Frugalling Friday (and weekend plans)

I'm feeling much perked up after a very slow start to the week. Do you think a little gentle lunchtime frugalling yesterday helped?I picked up this doona cover. There's a story behind it. I bought the exact same doona cover in May 1996 on my first trip to Australia. As I was hanging it on the line after washing it last week I remember idly contemplating the fact that I'd never seen one in an op shop - and then, yesterday, there it was! Slightly more expensive than I'd usually want to pay (and without pillowcases alas) but it was a weird moment...

Alos discovered yesterday was a copy of a Dean's Bumper Book of Bedtime Stories with pictures like this (which reminds me, along with this morning's fog that it's definitely autumnal and probably time for the twice yearly wardrobe shuffle this weekend?)And this (yep, definitely time to pull out the daisy hoodie to work on!)And a bit of baking followed by a spot of afternoon tea sounds just perfect,while I listen to my new Eddi Reader live CD, a gift from J & M to make up for the fact I didn't make it to see her at The Folk Festival at Easter...

(I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with the pictures in this book. I'm just wishing I knew more about printing onto fabric than I do!)

A pinch and a punch...

Presenting the result of March's Self Portrait Tuesday theme. 31 pictures of me - the equivalent of one per day. All taken within 5 minutes of 7 o'clock.

Am I happy to no longer have to shove a camera in my face twice a day? (Do I need to answer that question?!)

And no sooner do I catch my breath from that I'm straight into Use what you have month. Sheesh!

Did I realise when I signed up that this would mean no frugalling for a whole month? Hell no!

Is this a good way to save money? Errr.... now you mention it.....

So what did I do with all this extra time I had today since I wasn't out and about ratting through various op shops?

First I cleaned up the study, including my noticeboard,

sorted out my buttons (I can't help it - it's the Librarian in me!) Cooked a spot of lunch (lentil, spinach and coriander soup and quick Mediterranean flat bread, if you're interested) Then I did the end of month accounts (won't bore you with a picture of that, or of the house cleaning) before starting a new project...

...and deciding that maybe I should have used a pattern for the Jumper Based on a True Pattern after all!

(Soundtrack: Once in a lifetime, 20 classic New Wave hits)

Self Portrait Tuesday - Seven @ 7

Week 4 (from left to right, top to bottom):
1. 7am Tuesday 21 March 06: Ironing. Again.
2. 7pm Tuesday 21 March 06: Mowing the back lawn.
3. 7pm Wednesday 22 March 06: Stocking up on specials at Coles.
4. 7am Thursday 23 March 06: Trying to decide what to see on my unexpected day in LA.
5. 7pm Thursday 23 March 06: Wondering where my dinner guests have got to.
6. 7pm Saturday 25 March 06: Getting ready to head out to the theatre.
7. 7pm Monday 27 March 06: Unexpected dinner at A & L’s with self portrait silliness..

Self Portrait Tuesday - Seven @ 7

Week 3 (from left to right, top to bottom):
1. 7am Tuesday 14 March 06: Loading books onto Bookcrossing before I send them off to Sewthrifty.
2. 7pm Tuesday 14 March 06: Trying to decide what to make for dinner.
3. 7pm Wednesday 15 March 06: On the phone with Mum.
4. 7am Friday 17 March 06: Putting away CDs.
5. 7pm Friday 17 March 06: Friday night drinks at Trinity with J & M.
6. 7pm Saturday 18 March 06: Clearing up the study
7. 7am Monday 20 March 06: Having a sleep in because it’s Canberra Day.

Self Portrait Tuesday - Seven @ 7

Week 2 (from left to right, top to bottom):

1. 7am Tuesday 7 March 06: Spending quality time with Nibbs.
2. 7am Thursday 9 March 06: Eating breakfast and reading Wallpaper*.
3. 7pm Thursday 9 March 06: Working on The Jumper Based on a True Pattern.
4. 7am Friday 10 March 06: In the shower early so I can drop the beater off at the fixit place.
5. 7pm Friday 10 March 06: Driving back from feeding Daisy and George for J who is in NZ for the weekend.
6. 7am Saturday 11 March 06: A little light pre-breakfast reading.
7. 7pm Saturday 11 March 06: Hanging out the washing.

