the silver bee

hello again

2009-11-25T21:22:00.002+11:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEt2x_5Uspc

Anyone remember the movie 'hello again'?
This one got played a lot in our house... back in the day when you had to actually rewind movies before taking them back to Videoezy.

anyhoo, I haven't been away for a year and I didn't choke on a chicken ball. Nope. Just busy and planning to go back to study next year, so cross your fingers and hope I get in. I'm just a little bit excited!

term two blues.

2009-05-02T11:23:00.019+10:00

first day!

Sending Bubble and Squeak back to school after their first term holiday was pure evil. Two weeks of having them all to myself, to sleep in, to plan each day in the morning and not be preparing for tomorrow last thing at night was positively luxurious. They, on the other hand, couldn't wait to go back.

Don't get me wrong, School is great! School is good! Getting two children to school when you have the organizational skills of a gnat is not.

bubble has a tiny little cut underneath that band aid but the blood was copious.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would take 4 months to master the 'early morning-outta the house by 8.40am' thing. By master, I mean leave the house in the morning with out one of us having a complete emotional breakdown. By one of us, I mean me.

Call me naive but I truly thought it would be a massive turning point when the boys went to school, In a word, I thought I'd find 'freedom'. Big call, hey?

squeak insists on goggles in the bath.

What happened to all the time I was meant to have for creative pursuits and to get all this 'stuff' done? I certainly didn't think about lunchboxes, lunch, schoolbags, uniforms, readers, lost-property, working bees, birthday parties, library bags, library books, water bottles, sunhats, beanies, sickbays, excursions, notices or play-dates...

To be honest I haven't done any of the house-painting I promised to do and the pile next to my sewing machine has it's own postcode but things are definitely way more organised and calm.

So hopefully I'll manage to post more than once every three months from now on. Thanks Leigh. I have been reading the blogs in my list but I stopped commenting because I hadn't written a thing for so long.

It's winter! Can ya believe it? I didn't even get around to writing one single entry in this blog about how much I adore Autumn for the whole of Autumn! Oh well, next year!

addictions

2009-03-04T15:08:00.004+11:00

way waaay waaaaaaaay back I got myself tagged by homegirl. The gist of it was to talk about five of my addictions. I just knew I would get to it eventually...

Addiction one.

The only thing I am truly addicted to is coffee.

I drink Lattes, usually two a day. I rarely go a day without coffee, every now and then I have a decaf if I've reached my quota.

Coffee is wonderful, it's comforting, it's ritualistic, it's social, it's chock-full of anti-oxidants! more than red wine and tea! the grounds make a wonderful body-scrub and garden fertilizer! I worship thee Coffee Gods!

Addiction two.

the next item on my list is jeans. Lee jeans to be precise. I'm a pear-shaped girl, a girl with boot-ay and these jeans just fit my behind. At the moment I have a pair of indigo denim boot-cuts, a pair of black skinnies and a pair of faded 70's style skinnies that fit like a glove! I do wear other jeans but they just don't cut it in the way that my Lees do.

Addiction three.

British vogue. I've read it religiously since 1993. I now get it via airmail and when each new one comes I take time to savour it then cut it to bits and file items of interest away to scrapbook or inspire me later. I have a Diploma in Clothing Construction and kick ass making patterns but really can not stand sewing! (I'm too much of a perfectionist for my wobbly seams.) I love to look at amazing garments and deconstruct them into their parts. It's like a gigantic 3D puzzle for me!

Addiction four.

I am addicted to the Idea of 'Simplification'. Putting it in to practice is another thing all together. My love of second-hand crap creates a war-like situation of dire proportions. Clutter is the only winner here!

Addiction five.

Going on-line. Blogging. email. Facebook. Google. I am ashamed of myself... enough said.

primary colours

2009-02-20T20:00:00.007+11:00

Friday was the last day of the boys third week in Primary School. gosh. There have been so many little shifts and changes in our lives this year. It feels like three weeks ago they were my Little Babies and now they are definitely Big School Boys. They come home with funny stories, singing new songs and amazing art-work. Each day they go off more confidently than the last.

The first day of school was really exciting. We have friends at the school already and many of our customers take their children to 'Our' School. The boys walked in like it was the most natural thing and started playing happily with the other students. We said quick good-byes and left.

After, popping out for brunch, (North Island, Nth Fitzroy) I felt the emotions well up as a mum went by with a newborn in a baby carrier. What followed was a good 20 minutes of blubbing into my Bombay toast. It really surprised me. My children have been going to child-care since they were three and a half, I never once felt nervous or even remotely sad. I can't really put my finger on what made me cry. Sadness. Loss. Anxiety. Fear. Perhaps a mix of all of these. I know there was pride and happiness. Heck, I think I've done a bloody good job.

All we can do now is enjoy this new chapter. I know the book hasn't closed on the old one, they will be my Little Babies forever. When they hurt themselves they still need my cuddles, I just hold on a little tighter...

me-me-me time

2009-01-29T15:28:00.005+11:00

kids make a town from Lego and found bits.

we ate way too much brie...

bubble as wrestle-dude.

my blog has been a bit light on the word/pictures/posting of late.

It's hot. I'm tired. Melbourne is in the middle of a heat wave.

I've been spending time with the kids. they start school in five days. i have no idea what to even put in their lunchboxes...

I've been trying to work out if i have time to blog anymore.

My 'thinking' has taken a toll on my body/mind. insomnia, vitiligo, grumpy-moo disease... I've been trying to put into some kind of semblance the attitudes/patterns i have and to get rid of those that do not serve me. quite exhausting.

I've been pumping the herbs in to me. getting counseling. having acupuncture.

Look out world!

... sorry to lower the tone...
if i read one more article where child-less people are banging on about how selfish children and their parents are i am going to shit in a bag and send it to the editor.

ms february.

2009-01-15T15:40:00.004+11:00

yesterday the only useful things I could do were to wash dishes, make tea and tidy.

my friend had returned from a painful journey to Africa to find her freezer door ajar, a putrid stench in the air, spoiled food and a maggot ridden mouse in the middle of the kitchen floor.

thanks universe for that nice little toxic red cherry on the cake...

three of us sat in the lounge room after everyone had left and the kids were tucked up in bed.
my friend unpacked three suitcases of her mother's personal effects. photos, legal documents, clothing, perfume, jewelry... the most excruciating, her eye glasses, folded neatly in a hard case never to be worn again. ugh! my heart!

there was just this feeling of weight.
heaviness.
stillness.

her mother had the front page of a newspaper from 1963 tucked into her diary. it had a picture of a young woman holding a bouquet with the caption "BEAUTIFUL! MY GOD!" in Swahili written above it. this woman was my friends mother. 'Miss February', her whole life ahead of her.

sister's, arse-holes and other joys of christmas

2009-01-04T11:45:00.004+11:00

One month of NO blogging. more focus on winding down. closing the cafe. time with the lovely husband and time with bubble and squeak. heck. they go to school this year!

hanging down at the Northcote pools. storming the parks with little buddies. sewing my quilt. re-potting plants. odd-jobs. reading. a husband and husband flying in from London for a little good food, wine and company and a night away. no kids! with a top-chick we know to stay at her parents *vogue living* holiday house on Philip Island.

