Surprisingly Domestic

New blog!

2011-11-20T19:07:00.000+08:00

I've combined both my existing blogs into a more all-purpose one and imported all my old posts:

https://worklifefamilyfitness.wordpress.com/

Come and join me!

No-sugar, low-fat apple & cinnamon muffins

2011-02-15T15:49:00.002+08:00

Pursuant to the previous post, I've lost 4kg in 3 weeks, yay! I have started a separate blog for that, but this is a bit of a cross-over.

I adapted a 'normal' muffin recipe to make these, Emma wasn't interested (but is so rarely willing to try anything new), Evie ate one and Alastair ate three. Heh. They're not bad, if you're expecting a very sweet muffin they will be odd but they're pretty good for what they are. Using whole milk, as I do, it comes out at about 107 calories per muffin. If you use skim milk, it's about 103 calories. Why bother? ;) If you used a non-dairy milk, these could easily be dairy-free.

---
Ingredients
4 Granny Smith apples (mine were small, approx. 100g each with skin/core)
160g self-raising flour
150g wholemeal spelt flour
2 eggs (I used large eggs)
50g honey (2tbsp for those not using a Thermomix)
180g milk of your choice
1/2 tsp baking powder
a generous sprinkle of cinnamon (good flavour and good for the blood sugar)

Method

PART 1:
Peel, core and slice apples. Cook with a small amount of water, and then puree. I did this all in the Thermomix, but whatever method works for you. A good fork mash would work okay too, if you're short on appliances.

I let this cool because I had to go out, but I don't imagine that's necessary.

PART 2:
Mix all ingredients in the Thermomix, approximately 20 seconds on speed 4, make sure you scrape the sides down. Otherwise, sift dry ingredients, combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then mix the two together.

Divide into 16 muffin tins - remember if you make larger ones it will affect the calorie count, if that concerns you. If it doesn't, then go for it ;)

Bake approx. 30 minutes at 180. I found these took a bit longer than my regular muffins, and sank a little in the middle after cooling, but they're cooked.

TIP: grease the muffin tins well, mine stuck a bit probably due to the lack of butter or oil in the mix. Or use paper muffin cases.

I am going to lose weight

2011-01-22T14:39:00.003+08:00

Confession time: I don't like dieting, I hate the dieting industry. However, I need to lose about 15kg, and more importantly, inches off my waist as my waist measurement puts me in the high-risk category for heart disease. I am an emotional eater; I eat when I'm upset AND I eat to celebrate or reward myself. Also, while I'm relatively active and not too terribly unfit, I don't really raise my heart rate enough to effectively burn calories and fat.

So I am aiming for a "lifestyle change", but that's semantics really: it's a diet. It's time for harsh truths!

I am doing the Michelle Bridges 12-week Body Transformation. I do know how to eat properly, and I know how to exercise, but the frame of mind I'm in, I want someone to tell me what to do and give me that push.

At least, judging by the cookbook, it is real food, not artificial sweeteners and shakes-instead-of-meals. So far today I've had a poached egg on wilted spinach with toast for breakfast, and a chicken, eggplant and salad pita bread for lunch. And two cups of coffee (small amount of milk, no sugar) because I am not giving up coffee :P I'm hungry now, so I'm going to have a yummy nectarine :)

In the interests of accountability, my current weight (as of Wednesday) is 81.3kg.

Day 21: luminarium!

2010-11-21T19:15:00.001+08:00

The kids inside Levity III at the AWESOME Festival:

Evie had white cardboard angel wings on, which looked really cool. She said they were owl wings, though. "Owl! fly fly!"

Day 19: 5 things to do in Perth this weekend

2010-11-19T12:22:00.004+08:00

19 November

Joondalup Upmarket
6-9pm, Central Walk, Joondalup
Buy handcrafted Christmas gifts, homewares, clothing and more. Live music and free children's craft activities. On every Friday for five weeks. Visit www.perthupmarket.com.au

Let’s Celebrate Belmont: Movie under the Stars
6.45pm, Garvey Park, Fauntleroy Ave, Ascot
Bring a picnic to see the Disney movie UP! (Rated PG). FREE!
Enq: #9477 7248 or visit www.belmont.wa.gov.au

Saturday 20 November

Swan View Show
9-4.30pm, Brown Park, Amherst Rd, Swan View
Agricultural show with a wide range of competitive displays, as well as variety stalls. Adults $8, Conc. $5, children $5, under 5 free. Visit www.swanviewshow.org.au

Sunday 21 November

All Things Bright and Beautiful Open Day
10am-3pm, RSPCA headquarters, 108 Malaga Drive, Malaga
Activities and things to do for animal-loving families, including music, pony rides and tours of the shelter. Adults $5, children $3, family ticket $12 (proceeds to the RSPCA). Visit www.rspcawa.asn.au

19-28 November

The AWESOME International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things
Showcases contemporary art from all around the world. New media, film, animation, contemporary dance, sculpture, installation and theatre are presented in the Perth CBD for young people and their families.
Two FREE events on this weekend and next:
- Levity III. Immerse yourself in the light and colour of the giant inflatable ‘luminarium’. 10am-5pm Saturday, 11am-5pm Sunday, 10am-5pm during the week. Forrest Place, Perth.
- Big Picture, Small People. See the latest animation for young people. Various screening times at the State Library Theatre and Northbridge Piazza. See website for times.
Visit www.awesomearts.com/festival/

Enjoy!

Day 18: in the garden

2010-11-18T16:00:00.004+08:00

We're having a hot spell here in Perth, but that means I have water from the air-conditioning with which to water the plants. I set a bucket up under the downpipe and it gives me enough for most of these potted plants.

More blueberries. We've been picking four or five ripe ones each day, just enough for us each to pop one in our mouths, yum.

A little baby strawberry :) The kids are very excited about these.

The beans are a-climbing!

Day 16 - happy face biscuits

2010-11-16T13:29:00.003+08:00

250g butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar (forgot to weigh this for proper Thermomix conversion)
2 eggs
few drops vanilla extract
4 cups/530g plain flour
jam for filling

--

1. Cream together butter and sugar (Thermomix: 30 seconds or so at speed 4)
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla (Thermomix: about 15 seconds at speed 4)
3. Stir in the flour and mix to a fairly soft dough (Thermomix: add the flour in batches and incorporate until a dough is formed)
4. Turn onto a floured board and knead gently (Thermomix: 30 seconds at interval speed)
5. Roll out to 3mm thickness and cut into rounds. From half of these, cut out eyes and mouth.
6. Place on greased baking sheets and bake at 190 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden-brown. Leave on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
7. When cool, spread biscuits with jam and sandwich together.

Based on a recipe from a very old Margaret Fulton cookbook.
--

Alastair helped me make these. The faces are a bit wonky and therefore creepy-looking, don't you think? We also didn't roll out the dough quite thin enough, and used quite a large round cutter, so there's a LOT of biscuit in these.

However, they sure are yummy! There's nothing like making food with happy faces on for a feel-good activity :)

Bargains at late-night shopping - Day 15

2010-11-15T22:00:00.002+08:00

49c for a 500g punnet of strawberries! I bought four ... I did leave two for other shoppers. ;)

Amazingly, only ONE berry in the 2kg had to be thrown out. About a quarter were good enough to eat whole and are in the fridge for the kiddies, and the other 1.5kg are chopped up in the freezer, ready for smoothies, icypoles, muffins and anything else fun I think of.

Today I also had about 5 litres of milk to use up. People have been sick this week, and we get 10L delivered each week - delivery day is tomorrow. So tonight I've made 1.5L of vanilla ice-cream, a batch of vanilla custard, a batch of chocolate custard, and I've currently got yogurt going and am about to make mini-frittatas before heading to bed. Alastair and I also baked some yummy biscuits, but I'll save those for tomorrow's post.

Changing rooms ... Day 14

2010-11-14T15:53:00.002+08:00

... we spent today switching furniture between rooms. If you haven't seen my house, you'll have very little idea of how tricky it was. Let me paint a picture: Federation-era semi-detached duplex half. Three large rooms at the front, long corridor - not terribly narrow but we've lined it with bookshelves. Therefore moving large pieces of furniture required moving some other stuff outside temporarily and being very careful around corners.

Previously, we had our bedroom at the front, all three children in the largest room, and Garry had his office in the third, which also had a sofa-bed. Our living area is tiny, and the kids would all end up there all day, which didn't bode well for the summer holidays. And the office didn't get used most of the day, while Garry was at work.

So we shifted his desk into our bedroom (which required moving one wardrobe out), and moved Emma's stuff into the third room. Now she has her own room, with a sofa-bed, and hopefully they'll get on each other's nerves less. Garry is often working after I go to bed, so hopefully we can manage like this until we extend.

Does anyone else live in a small space - or relatively small given the number of people in your family? How do you make it work for you?

2010-11-13T13:05:00.000+08:00

I have sick kiddliwinks again. *sigh*

5 things to do with your kids in Perth this weekend

2010-11-11T16:11:00.003+08:00

(And they won't break the bank either.)

Friday 12 November:

Turning on the Christmas Lights
7pm, Forrest Place, Perth.
Free! Check out the giant Christmas Tree in Forrest Place, towering at more than 13 metres tall and decked out with more than 2000 lights, and the arrival of Santa to switch the lights on. Enquiries: 9461 3368 or visit www.perth.wa.gov.au

Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 November:

Perth Heritage Days
All around the city
Free! Celebrate the heritage of our capital city. A huge range of activities are planned for the whole family, including:
- Horse and cart rides around the city
- Open day with rides on vintage fire engines, displays and a water pumping competition.FESA Education and Heritage Centre, Old Central Fire Station, cnr Murray & Irwin Sts, Perth.
- Archaelogical activities at Government House, St Georges Tce, Perth.
- Story-telling and children’s activities at the Royal Perth Hospital museum, Wellington St, Perth.
- Children’s activities at the City of Perth Library, Law Chambers (lower floor), 573 Hay St, Perth.
For a full schedule of events, visit www.heritageperth.com

Telethon Kids Carnival
10am-5pm, Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre
A variety of children’s rides, including a bouncy castle, ferris wheel, aqua bubble and rollercoaster, along with face painting, balloon-twisting and other entertainment. All rides included in entry fee (bargain!!). $5 per person. Enquiries: #9344 0754 or visit www.telethon.7perth.com.au

Sunday 14 November:

Castledare Miniature Railway Family Fun Day
Castledare Place, Wilson.
Activities include two bouncy Castles (one for special needs children), face painters, Faerie Cara, an animal nursery, raffles, unlimited train rides (shoes must be worn) and a sausage sizzle. Adults $10, children $5. Bookings essential: 0402 505 767 or 0413 434 669.

Little Feet Festival
1pm-5pm, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup
Free! With the theme ‘Feel the Rhythm’, learn about song, music and dance. Live music with interactive workshops and jam sessions. Adults can also browse the Junior Upmarket on-site. Enq: #9400 4705 or visit www.joondalup.wa.gov.au

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I'm hoping to share these lists regularly, let's just say this kind of information-gathering is my job :)

Day 9 - blogging on blogging

2010-11-09T21:04:00.002+08:00

I am reading an interesting discussion on one of my favourite birth/parenting forums, about whether some of the 'big' mommy-bloggers are, well, keeping it real, I guess. You know, the ones where there are always pictures of the huge numbers of crafts these mamas churn out, their perfect children and their perfect houses. How do they DO that?

As you can tell from my intermittent blogging, I can't do that! I am 'real'. Still, I don't show you photos detailing the extent of my messy house. I have a LiveJournal for that! It is mostly friends-only for that reason. I suppose this blog, if I kept it up properly, would be my public persona. I don't pretend to be someone I'm not, but I also leave out some of the bad bits. The very reason this blog is titled 'Surprisingly Domestic' is because I never expected to be domesticated at all! I love sewing, but rarely get time to do it. I cook, but mostly just to feed my family. And I don't think I will ever manage to maintain my house clean or organised.

