When life says NO ...

I needed to renew my license - as you do on your birthday divisible by 5 in the ACT. I had a pile of questions to answer - you know the usual - do you have epilepsy?, do you have diabetes?, are you taking illicit drugs? - NO NO NO. Do you have a heart condition / disease or paralysis? Ummm YES. If you have answered YES to any of these - you are required to obtain a medical statement from your own doctor stating you are a medically fit person etc...

So off I go with confidence - picking up the most lovely cards from Lester and Mum on the way - feeling really good about life.... I ask him for a statement, and he hesitates... and eventually says No Janet, I can't give you that.
Ohhhh Come on - I am not that bad, and I really don't drive when I am feeling sick.. Come on...
No Janet - you could black out and be a danger to yourself and others. You would never forgive yourself if you hurt someone else...

Geez - I lose my license BEFORE Mum does. NOT FAIR.... Just as well Bob still has his, even though he can't do too much driving. It is just stressful for him. So no more long trips up to Queensland for us.

There is a chance that when I go and see another specialist in Sydney in December, that an ablation may (or may not) fix it all up, and I will be able to drive again. In the mean time, life changes again...

• Time to adapt to new circumstances.
• Time to be grateful for living so close to everything we need that we can walk there.
• Time to be grateful for a reasonably good bus system which leaves from my front door, and goes most of the places around Canberra.
• Time to remember that no matter what life throws at me - God is still with me, and there are a lot of people worse off.
• Time to remember that you can adapt to anything in life - and here I am complaining about not being able to drive.
• Time not to have my sense of identity and purpose wrapped up in a little piece of plastic giving me permission to use a lethal machine regularly

When Fifty feels like hundred

Tomorrow I turn fifty. I was proud of this - thrilled, and pleased that Fifty is the new Thirty... and all of that

until I needed to renew my driver's license, and because of my heart condition (Atrial Fibrillation), I had to get a letter from my Doctor to say i was OK to drive. All is well - until I asked him, and he got 'that' look on his face. In the end, after umm and arhing, he apologised, and said he couldn't...

So I have my wings clipped - well and truly. As of tomorrow, I cannot drive, until I find a Doctor who will allow me to.

That's OK isn't it - there is always Bob - that is another story... So he can, but should he.

Yes, I am spirally down in depression - won't go too far I hope, but this significantly changes my life doesn't it. Feeling a lot of loss at the moment.

Gentle Footprint

This is the name for my dream. I am going to take a risk, and publicly talk about my dream as it develops.

I have made things all my life it seems. I remember sitting on the back steps of our house (a typical Queenslander house on poles, and the laundry was under the house), learning to knit a head band on a day home from school - my mother was washing the clothes. It was orange wool, I remember, and I proudly wore that head band.

The perfect birthday present I remember from my childhood was 2 pieces of material and a pattern - and then the privilege of making up those dresses. I remember one was light blue floral, and the other was pink. I think Mum made up one, and I made the other. It was a princess style dress pattern. The house I can picture this in means that I was younger than a teenager when this happened - my 10th birthday I suspect. I told my mother recently, that SHE is to blame for my obsession with crafts and sewing - and she is, and should be proud of it.

I went on to do Home Science throughout High School, and through the enthusiasm of an extraordinary teacher, 8 of us went on from Year 12 to become Home Economics teachers. Sewing was always my favourite part of Home Economics.

Life has proceeded, and I left the teaching field, and brought up my children, making all their clothes for many years. For some time I earned some pocket money making clothes for others.

I have seen home made clothes move from a necessity in life, to the a sign of being "poor", to a freakish, unusual thing to do - and now I see the tide turning again where making clothes is a valued and precious skill to have.

It is my dream to pass pass on the skills of making your own clothes and home essentials to other people.

The other side of this dream is the need to live gentler on our earth. We are all finally becoming aware of the need to make sure out footprint on the earth is lighter and gentler. My dream is to be a catalyst for encouraging people to tread lightly on the the earth in our home and family life.

Watch here as this unfolds.

Do you want to join me in this journey? If this ignites a passion in you in any way - please let me know. I don't know how things are going to develop - and maybe there is already something happening out there that is achieving this dream that we can work together with.

Cheers
Janet McKinney

Long time no ... well ... write I guess

Yes it has been a couple of weeks hasn't it. I keep checking up on lots of other people's hauls, and overhauls, and stashes... and creativity too.

Life has seemed a little hectic lately - family stuff that needed attention.

I went to another auction, and this time got the contents of a sewing cupboard to bring home - lots of nice materials, and bits and pieces. This has meant a major overhaul of my crafting area. Out of desperation, a lot of "stuff" got packed into big plastic bins, and placed in our storage area downstairs at the units. So my cards, and miniatures, and many dolls, and wool have been stacked up and stored for a while. Just think of all the fun I am going to have when my mood changes, and I want to take up a different hobby! I have rearranged the craft cupboards to store the piles, and piles and more piles of material I have gained over the past month. Many of the clothes I bought at the auction that I didn't want to wear have been prepared for re-purposing, and I have added to my collection of zippers and buttons.

Now it is sewing time. I have been doing some - but the camera needs charging, and the charger is .... well you know what happens. I will take some photos shortly. This is all with the goal of setting up an Etsy / Made-It shop online, and also going to some markets.

