We're just.....hopping along, you might say

Back when we lived in the Big Smoke our view was of neighbours' yards, and the street out the front with more houses across the road.  We now have an uninhabited hill behind us which is home to a mob of kangaroos; sometimes male roos, being fueled by testosterone and the desire to win the heart of of a young female roo, get stuck into each other.

These aren't the most brilliant shots ever taken, I was inside the house and had to zoom in; that's our wash line in the way.

When I - very quietly and carefully - opened the door to go outside for a better pic they hopped away, but not before I heard the grunts of the fight.  There's nothing wrong with their hearing, for sure.

They were back at it again this morning, too far away to even try for a photo.

The Ontario runner has had its backing pieced, and is layered and pinned ready for quilting.  Hopefully that will be done this week.......I want to have it finished!

Stitches have been knitted on the redacted scarf, and already I am much happier with it than I was with the previous design.  Stitches have also been taken on more rows of tumblers.  Books have been read......I'm a quick reader, and have been known to read a book in one sitting.  It's very hard to tear one's self away from a book one is enjoying, yes?

Today we're trying a different slant on a favourite soup recipe.  I have sometimes made cauliflower and bacon soup (which looks quite uninspiring, but tastes delicious) but this time chorizo is being substituted for bacon.  Hopefully its smokey flavour will do wonders for the otherwise fairly bland taste of cauliflower - which is why bacon is usually added - and we will have soup for several lunches. 

It has rained.  More rain is forecast, very welcome rain, because we are still in drought.  Not such a welcome story to the south-east along the coast, where some very expensive houses will probably fall into the ocean due to erosion.  Someone - original owner/s, developer, local council who has to give approval for such things - perhaps should have gazed into their crystal ball and thought "hey......building on unstable sand dunes isn't really a great idea, is it?"  It's not a new problem; back in 1978 a house in the same area fell into the ocean during a storm, but of course, as some folk say on the renno porn TV shows, "we wanna be right on the water!"  So we will ignore the history of such events, and ignore the science, and then weep and wail and gnash our teeth when our mansion topples into the sea.

I'm sorry these people have lost their homes, having survived two plumbing floods we have a small taste of what they are going through.....but honestly, did they just think their houses would stay on that high soft dune above the ocean forever?  Hindsight is easy, but perhaps a moratorium on all development within a couple of kilometres (or a mile, in old money) of the coast should have been considered a long time ago.

"Manner an index of character.
A rude person, though well-meaning, is avoided by all.  Manners, in fact, are minor morals; and a rude person is often assumed to be a bad person.  The manner in which a person says or does a thing, furnishes a better index of his character than what he does or says, for it is by the incidental expression given to his thoughts and feelings, by his looks, tones and gestures, rather than by his words and deeds, that we prefer to judge him, for the reason that the former are involuntary."

Probably.

Enjoy your days!

Same old boring.......nothing

Right now I can barely get out of my own way, let alone accomplish much.  Can't drive while wearing the moon boot.......very awkward to use a sewing machine pedal (believe me, it's been tried)......sore hips because I don't have a shoe for the left foot which matches the height of the boot so my hips are lopsided when I walk.......etc.......

During the week I received notification from the fracture clinic at the hospital to say that I have an appointment in a couple of weeks.  That is four weeks after the original request.  What's the bet they just check the x-rays, tell me to keep wearing the boot, and send me on my merry way?

On the positive side, many stitches are being taken and many penny dreadful books are being read; I am learning all about how to commit the perfect murder.  Nothing like a mystery/murder story to pass the time, is there?

Early in the week Kevin noticed that one of our pillow slips needed a seam repair so I had a go at using the overlocker.  It's not easy to use a foot pedal while feeling like there is a solid block of wood between your foot and said pedal, let me tell you.  However it was done, and my shoulder was tender from patting myself on the back afterward.

On Sunday the uke group has a gig at the church markets just out of town; after that I will see what can be accomplished in the sewing room.  Next step for just about any waiting project is cutting, so we will see how long at a time I can stand to cut.

As a result, there are no pics of anything new so let's trawl back through the past, some of the natives we had growing at our house in the Big Smoke.

Grevillea, "Robyn Gordon" I think.

 Another grevillea, pretty sure this one is "Moonlight".

 Pink callistemon, I have absolutely no memory of its name if indeed I ever knew it.

 I do know this one, Callistemon "Taree Pink".  I planted a small bush along a front corner of the house and before we knew it, it had taken over the universe.  The reflected warmth from the brick wall plus sun all morning and some of the afternoon obviously suited it, and it grew like a weed.

Despite leaving these beauties we aren't sorry to not be living there now.  We much prefer our slower pace of life here in the Small Smoke, it suits us.

We have been having amazing autumn weather, quite warm and dry for this time of year, but that is due to change next week with a taste of winter.  Days have been really nice with cooler - not cold - nights, no frosts here in town although higher up the tablelands they already know what frost is.  No doubt we will have our turn.  We need a lot of rain, but it will come when it comes.  All the wishful thinking and praying in the world won't bring it any sooner.

Then it will be time to get back to cooler weather cooking, soups and stews and things like that......and baking.  Yummo cakes and slices, finally I will have a chance to try out the pumpkin spice mix brought back from Canada!  Yee har!  I foresee a pumpkin spice cake in our near future......

Continuing on from the last post:

 "Still more destructive of the beauty and symmetry of our women's feet have been the high, narrow heels so much worn lately.  They make it difficult to walk, and even in some cases permanently cripple the feet.  A shoe, to be comfortable, should have a broad sole and a heel of moderate height, say one-half an inch, as broad at the bottom as at the top."

Nothing about a heavy rigid moon boot, you notice.

Enjoy your days!

Like Goldilocks, it's just right

Recently I was browsing in a local quilt shop and found The Very Thing for the back of the Gumballs quilt.  While it wasn't previously at the top of the "to be quilted" list, the backing fabric was purchased and pieces have been cut to make more blocks so it has now moved up the list.  The Cunning Plan for the back is a wide piece of blue fabric, a narrow strip of orange, a row of pieced blocks, another narrow strip of orange, and the blue fabric to finish, as you can see below.

See why it called to me?  Different tones of blue with orange and gold spots.....the quilt top is pieced blocks in blue, orange and gold......how could I leave this on the shelf?  The orange fabric was also purchased because my stash didn't include a large piece of orange batik, and it will also be used for the binding.

We're well and truly into the depths of winter now.  Winter here is much milder than many parts of the world, and much colder than other parts.  Now that the house is carpeted again it is warm and our new fire is wonderful, so we won't be frozen little icicles by the time spring rolls around again.

Today has seen a buzz of activity in the kitchen.  A half-leg of lamb is roasting away in the slow cooker (using this recipe) for dinner tonight, potatoes and sweet potatoes will be roasted later.  I also made some roast sweet potato soup, it's done but we are yet to try it.  Winter is soup and roast time, isn't it?  Not ice cream weather, that's for sure.

Right now there is a heap of sport on TV and the woman of this house is not much of a sport fan.  The household bloke is enjoying watching the cycle race in France and the tennis in England, while I am fighting off boredom.  The TV is in the warmest room so in the evenings I just hunker down in my beautiful green chair and read......and read......knit a few rows, then read again......say "hmmm" at the appropriate time......I've been reading free mystery books on my tablet for quite a while; I like a bit of blood and gore but I am selective, you know.  The cover picture and blurb help me decide whether I will download and read it; if it has a bloke wearing very little while showing off his bare chest it won't make the cut.  The words "mystery" and "romance" together make me shudder, "cosy mysteries" are often very twee and not quite my taste, neither are books about international espionage/saving the world in five minutes/ancient holy relics suddenly reappearing after centuries/anything with a medical or legal background/anything with more than the merest hint of the supernatural/anything wallowing in teenage angst/serial killers/psychological horror stories......I want to be entertained, not have the bejabbers frightened out of me.  It also has to have at least 200 pages.  The current book is set in England the the main bloke (it would be stretching it to call him the hero) is a fairly depressing man whose aunt and uncle turn up dead leaving him the sole heir.  The story is interesting enough to ignore his continual need for a cigarette and/or a glass of whisky.

