Halloween...

An 'armless' victim of a massacre ... I think...

The Tweenies went all out for Halloween again this year. Planning. Planning. Making. Making. Such energy. I'm not r-e-a-l-l-y that into it but I will assist as needed. I try to get them to use their imaginations so Miss T excelled herself this year making decorations like above. I did buy 2 pumpkins to be decorated with added warnings not to cut themselves. As I assisted to ensure safety, I cut myself twice and was told off for bleeding all over 'Jack' the pumpkin. Such is life. Master T also gave himself a wound that required a band aid but as he was dressed as a massacre victim it all blended in to the image. Our neighbours were very friendly and cooperative which was lovely. Cool loot was scored. Not too many tricks performed although there was a car however driving around shooting at kids with water pistols and throwing eggs at them. Not really very appreciated . Obviously they were a bit old to participate. And a bit mean. Glad it is over for another year though...

Ciao for now 

just Martha

Who Would Have Thought?...

Saturday morning. Fitness challenge. Swimming involved. Gross. I don't really 'do' swimming. However. Great teacher. Back to basics. You know: arms, legs, breathe, kick, breathe... breathe ... Job done. I even managed to have a good time! Infact, a great time! I may have counted atleast 20 laps which usually would have had me quaking in fear. Nope. Nicely distracted by technique. Good one Teacher! So nice to come back from exercise cool and relaxed rather than hot, sweaty and dirty. Hmmmmm, maybe I could have a few more lessons..... Maybe not quite to the standard above but hey, a girl's gotta have a goal!!!

What does the weekend hold for you? Easy one for us which is nice but that means the usual: washing, shopping, cleaning, cooking, ironing..... Well, for me any way....

Have a good one folks.....

Ciao for now 

just Martha

This Won't Hurt a Bit...

I have been having acupuncture at the gym as part of my 'challenge' and apparently my hormones are up the creek, so I have been having some regular sessions. One of the acupuncture needles goes between my eyes so I like to imagine my wrinkles disappearing as I lie there listening to relaxing music and trying not to think of the washing/cleaning/what's for dinner...
Deep breath....
Calm...
Relax....
Well last week the spot between my eyes bled like a you know what and I ended up with a huge bruise. Yep. Right between my eyes. A very classy look. It has gone the whole colour wheel... black, green yellow...I have been talking to people all week who suddenly say 'Oh my is that a bruise?' Yep. It is. No, it's not dirt, or a shadow. It's a bruise. And then explain how one gets such a round bruise smack bang in the middle between one's eyes... 

Now you know

Ciao for now


just Martha

Back to School...

This week we went to High School to an orientation evening as Miss T will be attending there next year. "Compulsory Attendance" apparently. It made me nervous.  Oh ohhh! I am a bit immature really. A principal is a principal. It doesn't matter what age you are, the knees can still feel like knocking (and I was a goody-goody!) Got to make good first impressions and all that... The pressure was on.... Why, oh why did I walk in there with my shirt on backwards??? I didn't realize until I got home?????

They seem to be sticklers for dressing correctly too!! My friend who is a teacher said you can usually pick the trouble-makers out pretty quickly....


Sorry Miss...

Ciao for now

just Martha

Must Haves...

Kikki-K

 Whizzed up to my fav shopping centre on the weekend with a short list to purchase and this calender is one of my "Must Haves". Have searched for years to find the right one and this is it. This organises my life, family, events, bills, birthdays.... Aaaaaahhh, the joy. It is not fancy. But, it is ready for action... Thought I would get in early as I would be lost without one.... AND I still have one column left!!!

Ciao for now 

just Martha

4 Things That...

I have been tagged by the beautiful Simone from Honey and Fizz to share 4 x 4 things about me. Can I say that this is my first tag ever and I am so very grateful. Thanks Simone!!!

4 Things That... are usually in my handbag

• My orange sun glass case to remind me of my sister as she loves orange.
• A camera. Always. You never know
• A notebook (ready for blog stories)
• My heavenly handbag organizer so I can f-i-n-d everything in my big bag...

