It's baaaack.......

Just when we thought the heat of summer had gone - it has returned!  We're having what the weather people call a 'mini heatwave' for a few days.   We still have to survive today and tomorrow and it should start to ease on Wednesday, just in time for when we head off in the caravan.....and we will be going south where it's cooler anyway, so that's all right.

Hot weather at this time of year isn't unusual, however.  Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary (42 years with the same bloke, I'm not sure which one of us deserves the bigger medal) and the day we married was very hot.  The heat stayed around for a few more days, but by the next weekend the weather had broken and summer was finally gone.  Fingers crossed that's what happens here, too.

Any sore heads from yesterday, St Patrick's Day?  We were very circumspect here, no leprechauns made their way into the Chateau des Wombats, just a little diddly-i music.

It was also International Quilting Day, did you know that?  I cut out fabric (some of which is green, thereby tying together both celebrations......you get value for money here, folks) and stitched a little, but no actual 'quilting' stitches were made.  If one doesn't actually 'quilt' on International Quilting Day, does this make one a failure as a quilter?

My quilt backing has been made, those two seams were quick to sew and trimming that humungous piece of fabric didn't take long either.  It has gone off to the quilter, and will be collected when we return from our jaunt down south in the middle of next month.  There are quilt shops down south, you know.....there is also a big music shop......

When in Canberra we often take in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, or the National Library, or visit a chocolate shop - much as we love living here in the Small Smoke it is sadly lacking in chocolate shops - in short, we try to enjoy experiences we can't have here.  To this end we have booked tickets to an exhibition opening at Easter at the National Gallery of Australia, and you will all wish you were coming with us because it's Cartier trinkets and baubles, bangles and beads. 

I reckon every woman who attends should be given a little souvenir of her visit to take home and enjoy wearing.  I'll have an emerald trinket, thank you.....but not that one with the crocodiddlies.  I don't do reptiles, even if they're emerald reptiles.  The aquamarine tiara is pretty too, I could wear that shopping; after all, what's the point of having baubles like these if you never wear them?  A tiara would be the very thing for sashaying round the supermarket, yes?  Most of all I'm very partial to the necklace with the honking great emerald, it would sit nicely with the green strap on my tenor ukulele.

"To keep the hair from turning grey.
Take the hulls of butternuts, about four ounces, and infuse in a quart of water, and to this add half an ounce of copperas.  Apply with a soft brush every two or three days. This preparation is harmless, and is far better than those dyes made of nitrate of silver."

Copperas is also known as iron sulphate.  I always thought hair turning grey to be a natural process of aging so there isn't much can be done about it; one can refuse to accept it and dye the heck out of their hair, or one can just shrug one's shoulders and accept it.  I have done both, and for several years now have been shrugging for all I'm worth.  Surprisingly, considering my advancing age, my hair still has a lot of its natural colour although there is getting to be more grey with every passing year.  I can accept the grey but will not go for the Old Lady Chop, so it's still long.....an aging born-again hippy, that's me.

We'll be back in the middle of April.

Enjoy your days!