The Royal Canberra Show

Mum and I made a quick trip out to the show this morning. Probably a bit quicker than we had planned as my phone rang just as I parked the car - the big girl was in sick bay and needed to come home. With a call to Grandad to arrange pick up, we dashed into the craft pavilion.





Gorgeous Mali won first prize in her section, and I picked up a third for my blanket.




My favourite part of the show is always the fruit and vegetable sculptures. I really must get my kids to have a go one year.




The stunning water melon basket was done by the daughter of a friend of ours, and she won show champion for her age group.




Are you planning a trip to the show? Is it all about sideshow alley for you, or do you prefer the craft, produce and livestock?

Showtime

Next weekend the Royal Canberra Show is on again. I enjoyed making and entering a doll last year so dutifully filled out my entry form in December, thinking February is a while away, I have plenty of time. I think it was the same thought that made me add my Circle in a Square blanket that was kind of, sort of, almost finished.




All of a sudden it was mid February and I still had a bazillions ends to weave in, and an entire doll to make. The ends were finally finished on Friday night. Thankfully we have had a few cooler evenings so being covered in a wool blanket hasn't been awful.

When I handed my blanket over at the show, the lady on charge commented on how unusual the colours are (really?) so it will be interesting to go back and see what else has been entered.

And this is Mali.




Mali is a special kind of mermaid. She is very curious about life outside the ocean and every now and then she can turn her tail into legs and live on land.





From the look of the entries that were already there, Mali will spend the next week in a sea of porcelain dolls.

If you are going to the show next weekend, pop in to the craft pavilion and say hi to Mali.

A little stocking

I am a guest stockist at Gossamer Dreams tomorrow.



No dolls, but a few quilts and other bits and pieces. Previews are up now and can be purchased from 8pm Queensland time tomorrow.

The awesome cot was built by my dad. Supposed to be a market prop, but lives with the small girl most of the time.

Preschool

With much excitement, the small girl headed off to preschool today. She has been anxiously waiting for this day, and was thrilled that it had finally arrived.





Knowing that she will soon be at preschool two and a half days a week, we have made a few excursions this week.




We packed Baby in her stroller and headed off to the duck pond for a picnic.




Spent some time admiring the ducks (but not feeding them after I explained that giving the ducks bread was like feeding them lollies - not good for them at all).




And inspired by our growing collection of baby stick insects, spent some time looking for creatures in the garden.

I can't quite believe that my small girl is old enough for preschool, but am happy that she is so excited about starting.

Cross stitch magic

I could not resist when I came across these cross stitch patterns on Pinterest. Not with a boy as mad for Harry Potter as mine is.





The pattern is from Wee Little Stitches on Etsy and she has a heap of gorgeous patterns. You can even get a custom family portrait done.

The boy did mention in passing this morning that he liked Star Wars better than Harry Potter now - lucky I bought the three Star Wars patterns too.

You can see what else is being created over here.

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside

We are just back from eight days camping at the coast with friends.




Lots of swimming, both in the pool and at the beach.




Long walks, scooter and bike rides.




Rock pools.




A lot of kids - there were twelve in the group we were staying with.




And a few big kids. They are launching water balloons, which the kids were trying to catch.




Weather for all seasons - hot, sunny days, winds strong enough to blow a neighbouring gazebo away, and rain. Our second rainy day turned in to a movie afternoon for the kids. It is very hard to entertain twelve kids in the rain - I don't think there is a tent in the world that is big enough.





Lots of wildlife.





Beautiful beaches.




A spot of fishing.




And of course, camping craft. The ripples are slowly coming along.




The only downside to the trip was having to pack up in the rain, which meant having to set everything back up again at home so it could dry.




The perfect end to a very full school holidays. The two bigger kids are back to school tomorrow, and the small girl starts preschool later this month.

This month I am reading

(I do realise it is now February, but I ha this post all ready to go before we left for camping last week but hit save instead of post, so humour me for q minute or two)

Squeezing in at the last minute yet again for Bron's bloggy book club, this month I am reading The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory





This is the first book in her series about the War of The Roses. I have all three books lined up on my Kindle ready to go - wonder how far I will get in the last week of holidays.

The big girl is reading Enid Blyton's St Clare's series. She loved the Mallory Towers books, and is enjoying these just as much.





The boy and I are working our way through the How to Train a Dragon series. We are currently reading the third book - How to Speak Dragonese. I also got a few of the series as audio books for him - they are read by David Tennant (the tenth Dr Who) and are hilarious.





The small girl and I are reading The Children of Cherry Tree Farm. Again by Enid Blyton, this book is out of print but we picked up a copy second hand a few weeks ago. The book has really captured her imagination and she loves hearing about the adventures of Rory, Sheila, Benjy, Penny and Tammylan.





You can see what else is being read this month over at Bron's. Have you read anything good lately?