Umm...hello?

If my life was a soap opera it would be taken off air for being too dramatic, unrealistic and unbelievable!

There's so much 'stuff' whirling in my head that I need to push to the side to get on with the actions of day to day living. Personally and professionally it's all happening. Oh the irony when a work colleague recently asked me what my secret was for seeming to manage all the uncertainty that is currently at my workplace.

I think I floored her when I explained that it was nothing compared to what else was going on in my life!

I'm quite a private person and it's a help and a hindrance. It's a coping mechanism as a lot of rubbish can be forgotten about for periods of time. The flip side is that it can also be a bit lonely so there needs to be some release. I find my release in writing. I have been pouring my heart into writing. Raw, emotional, outrageously honest writing that's locked and double locked away for my eyes only. 

This blog has therefore been neglected and I feel a real mix of emotions about that. There's a part of me that feels safe that my private life is just that but there's also a bit that's quite sad that some happy events haven't been recorded like I used to do. 

So I guess this intro is a little nod in the direction of the crappola and it's me acknowledging it in some way so that I can give myself permission to write about good moments. I would still like to capture those nice memories here without feeling like a fraud and that I'm creating an illusion of "an ideal life". 

It's a tiny admission that whilst I don't want to share everything I want to at least put some context around my lack of social interaction. 

Blogging is different for everyone and for me as this blog is not wholly anonymous I choose to mainly share just the positive. 

(It's not about me trying to be cryptic and definitely not about fishing for sympathy.  Like I said, my privacy is important to me and I'm actually fine. I'm surprising myself just how fine I am. Everyone has something going on at any one time and maybe I'm just getting more than my share at the moment but I'm holding on. )

So......moving on.

Brisbane is a glorious place to be in May. It's also full of public holidays and now that my working week includes a Monday I've been able to take advantage of that.

Sibs and I took off on one public holiday and packed a picnic and headed to Bribie Island for the day. 

We walked in the opposite direction to the crowd and wandered the sea shore. It was one of the most relaxing afternoons I can remember for a long time. 

It was good to get away for the day. 

I've also been plodding away with some craft things and trying out some different patterns and yarns. I recently subscribed to a monthly crochet box. I wanted to support a business in the UK called 'Little Box of Crochet' and I now get a gorgeous little box left on my doorstep every month. It's a happy day when the box arrives and it's like opening a present. 

Each box includes a very detailed pattern booklet (with photos), the yarn, a crochet hook, a stitch marker and anything else you need like buttons and there's a treat as a surprise. It's certainly got me trying out things I would not normally do and if anyone is interested here's the website link. LITTLE BOX OF CROCHET

Possibly a little pointless, but I do love these rainbow mug cardigans. It certainly brightens up my morning cup of coffee. 

Anyhow, it's time to spell check and press publish - taxi duty calls. 

I need to put away my ice cream bowl (the best kind of dinner choice when I'm not cooking for anyone else!) I need to turn off Radio 2 on my Internet radio and leave the conversation with Graham Norton about the Eurovision Song Contest and head to the other side of town to pick up a teenager who's dancing away at a 70's party. 

Happy weekend all.

Beth

x

   

A crochet chat

About two years I decided I needed a bit of a creative outlet. I set myself a little challenge to teach myself how to crochet. I thought it would be easy - one little crochet hook, a ball of wool, what could be so tricky about that? Well, it wasn't quite as easy as I thought...

My ipad an I spent many evenings attempting various stitches with varying degrees of success. I struggled with the tension and my crochet samplers grew and shrunk with some alarming regularity. As they say, practise makes perfect and whilst nothing is ever quite perfect my confidence grew and I began to try out work that was a little more exciting than a scarf!

One of the things that I enjoy making is blankets. I love the anticipation of the project, sorting through the colours and the repetitiveness of row after row coming together. To date I have either followed a pattern or just slightly tinkered a bit with the colours. I got a little bit brave a few months ago and decided I could manage to venture alone...

I considered my colour choices, decided on the basic stitch and started. I often give my blankets as gifts but I still need to love them whilst I'm in the process. With this one the love began to waiver about a third of the way through. The irregularity of the stripe was beginning to bother me. The initial attraction to the randomness just wasn't working anymore. I noticed that the blanket wasn't really progressing as I just wasn't drawn to picking it up in the evenings.

Thankfully, the solution came to me and the answer was to mirror the pattern from the halfway point. Ahhh, symmetry..... all became well in my crochet world!