4 Things That...are in my bedroom

• Books, books, books...
• 2 Kimidolls given to me by friends
• My new cloche and owl in a little display
• A chair that is usually full on Silver Fox's clothes (sigh)

4 Things That... I would like to do but never did

• I wish I had traveled with my sister when we had the time, the lack of responsibility and the energy. I wish we had gone for like 2 years...
• I wish I had studied art so I could have discovered where my talents really lay
• I would have liked to be a sign writer too and designed logos etc
• I wish I had learned netball at primary school instead of softball. I remember that precise moment when I made my decision. I think netball would have been a better choice that could have taken me into adult sport.

4 Things That... you don't know about me...

• I sleep walk and talk nearly every night at 1130. Strange but true. Means something but not sure what (apart from the fact I am crazy...)
• I am left handed and I can write forward with my right hand and backwards with my left hand at the same time. Not sure how I discovered that! Surprisingly I don't use it much...
• I am not very fond of big grasshoppers. Childhood incident where I needed to be rescued from one by a stranger walking by as I screamed at the top of my lungs like I was being murdered. 
• I once plucked my eyebrows so thin when I was 16 on a Saturday morning when Mum and Dad were out shopping (unsupervised and with a sharp implement!)... underneath, in the middle, on the top... Aaarg! They were like 2 uneven Nike ticks!! And as 'no child of mine will use an eyebrow pencil', I went to school looking ridiculous. The funny part was though that the next day another girl came to school with my mistake eyebrows!!! Talk about starting a fashion trend. Thankfully they grew back (even though my Mum said they wouldn't). However about 3 years ago I went to a dodgy beautician for a quick eyebrow wax and..... 2 Nike ticks again! Should have known better...

Well, now you know a little bit more about me. The deal is I tag 4 more people so here goes...

• Miss Prudence at Charming Bodicea
• Christina at Sunshine and Lollypops
• Trish at A Dream House For Trish
• Brismod at Fun and VJs

See how you go...



 
Ciao for now


just Martha

Do We Dare?...

google

Do we dare?...................... Take the blankets off the bed? What do you think? It was a glorious Summer's weekend here, filled with sunshine. But. We have been lured before. Into a false sense of security. It all went pear-shaped. Back on with the flannels. Even the brollies had to come out. But now, well. It looks so promising.... So  "I have arrived"-ish.  So watermelon, sunscreen, hats, swims, beach-ish.... We even had a summer storm last night: lots of lightening and thunder (you know soooo loud you fall out of bed...) and not much rain. Aaaah, now that is real Summer stuff that!

What do you think? What will you do?......

Ciao for now


just Martha

Weekend and Negotiating...

We had a round table conference over pizza last night about Summer sports, chores and pocket money. Aaaah, negotiate, negotiate!!! Win, win outcomes reached. Swimming chosen for sport x 2 per week with agreements to committ 100%. Amendment to chores to include dishwasher emptying AND refilling for Miss T and rubbish including recycling for Master T. They get to keep 1/2 their pocket money, which is based on age ($1 per year) and bank the rest. Potential to earn $5 per extra big chore like washing cars, weeding garden. Up to a max of 2 per week. Agreed? Agreed...

Weekend filled with gym challenge, markets, bmxing, Kikki-K for a calendar for next year , Girls -Night -In function for me.... (Dare I say some 'Christmas shopping?....)

Trust you all have a good one...

Ciao for now

just Martha

Cloche Me...

My little corner of joy

Isn't he cute!

The purple shells are from our beach...

Couldn't help myself. I saw all your beautiful cloches and I just h-a-d to have one. I found this one in Bed Bath and Table so whallaa, straight to my bedroom to bring me joy. I also saw this gorgeous little owl and although I am on a mission to not buy unnecessary things, I have been r-a-t-h-e-r good doing this gym challenge thing!!! So this type of reward is fantastic.

The teddy doesn't really go but his name is Charlie and he is owned by Master T but I have custody as Charlie was nearly drowned in a wheelbarrow once. He is too beautiful to be the victim of teddy-abuse...

