In which we had rain

Fortunately, however, nowhere near as much as some areas.  Folks over at the coast, just a few hours east of us, have been flooded out of house and home, many businesses have been lost and farmers have lost livestock.  Sadly, there have been fatalities.  We had *some* rain but not enough for major flooding; the river is flowing well with water from further upstream, enough to tip over the shallow banks, not enough for bridge closures but many roads were closed for a few days.

It's been good weather to stay inside and make trees.  

This uses two of the fabrics from 'Summertime Blues' - there are many different shades of blue in that quilt.  This is almost but not quite purple, although it looks lighter here.

A golden brown tree with turquoise contrast.  The brown was used in another autumn quilt, the turquoise was also in 'Summertime Blues'.

A interesting pair.  That makes 44 trees.

Several years ago I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on a Canadian blog, and these were the goodies which duly arrived.  Every one of these fabrics was used for 'Summertime Blues' - plus, of course, many others - and they are also making interesting trees.  This week's blue tree was one of the fabrics, second from the bottom on the right, while the contrast on the golden brown tree is second from the bottom on the left.

Last weekend's vintage quilt display prompted me to get out my antique orphan block, bought many years ago when we lived in the Big Smoke.

I don't remember where it was bought - probably at a quilt show.  The antique shop is no longer in business.  The diamonds were sewn 'on the line' rather than over papers, which is also my preferred method.  Life is too short to fuss around with papers when you can just sew a seam.

I also have an antique quilt which uses a similar green/yellow print, it was evidently a popular fabric at the time.  It needs to come out of the cupboard for a photo.

Diamonds have been joined into hexies this week, and more cut.....on the line, no papers.  Stitches were knitted, and trees were made.  Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked, and songs sung.  The usual running around filled our days, we avoided most of the rain, and so passed another week.

This morning's temperature was the coldest of the year so far, a little taste of what is to come.  Time to dig out the warmer jumpers and scarves; after all this is the last week of May, soon it will be June, then the cold weather really starts.  Despite that, I don't think I could live in a tropical climate....the humidity would be very unpleasant.

One of the current fashions which apparently offends some people and makes others defensive (usually those who wear it) is the fad for almost-barely-there bikinis, especially the bottoms.  Yes, you can wear whatever you like.  Yes, those of us who don't like it are probably old out-of-date fuddy-duddies.  Personally I don't think it does you any favours, and I can imagine in years to come that many of you will be getting skin cancers cut painfully out of your bums.  Same with many of the garments worn on the red carpet; just because your stylist said you should wear it doesn't mean to say we think it looks good on you.

Gawd....I must be getting old.

"Assisting ladies to alight.

A gentleman must first alight from a carriage, even if he has to pass before a lady in doing so.  He must then assist the ladies to alight.  If there is a servant with the carriage, the latter may hold open the door, but the gentleman must by all means furnish the ladies the required assistance.  If a lady has occasion to leave the carriage before the gentleman accompanying her, he must alight to assist her out, and if she wishes to resume her seat, he must again alight to help her to do so."

Well, yes, he should.  He could be in and out like a jack-in-the-box, but he should do as he is told.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Opal tree

We all know that opals don't grow on trees.  My opal jewellery (I am lucky enough to have some) certainly didn't - but if it had, it might have been from a tree such as this one.  The fabric used for trunk and branches looks very opal-y, doesn't it?  (I know there's no such word, but I don't know what it should be.....opalescent, perhaps?)  The tree fabric has a look of William Morris about it.

Water puddles in a tree, another fabric used in 'Summertime Blues'.  We have had a little rain in recent days, and more is forecast for the next couple of days too.

An interesting pair of trees for the week, taking the total so far to 42.  The original quilt used 99 blocks.

This morning some of the members of my quilt group attended a trunk show put on by a quilter visiting from interstate.  Her quilts were all antique - and even if they didn't meet the definition of a true "antique"  (an article over 100 years old) they were certainly vintage, and each and every one was hand-quilted.  Many were pieced and appliqué quilts from the 1920s-30s; this was described as being "from the time of the American Civil War, early 1860s".  I don't know if it is or not, I suspect perhaps not, but it appealed to me most of all.

A couple of the blocks showing fabrics used.  I like the red used for the alternate squares.

Not all the light fabrics in this block were the same; two of the nine-patches use a different print to the other three.

The same blue fabric was used in all the blocks, and the sashings between blocks were a different blue fabric - but once again, all used the same blue.  The tan setting triangles were the same throughout the quilt, although faded in some places more than others.

How has everyone's been been?  Ours was, as usual, fairly quiet.....stitched were stitched, words were read, songs were plinked and sung.  We went out foraging for food and similar Stuff, and that was about it.  

All very unexciting, I suppose, but at least we haven't been affected by the blackouts happening in other parts of town caused by fruit bats roosting in electricity transformers.  We are supposed to love all creatures, but bats are a species of which I am not fond - especially these bats.  They are usually more prevalent at the coast a few hours east of us, but habitat clearing sends them inland looking for just the right flowering trees.  It seems that we have an abundance of the correct trees, so that means we have thousands upon thousands of bats.  Apart from some wildlife people no one likes them, but we are stuck with them until they move on....which they will, eventually, although that can't come soon enough for those poor folk who keep losing power.  A couple in the choir were saying on Thursday night that their part of town is the worst affected; the noise and particularly the smell are difficult to live with, but as horrible as it is they cheer themselves up by saying "at least we don't live in Gaza."

Eventually the bats will move away as they have before, and we will all breathe a deep sigh of relief.  Then one day they will return......

Continuing with last week's quote.

"Driving.

The place of honor is on the right hand of the seat facing the horses.  This is also the seat of the hostess, which she never resigns.  If she is not driving, it must be offered to the most distinguished lady.  A person should enter a carriage with the back to the seat, so as to prevent turning around in the carriage.  A gentleman must be careful not to trample upon or crush a lady's dress.  In driving, one should always remember that the rule of the road is to keep to the left."

Now, that is interesting.  This book is adapted for "the Australasian colonies" from an American publication, and Americans - and indeed the citizens of many other countries - certainly don't drive on the left these days.  Perhaps the advent of the horseless carriage brought about the change of custom?

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Birthday trees

On Friday I completed another circuit around the sun.  I am not saying how old I am now, suffice it to say that I am probably older than dirt.  It was a pleasant day and I was taken out to lunch; I always enjoy a meal I haven't had to cook and I never cook on my birthday anyway, so it was doubly enjoyable.

And now I am a bigger number.

This week's trees, started on Friday and finished yesterday, so they can still be called birthday trees.

A geometric tree, just right for autumn.  The contrast was used for a tree several weeks ago, and it suits this print well.....I quite like the combination.

Another blue and green tree, because it's a pairing that always works.  The blue is leftover from 'Summertime Blues', and the green is a tone on tone from the Big Basket.  The contrast was originally going to be a different fabric but it was one which suffered from the flooding several years ago - the fabrics were dried off but not checked at the time for any problems as we had to put the house back together and replace ruined carpets, furniture, etc.  Damaged fabric was the least of my worries.

A pair of interesting trees.

We haven't seen the kangaroos on the hill behind us for some time because this herd of cattle roam around, and we are told that kangaroos don't like cattle and vice versa.  We think they belong to a bloke on the other side of the hill.

The breed is 'Speckle Park', or 'dalmatian cows' as our son called them when we told him.  They are apparently good eating.  When they visit, we notice that the air wafting around is definitely more.....rural.

How has everyone been this week?  Apart from Birthday Friday it was the usual uneventful week; stitches were sewn, words were read.  Songs were plinked and sung.  Hunting and gathering occurred, and that was about it.  It is now Mother's Day which we are spending quietly, with a welcome phone call from our Canberra son earlier.

During the week the previous U3A leader contacted me to say she would be absent for some time as she has shoulder problems, the message was very affable and friendly.  I have not replied, because I don't care.  She left me in the lurch last year without a word of warning or apology when I was still recovering from the broken arm and other injuries, so she can take a running jump.  I'm not usually nasty unless I consider I have been wronged, and in this case I do.  All sweetness and light, that's me, folks.

