We'll be back in the new year!

Day after tomorrow, Saturday, we will be hitching up our little caravan, climbing into our car and heading south to celebrate a birthday, Christmas, and a new year, so you won't hear from me for a few weeks.

Life here at Chez Wombats has been drifting along.  My Winding Ways quilt is nearly done, yay!   A large amount of bias binding was made and machined onto the front, and is now being hand-sewn down on the back - right now it is three-quarters done.  Once that is finished it will be immortalised in a photograph for the world to admire.......after such a long time it's good to be so close to finishing; the first blocks were made in a class late in 2007.

Some hand-sewing will be packed to take along, and a book of crosswords, and of course a ukulele (that goes without saying), and my tablet loaded with who-dun-it mysteries.  We don't have TV  in our little van, the space it would use is taken by a microwave which, in my opinion, is far more useful, and if we get bored we can always watch our dinner go round and round......and round......a radio/CD player is our entertainment, we can usually pick up a local station somewhere.

There are always new acquaintances to be made in camp grounds, if we hit it off that's good......and if we don't, we can always console ourselves by remembering that it will be a brief acquaintance.

In recent times I have read biographies of two women, one born in England who lived a lot of her life in Australia, another who was born in Australia but lived for a while in England.  "The amazing Mrs Livesey" was about young Ethel Livesey, born in England in 1897, who married as a teenager and had a child to her first husband who was reported killed in World War I.  Her parents took the newborn boy to give her a chance to mourn and gather her thoughts, whereupon she packed her bags and took off for pastures greener and 'Husband' No. 2 - to whom she wasn't legally married, but that didn't stop her claiming his army money.  Forty (forty!) aliases later, eight husbands (many married bigamously), four children, living in several countries, young Ethel was never one to let the grass grow under her feet.  Although the book ends with her death there is even a question about that, because no one knows what name she was using at the time.  Ethel learned as a young woman to always speak well and to dress well, both skills which helped her along her merry way of scamming people......because who would ever believe that such a well-dressed and well-spoken woman could be a confidence trickster?

The second book is "Rosetta", written by Rosetta's great-granddaughter.  Rosetta caused a great scandal in 1905 when she left her prosperous businessman husband and young daughter to run away with a fortune teller......and not only was he a fortune teller, he was half-Chinese, someone who would have been well out of the social circles in which women like Rosetta moved.  They moved to Europe and numbered among friends many of the nobility and even royalty, quite a step upwards fro their earlier life in Melbourne!  The author has woven truth and possible truth together to tell Rosetta's story; much of it is documented in reports of the time, and some from her imagination.  From the day Rosetta left until she died she and her daughter never met again, although it turns out they lived not far apart.

We tend to think of ancestors and people of earlier times as living dull lives, but obviously that wasn't always the case!

"Manners and personal appearance.
A charming manner not only enhances personal beauty, but even hides ugliness and makes plainness agreeable.  An ill-favored countenance is not necessarily a stumbling-block, at the outset, to its owner, which cannot be surmounted, for who does not know how much a happy manner often does to neutralize the ill effects of forbidding looks?"

Obviously Mrs Livesey and Rosetta were both possessed of charm.......it certainly lubricated their way through life.

Until we meet again - no matter where you live or what you celebrate, best wishes for a season filled with peace and love.

Enjoy your days!

We're having a heatwave.......

.......a tropical heatwave......

Today is the fourth day of a very hot five day heatwave, and I for one am over it.  It can go away now.  According to the weather people it is being caused by a large slow-moving mass of hot air moving south from central Queensland.  As far as I am concerned they can have it back - we wouldn't want to deprive them.

On to happier topics.

The quilting is all done on my Winding Ways quilt, the last stitches were taken yesterday.  Now to sew a line of stitching around the edges and trim off the excess backing and wadding, and make the binding from a printed black and white uneven plaid cut on the bias.

This fabric - what do you reckon?  I laid it out to get an idea of how it would look, I think it will work well.

Well, the new green glasses are a thing of beauty, to be sure!  As I need to wear them when taking pictures I'm not sure if I can get a photo to show you, but you can see them here, the green/lime colourway.  They are comfortable to wear and seem to do what I need them to do, which is to help my somewhat aging vision......what more could a person need?  They have a slight cat's eye shape, something I haven't worn before.  According to their brand website they are "Urban Kool".  Doesn't that sound like me, Kool to the bootstraps?  (don't forget the capital K, so much kooler than just cool.)

A little sadness here at Chez Wombats, our nice neighbours at Number 66 have sold up and are moving early next month.  We will be sorry to see them go but understand why they are going - their neighbour on the other side, Ms 64, is making their lives very difficult.  Ever since she moved in a few years ago with several unrestrained cats there has been friction and bad feeling (we are all fed up with her free-ranging moggies, even those of us who like cats) which culminated in her bloke and Mr 66 exchanging punches last year when we were in Canada.  It ended up in court and has caused a lot of acrimony, so for the sake of their health they have decided to go.  On the other side two doors away Number 72 is also on the market but not because of nasty neighbours, this is due to a marriage break-up.

A couple of weeks ago while out shopping we bumped into Mrs 66 who told us she had been responsible for capturing a teenage burglar in our street that very morning.  She had been out walking their little pug and was coming back up the street when she saw a young bloke riding slowly, checking out houses and gardens as he went.  She became suspicious then remembered she had left her back door unlocked, so picked up Pud (probably short for Pudding, he's a roly-poly little dog) the pug under her arm and sprinted for home.  Once at her house she saw the bike beside the house across the road and a side gate open so went inside her house and rang the police, who came very promptly - and caught the young bloke in the act with some jewellery in one hand and car keys in another.  He couldn't say "oh no, it wasn't me" could he?  He must have laid hands on a police person too, because one of the charges he faces is assaulting police.  15 years old......why wasn't he at school?  Now he faces a criminal record and time in criminal detention where he will probably learn even more bad habits, and come out with something to prove to himself and society.

