It's a mystery...

I am off today for a weekend mystery flight. It's my sister in law's birthday today and that's how she decided to spend it this year, with a girl's weekend.

I am very excited about the trip and will share the details when we return from where ever we are going.

I hope your weekend is just as lovely.

Cheers

Welcome Lucy and Violet

Our lovely girls have almost entirely stopped laying over the past few months so we felt it was time to add to our flock and so, welcome to Lucy and Violet.

Miss 13 and Miss 9 picked out the names and I was delighted at them! They go perfectly with Harriet, Pearl and Penelope, although the same certainly can't be said about the chickens themselves!! The usual settling in for chickens, the old girls letting the new ones know who is boss.

Cheers

Makings and Made

A busy little knitter is what I have been over the last couple of weeks. I have made this lovely shawl, deliciously warm and perfect for the winter weather that has arrived rather suddenly in this neck of the woods. I haven't even bothered blocking it, the weight of the yarn is enough to keep it beautifully in shape. The pattern can be found here.

And this lovely little rainbow scarf for Miss 9. She has been hounding me for a rainbow scarf for ages but I have been a bit fussy and not found any yarn I was happy with. Last week I found it and Miss 9 was very excited. The pattern can be found here.

I found both of these patterns through the great site Ravelry, so if you are a knitter and not a member, JOIN NOW!!!!

Special thanks to Rhonda over at Down To Earth and everyone who has left comments today. Rhonda mentioned my blog in her regular Friday post Weekend Reading. I have been a regular reader of her blog for a few years and I was so excited when I read her post this morning, I'm sure she could've heard me squeal with joy! Thank you also to everyone for the kindness shown in the comments.

Cheers

Homemade Timber Furniture Polish

Do you make your own?

It's very easy, inexpensive and has to be much better for the environment than all the sprays and bottles of yuck that you find at the supermarket.

Simply mix olive oil with your favourite essential oils and you are set. I use about 1/4 cup of olive oil and add the oil(s) until I am happy with the fragrance, usually just a few drops.

I make up a small amount when I need it and if I don't use it straight away it acts as a lovely room freshener when left on the kitchen bench. Now simply rub into your timber furniture and polish off for a lovely, scented sheen.

In the past I have used lavender oil for the bedroom furniture and lemon oil for the rest of the house, but I'm starting to experiment with different blends. My favourite at the moment is an equal amount of rosemary, peppermint and lime oils. Delicious!

Do you have a favourite blend?

Living Accidentally

Weird post name I know, but it seemed to sum up how I am feeling right now perfectly. The opposite of living deliberately. I have been feeling more than a little lost for some months now and I am starting to think it's because I am not living deliberately, I'm just floating along with no routine or flow to my days and weeks.

Mr Homespun is working away at the moment, flying out on Monday afternoon and returning Friday, and I am feeling horridly guilty at how the house looks the same when he gets back as it does when he goes away. Slightly unfinished and a bit disheveled is probably the best way to describe the house at the moment ( and myself come to think of it...). What do I do with my days? Well, knit obviously, but not much else.

This month it is a whole year since I lost my job and I don't seem to be looking at the housekeeping and homemaking as my job yet. And it is. And I love that it is, but I don't seem to be acting like I love it. But I think this is just because I can't see any visible signs that this is what I do. Nothing is what I want it to be, the house, the garden, the kids, even this blog doesn't seem to be what I want it to be.

I need to work on my routines, work out what works for me and for my family. A routine that will leave me feeling satisfied and perhaps even give me a sense of accomplishment. Where I can knit or quilt or whatever without feeling guilty that there is something else that needs to be done. A routine that doesn't leave me with a list a mile long and makes me feel overwhelmed.

I need to feel like each day matters, not that is just another in a long list of days that don't add up to much, which is were I'm heading. I need to get my head together!

So I'm on a quest to find me, a peaceful and productive me, a kind and calm me. A me my girls can look up to.

So I'm starting by turning my house upside down, by developing a few small routines, by expecting more of myself and mostly making the most of what I have, both figuratively and literally.

But mostly I'm starting with nuturing. My family. My home. Myself. And that feels good.

Knitting needles

I have more knitting needles than you can poke a stick at (or a needle), some I bought myself, some my mother gave to me and a large collection I inherited from Mr Homespun's grandmother. Those ones are particularly precious and I want to keep them to pass on to any of the great grandchildren who may take up knitting (hopefully my girls are two of them). But I don't need them all myself so it's about time I created some order out of them.

So I am on the hunt for a pattern for a knitting needle roll. And if I can't find a pattern I will have to wing it, but I'm hoping to avoid that. I intend making one for the needles, one for the DPNs, one for the circulars and one for the crochet hooks. I thought about making one for all of them, but frankly with so many, I probably couldn't lift it! Here are some that have inspired me.

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The problem with all this is that I need to get into the spare/craft/sewing room to do this and at the moment that room looks like the proverbial bomb has gone off in it. I am not posting photos of it, I am that embarrassed. The room has become the dumping room for everything that doesn't have a home and I can barely shut the door on it. I should be working on it but frankly I'm too busy knitting!

Cheers

Steamfest 2012

Yesterday we all went along to the Hunter Valley Steamfest, a celebration of all things steam powered that has been going for 27 years, but it was the first time we have been there.

There was a race between a two Tiger Moth planes and two steam trains, the planes winning by a long margin.

Plenty of old steam cars, tractors, machines etc

We had only been there for an hour when this rolled in...

..so we went home a little earlier than planned, very wet. Still, a fun time was had by all.

Cheers