Boy + Bike =

An eventful last few days! My Surfer Boy came unstuck after landing a jump on his new BMX bike on Saturday. When a human head hits a steel handlebar trauma ensues. Fortunately he was wearing his helmet, never lost consciousness and he didn't break his neck but he did sustain a facial laceration, fractured maxilla (upper jaw), lost three perfect teeth and loosened a few others. Facial laceration was stitched locally then off he went to the major city hospital for specialist treatment late that night. He underwent surgery on Sunday evening to remove the broken jaw, the teeth and stitch the inside of the mouth. I hate seeing the lost teeth, such a waste but the fractured jaw just can't hold them in place. If you click on the second photo you will see he has his teeth splint together at the front to stabilise the wobbly ones. Surfer Boy will have to have bone graft surgery to repair his jaw and then may be able to have permanently implanted teeth but not until he has stopped growing. Surfer Boy is the typical 16 year old 'push it to the limit' invincible boy that all parents fear. We are all slowly recovering and coming to terms with the result of Surfer Boys moment of joy at landing a humongous jump at the local bike track only to then plough into a pile of uncleared junk on the track. School Holidays are so much fun. NOT!

I would also like to say "Thank You" to all the kind friends, family, neighbours and acquaintances who have stepped up in the last few days for our family, you are all very appreciated. Also apologies to anyone who's stomach has turned seeing the horrifying photos. I thought B/W photos weren't quite so hideous to view.

Surfer Boy thinks he will be back surfing in about 4 weeks and the bike might yet be chopped into tiny pieces by a vengeful mother!

Something different to read

Here is my latest decorating read. My hairdresser recently visited South Africa and he brought this Elle Decoration mag home and shared it with me, how lucky am I? It's filled with really interesting different decorating which is of course influenced by this very culturally diverse country. I have read it over and over and just found their blog, you have to have a look it's very modern and full of the latest ideas. He thought the knitted and then glazed bowls would be right up my alley, very intriguing, so far haven't found anything more of the artist John Bauer who made them, love to see what else he is doing with knits. I like the ceramics made from casting cut crystal glasses and decanters. Also like the eclectic style of decorating that was so evident in this issue, this appeals to my bower bird nature.

School holidays downunder

What to do on cold winters days with the kids home for a 2 week school break? This old puzzle gifted to them a few years back was dragged out and provided hours of relative peace and quiet! Surfer Boy and Darling Daughter are teenagers, siblings and the opposite sex so there was definitely some squabbling and annoying going on but this great WASGIJ puzzle got us all involved at times. It's a great concept for a puzzle, you need eyes in the back of your head and a good imagination to work out what the people on the front of the box might be looking at. There are also mysteries to solve and looking into the future themed ones also available. Now what to do? Darling Daughter has made a batch of bournvita biscuits this morning. Surfer Boy is remodelling neighbourhood bikes with all the local lads, keeps them busy for hours then they come home filthy dirty and bit worse for wear after hours spent at their homemade bike track in the bush. Good wholesome outdoor fun. It might come to an end as the sky is as black as ink out to the west, rain and school holidays just don't go together.

This is.............

.................my most treasured childhood memory. My Nana's wooden spoon and not for the reason you may be thinking.............I wasn't that naughty! Surfer Boy and Darling Daughter did once I remember hide my wooden spoons in their wardrobes as a bit of fun many years ago, but they remained hidden for days until I needed them for baking and then they had forgotten where they hid them! Funny little kids! I love my Nana's wooden spoon because it brings to me so many wonderful memories of times in her kitchen on the farm making steamed puddings for the hot Sunday lunch, what a treat. Still love a good steamed pudding today and this is the spoon I use to whip it up. My Nana was right handed as you can see by the wear and tear on her favourite spoon. When she passed away more than 10 years ago this is the one possession of hers I really wanted, nothing of great value, just to hold this spoon brings wonderful childhood memories of my Nana flooding back.

I will share my favourite steamed pudding recipe............my Nana's of course, the wonderfully old fashioned Golden Syrup Pudding.

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 cup SR flour

1 tablespoon butter

1tablespoon water

Beat egg and sugar, add milk, then flour. Dissolve butter in water in base of steamer, mix into previous ingredients. Place a couple of tablespoons of golden syrup into bottom of steamer, pour pudding mixture over. Seal lid onto steamer with a sheet of greaseproof paper and steam pudding in a pot of constantly boiling water for 1/2 an hour. Make sure water doesn't boil away and that it isn't too high up the steamer. When cooked unseal and turn out onto a serving plate, serve generous sized wedges with homemade custard or vanilla ice cream.

