book list for 2009

The Last Wednesday Bookclub has set the reading list for 2009.

Edited to update on the January book -
We had the January meeting here at my place and the book - Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert provoked a lot of discussion, with people loving it or hating it. I was a bit in-between - I felt it difficult to relate to the author even though we had been through a similar traumatic marriage break-up. Having children, the liberty to run away just doesn't exist sadly.

The books for the remainder of the year are:

The Cure for Modern Life
Lisa Tucker

Atonement
Ian McEwan

The Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidd

The Slap
Christos Tsiolkas

When Gaston met Doris

Anne of Green Gables (2009 is the 50th anniversary of the release of AOGG)
Lucy Maud Montgomery

Infidlel
Ayaan Hirsi

Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe

Girls Like Us
Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon

The Young Widows Book of Home Improvement
Virginia Lloyd

To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee

We have a great list this year and I'm looking forward to getting all of them read. I used to be a voracious reader, but these days I find it hard to just get through my book club books unless I am going through a period of travelling frequently for work.

berry croissant pudding recipe

This recipe came from my friend Skue and it has become a favourite here that I often take when I am asked to bring a dessert.

Blueberry Croissant Pudding
butter for greasing
3 large croissants, cut length ways into thick slices (I have also used mini ones and they are fine too)
1 punnet blueberries (I have used frozen blueberries, raspberries, frozen mixed berries or chocolate pieces (white or milk) all turn out yummy)
250 gm block philly cheese, softened
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)

Grease a 6 cup ovenproof dish
arrange croissant slices in a single overlapping layer in the base on the dish
Sprinkle with berries
beat the Philly and caster sugar until smooth
gradually pour in cream , milk, eggs and vanilla until mixed
pour the mix over the croissants and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes
sprinkle liberally with the brown sugar
bake at 180 degrees C in a water bath for 40 minutes or until golden
serve hot with cream or ice cream

YUM!

Hello big 4!

My big girl turned 4 in eary January. She woke up and said "goodbye three, hello four"
As is the usual tradition in our home, we wear a special birthday crown when we blow out our candles, but Lulu kept the crown on all day

Holiday time

Wonderful summer holidays. Great Christmas; time with far away friends; beach holiday....bliss.

The Wiggles Concert 2008

Once again we went ot the Wiggles concert this year - they are such fantatsic entertainers and I love it just as much as the girls.

Thank you Xena

I recently won a give away on Xena's blog - and last week this gorgeous package arrived at my place. An adorable little bag, three sets of her super hair clips and a gorgeous hair band (just my colour!) as well as an issue of I Can Make it Myself, all wrapped in some vintage sheeting with matching bias to tie it all together - thanks so much Xena. I love it :)

EB dolls quilt swap revealed!

The quilt that I sent to Natalie can now be revealed (although her pictures are SO much better than mine - check out those gorgeous kids!)

EB dolls quilt swap received!

I am a VERY VERY lucky girl. I have received a beautiful dolls quilt (which I am going to put on the wall) from Helen as part of the EB girls doll quilt swap. Helen makes gorgeous quilts full of colour and I am thrilled to have one of my very own! Thanks Helen :)

EB Dolls quilt swap sneak peek

some sneak peeks at my EB DQS

new dresses

I have stayed up into the night to get some new dresses finished for the girls for thier kindy photos (which go over 3 days). I am one of those mean mums that dress their kids in the same clothes!

On Monday they wore little reversible smocks - cherries on one side and red gingham on the reverse with little shorts. Today they wore yellow 'pillowcase' dresses made form a vinatge curtain - super cute! I didn't get pics of them yesterday morning, but did get a couple tonight. All 4 dresses are in the washer now, so we will choose in the morning which ones get re-used!! Here are some pics - checkout Mimi's teeny tiny piggy tails!

EB fabric scrap swap

Another round of the EB quilters scrap swap - Thanks Ads. Lots to keep me busy in this lot!

Minature Booty Swap received!

Lucky me!!


Check out this adorable quilt that I received from Solidia . I am so thrilled - she picked my taste perfectly!


