A Memorable Christmas!

It was a lovely morning with a happy child enjoying some tractors, a tonka truck & a Thomas Tank Engine train track. Can't be much better than that! He was spoilt then by Grandparents & other relatives. Lunch was at Gran & Grandad's place. We had a lovely Christmas dinner. Unfortunately we didn't get dessert for another 2 days!

BJ got burnt. He walked on a bit of sheet metal that was hot from the sun. He got burnt. (sorry to family members that might read this & hear this news here first). We went to emergency at the hospital. We were there for a couple of hours while they decided what to do with us. Whether to send us to Hobart hospital or stay there. We ended up staying there. We were told we would have to go to the Burns Unit & Hobart Hospital on Tuesday though & that we would probably be there until then. It was a pretty odd evening I guess. But BJ slept well all night thank goodness. I thought I would be up all night with him screaming in pain. That was the worst bit. But during the night he didn't. He just woke, I gave him his bottle like he normally has & he conked out. So that was good. They told us Boxing Day that we could go home that day. What a relief. I think it was because he had gone the night without pain relief. We were only there so they could give him that in the first place.

Here's BJ with his "special socks" on on Boxing Day.

He was good once we were home for a few hours. Adjusting to being home. Adjusting to being carried everywhere. Adjusting to special socks.

Sunday he was zoming around the place. Can't keep him still. He soon figured out he must crawl. Monday he was walking!

Tuesday to Hobart. Dressing changed. Feet healing quite well. Today he is already walking on them again. Yesterday he tried a couple of times, but very gingerly would left the worst foot up again. We go today for dressings changed at the doctor locally (thank goodness as they could have made us go to Hobart again for that). But we go to Hobart again on Monday. Praying hard that the healing as gone as it should to avoid skin grafts!!!

Anyway, Happy New Year to all my friends & family out there. Hopefully it is a happy & exciting time for all.

Happy new year

Happy new year

May we all have a vision now and then

Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year

Happy new year

May we all have our hopes, our will to try

If we don't we might as well lay down and die

You and I

Happy New Year - ABBA

Santa Claus Came to Town!

& here's the proof. Sleigh must have been in for repairs cos they used the fire truck & he was walking a bit too!

Every year on the Sunday before Christmas the local country fire brigade comes by in the morning for the kids. The truck is decorated. Santa has things to give all the kids in the neighbourhood.

BJ isn't really happy about the whole scary Santa thing. But he was happy to accept a gift offered by the jolly old fellow!

& then make a run for it with the loot! Ever so proud.

Lucky we remembered on time, otherwise I would have been out there in my pj's. We hear the sirens long before & finally it clicked that it is the Sunday before Christmas! It seems to early! But of course, this time next week it is all over & even Boxing Day is done! Except for the Boxing Day holiday on Monday isn't it???

Last night we had a Christmas party with the kids from our mum's group. BJ got a present there too & he actually opened it. First one he ever opened. He got a huge drawing pad. Big pretty white pages to destroy with the accompanying crayons! Ahhhh... bliss. Heck I would love to attack those pretty white pages myself! Nothing like a nice clean, shiney, new pad of paper.

So the Christmas parties are in full swing. We have our second Christmas dinner tonight. Here again with some family that aren't here at Christmas. Nothing like stretching it out!

Have a great day.

You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry,
You'd better not pout, I'm telling you why,
Santa Claus is coming to town.

Star Garlands

As you can see, I have been having fun doing more stars. These have been great no brainers to sit at the shop & do or of a night in my few moments of time I can sit. They are easy to put down & pick back up again, with the many interruptions I get from either BJ, mum or customers, depending where I am. I started off the other day on the plain coloured ones & then jumped into the 3 colours & then some in 2 colours. I like them all. I don't think I have a favourite. But these 2 garlands will be Christmas gifts I expect. I am going to keep the plain ones that I started on myself. They were my first stars so I will keep them. The 3 in red I posted the other day & then they multiplied & there are a bunch of white & green ones now.

