Meme for youyou

Here's my version of the latest meme doing the rounds. Anything in colour I have done, anything in back I haven't! If you are reading this and want a turn, you are tagged!

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited The Great Barrier Reef.
5. Stood under the stars in the outback, the real outback – think Uluru.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to the Gold Coast’s theme parks – anyone, you take your pick.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sung a solo.
11. Bungee jumped, jumped out of plane, been paragliding or hang-gliding, hot air ballooning – you get the idea, you’ve been hundreds of metres about earth in a seemingly flimsy contraption.
12. Visited Melbourne.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Had a child. Raised a child. Worked with children.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Been to the Snowy Mountains.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Visited the Brett Whitely studio in Surry Hills, Sydney.
20. Slept on an overnight train or bus.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Been backpacking.
23. Taken a mental health day.
24. Been buried in sand with just your head and toes sticking out.
25. Held a possum, kangaroo or koala – or any other native Australian animal.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Been in a fun run.
28. Been on the Blue Mountain cableway.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Played, or watched, summer cricket.
32. Sailed, kayaked or canoed our beautiful waterways.
33. Seen the Daintree.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Visited an Aboriginal settlement or mission.
36. Learned a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Toured the Sydney Opera House.
39. Tried rock climbing (indoor or outdoor), abseiling or just simple bush walking.
40. Visit Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art.
41. Been to the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
42. Sunbaked at Bondi.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Broome.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone fishing.
49. Seen Tasmania’s old growth forests.
50. Been to the top of Q1, on the Gold Coast.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Driven the Great Ocean Road.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Norfolk Island.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Guide biscuits.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Got flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone jet boating.
66. Visited Port Arthur.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favourite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Australian War Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Federation Square.
74. Been on the Murray River.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Travelled, or climbed, over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Three Sisters at Echo Point, Katoomba.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited St Mary’s Cathedral, in Sydney.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Been to Hermannsburg.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited Parliament House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Saved a pet.
95. Been to the site of the Eureka Stockade.
96. Swum in The Whitsundays.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a mobile phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

Phew! No wonder I'm tired!

j

Photo tag

I have been tagged by the fabulous Life In The Dome for a photo meme. This lovely peep has lots of feathered friends. I miss my chooks so much, and am currently awaiting news from the Murrumbateman Poultry Farm to see if we are 'expecting'! Exciting!

However, digression aside.

The rules of this meme are:

Go to your sixth picture folder in your picture file on your computer
Pick your sixth picture
Try to remember the details
Post it on your blog

So here 'tis...
A night of sewing when I was making picnic/tea party sets for a Canberra toy store. Alas they didn't sell as well as the (cheaper) mass-produced, sweat-shop ones, and no more of mine were ordered. All part of the journey though!

What is in your sixth and sixth Curlypops?

j

Blogtoberfest - Six Random Things Meme

I have been tagged by ChooksRUs for the Six Random Things Meme that has been doing the rounds recently. Ok, so off the cuff -

1. I have a history of silly medical visits... I have had dozens of splinters in my feet after swinging on the Hills Hoist and landing on an old table, have had a moth removed from my ear in hospital, and had my tongue surgically removed from my braces... Noice.


2. I have worked in a library, teaching (ESL) English, in Local Government, in retail, in customer service, and even been a Tupperware lady!


3. I bite my nails. It's utterly disgusting. I have done it since I was 8 or 9 years old and wish I could stop. Apparently it has something to do with anxiety?



4. My nick-name at school was Stressica (perhaps linked to point 3 above?)

5. I love starting things but rarely finish them, and have UFOs from years ago. As an example, I started making a mohair bear for my niece when she was in utero, I made the head, and go sidetracked - she just turned seven...

6. My thesis at Uni was on children's play, in public and private spaces, and how accessible and welcoming they are (or are not)... I planned many play spaces for kids, and despite being told they would never be funded, was delighted when the Ian Potter Area at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens was built (I had nothing to do with the project, but eerily there were many ideas friends and I had discussed!) It's a great place to visit - have you been there?



I'm not tagging anyone - but if you've stuck around and read through all this, then You Are Tagged Too!!!

j




.

Over-committed...

Sharing the stash, blogtoberfest, so much excitement - I forgot my own knit-along! Thanks Trashalou who has gently reminded me that the lace knit-along began TWO days ago...

Ahemm...

See you in a bit!

j

This is....

It's been a while since I played along...

This is... what I do when I get a spare ten minutes...

Sleep, or

Have a cuppa, or

'Phone a friend!

(Although as my friends can attest, I rarely get ten minutes to myself!!)

What do you do?

Have a great day - J

Juddie from Flightless Boyds chose the topic for this week's This is.... Thanks Angela for hosting!

This is... what gives me goosebumps....

I can barely look at the photo without wincing. Yuk.

Goosebumps aplenty here! To read about why we get goosebumps, click this link here!

j

This is... my favourite outfit that expresses my individual style...

What a great This is... this week by Kitty, hosted by Angela. Check out who else is playing here.

I have no real outfit that I wear that I think celebrates me, and my style. I have a lot of interest in clothes and fashion, yet not for myself. Not a great deal is available in PLUS sizes... I do however have a Jess-uniform that serves me well for school drop-offs. I think it's very representative of me, in that I blend in and do not draw any attention to myself in crowds, which consists of...

denim jeans. Almost always.

Pony tail. Every day. I have no luck with hair...

White t shirt, 3/4 sleeve top, etc.

My RMs.

And I accessorise with hand-made jewelry and bags!

Not very original, but it's me!!

Offline and having withdrawls!

Thanks for lovely comments, and sorry there was no day 5 to Nicola's lovely meme, but The Computer Died and had to go to Hospital.

Also, the Whole Family has been sick and I am still in bed and feeling miserable.

However, I got computer back today, and have HOURS of posts from you lovelies to catch up on!

Back into the blog soon!

Week of Decoration Day 2 - Stripes and Lines

Thanks Nicola from Nicola's Daisies for this meme which is causing me to look for patterns in everything! Yesterday spilt milk was spots and dots and by the time I got the camera, it had been cleaned up!!

Today is stripes, lines, etc.... I think you should join in too...!




At work, so thanks to Google images!!

J

This is... A day early!

This is... this week has a recycling theme.

We have a special way of recycling here. The kids are totally involved, and even point out that certain brands have too much packaging, some of which is not recyclable.


Mind you, Master 6 does go into the pantry and empty boxes that he 'needs' before they are empty... Lots of craft possibilities from recyclables. When they are deconstructed again, they go to school for art, then are recycled.

It's no secret that I frequent op-shops regularly, as why buy new when better quality often exists at a fraction of the price, and proceeds go to a good cause?

I'm a button-chick, and what I make uses recycled vintage buttons (orders taken ;-)


Some items that are labelled with the recyclable symbol are not actually ABLE to be recycled in your country. So here's what we do if we buy un-recyclables. (This is also recycled from a previous post!)

Tetra packs are NOT actually recycled in most of Australia. So we use them are cool-bags for the shopping! I also keep my current knitting in one. Daggy but oh-so-recyclable!

Thanks Angela for this meme - I love it!! Check out who else is playing along.

x

This is.... my favourite book (at the moment)

My first love is reading. I have long been a book-devourer. Incredulously people ask me "did you really read all that?!", but those close to me know I am quite the speed reader. Not always of course, as some things are better when read slowly.

This is ... has been lots of fun, and it's always good reading about other people's entries. This should be rather interesting, as I will enjoy making notes and seeking out books that I like the sound of!

A FAVOURITE book is a big ask. A favourite for a long time was Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I was given this at the age of 16 by my then-boyfriend. It has always been a heavy read but a great book. Of course I then went on the Marquez-discovery, and read many, many more of his works.

Later, Siddhartha by Herman Hesse tickled my fancy.

The poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson has also always been wonderful to me, especially The Lady of Shalott.

When reading to kids, certain books never lose their sheen, like Each, Peach, Pear, Plum by the Ahlbergs, or Great Day for Up by the incomparable Dr Seuss.


I own most Agatha Christie novels, which are great to read quickly, read on holiday, or just immerse oneself in on a cold day. These are a treasure and a lovely little collection!

Today, my favourite book is my Oxford Concise Dictionary. This is the most thoughtful pressie I think I have ever received, as it is exactly what I wanted. Boring to many, brilliant to most!


x

Day 5 of vintage illustration

Golden Books were a staple of the library we had as kids. These two were firm favourites.

Out of My Window, illustrated by Polly Jackson, shows the 1950s beautifully. Someone has written in the cover under This belongs to: MY NANNY!

The child in the story could be male or female, which means all kids relate to the child. The busy-ness of the street was amazing to me, as hardly anyone drove down our street as kids! I remember looking out the front window, willing some of this street action to come by!

Boy With a Drum has soft and gentle pencil illustrations. The boy walks along drumming, and all kinds of animals follow him. It's beautiful. This is a thrifted copy, I think our original has no cover anymore!

x