cellar and take with us a small piece of Australian design. As not anticipated, the service again, sucked......the same lady works there from the time I had my last poor shopping experience. What a shame. I think I will just go to the Sydney store from now on as it seems the old biddy in the store has worked there for a million years and looks like she wont be going anywhere soon...oh well. It is really nothing compared to my very serious incident involving Pei being locked inside my hot car. I gave him the keys, as I usually do to play with while loading up the car. In the seconds it took for me to close the boot and go to the front door, he had pushed the 'lock' button and locked himself inside, me outside and all windows up on a fairly warm day. Luckily we were in an underground car park. It was still very serious and after some help from random stangers, such amazing help and kindness and a visit from the fire brigade to smash open the window, it all ended as fast as it began but my nerves and confidence sure took a blow. A truly awful day.

birvday

My little moo turned one so thats why I have been away....sorry for the delay but have been having a lot of fun making a blue inspired cake with my sister, entertaining overseas rellies, having fun with friends and just enjoying these summer days. I also had a little exposure in Dec 'real living' magazine with two of my Chrissy cards featured. That has been very good for business!! We are in moving mode with tenants booked, car sold and furniture and goods mobilised. I also had news that a dear friend might stop in over xmas from the US, I hope it happens, it is so nice to see old friends. Thanks so much to everyone who helped celebrate mini moo's birthday, all the wishes, gifts and love sent is much appreciated xxx

sunny

It was a nice weekend. Sun and family. We had an open inspection to get a tenant for our house and hopefully we will find the right one. Things are moving along for our big trip to Japan. We are starting to ship things and think about our new days ahead. In this though, small things become more meaningful. The sound of the magpie, the hot sun in November, Aussie accented 'yehs' and 'maate' on overheard phone calls, bbq smells, things that remind you of where you are. Oh, and election excitement. About time I say.

biffo

packaging overkill

They love to package and wrap...I remembered the word for "I dont need it" quite quickly...

cool stuff I noticed

This is so great but no doubt comes about as a result of revolting pervy guys. I have become accustomed to several of the things I once thought so new and weird however, I still saw some new, cool things. Also, as stated in very large signs at all stations, one should not rush to catch a train in case you get stuck in the door and also because about 2 minutes later there will be another train, so dont stress dude.....well, you do need to be decisive when catching a train that is already in the station. We kind of didnt have the team action going and my two most precious peoples got on and I was kind of getting on with the door of both the station and the train closing on my arms, my hands inside the train, body on the platform. I could just see my loved ones taking off without me and gee whizz did I find some superhuman strength to rip those doors apart and get inside. This is not really the done thing, in addition I think I made a big grunt coz the whole carriage looked up and me and kind of tut tutted (ie: dumb foreigner-did you not see the signs about rushing?....). OK, so I sat down with my loved ones, so glad to be together, a bit shaken and feeling a bit silly too. But then my biggest loved one put his arm around me and gave me a hug and said dont worry I see this happen to other people all the time. What a legend!! Next time, the other train story, one very loud, screaming (hysterical) baby (mine) in a very small crowded carriage....I think I can get used to the Tokyo subway, maybe.

well, howdy doody doo

Hello after a long holiday!! We beens to Tokyo, Japan. What fun it was. But its always nice to come home and hear magpies warble in the mornings. Will write about some stories and add some photos and drawings of our trip and various other happenings. Highlights include sushi breakfast at the fish market, exploring crowded streets then relaxing in the park, 100yen shopping (ie everything is $1), amazing tofu eating experiences, nappy (diaper) purchasing missions and finding out that generally life in Australia is more expensive than Japan, whoda thunk it?!

a little rest

I'm going to take a little rest from my blog as life gets busier with parties to organise, shops to deliver to and other fun things. I will be back soon with news and stories and pictures. Take care and keep well. Check out this link for the BEST tshirts for bubs I have seen in a long time :)

more late night creations

I made this book bag last night for a friends daughter. I had to test the handles to see if they could indeed stand up to some books. They seem to be OK. I have my study books out as you can see.......well, they are out but not open......if you get my drift........The fabric has small sausage dogs wearing not just coats but GLITTER coats. It is so cute. Inside has pink polka dots. Im sure a girl in prep would like this, but these days it might just be way too uncool. Im not too sure what kids are into these days but I better learn, and soon.

DIY update

BEFORE



AFTER

Here is said shower base completed, you cannot see the small damage area and I am surprised to report that it is very sturdy paint. I am quite impressed and might just do one last layer. I did fix the front door, I actually had no choice as it completely fell off its hinges and I could not open or close it. It is actually quite heavy and I thought I might have to enlist some help from the neighbours to lift it, but I did manage to get it attached to the door frame and now its as good as new. I already have another project, this one has been waiting for about 6 months to be attempted. Just a hint, wall, damage, plaster, screws......watch me go.................!!!

