Christmas Message from the House of Snore

I hope all who read this message have a wonderful Christmas Holiday and bountiful New Year.

Thank you for all your comments left on this blog over the months, I am still working out how to reply to comments posted so apologies if you feel left unanswered, if only I could get broadband to my brain. Maybe next year?

The House of Snore has been very quiet of late and I have been feeling fairly sorry for myself. The noise of children playing is missing and a sore back has reduced my ability to mask the silence with industry and busyiness. Still, I have just put Elephunk by the Black Eyed Peas on the stereo and that has somehow helped. Go Figure.

The rain predicted for Christmas has just arrived. The last couple of months in this part of the world have included hot, hot days, wild uncontrollable bushfires followed by with snow and now it looks like it will rain for days and we will have floods akin to Noah.

But, wherever you are, I hope you drive safely and have an enjoyable time with family or friends.

Best Wishes

Edwina

Top Secret

With the cat away and the kidlets as well, I have been taking advantage of the lack of helpers to do a little re-decorating. The chance of Big R looking at this blog while he is away is remote, but I want it to be a surprise so there will be no photo posting of most of the work.

Except this is the new curtain in the bathroom. I found the material last week and I am loving the new diffused blue light that emanates from this little piece of cloth.

Click here to check out some photos of Sacha's Winnie the Pooh birthday party.

Holiday updates

A BIG thank you to Liz and her blog Scrapilious Life who is keeping me updated with photos of the boys and their goings on in LA. Her wonderful daughters have taken their little cousins under their wings and playing games with them and having fun.

(Aunties Harriet and Em, check out Liz's blog for some happy snaps of the boys)

Aaargh I still haven't got any Christmas presents yet - still 2 weeks to go, right?

Oh Deer Me

So the boys left for LA today. It has been a long day with quite a few moments of saddness. But, they called from Melbourne Airport and collect from Auckland, and they have been having a great time on the planes and at the airports. There were only a couple of moments for the little one, once when they hit some turbulance and once when he got hit in the head by the doors at customs. All in all, the activity, excitement and their own tv screens in the seats seems to have wiped away any possibility of missing their Mum - at all! Which is good, but I already miss them!

Anyway I collected this last little piece of Luka's Kindergarten creativity, and this little deer is going to be hangin with me for a while.

Hobart Calling

Time to share some links to other bloggers from the southern islands... they are sometimes as slack at posting as me, but, I enjoy reading the familiar and comforting discussions on Tasmanian food, restaurants and life...


Hobart Life by FoodKitty
The Garrulous Gourmet
Hobart Restaurant Bitch
Jillian Beans
Vintage Household Tas
The Whitey Stuff

Please let me know if you know any more...

Edit: a few more from Food Kitty

Eat Drink Hobart
Ms Creosote (includes Princess Mary sighting)
Breakfast in Hobart

'ristmas 'raft

There must be some invisible elves over at Chez Snoring, because the line up of handmade Christmas thingy's is mounting daily.

I have made some Steiner-inspired fleece angels for the Christmas Ornament swap I signed up for, they are all packaged up and ready to fly...

As well as some Elephant stockings to be filled with more thingy's for some overseas family... I have prototyped some very mod-santa decorations and some gocco-esque felt creations - I will post some photos later.

This last week as been great, full of excitement and drama, catching up with old friends, pirate parties, a flying visit to Melbourne, even faster visit to IKEA in Richmond (we don't have one here), and discovering my pillow from the last post has become famous (that is a bit of an exaggeration, but Hi to everyone visiting from Whiplash).

Next week looks similar, with a wedding this weekend, a double birthday family lunch, the boys leaving for the US on Wednesday and another trip for me to Sydney at the end of the week, plus I am working the whole next weekend. I am hoping the baby stays put until the due date, because I am getting a lot of strong braxton contractions - fingers crossed we make it until the end of Jan!

Evolution of Craft

Underlying many moments of contemplating the art of craft is the tension between what I perceive of myself and my own reality. I really get a deep satisifaction from creating and making things (as many people do) and my medium is often stitching fabric or printing with ink. I suppose the sewing DNA is passed down through gene pool but it is also here that I get unstuck. I guess deep down I associate the 'homecrafts' somehow with either; women bonded in insufferable toil or the idealic 1950s housewife. Both seem to be ancient perceptions that don't sit comfortably with me.

