pink lunchboxes and paperclips

The other day I was in a complete funk for no reason in particular. Actually that is a lie. There was a reason. My doona was at the bottom of my doona cover leaving about 20cm at the top of just empty doona cover - it upset me greatly!
Anyway, I was there in my funk and my friend said to me "you can't be miserable when there are still good things in the world", to which I replied "really, like what!?" (I may have been a little aggressive). Then she gave me the answer of the ages "like Pink Lunchboxes!"
It's so true - life can't be too bad when there are still Pink Lunchboxes.
Then a couple of days later we left work to go and get some lunch from "the van" when I saw my next happy-go-lucky thing. At the top of the driveway going in to work there was a pile of paperclips, and not a small pile either! It was huge! Like someone had just dumped a box of paperclips there. I exclaimed "Oh look, paperclips!" and I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. Simple things!

craft this week

This week I have been quite productive craft wise: I've made a table runner, outdoor seat cushion, coasters, place mats, hand bag and a hand towel. Very productive all up!

I was going to wait to post this or show anyone what I have been working on, because all of these are potential Christmas presents (although I may not have allocated the present to the recipient yet)...can you see your present here? I'm hoping that if someone doesn't like their present they can maybe sell it on Etsy or let me know and I can give it to someone else who will like it.

I've had so much fun making all of this stuff and I would love to be able to spend all of my time just making things. I have a number of other projects to do before Christmas: a pin cushion (probably just for Etsy, but maybe for a friend), a quilted note book, a sleeping mask, an apron, maybe an oven mitt or two. Hmmm...there's only 3 weeks to Christmas, I wonder if I will get it all done in time.

I'm also waiting on my fancy ribbons to arrive from overseas so that I can wrap my presents. I have my brown paper all ready to go, and I'm going to print out some "TheDuchessE" stickers, but as usual I'm not using cards or anything. My goal for next year will be to cross stitch some small Christmas scenes and make cards out of them. But I'll have all of 2010 to work on that!

my finished quilt

After a couple of months of hard work and tireless instruction (from some of the most patient women in the world) I have finished my first quilt!!
It is a lap quilt that measures about 40" x 40", with natural cotton batting, and all cotton fabrics.

If you ask I can point out many mistakes that I have made in this quilt, but from a distance you can't tell! And as one of my friends keeps telling me "it adds character"!

I have decided that I am going to enter a couple of items in the local Royal Show in February next year. I am going to cross stitch a photo of my friends at their Vietnamese Tea Ceremony, and I'm also going to create a quilt using the techniques that I learned while making this quilt.

Apparently I'm meant to name my quilt...hmmm...I will name this quilt "Briar Rose".

I think I want my next quilt to be a bit Gypsy inspired, I will call it Esmeralda!

best friends

This weekend made me realise that a good friend is one who will take time out of their lives to patiently hold your hand and teach you a new skill. A couple of my friends have been teaching me how to quilt, and with my swearing, sulking and drunken cutting, it can't be an easy task. But they keep going, and keep laughing, and I have almost finished my quilt. That is friendship.

A good friend is also one who will wrap you in a garbage bag, cling wrap and duct tape while drinking champagne. I sent a text to this friend on Saturday asking "do you need me to bring anything apart from champagne and duct tape?" - if someone intercepted that I'm sure they could take it the wrong way!
What we were actually doing is making a "Duct Tape Dress-Makers Dummy" so that I can use it to make clothes. It makes sense, really it does! But it was definitely a funny sight. We were wondering how we would explain it to the paramedics should something go wrong, or the people on the street should we have to evacuate the house all of a sudden.
Only a really good friend will go to so much effort! And you would only trust a really good friend to do it and then cut you out of it!