I think most of the blogs I read are pretty real. I also read the 'perfection' ones, which gives me something to aspire too, I suppose.

Day 8 - Kitchen

2010-11-08T21:29:00.004+08:00

I thought I would share a 3D drawing of what my new kitchen will look like ... eventually. If you could see what I work with now, you would understand why this is so exciting!

Sorry for the poor-quality photos. This shows the whole extension/renovation that will hopefully take place. Where the ensuite and laundry are in the drawing, that's my current kitchen. Beyond the 'family' room in that drawing, is now only a lean-to with laundry, bathroom and toilet. The family room currently has four doors, so it just doesn't work. (It's a semi-detached duplex half, hence the other house you can see to the right-hand side.)

I will have a linen cupboard! And a pantry! Cupboard space! And a bathtub.

Where'd Day 7 go?

2010-11-08T12:02:00.003+08:00

Damn. Only a week in and I missed a day!

In my defence, I was up until 3am finalising my work submission for the month, and baking 32 cupcakes, among other things.

I will write a proper post this evening.

Happy birthday to Emma! - Day 6

2010-11-06T19:18:00.004+08:00

It is my elder daughter's birthday today. Eight years old. Where does the time go? We had plans for a nice park party, possibly the last time as she might feel too grown-up for that next year. However, bureaucratic squabbles meant the new playground didn't open in time and we had a party at the local swimming pool instead, which was fun, but I get mentally exhausted trying to watch children at the pool.

I baked cupcakes to avoid having to slice a cake. I get a bit of an inferiority complex at school birthday parties - almost everyone brings bought/professional cakes. Still, Emma liked them and the kids all ate them, so I think I did ok.

Basic chocolate cupcakes with piped buttercream icing. The sprinkles and yellow food colouring are both all-natural and found at the supermarket - Nemar natural 100s and 1000s (my local Coles doesn't stock these, but my local IGA does) and Queen natural food colouring (found at Coles).

Day 5 - 5 good things about today

2010-11-05T20:14:00.002+08:00

I've been feeling rather wallow-y this week. So here are five good things about today, the fifth day of the week AND the month.

1. Walking around the park with my big-little boy and his kindy class (and the rest of the school) for the school walk-a-thon.

2. Rain. Only a little, but still nice for this time of year.

3. Getting a reasonable amount of work done today.

4. Getting house plans for our extension from the builder. Now I'm dreaming of a linen cupboard, a full-sized bathtub, a second bathroom, double-door pantry, 900mm oven, and actual cupboard space in my kitchen. Not to mention living space where we don't constantly trip over each other. Fingers crossed the costing comes in under budget! At the moment we have 2 bedrooms, a study/office/junk storage room, tiny kitchen, small & awkward dining-living area, and the wet areas in a dodgy old lean-to extension. There's not a lot of room on the block for expansion (we can't afford to go up at this stage), but this is quite cleverly designed and eliminates some awkward spaces we have now.

5. Today is my big girl's last day of being seven years old!

Day 4

2010-11-04T20:41:00.003+08:00

I'd like to post that I've achieved something so far this month, but I haven't.

Alastair has had both his school days off sick this week. He's going to school tomorrow, but Evie has to stay home from daycare. She's not acting sick but has spots of some sort so, since chicken pox is going around, I'm keeping her home to be safe.

Today, Garry was home sick too.

My deadline is on Monday. Emma's birthday is on Saturday, as is her party. I need 30 cupcakes for school on Monday, and 15 for the party. The in-laws are coming to visit on Sunday for E's birthday and the house is a mess even by my standards. Breaaaaaaathe.

Public transport and children (Day 3)

2010-11-03T21:10:00.004+08:00

I read an interesting article today.

Why public transportation is good for kids

[...] My husband, Adam, and I live in Seattle, in a (somewhat) dense, (fairly) walkable neighborhood. We have two children, ages nine months and (as of today) three years. We enjoy books and brunch and basketball. (Actually, we enjoyed basketball before David Stern and Clay Bennett stole our team, but that's a topic for a different column.) We visit the Science Center and the Children's Museum and, weather permitting, lots of beaches and parks. We attend church on Sundays. We practically live at the library. Oh, and we don't own a car. On purpose.[...]

It's an American article, but applicable to many of us living in suburban Australia. Obviously access to decent public transport is a privilege, but I've sampled the public transport systems in Sydney, Brisbane/the Gold Coast and Adelaide, and have extensive experience of Perth's public transport system, and I would venture to say that most people in most suburbs have enough access to public transport to use it occasionally, at the very least. The more people use it and demand better services, by the way, the more likely we are to get better services.

Some points the author made that I really liked, or drove home a point:

- Cars discourage exercise. If I could hop in a car and drive whenever I felt like it, I probably would, even if I had good intentions. Since I don't have that option, the children and I get our 30 minutes of physical activity a day just doing the school runs. A short return trip on public transport with 5-10 minutes' walk at each end equals 20 to 40 minutes of walking without going out of your way.

- Air inside cars has significantly higher concentrations of carbon monoxide than the air directly outside of them.

- Cars are more deadly than any disease or other threat, and far more dangerous than buses or trains. When traveling to school, a child is eight times safer on a bus -- even without belts or boosters -- than in a car. Even when you factor in extremely rare instances of crime on transit, buses are still the safest way to travel on American roads. (I'm sure the statistics here are not vastly different.) This is a huge one for me. I've been flamed on the internet before for taking my kids in a taxi, occasionally, when we get 'stuck' somewhere, without carseats. Flamed by people who, without even thinking about it, put their children in the car for at least ten journeys a week (thinking of an average schooling family who drives to school, this doesn't even allow for weekend or evening outings). Obviously, both of these situations have risks, but at least I make this decision - maybe once every few months - aware of the risks and having exhausted other options.

On a lighter note, most of the time the public transport trips are great fun for my kids. Sometimes it's a challenge, sure, but this is often due more to poorly planned elements of the transport system, rudeness from fellow passengers, or rudeness from bus drivers, rather than simply the fact that we are not in a car. And in a few years, I'll be able to send the kids off on the bus by themselves, a long time before they'll be able to drive themselves! (And $50 on a SmartRider electronic bus/train ticket will go a lot further than $50 worth of petrol, let alone the costs of purchasing and maintaining a car, so I can give them the financial means to greater independence, too.

Day 2

2010-11-02T11:13:00.001+08:00

I was going to try and actually do something interesting to post about, but Alastair is home sick so instead I'll share a picture of him asleep on the couch:

He almost never falls asleep during the day - it's a sure sign he's not well. That and the fact he feels like I could fry an egg on his forehead. I did manage to find a thermometer and take his temperature on Sunday evening: 39.4 degrees. I haven't treated it because he isn't actually acting very unwell, and isn't complaining of pain. So I will let the fever do its work. That and I think I threw out our bottle of children's Nurofen because it expired: that's how little we use it. Obviously I'd go and buy some if he needed it, and luckily for me there's a 24-hour chemist 10 minutes down the road.

Half of me is a little concerned it may be chicken pox. We had a suspected case at kindy the week before last, apparently it is hard to diagnose in a vaccinated child (as the child in question is) because it presents differently. None of my children are vaccinated for chicken pox, so we'll see. I keep checking his back and tummy for spots.

Here's a cute one of Evie, she was wearing her Hallowe'en costume, but you can't really see it. I made her ladybug wings that just go on like a cape - red velour from my stash, with black spots from scraps of the skirt I cut down for Emma's costume. Then she just wore red and black clothes. She was eating a dog bone meringue at our local bakery.

NaNoBloMo!

2010-11-01T10:56:00.000+08:00

Thanks to the inspiring examples of Emma @ My House Smells Like Vanilla - who brought up the idea of NaNoBloMo - and April @ A Day in the Life, who did Blogtober, I am going to attempt to blog every day this month.

So, what's happening?

1. I've also signed up to Wardrobe Refashion this month, as we're trying to rein in the budget and I keep buying new clothes for the children. NO new clothes for the kiddos or me for two months. They have heaps, so I don't know how much refashioning I'll need to do, but I do need a pair of shorts, which I am going to attempt to make from scratch.

2. I made/improvised the children some costumes for Hallowe'en. We don't really *do* it here, but there were a couple of free local kids' events on, so I figured why not? The costumes cost me a total of about $6 and we gained a couple more items for the dress-up box. Pics to follow!

3. Christmas is coming. I need to make a pudding and cake soon, the old-fashioned way where you leave them to rest for well over a month. Most of the presents for the kids are either already hiding at home or on lay-by, so we're not doing too badly there.

4. I have a deadline for a 5000-word calendar, next Monday. Hmmm, this working from home thing is trickier than I thought.

One post down, 29 to go!

Yum, yum!

2010-10-14T17:06:00.000+08:00

This afternoon we nibbled on some blueberries from the garden. We only have one small, young bush, so it's not exactly a harvest, but there are a handful ripening at a time, which is very exciting for the little ones. Maybe I should get some more of these (the Nellie Kelly variety) as it's so rare for me to grow anything successfully! Although, looking at that website now, possibly my efforts were helped by our unusually cold winter this year.

Currently, I have yogurt cheese draining on my kitchen bench. We get 10L of raw milk a week, and I think this will be a good way of using up any left over at the end of the week. Some weeks we use it all easily, others, like this week, we have quite a bit left over. I'm planning on using it where I'd use cream cheese or ricotta - both of which are pretty expensive if using a whole tub, so that's another advantage.

A great giveaway

2010-10-12T22:40:00.000+08:00

(Not on my blog, someone else's.)

Check out the giveaway over here at Handmade by Carolyn to celebrate her one-year 'blogoversary'. Carolyn hails from my fair city of Perth, and I admire her style and the garments she churns out seemingly effortlessly! One day I aspire to be able to sew so much of my wardrobe myself.

Efforts at gardening

2010-10-01T21:58:00.000+08:00

I am a really bad gardener, but I do try. At our house, it is very frustrating trying to do so. The soil is extremely poor, and the layout doesn't work for me at all. Plus, there are a couple of large overhanging trees that we need to get professionally trimmed, so there is insufficient sunlight in most areas (nice and shady to sit in summer, however).

The kids and I have been trying to grow a few things in pots instead. I will try and get the garden landscaped when we have sorted out renovating the house (hah! So maybe never at the rate we're going).

Here are our results, in this lovely spring weather.

Alastair's dwarf lemon tree:

It's really dried out over the past few weeks and I need to nourish the soil.

Emma's blueberry bush:

A little pot of mint:

Blancmange

2010-09-24T11:16:00.000+08:00

from Wikimedia Commons

Unfortunately, that isn't MY blancmange. Mine didn't set nearly so firm; I don't think I left it in the fridge for long enough (5 hours or so). However, it was delicious!

We've been getting deliveries of raw milk and thus I've been looking for easy recipes that use up milk if we've still got a lot left towards the end of our week. I'm also trying to use it for desserts to avoid buying commercially-made ones. I remember my mum making blancmange, but I had never tried.

Blancmange (recipe originally from here)
------

600ml milk
4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cornflour
Vanilla essence

Blend cornflour with a litle of the milk.
Place the rest of the milk in a saucepan and bring to boiling point.
Add sugar and blended cornflour, stirring well the whole time.
Place over heat and boil for 2-3 minutes.
Flavour with vanilla essence then pour into a wet mould.

Or, instead of all of the above, just put all the ingredients in the Thermomix for 9 minutes at 90 degrees on speed 4, then pour into the mould.

Place in fridge to set.

---

I called it "milk jelly" and the kids loved it. I might try reducing the sugar by a tbsp next time, as it was plenty sweet enough.

