Playing catch up

I've been a bit slack on the old blog of late, instagram however has been getting lots of love.  So let's play catch up on my life through phone photos...

My apricot tree that used to look like this on the right...

now looks like this after a storm last month :(

My very awesome Dala horse Christmas ornie from Kylie at Paravent Designs

One of my contributions to the Christmas ornie swap, forgot to photograph my
other one which was some red crochet snowflakes

My birthday present from Dad this year, a Christmas Lego scene!

My new handmade Christmas wall decoration being mounted, cross stitch Christmas woodland critters

And up on the wall

Gooseberry crop!

My Christmas present to MR, two bonsai fig trees (our first bonsai)

His present to me, two ceramic bedside lamps for our bedroom

Very spoilt by Sally, a new embroidery book

 I was a bit remiss on Christmas day, didn't take a single photo! MR and I spent it out in the bush with his family before driving back Christmas night so I could drop him at the airport at 5am on Boxing Day to head back to work.  We had a lovely day catching up with extended family we don't see very often and eating plenty of yummy food.  Somehow I managed to not overeat, we'll put that down to the sweltering 39 degree weather.  As to my side of the family, we don't really do extended family things so we had lunch with Dad and my sister on the 23rd and my sister and I are doing a high tea Christmas meal with Mum tomorrow evening.

The weather is fairly dreadful here at the moment - forecast for 39-41 all week in fact!  Thankfully I realised it's late night shopping tonight so I'll head out in a couple of hours once it has cooled down a tad to pick up a bit of food and have a quick look at some of the sales.

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you had a happy and safe one with plenty of yummies on your table.  x

Celebrating

This year MR and I are having Christmas with his family.  They have a big family Christmas once every two years with extended family and such invited. 

I got my email with all the details about it a little while ago and completely unknown to me, MR's Mum decided that the theme is purple and there will be a jar collecting money to be donated to Transplant Australia.

Isn't that lovely?

But it does bring to mind (not that it was far out of it) the fact that I still haven't written a letter to thank my donor's family.  I think about it often and practice writing it in my head but I never really come up with anything that sounds meaningful enough.  How do you thank someone for the loss of their loved one that allowed you to live? 

However, it needs to be done - it's been over a year now.  So this is how I'm going to celebrate me this year, by celebrating, and thanking, the wonderful people who were generous enough to help others through their loss.


joining up with #reverb12

  

Sunday snippets

uncovering old stuff

hanging new stuff

more new stuff (from here)

market visiting

Christmas tree-ing

pikelet cooking

More snippets at Tinniegirl's

Christmas Ornament Swap

As you probably already know, I particularly love Christmas crafting. 

So of course, when I saw Gladys in the Garden advertising this swap over at Christina Lowry Designs I headed straight over to sign up!

You can to, you've got until the 21st October to join in the fun.

Reasons why not to craft in poor light

Bad for your eyesight, right? Nooo, nothing so unimportant as eyesight.  More like wrong thread colour usage going undetected, right up to the point of taking a photo to show you my progress.

Yes, I took Mr Squirrel into the bathroom (best light in the house) for a photo only to realise he was a two toned squirrel.  Colour blocking in ombre shades.  Fabulous.

He is supposed to be the colour of his head and the red-brown of his tail.  Not the orange-brown of his bottom half.  Looks like tonight's crafting is going to involve a fair bit of unpicking!

Luckily, Christmas Bambi managed to dress himself in the right shades, hues and tones required.  But I have to say, metallic DMC is a bitch to work with!!  I reckon it almost took me longer to do the gold ribbon on the present than the rest of the present.  Anyone got a good metallic floss brand suggestion for me?


joining in


 

WTF???

There is a lot of WTFs going on in my house at the moment.  But they all centre around WhereTF rather than WhatTF.  WTF did I put that (insert random object here)??!?!?!?


Currently on the list of WTF did I put that are a small bag of embroidery floss, lacy trims and size 6 crochet hook I bought at spotlight last week and my first finished cross stitch piece (which I saw only yesterday mind you!) that I wanted to photograph to show you today.

Grumble.

Clearly a sign that I need to do a bit of a tidy up.

So here's the second cross stitch I finished, goodness knows WTF I've put the first one. 

one finished Christmas owl

I've been playing around with making my own patterns, plus the book with the owl pattern in it

the next two Christmas animals planned

I'll have four animals all up and I'm planning on putting them in a square frame together to put on the wall.  I do love Christmas craft!




Have you got anything Christmassy planned or in the works at the moment or is it still too early for you?

