P*le P*arty

So, what did you do last night? Watch a bit of telly? Knit something? Clean out your pantry?

Ha, well those of us Over 18 in the EasternMax family travelled over The Bridge to the annual Bobbi's P*le Studio Christmas Party in The Cross. As you do.

My Pilates instructor, a former soloist with an international ballet company, P*le Dances as a hobby. She's really quite good at it. She auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance in this dance style to resounding success only to be knocked out in the Jazz section. Rumour is she'll try out for Miss P*ledance Australia next year.

I must admit to feeling a little apprehensive about going to this event, as were my other female friends who were going. Us little Doris Days in a world of, well, NOT Doris Days. Our husbands, however, felt no such apprehension.

BUT it was A*M*A*Z*I*N*G. The girls were extraordinarily athletic. P*le Dancing at this level is saucy but not sleazy - a gymnastic show which would compare to the skills in aerial silk dancing (just with towering stilettos and fewer clothes).

A really cool night out for us LNSMs**.

* trying to avoid odd Google searches...
** Lower North Shore Mums

Edited to say: Mid-way through the performance we stepped out to grab a drink at a nearby bar before going back for the finale. We stepped into a great little spot called Apperitif on Kellet St. Domestic Goddess - guess who we saw there? Your brother-in-law.

A reminder that I need to tidy my pantry

No, this is not my pantry. Nor is this a Tupperware catalogue shot.

This pantry belongs to Domestic Goddess. This is not a photo taken after it has been tidied; this is what it looks like ALL THE TIME. In fact this photo was probably taken just after her three kids had marauded through the kitchen looking for after school snacks.

Sigh.

So, DG when are you next coming to Sydney? My pantry misses you.

Playing with Shine

Stretchy, oh so light and soft scarf knitted with 10mm needles in alternating rows of Drifters Mohair and Lisa Harding Sari Ribbon.

More mohair and shiny threads to sew together. This time with 15mm needles for a wide, gaping look. I'm thinking wraps here - one in silvery grey, one in black.

Out of the mouths of babes

When I was a little girl I would delight in telling the old biddies* around my small country town that mum and dad were married three days after I was born. In those days this would cause a few raised eyebrows.

Except that Mum and Dad were married on November 27th, 1965. I was born on November 24th, 1967.

Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad!

*Biddy (noun) Colloquial an old woman [Irish English pet-form of the name Bridget] from Macquarie Dictionary

Fairlie did warn me...

... that once I knew about the Frangipani craze that I'd start seeing them everywhere.

Like, in a Leura car park

and on the M4.

Luckily, no more sightings on Volvos.

The Lovely Blue Mountains

Mary and Sharyn live in the most beautiful place. The only other time I've been to the Blue Mountains was a quick day trip to check out the main tourist spots. This trip we took a more leisurly pace.

I checked out the shops and did my bit for the local economy.

And we took in the scenery from a different vantage point this time.

There is still SO much to see and do so were are definitely planning more weekends up there to explore.

Fairlie, S, Domestic Goddess & others - I think we need to plan a girls weekend, hit the day spas, the shops and catch up with the Blue Mountains bloggers...

The Old Bag is 40

Well it's happened, I'm 40 (and one day). While you were all heading off to your local primary school to vote I was being totally spoilt.

Thank you to the fabulous blogging community for all your best wishes. And thanks Fairlie for your words. I'm not sure who you were writing about but it was lovely to read :-)

I have to tell you that I've had the most wonderful weekend in the Blue Mountains. I don't intend to roll out a full inventory of gifts & birthday activities but it must be mentioned that Firegazer did himself proud.

I got flowers. And a trip to the day spa. And dinner (fancy shmancy style).

It may have got out that I love bags.

And that I LOVE dictionaries. The bigger, the better.

Now that I've shown those gifts I feel remis in not showing the others. Just believe me when I say that I was totally spoilt and that thank yous are on their way using these notecards picked up at a gorgeous stationery store in Leura.