Note to self

2010-09-23T10:39:00.000+08:00

... you're an idiot sometimes. When I was talking about the Taga being hard to ride up hills, it turns out that it was user error. All three of my tyres were under-inflated. On Tuesday I rode up to a bike shop because we needed a new pump anyway, and I needed a properly-fitted helmet. I knew the single wheel (front in stroller mode, back in bike mode) needed inflating, but I thought the other two were okay. WRONG! The nice man in the bike shop fixed me up and inflated them all properly for me. I felt a little like I was playing the helpless woman, but really I was just the clueless bike n00b, my gender was irrelevant.

The ride home was a heck of a lot easier than the ride there. D'oh! It is now also much smoother, which meant when Evie fell asleep she was pretty comfortable.

So thanks to Greg Stoyles Cycles for helping me out (although that Yellow Pages map is wrong, it's Walter Road WEST, right near Sizzler, not over past Tonkin Hwy).

In other proof of my idiocy, I got the wrong day for my hair appointment - the other reason I went out that way - so I got to ride the 12km (6km each way) again on Wednesday!

TagaTagaTaga!

2010-09-20T21:10:00.000+08:00

Here's a poor-quality phone pic of my new toy:

It's a Taga bike/stroller and it is very cool. My legs, however, unaccustomed to cycling, are finding it tough going.

The pros:

- 3-wheel design makes it very easy for a non-cyclist like me to learn.
- the brakes are very responsive
- Evie is very comfortable in her seat when awake. She loves it and will climb into in the hallway and ask to put her hat (helmet) on!
- I can carry a reasonable amount of shopping underneath if I pack it in carefully. If I purchase it, I'll be investing in the panniers for water bottles etc.
- of course, it converts into a stroller! The conversion is quite easy and Evie can stay in her seat while I do it. This means I can take it into the shops, on the train, or through crowded footpaths where bike riding is not safe.

The cons:

- my giant child. As you can see, the hood won't fit over her helmet. Other people can put their older kids in it, but Alastair (4.5) is much taller than the seat. This would be a problem in bike trailers and other child-carrying devices too. I just don't grow petite children.
- when she's asleep, her head bobs a bit ... but I think most child bike seats/cargo bikes would have this problem too.
- I'm having trouble getting up hills and am not sure if this is due to my lack of fitness or the bike only having three gears (probably a combination of the two).

So far I think it is a really fantastic concept, and well-executed to boot. I'm hoping that in a few weeks I'll really have gotten the hang of it, and that I can justify purchasing it!

*Disclaimer: I am on Taga's ambassador program, which means I am trialling the bike for 4 weeks for a refundable deposit, after which I may purchase it at a reduced price. However, all opinions expressed are my own true opinions.

Unsurprisingly undomestic

2010-09-02T15:48:00.000+08:00

I'm sure that title isn't grammatically correct, but that's how I feel lately. Aside from the lamingtons in my previous post, I've barely baked the last few weeks. Heck, I've barely cooked proper dinners. We're fed, and clothed, and sheltered, but barely.

I landed a new job just before we left for Broome - I am calendar editor for a Perth parenting magazine. It is an awesome job, working from home, doing something that comes quite easily to me. BUT by the time I'd sorted out accepting the job and receiving the relevant documentation, I was just about on holiday. This left me less than two weeks after coming back in which to do the first month's calendar. Being my first, it was obviously more time-consuming than subsequent ones will be. So, that was a little stressful, but it is done.

I have all these brilliant, nerdy ideas of how to completely simplify the calendar compilation process by setting up an Access database. I haven't worked with Access in four years; this should be interesting. Of course, I have a genius programmer for a partner, but, rather like my stubborn two-year-old, I want to Do It Myself. Hopefully, that will mean I am more organised in future months.

The family all conspired to be sick last weekend, too, so I had kids home from school, sheets and carpet covered in vomit, all those fun extra jobs I really needed. Plus we've given up on installing the new dishwasher ourselves, so the kitchen is still drowning in dishes (called a plumber today, hurray).

SO, in all this, I have decided to put Evie in daycare one day a week. I'm hoping this means I can parent her properly on the other six days, instead of constantly trying to get my work done while she competes for my attention. She's just turned two; I figure it's worth a try and if she doesn't enjoy it, I will work out another way.

One piece of exciting news: I am expecting my Taga bike/stroller next week. I've been accepted as an Ambassador, which means I get to trial it for a refundable deposit on the condition that I promote it by riding at least 7 hours a week and wearing a branded T-shirt, among other things. Did I ever say I wouldn't sell myself for a good cause? Stay tuned for photos and reviews!

Lamingtons

2010-08-26T21:48:00.000+08:00

So, I have a work deadline tomorrow, a cold, three demanding children, and a house in chaos. When asked to bring something for a school shared lunch tomorrow, do I take the easy route and buy something?

Of course not. I have the bright idea to try making lamingtons for the first time ever.

I followed this recipe. Thank goodness for the Thermomix.

Excuse the poor quality phone photo (you can see the very early stages of my Ill-Fated Socks in the background).

I must say, they're quite tasty. I had to sample one, just in case they were horrible ;)

I am very excited because I have a new toy coming. Nothing to do with cooking or craft. I'm going to keep you in suspense!

Those dangerous sock knitters

2010-08-24T22:56:00.000+08:00

We nearly missed our flight to Broome due to a couple of craft-related miscalculations on my part.

Firstly, Emma had some homework to do, so I told her to just throw her school pencilcase in her carry-on bag. Forgetting she had scissors in there. D'oh. Goodbye scissors.

Secondly, being aware of recently relaxed regulations allowing passengers to take knitting needles on board, I thought "Yahoo!" and packed a knitting project bag with some socks I was about to start.

Socks. Knitted on nice, pointy, thin, metal, Addi double-pointed needles. Put bag through security. "Uh, ma'am, what are these?"

"Knitting needles."

"Um. I'm going to have to check with someone."

"Oh. Okay." [thinking: Shit. They've probably never seen these and think of chunky straight needles for knitting basic scarves, when they think knitting needles. Shit. Those are expensive needles. The flight has started boarding!*]

After calling over a couple more people, they finally determined that I wasn't planning to stab someone with these pointy objects and let us through.

Needless to say, I packed them in the checked baggage for the return flight. I should also add that I got horribly tangled when winding a ball from the skein, and it took me so long to untangle, that I never got to start the damn socks anyway.

* I'm not an idiot. We got to the airport in heaps of time considering we checked-in online. Unfortunately the Virgin bag-drop line seemed to take longer than the actual check-in line, so we ended up almost late!

Surprisingly relaxing ...

2010-08-23T16:11:00.000+08:00

... a holiday to Broome with three children.

We stayed at Captain's by the Bay, a gorgeous boutique complex of self-contained apartments. It's about halfway between Town Beach (the smaller beach on the Roebuck Bay side of the peninsula, as opposed to the touristy Cable Beach) and the town centre/Chinatown precinct. This meant we could walk to either of those in about 15 minutes.

I've seen a lot of travel reviews saying that one really needs a car to get around Broome. I disagree. As I said, we walked to both Town Beach and to Chinatown. When we wanted to go to Cable Beach, we used the excellent, privately-run Town Bus service. Children travel free with their paying parent/s! The bus comes every 30 minutes, which is very convenient. That said, we did hire a car on our last full day, because the kids really wanted to go to the Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Park, about 20km out of Broome itself. We visited the Mango Place while we were in the 10 Mile/12 Mile district, and drove to Cable Beach again afterwards to do an afternoon camel ride.

Broome is an expensive place for food, probably because of its isolated location. We found we got better value by eating out for lunch, and making a lighter dinner ourselves at the apartment. We did make an exception for a dinner at Matso's Brewery. Their ginger beer is soooo good (from a non-beer-drinker).

I far preferred the smaller Town Beach to Cable Beach. The red-tinged sand is beautiful, and because it's a bay, the water is clear with only very gentle lapping waves. Therefore the children could paddle out further, and we didn't get sand up our bottoms. There is also a nice cafe down there (reasonably priced for Broome - though beware the erratic opening hours), and the jewel in the crown is a free splash park for the kids.

All in all, we had a great time on our first-ever real holiday!*

* We've been to the Gold Coast and Sydney, but Garry's been working.

Carrot almond muffins with creme fraiche topping

2010-08-08T13:14:00.000+08:00

I was waiting to add a photo, but I can't find the camera cable. I hope it shows up before we go on holiday! This is today's baking effort. A Facebook friend commented that it sounds almost healthy - I don't know, there's plenty of sugar and fat, but also carrots, nuts, and eggs for protein ;) And two out of three of my kids don't normally eat carrots ...

Ingredients
--
Melted butter, to grease (I use good quality silicone bakeware, so I didn't grease]
5 large eggs, separated
170g raw sugar [you could use less if you're happy with a less sweet muffin]
2 tsp finely grated orange rind [just one orange, for simplicity's sake]
3 medium carrots, finely grated [I just gave them a scrub and left the skin on, but I buy organic carrots]
200g almond meal
100g self-raising flour, sifted

About 200g creme fraiche [i.e. what was left in the tub after making mushroom stroganoff the other night]
1 tbsp icing sugar
squeeze of fresh orange juice

Method
----
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Prepare muffin trays - this mix made 14 for me, so I used two individual molds as well as a 12-cup muffin tray.

For Thermomix users, I grated the carrots first, 10 seconds or so on speed 7, rinsed and dried the bowl, and then grated the orange rind. If you're also making your own almond meal, be sure and do that before you start.

Place yolks, sugar & rind in a bowl or mixer and beat until thick & creamy (Thermomix: about 30 seconds on speed 4/5 with butterfly). Add carrot, flour and almond meal, and stir (Thermomix: about 40 seconds on speed 2, reverse).

Place egg whites in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form. If you're doing this in the Thermomix, you'll need to put the mix in another bowl, clean the TMX bowl and make sure it's dry before whipping the egg whites. I was lazy and didn't dry very carefully, so my whites didn't really whip - the recipe still worked.

Fold the egg white into the carrot mixture in two batches. Pour into muffin pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean (this is a moist muffin, though, so it won't be completely dry).

To make the creme fraiche topping, whip all ingredients together until soft peaks form. I didn't whip mine thick enough to be an icing as such, I only intended to dollop it over the top like whipped cream.

Based on this recipe.

Meal planning again

2010-08-08T10:50:00.000+08:00

Last week I stuck to the plan pretty well, except on Tuesday I left it too late to make the pizza base and ended up ordering pizza instead. Bah. This week I need to get that done in the morning and chuck it in the fridge - and make two extras for the freezer.

Next Sunday morning we are going to Broome - a town up in the north of Western Australia, which enjoys lovely winter temperatures of about 30 degrees Celsius. Bliss. That does mean that I need to use up fresh vegies this week.

Tonight: beef & vegie stir-fry with noodles
Monday: home-made pizza
Tuesday: Roast chicken pieces, roast potatoes, vegies
Wednesday: Leftover chicken with rice and salad
Thursday: osso bucco with pasta and vegies
Friday: vegetable & chickpea curry with rice
Saturday: leftovers or baked beans on toast

What's for dinner?

2010-08-02T16:23:00.000+08:00

I am not one of those super-organised supermums. I struggle a lot with feeding my family, as I'm the only one who cooks and my partner often isn't home until after dinner is served; he's certainly rarely home to wrangle the children while I prepare it in peace. For the past few weeks I was really jaded with cooking dinner, and thus didn't plan - big mistake. When will I learn? We ate loads of crap and I was even more jaded because I would have to think of something at five o'clock!

So, I jumped back on the meal planning bandwagon.

This week's dinners will be ...

Sunday: steak and mushroom pie, salad, broccoli, cauliflower
Monday: grilled fish, chips, salad
Tuesday: home-made pizza, garlic bread, carrots, peas
Wednesday: leftovers (there's soup & dhal in the freezer)
Thursday: lamb koftas, couscous, cucumber & red onion salad
Friday: mushroom stroganoff, mashed potato, cauliflower, broccoli
Saturday: Moroccan sweet potato, carrot & chickpea soup, with some sort of bread

And last week's were ...

