apples for cam...

Our dear Cam has been taken hostage again. This post is for her to help fight the boredom. Those bland white walls are pretty boring stuff, so I'm sure she's hopping away across blog land, visiting all her crafty friends.
Hello Cam! These apples are for you. We all know an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I hope these do the trick.
They're fresh off the tree too. Not my tree. Some old fella's tree. He was lovely though, said he'd picked them himself too. Quite keen for an old fella pushing 80! They're super crisp & lovely & sweet. Not tangy at all. I think I'll make a crumble. I'd bring some to you if I could. I'm sure you're getting sick of hospital food.

Rest up sweet lady!

two months & two cardi's...

Today I finished Huckle's cardi, I'm so impressed. This is the first major piece of clothing I have crocheted. Scarves, Beanies & wristwarmers, although wonderful... are a bit easy. This was surprisingly easy too. After the first 10 rows I decided to just wing it, as I have a terrible habit of doing. My personality never allows me to follow a pattern, I get bored. Luckily, I haven't had any real disaters from this.
I'm yet to attach some buttons & yes, it does fit over his bulging belly.

Another great little cardi, made by his great grandma Clare. She whipped this up when she found out I was pregnant & he's just grown into it. How good are her skills... she's in her nineties. This photo shall be in the post for her to put on her mantle.

These photos are going into his monthly series. You can find his one month photo here.
The wee man was two months last thursday, but he's just been so busy eating & sleeping we've only just managed to squeeze in a photo shoot today.

terrible I know...

I've seen some folk post about fortuitous hearts... that is, hearts appearing accidentally or by chance. There's a whole flickr pool dedicated to them.
I couldn't help but take a photo of this fortuitous heart on a recent walk.
Is it still fortuitous if it's upon the bottom of a cow?

I wonder if this cow is aware of the happy accident upon her rear.

on & off the hook...

There's been some happy hooking around these parts of late.
On the hook we have a little cardigan coming along rather nicely. It's destined for the ever-growing baby with a squeal possessed by the dark forces. I kid you not, this kid can bring down sky scrapers! Lucky we live in the country then, isn't it. Not too many of those around our parts.
Anyway, the cardigan is lovely & when I can remember where on the interwebnet I found the pattern... I'll let you know. The wool is Bendigo Luxury in Lake & it's soft as a lamb. Funny that.To keep the witty humour going, I thought I'd show you my noggin.

Off the hook, we have a delightful ribbed beanie. Perfect for pin heads like me.
Again, can't remember where I found this pattern either. It's pretty easy once you figure out what 'double crochet around front post' means. My crochet vocabulary is rockin at the moment, so many new things to learn.
This one is destined for a friend, I can't have two blue beanies. I think mine shall be a nice warm grey... or brown... do you think red... maybe green.

Off to rescue the squealing miniature milk pump... or Huckle, as some others like to call him.

finally...

You've probably all given up on me, I am five days late. No real excuse. Just been chasing my tail a bit & recovering from three days of mother in law.
Life's pretty good, winter's not all that bad. We've had some lovely sunny days & I think that june is up there as one of my favourite months. Yes, it's bloody freezing... & maybe I'm slightly bonkers... but june is actually quite nice. I think I'll be quite over this freezing business by the time july comes around. So please don't expect such a chipper disposition then.
Anyway... see how distracted I get! Rambling on like a woman possesed.
The winner of my wee giveaway is the lovely Megan from somewhere along a winding path!

Megan is having a giveaway too, so pop along & say hello.

Thank you all for entering. It was lovely to read all your sweet comments.
Here's to another 500 then.

the many faces of my boy...

Indulge me a little here, while I post a few photos of my pride & joy. These were taken on a recent walk, as the light was spectacular. Our home is so dark, I must venture out into the wild weather to get good shots.
I just love the expressions. He keeps me entertained for hours on end.

He must have decided that sleep was totally ace today. After working himself into a tizzy on thursday & not sleeping at all during the day. Yesterday was eat, change sleep, no time for play mama, gotta nap. So I took full advantage of that. I baked & crocheted & had cups of tea & chats on the phone. Too good. Tomorrow's another day however so I'm always prepared to do nothing at all.

gratitude hill...

