Chaos, Kids, Crochet and Cake

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Wild and Woolly!

This is a bit of a belated post, kids are on holidays so I'm a wee bit busy!

I've mentioned MakeSpace, the artisan cooperative coordinated by my friend Edwina, before and I've also mentioned Renew Newcastle, an initiative to fill old, and often run-down, shops on the Hunter Street Mall (in years gone by the main shopping street in Newcastle) with non-rent paying groups of artist or crafters who do up the spaces and make use of them until someone wishes to rent them. The aim is to Renew Newcastle! MakeSpace is now onto it's 4th shop, having done a great job of making their previous spaces desirable to renters. This Thursday just gone was the annual Winter Wander where the locals get to have a look and see what all the different Renew participants are up to, have some mulled wine and sticky date puddings, a bit of communal crochet (or pompom making) and listen to some live music on the Mall. I took some photos early on but by the end of the evening, Edwina said they had served 220 sticky date puddings in 20 mins! It was a busy evening! Unfortunately we didn't get around to yarn bombing the Mall but we had a bit of a crochet-along and I sold a scarf!

After all the wandering was completed, there was an invitation to go along to the hippest (in the most Hipster sense you can imagine) new bar in Newcastle, Terrace Bar, where there was food, wine and music. Edwina and I stayed on when the others left as, with 8 kids between us, we don't get out often and got a little excited to go upstairs to hear the music! We were looking forward to the music until it started and we realised that we were too old to be deafened and headed back down stairs! Couple of old dears!

We ended the evening by tracking down some fantastic pides in Beaumont Street before heading home before midnight.

Meg and I managed to make it to the Olive Tree Market on Saturday, thanks to no football, and came across someone new, Blonde Samurai, who makes gorgeous glass beads and necklaces which will make very nice presents come Christmas time, along with our usual favourites such as Frejj, Sketch and Jones, DJL tees for the men in our lives, Jo Dyer and Pipkids. We came home to a nice tidy house - good boys!

As for the holidays, there has been much of the usual, although since Wimbledon starts about 11pm here, it's usually following a long lie-in... Hoping Andy can deal with Roger swiftly tonight as I could really do with an early one!

Back soon, maybe even with some crochet...

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

SAD

One of the things I did not expect when coming to Australia, is that I would still be so affected by Winter. "What Winter?!" I hear you Brits crying! Well it's currently 6c according to my computer which is pretty parky when you don't have central heating and Aussie houses are built like caravans! I have days if I stay in the house when I am so chilled that I just can't get heated up. The sun doesn't reach into our house due to it's position on the hill but I refuse to put on any heating until 5pm, we just rug up with ugg boots, fleeces, jumpers and dressing gowns!

In the UK I used to get hit by it around January/February time. It took me a few years to twig that I would have an uncharacteristic period of not coping, weepiness and inability to motivate myself. Once I had worked it out I made an effort to book in things to look forward to (as much as possible when pretty much constantly pregnant or breast-feeding!) such as my annual haircut(!!), or a day out somewhere.

The last couple of years I have found myself feeling the same way, I dread the shorter days and cold nights and find that I am unmotivated to read, or do anything creative. However this year I think the fact that I am bored rigid has also contributed. I always tell the kids that only boring people get bored, but I think I have passed my SAHM date. I had planned on 10 years but am now in my 14th, I haven't been successful in finding teaching work here (plenty of RE jobs going in the UK...) and so am feeling a bit aimless. Between 3pm and 9pm I am run ragged with activities so have been making the most of Mon-Wed, when I am child-free between 9 and 3, to get out of the house, walk the dog, get warmed up, have a coffee, attempt some writing and see the sea. It has definitely helped to keep me sane this Winter. We have also enjoyed LiveSites Winter Heat again, and I'm sure having 3 birthdays within 5 weeks helps keep me focussed on fun times.

