Very cute news

This is Heidi. She is our new RSB guile dog in training. Usually puppy educators get their pups at 8 weeks but Heidi needed a home so at 5 months she has been welcomed to our home, where she will continue her training to hopefully become a fully fledged guide dog.

The toy she's holding was a quick sewing job the other day. I had a squeaky thing that use to belong in a toy of Tim Tams. So I sandwiched it in between some stuffing and chose some fabric which looked fun. She really loves it and plays on her own while making it squeak, it's rather funny.

This is one of the reasons for the drought in blogging. I made my first quilt. I have wanted to make a quilt for my grandmother for ages. Mum and I used some fabric which you can print your photos onto and printed twenty pics of our family. Then quilted them together. Of course we found out halfway through sewing that there was going to be an addition coming to the family so we got a pic of a stork carrying a bundle. When the baby arrives we can sew the pics in the empty spots. We also made some white patches so at the family xmas everyone could write a message to her.

It took lots of pretty fabrics and the middle wadding is bamboo so it is soft , light and flexible. I'm quite happy with the end result and my grandmother was so thrilled to get it.
Till next time MnM : )

It's been tooooo long!!

Well how is everybody?
We have had such a busy last few months so I do apologies for not blogging.
Well what have we been up to? We've had lots of birthdays, concerts and other time consuming stuff.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it but Little Letty our guide dog in training has left us to further her training. I'm very pleased to say she is doing well and fingers crossed will be placed with a visually impaired person later this month. We sewed this bag to remember her.

Houses around the corner from us were due to be demolished soon as was the front gardens. So we took some cuttings of the frangipani trees. After letting them dry for a couple of weeks we decided to plant one near our chicken coop. Unfortunately there was a huge tractor tyre under the spot we needed. The tyre has lived there for quite some time and some how we have managed to work round it, until now. After about 3 hours digging we finally got it out.

We have also been doing lots of spinning and knitting.


From blogs ago you may remember three very little chics. Know they are all grown up and laying several eggs a day. We were all very surprised when we collected the following egg. It was so big I thought it better to show the size of the eggs we normally collect and a normal size pool ball.

When we used the egg it was a double yolker. All the chooks got extra scraps that day.

By the way happy New Year MnM : )

Bag Blog

This week has been full of bags.
A friend taught us a trick the other week, one which I thought should be shared. When I use a tea-bag on a string I usually use a teaspoon to pick the tea-bag out of the cup and then wrap the string around to squeeze the water out. But even after doing so it always drips on its way to the bin. So a trick is to lift the tea-bag up by the string so it's out of the tea, then lean it against one side of the cup. Do this three times moving the tea bag from the left to the right. All this is done in a few seconds and will stop the tea-bag from dripping while on the way to the bin or compost bucket. It really does work you'll be surprised.

Our family are big on using wheat bags to keep us warm in winter. Little Ma's bag wore thin and spilled its innards the other week so we got some organic wheat from the health food store to make another. I had some old fabric from a previous project so used that. I made a calico bag first then used the patterned fabric as a pillow cover for the bag. It took me about 45 minutes to start and finish. We're both very pleased with the result.
This is one side and
This is the other.
I had my 17th birthday get-together this week and I was given this wonderful handmade bag from fellow home-schooling friends. They have done some very smart sewing and designing on it. The piccy on the front is one of Tim Tam my dog of nine years. I absolutely love this bag and have been admiring it for days.

Till next time MnM : )

I love my wheat bag. It's so pretty. Thanks MnM.
MnM's bag is so cute. Love all the puppies. It was like opening a Russian Babushka Doll. There's a pocket inside and another bag and choccy Gold Coins! What more can she ask for! We have such wonderfully creative friends. I feel a little bit more inspired to get crafty this week.
Huggs Little Ma

Holiday stuff : )

Hay everyone!!
School holidays.
The plan for the holidays is to get stuff done. So last Saturday I decided it was time to personalies a pin-board.
I have been meaning to do this for some time and have had the fabric to cover the board for about 4 months.
I bought a cheap pin board and removed the edging. Then I painted the edges in a glossy white paint. That did not go so well, the paint was not water washable ( I had it all over my arms with no turps to wash it off with) and when the edge was half dry it fell on to the newspaper and was very messy. After that I glued a piece of 1 cm thick cardboard on to the back, so pins won't scratch the cupboard it will be hanging on. After every thing had dried I used the staple-gun to put the fabric over. Last but not least the edging was nailed back in place and was then hung in my room.
This is the finished product. I'm always so happy when I see it.

For us late September and early october are full of birthdays. This week Little Pa and myself had a birthday. To celebrate we have a birthday breakfast, where we have pancakes or waffles or something which we don't usually have for brekky. We also have the present opening which is always fun.



You may remember we posted a pic of a friend's new puppy a few months ago. Well that puppy is growing fast. He came for a play date with Tim Tam the other week. Little Dude and Miles had a moment together picking the weeds. Such helpful young men. LOL

Till next time MnM : )

Hey
Haven't done much crafty stuff lately. I'm still playing catch-up with paperwork. Geez it drives me cuckoo! I'm not too far behind but I'm still just out of reach - you know what I mean. Crazy. I've even moved my spinning wheel to the attic. Hopefully it won't stay there too long. Even my knitting is uninspiring atm.

I did do heaps of weeding and in those areas chucked random seeds. I wonder what's going to come up.I think it was a mixture of flowers and veg. I don't do organised gardens very well. In fact I'm a pretty crap gardener, I'm always surprised when we get stuff to eat. I love the suspense of not knowing what's coming up though. Watching the little shoots poking out of the ground. If they grow enough to feed us well that's a bonus. Also MnM and I have almost finished the side fence. Have to buy 4 more sheets of galv and then we can start on a bigger veggie patch. Atm it's sprouting lots of wheat from the chook food. Wheat is actually really pretty. So I'll wait till it's ripe.

