Friday 7 October 2011

Sewing and other bits and pieces

Hi everyone.   Life has been rather overwhelming of late so no brain space to think about blogging although I've been keeping up-to-date with all those I follow.  I good blog read really adds some sanity to my life when things get just a little bit too much.

Miss G. has spent this week doing practice exams at school during school holidays, something she's not particularly happy about because it's not really holidays at all according to her.  Today she is doing maths and chemistry.  I personally think it's a good idea so that when they sit the exams that really count, hopefully nerves will be somewhat diminished.  Fingers crossed.

Miss C. is a couple of weeks away from an appointment to try for her drivers licence.  Last week she had an appointment at Vic Roads for a hazard perception test which all learner drivers in Victoria must take and pass before they can go for their driving test.  The drive to the Vic Roads centre was about 40 minutes from home and 5 minutes before we arrived, a stray dog ran out onto the road and hit Miss C.'s car.  She was driving and was very upset.  We pulled over to the side of the road, but the dog had run off and couldn't be seen anywhere.  We were both shaken, but I felt so badly for Charlotte, who incidentally did all the right things in the circumstances.  Unfortunately she didn't pass the hazard perception test this time as she was shaky, not to mention the test isn't easy to pass.  Let's hope the next time is better for her.

In amongst all this I've done a little sewing and crochet which has been nice.  I made a new bag to hold plastic bags in my pantry.  As much as I dislike plastic bags I still have some which I use to line my bathroom bins and for other rubbish that can't be recycled or composted.  Here is my new bag in amongst my aprons, the pink and blue ones which I made a couple of years ago.


While we are looking at the pantry, let me show you these lovely glass containers that now hold some of the many ingredients that have until now lived in plastic bags.

My pantry gets so disorganised very quickly.  I grocery shop once a fortnight so always have extra ingredients I'm trying to cram into the available space.  Hopefully this is a start to pantry heaven.

I'm in the process of getting organised for our Europe holiday next year.  Our plane tickets are booked, so it really is going to happen.  When you go on holidays, does the contents of your suitcase look like this?
Source google images.
Two months of travelling like this is not my idea of fun, so I have a plan.  Bags within bags.  This is the first one I've made which will be housing the smalls.

I found the tutorial here and adapted it to my needs.  I need bags for shoes, socks, belts, jewellery, dirty laundry....the list is endless.  I'm also going to make a little sewing kit, just thinking about it makes me quite excited.

This is how far my giant granny square throw is now.  Still a long way to go until it's big enough for me.

Moving away from craft now to pets.  Can any of the dog owners out there please explain to me how or why a 10 year old labrador would dig up a bone that must be at least six years old and revert to the puppy behaviour of digging up the garden?  Just look at my herb garden!
The garlic chives are almost buried, the thyme has been uprooted, the new flat leaf parsley plant is looking sad and the new rosemary plant has somehow managed to survive.  Fortunately the sage is well established and wasn't affected.  Did Sophie care a hoot about what she had done?  No, just look at this.


Here is one contented dog, lovingly and slobberingly chewing on an old stinky bone.  Yesterday I replanted the thyme, tended the sad looking parsley and put up some barriers in the herb garden which will hopefully deter bad, stinky dog from digging anymore.  This morning the herb garden was intact with no suspicious piles of dirt or holes.

So this is what has been happening in my neck of the woods.  Wishing you all a lovely weekend whatever you get up to.

Anne  xx

11 comments:

  1. Very sad for Miss C. I hope it goes better next time. Your rug is looking delightful. Perhaps you unearthed the old smell by something you did in the garden and/or a combination with the rain/time so that the dog was finally able to smell his special bone. Hopefully it doesn't become a habit now. If he continues to dig in a particular area you could try putting something super heavy there so that he maybe forgets the ide or make him his own digging spot somewhere out of sight. Cherrie

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  2. Hi Anne, I share your perplexity regarding the bone thing..my dog buries bones just as soon as I give them to her and then unburies them later that day to eat..what the? I think your bag within a bag idea is fabulous, a great idea for travelling.

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  3. Hey Anne, I hope the weekend gives you time to breath and destress before you get back into it.

    A busy time for all of you by the sound of it and sorry to hear about the doggy incident. I can imagine how upsetting it would be, but Miss C will without doubt pass the test next time round.

    Love the bag you've made for your 'smalls', great fabric and what a great idea. Are you going to coordinate the colour of the bags or keep them completely different?

    Your granny throw is looking wonderful, the colours are so cheery.You'll get there eventually, I need to crack on with mine as well...........

    Oh Sophie, is enjoying that bone, obviously the longer it's buried the more appealing it is. Shame about the garden though.

    Hope you have a great weekend,

    Claire X

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  4. Anne, this "Life has been rather overwhelming of late so no brain space to think about blogging although I've been keeping up-to-date with all those I follow. I good blog read really adds some sanity to my life when things get just a little bit too much, " is so exactly how I feel these days!

    I love love love your idea of bags to go within the suitcase, and your choice of fabrics together. I think I'll make some before our next trip (hopefully this winter, to escape for a bit from the cold and drear). They would make nice gifts too!

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  5. Your kitchen cupboard certainly looks more organised than mine. You have been busy with family and pets. Perhaps pooch is having a doggy mid-life crisis. Hope Miss C. sails through her test next time.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  6. I like the way you think.
    Bags within bags.
    Excellent.
    Also serves the purpose of giving the illusion of control - which you don't have an awful lot of when travelling to new places.

    The dirty laundry bag might be have to made out of oilcloth - so smells don't escape and contaminate other stuff in your bag!

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  7. Love the idea of the bags. The rug and the cushion looks lovely and bright together. x

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  8. Bad dog but very funny ! Oh your poor daughter - what a horrible shock.

    I like your very organised jars & bags within bags !

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  9. You are clever. Making your bags well before time. I would leave it till the last moment and then end up with a compromise.

    I've never had a dog redig a bone, but we do bury interesting nature finds (animal skulls) so that the worms and other insects can clean all the gunge off before we study them. Not sure its the same logic for dogs. Hope the herb garden recovers.

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  10. You have been busy Anne! Hopefully things will settle a little now. Poor Charlotte - that would have given you both a big fright I'm sure. Lol Sophie, they are all the same aren't they!

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  11. Anne, thank you for your kind message, glad to have found you, I love the bags you have made lovely colours. Life is certainly overwhelming sometimes but having great people around certainly helps. Sure your daughter will do well next time, what bad luck. take care. Lorraine xx

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