Like many communities we here in the Small Smoke have our share of opportunistic crime, some committed by young people who regularly truant from school and think the world owes them a living......a 'skill' probably learned from their parents and grandparents, and so it goes on down through the generations.  However far and away the majority of people here are decent people and a few bad apples don't taint a whole case.

"The pernicious influence of indolence.
If you would preserve your children from the pernicious influence of indolence and all its corrupting tendencies, you must be earnest in purpose, active, energetic and fervent in spirit.  Earnestness sharpens the faculties; indolence corrodes and dulls them.  By the former we rise higher and higher, by the latter we sink lower and lower.  Indolence begets discontent, envy and jealousy, while labor elevates the mind and character.  Cultivate in your children habits of thought which will keep their minds occupied upon something that will be of use or advantage, and prevent them from acquiring habits of idleness, if you would secure their future well-being."

Indeed.  Somehow, though, I doubt that the parents of these young miscreants would understand these words, let alone act on them.

Enjoy your days!

Round and round and round.......

Have you ever wrestled an elephant through your sewing machine?  That's what it feels like, but I am pleased with how it's turning out......circle after circle after circle.  Only four complete circles to be done - I think, I hope - and the remaining partial circles along the outside edge will be easier.

 Of course it wasn't finished for Saturday's Big Reveal of our challenge quilts, but I'm pleased to say mine wasn't the only one!

Every now and then pictures from last year's trip to The Great White North (which wasn't very white at the time) scroll through on our computer to remind us of our holiday, and I thought my Aussie friends might like to see this bear proof rubbish bin, or trash can in Canadian-speak.

We do have some nasty critters here (including some which may kill you if you are unlucky, although many Aussies live all their lives without ever seeing snakes and crocodiles in the wild) but at least we don't have to worry about bears.

This past week has been busy, fortunately not as hectic as the previous week but busy enough.  Two - two! - trips to the theatre, including a big band concert yesterday afternoon which was great fun.  Big band music from the 1930s and 40s is great.  On Wednesday night we attended a 2017 preview night at our local theatre to find out what will be on next year, we have some fabulous concerts and plays to look forward to.

Many regular TV programs have finished for the year and are replaced with, in some cases, much more interesting programs and in other, complete rubbish.......and summer sport......lots of sport, way too much sport.....we have found that ads are much more interesting with the sound muted.  Watching people dance and prance around with no music playing is quite funny!  Odd......but still funny.

However what intrigues me each and every year is that news programs also stop for over two months.  Regular daily news bulletins still continue, but in-depth news programs just - stop.  Does this mean nothing newsworthy happens over December and January?  I find that very difficult to believe, you know.

We will soon be starting to crank our brains up for the annual onslaught of Christmas.  Here at Chez Wombats Christmas is always quite low-key, and this year's event will be even more so as we won't be here.  We will be in Canberra having Christmas with family, for a change.  Fingers crossed for a mild season - last year's Yule season was horribly hot, and I can't cope with that too often.  So the Christmas wombats will stay packed away this year, and Flossie the Jim Shore angel won't come out of her box, and a tree won't be decorated.  We might take a small tabletop tree and a string of tiny green lights away in the caravan with us for a bit of festive cheer, but that will be the extent of our decorating this year; it will be "bah, humbug" all the way.

One of last week's appointments was at the optometrist for my two-yearly check-up and my eyes received a glowing report, which is great news.  The rest of me may be falling apart, but the eyes are amazing!  For many years, however, I have been wearing glasses for anything close (as do many older folk) and the prescription is being re-jigged, so I have ordered new frames to contain the new lenses......and guess what, they are green!  Not only green, but they fitted perfectly on first try-on - something which has never happened in the past.  My face is not wide so many glasses don't fit, and the length of the side arms is usually way too long as well, but not these gorgeous green frames.  Obviously made just for me!  The phone call to say they are ready to be collected should come any day now.

"Perspiration.
To remove the unpleasant odor produced by perspiration, put two tablespoons of the compound spirit of ammonia in a basin of water, and use it for bathing.  It leaves the skin clear, sweet and fresh as one could wish.  It is perfectly harmless, very cheap, and is recommended on the authority of an experienced physician."

This handy hint (or should one say 'hack' these days?  I don't) from the mid-1880s was in the days when one's clothing wasn't washed as frequently as it is now, so perhaps that ammonia was really needed.

Enjoy your days!

Something rare - time at home!

This week has been one of the busiest that we have had for a long time - many regular commitments and some irregular ones have all happened together, but now we're enjoying a rare afternoon at home.

It hasn't been totally wasted, though; a small project was assembled at sewing group.  Mind you, the pieces were cut out two months ago and have just been sitting around in my sewing room since then waiting for an opportunity to be made up.

Isn't it interesting?  My Victoria, B.C., friend Lois (who doesn't have a blog) gave me this row by row "West Coast View" last year when we visited, it's from Snip & Stitch Sewing Centre, Nanaimo, one of our shopping stops on a trip up island, on a freezing cold day with a howling gale blowing.  I love the colours!  It will have a border or two added and become a table centre.  Rose Marie also gave me a row by row from Ontario (which, coincidentally, uses very similar fabrics and colours) and it is next on the 'smaller projects' list, once Winding Ways is quilted; I plan to have a go at needle turn applique on that one so it may even go away with me next month.

Six days to go until the challenge quilts are revealed, mine definitely won't be finished.......but I can live with that.  The world won't stop spinning on its axis because of it.