In the midst of all of this, I have gone from full-time at work back to part-time - 3 days a week. It seemed the best thing to do in all sorts of circumstances, but there is a definite gap in the finances as a result - hence the sewing ideas.

There are some other ideas on the back burner - I will get them into writing some time soon too - I will be looking for your feed back about them

Cheers - I have to finish the big move around in my crafting area - and make the lounge just a little tidier....

I lurve being a Nanny

I had the two cutest little boys over for the morning - and their Mummy of course. Mummy learned how to thread her sewing machine, and wind a bobbin. And then she made 2 skirts for herself with an elastic waist. Both were from pieces of batik material - and she has enough for two more. next time we will make some little boys trousers with elastic waists - same process, adding the crotch seam.

Two boys helped Nanny made (and then eat) Anzac biscuits, played in their big cardboard box cubby house, tipped the toy box out, and had a long time playing while cleaning it all up, did some painting, including the balcony tiles (Poppy is asleep - he is not going to be happy!!), and waited and waited and waited for the cake Nanny made to get cooked in the oven.

The absolutely best bit was while driving them home I hear this little "Excuse me Nanny". "Yes love" I replied. "I love you Nanny"... Are their any sweeter words in the universe - I don't think so. Of course the same little munchkin was in charge of the plastic box with the freshly cooked cake in it to carry to the car - and couldn't resist opening the lid to get a smell. Of course you know what happened... so it got put in a plastic bag with the handles tied together to reduce the temptation involved.

All in all, the best possible Sunday morning - and now I am ready for a Nanny nap I think...

Artwork on my walls

I thought I would show you the artwork I have on my walls. They all have a story, and precious memories.

Firstly there is these family trees made by my Mum. She cross stitched the pictures in the centre to represent her side of the family (top) and that of my father. The top picture has pictures of my daughter Rosie, to my great-great grandmother of the women in the family tree. The bottom picture has my three brothers, Dad, Grandad and my great-grandfather Polley. The photos were printed onto fabric by a local fabric printing store, and she attached them with a piece of fine cotton lace around each picture. They are precious family heirlooms as you can imagine.

This is a couple of needlepoint tapestries I made during a couple of years of deep depression and illness. It is the Earnslaw on Lake Wakitipu, in Queenstown, New Zealand. We spent a number of holidays in Queenstown, and it reminded me of good times there.


This is another tapestry I made at the same time, of the Church of the Good Shepherd, at Tekapo, Central Otago, New Zealand. We visited that church a couple of times, and the view of the lake through the window behind the altar was just remarkable. I found it a place of great peace.

Mum made this one in long stitch, and Dad made the frame by laminating the timber strips together, and turning them on the lathe. They are precious to me.

This peacock - again needlepoint tapestry, was made by Bob's mother, and a keepsake we were able to keep after her death.

This oil painting was done by an elderly neighbour of mine when I first returned to Maryborough from New Zealand. It is of Ibises and was a scene on the Mary River wetlands between Maryborough and Hervey Bay.

Bob's mother made this leather work, and she gave it to me before we were married. It was a sign to me of a real acceptance, and is much treasured. It was a scene from the Australian Bicentennial celebrations of the tall ships arriving in Sydney Harbour.

This precious appliqué hanging was given to me by a friend just before we left to come to Canberra. She was nervous giving it away, as it was the first hand made object she had given as a gift. it is precious, and so many little pieces of material were used and embroidered in such detail. I love it.


Finally this is the fabric painting I found this morning in my frugalling / garage sale hunting. I just love the colours, the fact that it is hand made, and the birds are beautiful. I stapled it over a canvas and have hung it on the wall unframed.

Frugalling Saturday 2

As well as the material, I bought some more interesting things.

Firstly - all the bits and pieces I need to learn a new craft. Something I have been wanting to learn for a long time.


It has a styrofoam pad to pin the lace onto, a dozen bobbins (I already have four - so this is enough to do quite a wide lace piece), instructions and some cotton. Hmmm looks interesting.


A cool apron. I have been thinking about making myself one of these, in fact when I was thinking through what I could do today, making an apron was considered. Now I have one... and love the patchwork printed material.


Two little babies rescued from Aussie junk for $2. Twins I think.

And two more little celluoid dolls - much older, and rescued from Aussie Junk at Mugga Lane. They cry out for love. I love them.


And at a garage sale - bundle of Childcraft books - full of stories and poems and things to do, to be read with the Grandchildren.... because we finished the Winnie the Pooh book when they stayed over on Wednesday night - well actually we finished it Thursday morning before dropping them off home on on my way to work, because we were all dressed and fed, and wanted another story. We all love the cuddle together in Nanny's bed reading a book... ($2)

Sleeping Bags for Very Important People

I am having a pair of wonderful grandies staying over tonight - and in a little unit with 1 bedroom and the boss's office, spare beds and bedding are light on.

I found a couple of old blankets, and some fabric from my stash - and now I have two individual sleeping bags for some little boys



Both of these blankets have provenance. The brown one was my mum's - and the blue one came from an uncle. Now they are being used for the fourth generation...

They still have to sleep on the couches though. Some blow up mattresses won't go astray. Must check out freecycle and see what I can get a hold of.

I have been busy ... again

This is my lovely two grandies - and their Mum Liz - and the new T shirts they all got made for them this morning. Liz's is made from material I picked up at Vinnies this morning - the boys chose theirs a couple of weeks ago. So that is three things completed, and three things out!