Looking at old shows, or shows set in the past, it's hard to believe that people smoked so much, isn't it?  I have never smoked in my life not ever never, not one ciggy has touched my lips, none of the funny stuff either, despite being married to a smoker for five years when I was young and silly.  I can't, and never could, stand the smell.

"Take care of the eyes.
The utmost care should be taken of the eyes.  They should never be strained in an imperfect light, whether that of shrouded daylight, twilight or flickering lamp or candle-light.  Many persons have an idea that an habitually dark room is best for the eyes.  On the contrary, it weakens them and renders them permanently unable to bear the light of the sun.  Our eyes were naturally designed to endure the broad light of day, and the nearer we approach to this in our houses, the stronger will be our eyes and the longer will we retain our sight."

Probably.

Enjoy your days!

We'll be back in the new year!

Day after tomorrow, Saturday, we will be hitching up our little caravan, climbing into our car and heading south to celebrate a birthday, Christmas, and a new year, so you won't hear from me for a few weeks.

Life here at Chez Wombats has been drifting along.  My Winding Ways quilt is nearly done, yay!   A large amount of bias binding was made and machined onto the front, and is now being hand-sewn down on the back - right now it is three-quarters done.  Once that is finished it will be immortalised in a photograph for the world to admire.......after such a long time it's good to be so close to finishing; the first blocks were made in a class late in 2007.

Some hand-sewing will be packed to take along, and a book of crosswords, and of course a ukulele (that goes without saying), and my tablet loaded with who-dun-it mysteries.  We don't have TV  in our little van, the space it would use is taken by a microwave which, in my opinion, is far more useful, and if we get bored we can always watch our dinner go round and round......and round......a radio/CD player is our entertainment, we can usually pick up a local station somewhere.

There are always new acquaintances to be made in camp grounds, if we hit it off that's good......and if we don't, we can always console ourselves by remembering that it will be a brief acquaintance.

In recent times I have read biographies of two women, one born in England who lived a lot of her life in Australia, another who was born in Australia but lived for a while in England.  "The amazing Mrs Livesey" was about young Ethel Livesey, born in England in 1897, who married as a teenager and had a child to her first husband who was reported killed in World War I.  Her parents took the newborn boy to give her a chance to mourn and gather her thoughts, whereupon she packed her bags and took off for pastures greener and 'Husband' No. 2 - to whom she wasn't legally married, but that didn't stop her claiming his army money.  Forty (forty!) aliases later, eight husbands (many married bigamously), four children, living in several countries, young Ethel was never one to let the grass grow under her feet.  Although the book ends with her death there is even a question about that, because no one knows what name she was using at the time.  Ethel learned as a young woman to always speak well and to dress well, both skills which helped her along her merry way of scamming people......because who would ever believe that such a well-dressed and well-spoken woman could be a confidence trickster?

The second book is "Rosetta", written by Rosetta's great-granddaughter.  Rosetta caused a great scandal in 1905 when she left her prosperous businessman husband and young daughter to run away with a fortune teller......and not only was he a fortune teller, he was half-Chinese, someone who would have been well out of the social circles in which women like Rosetta moved.  They moved to Europe and numbered among friends many of the nobility and even royalty, quite a step upwards fro their earlier life in Melbourne!  The author has woven truth and possible truth together to tell Rosetta's story; much of it is documented in reports of the time, and some from her imagination.  From the day Rosetta left until she died she and her daughter never met again, although it turns out they lived not far apart.

We tend to think of ancestors and people of earlier times as living dull lives, but obviously that wasn't always the case!

