Brrr!!!

It will be an inside day today and I'm hoping a lazyish one as well!! The list on the fridge of things that must be done before the week starts again tomorrow tells another story! We'll see....

Spent a lovely day with Mum yesterday. The 'Horsey one' was showjumping in another town so off we went to watch. The boys all decided it was too cold and would much rather stay home so it was just Mum and I. We arrived a bit early so what else to do but a tad of shopping. Mum has a class this week to make a box??? and still needed some ingrediants. I didn't need anything! Well she got what she wanted and I just happened to see the 'sale' table and acquire 2 very small, very inexpensive , really won't make any difference to my cupboard that is already bursting at the seams , fabric!! I am planning to make my goddaughter a quilt so the green is for that and the other piece , well there is no reason at all that I bought it except I liked it! I have a bit of a thing for dragonflys. We lived in Broome Western Australia for 4 years and the dragonflys arriving always signified the changing of the season. Oh I also bought 2 rolls of ribbon that I thought would be very handy.

Arriving at the showjumping we were able to park the car right outside the ring and drink coffee from the cars comfort but it got colder and colder and colder. As soon as we had seen our girl jump we bailed and headed for home! As busy as Mum manages to keep with her various patchwork and embroidery groups and her volunteer jobs I know she gets very lonely and I know that sometimes with my busy life when I am tired I am more impatient than I should be with her so a day like this is lovely to spend time together and catch up on all the not so important news!

Arrived home to 'Super Husband' at his absolute best! Roses on the table and in the bedroom (from our garden), 2 freshly baked banana cakes, pumpkin soup ready for dinner and the patience of a saint! I am truly blessed.

Just realised the photo isn't great and you can't really see the fabrics - oops sorry but at least you can enjoy my roses with me!

Remembering....................

Yesterday was Anzac Day and a public holiday. It was a day of remembering all of those men and women who lost their lives defending our country and a day of thinking of and thanking those who are even now away from their families so that we can live a wonderful life here in Australia. We started our day going to the dawn service as a family. Although it is a short service and perhaps without the ceremony of the march held later in the day it is very moving, I can be guaranteed to have a few salty tears roll down my face especially as the last post is played. SH once again wore his replica set of his great grandfather's medals with pride. His great grandfather was on the AE2, a submarine that was at Gallipoli all those years ago and in 2004 SH travelled to Turkey to be at Gallipoli for Anzac Day, an experience he will hold with him for a lifetime.

We returned home to a yummy breakfast of pancakes and proper coffee!!!! The simple pleasures in life...............................Later in the day the traditional Anzac biscuits were baked. It is such an easy recipe and freezes well (although in this house they rarely get that far!). We do make them often during the year but always on Anzac Day itself. The 'Horsey one' also made her new favorite 'Toblerone Chocolate Muffins' !

The quilting progress is sadly lacking. The AGM was held on Thursday night for the local pony club that the 'Horsey one' attends. It is a small club and has really struggled for parent support, particularly this last year. This was the 2nd year I have been treasurer and I must admit the books were a shamozle!! I spent hours on them over the last few days and wasn't able to get them to balance...........Each month they have been okay so I have obviously just missed something in the annual books , SH will attack them this afternoon for me. I thought this could be grounds for not taking on the position again but oh no, not only am I treasurer again, and public officer and catering officer but SH is now President!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The things we do for our kids.

Three Little Pigs Complete!!

The 'Three Little Pigs' are complete at last, well behind schedule but done!!!! I am quite happy with them. Now on to 'Little Miss Muffett'!! The aim is to complete her on Sunday but who knows........

We are having the most beautiful weather at the moment, cool nights and sunny days. No rain which is once again needed unfortuantly. Winter sport started on the weekend, 'the Horsey One' had netball and hockey, a win in one and a loss in the other. Her hockey skills have really improved since last year which was her first season. On Sunday she competed in yes another horse event and came in 2nd so one very tired and happy girl at the end of the weekend!

I have been having some technical problems !! (don't forget I am very much an amateur on the computer). Apparently if I leave a comment for someone it shows as noreply ??? anyway I have tweaked a few settings and hope that helps and will also try and catch one of the IT guys at work in a good mood or my HS for that matter!! His mood is not good at the moment whilst on crutches and having to watch sport from the sidelines............................

Okay in the end!

