Category: The Life of Lara

Unboxing the overlocker


It’s obviously been tested in the factory, and it works perfectly. Any problems will be my fault!


Colour coded tension dials. Each thread has a colour assigned, and there is a threading diagram inside the front cover.

includes tweezers for threading

The little box of bits


Sorry about the fuzzy pic – but you can see on the left, my first attempt. On the right, my second attempt. Much better. 11.09am


Attempt number 2 – an almost perfect cuff. 11.12am


Completed hat and pants. 1.19pm

Pfaff Hobbylock 2.0 Review

Since I’d never touched an overlocker before I went to the shop to try threading it. And today was the first time I’ve ever used one. So I’m pretty impressed that I was able complete two items (including unboxing, reading the manual, making a pattern for the pants and cutting all the pieces), in just over two and a half hours.

I’ve been told that overlockers can be fiddly, hard to get the tensions right, impossible to thread, etc. So many people told me that they have an overlocker that they never use because it is so cantankerous, I am thrilled with this one – it couldn’t have been easier. Of course, I am still crap at driving it, but I haven’t broken anything yet, or needed to take myself to hospital, so I’m impressed, and given my limited experience, I would recommend this model to anyone.

A community service

There are some recipes that are too good not to share. I believe this is one of them. Mum put me on to it years ago, and I’ve since done many, many variations on the basic theme. It’s one of my favourite go-to recipes when I can’t be bothered cooking, and want something yummy and warm. It is also really healthy (depending on toppings), and can be mostly made with cupboard and freezer items.

Soup

5 cups water
4 slices ginger
5 teaspoons Massel vegetarian chicken stock

Simmer while noodles are cooking.

Topping Suggestions

Chinese sliced dried mushrooms, reconstituted in boiling water
Gai Lan (steamed/microwaved)
Frozen Spinach (microwaved, excess water squeezed out)
Vegetarian Chinese Sausage (from your local large asian grocer)
Field Mushrooms sautéed in butter
Frozen Peas

Basically anything you have in the house, I like to use at least 2 different colours. And I usually use field mushrooms because I am a philistine and don’t really like Chinese Mushrooms in this dish.

Noodles

Drop noodles into a large pot of boiling water. Drain as soon as the water comes back to the boil, or within about 4 minutes, whichever is sooner. They really don’t need much cooking.

Run under cold water.

To Serve

Place noodles in bowl, ladle soup over.

Add toppings, and a splash of sesame oil.

Serve with chilli paste and light soy to taste.

I’m sorry I haven’t called

Found this article today. If you’ve ever been cranky at me for forgetting to call you, here is a good explanation. It’s not an excuse, but it might give those of you without children some insight into the life of a full time parent.

For what it’s worth, I could have written that letter myself, a few years back 😉

Security

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We’re damned if we go back to work and put the kid in childcare, and we’re damned if we stay at home and contribute nothing to society (except -hopefully- a well rounded citizen!).

Since I’ve made the choice to make Inigo my full time job, I’ve been worried that Inigo will miss out on all sorts of things because he’s not getting professional childcare. He misses out on finger painting, on craft projects, on organised play, on group sing-a-longs, and he misses out on play with large numbers of other kids.

Every second Tuesday, he spends the whole day with his cousin Ella at Bev Ted’s, and as often as we can arrange it, he gets to play with Alex, and Oscar, and Owen. But he very rarely spends time with groups of kids, barring playgroup, which we often miss because he is sleeping.

I’ve found out that traumatic birth can often have a deleterious effect on long term emotional well being. Apparently many children that have early maternal deprivation can tend to be fearful and clingy as children. I’ve wondered if maybe sending him to childcare might be a good thing, to draw him out and help him develop socially. I’ve worried about everything. And since he spends 24 hours a day with me, 6 days a week, I worry that our closeness means that he is missing out on other social opportunities.

The other part of my brain wouldn’t have it any other way, and I firmly believe that close attachment is important, especially while he is little, and especially because of his rough start.

And yesterday, I met up with the sling mammas at Broadway shopping centre, and Inigo got to spend an extended time in the centre’s play area. He is happy to toddle off and play with others, he loves being independent, he assumes every other kid adores him (and most of them do), and he is thrilled to discover a new skill, always looking to me to share the joy with a little “Yay!”.

Apparently, despite my fears, he’s secure.