Blue moon.......

.......you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart,
Without a love of my own........

Blue moon tonight, the second full moon this month!  Probably a good idea to keep an eye on the neighbours for any craziness, you never know what the moon might bring out in otherwise dull people.

Reporting a finish, two pair of jammies.

They aren't quite the same - one set has black pants with a mostly blue top, the other has blue pants with a mostly black top.  Finished, but not pressed.......they are, after all, jammies for wearing to bed, not haute couture.  Fabric is all from my stash.

On our recent holiday we visited the wood gallery at Bungendore, a short drive east of Canberra, and a sweet little wombat jumped into my hand.  What else could I do but bring it home?  It's made of recycled river red gum, a gorgeous Australian tree.  This pic shows the lovely colour and grain of the timber.

While at the gallery we were gobsmacked by the Hannah Cabinet, it's amazing.  It's not something that would fit in our home either in size or decorative style but the workmanship is incredible, and in any case we didn't have the $1.5 million dollars that was being asked. Several years ago we were lucky enough to see another cabinet by the same craftsman, the Yarralumla Cabinet, which is part of the Australiana collection in the official residence of the Australian Governor-General, and although it's not quite as large or elaborate as the Hannah Cabinet I think it liked it better.  On this video you can hear his answer to the question "are there any more hidden drawers?"

Work on the new jumper is progressing like you wouldn't believe, the back, front and one sleeve are finished, while the second sleeve is coming along nicely.  Looks like it will be done to take to Canada after all!  Only 60 days to go.........

Recently we have been watching a program about social changes brought about in England by the coming of railways - sounds dull, but is very interesting!  Trains were an invention which changed the face of several countries and brought about many changes in how people lived as well as how they travelled.  The first murder on a train in England happened in 1864 and was mentioned in the program, the author of a book about the case was interviewed, and I thought to myself, I thought "that sounds like an interesting read" I thought, so reserved it at the library.  A few days ago I started reading it and have just come to the end of the section set in England, the detective is now on the high seas in pursuit of the alleged murderer who had fled to America, and although I know the ending - it's set out in history, as here - I am enjoying reading about the investigation of the case.  Mystery stories are probably my favourite genre, and true mysteries can be intriguing.  The book is called "Mr Briggs' hat: a sensational account of Britain's first railway murder" and was written by Kate Colquhoun.

We have a radio playing all the time on a classical music station and recently there have been problems with the reception; turns out to be damage caused by ice and snow on the transmitter tower a couple of hours north-west of here.  Repairs are supposed to be finished today, let's hope so.  Kevin and I have a deal - he can watch all the sport he likes on TV so long as I don't have to listen to it.  Football is definitely improved by classical music, and cricket is almost possibly just about bearable.

"As culture is the first requirement of good society, so self-improvement should be the aim of each and all of its members.  Manners will improve with the cultivation of the mind, until the pleasure and harmony of social intercourse are no longer marred by the introduction of discordant elements, and they only will be excluded from the best society whose lack of education and whose rude manners will totally unfit them for its enjoyments and appreciation.  Good manners are even more essential to harmony in society than a good education, and may be considered as valuable an acquisition as knowledge in any form."

That's what I think, too.

Enjoy your days!

Hopefully.......

........the resized photos will work.

First, the little guy:

 As you can see, he's growing.  From the nose down he looks very much like his mum, but from the nose up (including the shape of his head) he is the image of his dad at the same age.  It's like looking at my first-born all over again......not sure I would want to repeat some of the intervening years, though.  Grandpa Kevin is providing a comforting arm, because Euan was still a little wobbly when it came to sitting unsupported.

One of the visitors who kept us entertained in the campground in Canberra, on a rare sunny day.

 The weather wasn't always that nice, you know.

On both trips we spent a night in a camp ground at Cowra where Phil the owner has a great shed, a previous owner decorated it with railway memorabilia - the platform seats and station signs you can see are just part of the collection.  Each evening Phil lit a fire in the big pit to boil the billy (for the non-Aussies, a metal can is called a billy and a drink made from adding tea leaves to boiling water in said billy is known as billy tea, we even have a commercial brand of tea called Billy Tea) and campers all converged for Happy Hour.

 It looks a bit daggy, but was a really fun place!

On the trip south Phil played old records from the 1950s and 60s, but on the way home guess who was the entertainment......just plinking away in the background while people talked and became acquainted, I didn't sing because I didn't want to interrupt.  However everyone said how much they enjoyed it, and all admired my tenor uke - as well they should, it's a beautiful example of the luthier's art.

We enjoyed our time in Canberra, highlights were spending time with family (of course!), and we visited the National Library of Australia to see the Rothschild Prayer Book - what an exquisite thing that is.  Made between 1505 and 1510 and illustrated with glowing colours and rich gold, it has been so well preserved that it could have been made yesterday.  We quite spent some time marveling at the workmanship.  It was quite a busy week and no doubt you will hear more in due course.  The shopping list had all items ticked off, black walking shoes for the trip to Canada (for which we take off in 67 days, woo hoo!), beads for knitting, and of course the new camera.

One day we went for a Nice Sunday Drive - from memory it was on a Friday but I could be wrong, it was a busy week - and called in at a lovely place out in the country where we found out that it is possible to have lunch made entirely of chocolate.  Should you ever find yourself in Canberra I can recommend a visit to Robyn.

Now back to normality.......

"Do not lack politeness.
Never hesitate in acts of politeness for fear they will not be recognized or returned.  One cannot be too polite so long as he conforms to rules, while it is easy to lack politeness by neglect to them.  Besides, if courtesy is met by neglect and rebuff, it is not for the courteous person to feel mortification, but the boorish one; and so all lookers-on will regard the matter."

We endeavoured to be polite to all we met, and hope we succeeded.  Politeness and courtesy go a long way to making one's stay in a camp ground enjoyable.

Enjoy your days!

Back......eventually

We're home, we had a good holiday, the family is well, the grandkid is growing, and my new camera takes good photos which are a huge file size and I have to work out how to resize them so they can be uploaded for the world to see.

I can't be as beautiful as I am and have a technical brain as well.

To my Canadian family and friends......

 .......Best wishes for Canada Day!