Do women keep it all turning around?

I ventured out today. Well - not far. I left home, grabbed Justin's parcels and then jaunted off to the post office for him. He has been busily snipping away, keeping the house going, doing the cooking and cleaning and every other thing we get up to, just to ensure I rested in bed to defeat this evil virus...

The lady at the post office knows Justin well, as you can imagine. She knows we've all been felled by this virum - parents and kiddies alike - and she was tut tutting Winter and the chills it brings. And then she said an interesting thing..."Mothers have to fight on, don't they? Or else everything falls apart..."

Interesting.

Do Mothers make the world turn around? Or women, in general? In my little life definitely not. Granted, I keep an eye on things and am usually the steering committee and Justin is the project team...but, in truth, we move and shake just as much as each other. I hope this isn't a rarity out there in house-land. I couldn't do it all without him. Super Mums just don't exist in my world :)



Vintage fabric : 1940s or early 50s dress cotton with flower and bow motif

Star Wars and the Legend of the Logan

Somehow our first born turned six last Friday. Six. Where did that time go? I remember his birth as if it was yesterday. I remember looking down at him and saying "you'll be at school before we know it"...and he is...grade prep...a star pupil, loves learning...but he's growing up too fast!



Apart from the birthday party and list of presents (as long as my arm) he requested a visit to Scienceworks to see the Star Wars exhibition on display. We popped up to Melbourne on Saturday to see a close friend's newborn (welcome Keziah!) and had a great time spending the afternoon reading about Star Wars and the props.



I loved Star Wars. I was a 70s and 80s child so I vividly remember the movies. I even saw Battlestar Galactica at the movies (how did I manage that?) - that was the start of my Apollo and Starbuck crush. I loved those men. Still do :)



So visiting the Star Wars exhibition was not only a great celebration for Logan's birthday - but also a celebration of my childhood, too. I loved it. We're sure to be back before it leaves Melbourne in November. If you're a fan...and you live local...do yourself a favour and dive back into SW for an afternoon of kiddie fun...

Getting my mojo back...slowly...

As some of you know, my health has been 'off' of late. Ever since I had my gallbladder removed in June last year my tolerance to food (in general) has been horrid - some good days, some bad. Lots of tests over the past year with little results...had another one on Tuesday so I am waiting to get results back. Not a great time, but not a bad one either :)

My dedication to the business has been waning over recent months due to my lack of energy and general illness. I have been trying to think my way out of being sick - I am a fan of the power of thought and the power of brain over body etc. But no matter how much I try and think myself well and keep pushing on, I am still sick. And all I have done is run my body into the ground.

So I have been taking a lot of time off in recent weeks - now six weeks, I think. Lots of pottering time. Lots of family time with gorgeous hubby and gorgeous boys. Lots of general laze about time...hello rest!...couldn't remember what that felt like.

With rest comes the sunshine. So I am feeling my mojo coming back - a little. I am hoping the tests reveal nothing sinister so I can pull myself up and get cracking again. I have ideas. I have fabric. Ideas and fabric mean a vintage fabric business. And I do love it so :) And I miss it, too. Just like I miss you :)

Easter favourites

I have so many favourite fabrics ready and waiting to go onto the website. This is one - I have been coveting this piece for a while now, but I hope it would go to lovely homes where wonderful prints are appreciated. It's a French cafe street scene with lots going on...

I just love how kitsch it is....it has so much movement, so much vibrancy. I feel it's a great example of how textile design can move - while still retaining its inticacy and lovely form.

Easter was/is fabulous. I have eaten too much chocolate and we have enough to last us until next year. I feel the Easter Bunny went a bit too overboard on the egg hunt :)

Our boys are growing so fast. Both loves the Easter celebrations with family and friends, but I couldn't help but feel a little sad their childhood is going to fast for us. So not fair :(

It was a wonderful weekend spent with loving family and friends - and its a bit of a shock we're back to it tomorrow !!! Bah!!!

Saturday in a whoosh

Today went by in an absolute whooooooooooosh! I got up and then blink! it's night time...I hate it when days are like that as it feels like I didn't really 'feel' the day - do you know what I mean?

