Jack boots

But of course who am I kidding. You really just want to see how Jack is. Yesterday as the weather was much warmer the clam shell got a workout. As Jack likes to hop in and out and the grass is quite prickly I put his gumboots on which made for a very interesting look indeed.

Arctic Market

I began to feel nervous when I heard the weather forecast for the weekend. Rain with hailstorms on Saturday - the day of the market. But then Wednesday and Thursday came and went with quite pleasant weather and I hoped that the weather people had got their balloons mixed up and it would be fine. I got a call on Friday night, when the one woman sweatshop had expanded to two women with one very reluctant elephant stuffer. The call was from Elise discussing weather contingency plans. Hmmm. Still I thought we would be fine. The theme of the stalls was black and white chosen for its classic simplicity (something it shares with Collingwood supporters?) and Mum had decided we should also dress in black and white. So on Saturday morning I donned my summery black and white ensemble and at the last minute threw on a jacket thinking I wouldn't need it for long. I loaded the car (S was loading the oven with pork for a slow roasted pork dinner that night - bless his cotton socks).
The spot I had on Wallendoon street would have been a prime spot on a sunny day, but on a freakily miserable day in Cootamundra (not sure but was there a sheep grazier's warning issued that day?) it was bloody freezing. Setting up was a challenge but we battled on. We had the stall set up between my parents, Maddy (S' cousin who was selling her beautiful cards), Diane and me. I had cut out the letters of the stall (Jack and Scarlett) in red felt and Mum and I adhered these to the fabric And then we stood and hoped the punters would come in spite of the rain and the wind. Any sensible person would have still been in bed. Maddy made the first sale of the day. And then there was a brief lull. We tried to warm up with bacon and egg rolls and hot chocolates, though that nearly ended in disaster when I knocked mine over on the table. Lucky those bags were covered in plastic. It did start to get busier in spite of the rain squalls when Mum and Dad would leap in to action with a tarp and a blanket to try and shield the cards and the animals. Mum was perfecting her sales technique of the doting grandma with other grandmas which worked well. One bought our favourite quilt. Jackie and Jeannie and Bella were a welcome sight, arriving at the same time as a shower, and purchasing. A woman almost purchased my favourite bag but her husband did the pussybum face and she decided against it. It was interesting to see what was popular. The giraffes and toddler hats were very popular. Only one sad giraffe was left. The elephants were popular too. But the monkeys, maybe because they were green, were not so popular. The aprons were not. People looked at them and said what a lovely idea and then walked off, probably to go home and whip up a quick kiddy apron with pencils in the pocket. And one woman walked off with two t's from the sign so for awhile there we were Jack and Scarle. She did bring them back but only one t was salvageable.
The cold got the better of Maddy and Diane and they left sometime around lunch. We stayed closer to two and headed off. The other stalls outside were doing the same except for the food lady next to me who did so well that she sold out by lunchtime and disappeared. There was only so many times I could listen to her describing slow roasted lamb wraps. Roasted for 6 hours. You call that slow roasted? In this house we slow roast for a least 12!
So we packed up and had a look inside one last time. I headed home with almost as many monkeys as I started with as well as gourmet ice cream (for S), an almond croissant and a pain au chocolat, butter lettuce seedlings, sage, basil and a new ironing board cover.
A big thank you to Mum and Dad who flew down to help (and all those fabric donations and the lovely library bags from Mum), Noel and Diane for the extra babysitting, the hat stand and bubble wrap, S for babysitting and support, Maddy and her lovely cards, Bek and her tarp and Elise for organising the market day. Hopefully the weather will be better this weekend in Junee when once again I will try to sell my wares.
And yes, the slow roasted pork was fabulous.

Sew and Sew

Sorry for the lack of posts and photos but I'm in a sewing frenzy. This is the sewing desk looking actually quite tidy. It's a production line for 20 toddler hats. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in my head really.
There are little (who am I kidding they are enormous) piles of fabric all over the house and patterns and thread and stuffing and after a couple of close calls the scissors have been banished to very, very high hiding places.
We will resume normal service soon and I apologise for the inconvenience of being deprived of Jack's adventures. I'm storing them up in my head (oh-oh better change it from sieve mode) and hope to post lots soon. Well in just over a week anyway.
And yes that is a cage around my sewing desk. Doesn't everyone have one?

Market Day

Now as you know I LOVE a market. Love them - simply cannot get enough of them. Well, now I'm taking a big step and I'm going to have a stall at one. I know - it's very exciting. I'll be selling (and at the moment making so that explains the even poorer than normal amount of blogging) handmade toys, bags and cot quilts. So the market is on in a week and a half and will have so much more than my stuff. Gourmet ice cream (yes, my dad will be sampling that), bread (and I mean really good bread) and lots more. So at the moment I'm madly sewing. I get up early when Jack wakes up (ouch) and sew for a few hours then sew during his nap and then after he's gone to sleep I, yep, sew some more. It's getting a little taxing. The other night I closed my eyes to go to sleep and I could see a needle moving up and down into a piece of fabric.
Anyway I took a photo of the flyer (it's sitting on my lap which explains the very poor quality) so if you aren't doing anything come along. Actually if you are cancel it immediately and come along to the Arts Precinct of Cootamundra (more impressive than the Paris end of Wagga) on the 22nd of November and give your eyes (and more) a treat.

the cupcake step

Jack's interest in all things culinary has increased since his introduction to cupcake production. He is now convinced that if there's something going on in the kitchen it requires his presence in a supervisory capacity.
The problem is that he's not as tall as the bench. I appropriated a step from Noel and Diane (it was called the Elsie Step, so named as it was used by S' grandmother to get in and out of 4WD vehicles). It has now become the cupcake step. As I stand at the bench preparing something I'll hear a scraping noise as the step is dragged across the floor to the best viewing position alongside me or usually where I'm standing. I then can relax knowing all will be well under Jack's watchful eye. If only they had Jack scrutinising the kitchen at the Coogee Bay hotel.
If there are too many veggies involved or taste testing is not required the step will be dragged across the kitchen once more so Jack can help with the washing up (um, thanks but I've already washed those...) or reorganising the magnets on the fridge. It's a busy life he leads, full of responsibilities.
And yes, I realise that the bench is very messy; we were making gem scones for morning tea.

Who says that males can't multi-task?

We took the ute back on the weekend and so far it appears that Jack hasn't noticed. A lot of meticulous planning went into this. Placing the ute in the car after Jack was already buckled in and a diverting trip to spotlight while S took the ute back to the toy library and got something else.
And what did he choose? A John Deere tractor trike with trailer and a stove. Hmm. Trying to get a balanced individual? Part tough country dude/part gastrosexual with a touch of the metrosexual (that's all down to the hair). I asked S to look for a stove because Jack really likes the one at playgroup. He likes to pop things in the microwave then set the clock to time it. But then he also really likes the pink pram with the little black baby.
And the new toys have been a big hit. A first he sat on one whilst using the other (nice) but now they are getting the separate attention they deserve. Well, they would be if I hadn't temporarily removed the trike from his room. Yesterday he was standing on the seat and flinging himself over the handlebars for his Uncle Andrew to catch him.
And the stove? It's still got the slow cooked muffins in there (they've been cooking since Saturday) but now they've been joined by two sheep. Lamb Roast anyone?