Mix and Match.

When I was young I looked at my parents as all-knowing gods. Having little people of my own makes me realise how young they were and how much they didn't know.

I don't want to be a know-it-all (imagined or otherwise). I admit to my children that I don't know all the answers. I have certainly learnt more about myself from them than from any introspection, teacher, book or guru.

Parenting may be a strange 'mix and match' of knowledge and intuition and things may not always be perfect but honesty seems to be working right now so I think we'll stick with it.

Then.

Saturday in London

Bubble and Squeak, 9 months

The morning after the night before

Granny Hilly

Best Sista Out-Law ever!

Granny Hilly's garden

Before we had a cafe we lived in a very nice house in a very nice street in Thornbury with very nice neighbours. The rent was reasonable and we had a huge backyard. In fact the rent was so cheap that we could afford to travel to the UK to show off our nine month old twins. That was in 2004.

Sad to say we have not seen many of these lovely Brits since then. 

The cost of everything goes up (and up and up,) it feels like we will never save enough but slowly the fund is rising. Stay tuned.

Me?! Dis-organised?!

La Tricoteuse (Knitting Woman) painted by Jean Metzinger in 1919.


Over the summer I knitted four scarves, one for each member of the family. 

I always end up knitting in the heat these days. It seems like the worst time to play with wool but my knitting projects don't move as quickly now that I have twins so I have to get in early. The cafe also closes for 3-4 weeks in Dec/Jan and as I start to relax, I get the urge to make stuff.

I also started a vest with some of the left over scarf wool but when I went to get more, the colour had sold out. Feeling mildly peeved but not wanting to throw in the towel, I decided to introduce another colour to the mix. Unfortunately I hadn't checked my purse before I left the house and I had to leave two of the balls behind at the checkout. 

The next day I went back to get them and that wool had sold out as well. Argh! It was turning into 'Josephine and her Amazing Technicolor dream-vest'. 

Poster design for the 1981 theater production of 
'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' Patrick Hughes

Needless to say, the project was shoved into the bowels of my knitting box and will probably be unravelled one day. 

Now I'm eager to start a new project, at a more sensible time of the year too. Another vest. This time I took my pattern and enough money. I even bought wool from the same dye lot. The only hitch is that I can't actually find the wool...

I swallowed a mirror ball.

This picture still freaks me out.

The cafe is full of babies and pregnant women at the moment. 

Seriously Thornbury... It must be something in the water.

Mavis and Tom.

This is my Sister and I with our Grandma and Grandpa. I love this picture. It was taken in their front garden in Rosebud. My Grandma made our dresses(and probably our underpants!)

Grandma taught me how to: knit, hand-sew, embroider, use a sewing machine, sew on a button, make proper gravy, weed the garden, play Scrabble and Patience, dry old teacups carefully, save useful things and how to make scones and sponge cake.

Grandpa taught me how to: tether a horse, pull a carrot, knock my gumboots together on the step before going inside, walk in a patch without getting 'nettled' and mow the lawn so the grass flies into  piles and is easier to rake up.

These people taught me pretty much everything worth knowing.

Long Black and a Decaf (gulp) Latte.

We sure do miss that order on the coffee docket... 

This Auntie and Uncle are rather missed too. *sad face* They were in Melbourne for the month of May and it was not long enough! 

C & O: Thanks for everything you did for us while you were in Melbourne. We are so grateful. 

You certainly have two little fans in Bubble and Squeak. We have had to answer a tonne of questions about where, when and how we are going to see you again.

Three. It's the magic number!

This was taken around three years ago, last week. 

Our first day in our new cafe. 

Gosh, those three years have flown by. At times we really were flying by the seats of our pants. We've learnt a LOT about people and human nature. A cafe really is a microcosm of the wider community. The good, the bad and the ugly!

We've made many amazing new friends, have a great team and fantastic regulars. We have a new paint job, a new bar, a new coffee machine, an automatic dishwasher(yes!)and we got rid of that fugly deli fridge too. 

Onwards and Upwards Bambinos!

The Law of Attraction.

In Primary School my Best Friend was English and I thought her parents had the loveliest accents.

As a 13 year old I listened almost exclusively to the Beatles for one whole year then decided it would be OK to branch out to The Stones and Bowie for the next one. (Sorry Family!)

At fifteen I was obsessed with the Swinging Sixties and wanted to grow up to be a Fashion Designer living in London.

It's really no surprise that I fell for an English traveller...

The Best Men.

Breathing is essential to life.

Let's call them Bubble and Squeak.

This is Bubble.

This is Squeak.

On Wednesday afternoon Bubble came home from kinda early due to a high temp and constant coughing. 

(When Bubble coughs for longer than a few minutes it's always asthma.)

All the usual tricks did zilch. 
Ventolin. Homeopathic drops. Acupressure.

At 9pm we decided it was time to hot-tail it to The R.C.H Emergency Department. Bubble lost his cool as we were packing and the tantrum turned into a full-blown attack. An ambulance had to be called. 

It was the longest five minutes ever. Bubble was delirious, sweaty, blue-lipped and floppy.

On the way Bubble had Ventolin mixed with oxygen and relaxed for the first time in hours. It seems a chest infection was the culprit. 

After an uncomfortable night in an emergency cubicle with more Ventolin and the oral steroids starting to kick in we were on our way home. Bubble really is a super trooper.