Only eight houses to go!

There is a 'but' here......but we are going away in three weeks, so not all the houses will be made before we go because I am sticking to my goal of two per week.  Never mind; they will be here to welcome us home again and all houses will be done by the anniversary of our moving into this house, eleven years ago in May.

Aren't these fun with their colourful gardens?

A lavender house with a garden of iris, and a light green house with pots in its garden.  The green fabric was pulled from my stash to make the roof for the lavender house, and I liked it so much that it also became the next house.  It has been in my stash for a very long time, the selvedge says "Stained Glass for Quilters".

Some trimming has also been happening.  The blocks on the right have been trimmed but need to be pressed and have their corner 'ears' snipped off, while the pile on the left is awaiting trimming.  Too long spent with the cutter aggravates a soreness in my right forearm, so I take it easy and don't have marathon cutting/trimming sessions.  This is the autumn quilt.

Eventually both these quilts will be done.......and then I might have to think of a new one!

The coming week holds the promise of rain, even possibly quite a lot of rain.  We shall see.  We have watched promised rain clouds part and go around us before now; even with the weather site saying "95% chance of rain" we have missed out on even one drop.  Our town is on the edge of a wide valley with hills to the north and east, and those hills make their own weather.

We are now feeling confident about making plans for our sojourn down south.  Two interesting exhibitions will be on while we are in Canberra, one at the National Gallery of Australia of European paintings, and another at the National Library of Australia of Australian art - which is the one I really want to see.  Way back when I was a Sweet Young Thing and worked at the library here it held a copy of "The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia" with its beautiful engravings published in the 1880s, which was fascinating to a somewhat naive teenager who didn't know much about anything.  It was republished many years ago but I didn't get around to buying a copy, and now it's probably out of print.

My etiquette book is a reprint of a book from the 1880s.  Back in the 1970s-1980s several older books were reprinted in facsimile editions, meaning that they are an exact copy of the original......and this in the days before computers and scanners.  To all intents and purposes it is exactly as it would have been published in those earlier days, except of course for the information about it being a facsimile reprint.

By the way - if you have left a comment and I haven't answered it's not because I am ignoring you, I really love having visitors and like to reply!  It means that you are a "no reply blogger", so if you would like a reply you might want to check your settings.

"The knife and fork.

The knife and fork were not made for playthings, and should not be used as such when people are waiting at the table for the food to be served.  Do not hold them erect in your hands at each side of your plate, nor cross them on your plate when you have finished, nor make a noise with them.  The knife should only be used for cutting meats and hard substances, while the fork, held in the left hand, is used in carrying food into the mouth.  A knife must never, in any account, be put into the mouth.  When you send your plate to be refilled, do not send your knife and fork, but put them upon a piece of bread, or hold them in your hand."

I recall, as a child, being told "don't put your knife in your mouth".  To this day, if I do so - I do it with guilt while looking over my shoulder to see if my mother is watching, despite the fact that she has been gone since 1999.

Enjoy your days!