Moving right along.

It's been cool enough at night to have a fire burning, although we let it go out in the mornings.  This house cools down once the sun moves around by mid-afternoon, so it feels a little cooler than we like to be.  Having the fire burning on low all night means that the house warms up quickly when the sun hits it, rather than having to wait for the warmth of the sun to do so.  The first couple of winters after moving here we wondered why it was so cold in winter despite the fire, and closing doors to rooms not in use at the time etc., so we had the ceiling checked - only to find that there was absolutely no insulation in the ceiling at all.  Not a skerrick, as my Nana Davis used to say.  We soon had that remedied, and immediately noticed the difference.  There seem to have been budgetary short-cuts taken in many areas of this house when it was built; some we have had fixed, others we can live with.

"Driving.

The choicest seat in a double carriage is the one facing the horses, and gentlemen should always yield this seat to the ladies.  If only one gentleman and one lady are riding in a two-seated carriage, the gentleman must sit opposite the lady, unless she invites him to a seat by her side."

This week's quote is a wee bit long, so we will have the rest next week.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

May the fourth, and all that Stuff

Although I'm not a Star Wars fan....my brain doesn't do science fiction, I have never seen any of the movies and don't really care for the music either, but they are popular.  So, May the fourth be with you, and all that.

Moving right along.

This print has different background colours including pink and green but many of the flowers on the green background have solid petals, making them dark blobs.  That might be good on a larger block but not one this size, so just the orange background was used.  

This blue fabric was the back of Summertime Blues - as soon my eyes hit on it at the quilt shop, I knew it was perfect.  The orange fabric has been used on another tree, a dark green one, but it looks different here because of the background.  I'm not going to be precious about only using fabrics once....if they look good they will be used, and this looks good.

This week's bright trees.

During our visit to Canberra in March we managed to find a parking spot at the National Arboretum, a rare thing indeed as it's a very popular place to visit, so we had lunch at their cafe with the wonderful views.  We were too early for the autumn colour, although some plantings were starting to change.  We don't visit the Arboretum every time we are in Canberra, but we go often enough that we can enjoy its progress over time.

How have you all been?  We survived an election yesterday; some people may be disappointed by the result but, as it was well and truly a majority win, many people are obviously pleased.  Our MP has been returned....he wasn't part of the winning team....perhaps one day he won't be our MP any more, either.  We can only live in hope.

Words have been read, and music has been sorted.  Stitches have been sewn.  There is mending in the sewing room waiting to be done, a bed sheet which has a small hole to be fixed before it gets washed, otherwise that small hole may become a much larger hole during its time in the washing machine.  Songs were sung at choir.  We hunted and gathered to avert starvation, and that was the week.

Best of all, it's definitely autumn!  For the past few nights we have had a fire to keep us warm, and to stop the house from cooling down too much overnight.  Earlier in the week the slow cooker came out for the first time in quite a while, to be used for maple mustard chicken; it's a bit like honey mustard but with maple syrup instead of honey - it's quite yummy.  Shorts have been put away and longer sleeves brought out.  I don't mind cooler weather but do feel the cold, so need to warmly dressed for it; the maximum daytime temperature is deceiving, as the wind chill takes it down several degrees.  Lovely in the sun, but as soon as you turn a corner into that south-easterly breeze it's a different story.

We have an anniversary coming up this week - on Wednesday 7th May it will be 15 years since we shook the dust of the city off our heels and moved here, to the Small Smoke.  It's been a good decision; nowhere in the world is perfect, but it comes pretty darn close for us.  15 years is a whole decade and a half....it doesn't seem that long!

"Assisting a lady to alight from her horse.

After the ride, the gentleman must assist his companion to alight.  She must first free her knee from the pommel, and be certain that her habit is entirely disengaged.  He must then take her left hand in his right, and offer his left hand as a step for her foot.  He then lowers his hand slowly and allows her to reach the ground gently without springing.  A lady should not attempt to spring from the saddle."

That sounds complicated, doesn't it?  I wouldn't blame a lady for springing, you know.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer