Whatever happend to...

I don't believe I ever did an update on the shrug I started knitting for my daughter, back in winter 2012. The fur yarn I was experimenting with for sleeves, didn't work, but the end product wasn't compromised.

I hurt my back (I think ironically from knitting, lol) so it stayed on the unfinished pile for quite a while. I actually finished it in Spring when the weather started to heat up again, so she really only got to wear it a few times before it got packed away.

Thankfully, it still managed to fit as the cooler weather of autumn set-in recently, and I took some pictures with her posing for fun.

Kids and their clothes - they're so fleeting aren't they! It takes so long to knit and very little time to outgrow them.

I'm glad I was finally able to take something off the needles for my daughter. Something she actually likes! I have been busy knitting something for her baby brother too. I wish I had known what I could achieve with knitting when she was a baby.

I suppose while I still have needles (and opposable thumbs) I can keep knitting something for her.

A touch of bliss

Life has not all been sick patients around here lately. There has also been Gluten Free chocolate cake and Apricot Bliss Balls to be had. I will share the cake recipe another time, but for now, enjoy the Dairy & Gluten Free Apricot Balls.

Mmmm.....bliss!

I made these in the past, with the traditional recipe I'm sure many people are familiar with. It tends to involve a can of condensed milk. But over the years of reducing my sugar intake and enjoying the flavours of real food, I must say this new recipe is a better combination of simple ingredients. I was so glad to find it.

Food you can recognise!

There are very few items to mix together. I love when I can snap the list of ingredients, all on one plate! The only technical side involved, is the use of a food processor.

I followed the recipe in the link provided, only I modified the amount of coconut to one cup - which gave the right consistency. Plus I used desiccated (fine) coconut rather than shredded. Otherwise it was the same method and list of ingredients.

You should try this recipe, if only to know what a "non" overly-sweet Apricot Ball tastes like. If you're like me, you'll wonder why a can of condensed milk ever seemed like a good idea?

The little things in life

It's been hectic around here lately...we have a sick patient. Namely, our orphaned cat, Muesli. Did you notice the name change? Sarah said it one day, and it kind of stuck ever since. That's not the only thing which has changed about her though. Notice the feminine change in reference too?

 Such a young wee babe in the beginning!

"He", has turned into a "she". Or more specifically, the vet discovered our little oversight when they took x-rays of her legs and pelvis recently. What had lead us to the vets, you may ask? Well...

On Sunday night, we were all seated at the dinner table having a chat, when the inside guinea-pigs, suddenly jumped in their cage as if they got a scare. Immediately afterwards, Muesli started to hiss and scowl in a way we'd never heard before. I first thought she was choking on something, but it soon became apparent, her back leg wasn't touching the ground. She was in so much pain, all we could do was pick her up and nurse her.

We're assuming she tried climbing the guinea-pig cage, and lost her footing when they got spooked. No-one saw it happen, even though we were only metres away.

Growing quickly, and loving to play hide-n-seek!

The next day, she was still in a lot of pain so we took her to the vets. Three- hundred dollars and four x-rays later, we learned Mew was a girl (oops) but also there were no broken bones. It sounded like good news at the time, but they also suggested the growth-plates between her ligaments could be damaged. This was something x-rays would not be able to detect. Surgery was the only means to check.

Rather than take that costly option first however, they gave us medication for inflammation and said to bring her back in a week (or sooner) if there was no sign of improvement. The medication did its job, and Muesli was soon on her feet again using the kitty litter.

 Before her injury, she loved hiding under the couch

ambushing any feet passing by

Three days later however, she suddenly started her hissing pain again - only this time, it was her front paw not touching the ground. It was directly opposite the leg previously injured. All that progress, only to lead to her becoming an invalid again. I was bringing food and water to her, and taking her to the kitty litter - which she didn't seem to be using. Her stomach became bloated too, so I planned to take her to the vets the next day.

But that evening she got up and miraculously used her litter again, and even started rolling her toy balls around the kitchen as we played with her. Things were looking good again. Was this finally the road to recovery, for our little Mew?

The next morning, I was informed by David and Sarah, when she started scratching around her kitty litter again, she made her pain-hiss again, crawled out of the box and started to crawl with her belly touching the ground. She basically didn't move for the rest of the day.

 When well, she always found interesting places to sleep...

