And so it continued by day and by night

We didn't have room for a tree, so we improvised.



There was lots of wonderful food.



And the usual cougar activities. This year we toasted schoolies 1985 with a west coast cooler.Yech!



And then I got them all ready to leave me for 14 days.



On New Year's Day I woke up without any trace of hangover, and did my first mini triathlon runthrough with my sister. We jogged to Sandon Point Surf Club, swam round the bouys, jogged back to her house, got on the bikes, rode to Towradgi and back, then ran up over the hill to Thirroul beach and back again where I practically died.

My husband insisted on going to IKEA after that, so we schlepped it up there in the heat of the afternoon and stayed there until 9 o clock at night! I really hate IKEA generally, but husband loves it. Anyway, we got some stuff done and I'm hoping not to have to go back there anytime soon.

2012 was pretty huge for me - the renovations came into full swing, I enrolled in a distance education course but failed to even start it (I am so ashamed of myself), my son sufferred a severely broken leg and won't be able to walk for 4 months, my daughter finished primary school and so a whole new chapter of her life begins in 2013. I worried about parenting and my children's wellbeing more in 2012 than I have since they're birth. I also learned that worry alone achieves nothing.

I exercised so much I hardly knitted anything. From my family, I recieved absolutely nothing for my birthday, not even a card - and I didn't think I cared about that but I did. I was hurt by people and it took me completely by suprise - I thought I was immune to emotion. I made mistakes. I grew. I shrunk!

And 2012 is now gone, and in 2013 I will be closer to 50 than I am to 40.  Maybe I'll do that course, I'm definitely going to achieve some fitness goals (even though I think/thought people with fitness goals are wankers). I'd like to travel more in 2013 with my family, and I really need to get proper glasses so I can knit on the couch at night. I'd love to get those dyepots out again, maybe even a new name for the yarn business. Whatever it brings, I think I'm ready.

Sunset Boulevarde

Hey groovers - I finished another thing!

A while ago I said that I thought I'd never again knit another triangular shawl. I felt over them, and whenever I wear one, I feel a bit weird.

However, I didn't say I wouldn't crochet another one one, did I?

This took a long time to finish because I stopped working on it. In actual crochet time, it was a bit of a snap really.

Pattern: Rayon De Couleurs 
Designer: Eclat duSoleil *(great name huh?)
My Ravelry Project Page: Colour Beams
Pattern Notes: I didn't do anything except follow the pattern until my yarn ran out. It took a full ball of the fuschia mix, and about 3/4 of the purple mix.

Really fun and addictive kind of project, and the alternating row that tricks the eye into thinking it's striped is GENIUS.

And now, as soon as I type this, I begin my Christmas cooking. Being one of the few people I know who has actual culinary responsibilities this time of year, I'm looking forward to a menu of glazed ham, turducken (the ALDI equivalent anyway), roast pork, all manner of salads, quinoia fritters, black forest ripple cake (my experiment) and a wonderful cocktail I got from the delicious delicious magazine, the negroni sparkler - described as a christmas cocktail for the cynical. 

Bring it Santa!

So, how's the house going?

I get asked this question all the time. For a long time I didn't have much of a response, because the work mysteriously seemed to have ceased. It's an unfortunate consequence of having a job that is being completed by a builder in his spare time.

This situation has changed a little in recent weeks. In fact, it's all going at a breakneck pace and it's possible (fingers crossed) that I'll have a functional sliding door out to the new deck and the frame for the new rooms in situ by Christmas.

The re-modelling of the layout of the single garage into wardrobe, ensuite and another bathroom has been completed, pending skirting and cornice. Then comes the fitting out stage. I can't take a photo in there because of the piles of plastic tubs, brooms, mops, stepladders, and storage boxes that have already been stacked up,

It's scary what a mess it's been, and still is. But I can see it coming together now, and it's a really great feeling. Dad is using a block based building system that is very quick - you build a foundation layer, and providing it's level, the rest of the layers go up reasonably quickly. I even did a few courses myself, which was extremely satisfying! And today, I weilded a sledgehammer and took out a whole wall of bricks!

Here's a few progess shots of the back - it's coming together isn't it?

And it's that time of the year again.