Project #3 : Knitted Cushion

Clearly this is one of those "every home should have one" projects.(Actually I do have some concerns that as the year rolls on these projects could very well become weirder and weirder, providing a glimpse into the sad and desperate workings of my twisted mind. Oh well.)

One of the reasons I am attempting to do a project a week is that in spite of working 3-5 jobs (depending on the year), I have continued to amass materials for projects-especially yarn-as if preparing for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. Buying/collecting supplies was a way of convincing myself that I would eventually have some time to do some crafts I guess. Now my goal is to end this year without being featured on 'Hoarders'.

Photographing this cushion made me realise I need to sweep my back steps. Anyway, I used up some yarn BUT THEN I ran out of one of the colors so I went to buy another ball of it and accidentally bought some green yarn and some purple yarn. Don't judge. Watch out for me on Hoarders. 

Projects 1 and 2; Heart Garland and Box O' Salad

So I took some old clothes; a plaid shirt that was my daughter's, a flowery top that was mine and some linen trousers that were my mum's. (My washing machine has Oppositional Defiance Disorder and often attacks my clothes for no reason, leaving them ripped beyond repair)

..and I made them in to a heart garland. I made these during the first week of January when I was off school.

I'm happy with how this project turned out, although it doesn't bode well for me as far as getting rid of old clothes are concerned. Now I will keep everything in the belief that someday I will make more garlands...

Project #2 was a simple one that I had been wanting to do for weeks, and I wish I had done it a few weeks ago so that we could be reaping the benefits round about now.

A couple of towns over from me there is a wholesale wine store, and they leave their wine crates at the back of the store for whoever wants them. I always take a few when I'm in that neck of the woods, I use them for anything I can think of including as planters. Drill a few holes, line with burlap, add your potting mix and seeds and you're sorted mate.

In about a month we should have a veritable lettuce buffet. I'll keep you posted.

52 Projects

Although I hope and believe that this blog will always be a haven for bitterness, sarcasm, cynicism and despair, I'm going to do something new this year. In between all the snark and usual complaining I shall share one project a week. I have picked the original title '52 projects' for this endeavor, and tomorrow I will post the first two projects of this year-long adventure.
Basically, I need a raison d'etre this year and hopefully posting up my lame-ass projects will do the trick. See you on the dark side..

Happy New Year

As a nod to the many cultures who honor the new year by cleaning house, I put clean sheets on my bed last night. I really love the feeling and the smell of clean sheets; if I had household staff I think I would make them change my sheets every day. If you know me you won't be completely surprised when I say that despite this love of clean sheets I don't change them as often as perhaps I should.
Waking up in fresh sheets on New Year's Day seemed like a great way to start a year that I'm hoping will be A LOT BETTER than than the last two.
When I woke up my cat had puked on and in my bed. This was a less auspicious start to the year than I had been hoping for. As I write this the washer and dryer are going strong, sounding like a small earthquake due to the pen that has been stuck somewhere in the dryer for the last two years. And so begins 2014. Come with me and we'll see where we end up...

I'm a problem solver

While I was in the Old Country, sleeping in my old room in my parents' house, I had a lot of Those Dreams. Over the years I have had different versions of Those Dreams. When I was at school I would dream I was sitting at my desk and then I would slowly realize I was wearing a nightshirt and everyone else was wearing their school uniform. My Dear Old Mum told me she would dream she was going to school in a vest/undershirt that was too short, and nothing else. Although I haven't had any more of Those Dreams since getting back home,when I was back there I kept dreaming that I went out without anything on below the waist. Those Dreams were so persistent that eventually in my dream I thought to myself "I really need to pop a sarong into my handbag".

Nothing stays the same

They lived here for 36 years; I only lived here for five. After I left my old room quickly became a spare room, but this house has been a constant for my children. My son and I moved seven times, my daughter has moved four times in her sixteen years but my parents' home remained the same for them year after year. This is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. The only constant is change my friend

Last day ever in my parents' house...

Family Ties

It's been a rough two years. We buried dad last week and now we're packing up the house they lived in since 1977. Nobody wants to go through this, and I wish I could tell you you don't have to; but if you were born then you have parents somewhere and I am here to tell you that one day they will definitely die.Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news.
Losing both my parents brings up all kinds of cliched emotions and makes it obvious that this human experience is a shared one, and that these cliches exist because most of us go through something similar when we lose loved ones. Next week my daughter turns 16, and my son is 21, and I'm an orphan now.