Monday: pork meatballs in tomato sauce with pasta.
Tuesday: roast chicken, roast potatoes, vegies
Wednesday: chicken fried rice w' leftover roast chicken
Thursday: Evie's birthday, got takeaway
Friday: Moroccan lentil soup, fresh focaccia
Saturday: leftover soup (we had lunch out so ate lots)

Now, the secret to meal planning for me is to be flexible. For instance, I'm thinking tonight (Monday) I might crumb the fish instead of just grilling it, because I have some breadcrumbs in the freezer and, well, I just feel like it. Similarly, I'll often cook different vegies than what I write in the plan. And sometimes I'll swap the days around, especially if we're late home on a day when I'd planned to do something that takes a while to cook. But having the rough plan means that I know what meat to get out of the freezer in the morning (if any); it also means I waste fewer ingredients, like the packet of salad mix I got in my organic box on Friday. I opened it last night and it only lasts a couple of days so I planned it into tonight's meal as well, and had some with the leftover pie for lunch today. Most of all, it means my brain doesn't have to think on the run. It's not so good at that these days.

For those reading who don't know my children - sadly they don't eat most of this multicultural and varied assortment of foods. We're working on it. Evie liked the pastry of the pie last night, and Alastair liked the chunks of meat. Sigh.

What's for dinner at your house this week?

Ribbit, ribbit.

2010-06-20T14:51:00.001+08:00

Arghhhhhh. I've been slooooowly knitting a Milo vest for Alastair. Size four is a lot of garter stitch in the round, okay? I haven't been getting much knitting time. Last night I was watching Midsomer Murders and finally got to the underarm cast-off part. I completely stuffed up the cable cast-on and didn't realise until I'd done both sides. Alastair has now lost interest in the vest he asked for, so I think this is destined to be frogged, sadly.

He's now asked for a scarf, and picked some nice chunky yarn, so a mindless 2x2 rib scarf on 8mm needles is a lot more do-able in my current state ...

With the time that I haven't been crafting, I have been reading and launching my own direct sales business. I am now an independent Phoenix Trader and sell a range of gorgeous, artist-designed greeting cards, gift wrap and stationery. I can come to you in Perth or you can order online from my webstore.

Cooking up a storm!

2010-05-18T13:32:00.000+08:00

From this:

to this (and more, but I am not photographing it all):

A friend and her husband took me to the Canning Vale Saturday clearance markets this weekend. I don't drive so it's impossible for me to get to otherwise, and they have no kids and not huge amounts of storage space, so by taking me with them they could split boxes with me. I also supplied the stroller for carrying the boxes!

Apart from it being bloody freezing down there at 7.30am, it was pretty good. I got:

- box of oranges
- box of Pink Lady apples
- box of plums
- half a huge bag of baby spinach, $5
- half a huge bag of basil (I used 250g of leaves to make pesto and still have heaps left)
- half a box of tomatoes (5 kg)
- 2 eggplant
- 2 zucchini
- 2 butternut pumpkins
- 2 leeks

for the grand total of $42 (and I'm only learning - I could've got the apples for cheaper if I'd shopped around at the various stalls better). So far I've cooked up basil & spinach pesto, tomato & basil pasta sauce, roasted tomato passata, plum teacake, plum muffins, beef & barley soup, and pumpkin soup. The kids have eaten a good amount of the apples and I'm going to freeze some according to this method, for making pies/crumbles. I'm going to juice the oranges and freeze in ice cube trays for baking and sorbets. I blanched and froze the rest of the spinach and will use for spinach and ricotta triangles this week. The eggplants are going into eggplant curry tonight and then eggplant pasta sauce for the freezer. I stewed a big batch of the plums and they're in the fridge for snacks/desserts/breakfast (with yogurt for breakfast, custard for dessert). I might make some jam but I need jars first.

Basically this will mean that I have quick healthy lunches and dinners ready when I'm tired. It will reduce our food bill over the next month or so.

I should probably add here that the Thermomix is my best friend ;)

I would definitely recommend these markets if you're in Perth and are able to preserve the produce in some way, and/or buy with friends and use it quickly. Just take a hat and gloves!

Socks!!

2010-05-09T17:14:00.000+08:00

I finished!!

Unfortunately, as you can see from the following photo, I obviously didn't know about checking dyelots way back when I purchased this yarn:

The gauge was also a little off, probably because of the long delay between one sock and most of the next. But, really, socks aren't that tough! I need to take the plunge and get into some of the yummy sock yarn I have.

These were knitted in Cleckheaton Country Silk 8ply (85% wool, 15% silk), to be nice soft warm house socks for winter. I'm wearing them now; they're definitely snuggly.

Today I went through a tub of unfinished projects and ripped out three that I just wasn't going to finish (and in fact I couldn't remember what pattern I was knitting from!), which now leaves me with NO unfinished knitting projects. Meaning I need to cast on for something new ... or get stuck into the sewing projects.

2010-05-06T22:11:00.000+08:00

I whipped myself up a pair of pyjama pants tonight because, embarrassingly, I ripped the seat of my old ones, heh. They were getting a bit old :) I'd take a photo, but you don't want to see me in my pyjamas!

The sock is getting there - I hope to proudly announce its completion soon (my feet are getting cold).

2010-05-03T22:42:00.001+08:00

I don't think I posted about this boring yet nifty little project I did. Evie's been wriggling out of the 5-pt harness in her carseat. I was going to buy a 'seatbelt wrap' thingy, but they're $15 or so with no guarantee that they'll work.

So I made my own.

It's simply two rectangles of polar fleece, sewn together and turned right way out. Fold in the sides so they meet with about a 1.5cm overlap, and mark where you need to fold it. Sew three rows of strong 1.5inch Touch Tape, hook in the middle and loop on the two sides. Attach four snaps to the overlapping part.

Hurray!

She hasn't managed to get out of it yet. (Oh, and that's her "cheese!" face, not a grimace of pain.)

UFO#1 finished!

2010-05-02T19:11:00.001+08:00

Here's UFO #1, a shrug knitted from this pattern. (Warning: link goes straight to a PDF download.)

I even blocked it! I tried to take a photo of it on, but all the mirrors in the house are in shocking locations light-wise:

It was knitted in "Earth Sky" on blue-faced leicester, light aran weight, from The Yarn Cafe/evoke yarns. I knitted a size medium, and the only change I made was to knit a garter stitch border of five stitches on both sides to prevent the edges rolling. It used about 130g of yarn.

Next: the Thuja socks that I started knitting two years ago. I've now made it down to the heel flap on the second sock (wait! Since I saved the draft post I'm on to the foot. Yay!). These will be nice warm house socks for winter.

The problem I can see with having left the second sock so long is that my gauge seems to be a little different; I'm knitting tighter so the sock is a bit smaller. They're stretchy, though, so both will fit and they're only for around the house.

UFO sightings

2010-04-29T18:59:00.000+08:00

(Not of the extra-terrestrial type.)

In some sort of autumn-cleaning madness I remembered I had three boxes/tubs of unfinished sewing and knitting projects that were packed up when I moved house. That's just disgraceful. Suffice to say, I've vowed to get rid of at least one tub ...

... first on the list is a shrug I started knitting in summer. I think I said at the time I'd aim to have it finished for winter, and laughed. Ha ha. It was maybe a third done when I took it out, and I'm 2 rows away from binding off the body. The sleeves are only 4 rounds of ribbing each, so I'm nearly there. I haven't knitted in months; it's a good recreation for those cold evenings. The laundry, where my sewing stuff is set up, is absolutely freezing in winter (think old house with nice thick brick walls except in the lean-to extension where the laundry is!!)

Photos to come when it's finished. Perhaps next I'll pick up the sock that was started two years ago, when I was pregnant with Evie. That's a bad case of second sock syndrome!

Pyjama pants and a cardigan refashion

2010-04-15T15:01:00.000+08:00

The cold nights of autumn have come upon us suddenly and the kids needed some new pyjama pants. I've got loads of printed flannelette so off I went:

Pirates for Alastair

Duckies for Evie and a girly print for Emma

Puppies for Evie (I cut them upside down to fit into an oddly-shaped fabric remnant. Still, they'll be right way up to her, when she looks down at them!)

Alastair's and Evie's were made from a basic pyjama pants pattern I copied out of a friend's magazine a couple of years ago. Oddly enough, the two of them are about the same size except for leg length (Alastair is 4 and Evie is 20 months)! They both fit in a size two and I just lengthened the leg a lot for Alastair. Both of them still need room for a cloth night nappy, but these are a loose-fitting style.

Emma's I just made by tracing around a pair of her old ones and adding leg length, which is all she ever outgrows. I only JUST squeezed her pair out of a metre of flannelette; she is TALL.

They all wanted to wear them right away, which is always a good sign.

I also took two items off the alteration pile (trackpants for Alastair that used to be Emma's, just tightened the waist elastic, and took the legs up a couple of inches with a long stitch length; easy to let back down as he grows), and accomplished a refashion for myself.

I bought this cardigan (Millers, size L) in an opshop for $5. The chunky knit was what I'd been looking for, and I liked the huge collar thingy and the batwing-style sleeves, but it was too big and bulky. You can't really see all the extra fabric on the sides in the photo. If it had been wool, I'd have shrunk it a bit, but it's acrylic.

I took it in at the sides on an angle, so that instead of fastening all the way down it fastens at the top and then flares out. I've seen cardigans like that in the shops this season and I really like them (but not enough to pay $40 or $50 for one). I took off the extra buttons/press-studs so it looks like it's meant to be like that, and not like it's just too small for me ;)

It still doesn't sit quite right when it's on; I'm considering sewing the little pockets shut to see if that helps. But I'll wear it, and I wouldn't have before. This is the first winter in a while that I'll be really wearing cardigans/jackets, because I don't wear Evie everywhere anymore (winter '06 and '07 I wore Alastair everywhere, winter '08 I was hugely pregnant which kept me warm, and winter '09 I wore Evie everywhere), so my wardrobe is sorely lacking in them.

Daggy dress --> swingin' 50s

2010-03-12T23:09:00.000+08:00

OK, OK, long time no post!

I finally cleared myself a craft area and did a little refashioning project. I was after a 50s dress for a themed hen's night this weekend; I scoured the opshops and even the more expensive vintage stores and didn't really find anything. Then I saw this spotty dress calling me and snapped it up without trying it on (because I was sweaty from going for a run, and had Evie with me).

Weeeell, the 'before' pic isn't very promising:

But I noticed the skirt had a decent 'kick' to it down the bottom and thought I could make it into a swingin' 50s rock-and-roll style dress.

I chopped it in half at the weird elasticated waist, and then cut about 4 or 5 inches off the top of the bottom section, keeping the bottom hem intact. I kept the shoulder seams and the neck facings intact (because I hate sewing facings), cut the sleeves off, and cut the top part into a basic darted bodice shape.

First mistake: I cut the back on the front and the front on the back. That's why it has the slightly weird collar - otherwise it was choking me!

I had to add a zip, too, so I cut down one side seam of the top and part of a side seam of the skirt section. The zip was nearly the death of me, and I'll not be lifting my arm much tomorrow night, so no-one can see the mess I made of it!

Added some more darts on the skirt so that it matched up with the width of the bodice, and then joined them together and added the zip.

Finished result:

If only I had the waist of my dress form!

Homemade dishwasher powder (no nasties)

2010-01-11T22:47:00.000+08:00

The other night, we ran out of dishwasher tablets. Eeep! I really didn't want to make a special shopping trip for them because I knew I'd end up buying other things, even if only something my three-year-old wanted.

So I did a web search and looked in my pantry and worked with what I had. I mixed together:

1 tbsp citric acid (I originally started keeping this in my pantry when I did the FAILSAFE diet, but as someone without a citrus tree in my backyard, it sure comes in handy)
1 tbsp iodised cooking salt
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

I used about half a tablespoon of that mix in the dishwasher. I've used it for three nights and the dishes are CLEAN (and not salty). I use vinegar in the rinse aid compartment, always have done.

