Midlife Crisis Boots

I recently received an email from someone that simply had the heading "Where are you?"  (thanks for the virtual poke Lorraine!)

I never went anywhere. I just got a bit buried in all of the life stuff. 

I turned 50 in October. 

Vintage!!

Gee that's a shit number!

I have had quite a few ladies older than me tell me things like, "Oh you're still a baby!", or "Pffft! That's nothing! I'm eleventy million!"

And in 10-20 years I might think that as well. But at the moment I still feel 30 in my head, then get the mother of all shocks when I catch myself in the mirror and think, "AHHHH! What the F happened to my (insert random body part here)???"

I have been singing the "Every part of my body huuuuuurts" song for years. Now the outside of me is catching up.

But enough of the self pity. To celebrate our fiftieths in the same year, in October the Bear and I decided to throw a big party and called it our 100th Birthday Party.

I am not very good at organising big stuff as I easily get overwhelmed with all of the details. So it took every ounce of my brainpower to party plan and get everything together.

As you can see we opted for a 'Dress as your favourite decade' theme. 

We had fun visiting vintage clothing markets looking for costumes and inspo.

These 1970s French sunglasses ABSOLUTELY came home with me (they were only $35!)
They are tres chic for hiding le wrinkles....

Dress: YES! Price: NO!!

I couldn't make up my mind so I dressed up in 1920s flapper gear for the 1st half of the evening, and then changed into a casual 1970s style tshirt, denim flares and funkalicious platforms for the 2nd half. 

The party was just so much fun. There were 90s grunge rockers and ravers, 60s hippies, T-Birds, Pink Ladies, 1930s baker boys, 1920s flappers. I'd show you the photos, but if you weren't there... you'll have to trust me. It was fabulous!

Here were my Sonofaguns. Sonofagun No.1 said in honour of me, he'd dress up as the decade of my birth. Which I learnt in this moment of his costume reveal, was during the Crusades. 😂

And Sonofagun No.2 found a way to rock his thick curls as... a certain 1980s-90s rocker...

And post party I maybe have bought a few extra pairs of platforms, because when you're 5'1" it's super addictive being almost the same height as everyone else.

I stride along in these chunky shoes with my inner monologue saying, 

"Wow! I can reach the wine glasses in the top cupboard!"

"I don't need a step ladder to water the hanging plants!"

"My steps are soooo LONG!!"

"Oh my god the sun is so hot on my head up here! Oh wait, no, that's a hot flush..."

The big dusky pink boots are definitely at my outer limits. They're so steep I feel like I'm walking on my tiptoes. Ugh. But they're so pretty! 

I'm ABSOLUTELY NOT a fiddy year old dopamine dresser wearing her midlife crisis boots!

Actually I spent the latter half of the 90s trotting about in clunky work boots by day, then mega, sparkly platform sandals by night. 

So after years post-birthing children and battling heel spurs and schlepping about in comfortable shoes, I've decided it's time to throw off the flat rubber of boredom and strap on the platforms of destruction to relive a misspent youth! (before the bursitis in my hips really kicks into gear and hobbles me)

After a chaotic November and December filled with illness (how many different respiratory illnesses can you throw at one family in 2 months??), end of year work deadlines and just... stuff, we needed some Mollymook time...

During the year the Parental Units adopted a new baby. Ruby the Psychotic Border Collie.

We slathered on the SPF50, lolled on the beach and had a week or so of much needed away time.

So have I been crocheting?

You bet your sweet flannel jimmy jams I have!

Out of lurve for my beautiful Mollymook, I designed this lantern for Homespun Crochet magazine...

That's me in a magazine!

(Available to buy now from all newsagencies or online at: https://www.universalshop.com.au/  )

I posted about it on my Instabrag and a few weeks ago I saw this:

And I said to Bear: A MOLLYMOOKER FOUND MY MOLLYMOOK LANTERN!!!!!!!

And now my brain is done and I need to give myself over to someone else's brilliance so I ordered Attic 24's Sungold blanket yarn pack to join her latest gorgeous CAL...

I must admit I love fans and waves but I have been super in love with Lucy's Harmony blanket for the longest time. And when she announced that her friend Kaz was writing up a Harmony blanket version, I had to do that. So much.

All the sweet little baby grannies impaled on spikes.

The thing I didn't notice until the last minute was that Kaz's version requires 2 extra colours that weren't included in the Stylecraft Special DK yarn pack: Meadow & Violet.

I actually found a full ball of Meadow in my stash, and whilst I had various purpley colours there were no full balls of Violet.  Everything I had was too similar to the colours of Lavender and Proper Purple which are included in the pack.

So I went digging into the Trolley of Doom. Where all remnant balls live and breed.

Incredibly I found 20gms of what I think is a leftover ball of Stylecraft Special DK Violet.

This has been good enough to help get me started. I am lucky to be part of a glorious tribe of crocheters in the western suburbs of Melbourne who meet once a month for a 'Coffee & Crochet Catch Up' (it's our local meet up via the Australian Crochet Community). I reached out to a couple of them and found a lovely friend who has Violet and needed a ball of Gold which I have! So we've agreed to a swap. 

And the world can now continue turning!

Like the Mollymook lantern in the afternoon breeze.

Louise

 🌸Red Haired Amazona🌸