Category: Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Another happy birthday event

Anne S

Last night we finally had the official birthday dinner for myself and Ben, at Cafe Platia, Burke Road, Camberwell. We had a banquet, and there was so much food to eat we certainly felt we got our money’s worth – the food was divine, the atmosphere wonderful, and the company second-to-none. All-in-all it was a fantastic night out. Fraze surpassed himself and brought a caramel cheesecake with birthday candles for us – it was the perfect end to a great evening. We then had an unexpected bonus, as we drove back to Croydon to stay at a friend’s house for another chat … unfortunately, though, I’m working today so not overly thrilled having to drive an hour home to just have a shower and drive halfway back again – but it was nice to be able to catch up for a bit longer. Have to admit to having a sore head today, but more from the lack of sleep than over-excessive alcohol (although there was definitely more than 1 or 2 glasses imbibed haha).


Unfortunately, not everyone is in the photo – Fraze, Dawn, and Gavin are missing.

So, just a very quick post, as I need to jump into the shower and wake myself up … thankfully today is the last day of 7 working days, and I get Mon/Tue off this week before I get to play on the Hotline again for another two weeks yippee 🙂 Considering I only got a few hours sleep last night, I’ll need no extra rocking to sleep tonight! LOL. At least I get two days to play with a needle for a change, seeing I haven’t seen one much just lately!

Food, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Stash

Gob-smacked again – I LOVE the 40’s :)

Anne S

Today was another good day in ‘my world’ … I’ll get to the part that had me gob-smacked earlier today right until the end … but I won’t keep you too long before you can get there (unless the curiosity has got the better of you already, and you’ve left me here on my own, and already jumped to the bottom! LOL). I’m pretty tired tonight, so my apologies if I’m not too coherent. Anyway, back to business …

Yesterday was a wonderful mail day in general – in addition to Barbara’s gorgeous gift, I also received an Ebay win in the post. I have to admit that after my huge financial blow-out last year, I’ve been avoiding Ebay like the plague so I’m not tempted, but Sharon and Gina told me there was a XS book called Allura’s Australia in XS at a reasonable price – after seeing Sharon’s copy first-hand, I decided I definitely had to check this one out … so I did, and managed to win it for a sum total of AU$2.24 – daylight robbery on my part, is all I can say! I can’t believe a hardback book of 192 pages and oodles of charts could go for such a paltry sum!! I honestly do feel as though I’ve robbed the seller – with postage included it came to a total of AU$10.64 – crikey!!! Am I grinning? You betcha! Thumbs Up

The other wonderful thing to arrive is my black aida … finally!! It was supposed to arrive last week after being on backorder – but the supplier stuffed up and missed it off the back-ordered shipment, but it finally turned up yesterday. I was about to email off to the US organisers taking up an offer for them to send me some, as my Aussie supplier had fallen off the rails, but luckily it came through … and that means I can finally stitch up my block for the World Trade Center charity quilt … Cheerleader

So, that was my wonderful mail yesterday all sorted out … The other good news I had today is that I had an exam at work for another permanent Hotline role – it was supposed to be next week, but the Supervisor running it has finally got a surgery date to get her gallbladder out, in two weeks time, right when she was planning interviews … so we’ve been getting pulled in really quickly to sit the exam. And I passed, which means I’m at least over the first hurdle – 17 have applied for the job again, but I don’t know how many have got to the interview stage … but I’m now trying hard not to think about the outcome of the interview, as I’m appalling at interviews, and I wanted it too badly last time … this time I’m going to try to ‘go with the flow’ and not end up with a couple of weeks off with cluster migraines over the whole situation … what will be, will be!

OK, I’ve prattled on for long enough … on to the great mail day for today … oooh, no, before I do that, let me say I finally made the infamous Mars Bar slice today to take into work, and it went down a treat, with yet another two people wanting the recipe. Anyway, I figure it’s always such a winner with people, I’d share it here as well … if you decide to make it, your arteries will hate you for life, but your family, friends and loved ones that you share it with will love you for eternity LOL:

MARS BAR SLICE
Base:
3 x Mars Bars (approx 60g-65g each)
90g butter
3 cups rice bubbles
Topping:
200g milk chocolate
30g butter

Yup, that’s all there is in it – do you see why I said your arteries would hate you? haha.