I don't think I'd mix up a big quantity of this, as it's already starting to clump in the container. Nor do I think I'd use it every night - most reviews of homemade dishwasher powder I've seen claim it works for a while and then a cloudy residue forms on the dishes. But I might start alternating it with the expensive eco-friendlier tablets I normally use, and it's DEFINITELY good stuff to have on hand in a pinch. Otherwise I'd have had to hand-wash the dishes until I got to the shops. Shock, horror! (Seriously, I hate doing dishes.)

Photo licenced under Creative Commons, taken by jbcurio

Carrot, orange and date loaf (Thermomix)

2010-01-09T11:52:00.000+08:00

From the original recipe here. I tried this at a Jamaica Blue cafe the other week and it was delicious, so I came home, searched for the recipe and tried it in the Thermomix. Then tweaked it a little.

Carrot, orange and date loaf

Ingredients:

100g wholemeal spelt flour
180g plain (all-purpose) flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
120g raw sugar
4 eggs
1 orange
70g canola oil
130g plain unsweetened yogurt (mine was home-made in the Thermomix)
1tsp ground cinnamon
280g carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks (that was 4 carrots for me)
100g dates

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C (170C fan-forced) and lightly grease a loaf tin.
2. Grate carrots for 5 seconds on speed 5. Set aside.
3. Chop dates for 5 seconds on speed 7. Add to carrot.
4. Peel orange and grate the peel (minus pith if possible!) for 8 seconds on speed 7. Add to carrot and dates.
5. Quarter the orange, removing remaining pith. Juice for 20 seconds on speed 8. Pour into a cup.
6. Add remaining ingredients and orange juice to TMX bowl, mix for 20 seconds on speed 5.
7. Add carrots, dates and orange zest. Mix for 20 seconds in REVERSE on speed 4.
8. Pour into prepared tin and bake for about 45-60 minutes until cooked through. It will still appear a little moist on the skewer, I tend to listen to it, if you can hear it bubbling it's not finished yet. Cool for 10 minutes in tin before turning out onto a wire rack.

--
Tip: Don't worry about cleaning the Thermomix bowl out in between steps, scrape it down as much as you can and leave it at that - it's all going in together.

12 challenges in 2010

2010-01-01T22:04:00.000+08:00

Carolyn over at My Favourite came up with this one. January's challenge is something for myself. We're moving in a month, so this WILL be a challenge as the sewing room is kind of buried right now. BUT I really need some new pyjama pants so I'll give it a go early in the month before I pack my stash away.

On a totally unrelated note, last month I bought a Thermomix. I love, love, LOVE it, and hopefully I will post some recipes I've converted for it, soon.

The colour blue - a themed post

2010-01-01T20:52:00.000+08:00

Why not? Emma over at My House Smells Like Vanilla came up with this (the "Joyous Blogger" refers to the homebirth site/forum Joyous Birth. The colour blue ...

(I know there's a typo in the button! It should read Jan '10. ;))

So I present, five random things that 'the colour blue' brings to mind.

1. The ocean. I live in Perth, we have gorgeous beaches lapped at by the Indian Ocean. Despite that, I'm really not a beach kind of person. Too sandy, too much sunburn for my weak British skin. It sure does *look* beautiful, though.

2. The song 'Tangled Up in Blue', which is a Bob Dylan song, but is covered by Aussie band The Whitlams on one of their albums. The Whitlams are my favourite band, and I love their version. My partner's a music buff and laughs at me because I'll know the cover versions of songs and not the original (sometimes not even realise they're covers!)

3. Feeling blue. Hmm, doing a bit too much of that lately.

4. Cookie Monster. Told you it was a random list.

5. Blueberries, which of course, aren't really blue. I always thought they should be called purpleberries. Yum. Now I'm thinking I should have bought the punnet of blueberries I decided against at the markets today.

Christmas shirts

2009-12-21T22:48:00.000+08:00

I'm a bit pushed for time this Christmas so I wasn't going to make shirts, but my oldest asked for one, so I scrounged up three new white T-shirts from around the house, in the right sizes, and had a go at some reverse applique.

I'm converted! It's so much easier (for me and my machine, anyway) than regular applique.

I used this tutorial.

The Christmas tree is a size 4 for 3.5 year old Alastair, the bell is a size 2 for 17-month-old Evelyn, and the star is a size 6 for 7 year old Emma. Emma usually wears about a size 8 but this is technically a 'boys' t-shirt and pretty roomy.

Still waiting for my mojo to return ...

2009-11-30T23:34:00.000+08:00

... but I finally finished a sewing project.

This is a doll/toy mei tai for a little girl's second birthday. Reversible - and I figured the brown straps would hide the red dirt well where she lives up in the north of Western Australia!

Lazy update-by-photos

2009-11-10T22:55:00.000+08:00

Home-made finger buns. FINALLY found a recipe that my kids will eat in lieu of the Baker's Delight ones - all I did was add an extra tablespoon of sugar to a white bread recipe, do the dough in the breadmaker, and the key is to put them close together on the tray so they have the joins like the bakery ones. Oh, and undercook them a little compared to what you would do regular bread, so they'll be soft rather than crusty.

Custard apples ... the only thing I can grow, and no-one here really eats them. Palmed a couple off on friends and added one to a batch of strawberry sorbet for sweetness. Amazingly, these things sell for up to $8 each in the shops!!

Chocolate cupcakes for Miss Emma's seventh birthday, to take to school. Icing is natural food colouring.

Cake for her birthday party, she only wanted a love heart and didn't mind that it was a bit of a slipshod decorating job, heh. It does say "Emma" in sprinkles.

And the birthday girl herself.

Really bad photo of the Milo vest I knitted Evie; I finished this a while ago but had no pics. I've lost my yarn needle so the ends still haven't been woven in! Argh.

There's one important domestic art every mother should teach her son - how to make a good coffee.

Bread

2009-11-02T16:50:00.000+08:00

Bad, bad blogger, I know! Life got in the way.

I haven't been doing much crafting lately anyway, but I need to get into gear for Christmas.

One thing I have been doing is making bread. I was lucky enough to find a breadmaker, in perfect working order, on my local Freecycle group. Only one suburb away, too!

This thing is awesome. I did make bread before, sometimes. But I had two issues: firstly, finding a big enough block of time to mix, knead, prove, knead, prove, bake, because we're in and out a lot most days. The Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day takes care of that, but the kids don't like the artisan-style bread. The second issue is that I'm a lazy kneader and the bread was never light and fluffy enough.

I was buying about 4 loaves of preservative-free bread, and a bag of rolls, each week. Plus my partner kept buying lunch because neither of us got organised enough to make sandwiches. The past couple of weeks, I've bought one loaf of bread a week, and he has taken savoury scrolls for lunch.

Savoury Scrolls

1 quantity of your favourite bread dough
pizza sauce, pesto or some other kind of sauce
grated cheese
other toppings, e.g. ham, bacon, chopped onion, mushrooms, capsicum, sundried tomatoes, pineapple.

After its first rise, roll out the dough into a large rectangle.

Spread with sauce, add other toppings and sprinkle with cheese (reserving a little cheese).

Roll up, starting from the long side. When you've rolled it into a log, pinch the edge a bit so it sticks. Cut into 2cm pieces.

Place either in a large round cake pan, or on a tray (depending on whether you want the scrolls to join up or not). Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with reserved cheese, and bake in a preheated 180 deg C oven for about 15 minutes or until browned and hollow-sounding.

When cooled, they can be wrapped and frozen individually. Just pull one out each morning for lunch!

--

The breadmaker does make a funny-shaped loaf, so if I have time I just do the dough in there, roll in sesame seeds and bake it in a loaf tin. But for when I don't, the time delay function is awesome, being able to wake up to freshly-baked bread!

Something I never thought I'd make myself ...

2009-08-22T20:46:00.000+08:00

... bathers!

And I'm just a teeny bit reluctant to keep pasting the photos 'round the internet (but it just doesn't work on my dressmaker's dummy), so I'm just going to link, because a link is easily removed:

http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/alison-swimsuit--2

The link to the free pattern I used is there. The pattern instructions were awful! I did find a blog with some hints on construction, thank goodness, but I still made a bunch of errors that I'll do differently next time. There probably will be a next time, because despite the shortcomings of the instructions, it went together quite easily, and with a few adjustments, could be quite flattering. As flattering as any swimsuit is when you've had three children, anyway ;)

I do really like the cut of the legs - true boy-leg styles make my legs look really short, but I'm not a fan of high-cut these days.

We're heading to the Gold Coast in two weeks, and my old bathers have completely given up the ghost, so I figured it was worth a shot. The fabric cost about $10.

New things I've made to sell

2009-08-11T21:45:00.000+08:00

For two custom orders:

Loving these new fabrics, they are polyester PUL so suitable for nights, and super-flexible and soft.

I should have some up in the Madeit shop soon.

Spring is coming

2009-08-10T15:33:00.000+08:00

The nectarine and plum trees are flowering. Lots of bees buzzing around doing their work - hopefully lots of fruit this year!

I also bought a Pinkabelle apple tree. Despite the pukeworthy name, it's pretty cool - a dwarf Pink Lady apple tree. I'm going to plant it in a large pot with Evelyn's placenta (placentas are chock full of nutrients), which has been in the freezer for just over a year. It's partially self-fertile, which is lucky as it's the only dwarf apple tree variety available in Western Australia due to quarantine restrictions. I don't have the space for a full-size apple tree right now. So hopefully in a couple of years we will have yummy apples!

2009-08-09T21:20:00.000+08:00

I have been battling really bad headaches lately, so haven't managed to post much.

I made these all-in-one nappies for a friend (she supplied the fabric - funky, huh?), I hope she likes them!

They are true AIOs:

I also made a gymnastics leotard from lycra remnants for Emma from a 1980s kids sewing magazine:

I altered it from the original by finishing the edges in a narrow fold-over elastic. Super-easy! I don't know why the photo program cut the top off ...

Making butterfly cakes with Emma

2009-07-27T23:18:00.001+08:00

Butterfly cakes are a classic from my childhood :)

2009-07-27T23:04:00.001+08:00

I made this Iggle Piggle (character from a BBC children's TV show) for Evelyn's birthday, which is in TWO DAYS! Eep. I feel a little guilty, because I'm not quite as excited as I have been over my other two children's first birthdays. Here isn't really the place to go into it, but the birth trauma somewhat overshadows the excitement.

Aaaanyway, on the lighter side, here is a somewhat wonky, but made with love, Iggle Piggle.

All fabric from stash, including gorgeously soft pale blue cuddle fleece I picked up as a remnant for $2 a couple of years ago.

Ten things I can't believe I used to buy at the supermarket!

2009-07-21T19:05:00.000+08:00

1. Microwave popcorn. Ew. So many things wrong with this - the cost, the additives, the Teflon-coated bag. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how easy popcorn is to make on the stovetop, and how cheap a kilo of popcorn kernels is (which makes a heck of a lot of popcorn). Air-poppers are pretty cheap, too, but I like the butter and oil version.

2. Gravy powder (Gravox/Bisto). Mmmmmm, flour, salt - so much salt!, MSG, artificial caramel colouring. Yum. I used to use it for flavouring/thickening casseroles as well as for making gravy. Now I just season with herbs and spices, thicken with cornflour and make my own gravy if need be.

3. Powdered stock. Same sort of deal as number two. Chicken stock and vegie stock are really easy to make.

4. Maggi/Continental recipe mixes. Again, a few herbs and spices and a whole whack of "bad numbers". I learned some basic herb/spice combinations instead, just as quick really and a whole lot yummier (and cheaper).

5. Polony (also known as Devon, probably has a bunch of other names - pink lunchmeat made from God-knows-what). Yeeeees. Enough said.