Self Portrait Tuesday - Seven @ 7

Week 1 (from left to right, top to bottom:)

1. 7pm Weds 1 March 06: Sorting out dolls house furniture to list on eBay.
2. 7am Thurs 2 March 06: Ironing so I have something to wear to work.
3. 7am Friday 3 March 06: Creating my blog entry.
4. 7pm Friday 3 March 06: Baking scones in my new oven.
5. 7am Sunday 5 March 06: Woke up in the nick of time to take this.
6. 7pm Sunday 5 March 06: Setting the table for dinner guests.
7. 7am Monday 6 March 06: Drinking tea and catching up on other people's blogs.

Self Portrait Tuesday - A Red Letter Day!

OK maybe I'm stretching this month's theme a bit far but All of Me is very happy that today was the day that I removed my P plates.* Yay!

I'm celebrating by driving myself, J and M to the pub where I will have a cider. Then drive home. BECAUSE I CAN!

Swap mystery number 5:

(Soundtrack: Ben Watt, Buzzin' Fly 2)

(* In Australia learner drivers have L plates on their cars to warn the rest of the world they are going to do stupid things.

After you pass your test you then switch to P plates to warn the rest of the world you'll occasionally do slightly dumb things. Usually involving stalling.

If you are under 25 you have to show your Ps for 3 years. Because I'm an old fart I can whip those puppies off Miss Daisy after just 6 months. P platers are expected to have a zero blood alcohol limit)

Self Portrait Tuesday

I was due on May 8th. I finally arrived on May 24th with the help of a pair of forceps. I'm sure my mother was very relieved and I am happy enough to share a birthday with Queen Victoria and Bob Dylan and be a Gemini not a Taurus.

Unfortunately whoever handled the forceps got a bit carried away and I ended up with a damaged optic nerve in my left eye.

As a small child I had to wear glasses with a patch over my good eye to try and convince the bad eye it really wanted to work. I remember my Mum used to draw an eye on the patch. I'm not sure if it helped me much (the patch or the picture).

I had glasses (but not the patch) until the age of around 11. I hated them. I believe there was only one sort of glasses available for children at that time - or maybe that's what my parents told me so they didn't have to buy glasses more expensive than necessary.

On a family holiday to Rotorua I "accidentally"* left them behind in our cabin and didn't notice until we were some way out of town making me quite quite unpopular with my parents.

I think at one stage I got so pissed off with them that I snapped them in half. I believe they were replaced by an identical pair. I can't remember exactly as I seem to have blanked out most glasses-related memories.

One I haven't blanked out is the eye examination where I was told I didn't have to wear them anymore. To this day I feel like I was encouraged to cheat wildly. The doctor had the eye chart up and I was whizzing through it with my right eye. Come time to test my left eye it all became rather more difficult. The doctor was encouraging. "Go on! I'm sure you can work out what it is!"

I was going "hmmm.... two pointy bits at the bottom...... Is that three at the top? It's probably a W then....?" And lo and behold I passed. And the glasses were finally history. There was much jubilation all round.

Oddly enough in later tests it has been discovered that although my left eye is utter crap, my combined sight is rather good, especially in close up which is jolly useful when making dolls house stuff and tiny needlework projects.

(*whether that was conscious or unconscious remains to be proven)

Self Portrait Tuesday

Thought I might take the SPT theme literally this week and pull out a photo of all of me. At 19 months old. Note tasteful placement of the bucket. Oddly enough the haircut looks strangely like the one my hairdresser gave me on Saturday...

Self Portrait Tuesday

Well here I go in the deep end with a Self Portrait Tuesday entry in my very first week. Pretty typical, really.

In case you don't know about Self Portrait Tuesday I added a link to my side bar for you to follow (was very proud of that feat at 6am, let me tell you).

February's theme is All of Me ("embrace your mistakes, love the ugly bits. I want this to be a challenging month - we have had it easy over christmas and the holidays but now it is time to look deep inside ourselves and embrace and face our whole selves. I don't want to see any perfect images, any pretty studio like images, no perfect hair or makeup, get rid of the masks you use to face the world.")

And I think the following photo pretty much sums up the theme:

I wouldn't be here without these two people. And this is a typically mad family shot. Note the twirly finger action happening. Note the typical pontificating father pose (all that's missing is a speech bubble with "May I suggest?"). And Mum, as usual, copes stoicly with it all.
Thanks guys!