Finally, here is the only photo of me on my 40th birthday. There are very few photos of me because I am always the one holding the camera. The 24th November was no exception.

*the beautiful necklace is the one made for me by Domestic Goddess

Strut

Inspired by Jorth's plan to dress up on election day*, and horrified that when I pre-voted earlier in the week I was wearing gym gear, I've decided to make amends on Saturday.

Saturday is my 40th birthday so I think I should make an effort:

If you see me on the streets of Leura please come up, say hello, and tell me I don't look a day over 39.

*sadly, unlike Jorth I will not be whipping up a fabulous creation - after all I have ironing to do.

My Next Project

I wonder what it will be, and who it will be for?

Garden Surprises

I've mentioned before how when we moved in to our current home 2 years ago we inherited a garden that was lovingly tended by the previous owner for 37 years. The longer we live here the more plants we discover and the more impressed I become at the previous owner's choice of planting. No more so than with the Hydrangeas.

A few days ago I posted photos of our Hydrangeas. I thought they were all we had - until I opened my latest copy of Gardening Australia magazine:

It seems that the funny looking plants that I vigorously cut back 18 months ago are actually varieties of Hydrangea.

The pic in the top right is the Lacecap Hydrangea, the pic in the bottom left is the Oak-leafed Hydrangea and the pic in the bottom right is the general run-of-the-mill version.

I feel so lucky to have a garden that after two years is still got surprises for us.

Happy Birthday Domestic Goddess

She sews, she beads and she re-paints walls in the middle of the night. You can make a surprise visit to her home at 8am on a Sunday after she's held a party the night before and her place is SPOTLESS. She's the true Domestic Goddess, and I don't know how she does it.

I've known her ever since KelpieBlossom and Fashionista were tiny babies. And she's my ski buddy.

Happy 41st Birthday Domestic Goddess!

Show us yer (ironing) piles

Forget book piles. I think it's time to reveal ironing piles.

I bet no-one can beat mine.

It's just plain depressing to look at it and it's too hot to do anything about it. Maybe if I go back downstairs it will go away...

PS ...and yes, for those who look very carefully you will see a tea towel or two. I love ironed tea towels. Sometimes it's the only thing I iron.

Christmas Pudding is done

After 'resting' overnight and simmering for 5 hours today this year's Christmas pudding is ready.

Now I just have to get my head around the seemingly hundreds of gifts I need to buy (make?) at this time of year. Not only do we have Christmas gifts to get but most of my family and friends seem to celebrate their birthdays from November-February.

At least my own children are middle-of-the-year babies.

A relatively quiet weekend

After the frantic pace of the last couple of weeks it was lovely to have a relatively quiet weekend.

On Saturday we just hung around the house. Not sure if I even left the house. Hmm, can't remember. Today we had baseball in the morning and then quiet activities throughout the day.

I made this scarf in Collinette Shimmer 5 (Sea Breeze). It's part of a gift for a friend's 40th birthday. Lucky girl is going to Paris, New York and Colorado as part of her birthday festivities. I'm not jealous. I'm not jealous.

I also finished off these scarves and put the fringes on. These ones are in Collinette Point 5 (Monet). One each for KB and her buddy Fashionista, because they like to dress the same, and one for my Perth-based goddaughter.

I took time to admire the Hydrangeas in our garden. Not sure how we managed to get such a good colour spread this year.

Got an early birthday surprise from ArmyWife. I have been coveting this book and can't wait to have a really good look through it.

And I've managed to make the mix for this year's Christmas pudding. I'm running a bit behind with the pudding this year but I've made it much later than this before. Tomorrow the pudding spends 5 hours simmering away....yum can't wait until Christmas when I can eat it with loads of ice-cream and custard.

Happy 4th Birthday Impossible Princess

My goddaughter, Impossible Princess, celebrates her 4th birthday today. Yesterday she celebrated in style with a royal party. Photos and details over at Fairlie's Blog here.

Impossible Princess, on this day in past years the following happened:

1307 – William Tell, a legendary marksman in Switzerland, is said to have successfully shot an apple on the head of his son with a single bolt from his crossbow.

