A busy week with not much to show for it

We all have weeks like that, don't we.  We seem to have been on the go for most of the week, but when we look back not much seems to have been achieved.  

Work is proceeding on sewing down the peeper strip on Autumn Rhapsody.  I had high hopes of getting to the half-way point last night, but alas - it was not to be.  Some of the pieces for the back are pinned ready to be sewn but that doesn't make for an exciting pic, so there isn't one.  

Thoughts have been thought on which project will be worked on next, and it will probably be borders for the house quilt.

I thought there was a pic of the finished top, but it must be hiding in the photo vault.

Imprismed will be worked on. 

I am determined to finish it next year, it's been taking up a project box for long enough.

A quilt found online some time ago has been burning holes in my brain, so it's time it was started.  'Arboretum' ticks a lot of my boxes; mine will be made in batik fabrics rather than the fabrics used in the original.

That should be enough to keep me out of mischief, yes?

The hairdresser was duly visited, and my head now sports its summer cut.  That should keep me going until autumn, making it several months before the next staring-at-myself-in-the-mirror episode.  Summer means bright sunshine, which means wearing sunglasses and a hat outside, and the hat sits better with shorter hair.....but I miss my longer hair.

My hurt eye is doing very well indeed, if I hadn't remembered hurting it I would never have known the injury happened.  Words have been read.  Stitches have been sewn.  Songs have been sung and plinked, there are two more rehearsals before our World Premiere performance, and I'm sure we will be fine.  My nemesis in the U3A ukulele group turned up on Thursday, and true to form was under my skin before we had even sung one song.  I told her she could run it if she wished, and was ready to pack up and walk out; we were drifting along nicely without her.  We hunted and we gathered, often the social highlight of our week.

For the past few weeks our town has been fortunate to have an exhibition by renowned quiltmaker Jenny Bowker which finishes today and I have, of course, been along to see it a few times.  During the time of the exhibition Jenny has given a couple of lectures, one of which was on my monthly day for volunteering at the gallery - how fortuitous was that? although I would have gone along anyway - and the second was last Friday evening as part of the annual lecture series run by ArtsNational.  The first talk was about Jenny's techniques, how she builds up layers and colours for her appliques, and was very interesting; the second was about her life as the wife of a diplomat in various countries in the Middle East, the theme of the quilts in this exhibition.  The organisers had a fund-raising raffle at the entry table so I duly bought a few tickets - I'm always happy to support worthy causes - and, much to my surprise, one of my tickets was the winner!  So now I am the proud possessor of a beautiful platter made of jacaranda wood and a selection of yummy gourmet goodies which will not, I assure you, go to waste.

I've often said I couldn't win an argument, let alone a raffle, and I am more than happy to be proven wrong.

Summer has arrived, the coming week looks like being a bit warm for my liking, but there's not much I can do about it.  We stay inside during the hottest part of the day; sometimes we have to venture out for an appointment or for shopping, but we head for home as soon as we can.  It's not unusual to have a burst of heat early in the season before it settles down to more moderate temperatures for a while, so let's hope that pattern is followed this year too.

"The duty of a lady to her escort.

The lady may supply her escort with a sum of money ample to pay all the expenses of the journey before purchasing her ticket, or furnish him the exact amount required, or, at the suggestion of her escort, she may allow him to defray the expenses from his own pocket, and settle with him at the end of the journey.  The latter course, however, should only be pursued when the gentleman suggests it, and a strict account of the expenses incurred must be insisted on."

We don't need someone else to be out of pocket on account of our journey, do we?  

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Back to nearly normal

We arrived home a week ago but have been busy since then, and I have been reclining on my bed of pain and suffering.  However, the lurgy seems to be on its way out the door, the fractured foot which has come back to haunt me is being treated, and all is slowly getting better with the world.

We had a good time - and would you believe, slacko that I am, no photos were taken?   Not one?  Probably because we have been to Canberra so often, and to the towns en route, that it would need to be something special to make me get out the camera.

Never mind......here are some pics taken on previous trips of some of the towns we drove through or stayed at.  This is the Japanese Gardens at Cowra, in the late afternoon.

 A pale camellia against one of the big rocks in the garden.

 Bathurst, which has lovely parks and gorgeous historic buildings.....

 .......and Sofala, a former gold rush town.  This magnificent tree 'disappeared' one night, taken down by a couple of locals with a chainsaw because they didn't like it, and Sofala today is much emptier without its canopy.