And yet, the crafting gives me great satisfaction and is generally cheaper than therapy. So with all that floating in and out of the grey matter this is my latest offering to the Goddess of Craft... a pillow with alternating irony .

The front - is a reminder of how far humanity has evolved from draggin our knuckles to French Provincial Toile (in pink), or, alternatively, how under the skin of our advanced civilisation lies the neanderthal in all of us.

And the back is if your mother/grandmother/boss is coming around for dinner, simply turn the pillow around and you can maintain your happy housewife facade.

Meet Incy

I was reminded of the joys of being a kid the other day when Luka introduced me to a creature he had found in the garden. He was soon christened Incy and become our mascot for the day. Safely ensconced in the bug catcher with some leaves, Incy the Snail went on a trip around the world, making friends with everyone we met that day including the Doctor.

Even though it grossed me out a bit, Luka was oblivious to the slime factor and even did a photo shoot with incy. The photo of Incy sliming up the bathroom wall was my favourite shot that he took.

Incy was retired at the end of the day and safely returned to green pastures, thus avoiding me the difficulties of working out what to feed this new pet and in fact where his mouth actually is!

It also arose in me a distant memory of being fed a slug by two of my older sisters. I am sure I ate it, near the wooden fence by the wattle tree at Acton. H, can you confirm or deny this charge?

Back Again

I was talking to my sister today (Hello Harriet) and she was complaining I hadn't updated this little blogaroonie for ages. I know, I know, it has been a while.

I wonder if there is a officially a medical condition called blog-block. Sounds a little constipated....hmmm.

Ok, so a quick round up before I head back into the garden...

- the boys will be heading overseas in a few weeks, and I have to say I am feeling pretty happy with the thought of the house to myself for a whole month. Of course I will miss them, but just think, all that book-reading, movie watching, mess making (with no need to tidy up straight away if I don't want to), leaving the house without needing a baby sitter, or bag of spare anything and eating all the foods I love but the family doesn't.... sad for a moment, but maybe some fun to be had as well.

- I have been busy making Christmas Fairies and other related seasonal crafts as presents this year - look out everyone, it is looking like some handmade presents with feature strongly in the sacks this year.

- I am trying to toilet train Sacha at the moment, it is one of things I have been putting in the too hard basket for too long. He is doing pretty well and now there is no turning back.

- I went away to Freycinet Lodge for a week for work, below is a photo of the view from my room. It was a lush cabin and I scored an upgrade, so there was bathrobes and slippers and best of all a massive spa bath. No TV or phone was an interesting challenge, but designed for the total getaway... it was pretty nice, but I did miss the family!

Register any reluctance by remaining silent...

This has been doing the email roundabout in this neck of the woods, some advice for the wife...



ps. It seems obvious why most women these days leave the 'obey thy husband' vow out of their nuptials

pps. If anyone has misplaced a chook that has had a stroke, please see Foodkitty's blog for its whereabouts.

Flames

The weekend cool weather has calmed the atmosphere around here. But you can see from the image below, things got a little close on Wednesday and Thursday. Hot and Windy - the worst conditions for bushfires and the fires here were pretty close to the suburbs.

Our home is close to the bush, but fortunately not close to these fires. But the Summer is just starting and so is the bushfire season... hopefully none will cross our paths this year.

Halloween has come early

Our boys are blessed to have the influence of many cultures on their lives. They have a wonderful family in America - Yaya, Papa, Aunties and Cousins, that help us to share the joy of many American holidays with the boys. Their Grandma Yaya sends Halloween costumes every year and over time we have shared our home with a monkey, little lamb, an owl, batman and spiderman and a lion. This year I am happy to share the celebrations with one of our favourite little friends, Pooh Bear.

Mug Shots

Hmmm, it has been a little while since I last posted anything here, it seems real life always seems to get in the way. There is much afoot at Chez Snoring, not least of all an overseas trip for Christmas. Yep, all the boys are off to the US for Christmas, while I wallow around the house for a month to myself (nb. I will be too pregnant in Dec to travel).

Luka already has a passport with the cutest little baby photo of himself at 6 months... he has changed somewhat but hopefully the guy at Immigration will believe it is the real him. Sacha on the other hand needs a passport and therefore passport photos. A lot harder than you can imagine... look, see rejects ... try getting a 2 y.o. to look squarely into the camera, not smile, close their mouth and not move!

