Meet Me On Monday

Just a quick one today, too much to do. Java's Meet Me on Monday questions. Join up at the link above.

Questions:

1.  Crunchy or soft tacos?

2.  Do you scrapbook?

3.  Do you take any daily medications?

4.  What is your favorite sound?

5.  Where were you born?

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My Answers!

1.  Crunchy or soft tacos?

 I like both, but if I had to pick I really like soft ones. 

2.  Do you scrapbook?

Not really. I have taken a class and I try a little. I would love to have the time, but I would have to stop some of my other activities. Maybe when the winter comes.

3.  Do you take daily medications? 

Yes, for my blood pressure. Until recently it was very good, then it suddenly skyrocketed. 

4.  What is your favorite sound?

I love the sound of rain on a tin roof, and I love kids giggling, I love Rock music and like all parents I occasionally like the sounds of silence.

5.  Where were you born?

   Here in Australia. I haven't traveled much, other than around my state. I lived quite a few places around our state. 

An award & a blog roll.

It's so nice when you get lovely comments and recognition. Especially from other bloggers because they are the ones who are my teachers and mentors when it comes to learning all this. I am honoured to receive another Stylish blogger award -  this time from from Carli at "Grandma's Guide to Life" She's a grandma to 2 (almost 3) grandkids and she's younger than I am! She has a good mixture on her blog of giveaways, stories and crafting, so pay her a visit. Now since I received this once before, I have kind of fulfilled the obligations which are as follows, and you can view the post and my answers and my recommended blogs/award recipients  at the link in this title here:

Stylish Blogger Award

In order to completely accept this Award it is asked of its recipients to do a few things.

1. Thank and link back to the person that has given you this award. 

2. Share 7 thing's about yourself

3. Award 10-15 blogs you feel deserve the award

4. Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award.

So now I'm going to add some random stuff from the last two weeks as my "7 things" and then I'm going to blog roll some of my favourite people.

1. We went to my niece's school for a concert on Friday night and saw a local West Aussie band called Stone Circle who have a new album just out. They were pretty awesome and got everyone dancing. They played a good mix of rock from my era, recent rock and some original songs from their album. If you enjoy this type of music (as I do) maybe you could support them.

2. I've been having problems with my health & especially my blood pressure, but it's under control now it seems and I'm feeling heaps better.

3. I LOVE my Uni course. I love Library but I'm so glad I changed to digital recordkeeping. It's nerdy of me, I know - but I find it fascinating. (Please, please help me with my research and tag some photos. You might win a crochet book. I explain all about it here.)

4. I had fun doing some yarnbombing for the Minnawarra Festival.

5. I'm going to be doing some volunteer work at the AC/DC exhibition - very cool!

6.  My husband is awesome!

7. My kids are smart and funny and gorgeous.

Blog or Website Roll:

As you will see - my tastes are wide & varied.

I try to find something I can relate to, in everyone and try to learn from our differences.

 I hope you find something to suit you.

The Weekender Project

Speaking of my kids, here is one of them. She is newly married and is writing a blog about decorating and life in general. Give her a visit.

The Call of Troythulu - Musings of a Skeptophrenic

Now for something different. A friend of mine runs this blog. If you are interested in skepticism then this is the place to go. He has a mixture of personal writing in the Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction genre, as well as discussions about skepticism and logical thinking. He also does fractal art and posts some lovely images of fractals and space.  Not for the faint hearted - he admits he's a "perpetual smartass", but definitely knowledgeable if this is what you are interested in.

Maria Savva

Maria is an independent author. She is also one of three lovely ladies who front Bestseller Bound - a great discussion group for Independent authors and their readers. Maria is active on Twitter, Good Reads and online generally and she (along with Stacy Juba & Darcia Helle) are always willing to talk about independent authors and self publishing. 

The Little Apartment

Erin from The Little Apartment is a Christian lady who is a wife and mother. She writes about her family and life as well as about decorating and crafting. Erin has a real eye for unusual decorating ideas, and if that is your thing - I think you'll really like her blog.