Base: Melt together the Mars Bars and butter in a saucepan over a low heat, making sure not to let it burn – keep mixing until it’s a smooth creamy mixture (can take quite a bit of time). Mix in rice bubbles until they’re all coated, then press down into the base of a greased 19cm x 29cm lamington pan (or equivalent dish – I usually add baking paper as well, as it can be a pain to get out!). Spread with the topping, and devour! (I usually pop it in the fridge to set properly, especially when it’s roasting hot weather!)
Topping: Melt together the butter and milk chocolate over a pan of hot water (ie using a double-boiler).

Frazier heard I was making Mars Bar slice today and he put his orders in straightaway for me to save him some!

OK, now on to the best bit … you see, you always have to leave the best bits until last … Today I got an additional surprise in my PO Box (I really love my PO at the moment – they’ve left some wonderful surprises in that box!) – today I received a parcel from my very best friend of all time, Vicki, in New Zealand. Vicki and I have been best friends since we were 10 years old, so exactly 3/4 of my living days to date. Anyway, she is the most creative soul I’ve ever met – everything she touches creatively, she turns to gold … she works in the scientific realm for her work, and comes home and does all sorts of crafts … and every craft she has tried, she does it to perfection! If I didn’t adore her so much, I’d hate her for being so bl**dy perfect haha. She seriously is amazing, and I’m very very blessed to count her as my best friend. I would most definitely give her both my kidneys if she ever needed them! And she really out-did herself with this little creation!!

So, what did this gorgeous creature do for my birthday? She created the most amazing tribute to our friendship – she has gotten into scrapbooking in a big way I think, and has put together a concertina book with photos from our growing up years and memorable occasions … I’ll photograph and scan the images so I can share it with you …

Above is a photo of the other gifts as well, and I adore them all – another duck for my ever-growing collection (but I’ll never ever have enough LOL) (the little duck was chosen by little Orion – boy, did he choose well!), and a lovely hand-bound book by a bookmaker (Rhonda Niven) in Motueka, Nelson. For those of you who are non-Kiwis, that’s a fantail on the cover … and of course everything is in my absolutely favourite colours (yep, turquoise is definitely my all-time favourite of all the blues). OK, on to the details of the concertina book Vicki made me … here is a scan of the cover:
And the four inside ‘pages’:

And inside each of these ‘pages’ there is a little page that pulls out – this is the most amazing part of it … I just love the contents of these!

I did say, though, that I’m glad I went to my PO Box before work and opened the gifts at work, ‘cos if I’d done it at home I would have bawled my eyes out, I am so touched and honoured by this wonderful gift. The sentiment behind this gift makes it a treasure beyond compare, and it’s something I’ll continue to treasure throughout my lifetime … Vicki, I love this gift with all my heart and then some … if someone today offered me a million dollars for it, I would turn them down. I’ve always longed to own something that Vicki’s created, and this exceeds all expectations … yep, definitely “gob-smacked” and feeling well and truly blessed! As stitchers we all know how much time and effort goes into making something, so this is truly a labour of love … and worth more than gold itself to me!

Charity Stitching, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

A day of mixed blessings

Anne S

Today started off quite sadly – by saying goodbye to Mum at the airport. I felt fine until she said goodbye at the departure gate, and I was teary-eyed all the way home. As much as it’s nice to get back to my routines, the flat feels very very quiet after having her company here for 2 months. Love you loads, Ma – and miss you already! Miss You

I was originally going to attend the Guild’s general meeting today after going to the airport, but I didn’t feel in the mood. Instead I came home and finished my second quilt block for Quilts4Kids – this is my second block for wee Emily T, stitched in its recommended colours, except I replaced the gold metallic thread with a plain yellow DMC … the next one will be the Batman theme for Jordan B.

I also finally managed to put together (well, it’s almost finished anyway) my first ever scrapbook page for Doreen (my best friend’s Mum). I don’t think it turned out too badly, but I still have one more page to complete. I cut up 3 different colours of paper to make up an alpine setting reminiscent of the Desert Road and Mt Ruapehu in the North Island of NZ – I have so many happy memories of our skiing days there, so I thought that would be an appropriate theme for me. I just need to add some words to the page, which I’m going to add along the snowline at the top of the ‘mountain’.

Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up on blogs this weekend – last time I looked I had over 200 unread posts again … you guys have been busy!! LOL. Look forward to seeing what you’ve all been up to while I’ve been ‘away’ :))

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Melbourne

Melbourne sightseeing

Anne S

It was a lovely day in Melbourne yesterday – it was very overcast in the morning, but by early afternoon the clouds cleared and it was a glorious day. We took Auntie Monica and Norbert into Melbourne city on the train, which gave us an opportunity to play tourist for the day. We went to Queen Victoria markets, where they were surprised to see camel rides available, and we bought some lovely deli items, fresh fruit, and some tourist souvenirs.

We then headed back towards the river and walked around Southbank – we had a special treat in store for us, as it was Chinese New Year, and there was a big demonstration/celebration taking place.

We had time for a leisurely coffee, before hitting the pavements again, this time heading for a short walk to Queen Victoria gardens.
After that we called it a day, and headed back home on the train and had scrummy fish and chips for dinner (very decadent, for us!). All in all, a really wonderful day out 🙂

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Melbourne

No stitching progress today

Anne S

Today I feel a bit battle weary from work, so I’m taking a day off stitching and just blobbing out in front of the PC for a while catching up on blogs, and emails and paying bills etc. Then I intend to get out and have a walk on the beach before heading off to work again … managed to get a dose of ‘acoustic shock’ last night, and ended up being taken off the phones due to the fact that my right ear especially was burning/aching 😦 Our headsets are really sensitive, and one call dropped in where their baby/toddler had just hit its head – right next to the telephone receiver … next thing you know I had huge feedback coming down the phone from the ear-piercing shriek coming from the kid … OUCH!!! Anyway, today my right ear is still a bit achey, but hopefully I’ll be OK to take calls tonight … Anyway, it’s yet another gloriously sunny day in Melbourne, with just enough breeze to keep the heat down – would be mad not to make the most of it and go for a wander.

On that note, though, it reminds me of something I thought about the other day … I live in a predominantly jewish area of Melbourne – I apologise for my ignorance in advance … there are many orthodox jews walking the streets, and it fascinates the heck out of me! Coming from a mainly Asian community where I last lived, it’s a huge cultural difference in this suburb. I love to see them out walking in their traditional clothes and outfits … but what made me think of them today is, how the heck do they survive in the high heat of summer?? I saw an older gentleman the other day in his full black outfit, complete with coat and fur hat – on the hottest day we’ve had so far – sat on a garden wall in the street … first thing that crossed my mind, “no wonder you’re sat down on that wall, you must be bl**dy roasting!!” (not meant to cause offence to anyone). I have to say, I admire these people for being so steadfast in their religion and culture, and not being swayed by outside influences – but I also think it’s easy for someone to target them for being ‘different’. When I moved here, ex-flatmates said “ooh, you’re moving to a very Jewish area”, as if it was a dreadful thing to do … I just see other people like me, that are just in different packaging … anyway, just something I was thinking right now …

Before I go on my walk, though, a quick response to some comments (and back to stitching-related talk) …

Von, now you can understand why I couldn’t stop from looking at that chart all night – Close at Heart chart is just beautiful! I’m going to stitch it in the purple colourway, seeing as I’m not much of a pink chick (although I still think the pink is very dainty and pretty) … unless I can work out some blues that I can use instead from my stash (that’d be a surprise for me, wouldn’t it, changing something to be blue!! LOL). As it is, I’m going to try to find colours in my stash that would work, as I can’t afford to buy more threads for a while. Let me know if you’re going to stitch it next year, and I’ll join in with you and squeeze it in among my other million stitching projects 🙂

And Jenna – on the same note, I just went to your photo site to check out the Close at Heart piccies … just stunning! I really love this piece done on the green fabric – awesome!! Hadn’t thought of changing the fabric colour, so now I’m going to have a play in my stash and look at other options aside from just white … especially if I change the colours to blue 😉 As for the hardanger squares at the bottom – when I saw the chart I nearly choked LOL. I’ve only ever attempted doves eyes in hardanger, so that’s really going to be a huge challenge … will definitely have to do a ‘dummy run’ on a scrap piece of fabric, I think. Oh well, if nothing else, it will challenge me to do something different. Maybe I should come to you for a holiday for some hardanger lessons 😉 haha. In fact I’ve had Walk the Gentle Path by Cross ‘n Patch for years, and the hardanger part at the bottom is what’s stopped me from stitching it … I think if I just bit the bullet and give it a go, I’ll be fine. I actually bought the Janice Love books to help me, but loaned them to a supposed friend at work in NZ, and never got them back (which is a right royal pain considering I’d ordered them specially from the US – she ended up running off with over $200 worth of my books boohoo). Maybe 2006 is my year for finally shaking off and trying to conquer my fears …

