A few holiday views

This church at Stroud, N.S.W., was built by convicts in the 1830s and, like churches of the time, sits surrounded by graves of former parishioners. Stroud is a lovely little town, with many buildings from the same era as the church, in a beautiful valley. My family has tenuous connections with Stroud; in the 1800s it was a company town for the Australian Agricultural Company, and my grandfather (and I think his father also) worked for them near Tamworth. I don't know if they - my ancestors - ever visited Stroud, so I did it for them on a beautiful clear winter day.
The interior of the church - the woodwork is Australian cedar, the pews have carved backs. The gallery upstairs is where convicts sat for church services....they didn't sit downstairs and mix with the hoi polloi, they knew their place.
Ten days earlier we drove from Nundle to visit Arc-en-Ciel trout farm - it was really really cold, as you can see! We would normally have been able to see much further into the distance but the clouds were very low, snow had fallen the previous evening and the locals were expecting more. This snowy yard was a short distance from the farm. We had coffee, and sat by the fire, and I bought some smoked trout pate.....yummo.......the trout farm dog is My New Best Friend and I had the muddy paw marks on my jeans to prove it. Fishing at the farm would be fun on a lovely day, their website has interesting pictures and recipes too.

Only two months until we go to Canada, 60 days to be precise but who's counting? The locals are even putting on a craft show for me! Creativ Festival will be held while we are in Toronto. How much fun would that be.......speaking of being creative, Kiera-Oona has a video on her blog showing how she makes rag rugs from tee shirts that aren't fit to be worn in public any more. I have never used a crochet hook that size but I'm sure I could learn. If you couldn't crochet, you could probably knit rugs.

Elaine has a giveaway on her blog, a "Quilter's Stimulus Package" - wonder what that could be? There are times when I could do with being stimulated. She lives in coastal California and has lovely pics on her blog.

I shall leave you with a quote from "Australian Etiquette, or the Rules and Usages of the Best Society in the Australasian Colonies, together with Their Sports, Pastimes, Games and Amusements. Revised, Illustrated, and Compiled expressly as a Household Treasure for Australian Homes. 1885":

"It is the duty of Australian women to exercise their influence to form so high a standard of morals and manners that the tendency of society will be continually upwards, seeking to make it the best society of any country."

Jennifer