This week...

1. I scrapped...

Used Pencil Lines latest sketch and threw together a few lairy Rose Moka papers, ribbon plus these cute little handsign tags to finally record a photo of Bessie on her 7th birthday.

2. I also painted, tried to keep the poor old garden watered, wrote a funding submission for work and did my best to keep from fainting in this heat.

3. We bought 10 black heifers at the saleyards, and today Tim needled and tagged them (with Duffy and Mia's help)...

....look how much the grass has browned off already!  I'd like to order some more rain please if I may.

4. Waved off my big girls Kate and Beth as they started a brand new school year in Years 5 and 2 respectively....

5.  Got all sad at the thought of my baby leaving me next Monday to start kindy.  She, on the other hand, pulled out her First Grade Scholar workbook to do some big school practice....

...and when asked if she was going to miss Mummy she answered with a confident "NO!" and told me "you can bake cakes all day and have a rest without people bugging you"....thoughtful child!

6. Gave Mia's tatty old cast a makeover....

...she wanted a purple one "just like Martha's" from the start but cos she only needed it on for 3 weeks they said to go with a regular old white one...so there you go my darlin'....anything's possible with a bit of scrapbooking paint.  Do you think we should add a few stickers and kindyglitz.....?

Inverell Inferno

You may have seen this on the news today....this beautiful old 1901 building went up in a spectacular blaze in the early hours of this morning.  See that green light to the left of the photo?  Directly under that is the office I work at - both upstairs and downstairs - you can see the upstairs windows.  My co-worker took this on her mobile phone when she was called in by security at 2am.  Apparently 6 businesses and 13 flats were destroyed....no-one hurt thank heavens.  Unsure of the damage to ours until we are allowed to go in...it's all cordonned off for investigation.  So scary!

More gardening and painting today...I think today was even hotter than yesterday tho!

Then after a little snooze on the couch under the air con, with the cricket droning in the background (enough to send anyone to sleep really...) I scrapped these pics of Beth's fishing outing last July with the men at Manning Point.....

....used a Pip Prosser kit for this - although a bit altered from hers, nice and easy and not too much brain strain!  Thank you Pip!!!

Good Grief Charlie Brown...

...it is HOT!!!

If anyone has any tips for keeping three hot grumpy kids entertained and from driving each other nuts, I for one would like to know.

Not much of a day to get anything done is it?


Proud of myself, however, for getting up early and painting....all the trims in the sitting room are now done - quite a job with two old fashioned sash windows, two doorways, a big archway, the front door, fireplace surround and skirting boards.  But what a difference!  All clean and lovely looking....and about time too!

This arvo when the heat hit the house I sat in the air con and hemmed Mia's school uniform.

Then I scrapped this.....

....which I feel is the only decent Xmassy photo of 2009.  This is the 2nd year in a row where I've hated all the pics I've taken over Christmas.  Lucky I'm not one for buying Christmas themed supplies!

Oh, and I don't think I've shown you this one yet....

...did it earlier in the week as part of the Home and Scrapped cybercrop.  Some nice blurry pics of the girls running around in my bff Linda's backyard playing soccer in the middle of winter.

Suppose I should go and organise something for dinner.....if anyone can stand to eat in this heat!

Yum and Fun

First some YUM....

(If one of your New Years Resolutions is to lose weight, just close your eyes and skip to the next bit OK?)

Easy Peasy Homemade Ice Cream

This is so easy and sooooooo yummy, you will not believe it:

Whip together a tin of condensed milk and 600ml of thickened cream.  Freeze for an hour or so, then mix through whatever fattening naughty you desire (we used chopped up Caramello Koalas).....shove back in the freezer for about 3 or 4 hours until ice cream consistency......then you're ready to indulge!  Mmmmmmmm....

And now some FUN....

How's this for a good-looking family?  LOL!  I scrapped this for the Home and Scrapped cybercrop where Jules challenged us to create a poppet - what the heck!  I went and poppet-ed all of us!  Took me forever....but heaps of fun.

My Babushka wellies arrived!  Love 'em!  Now if it would only rain again....

Postie was extra kind to me yesterday....I also got this adorable diary from Korea - too cute for words!  I love it so much and can't wait to enter all my dates in it......I plan to be one organised chicky.

The kids and I killed a couple of hours in the heat of the day yesterday by watching the 3D version of Coraline....we looked so crazy in our goggles....had to snap a pic!

What're your plans for today?
So far the weather is much kinder, so for me its:

• Find comfy homes for the plants I bought yesterday
• Get started with painting doors and trims around the house....(blah)....so keen about this one!
• Pick something delish to cook for dinner out of the Donna Hay mag.

Whatever you're up to, enjoy your day....and thanks for coming! xxx

A Wooli Weekend

We've spent the last 4 days at the little coastal village of Wooli (about half and hour from Grafton in NSW), staying at the Solitary Islands Resort in our tents.  A funny little village, but I love that it is quaint and quiet and largely unaffected by tourism......we found plenty to do, like....

Fishing...

Yabbying...