I've worked blankets with lots of different colour stripes in the past but these three shades needed rhythm and purpose.

Once a blanket is completed I'm itching to get going again. As a welcome change I looked for a quick start and finish project.

Back in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales in the little town that was my home for many years the planning is underway  for 'Yarndale'. This is a creative festival of all things woolly and they have a community project that you can contribute to wherever you are in the world. This year the community project is to make a woolly sheep. These sheep will be a visual display during the Yarndale weekend and then they will be sold with the proceeds going to Martin House - a hospice to care for children and young people in Yorkshire and a donation will also go to The Children's Liver Disease Foundation.

I have watched the crochet community post their creations on social media and marvelled at the different interpretations. From my attempts my favourite was my little girly sheep in her pink jumper, so she will packaged up and sent back to Yorkshire. I wonder where she'll end up?

Details of the woolly sheep community project can be found -  HERE and you have until September 9th to contribute.

Another community project that I have just completed also came to my attention via social media. It's called #jennysblanketofhugs. A very kind and thoughtful individual is creating a blanket for a young girl who sadly has just learnt that her brain tumour has returned. The idea is that people can crochet squares that will then be made up into a blanket.

I really wanted to do my bit to contribute to this blanket. I set to work on the plain square and after a couple of attempts (that tension thing again!) I managed to get the required size about right. The same thing happened with the stripes - my size was out and the sides were wonky. The bobbled one was a real challenge for me - rows of increasing and decreasing number of stitches and bobbles that were way too flat! On Sunday evening I was on attempt number six or seven and then a thought came to me. These squares are just three squares in a huge blanket of hugs. There are numerous individuals from different corners of the world expressing their squares in their own way. Just like we hug. Each hug is different - similar... but different.  Each square made for this blanket would be similar but different.

That's the beauty of this blanket. It has a colour theme, it has variations on plain, stripes and bobble squares, but it's full of individual hugs that give it that that beautiful uniqueness.

On Monday morning I came back from a yoga class, got straight into sewing in the stray ends to my (slightly wonky) squares, took the selfie that was requested with my contribution and these will be posted off to the UK this week.

The details of the #jennysblanketofhugs project can be found  - HERE

Cheerio not goodbye

I recently finished a blanket that I made for some friends. It was a sad moment when I finished it....

Not that I was sad to give it away, I was sad because it meant that they were going away - and taking the blanket to Scotland!

I don't want to wallow in self pity here but my blog is about capturing life and sometimes it's not all chocolates and roses! I'll just be brief....

When we first came to Australia back at the end of 2005 (just for a year), I was lucky enough to meet a family who would become a big part of my life here. We were neighbours in a foreign country bonding over coffee and children. I think we were similar in the way we approached life and we just clicked.

Our kids have more or less grown up together. Sibs considers them her family. Actually, that's how I feel too...

All those significant moments over the last 10 years or so have been shared in their company. 

Milestones have been reached and experienced together. 

Occasions and events have been celebrated together. 

As I'm writing this my mind is buzzing with the memories.

As well as the big stuff they have always been there for everyday things too. I could not count the number of coffees and wines shared! But on a more serious note they have been the friends that I've felt completely comfortable asking those last minute favours of. The people that I could phone or text anytime, the name on the emergency contact list.... (must sort that one out!)

So you see what I mean when I say I'm sad....?

Quite simply, I'm going to really really miss them. 

Saying goodbye was tough. We struggled with that horrid word. 

So do you know what? Let's not use it! Let's just hold onto the hundreds of happy memories, pretend that they've gone on an extended holiday and start the saving for our next trip home when a visit up to Scotland will be taking place. 

Thank you W family for being truly lovely friends. Raising a glass to your new adventures and we'll see you next year in your new housie!

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

Dr Seuss

Finding some calm after the storm

It's the first day of December - it's Summer here in Brisbane. (still so, so wrong...!) The purple Jacarandas have all but disappeared and instead we now have the wonderful vibrant Royal Poinciana. They really do look fabulous against the backdrop of the blue Summer sky. 

Royal Poinciana

That blue sky that I quickly snapped on the way home from school drop off this morning was very different last Thursday....

