Happy New Year 2014

Twinkle twinkle little bat ...

My little dormouse has her own bag. It's pink, it's got princesses on it and it means she can grab random treasures from around the house and carry them with her.

Today my little doormouse has collected a tiny frypan, plastic piece of chicken and a wooden toy knife. She was going to put barbie in too, but her legs poked out the top. Barbie was dumped and replaced by a toy mobile phone. I think my little dormouse is going on a picnic!

Too cute, dormouse, too cute!

Pink chocolate in a bag!

Mmmmmmm chocolatey yummy goodness ... My only question is why do the Raspberry MnM's taste like Cherry Ripes?

Mad hatter popularity rising!

You know when you really identify with a concept, a colour, an idea, a flavour, and it then suddenly catches you in it's grip and takes you on a world wind adventure. That's what being a mad hatter feels like sometimes. Once I named my centre, my weirdness, my quirky humour 'the mad hatter' I started seeing beautiful images, ideas and art pop up everywhere.

I thought i should share the latest that caught my eye. Got to love this new take on Fairytale futures by Mattel "Ever After High", especially their Mad Hatter character ... Just screams "I love TEA PARTIES!"

Adorable, right? She would look super cute next to my collection of tea pots! 

Mexican tortilla pie

Tonight I had to think of something to use up a half opened pack of tortilla's ...

Here is what we ended up eating! Mmmmmmmmm .... Drool

Since I am feeling generous I am even going to add the recipe we put together.

Ingredients:

Tortilla wraps (3-4)

4 Bacon rashers (diced)

1/2 a large onion

2 cloves of garlic 

1 x can of diced tomatoes (400g)

1 x can of Mexican chilli beans (400g)

1/2 jar of salsa (or to taste)

Generous amounts of grated cheese

Steps. 

1. Preheat oven to 200degree Celsius 

2. Cook diced bacon, diced onion and minced garlic in frypan until crisp.

3. Add Mexican beans, salsa and diced tomatoes and heat through

4. Grease pie dish with spray oil and assemble! Place tortilla on the base, then alternate layers by adding a sprinkling of cheese then generous amounts of the bacon-ey salsa mix then tortilla until you reach maximum pie dish loading. Top with a tortilla and dump generous amounts of cheese on top.

5. Bake for 15minutes in oven

6. Enjoy!!!

Unfortunately now I have half a jar of salsa I am going to have to think of a use for!

Anorexic chicken

Carving a roast chicken is one of my only skills in the kitchen. I am extremely handy with using a blade to get every morsel of meat from the bones. Last night something happened, I was astounded. Legs and wings were removed with speedy precision and then my knife went to carve the breast. I scraped measly amounts of meat from the rib cage and just stood confused for a few minutes. What was wrong with this chicken? Where was all the meat? Why would any decent store sell anorexic chickens?

My husband walked past the table and noticed my confusion, 

"It's upside down" 

Smokey With a Touch of Class

People had started believing that I lied about being a bad cook. It has been a while since something caught on fire or somebody been violently ill after one of my meals. I mean the last time i set something on fire was mother day. I thought turning 30 meant I had metamorphosed into a grown up who cooks things that taste decent and does not set anything on fire. Apparently that did not happen. Apparently setting food on fire is my speciality. Dinner tonight is distinctly smokey and with a generous charcoal covering ... I hope it tastes okay!

Alladin is back at the cinema!

Alladin is back at the cinema! Whenever I think of Al and his suave moves on the magic carpet, I think of this! Amazing what you find floating around the Internet!

Our Mini-adventure Part One

We had been planning a mini holidays for ages, saved every penny from sales at my hobby shop and a few bob from birthdays and ended up with a nice little stash to spend on making some memories. At first, once I had that money I just counted it, ooh'ed at its quantity and returned it to its safe little home in my rusty piggy bank. My old piggy bank looked kind of proud that we'd scraped the money together, I felt kind of mean robbing him blind in broad daylight. 

The week before we went away we cancelled everything. My daughters molars were cutting and that meant I had not slept more than an hour in a row for two weeks. Driving 8hours would not be a good idea in my sleep deprived condition. We were pretty devastated, when I say we, I mean I was devastated, my daughter was chewing on her disney princess baby's toes and my husband was mildly exhausted listening to a whingy wife and teething daughter. 

