What a Week!

Well this has been a week I would never want to go through again! The scenes of devastation from the Victorian bushfires have left everyone speechless. How will those families involved ever recover?

It has been a busy week for us. The boys have started back at all of their usual activities and the days seem to fly past. I attended my second and last felt-making class and made a handbag. It is still drying and I haven't yet attached the straps so I will photograph it when it is finished. I learned so much in the classes and am full of enthusiasm about making some slippers for the boys and some more bags for myself. I'll have to see if Inger would like a pair of felt slippers as well! Felt is so forgiving and fairly unpredictable in terms of what type of pattern emerges.

Next Sunday I am doing a course on Oriental Bookbinding. OK, I admit it..........I am a craftaholic. I just so love making things with my hands. Oh, for more time................

This morning we went out for our usual breakfast at Mama Carmela's. We seem to have become regulars. It was such a surprise when we arrived there this morning. The chef came out and asked the boys if they would like to come and help him in the kitchen. He showed them how to poach eggs. Now that is a skill I have only just perfected through a lot of trial and error so I will be very happy if they would like to take over from me. Not only that but as we were leaving he came out with a bag of home-made meringues for each of the boys. Oliver the sweet tooth was overjoyed! I hadn't tasted meringues like these since my childhood. They were large, golden and smooth. They had a crisp, brittle exterior and just the right degree of chewiness in the centre. The mass produced meringues you get in bakeries these days don't even come close.

After arriving home Inger started to re-stain our wooden driveway gate. The boys were mad-keen to help but I was concerned about them running out on the road. I had to find an activity to amuse them long enough for Inger to paint the gate and for me to water Seasol into the front garden with my watering can. Water play was what we decided on. They had such a lot of fun pretending to have their own cafe.

There were the usual disputes over who owned what but they managed to sort it out themselves.

Here is Oliver carefully pouring the water back and forth from the jug to the teapot.

At some point everyone always seems to end up in Mummy's office. My office seems to hold an air of mystique for the boys who see people come and go up the hallway. The boys come in and want to play Dr Brownlee and the ladies or otherwise they want to search through all of my belongings, use the fax machine or computer.

I have photographed them in this shot not because it is a great photo but to show them both wearing some shorts I made for them lately. They are very simple but cool and comfortable. William who is a Superman fan loves his shorts which are made from some groovy fabric I found in a quilting shop.

This afternoon we went off to a very child-friendly cafe in Prospect called Cafe Komodo. The cafe has been designed with a decidely retro feel and is decked out with second hand furniture and fixtures. This gives it a 1970's living room disaster look which is totally comfortable. I have no worries at all about the boys spilling or breaking anything there because it is all so lived in. We sat in what must have once been someone's converted garage and watched this duo called The Minstrels.
The boys played cafes and had fun playing with this aged cash register with a couple of other children. Oliver who has a penchant for china cups was very pleased to have his babycino served in a tiny floral cup on a matching ceramic tray.

You can see what I mean about the decor! It was a fun and relaxing afternoon. The little boys could hardly keep their eyes open as we drove home.