As they say - a really good friend will help you hide the body!

scowl

Lately I find myself scowling or pulling strange faces. I'm completely aware that I'm doing it (although I'm not doing it on purpose), and it makes me worry that I will develop horrible wrinkles and require botox...which makes me scowl even more!
I'm not sure why I'm scowling. I have a lot of my mind, and at times I'm resenting a lot of the stuff that I'm doing. I'm finding that certain things, which are meant to be fun, are not always fun they can be just plain annoying.
I would love to be able to sit at home and read or do my sewing, or just clean my house. But instead I'm at work, or doing work at home for Girls on the Move, or sorting out Tupperware crap. It's all just really annoying and I don't really want to do any of it.
But I have no 'legitimate' reason to not do this stuff, as I have found that people don't really accept "I just don't want to". But sometimes I just don't want to. I hate being really busy, I'd just like to relax, and when I'm busy I start resenting my friends because they take up even more of my time! And that's not a good way to be.
So I think my scowl might stick around for a while yet. But hopefully not long enough to make any permanent wrinkles!

friends

On Sunday I was lucky enough to be able to celebrate my birthday with a group of really great friends! We all gathered in Floriade (a flower festival) for a picnic. Many of my friends had baked and brought along some fabulous home made delicacies.
My birthday is on the 19th, while one of my friends celebrates hers on the 16th, and so for the second year running we have combined our birthdays. We share a lot of the same friends, and they're all really lovely and get along quite well so the joint celebration always works quite well.
While sitting there with this large group of friends I realised how lucky I am to have such fantastic and wonderful friends. They're all quite diverse, but all really lovely and they all seem to care about me (which I sometimes find strange).
My parents even commented that I have a lovely group of friends. My sister has had the same core group of friends (about 6 close girlfriends) since high school, whereas I don't talk to anyone I went to high school with (they were all bitches!). So I guess that they're happy I even have friends!! Plus my Dad loved the fact that quite a few of them made some very yummy treats!

So I will dedicate this post to my lovely friends, even the ones who couldn't make it (because I know that the girls who read my blog couldn't make it to Floriade!), and say "thanks for being such wonderful friends!".

you'll be next

While at a wedding on Saturday I got a bit teary when the Bride was leaving, and one of my friends said to me (in an effort to console me) "Don't worry, you'll be next!".
The comment made me wonder two things:
1. Why did she automatically assume that I was crying because I'm single? I was actually a bit teary because I was a little drunk and I'm going to miss my friend.2. Why do people always say "you'll be next" even though the actual statistical likelihood of me getting married is next to none! There are many other people who have already been with their boyfriends for years, and I haven't had a decent date for 18 months or more, so really I'm not going to be next.

I guess the comment did make me stop crying pretty quick because I was just kind of shocked by it, so it achieved what my friend meant it to achieve. But it has also been playing on my mind because I'm wondering why she would just blatantly lie and who exactly she thinks I'm going to marry, especially since she confirmed that the guy I've had a crush on at work likes someone else at work and that they've been emailing non-stop, blah, blah, blah! So just who am I meant to be marrying?

christmas plan

I know it is only September, but after chatting to my friends last night I have decided that it is time I get started on my Christmas Plan!
The plan is: to hand-make gifts for my friends and family. I'm not sure how much money this will save me (as I believe a quilt can be a bit expensive to make), but I think it will be quite nice to give some hand made gifts rather than just store bought crap. I may team some of my gifts with little touches from L'Occitane (my new favourite shop!).
The items I am thinking of making include:

• apron
• oven Mitt
• Christmas Stocking
• a variety of handbags/purses
• table accessories (place mats etc.)
• lap quilt
  

Hopefully people like the gifts I give them and don't think I'm being dodgy!

in love

While twirling around in the spring sunshine, under the cherry blossoms of Canberra, my friend said to me "look at you, you must be in love!". And I said "you're right! I'm in love with ME!" I'm seeming to be quite happy at the moment. I'm busy, but enjoying everything that I'm doing, and I have more exciting things coming up in the future that I am really looking forward to.

This weekend I am auditioning for Singin' in the Rain (which I'm quite nervous about), celebrating one friend's birthday, helping another friend with her wedding preparations and going for a ride on my motorbike with my Dad for Father's Day.

The weekend after that is my friend's wedding - which means I really have to finish the dress I've been working on for months now!