Looking back : 2011 [ups and downs]

  
Well it was certainly not "My Year" as I had planned at the end of 2010 but neither was it all bad.  Really, apart from some rather horrible shittiness in the health department, it was quite a good year.

January saw MR and I heading down south for a holiday in Denmark.  It involved berry picking in the rain.  So much goodness, one of my all time favourite dreams.

At the beginning of the year I started up a Perth Brown Owls group with Sarah and have had a wonderful time at the meetings each month this year.  It started off small but now we are up to around 30 members with an average of around 8-10 people attending each meeting.  Nice size for quiet chats but we're always happy to have more members!  We are off to Knit on the Beach on January 21 as a part of the Summerset Festival.  Would love to see some more crafty types down there for a fun arvo out!  Knitting and crochet skills not needed - plenty around to teach! All you need is a hook or some needles, easily picked up for cheap at a second hand shop if you don't have some lying around already!

In February I started my new job, a dream job since uni, and loved it.  Working with some lovely ladies and making new friends.  Very important - 2011 was to be the year of being more social.

In March MR bought a house and we moved in together.  Our first home.  Very exciting and also on par with the plans, 2011 being the year we were to move in together.

Unfortunately in March I was also diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia.  Two days after moving into our new home.  Slight dampener.

There's a bit of a blur between March and September, what with dealing with a new health reality, settling in to a new home, budgetting for two, buying furniture, discussing plans, beginning to do up gardens, new job, tired from leukaemia medication.

April was our four year anniversary and we celebrated with a visit to Cirque du Soleil, another dream of mine that fully lived up to its expectations.  MR also enjoyed it enough to say we would definitely be going to the next show to come to Perth.  Yay!

August saw me turn 30.  Eek.  A slight ick moment for me, thirty feels like official old and adulthood.  Responsible styles.  Kids, marriage etc.  Not dealing with leukaemia.  But MR, my family and his put in to get me a very cool present (which has unfortunately only had a couple of uses since - I'm blaming illnesses...)

 

September 21st saw me out at Light the Night for Leukaemia 2011.  I was quite proud of myself, I raised $500 for the Leukaemia Foundation, something I want to continue on with this year.  

 

my sister and I

September 22nd saw me admitted to hospital with advanced liver failure.  Quickly upgraded to acute liver failure.  Complications from my leukaemia medication were apparently to blame and unfortunately my liver was too far gone to regenerate itself. So off I went to be added to the Liver Transplant List.  Pretty scary to go from 'tired, but dealing with Leukaemia' to 'you need a liver transplant' in the space of about 2 weeks.

Positives from that situation is that MR was truly the most awesome boyfriend a girl could ever ask for.  I am truly spoilt in him.  My family and his really pulled together to look after me, making sure I had decent food and keeping me company, even when I was a total bitch and utterly crazy from the toxins in my brain.  A few friends really showed their colours with their support as well.

And the major positive, I got a liver.  Not a day too soon.  How do you write a letter of thanks to a family who donated their loved one's organ to you?  This is something I am still struggling with and in fact, any thoughts of hospital before bedtime make for an entirely sleepless night so moving on for now.

I was out of hopsital at the end of October and geared myself up over the following two months into having Christmas at our place.  This was my plan at the start of the year and I was sticking to it!! Our first Christmas in our home together, there was no way I was handing over the event to someone else in the family!  So it wasn't the big extravagent affair I would have liked.  But it was good.  Relaxed, easy, plenty of food, plenty of rest.  Not too much caring about the things I didn't get finished in time and enjoying the things I did achieve while recovering from major surgery.

From L-R, top - bottom

I made Apricot and Vanilla Jam, as well as Summer Berry Jam :: the gorgeous squirrel ornament I received in the mail from gnome angel as a part of the Christmas ornament swap:: Cherry Meringue Mess, our Christmas dessert, also occasioning to be the first baking since leaving hospital ::  our Christmas tree alit and in daylight :: bunting and some pretty lanterns I received as an early Christmas present from MR's mum :: a cute Christmas plaque I picked up at the shops for $15 :: a selection of Christmassyness adorning the top of our speakers

Which leads me to now.  There are up days and down days.  I feel like I need to make a difference in the world now but I don't know where to start.  Small starts.  I'm looking at courses I can do at UWA summer school, I'm entertaining ideas of other options.  I want to volunteer more, raise money, sew, crochet, blog, write, read, sleep properly, get fit.  How do I fit it all in?  How do I narrow it down?

