Climbing the Walls... and trying to get back down again.

This afternoon I hit the wall... and then I started climbing it. Light is certainly starting to twinkle at the end of the tunnel but how long can four people be cooped up in a house with wet, windy weather and itchy crankiness. In all fairness to the boys, they are looking much better. I have just lost the plot though. EEEEEKKKKK.

As a result I grabbed the hammer... and decided today was the day to start hanging pictures up in the new room. I gingerly knocked against the wall with my knuckles to locate where any beams or noggins or whatever were and Hugo came into the room. He was obviously expected to make a report back to Archie so he shouted "It's just Mum punching the walls".

After the pictures were hung I was suddenly overwhelmed, filled with sickening compulsion (you know how it feels when you have done anything 'creative' in a while) and made the linen flower picture above. When it was done I felt good - very good.

Aside from that I have a new little friend above, Michael Mouse. He is also pretty nonchalant but doesn't realise that he is only a prototype at this stage... don't get too cocky young mouseman.

Time to tear the boys away from t.v. for dinner - hopefully the gory docco will give them a good appetite.

Love Kate xxooxxooxx.

Hellooooo!!!!

We are still here, hanging in but after a couple of rough nights, life has become extremely quiet. It turns out that children who get eczema have a terrible time with chicken pox and that is precisely what has happened with Hugo, his inner elbows covered so tightly with blisters he can barely move his arms. I think he and Jonno are just about to turn the corner though but at the moment, they are very, very sore and tired.

They have spent a lot of time curled up on the couch watching documentaries, something that suits them both and in particular Hugo. I have wondered at his fascination with them for a while and then it clicked... it is the only way a four and a half year old gets to watch blood and gore and violence - something that interests him greatly, especially in the animal world. Remember that this is the boy who likes to know what things look like on the inside (he really is very sweet and lovely it must be added).

For a change of pace, Archie and I are heading into town this morning to mingle with the greater population. Library first, then Farmers for a Transformer and after that, something delicious to eat.

Have a good weekend, Lots of love, Kate xxooxxooxx.

Knitting for Sanity.

Today everytime I have found myself staring longingly at the walls, I have sat down and knitted a couple of rows. Knitting is such a sanity saver!!! Poor Jonno is now resembling human bubble wrap and Hugo's case has developed into a very convincing dot-to-dot map. Hoots (as we call him) started going downhill mid-morning and I tried to keep him distracted with craft... to my complete astonishment it didn't work and we ended up reading lots of books instead. So the picture above is a wishful start to the village I thought we could make together. It was the sticky tape that did it - it refused to obey him and was just too exhausting. I did a few lines after that incident (lines of the knitting kind).

However, right now there is a sort of peace. Archie and Hugo are watching 'Babe' and Jonno is upstairs reading a book. Chicken soup is bubbling and a big batch of stewed apple is cooling down on the bench. Isn't it funny how a peaceful house goes hand in hand with food production...

Lots of love, Kate xxooxxooxx.

Revisiting the Chickens.

Stage 2 of my project.

Spring Flowers.
More cushions for the new couch... I still haven't put back onto any of them yet.

This little boy here - the one with the cheeky smile? He has just been told he has to stay at home for the week because he.... drum roll... has come down with the chicken pox. Can you see the delight dancing across his face? I have to add that this case of c.pox may be one of the mildest beginnings ever. Hugo told me it was because he has been eating too much chicken and too much chicken skin. He is now walking around the house pretending to be a chicken. It must also be said at this time that he is a little boy who would like to stay at home forever and never, never leave it... unless party food is involved so to have a faint case of chicken pox is a dream come true.

However, Jonno is not feeling the same way. Yes, Jonno has come down with the chicken spots too and by comparison is very, very poorly indeed covered in spots and feeling very low with flu-like symptoms. He just didn't beam at me in the same way when I confirmed his pox. No strutting around the house pretending to be a rooster for Jonno.

So once again we have some very quiet housebound days coming up which I don't mind at all - I just hope the nights aren't too rough.

Worse than the chicken pox though ( aren't I just a breath of fresh air this morning) - Mum had her appendix removed over the weekend. It all went really well and she is now back home but I couldn't even bring myself to post about it until I knew she was safe. She is feeling very tired and
sore but will hopefully be well and truly on the way to recovery before too long.

Aside from that all is well - we have a chimney sweep climbing on our roof (at least that's what he said he is) and Hugo's poppa is snuggling him on the couch (or wrestling) and lunch about to be made. Lots of love, Kate xxooxxooxx.

Washi Tape and Little Beanies.

Today was a good mail box day - another parcel from Katydid... more washi tape. It's the best thing in the world and I love it to bits - all the things I can cover with it!!! If you are wondering what on earth washi tape is, it's a translucent masking tape with origami style patterns on it. I wrote a bit about it on my last post.
Our weekend was very quite and very much spent inside with lots and lots of rain bucketing down around us. And so with bravery shining from our hearts, Archie, Hugo and I ventured down to the video shop and borrowed 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Ponyo'. Have I ever been so happy... I don't know.

With Johnny Depp up in our T.V. and my boys by my side, I spent my weekend knitting baby beanies (not for me, I will tell you about them another day) and crocheting cushion covers. Heaven.

Monday morning has treated us well so far, as I mentioned earlier, a package in the mail. Hugo and I also had hot chocolate milk in a garden cafe and bought lots of plants and then we trekked even further to the supermarket. Now we have all the food we could ever dream of consuming in one week. I feel so safe! Lots and of love and I hope your Monday is treating you kindly, Kate xxooxx.

P.S. I have just added a link to my crochet ball tutorial but realised that there are a few mistakes at the end which I will remedy a.s.a.p....

Cushions, Couches, Blankets and Rabbits.

I am just getting the couch used to the weight of crocheted goods - breaking it in if you will. She seems to be holding steady.
This is the cushion cover I finished last night, I now have to somehow make it functional. Anyone?
Stanley and his friends are a centrepiece at the moment. Would you care for a spot of rabbit ear?

My friend Stef came over this morning - she's getting married in my garden during the summer and is very kindly allowing me to vent a bit of my wedding obsessiveness in her direction. Let's just say there will be lots of washi tape - (I have to admit that it was Stef's idea to put washi tape around jars... genius).

And here is a basket of fresh wool luxuriating in our first bit of sunshine and waiting with breathless anticipation for the next cushion to begin.

Today we have moments of sun breaking through the clouds. I feel as though it has been years since it's been here (am I quoting the beatles at the moment?). Blossom and sunlight. I think I might weep. Love Kate xxooxxooxx.

Silver Linings.

That's just a bit of cake batter around his mouth, not the beginnings of a moustache.
Ice Cream Man.

A carnivorous plant made to Hugo's specifications.

Little baby ducklings.

And the mama duck.

The collection soon to be blue tacked in Hugo's room. Note the silver clouds above the blossom tree.

My project.

Jonno's lunch time project.

The delicious project.

Hugo and I started of the day by driving Archie to school rather than the bus stop so I could have a chat with Hugo's new teacher for next year. What a sobering conversation, he only has one more term left at preschool and then he is going to be a big-little school boy.

On the basis of that revelation and with the rain pouring down, we spent the entire morning baking and crafting. And we were both pretty pleased with the results.

I find that it can be quite hard to do a project together that highlights Hugo's efforts rather than is a mash mash of the both of us. I have written about coming to terms with the boy's having very different ideas to me when I have set up an activity for them and this time was no different. All of our blossoms are popping out of branches at the moment so I thought we could do something spring-like.

And of course, Hugo just wanted to cut up paper and have me make the tree - so in the end I came up with the idea of having little pictures from tissue paper that he could then illustrate... and along came Ice Cream Man, Mama Duck, little baby ducks and a complicated man-eating plant that was cut out by me in a game we played to see if I could match his vision. And then when we were almost finished with the blossom picture he decided we had to have silver clouds - Yes!!! I have to say that I am the one who came out of this morning with inspiration and new directions. Hugo of course, loved telling me what to do.

After all that... we ate cake.