I love Saturdays. Love reading the Saturday papers. Love going to be favourite fruit and vegie shop and buying fresh salad, fresh baked sourdough bread and yummy St Claire cheese and going home and popping it all together in a lip-smacking fab sandwich. I also visit my grandmother who is now in care (she has dementia) and sharing an hour or so with her and my boys. She loves them both - and is consistenly bombarded with the older ones new toys (today it was a Ben10 omnitrix thingie) and the toddler brought his box within a box toy (and also showed off his first pair of 'real' shoes vs the pre-walker Volleys he's been running around in). And then it was back home to enjoy a yummy dinner (sweet corn light fritters etc) and now, with boys all cosy and quiet, it's time to enjoy a scotch (or try...my stomach still hates it!) and some TV for the first time is days................

I hope tomorrow is just as wonderful - but slower would be good!

It's no joke...

Q. What do you get when your toddler vomits in the kitchen, your husband takes toddler away to clean him up and before you can clean the vomit your five-year-old screams up the hallway to get to he kitchen, slips on the vomit, flies backwards through the air and falls on his back and skull?
A. A boy feeling very sorry for himself, in bed with a gold ball sized swelling to the back on his head and needing to be woken every hour to ensure he doesn't have a medium head trauma.

After the car running out of petrol thanks to a newly faulty petrol gauge, and the bicarb soda fire in the kitchen on Saturday, we're thinking these 'weird' times are over.

But there will be lots of cuddles, Easter eggs, Ben 10 shows and all things wonderful for the sore boy tomorrow. Poor thing.

All together - not too bad

Have had a zippy weekend - its gone like a shot. Where did it go? Surely I didn't live it!

This weekend included:

1. Finally realising I have an intolerance to vegetable oil. I knew that I found it hard to stomach nuts and seeds (even in jam) but I had no idea that includes refined seeds and nuts as well. It was one of those a-ha moments! Evaluated the Helgas bread that set my stomach off - and the spring onion dip from three days before - and voila! vegetable oil. Explain a lot! Weird things like why I can't tolerate popcorn or potato chips. And fish and chips etc. And we use Canola spread! So now I have to set about changing my cooking and eating habits to remove vegie oil and replace it with olive oil etc.
2. Had a fire in the kitchen. Used too much bicarb cleaning the stove top and allowed the bicarb mix to sit in the tray beneath the element - it completely left my brain to clean it up. Upshot? Cooking rice and the element caught on fire. Took a few frantic minutes to put it out, too...horrid things flashed before my eyes like burning houses and the like...horrid
3. Calling RACV for Roadside Assist as my Camry decided to conk out on a road. Upshot? Found out I have a dodgey petrol gauge (including electronics) so I was out of petrol. Lovely man put petrol in car and followed me to petrol station for me to fill up. Fine now.
4. Driving to Melbourne for important catch up with a friend I haven't seen in two years. Decided to eat sausage roll. That's a no-no. So the trip, which should have taken 1.5 hours, took way over two as I had to divert to weird places and weird petrol stations and fast food outlets to use the toilet. A bad experience, I can tell you.
5. Eating yummy lunch at The Barking Dog at St Kilda for the first time in years. Loved it. Even when the toddler threw his scrambled eggs on the floor, in my hair and all over himself. Onlookers were none too impressed, but then again it looked like they hadn't laughed in years :)
6. Driving around like maniacs finding out about ducted heating and the like. Need it! it's getting cold now...brrrr...

Had a jam packed weekend - lots of highlights and lots of lowlights. But it was fab nonetheless!

The fear and loathing of the Brown Paper Bag

I journeyed out into the real world today. Had flu cabin fever - but even with my headache, nausea, sore throat and general malaise I just had to get out and do something. So I thought I would drive everyone to pick up the primary school boy from school.

Found out he is getting an award tomorrow for being good, using his 'listening ears' (never ceases to crack me up, those words) and for reading really well. So am going to lift my sorry bottom off the couch and see him awarded - and then return to the couch. Amazing how small exertions take a while to recover from...

On top of that the primary school kid has requested a 'lunch order' for the first time. Oh my. A lunch order. I know what that means - bad food! But it wasn't so bad - and I did weaken and allow him to order a sausage roll with sauce as long as he ate his fruit :) - and poor J and I have been hunting around for approx $2.40 he needs to take tomorrow to pay for it. It needs to be $2.40 EXACTLY - not a cent more or less. And we don't have $2.40 on us so we're hunting around the house to come across rogue coins for said sausage roll.

