Irenenenene

Thanks to Stuff Christians Like , a wonderful, wonderful video

While the students slaved away, so did I actually.  and below are what I've been up to.

This is what we had the students do the whole year....

So today I got an email in my inbox.... Hello dear How are you ? I guess you are fine and living good. my name is ___________ a simple young girl looking for someone to share my life with, to day i find your profile at ( www.blogger.com ) and i'm interesting to know you and establish a serious relationship with you. i wanna be your friend for first friendship cannot be seen or even be touched, it must be felt within the heart.Hoping you feel just the way i do. Wow! friends are like clothes without them you feel naked!I  guess am right. I will tell you more about me, my family and all that maybe necessary in this relationship, if this is okay by you feel free to contact me as to enable us get to know each other better with this email address;________________________ Have a wonderful day with lot of happiness. best regards _________________ For anonymity I have removed the name, but just to make things clear, I"m not into girls!!! If this is you, please do not send m...

A little diversion: This is the 50th century and we have taken over most of the universe. I say most, because the fight against evil still continues to plague mankind. I sometimes wish there would be a way to turn everyone into Christians. Well, today there is. As I stepped out of the door and took my usual plunge (hey this is free-fall after all) down to the new level, the square filled with people. Most of them were clearly on-Christians, since their attire betrayed them as usual... dressed in black they surrounded me, who clearly was betrayed by my attire (white). Funny how a confrontation does not need words. My pen was my weapon, and I drew it, held it at outstretched arms and immediately the leader of the pack formed the horizontal to a cross against mine. This somehow gave him the power to unscrew the nut half-way down. All I could do was watch, because nothing I could have done would in any way have saved me from destruction. Funny that I was not afraid. After unscrewing the nu...

In my previous post I forgot to acknowledge the manufacturer of the pattern I used. Here goes: it is similar to this one , but this is the real pattern. That's it.

Many of you will know that I have been sewing a corset on and off since R&H got married. (That is about 2 years ago - give or take a few days :) ) This is the fabric I used, although the colours are slightly off in the picture, it does show the pattern very nicely. Finally, after a week of some frustrating experiences, I finished it yesterday. The pattern called for normal, plastic boning, and being the geek I am, I had to protect the edges of each piece from poking through the layers of the corset, by sewing a protective piece of fabric either end, trimming off the pieces of fabric and then inserting the boning into the sewn channels. I mixed the plastic boning, which I used for the shorter channels, with steel boning for the long channels - especially the side seam. Then, I ran out of eyelets (grommets) Grrrrrr! The store that could put them in did not want to sell them to me to put in myself, but only if they were the ones putting them it. Double Grrrrr! So, on the back, you ca...

If you have run out of ideas for that office party, why not go to design*sponge and imitate this cake . Yummy, yummy, yum!

No pun intended. The chair is done, finished it last night. Here is the seat (top and bottom view). Bottom Top You can see that I'm not a professional upholsterer, but it'll do for my humble abode. It's not greatest work ever done, but it did not cost me anything except four screws and some sanding paper. I even managed to borrow the staple gun from work. When I think about how much chairs are these days in the shop, to pay less than R10 (about $1 for all the non-South Africans), just simply because people did not want to or know how to fix the chair themselves, I struck a really good deal.

After burning my hand twice in the same spot the other day, I decided it was time to finish the quilt I had started about a year ago. Unfortunately I'm not nearly done, because I have to make a second one (I bought too much batting :) - oh the joys of fabric shopping). I also have not found a backing fabric yet and need to do some hinting. So, in the meantime, to pass the evenings of procrastinating on assignments and wedding dress, I did some DIY: I had rescued this chair form the trash quite a while ago and on Saturday took it apart, sanded it down, to look like this: Then re-assembled the chair, like this: You can see that I decided not to sand right down to the wood. I did this intentionally to give the chair some character and also to avoid having to paint it with another colour, since I wanted to give it an "antique" finish with crackling varnish. I also did not feel like buying varnish, so, off I went to the Spencer's house and "borrowed" some odour-f...

I have come across a few blogs that are simply amazing in the past few weeks. Here they are This one is such a great idea. I wish I lived in their village. This one has great ideas for all the decor fans out there. And this one just is pretty to look at. I hope you enjoy.

Yep, reminds me of growing up as well ;)

I'm so going to do this if I ever get married :)

*sigh* Yes, indeed they are and I was quite busy. I: sewed a dress for my friend Mel, finally sewed my curtains, sewed a dress for Hood no 3 , went to the Se7en for dinner as payment - YUMMY PIZZA! - almost finished a jacket for myself with fabric that has been lying in my cupboard for 10 years (yes, yes, I'm a hoarder). Finished knitting a jersey and then used the rest of the wool to start a baby blanket. I: baked three recipes of German Christmas cookies and a batch of bread I: read 12 books I: met with friends and just slept late. Not much time to veg, but at least I did not have to worry about getting up early, dressed and ready for work by a certain time. With all the busyness I did not get time to write the many blog entries for God's Fashion House , but they will happen soon, I promise.

I'm going to be on holidays for two weeks. I am so looking forward to it. Many things are planned and hopefully some of that to-do-list will get ticked, but all I really want to do is lie in bed, read a few good (!) books, watch a few movies and sew. Yes, some friends will not get neglected in the process either, but all in good time. Don't call me, I'll call you :) Nope, just kidding, but please do not feel all upset if I decline an invitation. I have neglected me, myself and Irene a little too much these past few months. In the process I may just blog a few more things on God's Fashion House for which I will ave some time. The research is done for a while now already and just waiting to hit cyberspace. Enjoy the read and tell me what you think.

Thank you Jeanine for the tips and tricks forthe Pumpkin Fritters. I have tested the recipe, but went with a slightly different variation, more eggs and more flour, but they were delicious!!! Ask R and H (or Howl and Ranna). Here is a picture of them. I will be making a second batch soon, since the first batter turned out a little wet and I still have quite a big of pumpkin left.

Yes, I read the book yesterday. Man that man can write. Those of you who plan to read it - watch out for the twist at the end, or is that a triple twist? It took me 5 hours - yes, that is my normal speed. I think I will read slower if it is a comic, because that is more to look at. I will gladly led it to those of you who plan to read it (that is of course if you are in Cape Town and I can get the book back within a week :) )

I had it all in my head... finish assignment by 15th of June and T's dress by the 19th. And on Friday (6th of June) the big panic struck me - my assignment is due on Monday and not Wednesday, T's dress needs to be finished on Saturday (just bear with me...) and the the big revelation hit me on Sunday, when making an appointment... I still have another week (!) YAY But I still was done with my assignment, T's dress was cut, ready to begin sewing, I red three books, finished a borrowed computer game, went to church twice and now still have time to add to my assignment (because I noticed I had not touched on one aspect of it), go zip and thread hunting for T's dress, sew a tie for T's "date" and get in a fitting once or twice, and finish another book that I have bought. Yes, I'm a busy girl, I know and loving it. The books I finished were: Showdown - Ted Dekker (part 1 of a trilogy) Sinner - Ted Dekker (part three of the trilogy) The last Sin Eater - Fra...

I was reading this blog entry the other day and then got diverted to this one an then one on to this one . I was laughing so hard that my tummy hurt. Yes, I do understand I'm not a guy, but it's nice to see that there are still men out there who advocate manliness. I felt quite tempted to ask if I could become an honorary member of the "guys club" but then thought better of it, since I ave been rejected too many times in the past (and I would not want to be a distraction to all the married guys out there).

For all intense and purposes, my birthday has been cancelled until 2011 :) Yes, my birthday was on Wednesday. When I got home after a prayer meeting (about 7 pm) I had no electricity. Go figure that scheduled work on the transformer would take 5 1/2 hours longer than planned.... Still - muhahah - I have a gas stove and could present my friends R & H with HOT coffee by candlelight. Until I turn 40 (yes, yes, I am giving my age away) I will just take every day as it comes.

I cannot believe that the year has flown and it's almost my birthday already.... However, I think I will postpone any parties until June because there are so many birthdays in May :) Maybe I will not even have a party - isn't it a day like any other? A short update on the "life of Irene".... At work we have finally managed to submit our things to the Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education on the 30th of April. This was quite a haul, but the waiting began. The CHE will only meet in June so we should know by the end of the year. Somewhere in between i had to sew five dresses instead of one, since the dressmaker turned out to not do what I asked her to do. Also, I manged to write one assignment for my studies... Did I sleep? no, not much :) The two long weekends in a row last week did help though and the public holiday for voting was a great day to relax as well. I think I have caught up on sleep, but I will need a holiday soon.

go to http://godsfashionhouse.blogspot.com/ and enjoy reading :)

After the ranting and raving about the lan dline, the Telkom techie phoned on Friday morning and then promptly went to install it. SO, it's official - I NOW HAVE A LANDLINE :) YAY Still playing around with ideas for the new blog... you just watch this space

On a more uplifting note..... On Sunday I had such an awesome chat to Chris W about God's creation, beauty and what that has to do with Fashion. Somewhere along the line I feel called to encourage all Christian women to appreciate fashion in a different sense and for different reasons by starting a blog. I'm not even sure how that will pan out, but in light of the industry I'm in, I think it's important to encourage and support those Christians among us who do not perhaps know enough about the artistic field / disciplines but also for those who might have to deal with the arts (whether pure or applied) on a daily basis. The first installment will be coming soon - I just need to fine-tune the name of the blog and then start writing. If you can think of any names for the blog, let me know. I do have a rough idea, but the title would be a bit long. For those who appreciate beauty (no, nothing to with Fashion this time) here is a "view from my window"at an early ...