I was rapt to pick up more of the yarn from K-mart on the weekend. Stu got some on Saturday & discovered it was only $1 a ball now so I invaded again on Sunday. I have to go there again today so I will check to see what is still there. I think it will be nice yarn to make a ripple quilt/blanket. I am going to make one of those next year I decided. I was looking at the instructions yesterday over at Lucy's great blog. Hers is very pretty & I glanced over the instructions but really don't have the time to start something else right now, so I was very good & didn't. Plus it isn't good trying to learn something new with a head cold as I discovered yesterday attempting to finish off a couple of other things. Suddenly things become quite hard!

Hopefully this cold gets better though quickly. We have a wedding tomorrow that I can't miss for being sick! Won't let it happen! I did get some cold & flu tablets the other day. I had been a long time since I bought those. Do you know how difficult it is to buy something as simple like that? & when you are standing there feeling like crap you really don't give a toss about the reasoning behind it all & I just felt like saying "Look can I buy some or not?". I was allowed to eventually but only once I produced my drivers license so they could record the fact that I have bought them & they can monitor how many packets I buy so I don't go & make my own little drug stash. Ok, one can understand the reasoning behind it but when you are not well you really don't care. Just get on with it I say! lol

Well that turned into a little bit of a change from star garlands. Hahahaha... But I feel worse today than yesterday. Must be the late night after a bridal shower last night, for tomorrows bride. Cousin Minka is getting married! We are going for a lakeside wedding at Cradle Mountain so it should be very picturesque! No doubt it will be even more so with rain & snow I bet! Lovely in pretty clothes & high heels! It will be quite a sight I expect in more ways than one!

There probably won't be much activity here for the next few days with Christmas festivities following the wedding over the weekend. Not to mention cleaning & packing which is an ongoing thing in between everything else. I had better go & find some of that to do now while I have a spare couple of hours.

Starry, starry night.

Paint your palette blue and grey,

Look out on a summer's day,

With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.

Shadows on the hills,

Sketch the trees and the daffodils,

Catch the breeze and the winter chills,

In colors on the snowy linen land.
Vincent - Don McLean

My Place and Yours - Five Minutes Peace

Back once more for the My Place & Yours meme thanks to our hostess Pip. This week the theme of "Five minutes of Peace" came from Pilgrim. She wondered where our home sanctuary is, or where we retreat for five minutes of sanity! Is there such a thing?

Well I decided I had to reuse this picture of my desk/computer. (reused from the previous meme about where we compute!) No point taking a new picture as we are moving & stuff is everywhere so it is even more messy than this! Currently I get up between 6-7am. Usually Stu has already gone to work & so I grab a cuppa & some blogs to read & will sit for half an hour if I possibly can, until BJ is awake. His timing changes a lot day to day so I may get lucky like on Thursday when he slept until 9.30am & we didn't have to have rushed out the door to work. Wow, that was a bonus! But other days, like Friday he is awake at 6am as well! You just never can tell. So I feel very lucky to get a nice peaceful half hour start to my day. What a great start it is with a good cuppa in hand & some good inspirational crafty blogs to read. It makes for a busy day usually as there are so many ideas running around in my head that I have to get out there & do a lot! I am sure the days when I get that good half hour in I actually do get more done in the day than if I don't! But the more you read the more crafty ideas you come across & the more things you really must try! lol

Computer One,

Where did she run?

Computer One.

Computer One - Dear Enemy

Just sitting here playing & buying! As you do!