After yesterday's sook about mindlessness I forgot to add that there has been two nasty car accidents in this area in the past few days, one a drunk driver and the other a drug driver.....it must be season of the idiots....

geeeezzzz

No picture today just a bummer feeling on such a lovely sunny day. I went out for a walk, lovely sunshine, light breeze and all the tourists that migrate to our part of town to lick ice creams the soon as any sun pokes it head through the clouds. It was busier than usual with people walking, talking and licking and amongst this, quite depressingly I saw, one dog do a poo that was not picked up, a kid kick a glass bottle into the sea and watch it fall without picking it up, a guy throw a cigarette butt onto the ground (still alight), and a guy who opened up his car door put a tray full of rubbish on the ground then step out of the car OVER it and leave it there (he was literally next to as bin). I feel I cannot confront every one of these people, as aside from being dangerous in terms of my personal safety and that of my boy, it is not the kind of psycho role model I want my son to see. I did however ask the kid to pick up the bottle which he replied 'yeh' and just left it there. It kind of left me feeling that if these small things are happening every minute or so, and no care or thought is taken then how can we tackle the much bigger issues of pollution and waste reduction? Maybe it is the sum accumulation of these small things that has created the problem in the first place. I hope the small things I do and at the least, my concience about what I leave behind, may help contribute to a brighter and healthier future for our world and our kids. I'm not saying I deserve a Nobel Peace Prize because I recycle my plastics but I know I am not the only one who thinks putting rubbish in a bin and picking up your own dogs poo is a no brainer....................

balls

I bought a cheapo blow up paddle pool and put some plastic balls in it. It is the most fun thing you can do inside!! I think it will be even more fun outside on a hot day with a bit of water under the balls :)

I have started an inventory of house stuff to start the process of moving. We have a very simple house without much furniture and stuff, well, so I thought. Once it is all down on paper and the deciding what to do with it all, it seems like a LOT of stuff.....lucky we do not live a nomadic lifestyle or else we would need a road train to take all the stuff. I guess thats why we accumulate stuff because we dont move around much.......

The Lemonheads

illustration friday - open

serial DIY

I have a habit, one that is very hard to beat...serial DIY. There is just one problem with this, I often do not finish the DIY projects (or have the skills to do it in the first place). This irritates my loved one who's philosophy is, if you cant finish it dont start it or the alternative, get a handyman. Both very logical arguements, I do agree, but my serial DIY seems to have a life of its own and any trip to Bunnings or the like, is a dangerous journey of possibilities (its best to go with my loved one to keep the voice of reason clear and loud). So, I went one day by myself...good one.....and bought a lot of bottles and cans to resurface the shower base. It had been painted previously to us moving in and had started to peel and was difficult to clean. How hard could it be to strip paint, remove grout, replace grout and repaint? I can totally do that!!!! Above photo is during paint stripping stage. So, like I have nothing better to do at nights when the baby is asleep, not....I am scrubbing the shower base, cleaning the shower base and basically spending a LOT of time bent over the shower base. Now I am on my 5th day of having a bath while the shower base gets finished, its no longer fun to be a serial DIY'er. BUT, I have come to the end of the road and last night put the final layer or paint sealer over the tiles and new grout. It looks great but oh the smell....how anyone could sniff that stuff for FUN?....I had a huge towel wrapped around my face to cover my nose and I could still smell it......There is one teeny little (I mean big) disappointment...the shower head has a habit of dripping and did so while the paint was drying, so now I have a very smooth and slightly interrupted shower base. The paint stinks so badly and takes 24 hours to dry and I NEED A SHOWER....so bad luck. One more DIY project half finished!! Next project is the front door, it is falling off and I intend to fix it!

lunch

Sometimes I like to get out of my neck of the woods, just for a little while and the Vic market provides this little opportunity. As it is school holidays there is a lot going on there as well as the usual food and goods to buy and animals and buskers to see. It is easy to park and always refreshing to breathe in another atmosphere. They had the best baby animal farm with two piglets that were pink with black spots, so adorable. Pei was soaking up the sights and sounds and there was so many things to talk about. We walked around to the very famous American donut caravan and HAD to indulge in the jam donuts, they are sooo good make make me feel soooo sick afterwards.....I love to go to the European section with cheeses, dips, breads, pasta and coffees. It always makes me feel like I am overseas somewhere in Europe. I bought the above pieces to make a simple and beautiful lunch. Garlic and parsley fettuccini, pesto to stir through, fresh parmesan to grate over top and a lovely loaf of rye and sourdough bread (that last for several days-bonus)...I also bought these lovelies below - eggplant and capsicum and ricotta angiolotti......to be eaten with rattatoulie...so good. I am even more motivated to cook nicer and nicer meals since Pei eats the same food as us...I also stopped into one of my very favourite stores parlour

modus illustrationus

I have really received some lovely gifts for Pei and this is no exception. This cot rug is so gorgeous with the cutest illustrations, hearts (rabu rabu!!), elephants with shoes and lovely designs on BOTH sides. Thank you so much Miss E. On the same day I received this, I bought this awesome alphabet jigsaw puzzle. I want to use it as a frieze on the wall. It is designed with some of the cutest animal illustrations I have seen for a while. You can check out crocodile creek designs for some more cute stuff, especially this ball....

busy bee

I have been busy which makes me tired.....but I am happy and thats all you need...

mud and mint

I am most excited to find these lovely earrings by mud and mint through etsy . My theme for xmas this year to have all my gifts handmade by me or by someone else and etsy is so good for finding some lovely goodies. I have knocked a couple off the list with mud and mint and now on the look out to complete the rest of my list. Since I was in post birth phase/newborn phase last xmas, I didnt do a great job with xmas or xmas cards and considering a run a card business thats a bit lame, but this year its all on track!! So, like coles, I am already gearing up, minus the tinsel.

illustration friday-the blues

plastic tubes

I read somewhere that these plastic pool rings are good for inside play with a baby. Its true, it is a lot of fun. There are many games to play with just these plastic tubes and blow up balls. They are also good as a barrier to places where you do not want sticky, curious fingers to go.

My dearest darling came home today from a long trip to the US. He was almost home when the plane had an emergency landing because a bird got stuck in the engine. Added another 2.5 hours onto the very eager welcome party here at home :( but any trip to the US yields a lot of nice gifts, gotta love those super cheap mega malls, thank you darling, like xmas and birthday all in one.

eats

This little mini no longer likes to be fed. He only can feed himself and in order to let him learn and exercise some independence I let him. He now eats what we eat. He usually finshes all by himself and despite the big mess, he does a good job. I have discovered a bib that has sleeves and a long front which prevents clothes from getting truly manky and me having to change him every time he eats. He is growing up into a cool little cat and days are becoming more interesting and nights filled with more solid sleeps YAY!!

My dearest one is inspecting our first houses to live in the big sushi next weekend, already...geez its gone fast, this year I mean.

AND as you know random people say random things to you: today an old lady said to the baby but talking to me "gee someone has been dying your hair hasnt she?" I said nicely "he was born with dark hair"....and you know what, she looked at me like I was lying.......good one love......not all babies have blonde hair and blue eyes.............:P!!

bobble head

I made this little felt bobble head for my little bobble head boy and guess what...he hates it!! He is happy just to throw it across the room (it does have a bell inside so maybe he likes to hear the ding-a-ling) but there is an unspecting fan...yes my ever loyal Long Long. He just like the bobbles, I think because they are fluffy they feel nice on his pointy nose. OK I am going to try something else now, Im hoping for better success this time. I did watch some TV last night and caught this show. It was excellent. The repeat info is on the link, I highly recommend it.

making stuff for a journey

Since I have been in sewing mode I thought I would make a little present for a friend who is going on a fantastic trip to Peru. I wanted to make a little pouch to keep a pen and notebook together, as they seem to get easily separated when pulling things in and out of your travel bag. So, I made this little pouch with a ribbon tie. I hope it lasts the trip as some of the stitches are a bit wobbly. I also made a couple of clothes bags, ones that you use to put your clothes/shoes etc into then put them in your case/bag. I have found them to be so useful for keeping things organised and when looking for something you just pull out the bag, not all the clothes spilling all over the floor. It also acts a security layer and for those gentle handed baggage handlers, not, if your bag happens to get droppeed and fall open, all your undies are privately organised into bags!! Now I'm getting excited I want to go too.

I have realised that doing something like sewing at night when little boy has gone to sleep is so much better for my brain than watching TV. It requires thinking and creativity and its fun. What more could I ask for?!