For the week I fantasised about having a holiday and two days before we left my daughter started sleeping and I felt more like a human being again. I always loved sleeping, but I did not realise that I would actually need it to function. Before my daughter was born I took sleep for granted. I apologise to you, sleep! Back to the story tho... I felt more like a human being. I even started brushing my hair and making sure the brush actually did its job, rather than running the brush thru my mass of waves and hoping it somehow tamed the mess before heading for the coffee machine. I started thinking my fantasy of getting away was possible. Which meant we had to book hotels and make plans.

Did I say make plans? I did, didn't I! Well, we booked a hotel but plans. No plans! I think that is what made this getaway so divine. We left early on the Friday and after a few hours, our hazy plan for where we were staying that night fell thru. So we stopped on the coast and chilled at the beach, intending to return home. I decided I would call it a 'day trip' and a 'teaser' to our weekend away. It was so freeing to just pull out our swimwear, grab a towel, our packed lunch and enjoy the sun. No pressure. No concern that our holiday would be one day short, because this was a part of the fun. Doing something different.

The beach was amazing. My daughter crawling across the sandy beach into the surf, her joy at the small waves rushing to her. I do admit I was not as quick to save her from the waves as I would like. But how was I to know she would continue to crawl into the surf without fear of the waves hitting her? She seemed quite offended when one hit her chest and splashed her a bit in the face. I did rescue her tho, because that is what mummies do. We even chased the waves together up and down the beach. Her squeals of joy are a memory I will always cherish. I will purposely forget the big wave that I didn't see coming and nearly drowned us. I swear the lifeguard moved his chair closer to the waves because of our near drowning. (I know you think I am exaggerating about the lifeguard but he moved a good 10metres closer to the waves).

Once we were done at the beach we decided we should probably head home. I pulled out my phone and realised there we masses of missed messages. My husbands phone had a few too. Lots of calls from extended family trying to let us know we could stay with them! Such an unexpected and lovely surprise. After a few calls we were back on the road! 

Once we caught up with family it seemed like time flew by. All the kids seemed to have grown up and turned into mini versions of the my generation, just with more tech and YouTube. The rest of us just became old! Although several hours away, family is where you belong. No matter how long it has been since I have seen everyone, it just feels like home when everyone is together. 

Back in the saddle

We have been away on an amazing long weekend. I have plenty of stories to tell but not enough time to sit and blog. I will leave you with a teaser to anticipate my next blog ...

Energy vampires

My daughter has decided waking at 3am is her new thing. I am not sold on the idea myself. Somehow she always has energy despite what time she wakes up. I suspect she is an energy vampire. She must siphon energy while we least suspect it. Using it to fuel her cuteness. I might be onto something, or the sleep deprivation has caused mild delusions. Either way I am still exhausted.

Crocodillus Puppiesus!

My daughter allowed the dogs to sneak inside while I was out doing the washing. She closed the door so they could not get out, which in dog language is an open invitation to play with all her stuff. One dog decided to try and get into the jumperoo and the other started to give grover a death roll. All three girls were quite disappointed when I broke up the fun. I will have to keep an eye on these cheeky girls!

Queen of hearts

One morning I was cleaning up after a particularly delicious messy breakfast of black cherry toast and my little girl starts performing some bizarre sideways epileptic manoeuvre. I was completely dumbfounded. She seemed happy enough and only repeated the movement if I was watching so I decided it was some weird experience all kids must try out. A few days of bizarre sideway attacks of movement, it occurred to me she was trying to dance! I admit I do wake up highly caffeinated on life some mornings and sing and dance thru our morning routine. I'll have to remember to do dances that are easier to do!

Gumnuts and spidermonkeys

When I was little we lived in a small old mining town that was basically heritage listed to preserve that little bit of Australian history. Summer was hot and the heat was like a sauna. There was a lot going on and always something to do. 