6. Disposable nappies. Quite a few years ago now. A complete waste of money, terrible for the environment and I'm not keen on putting all those chemicals near my baby's bottom.

7. Yogurt. OK, so I still buy fancy yogurt sometimes, but for day-to-day I make my own with the EasiYo (I don't use the entire sachet each time). One day I'd like to learn to make it the proper way.

8. Supermarket meat. Two things wrong with this - tastes awful, and the animals were probably treated awfully. Also expensive. I now try to buy in bulk from places that, if not certified organic, follow organic/biodynamic/free range principles, and the meat is fresher. If I am not organised enough for that, at least I buy from a butcher, who can tell me where the meat comes from and how old it is.

9. Supermarket fruit and vegetables. Again, expensive, poor quality, has probably been in cold storage forever. I used to get an organic seasonal box delivered, which I stopped when we went Failsafe and haven't started again. At the moment I buy from local growers' markets - the most convenient one to me usually has a few types of fruit for 99c/kilo when the supermarket will sell it for $2.99 and it'll taste worse. The fruit from the growers' market tends to have small blemishes and lumps and bumps, but it still tastes better!

10. Custard powder. Custard is really quite easy to make from scratch, and it doesn't turn out that weird shade of yellow.

I'm not perfect, by any measure. We eat takeaway food sometimes, and I'm a big fan of some convenience items like frozen vegies just in case. However, making these kinds of changes over a few years, has saved me a lot of money on my grocery bill (and has enabled me to purchase many organic staples now instead of entirely conventional), and surely been of benefit both to my family and the environment.

Artisan bread in five minutes a day

2009-07-19T23:32:00.001+08:00

Surely I must be the absolute last person in the blogosphere to try this!

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

This is the first loaf from the first batch, and it is SO yummy, and SO easy! I think I might ask for the book for my birthday in September.

A quilt block ...

2009-07-19T23:27:00.000+08:00

... of sorts.

My lovely friend Emma (as opposed to my lovely daughter Emma) is going to give birth to a new baby soon, and I was privileged to attend a beautiful blessingway for her last weekend. Everyone brought some fabric or a quilt block to be made into a snuggly quilt for mum and bub.

After a bit of thought, I made this:

Waves make me think of birth, as does sunset for some reason (maybe because I went into labour in the evening, who knows?) and this is a representation of that. It's made from Didymos wrap scraps!! I had to overlock the edges because the fabrics fray very easily; I hope it isn't too difficult for whoever is making the quilt.

The present cupboard

2009-07-18T23:32:00.000+08:00

One thing about having a child in school is that one gets a lot of birthday party invitations, at least when they're at the age where often the whole class is invited. My elder daughter is in Year One this year, and while last year it seemed many people had smaller parties, this year there have been a lot of whole-class parties. Add in children of my friends, and it can seem like we're constantly buying birthday presents. We don't have many children in our extended family, but of course many people would be buying for nieces and nephews or other relatives too.

So the present cupboard is a really good idea. I've just started building one up this year, although I've always picked up various things for my own children on sale throughout the year. Basically I've just extended that to buying small/medium-sized gifts that would appeal to a wide range of people in our circles of friends and family.

At the moment I have some children's books, some art stuff, some nice notebooks (which would work for adults too), a toy cooking set and some wooden food. I also try to make gifts when I get a chance, but I'm often forgetful and leave it until the last minute. Sometimes I pair a bought gift with something handmade, which is a nice touch.

Who else has a present/gift cupboard? What kind of things do you generally have in 'stock'?

What I have been doing

2009-07-16T23:17:00.000+08:00

Very little time for crafting lately, life has gotten in the way.

Firstly, I would like to say that I am now Ms Surprisingly Domestic, BA (Mass Comm.), Grad Dip (Lib. & Info. Studies). I completed my degree, yay!

Secondly, any spare energy, which isn't much, has been directed to activism on the proposed laws affecting homebirth.

I've made two submissions to committees, written one letter to a local Senator, and spoken to an adviser at my local MP's office (because my local MP is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and far too terribly busy to speak to little ol' me).

Here's one of my submissions, to the National Registration and Accreditation Project:

National Registration and Accreditation Implementation Project

By email nraip@dhs.vic.gov.au

Submission re: Exposure draft of Health Practitioner Regulation National Law 2009 (Bill B)

My submission relates to the following two sections of the draft legislation:
101 (1a) (ii) that the registered health practitioner must not practise the
health profession unless professional indemnity insurance
arrangements are in force in relation to the practitioner’s
practice of the profession
AND
Subdivision 6 General
148 Directing or inciting unprofessional conduct or professional misconduct
(1) A person must not direct or incite a registered health practitioner to do
anything, in the course of the practitioner’s practice of the health
profession, that amounts to unprofessional conduct or professional
misconduct.
Maximum penalty:
(a) in the case of an individual—$30,000, or
(b) in the case of a body corporate—$60,000.

Taken together, these two sections of the proposed legislation effectively criminalise homebirths attended by independent midwives. Midwife-attended homebirth is a choice currently made by only about one per cent of Australian women. Being in the minority, however, does not invalidate our choice, and I am concerned that Parliament may see fit to pass laws that remove women’s rights to bodily autonomy.

I myself had a traumatic hospital birth almost one year ago. I experience panic attacks when I have had to be in close proximity to the hospital in which this experience occurred, as well as flashbacks and nightmares relating to the birth. Should this legislation pass without alteration, if I have another baby, I will be forced to either return to this hospital to give birth, or give birth at home without trained assistance. I will choose to stay home, but my preferred option – and, statistically, the safest - would be to birth at home with the assistance of an independent midwife.

I propose two possible solutions to this problem:

I. Alter the legislation to provide an exemption for suitably qualified independent midwives. Independent midwives have been practicing without indemnity insurance for many years; or

II. Provide assistance to independent midwives to obtain indemnity insurance, so that they may continue to practice legally.

I did not think that, in Australia, it was acceptable to discriminate against a group of people because their health and lifestyle choices may be in the minority, but this is exactly what this proposed legislation would do. The wording of this legislation is indirect discrimination against homebirthing women. Indirect discrimination is illegal in the workplace under Equal Opportunity laws, so why is this double standard even being considered?

Yours sincerely,

Georgina Ker

What have you done to help protect women's rights? Don't leave it all to someone else! Pro forma letters are available - here is one originating from Justine Caines of Homebirth Australia:

Information Sheet - Writing a submission for the Community Affairs – Legislation Committee

Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 and two related Bills

This Senate Committee is receiving submissions until July 20, so please prioritise this. It is important and it will greatly help those of us at the ‘front’ of the lobbying activity.

You can email them to the Committee Secretary

community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au

{Date}
{Your name}
{Your address}

Ms Claire Moore
Chair
Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

By E-mail: community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au

Dear Senator Moore

Re: Inquiry into Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 and two related Bills

I write to express my concern about the above bills. I understand that these bills will enable Medicare funding, access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and professional indemnity premium support for midwives providing care for women to give birth in hospital.

Medicare funding for midwifery care is long overdue. It is not acceptable however to exclude homebirth from this funding and indemnity arrangement. By doing this Australia is totally out of step with nations such as the United Kingdom, Canada, The Netherlands and New Zealand.

These nations support the rights of women to choose homebirth and fund a registered midwife through their national health scheme. In New Zealand and the U.K women have a legislative right to choose homebirth.

The intersection of this legislation with the national registration and accreditation of health professionals will prevent homebirth midwives from registering. I believe this to be an unintended consequence and ask that you take steps to include homebirth within the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) and related Bills.

I support a system where all consumers are treated equally, with the same access to funding and the same insurance protection.

{Please add your own comments here}

Yours sincerely

Your name

Tooting my own horn

2009-07-06T23:44:00.000+08:00

Just trying to clear some of my fabric stash and justify buying more:

Items for sale on MadeIt

Puff pastry delights

2009-07-06T23:25:00.000+08:00

I can't believe I've never made spinach and ricotta triangles before - they're so easy! This is adapted from a few different recipes and according to what was in the fridge.

Spinach and ricotta triangles

2 sheets puff pastry (I use Pampas butter puff pastry, because it hasn't got nasty numbers)
1 bunch English spinach, washed, ends trimmed
1/2 tub (about 125g) ricotta (Mundella has no preservatives)
handful grated cheddar cheese
a little grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

--
Preheat oven to 200 deg C.

Wilt spinach by placing in a colander and pouring boiling water over it. Drain well, and when cool enough, chop roughly. Place in bowl.

Add cheeses. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut puff pastry sheets into 9 squares each. Place filling in each square and fold over to make a triangle. Press edges firmly, place on baking tray.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and puffy.

Then I had one sheet of pastry left over - three in a pack - so I invented this:

Cinnamon twists

1 sheet puff pastry
about a tbsp caster sugar
about a tsp ground cinnamon
melted butter

---

Preheat oven to 200 deg C.

Cut pastry sheet in half and brush with melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, sprinkle over one buttered pastry half.

Place the two halves together (buttered sides together). Cut into thin strips, about 1.5cm wide. Twist strips and place on a baking tray.

Bake for about 6-7 minutes or until puffy and golden brown.

Is there anything puff pastry can't do?!?

Save homebirth! Shame on you, Nicola Roxon!

2009-06-25T12:15:00.001+08:00

As of July next year, homebirth with a private midwife will be illegal in Australia, if legislation being introduced to Federal Parliament goes through.

How? Well, it will be illegal for a practitioner to attend a birth without insurance, and indemnity insurance isn't available to private midwives - and the government won't step in and help midwives get insurance. At the moment, midwives practice without insurance, and this is a risk they, and their clients, knowingly take on.

From my understanding, government-funded homebirth programs, such as the Community Midwifery Program here in WA, will still run, because the government covers insurance for them. However, these programs are very limited in scope: geographically; in terms of the number of places available; and in terms of a very narrow eligibility requirement. For example, I doubt I'd be able to get a place now because I've had two post-partum haemorrhages, a cervical tear and a 43 week pregnancy. Women who've had previous C-sections, are pregnant with twins or have a baby presenting breech at term are automatically excluded.

Whether or not *you* would want to have a homebirth - either at all or with any of those "risk factors" - is entirely your choice. But that's just what it should be: a choice. That choice is being taken away from Australian women.

Bewilderingly, our Health Minister, who is introducing this legislation, is a woman and a mother. Can she not see that this is a huge step backwards for women's rights?

http://www.savehomebirth.com.au/howyoucanhelp.html

Write your local member. Attend local rallies. Lobby senators (I think it's in the Senate, where the government relies on minor parties to get a majority, that we stand the best chance of defeating this Bill).

You might not want a homebirth, but what if your daughter did one day? Where does it end? What if all you want is a vaginal birth and suddenly the law told you that your care provider must perform a caesarean? Everyone has the right to informed consent ... unless you're a birthing woman.

Our bodies, our rights, our choice. Back off, Ms Roxon.

Better late than never?!

2009-06-20T23:08:00.000+08:00

I knitted this cushion cover for my friend's wedding present (the blue and red are almost identical to the theme colours they had for their wedding):

The buttoning bit is a bit wonky, and it's a bit big (I was paranoid it'd be too small for the smallest cushion insert, so I guess I over-compensated), but I made up the pattern myself and I'm pretty chuffed. Except for the funny part ...

.
..
...
....
.....

The wedding was 18 months ago (I did buy her a gift at the time as well, I'm not a completely sucktastic friend). So, Tam, if you're reading this, I'm sorry I suck and we should meet up sometime soon so I can give you the world's most belated wedding present.

I had made an error on it, and I really, really hate undoing knitting, so it sat in the unfinished basket for ages. D'oh.

No more Ms Nice Woman!

2009-06-20T22:21:00.000+08:00

So you know those nice humane mouse traps you can buy, where the mousey runs in, the door shuts, and then you take it and release it somewhere, and you're full of warm fuzzy love?

I gave you a chance, mouse. It's kill, kill, kill from here on in.