1928 – Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie, the first completely post-produced synchronized sound animated cartoon, was released.

1985 – Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip by Bill Watterson featuring six-year old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, was first published.

Happy Birthday from the EasternMax Family!

The Birthday Shopping Spree has stopped ...

because someone's husband bought this at our recent school Art Auction fundraiser

Year 3 Artwork "Tree of Birds"

Last Saturday our school held its end of year drinks combined with an auction of 7 Year artworks and 25 Class artworks which the students have been working on for the last 6 months. The Year works were completed under the direction of a local artist (and school parent) and the class artworks were completed under the direction of the teachers. Every student produced a small piece of work which was collaged into the larger year works. The results were amazing.

We were gobsmacked at how much money we raised. Our estimate was a profit of about $5,000-$10,000. We raised nearly $40,000.

Year 1 Art Work "Butterflies"

Padawan Learner was at pains to point out that he didn't paint a butterfly. He painted a moth.

Concert

On Thursday evening KelpieBlossom went to bed with us believing that she would not be able to perform in her annual ballet concert the next day. During the week she had been diagnosed first with Colic and then late on Thursday with a UT infection. Dr said if it was UT infection then it would clear up overnight. The concert is a big deal in KB's mind and she was fretting.

Yesterday morning KB woke up, ran into our room shouting "I feel better, my tummy doesn't hurt at all" and proceeded to dance around the house. Um, okay, so I think the concert is back on.

We arrived at the theatre at 1.30pm for KB's rehearsals and for me to help out with hair and make-up. The rehearsals seemed never-ending, the hair went smoothly and the make-up totally freaked me out (I'd never done stage makeup before. 10 mins before curtain up we still had 15 6 year olds to do).

I finally joined Firegazer and our other guests just in time for the show to start at 6.30pm. It was beautiful. This year the Grades students were showcased in a progression from Primary to Grade 6 as well as a spectacular display of Russian National Dance and fabulous Jazz & Modern numbers. The finale was the entire ensemble in a Christmas inspired number with music from The Nutcracker.

The only disappointing part of the evening was that the vocational students were not showcased to the extent they normally are. There was only one number 'en pointe' when usually there are several.

I had intended to take candid shots of backstage activity throughout the evening but it was all too frantic. I have no pics of KB in her stunning lilac grades costume but here are pics of KelpieBlossom in her Nutcracker costume.

This morning we are enjoying our first lazy Saturday in quite a long while.

Apprentice Assistant Deputy Trim Director

You may remember a couple of posts ago that I was sewing 30 metres of ribbon trim to go on costumes for KelpieBlossom's annual ballet concert. With that task complete (thanks Domestic Goddess for your help) I was elevated to Apprentice Assistant Deputy Trim Director at the ballet concert sewing bees.

Since that time I have sewn gold buttons onto flight attendant costumes, gold beading onto lush velvet jackets and now at the pinnacle of my seamstress career: gold buttons sewn onto (fake) fur AND the making of those little loopy things to secure the buttons (what ARE they called?).

I'll have you know I made those loops from scratch using some sort of nifty crochet-type process I learnt this morning.

The ballet concert is tomorrow night. I just hope KelpieBlossom gets over her colic/UT infection, or whatever it is that is making her sick at the moment, so she can dance in the production she has practised over 30 hours for.

Update: KB woke up feeling fine on Friday morning ready for the concert. Report coming later.

Catastrophic Hard Drive Failure

It's only been a week but it's felt like a year.

Last week the hard drive on my aged laptop suffered a catastrophic failure. Died. Kaput. While I do back up to an external drive it may have been a while since I did that. Oh dear.

So I have spent a week completely away from the cyber world. It was sort of weird. I used the paper version of the yellow pages a lot, I RANG people, I talked to people FACE TO FACE, on purpose. Actually, it was quite refreshing. I even bought a computer the old fashioned way.