"Manners and personal appearance.
A charming manner not only enhances personal beauty, but even hides ugliness and makes plainness agreeable.  An ill-favored countenance is not necessarily a stumbling-block, at the outset, to its owner, which cannot be surmounted, for who does not know how much a happy manner often does to neutralize the ill effects of forbidding looks?"

Obviously Mrs Livesey and Rosetta were both possessed of charm.......it certainly lubricated their way through life.

Until we meet again - no matter where you live or what you celebrate, best wishes for a season filled with peace and love.

Enjoy your days!

Staying cosy by the fire today

It's quite chilly outside, no wind - just cold cold air.  A good day to stay inside and do nothing, just veg out and read or sew or knit, or paint.  Or blog.

Not many of the old walls left to repaint now!  The bedroom hallway is done, the kitchen is next, and it doesn't have much wall space because of tiles, cupboards, fridge and all the other stuff that goes into a kitchen.  During the week we had some unseasonably warm weather, the fire stayed unlit for a few days so Kevin was able to scrape off the remaining wallpaper.......and now it's all gorn!!!  Finally gorn!!!  The forecast for the coming week is for more wintry weather, so that corner by the fire will just have to wait for its new paint.

There has been some progress on quilting the maple leaf runner.  There will be more in the coming week.  Genius can't be rushed, you know.

Some of the pictures I took last year in Ontario, Canada, which inspired me to make the maple leaf runner.

Fort York is such a fascinating place!  So old - it dates from 1793 - and right in the middle of a very modern city, with many original buildings still in place.  You can just see the roof and chimney of one.

 Isn't this interesting?  The orange side of the tree was - I think - on the south side of the tree, the sunny side.  The north side had a bit of catching-up to do.

 We spent a night in Midland, and this is the view from our upstairs window.  The late afternoon sun on those leaves made them glow like golden fire.

Also this week, a few books have been read.  I've always been a quick reader, and if a book really has me in its grasp I find it difficult to put it down.  One was "The dressmaker" by Rosalie Ham - we saw the movie late last year, just after returning from Canada.  Oh my, the frocks......I loved the frocks, that red silk frock she wore to the football......such a statement.  I like how the author uses clothes to delineate characters in the book, something the film stayed very close to.  Another book was "Bodies of water" by T. (Tammy) Greenwood, following one of Linda's recommendations.  The local library didn't have "Two rivers" but I reckon rivers and water are similar, so one would be as good as another.  It's a love story, but it's not mushy.  I don't do mush.

Much of my reading is mystery/detective stories because I like unravelling mysteries; some are 'real' books made of paper, and some I read on my tablet.  Many of the tablet books are freebies from a mystery book site that I pick up on their daily email, sometimes it is difficult finding books that appeal, and some days there are three or four, but the price is always right.  Subjects I don't care for include most 'cosy' (or cozy, if you are American) mysteries because they are quite short and are finished almost before they are started and I'm sure that not everyone who lives in a small community is as dotty as some of those folks are; "the world will end in three minutes if Our Hero and/or Heroine don't get to the switch/virus/madman in time" thrillers, anything labelled "romantic suspense" (I don't mind a bit of bedroom stuff but honestly, how relevant is it to the story really?) so that rules out anything with an unclothed muscular - they are always muscular - bloke on the cover; anything which entails chasing after the Holy Grail or some other relic suddenly reappearing after 2,000 or so years (really?  and you expect me to believe that no one already knew about it?)......you get the picture.  Just give me a policeman or a private investigator solving a murder with some forensic stuff and a bit of gore, and I am a happy woman.

Although I don't do serial killers.  They can be quite sadistic, and I don't like that.

"Manners and personal appearance.
A charming manner not only enhances personal beauty, but even hides ugliness and makes plainness agreeable.  An ill-favored countenance is not necessarily a stumbling-block, at the outset, to its owner, which cannot be surmounted, for who does not know how much a happy manner often does to neutralize the ill effects of forbidding looks?"