The kids are now at home for 2 weeks so no 'Me time' but plenty of action/drama/fun/frolics will, no doubt, be had. And plenty of sleepless nights and lie-ins as I stay up to watch as much of Wimbledon as possible! Then we will be heading into Spring and hopefully some exciting plans.

I would love to know if any of you suffer too and how you deal with it. In an ideal world, I would take to my bed with a cosy duvet for a couple of months!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

10th Birthday Cake - Lego again!

You didn't think I'd forget to blog his birthday cake??

One of Husband's research student's wives had sent me picture of a cake that looked like it was made from Lego, the boy just happened to be hanging over my shoulder and said "COOOL! That's what I want for my birthday!" Thanks Lisa!

I found the same picture on Google images but couldn't find much in the way of a tutorial so made it up as I went along. The original cake was white, but I had an excess of green icing so I decided it would be a grassy cake, then kicked myself for not thinking ahead and including his new Lord of The Rings Lego and making it all Hobbit-y!

Anyway, usual cake recipe, not as perfect ganaching as I'd hoped to make those corners nice and sharp, too sticky and not enough time to freeze it, then lots of fiddly measuring, cutting and shaping. I was very grateful to have a helper to add all the nobbly bits on the top layer of bricks, or I'd have been there all evening! Lots of figures were loaned to make the scene and Birthday Boy was very happy!

I pressed a Lego brick into the fondant to get the size and positioning right then my helper pressed out the nobby bits with this icing nozzle and we stuck them into place with a drop of boiled water.

Trickiest bit is putting that top roll of icing on without it tearing!

Naughty Ninja!

Aztec Guy looks more the part holding a sparkler!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Ten

My Slap-Bang-Middle boy is 10.

He's the 3rd of 5, he was born in the middle of the year and his birthday comes right in the middle of all our birthdays so the tag suits him well!

I've had lots of thoughts about his birthday today, especially in the light of a really unhelpful article by Mia Freedman, at Mamamia, about birth plans and "Birthzillas". I was already over her extremely negative attitudes to homebirth and this article made me click on the 'unfollow' button as frankly I don't have the time and energy right now for her snarkiness.

Anyway, I had a birth plan for Joseph which was to stay home and have my 2nd home birth with my own lovely midwives present, my parents had also arranged to be in Scotland for the due date. However, as often happens, things did not go to plan! A week past, then another one and no sign of baby. Mum and dad had to go home and I was threatened with induction and threw a hissy fit as only a very pregnant lady can! Thankfully my Obstetrician was on my side and very apologetically said that while she wouldn't push for an induction, legally I wasn't able to have my home birth and would have to go the midwife unit at Forth Park Maternity Hospital in Kirkcaldy. That night I went into labour, trekked up to Kirkcaldy (thankfully Mum had returned and stayed to look after the 2 wee ones tucked up in their beds) and in a couple of hours, gave birth to another wee boy during the Italy vs South Korea football match in the 2002 World Cup! While in some religions, special words are whispered into the babies ears, Joseph was taken to 'watch' the match while Mummy had a bath!

Those of you who have met Joseph will know how special he is (or "Special" as his brothers prefer to say it!). He is quite mad, very physical, extremely loud, not altogether aware of the consequences to his physical well-being of some of his actions, but the sweetest, kindest, most generous boy you could hope to meet. He sometimes gets left-out or over-looked but never complains. He hates to see me doing jobs by myself, worries that I'm lonely so comes along to keep me company. He loves helping out and takes his job of bin/recycling boy very seriously. He has more energy than I would need for a week and I'm often relieved when he leaves the house in the morning, although I always look forward to his happy face when he gets home.

He's made it to 10 without major incident. Our friends in Scotland advised us to look for a house near a hospital when we left, with Joseph in mind, based on his penchant for climbing lamp posts, trees, sheds, houses etc. As it happens, Dad has needed the services of Accident and Emergency more than any of us!

I thought I would share lots of photos to celebrate his first decade. I hope you enjoy!