I had been putting off buying a new computer because I just couldn't be bothered with all the research. Yet faced with an urgent need it was surprisingly easy. I rang Dell, ordered a box.with.the.lot on Friday afternoon and it was built in the US and delivered to my door this morning. Voila. All done.

If only I had done this a week earlier and I wouldn't be faced with the loss of my entire contact database and three months worth of photos.

Bling

I don't think I've mentioned yet that I am 2 1/2 weeks away from a BIG birthday. Well biggish anyway. Lucky me, I will share this momentous occasion with the Federal Election this year.

When asked what I want for this birthday I've said to Firegazer that I just want to spend money on whatever takes my fancy between now and the 24th. So far I've bought clothes and shoes. No handbag yet, but I've still got 2 1/2 weeks.

This means no real surprises, but hey the shopping is fun.

So it was lovely to get a surprise gift this weekend. Domestic Goddess and her family visited from Melbourne on Saturday and Sunday and while they were here gave me the beautiful necklace above. This necklace was made by Domestic Goddess. Isn't it amazing? She makes the most beautiful things. I'm currently trying to convince her to get an Etsy shop.


Edited: It's such low light here today that none of the photos of this beautiful piece really show it off to good effect. Will keep trying and post a better photo soon. Mx

Oh for a decent-sized changeroom

Once a year my friend SC and I cruise the "Ladies Fashion" floors of DJ's Elizabeth St Store in Sydney. We decide in advance what one item of clothing we are looking for and proceed single-mindedly in one direction around each floor picking up anything that vaguely meets requirements.

After a full (clockwise) circuit of one floor we take our haul to the change rooms. We are not interested in returning to the floor at any point so we arrive with anything upwards of 15 items, convince the attendant that the 4 item limit is simply ridiculous and proceed to climb in and out of dresses until we find one we like

So here is my gripe. I hate tiny squished-in change rooms.

Growing up I would often visit a dress shop ("frock shop") owned by my mum's family that had real change rooms. These were huge curtained off areas with large mirrors and excellent lighting; hanging space for at least 20 items; a chair or two and shop attendants whose mission in life it was to rush out at get a different size, different colour or a seamstress to take up a hem. The big change room is all about you.

Small change rooms force you to step outside to either be pounced upon by an over eager shop attendant who tells you how fabulous you look or you are completely ignored by a lady whose job it is to hand out numbers. Small change rooms are all about them.

Give me a large airy change room and an interested (but not pushy) attendant willing to comb the floor for additional clothes and I am a happy customer who might just push my credit card a little further in appreciation of good service.

Where are the best/worst change rooms you've seen?

Trick or Treat!

Each year one of the families in our street organises our annual Halloween Trick or Treat. A notice is sent to all houses with a balloon attached. All children are invited to meet at a designated house at 5pm and those houses that wish to be visited by Trick or Treaters place the balloon outside their front gate.

This year about 15 children participated. We spent an hour traipsing from house to house, the highlight of which was meeting "Professor McGonagall" (a former school teacher) who had the children in fits of laughter and handed out the most beautiful hand made bags of lollies .

A lovely excuse for a meet and greet in our neighbourhood.

Ballet Mum now Sews Costumes

One of the mums at our ballet school is a Bridal designer and she and another mum give up a month of paid work to design and direct the sewing of costumes for our annual concert. These are no hastily hashed together pieces but bridal quality garments (with the exception that fasteners are velcro rather than buttons and zips). One of these mums opens her house twice a week for mass sewing bees.

This Tuesday I went along to see if I could help in anyway thinking I might be given some gluing or perhaps simple hand-sewing. But no. When I realised that one volunteer who had never used a sewing machine before was assigned to one of the overlockers I knew that my gluing days were numbered.

I came home with the job above. Thirty metres of trim to make for the Russian National Dance costumes. The trim is black ribbon, sewn onto gold ribbon with gold lace trim sewn to each side. Thirty metres. I'm going cross-eyed, but isn't it beautiful!

How do I find the time? I don't know but with two fundraisers to focus on at school and all the usual gumf that goes on I definitely need a drink at the end of the day.