Hookery Pokery

There has been a little more hookery going on although it is not the most seasonal activity. My niece told her mother that she liked the big bag I made a while ago so I've made her a smaller version for Christmas. Yes it's late but it'll be Sydney-side very soon.

 

It follows the Attic 24 pattern (sort of) until it got to the size I wanted then I just went straight up. I used treble where she uses a tighter double crochet stitch.

 We used to call these dilly bags when I was a child. The draw string was an add on, just crocheting up a long piece of chain stitch and threading it through every two stitches. The flowers just look pretty and stop it coming undone. These two were left over from the other bag.

I'm thinking a black and white one in cotton yarn might be noice in a Dr Seuss kind of way.

In further hookery news, the radium rug is almost done. Only three (tedious) rows to go crocheting the turquoise border to join them up as I go. The momentum is running down. 

My crochet mojo is finally slowing after enjoying quite the revival through last year. How many rugs do you really need in the sub tropics? Regardless,  I'd like to have one for each child so there may be a stripey theme for next winter's boy rugs to come.

Meanwhile back at GOMA for some more Gomalicious indulgence.....

The way in...

Seeing...

Doing....

NOT touching...

Shooting...

Lala went Dada and was moved to photograph these visually arresting pieces...

The way out....

They got all Dr Who on me in the zombie tunnels. Rest assured, this only happens if you over Goma-ise yourself with more than two visits in three days. Normal transmission has resumed.

Truly Ghouly

We weren't going to do it this year. I grumbled a bit about the logistics on a week night with five but then it all fell into place. The girls mustered at a friend's house and donned a bit of their Scary McLairy attire. The small one wasn't supposed to go but kind of got dressed and suddenly she was. How could you tell this to stay home?

The Ghoulettes were not as pretty as in years gone past. As I painted Lala, she kept insisting."Uglier. Not ugly enough!" I told her she would scare the short one so she settled for Coraline meets the mummy.

When red eye works!

 By the time we started it was dark so the photos are pretty dodgy but you get the idea. This was the first stop. The face is saying ,"Are you kidding me? I say Happy Elouise* and they just hand over lollies?" This is her third Halloween. In fact it's everyone's third Halloween. The first she was in a pouch, next time in a pram and last year we had a bit of both. This year we all walked the entire thing.

* Shorty speak for Happy Halloween

While others were focussed on the lollies I was distracted by some seriously special West German pottery. Check out that lovely lamp. Colour and form, readers. This was the house of Scandy Andy whom we have visited before. Shorty only had one working head light which made her easy to spot in the dark but I kept expecting her to veer to the right.

Meanwhile the zombies were massing on Scandi's verandi!

The gloating and counting of the booty was the short lived climax of the evening. 

We scooped the boys up from their festival of tooth decay and dropped off some spare girls. The car was abuzz with festive energy and sugar and general overtired hysteria.

Some looked like they might not be able to sleep for a while. 

It takes more than some delirious preteen noise to put the self bedder off her game though. Indeed it is a sweet lullaby to her ears.

I had to pry that bucket of lollies from her grubby unconscious fingers.

There was no time for me to dress up with all the comings and goings but here's one I prepared earlier when Lala was introducing me to her beauty regime a while ago. She made this sparkly goop at a beauty birthday party. There were no cucumbers so apples sufficed leaving me all starry eyed. How do you like them apples? 

      "BOO!"

What not to say

It is awkward to know what to say to a friend who is going through something horrible. You don't want to pretend its not happening but how much should you acknowledge the elephant in the room?

There have been some supers and bloopers over the last months.

Hospital art

The worst was a checkout operator who noticed the beanie and spirals in my eyes so felt she had to tell me about her sister and mother both dying of breast cancer. Then she added that it had been devastating for the family and asked if I had a rewards card!!! It was okay. In fact it was so ludicrously clumsy that it was funny.

A green complexion can compromise the whole look.

Then there was the well meaning friend who commented as I picked up my daughter that 'it' had taken years off me. I hope not, I thought to myself, and wondered how crappy I must have been looking before chemo! Maybe hair does not suit me.

Maybe I'm more of a hat person.

My all time favourite so far was my four year old nephew's comment. His Mum and I had been chatting on the verandah and I had removed my hot hat and forgotten about it. John, who is a devoted fan of Plants versus Zombies, walked out, observed for a while and said, in an admiring voice, "Aunty Annie, you look like a zombie!" I chose to receive this as a great compliment, the way I decided it was intended. Next time I visit I'll wear a fancy, contact paper zombie tie like his. 

It will take years off me!

Aunty Zombelini

Floating your Boat

On a wet week end, where only a boat should be out, there are some that will still enjoy the great outdoors.

Building bases with the boys at the local park,

attending zombie, disco parties,

enjoying the empty spaces on the abandoned beaches.

or getting dropped upside down in the name of school sports.

                                             

     Others of us prefer recovery time with a new movie (her first time with the Wizard and Dorothy),  

                                                    

a cosy doona and old literary friends, like Alison Lester,

Kaz Cooke and her "Terrible Underpants",

                                    

                 Derek Jarman and his stark and marvellous Dungeness "Garden",

              l 

and Maira Kalman's wonderful "Principles of Uncertainty".

                                   
                                       And there will always be the perfect cookies of friends.....

                                     

and a cosy sleep in. 

Did you mooch this week end?