Geek Mom

Geek Mom is a really fun website which is for Geeks who happen to be Moms/Mums or Moms/Mums who happen to be Geeks depending on how you look at it. They have lots of fun contributors and if you are into computing or Star Wars or Science this may be the place for you, especially since they count Kari Byron (Mythbusters) as one of their own. 

Thanks for reading,

Hugs,

Kat

A little begging and bribery is not beneath me...and a giveaway!

I really need your help. Please, please help!

I am doing an assessment for Uni which involves gathering and interpreting data from a social networking site and analysing the data, and tags according to information theory. What does all this mean? I want to know how people tag.
This is where you all come in. I have set up a Flickr account here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60992642@N03/
Just for interest's sake I have put some photos of some of my retro and vintage patterns. Please go over to the photos, have a quick look and add some comments and tags. Comments can be ANYTHING! You can say, "I like this one" or "The lighting is not good in this photo" or whatever comes into your head when you look at the images. It doesn't matter because I am not analysing you, just people's interaction with the photos. Please., please (more begging) add some user tags. User tags can be descriptive like "pattern" or "knitting" OR they can be emotive such as "nice" "cool" "I like" etc. Add as many as you want and don't worry if people  have already added the same tag, because that will give me good statistics.

The more people who do this, the better stats for me to work with, so please help me if you have a couple of minutes to spare and thanks so much for reading.

One person who comments or tags will be chosen to receive this book Cute & Easy Crochet by Nicki Trench. Each tag or comment will count as an entry (tag & comment at my Flickr not here!). Open worldwide.
Please tag or comment on my Flickr account by 31st March 2011. (I will make allowances for time differences).
Thanks and Good Luck everyone.

Confessions of a junk collector...

Alright, my secret is going to come out. Behind that facade of organisation I am a junk collector, a hoarder. I can't bear to throw things out that may be useful one day, and it's all my Dad's fault because seeing him find uses for the most unusual things, made me convinced that it was the way to be.
So when I kept the little rings that come as packaging in the CD packs, you know the one's that hold the CD's in place? - well there was no way there was going to be a use for them, and I could see myself having to throw them out very soon. Until I was on a shopping trip and saw a very interesting necklace (It was a bargain store - so I don't know who to attribute for the lovely idea - sorry). "I could make one of those" I thought, and I have just the thing..
Here are my spare bits and bobs:

And here is the result:

"Forget the Diet" Rocky Road

Everyone who tries this, says it is the best Rocky Road they have had. I just made it up over the years adding things I thought would be nice. Now I pretty much stick to this recipe.

All ingredients are approximate, and you will need to use your best judgement yourself about quantities.
The main ingredients are: 1 pack unsalted Cashew nuts; 1 pack Natural Confectionary Company Berries (the one's that squirt); 1 Pack Strawberries & Cream Lollies/Sweets (any of your favourite confectionary will do eg. jubes or jellies); Handful of Craisins (Dried Cranberries); Handful of Shredded Coconut (use the real stuff); Large pack of Marshmallows; 2 packs of good quality (chocolate making) chocolate melts. The better quality ingredients you use, the more luxurious the result will be. Line a tray and spread around the ingredients to your liking.

Use plenty of chocolate so it binds the ingredients. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over boiling water as pictured. Do this in batches so you can take good care of your chocolate.

Don't allow your chocolate to overcook or to burn. The results are not pleasing. Take it off the heat when it is just melted but still lumpy. This picture shows how you can then beat it with a wooden spoon so it becomes smooth, by using the heat already in the chocolate it will melt any bits left and stop it from drying out, from too much heating.

Pour over the ingredients, and then tap the tray carefully on a hard surface to ensure you get the chocolate down into all the ingredients. Use the same method you would use to get bubbles out when using chocolate moulds.

When you have melted all batches of chocolate and it is spread evely over the ingredients, then pop into the refrigerator for about half an hour until it is properly set. Then you can remove the Rocky Road by lifting the paper carefully and putting the whole slice onto a cutting board. Cut into serving slices. Keep in a container in the fridge.

Yummo - It won't last long.

Meet Me on Monday

I'm a little late this week. But hey *throws hands up and shrugs shoulders*. The lovely Java at "Never Growing Old" hosts this. If you would like to join in, then click the link above.
Questions:

1.  What jewelry do you wear 24/7?
2.  Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
3.  How many siblings do you have?
4.  Were you named after anyone?
5.  Coke or Pepsi?
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My Answers!

1.  What jewelry do you wear 24/7?
 My wedding set  on my left hand and my original engagement ring on my right hand which has a Celtic design and a sapphire. It's a Scottish thing, though there is some debate about the appropriate hand to wear your wedding band. I wear both anyway. I have my ears pierced four times in one ear (one is a high piercing, the rest are lobes) and twice in the other ear. I always wear earrings. I also have my nose pierced and always wear that. Otherwise any other stuff is optional. I usually take it off before bed. Necklaces drive me nuts, but I do wear them for special occasions. (This is not me - it's from Wikipedia Creative Commons)
     

2.  Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
Not only do I twirl my spaghetti I also slurp it. My Mother-in-law makes these awesome bibs for adults out of a terry cloth tea towel and she cuts a hole and puts ribbing for your neck. I have to wear one when I eat spaghetti, it's not pretty. My daughter used to be the messiest eater in our house, but she's good now and I take the prize. I must be starting into my old age :)     3.  How many siblings do you have? 
I have two. An older brother and a younger sister. I was telling a friend the other day that my sister is the best person I know.
4.  Where you named after anyone?

My middle name was after my Aunty (Mum's sister). She's lovely so that was okay. 
5.  Coke or Pepsi?
I'm definitely a Coke person. When I was younger I drank lots of coke, I would take two cokes with me to lectures and I always used it as  a mixer. But I can't drink it much now, and if I drink it late in the day it keeps me awake.
      

Minnawarra Festival 2011

I was lucky enough to go mad on the weekend with yarnbombing or yarnstorming and some yarn art at the local Minnawarra Festival in Armadale yesterday. The local Armadale Knitting Club also put up some great displays including Sue dressing the Paddy Hannan statue in knitted jumper, hat, shoes, elbow pads and knees pads and a knitted skateboard.

 There was also some great arms tied to a seat to give free hugs.

Here are my yarn art pieces:

Giant Knitting:
The Butcher (Hubby)  made the needles.




Large God's Eye:


Large Dreamcatcher:


Spider & his web with egg sacs by the Butcher ( my hubby):


And here is where I went mad around Memorial Park with my yarnbombing:

National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence on March 18, 2011

Today in Australia it is National Day of Action Against Bullying & Violence. I don't really talk about this often, but I was severely bullied as a small child and it left permanent problems for me. I now suffer from severe anxiety as well.
Please, stand up against bullies, seek help if you or your child are being bullied and say "NO" to bullies everywhere, in the workplace, at school, in social groups, on the Internet and at home.
The kids from  Upper Coomera State College in Queensland 
put together this great video with Music & Lyrics by Kate MIller Heidke. They won the "Caught in the Crowd" competition from 2009.

Fun little reading quiz

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I found this fun little quiz via Mostraum. 

Meet Me on Monday

I can't believe it is Monday again already. Uni has certainly been keeping me busy. But I also have had a few issues with my health and so all my blog post ideas get put on the back burner.Anyway, here's my answers to Java's Meet Me on Monday questions.

Questions:

1.  Do you have a fireplace in your home?
2.  Can you drive a stick shift?
3.  How many computers are in your home?
4.  Are your taxes done yet?  Do you do them yourself?
5.  What is your favorite meal of the day?
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My Answers!

1.  Do you have a fireplace in your home?
     
      We do have a fireplace, as our house was built in the 60's and it was more common to put fireplaces in homes in Australia in those days. It doesn't really get that cold in our state though. The people who owned the house before us, converted the fireplace so it has a gas bayonet, so we thought we might get one of those fake fires that run on natural gas. They are quite popular around these parts, and are supposed to be better for the environment.