 We had an extra day on the way south and stayed in Cowra for two nights instead of the usual one, to see a quilt exhibition at the local regional gallery.  This tells you a little about it - the exhibition has now finished, but you can see one of the quilts.  Something not seen at many quilt exhibitions was the number of men present, both accompanying their female partner and on their own; perhaps the idea of recuperating soldiers making quilts and military tailors sewing was of interest to them.  It was really amazing and we are so glad to have had the chance to see those quilts and read their stories.

The costume exhibition from "The Dressmaker" was not large, but wonderful.......oh, those frocks!  Most of them silk, either vintage or newly made from vintage fabrics.  Sigh.......

In past years we have stayed on in Canberra at Exhibition Park, the site of the folk festival, but this year we were told to clear out by lunchtime on the Tuesday straight after Easter.  Scram.  Vamoose.  Seems the site was booked for a rock festival the following weekend and we didn't want to be around for that anyway, so we moved to Yass for a further week and commuted to Canberra as we needed to.

A little retail therapy was indulged in.......

 ......the black and white prints are for the background of a quilt, and the orange batik was just because I loved it.

Aren't these gorgeous flowers?  They arrived yesterday while we were out at lunch, a birthday gift from Young Euan and his parents.  He is four now and is shooting up like a weed after rain, with an interest in super heroes and fantasy characters - his father's son all over again.

That's a little of what we have been up to over the past few weeks.

"How to have shoes made.

The great fault with modern shoes is that their soles are made too narrow.  If one would secure perfect healthfulness of the feet he should go to the shoemaker and step with his stockinged feet on a sheet of paper.  Let the shoemaker mark with a pencil upon the paper the exact size of his foot, and then make him a shoe whose sole shall be as broad as this outlined foot."

Not a word about having a rigid heavy moon boot - not the most comfy shoe I have ever worn - made for a fractured foot, you notice.

Enjoy your days!

Settling back home again

Much as I like being away and coming home, unpacking is not much fun......sorting out stuff, washing clothes, putting things away......but it's nearly all done now.

We had a good time except for the heat.  Fortunately it wasn't ~quite~ as hot as our trip one year ago, but inland Australia is usually hot in summer anyway.  Never mind, in a few months it will be cooler.

We had a fun 2nd birthday celebration with Euan, who says "Hello" beautifully.  He had learned "Hello, Gan-puh" by the time we left.  Me, I don't have a label yet......"Grandma" is still being worked out, it seems.  Perhaps it will be achieved by Easter when we see him again.

 He liked his birthday cake.

We also enjoyed our family Christmas, the first one for a few years!  Usually it's just the two of us.

The night before we left I decided that I needed a 'car knitting' project because we would be spending a long time driving, so yarn bought last April in Bendigo, needles and pattern were taken along.  The first stitches were cast on as we left town here, and when it was all measured yesterday - the day after returning - this much has been done of the back, only a few more centimetres remain to the armholes.  Colour is light blue with a hint of lavender.

 Just think of all the knitting time which would have been wasted if it hadn't been taken along!

A day or two before we left the final stitches were taken on Winding Ways, and it was finally photographed yesterday.  As you can see not all black is dark, and not all white is light.

 The back.......yes, they are cows.  A bloke on the other side of the hill owns them and they often come down our side of the hill.  We don't mind seeing them, but at times it smells somewhat......rural.

The next project will be started soon.  Very soon.

While in Canberra we saw two exhibitions,  One was "Versailles" at the National Gallery of Australia, and while it was interesting I don't think I could have lived in that palace.  By the end of our visit I was just about ready to run through the gallery waving my red cap while shouting "Vive la revolution"!

The second exhibition was, to me, more interesting perhaps because it related more to our lives.  "The Sell" at the National Library of Australia - talk about a trip down memory lane!  The oldest article in this exhibition is a small poster from 1796 advertising a play in Sydney at "the Theatre".  The first European settlement in Sydney was in 1788, so there may not have been many theatres eight years later.

On our way home we spent several days in Gulgong, a small town with an interesting history and many old buildings remaining from the gold rush days, including the Prince of Wales Opera House, a glorified tin shed with wonderful acoustics.  Their annual folk festival was held over the new year weekend, and great fun it was too; we spent time catching up with old friends, and making new ones, and listening to music.  Each night there were sessions to join in - playing and singing in the company of like-minded musical friends is, I think, one of the great joys of life.

"Requirements for a happy marriage.
Respect for each other is as necessary to a happy marriage as that the husband and wife should have an affection for one another.  Social equality, intellectual sympathy, and sufficient means are very important matters to be considered by those who contemplate matrimony."

To which I would add, the ability to stay married while sharing a small - very small - caravan for a few weeks.

Enjoy your days!