21 March, 2005

bloggerbot bother

There is something wrong with bloggerbot! I have a couple of posts waiting in the wings, and about half a dozen photos to illustrate however, bloggerbot is stuck at please wait, loading.

I think I might go back to my less than weekly postings....

20 March, 2005

yummy little cupcakes

we returned to the Royal Easter Show today and came home with our own little stash of cupcakes from the My Little Cupcake stand.



cupcake anyone?....too late they're all gone!

These are the best cupcakes, besides the one's the Next Sister Down makes of course. The self-appointed taste tester also agrees...




Macc: Who left that cupcake outside my (dog)house?



Macc, did his usual trick of helping himself, when B and I were distracted by a loud noise out front.

We were only at the Show for a few hours, we covered some old ground but also said hello to some geese and chooks.



curly feathered goose


pretty chook

19 March, 2005

secret women's business

the women folk gathered at the Littlest Sister's place for the Kitchen Tea today. The Next Sister Down had devised some good games although, one which involved putting on a wedding dress and picking up smarties with chopsticks, was a too much of a challenge for most.


silly smartie game

B is with the men, who have gone to play lawn bowls and have dinner at the Lowenbrau. This should provide me with an opportunity to get some study done, or not.

18 March, 2005

a right royal day

apart from the early start - having to drop B off at work and pick mum up before heading back almost from where I had started - and despite the rain, it was a good day. But then, I always love the Royal Easter Show.

I could've done with a spare couple of thousand dollars though to buy a beautiful pair of pearl drop earrings from the Pearls for Girls stand; a wool and cotton felted wrap (I might still go back for that one); a pale turquoise/aqua leather briefcase/bag; a 'frayed shade' lampshade; and Dick Bruna Alphabet needlework (and I might still go back for that too).

With a budget of $150 or thereabouts I did get a vintage mirror lidded glass box from 'The Shed', a cake decorating book from Better Homes and Gardens, gourmet biscuits (to take to the Littlest Sister's Kitchen Tea Party tomorrow), a beaded throw from My Little Cupcake, as well afternoon tea (coffee and cupcakes) for mum, B and me.

Highlights of the day, were the treasures found, bumping into the 'Princess of the East', fashion and style pavilion and the fashion parade, Miffy's garden (so cute), and the Woolworth's Fresh Food Dome. The Horticulture Pavilion was a bit disappointing this year but apart from that the quality of the exhibitions at the show was much improved.



doing the hedges in Miffy's garden


Miffy: Excuse me while I water my flower.



favourite district exhibits

B and I hope to return on Sunday, B only had an hour with us after he finished work, so hopefully we can bring you some photos.

17 March, 2005

let me reacquaint you....

too many commitments are distracting me from blogging. Work is busy, and uni is back for both B and Me, so we are in competition for the computer. I have been so busy that no quilting, x-stitch, or other creative pursuit has been done either.

So at my desk, over a sandwich, before my next meeting at 1.30pm, a brief update:
  • the faulty toaster has been returned and a replacement is yet to be purchased
  • a new breakfast has been discovered 'Spicy Date and Cinnamon Museli'
  • B is a year older, and although I forgot to wish him a happy birthday, he did get a good pressie from me, and enjoyed a B'day BBQ with his 'adopted family', mum, and A
  • the icing has been purchased for the Littlest Sister's wedding cake (the wedding being just over 2 weeks away)

And, in case it is over a week before I blog again...

Tomorrow, I am going to the Royal Easter Show with mum, Saturday, is the Littlest Sister's Kitchen Tea, and beyond that I have a few days annual leave which require some serious attention be given to uni work.

09 March, 2005

toaster tantrum

I got off to a really bad start today. Our new(ish) toaster kept shorting the house out. The first time it happened I was only partly dressed which meant when the power shorted out, I needed to get dressed to go outside and 'flick the switch'. On the way back in the radio needed to be turned back on, the microwave clock reset, etc if you ignore the video and other appliances that flash at you when there has been a disruption to the power. This process (apart from the getting dressed) was repeated a couple more times, with the exception of the last time when I decided to plug the toaster into a powerpoint in the loungeroom. I was trying to eliminate the kitchen and kitchen powerpoints as the problem, but had the same result, at which point it was deduced that the new(ish) toaster was solely to blame.

Already running late at this point, I determined the toaster had to be returned, so wasted a ridiculous amount of time searching for the receipt and getting myself even more worked up......and of course cranky with B, who was blissfully unaware on his way to work. To clarify I was cranky with B because of poppyseeds and breadcrumbs left on the kitchen bench after he made his lunch this morning, and wasn't it B who had discouraged me from getting my dream toaster in the first place because it was ridiculously expensive. If we had bought the dualit I wouldn't be having grief this morning, now would I?.

It wasn't till I was on the road and still trying to calm down, as I hadn't found the receipt, had left the house in a mess, hadn't had breakfast, and was late for a meeting at 9am, that I thought to go through the centre console of my car and found the receipt I was looking for. Now the toaster can be returned and I was calmed by the decision-making process required for deciding which colour(petal pink, mint green, glacier blue, lavender blue, utility cream.......) dualit toaster to purchase. Surely, the expense is worth avoiding another morning like this morning?

07 March, 2005

A, B & C

Last night, (Sunday), we went and had a lovely dinner with A, B & C.... In case your wondering, A is expecting the C!

We had a lovely night, up until B got out the old Trivial Pursuit, Special edition '80's style! Well, I totally sucked at it, and didn't even get 1 piece of pie, L got 2 (from memory) and whilst the other B got two, one was 'stolen' from A as in this game you can gasump from other parties if the question itself has a symbol on it and your roll of the dice matches the symbol, so A's piece of pie was quickly taken and he had three bits. But as the night was getting on, I made the suggestion we have a race to the middle and if you get the question right, then you're the winner. Well done A for your quick 'B-line' to the middle and an easy question to win!

Thanks A, B & C for the invitation for dinner!!

28 February, 2005

should a cat cry over spilt milk???

Or what about L crying over spilt coffee????

Ok, you now need to create a mental picture, ok!!

Your sitting down in a 'Posh Nth Shore' coffee shop (see last post)...

You are dressed in a nice crisp white dress ready to go into the 'Posh Nth Shore' shop and then later in the afternoon to 'B's specialist...

You are thorughly enjoying a coffee with a cinnamon roll...

You are sipping at you coffee, and (insert expletive ........ HERE!!!) it spills all over you front, even into your lap!!

Now, rather embarrassed, we leave somewhat hurriedly to the car to fully gauge the damage, and yes you guessed it, disaster has run rife with a coffee stain about the size of Tasmania on the dress!!!

Now what comes next is the icing on the cake, as we had come that far, yes we did do a packed lunch ALL the way over the the Nth Shore, and we were not to leave empty handed so off to the shop we go. But wait, it was rather crowded, so we retreat to the comfort of a rather large tree that will give us a strategic view of the ladies leaving the shop, allowing us to gain entry without being noticed by the passing crowds. Once we had gained entry, with handbag strategically placed too I might add, we surveyed the store and located items to be purchased with minimal fuss when all of a sudden, DAMN, a lovely shop assistant came to assist. We engaged in dialogue for some minutes, when we had to let the cat out of the bag and disclose that L has had a 'Cappucino' malfunction... Laughs were had by all, purchases made, and a hasty exit back to the car and we were once again homeward bound!

So yes, dear readers, it is ok to cry over spilt coffee as L did today, even if it was tears of laughter AFTER the event!!

please read disclaimer first!!

Disclaimer: Views expressed in the following blog, are NOT those of the writer, but in fact the writers (ex)brother!

Put another strike against the brother from hell! Last night, when calling the mother to see how she was, and I get loaded up with questions about bloody land tax!!!

When I tried to express my thoughts, for what it was worth as when ever I have something to say, it is assured that he will go the opposite, I get forever spoken-over, so the easiest thing is to just hang up!! This is a common thing mind you, so don't be surprised!!!

Anyway, when I open up my email this morning, there it is, an email from him titled 'Thank you' and I thought, hang on, who stole my brother as he has never had anything to say about me that is nice, EVER!!!!

Well upon opening it, it was full of utter CRAP! Yep that's right, outright rubbish! And what's more, he goes on to say 'how I fell about us Western Suburbs Type', well hello, I was born in the bloody western suburbs and still live in the western surburbs you idiot!!

Now, to protect those of you who live north of the western surburbs, I will not go on to saying what he said about you, but bring it on, let me out of the WESTERN SUBURBS if it is self centered idiots like him in there!!!

Anyway, enough ranting and raving, I want some good news.....

So tell me about it and I will tell everyone else as I have nothing other to say but I will be having surgery in April, either the 5th after L's littlest sister's wedding on the 2nd, or on the 19th!

27 February, 2005

quilting injuries

I have almost finished the rose gingham quilt....


quilt quality control in progress

In Saturday's class, I pinned... and only a small amount of blood was spilt (when I stuck a safety pin into my finger, as the blood did not come immediately I did not realise until it smudged a corner of the quilt).

The larger amount of blood was yet to come whilst machine quilting, and you guessed it, I sewed through the side of my finger. So that was the end of quilting for Saturday.


the quilting process (before sewing my finger)

Managed a few DVD's over the weekend - The Terminal, excellent and thoroughly recommended, and Exorcist, The Beginning, absolute rubbish.