My Dad arrived with his family on the 21st and we all stayed in Carlton, then we had Christmas at my Mum's place in Rosebud and took the car-ferry to Queenscliff to stay with my dad and the crew in Geelong. oooh and fireworks yay!

but hey it hasn't all been sunshine and light, being bitten by jumping jack ants 5 times on the arse was a lot of fun, as was rolling up my jeans at the beach and getting a tan that goes only half way up my legs. WOO. my sister was behaving like a total needy twat the whole time and barely talked to my dad's wife. fuck-what-a-bitch.

My friends mother was murdered in Kenya in a botched robbery on new years eve. she had been planning a visit but decided to go in Feb when the flights would be cheaper. add to that a case of vitiligo in my arse crack and it sure has been a bittersweet hols....

luckily as far as in concerned each new year really begins on my birthday so I'm about to start my own process of death and renewal over the next month. dead wood I'm chucking on the fire??

my sister.
old beliefs.
putting everyone else first.
people who have forgotten children get grumpy when they are tired.
vitiligo.
auto-immune diseases.
the drought.
dickheads in commodores.
made in china.

ladies! all the ladies!

2008-12-02T10:50:00.006+11:00

words i wish now-me was able to tell myself at the time.

to the little lady in grade 2.
hey sweet-heart, it's totally normal to pee the bed still. heaps of kids do. it's totally NOT okay for your mum to yell at you for making all this extra work for her when you have poor bladder control.

to the little lady in grade 3.
hey little tom-boy. so. your parents are getting a divorce. well, you are in for a tough ride but you will think and feel your way through it and develop a great sense of empathy. you know that person at school who is teasing you? their parents are going to get divorced in a few years and you guys will actually become good friends.

to the little lady in grade 4.
hey little girl, i know your totally freaked out. your mum's boyfriend is a violent prick and keeps bashing her. would it make it any easier if i told you your going to get a beautiful baby brother out of this whole shit situation who will grow up to be absolutely nothing like his psycho father?

to the 17 year old lady.
hello there miss, grown-ups are supposed to protect children but your mum is honestly so fucked up she won't actually believe a word you've told her for ten years. sometimes something is so horrible we don't want to believe it's true and it's easier to label a child a liar than accept the truth.

to the 18 year old lady.
goddammit! you have a great arse. by the way you don't really like dance music. it's the drugs.

to the 23 yr old lady.
your best friend has just hung himself. do you think you should be all happy and gay? tell your boyfriend to stick his snare drum up his arse. his band is shit and they are going to break up. staying with a dude because he has a great family is pretty dumb. in 3 years you'll meet the man of your dreams.

to the 27 year old lady.
okay. your in a hospital room with two other mums and their crying babies while yours are down in the special care nursery. grow some balls and ask to be moved back to your old room where you'll be able to sleep. the room without junkie/methadone mum ringing the nurse every hour to ask for her drugs. when your mum tells you she doesn't like the name you picked for one of the twins tell her to fuck off! it will save you months of heart-ache.

feels like these ladies have been my companions over the years, bobbing along like helium balloons above my head. one hand is full of the strings that keep them with me, leaving only one hand to truly grasp life with. so the time comes to cut the strings and away they float into the sunset. i wave goodbye madly with both hands. see ya girls, it's been real.

bloody self-indulgent using the blog as a personal-growth sounding board, but I'd like to get my angst out now. I'd quite like to have a normal Christmas this year. one where i actually appreciate my parents.

let it go

2008-11-29T10:54:00.011+11:00

the scan i had did not show up anything untoward. my gall bladder and liver are nice and healthy. good to know. so why am i wringing my hands, growling at the kids and chewing the f@#k out of the inside of my mouth?

i found a two inch long white and wiry hair standing to attention on top of my head on Thursday. i yoinked it. the hippy schmippy book says, Grey hair=stress. a belief in pressure and strain. The thing is i need to stop believing this malarkey. now please.

an ex-employee with some hard core issues keyed our car last week and has been ringing at night and disturbing our sleep. (when you have two small children and run a cafe trust me, sleep is vital.) the suicide of one of our customers also brought up past shite.

it's time to start looking for the gift in every negative situation, just because those who came or went before me believed in pressure and strain doesn't mean i have to. ease please!

two beautiful men died. i will create something worthwhile, something other than hot air and negativity. I'm going to sew all my fabrics collected on travels into a bed spread. starting today.

tvm wikipedia

watching The Labyrinth, dancing to The Police with two little Leos and playing with Lego ain't no strain! this the best morning I've had in awhile. off to a local fete now. have a special, beautiful weekend.

smacking is just not my thing.

2008-11-21T15:38:00.003+11:00

tiny weeny red spider mites, thanks squashbottomcat.

today i had to get up and leave the house without eating or... DRINKING COFFEE (!) for the blasted abdominal scan. friday is not a day my kids have kinder/childcare so it was off to st vincent's hospital on the tram we went.

in and out by 10.30 we decided to have morning tea at the museum and then a quick look about. For a city that claims to love its coffee something was surely amiss! the poo-water i was served up in the museum cafe had me in a foul mood. it was grey. how is that even possible? and the milk was so freakin' hot it was about to form a skin!

we had an excellent time wandering the galleries and out around the old exhibition building. We stopped to watch some tiny spider mites crawling on a wall and then wandered up Gertrude st to get some paper for our menus. i managed to blag a free spot at the hairdressers and while the boys made some modeling clay creatures i had my mop tamed into submission. my last hair cut was in May so things were getting rather crispy and shaggy.

When we were leaving the boys were given a lolly pop from the bowl on the counter and by the time we boarded the tram home they were in a full-blown sugar flip-out. I have never come so close to crying in public due to the the behavior of my children, they were literally carrying on like a flock of galahs. i managed to play the pity-card on one but the other raised the bar to a whole new level of insolence, that of which i've only heard of in legend.

i counted to ten. i breathed. i called their father to arrange the swift bagging of favourite toys to spend a fortnight on the top of the wardrobe.

then some 'kind-soul' behind us muttered, "that one needs a smack."