Rolling down the massively steep sand dune, accessible only by boat...

Driving the boat...

Early morning splash in the surf...

Beach walks...(rubber washing-up glove over the cast was Tim's idea)...

4wd-ing up the beach...

Exploring the rock pools...

Hanging out at camp...

And on the way home, a stop at Grafton for a game of Ten Pin...

With her arm in a cast, Miss Independence Mia, would struggle with her huge neon-orange bowling ball to the end of the laneway and drop it with a crash where she stood while we watched in suspense as it

r-o-o-o-l-l-l-e-d e-v-e-r s-o s-l-o-w-l-y to the pins....wondering if the ball would make it to the end or stop halfway down.  Incredibly she managed to score spare after spare....(much to the disbelief and annoyance of her older sisters)....in what must have been the longest ten pin game in history.  Did I mention how terribly cute she looked?

Hope you're enjoying what's left of the school holidays....only 9 more days for NSW - make them good!

Design Dollies Entry

I always try to seek out a sketch from somewhere when I'm a bit iffy about how to start a page.....I found what I wanted at Design Dollies....

 ....looks like a fun site.  Lots of challenges....three per week in fact!  And not just sketch ones.  Are you going to enter with me???

Fabulous!

Very flattered to have this award bestowed upon my blog by my lovely SA friend Melissa:

In accepting the award I apparently now must:

1. Name 5 things I love, and

2. Present it to 5 other bloggers I think are FABULOUS

So here we go.

Five things I love:

Pink champagne

The Twilight saga

Polka dots on everything

Babushka and Kokeshi dolls

The view from my kitchen window.

 The five people I've chosen to receive this award are:

Pip Prosser - can't live without my daily dose of Pip!

Leann Pearce - if you want originality and funkiness, this is where you find it.

Brenda - amazing craft and sewing projects - this lady rocks!

Kathie Link - shares a wonderful outlook on life as a mum, and is one awesome scrapper.

Sarah Lou - fellow scrapper with a wicked sense of humour.

My Sunday

Scrapped this using Pencil Lines latest sketch...I like it!

Made these....Lemon Yogurt Muffins...

Washed all three dogs....

Poor Digger - not impressed about smelling like Sunlight soap rather then cow poo and dead animal...

Had to laugh at Mimi's determination to be mobile- a broken arm WILL NOT keep this girl down....

Took photos of some amazing storm clouds over our property...

Hope you had a wonderful day too!

xxx

SBS, New Purchases and a LO

Loving these shows on SBS right now:
Gourmet Farmer and The Nest.....both have inspired me to formulate some new years resolutions about balance and healthy living.....will share soon.

Used some Xmas spending money to spoil myself this week.....a bit naughty really.

How's this for a cute wallet?  OK, so it's a kids one.....but I just had to have it!  Made me happy to throw away my old battered brown leather one.  It's by Darling Dynasty, beautiful stuff....look them up.

And I've ordered my Russian Doll gumbies too.....hoping our puddles don't dry out before they arrive!

Remember that holiday to SA I was telling you about a few months back?  Well, we'd be there right now if it wasn't for Tim not wanting to leave the cattle during the drought.  Good thing we postponed it too.....heatwave in Adelaide, raging bushfires in Port Lincoln....not the best conditions for tenting!  Hoping Easter time will be nicer.

Lastly, a layout share - my 4th creation for 2010....

Enjoy your weekend!
xxx

Uh-oh...

Bit of a hiccup with that "good year" I was predicting....

....a broken bone!!!  The story in Mia's own words:

"I went ZOOMING down the hill....(scream)....and it went all wobbly....(sob)....and I crashed....(wail....scream.....hysterical crying)...and now my bike is flat!"

This all happened at 7pm Tuesday evening....about to serve up dinner....chicken kebabs sizzling in the pan....blood-covered screaming child at the doorstep....two child-witnesses traumatised....comfort and first aid applied....chicken kebabs burnt....flying visit to hospital....

Isn't parenting FUN!

I scrapped for the first time since the beginning of December.  Always a struggle to get back 'in the swing' after a long break....not entirely thrilled with the resulting layouts - oh well....another 14 pictures scrapped....

This one was finally published in Scrapbooking Memories mag last month....I did it about 18 months ago!  I missed out on purchasing a copy....did anyone see it in Vol 11 No 11?

And this one was in the month before - Vol 11 No 10....

This steamy weather with the odd shower is doing wonders for the garden and paddocks!  Look how incredibly GREEN it is....

Hope you are having a nice day.
Thanx for stopping by....
xxx

I want I need...

Late night window-shopping-on-the-net (there must be a term for that!) has me yearning for....

1. a Korean Ddung doll - awwwwww...

2. Babushka gumboots...

3. this totally desirable journal by Kikki K...

4.  a touch of garden whimsy...

5.  funky retro scrapbooking labels....

6.  wacky furniture....

7.  Kokeshi figurines - I feel the need to start a collection...

8.  Elephant art...

9. Button jewelery

10.  Oh*so*pretty "rose" scarf

What do you covet right now???