Where I fall over again!

This weekend just gone was a really busy one for us. We have been a bit slack in the catching up with people department of late....lulled in to complacency by the routine of work and the open fire at mums place!

In addition to catching up with a large amount of people we also decided it was time to start having a look around at houses. Not that we're rushing into buying something straight away but it is something we're thinking about and so we need to know what's out there. Plus its fun to
peek into other peoples houses....in a completely not creepy peeping tom kinda way of course!

It was in between a couple of these house viewings that we decided to pop into a well known liquor store to pick up a bottle of wine to take with us to our dinner with friends (as per the catching up with people we know program mentioned earlier).
I must stress that it was before I went into the liquor store that I fell down the steps....but it was
after we came out, when we headed to the coffee shop when I went over on my ankle and hurt more than my pride. Boy did it hurt and although I don't think I've strained it or damaged anything permanently I am still limping.
I do seem to be making a habit of this falling over thing because on the Friday afternoon I nearly had my legs go out from under me in the nearby shopping centre. It was raining and my shoes weren't bought for practical reasons but that didn't make it any less embarrassing as I struggled to stay upright.

Anyway aside from falling over I had a great weekend visiting people, peeking in houses, watching the Banyule Bears under 15's win their match and I even got some knitting in!

Sometimes I even amaze myself

I bought some trousers on the weekend and had to take them up as normal. I'm pretty good at it now having had to deal with this my entire life. I have a system and it works ok. I got to work Monday morning and happened to see myself in the mirror of the ladies toilets........one leg was definitely shorter than the other.

I've been taking my trousers up for so many years I don't even bother to check them when their done now!!! Serves me right! Made me feel a little odd for the rest of the day!

Sideways Jacket

This is my current project (not counting the beanies that I'm addicted to) and so far so good. It's the Sideways Jacket in the Patons Book 1261 (style 14). It's interesting so far...little bit of patterning and knitting the thing sideways is keeping me awake while watching some very suspect TV. Fingers crossed I'll be able to wear this one when it's finished!!

Close up of the pattern....not a good shot color wise.

This one is closer to the color I'm working with.

The arm....taa daaaa!!

Extreme close up of the pattern. Cause knittings all about the extremes!!

Crafty times are here again 2

Despite trying very hard to limit the amount of beads I brought over with me in the suitcases I ended up with a lot.....ALOT!! And then in Canada I managed to add to that substantially (they have great beads in Canada!) Anyhoo I figured I could justify carting them half way around
the world if I used some of them to make things.....
Above is the floral spiral ....loosely based on something I saw in a magazine but ending up nothing like it!!
The silver spiral...need to make one of these for me now.
This was my foray into knotting which I think turned out ok. I've yet to try it again though. Something for a rainy weekend I think.
The Golden spiral. I like the way the pearl round beads gave this one a softer feel. That's the great thing about beads. You can use the same design but switch some beads around and you get a completely different look. Of course after three or four spiral's I'm looking for something a little different now!!!

Crafty times are here again 1

Righto....time for some photos of crafty stuff. I've not been overly productive since arriving in Australia but before then I churned out a fair bit and I think it's time I posted some photos.
I knitted quite a lot of beanies recently for gifts n stuff. I love knitting beanies. So quick, so easy and so much cheaper than therapy!

Plus I love me circulars!!!
Oh and I also knitted a couple of bears from some kits that I found. My first attempt at knitted toys and I think they turned out pretty darn cute. However I doubt I'll make a career of the toy thing so these ones are set to be collectibles!!

And my pride and joy. My first attempt at lace. I think I did rather well in the end..of course it's quite a simple design but has given me the confidence to try something much more advanced!

Brisbane photos

On our way back to Melbourne we stopped in Brisbane to visit my Dad. I'd not been to Brisbane before and I have to say it's a brilliant place. The weather was fantastic, the people friendly, the city was relaxed but with heaps going on and the beaches were gorgeous! I'd definitely consider moving if the right opportunity came up.

View of the skyline.

London has it's pigeons, Brisbane has these things!

The pond in the botanical gardens

What we found in the pond at the botanical gardens!!

Wagtail

Turtle

Our first cockatoo's in 6 years!

View from a hill

When lunch came with a flag I just had to get out the camera!

Normal is as normal does

Despite good intentions life has once again got away from me and it's been weeks since the last post. Life is however, slowly returning to normal for us...or the Australian version of normal at least and so hopefully I will get more time now to post of our adventures.

We've been back in the country for five weeks now and those five weeks have been a whirlwind of faces and places, most of which are familiar to us but one or two new ones as well. We've managed to find ourselves a car and both of us have started work again which makes for a big chunk of normality and routine. Normally I'd say that routine can be a bad thing but in this instance it really is nice to know what the days hold, where I need to be and when I'll be
getting paid for it!! Even so we're still living in at mums (Thanks mum!!) and I doubt we'll
really feel settled or truly at home until the end of August when (fingers crossed) we get back into our house.

It's strange how quickly you adapt to massive changes in your life. How you can be completely uprooted from all that you know and love and still you go about each day as if it were normal.

However we are finding that this time is much harder to adjust to. When we left for the UK we were younger and in need of an adventure. I'm not saying it wasn't hard.....just that we wanted the change and so I guess it was more exciting than difficult. This time we are older (and wiser) and less willing to uproot our lives. We're in a different place now and not eager for the disruption. Plus we have benefit of hindsight. Knowing how hard it was and how long it took us to really feel at home in the UK warns us that this move won't be easy.

With the physical move mostly over now and the things that are considered requirements for everyday life (job, car, medicare etc) taken care off I'm constantly lulled in to a false sense of normality....that I'm home and that everything is as it was. Only to be kicked in the stomach wit h reality whenever I think about home or hear from friends overseas. Each time it hits me that I'm not where I subconsciously thought I was I realize that this move, this grieving for what was, is going to take a long while to process and I really wonder if it will stick or if we'll end up going through the whole thing again!!