Rightio, off for my hour’s walk … especially for Lynn, here are photos of where I live (and where I’m about to go walking) … in the first photo, where the end of the path is (where it veers off to the right), there is a canal – you just follow the canal for about 4 blocks, and you’re practically at my front door 🙂 The photos are taken either side from a hill at which there is a viewing point – I usually continue my walk to the grey concrete wharf you can just see in the distance (in the second photo), then turn around and come back. Last time I kept walking round to the next bay and nearly killed myself! 🙂 I think I need to buy a bike!!! Of course that’s the city skyline of Melbourne in the background …

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Inspiration from Other Blogs

Anne S

I have been truly inspired by a number of blogs over recent days – so many different discussions have brought memories of my own to the fore, and made me reminisce a bit … as well as inspiration to look ahead to the future, and appreciate the here and now 🙂

Barbara posted a piccie of her treasured cat, Dan, which triggered some wonderful memories of our beloved Rio – I swear he was more of a dog personality-wise than he was a cat! He followed you everywhere – and used to sit in the driveway waiting for you to drive up in your car … it doesn’t matter where he was at the time, he’d hear the sound of the car in the background, and be sitting there waiting. He’d also follow you up the long driveway when we checked the mail – and run a few steps in front, flop over onto his back and beg to have his tummy rubbed – then he’d jump up and repeat the process all the way up the drive. He’d more often than not sleep on my bed each night, much to my mother’s disgust … when I had my eyes lasered, and my tonsils out, each time he would lay either on top of me or really close, as though to give comfort in my time of need. When he finally passed away due to ill health, he visited me one last time – I know that sounds a bit weird, but I swear to this day it’s true … I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, as Dad had taken him to the vet on his own, and it was comforting to have that visit. He still has a huge place in my heart to this day. Still love you, Rio!

Then Danielle set out her 2006 stitching goals – I started to think how interesting/fun it would be to plan ahead for the year, then at the end of 2006 look back and see how much of it was accomplished. I love making lists etc, so this really is right up my alley – and seeing as I already have some commitments for some SAL’s next year, I can start my goals already to a certain extent … so, I’m going to work on this over the next week, and see what I can come up with … watch this space! LOL.

Lastly, there have been a number of blogs showing their stitching spaces … I decided to jump on the bandwagon, so to speak, and show mine – although being in a small apartment-style place, you’ll just about get the whole place in a couple of photos 🙂 So, for better or worse, here they are:

Everything here is very compact – with my dining table that is usually home to my sewing machine to the right, my computer desk to the left, my stitching recliner to the right in the middle of the arch, with the TV etc right in front – perfect for stitching to my DVD’s. (Actually, maybe I should have taken the piccie AFTER finishing my cleaning up LOL.)
A closer piccie of my stitching station itself – along with my invaluable accessories, my floorstand and my Ott-Lite! All the blue folders in the bookcase (out of shot) hold charts (although the bulk of my charts are still in NZ at my parents house – they take up almost an entire bookcase in their own right – yikes!!). And my Inspirations etc magazines are in separate holders in the spare bedroom. Then we have my fabrics (now separated into 28ct and 32ct) in the turquoise tubs, with my bead collection in the bottom one, and a box holding my kits on the top. And last, but not least, my specialty fibre/tapestry wool etc tubs and Kreinik metallics, Mill Hill beads, quilting fabrics, polyfill etc.
And that’s me all done and dusted!!
Now I’m off to get some sleep before a full weekend ahead – no stitching done today unfortunately, as I’ve been busy doing housework (at least my guests have a bed they can actually get into now!), then I had a surprise visit from two gal pals from work, which was wonderful … they’ve been talking about popping round since I first moved in, but finally managed to do it tonight on their way to basketball – it was lovely company for almost 2 hours … I don’t mind missing stitching for that 😉 And my other friends are arriving around lunchtime tomorrow, and not leaving until later on Sunday, so no stitching planned for the next couple of days either – at least no housework needed next week now, so I’ll have no excuse then! LOL. Have a great weekend everyone – thanks again for all your comments … they’re always gratefully received :))