Guess what!

Today I could start a new project! Hurray! It is not so long as I travel to the countryside tomorrow (teacher training course with my colleagues) so I won't be able to work on it (but I designed some handwork to be able to do on the train :D)
So I decided the design and did the cutting today. I am going to put a picture about this project and if you want, make a guess. Try to find out what this project is I know it is not easy, but use your imagination if you want to give it a try! A bit of a help: one yellow piece (as you see it is much bigger) and 78 of the little pieces. What would you use them for?
Have a nice week and have fun! Happy first week of July to you!

Still cleaning??!!

I think you can guess I am still cleaning. Today was the day of the living room, but it was not an easy part.... I know I always say this, but you surely can't imagine how problematic (and dangerous) cleaning is.

Today we started to delete the huge mess in the living room with my B. After putting the objects away (thousands of them) he started hoovering. Ah, that is nearly the last step. Just some mopping and it is all over. We can enjoy the weekend (without fever, yaaaaaay!).

Yes, nice thoughts, optimistic way of life. But the hoover gave up, it broke.... OK, let' s go and buy a new one (and forget rest and sewing as we use a lot of time on shopping...) We chose one without bag, I have never tried it, but who knows? It can be all right.

Then we decided to have lunch somewhere. As we were next to a hipermarket, we jumped in and got very nice food. On our way we found a shop with a huge summer sale, so we could buy some very nice shirts, T-shirts and trousers to B. We laughed a lot meanwhile.

Finally it was a good day (still some more hoovering and mopping, but as you now I am for blogging now :D) But I am sure cleaning is something which was not made for me. It is dangerous, boring and full of problems.... Do I need it? Why not sewing instead? Life is just not fair sometimes. I really wonder how others can do it, hey they know something I don't.... I would like a self-cleaning flat....

And this is a picture about one of the best things this week. On Tuesday I found a little envelope in my post box. It was a piece of RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) from Vonimum, from Australia. Thanks Voni for this nice crochet! You made my day (and week) much better!

Cleaning - level 2

I still hate cleaning.... even more....

Today I had to continue cleaning after a day break. On Wednesday I went to the pool with my colleagues and their kids which I enjoyed, but now I think it was a big mistake. It was a really hot day, we bathed a lot together... (actually I had 3 kids on my head, back etc all day).

I had a huge amount of sun lotion on me (which I hate as all kinds of cream, but I tried to be a 'good girl'), but it didn't help a lot as in the afternoon I was a bit red. I didn't care as it didn't hurt.

But the next day I woke up... Now I am sure it was the second mistake....(The first one was going to the pool) I shouldn't have woken up.... I felt worse and worse.... It started with headache. At first it was not so bad, but then everyhing changed... My head was like a beehive and my fever got higher and higher. As you imagine I was not able to clean the flat, not even move or think...

So I stopped cleaning... you know, that is not a clever thing...I mean when I start cleaning, first it is much worse, it looks untidier... That's why the flat now is like a field after a war.... or a bomb... I am not sure which one.

And today I have this level 2 thing. I mean cleaning with fever (not very high, but still) is level 2. And so slow.... sigh...

Pickles

If you are Hungarian or en expert of Hungarian cousine you know this thing: Actually they are not pickles but little cucumbers finished by the sun (yes, the sun), called 'kovászos uborka'.
I love this thing, it is very good for meat, instead of salad or sometimes I eat it without anything. On a hot summer day it is cool and nice, a bit sour. Wonderful! Food and drink as well. My stepfather makes the best on Earth, so I asked him for the recipe. This is my first try. They are in the balcony, 'in connection with' the sun, waiting for one more day....
I hope it will be nice!

This is the 'starting point':

Cleaning....

Grrrrrr.....
I really hate cleaning, especially the 'big cleaning'. Here it is around 35 Celsius and I am cleaning. I am not that strong, so I had to have a bit of craft during this awful day....
I have decided to make an organizer for species.... I usually keep them on the top of my microwave oven, but as now I have quite a lot, it is not practical at all. I found a shoebox which is the same size as the micro.
Thanks for the company it was not too fussy, simply black. So I used my white gel roller pen and decorated it a bit. Just 5 minutes but it made me feel better and strong enough to continue....

Busy day

It was a really busy day from the craft's point of view. For me baking is something like craft... (I am not very good at cooking but I can bake. Unfortunately I do it rarely as we are two in the family and baking cakes and cookies would make us fat like balls)

So in the morning I started with this necklace. The plans were in my head some weeks ago, but this morning everything seemed complete and easy. I just got up and made it....

Tomorrow there is going to be a Midsummer Night's party at my colleagues, so I decided to make a yoghurt cake (one of the my bests according to my B). I felt sorry for B as he usually can't get from the cake I take away. How can you take a cake with missing slices as a gift? So in the middle of the work I decided to make a smaller one as well. Here are the pictures. I used strawberries which I picked up and redcurrats from my mum's garden. Here are the pics.


The pasta of the cake

The first cake with redcurrants

B's cake with strawberries and redcurrants

Yoghurt cream on top

Inside and outside

Refreshig

I have found this thing last year in my mother-in-law's flat. It was ugly (I hate this grey on a plastic thing) and boring. It was used in her office, you know, it is a kind of organizer for the papers and letters. I didn't want to throw it away as it was in good condition. I have decided to make it a bit more interesting.