This photo is taken on my windowsill yet to be finished. There is some marble to go here but I am toying with the idea of some nice, trendy, sealed wallpaper which will tie in nicely when I do up my chest of drawers and cover the top....

Ciao for now 

just Martha

Different language...

Getting the materials ready...

Just beginning to measure before we moved everything to the floor

The Silver Fox and I were talking different languages last night and this lack of communication brought a lot of frustration for a good 2 1/2 hours! Well, it all started with the quilt I am making. I decided it would be nice to have a really b-i-g one to put on my bed( 2.5m). I always seem to make stuff for others and this time I carefully selected material that would suit my bedroom. Safe so far? Well, the quilt has 4 layers and needs to be square. Alas, this is where the problem began because said quilt was not square. 

The builder in  the Silver Fox gets very offended by such things as un-squared squares so out came the tape measure. Oh oh.....  The Silver Fox was asking me to do things with that tape measure that I had never heard of and the translation was very foreign to me. I thought we could just fold a straight edge on the diagonal and square it up that way but apparently n-o........ He had me measuring, re-measuring, even 1/2 measuring, putting marks here and there. Look. I can use a tape measure but I was a novice doing it his way. He talks in mm. I talk in meters... He threatened not to help me when I couldn't stop laughing. Very serious business this squareness! 

Once we played pictionary together. Dangerous stuff really couple against couple. He was drawing and the word was vacuum. He drew a picture and then kept tapping said picture with the pencil in a frustrated manner and glaring at me. (I know you all know what I mean...) It was a lovely drawing. Of what I wasn't sure. Didn't look like anything I knew. Finally the time ran out and he blurted out that is was a vacuum in an engine and therefore a vacuum. What the? I asked him why he didn't just draw a vacuum cleaner. What the? It didn't occur to him. You see what I mean? Different languages...

We got there in the end and struggled through every stage including getting a diagonal chalk line through the centre.  Well, it is ready to sew now. Carefully pinned with a zillion safety pins.  I phoned him at work and he was laughting still! More that I can save people's lives but not be able to use a tape measure... If only he was so pedantic when making the bed!!!


Ciao for now 

just Martha

Looking, Looking...

Imagine a little 'something' peeking out!

I wonder what happened to the wheelbarrow?

We have a spot ready. Waiting. For a 'something special' It is is the garden and is currently being minded by a wheelbarrow. Oh, hang on. I just had a look and the wheelbarrow is gone to be replaced by some board. Not sure why. But the spot is waiting for something special. It is near our front door. Between 2 dragon trees and bordered by some snazzy-looking stripy liriope. We are looking for a sculpture. Or a bench. Or a w-o-w factor thing. We pondered over a water feature but the Silver Fox has ideas about modern geometrical stuff where as I h-a-t-e that. And, I had to gently remind him, we HAD a water feature that was lots of work. So, maybe a water feature with no reservoir to grow slime and  mossies. But then would it be turned on? I think not. I am all for a sculpture a-n-d I want the Silver Fox to make it. He has a welder and I'm sure he could do wonderful things with it. Or we could try something with slump glass?...

Slump glass fish back-lit with blue light... (googleimages)

Something like this on a pole up-lit with light (meltondecorplus)

Or even a mosaic fish on a pole  (artflock)

What do you think? Should we attempt something arty as project number 3? (after the quilt and the wallpaper topped desk)...

Ciao for now


just Martha

Thank you

I wanted to say thank you for all your lovely comments, for being happy to become a follower and for dropping in as you wish.....  



Thank you...




Ciao for now 

just Martha

I Do...





The chapel made of glass and near the beach. Breathtaking view...

Big church and just lil ol' us!!!



 The Silver Fox has been cleaning the garage and he is on a long overdue mission so I hesitate to get involved interfere with his 'creative flow'. I have known him a while now. Would you like to know more about us?

