The devil is in the details and the make up

Meet Fudge. He's a ham. Actually, to be truthful, he's some sort of corgi mix, but you know what I mean. Grumbles is mucho taken with him, I suspect due to all the licks she receives, each one accompanied by an awfully high-pitched squeal of delight. Thank goodness Fudge has gone home with the Mother-in-law-ship, I'm not sure just how much more my ear drums could have taken.

I went and saw The Devil Wears Prada last night. Terrible movie - instead of making me shun fashions as being frivolous and unnecessary, and taking the focus away from what is really important, it just made me want to run out and buy a hair dryer so I could have a sleek shiny fringe like Anne Hathaway. Sigh. Too easily influenced, just like my mother always said. Damn her for being right. But those clothes! And the spiffy eye make up! Is it so wrong to want gorgeous hair and knock 'em dead eyeshadow? Especially that purple. Oooh, heaven! Or hell, trapped in a bathroom mirror. Just look at all those greys, that's more than enough to bring me back down to earth, and banish all thoughts of hair dryers from my mind.

Giddyup!

It appears that racing fever has struck this town!

The sure-fire hit of the summer

Peeling open my eyes and shovelling off the sticky sleep that threatened to glue them shut again, I blearily noticed that the sun was shining outside. This could mean only one thing: a photo session! I unearthed myself from the assorted crumpled bits of toilet paper that have been masquerading as tissues, peeled the Vicks container from out of an unfortunate place, heaved myself off the couch, cast off my Yoga Wrap, skedaddled to the bedroom and donned my newly finished favourite thing, then instructed the Galumph to get snapping. Jorth Sewing Enterprises proudly presents the one and the only thing to be footling around in this summer - a bright spotty dress!


Project Specs:
Pattern - Simplicity 4224, size 8
Description - Strapless fitted sundress, with flared skirt and fitted bodice (tie belt optional)
Fabric - Color Beat for Robert Kaufman (purchased at GJ's), 100% cotton, 2 metres
Notions - 40cm zipper, 1.3 metres elastic for bodice

What can I say - I love this pattern, and I love the dress! It was easy to put together, fits like a dream and will see me happily through all those blinding hot days with style and class (or something!) I can see myself ditching all my other dress patterns and making one for every day of the week, or something equally sad. Heck, when you're on to a good thing...

Watch out for bears!

The last few days I have: struggled to keep anything down, struggled to eat full stop, spent most of my time next to a sick bucket, been boiling hot, been freezing cold with uncontrollable shivers, and laid in bed with two doonas and a blanket on top of me. This bug is a killer, I tells ya! Thanks for all your get better wishes - Grumbles is back to her usual bouncing self, and I managed to eat lunch today - yahoo!

I also read The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton plus A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. One of these books is about two people's struggles against the social norms of New York society in the 1880s, the other is about a middle aged guy's walk of the Appalachian Trail, and his merry adventures along the way. What I didn't expect was to spend all of last night tossing and turning, dreaming that Bill Bryson needed to go back in time to save the Countess Olenska from having her money cut off by her family, and if he didn't succeed in his mission then the bears would find him on the trail and eat him alive. Very, very disturbing. Least of all for Bill.

Also, before I became incredibly nauseous, I started sewing myself a new frock for summer. I'm using Simplicity 4224, and I wish I felt better so I could (a) finish it then (b) wear it!

Chuckarama

I'm soooooo tired. The last two nights have been spent continually getting up to change vomitty sheets as poor old Grumbles battles a nasty virus that's a mix between gastro and the flu. Yum. Poor kid - she doesn't even have an appetite for icy poles (don't worry, it's what the doctor said for her to have, as water will make her throw up more quickly and dammit she's right, it did!). I have to admit, I'm not feeling so hot myself. Thank goodness the mother-in-law-ship is coming over to look after us. As soon as she steps in the door I'm going to just blob under a doona, maybe watching Anne of Green Gables. Actually, no I won't. I never do. I'll run around before she comes, tidying up the house, and then insist on making dinner and endless cups of tea for her, because I'm pathetic and have no idea how to blob.

Hanging out on the front stoop

I have a feeling that this summer is going to include a lot of lounging in the sun out the front, slurping on home made yoghurt icy poles, watching the neighbourhood stroll on by. Stopping to smell the roses and watch the cherry tomatoes ripen. Don't forget the sunscreen!

If you see a woman on the street muttering to herself as her hat flies off for the 14th time, that would be me

The walk to the park today was the best workout I've had in a long time. If I wasn't straining against that incredible head wind (and when I say incredible I mean INCREDIBLE!) then I was diving off in every direction trying to catch our hats before they blew themselves into the city or maybe even Byron Bay.

So now I'm home, and I'm gazing out the window, and can you guess which thoughts are occupying my mind? Washing - that's right, washing! I'm one of those mad people who get very excited over hot windy days because I could do about 10 loads today and THEY WOULD ALL DRY! Never mind the fact that I do a load every day anyhow, and therefore have no need to wash anything because I am so super organised when it comes to washing - it's a hot windy day, dammit! Maybe I could wash some shoes... it's been a while since I've done that. Alas, if only we had some curtains in this place.

Get a hold of yourself! Melbourne is in the midst of a water crisis, and you truly have nothing more that needs washing (yet continues to gaze at the washing line longingly).

Oh, two more things - if you're driving around keep an eye out for cyclists, because today is Ride to Work Day here in Victoria. Also, Rathdowne Remnants has New Look patterns for a measly $5 until the 21st October!

A very convenient wake up call

Ahhh, watch out for those feet! And mind the camera, honey. Feet, and swings, and fresh air, and sunshine. It was a lovely weekend, full of good things and much laughter (now I come to think of it, her feet aren't such a good thing - they stink!). But a serious weekend, too. The Mothership came up to babysit for us, so the Galumph and I scuttled off (actually, I made him run most of the way, because I thought we were going to be late, but then we got to the cinema 20 minutes early, d'oh!) to see An Inconvenient Truth.

Well. What can I say? Most of the stuff I already knew, but it hit me differently this time, being presented in such an accessable manner, with professional graphs and slides plus an eloquent yet very human speaker. Did you know that the Artic cap is melting so quickly that polar bears are drowning because they can't find any ice to sit on? These are bears that can swim up to 100 kms a day. If you haven't seen the movie yet, I implore you to go, go, go! Or at the very least think about your actions, and the impact that they have upon others. Please. It's easier than you think.