There's a walk that we take, up a hill near our home. It's the highest hill amongst all the hills in our area. From the top you can see along the south gippsland coastline to the hills of wilsons prom, over rolling green hills to mt buffalo, across phillip island to cape shanck & over french island to the dandenongs. Yep, you can see the whole lot up here.

There & back is 3.4 kms of dirt road. We manage to walk it at least three to four times a week. I'm slowly easing my body back into exercise, hopefully soon I'll be able to do it every day. It's not the hardest walk, but it's a decent slog up the hill. The way up is quiet, Samuel pushes Huckle in the pram & I focus on getting myself to the top. When at the top, we soak it all in & admire the beauty of where we live.

Walking along the plateau on the way back feels like we're on top of the world. I always feel a deep gratitude at this point. Grateful for my wonderful husband & our beautiful little Huckle. Grateful for our life in the hills, for our family & friends & the list goes on.

Everytime I'm up there, I have the same debate with myself. I feel very fortunate to be living my life the way I do & then I tell myself that it isn't a matter of fortune. My life is the way it is through the choices I have made. Falling into a pot of gold is fortune... living a life that fulfills you & makes you happy is something that you can create. It's nice to be reminded of this.

On the journey home, the air is filled with conversation. We share our thoughts & ideas & dreams for the future. We feel refreshed & energetic, physically & mentally.

This hill is my gratitude hill.

See where the patch of trees just there... take the left third of those trees & thats where live.

my creative space...

A friend of mine discovered crochet last year & I think she's getting pretty good at it. So for her birthday, I whipped her up a crochet hook roll. Well, I didn't exactly whip it up... I sort of just did a few minutes here & there over the course of a few days. This time I used padded interfacing, so it's not as cushiony or as bulky as mine (I only had wool wadding when I made mine). I found this sweet book on fishpond for her too, I think I'll have to borrow it off her some time.

Pop over to Kirsty's for more crafty goodness.
& don't forget to enter my giveaway.

giveaway sneak peek...

My mind has been churning over with ideas for giveaway loot & I think I've finally got it sorted.
Here's a couple of treats that have found their way into the parcel.
A sweet little stationery set of ships & seas, designed by yours truly.
& a lovely lacy scarf made with yak yarn, crocheted by yours truly.

Oooh, what else will there be? You'll just have to wait & see.
If you have not entered, you can do so here. But you must be quick! I give you until 6pm Saturday, my time. I'm very precise you know.

handmade love...

I've been meaning to show some of the gorgeous handmade gifts Huckle has received.
Here's the first round...

Cute bibs from the lovely curlypops,
& check out these amazing shoes from Emma.
A big thank you to these two talented ladies.
I'll post some more sweet craftiness soon.

forget the queen...

Yesterday we celebrated Samuel's birthday.
After a lovely sleep in he woke to a pile of pressies to open in front of the fire & shared a delicious breakfast of steaming porridge. We chilled out in the winter sun chatting with a friend & playing with the dogs, we napped on the couch after lunch, walked up the hill for a gorgeous sunset, ate seafood stew for dinner, chocolate fudge cake & sweet sherry for dessert, listened to birthday vinyl & watched a birthday dvd.

I really enjoyed putting together his birthday card. I made a little story of things that make him happy.

Each page had a number on it that linked it to a present with the same number, which made it a lovely drawn out affair of him savouring each gift.

Some old vinyl & a big book of american muscle cars,

'prime mover' dvd (a romantic trucker movie) & a bottle of red & a bottle of spanish sherry,

a pair of vintage cowboy boots & a magazine subscription,

& a second hand triton workbench.
Yes my husband is very spoilt, I don't deny. Birthdays are the only time we give each other presents & he really is the best husband I could ever ask for.
So sorry queenie, yesterday wasn't all about you.

Don't forget to enter the super fabulous giveaway! I'll be giving some sneak peaks tomorrow.

in my garden...

The garden is full of activity at the moment.

New shoots sprouting from the earth.

Moss growing upon the rocks & in between the paving.

Flowers blooming.

Leaves changing colour.

Leaves dying & falling from their trees.

It really is a beautiful time to go outside... it's bloody cold though, so make sure you rug up!
Have you entered my giveaway yet?

500...

Can you believe I've made five hundred posts?

Yep, this is number five hundred here. I've been rambling away on this little blog since december 2007. It began as a creative outlet & to connect with other crafty folk, as well as a diary for myself & my family. Since starting this blog, I've learnt to sew, knit & crochet plus so much more. I've met some amazing women (many in real life), who have inspired me to no end. I feel my creativity & confidence has blossomed because of you all. Thank you all for your beautiful, encouraging comments. It's so wonderful to have such support.
We've had a face lift to celebrate & I'm going to have a little giveaway as well, to give back to the gorgeous crafty community. I don't know what it will be, I'm really not that organised. But I can say there'll be some handcrafted goodness, fabric & notions & lots of other goodies too. I promise it to be a fabulous loot! To enter, just leave a comment on this post & if you're a follower, you'll receive a second entry. Don't be shy, come out of the woodwork. Even if you don't have a blog, I'd love to hear from you. I'm happy to post overseas too.
I'll draw the lucky ticket on saturday the 19th. That gives you a week to drop in & say hi & me a week to sort out the loot. Good luck!

wild winter weather...

There'll be no going outside today!
I don't know what it's like around your parts, but down here is wet & windy. Rain tumbling to the earth in buckets & wind wailing across the hills taking leaves & branches with it.
I've managed a spot of crafting today, sorting out an overdue birthday gift for a friend. I'm making her a crochet hook roll from the fabrics below. The floral one is a vintage pillow slip; it's very english garden, don't you think?

tis the season...

For mushrooms that is. Yesterday I went fossicking through the paddocks, under pines & over barbed wire fences (yes, I did get oh so slightly caught).
Look what I found! Aren't they just magical?
I love their detail & colours.
There were so many different types, but these ones were my favourites.

growing pains & giggles...

My little Huckle must be going through a serious growth spurt at the moment. I seem to be spending a whole lot more time feeding, he's starving every two hours or so. He's also decided that daytime sleeps are over-rated & kicking & screaming are the new sleep. Thank goodness night sleeping is still in vogue, or I wouldn't have the coherency to write these words, or think, or cook dinner, or anything actually. I'd be a total zombie!

Today he gave in to the sleep fairies for a few naps. Neither of them longer than 45 minutes, but hey I'll take what I can get. He must have well & truly exhausted himself. Poor little fella, it must be hard when you're trying to be the biggest baby the world's ever seen.After a feed, he's happy as larry. All smiles & giggles. He particularly likes the game where I play with his chin. So cute.

He's such a funny little person. His favourite time to chat is on the change table. As soon as the pants are off, the chatter begins.
It's so wonderful seeing how he changes everyday, watching him find his hands & then his hands finding his mouth. The way his eyes follow us around the room & listen to our voices. It really is magical.
Now that I've had Huckle, I really understand all the fuss about babies. I mean, I knew they were cute & wonderful... but this is just something else. I'm sure I'm not alone on this.
I hope your week is lovely where you are.

up town adventure...

We had a big trip into town today. Yep, we took ourselves to the big smoke... Melbourne.
I had everything planned to a 'T'. We left the house at nine & were back by five, as we had to put away the chooks & ducks on dusk. I planned our itinerary to work around Huckle's feeds. We didn't want the little guy getting upset or having to wait too long for food. The day went really well & our plan worked. We got in a bit of shopping, a visit to a friend, a lovely lunch & some ice cream too. I feel very accomplished of our feat. I've been a bit nervous about going into melbourne with him as it's alot of driving & alot to ask of someone so very small. Hopefully we can do it this well next time.
It showered on & off throughout the day. We were lucky to see at least five different rainbows! Big beautiful fat double ended rainbows. I didn't have a chance to photograph them... I run a tight ship, no time for dilly-dallying about. Until you're on the home straight that is.
We saw the most amazing scene as we were coming home. As we started the drive up the hill the sun was shining a brilliant yellow over western port bay. You can see here in this pic the mist on the left half... that was a really fine rain slowly coming over the top of us. It was such fine rain, the type that may fall upon a pixie's toadstool in a magical forest.

Gradually the rain cloud smothered the sun & made it look all hazy.

Looking the opposite direction into the paddocks, the sun was casting a warm golden glow.

Such beautiful colours.

I hope your sunday was fun & exciting & full of beauty too.