In other words, do not judge a book by its cover - even if if has an unclothed muscular bloke on it.

Enjoy your days!

Quelle bummer......

.......the blister on my right hand had become sore, swollen and red, quite painful to touch, not moving too well......seems the blister from the burnt-off sun spot had become a little infected.  Yesterday I was able to get an urgent appointment at the medical centre and a nice young doctor said, yes, it's infected, probably a good idea to take a course of antibiotics, so the hand and I are taking bright blue capsules for a few days.  So far it hasn't fallen off, it's still attached to my arm, which is a good thing.

Consequently not many stitches have been taken because it's difficult to do much with a painfully sore hand, but at least that applique block did get finished.  Later today there is a hook and eye to be sewn on a new top so it doesn't gape too much across the bosom, but that's not a big chore.

As nothing has been finished or photographed this week we will have a couple of pictures from the Canadian holiday.  I don't wish to bore the socks off you, gentle readers, so will just drop in the odd (hopefully not too odd) photo every now and then.

 My favourite small town in Canada of those I have visited is Goderich.  Since we were there three years earlier these inukshuks have been built on the shore of Lake Huron, probably hundreds of them!

The Town Square (which is really an octagon) now has trees growing again - on our previous visit it was still being repaired after a tornado the year before.  All the trees in the square were broken or completely killed, only a few were undamaged, but now replanted with mature trees it looks really good.

Quite a few books have been read lately, though......reading doesn't hurt my hand......there are sites where one can download free e-books into one's tablet, so one does.  A genre I read a lot is mystery books, I don't mind a bit of blood and gore but I don't like sadism and torture, stories where someone (usually female) is being stalked, too much sex (we know it happens but we don't need it described in graphic detail, we all have imaginations), and I'm not a great fan of paranormal stories although I don't mind a little touch of the supernatural.  Just a little.  Don't overdo it, folks, or it becomes just too unbelievable.  The delete button has been pressed more than once, because I just wasn't getting into the story.

We're getting ourselves organised for our trip - only ten days until we leave!  The festival office co-ordinator has done the roster so we office volunteers know when we're working, and I have also been sent my printable performer's ticket because a friend and I have been assisting at the Sunday morning hymn singing session for so long we're part of the furniture.  It's a very ecumenical session so folk of any, all or no religious persuasions join in every year and we have a blast......no instruments, just unaccompanied voices singing old hymns and gospel songs we've all known and been singing forever.  We've even been recorded for radio more than once, the roving radio bloke couldn't believe that so many people could sing so many harmonies without a guitar or keyboard in sight!

I'm also debating whether to take one or two ukes, our caravan is quite small; one is fine, two might be pushing it for space but I would really love to take two......I know only one can be played at once, but they are pitched differently and and I would like to play the baritone in sessions.  Better make a decision soon.......

"Another way to remove freckles.
One ounce of alcohol; half a dram salts tartar; one dram oil bitter almonds.  Let stand for one day and apply every second day."

Some of these remedies sound very alarming, don't they?  I think cyanide poison comes from bitter almonds.  Perhaps these days I'll just let nature take its course when it comes to freckles.

Enjoy your days!

Blue moon.......

.......you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart,
Without a love of my own........

Blue moon tonight, the second full moon this month!  Probably a good idea to keep an eye on the neighbours for any craziness, you never know what the moon might bring out in otherwise dull people.

Reporting a finish, two pair of jammies.

They aren't quite the same - one set has black pants with a mostly blue top, the other has blue pants with a mostly black top.  Finished, but not pressed.......they are, after all, jammies for wearing to bed, not haute couture.  Fabric is all from my stash.

On our recent holiday we visited the wood gallery at Bungendore, a short drive east of Canberra, and a sweet little wombat jumped into my hand.  What else could I do but bring it home?  It's made of recycled river red gum, a gorgeous Australian tree.  This pic shows the lovely colour and grain of the timber.

