Children's Picture Book Swap

I'm doing this - you should too!

Zoe, over at Playing By The Book, is running an international children's book swap. Just email her and she'll link you up with someone else on our home planet (as Zig likes to call it) and you can then send each other a picture book. I lean towards vintage everything - hoping my linkee might too? Go here to see what you need to do.

You might receive something like this:

I found this in an oppy in Toorak two years ago

So folksy

Inscription - aww

Or these:

Salvos in Balwyn two weeks ago

This blogging business is like having lots of penpals, dontcha think? I was always envious of girls at school who had them - it never occurred to me to just go and get myself one.

Now I have blogpals.




And thanks to MakeMineMid-Century for bringing this lovely venture to our увагу - that's Ukrainian for attention!

Listen




Woo HOO! Hard Rubbish

This band have written a song about this festive time of year.

The Band Who Knew Too Much

It's called 'Hard Rubbish Night in Kew'.

It's hard rubbish time in our neighbourhood and I can't tell you how exciting I find it. Well, I can and so now I will. I find treasure hunting, saving a few things from becoming landfill and decluttering a bit ourselves in the hope that someone will consider our rubbish treasure, very exciting! Although my driving style changes dramatically, as I'm constantly rubbernecking - dangerous I know. I think I'll just pop on a nice old trilby (oh, he's wearing a hat, Sunday driver etc.) and drive with the hazards permanently on.

We had an absolutely beautiful spring day in Melbourne yesterday - the first really springy day. We mowed the lawn, tidied up the garden and transferred my succulents to the recently purchased shelvey things:

We hung the hammock:

Baby looks pensive - hmmm.

Saskia had a baff in a bucket:

And we cleared out the garage - the sacred man space. Here's half of our contribution to recycling:

There's more to come.  We feel so cleansed. And now there's space for the stuff we plan to lug back from others' piles of treasure. Husbandido is a cycling nut and restores/rebuilds old bikes, so he loves it too!  A few things have been snaffled already. Actually, a truck is parked out the front now - they've scored a brass bed. See,  I'm even excited for other people and their finds.

And I also hung these previous hard rubbish finds artistically in the loquat tree. We can watch them swaying and twirling in the breeze from the loungeroom window. I think they need a bit more artistifying up though, non? Maybe a bit of guerrilla crafting...

OH! And look what we discovered during the cleanup - I'd totally forgotten we had it. I think our old cat used to sleep on it in the garage. Nice and clean now.

Some kookaburras have moved in next door and hearing their cackling makes me feel a little nationalistic and adds to the general beautiful nature business going on at the moment.

This moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember. - Soule Mama

C is for cookie

It's school holidays and we're having quite a bit of fun. For the first time Ziggy has shown an interest in baking - actually remaining in the kitchen, wearing an apron and sporting the requisite cute brushstrokes of flour on his face - so we've made a couple of batches of pikelets (wow, they really don't work if you mistakenly use plain flour instead of SR hey? and adding baking powder didn't help - I'm not sure if that's what you add but I felt all home sciencey and clever doing it) and apple crumble. Oh so yummy in our tummies - I had double cream and Zig had yogurt with the crumble. Next we will make some cookies to fill this:

Cookie Jar from Vinnies East Kew

Some cute vintage metal cookie cutters would have better in that shot but 'that's good enough for me'. Rum rum rum munch, rum, munchrum, munch. I can't help but think of my introduction to Nigella Lawson. She was lisping away about cookie cutteths and how she luvths collecting them - husbandido and I were quite speechless: 'This is what all the fuss is about? Why is she holding her head at that weird angle?' Strangely compelling in her awfulness. Maybe it's just us though who find her strange. We have had fun with our Nigella impersonations since, whenever we see cookie cutteths.

We now have a little lady who lives in the little ladies' room minding our toilet paper - we don't tip her.

From Holy Trinity Ope Shope Kew

But if I did I'd be spending a penny from this - its clasp makes a very satisfying and solid clunky click:

Lovely patent leather hundbug from St George's ope shope East Ivanhoe
& silk scarf from the Mental Illness oppy in Thornbury

There was a complete (I think) six piece dinner set - cup and saucer, side and dinner plates - at the Salvos in Fairfield when I bought these if anyone's interested:

Hornsea Bronte Canisters - lids need an oiling

Wow - an image search just delivered these:

Via H is for Home

I had no idea Hornsea made such lovely mugs - I'll be looking out for these. Has anyone seen them or similar in Australia? And they remind me a bit of this, in all of its overstylised beauty:




Then there's the real thing in diddlydee-deDublin.

The Book of Kells

More excellent finds over at Sophie's.

Versatile Blogger

My new best friend MMMC has tagged me as a Versatile Blogger - thank you new best friend. Her instructions state that I must list Seven Evil Things That I'd Never Want Known About Me and then tag 15 other sweet people. So here's my list:

1. There was a time when I seriously thought Hamish Blake might become my boyfriend. I had been married (still am) for years and had a young child. Now I just think he's a bit immature.

2. I sometimes consider not mentioning something/omitting some titchy fact as not lying.

3. I told a Customs official in a formal interview that I had inherited $100,000 - omitting the tidbit of info that I had, in fact, not inherited $100,000. Just so I could stay in their godforsaken country.