The lives and times of being a parent. I tell you - there are no better times :)

We'll return to normal programming soon :)

One by one the household has been knocked down by a virus. Started late Saturday after returning from a trip to Melbourne (hello Peta! - hello Scienceworks!) and now I am the last one to get it. Horrid thing. So having a little fever, Panadol and 'moaning Myrtle' break and shall return to blogging soon :)

Hope everyone is well!

Vintage fabric routine...

Sometimes life goes by in its usual routine. Like today was Kitchen Monday...which means everything else is tidied and the kitchen utterly cleaned. Boring. Or perhaps you'd like to know about the yum Queen Pudding I baked yesterday. Salivated. Five-year-old wouldn't have a bar of it but we devoured it. Or perhaps you'd be interested to know 50 new fabrics went into our stall at the Newcomb Mill Markets in Geelong and we're got around 30 going onto the website this week. Better.

We're headed up to Melbourne on Saturday for some fabric business. While there we're making a day of it. If you live in Melb and have rug rats what would you recommend - Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne Museum or Scienceworks? The five-year-old loves the zoo and museum but we've never been to scienceworks - thoughts?

Exhausted - but oh so happy and satisfied!

We are nearing the third day of a long weekend here - it's Australia Day celebrations and we're all out and about loving the nice weather. As you know, I decided towards the end of last year to focus on spending as much time together enjoying ourselves as a family unit and spending 'family' days together to experience life and all it has to offer...

We have had a huge two days and are thoroughly exhaused - but just so happy and satisfied! Firstly, we got up at 5.3am to drive two hours to the famous Fryerstown Antiques and Collectables Fair in Frystersown, Victoria. As per usual, we got a little lost, but made it there at around 8.30am, thinking we were early...however it opened at 7am and there was cars everywhere and it was FULL of people. The town usually only has a population of 150 and welcomes around 30,000 visitors to this far over three days. It was wonderful - dusty, packed and I felt like a sardine - but there was everything to buy you could ever want. Vintage fabric? Nah - not much leftover by the time we got there - walked away with four pieces after dealers had already picked through on the 'not open' Friday :)

We left Fryerstown before it got too crowded and hot and drove to Chewton and Castlemaine to have a look around. We also had a lovely time in Daylesford - only the second time I had ever been through. We looked through the Mill Markets and had lunch and went down by the lake...it was a lovely stop to feed the ducks...

Today was also jam packed with a drive down the Great Ocean Road to Wye River (well - we were going to Wye River - but couldn't get a park - so we beached at Separation River instead)...there was fun to be had by all and it was perfect beach weather. Not hot, not cold - not much wind - in fact, darn near perfect. My Mum even loved it...amazing! Even tried to sun those lily white arms of hers :)

After a full two days driving here and there, laughing our little heads off and running after two very excited (and now tired) boys we are sorry to be back...but rejuvenated, mind you. It's amazing what getting away for a couple of days does for you...

Wonderful family memories...wonderful days...

Some Retro Age Christmas shots

I thought I would add some images of our Christmas Day 2008...at the very least I had to show you my first plum pudding! I got the recipe from Frankie magazine and it turned out an absolute treat - lush, moist, rich and just soooo perfect. It's on one of my fave plates - a vintage 30s or 40s frosted green plate by Crown Crystal and is topped with an old retro kitsch santa.

Our table is not complete without our Barbara Brown Heal of London Ikebana tablecloth - we have had the brown and purple colourway, but this tablecloth is just the brown one :). Also note the vintage 60s plastic (bakelite??) cutlery and our Fire King jadeite plates...all used everyday!

I took some time out to bake some yummy shortbread with number one son (we cleaned his play dough cutters) and also made some of our traditional raspberry shortbread...see below. It's a traditional recipe my Nan used to make before she got too old to bake...

And, of course, I had to do the annual Christmas shot of the boys. It was hard to get the two of them sitting in one place this year - one is full of 'school is coming' beans and the other is 'I am looking at everything 'cos I'm only 13 months old'...but we got there in the end...

We love this shot :)

The plum pudding Sunday...