What is wrong with this picture?? This is NOT a Telkom line – that is what! I have been trying to get Telkom to install a landline for almost three months now. I’m all paid up and every time there is something else. Either the lady I give the keys to has left for the day (since she is at the letting office on the premises) or Telkom arrive at 16h30 on Friday and get sent away because I did not inform security or they arrive at 17h15 on a Thursday, find someone at the letting office, but they are not the person I gave the keys to and they do not know that someone there has the keys in their possession, or, when they finally do get to enter the flat (by special arrangement on a Saturday), tell me there is no “pull line” for them to pull the line through to the flat. The order of the above was slightly different, but Telkom has been to Palm Springs for me three times now and I’m a) getting anxious to have the line installed and b) worried that they will refuse to come again. I have just a...

As most of you know, I have moved into a new flat and am trying to live with the noises that come with little kiddies running around, shouting, screaming and generally doing what kids do, Washing on the stairs and the roof etc... I really like my neighbours - really friendly people and here comes the ethical question or dilemma.... In as much as I understand economic situations and people not being able to afford more than a one bedroom flat, there are rules to be adhered to within the block and one of them is a cap on the amount of people living in each flat. (three for a one bedroom flat) So, yesterday I posed the question to the letting agent of how many people were staying next door to me and according to her it's only husband and wife, but according to me there are 5. I really do not want to cause them any problems and maybe eviction, but I also think that there are rules to be followed. So, here are my questions: How much am I responsible in tracking offenders within the comp...

I'm not sure what to think anymore... First COPE associates itself with the ANC again and then Jacob Zuma has this to say in a rally on the weekend. Not that I usually get all worked up about politics or very much involved, but it just drives home the fact that we are not called to be fence-sitters. It does matter who we want in government. Ultimately they are put there by God. It just is so confusing if one does not have a bigger perspective than the here-and-now.

Little did I know that my day would be so in God's power yesterday. I went to work as usual and put in the required hours. Then I left for a fitting in Tokai (Capetownians will know...). I left at four so that I would nor get stuck in traffic for an hour and a half. The fitting was at 6. Knowing that I would spend about an hour waiting for the lady to get home, I prepared myself by working on the library system on my laptop in the car. It seemed to go quite quick and I still had about 30 minutes left to hang around, doing nothing. The radio was good company and so I waited. Lo, and behold, she arrived early from work and we could do the fitting pretty fast. (Intervention no1) On my way to another friend (whom I had made an appoinment with) I missed the turn-off, because I don't usually come from that side and had to drive all the way to Bishopscourt before being able to turn around (Intervention no 2). At my friends, I got fed (Intervention no 3) and with good company and good ...

I tried a new recepie last night that I wanted to try out for years (actually since I got the book way back when...). Man, did I have a feast. Went down really well with a glass of red wine. Don't let the fact that it is vegetarian put you off. Carrot and oats bake: 300g carrots 60g oats 90g (6 Tbsp) Butter or Margarine and a little for the ovenproof dish 2 Tbsp of Milk (I think it needs to be more, but try it like this anyway) 2 eggs 120g flour 1 Tbsp fresh Oregano (I did not have, so used 1 1/2 Tbsp of Fish spice) 20g Baking Powder Salt and pepper to taste Preheat the oven to 180 Degrees Celsius. Let the butter melt in a medium pot and steam the carrots and oats for about 10 minutes in the butter while stirring regularly. Let mixture cool. Heat the milk in a small pot (this I found strange, since you only have 2 Tbsp full, heat it anyway). Combine the egg, flour, oregano, milk and baking powder, salt and pepper to form a smooth dough. Pour into the oats and carrot mixture and mix...

Change is inevitable. The sooner we realise that, the better for our peace of mind. (Or some such saying) First change .....I have finally moved house (well, more like flat). I now live in Brooklyn, Cape Town and have a one bedroom space to myself. I'm still getting used to not having a flatmate, and no television, but at least it's my own space and I'm starting to enjoy it. Second change... If I read the post form October 30th, Hanlie did not make use of my services, and even though Liesl has asked me to design and sew her wedding dress (and paid for it already), the engagement and wedding are off. Pity :( Third change... I have said yes to sew a friend of a friend's wedding dress, due for April. The four bridesmaids I will only have to fit and discuss changes with the seamstress. The latter of course is always an interesting option, since my ideas of quality and those of other people are very seldom of the same caliber. Yet, I cannot complain and will see how the sewi...