At this point, I was ready to throw our bank account at the vets and tell them to do whatever was necessary. Something told me to hold back though. Does that sound callous? Perhaps the $300 x-rays had something to do with it, and the reality that surgery may not detect anything either. But I had a suspicion (a hunch if you will) that nutrition was playing a crucial role here too.

We'd been buying pet-mince since she started eating solids. We were wary that dried biscuits contained a lot of empty calories (fillers) which carnivores simply don't need, and tinned food was full of unmentionables. David worked in an abattoir before, and you don't want to know what they put down the pet-food chute. But I knew the mince I purchased from a reputable family run business, probably wasn't nutritionally sufficient either. I did plan on upgrading to something better (home-made) but unfortunately the injury came first.

Click on image to make larger - guinea pig cage in the background

before the accident

I was concerned about the medication too (another hunch) especially after the second injury to her front paw. I took a chance and stopped her medication after 5 days (as specified by the vets) but didn't take her back. After her second injury, I started to feel like maybe we weren't taking her nutrition seriously enough. But also, the medication was masking her short-lived "improvement". She was compounding her injury, placing strain on other ligaments, rather than improving. I didn't want to jump the gun on another run of "quick" but ultimately ineffective treatments.

She needed something else - something which didn't necessarily hinge exclusively on what came out of a bottle. She needed "time", realistic observation and better nutrition.

With the rain mostly gone (it set-in for a few weeks) I carried Muesli into the sunshine for 5-10 minutes a day. I took her around to plants to smell and even plucked some grass for her to chew, which she really enjoyed. That was something Sarah loved to help with also, feeding Muesli grass if she wanted any.

 She licks it straight from the spoon and loves it!

I started to give her one teaspoon of Cod-liver oil per day to increase her vitamin-D in-take and healthy fish oils.  Plus her daily meals now consisted of diced lamb heart, lamb kidney and the gelatin (aspic) derived from boiling chicken bones. Marrow-bone is great for building healthy cartilage.

Poor Muesli, didn't like it when I took her off the medication though. That was the hardest day for both of us! She kept biting her foot and getting cross with it. She could barely use the back section of her body. I suspected this would be the case when I withdrew the masking effect of the medication.

Pain from injury isn't just there to make life uncomfortable - it's a direct signal to the body to leave that part alone, in order for it to heal. We were masking that signal to Mew with medication however (a young kitten wanting to play - who always played) which probably only caused more damage.

  Not roaring, just yawning, after a nap in our spare room

she's sitting up for herself again

After her first uncomfortable day without medication, she was much more cautious on her feet, which was easy to assume was little improvement. But by the next day, she was sitting up, and even progressing a few steps. Then she'd sit again and even lay down if it felt too uncomfortable for her. This is how an injury should be given the chance to heal, so that its not aggravated further.

I'm very grateful for the vets, the x-rays, and indeed the medication for those first 24-48 hours after her initial injury. I'm glad we discovered it wasn't a result of broken bones! But I've also learned to listen to my instincts too. Sometimes as pet owners, we're far too impatient with healing and the pain our dependents suffer. Of course we don't want needless suffering and will medicate as required. But how much do we over-medicate, at the expense of realistic observation? Sometimes we have to listen to what their bodies are telling us, to find the best treatment long-term.

Laying on my chest, as I write this entry at the computer

she's looking out the window

Muesli does seem to be slowly on the mend. We are giving her plenty of food her body can use to heal itself, and PLENTY of love too. She's becoming quite demanding, so that I can only type with one hand on the computer sometimes, as I cuddle her with the other. If there's one thing I can give, it's plenty of love and comfort when a dependent in my care needs it. Yes, it takes more time out of my day, but it's also precious time that means a lot.

I will take her back to the vets if there is no steady improvement, or indeed, if she seems to go backwards. For now though, we've decided to give Muesli more time to heal (off medication) before we seek a second round of veterinary advice.

Muesli has been through a lot in her short (nearly 14) weeks of life, and I hope she's got a lot of life left to live. We'll do the best we can to give her every chance of healing.

Cabin fever

Anyone would think it odd to get cabin-fever during summer, unless you're used to receiving most of your rain during that time. Which is what has been happening here over the past few weeks. We had a "drop" (or several days worth of rain) a few weeks ago, and the sun came out to dry everything. Yay! I even got to plant a couple of tree seedlings, which always makes me happy.

The pond is full!