I spent most of today doing my first e v a h traditional plum pudding. Up until around seven years ago an old family friend used to make our plum pudding for us as a Christmas gift - but she unfortunately passed away and so did the recipe for her delicious plum pudding. Since then we have gasp bought our plum pudding - the good ol' fall back of Ray's Plum Puddings is lovely and all but not special, you know?

The older I get the more sentimental I get. And as our kids grow older the extra special Christmas is. So this year I (belatedly) decided to give my very first plum pudding a go. You know why? Because I love reading Frankie magazine and they had a fab no frills steamer recipe in their current issue. Whoever says magazines don't sway your opinion and lifelong direction?

So on Friday I bought all my fruit etc - and shoved some brandy on it. Some stirring for a day or so and then in goes the mixture today. I tell you - it smelt DIVINE. It is boiling/steaming as we speak. For five hours in fact. I hope that is right - the article got the container size wrong so I hope they didn't get the cooking time wrong!

I love Christmas. I love the flashing lights on our Christmas tree and our front yard decked out in trashy lights and santas and reindeer and neon signs. I love driving my boys around to have a look at all of the house lights. I love the carols. I love Christmas dinner. I love everything about Christmas...can't you tell :)

So glad to still be with you...

So, so glad to write this short picture-less post. I had a car accident today. Am sore. Am peeved. But I'm okay and I'll get over it. The Camry is drivable (just) but who knows what the chassis is up to until you get it checked. All I can see is the red car before we hit. And all I can hear is the sound of us colliding. I was listening to Faith No More. I was going to a meeting. I didn't see the give way sign - never been on that street before. I am so sorry to the poor man I hit. He couldn't speak English very well but his niece was there and was was so sorry to see me so upset and crying. But we are okay and have walked away.

So glad to write this post.

So glad my babies are all well.

So glad to be here with everyone...

Recent days....lots of charcoal and stones...

We have been busy little bees. We are focusing on altering the front of our house and ripping up what was there as it just took too much water to keep going. We covering half of the front garden with gorgeous river stones - quite large ones, mostly browns, and some of the garden will be a grey black mulch to give the area a different texture. We're not rendering our kitsch 70s house - we've decided to leave the lovely brick alone and change the feature colour on the roof, window frames and all other features to a dark charcoal grey.

Other than that we're sanding Gabe's room, buying plantation shutters for both of the boy's rooms and working out the colourway of the rest of the house. Gosh - it never ends. Now I understand why people build new houses!

We're still evaluating the direction of the business - retail, Mill Markets or just online. There are so many pros and cons for all directions. We've been sewing more lovely bags to sell - photos this week, I think! - and also thinking of new ideas for vintage fabric lovers....

While catching up on work tonight (yes - sad, I know)...have been revisiting the magnificent Jeff Buckley. I love his music - and cherish seeing him live when he visited Melbourne in 1995/96 (if memory serves me correctly). There are so many gorgeous Buckley songs - but nothing is more beautiful than Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Here is Jeff's version...enjoy :)

Anniversary

It's our first wedding anniversary today. And we're celebrating 10 years loving each other dearly in December. It was lovely to hear "I love you, my wife of one year". I still like being called wife and I still love him after a decade. Who would have thunk it? No work for us today - uploading new fabrics tomorrow :)

Nights in White Satin (vintage satin!)

It must be my age. Or my hormones. Or my love of the vintage eras....but, at the moment, I can't get enough of old music. Old classics. Beautiful classics. Nights in White Satin is one of them. Such a gorgeous song by the Moody Blues. A shocker of a video...but they didn't want to move their bodies back then, did they? Just the tap tap tap of the head and feet and the occasional move by the flautist. Still trying to work out what they are standing around. A gold pylon of some sort :)

We have been busy with orders and gift vouchers and new things on the horizon. My brain is ticking over way too much and I am starting to feel the classic insomnia return. I have always been a veritable night owl - I think better at night, feel calmer and more awake (if you can believe it). My best creative stuff is always done at night.

We have the second lot of vegies heading for the vegie patch at the moment - and more herbs. By the time we're 80 it should be finished! I can't wait...the first batch of herbs look a treat and I am looking forward to harvesting our first garlic crop in Summer. Homegrown garlic. Yum.