I would wake up early in the morning to see the blue sky outside my window and hear the kookaburra's laughing. I used to lay in bed and wiggle my toes, pretending I lived in the bush and I was like the people from the stories we learnt about at school. I used to imagine there were bottle brushes and eucalypts as far as I could see and the birds were so tame because there were so little people to disturb them. I used to pretend that there were only dirt roads and you did not need a car to go where you wanted to go. I remember wishing so hard that I lived in the bush and that I could know what it was like to be completely free of expectations and day to day stress. 

I also wanted my own possum with a big bushy brown tail and tiny little paws for digging. I was not greedy tho, I told myself I would be happy with just living in the bush and knowing there were possums around. I knew my possum might like his freedom and just knowing he would be happy was enough. 

It has been many many years and my home is now in a much bigger city. The kookaburra's do not announce the new day, the eucalypts are so few and far between and I do not remember the last time I saw a dirt road. Tonight I realised I did live in the bush! I did not live in the 1800's like the people in the stories I learnt about at school but I lived in such a gorgeous town and am so lucky to have these memories. I wonder whether my daughter will ever wake to wild bird calls and whether she will feel the heat of the new day from beneath a massive eucalypt tree. I will have to be creative to give her these kinds of experiences, so that when she is older she has these wonderful memories to cherish too.

10933 Unbirthdays!

The last few weeks have been a blur of activity, sickness, joy and an unhealthy amount of coffee. I probably have not done as much as a should or as much as I like, but I am happy with how it has turned out anyway. My birthday came and I spent the day just being in the moment. All those every day activities were sublime, spending time with my family laughing was pure delight and then knowing I get to do it every year makes my heart sing with joy. I do not ever remember being happy like this. Is it because I am getting older, things are more precious? Is life more fun? Or am I just in a happier place? I wish I could have had this years ago.

The Mad Hatters Tea Party began and there was a lot madness squeezed into a little room. Tea was poured and conversation flowed. Cake was devoured and children laughed. I relaxed. I enjoyed. I loved, every minute! No one mentioned I wore my Mad Hat backwards and no one minded when I sat down with the children and had tea with my special little ones. I needed a nap by the end of the day and dreamed of all the tea parties to come. It is something I need to do more often. Now I have a teapot and taste for sweet things, tea parties seem idyllic.

10932 Unbirthdays!!!!

Making the Mad Hat Step 4: Embellishing!

I looked at the mad hat and thought to myself, hmmmm too plain, too much peacock arse and just not  shiny enough. Then I embellished. Glue a shiny ribbon pinwheel here, add a spotty flower there ... Oooh, needs more ribbon!

BAMM!

Awesomeness happened. Now I just have to work out how it's going to stay on my head!!! It's a bit heavy with the cardboard I used on the rim so it will be interesting how it will feel on top of my head. Do not even mention how I forgot to add holes to thread ribbon thru to keep it in place! 

Old badger takes a nap

I've been making a gift for my best friend and going thru all our old photos together. It has amazed me of how many good times there were. I have been thru a lot in the past ten years, I think to protect myself I had blocked so much of my past but unfortunately that meant good times too. This process has been so powerful. The memories have surprised me. I did not realise there had been so much happiness. If only I can hold onto those realisations.

I had so much joy remembering the things my partner and I had got up to in our first few years.  Oh my, we were so young. So very very young. We were in fits of giggles last night discussing the outrageous things we did and our naivety. Can't discuss those things here tho, my mother might die from laughter if she every read about such things and my daughter may get ideas when she is older!

My hero the seahorse

In Australia it is Father's Day and my little girl took her first step into her fathers arms! Such a precious moment I cried a little, which always freaks her out. Daddy was very proud and I do not think we will ever be able to top this Father's Day ever again. I spent most of the day just being with my family and watching the joy on my husbands face as he interacted with our daughter. True love. Unconditional and pure. He is the man I fall in love with every day, the man who holds my heart, the man I will spend the rest of my life with. I never knew how amazing life could be before we became partners, and then when we became parents, and today makes me feel so blessed that our daughter has such an amazing man in her life. 

Just a little bit posh

My mother gave me my first tea set only last week. Granted the set is nearly as old as I am! It is so delicate and treasured I am a wee bit anxious about using it.

However, I pulled out the Royal Dolton and indulged in a green jasmine and pear tea in the afternoon sun. So divine! Feeling a bit like a princess.

