Friday 28 February 2014

9/52 2014






On Thursday we had our family day. (Justin and I rarely get a day off together on the week-end often both of us working either one of the days, so we make a point of having one day off during the week that is "our Day" our family day)

We went to Movie World for the day, got to use those season passes more...

Justin and I took turn in sharing his camera. Then at the end of the day we look at the images, which made me realise I spent a good portion of the day crammed into the kids rides.


Last year Jodi inspired me to pick up my camera and turn the focus inward. This year I have opted to continue with the series as I feel there are still so many family stories to be told through photos. So I will continue to Link up with Jodi  (the artist formerly known as Che & Fidel now Practising Simplicity) for the 52 Project.




Wednesday 26 February 2014

LAZY PARENTS GUIDE ON HOW TO TOILET TRAIN A STUBBORN CHILD


Let them do it themselves. Ever heard of self paced weaning? How about self paced toilet training? Hmm I had never heard of it until I had my son.

Jarvis has always been a stubborn child, determined to do things his way. It is very hard to get him to do things he does not want to do. The opposite also applies, once he sets his mind to something, there is no stopping him.

At fourteen months of age, Jarvis pretty much opted to use the toilet at home. Justin and I bought a toilet seat, and bar for a few mishaps, Jarvis has used the toilet at home for the past year.

In the last couple of months I have stopped putting a nappy on him when we do small trips out of the house. I know it sounds lazy on my behalf, but Jarvis likes to pee...often! One trip to do the grocery shop can equal two to three dashes for the loo. So on long car rides and for things when I don't know if we can access a toilet with ease we revert to the nappy.

Today, on our family day off, we went to Movie World. I put a nappy on Jarvis for the car ride, then we left it on thinking it would be easier on the rides. But, no. Jarvis had other ideas. On the dodgem cars he stops and signifies he has to wee. Apparently he now refuses to use a nappy.


Yes this is great, but who would have thought a twenty six month old child who choose when and where to stop using nappies?




Monday 24 February 2014

8/52 2014


So similar, and not just their outfits

Love how Jarvis 'hooks' his arm around Justin's

Playing catch ups...Last week was a big week of both Justin and I working crazy hours, it was good on Sunday to finally get a day off together. Had to capture Justin and his "Mini Me" in their matching outfits on the way to the movies.


Last year Jodi inspired me to pick up my camera and turn the focus inward. This year I have opted to continue with the series as I feel there are still so many family stories to be told through photos. So I will continue to Link up with Jodi  (the artist formerly known as Che & Fidel now Practising Simplicity) for the 52 Project.




Sunday 23 February 2014

RED GINGHAM DRESS MISS 1970S BODICE

With me working pretty much every day last week, I had no time for blogging, and definitely no time for sewing. However, Saturday after I had spent the day paving, I snuck in some me time Saturday night once Jarvis was in bed. (Justin photographed Soundwave all day/night Saturday. So I had the house to myself.)

 Front

Last week I cut the dress out. First off I sat down and read the instructions... hmm not much help/instructions, so it all was a bit of a guess. Miss 1970 proved to be a tricky woman, not sure if it was over-tiredness or she is just a difficult woman? My biggest challenge was, once I  basted the pieces together to check the fit, I realised then a 1970s size 12 was massive on me and I needed to take at least five centimetres off both sides. Which then bought the challenge of re-working the darts.

Pinning on yourself is no easy task, especially after I had spent the day paving and my back and arms muscles felt like jelly. But now, it seems to fit really well. I am super excited for the next step of attaching the skirt and skirt underlay!

Two more naps and I may get this dress done. I just have to decide if I am going to use bias binding on the hem as well?

 Pieces before the five centimeters off both sides

Back


Sunday 16 February 2014

RED GINGHAM DRESS CUT OUT

In keeping with my sewing resolutions for this year I rummaged through my fabric stash and my vintage pattern stash and found this combination. It is going to be Miss 70s meets Miss 50s with a touch of my pattern drafting throwing in.


The skirt is all Miss 5os. The bodice, well the front is Miss 70s and the back is my drafting. The original Miss 70s had a high square back and I have altered it to a lower V shaped back. I also added an extra five centimetres to the bodice length as I am long waisted. 

I am using a red cotton gingham lined with a white poly cotton. One nap was drafting and cutting. Yes, I measure my sewing in nap times. I think I am going to need a few naps to get this finished.

 

Friday 14 February 2014

7/52 2014


There are dozens more like the two images above. Me being serious, Tamika acting up for the camera.

 Apparently my bum is flat even in a puffy skirt, Tamika was trying to give me a booty.

This is the closest we got to a 'normal' shot. 

This is the image I needed. A good comparison between the skirts. 

I asked Justin to take a photo of Tamika and I, in our skirts to show how the same fabric works on different styles of skirts.

However, because we felt like such dags in our matchy matchy skirts we found it hard to be serious for the camera. Love my Bubby so much.


Last year Jodi inspired me to pick up my camera and turn the focus inward. This year I have opted to continue with the series as I feel there are still so many family stories to be told through photos. So I will continue to Link up with Jodi  (the artist formerly known as Che & Fidel now Practising Simplicity) for the 52 Project.




Thursday 13 February 2014

WHAT I GROW IN MY GARDEN: CORIANDER

Yes, this is just a pot of dirt. 


I have tried everything to grow coriander, as I love cooking with it. Tira also loves coriander. But, she ALWAYS uses it as a toilet!

I have tried netting and other things, but she always works around them. Bloody cat. Any hints? I really want this herb in my garden as I love cooking with it.



I also cannot grow parsley, which is interesting as coriander is a Chinese parsley. 

