PLOUGHING THROUGH

I feel quite remiss, having not blogged for a few days. The most frustrating thing is not having my camera at hand to include pics of what I have been up to - not that it is very much. Mainly I have been working on my entry for a competition. I feel most ambivalent about the piece (camera returns to Oz shores tomorrow, fingers crossed) and will post pic ASAP. What I was trying to achieve was ridiculous, when I think about it. I tried to blend an art quilt (of a type) with smatterings of traditional styles, whilst still complying with the competition rules. Trouble is, those sorts of things end up being a huge excercise in compromise and I doubt the result is a "winner" in anyone's eyes. Of course, it may well be that I am just fed up with the sight of the damned thing and in other circumstances it would have definintely become another UFO. Competition closes in a few days, so I have to get my shit together - luckily all that's left is to quilt the thing (maybe something magical will happen in that process), measure it finally _ God let's hope it finally meets the dimensions requirements because that bit has taken me the most time - every single time I measure it I get a different answer and I am definitely not good at maths. I just want to move on to another more exciting project - or several of the thousands currently backing up in my brain.
Being Spring and delightful, I have also spent copious amounts of time in the garden - a necessary pleasure because pretty soon it gets far too damned hot to venture outdoors and I am determined not to get a tanned face this year (although the mirror tells me it's too late). Yes, it looks healthy and so on, but I am very sick of that older Australian ritual of having little bits of one's body burnt, frozen or cut off every time I see the doctor. Being a fair skinned, blonde haired blue eyed person with eyelashes and brows so fair they look invisible without makeup, and of Irish/ English extraction - I have no business even walking out the back door without sunscreen. Trouble is, as a Baby Boomer, I was encouraged to run around naked in the sun as a toddler by my mother who had a morbid fear about rickets. Apprarently rickets was rife in England post-war because the sun hardly ever shines there anyway and everyone had spent so much time inside due to the bombs. Common sense would tell you that the fact you can get about 165 times your daily requirement of Vitamin D by walking to your mailbox in Oz - but the powers that were back then had little understanding about such things.
MUst away to the sewing machine - hoping like hell to finish the competition entry today.

MUCH ADO FOR NOTHING

Update on the mystery intruder! The police finally showed up after a couple of days and only when the home owner of the house broken into (only thing taken was a digital camera) used his contacts in senior management at the local station. When the uniformed officer arrived (he was really quite cute too) I was trying in vain to get Dylan to sleep. He questionned me quite closely - description, behaviour and so on. Then I got a huge lecture about security and keeping doors locked and blah blah. The final straw was when he strongly urged me to make sure I call the police IMMEDIATELY if another person, or the same weirdo, started hanging around. I just raised one eyebrow and asked him if he enjoyed being ironical. He mumbled that of course someone would come straight away if they could, but that was not always possible - reassuring isn't it - especially as the large local station is about 500 metres away from my house!!!!!!!!!

Spent whole weekend in a frenzy of cleaning up (must be Spring) - and I mean REALLY cleaning up. I even dusted and cleaned all the photos and frames, electric outlets, light switches, door frames. I chucked out in a ruthless frenzy all the garbage bags full of awful scraps (although I admit I kept spotting the odd one or two and thought - gosh that looks OK, I could do something with that - but NO, I was firm with myself). It was an ideal opportunity as the weather was great and our council is having a bulk refuse pick up this week from the verge. Then I tore into the garden, hacking into the dog bane that has gone berserk and pongs like garlic, cleaned and swept all the paving areas and to break the camel's back - attacked the horror of the storage shed and chucked all the old tins of house paint, rusted tools and bits of God knows what. I could barely move last night and my poor old broken ribs were moaning at me. But, boy - do I feel virtuous today - I figure that lets me off housework for at least a month. Also it's pissing down with rain today, so the timing was just right.

I am excited to get going on Arlee's PSI exchange and Thanks so much, babe for organizing it. Loving that theme - it's right up the alley of a person like me with a macabre sense of humour. Since I have no camera for about another week (unless idiot brain loses it in Munich) I will break this up by including a photo of my three kids - taken a few years ago, but the only recent one I have of them together. Of course, couldn't find the one I wanted, but here's my boy Steve on the left at Nat's engagement party (she's very pregnant on the left). He now dies his hair black because he hates it blonde. My girls are Nat on left without eyes (sorry, cut them off) and her cloned sister Taz on the right.

NASTY BUSINESS

I will share about those little boots for y'all that is interested. I believe the pattern is on the Martha Stewart website and the original was made with felt. I used fleecy and fake fur fabrics instead and handstitched a blanket stitch edge around the outside with some yarn. I will put the link in here once I have checked that my memory is correct: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=d74cf3fb453b1110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=felt%20baby%20boots&rsc=ns2006_m22 (Not so bad for an old lady!)

There will be no photos for a while as my giant son borrowed my camera, much to my trepidation. Hence have been very teary deary - especially after yesterday. Remember my strangeness in the night with the handprint on my mirror? Prior to that the weirdo in my kitchen - who, by the by, reappeared a couple of weeks ago "sheltering" in my carport from the pelting rain and I shocked the life out of myself by getting quite angry at him and telling him to get off my property or I would call the police. Luckily he did!
Well, yesterday my next door neighbour knocked on my door to let me know that she had just spotted a bloke go into our communal bin area (I live in a quadruplex setup, but the homes are separate - no common walls), climb up on a bin, look furtively around and jump over the wall into the garage of the house directly in front of her (owners were out). This was about 2p.m. She is a young mum about same age as my Nat (they are close friends) with two littlies same age as my grandsons (I asked them once if they actually rang each other up to see if they were going to have sex that night because the kids are only days apart). Nat thinks I am a disgusting old woman. I digress. Without really thinking of the consequences, we marched up the driveway and she called out the name of the man who lives in the house. Oh, PS he had left his red bicycle resting on the wall. He came out of the house via the sliding glass door and said that Pete (the homeowner) was out, but would be back in a couple of minutes. She asked who he was and what he was doing there and he said Mike (yeah, sure) and he had come to do a few jobs for Pete, but he had forgotten to leave a key out. All seemed very suss to us, as usually this older couple have the same handyman all the time, plus this dude only had a backpack. So I said quite loudly that we would see if our other male neighbour was home and if he had Pete's mobile number so we could check. We went to the other neighbour, but the husband was not home, so we are standing out in the sunny driveway telling his pregnant wife the story, when the dude comes riding up the driveway and out the gate. We asked where he was going and he said we were a bunch of fucking busybodies and he was just going to buy a soft drink at the shop. Then he proceeded off in the wrong direction and my neighbour called after him that we were calling the cops. He told us to go fucking right ahead and do that - which we did. Needless to say, the cops still have not bothered to turn up and it has now been almost a day. The old couple did not get home til quite late and I only managed to catch her this morning to fill her in (much to her horror). I also rang my husband to find out what the situation was re the money for the security improvements and told him what had happened. He said "Well, you'll just have to be careful. I have only just put in the application." He has had it for 2 weeks. Thank you so much - typically unhelpful I might add. I used to be the one who checked out the bumps in the night and once even surprised an intruder hiding in our backyard!! Luckily I am a pretty aggro person when I get shocked like that. Any way, I am now going to go do some lovely gardening with my two babies coming over and try to not obsess - but I have to admit it has made me a total nervous wreck!

THE SWEETEST THINGS

These are some cute little boots I had made for my newest grandson, Kieran. I had to put a little hidden extra stitch in as he kept kicking them off and soon it will be too warm for him to wear them! Plus he already has ginormous feet - typical Aussie plates.

This entry might be a tad baby oriented, but who cares - not me. I had Dylan yesterday and it struck me how imaginative and freely exploring is the mind of a child ( of 2 and a half). He keeps a gazillion trucks at my house and had decided to move all of them outside onto the paved area, plus all the stupid plastic trees that don't stand up properly, the cardboard roads that don't fit so well, the tiny fence areas that also fall over. Anyway, having arranged his little "site", he demanded that "Midgie get down and play with the trucks" and of course no excuse like "Midgie is old and can't get down there" was acceptable. So there I am in my extremely attractive and hideously expensive compression stockings (long story) kneeling on my arthritic knees and moving the trucks around. He, of course, knows the names of all of them - dump trucks, garbage trucks, tractors, forklifts, graders, petrol tankers, concrete mixers, etc, etc. So I am doing boring stuff like backing them around the trees and driving them to the parking lot. He, on the other hand, is putting the tiny concrete mixer onto the forklift tray and lifting it up to the top of the crane, where it sits. I don't need to say anything else, except there's a lesson for us all in this.

Feeling very anxious today as my son is flying out to Munich for the Beer Festival. Everyone says don't worry, he's a big boy (25) and my response is - don't forget I went there myself at much the same age and that's probably worrying me even more. I admit I get a bit funny when it comes to my son and my grandsons - probably because my first son was taken from me. I have horrible visions of kidnapping, abuse, death, bashings and so on that keep forcing their way into my head. I will be much relieved for many reasons when he gets back home.

THE BIG BLACK MONSTER

The big black monster leapt out from around the corner of my house on Saturday, hence I have done nothing but fight the urge to give in to the beast for three and a half days now. I think I am emerging cautiously. Thank God it's Spring and the days are getting longer and warmer. I have concentrated, instead on the forthcoming wedding arrangements for my daughter and minding my grandbabies, hoping that I can at least rediscover joy in those glorious things.

UNNECESSARY RUDENESS

Before we went shopping yesterday, I did a quick couple of experiments. For the blueish green one, I took a nappy liner and wetted it. Then i put random drops of that refill ink for the printer on it, added a sprinkle of salt crystals and sprayed the whole lot with more water. By the time I got home, it had attained this quite funky look and I am going to try a few rusted bits on there (of which there are many in my shed). For the hessian, first I sprayed it with this old can of gold paint from the shed that turned out too subtle to be seen. then I took some gold leaf paint and freehanded some leaf shapes. (Put glasses on afterwards and read this on the bottle: Warning: Cancer agent based on experimental data. Oh joy!! Then I riffled thru my makeup and found some old eyeshadows and blushes I have never used, so rubbed them into the hessian with baby wipes. So far, so good.
The real purpose of my blog this morning is to have a right royal bitch about what happened to me yesterday. Nat had some birthday money from her dad and wanted to buy some loose tops as she is still feeding baby Kieran and has not lost all her baby weight. So we go to this rather flash shopping mall and there is a store there that sells very up to the minute stuff (made in Asia) and incredibly cheap. She picks out about a million tops to try on, while I am wandering around with an eye on Dylan and trying to resist all the amazing bargains. (I didn't - ended up with a pair of shoes in the new wedge toe bright blue, a really long but light sweater in cobalt blue and another purple, grey and blue top and a large silver bag. Each item cost about $10). So, little Miss Typical Virgo is in the change room trying to find perfection in all these articles, meanwhile I am attempting to try the shoes on. Took off my boots and Dylan wanted his off too, so he could try mine on and then the pairs I was rejecting as well. At that time, bubs decides to cry in the stroller because he is starving, so I picked him up and soothed him as Dylan disappears into the display window to remove the shoes off the manequin. Realising that it was physically impossible for me to put on and rezip my boots and put Dylans back on without sitting down, I scanned around and found the only seat in the store - a semi-circular couch thing occupied by an old lady and a little girl of about 8. Right, I thought, surely that little girl could give me her seat for a couple of minutes while I juggle all these shoes. So battle up there with the stroller full of purchases, boots and shoes, Dylan and bub in my arms. I asked little girl very nicely if she would mind letting me sit for a few moments while I put my boots on. Ungraciously she got up and I sat. Meanwhile Dylan walked into all the bags that the old lady had at her feet, by accident. You could not see what was inside the bags, but she said "Oh don't do that, there are plants in there." Could not help it, so I said "Sorry, he's only 2 and obviously couldn't see the plants." She hrrrmphed. Then the old bitch said to the little girl "You're not feeling well are you sweetie, maybe you could squeeze in next to me." L G shook her head and looked longingly at my position. I said (very slowly and calmly) "Obviously she's well enough to come shopping. Anyway, like I said, I just want to get my shoes on and I am nearly done so she can have her seat back. I'll just walk around with this very hungry baby and manage this energetic two year old whilst looking after the stroller and all these parcels. I know appearances can be deceptive but I will be fine with my fractured vertebrae, newly broken ribs, the two vertebrae in the throes of crumbling and all the old breaks from the 30 broken ribs I have had in the last 3 years." And I got up and walked away. I heard the old bat say to her friend "I thought she was their mother." Yes, I do get that quite a bit and my poor daughter gets asked to show ID to buy scratchies (you have to be 16!!!), so we are a youngish looking lot. Nevertheless, I remember many a time being heavily pregnant and carrying a toddler on public transport where no one gave up their seat. And the really sad part about this? I hate to criticize my own sex, but it is ALWAYS women that behave so badly in my experience. That is off my chest now, I feel better.

SPEAKING BRIEFLY

Short and sweet today. Off shopping with my Nat and the babies. I love doing that with her and even tho I have no money I am sure I can manage a way to splash my credit card out on some foolishness or other (the fools recently gave me an automatic limit increase!!).