Expectations from the vampire squid

My husband has been spoilt. There is more to it, if you want to hear why.

He requested new photos of our daughter for his wall at work. He made some outrageous comment that she does not have hair in any of her photos. To be fair, it took her a very long time to grow hair after her luscious locks fell out at birth. I wonder why babies hair falls out after birth? Is it the shock of going from a safe watery world to a smorgasbord of sensory experience? Alas, I am distracted from my main narrative. 

He has been spoilt with many gorgeous photos of our little princess when she was very little. I understand now, as I learn to use my camera and practice I have been improving. The baby phase was great for portrait shots and learning how to use me DSLR. Her big soulful doe eyes glued to my camera lens. Baby smiles at the newness of everything. The quiet stillness of just being in this big wide world. 

Now we have progressed to exploring, crawling and toddling. Gone is the quiet tiny princess, hello my noisy grumble fart. My little grumble fart is too busy getting into mischief to look at the camera lens, too busy eating random pieces of fluff and grot to smile at the world. She is busy making noises and touching and playing with everything she can reach. My skills with the camera are improving but not at the same rate as her growth. 

I suspected he may not find the millions of photos of my sweet grumble fart as pretty as the quiet tiny princess shots. But I went thru the more recent photos (aka where she has hair) and found my favourites. Only a measly 173. I sat down with him and let him flick thru them to make his decision which to print for the wall. He didn't pick one!!!! eeek!

Thus, he has been spoilt with photographically stunning baby pictures and I have to get my dainty grumble fart to work with me to get some nice ones for the wall. Challenge accepted, my love!!!

Making the Mad Hat Step #2: Making the Mad Hat

Must do something about the wire hearts looking like a peacocks arse!

Catch your breath

I thought I was getting better. See, I am able to stay awake longer than an hour and talk without having a fit of coughing. But, after being on my feet for a while and actually doing something mundane,I don't   know, like, cooking dinner, I can't seem to catch my breath. I start to feel nauseous and faint. Ugg. Still sick.

I wonder where the phrase catch your breath came from? Probably a Black Plague creation or some other morbid reference. I am always amazed at how many phrases and traditions are based on our history of plagues and poor technologies. Gothic folk tales have inspired our modern day memories. 

Thank you gothic inspiration for giving me Beauty and the Beast to snooze by this week. My daughter loved listening to Belle get her crush-on and I appreciated that I slept enough thru a significant amount so didn't go insane. Yes, we watched it about nine times over three days. I just didn't have enough energy to change the DVD. I think we listened to the menu screen song for about five hours too. That's how you know you are sick, you willingly hit replay after the third time and don't even mind.

Schemes and scales

The Mad Hat design phase

It's a secret!

I missed step three out on purpose, just cause I am mean like that and it will drive someone insane when they read this blog in order!

My husband brought chocolate home for me, I love that man more than anything!

Spluttering like a dugong in pantyhose and highheels

I am too sick to blog ... I am a big spluttering coughing disgusting snotty germ monster. Ok, it's not that bad. The snot was a bit of an exaggeration. The snot is mostly contained inside my nose and down the back of my throat (yucky!). 

Since I feel bad about not blogging, I made a picture of what I look like being sick, so there is no mistake that I am actually sick. (You can tell I am sick by the coughing and hacking grossness into the air as indicated by the drawing) I decided I would also share my plan to share my icky sickness with everyone. Step one, continue to be sick. Step two, be around other people. Step four, enjoy watching everyone be as miserable as me ... Sigh, such a nice fantasy.

Mucus molluscs and mandarin

Yesterday I finished a Day of the Dead inspired skull crochet doily and shipped it off to a new home. It was inspiring making something completely unique and looking at the world from a different viewpoint. I loved the stitches in white giving that flecked bone appearance. So pretty in a dark kind of way.

One would think that finishing one of my projects I would be ecstatic. But alas, I am sick. It is quite miserable being me today. I have so much creativity waiting to escape, however, my body groans with illness and my mind is sluggish. 

I spent most of the morning just funnelling my energy into little games with my daughter. She must sense that I am not completely well and has been playing quietly and offering me masses of drooly kisses. Sometime I wonder whether the amount of drool indicates how special or generous the offering of affection. She seems to enjoy giving big wet drooly kisses the most. I do not complain, these moments of affection are special and something to cherish as her mother. If you were to say these moments would be so special years ago I would raise an eyebrow quizzically and wonder how much special tea you had been drinking. 