Finished Ze Quilt

Just big enough for a bassinet, just finished.
It is a perfect size (small), to get me motivated to get it done. And if the baby is a boy, he will be so soft and squishy that he won't really notice that is covered in flowers and not planes, trains or automobiles.

Additional note:

The quilt was quilted by hand mostly because the two amazing women who showed me how to quilt in the first place are very convincing when they say hand quilting is best. In fact, Lizzie is often heard saying...

"The women on the prairies didn't have machines!"

Maybe some of the did have those old treadle machines, but I take her point. Ultimately, the uniqueness of hand quilting is that the stitches have a life that lacks conformity - there is something comforting about that.

Goodbye Becky and George

For those of you not up to date, we started with 4 peacocks collectively known as Becky and George (two peacocks called George and two peahens called Becky). They ended up sharing monikers because we couldn't tell them apart, other than the obvious boy/girl distinction. One of the Becky's then hatched a little chick which looks like a lot like his mother, but we have reason to believe is another George.

Anyway to cut a long story short, Big R, had enough of 5 peacocks and said somethings gotta give. So off went the two Becky's and one of the George's. They have gone to a great friend of ours Carol, who is an amazing mosiac artist with an incredible Gaudi-esque garden. I think they will have a lovely life at her Gingerbread Cottage.

(and we have kept two George's, the father and son, I just hope they don't pine for their Becky's).

In exchange for the birds, I got these amazing peonies and a wonderful dinner with the family.




And, here is a nice picture of the mountain {Mount Wellington} from one morning last week.

Helsinki St Fashion

I am no fashionista myself, but always interested in other peoples creativity. Here is a cool website of street fashion from Helsinki, it's called HEL-LOOKS.
Anyone know of any other street fashion sites?

Baby Quilt

I have a back log of things to post about, it just seems I can't find the time to get them online. I thought I might be able to get this up in time for Friday's Works-in-progress round, but here it is on Saturday.

It is yet another unfinished quilt, made of little squares of Liberty fabric. I would like to finish it soon, and will either give it to my sister's new baby girl, or keep it for our January arrival. Anyways, it is pretty small so I think I can quilt it and finish it in the next week or two.



ps. I just noted this blog is on American time, so I still qualify for a Friday posting!

Eat Me

Today has been pretty slow, recovering from all the 'I am 5' festivities. R has been out all day editing the documentary he is working on, so we have been car-less. It is nice sometimes knowing you can't go anywhere even if you want to, but cabin fever does set in towards the end of the day.

And I am a bit guilty of providing ice-cream for morning tea and tortilla's and butter for lunch, and a bit of TV time to distract them while I went upstairs and made this placement.



It is for Anna (her blog is Twelve22), who is moving back to the States from Jolly old England.

I added the screenprinted crown to remind her of Her Majesty, Queen Lizzie, hopefully it might be of use for a spot of elevenses.

Happy Birthday Luka!

And now he is 5!

More photos of the Birthday Party here.

On a roll...

I really admire those bloggers out there that post everyday, without fail. They tend to be the ones I click first in Bloglines to see the latest happenings. I also click on all you tardy posters (such as myself) to see what you have to say for yourself, usually starts with an excuse! ; )

Anyway it seem two posts in one day is a bit of a record, and it is semi-work related (does that count?).

My friend, 'need-to-find-a-better-paying- job-'cos-I-just-bought-a-house' and I went to the opening of the AFI screenings in Hobart. The feature screening was a new Aussie flick called, Suburban Mayhem. Which was kinda appropriate given aforementioned friend is about to join the homeowners club and find out the real truth about suburban mayhem.

Anyways, the film was actually pretty bad, (although friend loved it) and I wouldn't really recommend it.

But, the AFI Awards screenings are being sponsored by a certain high-end cosmetics company, who generously left little goody bags on all the seats! Woo-hoo free product! And, boy do they know their market, because the crown jewel of the bag was an Anti-Ageing Glycolic Peel Kit!

I normally try to use only natural products on my skin, but that is now out the window, I am keen to try the miracle acid treatment that will dissolve both my wrinkles and worries away. I will keep you posted on progress.

Postscript:

Damn! I have just read the small print and it suggests consulting my doctor before using on sensitive skin (that's me), AND, you need to stay out of the sun for 7 days afterwards... creepy.

peacocks, parties and pooh

The story of my life in days revolves around work, looking after the boys, being pregnant with number 3 and washing washing, washing, clothes, plates and rooms.