The weekend after that is my birthday and after going to the Opera on Saturday I will be going to Floriade and afternoon tea at the Hyatt on Sunday.

I then have a weekend off before I go to Melbourne to visit my sister who will probably be engaged by then! So there will be lots of wedding dress shopping and general merriment to be enjoyed.

Then it is my best friend's birthday and the day long Winery tour she has planned.

That brings us half way into October, and that is just my social commitments. I have included my Girls on the Move commitments or Tupperware (which hopefully I can get rid of!).\

So I have to ask...how could I honestly have a boyfriend at the moment? I would only want to see him if he was going to clean my house!

My pefect man would:

- have a motorbike

- clean my house

- buy me nice things

- help me rehearse for Singin' in the Rain

- get along with my cat

I don't think a guy like that would exist in real life.

sewing circle

On Saturday I had a most lovely day with some friends of mine. One of my friends hosted a group of us at her house and had set up her dining room so that we could all bring our sewing machines along and do some sewing! Three of my friends were working on their quilts (which are coming along very nicely!), one of my friends was finished off a winter coat, a friend who hasn't used a sewing machine since high school created a bucket bag, and I whipped up an apron for a woman at work.

It was such a lovely day sitting around sewing and gossiping - a bit of a "stitch and bitch" session - while the rain poured down outside. I could just imagine us all sitting around in the olden days hand sewing quilts! It was really lovely and I'm looking forward to doing it again.

vivacious

Of all the words in the English language the one I really love is "vivacious". I love the way it sounds, the way it is used, and what it implies.
In Gone with the Wind when the other Southern Belles are being mean about Scarlett O'Hara behind her back Melanie Hamilton (soon to be Mrs Ashley Wilkes) says that Scarlett is "just high spirited and vivacious". My sister and I will often use this line in describing each other as it is really quite perfect for almost any situation.

On Monday I had a job interview and I received the rejection email that afternoon. I wasn't too crushed because the two women I interviewed with were wearing this horrible ill-fitting grey suits and I was worried that it was some kind of uniform, and I just don't do ill-fitting grey suits! Anyway, when I sent out a group text to tell some of my friends that I had the interview and didn't get the job (probably beacuse I'm too stylish) one of my friends wrote back "You're to vivacious to work at that place". Isn't that a lovely thing to say. And she's probably correct. I had on a lovely blue and purple Cue dress, vintage black boots, and my auburn hair half pulled back with ringlets falling. While the women who interviewed me were wearing pale pastel colours shirts with their ill-fitting grey suits, and had boring hair. I definitely would have stood out in that office.
I stand out in most offices - that sounds conceited, but I'm just "high spirited and vivacious!"

tuesday morning

It is Tuesday morning, about 9:30am, and I am sitting on my bed with my cat doing some assorted work and stuffing around. Why aren't I at work I hear you ask, well because my hot water system is being replaced and although the plumbers offered to just let themselves in, I thought it was best if I was at home.
Winston (my cat) has been a little weird, he doesn't really like strangers. At the moment he is stretched out with his little hand (paw) on my pen that I had been using. I have no idea what he is planning to do with it, write his memoirs maybe?

When I started this blog I was intending to blog every single day, but unfortunately I have been a little bit slack over the last couple of days. I will blame my friends and all of the alcohol I drank over the weekend at my friends hen's night. It was a very messy night, but I guess what is youth for if not to get a little messy every now and then?

I also failed miserably in my declaration to not talk to my crush at all. I was going alright, there was even one stage when we were both in the kitchen at work and I didn't say anything I just filled up my water bottle, but then he asked me something and I had to succumb to his charms and talk to him. We then had a very funny interlude as he played an email prank on myself and some fellow coworkers. But then he came to play pool with us at lunch and when it came time to him choosing someone to play with he didn't choose me. Which made me eager to remind myself of my declaration and the fact that boys are poo!

