Happy birthday Andrew (braces boy)

Andrew is now a teenager. He turned 13 while he was away on school camp yesterday. Andrew had the bright idea of joining some of his 13 candles and making a big flame in the middle of his cake.

Andrew said he wants to be rich when he's grown up - and be a philanthropist, giving the money say to people in Africa who need it. I am so impressed with him!!

Ben said Andrew should just get his braces for his 13th birthday. I said that sounded like a very good idea - Andrew was worried for a bit.

Pillow Talk Swap Round 4 - Relish Australia Inspiration Mosaic

Pillow Talk Swap Round 4 - Relish Australia Inspiration Mosaic
Originally uploaded by Relish Australia

Julie's inspiration for a pillow swap she's in. I was at her place when one of these arrived - so gorgeous.

Ben's birthday

11 candles! And smarties...

Birthday week Teppanyaki

It's birthday week at our house - for our two boys and our two girls. (The two girls are guinea pigs, but surprise, surprise, their birthday is the same time as the boys. We went out last night for a pre-birthday dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant.

Close up of the Rachel bird

one of four birds, Debbie's quilt
Originally uploaded by Linseed2010

Debbie's 40th birthday quilt

I gave Debbie (my sister-in-law) her quilt while I was in Alice. She has four kids, two boys, two girls. You'll see that one of the boys has flown away already. (Jack is the blue bird at the top, he's flown away to uni.) And Rachel, who is in year 12, is almost launched.

B&W daisy - the six cousins

B&W daisy - the six cousins
Originally uploaded by Linseed2010

Here's a close up of the quilt I made for Debbie. I couldn't blog them earlier, because she would have seen them...

Diamond Rainbow

Diamond Rainbow
Originally uploaded by Lisa-S

Fantastic work on flickr.

Tropic of Capricorn

Today we drove to the tropic of Capricorn line and beyond. It's been raining here, and mum and dad wanted to see some wildflowers before they're all gone again.

Ben at the Tropic of Capricorn marker.

Ben and the milk crates

Ben hopped in a milk crate on grandma and grandpa's back verandah, and pulled another crate on top of himself. He was sitting inside it when I walked outside. Hope that's not a spider right by his eye...

He is such a nong!

Andrew's mechanics project

Andrew and his grandad worked on his mechanics project while we were staying at their place. It's a fruit cutter. Dad did so much - and made a reality from Andrew's diagram. The boys were fascinated watching dad with an oxy torch, bending a piece of metal into a crank. Dad's a hoarder, and his old pieces of radio aerial came in handy for spacers for the blades.

And because dad's a hoarder, that's why you see his new shed in the background of this photo - to store all his stuff!!

The fruit slicer mecahnics project.

We posed the photo with a lizard tail in the garden. The fruit slicer has a shaft to hold the banana (or tomato or whatever) in place, and the blades are all at different angles. I think Andrew will be getting an A for his project, thanks to grandad Graham!

Jess and her supersized Sims3

My niece Jess is lucky. Her dad is good with computers and has hooked her computer to a supersized TV screen. She's here playing the Sims. I had a go, and the screen is almost too big. You have to keep moving your head around or you miss things.

Solar powered ovens

Not sure what this was, but it was being pulled around the eco fair.

We went to an eco fair in Alice today. Loved the solar ovens baking bread, chocolate chip biscuits and muffins. Just made with scrap, found materials. How eco is that!!

Ben's maze pincushion

Ben made a pincushion at school this year. It's a maze. Only one way in and out. I sent it to mum, and while I was in Alice, it was my chance to take a photo of it - so I can remember it. Ben was thrilled that grandma is using it.