It is really, really cold today

It was really, really cold yesterday too.  Barely an hour here from here it's been snowing all day, and pictures posted on a local facebook weather page are quite amazing.  For generations people have been coming to Australia for warm weather and sunshine......they won't find any here today, we haven't even made double figures in celsius temperatures.

These pictures were taken at Hanging Rock, about one hour's drive south-east of here, a few years ago.  Today's snow falls are much deeper.

 Warnings are out to avoid the area completely.  Road conditions are quite dangerous, and even 4WD vehicles are not recommended along many roads unless they have chains.

While I realise that quite a lot of the world sees much more snow than we do, it's quite a novelty for us!  The Small Smoke is in a valley so it's the higher country an hour to the south, east and north of us, and also a few hours west, which is getting its coating of white.  Snow has fallen here occasionally but usually it melts on the way down; the last decent recorded snowfall here was, apparently, in 1984.

It makes for good staying-indoors-and-sewing-or-cooking-or-reading-or-just-veging-out weather, which is what we're doing right now.  Kevin is reading, and I have just taken a cake out of the oven - a pumpkin spice cake with streusel topping, which we will try for dessert tonight.

Last week I ordered some Aurifil thread in variegated autumn colours to quilt the maple leaf runner, and it arrived on Friday......it is gorgeous, yummy enough to eat.  There are ten Winding Ways blocks cut out ready to be assembled, they might be done first then the runner will be quilted.  After that, those Winding Ways blocks had better be prioritised if the challenge quilt is to be done for later this year - that will be one UFO out of the way, when it's done.

On Friday night the uke group made its premiere inaugural first-ever debut playing in the local Eisteddfod and while we didn't win, we had fun.  Now that we know what to expect, we will back next year.  The audience seemed to enjoy our playing and singing, and one comment by the judge was that we blended well - that's good, it means no one stood out as, except for my playing of the introduction, there were no solos.  We even had people singing along with us, and several people came up to us afterwards to say how much they enjoyed our performance.

Who knows, we might yet become rich and famous.......in our dreams, I suspect......

Removal of the wallpaper cornice is proceeding nicely.  The corner near the fire will have to wait until the end of winter, for safety reasons - the fire can get quite hot - but nearly all the rest is done.  Even without the walls being re-painted the lack of floral borders really opens them up, they look so much less cluttered already.  The new wall colour will be a pale buttery cream.

"Here is the test of true ladyhood.  Whenever the young find themselves in the company of those who do not make them feel at ease, they should know they are not in the society of true ladies and true gentlemen, but of pretenders; that well-bred men and women can only feel at home in the society of the well-bred."

Indeed.  Like attracts like, it is said.

Enjoy your days!