While at the gallery we were gobsmacked by the Hannah Cabinet, it's amazing.  It's not something that would fit in our home either in size or decorative style but the workmanship is incredible, and in any case we didn't have the $1.5 million dollars that was being asked. Several years ago we were lucky enough to see another cabinet by the same craftsman, the Yarralumla Cabinet, which is part of the Australiana collection in the official residence of the Australian Governor-General, and although it's not quite as large or elaborate as the Hannah Cabinet I think it liked it better.  On this video you can hear his answer to the question "are there any more hidden drawers?"

Work on the new jumper is progressing like you wouldn't believe, the back, front and one sleeve are finished, while the second sleeve is coming along nicely.  Looks like it will be done to take to Canada after all!  Only 60 days to go.........

Recently we have been watching a program about social changes brought about in England by the coming of railways - sounds dull, but is very interesting!  Trains were an invention which changed the face of several countries and brought about many changes in how people lived as well as how they travelled.  The first murder on a train in England happened in 1864 and was mentioned in the program, the author of a book about the case was interviewed, and I thought to myself, I thought "that sounds like an interesting read" I thought, so reserved it at the library.  A few days ago I started reading it and have just come to the end of the section set in England, the detective is now on the high seas in pursuit of the alleged murderer who had fled to America, and although I know the ending - it's set out in history, as here - I am enjoying reading about the investigation of the case.  Mystery stories are probably my favourite genre, and true mysteries can be intriguing.  The book is called "Mr Briggs' hat: a sensational account of Britain's first railway murder" and was written by Kate Colquhoun.

We have a radio playing all the time on a classical music station and recently there have been problems with the reception; turns out to be damage caused by ice and snow on the transmitter tower a couple of hours north-west of here.  Repairs are supposed to be finished today, let's hope so.  Kevin and I have a deal - he can watch all the sport he likes on TV so long as I don't have to listen to it.  Football is definitely improved by classical music, and cricket is almost possibly just about bearable.

"As culture is the first requirement of good society, so self-improvement should be the aim of each and all of its members.  Manners will improve with the cultivation of the mind, until the pleasure and harmony of social intercourse are no longer marred by the introduction of discordant elements, and they only will be excluded from the best society whose lack of education and whose rude manners will totally unfit them for its enjoyments and appreciation.  Good manners are even more essential to harmony in society than a good education, and may be considered as valuable an acquisition as knowledge in any form."

That's what I think, too.

Enjoy your days!

Off travelling......again

On Thursday morning we will hitch up our caravan, get in the car, and go - first to a folk festival where we will catch up with friends not seen since the last festival at Easter, then to the coast to, as the song says, view the still waters and taste the salt air.

We will see mountains........

 ......beaches.......

 .......and perhaps some greenery, or even orchidery.

Both tops which were being made are finished, the knitting is going great guns - front, back and one sleeve are done, the second sleeve has been started and will be continued whilst we are en route.  My hand-piecing will go along too, as will a book of crossword puzzles and pencil, and my tablet which is loaded with books (our caravan doesn't have television, by choice) and, of course, my ukulele and songbooks.  Many camping parks seem to go in for late afternoon 'happy hour' which is not really our thing, but you never know......there may be a first time.

On Sunday the uke group played at the local monthly market on the main drag, and people even gave us money!  We had decided that, should anyone be so generous, we would donate to a local Worthy Cause (of which there seem to be many) so this will go to an organisation which helps local people with expenses for travel and accommodation should they need to go out of town for cancer treatment.  The market organisers have invited us to be regulars so next month our takings will be donated to a local group who raise funds for nurses to help breast cancer patients, as one of our members had treatment last year.

Speaking of which, pink October is well under way with fund-raising morning and afternoon teas and lunches, and merchandise being sold......and it's all very pink.  I don't like pink.  I'm happy to donate my money and my time, but I don't want pink stuff.  One is encouraged - even compelled - to dress head to toe in pink for these events so, as there is nothing pink in my wardrobe at all, I don't go.  If you saw me in pink you would understand why I never wear it; it's not a pretty sight.  While I know breast cancer research is an important cause, I still won't wear pink.