(I'm guessing it went in there last night, and before we got up this morning had managed to EAT ITS WAY OUT. The little bugger.)

Refashioned skirt

2009-06-20T22:14:00.000+08:00

You'll have to take my word that this looks better on me than on the dress form! It *was* a size 22 Innovare skirt that I found on the $1 rack at my local op shop. Made in Australia, and simply gorgeous soft fabric. I am not a size 22.

I took all the seams in the required amount (which taught me a good deal about how a facing is sewn on to a skirt - I had to unpick the facing all the way round first), then tried it on and realised the length was unflattering too. I chopped a few inches off and now it hits just below my knees, which left a few inches of the slit in the back, just perfect!

Now that I have finished uni, it's vaguely conceivable I might do some out-of-the-home work at some point soonish, and all the stuff I wore in previous jobs is too small now :( (In all honesty, even if I were skin and bone, it would still be. My hips have expanded too. Not to mention my boobs.)

On a separate trip to the same op-shop - and purely by chance, as we were sheltering from the rain after Evelyn went to the chiropractor - I found the motherlode of secondhand Tupperware. Thirteen Modular Mates for $41! (Retail value: $266 new.) Made in Australia, interesting, cos it's not anymore.

Now envy my budget-priced organised pantry. I already owned some black-lidded ones, and these ones had green lids, but I'm not complaining:

A birthday gift

2009-06-13T23:17:00.000+08:00

Emma has a birthday party to attend tomorrow, and of course I left the gift to the last minute. Enter the 1-hour bag tutorial, adapted a little to be child-sized. I also appliqued a matching T-shirt.

I got 1.5 metres of the pink canvas for $1.50 in the remnant bin at my local fabric store, so expect to see a lot more of it, hehe.

Playing catch-up

2009-06-13T11:48:00.000+08:00

I did manage a few small projects while in stress-induced hibernation.

A library bag/tote bag - a birthday gift for one of Emma's school friends:

I repaired moth holes in a pair of longies that had been sitting in my repair basket forever:

Just for fun, here are the same longies on Alastair when I originally knitted them two years ago - he would have been about 15 or 16 months old.

Oh, and I converted a woven wrap to a mei tai:

(although the body length is too long, so I need to find the motivation to unpick it and fix it properly)

Hello, out there!

2009-06-11T22:35:00.000+08:00

*echo*

Yes, I'm all done with uni now, so perhaps I'll find time to blog (or even time to do something to blog about. My exam was yesterday and I've already finished a couple of lingering knitting projects that had been languishing at the bottom of the basket. Including a wedding present I was knitting for a friend. Her wedding was in November 2007. Oh dear.

2009-05-15T20:48:00.000+08:00

We're doing a Nappycino knit-along for a headband, and what better reason to procrastinate on the uni assignment I should be doing??

Pattern: DROPS 86-10 headband
Needles: 4.5mm 40cm Addi Turbo circulars (circs not required, but it made the project more portable)
Yarn: some New Zealand 12ply felted lambswool leftover from another project

A nice easy knit, it only took me 48 hours and it's not as if that was un-interrupted.

And here's the zippered pouch I mentioned in my last post:

Mother's Day gifts

2009-05-09T23:26:00.000+08:00

This year I bought two canvases, some paint, and let my six- and three-year-olds express their creativity for their grannies. It cost us very little, but hopefully our mums will appreciate it.

I also whipped up a little boxy pouch from this tutorial for my partner's mother, and added a nice all-natural soap from the health food store. I will do the same for my mum, although I'm actually not seeing her tomorrow (sorry, Mum!)

I must say that tutorial is simple yet ingenious. A perfect use for small pieces of fabric, perfect for gifts, and even I, who am extremely zipper-challenged, managed it without issue.

Product reviews

2009-05-09T21:55:00.000+08:00

When shopping for my shiny new food processor recently, and with some other major purchases over the last couple of years, I've read a lot of product reviews. A great site for reviews by real users is Product Review Australia. You can earn reward points for each review you write - and if you join and use me as your referrer, I get reward points for each review you write too ;)

My email is georgina dot ker at gmail dot com, but really, I don't mind if you don't use it - it really is a useful site for many consumer purchases!

'Tis the season ...

2009-05-04T22:12:00.000+08:00

... to make pants?!?

Well, the changing of the seasons tends to be the time when one needs to make things for children, when you realise they've outgrown all of last winter's things! I thought Evelyn was going to need a whole 'new' (i.e. op-shopped or homemade) wardrobe, but then I discovered three tubs of clothes in the shed, that I'd forgotten about. Woohoo.

I did still make her these two pairs of pants from the Little Comet Tails Crescent Moon Yoga Pants pattern. One pair is polar fleece with ribbing for the waist - it's only one layer of fleece so not really enough for a nappy cover, but cozy all the same. The other is a gorgeously soft wool jersey, slightly felted. I ran it through a warm wash, but not hot, so it's still stretchy. I used two layers in the 'crescent', and lanolised it, so it should hold up as a daytime nappy cover.

(The wool pair is showing the back of the pants, a perfect pattern for cloth nappies.)

Excuse the half-plastered wall in the background. We'll get it finished one of these days. I wish I could make the children stop being cute in front of it.

I made one more pair of pants last weekend for a little birthday boy (or not-so-little, since he turned four). He likes bright colours and bold prints: I think these fit the bill.

All these fabrics have been in my stash for ages.

Some pants for Emma

2009-04-24T23:09:00.000+08:00

These ones were made out of my favourite pyjama pants that had a persistent hole at one seam - I repaired it twice and then gave up.

These are made out of two fabrics that Emma chose on two separate visits to the fabric shop. I didn't have enough of either to make an entire garment, now that she's getting bigger!

And just for fun, my creative "space", characterised by a lack of space ;)

and one of my creative inspirations:

My new toy

2009-04-24T23:00:00.000+08:00

Magimix 3200

I've never had a food processor before. It's very shiny! It came with a dough blade, a whisk blade, a cutting blade, and three discs. Three different sized bowls. Twelve year motor guarantee. Drool drool.

There's a lot of from-scratch food preparation on Failsafe. I figured I could do with the helping hand.

Here's the first result:

A yummy scroll. Not a cinnamon scroll because we're not allowed cinnamon. Yes, it's mostly eaten, lol!

'Lemon' poppyseed muffins

2009-04-21T22:23:00.000+08:00

'Lemon' poppyseed muffins (makes 12)
---
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup white sugar/caster sugar
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 cup/60g butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup good vanilla or natural yogurt
1 egg
2 tsp citric acid dissolved in 1tbsp water
--
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Mix wet ingredients in a separate container.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently until combined - don't overmix.

Spoon into muffin pans.

Bake at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes (I think my oven runs hot/cooks fast, so adjust accordingly)
--
Poppy seeds are apparently an excellent source of calcium and manganese, and a good source of iron and protein. My kids just like them on bread.

Why I breastfeed in public

2009-04-20T20:49:00.000+08:00

Why I breastfeed in public

Perhaps it makes most sense to start this essay with the myths about why I might breastfeed in public. These are all 'reasons' that have been put forward by people from my city over the past week:

1. I'm selfish. I don't quite understand this one. It brings me no particular pleasure to breastfeed in public. It's about my baby, not me. Her needs, not your preferences, nor mine.

2. I'm irresponsible. This one makes even less sense than the previous one. Surely it would be irresponsible not to feed my baby - if I'm feeding her breastmilk, or even formula, I'd say I've got at least one part of this parenting gig right.

3. I like to titillate (pun intended) and/or offend members of the public. I'd love if no-one was offended or seeing it as a sexual thing, because it's not. I take no pleasure in people's negative reactions. Look the other way if it offends you; if it arouses you, you have issues.

4. I want people to share in my moment of joyous bonding with my child. No, honestly, I don't want you to share anything. Just don't look!

5. I'm making a political point. Actually, I will be on Thursday when I attend a nurse-in outside the WA Premier's office, but I can honestly say that if you see me feeding my baby on a bus or in a shopping centre, I am not trying to make a point.

OK, so the real reasons ...

... there's only one. My baby's hungry: she has a right to eat, and this is how I feed her (a method which is the biological norm for our species). I really don't need any other reason.

Additional points

1. I don't breastfeed with a blanket over my baby's head. For those who choose to, fine, but I think it draws more attention to what we're doing, and more to the point, it would annoy my baby incredibly.

2. I also don't show much, 90 per cent of the time, when I feed. Not because I'm particularly concerned about modesty, but because I don't see the need to. Babies do go through stages of being very curious and unlatching all the time to look behind them, or being fussy at the breast and going off and on. At these times, you might catch a glimpse of a nipple, if you're staring at me. You'd definitely see more with some of the 'fashions' people choose to wear in public. I've breastfed a toddler in Brunei and Dubai airports, and on Royal Brunei Airlines flights, with no problems, and those are places with far more conservative views than Perth, Australia, surely!

3. Babies are unpredictable in their feeding times. To try and force a baby into a feeding schedule so that one can plan outings around feeding times, can be dangerous for the baby and detrimental to the breastfeeding relationship.

4. Expressing milk and feeding it from a bottle when I'm right there is pretty pointless, and can also cause mastitis, supply drops and nipple confusion, again endangering the breastfeeding relationship. In addition, many mothers - myself included - find it extremely difficult to express any significant amount of milk.

5. I am not 'staying home until my baby weans'. Two years or more? HAH. That's just silly.

But really, as I said, none of these reasons matter. It's a human rights issue. My baby has the right to eat. Period. Breastfeeding is the normal way to feed said baby, and not breastfeeding has many risks or costs to baby, mother, and society in general.

Failsafe garlic steak with couscous salad

2009-04-20T20:46:00.000+08:00

I invented this tonight. It was quite tasty for a Failsafe meal, though not as good as the Moroccan-spiced version I used to make :(

Ingredients:

however much steak serves 4 ppl (I think I had about 600g of blade steak, but that's just a guess, and I know some people are big meat eaters and some aren't)
1 cup couscous
chicken/vegie stock
1/2 red cabbage, chopped
1 large leek, sliced
1 stick celery, finely chopped (I don't actually like the taste of celery, so VERY finely chopped )
2 cloves garlic, crushed
garlic salt
sea salt
failsafe oil/butter

---

Rub some garlic salt into the steak and grill/pan fry as you like. Rest the meat after cooking.

Meanwhile, heat a couple of tsp oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, leek & celery and cook until softened. Add cabbage and about a 1/4 cup chicken or vegie stock. Bring to the boil, and cook, stirring, until cabbage begins to soften; then turn heat down and leave at a low simmer until needed.

Add 1 cup of boiling water or stock to the couscous in a heatproof bowl, leave for 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork. Combine cabbage mixture and couscous. Season with a little ground sea salt.

Slice steak thinly and serve on top of couscous/cabbage mixture.

2009-04-13T20:53:00.000+08:00

Just a simple knit top, but I'm pleased with how well it fits. The fabric cost $3 from the op-shop and it's a lovely weight for autumn. I get warm easily so the sleeve length is perfect!

And here's my little boy getting crafty:

What a week

2009-04-09T23:23:00.000+08:00

I had a horrendous assignment due last Friday, and then I got an extension until the Monday, but it just consumed my mind, and I was going insane because crafting is my release, and I couldn't do any.

I did eventually submit it on the Monday, but then I had to catch up on all the laundry that had been neglected while I was consumed by this assignment.

There was much more cleaning I should have done, but I gave up. Hah. I'll never get the hang of the cleaning part of being 'domestic'.

So, I made a little horse soft toy, for a secret swap. Since it's through the babywearing group, I made it out of a piece of a woven wrap. He was very cute, but I packaged it up before taking a photo! I'll have to hope the recipient posts a photo. He was made using a pattern I picked up for 50c at an op-shop.