This morning the uke group played at a Christmas fair for a local worthy cause and it was fun, as usual.  We even had people dancing when we played "Sway"!  Two more weeks until the next gig, we'll be famous yet, you know.

It hasn't been all fun and games lately, though.  Last weekend our choir director's partner died; he had been ill for some time so it was not a surprise, but was still sad.  Yesterday he was given a send-off with much love, music and friends, and a couple of songs from the choir.

Today is one year since we arrived back from our trip to Canada, and given today's heat I would gladly go back.  If only it wasn't for the long flight up there in a tin box with 300 of my new best friends and 97 crying babies........

Saw my GP earlier in the week for a check up, and pointed to a 'thing' on my right cheek.  Oh yes, he said, peering at it through that magnifier thingy doctors use, it's a sun spot.  Keep an eye on it, he said.  (pretty difficult when it's low down on my cheek south of my eyes)  Take photos on your phone looking in a mirror to track its progress, he said.  Um yes, I said but I probably won't take a skin selfie, next time I see him in a couple of months he can check it again.  You're not burning it off, I said, you can burn anywhere else but not my face.  No, he said, it will probably have to be (gulp) surgically removed eventually.  Something to look forward to, for sure.

Oh, the fun of having ancestors from northern Europe.

"Freckles.
Freckles are of two kinds.  Those occasioned by exposure to the sunshine, and consequently evanescent, are denominated "summer freckles;" those which are constitutional and permanent are called "cold freckles".  With regard to the latter, it is impossible to give any advice which will be of value.  They result from causes not to be affected by mere external applications.  Summer freckles are not so difficult to deal with, and with a little care the skin may be kept free from this cause of disfigurement.  Some skins are so delicate that they become freckled on the slightest exposure to open air in summer.  The cause assigned for this is that the iron in the blood, forming a junction with the oxygen, leaves a rusty mark where the junction takes place."

What do you know.......I have rusty skin, and here was I thinking that it was only my joints which were rusty.

Enjoy your days!

What a week

Let's not get too hung up on negatives, though......the world is still (mostly!) an amazing place.

Last week we went for a Nice Sunday Drive on Friday to a small village 40 minutes away and stopped off at a water storage lake which we last visited in mid-September, when there was much less water in it than there is now.

Water in this section of the lake was nowhere near as high as here, and the trees now in the water were still a long way from the bank a couple of months ago.

As promised (sorry, can't remember who was promised but I know I told someone there would be pics) the backing for my Winding Ways quilt.

 The backing has to be joined, so why not make a feature of the join?  The centre two stripes are four inches finished, the next two are eight inches, and I have forgotten how wide the two outside stripes are but they were duly measured and cut.  I quite like this idea and may use it again.

 Lots of circles in these prints.  The quilt is being finished - finally - for my group challenge, which this year is "Circles", hence the decision to get a move on because it fits in with the theme.

Mind you, it still may not be completely finished by the deadline which is two weeks from tomorrow.......never mind, it can still be taken along and flourished aloft, then brought home to be completed.  Quilting will follow the lines of the circles in the blocks on the front and will be done with the walking foot, using a black and white variegated thread.

And I can tell you now that Madame President won't like it.  Not enough garish colour for her taste, but it's my quilt and I do like it.  I like it a lot.  I'm thinking of calling it "The long and winding road".

Last weekend we had a tutor visiting from the Big Smoke, it was lovely to renew our acquaintance; many many years ago we were members of the same group.  I have long admired her work and it was interesting to have a go at machine embroidery/thread painting/whatever you like to call it.  The background is different tones of silver-grey and is more textured than it looks here, the large copper-coloured leaf will be finished once a new bobbin is wound with dark maroon thread and the remaining white spaces filled in with colour.

This technique is quite hard on one's neck, shoulders and back, and the fact that my machine was sitting on a regular table and not in my own lower sewing table with my own chair adjusted for my own short self made it even more difficult; I was quite stiff and sore by Sunday evening and haven't sewn a stitch since.  Despite that it's now number two on the list of Stuff That I Really Want To Finish, and will have its turn after Winding Ways is done.

We're having a little taste of summer now with the occasional warmer day - today isn't too hot but it is, surprisingly for here, a little humid.  Rain is forecast for tomorrow, that might explain it......for once my hair isn't dead straight!

Every now and then the thought crosses my mind to get my hair cut shorter and just as quickly my mind says "oh, don't be silly.  If you have it cut you will look the same as all the other old ladies in town."  So I don't listen to the thought and I keep my hair long, because I like to be a little different.  Perhaps when it's all grey or white might be the time to cut it shorter and have coloured streaks put in - green, of course - but, considering my somewhat advanced age (big significant birthday coming up next year, you know; I'm trying to ignore it) there is still a lot of its natural auburn colour left, so while I still have it I'm going to flaunt it.  Nothing like wearing one's hair up with a flower pinned in to make a slightly frivolous statement, is there?

The uke group has a gig next Sunday morning so yes, there will be flowers.  I'm thinking the blue orchids, because my plan is to wear bright blue clothes.

"The dress for the theatre.
The promenade dress with the addition of a handsome cloak or shawl, which may be thrown aside if it is uncomfortable, is suitable for a theatre,  The dress should be quiet and plain, without any attempt at display.  Either a bonnet or hat may be worn.  Gloves should be dark, harmonizing with the dress."

Well......we will be performing but not in a theatre, we will be outdoors in a garden at the local racecourse, and considering that it could be anything from a bit warm to stinking hot we'll give the cloak or shawl a miss.  Definitely be wearing a hat though, my wardrobe includes several Noosa hats which keep the sun off my face in, hopefully, quite a stylish way.

Enjoy your days!