Muffin

Watching a loved classic, Friday the 13th, and my husband looks at me and says right after Mother Vorhees uses an axe to take out another camp counsellor ...

"Those kids are just Axing for trouble"

I nearly peed myself

Day of the Dead

Seems that I am always beginning a project, today I have four underway. I finished a heart shaped purple doily to embellish my daughters purple shirt but am thinking it is too big for the shirt! I might have to buy a bigger shirt and keep it for when she is older. I have two projects I am dying to begin, the Mad Hat and my Granny's signature doily. i desperately want to start these!!! But I bargained with myself to wait until I finished one of my current projects. 

I will have to wait a bit longer to start another project tho, I have a request from a friend for a special doily. I am excited about this one. It's something I have never done before but at the time very similar. I did a bit more "research" for inspiration and found some amazing images. I will leave one with you just to let you marinate in the ideas that it brings to mind ...

Making the Mad Hat Step #1. Research

The first step of making a Mad Hat is to begin with research. When I say research, I really mean, google "make a mini top hat" on google while your daughter sleeps. I am pretty happy with the results, the very first YouTube tutorial is exactly what I am after! 

Excitement stirs!

If you want to join in making your own Mad Hat I will share the link with you, just because I am nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Nx0igPai4

Can't wait to collect my materials for Step #2

The Mad Hat

So, I decided my 10,930th unbirthday is coming up and I need a Mad Hat to celebrate ... I considered buying online but with less than a month to go I doubt it would arrive from overseas on time. Thus I am considering MAKING one!!!!

This design just makes my inner Mad Hatter chuckle with glee ... It is quite stunning in a simple yet elegant way.

Twenty goldfish and only one peanut

Every year I try something new. One year I became a scrap booking addict, another year I taught myself to knit, another year I fell in love with photography and this year I am enjoying crochet. Sometimes I wonder whether I will ever find something that is truly me, whether there is an art which will capture my heart completely but then I look back on all the things I have done and realise that this is who I am. I was meant to have the joy of learning a new craft, the happiness of starting a project and the hush and excitement in my whole body while doing each one. I love the challenge of something new, to see beauty in something and watch as it transforms from a hint of an idea to something tangible and real. In my heart I am an artist and there are so many mediums to use for my craft. However, the scientist in me laughs at the whimsy and demands that I "should" find my true craft, the one that completes me. How will I ever find balance with two warring minds?

Time for tea?

Is it time for tea? How about cake? There is a young version of me jumping up and down inside chanting that It is always time for cake! 

I am looking at the options for the visual layout of the blog and decided that I really do need some cake. The options for colour, design and spatial flexibility are complex, the buttons appear so tiny, like chocolate sprinkles. It seems the options are extensive but if you look closely it is like choosing between chocolate fudge brownies and a rich red velvet cupcake. Both deliciously pleasant but not going to cut it when you truly desire banana bread with buttercream frosting. See, I told you I needed cake.

Instead, I will attempt to post pictures, because let's face it. I only want cake because I am experimenting with the visual part of blogging. I don't really want cake. I want to master the visual part of the blog.

 

Nope, didn't help. I still want cake!

10,930 unbirthdays inspires one to do something different!

Inspiration is an elusive thing, it wiggles and squirms and if you don't hold on tight she slips through your fingers like a salamander in a pink beret. Approaching my 10,930th unbirthday I am still trying to keep my mind steady in a whirlwind of creativity and beauty, trying to experience each moment, to capture each flutter of joy and each stab of pain, to truly be. I am a scientist and an artist, the most bizarre combination, and each day is a new set of happenings for me to enjoy in my own unique way.

Forgive me if my musings are too strange or hard to follow, or the grammar is not quite right, this blog is for fun and a means to let my inspiration travel where she wants. I cannot be selfish and hold her tightly, she needs to explore the world and be where she needs to be. I ask only this, remember, as you travel this journey with me, at the Mad Hatters Tea Party there is only one thing that is truly important ... "We're all mad here"