How to win friands and influence people

I made lots of new friands today, learning that who needs friands like these when you've got enemies. But then again, a friand in need is a friand indeed. Friands stick together through thick and thin. A girl can't have too many friands, you know!

And since I'd like to count you all as my friends, here are some friands for you!



Yessiree Bob I've been baking up a storm, with three dozen (36) friands whipped up for our weekly office morning tea, held every Friday in the lunch room. I made three kinds (click on the links for the recipes) and they disappeared very quickly:

• Coffee
• Coconut and Lime
• Plain (I added a slice of strawberry on top before cooking)

They are quite simple to make and jump straight out of the pan (I did read somewhere to not leave them in too long though, lest they set in the pan!)...only problem is...what to do with all the yolks?


Pretty aren't they?

And so's my little Romily. What a doll!

Romping about

No sign of our errant puss...no doubt cold weather/rain will drive him home eventually...

I had a lovely long weekend, having yesterday off as a day 'in lieu' of working weekends recently. I could get used to a 3-day weekend!

I have been sewing merrily away, finishing off the romper for baby A. It's pretty cute and hopefully will fit him - he's a big boofa! He was around 4.7kg, which is on the big side! I made the 3-6 months size, so hopefully it will do the trick.

It's the same Simplicity pattern as the dress I made, but the romper version. It has side pockets (detail below) and a snap crotch. Sewing the snap tape was the most difficult part of the process, which surprised me - I thought the sleeves might be, but they were dead easy :)


And, as you can see, I even put a zip in :) It'll go in the mail tomorrow. I so hope it fits and it's liked!

Bashka Update

We had a call from our neighbour last night...she spotted Bashka, who is alive and well and apparently in cahoots with another male cat (not neutered) which has just moved into our development. The little buggers have formed a 'posse' and are roaming the neighbourhood! I don't know which house the new cat belongs too, but I suspect they leave their cat's food outside and Bashka has been eating that. Their cat is allowed to roam day and night and Bashka has taken up with him apparently.

My goodness, this is like a glimpse into the future when Romily is a teenager!

So we are no longer sad, but a little angry that our beloved pet has gone bush! So we are moving into Plan B, which is to lure Bashka back and separate from his new feline friend. If we can get our hands on him, Bashka won't be going outside again for little while!

In the midst of all of this, I've been doing a little sewing. Some handquilting on a little project and some work on the romper for baby A. I 'just' have to put the zip in, bind the neck and sew the snap tape along the crotch seam. Hopefully I can knock it over today and get it in the post tomorrow.

Missing

Our beautiful Bashka was spooked on Tuesday by a man with a leaf blower, bolted and we haven't seen him since. While he does spend quite a few hours outside every day, he's never been outside at night. We are quite worried about him and have been upset over the past few days at the thought of him never coming home. Fortunately Romily is too young to have been really attached to him, so is not asking about him. It's her sooky parents who are upset. We have put up flyers around the neighbourhood and contacted the RSPCA. He's microchipped, so if he does turn up somewhere, we should be contacted. We've also been out looking for him, but no sign. We haven't lost all hope yet, but it's not looking good.

Been busy!

Phew! Where has the week gone?

I've been really busy at work, and then sewing up a storm in the evenings, getting a little outfit finished off for a friend of mine who's having her baby in the next couple of weeks. I love how it turned out! I totally changed the construction of the garment, lining all of the panels with some bright blue cotton before I sewed up the seams. this meant that there are no exposed edges inside the dress...therefore no rough edges on baby's skin. It also meant I didn't have to do any fiddly binding around the armholes, which, being on a baby's dress, are way too small to fit over the arm on my machine. I think I might construct all these garments this way too. If you think you recognise the fabric, you're right! I bought this Robert Kaufmann fabric from equilter a while ago, but thought it was perfect for this dress (Simplicity, #4243, size 3-6 months).

I made some matching bloomers from the blue cotton too.


Another friend had her baby boy last night - but she wouldn't tell us what she was having, so I couldn't make her pressie early. Now I know I'm making a romper, so that's up next.

We had a great weekend, with another concert for my social little girl - this time it was Thomas and Friends - a stage show of the Thomas the Tank Engine TV show. It was pretty good, although it was a little bit scary for tiny tots! Poor Romily cried at the end of the first act (yes there was an interval) when some 'rocks' fell down on Percy, one of the trains. But all was well again when Thomas saved the day. Romily even did some dancing in the aisle :)

Then Carl kindly let me have the afternoon 'off' and I went shopping for clothes and shoes all by myself. Bliss. I even had lunch. By myself. Did I mention that bit? I bought some lovely new clothes that actually suit my rather round figure. Makes a gal feel good, you know?

