Friday-Friday

Andrew's on a work phone call so I'm trying to be quiet, hence the ongoing blogging activity (the first blog of today was around 5am when jetlag woke me up but left Andrew sleeping and I had to keep quiet).

Holidays are so grand.  I get to do stuff I want to do, and take all the time in the world to do it.  Today I recreated my dress to wear to Rachey's wedding.  I got stuck in it and when I eventually found (felt) my way out of the bedroom to ask Andrew for help he took these photos.  I was totally oblivious, I thought he just needed to quickly finish something off that he was working on, instead he was clicking away at his wife in all her fumbling glory.

And this?  This was Andrew's apology for getting pen ink on my new tablecloth (well, old really but it's new to me!).

Lastly, a bit of my crafty endeavours for the day.  A pencil case, pouch thingy.  I followed (kind-of) this tutorial which shows how to make a nicely finished little pouch without the need to line it.  I was determined to use a bright piece of bias binding I'd picked up at a kringloop before Christmas.  Unfortunately it was about 1/2 the size that I needed.  I used it anyway.  I think the strange shape of the pouch gives it character!

Be My Valentine

Valentines

Andrew and I are hosting a Valentine's party in 2 weeks time.  I've just been cruising the net looking for ideas when I came across a poem generator (scroll down the page to find it).  You have to fill in things like fruit, flower, nouns and body parts.  This is what my poem (with Andrew's help) came out as (WARNING-words like 'nipple' are used frequently!):

Ode of Love by Calli

Your skin glows like the mango, blossoms long as the calla lily in the purest hope of spring.

My heart follows your trombone voice and leaps like a zebra at the whisper of your name, Andrew.

The evening floats in on a great pelican wing.

I am comforted by your undies that I carry into the twilight of Amsterdambeams and hold next to my head. 

I am filled with hope that I may dry your tears of chemical juice. 

As my ankle falls from my brassiere, it reminds me of your Bob. 

In the quiet, I listen for the last Bang of the day.

My heated nipple leaps to my coat. I wait in the moonlight for your secret doozie so that we may scintillate as one, nipple to nipple, in search of the magnificient pink and mystical whale of love

Weird

Why is it that my post always takes the round-a-bout way to Amsterdam?

Setting things straight

Certain rumours have been circulating that Andrew and I are traipsing across countries in order to board a ferry to the Queen's land.  

To set things straight, I shall tell you the tale of Wednesday.  It all started with a German going travelling and an Englishman who didn't want to go travelling.  

These were Andrew's work colleagues, one couldn't go to Germany to do some work and one didn't want to as he was in England.  Andrew was next up in line to go, so he did and I tagged along.

We cycled through early-morning Amsterdam streets to get the hire car, only to find that the promised GPS was no where in sight.  Avis opens at 8am and this was before 6am.  Hmm. What to do?

  

We had to get from Amsterdam to a little town in Germany with no GPS, no

 maps and no stars to guide us by.  Solution: Google maps and a quick stop at a petrol station to buy some maps.  And then we zoomed.  Through Holland, through mist, past trucks, following red tail lights, into Germany and finally to Netphen.

Andrew was freaking out because he was dropping me in this tiny town with no idea of what was there and it was below zero degrees. 

 I assured him I would be fine, he dropped me and then zoomed off to the big factory to get down to work. 

 I wandered around the town for the day.  

(A tree warmer!?!)

Sometimes outside admiring the few sights, mostly wondering where I could next go to spend time inside and warm up. 

 I had a little thermos full of delicious carrot soup but that only kept the cockles warm for so long. 

 I spent extended periods of time in a craft shop (having hilarious English for me and German for the shop lady conversations), 

Aldi (when in Germany one must go where the Germans go), 

Toom (BIG supermarket where I bought sunflower seeds and pretzels-mmmm for German soft pretzels, and also spent a fair bit of time in the liqour aisle-Wodka, how funny is that!!! [Germans pronounce 'w' as 'v' hence the 'wodka' spelling), the steps of Toom (I had to warm up somehow!), a chemist/healthshop and I even resorted to cruising the aisles of a video shop in order to warm up. 

 It was a nice day, it was a cute little town, but gosh I was glad when Andrew arrived back so I could warm up in the car!

We zoomed home in reverse, with a little sidestep to Koln (Cologne) to see the cathedral and wander a little around the city with a hot chocolate.

So, dear sister of mine (you know who I'm talking to), that is why we were in Germany.

Michelle and Barack

So, Andrew and I have something in common with the new President of the United States and the First Lady.  That's why I feel I can call them by their first names.  Anyways, our common ground?  We have date night.  Although we have ours on Wednesday nights, not Friday or Saturday.  Unless it can't happen that is.  Like last night, I fell asleep before I could eat, so we had date lunch at the library.  Mmmm.

Birthday Wishes

Kt Mac, May Your Birthday Be Filled With Craic (Crack).

Manly crack.

Artistic crack.

And family crack.

Happy Naked Birthday

For you on your birthday I give you "Naked Ladies"

A naked tree

A naked Cowboy

May you have a chance to be free, get naked and enjoy being 29. Happy Birthday KT Mac!

Overheard

Kenzi was talking to KT telling her all about her first day. KT must have asked what she did. Kenzi said, 'Well I cut, I played and I ate!' Sums up school really! More cutting, playing and eating tomorrow!

Kenzi Chronicles

Tales of a Kindergarten Girl - Day 1

The Last Hurrah!

Kenzi does everything with a bang! So nothing short of a massive send off was good enough for my baby girl. Yesterday afternoon, her last afternoon before big school, she turned herself red and in turn made the pool a fancy shade of red. Unfortunately the body paint pictures got corrupted somehow, but here is our pool. The poor filter is working overtime!
Like I said- with a bang!

I'm Going to Dance All Night

I just bought shoes for Rachey's wedding.  I figured that seeing as I am wearing an old dress and a fabulous, fabulous coat that Mum made me I can splurge on shoes.  Here they are...along with my dusty floor.

About Life

I've gone from Newcastle to Amsterdam.  From 39 degrees celsius to 1 degree celsius.  From swimming pools and kangaroos to canals and bikes.  From a full house to just me and Andrew.  It's crazy how things can change over the space of 24 hours.

I'm enjoying being back here, Andrew called me an optimist the other day.  It's dark until after 8am, it's c-c-cold, nothing is easy, we have a ridiculously small oven, I don't speak Dutch and all my family is on the other side of the world.  But there are patches of silver shining through my clouds.  I'm back with my sewing machine which I've already put to good use (more on that another time).  I get to cycle everywhere.  I found a very cool tin on the side of the street on the way back from shopping yesterday.  It only takes 20 minutes to get home from the airport.  We have tulips in a big vase on our table.  Warm stews and soups hit the spot for dinner.  The brie here is amazingly cheap and amazingly good, especially when eaten with homemade berry jam.  We can pop to Germany for the day (Andrew has a meeting there tomorrow and if he's driving I'll tag along for the ride).  We can go to Cousin Rachel's wedding in London on Saturday.  I can walk from my house to the main shopping area in a few minutes (which I'll be doing soon, have to finish off the wedding outfit).  So, really, it's not so bad after all, eh?

But I do miss my Australia and all my little Australians.

Brilliant to Budget

Sometimes things just don't work out.  This was one of my didn't-work-out things.  I painted the inside of this bottle that I got from the Dungog Recycle Centre (cheap as chips!) with house paint.  It looked so great, shiny on the outside, matte on the inside.  But then I added water and a tulip and it's disintegrating.  Boo-hoo.  Looks like I'll have to move on from the house paint in Mum's laundry to something rougher and tougher.

Forgetful Photographer

This is the only photo that I took of Kenzi's party. A mermaid and a c - horse. Thank you dressing up family for making Kenzi's day and reminding her that she is special and precious and unforgetable!

Mermaid Cake

This is the cake that I made, very late on Friday night because I had forgotten about my 2nd child's birthday and had to make it up to her somehow. I am not a terrible Mum really...just getting old!

Check it out

It's Betty online!  I've added her blog to the sidebar, but if you can't find it here's the link to have a squiz at her portfolio.  Clever, clever girl.

Mums, something to be celebrated every day

While I'm in the habit of posting other people's words, I thought I'd post this for the wonderful mums that I know and love out there.  Your kids are wonderful.  And you are amazing.

Teach Me in the Key of Life

by Mimi Chenfeld

I am waiting for you
I have been waiting all my life
to spend this time
with you.

I am full of questions, adventures, wonder, curiousity,

imagination.
I am full of fears, doubts, confusions, nightmares, dreams.
I am the Cowardly Lion. I need a badge for courage.
So do you.

I am the Tin Man. So tight. I forgot about my heart.
How's your heart?

I am the Scarecrow. Hangin' so loose my brain feels unhinged.
Does yours?

Sometimes I'm
GrumpySleepyDopeyBashfulDocSneezyHappy.
Sometimes I'm seven new dwarfs as yet unnamed.I love to sing.
I know the words to 2,437 songs.
Teach me through songs.Let me paint, doodle, scribble, draw, carve, fix, sketch - DO.
I can't keep still.I'm a spaced-out, far-out, Star Wars, Superman IV, rock 'n' roll, disco,
punk, psychedelic, tuned-out, right-on, cool age, electronic, stereo, video games, computerized, technicolor, ten-speed kid!
I need action!

Keep it moving!

I love to read baseball cards, album covers, TV schedules, movie ads,
license plates, T-shirts, buttons, posters, cartoons, cereal boxes,
recipes, highway signs, historical markers, magazines, picture books, 
sad stories, weird poems, animal histories, lost-and-found boards...Let me ask my questions - even if you don't know the answers.
Dumb questions, like who started numbers?
Do caterpillars know they're going to turn into butterflies?
Where does the white go when the snow melts?
Why does time fly?
How do we see?

What do you see?It's not my birthday, but every day can't we celebrate SOMETHING?
Colors, seasons, Tuesdays, Mexico, circles, houses, maps, our names, numbers, one seed, our journals, favorite books, inventions, rivers, peace!
Can we celebrate our country on the fourth of October or the twelfth of May?
We don't have school on the fourth of July!
Every day let's celebrate SOMETHING!

Life - the wonder and power and miracle of Life - of being here, learning together, with all our fantastic powers.Surprise me.
Amaze me.
Startle me.
Challenge me.
Try me.
Laugh with me.
Love me.Teach me
in "the key of life,"
and I promise I'll
surprise, amaze, startle, challenge, try, enjoy and love YOU!