A few posts ago I was distressed with a pattern and it's instructions for a little project I was making for my Saturday quilting birthday buddy. I ended up ignoring their instructions and working out a way of making it happen. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it was finished in time and I feel a great sense of accomplishment something has left this house complete!! I put it with some embroidery floss, some hand cream and some patty cake buttons and hope that she will like it. She didn't make it to quilting yesterday but a friend will pass it on at church today. The other purse was the practice item!!!!!

A Successful Day....

Well the 'Horsey'one and her father had a lovely day yesterday at the Interschool showjumping competition they went to. The sun came out so the weather was perfect and everyone came home in one piece which was important to me!! Her and Dudley placed 3rd in their first event for the day! their first success together!! and even though they didn't place in the second event had lots of fun which is what it's all about.

Feeling stupid!

Does anyone else ever get that really stupid feeling?? or is it only me?? I was working (well actually only started ) a small , easy peasy, project last night for my quilting birthday buddy. I'd put so much thought into it instead of deciding on something and starting it that I am now working against the clock!! (Unfortuantly a true trait of mine) I cannot understand the directions / instructions / recipe, whatever you call them. I had cut out 2 thinking I was smart and would be a gift ahead , no the extra was to muck up, to practice , to try and work out what on earth they meant for me to do...... I got an okay but only okay end result doing it my way on the practice one but am determined not to let it beat me. After an early morning and a full day at work I intend getting it out and doing it all again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have had a very early morning - even for me ( I get up at 5am every day!), my darling Super Husband is taking the Horsey one to an interschool showjumping competition today. Wish I could be there to watch but sure I will get constant updates and hopefully lots of photos to share.

Here he is!

Here he is, my Handsome Son with his fire engine red plaster! Not a very clear photo but the best I could manage with an unwilling participant!!

Got another parcel in the mail yesterday from my sister in London. A very late Easter gift! no photo to show as only chocolate and it is well hidden!!!

New fabric to play with!

A bright spot in the last 2 days was my parcel of fabric arriving from the States!! My SH is slightly concerned that I am becoming addicted to ordering online!! (he's blaming Tracey - Oz Country Quilting Mum) and I must admit it is a very easy way of doing it and lots of fun......Anyway as the photo shows it wasn't a huge parcel but I am happy with everything. A panel of 'Love Is', a piece from that same range, a pink paisley (for some obscure reason I am collecting paisleys at the moment!!) and two pieces of the 'crow and cherry' fabric (Debi Hubbs). I saw it on Kims blog and just had to have some of it so I guess she's to blame for it SH!! I must confess that while he was out at squash last night I did some browsing and have found a new range I just love.................'Cats Meow'. I have promised I will not order without first planning a project.............

Now an update on my Handsome Son! The upshot is that he has torn the tendons in his foot and has also broken a bone in his ankle so is in plaster and on crutches for 6 weeks! Not happy!! It was the first game of football for the season, hockey season starts this Saturday, he won't be able to play basketball or referee (a money spinner for him! ) or work at his part time job ! He will still be in plaster for his school dinner dance and for his school camp . Oh well it could always be worse, it is only his foot and he will have plenty of time to devote to his homework (wash my mouth out!). It is plastered in fire engine red and he will get back to school tomorrow. He is happy he won't have to walk to or from school for 6 weeks tho! I was hoping to post a photo but will have to get him in an obliging mood.

Another Monday morning!

Well it's a few days since I last posted and lots but not much has happened!!
Friday I enjoyed not working by a trip to the hairdressers for a new cut and color, oh that feels good!! Under no illusions though that when I try to do it myself for work today it will not look the same............. I also bought myself a 'red coat', it looked at me and I just had no choice! Not sure how much use it will get but at the moment am enjoying the thought that it's mine!
On Saturday 'the Horsey One's' Pony Club of which I am unfortuantly Treasurer (one of the only jobs you don't need to know anything about horses! ) held our fundraiser for the year, a One Day Event competition. We are a small club and there is so much work that goes into a day like this. I was on the go by 4.30am and out there in the secretary's office by 7am having delivered the bread and my baking to the catering and having made sure the horsey one was organised. I am so lucky, she knows I know nothing about the beasts so is able to do it all with no help!! She had a lovely day, she only got Dudley this year and this was their 4th One Day Event competition together and the first time she wasn't eliminated in the cross country. She didn't place but just enjoyed competing. The day went surprisingly smoothly and hurray there is now 12 months before we have to run the next one!
Yesterday I had plans! It was even on the weekly running sheet on the fridge that I had plans! I was having a PJ day, yep I was not getting out of bed or my pjs all day, I was not attending to the house or others!! and yes all plans are made to be broken although I was perhaps a little lazier than usual. I had to be up and have Handsome Son to the stadium to referee basketball in a tournament by 9am. He also had his first football game of the season yesterday afternoon so that took up the rest of the day. Unfortuantly he was injured in the first 5 minutes! He has done something to his ankle. I was sure it wasn't broken so didn't take him up to the hospital last night but now in hindsight I probably shouldn't of waited till today to have it checked. Remember he is male and ill or injured males are a species of their own!! It isn't particularly swollen but he can't weight bear and it does have a funny shape to it and " he hasn't slept a wink all night and can't possibly go to school for at least a month"..........................................Anyway I will try to find a replacement for work, take a day of carers leave, put a book and some stitching in my bag, get some crutches and then wait to see a doctor and have it xrayed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hurray!

Hurray! I don't have to work today!!! I'm so excited!

The Missing Photo!

Well here it is , the missing photo of Mum's quilt from yesterday's post!! and no the '3 little pigs' are still not finished!!

Hotpotch....

Well todays post will be a hotpotch of odds and ends! I don't really have anything much to report on, everyday life keeps me too busy at the moment for anything fun and exciting!! NO the '3 little pigs' is not finished yet, I am now officially a week and a half behind schedule and starting to get desperate. I have other projects I want to work on, aside from the other million or so (well thats what it seems like!) blocks for the nursery rhyme quilt..........I am posting a photo of a quilt but not one of mine. Mum made this in a class last year and finished it for my Handsome Son. I wondered if it had too much pink in it for a teenage boy but he seemed happy enough with it. I bought black linen for the bed which I think sets it off well. Having light colored cats sleep on it is not a good idea though!! Speaking of my HS, he is doing work experience this week. Loves not having to go to school but told me last night after day 1 his work is 'too hard' - Welcome to the real world!! He is working at a local well renowned hotel with a fantastic chef in the kitchen as this is what he thinks he'd like to do. After this week he should have a better idea of if it is his chosen career path or not. He did have a good day yesterday but is all 'peeled out', a box of spuds and a few thousand hazlenuts!! Had some good and some bad news yesterday, one of my best buddys got the results of a breast lump she'd had removed and it was benign - thank goodness for that, she's had more than her fair share of heartache in the last few years. The bad news came via another special friend in Western Australia where we lived for 4 years. A little girl (well she was then ) that my Horsey one went to school and was friends with passed away this week. Kate turned 14 in February. In October she went into hospital for an appendix operation , her heart stopped on the table, she went into a coma, came out of it to go through open heart surgery and was on the waiting list for a heart transplant. Unfortuantly she passed away before one became available. We hadn't kept in touch but I am thinking of her family and friends. A reminder to us all to hug our children tight and as a family to discuss organ donation and to register for this.
On a brighter note to finish, how did I get the name for my blog????? The Chocolate Cat? Simple , I love chocolate and cats!!!!
As I finished this my home computer crashed, it is very ill! so I am finishing this at work but it means your will have to imagine Mums quilt as there is no photo at the moment!!

Another Day Out...

Does anyone else ever wish for some days to just stay home and catch up on the mundane chores??? I'm at that stage at the moment. Everything in the house is calling out for attention but I'm just not home long enought to attend to it all! I did decide 2008 was the year for making the time to catch up with family and friends and I am enjoying it so I guess housework will have to be hit and miss for a little longer!

I headed out of town yesterday to catch up with two friends, they are both godmothers to the horsey one. One of them was married in November so we wanted to look at the photos and dvd. We had a lovely lunch with lots of chatting.

We met in the city my Mum lives in and Mum and I made a quick trip to the local Aldi supermarket where we both bought ourselves a 'sewing machine' for a ridiculous $69! Why am I excited?? This year the horsey one finally has her own horse and she has started bringing home rugs that need to be mended yesterday please Mum! I am not too happy about using my quilting machine (nothing fancy but does the job nicely) for bulky, smelly, hairy rugs.... Anyway this new machine will be the 'horse' one and we will see how it goes. For that price it is worth the experiment. Mum bought hers for taking to classes etc as a smaller , lighter option.

Hoping to post the 3 little pigs block tonight!!!! Computer is being very hard to get along with at the moment so not sure how I will go, I only like technology when it is working!

Girls Day Out!

Yesterday was lots of fun! Mum decided she needed some fabric.....so as a dutiful daughter what could I do but take her to get some! Headed off to Ballarat early with the Horsey one and Seb on board as well. The Horsey one was promised a visit to a horse shop and Seb was promised a shop where he could look at computer games. Coffee was first on the agenda, you need strength for this kind of shopping! then off to the first fabric shop which can be very hit and miss. It was a good day, I didn't even get to look at everything, when I couldn't carry my bolts I decided I must have enough.... Mum is doing a class next week and I convinced her the range of 'mauve and creams' was much nicer than anything in her stash, unfortuantly no photo, she also managed to get some wadding and backing for a quilt. This photo is of my purchases, SH wonders what on earth I am going to do with them, he knows me too well. They just talked to me! The pink with white dot is for my goddaughter Bianca's quilt, the two brights next to it are for some birthday runners I have planned and the rest are for other projects - just not sure what yet??? I LOVE the strawberries and blueberries in the front, don't know if I'll ever be able to cut into them, it may just stay as looking fabric along with the strawberry and blueberry buttons I already have! Most of it was on sale and I'm talking cheap which helped me justify it......We then headed to 'Gails', most Victorian's would know of her shop. It is just beautiful. My problem is I can never make any decisions there and just enjoy the looking. My only purchase was 2 different pieces of ribbon, both with some reference to chocolate! My mother thinks I am mad! Mum managed to get the VIP fabric she was looking for. Lunch followed with my cousin, as children we didn't really get along but now I love catching up with her and then a few other shops before heading home. The horsey one got to her horse shop and managed to get a neck rug she was happy with, who knew there was so much involved in that kind of purchase!! This was the other purchases . The horsey one got polar fleece 'Wiggles' fabric for Nan to make a neck rug for her horse 'Dudley'. Her choice! and I indulged with a new book, didn't need it but I will enjoy it. Went to bed tired but very happy with the days outing.

Confession Time!

I have a confession to make! My taste in television viewing is somewhat dubious....and in no way reflects the taste of the rest of my family (they always like me to make that clear - although I have hope the horsey one will follow her mother!). I love reality tv - Amazing race , Survivor , Biggest Loser (on now and the prompt for this post!) , Next Top Model !!!!! I have been known to watch Big Brother in the past but that will definately stay there. I also love a medical reality show, watch the 'gory' bits from behind my hands but Medical Emergency, RPA, Saving Babies are up there too! Love my soapies / dramas too - All Saints, House, Greys Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. We have a teenage soap here 'Home & Away' which is on nightly for half an hour which I tape and catch up on. I don't always let the horsey one watch it unless I have already checked how they handle the numerous topics they tackle. My SH is amazed at just how much happens in 'Summer Bay'!! An all time favorite show is 'Gilmore Girls' and yes I have all the series but one on dvd (am getting that for mothers day in a few weeks - I hope!). I like old shows and have dvds reflecting that - Little House on the Prairie, Mork and Mindy Ally McBeal amongst others. I love a cooking show especially Nigella , oh and I love a good talk show. I would LOVE one day to go to an Oprah show taping.
I am not sure quite why I have confessed this , it looks a lot worse in print and no I don't have enough time to watch all of these shows. Maybe I should watch none and I would get a lot more quilting done!!!

A lot to give thanks for...

Yesterday I was reminded there is a lot to give thanks for.......
I work part-time as a receptionist in the Allied Health Centre at our local hospital. I relieve sick leave and annual leave and also do reception for some specialist clinics to boost my hours. Once a fortnight I do reception for a paediatrician. Yesterday was one of these clinics. A fellow worker brought in her 10 week old twins who were born at 32 weeks but are doing well considering, a pigeon pair and oh so cute. I had a lovely cuddle! Other parents brought in children and left facing more tests and specialists and uncertain futures, other children already have diagnoses which mean each day will be a struggle for the parents and the child. I came home feeling very thankful for my children and their health.
In the afternoon I visited a friend who has just returned home from interstate after her Father passed away. We drank coffee, laughed and cried and I hope I was some comfort to her. I came home and phoned my Mum and made sure she knows I love her.
I managed to do some stitching on the '3 little pigs' yesterday and it is still on schedule to be finished this week! Plan to have a photo by the weekend!