Solidia also sent me some beautiful fabric and some grogeous Amy Butler stationery. I feel so lucky! Thank you so much

Doll Quilt Swap 4 arrived!

I arrived home from an interstate trip this week to find a little box on my doorstep. I wasn't expecting anything and couldn't remember buying anything, so it was a great surprise to open it up and find a gorgeous little quilt from Gillian at SillyGilly as part of the Flickr Doll Quilt Swap 4. She also sent some wonderful extras - I can't wait to make up the dress and the dog fabric had Mali enthralled (she ha sa dog 'thing' at the moment). Gillian sent me the loveliest note, which had me sobbing - it felt so special that someone had taken time to get to know me.
Thanks Gillian - I love it!

Doll Quilt Swap 4 posted off!

Ok - it is finished and on its way to Montana (that is my only hint!)

A budding photographer?

When I download pictures from my camera, there are inevitably some that have been taken by little hands! Usually lots of fingers, or the floor, or the computer or TV, but almost always, there is a little Mimi poking her head up somewhere in the picture, which tells me that Lulu must be the budding photographer. The photos always bring a smile to my face - here are a few examples!


And a self-portrait!!

Weekend Fun

Lulu was invited to a birthday party on the weekend and I made a little rice heat bag to go with the gift. (It is freezing in Canberra at the moment - it even snowed in suburbia on Sunday!) I think I might make some more of these as they are super easy and I need to do some stash reduction.

Mimi was a tag-a-long at the party but was made to feel welcome and got right into the spirit of things. Here they are on the deck before we left. The cheeky smile!

Flickr Doll Quilt Swap

I am ALMOST finished by little quilt for the flickr doll quilt swap #4. I just need to add the bindings and it is ready to post off to America (yes, I know, it will be a little bit late, but I hope that I can be forgiven). Made from vintage sheet pieces and some tone-on for the borders. I used the 'scraps' I had left over from cutting up the squares for the See Katie Sew vintage sheet squae swap. I am loving it and think I might make a bed sized one made up of a nine patch from the sheets and white sashings.

6 things meme

I have been tagged by Brazen, a Canberra on-line buddy to do a "6 things" meme.

6 things meme
1. Link to the person who “tagged” you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

1. K is an amazing person, and I have learnt a lot from her strength over the last few years. Our youngest children are almost the same age, and she has flogged me a fair bit of tupperware (a lot of which is still unused in the cupboard lol)

2. see above lol

3. (1) every winter I wonder why I live in Canberra. It is freezing here and everyone seems to hibernate - I don't see my neighbours from about May until October
(2) I love planning and starting projects but I have difficulty finishing things. I have hundreds of quilts in my head, and many many cut out and in various stages of completion, but then I get scared. I have lots of tops and flimsys, all in bags with thier matching backings and bindings, but the machine quilting process terrfies me as I don't want to wreck anything, despite having done 2 free motion quilting classes. I have started to have my larger quilts professionally quilted so that I can actually get them used before I don't love them anymore!
(3) ditto above for my job (the loving starting projects thing - I actually have to finish things at work!)
(4) My house is a mess. I dream of living in an uncluttered 'show-home', but hey, where would the fun in that be?
(5) I joined the Australian Volunteers International Program in my early 20s and lived in Papua New Guinea for almost 6 years - I was supposed to go for 6 months!
(6) I love lemon crisp biscuits (you know the ones that are kind of a salty cracker and have lemon cream inside). Everyone else I know thinks that these are foul.

4. I'm going to break the tag (I think I always do this when I get tagged!) as I find it so difficult

5. see above

6. will do :D

Minature Booty Swap ….. RECEIVED!

I was so happy to get a little note from Vickie to say that she had received her chook quilt – YIPPEE! I am SO glad that she was happy and that it was well received.

I just have to finish the bindings on my Flickr doll quitl swap and then that will be posted off.

Enough swaps for me for a while I think.

Vintage sheet square swap.

I am participating in the vintage sheet square swap over at See Katie Sew, and have sent my 200 squares all the way over to the USA, and I will then receive 200 squares back. I am inspired by this vintage sheet quilt, so I will add it to the mile long "project list”!