It was about 4.30pm and all of a sudden everything went dark. There was an eerie silence, then the trees outside my office started to sway and within a few minutes the rain started to lash at the windows. Not long after that the hail started. When I say hail I don't mean little pea size balls of ice - I'm talking big! They got as big as golf balls and some people saw some the size of tennis balls! It was the strangest 30 minutes ever.  There was no warning as is usual with Brisbane storms.  We could only stare out of the windows and wonder at the damage that was being caused. Hail that size can make a car looked like it's been sprayed with bullets.  Windows and windscreens were smashed and branches were flying through the air. Water began to pour through the roof of a room and this kicked the evacuation alarms into action. Except no-one really wanted to leave...

Here's a bit of a clip at the start of the storm taken from inside.

Brisbane storm

Thankfully, no one was badly injured and apart from very wet feet and a delay in getting home I was unaffected. Some others weren't quite so lucky and the next morning I was checking in with a neighbour who told me that the roof of the warehouse of her business had blown off and her Summer stock had been damaged. Another work colleague knew someone who had to have stitches in her head due to a large hail stone landing on her. There were also numerous people that I know with trees on cars and damaged property. What destruction in 30 minutes! Mother Nature sure was having a bad day!

As Brisbane was shaken by a storm on Thursday, the whole of Australia (and further afield) was completely moved by the tragic accident and subsequent death of the young cricketer Phillip Hughes. It has dominated conversation this past week. Australians are so passionate about sport and especially cricket. It's very touching to see the cricket bats placed outside homes and buildings in tribute to him. We are not a family of cricketers but I did find the beach bat and as I placed it I had a moment of reflection on the fragility of life. Sibs got an extra long good night cuddle on Thursday.

In tribute to Phillip Hughes

I always need to find something quiet and soothing after an incident or occasion that shakes me a bit. The long bath didn't quite work so I got into my crochet zone over the weekend and managed to finish a baby blanket that will get the boy/girl colour trim added when my cousin decides the time is right to give birth!

comforting crochet

Then to start this week off on a slightly calmer note, I took myself off for 5 minutes just for me. (It was probably closer to 45 minutes, but who's counting?)

perfection....

This morning I went to re-stock on coffee beans and plonked myself on a comfy sofa with a coffee, some pear and raspberry toast (it's fruit ok!) and got a bit lost with Jane Austen. Funny how you can re-read a book and still absolutely love it.  'Persuasion' is my all time favourite Austen novel. Of course I adore the others, but there is something about 'Persuasion' that intrigues me. Maybe it's the simplicity of the story, maybe it's because it's set in Bath, maybe it's because it's Austen's last novel, written when she was ill? It's all of these things and probably just the fact that it's beautifully written. 

I have introduced my girl to the wonderful world of Austen and we have watched many versions of her books that have been made into films and for TV. Of course, in my opinion to appreciate her true talent then you need to read the books. Sibs started and struggled with Sense & Sensibility (her favourite TV adaptation) so for Christmas last year I found a box set of easy reading Austen novels. 

Each book starts with a brief explanation of the characters, then the novel is presented in a lovely mixture of original and easy to read text. The books end with further notes about the plot; the era and the author and some questions to think about. 

 I bought the box set from Amazon UK and they are published by realreads.co.uk
Real Reads also have a great selection of classic novels and plays.

on my mantlepiece

Wishing everyone a calm week,

Everyday stuff.

Today is a bit of a scorcher in Brisbane - it's predicted to reach 38 degrees this afternoon, that's a 100 if you work in Fahrenheit! That's pretty hot for October, so I'm staying indoors and catching up on a bit of house stuff which obviously means browsing through photos on the computer!

Here's a few visuals from a couple of weekends ago. 

This is the Bougainvillea that is on the walkway down at South Bank next to the Brisbane river. The flowers are such a vibrant pink above your head. Such a shame that it also produces the most vicious spikes! We have a Bougainvillea at the back of the house and we have tried to tame it back and contain it as it can also make a beautiful mess when the flower petals drop. 

I've just taken this photo a minute ago on my phone. The contrast in the colours is pretty stunning.

Twmff the cat is asleep somewhere behind that wall trying to shelter from the heat. He wouldn't appear for a photo....I don't really blame him today.

Talking of lovely colours, Sibs was so delighted that this year she had a 'real' ballet costume for a performance that she was part of at QPAC recently. Over the years some of the costumes have included a white leotard for a goat, a pink leotard for a flower and a red and white stripe outfit for a doll. It's all been very age appropriate but she's been desperate for a proper ballerina look. Imagine her excitement at being able to wear a tulle tutu? Yet another growing up step.....

