Challenges!

Above you can see the new colour of my kitchen wall which I was about to paint a cream colour when I read this and decided on aqua instead. The colour is called "sea breeze" and together with the yellow feature wall it really does remind me of the ocean. It´s a bit brighter than it looks on the photo and I finished it just in time for my 40th Birthday Party...more about that next time. In the other photo you can see bags Nr. 2, 3 &4 in my 14 day bag challenge. There´s a small shoulder bag, a cell-phone bag and an ipod bag.

A bag a day!

I will be making a bag a day for the next 14 days to sell at a fair I´ve been asked to take part in on the 24th of September. I want to make quite a few other things aswell like some coasters, place mats, table runners, pin cushions and bigger cushions but I will let the daily bag be my inspiration for the other items. I have also ordered some "Chest of Drawers" woven name tags and as soon as they arrive I will get my etsy shop up and running.

Seeya mate!

Sept. 4, 2006 — Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44 and leaves behind a wife, a daughter aged 8 and a son aged 2.

#23 - Fortune Cookie

This week´s Sunday Scribble prompt is Fortune Cookie.
I think a lot of pressure comes with opening a fortune cookie because we are waiting for that AHA moment, some sort of sign to tell us which road will lead us to our happiness. Some of us read the horoscope pages and some of us go out looking for that special book or object which will make it all clear. We all seem to be looking for something - something which is just out of our grasp, always one step ahead of us. There is an Austrian folk song I know and the lyrics go something like this "we are always running after our happiness, trying to catch it but maybe, just maybe, it´s trying to catch us but we´re running too fast".
We are often pushed and moulded by other people´s expectations of us, by money or lack of it, by advertising and trends and pressure from parents, bosses and other people we depend upon. Many days we don´t have the time to think about what we need, it´s just a matter of getting through the day. We forget that we have the right to put ourselves first, to take time for family and love and our bodies and homes. But if we don´t have the time to stop and listen, won´t life just pass us by? Why do we wait until illness or a bad experience clears the fog and makes us realise what´s important to us and what we can do without.
A fortune cookie will not tell us how to be happy, a book or material things may help us on the way but ultimately, I believe we all know what truly makes us happy, we just have to stop long enough to listen to our inner voice, recognise what we TRULY need and be open for it.

A while ago I joined the Blogbagswap organised by the lovely
Mijk who was also my partner in the swap. Above is the gorgeous
bag she made me, based on the look of my blog. I was touched
when I read about how she thought about, designed and made
my bag, with so much thought and effort. Read her post here.
(And here´s the bag I made for her).It´s one of the most
beautiful gifts I have ever received and I am amazed at how
well she knows me even though we´ve never met. Thankyou Mijk!
The little green cat that´s been hanging from my fridge door since it
arrived really puts a smile on my face. It was made by Ihanna who
has recently gotten her shop up and running so check it out! I think
there may be some more of those cute cats available too if you´re quick!
As for my own crafting efforts, I have been bitten by the sock bug - if
I´d known they were that easy to knit I would have started years ago!
I am going to knit all the socks I need for the coming winter and am
thinking of making socks for all my friends this Christmas.
I walked into a patchwork shop in Berry, Australia while on holiday
there and fell in love with a display of pale blue and red fabrics. I have
decided to make a whole range of pillows and bags in this colour
combination and above you can see the first one.
I have also decided to tackle a few more things on my list of 101 things
in 1001 days...paint the guest room and paint the kitchen. More on that
next time!

On my list of 101 things in 1001 days:
45.Knit a pair of socks.
DONE! And it was much easier than I thought.
If you´d like to knit your own, check out this site.

