school holiday antics & the latest giveaway winner

Greetings all,
Ok, so it's been raining non stop for days, actually since the school holidays started (typical) & things have taken a turn for the worse . . . kidnapping.  Only not in the low tech fashion of my childhood, where i'd find my favourite toys missing & a hand written ransom note under my bedroom door or maybe an EtchASketch mystery message from my siblings . . . today's children photograph & SMS their siblings instructions on what to do if they want their toy's safe return, or email each other vital clues on where they might find their favourite giraffe, monster or rabbit.   

Upon downloading the latest images on my camera (always cause for concern with my cheeky children) i found some rather confusing images of Raffy Giraffe in all sorts of life threatening scenarios (no 'proof of life' though).  The images were to be emailed to Raffy's owner, our middle daughter, for her to find when she next logged on to her email.  Now just for reference & dramatic effect, this is the child voted by her siblings "Most Likely To Over React About Absolutely Every Single Thing" (especially anyone touching her beloved giraffes) i was thrilled i was able to intercept this evil plot, give stern warnings to the kidnappers to put Raffy exactly back where they found him & she'll never know/ implode/ explode/ over react.  I try to get through large family life by avoiding drama - seeing the train wreck coming & putting on the brakes, stop, deep breath & avert the crisis. 
So why upload this image to the internet??  The damage had already been done, the boy, the youngest, the child voted "Most Likely To Crack Under Pressure/ Dibber Dob" (especially if it involves anything untoward happening to his beloved middle sister) had already run off & told her all about the kidnapping. 

 How did i take my eye off the ball & let this kidnapping plot happen on my watch??

 Oh i don't know, maybe all the gorgeous sewing projects in my new Cath Kidston craft book??

 Reading the background story to the recipes in my new Collected cookbook??

 Wondering/ wishing/ dreaming why my vegetables never look as lush as Jamie's??

Do people really like doughnuts so much, that they'd bother to make them at home??  We're not a doughnut loving family but after seeing the Italian ones those fabulous cooking twins made in Junior MasterChef & now in this month's Donna Hay magazine, maybe they are a homemade taste sensation worth the messy, sticky effort??

So sorry, forgot to publicly announce the 300th Post Hot Pink Giveaway winner - it was lucky comment number 89 who is . . . Rebecca from Sewing Belle blog, a super sweet mummy of 3 all the way at the bottom of Western Australia.  Congratulations Bec & happy travels with your family for your big holiday.
Thanks everyone for entering, i have a couple of new giveaways coming up, from IKEA & Lego - you won't want to miss them, follow & stay tuned, love Posie

school holiday reading

Greetings all,

You know i love my husband to pieces & here's a tiny example of why - he's not romantic in a flowers (they make him sneeze, make a mess with petals, then they die & turn the water brown), lobster dinners (he doesn't really like eating seafood or the smell) or jewellery (he's given me wedding rings, what else do i need) kind of way . . . but he does surprise me with, well, him - turning up unexpected/ early/ when i least expect him on the doorstep . . . & treats me with things i really love - like homey books & magazines. 

 So handsome soldier knew i was desperately trying to find Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Cookbook, to the point where i looked like a book shop lifter, loitering suspiciously on my hands & knees, checking every shelf in every book shop in Canberra.  No, i didn't think to order on line, but that would have ruined my husband finding a copy in David Jones in Brisbane, being the hero & surprising me.  He also thought i'd enjoy "this book by that Cath Kidston chick i think you like" & how cute is this, a cookbook Collection of recipes, he thought it looked vintage & like something i'd want.  Oh bliss!!  Donna Hay Magazine, well i'm a fan, her recipes are great, even for my low skill level & inclination, but her styling, that is what i love about her the most.

 A little taste of the pages of Collection . . .

 my mother used to make a brilliant pate.

 Cath Kidston Sew - i would love to make a mass bird mobile style chandelier for my high schooler for when she moves into the new bedroom/ other half of my studio.

 I'm going to try an oversized hexagon patchwork quilt this month.

 Jamie Oliver - do you ever fail us regular family cooks??

 Oh i want to go on a picnic, NOW!!

 Donna Hay, visual feast as always in her pages, like boys fishing!!

 Donna teaches you this month about noodle varieties, brilliant!!

