Every Possum needs a Pony

It does seem strange to have a pony in the backyard, but Miss Possum LOVES it! First thing every morning she trots to the back door and points outside at Lily, her pony. Then when she is dressed Miss Possum goes out to say good morning in person.

Miss Possum took some bread out for Lily, but started to eat it herself while Lily watched on in the background. Lily didn't miss out for long, DD did not feel like eating too much :)

Miss Possum is learning a lot about ponies, including the fact that they like to eat grass. She must have been thinking about this as I caught her experimentaly eating some herself while Lily chewed on her own patch of grass next to her.

The week (or so) that was...

So much has happened of late so I thought a quick run down of my activities was in order to bring my Blog back up to date.

I will start with the biggest change over the last few weeks, which was my Grandmother's passing. We had been lucky enough to visit Grandma the day before she passed which has been such a comfort in the times that have followed. To know that we saw her, laughed with her and told her we loved her at just the right time.

I was lucky enough to be able to do a reading at her funeral with my cousin Dannii, a poem that was suggested by me that I got from Helen who very recently went through the same thing with her Nan:

When I am gone, release me, let me go.
I have so many things to see and do.
You must not tie yourself to me with tears.
I gave you my love, you can only guess,
How much you gave me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you have shown,
But now it is time I travelled alone.
So grieve a while for me, if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It is only for a while that we must part,
So bless the memories within your heart.
I will not be far away, for life goes on,
So if you need me, call me and I will come.
And listen to your heart, you will hear,
All of my love around you soft and clear.
Then when you must come this way alone,
I will greet you with a smile and say,
"Welcome home" , for life goes on.

There is still room in the 'Pay it forward' if anyone is interested, there is no real time pressure to this project so I will enjoy creating something for this one.

We have had our kitchen ripped out, and the new cupboards in. I won't do before and after photos yet as we still need to organise splash backs, floor coverings and cornice, and then paint. You may be waiting awhile to see the finished product :(

My Brown Owls membership pack turned up and I was very excited clipping the keyring straight onto my keys and telling everyone all about it. My only wish now is for some time to be 'crafty'!

I went on a trip south with DH which gave me a chance to catch up with Kate and Kylie. It is fun catching up with online friends in real life :) Kate was mean enough to have a Tupperware party while I was down there so I 'had' to add to my already impressive stash of plastics :)

I also bought more wool, and patterns that will keep me busy for awhile. I did not strictly speaking need to buy so much but it was on sale so it seemed like a good idea at the time. DH was not too worried at the volume of wool to fall out of my suitcase when it was time to unpack so all is good on that front :) I now have enough wool to make three felted bags and some patterns for my stash of 'one day' ideas

edited to add: This wool is from Simply Stiches in Wagga. They had it at 35% off as it is the discontinued Vintage Hues Range. I got 13 balls all up in three shades to make felted bags with.




On the urgent things to do list I must:

Sew for the Snailblazer swap
Recipe swap cards
Chaletgirl block swap sewing
Read my book club book
Finish my knitted scarf

So, that is me, up to date so to speak...

On the Shelf ~ May 3rd

I have read a few books in the past week, I have also joined the masses and bought the Twilight series. I was going to wait but my brother came home with the DVD so I had to get the books before I saw it! DH bought me the first one for Mother's day and I got the rest the next day to have the full set.

These are the latest editions to the reading challenge I am doing this year. Guess what I will be reading next ;)

23. Testimony ~ Anita Shreve
24. Twilight ~ Stephanie Meyer

May/June
25. New Moon ~ Stephanie Meyer
26. Eclipse ~ Stephanie Meyer
27. Sewing Projects in an afternoon ~ Susan Mickey

edited 5/5/09 to add:
28. Breaking Dawn ~ Stephanie Meyer
My least favourite from the series...

Pay it Forward

From HERE

I will make a handmade gift for the first 3 interested people who comment on this post. I have 365 days to do it in…What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!

The catch is that you must participate as well: you must have a blog and before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Just cut and paste this one if you like, which I did.

Also, let me know if you would prefer a knitted something, or a sewn something :) I will try to do either as requested!

ANZAC Biscuits

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Buy them, or make them, but either way make sure you get some today! To help you celebrate ANZAC day I thought I would share a great recipe with you. I love this recipe and could eat them all year, but today especially I love them for what they represent.

Chewy ANZAC Biscuits
24 serves

1 cup plain flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
125g butter
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs golden syrup

Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Sift flour into large bowl. Stir in oats, coconut and brown sugar.
Put butter, golden syrup and 2 tbs water into a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until melted. Stir in Bicarb Soda.

Pour butter mix into flour mix and combine.
Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. Place on trays 5cm apart.
Flatten slightly with fork and bake for 10 minutes or until golden.
Set aside on trays for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

On the Shelf ~ April 20

I am participating in a Reading Challenge this year with the aim of reading 100 books.

I have been a bit slack on it but do have a couple of extras to add to the list which will take my total to date to 22 books read:

21. The Red Pony ~ John Steinbeck
22. Maps for Lost Lovers ~ Nadeem Aslam

I love Steinbeck, you know there will be a twist but he still surprises you. Both terrible and beautiful this book was a wonderful find at a market stall and goes happily into our collection.

Maps for Lost Lovers is the Book Club Book I madly had to finish before the meeting, I nearly left my run too late. It is beautifully descriptive but the plot seemed to meander until the final 3rd of the book when it all started to come together.
Those of us at the Book Club meeting rated Maps for Lost Lovers as 2 stars.

Our next Book Club book is Let me sing you gentle songs by Linda Olsson. Note to self: Don't leave it to the last minute to read this one :)

If I keep reading at this rate I will end up with around 66 books for the year. Not to be sneezed at but a far cry from 100...

WIP Wednesday ~ April 15th

Another WIP Wednesday and this one will be all about knitting as my sewing machine is safely tucked away while the demolition continues in my house.

You have to love knitting as it really is a portable craft that is easy to take anywhere and work on at anytime.


I was in Nundle the other day and I called in to the Nundle Woollen Mill which was full of wonderful yarn in a beautiful array of colours. DH was very proud of me as I only bought one ball of Loopy Mohair which was really quite restrained of me.

I am using the loopy to dress up the beanie pictured above by adding it to some plain Cleckheaton cream 12 ply which I have had for ages. It was such a simple beanie that it needed something to give it a lift. I had not knitted with more than one strand at a time before but was surprised by how easy it was to work the two balls at once.

I liked it that much that I decided I might as well use the leftover loopy to make a scarf to match. I have about a metre of scarf to do but it won't take long as it is only garter stitch. I am now ready for the cooler months! I was lucky as Spotlight had the Cleckheaton 12ply at 50 cents per ball so even with the Loopy it really is a cheap set to make.

Last but not least, my old trusty Tea Cosy! I actually did this awhile ago and it was the third thing I knit so I have a soft spot for it. I made it using this pattern and you may notice that theirs is a lot prettier than mine but as a beginner I didn't have a stash of leftover yarn which is why mine is very simple of colour.

I am starting to get a small stash happening so maybe I will revisit this pattern soon... If nothing else I should knit an icord to replace the plait I have securing the top, now that I know how!

The reason I am adding the Tea Cosy to this WIP Wednesday is because the Brown Owls are doing merit badges and to earn your knitting badge Pip posted a pattern of a Tea Cosy, but I hope this one will suffice!

How exciting! Hopefully I will be able to earn a few badges soon :)