I don't venture into the city too often at night, but each time I do, I always stop and admire how lovely it is. The river bank was full of neon clad runners a few Saturdays ago. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera or a phone with me to capture it. Let's just say it was colourful, noisy and spectacular.
This is a shot on the way home after a performance and the city is all alight.

Straight after this photo we luckily got a message from a friend advising avoiding our usual route home as the rugby game between the Australian Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks had just finished and the roads around the stadium were blocked.  We didn't want to know the score either so went the really long way home up Mount Coot-tha. At one junction there was a taxi next to us and Sibs gave me strict instructions not to look at it as the people inside would have given the result away!

Quick shower later and the two of us - actually make that three as Twmff came to join us, watched the recorded game. From pink tutu ballet wearing girl to rugby fan in one swift move!

After such a late night the Sunday lie in was quite welcome. It's never quiet for long though and the much dreaded dismantling of the trampoline happened with Papa helping out. The trampoline is an Australian childhood essential. It seems that if you have a patch of grass then it will have a trampoline on it. Sibs got hers for her fifth birthday and has loved it since that day. It was showing some signs of wear though and we didn't realise quite how much until we inspected the underside and noticed that it was rusting away! Sadly that was it - the trampoline had to go.

Not much else has really been going on.

I've been dipping in and out of my crochet blanket.

I'm enjoying the challenge of the different stitches but it's not a rhythmic, getting lost in time, type of project. I have to concentrate! It does feel lovely and soft and I'm sure that I will enjoy using it in the cooler months. 

I've ordered my first lot of wool on line today. I'm planning a ripple blanket - now that will be something that I'll be able to get lost in time with! 

I thought the shades were a little more subdued....but now I see them next to my current blanket they look exactly the same! I still don't quite know who I am with all these colours! 

I've also got some wool ready to go on another baby blanket. That will be quite soothing as I don't know whether the bub will be a boy or a girl so that blanket will just be cream until I know. Just got to decide on the stitch and remember that babies are small! (The last baby blanket I made turned out bigger that I planned and the little sweetheart looked a little bit lost in it!)

Well, best get on with some of those things on my to-do list....

Have a happy and safe week,

School holiday crochet, concerts and the beach.

We are at the end of a two week school holiday here and it's just starting to feel quite Summery. The days are perfectly warm and the evenings still necessitate a cardigan....and I do love my cardigans.

These holidays we spent some time at home and some away at the beach. It's been Relaxation with a capital R. 

In anticipation of the holiday time and some crochet hours, I was lured to fill a basket with some gorgeous Merino wool in a rainbow of colours - on sale of course! I can't describe how luxurious the wool feels. I've predominantly used acrylic in my crochet to date - it's cheap and I have to admit to not having too much faith in my ability to splash out on anything more. 

I wanted to try and test myself with a project so found a pattern for a stripe blanket with a variety of stitches. Hmm, case of running before I could walk I think.  

After a while it became apparent that my stitches were increasing and then decreasing at an alarming rate. There was nothing else but to undo and start again. Oh the agony!

version 1

So armed with some prior knowledge and tips about tension I have been methodically counting to 169 at the end of every line - sometimes twice just to be sure. I think I've got it now.

version 2

In other crochet news I decided that I needed to know how to do a ripple stitch so I began to crochet away during ballet lessons and it morphed into a cushion cover!

There have been a number of pretty exciting concerts this month. The first was to see Queen with Adam Lambert. I think if anyone is going to get close to filling Freddie Mercury's shoes then Adam Lambert would have to be the man. 

It took the crowd a little while to warm to him, but he soon got everyone on side not only with his talent but his genuine appreciation of his fortune at being on stage with such great musicians. 

Then there was Andrea Bocelli. An evening of glitz and glamour and a secret competition that no-one told me about - who could wear the highest heels! - I lost.

He was joined by the lovely Delta Goodrem who charmed the audience with her solo and duet performances. The only disappointment of the evening for me is that Mr Bocelli never uttered a word. I think there was a murmur of a 'thank you' at one point, but I wanted to know the man a little more. (Blurry photos sneaked on my phone)

To round off, the charming and cheeky Robbie Williams bounced into Brisbane and boy did he entertain. 

I was so close I could read his tattoos!

These photos were taken with my phone and I was a bit caught up in the atmosphere to concentrate too much on the perfect shot. Just trust me that it was spectacular.

So after all that excitement it was time to stop and re-charge. That happened at the Sunshine Coast. 

Our first evening there, Sibs and I decided to head to the beach. We walked for miles chatting and singing away. There is something special about an empty beach, the sound of the sea and the squeak of the sand. 