Then this sweet story on the last page of the magazine, about how Donna found a baby bird's nest on her way home after dropping her youngest child at his first day of school.  Sigh, i've been there.  She teamed it with a handmade bird from a friend & took this beautiful image.  What a gorgeous memory to keep of the experience.  As a fellow mummy who has an empty nest with all her children at school, i think i'd like to find a sweet bird's nest too & pop in 4 little handmade birds, under a glass dome, wouldn't that be delightful?? 
Aren't i the luckiest girl around, thoughtful husband & our 4 fabulous children, all together on school holidays.  Now time to ignore them all & stick my head in all this school holiday reading.  Love Posie

social commentary Sunday 'produce markets - what do you take home??'

Greetings all,

Rather enjoying my Social Commentary Sunday series - last week certainly ruffled some feathers about school homework & assignments, i loved the many comments from teachers, thank you!! 
This week is just a simple observation & thought on your local produce/ farmer/ handmade/ homegrown markets.  How do you approach them??  With a shopping list; a dream menu; a learning experience; or whatever the season has to offer you??

We have been trying to buy as much as we can from local produce markets for almost 15 years/ since we married, figuring organic, local & fresh is best for our bodies & eveyone's wallet. 

 I give special kudos to any producer who takes the time to engage with our children & tell them how things are grown, harvested & presented to them.

 I love discovering new & exciting produce, like these dragon fruits to show the children!!

 I get a bit Homer-Simpson-dribble-like when i see bread, oh, hello Sour Dough my old friend.

 We're a bit mushroom mad in our family, i can't wait to grow our own - although my husband is not so keen . . . his father grew them so successfully when handsome soldier was a child, EVERY meal came with mushrooms.  What a great source of iron.

 Our children are also big meat eaters, so put them in front of any European meat producer, they will try all the samples & say things like "i promise i'll tidy my room all week if you buy me some salami".  Who can resist such a deal??  "Make it a tidy room for a month" - i drive a hard bargain!! 

 Love a bit of presentation effort, especially when my high schooler is learning some fancy fruit chopping techniques.  So very 1970s housewife, but endearing.

 What a gorgeous setting for a produce market.

 Coffee who those who drink it, as you might know, i don't drink tea or coffee, certain it saves me a fortune.  Ditto for alcohol.

 Beware the mandarin monster lurking under the trees.  If only you could get a 7 year old boy to dispose of his mandarin seeds in a pleasant manner, as if they need any excuse to spit - something i find completely revolting, actually makes me feel sick - hearing someone spit!!

So what did we take home from the market today?? 
A good 90 minutes of watching our wide eyed & hungry children taste test truffles, olive oils, salmon, cheeses, meats, breads, olives, lasagne, peanut brittle, fruits & more. 
We physically brought home this bounty + a tonne of fruit & the simple stall holder suggestions of . . . pan frying the duck in simple spices . . . having the Morton Bay bug for afternoon tea (yes please) . . . the truffle duck pate can be used over & over - just lay the clarified butter over the top again . . . the smoked dill salmon can be broken up in a simple creamy pasta (delicious, having that tonight) . . . salmon dip on sour dough (secret addiction of mine) . . . how Kalamata olives are grown from the actual Kalamata olive tree cutting, not seeds, they love a cold snap & will grow well in Canberra. 
What an education, positive experience & fantastic way to spend a Sunday morning as a family!!  If you picked up on the 'we' & 'our children' - you guessed it, my husband is with us, yahoo.  Thank goodness as i went through my $50 in a flash at the market, he's my back up piggie bank/ enabler of my duck/ salmon addiction.  Love Posie

i'm grateful for 'charms & travel'

Greetings all,

Thoroughly exhausted after a big term of school.  Finally on holidays, yahoo!! 
So many things to be grateful for this week, like fabulous schools, wonderful teachers, the vouchers i get in the mail from where i buy sneakers, school shoes & uniforms (read: i spend THAT much on these items, they send me $50 sympathy vouchers).  But, this week i'm going to be grateful for an unsung piece of jewellery from my childhood - my charm bracelette, filled with trinkets & memories of my travels.