Today I will eventually go into work, because if I don't I will just have a heap more work to do tomorrow, and I will try my best to ignore my crush and do some work. Some of my friends think I should just ask my crush out....I just don't want to have to sit there as he tells me that he's just not that into me.

stormy weather

Tomorrow I am attending a Hen's Night (well it's starting at 1 in the afternoon) on a boat! The last time I was on a boat was for my friends Wedding Reception, and it was not fun. This boat was out on the sea (or along the coast anyway) and the seas were quite rough and we all got sea sick! We were told that it would take only 30 minutes to get to a sheltered spot where we would drop anchor for the actual reception, but it ended up taking over an hour. There is no worse sight than a bride haning over the back of a boat vomiting.

We have checked the weather forecast and are expecting it to be a bit cool, but we're all hoping that it won't be rough. This boat will be out on a Lake, but I have seen the Lake very rough sometimes where there is bad weather. We have already decided that we will mutiny and take control of the ship should we find ourselves to be unhappy.

Wish us luck!

mental/emotional health

If you're reading this blog you should probably have a little bit of a background on me so that you have a sense of where my comments and opinions are coming from.
In 2005 I was in a car accident where my car was rear-ended by someone doing at least 80kms/h. My car was written-off and I suffered a fairly bad whiplash injury. If there is anyone out there who would like to suggest that whiplash isn't a real injury I will gladly prove them wrong. Since the accident I have suffered from fairly chronic pain which has affected me physically, emotionally and mentally.

When I went through a stage of being unable to stop crying in my physio's office, he recommended that I go and see a professional to help me deal with my pain. So in 2006 I went to see a psychologist and it has helped a lot. I am a bit of a control freak and that made dealing with the fact that I was not in control of the accident or my pain very difficult. Chronic pain makes you tired, and a neck injury means that I can't go out and party all night with my friends, I couldn't go skiing or do a lot of other physical things that my friends would invite me to. This was upsetting. To go from a young and active 24 year old, to an old woman over night was extremely difficult to accept. My shrink helped me change my way of thinking and understand that it is ok to not always be in control and that this change in my life is not something I can ignore. This might sound obvious and simple, but for some of us (usually control-freak virgos) it's not.

My method of coping with my pain is that I choose what parts of my life I stress about or want to control. Before the accident I would stress about most things and I wanted to control everything. But I have had to stop worrying about things that I can't control, in particular some of my friends or family's issues. Therefore if I seem uncaring or nonsupporting towards my friends and their situations it is because I have to look after myself first and foremost and I often don't have the energy to deal with other peoples dramas.
I am aware that this sounds extremely bitchy, but it is unfortunately just the way things are. Often I have quite difficult weeks, especially if I'm very busy doing something every night and socialising, and by half way through the week I am exhausted, cranky and my neck is hurting more than usual. This puts my tolerance level at zero, or even less than zero, and I will try and stay away from people where possible.

Anyway - that's a little bit about me and my mental state so that you know where I'm coming from, especially if I write about certain friends who are just exhausting!

a lovely night out

Last night I had a lovely night out with a couple of my friends. We went out to Grazing for the 'Lantern Cinema' which was part of the Fireside Festival. We had a lovely three course meal, a cosmopolitan (which turned into a bottomless cosmopolitan), and watched Sex and the City. It was a beautiful venue and a really lovely evening.
The restaurant has a renovated stable where they screened the movie and it was really lovely. It would be a great venue for a wedding and I could really see myself getting married there, if only I could find a man!

Today the sun is shining and it looks as though there isn't too much wind either, which is great. I am going to take my motorbike out for a ride and visit an old friend of mine and her baby. I haven't seen her for a while, so I'm looking forward to seeing how much baby Isabelle has grown. I'm also hoping that Isabelle is starting to look more like her mum and less like her dad.

What I really should be doing today is housework, which is really what I should be doing every day, but the weekends sometimes end up being about hanging out with friends rather than doing what should be done. This afternoon I am going out to walk up a mountain with some friends - it is called a mountain but it is really more like a hill - and before that I might go and see a lecture about women finding their identity after World War II.

I will let you know how it goes.