During the week away we spent some time in Noosa catching up with family and we visited Eumundi early in the morning to go to the markets. Yes, I got up and I was there as it opened!

One of the days we bumped into some school friends who were staying close by and I happily watched from the comfort of my shady spot on the grass with a coffee and a great book. I enjoy the beach when it's quiet and when the sun is down. After years in Australia it's still not my favourite place to be when it's crowded.

All too soon it was home for the long weekend and the countdown to the preparation for back to school and work. We had eleven for dinner on Saturday night and it was the first time we have eaten outdoors since the Winter. Another sign that it's warming up.

There was one little lonely chocolate pot strategically hidden placed at the back of the fridge after the dinner party...

Shame for it to go to waste!

So that was a bit of a September round up and some of what we have been up to during the school holidays. 

It's now time to get a G&T and sit outside on this public holiday Monday to enjoy the scent of the last of the Jasmine flowers.

(Following on from my last post, Sibs has now got her back brace and is being a little star managing it. Thank you all who have sent lovely supportive messages. I will update soon. )

A Friday catch up

It's Friday..... thank flippin' goodness!

It's been a long few weeks ....

Partly as I have been busy putting in a few extra hours here and there with my work and partly self inflicted as I have been staying up way way too late in the evenings working on my crochet blanket and getting totally addicted to the new BBC channel on Foxtel TV!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Foxtel for bring BBC First to Australia. Burton and Taylor was superb!

So what else has been occurring?

Well the Winter has not disappointed with glorious crisp mornings and sunny afternoons. The fire has been lit a few evenings...just for the sight, sound and smell really as to be honest it hasn't been particularly cold.

The Winter school holidays were a bit of a blur as Sibs was involved in a pretty big production of CATS.

When I say pretty big, I mean huge! There were over 500 cats involved with Marina Prior as the star attraction. I did start to write a blog post about it but never quite got to finishing it. I probably should, as it was such an incredible experience for her and it would be good to capture the memories. I was involved back stage and got to witness the excitement and thrill that the young performers experienced. It was pretty magical.

So after that I took Sibs and a friend for a little break up to Noosa to visit Nana and Papa and we did the holiday stuff - meal out, market wandering, walk on the beach, paddle boarding, whale watching on her uncle's boat,  people watching. Just chilling out really - bliss.

The second half of the school year has reminded me how close we are to coming to the end of a childhood milestone - finishing primary school.
Last week Sibs and I went to be fitted out with her high school uniform. Yes, it's a full six months before she starts high school but I got a call to gently let me know that I hadn't booked in a fitting and hey, ho there was a cancellation and could I pretty please get myself organised and be at the school for 7am on a Monday morning!
When Sibs tried on the school blazer I expected to be confronted by the sight of a grown up young lady, instead I saw my little girl looking back at me. It didn't help the emotions that the high school sports fleece was the identical colour to the fleece she had when she first started primary school back in the Yorkshire Dales as a just turned four year old. Talk about flashback with a twist!

So the spare bedroom is full of uniform, bags, hats, textbooks and various school paraphernalia. Sibs keeps going in and trying things on - which I think is a good sign that she's looking forward to the change.

This boy has yet again been in the wars, we reckon he's getting pretty close to his ninth life!

We didn't see him at all last Sunday and he didn't come home that evening for his tea. I eventually heard the cat flap swing open in the early hours of Monday morning and a rather bedraggled looking Twmff appeared. He spent the day sleeping and when I checked on him he had a number of little scratches and cuts. He has since spent the week curled up and hasn't even shown any interest at all in venturing out. Something or someone has definitely spooked him. He's been getting lots of cuddles, 'cwtches' and  'maldod' so I'm sure he'll be right as rain soon.

In more exciting news.... I've finished my stripe blanket - yay!

I've really enjoyed working on this one. It's pretty heavy and warm and is just the right size to drape over two laps on the sofa. Every now and again I would question the riot of colours but when I put a border of three different tones of blue to finish it off, it seemed to work.

I'm pressing pause this weekend and going away up to the mountains for a get away weekend and I'll be taking my blanket with me. It's a place we've been to before. Somewhere to completely switch off. There's no TV, phone reception or internet connection. The only noise is the wildlife - and there's plenty of that.
I've packed two books, my toothbrush, my Ugg boots, some chocolate, my camera,  my crochet bag and not much else!

So let's hope I come back revitalized and refreshed.

Happy weekend,