The vege patch - Round 1 (Autumn 2010)

The gardens have been built.

The soil has been prepared.

The seeds have been received.

The crop has been planted.

The waiting has begun. 

Garden Bed 1:

Lettuce Salad mix (Yates)

Coriander (Diggers)

Carrot All Seasons (Diggers)

Beetroot Bull's Blood (Diggers)

Dill (Diggers)

Garden Bed 2:

Mint (donated from Kat's garden)

Broccoli (Lily - MIL - gave to me)

Heirloom Bean Lazy Housewife (Diggers)

Parsley (from Lily)

Rosemary (from Nana)

Chilli (from Lily)

                 

Garden Bed 3:

Grosse Lisse Tomatoes (Diggers)

Tomato 5 colour Heirloom pack (Diggers)

Thyme (Diggers)

Sweet Basil (Diggers)

Broccoli Green Sprouting (Diggers)

                

Cotton Anniversaries..

Imagine my delight when I realised our 2nd year wedding anniversary - coincided with a 30% off fabric sale at my favourite sewing/fabric store.

And when my Kat found the Kokka fabric - our joy was limitless.

$100 later...

I left with 2 metres of Michael Miller (I thought I'd make myself a skirt?)

and of course, some Kokka fabric (cutest Japanese prints ever). 

Some ballerina's

a little bit of Pinnochio

and to finish it off - some Wizard of Oz

I have no idea what I'll be making with the fabrics, but I can't wait to see Lola parading around in some of them :)

Spend 5 minutes with me..

I got an email from HR at work asking if I'd participate in an activity to increase 'hits' on our intranet. They were asking a few people to share some information about themselves to get to know a bit more about your colleagues..  Naturally, I was interested in talking about myself.

These were the rules (cut and paste from the email):

Rules:

There are no rules (so very 'fight club-ish)…
Answer briefly, although we would prefer you to elaborate a tad more than Yes or No, or you can tell us a story that reflects how you feel on the question
Although we’d like you to answer all questions, they are optional
You could even add your own questions, which we happy to include for future Interviewees
And don’t forget to send us a photo of you, as you! One that you’re happy to share this with your colleagues


So here are the questions, and here are my answers (along with the photo I submitted to go with my spiel..)

Spend 5 minutes with …. Julie
What was your first job?
I worked at Bookworld (now Angus & Robertson).

As a kid, what job did you want to do when you grew up?
I wanted to be a stay at home Mum (hope my boss reads this one! great career move Jules!)

Which 5 people in the world would you invite to dinner?
Husband, Daughter, Simon Baker, Amanda Blake-Soule*, Joni Mitchell  (*Hsuey - I had to add Soulemama in and I promise to ask her if she has a housekeeper/live in maid or large trust fund)

What would you cook or serve them for dinner, ie what’s your fav foods?
Anything Mexican.

How do you rate your driving skills?
I’m a good driver, but a bit impatient.

What’s the best lesson your mum taught you?
Wash up while you’re cooking (sorry Mum - it was all I could think of at the time?!).

What qualities do you wish you had?
Patience, Arty/Creativity-ness

If you have children, tell us their names and a funny moment you’ve shared together?
Lola – and a funny moment would be every time I see her eat natural yoghurt (it’s not a taste she likes).

How do you achieve work-life balance?
Work from home (again, career limiting? or just honest?)

Is there a lesson you’ve never forgotten?
Just to be aware of what you say to people about other people..

Do you have a favourite quote or saying, or one that you’re known for?
I like the saying Always practice more kindness than necessary.

Do you have any hobbies now… or are you planning to soon?
Reading, sewing, travel, music (country), vege gardening, and something resembling ‘physical activity’ would be on my planning to start hobby list

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? Who was it from?
Know when to walk away, know when to run... Kenny Rogers.

What’s your favourite colour and is that colour in your choices of life (car, clothes, furniture, hair)?
Black or green

The Easter baskets are done!

This years Easter project has come to a close. The deadline was met (a couple of days ahead of schedule) thanks to all the assistance I received.

And to give credit where credit is due:

Fabric selection advisor - Hsuey

Baskets and bunny face embroidery  - made by me (the baskets were made using this pattern purchased from Etsy)

Basket handles - cut out by Nana (Maz), sewn by Grandma (Lily)

Ears - made by JulieC

Final pinning and put-together-er's - JulieC, Cara and me.

I'm sooo excited about the baskets, and can't wait to give them out on Sunday.

Sneak peeks - 11 baskets.. 5 days to go..

Here's a little look at the easter basket that I'm working on replicating for the kids in my Mothers group for our Easter Egg hunt this Sunday..

This one was created by Leisl, and blogged about here

All the baskets are sewn (but not put together), JulieC is cutting and sewing up the ears, and I'm making the handles and hand stitching the faces...

I will add a post after Sunday to show the finished project - and hopefully include some photo's of the happy recipients filling them up with chocolate!  I can't wait for the big Easter Egg Hunt!!!

Giggle and Hoot..

Picture courtesy of ABC for Kids website - Giggle and Hoot show

I try not to think it's because our daughter watches too much ABC for Kids - but these days she is loving Hoot from Giggle and Hoot.. In the few minutes that him and Jimmy Giggle popup between shows on ABC2, she runs around calling out 'Hoot!' 'Hoot!'...

It's so cute, I decided she needed her very own Hoot softie. And it coincidentally tied in nicely with the March challenge (hosted at the My Favourite blog)

So I sketched him off the tv, then set to work making him for her. He's all made out of felt, embroidery cotton, and stuffing :)  She definitely knew 'Whooo' he was when I gave it to her, and he went to bed with her last night which is a sure sign that we're on to a winner :)

So here's a photo of Lola's new Hoot softie.

March Resolution - Overseas Emails project

People always make New Years resolutions. I figure a New Month resolution could be an effective motivation for me?  and being the 1st March, I say 'here goes nothing'. This is the month that I'm going to finish my Overseas Emails project (it never had a name before either, but it does now).

From Oct 2001 - November 2003 I lived overseas. It was a UK working holiday, and allowed me to visit so many once-in-a-lifetime places.. Over the two years, my mum and I emailed each other. My job was to keep her and Dad up to date on where I was and what I was up to. Her job was to keep me up to date on the goings on back home. Oh, and manage my finances (transfer my money to pay off credit cards and remind me when it was time to stop moving and start working again :)). 

When I got home, I found out that Mum had printed out EVERY email sent and received over the 2 years. She thought it would be great for me to compile them and keep a record of them. I thought it sounded like a lot of hard work and the pile was astonishingly big. Overwhelmingly big.  But over the years I found time to start the project, and then months would lapse before I would pick it up again. I found the stash of emails and the notebooks recently during our renovations.

I've looked into it today, and I'm up to May 2003. So there is only 5 months to go. I think it is definitely an achievable goal that I could have this project finished by the end of this month.

And as I flicked through what I had accomplished with the notebooks so far, I have to agree with Mum. This is an awesome thing to keep.  I'm sure my daughter will want to read them one day.