We met at a nightclub. As you do. Well, that is not strictly true as our brothers were friends so I suppose he came with references really. Well from there it progressed and we married some 25 months after we met. We were both in our early twenties and looking back that seems very young. I guess when you meet the right person, there is no reason to wait.

We have been married now for 20 years (!) and the time has literally flown by. I know people say that but, well, it is true. This year we decided to renew our wedding vows with the Tweenies as witnesses and we decided to do this on a little island in Fiji. Our first overseas holiday as a family. Even though it was a sort of 'while we are there we may as well...' type of decision, it proved to be very touching and deeply reassuring. Reassuring that we had made the right decision all those years ago. We thought 20 years was something to celebrate, especially in these times. There was even a tear or two shed.

The whole thing was very moving, even for the Silver Fox who is as romantic as a dirty sock, usually. We decked ourselves out in matching white, casual but wedding looking. Anything posher would have looked overdressed really. I toyed with the idea of getting my original dress remade into something but I am glad I didn't as it was a very informal day. The Islanders went to so much trouble with all the finishing touches like decorating our burre with flowers, frangipanies for us to wear and bringing champagne for us and lemonade for the children after.  It was quite hot but a glorious day...

We were the talk of the Island and given superstar status for a while. We had our own table by the pool and had a romantic dinner by candlelight. Just magical. It was wonderful....Nice to know we would do it again really. The priest was so heavenly. S-o heavenly. He wore a navy pin-stripped suit with a sulu skirt. He spoke like Sebastian the crab out of The Little Mermaid. I got the giggles and I had to concentrate really hard on what he was saying. At one point he asked me...' do you promise to be conscious' (silence)..... 'of'...... Well, yep. I could certainly promise to be conscious, most of the time anyway!!!  How could I not giggle? The vows were based on the island and very poignant. A great day really. A-N-D I got a new ring! as you do!!


Got to have a new ring after 20 years....... Agree?



Men have the best legs and hips for skirts I think... Do you agree?

Ciao for now 

just Martha

Things I know...

weheartit

• Going to the markets every Saturday morning has changed our cuisine life. It is amazing how different fresh food tastes folks!!!And I would go as far as to say it is cheaper too because it lasts longer...
• Planning meals for the week has also reduced stress, saved time and enhanced family life
• A girl needs girlfriends
• The things I can't do with mince are not worth mentioning...
• Perform random acts of kindness when possible
• Be thankful for the life you have
• Let people in your life how how important they are. Cherish them
• Christmas is in the air. Can you feel it?
• Touch, hug, snuggle... We are tactile beings...
• Keep the real friends. Cull the fake ones..
• Spend 20 minutes everyday doing something you love
•  Love yourself and be happy
• Take pleasure in the everyday. Enjoy doing things because you can, not because you have to...
• Do something different. Take a risk! Challenge yourself
• Encourage your children to try. Don't restrict them with your fears. Otherwise, eventually they will be too fearful to try. Be there to support...
• Exercise! you will feel so much better and have so much more energy. Eventually...

Ciao for now


just Martha

Birthday Happenings...

Well. The weekend was a huge success. The family were gathered. There was much laughter, fun and eating of course!!! The birthday girl was in fine form and slightly overwhelmed at times. The children did a few poems and songs and had Nanma in tears. She is known as Nanma. When we were expecting, my Mother decided that she would be a 'Granma' rather than a 'Granny' or a 'Nana'. Well, when my little Miss T came along and could speak, she decided on the name Nanma herself and it sort of stuck although some of the other Grandchildren call her Grandma too. She loves it!! The kiddies got on famously seeings as they don't really see a lot of each other. A-n-d they were tuckered out  from playing, swimming and late nights to settle quietly and watch a movie so the adults could play games. We played a few board games including Balderdash which had everyone in stitches!! Silver Fox would have won if we had kept going. Who knew he was such a great balderdasher? Noice!!! We went to a restaurant for lunch and then back to my parent's for cake and presents... Fantastic to see how all the kid's had grown and matured a little. Enough photos to do up a little album to keep the memories alive.  It all goes so quickly though doesn't it? (sorry, we are still a bit camera shy)

Now, let's plan for Christmas!!...

