We're home again!

Just to show that we get some fall colours in Australia! The large green trees are Aussie natives, the smaller coloured ones are I know not what. But they were very pretty. Taken in a park in Bathurst, New South Wales, last Friday.

We had a good visit to Canberra, spent some time with our son and caught up with many friends both at the folk festival and out of it. For some reason though this year my festival experience wasn't as enjoyable as in past years.....I wonder why? It's difficult to say. Perhaps the fact that I spent more time volunteering than in previous years had a lot to do with it; I did my compulsory 20 hours but due to a misunderstanding was rostered on to work for an additional 13.5 hours. I won't do that again. The music I caught up with was good, but because of working so many hours I was unable to see as much as I would have liked - I seemed to be continually looking at my watch to see if it was time to report for duty. Never mind, there's always next year.

We took the long way home, and had a leisurely three day drive with many stops in towns along the way.....some we had visited before, some were new to us and every town we drove through was glorious in their autumn colours. We drove through hills in an area which was teeming in the mid 1800s with gold miners, up and over mountains, and could see for a very very long way - I didn't know it was possible to see that far! We didn't take any pics of the view because neither of us has a camera which would do it justice, but it is imprinted on my brain just the same.

We arrived home to a lovely surprise, a package from our son and his lovely girl in Canada, which we collected this morning from the post office. All sorts of goodies! Pretty Canadian fabrics with blue jays, and totem poles, and lovely hand-made yarn and stitch markers, and books, a CD, and a DVD of 'Corner Gas' - a show I really enjoy, it's a hoot. We are very lucky.

And to make our homecoming even more fun I received a call the other day to say the craft table I ordered several weeks ago had arrived in the shop, so we also picked it up this morning and had the fun of unpacking three large boxes and a smaller package. Kevin is putting it together as we speak. I am keeping out of the way.

Did you all watch The Wedding last Friday night? We didn't, because our small caravan isn't blessed (or cursed, depending on one's point of view) with TV but we caught up with some of the footage after arriving home on Saturday. What a lovely elegant gown, and such pretty sparkly diamond earrings and tiara, and that wow of a bridesmaid dress worn by the bride's sister, all topped off with gorgeous happy smiles. It's good to see something happy and cheerful on TV instead of the murder and mayhem which usually fills the news. And it is very good to see a bride and her attendant wearing gowns which aren't strapless. Let's hope it starts a trend.........

Now we are home I don't know where to start. Before we went away I had started making myself a new tee shirt to try out a pattern, so that will be finished first. Then there is a quilt block to be made for next Monday. And I am thinking I could do with some new winter jammies, the fabric is already in my (obscenely large) stash. And many many weeks ago before I came down with the lurgy I pinned a quilt, and am tracing the quilting design on paper ready for quilting; it is still no further ahead. And I need to practice a few songs.

So many things, so little time..........

"Keep yourself quiet and composed under all circumstances. Do not get fidgety. If you feel that time drags heavily, do not let this be apparent to others by any visible sign of uneasiness."

So there you have it. Stay calm at all times. Even if your ship is sinking and you cannot swim.

Enjoy your days!