Sleeping in one's own bed again......

One is quite pleased about this; even though the caravan beds have innerspring mattresses and are very comfortable, there is nothing quite like one's own regular bed, is there?

As promised, a few pictorial highlights:

We spent a week near Yamba and did a little local exploring while there, Angourie is a five minute drive south:

These fellers are called water dragons.  Their back claws look quite vicious so I was not getting any closer than this - one of many who call the river bank home:

 The stones deposited along the bank of the Clarence River make an ideal home if you are a water dragon, this is where we stayed for a week......talk about relaxing:

 After a week on Palmers Island we drove south to Urunga, which itself is a short drive from Nambucca Heads - this is near where the Nambucca River empties into the ocean:

 Urunga caravan park has bunnies!!  Cute little grey and white baby bunnies hopping around!!!!

 There were grey and white adult bunnies too, but they can't compete in the cute stakes so they weren't photographed.

The boardwalk goes for a kilometre, should you feel energetic on a late afternoon as the tide is going out to sea......or any other time, for that matter.

It was also a very musical holiday.  I was welcomed by the Yamba Ukes for their regular Wednesday session in a local café and can't have disgraced myself totally, because they asked me to join them playing in a street festival a few days later......how nice is that!

Last weekend at the Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival a scratch band called "The Sinners"(sounds like me, doesn't it?) was formed on Saturday morning; an hour on Saturday and another short practice immediately before going on stage on Sunday morning, and we opened the bluegrass gospel concert - yee har for us!  Folk festivals in Australia often have a scratch choir - so-called because people are scratched up from anywhere - which has a short practice each morning of the festival then performs at the final Big Concert (there is always a Big Concert to finish a festival); "The Sinners" was the bluegrass band equivalent.  I'm pleased to report that I wasn't the only ukulele, we had a couple more.  It was somewhat crowded up there on stage, but really great to feel part of the festival.  Now we can sit back and bask in our glory while waiting for the phones to ring......somehow I think we'll be waiting for a while......

Mostly the weather was kind to us, a few showers of rain didn't spoil things but the wind did.  It was often windy at Palmers Island, very windy the day we arrived at Urunga, and we also had some wind at Dorrigo.  Wind is horrible.  As someone said to us after coming home, wind serves no useful purpose that she can see; perhaps it does have a purpose, but it certainly makes people irritable.

Now we are picking up where we left off.  Our next trip away will be just before Christmas heading south to see the family and taking in another small folk festival on the way home.

Meanwhile, things have been progressing on the sewing front.  The backing for my Winding Ways quilt is done but as something has happened to my back (I seem to have popped a rib or strained a muscle, possibly while sneezing; the pain is somewhat agonising at times and breathing can be a bit tricky too) it will have to wait a wee while before being pinned and quilted.

Unfortunately we came home to a sad note, one of our choir members lost his life a couple of weeks ago in a very nasty car accident.  He leaves a young family, and I was sorry I wasn't well enough to get to his funeral on Friday to pay my respects with other choir members.

Yesterday, though, was happier; a former member who moved interstate is back in town for a short holiday, and a mutual friend and choir member had a lovely afternoon tea at her place for friends to meet up again.  We had yummy things to eat served on pretty plates, with old-fashioned tea cups making us all feel like Real Ladies.  Which, of course, we are.

"Whom to invite.
Those invited should be of the same standing in society.  They need not necessarily be friends, nor even acquaintances, but, at dinner, as people come into closer contact than at a dance, or any other kind of a party, those only should be invited to meet one another who move in the same class of circles."

Yep......sounds like yesterday afternoon.

Enjoy your days!

We're back!

Still need to upload photos from my camera, and then I can tell you all about our holiday.

Two more sleeps until our holiday

We will be leaving on Saturday morning so there will be a blogging break for a couple of weeks.

Still have to pack, but one important thing is done......my uke is packed!  Next Wednesday morning I will be meeting up with a ukulele group not far from where we will be staying (we will be out of town) which should be fun.  Kevin plays lawn bowls and he is also looking forward to meeting local bowlers for a game or two.  While he is doing that I may, just may, not definite mind you, but perhaps I just might check out the local op shops, or thrift stores if you don't live in Australia.......I like a good op shop crawl.

On Sunday afternoon we will be arriving on Palmers Island for a week, then heading south to visit Urunga before turning back inland.  Our last few days will be spent in Dorrigo - such a nice town, there is a great quilt shop and several excellent cafes - because the folk festival is on.  We missed it last year, we were in Canada instead!

The first year we were living here we visited a couple of open gardens, and at one I bought a potted kalanchoe with an interesting name - "Dusky Bells".   It spent a few years hanging around in its pot on the edge of our fairly sheltered back verandah doing very little; not dying, but certainly not thriving.  A couple of years ago we had a short-but-sharp storm which, as well as breaking off a 30 ft high tree in our front yard, toppled the stand holding some hanging plants including Dusky Bells.  The stand was duly moved into a more sheltered corner, and Dusky Bells was re-potted.  It promptly picked itself up, shook itself, looked around, decided that the new corner was The Place To Be and has been going great guns ever since.  I'm curious, though......it's hanging and trailing, whereas I thought kalanchoes had their flowers at the top of an erect stem.  Perhaps it needs a few of those little blue pills that one hears about?

 The pot holding most of the kalanchoe sits above this orange pot.

Definitely trailing - nothing upright about it, but its leaves are nice and glossy and the flowers are interesting.

We don't have television in our little caravan and I for one won't miss it.  I certainly won't miss the ads for cars, aren't they silly?  Really, what can be said about cars that hasn't already been said over and over again?  A wheel at each corner and one to hang onto.  That's about it.  Cars these days all seem interchangeable to me anyway, but then - what do I know about such things?

One of us hits the mute button when ads come on air.  Watching ads with the sound turned off is quite funny, we can recommend it!  If it were up to me the TV would stay off for 99% of the time, but the bloke who shares my bed likes to watch it.

Not in bed, though.  We have one not-very-big TV (no huge screens and surround sound for us) and it lives in the living room just off the kitchen.  I can't imagine having a TV in my bedroom, even though Kevin does watch through his eyelids.

We've been checking out the weather forecast for next week to see what clothes to pack and the days look like being a few degrees warmer than here which is quite bearable, but nights will be several degrees warmer than what we are currently enjoying.  Still, we will be near the Pacific Ocean so hopefully there will be a sea breeze to keep bugs away and to stop nights being too hot for sleeping.  This week I have worn sandals twice, my bare toes have been hanging out in the fresh air for the first time in several months, and next week they may not be covered much at all.  Even the bare arms and legs may have a turn at fresh air.

But that's all.  There are limits to what I bare in public, folks.

"In assisting a lady to enter a carriage, a gentleman will take care that the skirt of her dress is not allowed to hang outside.  A carriage robe should be provided to protect her dress from the mud and dirt of the road.  The gentleman should provide the lady with her parasol, fan and shawl, and see that she is comfortable in every way, before he seats himself."

Modern cars mean that the skirts of our dresses stay inside, don't they?  We don't need carriage rugs or parasols to keep us sheltered on a ride either, thank goodness for modern comforts

We'll be back in a few weeks, meanwhile......

Enjoy your days!

We're nearly being blown away here

Considering it's now spring today is not very spring-like......sunny at times but with threatening clouds, and very strong winds.  We aren't being blown as much as some districts are, but even so it's quite unpleasant.  It's also very very cold.

Ah well.  Not much we can do about that, is there?

Some more pieces were joined on the blue and orange batik quilt, it's going to be somewhat bright......even brighter than I had hoped.

 One print has words, many are abstract, there are leaves, flowers, and one has butterfly wings.  No bodies, just detached wings.  Poor butterflies......does this mean that, if they can't fly, they are just butter?

My favourite of all the black and white fabrics currently being joined is this café print with curly chairs, cakes and candlesticks.  I have no memory of when or where it was bought, there were probably other prints in the same range which might have been just as much fun - but we will never know now, will we?

Hard to believe that just one year ago today we were winging our way, as they say in travel brochures, over shark-infested waters on our way to Vancouver.  That long flight was followed by a (fortunately) shorter flight over bear-infested forests to Toronto, and it was with much relief that we laid our weary heads down that night having flown half-way round the world and been up for nigh on two days.  Next weekend we will be heading off again; we will be driving the long way to the coast and, while we will enjoy a nice break from our humdrum daily routine, an Australian beach in spring won't have the gloriousness of Ontario in Autumn.

Sigh......in several months it will be autumn again here, but first we have to survive summer again.

Over the past week or so we have started seeing local folk in summer clothes, I'm not that brave yet (certainly not today, that's for sure......I'm not hanging my bare arms or legs out in that freezing cold wind) but recently my wardrobe has increased by new black sandals, a black and white top and new capri pants in both royal blue and teal ready for warmer weather.  The sandals are pretty, I couldn't decide between black or brown, perhaps after we come home I shall buy the brown ones too.  One needs to keep up appearances even when one is a retired Olde Pharte, you know; those new clothes may even come to the coast with me, because one likes to make a good impression when travelling.

"Travelling dress.
Comfort and protection from dust and dirt are the requirements of a travelling dress.  When a lady is about making an extensive journey, a travelling suit is a great convenience, but for a short journey, a large linen overdress or duster may be put on over the ordinary dress in summer, and in winter a waterproof cloak may be used in the same way.  For travelling costumes a variety of materials may be used, of soft, neutral tints, and smooth surface which does not retain the dust.  These should be made up plainly and quite short.  The underskirts should be colored, woollen in winter and linen in summer.  The hat or bonnet must be plainly trimmed and completely protected by a large veil.  Velvet is unfit for a travelling hat, as it catches and retains the dust; collars and cuffs of plain linen.  The hair should be put up in the plainest manner.  A waterproof and warm woollen shawl are indispensable, and may be rolled in a shawl-strap when not needed.  A satchel should be carried, in which may be kept a change of collars, cuffs, gloves, handkerchiefs, toilet articles, and towels.  A travelling dress should be well supplied with pockets.  The waterproof should have large pockets, and there should be one in the underskirt in which to carry such money and valuables as are not needed for immediate use."

Well, I'm not sure......I was thinking of travelling in jeans and tee shirt with my hair down, yes it's long, and definitely no neutrals.  I don't do neutral.  Neutral is so.......neutral.

Enjoy your days!

Winding and winging along

Winding Ways blocks are all done and laid out on the design bed ready to be sewn together, what do you reckon?  This will probably be the final layout, I think the balance of light, medium and dark is pretty much right.

 When those blocks are joined the top will finish at 60in square.  Two fabrics have been purchased for the backing which may possibly be made before we go away in a couple of weeks, not sure about that though......if it is, it is.  And if it's not, why then, it won't be.

Last Friday we went for a Nice Sunday Drive to Chaffey Dam, a local man-made water storage facility.  Over the past couple of years the dam wall has been raised so the capacity is much larger than in the past, and of late there has been so much rain that the 'new' dam is now nearly 90% full with the possibility of 100% coming soon, something that could have only been dreamed of earlier this year.

 The plaque above is set on a huge boulder of rhodonite, which is found in abundance in the area.  It's renowned as a good area for fossicking and I'm told it's still possible to find gold!  In the 1850s a gold rush started not far away.  This rhodonite lump is easily waist high on me......admittedly I'm only 5 ft two inches in old money, but that's still a good sized lump.

