It's good to go away.....

.....but it's even better to be home.

Well, that was a fun couple of weeks!  Spending time with family and friends - hello, Janice and Mick - going places we hadn't been before, and a little (just a little) shopping.

Every year when we visit Canberra I tell myself I will take lots of pics, and it seldom happens.  It didn't happen this year either; we have been making these annual autumn visits since 1996, and it's so familiar now that I forget to whip out the camera.  However, occasionally something will catch my eye, and I think to myself "now, that's nice"!

This was taken outside a café.  The cloudy diffused light through the leaves shows some autumn colouring just starting to peep through.

One place which has been on my list for a few years is the Canadian pub, on the south side of the lake.  We met our son there one day for lunch, and jolly good it was too.  There are quite a few artworks with a caribou theme throughout, but I specially liked this one stitched in gold (it doesn't show in the pic, but it was gold) on a dark fabric background.  The finger marks in the corner are not ours.

A yarn bombed tree.  The other side was even more colourful, but because of plants and the sloping ground I couldn't get to it so easily.....still, this is very bright!  

Canberra weather can be quite chilly, so the tree is probably glad of its warm blanket.

The view looking down from my chair at a favourite café, one morning.  As soon as I had taken this pic a little puff of wind blew those leaves in all directions, and - pouf - they were scattered.

Our anniversary lunch the day before we left was special.  We tried a new-ish restaurant and oh, it was good.  Might be somewhere to keep in mind for my birthday next month.....I could certainly eat there again......

Fabrics for the next two leaves were chosen before we went away, so they were made yesterday.  This one puts me in mind of the old rhyme "Lavender's blue, dilly dilly"; the background fabric was used for my Summertime Blues quilt, and the lighter fabric was left from my Canadian quilt.

I quite like this tree.  My first thought in choosing these two fabrics was that they would clash - that's all right; I'm not a great fan of matchy-matchy, I like contrast - but it looks good!

Two contrasting trees to welcome us home.

We had a medical moment while in Canberra, but this time it was Kevin's turn.  While I was browsing at a used book and CD shop he realised that he had left his phone in the car, so trotted off to get it.  On returning he tripped going up a step - there was only one step - and banged his head on a convenient metal pipe.  A helpful woman brought him over to me, so after I paid for my purchases (wasn't going to let those chosen CDs get away!) I drove him to an urgent care centre.  Nurse Lucy cleaned and dressed the wound on his head and sent us off to the hospital for a scan, as head wounds in older folk need to be checked.  Fortunately the scan showed no damage, so we went back to our cabin for a quiet night.  The next day was Saturday; we had arranged to meet our son and The One And Only Grandkid but the weather changed, it was cold and raining, Kevin was still recovering, so we stayed in for a quiet day.  I had hoped to get to the farmers' market that day but with the rain and associated mud and slush decided against it.....the first time for many years that we have missed going.  Never mind, there's always next time.

Words were read while we were away, and since coming home.  Stitches were knitted, and also sewn - the box with finished three-diamond hexagons now contains exactly 300! - and even crossword puzzles attempted.  Some plinking took place in Canberra as my tenor uke came with me, but sadly there were no other uke players to jam with this time. 

The rain which our town missed out on before going away certainly fell while we weren't here!  We had quite a bit in Canberra, but much more fell in our town.  When we left things were dry and brown, just a little tinge of green.....now all is lush bright green, and it looks really good.  Daylight saving finished last night so today was an earlier start than I would like, my body clock needs to reset itself, but it will.

And the end of an era has come.....as of ten minutes ago our caravan has gone, sold to an interstate buyer.  It is now on its way to its new home in The Land Of The Queen, or Queensland as some folk might call it.  I'm sure its new owner will enjoy it as much as we have - even if they don't have it for 27 years as we did.

"The gentleman's duty as an escort.

When a gentleman contemplates riding with a lady, his first duty is to see that her horse is a proper one for her use, and one that she can readily manage.  He must see that her saddle and bridle are perfectly secure, and trust nothing of this kind to the stable men, without personal examination.  He must be punctual at the appointed hour, and not keep the lady waiting for him clad in her riding costume.  He should see the lady comfortably seated in her saddle before he mounts himself; take his position on the lady's right in riding, open all gates and pay all tolls on the road."

Probably very good advice.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer