Catching Up!

Well finally some time in my schedule to write on my Blog!

It has been a busy month here! Wedding Anniversay, J's birthday, visits from friends, Australia Day, back to school shopping, kids at home, it all takes up a lot of time!

Due to the heat I haven't been doing a lot of crafting either! Did work on a few things for a swap and I'm almost ready to mail it out!

I also joined in with Gail Pan's BOM. This is a 9 month FREE BOM by Aussie designer Gail Pan, you can join in on Gail's Blog. I have all 9 blocks ready to embroider and I can't wait til the Feb stitchery is up!

We had a lovely visit from friends( including Miss Muggins) last week Friday, just in time for J's birthday! This time there was even a little boy for L to play with! It seems most of our friends had girls!

On Saturday we all spend the day in Bendigo, as we had to pick up our new car (picture of my new baby to come soon!)

After we picked it up we had to wait a while before our friends arrived ( they left a little later then we did) so I was forced to go visit Lil' Blokes, it only took me 4.5 years to finaly visit that shop although it has been on my to do list for a long time!

We also had a cuppa while waiting and I managed to embarras the heck out of J when his coffee arrived and I wouldn't let him stir it til I took a picture of it

Impressive, right? I would have been a bad blogger if I didn't take a pic!

I did manage to work on a little design for an embroidered table runner. As soon as I finish it I will show it off!

It looks like another hot day down here, at one stage we were told it would be 47C (116.6F) today but that has been down graded to 43 (109.4F). Like that makes it any easier.

Recipe Tuesday

Here is a recipe for my new favourite hot drink

Hot Chai Latte

Serves 2

Ingredients:

235 ml milk
235 ml water
1 g large strip of orange peel
3 whole cloves
4 g cinnamon stick
3 whole black peppercorns
1 g ground nutmeg
15 g white sugar
2 g black tea leaves

How to:

Combine the milk and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once this mixture has warmed, place the orange peel, cloves, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, nutmeg, sugar and tea leaves into the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the color deepens to your liking. Strain out spices, and pour into cups.

And I know it is Wednesday, I'm slowly catching up!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

Today 20 years ago, I did the smartest thing EVER!! I maried J!
He puts up with me and my mood swings and still tells me he loves me!
He makes me Laugh on a daily basis, and if there is 1 thing in this world I am sure of it is his love!
Thank you so much for loving me Beertje! I Love you more then all the craft patterns and fabric in the whole world!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Just a quick post to wish all my friends a absolutely wonderfull New Year!
We're in the middle of our summer holidays and I just can't seem to find time to get online! Kds take over and hubby is also on 2 weeks holidays and for some reason he likes to spend time with me!!

Christmas Cheer!

Another Christmas over! It is now time to look forward to the New Year. 2008 was a good year for me! We got though it without any major problems, can we ask for anything more? If 2009 is like 2008 I will be very happy!
There have been a few tings I can cross off my list of things I've never done before!
1. Starting a blog! This is something I really enjoy doing. I love sharing my ideas and accomplishments with friends all over the world.
2. Driving through the City (Melbourne) I've only gotten my Drivers Licence 2 years ago (I know rather late in life!) and was just too chicken to drive in the city. Now I know it was very late at night and there wasn't much traffic, but I still did it! (just don't tell the mother in law! my excuse for not being able to come to the family Christmas was that Hubby had to work and I can't drive in the City!)

We also spend a lovely evening with Miss Muggins and her husband. I was forced to try out Singstar (another thing to cross of the done list), and my hubby had trouble letting go of the microphone! It seems we're getting Singstar at home too ( thanks very much Miss Muggins!!)

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Tomorrow is Christmas! Can you believe it is already here??
2008 has certainly flown! It seems like it was only last week that we were getting ready for Christmas 2007!
I've made so many new friends and re-connected with old ones through starting my blog and I've also gotten a whole lot of new ideas from my friends blogs.
I'm looking forward to sharing my little blog with everyone in the next year!
So from me and my family a wonderful Christmas and an fantastic New Year!!

Yes Virginia There is a Santa Claus!

This to me says Christmas

Dear Editor,
I am 8 years old."Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus."Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun, it's so.'"Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon
115 West Ninety-fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

Calvin Coolidge