I always have problems with organising my sewing table. There are lots of fabrics and accessories everywhere on it, so it is a big mess.... (blush, I am not so proud of it....). I wanted to make this organizer a patchwork accessory. As the wall in the room is a very light green (something between yellow and green) I chose a very bright yellow and green from my craft box. I simply dyed the grey plastic and waited for drying.
I bought decoupage paper. It was interesting as I had never used it before.I always worked with napkins. So I chose a sewing patterned piece of paper and I simply decoupaged my organizer. Here it is....

Bears from the theatre

I have finished the bears today. This is a project like the giraffes. I still have 4 students who leave school this year. They are my drama students from the Erich Kästner story. I wanted to make them small presents, too. I have chosen a Tildas design, the bears. As they have scarves they look like criticals in the theatre...And what is better for a drama student after a performance?

I hope they will like them.... (I am going to meet them on Friday)

The last strawberries

Yesterday I was so lucky to get the last strawberries. Unfortunately this is the end of the season, so it was the last open day of the strawberry garden. We tried to do our best and found some fruits, so after a while my little basket was half with the little red yummies. They were so nice and I was happy to get them. While I am eating I say goodbye to them.


And, strawberries....They remind me to my late-birthday cake. It is my traditional present (I love it!!) made by my mum. A fruit cake... This year it got a special thing, number 30 was made by my stepfather, he used apple for that. It was soooooo delicious!!!!!!!!!

Flowers

At the end of the schoolyear, you get some little presents from students (sometimes). This is a beautiful flower I got from a child after the performance of the drama group. He is one of the group, played the role of Matthias in 'Flying class' (written by Eric Kastner). It is orange which is very nice. If children want to make me smile they give orange things to me (as it is my favourite colour..)

Isn't it beautiful? Thanks, dear 'Matthias'!

Giraffes and strawberries

My sweet language group, class 8 had their last lesson with me on Friday. During the 5 years we spent together I always drew a giraffe on their tests. They really liked the giraffe and were upset when I forgot to draw it. :D It was our symbol or something. So when I started to think about the goodbye present I wanted to give them, the only thing I knew I surely needed something with giraffes.

Then the 'keyring idea' came, so I only needed to find out the 'how to'. I wanted to sew them 'our' giraffe, so I made a pattern about the drawing I always used on their tests. It was not the easiest thing to sew exactly that giraffe, but finally I could manage it. I was lucky as I got some help from my colleagues. We decided to help each other with bigger class projects, so last year we sewed mini rucksacks for J's class, and this was the year of giraffes....

I machine embroidered the patches (stipling) then I sew the bodies and feet. Then we turned inside out together, filled them and sew them together. I used yellow string for the legs. Then we added the keyrings I bought. That was all!

My students were really surprised, they couldn't say anything at first. Then one of them asked: "Did you really spend so much time on making presents for us?" And at this point I was surprised.... Ah, the 14 year-olds understood the point of the handmade presents! Yes, some adults could learn of them! I was worried a bit, I thought some would find them childish, but no, they put them on their clothes, bags and some gave name for their giraffes. I was so happy to see that! I hope the giraffes will help my students remember our lessons!

In the afternoon we went to pick up strawberries. Here there are gardens with "Szedd magad!" (='Pick them up yourself!') signs. Here you have to pick the fruits. When you have enough they measure it and you have to pay (less than at the greengrocer's). With 2 colleagues we spent the afternoon on a strawberry field. We picked into sweet baskets. After a while we started to have fun and laughed a lot. It was really funny, not so tiring. Here is my basket. (I didn't want to pick much, my basket was only 3.7 kg)

Yes, it was a good Friday!

Gourmet

Yesterday we continued celebrating with a whole day programme. My B and my best friends (the 4 of us) went to the Budai Gourmet festival... We ate and drank beautiful things, then we drank coffee and finally went to a (not sooooo fancy but very good restaurant).... So we ate all day....
Here are some pics....

Sweet friends 2. + family

The birthday party continued, sorry for not writing but I didn't have time for anything ('poor me' :D).
So after finishing the previous post we went to a restaurant in the city centre. It was an absolutely new one for me, my B found it when he went with colleagues. We ate a lot.... really lot.... I got a pre-present from Ám and Pung, a coctail bonus for a lot of coctails... ( I do not drink alcohol very often.... actually I rarely drink so they wanted me to know at least the coctails, which I prefer when drinking...)

Later my dear friend, Eili arrived with 6 balloons (but because of running 2 died...) and Ark who was a real surprise as he lives in another counrty.... And I got lots of pressies... Wanna see? OK, I have some pics....
Presents from Ark and Eili:


29th May
The next day I was taken to another restaurant. my B took me with strange face....I was suspicious.... My mum and her husband were there with a beautiful strawberry bowl and another surprise.... My mum was so clever to find out this composition for me. My favourite fruit (one of them) is strawberry and the cherries are from her garden... So it was a really special thing to get.... Isn't it nice?


30th May
My colleague had a party for us from the theatrical group. It was quite a big company... We enjoyed the long-long evening very much (I arrived at my bed at 3 a.m. the next day...), and in the middle of the party they sang me a 'Happy birthday song' which I had never heard before and finally 2 of the guys threw me into the pool in my clothes..... It was surprising and quite funny, we laughed a lot - another story to tell.... Pictures later, I think someone took pics, but not sure, I was too surprised to realise things....