2.  Can you drive a stick shift?

    Yes, I can. I didn't get my license until I was 19, in those days it was usually 17 to get your license. But I had a horrible driving teacher and he said I would never drive a manual and I might as well get my automatic. Well, I went to a new driving teacher and she helped me get my manual, first time. Turns out, she had gotten a lot of his ex-pupils because he was so bad at teaching. It certainly taught me a lesson about shopping around for services.

3.  How many computer are in your home? 

A lot. Some are very old, some are in pieces, some are laptops and netbooks and so on. My son has a knack with computer hardware and has been working on them since he was about 12. People give us all their stuff and he gets them going, sometimes he upgrades them. He uses them for different distributions of software and for different learning purposes. He is now studying and will be building his own computer from scratch including making and soldering and programming the components. Also, Uni is giving me a new laptop soon, because I am studying information science. Which is good for me, because I, personally, have never had a new computer. 

I always get hand me downs. 

4.  Are your taxes done yet?  Do you do them yourself?

   Yes. We do our taxes at the end of the financial year. I do my own usually with some help from my Mum who was a bookkeeper before she retired. But when we had our shop we used an accountant.   

5.  What is your favorite meal of the day?

   I love all meals when the family is together. Usually that is a lunch or dinner on the weekends. 

Happy International Women's Day 2011

How to celebrate!
There are loads of interesting links here: International Women's Day
You can search Trove for Vintage issues of the Australian Women's Weekly.
You can follow other great women on Twitter, blogs or Facebook and interact with a woman whose life choices or circumstances are different to yours so we can learn to understand each other.
You can sing along to Helen Reddy.


About ten years ago I was asked to speak to a group of women from the New Opportunities for Women course. At the time I was Acting Regional Manager in one of four regions at a TAFE (Technical) College, and was juggling this and home life - it was before Home schooling. I found my notes the other day and I wondered if I was following my own advice and mostly I was, but there were a few pieces that I could have done with remembering. Here are the gems I've collected from other people.

What would make me happy?

What is the one thing you could do to make you happy right now?

…. Why aren’t you doing it? 

(based upon the work of Steven Covey)  

The first was my life philosophy when I was young and I would get anxious about something. The second was my Dad's philosophy on gossip and bitchiness.

And lastly, I believe this statement from my talk and I am glad I try my hardest to do this.

Women supporting Women

Always support other women’s choices even if they are not the same as your own.

Have a great International Women's Day to all the women out there and the men who love them. 

Some thoughts about my Grandmother...

Next month it will be six years since my Grandmother passed away. It isn't so raw now and I can talk about her without getting choked up. My mother had to work, because with three kids, her and my father wouldn't have been able to afford to keep us and give us a good education. Luckily my Nan had us in the holidays and most of the time after school, and because of this I had a lovely relationship with her. As I have mentioned before on my blog, she taught me to knit and crochet and developed my love of craft. When she passed away, I was asked to give a Eulogy, and I came across it the other day when I was looking for some other documents. I thought I would post it here. It is interesting to see the developments I made in maturity. That was just before I was forty and I was only starting to be clear in my thoughts. Now I am very contented with my view of the world and my place in it. I hope you enjoy it.

I have spent the better part of fifteen years studying philosophy, religion and science looking for answers to the big questions. However, it was only this year that I realised I had been going about it all wrong. I had been reading a viewpoint only to reject it - so I knew what I didn't believe. But I realised that I hadn't a notion of what it is that I did believe. Of course the answer was simple - what I believed were the things which were "truth" for me - which I had synthesised into my life and which worked for me. Not surprisingly, many of these insights came from my family and (because of the time I spent with her) - from my Nan.
So here are a few of the things I do believe which my Nan taught me…

I believe in hard work. Nan was always a hard worker no matter whether it was for love or money. I never heard Nan say "that will do" as some are often heard to mutter when completing some menial task for work. Nan wouldn't work to a standard set by her boss or for any external reward. Nan taught me to work for the intrinsic reward - work until you are satisfied that you have done a good job - a good message to send to a child.

I believe in reading. The love of reading is a great gift to give a child. Nan would buy us comic books full of fun stories and high interest articles. Nan bought me my first Dolly magazine - a magazine my daughter now reads because of their dedication to young people. Nan provided us with library membership - which opened up a whole world to us. I still remember the feeling of getting a new book which no one had "stamped out" yet. I have moved to many towns and have more library cards than any other souvenir of my life there. We are a family of voracious readers. What a legacy!

I believe in good food. My Nan was the best cook in the world. Is there anyone who could doubt that statement? Nan taught us all how good food can warm the soul. This is something that she has passed to us all - that love was the secret ingredient. When I taste my daughter's pikelets, my aunt's trifle or the way my mum makes sandwiches, there is a little element of Nan in there, that they have made their own.

I believe in family. Nan taught me that family is important. That is a lesson that stays with a child forever. I spent so much time trying to "be" something, until I learned that being a mother WAS being someone. Nan was always so proud to speak of her family, her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. She was one of the best teachers I had.

Finally, I believe in laughter. All of us have a memory of laughing with Nan. She taught us the old adage - that laughter is the best medicine. In the face of adversity, embarrassment or just uncomfortable situations, Nan's ability to laugh at herself kept us all in good spirits.

I last saw Nan on Easter Sunday When we walked in she was reading a book. She chatted with us, had a laugh and a joke and we had our picture taken with her. Then with hugs and kisses all round - she went off for her evening meal. Nourishment for the mind, body and soul. That's what Nan taught us.

Nan taught me to laugh... 

Meet Me on Monday

Once again the ever vivacious Java from Never Growing Old is hosting Meet Me on Monday and has come up with some interesting questions so we can get to know each other. Make sure you pay her a visit and if you want to join in, then click the link above.
Questions: 

1.  What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?
2.  What was the last package that was delivered to your house?
3.  What is your favorite scent that you love to smell?
4.  Do you smoke?
5.  Are your parents married or divorced?
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My Answers!

1.  What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?
    I have two favourite ways. The first is definitely fried whether they are chips, crisps, french fries or wedges or whatever other names people have for fried potatoes. But I know these are not good for me because I have to watch my cholesterol. So the second way I love is mashed. My husband's mother bought us a potato ricer and this makes them really smooth and yummy. I do like gravy on top but I try to make the water based one rather than the meat dripping (very naughty) gravy. 

2.  What was the last package that was delivered to your house?

The last package I got delivered was very exciting. I got a USB bracelet. I know I am such a nerd, but it's handy to take along for my studies, too. I remember how excited I was when I got my first thumb drive holding 256Kb. This bracelet holds 4Gb and I wonder if it will be enough. Lol!

3.  What is your favorite scent that you love to smell? Lavender. I love Lavender scented candles and I use Lavender oil all the time. I also love fresh Lavender. Funny, because my daughter hates it. Maybe she was overwhelmed with it as a kid. She never has any in her house.

4.  Do you smoke?No, thank goodness. I smoked from the time I was a teenager and only gave up when I was pregnant, but smoked again once I finished nursing them. But I finally kicked the habit about 9 years ago when I had a bad ulcer. Since then I haven't touched one. I don't even like the smell anymore and consider myself a non-smoker. My husband gave up about 2 years ago. Hopefully it was soon enough as neither of our kids smoke. My son-in-law doesn't smoke either, but my honorary son does, hopefully he will quit but it has to be something you decide for yourself. It's something you have to want to do. There are still a lot of young people in Australia that smoke, despite better education about health. I wonder if they are more stressed and less positive about the world?
5.  Are your parents married or divorced?My parents are still happily married. So are my in-laws. My husband and I feel that we both got good examples from our parents about riding out the tough times and sticking together, as well as having together time and apart time. I hope my kids find happiness whether they choose marriage (as our daughter has) or any other lifestyle. Hopefully their relationships and friendships will be fulfilling. I wouldn't marry again if anything happened to the butcher (my hubby). But we are very happy together and have mutual respect.