Now i was one very lucky girl who went on a dozen round-the-world trips with her family before i even started university, i had travel crazy parents - my father in the Australian Navy travelling the high seas & his dream to take my mother back to England to see her family + their love of Asia (on the way to Europe) & always ALWAYS home via America, so we could double the baggage allowance, just in case my mother's holiday shopping couldn't spread over 6 people already??!!
People tell me they chose to have children later in life as they wanted to travel first.  I thoroughly appreciate my travelling childhood - but we also have the 'have children, will travel' attitude of my parents.  I often get strange looks when i say we take our children with us on holidays or board a plane with them - have to say, their best behaviour ever is on the plane, in hotels & the joy or being tourists on a new adventure.  They eat anything & will try new customs, we're pretty thrilled how flexible they are.  They have even worked out who is studying which language at high school so they can travel together - i absolutely love that!! 

 Let me share some of my journeys . . .
Carribean sailing ship, German cow bell, Welsh dragon, some French tower, San Diego zoo dolphin, Cornish pixie, Belgian deer . . .   

 . . . Hawaiian pineapple, Australian slouch hat, Singaporean rikshaw operator (sans rikshaw), St Christopher blue medal - patron saint of travel, Hong Kong lion, silver half frank coin . . . 

 Dutch clog, Hawaiian cultural centre, Chinese san pan, Austrian eidelweiss, New Zealand kiwi, tennis racquet from Wimbeldon, Mickey Mouse from LA Disneyland, mototaxi from Macau, Mexican hat & a royal carriage from London.

 I have more charms to add from additional countries in Europe from two massive European trips since university with my husband (honeymoon & 2nd honeymoon).
I was so thrilled when my non-stop-travelling parents insisted on starting my 3 girls with charm bracelettes of their very own.  They have been lucky to gain charms on their own travels to Hong Kong, China, Macau, Singapore & Disneyland.   

Basically i'm a sucker for charms (like this pretty pendant from Schmooks at Shop Handmade) & i am constantly told how charming my husband is too!!
Happy gratefuls with Maxabella Loves this Saturday, i am promising myself to wear this gorgeous charm bracelette more often & finally add all my charms on (from Switzerland, Croatia, Greece, Italy.)  Love Posie
PS for those of you who visit Shop Handmade in the school holidays - i play full time mummy to my 4 children & only work there during school terms - so sorry if i miss you!!
EDIT: thanks for no comments so far saying i was spoilt - we knew we were very lucky to travel so far & wide & often.  My husband didn't travel until he was 21 & considered me incredibly spoilt & unworthy of EVER having the window seat again.  He often gets upgraded to business class on our family trips & i happily sit in economy with all the children, so who is spoilt now??  I said he was charming!!

a day trip with fabric on my mind

Greetings all,

I have a brother & a sister both born on the same day, many years apart.  Seeing my sister is only 200km away (compared to the birthday brother who is 1000km away) i opted to visit my near by Bowral sibling. 
It's such a lovely trip from Canberra, we stop to get up close with the cows . . .

 made the poor decision to take our German Shepherd . . .

 who sat between/ on the twins in the centre row!!

 But all the while, in the car, i was dreaming of the fabrics which arrived earlier this week.

 I don't think there is a Babushka fabric i have been able to resist!!

 I can not wait to sew with these sewing themed fabrics!!

Have yourselves a lovely wrap up to the week.  We're crusising into school holidays (finally), it's starting to get very cold here in Canberra . . . which reminds me - i need to purchase the Winter uniform for high school.  Kind of dreading the tights part of the ensemble, i constantly ruined my expensive official/  school/ regulation Winter tights, must have driven my mother crazy!!  I remember having to put nail polish on the ladders to prevent them from going the full length of my leg.  Classy but handy.  Love Posie

women on the front line & the Army

Greetings all,

I'm not joining in the politcal & military debate on the announcement this week that they are opening up the final few jobs in arms corps - to women - enabling them to fight on the front line.  I grew up with a father in the Navy who loved his daughters but wrote papers on why women shouldn't be on submarines & encouraged my brothers not to join the military.  Let me just add in that he met my mother when she was in the Women's Royal English Navy.  It was also another time, era, way of life.  Anyway, we were certainly raised to debate, at length, anything & everything in my family!!  We were all highly educated & if we had an opinion, we had to back ourselves.  
My idea of women on the front line, was & still is - we wives who are left at home to run the family.  There is a saying "if the military wanted you to have a family, they would have issued you with one".  I watched my mother change belts on broken vacuum cleaners, fix washers on dripping taps, pump or replace flat tyres on bikes or cars & clear the roof gutters (she didn't like heights).  Mum set a great example of how to "mend & make do", never complained & invested in her husband's career.  No wonder i cruised into the role of military wife so easily.     

