Crafty WOW

Wombat stencils, and wombat stamps.....I like the tubby one on the right....and a wombat paper punch, all posing nicely on some Aussie fabric because tomorrow is Australia Day.

Each year there is discussion, sometimes amiable and sometimes heated, about changing Australia Day because of what it represents - a group of convicts arriving in Sydney, accompanied by some military men - but like it or not that happened, and the continent of Australia was changed forever. For better or worse, who knows? Although none of my convict ancestors arrived on the First Fleet, some arrived just a few years later.....so my roots here go back to at least 1794.

Our local council puts on a big hooley in a riverside park with a couple of Australian rock bands, and with local teenagers doing their best to sound as though they should be competing on Australian Idol. What happens if you don't willingly listen to rock music and never watch Idol-style programs? Does that mean you have no place at the celebrations? That's how it seems to me, or perhaps I am getting touchy in my old age. I can remember when local bands played the music for Australia Day, and local organisations manned food stalls, and we all enjoyed ourselves. I will be playing music in a park a little further away with members of my folk club in the morning, then having our son and his girlfriend over to dinner later in the day. But I won't be playing guitar, because when I try it is still a lot of pain for very little result. But that will come.

My goodness it was hectic at the supermarket this morning! People shopping for Australia Day parties tomorrow, and mummies trailing along their reluctant children shopping for school supplies, the summer school holiday is nearly over as the little darlings go back to school from Wednesday and they suddenly realise what they need.

My hand has been very good at doing its exercises and has progressed from the 400g tin of tomatoes to a 1kg weight, held very carefully. The nice young physio bloke has said we can now space out the appointments, so we are having a two week break between treatments. He is pleased with my progress although my fingers are still stiff, that's a combination of arthritis and stiffness from disuse while spending six weeks in plaster. First thing out of bed in the morning I can barely use my hand because of stiffness, but it improves after a warm shower. And it's still too stiff to clench my fist, but that's getting nearer.....when I can do that I will try driving the car again, if I can remember how; it's been a few months.

"Women Should Cultivate a Spirit of Independence.
In a young country like Australia women should, to some extent, cultivate a spirit of independence. They should acquire a knowledge of how business is transacted, of the relation between capital and labor, and of the value of labor, skilled and unskilled. As housekeeper, they would then be saved from many annoyances and mistakes. If they chance to be left alone, widows, or orphans possessing means, they would be saved from many losses and vexatious experiences by knowing how to transact their own business. And those women who are obliged to take care of themselves, who have no means, how necessary it is that they should have a thorough knowledge of some occupation or business by which they can maintain themselves and others dependent on them."

As true today as when it was written in 1885.

Now I shall have a coffee, then start sewing on a belated Christmas gift which I have been unable to start - cutting through six layers with my rotary cutter, even though it sharp, was quite difficult last night as my left hand applied enough pressure to hold the ruler steady. But it's now all cut and ready to be assembled, pics will follow in due course.

Have a lovely week, may your cutter always be sharp and your seams neat.

Jennifer