Tickling the ivories

We were lucky enough to be given a piano. It arrived yesterday and after just fitting through the doorway (both doors came off and we had but a quarter of an inch of play) it is sitting in its new home. It originally belonged to my Grandmother who, now in her mid 80's, is still a phenomenal piano player. You hum it and she can play it. This is a gift that many of my family members possess actually. If I remeber correctly it was bought for her by her father, and was made in about 1910 I think. It was her first piano and it is a beauty. I will try and post some detail shots for you to see.

It has been with my aunt and uncle for many years now as it stayed in my Grandparents original house when my Aunt and Uncle moved in, after my Grandparent retired to the Sunshine Coast. They have since moved and are now moving again, this time across the country, so no room for a piano on the plane. That is where we come in. As you can see my little monkey is enjoying it already. I had her sitting at it for a bit this morning and she was going crazy. A natural I suspect. I will have to remember not to force her into lessons....
I am thinking that I must try to teach myself to play again. I say again, perhaps I should just say play as I was never very accomplished. My Mom sent over all of my old books so I can re-learn slowly and from the start. C C C C C, D D D D D, E E E E E ....... you get the idea.

I will let you know if there is any progess.

Speaking of progress i am ashamed to write that I have yet to start a new knitting project. I am sheepishly considering another pair of mittens. This will be my new hat I suspect. The old stand by knitting project you start when you can't think of anything else to do. I shall leave it at this... my Dad just arrived and I should be visiting.

Sing a little song for me!

Motivated...

Well it is just past noon on Monday morning and I have already done an aerobics class and a yoga class, re-done my car insurance, prepped dinner, am making some baby food, the sun is shining and all is looking pretty rosy around here. I thought I was going to have time to write a nice philosophical rambling, but it sounds like Little Miss has just woken up from her second all too short nap of the day. Alas I did manage to get some lunch in the old gullet before so I am good to go for a bit. Perhaps a walk is in order. Why waste the sunshine I say.

Speaking of sunshine, here is a picture of Gwen and I from a few summers ago. It reminds me of fun in the sun, good friends and good times. This makes me smile as much as sunshine.

Spoon feeding...

It is crazy to me how fast kids grow up....it is Eme's 7 month birthday today (Happy Birthday to you sweet Eme) and yesterday morning she decided that she was going to help me by assisting in feeding herself. Now, I still got the food on the spoon and took it to her hand, but she took the spoon to her mouth and ate it. Crazy and very fun.

I am currently trying to get her to go down for a nap. As of late this is not an issue at all, but today she has decided that she is going to roll over in her crib and after about 5 minutes of fussing I was going to check on her when she went quiet, so I gave her a few minutes and then went to check and she had fallen asleep, but one of her arms was out of her sleeper, she was on her stomach with her head in a corner and one hand through the crib slat...hmmmm. As I suspected this snooze didn't last long and so when she woke up a mere 30 minutes later I fixed her sleeper and rocked her a little and tried again. Well I have just rolled her over again and we shall see. No luck and so we will have to wait and see what the day brings.

Funny how she can roll over and over again on the couch, so much so this morning that she almost rolled off, but in her crib she just stays on her tum and complains. Ahh, the intricacies of the infant mind.


I thought a few pictures of her highness were in order as I have recently been posting about other things more than her. And who couldn't use a dose of this to brighten their day?

I especially love the "MIND THE GAP" bib that FIL brought back from England. Ahh tube humour.

Nope, I am not kidding around here...

It is true, you can believe your eyes. I have actually finished a knitting project that I started, and it hasn't yet been a month! What? Unbelievable I know! And to boot I have also ventured into a sweet but simple experiment with another real pattern! Too much.

I don't know what came over me, it was as if I was inspired or something wierd like that. I am very happy that I will have something to show at knitting club this Monday, it is a long time coming.

These are the result of a post I did a while ago - I was excited because I actually did something at our last knitting club and felt that I had to share, and look where that got me. In fact I actually ripped out the ribbing I did at Knaughty Knitters and started over so that I could knit both mittens at the same time. I would reccomend this whenever possible, that way you don't finish one and not start the other. That is my usual MO.

This is a little practice square that I did to try and get the hang of following a template. Pretty cute I think. I thought it might make a cute addition to the next quilt that we make as a group. The down side of course is the flip side, it isn't quite as cute as the front, so perhaps no.

I guess I better think up a new project for Monday's meeting.... any ideas?

Who says procrastination doesn't pay off?