I have to do all things engine oil, mowing lawns & fixing/ replacing/ changing too . . . like this incident which i faced on Saturday afternoon in my son's bedroom. 

 So off i went to the hardware store to purchase a tack hammer & tacks, something light to bang these planks into place.  Want female inequality, go to a hardware store, most of the men there assume all women are idiots. 

Is my son the only boy on earth who doesn't have a single piece of Lego, puzzle or stray sock under his bed?? 

 So, $11 & 30 minutes later, da dah, my son's 6 month old bed is fixed.  I was thinking, gosh, shoddy workmanship, this cost a fortune & i want this bed frame to last 10 years, how did it fall apart so easily when the girls' beds are all fine??

 I made his bed up & tucked him in.  He asked if i'd take some photos in the dark - now i know what he gets up to at night, a bit of bed trampolining, still, aged 7!! 

As for heated debates on work place relations & what women can do in the military, it requires so much more thought & discussion.  Hello, we've had 5 different pathetic, weak, male Defence Ministers in 12 months, maybe start with appointing a tenacious, strong, female Defence Minister there or at least some consistency??  Top down people.  Love Posie

social commentary Sunday "do you do your children's homework projects??"

Greetings all,

Be honest, do you do your children's homework??  Those pesky 3D interactive projects.  For you without school aged children yet . . . do you suspect you will do their homework projects 'with' them??  I can't imagine how perfectionist parents can contain themselves but to get involved.
Well it's no suprise that i am pretty hands on when it comes to book week costumes & school projects, but i do restrain myself to just 'help' or 'suggest' a practial way to create a volcano, planet or cyclone.  My children are quite vocal in the "you've had your turn at school, this is my time to shine" back away from my cardboard type comments . . . but when Red Riding Hood here (chin healing nicely thanks) came to me after lunch today (Sunday) & burst into tears saying "i have to build an ice cave, it's due tomorrow", i did a tad more than just hold her hand & pass her the glue stick. 

 Thank goodness for the internet & my craft supplies, she was able to explain/ google (for me) that there is an Aladdin's Cave in Antarctica which holds stores & she printed off some images.  She then went blank, she just couldn't fathom at the 11th hour how to create a cave or faux supplies for explorers.   

 So we ducked to the supermarket in the pouring rain (imagine the era when the shops were shut on Sundays - nightmare) & picked up a pyromanical supply of matches - for the boxes!!   

 Wrapping them in pretty coloured papers just like the explorers in Antarctica did 100 years ago, with pretty twine & washi tape . . . we made parcels of coal, paper & food supplies.

 She laminated the images & glued batting 'snow' to the cardboard roof of the cave/ bunker/ hanger & da dah, our her Aladdin's Cave in Antarctica done.

 Only this child comes with a twin, who also needed to do her project (FYI i am normally on top of homework, this was hiding in the 'extension' section of their 2 week homework grid). 

 Oh easy, she just wanted to build a ship, A SHIP, the Aurora Australis & looked what we pulled out of our hat.  I'm so glad i stuck photos of the real thing on the side of our version, the likeness is uncanny, i'm clearly a ship building model visionary.  It's all held together with a Lego boat on the inside for structural integrity & sticky tape. 

Now i know teachers can tell when parents 'assist' & printing typed up assignments with beautiful grammar & spelling is a dead give away, so i get my children to hand write their assignment information where possible (no, i can't forge their writing/ haven't tried) & make them cut, glue & construct.  There are only 25 children in our whole year 4, with a high frequency of parents who are architects, chefs, teachers & designers, the quality of projects . . . amazing.  My children are creative & have the materials at hand, but today i did 'help' . . . quite a bit. 
So, are you a closet primary school project wannabe too??  Can you let your child just take a 2D A1 size cardboard sheet in, or do you make such awesome suggestions - they just have to be put into action & can't be wasted, like smoke/ music/ vibrating parts - i've seen it all & no, have never gone that far??  Has the teacher ever written "well done Johnny, your mother has out done herself this time" on the project??  Can you look your child's teacher in the eye on parent/ teacher interview??  Love Posie
PS i know my children's teachers read my blog, i'm just honest - children do so many creative tasks at school, the teachers know what they are capable of!!