Follow backs

If I don't seem to be following you back, then please, please send me a quick comment. I love to follow back so I can get to know you and interact. If you have Google friend connect then I will follow with that. Wordpress and webpage users, I will follow with RSS, or sometimes I will follow you on Facebook. Also, join me on Facebook, Blog Frog, Good Reads, Tumblr etc. etc. - what ever takes your fancy.

Hugs,
Kat

Tumbler Crochet-A-Long

Dee and the lovely ladies from the Tumblr crochet-a-long are friendly and welcome new members. It's not too late to join because they are planning on continuing on new projects and you still have time to work on the projects they are currently working on.
Here is the Tumblr blog http://tumblrcrochetalong.tumblr.com/ You can put a message in the ask box or email Dee at hopefull.amnesia @ gmail.com also they have a Google group at http://groups.google.com/group/tumblr-crochet-a-long .


So here is my first finished project from the CAL. It's the Crocus Scarf, pattern from Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crocus-scarf I need to work on my tension a bit because my scarf is kind of curly rather than flat, but I like it.

Crafts Made from Books 2 - other people's projects

As promised here is a round up of things I have come across recently on the web. These are projects using books or magazines to make art and craft.

Isaac Salazar makes book sculptures that spell words.

Faux Rosewood Wreath by Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming. (via Craftgawker)


Cara Barer has done some amazing book sculptures using interesting shapes and forms. (Via Bringing Design Home via Craftgawker)

David Beube made these sculptures from the white and yellow pages phone directories. 

Desiree from Cozihome has made a Kindle case from an old book. (via Craftgawker)


Awesome book sculptures here...


and more awesome book sculptures here.


Paper beads by Part Time Domestic Goddess at Our Bower. (via Craftgawker.)


Here's a video about making a handbag out of an old book.


Instructables was also full of good ideas:


Like this invisible book shelf made from books...
and table legs made from old books...
and art pieces made from old book pages.


Hope you're feeling inspired. 
Go raid your Library's discard shelf.
Hugs,
Kat

Crafts from Book Pages

Since my most popular searches and visits are for book crafts and Independent authors, I will listen to the people and blog about those for the next couple of days.  Today I will do a round-up of the things I did for Thing-a-day, to do with reusing book pages. In this case I used pages from an old Harry Potter book which the library was discarding for 50c. I love Harry Potter, which my long time readers would know. 
So here's the projects, when I get time I will do a round-up of other people's Book crafts and blog some more about what some Independent authors are up to.


Day 15 - 15th Feb 2011:
Into the third week of February now. Wow, time flies. So today I did some scrapbooking with a Harry Potter theme. I picked up an old Harry Potter book for 50 cents. Here is my project:

Day 16 - 16th Feb 2011:
Origami from book pages.

Day 17 - 17th Feb 2011: 

More paper crafts from the same Harry Potter book that I got for 50 cents.

The template for Hagrid's Hut was taken from here:http://www.mascal.it/paper2_e.html but I didn't use all the pieces.

The fairy was a graphic free sample. I think it was from Dover Publications but I downloaded it a while ago.

The witch is from the Leaky Cauldron sign.

Day 18 - 18th Feb 2011:

Today was a flower day. I made some cute paper flowers from book pages.

The pattern was from the Meet Me At Mike's book by Pip Lincolne. You can find her here on her blog.

Day 19 - 19th Feb 2011: 

Today I just made some heart decorations on string from paper. I got the idea from this link on the lovely Eddie's Pinterest. She is also doing Thing-a-day by the way.

I didn't sew mine, though. I glued it. I should have been more careful with my cutting out because it's a bit messy, but I was doing it while I was watching a movie.

Day 20 - 20th Feb 2011:

Template from here.

Inspiration from all over the web.

Day 21 - 21st Feb 2011:

Butterfly template from here.

I forgot to add before that the words were from here.