I am not sure I want to talk about work and the sewing creations have dwindled, as the attention on the everyday tasks becomes a tsunami, so my offering today is some images from our little home.

- The Georges eating left over pasta
- The invitation to Luka's 5th birthday party next week, and,
- Yet, more pillows %#&**!

Six Pack

Yep, made some more cushions today. Woo-hoo.
I had already made most of the blocks, but nevertheless, it feels good to give them a little more purpose.

I am thinking of have a market stall at our local craft/produce market, or starting an etsy online shop, what do you think? Any takers?

Wip Fridy

I am stitching a new quilt. I started with a flurry a few months ago, then screeched to a halt. This is where I stopped - some bits sewn together, some cut out, some still to cut. There will be lots of blank cream cotton squares and then a random sprinkling of pattern and colour. All squares, small, medium and large.

I hopeful that there will be found the inspiration to keep going. I am outing myself as a one-quilt-wonder, may be I can finish this one and break the curse.

Guppy Love

Big R has an aquarium with a few tropical fish, the stocks have been a little low lately. ( I think the interest is waning ) But the reason I am even telling you is that one of the 2 guppies we have left had babies. 30 of them, at least that is an estimate, there were swarms of tiny little mini fish. We were so proud, until I looked the next day, down to 10, and the day after, 3 left.
Today there is only 1 little fishy. Apparently the mother is eating her babies, at least 29 of them to date.

Prior to having children of my own, this sort of infanticide would have sent a shiver to my core. But now I am a mother I kinda get it. It is not that I condone the eating of one's off-spring, it is just that I understand there are so many laws of nature that we have no control over.

And raising children is kind of the same, you can feed them vegetables, teach them to say please and wipe their own noses. And that is about it, at the end of the day the laws of the jungle will effect them more, I think. Yeah, yeah, I am sure that I count for more, but may be I am not so sure.

On a lighter note, it was Emily's birthday on the weekend, impetus enough to get me into the attic and to make her an obligatory log cabin cushion (seems to be the 'birthday present du jour' around here). Here is a snap shot of the pillow and the birthday girl in the middle (sorry Em).

A Baby Libertine

I have been distracted of late and not doing much creating or blogging, but, one thing I have done is make Sacha his own Baby Shambles tee.

Not exactly because he is a fan, but because my old friend Emily thinks he looks like Pete Doherty. I am not exactly convinced, I mean, really who wants there 2 year old son to resemble the latest wayward rock st*r, coke head, troubled genius, supermodel ex ?

Yet there is a spark of the defiant and libertine about him so I guess I can see where she is getting it from.

The result, his first band shirt... you decide

Bastille Day, as it happens...

... and a new family friend, a reindeer, no less. Not really a Rein-deer, just an ordinary dear, whatever that is.

Somehow he just fits the bill and seems perfect in that space over the mantle that has been empty since we moved in (just waiting for a relic of death to fill its patient ambition).

I know, I should feel morbid about the nature of this new decoration, but frankly it is quite beautiful, serene even. And for some weird reason I have quite fancied the thought of one since I was a child. It might have been the tartan/highland/heathy fashion of the time (sometime in the 80s). Or maybe it feels more landed gentry, in any case, he was a wonderful surprise present from R to mark our 10 years together!

Perhaps we will both be in therapy in 10 more years, trying to figure out the symbolism of that token, until then, tally-ho.

ps. Harriet if you read this ring me, I have some news

Eggs Benedict - It's a Big Mac who's read Proust

It has been a little while since I have updated this blog, and to be honest I have been finding it hard to think of something meaningful/insightful/creative or even interesting to add. It has become a bit of a ravenous beast, requiring constant feeding. And whilst I could fill the paragraphs with the woe of my existance, frankly, who wants to read it - not me!

However, I picked up up a book from my shelf, called Le Caprice, which is a recipe book/journal of a restaurant of the same name in London. It is food porn at its best, lots of very sexy photos and great dialogue about food, eating and contemporary culture.

And as it was my birthday yesterday, I am going to forgo, the obligatory analysis and images of presents to give you a gift. Eggs Benedict.