small blanket

I made this small pram blanket for a friend who will have a baby next month. It has turned out how I saw it in my mind so I am happy minus the wobbly bits. I am not great at sewing but I do like to, even if it just straight lines. I figure to get better I must practise....This is made from pink polar fleece with small cupcakes embroidered onto it with the flip side a cotton fabric with small hearts. I made the border with the small red bobbles (which were the hardest part to sew) and I had the babies name embroidered on the polar fleece side. Look how organised you can get when you know what the baby is and the name!!! I love it xxx

its been too long

It would seem I have been a bit quiet but really I have been busy doing all kinds of things. This image is one of the ones from my 2007 xmas range which will be up on website by tomorrow. I have bee keeping busy with some sweet card and invitation orders and just enjoying the growing ever longer days and sunshine. I hope to have some cards in a couple of magazines coming up so I will keep you posted!! I have been meaning to mention some of the blogs that I read regulary:

http://www.mpatrizio.blogspot.com/ a sweet and very dedicated blogger who posts almost everyday

and I cannot go past this one called 'red shoes' .....:

http://redshoesllc.typepad.com/

I was about the get going with news and bits and pieces but a grizzly baby is calling me............................

hugs

I turned around to see the dog hugging the panda teddy. He sat there for about 5 minutes. Either the panda is very comfortable or he needed a hug, or he thought it was his twin. Such a good boy.

sunny saturday

It was lovely to go and soak up the atmosphere in Brunswick St, Fitzroy. It really is such a great place. We stopped by the rose st market too. Joined by my lovely friend, we ate, talked and enjoyed a very sunny spring day.

xmas almost done

Here is a small girl featured on one of my 2007 christmas cards. This year they will be finished very soon (not in november) and come with a little surprise. I will let you know when you can get them in my shop.

urgent

The urgency of spring vs

the urgency of folding the washing...

I guess one of them can independently do its job without my help. But, I'm sure if a blossom needed help to bloom and washing folded itself, it would be grumblings about blossoms not washing....

wakka wakka woo

I have proof of my 'loaming' project, above. This is a section of my front garden, which up to now, has been looking as sad as the drought. This project has been very long winded and was sure to end up with all the other half finished projects I start and seem to never finish.....but, I started it and finished it in just a couple of hours....I am sooooo happy. I have been using grey water from the washing machine for about 12 months, so I will continue to water the garden using this method. While I was digging in the garden, the dog was sitting in the sun and my Mum was taking care of the baby, occassionally they would come out to say hello, everything was very calm and peaceful. Then I saw this......

You might remember my story of the street duck and chicken a while back and how chicken tragically died. Well, I knew he didnt come back to life and multiply but geez it gave me a fright....soon after old ducky came along. Then, it was a truly awesome gardening experience. The dog didnt mind the birds and the birds are so tame they eat out of your hand (and come inside).....what a great afternoon and I finished a project!!!

here it is

Finally, here is the dress made by my dear friend missy h for me to wear to my sisters wedding. It is made from obi fabric and kimono fabric. It is quite stiff so when you wear it, it sticks out from the sides, you could probably wear a tulle skirt under it to give it some real lift, very lovely. I am looking forward to sewing my own creations soon, but as my sewing skills are limited I am sticking to cusions, pram blankets, sewing designs onto flannels and bibs and sewing things onto pre-existing clothes. I have the fabrics, now, just to find some time......

on the move

I thought I should fill in any gaps in case I have forgotten anyone.....if I have, I do apologise and I will be in touch soon. We are packing up the pooch and heading to our next life adventure, this time to Tokyo. We plan to move after the little ones birthday and after Christmas. So, I have started to get a bit organised and get some supplies, including this very apt green and gold jacket, it is size 1, so not for me. I could not, not get that now could I? We will take a trip soonish to get a place to live then really get ready to go. I can still do everything I'm doing here cards wise and otherwise, thanks to technology it wont seem too far away, and of course I would like to have a LOT of visitors!! I will keep up this blog too. So for now sayonara, I have to hit the study books because I am so lame on the language skills...........................

massive loveliness

I spent the weekend with my little family enjoying the sunshine, visiting old haunts, rolling in the green grass, eating good food and just enjoying time with each other. Time I realise is the most precious commodity.

wasnt it monday yesterday?

Time seems to be flying even faster these days, all the things I hope to get done, get pushed down the list even further.....now the sun is shining, the nights are getting longer and days warmer it seems like there is more to do and more ways to enjoy life. I like this beginning of spring but I wish I could get at least one thing that I start, completed.......well one milestone completed is the 9 month mark for PP, he is now as old as he stayed in my belly. He is becoming so lovely, lively and wonderfully enjoyable. Now I must try to get the washing done..........

owlness

My sister bought me this very cute exercise/notebook. It is so nice, very cute little owls and animals and comes complete with a library card on the inside cover. It reminds me of the old borrowing system where it was really based on trust. The book was stamped with the due date but sometimes never returned, due to laziness, forgetfulness, lostness, dog chewedness, or I just liked it very much and could not afford to buy my own copy......if I see one of those old books with the library numbers on the spine it still makes me feel very guilty. Oh, the website to see the other cuteness things from this group of crafters is www.libraryplus.com.au