This is what I want my coriander to look like! Note this image is not mine it was taken from Mark's Veg Plot

26 MONTHS


Growth & Appearance:
You look the same, yet somehow you look so different, so grown up. You are still a skinny thing, but continue to grow so tall. In your swimming class you are the youngest but the tallest. I wonder if you will continue to be tall. On both my mother's and father's side of the family there are some very tall people. So maybe you get height form me?

Eating:
Pretty much if it is on a plate you will eat it. Though there are 'rules'. Sandwiches must have the crusts cut off and cut into triangle, definitely not squares. Food on your plate should not touch. Even odder is you will eat a caesar salad if all of the ingredients are on your plate separately, mixed as a salad you will reject it. You do this with a few dishes. An OCD gobble guts is pretty much what you are.


Talking: 
In the last two weeks you have said so many new words. It is like you finally decided you will talk. Though strange thing is, a lot new words such as bath, pasta are said in a whisper until you are confident with them. Now you seem to want to chat all of the time.

Sleeping: 
You have decided that you are going to fight every single nap/sleep. I know you are at the point you don't need your morning one, but you are in such a better mood all day if you do have this morning nap.


Development:
In the last two weeks you have suddenly become so grown up. You listen to me and respond with logic. If you have a melt down it is down to three things, lack of sleep, me being at work that day, or no one being able to understand what you are trying to say.
Other than that you are the class clown. You crack me up. You are one of the funniest people I have every known. You also will do/repeat things to get a laugh.
Your fearless energy is getting so full on, you climb and jump, scaring the crap out of me on a regular basis.

Favourites: 
The chickens and the backyard in general. You will spend hours out there digging in the dirt with me. You will even collect my weeds and wheelbarrow them to the compost heap for me.
The evening walk has become a highlight for you. After dinner, we go for a walk (no phone, and no cameras allowed) you will pick the direction and set off at a pace that is a slow jog for me. Some nights you walk for up to an hour, some nights only fifteen minutes. But you come home covered in sweat and so happy.
You may hate me later for mentioning this, but you have developed a 'bum' obsession. You love coming up to either me or your Daddy and putting your bum on us. In bed if you can jump/sit on us you thinking it is great. You have also started farting on command, you with ask us to pick you up and then fart on our arms/hips and then you crack yourself up laughing so hard.
Cooking with me is another favourite thing of yours, which makes me want to bake/cook more often as you enjoy helping so much. 



How I am thinking/Feeling   
Sad. Other stuff is going on and it is adding up to make me feel sad. You are growing up so fast. You will put your hand on my cheek and give me a kiss saying "Mummum" and my heart melts, can't believe the tiny dancer in my belly so full of energy, is now the grown up toddler who is so full of love and life. Jarvis you are so very very loved. 


Tuesday 11 February 2014

ABANDONMENT


I have a fascination with abandoned houses. What is even more exciting? A whole row of abandoned houses.


Image take with ten year old film (may even be older) Kodak Ekachrome 160T Tungsten. Colour Reversal Film.


Sunday 9 February 2014

SHE IS A DREAMER A DOER A THINKER

Last week I showed the drafted pattern, this week... ta da! The finished skirt! My first ever straight skirt.


Sewing it together was a bit of a guess, so the seams are just overlocked. I was going to do a Hong Kong seam, but because I knew I had to do a lot of adjustments to get the fit just so, I did not bother.

Tamika has an extremely tiny waist, but the girl has booty. Tamika and I are perfect examples of no two bodies are the same, her waist is seven whole centimetres smaller than mine, but her hips are five centimetres bigger. But somehow we are both smalls?

To get the skirt to fit to the curve of her waist and back I had to put in an extra long dart.


Overall I am happy with the finish. I will take better photos soon, Teak came over to get her washing and according to her "looked gross", as she had no make-up on and was feeling seedy. Now if only we could all look that gross!



Footnote: The Hong Kong binding seam finish encloses the raw edges of the seams inside strips of bias. Both sides of the seam require two passes to sew the bias, and because it is so labor-intensive, it is mostly used in very high-end clothes. This method is especially suitable for heavy fabrics and for summer garments that you wouldn’t want to line.


Saturday 8 February 2014

6/52 2014




Jarvis and I had dinner at Susie's last night. After dinner Susie walked us to the bus stop and waited for the bus with us. (Justin had to work and took the car).

I am lucky Jarvis loves the bus, he thinks it is a great adventure to stand up and look out the window. Oh, and not to mention the pleasure of pushing the bell. The whole walk home from the bus he had on repeat "Stop, ding ding".

I had planned to photograph Jarvis's face on the bus to show the joy that shines through. But once on I was so taken with how happy he was I left my camera in my bag and was content just to watch him and be in the moment.


Last year Jodi inspired me to pick up my camera and turn the focus inward. This year I have opted to continue with the series as I feel there are still so many family stories to be told through photos. So I will continue to Link up with Jodi  (the artist formerly known as Che & Fidel now Practising Simplicity) for the 52 Project.




Thursday 6 February 2014

WHAT I GROWN IN MY GARDEN: CHILLIES

Chillies are the hot fruits of a range of capsicum species that originally came from the warm northern regions of South America. When chillies are harvested, the chilli juice can be highly irritating to the skin and especially to the eyes, so care needs to be taken. Wearing latex gloves when picking them will prevent the juice from getting on the skin.


This is the extent on my knowledge on chilli plants. This has been totally pot luck that this plant is growing. Justin asked why I wasn't growing chilli, so I bought a seedling when we moved in here, and the plant has thrived with no love, care, and or knowledge.

I water it rarely, it is in the full sun, and Tira likes to sleep around it (She is a strange cat). But this seedling has grown into a full blown plant. The older it gets the hotter the chillies are. Oh, and a couple of weeks ago it had beautiful violet flowers on it.


So anyone got any suggestions or knowledge on chilli plants?