 It was very peaceful.

Is anyone else sick of hearing about a 'celebrity' couple who are splitting?  I'm not interested enough to read any of the stories in online news sites, but when it made last night's 'serious world news' on TV there was no escape.  I'm sorry for them and their family, but honestly......given some of the horrible things happening in the world today which put a marital break-up in the shade except for those most intimately concerned, do we really care?

No.

The Bronze Wombat has joined the 21st century and bought a smart phone!  Yesterday I received both a text and a letter - a real letter, written on real paper and sent through the postal system - telling me that my phone's network would no longer be supported after December, so this morning we took ourselves off to see the network people.  My heavens, there is such a choice if one wants a smart phone......and almost no choice if one doesn't.  As our household has two computers - a desk top and a lap top - and we each have a tablet, I neither want nor need a phone to keep me in touch with the world every moment of the day; that feature has been disabled, although it can be turned back on if I wish.  I just need a basic phone to make and receive calls and texts as I already have a good stand-alone camera which takes excellent pictures, and the current trend of whipping out one's phone and snapping pictures of all and sundry gives me a severe dose of the irrits.  To say nothing of taking selfies.......never taken one, never will, in fact I turn the other way if ever I see photos being taken.

"Business letters.
These should be brief and to the point, should be of plain chirography, and relate to the business in hand, in as few words and as clearly as possible.  Begin at once without apology or explanation, and finish up the matter pertaining to the business.  If an apology or explanation is due, it may be made briefly at the close of the letter, after the business has been attended to.  A letter on business should be answered at once, or as soon as possible after receiving it."

In these days of instant emails we don't get many business letters, do we?

Enjoy your days!

September in the rain

Wouldn't that make a good song title?  Oh, wait.......okay......

However it is September, and it has been raining, and many roads hereabouts are closed and the river which flows through town is flooded.  There was a flood a couple of months after we moved here, they happen every so many years; I can remember some really bad floods when I was a child.  We're surrounded by hills, so the river gets a lot of water coming down.

Meanwhile, here's some of our soggy garden.  Our lovely little plant had its name changed some years ago; it used to be called eriostemon myoporoides, but no sooner had I learned to pronounce it than some learned botanists put their heads together and decided it wasn't that at all, it was something else altogether.  It's apparently related to citrus, the leaves smell heavenly when rubbed as they have a lot of oil in them.

 Our somewhat pricey standard grevillea, which makes quite a statement in the front garden.

Hardenbergia, fortunately not the variety which takes over the universe......this one is more discreet.

 Another grevillea, 'Robyn Gordon' - birds love these flowers.

 As promised, the green chair.  It's more turquoise than green, and is so much prettier than when it was an old person's chair!

Don't worry about the mess in the background, I'm not the world's best housekeeper.  Just admire the chair.

Had a good time at the craft show last weekend, even though it was small.  I did buy some fabric for the next hand-pieced project which has started percolating in my brain; those Flower Basket blocks which have been 'on the go' for over ten years will soon be too unwieldy for a portable project, but my fingers will still need something to do.  After much deliberation and cogitation I decided to make a tumbler quilt using my stash of repro fabrics, some of which go back nigh on twenty years, but they needed more neutrals.  This morning I ordered a tumbler template online. and have been fondling my repro fabrics a few times to get acquainted with them.  At this stage I have no idea how big to make it, so I think I will just start sewing and take it from there.

The black and white blocks are coming along nicely.  The whole quilt may or may not be done for the Big Reveal at the end of November, but who's worried?  Not me......it will be done when it's done.

At the Annual General Meeting of our small but quite serious quilt group last year I put up my hand to be our Charity Quilt Co-Ordinator and so far my services haven't been needed.  Recently Madame Presidente contacted me about providing a design and block instructions, and much to my surprise she said she really liked my BOM (last month it was my turn to provide a BOM sample and instructions) so much that she would like our quilt for a Good Cause to use the same block design.  I had fun putting together a few layouts in EQ7, and the diagonal setting was a hands-down winner.  Her mantra is "it's gotta be BRIGHT......make it BRIGHT......it's not BRIGHT enough......" and, while I also like bright colours, there is a point when bright crosses over into garish.  Hopefully any somewhat quieter bright blocks will all play nicely with the louder bright blocks to make the cheerful quilt requested by a children's cancer organisation.

What is it with blokes and the TV remote?  Are they congenitally incapable of keeping their hands off the thing?  Even Euan, who won't turn two for another three months, keeps playing with theirs.  Obviously his grandfather's remote fiddling genes have passed to his father, who has passed them in turn to his son......it is so irritating when one is watching something and, as soon as an ad comes on, the household bloke starts scrolling through the alternatives.  Makes one think that the cultures who chop off a hand for certain misdeeds have the right idea, they could add TV remote fiddling to the list of crimes.

I bet the good folk of the 1880s would have had something to say in the etiquette book about fiddling with the TV remote when one's wife is watching a program.

"The true gentleman.
Politeness is benevolence in all things.  A true gentleman must regard the rights and feelings of others, even in matters the most trivial.  He respects the individuality of others, just as he wishes others to respect his own."

Doesn't that sound to you as though it means "keep your hands off the remote when your wife is watching her program"?  I don't change channels when he is watching sport, sport and more sport, much as I feel like doing so.

Enjoy your days!

Moving right along

Of late the black and white Winding Ways blocks for this year's challenge quilt - the theme is "Circles" - have been trotted out and are being worked on.  Lots of different fabrics - some representational, music, cats, sewing machines - some floral, and some abstract.

