Friday 30 May 2008

ohisashiburi

ohisashiburi mina-san,

as the japanese say long time no see folks. can you hear the vacuuming, dusting and me blowing away the cobwebs and tumble weeds???
he he he
flu recovery was ssslllooowww, especially for ct. seriously last week i did not want to moan about the cough (that still persists but is almost gone) or the fact that my little sweetie was not eating but on monday my cautionary tale (melinda i loved your guess) decided fruit toast, sultanas, bananas, juice, vegemite sangers (sandwiches) and japanese curry (ayama-chan style, that is full of many vegetables) are back on the menu. now we are being fussy. in other little girl news 4 molars (yes 4 of the bloody things) have decided to cut through at once. so sleeping has been hit and miss some days (for all calderas). any no drug pain relief remedies that you can recommend people?? any tips will be much appreciated.
finally
my mole hills have also been making me a tad negative and cynical. lapping the complex pool has done wonders and i have some workable solutions for me. the biggest is that these are mole hills but if i keep up the present blahness, it could be disastrous (and that is a very japanese explanation. where i have discussed an issue by talking around it...).enough navel gazing, ct does enough of this for all of us. for reasons unknown to me she finds her and my navel the most fascinating things...
the whole set
what has been happening in the absence? functional felt swap (big gokigen yoo prostration to jen and anna for organising such a fun swap), more fabric dyeing, diy fishbowls, atc fantasy/fairytale swap (i'm thinking japanese fairytales. some good ones can be found here with groovy music), 'shrooming (playing with this tutorial), etsy pattern testing (he he he some of you have been guinea pigs, thanks), mailing (and cheering donnie up, thanks for talking donnie), losing hours in blogs and looking at eye candy. so on the not too distant horizon these are the following swaps i am working on atc fantasy/fairytale swap and toadstool swap (can you believe that i have the same swap partner for both swaps?? who?? the lovely kirsten of kleas fame. exciting and a little bit frightening...), finishing melinda's mobile (weather is playing havoc still), then focusing on etsy (i am thinking functional whimsy type stuff) for awhile (unless jackie twists my arm again... dear, the tea towels are so tempting. but katy has been a naughty monkey, she roped me in. russian dolls anyone? jen, this is a doesn't have to be a fibre swap.). though i do feel that i have an octopus' garden in me after seeing this amazing octupus here. do i make one for my looming birthday?? yes, that is on the not too distant horizon. and no i am not worried that i am turning 33 this year ('i'm not afraid of getting old, getting old, getting old, i'm not affraid of getting old la la la la la'). um bet anyone other than jen, anna, donnie or jane, can't guess when it is though.
in all it's pvc glory
on a closing note, people think beatles, think 'octupus's garden' and sing with me. it's been a song close to my heart since thursday (and s had to do some research with ct to work out what i was going on about)...

Tuesday 20 May 2008

flu flu go away....

come again another year....

well the flu hasn't been with me since the 8th. friday and saturday i was preoccupied with news of donnie, she had some surgery and i was worried. it all went well and she is now on the road to recovery. make sure you take it easy, donnie. all i have to say about mother's day is, i can't wait until ct is old enough to do something for me. (so i was too $%&'() angry to post my this is...) well she did in a way, took a decided step towards walking. attempts at solo steps are still happening but not successful though. the monday was busy, busy, busy with lots of walking practice. mummy's hands were in much demand and on monday night i intended to blog post but norton's crashed the computer then i got s's flu tuesday night. it all started with shocking headaches (the eye popping kind but not bad enough to be classed as a migraine), muscle aches and sensitivity to light. a few bad nights sleep meant that instead of me just getting the aches and pains and being done with it, i went under. had the shock of my life, an asthma attack after a good 18 years...
why is the family swining?
being the reckless fool i can be at times, there was sewing and making until thursday.
all finished and look at this end
thursday was when i crashed and burned big time (thank goodness this weekend was a long weekend...). the upside was i had enough energy to fix the bomb site
(before)
new week, same problem
or here
or there....
.... sorry no after shots, forgot to take them... have i mentioned that i am blond?? it's because i am blond, that things just slip my mind....
liking this bag
there was also happy mail (not just all 3/4 letter/bills/catelogs for ex-tennants). ezri b's beautiful lunchbox swap arrived (has it been a week???).
look at the weeds, mum
estatic grins were had by both myself and s, because ct preferred ezri b's lunchbox over the hello kitty backpack.
horray
it even spent a few naps in bed.
i like these buttons
i'm a ginger monkey, decided that ct needed a leo pillow (which i think is fab). it is also a huge hit. said pillow also gets toted off to bed (she's not fussy about which bed).
leo i love you
lots of growling happens when ct is in a talkative mood.
this is why....
i also did some figuring out (ie the maths behind some projects), dyed my hands, feet and the washing machine a shocking red and did a little cutting out. this week i plan to finish my functional felt swap.
wips
everything is cut out all i need to do is clear the dinning room table, move the cut out objects, and zoom zoom zoom on ma. i also need to organise a mushroom (or two), an atc, my purple crayon's mobile (oh the weather was oh so perfect for this project... oh well) and get some more sewing done for my etsy grand opening (all i have done is plan, select fabrics and cut out...) as well as all the regular what ever goes on around here....