Starting off the New Year slothing on the couch seems ominous to me.  Is it a sign I am going to have a lazy year? Starting the year without MR - is that a forboding as well?  Surely not.  I shall quash any drama queen thoughts and jump up and down on them for good measure.  Likewise, all hypochrondiac inklings shall go the same way.

2012 is going to be my year.

Now if only I could convince myself.

Tomorrow I promise there will be some looking forward, some resolutions, goal setting and planning happening...

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Hope you all have a wonderful, safe and family/friend filled Christmas!

(with plenty of yummy food!)

 

The Anti Scrooge

This has been me lately, major retail therapy  has been happening since hospital exodus.  I ca just justify it so well and in so many ways...

- I just had major surgery and was stuck in hospital for 5 weeks
- Its the new summer season, clothes updating needed
- I've lost 9kg so nothing fits
- I need to buy myself a Christmas treat (or six, or fourteen)

To date I have bought a blend of bargain and splurge, which is a nice way to go about it I think.  Also a nice way to justify to MR.

I have bought seven tops from Kmart, two pairs of denim shorts (one which is now too big) from Just Jeans/Jeanswest, a Cotton On prettty floral dress which has annoyingly shrunk in the wash just that bit too much than is decent for a respectable young lady (or old lady, or any lady) and a dress from a little boutique in Subiaco which was on sale for $20.  Bargains.

But then I have bought three tops and a black and white spotty dress (now too big as well) from Myer, two pairs of shoes and a beautiful floaty white dress.  Splurge.

And an abundance of Christmas lights.  Because I came very close to not being here for this Christmas, or any other Christmas for that matter and so it has to be big and shiny and twinkly lightsy.  Ideally, if we owned a ladder (MR is intending to purchase one but it has to meet his highly selective criteria before purchase and therefore I cannot go out and buy a cheapy one from Bunnings) I would be wanting decorations on my roof as well.  So it is probably a doubly good thing we do not own a ladder because I'm sure every member of mine and MR's family and MR himself would totally bust my ass if I climbed a ladder onto the roof in my 'delicate' condition (cough-I'm-fine-cough) and also my poor credit card would be looking even more dismal. So instead I have satisfied myself with icicles out the back (hung by MR's dad), lanterns, a Christmas tree shaped (read triangle) array on my sliding door made from a stretchy tube lighting set and some of those very clever 3M removable plastic hooks, a star in the front window, windings of lights around our two pillars either side of the front door, and the Christmas tree itself.  Quite enough to be going on with I think.  Oh. And an arrangement of snowflake lights in our front entry way.  I do love Christmas.  And spending money!

Not only have I gone overboard on myself, I have also gone overboard in every department this Christmas.  Fancy ham from the Boatshed in Cottesloe, express posted cheeses from the Denmark Farmhouse Cheeses which have our very favourite - fromage, a soft ricotta like cheese with onion and garlic.  Oh Yum. (They don't stock anywhere in Perth so ultra decadent getting them posted up in cooler bags) The presents department hasd gone overboard too.  I will regret it when my credit card is over its limit, but right now I am having F U N.

I should take photos but that all seems too hard at the moment and the ones I have taken of my Christmas lights turned out poopy.  So you will have to use your clever and creative imaginations!

It has been my retail therapy today.  I missed my counsellor appointment which I was Very Annoyed about, all my own fault.  I slept through my three alarms.  Woops.  Woke up over an hour later than I was supposed to be there.  Good work Megan.  I've rebooked for next Thursday but needed a pick me up in the meantime.  Hello one new pair of shoes and floaty white dress of Splurgeville.  Ahh yes.  Lovely mood now!
  

Merry December!

 
The silly season is officially started - not that I am going to be particularly silly.  I have a nasty feeling that when I ask my doctor if I am allowed to have one drink of the alcoholic variety on Christmas Day that he is going to laugh at me and tell me not to be ridiculous, I can never drink again.  A small price to pay for life of course however, I do like to have a drink or two on the odd social occasion.  Cross your fingers for me next Thursday (appointment day)!

Today also marks the beginning of the cricket season.  Ahhh yes.  Quality day time TV viewing, excellent.  I love nothing more than the three C's - Cricket and Crochet on the Couch.  And the best thing?  I can do it allllll December (and January) without feeling guilty because I have no job to be at. 

Last night I stitched in the ends to a stack of crochet stars while watching TV, not cricket but One Tree Hill.  A friend gave me her set of all the seasons to watch while I recover.  I just started Season 1 last night, totally sucked in already.

