that's my girl

Here's Little Possum clutching a bunch of clovers. She said they are "lady-clovers". When I asked her why, she said "because they are pretty". Makes perfect sense.

Little Possum has very strong opionions on what to wear which occasionally leads to some eclectic ensembles. Sometimes I am tempted to interfere if the outfit is a little hard on the eyes, but I made a decision a long time ago that I would let her pick her own clothes as long as she is dressed appropriately for the weather, and not attempting to go rock-climbing in a fairy dress. To give her credit, she usually does pretty good. Today she was very colourful. Matches her personality!

Kitchen chemistry experiment

Turtle had a science project for school which required demonstrating a reaction using kitchen "chemicals". We figured there'd be quite a few vinegar/bicarb soda volcanoes, so we thought we'd try something different. We settled on making a "Acid or Base?" demonstration:

First we needed a reliable indicator - the water from boiling red cabbage is perfect:

Our test substances:

Vinegar turned the indicator pink=acid Bicarb soda: blue/green = base

I, at least, was happy to see that our washing up liquid was neutral... must be better for my hands :)

lemon - no surprises there.... beautiful, pink colour.

Turtle documented the experiment, took photos and later repeated it in front of his class.

Rowan of Rin - a Doodlebug book review

"Rowan of Rin is an excellent fantasy book. It is a compulsory asset to any magic or fantasy lover's bookshelf.

Rowan of Rin is the first of five books, each with its own unique twist. Rowan of Rin (the first book) is when the water for the bukshah (half cow half sheep creatures) stops flowing from the mountain which causes a huge argument. Should a party be sent to investigate or should the town wait to die?

Anyone who enjoyed reading Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or even Eragon will love this book. I highly recommend this book for book lovers.

Unpredictable, shocking, non-stop! If you like this you must read Rowan of Rin"

(this was Doodlebug's entry in the UNSW competition in writing this year.... I'm a proud momma)

wrapped in my love

found late one evening as I was heading off to bed: One Turtle asleep on my office chair wrapped in the quilt I made him. As the middle child, he treasures all the occasions where he's special. He was the first of the children to receive a "grown up" quilt of his own and when I gave it to him his eyes lit up in a way that I will remember and treasure. Turtle - know that I love you and my quilt represents all the hugs I have in my heart for you!

Thoughtful Friday

"Once upon a time, there was a very busy girl. She lived with a tired yet hopeful soul. Then, one day, her soul asked her to stop... and just breathe. And so she did. And the girl and her soul lived happily ever after."

May Finish

Turtle's new bedspread is complete.... just a few more safety pins and stray threads to remove.

starts, progress and almost finishes......

The camera battery is on charge, so I will have to add photos later.. I'm working away on the challenge of completing a project every month. I failed miserably last month, but will just scrape in with a quilt this month, I just have to complete the binding.

My Texas stars are progressing - almost 7 rows now. Handpiecing is slow but satisfying.
I finally have all the packs for Butterfly Garden. I did the first block but then waited until I have all the packets so that I can proceed. Today I have pieced together 3 of the blocks ready for applique. Did I mention that I have starte the 4th block of "Once upon a time"?. Oh yes. /contented sigh/

I have started a few more projects.... because (and I have justification down to a fine art!) I will need to have projects to finish for later in the year! without a start there'll be no finish.
My local quiltshop (which happens to be a very well stocked establishment) is having its annual sale. Dangerous times. Today I went in for some Vliesofix and came out 45 min later with the said Vliesofix and then some. Surely not an unfamiliar story amongst those out there who are similarly afflicted quiltaholics?

My name is Mari and I'm an addict.....

monday meditation

Another poem Doodlebug picked for his poetry anthology:

‘may my heart always’


may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
even if it’s sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young

and may myself do nothing usefully
and love yourself so more than truly
there’s never been quite such a fool who could fail
pulling all the sky over him with one smile

e.e. cummings

Thoughtful Friday

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap"

- Barbara Jordan

Turtle-faced

Turtle likes using my camera for self-portraits and pulling faces. I decided that they deserve a wider audience, so here you are........ enjoy! :)

buddy numbers make number buddies!

Here is what Little Possum and I get up to make learning maths a little more fun. One pack of cards is all we need.

Here we are learning buddy numbers, adding up to 10. Remove all facecards and 10's. We put the cards in rows like solitaire. LP has to find the buddy number pairs from the top row and then we see how many pairs we can make. (for the more advanced maths brains in the household we keep the facecards, raise the goal number and encourage using combinations of several cards to add up to the goal number).

Variations on snap.... if you can add up the values of the cards you get to keep the pair. There is also the basic "war" card game where you each put down a card and whoever has the highetst value wins the pair. Good way to learn number values for the beginner maths brain (like myself)

to my quilt virgin friends!

If you have always wanted to learn how to quilt, but didn't know where to start, I suggest visiting the Old Red Barn Co blog where Dana is doing an on-line tutorial from scratch. Dana makes gorgeous quilts, so you'll be in good hands! Just click on the button or the link above.

in case of flu....

progress

"Once Upon a Time" is 1/3 on the way now - so much fun to do!

This will be a bedspread for Turtle's bed. I started quilting it with cotton perle last night, but I'm feeling a little uncertain about the effect. It's possible that using the ecru colour was too contrasting. I'm wondering whether to unpick it and start again with a quilting cotton.

poetry

Homework time can be a painful event in our house with 2 boys who would rather do pretty much anything else than sit down for yet more writing and maths after a day at school. But every term there is a project that is a little more exciting. This term Doodlebug has to compile a poetry anthology of 14 different poems - 2 of which he has to write himself. The poems should represent a wide variety of styles and he needs to illustrate them.

This has been enjoyable - at least for me! Doodlebug needs a little encouragement to sit down and type the poems out, but we've had some fun selecting poems. I knew all those poetry books I had on the shelf would come in handy one day! My job was to help Doodlbug find some poems, I'd read some out and we'd discuss their meaning and he would pick his favourites. Doodlebug surprised me with his understanding and insight into meanings.
I'm not much of a poetry expert when it comes to the different styles, so Doodlebug and I have been learning together.

I thought I'd share some of the poems he's picked here. The first one is a sonnet. It was hard to find one that wasn't a "mushy lovey one", but we managed:


Sonnet XCIV

They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
They rightly do inherit Heaven’s graces,
And husband nature’s riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer’s flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds:
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

William Shakespeare

Spotted in the top bunk this evening.......

I came home from my shift this evening and found this bundle of boys, blankets, doonas, pillows and cuddly toys in the top bunk. Times like this I wish that time would stand still. No...not just because they are asleep and therefore not up to their usual mischief (but that's a good reason too!). They still have a bit of "little boys" left in them..... and much as I look forward to a little maturity (oh, how I look forward to that!), I know I will miss this stage of their life.

Thoughtful Friday

"From there to here and here to there,

funny things are everywhere"

- dr Seuss

Once Upon a Time

Here's the first block of "Once Upon a Time", a BOM by Melly & Me. This is the Hansel and Gretel block completed and I am now working on Jack and the beanstalk. I love the candy colours and the combination of patchwork and embroidery... I get 2 fixes in one project!

I am getting the blocks from Under the Mulberry Tree this time and they are far more reliable than The Other Online Shop I have been getting Butterly Garden from.

Thoughtful Friday

"If nature has made you a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart.

And though there may be times when your hands are empty,

your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that"

- Frances Hodgson Burnett

nighttime reading

Doodlebug has discovered the joy of reading by torchlight in bed. Last week for a evening bushwalk with the cubscouts, he was given this headlamp and it's perfect.... both hands are left free to hold the book, turn pages etc.