phew.... i'm off to bed now. posting takes longer than it should.... oh if i owe you mail. i am working on it (along with everything else). i just didn't realise what a tight ship i was running until my week got all messed up. but we are on the mend. thank goodness, ct's throat has been sore and getting ice cream (she can be full to the point of bursting and find room for ice cream) into her. i have tempted her with soup, her favourite soft meals, jelly, juice... s has been going out of his tiny mind with worry (she's going to starve to death... nope she just lost her pot belly). so all is better.

a post for donnie

dear donnie,
as requested
as you requested my dear, the little girl's name in kanji. let me know if they are unsuitable for the quilt and i will make more for you. the other 6 are here.
as requested
hugs and warm fuzzies
ayama-chan
ps will see how the flu is treating team caldera (the english for my japanese surname) to see if i get a post in tonight.

Friday 9 May 2008

this is me... circa 1992

this is supposed to be pre-1985 but peeps, my photos reside in brisbane australia and i am in singapore. seeing that donnie is in hospital and happy is doing lots of visiting, i am not going to impose upon him at the moment. i think i have a photo of me cira 1981 on donnie's machine but i can't remember where i have hoarded said photo (or did i leave it in brisbane?). so this is a photo of me in 1992, on the phone and with joe cocker, the rudest, most arrogent dog i have ever lived with (but goodness i still miss him nearly 10 years after he went off on life's last great adventure....).
me circa 1992
fyi non-australian english speakers, a good definition of a dag can be found here and it sums me up well, methinks.

This is my favourite pair of shoes that i could sleep in if i could

this is only 5 days late. i had intended to write this post last night after i discovered that i would not be going out to dinner (first time since ct was born peeps... that's nearly 14 months...). so i abandoned that idea, after i spied the 1995 BBC production of pride and prejudice DVDs. a christmas pressie still unwatched. i loved the series when it was broadcast in 1996, watched early last year on friday afternoons while heavily pregnant and seeing i was disappointed (well more like in a strop), what better way to spend an evening but staring at colin firth (series eye candy peeps) for nearly 6 hours. hanging head in shame, yes, i played the whole series last night but i had to see that scene where firth (aka mr darcy) is dripping wet after that dip (go to the link. have a look, ah what daydreams i had of that brill tv moment)... well it was so close to the end of the series, so why not finish it?? i was productive as well, lots of projects cut out, tread paintings prepared and i even did some handwork (yes i do do handwork as well...)
this is the pair of shoes that i could sleep in if i could
i have gone off on a tangent... okay this is the pair of shoes i would sleep in if i could (thank you hip hop and banana bread for the topic.). for a girl with flat feet and collapsing arches, pretty shoes are a no no. i need practical. these are practical but do not look like something my late gran wore (hurrah!) thanks donnie for the early birthday gift. these babies are the perfect foot ware for foot falconing (foot falcon = to walk, foot falconing is me playing wit the original term) with ct in sling and shopping. i have managed 5 hours of walking and had sore feet (shoulders are another issue though).
favourite impractical shoes
how ever, i really do like these fugs that i own (yes i am a dag). the thongs (thong = flip flops. not skimpy underwear) i bought while on honeymoon in naiper new zealand (if you like art deco, this is the town for you) 4 years ago. ct has a major fetish for these babies, if i want to wear them down to the pool, i have to go searching... the hello kitty number are platform masseurs. a group of students bought them for me. i liked to wear geta to school, so these kind hearted little souls thought that their garden gnomish (that's what the darlings called the vertically challenged of the faculty) teacher could use height and style. these instruments of pain, are for admiring and not wearing. ouch ouch ouch to walk in.

Thursday 8 May 2008

The break was not intended

Salubrious Salutations,

I will write some more this evening, all going well. Flickr and a very upset tummy got in the way. A few days were spent TRYING (trying being the operative word) to upload photos over the weekend, so the momentum I had to blog post fizzled. Monday, Tuesday and yesterday had me feeling sad a sorry for myself. I had an upset tummy. On the upside, ct has been a doll. Full of cuddles, wet fish, Eskimo kisses (nose rubbing) and her forehead presses. I have been laying low, so there has been lots of dancing, reading books and sofa climbing. I would love to share with you her dancing. Enjoy, I would not have choosen the song, but it is what was on the radio and it was LOVED....

Ps Nursery rhymes are not appreciated by this little groover (tantrums are thrown when these numbers are played), she loves The Beastie Boys (though it is difficult to find songs that aren't full of swearing or that have appropriate content), dance music (Chemical Brothers (to S's delight) Daft Punk), anything with a good beat actually (White Stripes (a yippee from me), Blur, Blondie to name a few...).

Friday 2 May 2008

Annoucement Mega-Post

evening all,

this post has been a few days in the making, partly because i have had interruptions, partly because i wanted to tell donnie one of the announcements before i told the rest of blogland and thirdly i have been creating (some successful, some success with lots of unpicking and others boy the humidity here screwed it up).

okay announcement number one

i finally got round to drawing the ct giveaway late on tuesday. mil only came to my palace once so it was difficult to organise a draw. besides when i asked her to do the honours she suggested that ct herself make the draw. i spent most of tuesday trying to get the monkey child to do it. i failed. i even tried her 'letterbox' (hem old shoe box with a slit cut out the top). one guesses that ct anticipated what i wanted but was toying with me. so i moved to plan b, s. i grabbed the first thing i could think of (my mouldy hat) and the hand went in and
the winner is..
three sneaky bugs is the winner. s suggested that i should also send something to my purple crayon and i'm a ginger monkey as there were only 3 people who guessed. oh anna i need your address.

announcement number two

i like the ct suggestions: cute tush (three sneaky bugs); cutie toes (i'm a ginger monkey) and cautionary tale (my purple crayon)... but peeps you were way off. if you read this blog post, i did mention that ct is a REALLY unpc nickname. happy (my dear father), gave coined this nickname before ct was born and before we knew she was a boy or girl. s and i had massive fights over name. we both agreed that ct needed a name that would sound the same or similar in english and japanese. we also agreed no middle names (not a tradition in either of our families'), it was the name we were at loggerheads at. i liked the name ben but for those of you who speak japanese um you probably have heard of the benjo (not the polietest of terms for the loo), but have you heard of benki (toilet seat) or daiben (number 2)?? well that's what the name conjured up for s. i have taught many an awesome ben so i NEEDED this name for my little boy (um i was soooo wrong). for girls i liked hannah (spelt hana) because it is similar to my name. not a goer with mr cliche. one day after a huge spat over names and s stormed out in anger, happy rang. i cried down the phone line to happy about it. he said leave it to him and he might have a helpful suggestion. he did later (the same day or the next one cannot remember), ct. ct = chicken teriyaki. happy's reasoning chicken teriyaki sounds the similar in english and japanese (he is correct there), exists in australia and japan and is something that i love. because chicken teriyaki was a mouthful, um it got contracted to ct. so my delightful daughter's nickname is my favourite japanese dish. one day i will tell her this story and let her decide what ct stands for. ct has nothing to do with the little girl's initials. they're ny. so peeps i can say i love ny....
trust me
announcement number three
i'm behind of memes. i sat out of the this is... my ideal dinner party guest list. seeing that we had to decide only 6 people and we are missing friends and family in australia, we couldn't decide on 6. but the one for the 28th of april, i can do.
favourite books
these are my favourite books. the lion, the witch and the wardrobe by c.s. lewis was a childhood favourite. i read the book so often by the time i was 13, i could quote whole sections... actually i loved the whole series. first read when i was 8 turning 9 and i am struggling my way through the series in japanese for the first time (fits and starts people). the other, origami omnibus by kunihiko kasahara has been the backbone of many an origami session in my pre mummy days. i like the mathematical approach the book takes.

announcement four
a week on and my studio is still a bomb site. umm it looked better on wednesday when i took the pictures.
April 30
the side view: clothes sewing blouse in progress; shorts cut out and fabric waiting to be cut out. i never did get anything finished for the outlaw visit. (give me time to write about that. i need to think about what and how to write about as she has access to some fine english speakers. it was 95% positive. sooooo much better than the last, just a few gripes....)
april 30
view two of the sheers for a mobile i am making. i am on a mobile bent. i see ideas everywhere. the weather is happering progress on this one. i need a relatively unhumid day (snort) for the pva/water mix to set nicely (and getting the mix right has been trial and error).
april 30
final view is ct's messenger bag. look closely and you will see why i have classed it as a failure. picky may be but it is me. oh the pieces are being loved to bits so may be i need to get it finished real soon.

announcement five
the whole shebang
i have finally sewn a garment with a collar and sleeves. only taken more than 30 years. why have i avoided them like the hand foot and mouth disease (too common here)?? not so hard. it did take me 5 hours of finding the instructions and the picture of the collar not making sense to me (stitching and unripping as well) for me to think about the picture spatially and do it my way (and it so worked). the pattern is newlook 6407. not difficult just the brain not understanding the instructions. the pattern writers and my brain are not on the same wave length. note to self, coat hanger photos are not so fab.

announcement six
murphy arrived at his new home and was loved. so i made a mountain out of a mole hill over the size. oh, smoothpebble, the lunch box is indeed an obento box. i saw it at daiso and they have very masculine ones that i am sure the young men and your partner in crime would like.

announcement seven
probably the biggest for me. i am opening an etsy store on the 25th of june this year. why? it is 6 calendar months before christmas and i do not think i could get my act together before then.

i have a custom order for a baby activity quilt. oh, i made a play quilt for one of the mums that i get on with at playgroup (baby due today and she was at playgroup. i guess if nothing is happening and you have an extremely active 1 1/2 year old, would you stay at home??) and someone saw it and decided that their friend needed one two. so i need to get cracking... if you want to know what else i have been up to. go to flickr. i still need to post about the outlaws, table and chair loving and the fact i have been secret squirrelled!!