I have been wanting to try these stars for a while now. But I am one of these people that doesn't like to start something else while I am doing something. So while I am making granny squares, I prefer to just keep going with that project - in crochet. That doesn't mean I can't do some blocks, cross stitch, felt stuff, or whatever else I have been doing lately. But today, feeling a bit of a need of a change & a rest I remembered to take some red cotton/acrylic with me. This is the yarn I was using earlier in the year for BJ's knitted toys. I recently got some at Kmart on clearance for $1.50 a ball which I was very excited about. I really would like to go back & see if there is any left. Anyway, I just spent an hour & a bit making these 3 stars. The easy to follow tutorial is here at The Royal Sisters. It surprised me at how quickly they worked up. These 3 are all different too. I experimented on each. First with one sized hook. Then I thought that wasn't so nice so went down half a size. Much better but there was a second option on the tute for the third round so on the third start I did that option & it came out looking much better. A nice flat pointy star. I am impressed that I made these! lol Thanks to the Royal Sisters for the great tute. Next stop will be the Heart tute & then the Christmas Tree tute. Go & look! You know you want to!!!

I'm right aren't I? They are cute huh? I know you looked!

We've also been talking this morning about Russian Dolls/Babushkas/Matroyskas. I mentioned these measuring cups. We decided they would make a great kitchen tea gift. That is if they are here on time. Either way, I went on line to find some. Was a bit difficult as apparently they were featured on the Today Show the other day so everyone was sold out. I found one site had 2 sets left & bought them on the spot. Actually I know they are already posted too since the shop person phoned me. She told me that 5 minutes later someone else tried to buy the 2 listed but she had to disappoint that lady because I got them! Woohoo! Ok, one set for kitchen tea & one set for me!

Are they cute or what! They split in half for the measuring cups. So 6 different sizes. I had seen them in a couple of magazines recently & really thought them cute. Perfect excuse to get them now!

Just about the weekend again. It will be a busy one although I don't think with this freezing weather we suddenly have, we will be taking BJ to the Christmas Parade in town. Fine with me! Happy weekend!

Everybody's working for the weekend

Everybody wants a little romance

Everybody's goin' off the deep end

Everybody needs a second chance, oh

You want a piece of my heart

You better start from start

You wanna be in the show

Come on baby lets go

Everybody's working for the Weekend - Loverboy

Hip To Be Square

Granny squares to date, with all the ends sewn in - thanks Mum! Ok, I did fob the job off to her but it is good for her to keep herself a bit busy with a little crafty stuff while she isn't mobile still. All the same, I don't think it will look too bad when it is eventually all in one piece! I am tempted to start putting them together already but am not going to even look at learning that right now. I have more than enough going on at the moment so don't want to add to it. At least the squares are progressing. I have another 5 or 6 done now too!

I know that it's crazy
I know that it's nowhere
But there is no denying that
It's hip to be square
Hip To Be Square - Huey Lewis & the News

My Place and Yours - Wherever I Lay My Hat

Oh wow, these Theme Queens for the memes are coming up with some beauties really! They seem to be getting quite difficult. I have been pondering the current theme all weekend.

You remember the drill! Myrtle & Eunice picked this weeks theme. Check out her blog for more info on the theme but briefly Tania said ...

"What are the treasures in your house that signify ‘home’? Is there anything that reminds you of a childhood, a life overseas, a loved one? Is there a blanket you always curl under, a teapot that brews the perfect cuppa? Do you have a ‘Droopy Dog’ like that one above – a twelfth birthday present who fits perfectly in the crook of a sleeping kid’s arm and who may or may not have ventured to Europe in a backpack, ahem, three times? "

Well one I did think of was my address book, & although it is cute, I figure an address book is an address book! I think when we move in a month, that will really make me think about what my "HAT" is.

I decided my main thing would have to be Juneau our dog. If we moved overseas ever, she would have to come. I couldn't leave her here that is for sure. For all the hassle to take her I would do it without a second thought. She is my furry kid & I won't leave the non-furry kid behind so why would I leave the furry one behind. Nah-uh, aint gonna happen! But I'm not moving anywhere but down the road! lol

hmmm.... anything you can do...

I can do better!