And I finally got up the courage to make myself a piece of clothing. My previous efforts have been somewhat half-hearted, I have to admit. It's just a basic boat-neck, 3/4 sleeve knit top, and I've had the pattern for ages but had trouble finding suitable fabric. Well, the purple interlock I got for $3 at the op-shop was perfect, hurray. I'm so pleased with the fit! I *did* take photos, but am not going to upload them until tomorrow, because we're shaped until then and the internet is painfully slow. Boo.

I also have an angry political post brewing, which doesn't really belong here but I may post anyway. You've been warned.

The Failsafe journey

2009-04-04T15:35:00.001+08:00

I've set a date for starting the Failsafe elimination diet - April 18th, so I guess we'll be eating any chocolate we get for Easter in a week, or hiding it away for an amines challenge.

Some of the behaviours and reactions we're hoping to avoid include:
- bedwetting
- irritability
- excessive defiance
- aggression
- anxiety and emotional over-reactions
- tantrums

At this stage, I'm not planning on going dairy- or gluten-free, as I'm pretty sure our problems are going to lie squarely with salicylates and possibly amines, along with the artificial stuff we've already been trying to avoid. Both the children eat a LOT of fruit. That should make the diet fun, huh?

As I said to my partner, if it doesn't work, it's only three weeks of inconvenience. If it does, hopefully we'll all be much happier.

Can I have more time, please?

2009-03-28T16:58:00.000+09:00

Baby girl (now nearly 8 months old) hasn't been sleeping well at all lately. She's always been a night waker, but this week it was ridiculous - no daytime napping, and she'd wake up at 5am bright and alert, refusing to go back to sleep.

So I would like more time, please. I suppose technically I'll gain an hour when daylight savings ends!

I also broke my laptop, which makes blogging less convenient. I'm using an old laptop, but I miss my bookmarks, and it doesn't have enough memory to run all the browser windows I like to have open.

I received some absolutely scrumptious bamboo jersey and ribbing in the mail last week, and I am thinking winter long-sleeved T-shirts. I made this for Alastair using the pattern I bought at the op-shop:

I quite impressed myself with the freehand guitar! The ribbing at the neck is a bit messy, need to work on that. Ignore the line down the front, it's a crease that I was too lazy to iron out. The long sleeves wound up too tight, so I'll adjust the pattern and probably chop this one to short sleeves. Although, really, I think I should have sized up to size 4; I'd say it's a small-fitting pattern.

I tried it on Alastair before finishing the hem and sleeves, and he refused to take it off, so it's since been worn and washed and landed back in the sewing room to be finished properly. I should be glad he likes it!

I also finished my Fetchings, in time for cold mornings:

These annoy me because I'm SURE the two balls were from the same dyelot, but they've knitted up so differently. It's not so obvious when worn, thankfully, and it was just some stash yarn I had lying around (Patons Jet, wool/alpaca blend).

I also made Evelyn a nappy cover, since she's outgrown her smalls:

and had my first try at melting and moulding chocolate. I am aiming to give fair trade/ethical gifts this Easter, but there's not much of a range, so I bought some bulk chocolate and will make our own shapes and eggs.

This was much easier than I thought, but I think making hollow eggs will be more difficult.

More op shopping

2009-03-18T22:21:00.000+09:00

I've been having fun op-shopping. Of course, I didn't find what I was actually looking for (winter shoes for Alastair - I ended up just buying a new pair), but I had some nice finds anyway.

My favourite is the hand-knitted fair isle cardigan ($3.50), but I also love the patterns (a basic T-shirt pattern sized for the whole family, and a soft toy pattern with an option for a hobby horse, 50c each), and the huuuuge piece of Bunnykins fabric ($5). Alastair picked the books. There's also a really nice weight purple knit, some sweatshirt fleece for making winter clothes, and zippers.

It was kind of cute when Alastair sat down and bawled in the middle of one of the op shops because there weren't any shoes in his size. "But I want shoooooooooeeeeees!" He ended up getting a pair of Wiggles joggers, Target had them on sale, so all was good.

Here's an action pic of the Avalon Rainbow ring sling conversion:

2009-03-15T22:43:00.000+09:00

I loved this wrap (Avalon Rainbow Girasol), but I just didn't use it enough as a short wrap. So it's a ring sling now. I gave it a whirl at church this morning, and at a birthday party this afternoon, and I'm in love all over again.

Here is its previous incarnation:

Aww, *cluck* at how small Evelyn was!!

Plugging away at the to-do pile in the sewing room

2009-03-07T22:04:00.000+09:00

Another too-short T-shirt of Emma's, another piece of the pink knit top:

This time I carelessly overlocked the two pieces together backwards, but because I am just *that lazy* I went with it, figuring the inside-out look could be a feature (actually, my other half owns a couple of T-shirts like that). I added some ribbon along the bottom that Emma chose at the local sewing shop ages ago.

I found this skirt on the bargain rack in the op-shop for one dollar. It's in perfect condition and I just loved the print/style. It was originally a size 12 mini-skirt, which makes a perfect decent-length skirt for a tall 6 year old. It comes to just above her knees. I just chopped the non-zippered side off and re-sewed it, although because it was layered and had interfacing it wasn't as simple as I first thought. Another problem resulted when I realised I hadn't measured carefully enough and it was now too small, so I unpicked and inserted a panel made from the bits I'd cut off. One day I'll learn to measure properly.

Purely for the sake of cuteness, here's Evelyn in one of the prefolds I dyed yesterday:

Tie-dying day and a refashion

2009-03-06T18:19:00.000+09:00

A group of friends and I decided to get together for a tie-dying session today. I'd never done it before, but a couple of the women had, so they were our resident experts. This is a good way to get a few different colours without buying them all, and have some good company!

This is my stuff:

I got a bit of dye transfer on the orange shirt from packing it up too quickly while wet (had to catch a lift home with my dressmaker's dummy!), but they're all awesome, especially compared to the stained, boring clothes they were before. The big thing is a yard of bamboo fleece fabric :)

I think my faves are the purple and red. I'm definitely going to try this again!

This was a shirt of Emma's that was too short. I chopped up a pink stretchy top I was never going to wear (have plenty left of that for other similar projects), added a strip on the bottom, a bit at the neckline to co-ordinate, and stitched over the butterfly motif in matching magenta thread to pull it together. I tried a rolled hem on the bottom that didn't really work, though. Oh well, live and learn.

I have a new friend

2009-03-06T17:39:00.000+09:00

I think she needs a name - any ideas?

I was browsing the shops on my way to a friend's place for a tie-dye session, when I came across her in an op-shop window for $30!! They go for well over $100 (also secondhand) on eBay. All the adjustments work, she does have a stand, but she's missing her 'feet'. I should be able to rig something up. Maybe I'll actually sew clothes for myself now.

I did get a few stares walking down the street with a baby on my front and a dressmaker's dummy under one arm. Thankfully another friend with a spare baby seat gave me a lift home. Pics of the tie-dye goodness later ...

2009-03-04T22:27:00.000+09:00

New auctions are up here now:

Victorian Bushfire Appeal OzeBaby store

He's THREE!

2009-03-02T22:57:00.000+09:00

My little boy turned three today. Wow.

I must admit that he is into a lot of commercial kiddy stuff, so he did love the Talking Rescue Pack (from Go Diego Go!) that we bought him, and the Thomas shirt and playset. But I also made him two presents:

A doll sling (he wore Tigger in it later and it was sooooo cute, but I didn't get a pic).

A pillowcase, because he's just started sleeping with a pillow, and we really don't need any more sheets, so I didn't want to buy a whole sheet set.

I also have to share this adorable rideon car my parents bought him:

And his cake:

And again ...

2009-03-02T16:16:00.000+09:00

I, Georgie, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 / 4 / 6 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed, me.

I have pics of Alastair's birthday presents (and maybe some of his party!) to post later.

One thing down ...

2009-02-22T20:23:00.000+09:00

I have never auctioned anything I made before. I'm so nervous! But it's for a good cause :) I'll make a post when it's up, but I still need to send everything off to TiKKi, who's organising it.

2009-02-21T22:09:00.000+09:00

I need to get my butt into gear! So here's a public accountability post ;)

I have a mei tai, nearly finished, to be auctioned on the Bushfire Appeal store on Ozebaby. It's that darn topstitching - it gets fiddly with the long straps getting in the way.

I also need to finish Alastair's birthday presents before next Monday. I'm making him a Bob the Builder pillowcase, and a doll sling (shortening one of my wraps and using the offcut to make a sling). I've also bought him a Thomas the Tank Engine set to add to his collection, and a Talking Rescue Pack (from Go, Diego, Go!). I can't believe my little boy is going to be three!

Also, my Fetchings are supposed to be part of a Feb Fetchings knit-along, so I need to finish those by next weekend too.

If someone could spirit away my baby and replace her with a sleeping version, I'd be all set! (Please - anyone?)

2009-02-17T17:42:00.000+09:00

What to do when you have a freakishly tall 6 year old? Buy them size 8 jeans with an adjustable waist - a great find in excellent condition at the op shop for $2. And when those size 8 jeans are STILL too short? Add cuffs!

Miss Six is quite chuffed with her 'new' jeans! Fabric came from the stash.

2009-02-14T22:29:00.000+09:00

One Fetching down, one to go - well, less than one, since I've knitted about 5 rounds of the second. At least I'll finish in time for winter ;)

The cabling doesn't show up very well due to the different coloured twists in the yarn, but I do really like the self-striping effect, and the knitted fabric feels lovely. It's Paton's Jet, a wool/alpaca blend. I can see myself making more of these anyway, because they're great for using up small amounts of yarn that I have sitting in my stash.

That said, I did stuff up the first cable repeat on the second pair, by holding the cable needle at the back instead of the front on two sections, so that the cables twist in the opposite direction to what they should. Silly me! I think I'll leave it; it adds character.

I finished the gift I'm making for friends expecting a baby:

Two PUL covers (size small), and three snappi-able fitted nappies. They've chosen to mostly use flats for cost reasons, so these nappies will fit over quite a wide size range - I can just fasten that size on Evelyn, but she's big for six and a half months - and fasten with the Snappis/pins from the flats, but just be a bit more fun.

Cute flannelette print inners with snap-in boosters:

Pictures, not many words

2009-02-09T21:46:00.000+09:00

I'm knitting my first Fetchings, in fact, my first ever cable project:

Here is last night's baking. Muesli slice and apple & strawberry muffins.

All devoured at playgroup.

Op shop find - a handmade smocked dress for $1.75!

Sewing madly

2009-02-01T21:56:00.000+09:00

Finally back into the nappy sewing. I made this minky pocket using the Fattycakes pattern, only I stuffed up the cutting and made it narrower through the crotch. I think it looks kind of similar in cut to a Beetlebum! (It certainly wasn't intentional, Mel :)) I had some issues putting the elastic in, but I don't think that's the fault of the pattern, rather my application of the instructions. It's quite different to how I normally do it, though I like the effect.

I've also been sewing away on these ones, which aren't, unfortunately, for Evelyn.

Naughty naughty fabric shopping

2009-02-01T21:50:00.000+09:00

... I really shouldn't buy any more!

I got this bag of 6 balls of yarn for $9.95; it's lovely and soft but I'm not sure what it is! There isn't a label. I burnt a little and I think it's wool or mostly wool, but I'm not 100 per cent sure.

It's fuzzy:

I also bought some dupioni silk, 30 per cent off. I'm not sure what to do with it, possibly a ring sling, or the lining for a mei tai. Hmmmmmm.

Snap storage

2009-02-01T16:57:00.000+09:00

Resin snaps are a disaster waiting to happen when one has young children. I've heard many a horror story about children upending them everywhere, requiring hours of painstaking sorting.

I'm sure it's not original, but I was very pleased to discover these compartmentalised boxes for $5 each at my local discount variety store.

Problem solved!

Cloth pad swap!

2009-01-29T23:10:00.000+09:00

Hopefully the recipient likes it - and doesn't read this blog ;)