Camping at the Beach

Actually, Beach should be BEACH, given the excitement it generated. We had a lovely weekend camping, and were about 10 metres away from the sand. Lucas had a wonderful time chasing the waves, although it was a little cold for swimming.


Annabelle collected millions of shells, flew the kite, and had a lovely time.




We visited Mogo Zoo where I was delighted to find they now have African Wild Dogs. These are my all time favourite carnivores, and a MAJOR reason for us to return to Africa.

Got my swap

and I'm happy. My parcel arrived today from the Ravelry Bag Lady Swap, and I love it!



And look at this lovely little kit - the last crochet I did was a granny rug as a teenager - better remember what to do, because this is VERY cute.

A busy week

Lucas had his birthday on Friday, celebrating turning 5 with his cousins.




I also finished knitting his jumper,

and have completed my part of the Ravelry Bag Lady Swap, ready to post. I'm really glad to have finished with this yarn - knitting it was a wheeze-fest. It's the first bag that I've lined, and it seems to have gone OK.

Nearly 5

Tomorrow Lucas is 5 years old, and we're celebrating with a LaaLaa party.

Laa Laa is the yellow Teletubby, if you didn't know.

The cake's ready (and wrapped in plastic); the pin the tummy on the 'Tubby is ready; and I'd better wrap the presents shortly.


Once the birthday is over, we can make Easter eggs. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Busy, busy and a spider!

We're busy planning for Lucas' birthday party on Friday.

And then I spotted this mammoth spider just outside the backdoor, and nearly fell over with shock....

A time of change...

It really feels like things are changing. We are becoming accustomed to the new preschool routine (and it is sinking in that I will be making lunches and ferrying children around for a very long time to come...) I am thinking more and more on what I want from the next phase of my life.

There's been a bit of thinking time this week since I have been fighting off either a heavy cold or a light flu. I've been too miserable to read or knit. And as for sewing, the energy to get out the sewing machine has simply not been there.

The inlaws have been away too, so we have missed out on our twice weekly dinner/card nights. These are a major source of my adult companionship.

Lucas turns 5 next week, and we are having a small party to celebrate. Before that, he'll be taking cupcakes to preschool to share with his class, which need to be individually packaged with an ingredient list. Complications with the party revolve around the day being Good Friday (and hence a no meat day for our catholic companions), and with our automatic party option being a barbecue lunch. Creativity will be required.

Knitting is slow work at the moment - I am onto the handles of my Ravelry swap bag, and onto the yoke of Lucas' jumper. I'm also knitting a washcloth on the side, out of a cotton/bamboo mix yarn. I really want to start work on a shawl out of cashmere laceweight yarn.... but I'm finishing these projects first. Sigh.

I'm also trying to plan a break - I think we need more of this picture below in our lives!

Autumn is coming...

Last week, it felt like autumn had already arrived.


The backyard seems to agree. But this week, predicted top temps are around 30 degrees. Not so autumn, In any case, I've started knitting on Lucas' jumper - I'd hate to miss out on him fitting it!

Sassy, isn't it!

Today was a great mail day - I received my Sassy Apron Swap apron!



Wrapped in fabric, was a lovely apron. Definitely springlike, which somehow is just perfect when summer is fading away too.



I tried taking a photo of me wearing the apron, but I just couldn't manage it. Even using a mirror and a self timer.

And look at all the goodies inside - and one of those bluebird cards is magnetic - far too nice for the kitchen, it's going straight to the pool room. (well, the filing cabinet anyway!)



Thanks so much, Ingrid. I've been reading your blog for a while now, and was thrilled to be the recipient of your apron!

7 weird things

The Rules:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Thanks for tagging me Quilting Mick

1. I consider myself a homebody, and a stable kind of person HOWEVER since leaving home after finishing uni I have lived in 12 different homes (in 14 years.) Astonishing. I hate it.

2. Travel used to be very important to me, but now I just consider HOW MUCH a trip would cost, and cringe at the thought of spending that much that could be in our mortgage. Yes, I am conservative. But I can still happily spend $30 at Woolies every day of the week.

3. My non-crafty friends consider me creative. I'm not - I just follow patterns, and adapt other people's ideas.

4. I may be a stay at home mother but this does not mean I play with my children all day. In fact, we rarely play together - I see my playing ideas as stopping their ideas from developing.

5. I am a comper. I enter lots of competitions, and win stuff. It's fun, and often regarded as weird.

6. My imagination is limited. When choosing a career, I was pretty much limited to things I had seen in action. With a little imagination I'm sure I could have managed something that would have seen me living in Africa.

7. Having said that, my family continues to be very important to me, so I probably would have gone crazy being so far away from everyone anyway.

Phew, that was hard work. Sorry, I don't tag, so I'll be breaking Rule No. 4. But please feel free to consider yourself tagged :)

And finally, another washcloth from the Monthly KAL This one is entitled "The Empty Tomb' and is an Easter design.