I have just now decided that I really need to add my copper pots & stuff. These things were handmade at my Opa's (grandfather) business. It was a small family business that created handcrafted copperware. It was huge in the 80's, not so huge in the 90's anymore when unfortunately we had to see it close. Opa started it off himself in the backyard & it soon turned into something that all the tourists were stopping to see. The coaches doing a tour of the state would stop in. At times there would be 3 or 4 coaches outside all at once. (many of you may have had relies that came home with a little piece of our stuff!) The coach touring industry dropped off a lot in favour for hire cars & although the car tourists also stopped it wasn't quite enough in the end! Oh well, all good things must come to an end. I used to work all my school holidays there. I got my first pay packet there at about 7 or 8 years old! lol Slave labour I know! But right until I was 16 I worked there in my school holidays. After I left school I actually ended up working there full time & did so for 10 years! That's long! I used to also hand beat, weld, grind, press.

I have a few of the pieces left but mostly they are packed up in the roof. These are the last few things I have around the house due to lack of space. The big jug is one Opa made, as is the cow bell. The second pic is a hanging basket that he didn't make, but you may be able to see the little dots on it which is the hand beaten dots. The 2 jugs are also handbeaten but in long lines rather than the dots. The last pic is another put thing that Opa made. It is a good size for a planter. Although I don't have them all out I don't think I would ever part with them as they really are a part of who I am I guess & my family history. As a kid we spent many a day at Opa & Oma's. I wish I had a pic of him to put on here, but I don't have a scanner to include one. Oh well, maybe another time...

So there you have it. Not very interesting really. Not like some of the other things that people have! It's really fun reading these others to see what people treasure! Check them out over at Pip's place again! Make sure you grab a cuppa as you will be there a while! Oh & while there, watch Bert & Ernie too, just for old times sake! Hehehehehehehe....

Feels like home to me, feels like home to me,

Feels like I'm on my way back where I come from.

Feels like home to me, feels like home to me,

Feels like I'm on my way back where I belong.

Feels Like Home To Me - Bonnie Raitt

On a roll...

All I have done this week is make more block sets. I have sold a couple more including the Jolly Barnyard set from the previous post! I was pretty excited about that. These 2 sets are now on Madeit.com. They are Colors are Nice & Richard Scarry's ABC. They are really cute. I love the first set. The pictures are just so appealing to me.

Not much else going on really, as it's all just busy, busy, busy at home cleaning & packing stuff. Less than a month now till we can move! 29 sleeps! lol It is going to become very weird before to long, as it gets closer & closer. I hope I don't get there & decide I want to come back here to MY house! lol At least if that does happen I will still be able to at some point. lol

I know I'm right

For the first time in my life

That's why I tell you

You'd better be home soon

That's why I tell you

You'd better be home soon

Better Be Home Soon - Crowded House

More sets of blocks

I have just listed these 2 sets of blocks on Madeit. They are pretty cute. First one is from the book Jolly Barnyard & the second one is Scuffy the Tugboat. I'm sure everyone remembers the Golden book Scuffy the Tugboat!

So I'd like to know where you got the notion,

said I'd like to know where you got the notion.

To rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby.

Rock the boat don't tip the boat over.

Rock the boat don't rock the boat baby.

Rock the boat...

Rock The Boat - Hues Corporation

So Happy, but a little sad! But mostly Happy!!!

Ok, so really I am doing a little happy dance!

I sold this set of blocks on Made it! Who would have thought huh? These ones are my favourites so far. I just love these pictures. But today they wing their way across the creek to the Big Smoke. Check out Made it as they have really do have fabulous things on there including 2 other sets of my blocks. I will shop there myself soon I hope.

Oh & there are 6 pictures on each set but I don't have the sixth one!

Here is a little song I wrote

You might want to sing it note for note

Don't worry be happy

In every life we have some trouble

When you worry you make it double

Don't worry, be happy......

Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin