to market...

We had a lovely and fruitful excursion to the Camberwell Market today. From something was just to kill time, we all came home with something.
I have been looking for a drawer unit for the twins room - we had old bedside tables, but they sit over the ducted heating. This little 50's retro number fitted the bill exactly - and fitted the limited space.
There had been fights over the bike we had, so we picked up this little number, with the aim of everyone having a bike, but of course everyone wants this one.

Some great little books. Where's Wally and this Family Circle Dress Up one which has some great ideas and basic patterns for all kinds of dress ups. And, I also bought myself a top. All in all a good day. (The big squirrel got hot jam donuts that put a smile on his face!!!)

Quilting for Bushfire Survivors

The temperature has certainly dropped - there is snow is falling at Marysville, and we need to think of the comfort of those bushfire survivors who are living in caravans and temporary accomodation with very little.

A friend of mine has been involved in making some quilts to donate to survivors. They have had fabric donations and raided their stashes and now have over 45 quilts. However now they need to raise some money in order to have them professionally quilted and get out to the survivors. So if you can help out in any way here are the details for their quilt hanging:

BUSHFIRES QUILT HANGING
Saturday 20th June 2009
11am-4.30pm

LightHouse, Ashburton
Uniting Church
7 Ashburn Grove, Ashburton

Over 40 quilts made for
Bushfire Survivors on display.
Devonshire Tea available
Gold coin donation entry. Quilt for raffle.
All proceeds towards quilting of Bushfires Quilts.

Celebration

We had the formal send off for Nan today and it was a celebration. Nan had two girls and both spoke, as too did her niece who at 17 was taken in as part of the family. She really was a woman before her time - the real independant woman. To me she wasn't your classic 'Nan', she wasn't baking, or really babysitting (to my recollection). She worked until she was 70 and she had already lied about her age to stay on that long. Infact her last employer sent a beautiful boquet.
At 60 she was off to see the world- travelling, meeting people, the life of the party. Boyfriends, fashion and parties aren't what you associate with your Nan!
She was 96 and three days old when she died, but dementia slowly started to take her ten years ago. It felt as if she just slipped away from us. She was still alive, living in care, but not alive in any way. She didn't know anyone and was purely going through the motion. Her death was almost a relief, a finality. She was no longer trapped in some time prison forced to interact with people who she didn't know or recognise. For us it was a nice way to gather and remember the woman she was, to grieve for her loss and to celebrate her life. Hopefully she is dancing a jig wherever she is now!

Country Air

The boys loved the opportunity to enjoy the countryside and the brisk fresh air, and just to run, but also time to spend with their family. Thank you Sarah for organising such a lovely day.

The write stuff

Alexander has really taken to the idea of school. The focus at the moment at school is 'have a go', so rather than asking how to spell things. they just need to sound them out and try on thier own. He just sat down beside me and started to write the things he liked.

I like school.

I like going to Auskick

I like to kick the football because it is fun and it is hard.

Signing off

Quietly and with the assistance of a morphine shot, Nan's 96 years on earth ended today. I believe she is in a better place. While we are sad, we are also relieved that the prison her mind had put her in is over. We remember her as she used to be. The woman who had no trouble getting a boyfriend, who was able to lie about her age not only to her husband and children, but also to colleagues and friends later in life. I remember celebrating her 80th birthday and her friend saying "I can't believe you are 70!"
She always looked good and took pride in her appearance. Thats why seeing her with lank white unwashed hair and without teeth was so incredible hard to see.
I remember her playing the piano so excitedly she almost danced off the little seat. My favorite was Puppet on a String.
Her name was Mae West and she lived up to that reputation. She divorced my Grandpa when mum was married and I alway thought of her boyfriend Howard as her husband. After his death she was fortunate to have a serious relationship with another man Hans. Can you imagine being in you late 70's and picking up a man in the fish and chip shop. This was Nan. Infact even when she first went into care, in her late 80's she still had boyfriends. Probably the only problem was remembering who they were.
While I make light of it, we remember the good things and good times. She lived a long fun filled life and for that we are thankful.

Stitchin Time

Yesterday, Alexander and had some special time together - which is too rare these days. After a relaxing walk together at the shops, we decided to make a cuddly monster together. We started with him drawing the design (you can see the lines behind the exciting colouring)

From here we traced the lines and made a pattern.

Out to the shed, Alexander picked some fabrics from the stash and we cut them out.He maintained his enthusiasm throughout the project and sat and chatted while I sewed up the pieces.Once sewn together, Alexander used Crayola fabric textas to draw the face on.

He helped me stuff the pieces- I hand stitched the hole and ta-da, a lovely cuddly!

And very happy little boy......