If I can only explain how furiously I was trying to control the urge NOT to smack my child. smacking would have been the easy way out. and i'm no coward! i calmly explained the family rules to my child in a quiet rythmic tone. we have a few and i kept repeating them over and over until they were both sitting and listening like perfect angels.

so. YOU. fucking twerp on the tram. next time i'm in centrelink and i hear, "taighlahh, tahhnee, jeighdynn, stop friggin' fightin' or i'll belt yahs" i will know EXACTLY the kind of person you are. good luck with your 'gem' of a parenting technique.

raw like sushi

2008-11-17T18:32:00.006+11:00

the first part of the week had me feeling like a plate of chopped liver. we kept ourselves busy on the weekend, a birthday party on Saturday and a BBQ in the park Sunday arvo.

hanging with kinder buddies and their parentals, treasured customers and ex-staff/honourary family members was good for the soul. a pleasant ending to a pretty tough week. oh and the wine helped.

one of those weeks where an old wound opens and you realize that the last time you sewed yourself up you left a few surgical instruments in there. so i'm working hard on my little mangled, angry heart. you see, it's a bit tender and it likes to think it's invincible and untouchable and that if i keep it in a box on 'the high shelf' it will just be fine, 'thank-you-very-much'

i think i'll stop that from now on. it's exhausting.

i picked my son up on Saturday and appear to have given myself a very slight hernia so I'm having an abdo scan on friday to check it out. btw, i looked hernia up in the 'hippy-shmippy health manual of causes' and it signifies 'strain and burden'. WOO. no surprises there.

i've graduated from chopped liver to sushi. i'm hoping for dark chocolate with a soft caramel centre. we shall see.

thankyou ulterior epicure

a latte and a bowl of water for juno...

2008-11-15T11:06:00.003+11:00

we were sad to find out yesterday that one of our regular customers had taken his own life.

is there something beautiful, talented, young gay men don't realize??

WHAT A F@#KING WASTE!

warning: rant follows.

next May will be the 10 year anniversary of my best friends hanging suicide.

2/5/99

the culmination of a long road of agony i won't ever understand, the ambulances, the stomach pumpings, the denial of family members, the psychological battles to convince someone that the world was actually made a better place the day they were born.

not easy when their father told them otherwise at every possible opportunity, called footy players 'poofters' when they dropped the ball, thought REAL men had as many kids as possible, sat on their ass and got pissed and took the shit out of people. tormented, abused, bashed, hated their own son.

and most disgustingly, hypocritically of all lay a gay pride flag on the coffin.

oh and lest we forget, cremated someone who repeatedly stated they wanted to be buried. yes you shitty excuse, i hate you and will dance naked in a field on the day you die.

hey. i sound like an angry ant. so what. i dealt with that shit for 6 years. i'm not over it and i don't even care. i stopped playing out alternate endings a long time ago. i dealt with the guilt and the why? why? why? when push came to shove i was relieved he was dead because it was sucking the marrow out of me. end rant.

so to all the family and friends who lost such a sweet, funny, gifted guy. i'm sorry. it's a shit ride from here on in. i promise it will make you stronger.

costume drama

2008-11-08T10:45:00.003+11:00

there are two kinds of people in this world.

1. the kind who go all out when it comes to costume parties of any kind.

my sister. Halloween 08. went as a girl who wakes up to find a horses head in her bed.

and...

2. those who chuck on any old thing and say, "meh, that's good enough..."

let's just say in our family we go all out. which are you?

thank f@#k

2008-11-06T12:02:00.002+11:00

thanks amsterdamize

my faith restored

the libran scales balance

2008-11-02T10:26:00.007+11:00

huzzah!

month of October we loved you...

October was an interesting month of new beginnings. a new routine that nurtures the family.
balance in the work rest and play ratios. warm days and (thankfully) still rain to relieve the drought a little.

these are just some things we did that i didn't get around to writing about..

chilling in the Ceres play-ground

stopping to smell the flowers

after work drinks in a local wine/beer garden.

kite flying and sunsets in the local park.

mo-fo

2008-10-30T13:48:00.004+11:00

i find it f#@$ing hilarious that someone took the time to paint a picture of Tom Selleck in hoummous of all mediums...

why the hell am i writing about Tom Selleck? i'm trying to convince the hubby to grow a mo' for MOVEMBER. i just happen to think he would look cute...

it has absolutely ZERO to do with the fact that my friend Katie Scott and i had a massive thing for magnum P.I. in the eighties. phwoar! the hairy chest, the dimples, the ferrari, the sarky butler. man that show had it all!

c'mon mat! grow the mo'
you know it's for a good cause!

now excuse me, i'm hungry.
i feel like a bowl of hoummous for some reason...

like sands through the hour glass.

2008-10-28T09:21:00.002+11:00

i look at the calender, i see it's the last week of October and a mild sense of panic comes over me. i think how quickly another year has come and gone and feel a sense of melancholia sweeping over me. am i the worlds worst procrastinator?

goddammit! In my mind it's still march or April and i've got ages of time to get things done before Christmas/the holidays/New Year. (OH how will i get all those things done if i can't even manage to remove excess body hair on a regular basis?)

cripes! time to make a list?

eczema, asthma, allergy, excrement

2008-10-11T12:57:00.008+11:00

when bubble was about 3 months old he got cradle cap on his cradle cap which soon traversed his face, turned his cheeks blotchy and caused a great deal of discomfort. i approached my childhood nurse who insisted it was a heat rash. heat rash that worsened well into the cooler months of 2004.

we took a family holiday to the U.K. in may 2004 and the rash appeared to improve a little. we returned in August for the boys first birthday. i was eating a snack of peanut butter on celery and after licking off the peanut butter i gave bubs the celery to soothe his erupting teeth. his eyes became watery and itchy and he got a marked rash on his face. I was quite concerned and visited the doctor for a referral to an allergy specialist. the doctor insisted i was being too hasty and that he would 'grow out of it'. two weeks later i was back at the docs because he had developed a wheeze. the doc prescribed Ventolin. (which i did not use)

looking at this photo makes me cringe, bub aged 1 year, chomping on a lovely biscuit containing eggs and yeast.

instead we tried homeopathy which completely removed the wheeze, it also (as the homeopath wanted) pushed the problem back onto the surface of the skin. hello bright red blotches.

boys 2nd bithday. a lovely cake containg soy (in chocolate) and eggs.

a week after their second birthday i made a chicken and sweetcorn soup with egg in it which bubs promptly vomited everywhere. at this point we were pretty convinced the allergies were to peanut and egg.

i went back to the doc for another referral, he still insisted he would 'grow out of it' and that the waiting lists were up to one year long so why bother.

6 months later at my 30th birthday party bub's lips blew up like Mick Jagger's and we made the quick-dash to the R.C.H. I was not leaving the E.R. without a referral letter which i was eventually given by (very maturely) refusing to leave.

2 months later we saw the allergy doc for a full test. bub had allergies to egg, nuts, soy, grasses, dust mites, green peas and sesame. we also noticed through keeping a diary, a food intolerance to additives 202, 102, 222, 223, tomato and yeast.

we suffered much guilt which we had to force ourselves to put into perspective. we became accustomed to carrying the Epi-pen with us when we went out and learned how to navigate menus and food labeling of our groceries safely. the upside of this was cooking all our meals from scratch.

we still wonder w.t.f? if bub breaks out in hives or itches or can't sleep because we do our best to eliminate any suspect foods.

my advice for any mums out there is to trust your instincts. if it looks like shit and smells like shit. it's shit. don't let anyone tell you it's chocolate mousse. who cares if people think your paranoid or o.t.t, you know your baby better than anyone.

p.s. the crappy part for bubs is the earlier a child is tested for allergies the better the chance of growing out of them. the key is avoiding the foods to allow the immune system to get stronger. the more a child is exposed to an allergen and the more the immune system is weakened, the more likely they will become sensitive to other allergens.

what are words worth?

2008-10-09T11:14:00.006+11:00

msaims goes to school K.L Malaysia 1981

next week my ickle bublets go to their prep orientation and next year they are starting school. yikes!!

perhaps it's time for me to start correcting a few of the very cute but incorrect words they use. for example...

fancy renstarant = a nice restaurant
caresil = careful
poisontous = poisonous
advelet = advert

"i saw an advelet on tv for a fancy renstarant but we have to be very carecil because they serve poisontous puffer fish sushi."

see what i mean?

not phased though, i called rollerskates skolleraters til i was 6 and i turned out okay, right?

do any kids you know use words that crack you up?

the new curtains

2008-10-05T11:59:00.002+11:00

these are the curtains olly....

happy birthday mum

2008-10-05T11:02:00.002+11:00

thanks drp

have a great day mum!!!!

me. as a flower.

2008-10-04T13:50:00.005+10:00

peony photo by greenhem

oh yeah, it's a good day.

i got nominated for a blog award by Claire at 'ethel loves fred'. nice. when i went over to check it out i saw i was chosen in the same fine company as 'the ruth spoon'. more nicer!

these two ladies have a lot of sparkle, wit and cleverness. truly! they seem like two top birds. i also like oggling their daughters because i have two boys and i'm done with the baby making. oh and the craft!! BLIMEY!!

then Adrian popped over for a surprise visit. he has been living in Hanoi for a few years. we are both lousy at keeping in contact and we hadn't spoken for... erm *cough* 2 years but we always seem to pick up exactly where we left off. don't ya love mates like that??

i didn't know he had come home or that he had... TA-DA! a new wife!! and i got to blow his socks off with the news of my own marriage. the boy's decided to show-off in typical Leo fashion by cooking a pretend feast for him and hanging around yabbering. (luckily he's used to kids because he works in childcare.)

now we are off to a first birthday, another little girl to moon over and a mum and dad who's meeting and blossoming relationship i was luckily enough to witness on a so called 'girl's holiday' in Byron. (no shit! they were married 3 months later!) haven't seen these guy's for... erm *cough*4 years. hey, i'm a great friend in spirit okay?!?

have you ever had the feeling that your a big giant peony rose unfurling? no? well, that's how i feel today!! is it spring? or just me getting the arse out of my shell! either way i know its a bit twee but hey, deal with it.

batmam!

2008-10-03T10:24:00.005+10:00

we hired an old school batman d.v.d the other day. bubble drew a picture of some of the characters for me at kinder. (from left, robin, batman, a mouse, catwoman's cat, the joker and the penguin.) i may be a tad biased but i think it's pretty cool!!

plastic-crap-tastic

2008-10-02T11:00:00.016+10:00

we took the boys to see wall.e. the new Pixar movie. (here's a review if your interested.) we all enjoyed it.

when we were waiting to go in the boy's noticed some kid's had drink cups with a wall.e figurine on top that came as part of a popcorn/drink deal, they became very preoccupied with these cups and kept asking could we buy one for them.

i remember having a ghost busters t-shirt and an e.t. cup when i was a kid but i didn't feel bad about saying no. it just feels like there are so many kid's movies coming out these days that if you had to buy all the tat they pedal you'd go broke. BLOODY licensed merchandise...

this started me off on one of my rants... "licenced merch is a rip-off! how dare they target my kids! it's all from china! it's wasteful! PLASTIC is the DEVIL!!!" breathe...

when i got home i decided to have a look at my own sad state of plasticy affairs, in the heart of our home, the kitchen.

we have some plastic stuff in our kitchen. (i keep a shed load of glass jars to store our food in and no plastic for heating food or drinks, i did some research on plastic when i was pregnant but i won't preach away here.)

this is my inventory of kitchen plastic.plastic box holding toothpicks, manuka honey jar, hundreds and thousands jar, instant miso, tea bag wrappers, bag of xanthan gum.

Bic biros/sharpies, plastic knife, measuring spoon, gingerbread man cookie cutter, one of grandma's blue Tupperware containers, icing nozzle, vacuum wine saver.

red melamine mixing bowl, melamine cheese board, kidlet chopsticks.

decor cereal containers, pepper grinder.

not shown here 3 lighters (? no-one smokes here.) 1 roll glad wrap for covering bowls in the fridge, 3 plastic bags, silicone spatula, lemon juice squeezer, ice block container, milk bottle, strawberry punnet, brie in glad wrap.

not bad, not great. room for improvement?

i don't care about plastic and i guess that makes it easier to throw away, a mentality i want to move away from. i would prefer to have things that mean something to me, most of my kitchen things are from the op shop (charity shop) and the hunt and glory of finding something this way gives me a lot of satisfaction.

i'm still looking for the ever elusive glass or china lemon juice squeezer. my personal holy grail.

cats vs hawks?

2008-09-27T12:52:00.005+10:00

football fever has taken over the streets of melbourne...

*yawwwwwwn*

these are the only cats and hawks i care about.
accessorize people!

no sweat.

2008-09-23T14:57:00.007+10:00

these pics were taken last week at the RCH.

i-spy in the hospital grounds

squeak in the cafeteria.

bubble's test in progress; a bandage covering a sweat collector.

tattoo hands from the starlight room.

we went back to the RCH with moral support from dad today. the test failed again twice and we had to come to the conclusion that bubs is just not a sweater. he needs to do some other test to rule out CF. i guess we will find out all about it at the follow-up appointment on friday.

mat won a CD from PBS radio on the way back from the vic market this morning and was itching to pick it up. looks like a good compo of world music goodness from shock records/filter music.

before heading back we popped into mixed business in Clifton Hill, near the terminus hotel. we sat out in the sunny court yard and let someone else be hospitable. nice coffee and food.

the best part was watching the boys make a miniature cafe under a giant nasturtium leaf 'umbrella' with a rock 'table' and succulent leaf 'chairs' for lavender 'people'. it was lovely to see them being so imaginative/creative with natural items as play-things.

took these pics (below) awhile ago at batman park.

tree huggers

the big green slide.

mr strong

took these pics awhile ago at batman park. bubble is wearing a home-spun superman costume. (red cape courtesy of the tea towel drawer)

don't 'sweat' the small stuff

2008-09-20T10:45:00.005+10:00

as part of seeing the respiratory specialist at the R.C.H bubble had to have a sweat test to rule out cystic fibrosis. on friday we went to the hospital to do the test, the pathology was crowded, full of sick kids and anxious parents. the test involved having a device attached to the arm which sends a small electrical current through two electrodes to stimulate the sweat glands. a small amount of people don't sweat enough and have to repeat the test.

they can only perform the test twice in one day, once on each arm. guess who didn't sweat enough? (despite drinking copious amounts of water and running up and down the big ramps in the hospital wearing five layers. 3 hrs those tests took and we have to go back on tuesday and do it all again. woo.)

in the middle of a very late lunch i went down with a raging fever. i decided not to take the boys home on the tram because i was feeling so rotten. we found the starlight room, a service in the hospital for patients, outpatients and their families. a place to have fun. I whimpered in a corner and the boys ran riot. painting, games, toys. i nodded off in a bean bag at one point and was able to leave them to go and change appointments due to the failed test.

mat couldn't pick us up until he closed the cafe and we found ourselves going for dinner at rumi because we were both too shattered to cook or even contemplate what to have. we went in like four weary travellers and came out like persian royalty leaving a banquet, sucking great blobs of pink rose-water delight studded with pistachio.

we had labne and smoky fennel olives, tenth century carrots, fried cauliflower with caramelised onions and pinenuts and the goat. (sorry kirti. i know your 'herder' dreams.) though, perhaps it was the efes and moo brew (beers) that actually did the revitalising.

came home, threw the chaps into bed and collapsed in the lounge. watched 'wire in the blood' which was disturbing and left me cold. crawled into bed with my vision swimming before me and bathed in sweat. oh, the irony!

spring fling.

2008-09-12T11:14:00.006+10:00

thanks bulent-yusuf

wowzer. the de-clutter bug is going through my house like a dose of salts.

with a promise to be ruthless i pulled clothes out onto my bed drawer by drawer. i tossed odd socks, stained tees and past-it knickers into the cleaning rag bag.

i tried everything else on. anything clean and good but no longer for me went into the op-shop pile. all the heavy winter things went in a suit case and all the summer stuff came out. i cleaned my shoes. i polished some boots and stuffed paper in to keep them straight over summer.

i got rid of about a third of my clothes! the majority were sent to the charity shop for someone else to buy and love which is nice. i feel so much lighter and it's actually easier to get dressed in the morning.

i'm even getting through my alterations, finally taking up pants just in time for shorts weather. it feels like i'm nesting...

on a sour note, i took a hay-fever tablet today. yuck. the cold of last week seems to have triggered the hay fever i had for a few years before getting pregnant. must remember to take my zinc/C powder.

we made some critters today.bear, dog, snowman

dragonfly, pig, bird

calling all deities.

2008-09-06T09:54:00.007+10:00

there's a bug going around and bubble and i have been afflicted. crossing fingers and actually praying to god, buddha and ganesh that he doesn't need steroids. again.

i'm not actually very sick just a bit hot-cold and cloudy-in-the-brain but there's definite potential. i refuse to get bad. i'm being very kind to myself and napping which is not like my usual keep going until i fall-in-a-heap health plan.

this house is being transformed, it started with the toys and has now hit the pile that was once a kitchen table. we've been eating in front of the telly for quite awhile. pretty much since i pulled out my sewing box and made all kinds of promises about finishing this task or that... there are energy blockages in my life and also a shit load of excuses goin' on. (doesn't help that the house is too small to allow for a designated sewing area. wahhhh.)

my mum always served our evening meal at the kitchen table, NO telly. just 3 kids sitting around a little square table (lot's of good memories.) sometimes we were allowed to eat at the dining table with mum and her boyfriend. (lot's of bad memories.)

when i left home i went to live with my boyfriend's family for 3 mths. they ate dinner together every night, mat's family were the same. when my kids look back over their childhood i don't want them to think sitting in front of the telly and eating is normal or parents eating at a different table is normal. i always have this idea of a family sitting around a table chattering and laughing, where the food is on platters and people help themselves.

so today i am going to move all my shit and put my new second-hand table cloth in the middle of the table with the big bowl of fruit on it and start relishing my kids and food in a way i haven't for quite a few weeks.

health warning: eating dinner in-front of the telly for weeks on end can have a negative effect.
squeak 2005

fortunately the effects are reversible.

oi squeak! is that mat's famous pumpkin and leek lasagna?

memm-morrrr-iieeees

2008-08-31T12:46:00.003+10:00

awww. that's my little bubby-bub-bub... sorry but i'm all happy and glad.

go bal and hev!

so its all clucky-ducks for aunty aims!!!!! thank god mat's had the snip i tells ya!

toys r us

2008-08-29T11:17:00.006+10:00

pic from Paula's iphone.

please tell me how it happened. where did all these f#@$ing toys come from? the house is over run with little plastic nicky-nacky-noos. so begins a mission to rid this house of crapola.

we're keeping the craft-box, the Lego, the Magnetix, the dress-ups, the train-set, the knights and castle, the pirates, a box of super hero figurines, a box of cars and bears for bed. phew! still sounds like a heap and that's after the cull. i think i need to go steiner on the toybox's ass.

the bears have been there from day one and are still going strong. neuman, snuffy the dog, brown bear mini, happy leopard and cozy lion. (and yes i know, not technically all bears)

how's this for a kinda creepy bear?? spied over in the kingdom of style. apparently $14,000 dollars worth of bear, a steiff, but still come on people. noooooo!!! my sister was introduced to him once giving a kiss on each cheek in the typical european style and walking away with a thick layer of make up and wig powder for her trouble.

i would much rather this bear. any day.

quirky-berserky...

2008-08-27T12:35:00.008+10:00

tagged by queering domesticity to tell you about six unspectacular quirks I possess. Her's are funny, French-fries! no jokes, she has me in hysterics that one.

the rules say to tag 6 people but I think only 4 people read this thing so I'm breaking the chain in my slacker style. Here goes,

1. I have to rip paper up into smaller pieces before I throw it into the recycling. if I just throw a piece in un-ripped it feels wrong.

2. I find washing dishes meditative, it's my thinking time.

3. I never EVER share a nail file. not even with my partner, it just grosses me out for some reason.

4. I can't wear skivvies or other high collars that rest on the neck, they make me feel hot and bothered and strangulated. scarves are fine though.

5. I have to completely empty my bag at the end of the day and put every thing in it's place, even if I will just have to repack it in the morning. I can't get to sleep if my bag is unpacked. (i just don't feel right if i have to live out of a suitcase however this rule goes straight out the window if I'm camping or catching a plane the following day.)

6. I feel like I've lived in Melbourne before, in the 1920's, 30's and 40's. when I see pictures of Melbourne from those times I feel like that's how it's supposed to look, like I relate better to it then than now.

the blog it seems has a life of it's own.

2008-08-23T09:34:00.006+10:00

i started this blog as a place for family and friends to visit and check out what we've been up to.

my partner in crime/life was born in the uk. his family (including a niece we've only been able to gush over in pics) and his bestest mates live there. some of my family live overseas as well. dad, angie, emi and sian in hong kong. olly and carlos in n.y n.y. plus other friends scattered across the globe. hey marty and evie!! how's france?

the thing is i had forgotten how therapeutic it can be to write.

after invasion-of-diary trauma at sixteen i moved out of home and stopped keeping one. (hi mum!!) i started again in 2002 for a few years but that writing is IN NO WAY SAFE for fellow human consumption. this blog began for the benefit of others and has turned out helping me.

when i start a post i just tap out all the blah in a flurry of emotion. if it's readable i keep it and send it into the webby ether. if i sound like a raving loon it's time to censor. it's not what is posted but what's left un-posted/deleted/scrapped that heals me.

the blog is also shaped by those who comment on it. who come back and comment again. a little bit of kindness goes a long way and i've certainly needed it in the past few days. this blog isn't about our cafe but the cafe is what we do and is therefore a huge part of our life. we've had great reviews and now we've had a crap one.

perhaps it's the kick in the ass we didn't know we needed and to all you dudes who commented. thanks for putting a positive spin on it.

i honestly never thought this blog would become a diary, a sounding board, a place to connect or free therapy. hilarious!

whenever i am in a foul mood things start popping, usually it's just light globes but on wednesday i zapped the washing machine to death. we now have a new one. much more enviro friendly.

but not this enviro friendly....

thanks for the pic ehoyer
and thanks. i feel better.

bleepin' 'eck

2008-08-21T11:24:00.003+10:00

thanks palindrome6996

we got a review.
we got a bit of a shite review.

in reference to our coffee...

"a clingy crema suppresses a shot with a colour and viscosity are similar to a cup of soy-sauce."

no. that's not my typo. that's how it was printed.

not happy.

ships passing in the halls.

2008-08-15T09:15:00.007+10:00

long john sparkle. the disco pirate.

pirates are big in our house at the moment. books, dress-ups, pirate-speak, puzzles...
we draw them and talk about them pretty much non-stop. so you can tell we were chuffed to get this little birthday-beaut in the postals

thanks aunt olive!

the boy's wanted a pirate party for their birthday so we asked a few of their kinda friends to bring their mums/dads/siblings to the local pub after we closed the cafe. we've spent much time passing in the hallway with our children and it was high-time we met these people.

this year we weren't feeling like enthusiastic or organised party-throwers so we opted for the Wesley-Anne in Northcote (hoping the other parents wouldn't assume we were total piss-pots.) so glad we did! many of them had connections through different bands and because the little ones all got along just as swimmingly we've planned some other catch-ups.

we were the first in our group to get knocked-up and the only ones with kids for ages. we took our babes everywhere in their twin-pram. house-parties, pubs, bars, festivals. always plenty of knees ready for them. once they got bigger we changed our tack. pool, park, bbq, back-yard. places enclosed and kid-friendly.

what's next for us i wonder? what new adventures await us in the next 5 years? where will our kid's take us and where will we take them? time will tell... one thing is for sure. it'll never be boring.

low-five

2008-08-09T10:29:00.006+10:00

thanks zarprey
i grew up with a mum who didn't hate.

"excuse me young-lady, we don't hate... we 'dis-like'..." (gosh! the times I've heard this!) hate was like a curse-word in my house. sure i pulled it out when i was a teen, sure I've screamed it at people in a fight but i don't like to use the word on a daily basis.

in the past two days bubble and squeak have both told me they hate me. the first was because i refused to allow bubble to take a new toy to kinda, the second was because i put cereal in squeaks bowl the wrong way. (?)

have we entered some new stage like the terrible-twos?

the foul-fives?

i hate to admit it but I'm beginning to sound like mum...

all-aboard....

2008-08-08T10:49:00.004+10:00

this cafe is a bit cool.

a recycled 1960's train carriage.
a weekend makers and creative industries market coming...
fair-trade coffee and local suppliers.

aunty lou. we should have a latte and then go shoppin' for hand-made goodies. yay!

bit of harmless fun.

2008-08-07T16:48:00.004+10:00

got some time to kill?

like playing around with fashiony bits?
make your own style-file here.

hi-five

2008-08-02T16:01:00.007+10:00

thank-you takomabibelot

bubble and squeak turned 5 on the first of august.

those lovely little Leos!

I skived-off karate and we all went to Paula's for the night. she made one of her famous curries and we cracked a bottle of dad's red wine and let the kid's go loco. the seven of us spent the rest of the evening watching 'chicken run' in sleeping bags on the lounge room floor.

this fifth anniversary has me thinking how time flies and about the 'human-ness' of calendars and dates. rather morbidly i wake with a sore neck on the anniversary of my friends (hanging) suicide every year (though i've completely forgotten about it... every year.) when i put two-and-two together and say a little prayer for him the pain is gone within ten minutes. it used to freak me out but now i'm fine with it.

in other news, bettina bernina is back. we have a play-date, monday.

we tried...

2008-07-30T12:59:00.004+10:00

thanks g.originals

after more asthma/steroid nightmares the cat had to go.

we took her to the RSPCA on monday to be re-housed. after driving 5 minutes down the road they called to say mocci would have to be euthanized as she had attacked the staff and would fail her assessment for adoption.

poor cat. she was too wild...

sun. i need you.

2008-07-27T13:02:00.004+10:00

thanks robotJAM.for the cute pic.

it's not the thyroid.
it's not diabetes.

it's not early menopause...

it's a frickin' vitamin D deficiency!!!!
blood tests confirm i don't get out enough.
a scorching case of seasonal affective disorder.

'slip. slop. slap.' you say?
'wear hats, sunnies and sunscreen. even in winter.'
HA! bite me!
i'm going to take my chances nakedly.
before 10. after 4.
30 mins. 6 x per week. doctor's orders.

saving my sanity

2008-07-27T11:57:00.006+10:00

three visits to the doc's. three grumpy people. short tempers and lot's of grrrrr.

time to get out with our little friends.
play in the sand-pit and let the mum's moan.
what better place than Ceres to wind it back a notch.mud, tee-pees, excellent sausage rolls, porridge with maple syrup and a bloody good whinge.
phew! feeling more normal. feeling earthy. feeling sane.
thank-you trees. gardens. chickens. very cool mum and her beautiful babes.
see you all very soon.

park life. two year anniversary

2008-07-20T14:52:00.009+10:00

walking through the pond.(which has, no doubt, been drained due to the drought.)
the conservatory has a very tropical vibe goin' on.

the first time these boy's saw a plane sky-write.

tudor village.
we thought it hysterical that the inhabitant's of the village were hiding in their houses from the GIGANTIC pidgeons coo-ing and strutting through the main street.

i remember being taken to the fitzroy gardens by my aunty to see the tudor village and fairy tree. i didn't get a good pic of the fairy tree on the day but it does have a lovely story.

my aunty, noeleen, was someone who made life magical for children. she spoke of fairies and goblins and drew you into her make believe world. her garden had many secret fairy statues and houses. she told me only those with pure hearts could see the messages left by fairies in the garden.

she valued books, stories and imagination. she gave me enid blyton books and told me all about the sandman, who puts sleepy-dust in our eyes each night so we have good dreams. we had tea in 'princess cups' (pink johnson's ware) and slept in the 'princess bed' at her house. instead of saying goodbye when we left, we said 'ooh-la-la' in our frenchy-est accents. still yelling it out the window of mum's veedub as we turned the corner.

my boy's called her aunty lolly, they had trouble saying noeleen. (i always remember her sneaking me musk sticks or a big boss cigar so i guess the name was pretty spot-on.)

she died in her sleep after spending the day with her new baby(twins!) grandchildren. my heart breaks at the loss for these wee'un's of a magical (fairy) grandmother who will never take them to the end of the garden in their slippers to look for fairy-circles on the lawn or doors in the folds of a tree-trunk.

i think of her whenever i talk about ghosts or smell the perfume whitelinen.

tagged by skeleton woman.

2008-07-16T12:52:00.006+10:00

six things i liked today...

morning coffee.
every morning. tick-tock. at 8 o'clock a latte finds it's way into my sleepy hands. today i got to drink it before it was cold.

my wedding ring.
even though i keep forgetting to wear it, i love this ring. i first saw it made in sterling silver at dittoday in fitzroy. it was meant to be. each stamp signifies something personal and special to mat and i. the bull. (mat is taurean.) the hand. (the first initial in each of our names spell out the word p.a.l.m.) a horse shoe. (for luck in love.) i love it's gently undulating edges. we had our rings made in white gold by the talented jeweller, ali alexander. a wonderful melbourne designer.

succulents.
such hardy beauty.

listened to the b.b.c. online.
i like listening to radio 4 and b.b.c. 7. So much better than australian radio. (yikes! all that advertising!) there are so many fantastic programs. today i listened to a 'Poirot' mystery.

i got organised.
today i put some photos that were floating around in ice-cream containers into albums. i like looking back at things and feeling nostalgic. these were pics of the early days of our relationship up until the birth of the boy's.

kids doing kid stuff.
it's never boring in this house as we've built up quite a stash of dress-ups. who needs telly?

i tag the ruth spoon. i would read anything this girl wrote including her shopping list.

not a (singlet) vest. a waistcoat

2008-07-13T15:14:00.005+10:00

anyone who knows me well knows i love a little vintage vest action. (for english readers: i'm not refering to an old man's undergarment!)

the waistcoat is believed to have been invented by king charlesII in 1666 in the interest of teaching the nobility thrift. there is a wealth of information available on the history of the waistcoat and most of it relates to influences of royalty and aristocracy filtering down to the wardrobe of the common man.

the vests i love are far removed from such noble influences. knitted or woven the vests i adore are soft and worn, made from only natural fibers and buttoned through at the front. (although pull-on knitted vests are fine too.)

wool. cord. velvet. denim. suede.
patched. embroidered. argyle. fair isle.
hand made or hand-me-down.
these are best when it comes to vests.

vests i would never wear... my big gay bear pal's. fishing vest. kevlar vest. string vest. tapestry vest. flouro vest. acid wash vest. cartoon print satin-look vest.

swiss miss gets first aid.

2008-07-11T09:36:00.005+10:00

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2419/2110608699_fe120df454.jpg?v=0
thank you pinkpoppy!

see these dinky little necklace charms. see the one on the left. that's my grandma's sewing machine. (it would be cool if she really did have a rainbow!)

she has been living at my house for about 2 years and in the interest of feng shui forces i am finally getting her repaired. NO more popping sounds, NO more smelly smoke. it turns out her capacitor had gone and in 2 weeks i shall have her back. good as new.

after all her faithful years of service she deserves a little love. i learnt to sew on this machine! she's like a member of the family.

when i studied clothing production we used industrial machines and i started to look down my nose at domestics but she is so sturdy and you can't pop an industrial under the table while you have tea. come home bettina. i've got lots of jobs for you.

introducing the crazy kitty.

2008-07-10T12:21:00.006+10:00

cute

evil....

this is moccasin.

her special skills.
being able to select the most collectable books on the shelf and use them to sharpen her claws.
(1st editions a speciality!)
running in front of your feet as you cross the room.
biting children.
scratching children.
dropping more hair than a yeti.
being feral like her stray mother.
being up-herself like her pure-bred father.
ignoring you when you call her.
hanging around like a bad smell when you want to be on your own.

we tried to give her away recently (as one of our sons is sensitive to sulphur in dried fruit and when cats clean them selves they leave sulphur on their fur which falls out and aggravates those who are sensitive.) she lasted 10 days at her new house. in this time she did not eat, groom or toilet. she hid. hissed. growled and basically acted like an arse. my poor friend had to give her back as she was afraid of the cat.

so we have a cat who spends 20 hrs a day locked in the bathroom when the kids are home and is unable to be socialised into a new house.

not much of a life for the old girl.
....and i'm hoovering daily to keep the sulphur levels down.
any ideas ?? i need help people.

front and centred

2008-07-04T12:33:00.006+10:00

with a lovely purging case of gastro to clean out the cobwebs the week from hell is dead and buried. i wiped every surface with tee tree, got some sleep and knitted to distract myself.

i finished the back of the vest. so there. the back is behind us.

now for the front. this is the first time I've tried something this tricky. i like the rhythm of it. takes more concentration than rib but i like the 'not thinking'. i've been thinking waaaaay to much... worrying.

so needles in hand, a knitting pattern (with a graph!), a stack of half read books, a child who is happily going off to kindy and three garbage bags for the charity shop i'm ready to let go of what was behind me and face the front.

2008-07-02T09:03:00.007+10:00

this has been a pretty dodgy week as far as weeks go.

starting thursday.
for a few weeks i had noticed a change in bubbles personality. the nights before kinda he had trouble sleeping and did not want to go in the morning. getting him dressed was turning in to a game of stealth and cunning. time for a d and m.

he was afraid to go to kinda because of a bully and it had been going on for some time. the hairs on my neck were bristling like a she-wolf and i had to do a bit of pillow screaming. after that i felt better and took the boys to kindy. i told the staff what was happening and they have taken steps to deal with it.

friday.
since bubbles big asthma attack we have been trying homeopathy to deal with his physical symptoms. on friday's visit to the homeopath we talked about the bullying.

the night of the asthma attack mat had taken him in and bubble said a boy stood on his stomach. the homeopath had checked for broken ribs or a punctured lung. in all the hubbub mat forgot to tell me about it. it turns out the boy who stood on his tummy was the one doing the bullying.

the weekend.
we talked about self-esteem and played phones. it's amazing how easily children can talk about their problems when they are role-playing. every time they wanted to tell me something that had upset them they rang me on the toy phone. i learned a lot about kinda and also that my angry voice is too loud and scary. yikes!

monday.
meeting at kinda to discuss our fears, worries and strategies for dealing with the bullying.
began to feel better.

Tuesday.
had to hunt down a friend/colleague to ask for a loan to be re-payed. find out two dear friends of the family have to walk away from their vineyard in six weeks. these people should not have to start again at sixty and i only hope that some positive comes from this situation.

mix and match

2008-06-29T11:06:00.003+10:00

When i was young i looked at my parents as all-knowing gods. Having little people of my own makes me realise how young they were and how much they didn't know.

I don't want to be a know-it-all (imagined or otherwise). I admit to my children that i don't know all the answers. I have certainly learnt more about myself from them than from any introspection, teacher, book or guru.

Parenting may be a strange 'mix and match' of knowledge and intuition and things may not always be perfect but honesty seems to be working right now so i think we'll stick with it.

Mabs and Id.

2008-06-27T13:09:00.004+10:00

congratulations to you two. gorgeousness!

will we see you in the U.K. for Matty's birthday?

hope the day went well. wish we could have been there for mighty mess-up.

then.

2008-06-24T18:27:00.008+10:00

saturday in london

bubble and squeak 9 mths

the morning after the night before

Granny Hilly

best sista in-law ever

Granny Hilly's garden

Before we had a cafe we lived in a very nice house in a very nice street in Thornbury with very nice neighbours. The rent was reasonable and we had a huge back yard. In fact rent was so cheap that we could afford to travel to the uk to show off our nine month old twins. that was in 2004.

Sad to say we have not seen many of you lovely Brits since then. Due to the cost of... everything going up and up and up it feels like we will never save enough, but slowly the fund is rising and in May 2009 we plan to see you again.

me?! dis-organised?!

2008-06-22T12:30:00.007+10:00

Over summer i knitted four scarves, one for each of the family.
'mummy hug' scarves

the grrrr vest

I started a vest with some of the left over wool but when I went to get some more it had sold out. Feeling mildly peeved I bought some different wool.

When I went to pay I had to leave two balls as I did not have enough money. Last night I asked Mat to pick me up two more balls and now that wool has sold out as well.

I've been learning some valuable lessons.

new project. another vest. this time I took my pattern and enough money. I even bought wool from the same dye lot. now if only i can find that missing wool...

i swallowed a mirror ball...

2008-06-20T11:52:00.007+10:00

this picture still freaks me out!

the cafe is full of baby girls at the moment: Alice. Bella(x2). Ella(x2). Ava. Scarlet and Audrey.

but let's not forget Henry, Luca and Sebastian.

or the three bumps yet to pop... it must be something in the water!

mavis and tom

2008-06-15T14:33:00.003+10:00

This is my sister and I with Grandma and Grandpa. I love this picture. Taken in my Grandma's front garden in Rosebud. My grandma made our dresses (and probably our underpants!)

Grandma taught me how to: knit, hand-sew, embroider, use a sewing machine, sew on a button, make proper gravy, weed the garden, play Scrabble and Patience, dry old teacups carefully, save useful things and how to make scones and sponge cake.

Grandpa taught me how to: tether a horse, pull a carrot, shake my gumboots on the step before going inside, walk in a patch without getting 'nettled', mow the lawn so the grass flies into little piles and it's easier to rake and how to tie good knots.

These people taught me pretty much everything worth knowing.

long black and a decaf (gulp) latte

2008-06-15T14:16:00.004+10:00

we sure do miss that order on the coffee docket!

this Auntie and Uncle are rather missed. they were in melbourne for the month of may and it was not long enough! my brother and his partner are staying in New York(!!!) with them right now. arrrrrrrrrrrrgh. totally jealous.

aunty works at the very awesome Jumelle.

http://www.shopjumelle.com/

uncle works the coffee machine at Brown cafe.

http://www.greenbrownorange.com/brown/index.htm

C & O: thanks for everything you did for us in melbourne guys! you certainly have two little fans in bubble and squeak. lord did we have to answer alot of questions about when, where and how we are going to see you again.

three. it's the magic number!

2008-06-14T11:00:00.007+10:00

around three years ago last week.
gosh. three years have flown by. new paint job. new bar. new coffee machine. automatic dishwasher. got rid of fugly deli fridge. busier. more staff. bloody fantastic regulars. new friends. paying the bills. surviving. loving it!

the law of attraction

2008-06-13T09:42:00.009+10:00

visit this link to see some amazing artwork.
this Union Jack is made from pearl buttons.

http://www.anncarrington.co.uk/index.htm

this is her inspiration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearly_Kings_and_Queens

In primary school my best friend was English and I thought her parents had lovely accents. i listened almost exclusively to the Beatles from 1986-1989. then it was the Stones and Bowie.

At fifteen I adored the swinging sixties and wanted to be a fashion designer living in London.

No surprise really that i should fall for an English traveller... so six years, one set of twins, an immigration and a cafe later we've sealed the deal.

best men

2008-06-12T19:46:00.006+10:00

hitchin' hwy

2008-06-10T13:44:00.005+10:00

we got hitched on the 19th of may 2008
more photos soon...

breathing is essential to life...

2008-06-08T10:11:00.007+10:00

let's call the baby bees Bubble and Squeak.

this is Bubble.

this is Squeak.

Wednesday afternoon. Bubble comes home from kinda due to high temp and cough.(When Bubble coughs for longer than a few minutes it's an asthma attack.)All the usual tricks did zilch. Ventolin. homeopathic drops. acupuncture. massage.

9pm. we decide to take a trip to R.C.H emergency. Bubble lost it. ambulance was called. longest five minutes ever.Bubble delirious, sweaty, blue-lipped, floppy.

Bubble had Ventolin mixed with oxygen and relaxed for the first time in hours. it seems a major chest infection was the culprit. After a night in an A&E cubicle, more Ventolin than i have ever given Bubble in his entire 4.5 years, plenty of charming the nurses and oral steroids we were on our way home. scary sheets.

note. i studied acupuncture for 2 years and cringe at the use of western meds. the entire night i felt like vomiting into my mouth while giving Bubs his Ventolin.

This is the 3rd time in 12 months he has had oral steroids. i think we need to be more vigilant in the use of preventative measures but when he is healthy i guess we become a little complacent.

happydays

2008-06-06T09:44:00.007+10:00

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/62/197475328_48e29715c9.jpg?v=0

http://flickr.com/photos/gadgetgirl70/

We are off to a fifties party at Open Studio tonight in honour of our lovely breakfast chef Rosie.
it's not often that we get to party with our staff so we are going to view it as a team building exercise. ha! now what to wear?

update: the party was a blast. i will find a way to get Rosie's seahorse brooch. (which may include tickling and Chinese burns.) turned heads when we descended on the Wesley Ann in a haze of New look/rockabilly/pop sock lushness. note-to-self: if you've been drinking agwa don't have a cider.

rose for rosie

2008-06-05T14:45:00.004+10:00

we are thinking of you Rosie.
these things should never happen...

things my grandpa taught me

2008-06-04T17:09:00.001+10:00

how to use binoculars.

we are saving for the plane fares...