Ciao for now


just Martha

Big Day

Today is the big day!! All the  family together, lunch out, back to the folk's place for cake and a concert put on by the kiddies for Nanma/ Grandma!! Photos galore. Taping the event. Now, to make 24 cupcakes!!! (like these...) You may remember my gorgeous mother is sliding into the twilight world of dementia so every day is really precious... Love you Liz. Happy 77th!!! We will put together a photo album for her to look at of the day. We might even give her a glass or two of champers....

Ciao for now

just Martha

Take Two...

Okay. Deep breath! I have decided to make the chenille quilt ah la Abby from Two Little Dicky Birds. I have found out things about myself...... 1. I cannot read directions. 2. I am a speed demon on the sewing machine 3. I need to set myself small goals to achieve the desired outcome... Hmmm. I c-a-n sew. So now I am pacing myself with small goals to achieve. I started with a cushion cover which is now scrap material as below. A good place to start and practice all the needed techniques. I am enjoying it though. It is consuming my every thought. Deep breath. Put on some calming music and r-e-l-a-x...

Not quite what it should look like...

Not quite like the picture...

Ciao for now

just Martha

just Cesar...

Cesar - Dog Whisperer!!

 My family are in love with Cesar! There, I said it. Did I mention that we don't have a dog? True. We watch his shows. We hang on his every method, his every word. We love his strength, his calmness, his respect for dogs. His respect for families. The way he uses his energy to assert his strength. 

Just thought you should all know...

Ciao for now

just Martha

Loves: Bag Organisers

Yep. Totally infatuated. Ask my friends. I rabbit on and this is what they get for presents at the moment. This is only one type. There are many. It makes finding things in your bag soooo much easier. It 'organises' your bag. It can then be transferred to your other bag and nothing needed is left behind. I like that.

Remember folks 'take pleasure in the everyday' and if being able to find your car keys easily, or you nail file makes you happy..... give it a try!!!

Ciao for now

just Martha

PS: Master T was very chuffed at all your positive comments and lft the office with a big smile on his face...

Bake It Away......

Beach cake...

We have had such a wet school holiday period and the weekend was no better. It was in fact totally rainy, all the time. Master T finished making card houses and decided he might like to do some cooking. He exclaimed that he had 'never baked a cake'. So, with his sister's help, the cooking began. All went very well. His sister, being an experienced cake and biscuit maker, helped with the oven, and with the recipe. Whaallaa, one plain cake made. Now for the decorating. This is where the imagination came in. He decided on an 'ocean theme' with sea, sand and shells. The sea made from icing, the sand made from brown sugar. A tree in the middle represents the Earth. Shells he added as well made from coloured cachels.... The white is some raw pavlova that Miss T was making. This of course was used to make the waves... Cool huh! And taaadaa, the end result is above. Only one minor problem really which was how much colouring to use for the blue icing. Miss T got confused with vanilla and suggested 1 cap full. Oooppps!! We had blue everywhere. Hands, clothes, benchtop.... teeth. Even 1 day later and I look down to find 'blue' on my top and I haven't even eaten any. But. We have a very happy boy. He is now planning his next 'creation'.

Ciao for now 

just Martha

Excitement!...

Lots of these...

We are having a big family gathering this week for Mama's 77th birthday. The whole immediate family is gathering. We will celebrate life, health and family. Can't wait!!!....

Some will arrive by this...

There will be some of this...

Lots of playing here...

Lots of beautiful eating...

Lots of these...

Maybe some re-gifting. LOL!!...

Maybe some of these too!....

Hmmmm. Now I need to plan meals for 13.......  Oh, and bake a cake. Best get started. Will let you know how it goes...

Ciao for now 

just Martha

just Rain...

 Raining here. Still. There is only so much TV watching, sleeping and relaxing to be done by a 10 year old. Out come the cards and whaaallaaa, building taking place. Concentration. Tongue held j-u-s-t right.... 

What about you? Is it raining today?

Ciao for now 

just Martha