UPDATE: 101 things in 1001 days

While on Magnetic Island I crossed 2 things off my list
82.Watch the sunrise on Magnetic Island.
83.Swim nude.
And on the way back I bought myself a present for my 40th Birthday
87.Buy an ipod.
I have only had time to download a few photos on it but I will sit
down soon and get to number88. Download music and podcasts onto Ipod.
Looking through my list just now I see that although I´ve accomplished quite a few things, there´s still a lot to do. I turned 40 while I was in Australia and birthdays always have me thinking about reaching goals and new stages in my life. This Birthday I acknowledged that I am very happy. I have come a long way these past 8 months and blogging has certainly helped me to appreciate myself and the life that I´ve created here in Austria just by seeing it through the eyes of positive, unselfish people who I have met here. The critical, unaccepting people I know cannot affect me and weigh me down the way they used to. I have become a lot stronger within myself.
Creating lovely things that bring others joy has given me real satisfaction and soon I´ll be tackling
31.Start an online shop for bags and pillows and other things made of fabric.
I have a collection of bags, accessories and pillows in the making and hope to have my Etsy shop set up in September. This is only possible because I finally had the courage to reduce my working hours and find more time for the things I love to do. I finally made time for exercise and stopped trying to feed my hunger for life and love with food - these are things I never thought I´d be able to accomplish. So, at 40, I am proud to say I feel great and life is good!

Sydney!

Sydney where I used to work, Bondi Beach where I used to live, Watson´s Bay where I used to go for long walks to get my head clear. Nothing´s changed, still as beautiful and alive as ever. It´s always amazing to me that life goes on, day in day out, with or without me.

Green Island

We were lucky enough to spend a whole day on the Great Barrier Reef during our stay in Queensland and it was everything I expected it to be and more. Unfortunately we didn´t have an underwater camera so the best memories of our snorkelling trip are in our heads.
We left Cairns for the 1 hour boat trip to Green Island feeling great but the sea-sickness got to us all and when we arrived on Green Island we were feeling pretty green ourselves! This was quickly forgotten though after getting our snorkelling gear on and getting our heads under water. I could never have imagined that there really is such life under the surface. We saw thousands of vibrantly coloured fish and coral, stingrays, giant turtles and the boys even saw a reef shark! I´m glad I didn´t - my fear of sharks increased by 100% after watching a movie called "Open water" but the water on the reef wasn´t deep so I felt quite safe. The boys got up real close to one of the giant turtles, close enough to touch one and hold on for a short swim - it was amazing! Green Island is a lovely place, with a beautiful pool right in the middle and lovely, leafy walkways to the beach and facilities. I was reluctant to leave after only a day trip - there is something about island life that really appeals to me.

On the road between Townsville and Cairns

After 10 days on Magnetic Island we said a sad farewell and caught the ferry back to Townsville where we picked up hire cars and started the drive north. We drove through Ingham and made stops in Halifax and Lucinda where crocodile warning signs kept us out of the water. We drove past sugar cane fields and saw fields of banana trees that had been shredded by cyclone Larry some months before and many homes we drove past still had parts of their rooves missing.

I grew up in Sydney and the climate and landscape there are very different to that of Northern Queensland. The mix of rainforest, green hills and beaches all in close vacinity of each other was beautiful. It seemed like old times to me - being on an a backpack adventure but with the family this time. We didn´t book any accomodation in advance so it was a challenge to find accomodation at our first overnight stop Mission Beach.

The next morning, after an amazing "trucker´s breakfast" at a café next door to our hotel we continued north and made a stop at the lovely Josephine Falls and then backtracked a few km and drove through Wooroonooran National Park, along the Atherton Tablelands and on to Lake Eacham. After a short petrol stop in Gordonvale we continued on to Palm Grove where the accomodation prices forced us back in the direction of Cairns. We found affordable appartments at Trinity Beach where we made ourselves at home for the next 3 days. It was a great base for heading off to the rainforest and The Great Barrier Reef - more on the reef next time.