Isn't the music print fun?  It looks like a song might sound during some of our uke lessons, with notes everywhere.  I was wondering how to piece the back; the finished quilt will be 49 inches square so it will need more than one width of fabric, but two would be way too wide.  Now my brilliant brain has decided on two prints - one black with white, the other white with black - pieced in stripes, narrow stripes in the middle getting wider at the sides.

Our uke gig went off well last week at the annual Learners Concert, we enjoyed meeting our fellow students, even an ex-member of our group was there with her husband who is learning fiddle; she has given her uke to a grandchild and doesn't play any more.  On Saturday morning the choir sang at a local aged care home and our fearless leader Bill had asked the choir uke people to play, as several members belong to both choir and uke group.  Only one uke player was able to make it......yours truly......so I duly played and sang, and the choir joined in.  We were thanked and complimented afterwards when we joined the residents for morning tea.

One has to take fame and glory where one can, you know.

Some of the money that flew out the door in recent weeks went on having my chair re-upholstered.  A few years ago I bought a used wooden-framed chair with a high back, low legs so my feet can sit on the floor, and low arms which don't get in the way of knitting and sewing.  The upholstery was dark toned floral tapestry which looked like something that had escaped from an old peoples' home but it is soooo comfortable that I put up with it.......until earlier this year I noticed the upholstery was fraying whereupon a trip to a local upholsterer, a browse through their sample books, and a colour called Opal was chosen.  One would have to use one's imagination to see opals in it, I have some opal jewellery and this isn't opal, but it is green!  The fabric was ordered and a few weeks ago my old chair made its trip Across The River (some locals don't like crossing the river, goodness knows what they are afraid of, it's just a small river) and spent a few days in the workshop being rejuvenated.  Even the wooden legs and arms are now green.  I love it.

Perhaps I could have done it myself.......it would certainly have been cheaper......but it wouldn't have been done anywhere near as well as it has been.  Greg The Upholsterer said that style of chair (which he called a TV chair) was one of the best ever made, and he also said that if he decided on a change of career he would go into business building chairs just like it and make his fortune.

This weekend we have a craft show circus here in town. My cunning plan is to go along tomorrow with a small amount of money in my purse and, if I see something I love enough to buy, it may come home with me.  If not - I will come home empty handed, it won't be the first time.  The last craft show I attended was in Canada, the Creativ Festival in Toronto, and I must admit to a certain amount of spending at that one.......but that doesn't count as craft spending, that counts as holiday souvenirs.

"Baldness.
Gentlemen are more liable to baldness than ladies, owing, no doubt, to the use of the close hat, which confines and overheats the head.  If the hair is found to be falling out, the first thing to do is to look to the hat and see that it is light and thoroughly ventilated.  There is no greater enemy to the hair than the silk dress-hat.  It is best to lay this hat aside altogether, and adopt a light felt or straw in its place."

I wonder if gentlemen these days wear silk dress-hats?  Somehow I doubt it, although if silk hats were to be made in the style of baseball caps they just might.

Enjoy your days!

540 pieces of fabric later......

All 540 pieces for the UFO weekend quilt were cut out in time, although it took a certain amount of effort on Friday night to get it done.......but, done it was.

Over the weekend My Lovely New Bernina (17 years old this month but until the day I die it will always be My Lovely New Bernina) and I made 30 of these:

 ......and 120 of these......

 ......and then 30 of these.

Would you believe there are 30 blocks in the quilt?

However it has now been put aside until later this month, because I have decided to make it the project I work on at monthly quilt group meetings.  It's an easy chain-pieced project, so I can work on more complicated stuff at home and save up the easy ones for the meetings.

Big night tomorrow night!  Our local music school has a number of adults who have music lessons for various reasons - continuing something they have done for a long time, starting again after playing when younger then giving it up, or in the case of some of the uke group players, doing something they have always wanted to do.  In early September each year Australia celebrates Adult Learners Week during which our music school has a concert featuring its adult students.  It's a fun night, we get to meet other adult musicians, and the night ends with drinkies and nibblies served in the studio where we practise.  We'll be playing "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Dream a Little Dream" and one for the ABBA fans (of whom I am not one) "Mamma Mia".  As Dot, one of the uke group, said last night - "it's quite funny, Jennifer......you don't like that song, but you still play it better than the rest of us do!"

The new light fixtures have been installed and they are so much better than the old ones were.  The chandelier......yes, folks, we now have a gorjuss modern crystal chandelier in our entrance hall......is truly beautiful and we love it, Tash Next Door and her mum also think it's very flash.  The light in my sewing room was changed for a plain LED fitting and the old one was to have been switched to a spare bedroom; waste not, want not and all that stuff.  Sadly, however, someone who shall remain nameless but who shares my bed, is male and whose name does not start with J was going to wash the dead critters out before the electrician changed it over, but he bumped it on the sink and broke it.

So now we still have to buy one more light.

AS we speak there is rain on the way and the weather people tell us that we can expect a significant amount of rain over the next few days.  Remind me to stay out of puddles, because I am a short person.

The John Williams CDs arrived, 58 of them and one DVD, all those hours and hours of wonderful music.....if we play just one CD a day we will have enough to last a couple of months before starting again.

Following on from the last quote about hairy masculine faces:

Those who shave should be careful to do so every morning.  Nothing looks worse than a shabby beard.  Some persons whose beards are strong should shave twice a day, especially if they are going to a party in the evening."

I wonder how one defines a shabby beard?  One which has been straining soup?  Erk......

Enjoy your days!

A finish, and a start

First, the finish:

The Maple Leaf runner is done!  It's another souvenir of our holiday in Canada.

