Final 2010 post

The tree is set and Santa is not too far away...


Zoe is ecstatic that she is in Grade 4/5 next year. Tears of joy when we told her (her words not mine)


Millie is settling in and getting used to both the girls (and I).


Were looking forward to our first family Barongarook Christmas and welcoming in the New Year with dear friends.
Oh and by the way have you checked out Retromummy's give away? Fat quarters from this range (below) are up for grabs.


Merry Christmas All

Santa came early in Barongarook

Well its only taken about 30 years but it was well worth the wait...
After traveling across the Tasman last night, Millie made it to her new home and our's this morning.


I tentatively introduced her to China.....


...so far so good.

I'm so looking forward to getting to know her.


May your Christmas be just as merry
Ciao for now
xx

Catch Up

Yet again its been a while since Ive posted, so while cleaning up my photos today (in this miserable weather were having) here's what Ive been up to...

Remember our caravan? We've been busy trying to get it ready for our first family trip this summer. The old cushion covers were a little dated....


So I thought I'd have a go at recovering them....


I'm really happy how they turned out. I used this free pattern I found. Its very easy to follow. I just omitted the piping. Otherwise good to go!

A while ago, a trusty fellow blogger recommended this great place. On this particular voyage I managed to pick up some great summer shoes....


Whilst hubby purchased this rather interesting computer chair.


If you haven't had the chance to get to the Mill Market,I suggest you do. But be warned...leave yourself at least a day to get through all the bargains!

In other crafty news, I also had a go at some cushion covers for the bed...


I found a similar one to the circled felt one in Target and thought it couldn't be too hard to make. I was right!

In horsey news, the girls are really enjoying China. Here's a snippet of each of them having a little canter..

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying getting my confidence back on a friends horse, also called China, and now affectionately known as Big China..


She's a beautiful big (17hh+) Clyde cross and I'm really loving my time back in the saddle. Its my form of meditation.


Have a happy weekend

Meet China...

Meggy's brand new pony came to live us last week. Whilst she "officially" belongs to Meg, everyone in the family has come to love her already.


We were lucky enough to take her on trial for a couple of weeks and she is fitting in just beautifully.

The farrier came out last week to check out her feet and gave us the thumbs up. The only hurdle we have to go, is with the vet check which is happening tomorrow. Fingers crossed all will be fine.


Once we have secured her, Meggy will start having lessons (and who knows - Zoe may decide to join in too). For now theyre just being led around with the lead rope with Mum by their side whilst trying very hard to wipe their smiles from their face!

Ciao for now

Is this our new pony?

We are trialling a new pony for Meggy Moo. I'll introduce her properly when we know whether we are keeping her or not. Hopefully, I can get a farrier and vet out this week to give her the once over. Anyway, will keep you posted!

Election 2010

With the election announcement looming I find myself considering how to cast my vote. So...? Whats different this time round?
1. This is the first election Ive participated in whilst living in our new community.
2. This is the first time Ive personally met both the sitting member and the opposition's candidate.
So for the first time in my voting life, I find myself with this quandary.
Im absolutely discouraged by the sitting member, but how could I not vote for Julia? I am much more inspired by the opposition candidate, but knowing a vote for her is a vote for Tony doesnt sit with me well either.
I guess this is where the old addage about voting for politicians or policy comes in.
How do you determine how to cast your vote?

Makin Stuff....

A modified version of a spoon full of sugar's knitting bag.

I'm not a big fan of the normal range of fabrics at Spotlight, but I was pleasantly surprised with this find.

Lisa's version has a lot more detail than mine (a sign of a very time poor crafter!), but I'm particularly happy with the velcro closure.
In other news weve been busy at home installing new double glazed windows.

The photo's dont do it justice, but they look great. We had the triangle ones put in especially to let in the morning sun. The house is starting to have a real ski lodge feel. Its great.

Were thinking we may have to replace the traditional leadlight window now to match the contemporary feel of the new windows.

Thats it for now....

ps, I'm trying out a new design template, which Im really liking. Problem is, in the change, Ive lost the links to the pics in my sidebar. When I go into edit, the links are there but when I try to click on the pics from the blog it doesnt work. I'd be grateful for any suggestions!

More of Zoe's Pen Drawings...

...from Total Drama Island...

Autumn at our place...

I love the different flavors of Autumn at our place. From mild March dawns...

To misty April mornings...

...both gorgeous in their own right. On a crafty note, the 8 year old has been dabbling in pen drawings of the latest Bakugan phase. She obviously has her Aunts talent.




And I finallly got around to making those Japanese pj's that I talked about back here. Thanks again to Toni for responding to my plea for a larger pattern size.





I purchased the fabric from my first visit to this great shop in Ballarat.

Gail's is well worth a visit as much for the gardens as well as the shop.

Finally, we took the kids to the local dawn service again this year. We all get alot out of it.

Lest we forget.

Easter...

We tried coloring eggs this year with food dye. It worked a treat.

Then there was the chocolate...

Happy Easter

Hmmm...

..unfortunately I couldnt cope with Typepad. I found it impossible to leave comments and sometimes couldnt even sign in. Anyway now I need to work out to cancel my subscription and how to move my type-pad posts back to blogger. If anyone can help me out please let me know.

On the creative front, Im very excited about my first pair of pj's I created today.

I used this super pattern. As a beginner sewer, I emailed Toni for some assistantce and lucky for me she replied back with the answer within the hour. Not bad for Good Friday. Thanks Toni! I forgot to by some trim fabric, so put my hand on some old calico curtains I had stored away and used the main fabric to embelllish it.

Meggy loves it. Now she wants an appliqued kitten (Ginger) top to match as well - so will work on that over Easter. The older one wants a pair too. Im thinking something with an asian twist. She's learing Japanese at school and is in to all things asian.

In other news, we're about to bid on our first investment property. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Will share more details if we get lucky.

Happy Easter Everyone

Celebrate....

Its been just over a week but gee it was great!

The paddocks were transformed....

Friends and family came from afar...


The kids had a blast.....

There was plenty of music.....

And dancing....

Well into the night...

All to celebrate this beautiful man's birthday....

Happy Birthday Timmy xxxooo

In other news... those who know me well, will know that Im a full time career girl these days , with very little time to craft. That being said, one sure way to get this mama fired up is to send little 6 year old preppy home, with "some other mothers" hand made craft. Ok, ok I know they were doing the right thing by said preppy, but oh how it broke my heart. It did however spur me on to create a very special library bag for Meggy.

So with some fantastic directions from here, Thankyou Niki, this is what I came up with....

I found a great tutorial, to enable me to applique the 'Meg' detail, here (no where near as good as Christies but not bad for a first go)

and some gorgeous rosette embellishements from this book (I will try to remember to post the link tomorrow).

Not a bad job for a grumpy mum.

Ciao for now.