Aussie Food

I love food, especially while I´m on holidays! Í don´t count calories or watch the fat content of what I´m eating because I am always on the go, walking everywhere, so I don´t put on weight while on holidays either. There is so much available in Australia when it comes to food that it´s overwhelming and everything´s so much cheaper than here in Europe.
While on Magnetic Island we enjoyed seafood, pasta and the good old Aussie BBQ which we usually prepared ourselves after shopping at IGA or Food Works. Erich and I spent one afternoon at Picnic Bay where the ferry used to come over from Townsville and we found a lovely bar/café which had beautiful cheese cake and mud cake. While in Townsville we had the best Club Sandwhich ever in a restaurant at the end of the shopping mall and the kids ate lovely, crisp potato wedges with sweet chilly dip. We went to the HQ Aquarium and walked all around the city and The Strand, played soccer with the kids in the lovely park and in the evening we stopped at an Italian Trattoria and ate mussels before catching the last ferry back to the island and falling into bed exhausted and happy.
On one of the many overcast days on the island we decided to go for a bush walk and what looked like a short stroll on the map ended up being a 3 hour walk through bushland followed by a 5km march on a hilly road to get back to the bus stop. We walked from Horseshoe Bay to Balding Bay and Radical Bay and back to the main road. It took all our energy to keep the boys motivated, we sang and played word games to keep their minds off their tired feet and every now and then a Kookaburra would stop by and laugh at us for still having such a long way to go. Our drink bottles were long empty and just when we thought we´d have to start carrying Markus we finally sighted the island´s main road and saw a red and white utility truck. It seemed like a Fata Morgana for us as it belonged to a german woman who has lived on the island for some years running a mobile juice truck. She pressed us fresh pineapple, grapefruit and orange juice and mixed banana smoothies for the boys and we all agreed that nothing had ever tasted so good.

WE`RE BACK!!!

(from left to right, top to bottom) 1. Daniel amongst the amazing rock formations at Balding Bay, Magnetic Island. A bay that can only be reached by boat or by walking track through the bush. 2. Sunset at Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island. 3. Erich and I on the plane. 4. Quantas planes waiting at Sydney airport. 5. The view from our bedroom at Nelly Bay, Magnetic Island in the most modern, luxurious townhouse you can imagine. 6. Balding Bay. 7. A sculpture on The Strand at Townsville. 8. The boys enjoying fish and chips in the park by the beach. 9. Palm trees at Townsville.
Our 5 weeks of holidays are over and we are back on Austrian ground. We had a lovely holiday but it wasn´t possible for me to blog so I will post photos over the next weeks and use parts of my travel diary to fill you all in on everything that we did. I´ve missed reading all your posts and will be trying to catch up over the next few days...and thanks for all your well wishes for the holiday - it has been an amazing experience.

Island Life

Hi everyone! After an epic journey of 39 hours from door to door we arrived here on Magnetic Island exhausted but happy. Our town house is just as beautiful as it looked in all the photos and the island is lovely - friendly locals and great food. I will write more a.s.a.p, unfortunately I can`t download any photos in this internet cafe so you`ll just have to wait and see how amazing it is...bye for now!!!!!

Australia, here we come!!!!!

Saturday evening 7.20pm departure from Graz airport.
Monday morning 5.10am arrival in Sydney for breakfast with parents, flight to Townsville at 9.25.
Ferry to Magnetic Island at 1pm.
10 days on Magnetic Island in this (ours is on the far right in the picture)town house.
5 days exploring with a hire car between Townsville and Cairns.
Flight to Sydney on 24th July.
3 days sight-seeing in Sydney, 1 week stay at Jervis Bay, my 40th Birthday party on the 5th of August, a few days stay with my best friend in the Blue Mountains, a couple of days for shopping and catching up with friends, leave Sydney for Graz on the 10th August.

5 days and counting!

(I made this table runner from scraps in my fabric basket)
Here´s an update of my "101 things in 1001 days" list
1. Give away 50 things: I´m up to 6.
17. Rid the driveway of firewood and building materials: DONE!
33. Write a short story: DONE!
50. Grow my own potato crop: PLANTED!
51. Clean out the freezer: DONE!
56. Finish knitting jumper: DONE!
78. Check passports and organise visas: DONE!
79. Buy a pair of good quality shoes: DONE!
81. Find jeans that fit and are comfortable: DONE!
91. Clear the guest room of clutter: DONE!
94. Spruce up the boy´s bikes and sell them: DONE!
95. Throw out all toys lying around in the garden: DONE!
101. Sort out scrapbooking supplies and store in bedroom cupboard: DONE!
Some of my goals are up and running and I have completed quite a few - 19 down, 82 to go!
On Saturday we leave for our holiday to Australia, I am getting more and more excited as the departure date comes closer. I´ll tell you all about our plans tomorrow!

Sunday Scribblings #14 - "Two peas in a pod."

We have been having really hot weather lately which I am loving but the downside to this are thunder storms that come suddenly. The wild ones where dark threatening clouds move in quickly, so close you think you could touch them but you wouldn´t want to because a bolt of lightning could strike at your feet, followed by thunder so loud you think the sky is crashing in. It´s storms like these that have my 2 younger sons migrate from their bedrooms because they have attic windows and the sound of rain pelting down on the glass keeps them awake. They take their blankets and their cd player, their current books and their soft toys and they move downstairs into the guest room where they sleep soundly, safe in their shell, like two peas in a pod.

Thankyou!

A while ago I received 2 amazing swap parcels in the mail. The first was from pyglet whispers in Australia - I love the blue fabric and her coffee cup stamps are wonderful. Check out her site, she is doing some beautiful lino cuts and she makes lovely frog softies too!

The next parcel is from an illustrator whose drawings are some of the sweetest I´ve seen. Her name is Tania - check out those buttons! She was so kind to send me a Home Companion, some emroidered fabrics and threads and the loveliest bits and pieces.

Thanks to both of you!

Call me Martha!

The kids absolutely loooove strawberry jam...they mix it in milk and joghurt,
put it on toast and ice cream and they especially like it as a swiss roll filling so I need quite a lot of it. After reading that most brands have 80% poor quality apples and pears and only 20% strawberries in them I decided to make my own. I went to Erdbeerland (these are huge fields of strawberries belonging to local farmers, you can pick them yourself and while you´re there, eat as many as you like - the ones you take home are weighed and you pay 2€ per kilo) I picked 7 kilos of strawberries, bought some sugar and 2 hours later - 22 glasses of strawberry marmelade. I might just put some little fabric tops, ribbons and labels on them so they´ll look all special in my pantry.

Swiss Roll Recipe
Preheat oven to 160°, line a shallow baking tray with baking paper.
Beat 4 eggs with 150g sugar until thick.
Sieve 150g of self-raising flour (or 150g plain flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder)
on top of the egg mixture and use a large metal spoon to mix.
Spread the cake mix onto the baking tray and bake for 15-20 mintues, if you push the cake a little with your finger and it springs back then it´s ready. Spread with your favourite marmalade and roll up while still warm. Let it cool and serve with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

Sunday Scribblings #13 - Music

She woke up and wondered what had woken her so she listened, she heard it somewhere far away in the distance, music. She couldn´t quite make out what it was or where it was coming from exactly so she got up and slipped a t-shirt over her head, put on some jeans and thick socks and went to the terrace door. When she opened it she saw that it was still early. The sky had that misty grey colour where you couldn´t be sure whether or not the sun would rise in a clear blue sky or stay hidden behind thick clouds.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on listening and yes, she could still hear it, it was light, airy music, a flute maybe. Her gardening shoes were right there outside the door so she stepped into them and walked out across the moist grass and into the forest where she thought the music was coming from. The air was clear and fresh and she let her lungs fill up and clean themselves. Her steps made a crunching noise and as she walked in rythm to the music she started to feel hypnotised, in a trance and her body began to blend with the forest and the music she was hearing. She could feel herself rising above the ground, above the trees and the music became louder and louder.
She saw the house where her children were sleeping getting smaller and smaller, her village looked so lovely from a distance and the hills and mountains, were they always so green? She watched the curves and bends of the creek as it flowed through the valley and counted the farms that were so close to home but which she´d never noticed before. She saw lovely cities in the distance and drew up plans in her head to explore them and the countries beyond.
The sun came up in the distance and she felt the warmth of the new day on her face as the music got louder and louder. She closed her eyes, oh what joy to feel so weightless, so free, so beautiful, one with her world.
When she opened her eyes again she realised that she was in her bed, the radio was on and the sun was shining in through the bedroom window. Her lover was breathing deeply as he slept beside her and when she got up to check her children´s bedrooms, all three were sleeping soundly. It was cold in the house, the terrace door was open. When she walked over to close it - she looked at the magnificent world around her and she knew, she was meant to be here.

I combined my Sunday Scribbling for this week with number 33 on my list of 101 things in 1001 days - write a short story. This story finishes with words on a piece of artwork I received from Liz-Elayne which I look at and appreciate every day.
More Sunday Scribblings here.

POSTCARD SWAP

Please check out this great swap sight organised by Dawbis...sign-ups are open for a very interesting trade but be quick!!!