4. If I like you, I may just stalk you. All too easy in these days of kompootors and streetview. I call it 'online research'.

5. I spent my 16th and 17th years watching Play School after school because I had an unhealthy obsession with the nephew of one the presenters. It made me feel closer to him. To protect the identities of those involved I won't name the presenter. But if Noni wasn't on then I'd turn off. I kept a dossier (pre-digital age) on him. It contained class photos/poems etc. I'd photocopied from his school year book. I invited him to my year 10 formal (I'd only met him once before - well, some people took their brothers!) and was so nervous I barely spoke to him all night. The obsession continued after this for another year. Then I stalked his girlfriend.

6. I'm not sure I like your dog.

7. I don't think I handed a single essay in on time during the course of both an undergrad and a Masters degree. I'm with Douglas Adams:

                 "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

I'm following Anna's lead and not tagging - I'm not quite sure of the blogtiquette and to be frank I have a four-month-old who doesn't like to sleep, so my squinting-at-screen time is precious. But it has been fun and so now you know.

It was only after I'd written this list that I threaded back through and discovered that traditionally you list Seven Things I'd Like You To Know About Me. Just Things. Not Evil Things. MMMC's list should have had an eighth (wow, that spelling doesn't look right at this time of night - eighth, eighth, eighth) evil thing...

My Baby the Interllekshool

Yes Professor Chomsky, I agree - if we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion.

Oh look - a flutterbye! 

Sorry, where were we? Oh, yes - education must provide the opportunities for self-fulfillment; it can at best provide a rich and challenging environment for the individual to explore, in his own way. Like, totally.

This moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember. - Soule Mama

Go Bang Your Head Against a Wall

The Classic Paint Book - full of charming bucolic scenes and this:

Doesn't she remind you of Sally from Mad Men? So for me the image is a tad tinged with sadness. But then again 'She's a child. She'll get over it.'



And that particular style of parenting had been perfected by the 1970s. When I was a child. I know - I'm so sentimental.

A recent addition to the growing collection of Japanese stoneware dinner plates. We hosted Christmas a few years ago and seeing as I didn't have a full set of matching dinnerware I started picking these up. They're rather heavy. Isn't it lovely? Here are some more:

I know - that's just showing orf, isn't it?

A packet of lead pencils for $2 from recently discovered Salvos in Fairfield (it's a good one). I love lead pencils. They make me feel arty, even though I can't sketch or doodle for squat.

I should have placed a shiny red apple for the teacher in that shot...

And a suitcase ($5.99 also from Fairfield Salvos - yes, it IS a good one) to store the gobsmacking amount of Lego in this house. Which will only continue to grow seeing as my beautiful boy turns 7 tomorrow!! Happy Birthday Sigmund Alexander! xxx

Now go play outside...

More excellent finds over at Sophie's.

There have been worse...

So I've had a few comments about the haircuts I give my hunsum son.

I've been copping these for, oh, almost seven years now - I can wear them. The harsh, critical comments, not the haircuts. Call me cheap but I prefer to do them myself, with a professional 'tidy up' every six months or so. He likes them (he is a bit of a clown) and I feel he needs some embarrassing 'ridiculous haircut' photos for later in life - character building, see?

But things are about to improve - expect to be impressed, as look what I found yesterday at Vinnies in Kew:

There's a special section on cutting the small peoples' hairs and as the authors rightly inform you 'if you've got children, you've got captive models for your practice sessions'. Captive models! For your practice sessions! I would like to add that the Mum Haircut can also be a special bonding activity between helpless, small human and large, respectful of others' dignity human.

There is a lot of useful information about layering.

And more about layering.

A little about feathering. And a bit more about layering.

I actually had my hair cut last night - yes, a professional salon, we can't all look ridiculous - and I have lots of layers. But now I'm wishing I'd asked for a wedge cut.

Call me nostalgic, but I love a good haircut. A statement haircut. Which is why I can't understand why this little fella looks so unhappy.

Ziggy loved having this one!

This moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember. - Soule Mama

Devising a cunning plan...

Now that I can sit up, the world is MINE! BUAHAHAHAHA!

Gonna putcha bum in a bumbo,
You gonna love sittin' in a bumbo.

Your choice of tune.

Dressing Table Delights

Ring holder from the Salvos in Abbotsford

Pretty, oh so pretty, things this week. The ring (1930s ceramic) and brooch are from the treasure trove that is 'Felicity's' in Balwyn. This place deserves its own post, and so it shall, at a date in the foocha.

Glass bowl also from Abbotsford Salvos - jellybeans or boiled sweeties?

Faux pearls from the Mental Illness ope shope in Kew

I vaguely recall my Nana having a something similar to this on her dressing table - I think it was originally a powdery puffery thing? I found this at Vinnies in Kew.

Une petite bit of bourgeoiseriement (it's fun to say) from Fairfield Salvos

Squeaky toy from Vinnies in Kew, 50c - praps '60s or '70s.

Sweet jewellry box from the Mental Illness ope shope in Kew

Yes - it's been an exciting time! Pop over to Sophie's for some more treasure show-offery.