This is a picture of the meal that my husband prepared for me the other night - after a "What are we going to have for dinner?" conversation at 6:00. As I was mulling over the speediest and most uninspiring options in my head he says from the corner of the room, "How about garlic- chilli prawns with peanuts, noodles and broccoli?" - "I'm sorry what? I don't think I heard you right. Did you mean to say grilled cheese and soup from a box?"

As you may have noticed the noodles were replaced with rice (I am a bit noodled out at the moment) and the broccoli with chard (as FIL doesn't like either and we had chard in the house)
and voila! It was sooo tasty and has given me the idea to be less organized a little more often. God bless Martha Stewart, by the way, as it was her FOOD publication (left here by FIL's mom) that gave him the idea.

Hmmm... I just don't know what we should have tonight! FIL, any ideas?

Pomello out my kitchen window

i love the colours in this for some reason.
have you ever tried a pomello?
this one was nothing to write home about...

It is snowing...and now it is sticking

I love the fact that it is snowing in March, for pete's sake, what is going on here? It looks so lovely and peaceful and I want to be romanced by the drifting flakes and perpetual softness that is evokes. However, I am finding myself distracted by the thought of what the heck is going to happen to my walking group that is supposed to meet at 12. I really want to walk and there is no reason that a little snow should stop us, but if it turns to rain I should think that would be enough of a deterrent to squash the event. We shall see.

I have had the opportunity this week to get together on a few occasions with old friends and just yesterday managed to re-connect with some new one's (if that makes sense). At my Parent and Baby (really Mommy and Baby - only one Dad and only once) I met two ladies whom I had been in prenatal yoga with and had become friendly. Of course with new little ones occupying the majority of our time we managed to lose touch, but now I shall see them once a week at least and as it turns out one of them lives about a block away. On that same note, just before the class was to start in walked one of my old neighbours from our old town house complex with her 2 month old son and she too has moved within about 5 minutes of me. Too fun, so now I have some very nearby companions to call up when the sun peeks through the clouds for those precious few moments and you want to seize the opportunity, but would like to have some company as well.

I find that talking to Eme is not the same, I do enjoy a 2 way conversation. Sometimes I feel as if I am not talking to her enough, did you others mothers out there talk to your babies a lot? I talk to her often and make comments about what she is or I am doing, but find that the full running commentary about every moment of our day eludes me and I realize that I perhaps haven't said anything in 15 minutes or so... I do sing alot but wonder "Am I damaging my childs chance of being a literary genius by not stimulating her vocabulary sufficiently from a young age?"

Beautiful things to behold

This is the back of a purse I just scooped up this morning for a mere 25 cents. The pictures were meant to be in order, and regardless of the fact that I uploaded them in order they are now not.. sorry. The front of the bag is two pictures down and is fabulous in real life. All beads and sequins hand stiched onto white satin and is probably about 4 inches by 8 inches. I love finds like this.
This beauty is a pot of tulips that my lovely friend Heather brought to me last week as a thanks. No thanks needed I say, so I love the flowers all the more. She brought them as a gift for having her over for for supper weekly. We have a date night of sorts to watch our new obsession in TV "24" - just can't get enough of Jack Bauer covertly whispering into his cell phone in order to thwart terrorists! I have to say this is one of my favorite things to do each week - dinner with a great friend, and Eme loves play time with Aunty Heath, and a good hour of tv after a catch up session. The front of the purse...
And these Lovely's need no introduction, but I will anyways. This is Darling Gwen and Darling Eme, just having a hoot - enjoying each others company on a visit yesterday. What a great way to spend the morning and part of the afternoon. First a walk in Lynn canyon with some sunshine to boot and long over due chats, then tea and cheese sammies and a piece of lemon meringue pie - Yum oh! Can't wait to do it again....

What do these have in common?

This is the most adorable dress that I just bought for Eme at the thrift - it is for 12 months, so perfect for her 1st birthday party. The photo doesn't do it justice, perhaps a re-shoot is in order. Can you see the little stiched chicks and the ribbon edging at the bottom ?


And this is the dancing man in the dish pan. I just loved looking in the sink and being inspired instead of dragged into the quagmire - can you see him?
And so the question remains.... what do these have in common - they both happened on the same day, and they both made me happy.

"Spring has sprung - the grass has ris...."

Well this was not what i was expecting in terms of layout, but as time is at a premium, it will have to suffice. This is what I managed to create this morning, after doing laundry and cleaning toilets, while Eme slept. Amazing what a little creative time can do for the soul, and also amazing what one can accomplish when their child has a real nap.

Not sure where they came from, but i guess I was in need of a little spring and out they sprung. I am rather pleased, it has been ages since I have done anything in terms of drawing etc, so this was a great excercise and very rewarding. Sorry the pictures aren't perfectly crisp, but you can get the idea.