When one has auburn hair, freckles, pale skin and dark brown eyes, one does not wear pink.  Even though my hair is greying, the rest of my colouring hasn't changed - and pink does not suit my skin.  Now lime green, on the other hand.......indeed any shade of green, or peacock, or teal, or turquoise.......is a totally different thing.

"Discretion in forming acquaintances.
While an acquaintance formed in a railway carriage or on a steamboat continues only during the trip, discretion should be used in making acquaintances.  Ladies may, as has been stated, accept small courtesies and favors from strangers, but must check at once any attempt at familiarity.  On the other hand, no man who pretends to be a gentleman will attempt any familiarity.  The practice of some young girls just entering into womanhood, of flirting with any young man they may chance to meet, either in a railway carriage or on a steamboat, indicates low breeding in the extreme.  If, however, the journey is long, and especially if it be on a steamboat, a certain sociability may be allowed, and a married lady or a lady of middle age may use her privileges to make the journey an enjoyable one, for fellow-passengers should always be sociable to one another."

This sage advice probably doesn't apply to me, as my husband and I will be travelling together......and none of our journey will involve a railway carriage or steamboat, but we will still be sociable to each other.

Enjoy your days!

We've been counted in

No, not the kangaroos....the one in front looks headless, doesn't it? Taken about six weeks ago from our back yard looking into the reserve.

Last night was Census Night so we duly filled in our form, online this time. Had to chuckle when I heard a few of the locals say they weren't going to fill it in online, but would use the paper form instead....because.......

wait for this......

they didn't want the government to have their details!

Isn't that the whole point of a census? The government finds out how many people it is responsible for, and what its future needs will be based on numbers, locations and ages of the population. The information can also, if you tick the appropriate box, be kept for 99 years which can be a great help to genealogists in the future. We ticked. Doesn't bother us. The government already knows all it wants to know about us, anyway.
On our way home from Canberra at the end of April we stopped off in Sofala, an old town that started life in the gold rush days of the 1850s. This large tree was getting into its autumn clothes, and a week or two after this photo was taken would have been spectacular.

Life has been exciting here this week, we actually had some rain! Not much, and certainly not enough for farmers' needs, but water fell from the sky so that is cause for rejoicing. Considering that last year we had three floods - minor, but still floods with water overflowing creek and river banks - this year has been been very dry. Last year was the wettest year for goodness knows how many years; last month, July, was the driest for more years than the locals can remember. Light rain is sprinkling right now and the garden is thankful; my sweet pea seedlings are growing beautifully.

It's been the sort of weather to stay indoors and not do much, because it's also been cold again. The table runner on which I was working is up to binding stage, my latest knitted creation is coming along nicely, and it's been good weather for reading - we have been reading books by Giles Blunt, we like the 'Canadian-ness' of his writing compared to American, British or Australian writers - and for cooking. The other day I used a recipe for pumpkin cupcakes to make one larger cake, the quantity fitted beautifully into an 8in (20cm) square tin, and rather than use icing as a topping I made a streusel topping with brown sugar, soft butter, walnuts, cinnamon and brown sugar. Yummo. The recipe makes 12 cupcakes, but making it into a larger cake will yield more than 12 pieces.

Yesterday I succumbed to a new book of slow cooker recipes, so right now this very minute tonight's dinner of Coq Au Vin is summering away. Very useful things, slow cookers.

"Promptness in answering.

All invitations requiring answers should be answered as soon as possible after receiving them. The French have a saying, applicable to all notes of invitation, to the effect that it is as important to reply as promptly to a note requiring an answer as it is to a question in speaking. All refined people who are accustomed to the best social forms, consider that it would be an unpardonable negligence to omit for a single day replying to an invitation or a note requiring a reply."