Then the start:

The next project, what do you reckon?  Batik fabrics, lots of different shades of blue with pops of yellow, gold and orange.  The blue fabrics range from almost green to almost purple, right around the colour wheel.  The small pieces on the left are mostly leftovers from Maritime Beauty a couple of years ago.

Next weekend is my quilt group's annual UFO weekend (mine is still a USO, not a stitch has yet been taken) so I hope to goodness it will all be cut out in time.  It has at least been started, a few pieces have been cut......

Last Sunday's concert went well, the uke group was allowed two songs (we didn't play "Ain't misbehavin'" so it will go in the next concert in a couple more weeks), we didn't disgrace ourselves, and people told us how much they enjoyed us.  The following day Kevin and I were trundling around a local supermarket - the weekly shop is a great social outing here in the Small Smoke, these days we take our thrills where we can get them - when we were approached by a local councilor and his wife who had been at the concert.  We had a nice chat in the frozen food section, they said how much they liked our music......perhaps we should ask the council if we can be official uke players to our fair city?  I can just imagine us strutting along escorting the mayor during a civic procession, plinking as we go......

Lately, money has been flying out the door here at Chez Wombats like you wouldn't believe.  New light fittings have been bought to replace some already here when we moved in; they aren't our taste so out they go, and anyway lights now are much more efficient than they used to be.  The very 1980s lights in the entrance hall, bedroom hallway and Good Room will, thank goodness, be going.  Should you be in the market for some fittings with scrolly brass arms, painted flowers on the middle bits (don't know the technical word, sorry) and tinted glass chimneys, we will shortly have some available.   All offers welcome.  One more fixture to arrive, the shop has it on order, then the electrician can install them for us.  We don't play around with live electricity, we're not that silly, you know.

On Friday my weekly newsletter from The Fabulous CD Shop In The Big Smoke arrived in my inbox, and you probably heard me gasp from your place......there was an entire boxed set of guitarist John Williams on special.  It's now on its way here.  It cost a certain amount of dollars but oh, all that wonderful music......how can you put a price on it......many years ago I saw John Williams play and it was such an experience, I have never forgotten it.

 Continuing on from the last etiquette post, more words of wisdom aimed at the blokes in our lives:

"The beard.
The style of the growth of the beard should be governed by the character of the face.  But whatever the style be, the great point is to keep it well brushed and trimmed, and to avoid any appearance of wildness or inattention.  The full, flowing beard of course requires more looking after in the way of cleanliness than any other.  It should be thoroughly washed and brushed at least twice a day, as dust is sure to accumulate in it, and it is very easy to suffer it to become objectionable to one's self as well as to others.  If it is naturally glossy, it is better to avoid the use of oil or pomatum.  The moustache should be worn neatly and not over-large.  There is nothing that so adds to native manliness as the full beard if carefully and neatly kept."

Beards were certainly popular in the late 1800s, weren't they?  In photographs taken at the time it's rare to see a clean-shaven bloke.  I wonder what women thought of their menfolk when the beards became a bit wild?  Perhaps they were so taken by the native manliness that they didn't mind.  Just imagine how a wild beard would tickle.......

On that note I shall leave you, and head back to the sewing room and the rotary cutter.

Enjoy your days!

279 is not 275

The next row of the beaded scarf didn't go so well, it was supposed to end up with 275 stitches, instead of which there were 279.  Bugger.  So the whole row was un-knitted and will have to be done again.  Bugger again.  That will teach me to watch murder mysteries on TV while knitting something that needs a bit of concentration, won't it?

Many thanks for the comments on last week's waratahs!  Here are some more:

 Waratahs were being featured at the time of our visit.  The white ones are interesting, but I think they lack the oomph (technical word here, folks) of the red ones.

 An interesting post which has information about the waratah, including the Aboriginal legend of how they came to be, can be found here.

I would love to be able to grow them here......but, sadly, cannot.

Not a whole heap to report from the sewing room today.  The quilting on the maple leaf runner had to pause because of a couple of BOM obligations; they have now been handed over, so the machine can be set up for quilting again.  Later this month my quilt group is having its annual UFO weekend, or in some cases USO (for projects not yet started), so between now and then I will be cutting out batik fabrics in all shades of blue with a little yellow/gold for an accent.  The blues range from light turquoise to deep almost-purple, and the pattern is a scrappy one I have been wanting to do for a while.  While it's very dubious indeed that all the blocks will be done on that weekend it will at least have been started, which is a Good Thing.

Currently there is a sports carnival happening on the other side of the world, but as this humble blogger is not much of a sports fan (not any kind of a sports fan at all, really - much or otherwise) this blog is a sport-free zone.......except for one thing I found out the other day, which makes me laugh every time I think of it.

Did you know there used to be a spot in the carnival for solo synchronised swimming?  Can you imagine it?  "Solo synchronised" sounds like an oxymoron to me - how on earth does one swim (or indeed do anything else solo) in synch with one's self?

The problem with blogger seems to have fixed itself, I think the site was being gussied-up because things are different to how they used to be.  All is well now, so no need to panic.  We don't want to waste a good panic, do we?

The uke group will be playing my arrangement at a concert on Sunday afternoon, how about that!  Plus a couple of other songs from our book, "Ain't misbehavin'" and "Sway".  All together now......when marimba rhythms start to play, dance with me, make me sway.......la la la laaahhhh.........

"Long, flowing hair on a man is not in good taste, and will indicate him to the observer as a person of unbalanced mind and unpleasantly erratic character - a man, in brief, who seeks to impress others with the fact that he is eccentric, something which a really eccentric person never attempts."

Remember when blokes wore long hair?  It was fashionable for quite a long time in my giddy youth......but I don't think many of the males of my acquaintance were eccentric, just dedicated followers of fashion.

Enjoy your days!