Sunday afternoon we went for a lovely bike ride around the lake - it was a gorgeous day, if a little windy. We'll try and do that a bit more often now that the weather is warming up and we're having some beautiful days.

Work shouldn't be nearly as busy this week, which is good, as I'm a little tired from the last couple of months. I've even decided to take next Monday off as a day 'in lieu' of the public holiday I worked recently. That should be nice :)

Doll quilt finished and a sneak peak

Hoorah! I have finished binding the doll quilt, so it's now ready for a wash and a press before I send it off later this month. Of course I don't want to give too much away, so I've messed with the colours in the above tease photo! I hope my swap partner likes it.

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On a less bright note, poor Carl must have picked up Romily's bug. He spent yesterday lurching between bed and the loo (don't worry, I won't go into more detail). He still wasn't very well today, so I took Romily to work with me - we are fortunate in that we have a carer's room with a television, DVD player and couches and tables for the kids and a computer terminal for the mums/dads. I got a bit of work done in the morning before bringing her home for a sleep, and then working from home this afternoon. Romily is fortunately all better now, which is a relief. It's no fun watching your crazy kid being sad and sick.

It was good that she was feeling better yesterday too, as we managed to get out of the house and go and see a kids' concert at the Canberra Theatre. Justine Clark is a presenter on Playschool, a great children's television program (that's been going for longer than I've been around - a very long time!), and recently put out a CD of Australian songs. The CD has been so popular that she's now put out a DVD of video clips (thanks uncle Bill) and is on the road, touring Australia. She was really great and Romily had a great time dancing and clapping, with a little bit of singing thrown in for good measure :)

What's in a name? A lot apparently!

Helen tagged me and since I only have to come up with four things, I thought I'd give it a go!

Here’s how it works:1. Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of their first or middle name.2. When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.3. At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.4. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them that they have been tagged, and to read your blog.5. If I’ve tagged YOU (see below), please join in on the fun!

L - Leon the Professional is one of my favourite films ever. Directed by Luc Besson, it's not your run-of-the-mill action flick. It stars one of my all-time favourite actors, Gary Oldman (when he still cared about acting), as well as Jean Reno, who also starred in The Big Blue (another Besson film) and a very young Natalie Portman in her first film role.
I - Ireland is the ancestral homeland I've never visited. My ancestors are from around Kilkenny. I'd love to visit one day, but that day will have to wait till either the Australian dollar appreciates against the pound and the punt or we win Tattslotto!
L - Lollies. I am a sucker for lollies...or suckers! But unfortunately lollies don't like me. All that processed sugar ends up on my face and I look like a teenager again. Not the look I'm going for!

Y - Yahtzee - my family used to play this a lot - especially when we were away on holidays. I loved playing it because a) I'm a writer so love to show off my vocabulary and b) I have a bizarre competitive streak when it comes to board games!

So now I have to tag four people - one for each letter of my name. I tag Bren, Clare, Anne and Jenni, who could all use a bit of harmless fun/cheering up. Have fun ladies!

Speaking of harmless fun and cheering up, here's my wacky, crazy daughter, looking at me through her 'noculars', which she made at playgroup.


Poor little munchkin is sick - woke up with vomit everywhere at 5.30am this morning and it went downhill from there. I hope that whatever is going through her hurries up and finishes - it's awful to see such a little one suffering so much.

Floriade Time Again

It's that time of year again when Canberrans come out to play. Floriade is on again and is as beautiful as ever. My parents made a special trip up from Melbourne and Romily just loved having them stay with us for three days. So did I. I wish we lived closer. We all made a trip to Floriade on Saturday - it was a beautiful day, if a little cold! Here are some photos for you...

Romily and 'Huppa'

Me, Romily and Grandma

'Bathing boxes' framing a gorgeous field of tulips. Lovely!

A 'crusty' beanie (knitted, rimless hat) made by some Aboriginal ladies - part of the funniest and most Australian craft exhibition held in a marquee in the middle of Floriade. I had never thought of beanies as objets d'art before!

Grandma and Huppa

Huppa and Romily

I find the different colour combinations really inspiring, not to mention breathtakingly gorgeous!

So busy at work this week. We had a long weekend this weekend past, but I unfortunately had to work on Monday, a public holiday - I'm working on a large project at work and the deadline is speeding towards me. Doesn't help that we are carrying a vacancy and I'm doing extra work on top of an already full workload. Today was good though. I went on a training course that was actually very useful and informative - makes a nice change!

I'm looking forward to this weekend, a chance to relax and unwind a little - and hopefully no work!

I am also very close to finishing the quilt for the EB Doll Quilt Swap, which is good. I'm looking forward to being able to send it off and then wait with baited breath to see if my swappee likes it :) I just have to make the binding, stitch it on and sort out a label. Hoorah!

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And for those of you who asked...