The before and after shots of part of the front garden.



My favourite garden stuff atm is anything that doesn't require me to harvest heaps of surplus and do something with it. eg parsely, leeks, chives, oregano, rosemary. I've got pea, beans, onions and some self seeded tomatoes coming up too. When I've cleared some more weeds I think I'll get cucumber seeds.


I spent one whole day weeding that area and snipping out dead branches from all our citrus trees and the jasmine vine. It was lovely until the blisters started. That's a good time to stop, isn't it.

Huggs Little Ma

For those who have read our blog you will know we have all taken up bike riding. We went bike shopping and come out with three mountain bikes. Yay!!! We then joined a bike group which get together every week for a 45 km ride and after riding for a couple of months we found out there's a two day bike ride to Victor Harbor and back.

And yes we did decide to go.

So last week at 10 o'clock Dude, Little Ma and my self set out with a group of 19 others from Blackwood.
The first 25 km was mostly up hills with a little bit of rain and hail. So we thought it couldn't get worse.
Yeah right!!!
The WIND.
The last 50 km was the worst. A quote from Dude " You know it's bad when you have to peddle down hill". Luckily we did have three support cars and Little Ma had a short rest for part of the way and I myself took a ride for the last 15 km while the other two continued. After 100 km and 8 hours, 19 tired riders arrived at the hotel at 6 pm. After a short shower and a filling meal the three of us hit the hay at 7:30 for a well deserved rest.
Breakfast was at seven for an 8 o'clock start. Luckily the sun was making an appearance and the wind had died down.
I'm happy to say we did not need the support car for the journey home. After 80 km and lots of cafes we all arrived at Noarlunga trainstation at 3 pm. The final destination for the ride.
From there we took the train to the local station and rode the last few k's home. After lots of tea and chocolate we have all recovered and am very surprised to say we all feel quite good all things considering.
Till next time MnM : )

I thought I was going on a holiday to Victor. No, it was a bike ride to Victor. Totally different thing all together! What was I thinking! What's worse I was usually last and apart from MnM and Dude everyone was between 10 & 40 years OLDER than me. AARRGGHH. It did cross my mind - are my kids trying to get their inheritance a little early?
Huggs Little Ma

All Grown Up!!

Our first blog pictured a little puppy who was to grow up to be trained as a RSB guide dog. A year and three months later and that little puppy is all grown up and ready to do her formal training. This picture was taken on the last day she was with us. For the rest of her formal training she will stay with a border who lives close to the training facilities.



Tim Tam has been enjoying having his whole bed and toy back. Little Letty often took both of these as her own.

We are all missing her very very much. It's so quiet without her poking her noise into our sides when we ignore her.

On a happier note,
For the food and hospitality subject i'm doing at school we have to decorate a cake and practicing for the summative we made these cupcakes with hand made flowers. both can be eaten.

Last week we made a chocolate mud cake and decorated it with ribbon, chocolate shards and chocolate shapes.


Till next time MnM!!!

Biking

Hee Hee . I got a new bike.
That's the other reason I haven't blogged. The computer doesn't fit in my back pack. Dude wanted to do more riding so off we went . After 25kms and a hefty hail storm we came home , bedraggled but triumphant .
This is a pic of us returning. I'm not smiling - it' a grimace!

I thought, Wow! 25KMs! I'm fantastic. so fantastic that when Dude said lets go a Group Ride , I thought no worries. Famous last thoughts.


I turned up on my old ' bike with a basket' 'cos our better one had a puncture. Surrounded by the older generation in Lycra , my 'bike with a basket' stood out. It's brakes didn't work well, the gears didn't shift and I was lagging behind puffing. Not a pretty sight. Luckily I was able to stop at Bike SA and get to borrow one for the day.

Now most who know me , also know that I hate driving around. Imagine how surprised I was to get to Morialta Falls on a bike. I avoid driving that far! Anything over 5 kms needs a packed lunch. By the end of the day we must have ridden over 50 kms. I swapped the bikes back and had to ride home on the 'bike with a basket'. Never again. I didn't think I was going to get home. The last 5 kms I had to help my legs by pushing on my knees. Leave me here Dude! Save yourself! But I did make it .

Since then I've been trying to buy a bike. 3 months and 3 times I've gone and come home empty handed. Why was it so hard! There is so much choice and it's not as simple as price. There are mountain bikes, road bikes, hybrids which I was informed are not good to use off road. I'd go in thinking yep this is the bike I want only to find out that it's not the bike I want!! There's different tyres, different brakes , lights etc etc etc arrghghh

But Today was the day!
This is it! Oh and Mnm's arrived a few days later. My next thing to save for is a little trailer so I can use it for shopping.

Mine's the pinky one.( not my favourite colour, but who cares) Mnm's has a larger frame and is a lovely frosty, bluey, greeny colour.
The best advise to choose which bike, was in the Australian Cyclist Magazine (one of the early 2008 editions) where they compared 6 different bikes. Really good. I could understand most of what they said.

But best of all I fitted some straps in MnM's tyres to help stop 3-cornered jack punctures. I feel right smug.
(Until the brakes go wonky and I'm deperately trolling the internet for advise on You tube ! Oh and by the way to those doing films on Youtube - FILM WHAT YOU ARE DOING - It's so frustrating to hear " Oh and you do this and that and..." but I can't see what you're doing. If I knew what you were doing , I wouldn't be watching the ruddy You tube, would I??!!!
Enough ranting.

Now it just needs a little basket to finish it off, don't you think : )


Huggs Little Ma

PS I am knitting really ,truly but I'm also frogging lots so there isn't too much to show.