If I can get the website functionality right there should be five new fabrics up. Should be being the veritable words :)

Carlton Ware and Pt Lonsdale - the good, the bad and the ugly...

The day started out with exactly five cups of my favourite Carlton Ware coffee set that sits in our dining room. I know, I know - only five cups, but I am always living in hope I shall come across a sixth cup (I have all of the saucers). In a spin I decided to dust at 7.20am while Gabriel was having his breakfast and Logan was finishing his. Yes, I am nuts - but I seize opportunity when I can! I picked up the cups as I normally would and...

...now I have four cups. In one INSTANT Gabriel dropped something and Logan decided to throw his Spiderman bouncy ball in the kitchen and I turned...and dropped...and watched slo mo as my cup hit the dining table, the handle broke off and it slid to the ground, utterly dejected and broken. So, the day didn't start off that well at all...

...but it got better with a quick visit to the Surf Coast - Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale, in particular. We are making an effort to have as many family days as possible to relax and enjoy each others company...after our 'annus horribilus' we realise family time is very important.

So, after the Carlton Ware went off to crockery heaven we visited a piece coastal heaven and had a fabulous day :). It's so good to get away 'from it all' :)

Learning the art of a new digital camera...and a visit to the beach...

Sorry to all you folk waiting for shots of fabrics we have here - I am getting there! I had a really good play with my new digital camera today - lots of shots of the fabric out in the sun enjoying itself :) - thus far I am happy with the shots, so I am getting to customer requests tomorrow...

We had such a lovely day today. The weather is starting to break now it's Spring, so the sun was out and about today and it was quite warm. Lots of wind, though - the wind is a new thing here in the last 10 years, but the more our global weather goes out of whack, the more wind we have here. Sometimes they're huge winds, too...


I have lots to do with the remainder of the year. I am DETERMINED to get our stock up on the site. Determined, I say. So I am now starting to push myself to get as much fabric listed when I can (I procrastinate...really, really well...)...and I want to finish our herb garden, vegie patch and also do a 'front fence'. Can't decide what type of fence though - but a 'retro kitsch' one in keeping with the house is looking good - lots of rubble, little boulders, moss etc


I didn't procrastinate today but we did take some lovely time out and drove a big 10 mins to hit the beach. We only stayed an hour or so but gee it was a lovely time. The surf was up, the people were out and the kiddies had a great 'ol' time. Logan went dressed in his new Sportacus (Lazy Town) costume and thoroughly enjoyed getting it wet for Mum to wash :)

And on a wonderful note, dear Gabriel started to crawl today. He has been cruising all week and we thought he was going to walk instead of crawl but, no, he decided to start crawling around today. It must have been the beach air. It was his first time at the beach and he loved it :) Ate and slept, but loved it nonetheless...

Would you?

When you leave your child at kindy you leave them in the care of kindy teachers/carers. You trust in them that your child's day will be safe and happy and carefree. You trust in them your child will not be taken aback by things outside of the ordinary. You trust that your child's last week in kindy forever will be a nurturing one, knowing he is fragile emotionally and understanding the big wide world is out there and he is coming out into it with primary school.

What you don't give permission for - nor expect - is for another parent to not just chide your son, but tell them off, for throwing their daughters expensive toy around. What you don't expect is for that parent to repeatedly tell your son he was bad. What you don't expect is for that parent to get furious in front of your child and raise their voice at them.

You see, some twit of a parent allowed their beloved daughter to take a very expensive and special toy to kindy. Most of the kids take a toy every now and then - a comfort thing, a show off thing, a camaraderie thing. But most parents know not to take expensive or special toys - just the run of the mill that is not missed if lost or broken.

But this parent allowed her daughter to take this toy. And my son played with it. And the Mother didn't like that. Repeatedly told Logan it wasn't his toy. And then he made the mistake of throwing it back at the daughter, scared. Naughty.

He has come home quiet, sad and scared, so he says. She scared him. He was in his comfort zone and she scared the crap out of him - and his carers didn't act swiftly enough. His final week of kindy has been marred by a STUPID parent over a STUPID toy which my son thought fun to play with. A stuffed toy. And being a boy he threw it, thinking it fun if his buddy caught it.

Shame on you, Petra's Mum. Shame on you.