... quoted from Le Caprice

"Eggs Benedict is a people person, it's dressed down, it's loafers and a polo shirt, it's unisex cologne, it's Sunday papers and films with subtitles and baby papooses. It's sybaritic without being self-indulgent. It's that smooth, smart, committed liberal, sexy, witty, off-white, lifestyle thing, that PR magazines and glossy magazines have been teasing us with for a generation. It's modern - your Grandfather never ate Eggs Benedict. It's you and it's me and it's the whole schtick of post-war, post-modern, politically savvy, free-market, free-thinking, free-from-want, free-as-a-bird, happy-ever-after, Western capitalist dream, and which of us in the goddam world doesn't want that? Eggs Benedict is an on-the-plate, runny, goopy, sentimental, mouth-coating revelation. Reading 'Eggs Benedict' on a menu is politically and socially potent and pregnant with meaning - the clenched fist, or perhaps the 'High Five' manifesto of nice people." AA Gill

Click here for the recipe

ps. hopefully my little blog's stomach has stopped rumbling for a while, and next time, perhaps a main course.

Chocolate Bunny arrives with gifts..

Thank you so much Larissa, a gorgeous bunny bounced into our home all the way from Portland, Oregon. And really I don't know how she knew, but she packed the little bunny with presents three of my favourite things - fabric, coffee and chocolate! Not to mention, a lovely matching pin cushion, some letter charms and some gorgeous trims.

Wow, thank you so much, I am desperately trying to recover from an awful cold, so I can fully appreciate a cup of Stumptown Coffee Roasters 'Hairbender Blend', followed up with a cup of Hersey's hot chocolate!





And, thanks so much for the Chocolate Sauce Recipe - I can't wait to try it!

ps. Thank you so much for the wonderful Bunny I really love her!

Mountain View

Thanks for the nice comments about the BT Bunny, and thanks to Anonymous Alex who confirmed she does actually like her and her gorgeous daughter is okay with the new addition.

These photos are a week or so old, but I thought I would post them anyway. They were taken on top of 'the mountain' when our house guests were here. It is a really magnificent mountain and truly has some kind of relationship with everyone who lives in this part of Tasmania.

Everyone sees it from their own angle and it is always interesting when you go to another part of town and see it from a different perspective. We don't really talk about this strange familial tie, but I have a feeling it impacts on us every day in a way that is beyond words.

I am being philosophical when the kids are just having fun, but some of you will know what I am talking about (maybe).




& some shots from our house... different moods, same angle..

Drum Roll Please..

Alex has received her Back-tack package so I guess it is ok to unveil her.

This was my first swap and I have to say I definately felt some pressure. The rules for Back-tack 3 were pretty intense the little object had to be a 'softie', less than a certain height, black and white with no less than 20% of one other colour, have 5 buttons and the first initial of the person it was being sent to and may or may not be one of three suggested patterns.

To cut a long story short, this is what I ended up making. Alex said she liked her but I get the impression she thinks it is a bit weird.... read quote...

"I got the weirdest softie ever existed, I guess. At least it is in the Top 10 of "Weirdest Softies Ever""

which I am taking as a compliment, I too, think it ended up as quite a strange little creature but I did come to quite like her as she sat on the mantlepiece waiting to be sent. Hopefully she will grow on her and it won't freak out small children.

Le Petit Delice

So, it has been several weeks since an update, but only several moments since the last morsel of Le Petit Delice French Nougat slipped down my throat. Too bad it was so petit, because now I feel like some more.

Our house guest have now left, back to California, and our life back to normal. It seems like it was all a dream, but we have been left with some fun memories and the boys now know their Aunts very well.

I even managed to fit in a few creative pursuits while they were here (can't beat live-in Aunties), but the batteries in the camera are dead so some snaps will have to wait.

My back-tack (bunny) is on its way to Japan, so hopefully Alex will like her. And, Larissa indulged me with a sneak peak of the lovely little friend that will be coming my way soon, so I am a little more excited about the impending arrival.

The Knitted Room

I went to a really cool exhibition at the Moonah Arts Centre (it's still on if you are in town), that is a knitted installation of a 1950s living room. All the items have been knitted by elderly residents at nursing homes around the State.

The original idea was developed by the same artist that did the knitted forest protest, Dawn Csutoros, and has grown into a larger community project.

I am particularly fond of the knitted flying ducks and the knitted tyre swan (which is probably an Australian suburban icon, I am not sure if these exist outside of this continent?). The cake trolley looks pretty appetising as well. The bricks in the fireplace are knitted as well!