Joining Sticky Fingers for The Gallery... the theme this week is Sport.
Julia's chosen sport is Calisthenics. Here she is in her team uniform, ready to head off to her competition. She looks quite enthusiastic for so early in the morning!
This is her second year. She loves performing on the stage, dressing up in beautiful costumes and being part of a team.
Calisthenics is an artistic and performance sport which promotes teamwork, encourages physical development and co-ordination, and takes a series of routines set to music and turns them into beautiful performances.
Between 4 and 8 routines are learned during the year with each routine lasting between 1.5 - 4 minutes. All routines are taught and performed with emphasis on teamwork and uniformity. There are many different disciplines or routines that can be taught in Calisthenics, which is why it is considered such a diversified sport. The core items for the Tinies age group (4-6 year olds) are Free Exercise, Rods and Aesthetics. A fancy item is also taught which may include Folk Dance, Song and Dance or Song with Actions. Figure March and Club Swinging are added as core items in the older age groups.
You can find out more about Julia's Calisthenics with more pictures of her beautiful costumes in my previous blog posts here.
Christine xx
Saturday mornings are usually sleep-in days, but not for the last two weekends. We have risen early for Julia's calisthenics competition days. A quick breakfast, then out the door for hair and makeup, then on to the theatre.
This is Julia in costume for her sub-junior rods routine. Very bright!
Julia in her team uniform - and hamming it up for the camera.
Both her tinies and sub-junior teams did really well, and enjoyed their performances.
Thanks again to her coaches Kirsty and Kari, the team assistants and the team managers, who all put so much work into making the day such a success for all the girls.
The tinies teams at the presentation - Julia's team is in red on the right.
The final competition for the year is just six weeks away so there is lots of practice to do!
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Christine xx
Joining Sticky Fingers for The Gallery... the theme this week is Delicate.
This photo was taken the first year we went to the Canberra Show with Julia. She loved the animal nursery and was very excited to be able to pat some of the baby animals.
She looks quite focused but I think her Daddy looks a little concerned; I can just hear him saying "Gently, gently...".
Christine xx
Julia's Grandmother is on holidays at the moment, and has been sending Julia postcards from various places on her travels.
Julia decided that she wanted to send Gran a letter, so she got busy one morning and created this masterpiece.
Gran was on her way to Scotland, so Julia drew a Scottish mountain and a bagpipe player. We scanned her letter and sent it by email.
There are many ways to keep in touch, but so often it seems to be just for a fleeting moment. Letters can be read and re-read, kept and treasured. Letter writing is an art that should be encouraged!
Christine xx
The auction is underway and there are so many lovely handmade collaborations listed - you should take a look!
My crochet pieces have been incorporated into the most fabulous pieces! Here are the finished Mini-Me Handcrafts collaborations:
This gorgeous set of 2 x pillowcases & matching cushion cover was created by my wonderful friend Jac from Jac & Skeet featuring my crocheted edging and flowers.
This beautiful dress was created by my incredibly talented friend Tracey from Sugar an Spice. This is a size 2-3 handmade "Neveah" dress with ribbon sash and corset style back featuring my crocheted applique heart.
All money raised from auction of both of these collaborations will be going to Raising Hope for Brittany to assist with disabled equipment and medical treatment for Brittany - a beautiful 15 year old girl who has an acquired hypoxic brain injury.
Please take a look at Raising Hope for Brittany on Facebook. Every little bit helps to make a difference and a postive impact on Brittany's life.
This Facebook charity auction will finish tonight Sunday July 29th at 8pm AEST. Bidding has been very generous so far! You can find out more on Facebook at Collaborate for a Cause and the auction album can be found here.
Christine xx
Joining Sticky Fingers for The Gallery... the theme this week is Street Photography.
Photos of public places like streets, parks and beaches, also known as social documentary and environmental photography.
San Francisco is alive in the streets of Chinatown.
The day may be grey but the brightly coloured decorations strung festively across the road can be seen all the way up the hill. There are so many people, all moving along the footpaths; it's very easy to get moved along with the wave or cause a jam just by stopping to look in a window.
Christine xx
I like to bake something special to share with friends when they come to my house. I have quite a few easy recipes that I can usually whip up quickly, like pikelets, brownies or muffins.
But some friends have various food allergies, which gives me a bit of a challenge.
Last week I made this dairy and egg free chocolate cake. You can find the recipe here. I used icing sugar mixture, cocoa and a bit of water for the icing.
The cake was moist and delicious and you wouldn't know it was milk and egg free. I will definitely be making this again, for all my friends who visit!
Christine xx