 

The pink and white ones are going to my sister for her tree and the red and blue ones will be hanging on my tree... decoration day is being held off til tomorrow when MR flies in much to his delight... (where's that sarcasm font when you need it!)

Earlier this week I got outside for some creativity.  It was such a nice day so I got out the paper supplies, cutters, punches, stamps and ink and sat outside making some wrapping paper and gift tags.

 

After experimenting with the glitter I decided to go with the au natural ones. 
Annoyed my punch didn't go through the cardboard of the square ones!

How's the creativity going in your neck of the woods?  I'm anticipating lots of Christmas tree photos!

 

Hunting for my mojo

Usually at this time of the year I am flat out with reports and end of year school stuff.  Christmas is looming and I want to do so much Christmas crafting but I just don't have the time.  This year is a bit different however.  I am home, I have all day, every day free (bar a few doc appointments per week), I have no children to look after, my time is my own.  But I'm struggling to find the crafty mojo.  Or any mojo at all really!  It's been ages since I've blogged and yet I haven't been busy.  My days are currently spent couching with tv or a book or napping seeing as I'm still not sleeping properly at night. 

My recovery is going well, I can move around easily and do pretty much everything for myself, so long as I don't have to do it for a long period of time.  This week I have been trying to get into a bit of a routine, which hasn't really worked so far!  My aim is to do three half hour blocks of 'work' each day and at least one hour of crafting.  'Work' will be things like household jobs, unpacking the last few boxes in the study/spare/junk room, filing, tidying and arranging the craft room, gardening etc etc.  Today I did two loads of washing and watered the garden in the evening.  Two blocks of 'work' is better than the none I did yesterday right?

In the crafting department however it is even more dismal.  I haven't done anything since Sunday's Brown Owls meeting.  The pink granny blanket has begun to take shape, the first row is joined! I should be inspired by nearing the end of that, but I'm not really.  So today I went hunting for some Christmas inspiration to get my mojo back.  I got that ever so hard to resist $40 off when you spend $100 voucher in the mail from Spotlight and so I've been making a list of things to buy tomorrow when I tell Dad he is taking me to Spotlight after my hospital appointment.  Lucky Dad spending father daughter time in a craft shop! (I'm not allowed to drive yet)

This year at the top of my list is a wreath to hang on the front door.  I really want a wreath.  And I'm not paying $60 for one.  I'm sure I can make one for much less.

 

1 - 2 - 3 

4 - 5 - 6

7 - 8 - 9

Of course, then there is the decision of what type to make.  I like all of these, particularly the button one (middle left) which I've had saved in my inspiration folder since last November.  I also like the idea of a natural one similar to the top left but with ribbons, trim and bells.  And I'd probably need to buy a base for that because I have no idea how to make one.  The cookie cutter star wreath is just adorable but it would get lost hanging on the fly wire door.  Don't wreaths look so much nicer on a nice wooden door than on fly wire?  And the gingerbread one is great but very impractical in summer, unless I made it just for the day?  Decisions can be so hard!


What Christmassy thing is at the top of your list to make this year?

Here's one I prepared earlier

Before I went into hospital I was doing a craft course with Jemima from Tied with a Ribbon and Claire from Claire Turpin Designs.  The course was a Christmas one and although I missed a couple of the dates due to being sick, I still managed to make it to the first two classes where we made some pretty bunting and a Christmas stocking.  And I even managed to finish them!

 I couldn't find any Christmas fabric that took my fancy so instead I made some bunting for my craft room, which is slowly showing some signs of order again after a visit from my incredibly helpful organisational sister.

My family still does Christmas stockings each year but the last few years we have been using Christmas pillow cases which ends up in a extremely overboard sized stocking! This year I am going to make each member of my family a stocking and limit the amount of junk food that can be crammed into the stocking, saving us all a bit of money and being a lot healthier as well!

Seeing as I can't go back to work this year I have all this free time ahead of me! I'm hoping I use a fair chunk of it doing crafting and making some handmade Christmas presents for family and friends.  Unfortunately the no work means the money side of things will be a bit tight for a while, until my income protection kicks in (if you don't have this I strongly strongly strongly advise that you look into getting it, you never know what your health is going to do!!) I am looking forward to the challenge of managing my money though, I've always been quite bad at it so hopefully this will help me learn to save and manage what funds I do have a lot better... fingers crossed anyhow!

I'll be looking for a Christmas meme to sign up to, surely someone has started one? I need to get motivated if I want to get things made and finished!