Mothers Day

So far, my Mothers Day experiences haven’t lived up to the “Hallmark Commercial” expectation. Last year, Inigo decided to stop breastfeeding, preferring to scream until he got the formula that he knew I had to give him.

This year, he woke up screaming at 4am, and alternated screaming and using me as a chew toy for over an hour, before I gave up and asked mark to deal with him. Some panadol later, and we got to sleep in until 8am.

For many of us, Mothers Day has an expectation that we will be appreciated for what we do every day, year in, year out, and rarely get thanked for. For some, it’s time to put your feet up, expect breakfast in bed, delivered by clean angelic children in pristine white clothing, accompanied by a ruggedly handsome man with a twinkle in his eye. But for most, it’s a day like every other day, with, perhaps, a card, and a special lunch, and that’s about it.

So what is it really about?

After reading this post, I know what it’s about. It’s about introspection, and thinking about the good parts of mothering, and glossing over the crap. It’s about recognising the freaking awesome it is to know the love of a child. And knowing that no matter how much they love you, you’ll always love them more.

Years ago, when I was adamant that I was never going to have a baby, my mum said that she worried that I would miss out on “something”. She never articulated any more than that, just that there was a certain something that I would never experience if I didn’t have a child.

And today, I understand. You were right mum.

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 😉