Then another rain trough dropped in recently, and has rained continually since. Yesterday and today it stopped enough to go outside - I even caught sight of the sunshine! But as far as doing any yard work is concerned, everything is still too wet. I did manage to capture some images in the garden though.

Lawn mushrooms

Plenty of mushrooms have popped up in the lawn! Not sure if they're edible or not, but don't think I'll risk a sample. They look quite handsome with their stately caps on though.

Red Fungi

Strange, red fungi has appeared in other areas - mostly in the bark mulch we put down at the end of winter. They are bizarre, wonderful miracles of nature, which seem to love the soggy weather. I'm told fungi is responsible for moving nutrients around the forest floor. Where this little fellow popped up, was underneath a canopy in a particularly dense area. Our garden is still too young though, so these red fungi appearing are very rare. And it only seems to be during very wet periods.

I look forward to seeing more as the garden matures, and the canopy grows higher!

Always delightful ~ frangipani

One plant I am always happy to see during summer (rain, hail or shine) is my mum's frangipani. It was imported all the way from Thailand I'm told, by a friend who fell in love with it's colour when they were on holidays there. While I can never see me jet-setting off on a holiday to somewhere exotic, it doesn't mean I can't get a small taste of it in my garden. I'm really quite lucky! A very generous friend, to give my mum a cutting too - she died of cancer (sadly) several years ago. I always think of her when the flowers come out though.

Her name was Stella, so I always think what a stella bunch of flowers this year!

Are you bananas?

Our dwarf ducasse banana tree, has finally put on it's first flush of fruit. I'm waiting for the male flower to open - at the very bottom of the bell, to see if the honey eaters come for a feed. I hear they love them! Of course, these bananas are of the sterile variety, so don't need pollination to form fruit. At some point (soon) I'm going to have to think "bags" to keep the fruit bats and other birds away.

Originally planted mid November 2011

This was "Ducca", our pet name for the variety of banana, not long after he was first planted. Ducca has come a long way to producing fruit - 15 months to be exact! It should be another 3 to 6 months until we can eat the fruit though. Which will be kind of weird, considering it will either be at the beginning of winter, or the end.

Ducca also has two strong suckers growing on either side, to replace the main stem after it fruits. So twice as many bananas, next year - fingers crossed!

Although it looks like the rain will be with us for another few days - at least until after the weekend, I did get a small window of opportunity to go outside in the garden.  A break from cabin fever (no matter how small) is better than none at all.

Slow to go

I've never really been a patient person, but I've had to learn to be. Especially living out here, on our five acres within a limited budget. Things don't always move as quickly as you may like. Even when you have the money and the resources, the weather inevitably gets in the way.

Like this year, I was looking forward to the growing season, but then it didn't rain for months. Then it got so hot, we couldn't go outside. Many seedlings I planted in Spring, died. But I'm not complaining - actually, I think I'm adapting. I used to get really irritated and stressed about it, but now it's something you merely have to accept.

Winter, June 2012

Take our drystone retaining wall, for example. This was a picture taken back in June last year (2012) of the progress we had made. The time it took to complete the lower retaining wall, and the beginnings of this upper one, was approximately six months. Even though I'm now pregnant, Dave and I, still plod along with the wall.

David hauls the dirt and rocks from the trailer, and I build the wall. It's a team effort. Sometimes he has to help move the larger rocks into place, and sometimes I rake the dirt down the slope. It depends what time we have available - and that's how the wall gets built! Very, s..l..o..w..l..y

Summer, February 2013

But we have made progress in the twelve (or so) months since we first embarked on this patchwork wall of rubble. I took the above picture today. It's coming along nicely. The pumpkin vines which sprung-up from the compost, have managed to take over a portion of the wall in the meantime. We're constantly cutting it back, so it doesn't clog the walkway underneath!

There's a distinct difference between the winter and summer gardens though. In winter, the grass traditionally browns off, but after the first solid rains arrive in summer, the garden runs amok!

Click on all images to enlarge

Even the weeds are over-taking our efforts with the wall. This is where we are up to at the moment, and the weeds are hugging the stones as if to say they're moving in! Ah, nature, you love to taunt with your seasonal persistence. But then I'm not such a novice or as foolish any more, to believe I can take you on! I'll just plod along and let you do your "moves like Jagger" across our whole backyard.

I like this time of year when the heat starts to dissipate and the garden ticks along. It seems to be a smaller and smaller window of nature's beauty, every year. But then, that's why we garden the way we do. We plod along, we observe and interact, then get to see nature unveil in whatever manner it desires suitable.

If you're running amok, trying to get ahead of the garden, you miss the pause when nature does. While it may not always be desirable for us to go slow, I can't see, working against nature is all that smart either. To garden is to be in tune with nature, whatever is on the seasonal menu this year and the next...

Maternity pants tutorial

I've made a few items of maternity clothing, which (in all honesty) were a bit of a botch-job!. Thankfully, they're easily hidden under shirts. But now I've had a bit of practice, I thought I'd show how I've altered a pair of shorts recently, purchased at the local second-hand shop.

I was waiting to get a little bigger to make these alterations, as I know I'm going to get 'a lot' bigger still. I'll be 25 weeks tomorrow, so it was time to get cracking on this particular project. I simply tried on the shorts and did them up. Where the zipper would go no further, that is where I determined the lowest point in the front.

Cutting the shorts

I used good old-fashioned scissors and a fabric pen to mark, then cut the curve in the front - then proceeded to cut the band off around the back completely. I cut through the zipper, as it was only plastic. Don't do it if it's metal! How far you cut on your shorts/pants though, will be determined by trying them on. I've seen two different internet tutorials, where one takes the waistband off and the other keeps it on. I can only stress that you try on your garment first, to see where it's best cutting. Plus give yourself at least an extra  centimetre, for seam allowance.

One of the things I learned by following the internet tutorials to the letter, is they just didn't work on my particular garments. This was not the fault of the tutorial writer, as they were modifying the clothes they had to fit them! I tried on these shorts numerous times and found out the best way to cut them for me. You'll have a better fitting garment if you do the same.

Finding a suitable waistband material

The next step is to find another item of clothing  (or a piece of stretchy fabric) to make the waistband with. In this case, it was an old lycra vest, which was starting to loose it's support for my growing bodice. It wasn't exactly "new" so I had no qualms taking the scissors to it either! I tried it over my belly to make sure I had enough material.

Cutting lycra vest

Once everything was decided, I cut as high as I could, to reach the first seam to give me a lovely thick square piece of stretchy lycra. Then I simply folded it over. It was about 25cms (10") wide, when doubled over.

Lycra doubled over

Then it was a simple matter of stretching the lycra around the exposed edges of the shorts. I started by pinning the two side seams, then finding the middle in the front section, and pinned it approximately where the the zipper was. Stretch, pin, repeat.

Pinning to avoid bulging fabric in back

You'll notice by the image above, the white waistband is right on the edge of the front seam of the shorts, but in the back, I have a white overhang. This is because when I tried the lycra band on (once it was cut) I had extra fabric in the back.  Through experience I've learned if you ignore this extra fabric bulk, it ends up bulging, and makes you look bigger than you are in the back! So once it was pinned safety, I cut the white overhang off. I wouldn't cut the fabric until you are happy with where you've pinned it though.

Pinning technique

I use my dress pins vertically, instead of horizontally. Not only because it's easier to remove the pins as you're sewing, but it keeps the stretched fabric manageable too. I just used my overlocker (serger) to sew the pieces together. Not only because it finishes the edges neatly, but at the same time it allows the lycra to stretch. Which is all so important with a growing belly!

Front

When finished, this is what they look like in the front. Sorry about the photo quality. You can click on the images to enlarge. Ideally, you would have a longer shirt than mine, but I notice it just looks like a white vest underneath my shirt.

Side

This is what the lycra band looks like. As you can see, it's very stretchy and comfortable, with plenty of room to grow!

Back

And a gratuitous butt shot, to demonstrate how normal they look in the back. No extra bulging fabric, which is not very flattering when you're wearing a tight fitting shirt. The bulging you see, is from the shirt as I was twisting, not the waistband underneath it. Believe me, you need the bulge in the front, not the back of your shorts!

I'm guessing these modifications can be done for people who find it difficult to get clothing to fit their body type too. You don't necessarily have to be large to encounter this problem either. Most women's fashions assume if you have a waistline of a certain size, you'll have a butt-size which is bigger. But not every woman has a classic pear shape. My butt (under normal circumstances) has always been proportionate to my waistline. So I can imagine modifying clothes in a similar manner, when I'm not pregnant either.

In fact, I'm looking forward to wearing these pants after bubs is born too. I won't be as large, but I'll definitely appreciate the comfort of stretchy pants!

A special anniversary

Click on the images to enlarge  

*******

Sealed with a kiss

David and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary on the weekend. And like our marriage, the anniversary was full of challenges and delightful surprises. Our week prior, was crammed full of errands and obligations, which meant we didn't get a chance to check on the room we had booked for the weekend. Big mistake.

I hope this fits

With my mum staying for the evening to mind Sarah at home, David and I drove the whole 5 minutes to our destination - a local mineral spa which doubled as a motel. We spent our honeymoon in this particular suite all those years ago, and as I was pregnant back then too (snap!) we enjoyed a double-person spa bath in our suite.

Only when we arrived on Saturday, we discovered the room was already booked! Apparently there was a mix up: they thought we said Friday, but I remember hearing David make the booking for Saturday. Well, not only didn't we get our room, but they only had a single person spa and oops, the restaurant was closed for the evening too! We found this all out after we had paid.

And the violinists played on...10 years ago

So it looked like a 10 minute drive to the local pub for a meal that evening, or drive 20 to 30 minutes up The Range to Toowoomba for something better. If we were going to be driving all that way, why stay at this particular motel at all? We had already paid $90 for the room, but it was our 10 year anniversary...we figured something a little more suitable might be found somewhere else.

David said he had visions of driving us all around town, but thankfully the first motel we arrived at the top of The Range, had vacancies! They also had a bungalow with a double-spa, and the restaurant started serving from 6pm. Brilliant! We found all this out, and even got to inspect the room, before paying. In fact, we didn't have to pay anything, until we departed the next day. Thank you Eastgate Motel!

 Kitchen & meals

We were so delighted with our self-contained cabin. It was cosy and well appointed. I loved the simple decor, and they really had everything - even frying pans and saucepans, ironing boards and coat hangers!

 Shiny dishwasher - economical with just one drawer

Such a convenient single drawer dishwasher, but we really only used the dishes for breakfast, so didn't need to use it. It would have been handy if we had more guests though.

Painting

There were lovely pictures on the walls too. Just enough to add a touch of warmth.

Prints

The bed was gorgeous, and even had a sliding partition door to close you off from the other living areas. Which came in handy when we decided to play some music on the television, and it's blue screen threatened to keep us awake.

 Simple yet cosy

It sounds terrible to have the tv playing music all night, but we could hear trucks coming up the range (not too loudly) but as we're simple country folk, nothing short of absolute quiet would get us back to sleep. The music was a softer white-noise than the occasional truck.

 Living area

"Escape from the Planet of the Apes", was playing

We didn't watch it, but had a giggle at the flashback to the 60's!

Dinner at the restaurant was absolutely divine though! David regrets not taking photos, as the presentation of the dishes were simple but elegant. We gorged ourselves on dessert too. What can I say, I was eating for 2...maybe 3 or 4, lol.

 Easy cleaning near the toilet bowl

No real bathroom shots (sorry double spa) but I thought this was a clever idea for those cleaners who hate dust bunnies, collecting on the bottom of your toilet brush! Why not hang it to the wall near the floor? I'll be looking for one of these, or improvising something myself.

The next day (Sunday) we left after 8am, and drove to the local markets to buy plants and some fresh bananas. Just like us, it was nothing fancy, just good old-fashioned wares and chatting to the local stall holders as we browsed. I almost forgot, we bought some local honey too.

How uncanny, that we saw two young saxophonists busking at the markets, as we had ten years ago, with two young sisters we commissioned on the spot, to play at our wedding (image above). We placed some change in the collection hat this time, to encourage the young lads (they were really good) and as tribute to the two violinists we had found there many years ago.

 Muesli - or Mew

But I must say it was fantastic coming home again. We were missed sweetly by Sarah and this little guy above. We bought him a "Cat Nip" plant at the markets, and he loved smelling it. Unfortunately he tried digging up the soil, so we have to grow it out a bit!

As nice as the bed at the motel was however, curling up in our bed that evening, was so much  better - just because it says "home". And we were home. I guess wherever David and I go, that is home.

Ten years of marriage to me, is just a number. The man I married though, he changes every year and we've grown together in the ways we needed too. Any marriage is going to be full of challenges and delightful surprises. The trick is to find the neat little grooves, you both find so cosy. That's what keeps you together.