I think I will head off to the kitchen now and whip one up for my family tonight, it's sufficiently cold outside to necessitate a hot dessert! Thanks to Teacups on Treetops for evoking this piece of my childhood so vividly in my mind this week, great meme.

This is...............

Click on the chart to enlarge

one dozen sweet navel oranges

two empty bottles of wine

...............my most recent favourite thrifted item. Nothing of great value, it cost 50c and is a wonderfully tacky 1950's souvenir small table cloth from Australia's famous Gold Coast, great memories of old tourist attractions and the way things were. I'm not sure that high rises that shade the golden sand beaches, monster theme parks and gold bikini clad parking meter maids are what holiday makers want to see when they travel to the GC these days. Anyway this recent find at a local charity store was just perfect for a recent idea I had seen. It's value is immense if you are wanting to carry things with ease. The Japanese Government Ministry for the Environment are encouraging the use of a Furoshiki or traditional wrapping cloths to carry almost anything in depending on the size of your chosen cloth. Gift your friends with one and a sheet of Furoshiki use diagrams courtesy of the Japanese Government for tips on how to carry everything from a bottle of wine (or two) to carrying a watermelon. I love this idea, plastic bags need to be a thing of the past, try it, it really works! Interestingly the Japanese flock to the Gold Coast by the plane load every day so it's only fitting that my first Furoshiki is a piece of our Gold Coast History.

Thanks to Lino Forest for the great meme, my apologies for being a few days late with my post, the cloth had been sitting ironed on my cutting table for days just needed a minute for the photo shoot.

Who's a lucky girl.................me

Life is good when dear friends visit bearing wonderful woolly gifts. A little while back I made a patchwork bag kit up for a friend and in return she has gifted me these three gorgeous wools she bought on her recent European travels. These wools were bought in Riga, Latvia although the 'Emmebi Kiddy' laceweight mohair is made in Italy and the 'Katia Studio' bulky weight self striping textured yarn is made in Spain, I don't think either are available in Australia from my quick googling. She knows me well, pinks are a colour I really love and wear a lot of. Now what to knit?? Has anyone knit either of these yarns? Any ideas please forward details. I think I'd quite like to knit a lace moebius neck warmer with one of the 'Kiddy' mohair.

Winter wear

Hope to finish this Work In Progress form a couple of winters ago. Amazingly I still like this jumper and the yarn Cleckheaton Studio Mohair is just so light and interesting, these colours are now discontinued. I have knit the back and nearly one sleeve so hope the momentum continues and I'll be wearing this cosy knit soon. Version 'B' has a loose funnel neck and I'm undecided at the moment which one suits my needs best but I'm leaning toward the higher neck just to keep those cool breezes away from my neck. I have a another colour in this yarn and am thinking of knitting this, the body is knit in one piece then the sleeves are picked up at the armhole openings and knit down...........no sewing up!

Bliss

Here she is doing really well. This little girl just loves "Mummy slipper", something I fashioned out of two old sheepskin ugg boots. I cut the back seam, removed the soles and sewed the two tops together and voila a really cosy and pouch like place for a little possum to rest her head. She goes into raptures when she finds "Mummy slipper", she purrs, licks and massages the wool with her hands then nods off to blissful sleep. This little security blanket works well as it doesn't get soiled if I miss taking her to the toilet. Pia is still wobbly on her back legs so keeping herself out of a puddle of pee can be a bit tricky, quite a different matter if you are fit and healthy and hanging out in the tree tops. Anyway the last two photos were taken last evening, while she slept at my feet I knitted. When she awoke we did her possum physio, she had some supper/breakfast we headed off to bed while she was up for the night feeding and doing whatever possums do in the middle of our night.

Dinosaur diner

This is what the forests around my area look like..............gum trees (Ironbark or Spotted gums mostly) are the canopy and the forest floors are covered with these huge Burrawang Palms (Macrozamia communis) which are a member of the Cycad family............that's right, the plants that the dinosaurs ate! These photos were taken about 1 km from my front door last weekend with the sun shining in through the trees, spectacular. The female palm produces large upright cones that look like pineapples, they eventually open and drop highly toxic red/orange seeds.

Many thanks to a sick girlfriend who has just photographed these Burrawang seed pods outside her back door in her PJ's just so you can see how unusual they really are. Very attractive to birds I presume but deadly for humans and livestock, so you have been warned.

Seeing spots

I decided I needed a nightshirt to keep me warm this winter so I sewed one up for myself out of Michael Miller Bubble Blast fabric using a great easy family nightwear pattern by McCall's (M4725) this week. It fits and it is cosy, really good pattern to work with so if you see some great patchwork fabric on special then you could make one too, it took 3 metres of fabric to make the small adults size. The sun was setting way too quick so not enough light to show you the details or the great fabric, will try again tomorrow!