So should you receive an invitation from me to join us for dinner, please don't neglect to reply promptly - otherwise I may not cook enough food for you.

Enjoy your days!

Wearable WOW

It hasn't been warm enough to wear a shirt like this for a while as you can see by the fold marks - it's been sitting in the wardrobe since we unpacked. I bought this shirt at a folk festival a couple of years ago, isn't it fun? Lots of wombats doing what wombats do.....shuffling along, sleeping, scratching. It's made by Stringybark Graphics, their designs are fun. The colour looks a bit icky, in reality it's olive green. Green fabrics don't always photograph well, I wonder why?
I braved the cold winds a little while ago to get this pic of the wattle trees in the bush, you can see them better if you click on the pic to enlarge it. I wasn't going to walk up the hill to get closer, I'm staying here where it's warm. The wattles are a glorious golden yellow, and on a dull grey day like today they really glow. The grass in the reserve is very green at the moment because of all the rain over the past couple of months.

Have been playing around with fabric for my challenge quilt, and have even cut some. Now I have lots of nine patches to make; I was going to cut strips of fabric and assemble them the quick way, but one of the fabrics - a seagull print - is directional, and because of the larger pieces I had to cut out first some of the strips that were left were vertical and some were horizontal. It became all too much for my brain to work out so I cut them into 2-1/2in squares, and the other blue fabrics too. I'll make my nine patches the slow way, but at least it means I can mix up the fabrics more. I had planned to have a big sewing binge this afternoon but the niggly little headache that started just before lunch is stopping my brain from working properly, I can't concentrate on sewing. Never mind, it will happen.

This morning we went to a museum, the Power Station Museum. I bet not many of you knew that Tamworth was the first town in Australia to have its streets lit by electric light in 1888, did you? Even ahead of cities like Sydney and Melbourne. There is a museum in the original building with some of this history, and some fabulous old machinery, and all sorts of gadgets and household appliances that use electricity, including a lovely old Singer sewing machine with two boxes of feet and accessories including a buttonholer.......the man who showed us around said that occasionally things are stolen and it had been suggested that those accessory boxes shouldn't be left out for anyone to take. I said yes, most definitely you should put them away, as I drooled over them. The sewing machine was lovely and had barely been used, judging by the lack of wear on the decals.

Have been some mindless knitting again lately, a scarf in an interesting pattern, just to have something to pick up from time to time. And I've been reading, I have read a couple of books by Louise Penny. I'm really enjoying them, and her mention of licorice pipes has me intrigued.

"At five o'clock tea (or coffee), the equipage is on a side table, together with plates of thin sandwiches, and of cake. The pouring of the tea and passing of refreshments are usually done by some members of the family or friends, without the assistance of servants, where the number assembled is small; for, as a rule, the people who frequent these social gatherings, care more for social intercourse than for eating and drinking."

I trust you will remember that next time your maid asks for time off when you have an afternoon tea planned.

Enjoy your week!

Jennifer

Still plastered

Somewhere in east Toronto, Canada....sorry I can't be more specific but I wasn't with Kevin when he took this pic. It's somewhere near Taylor Creek Park.
Nor this one. Aren't the leaves pretty floating on the water? Kevin took some lovely pics of autumn colours when he and our son Doug went for a long walk while Sayward and I were checking out the Kaleidoscope exhibition of gorgeous vintage quilts at the Textile Museum.
This is some of the view from the bus stop near our son's place - waiting for a bus can usually be rather boring, but not when there are colours like these to look at. I wish I could live in a climate with colours like this all year round.

Yesterday the orthopedic specialist looked at the x-ray taken of my wrist the previous day and said that, although it's healing as well as can be expected (he didn't add "considering your age" but he might as well have done) he wants to see me again in two weeks. He said (once again almost referring to my age but not quite) that it's a fine line between leaving the arm in plaster long enough for the bone to have healed, but not so long that the limb stiffens up. As my wrist has been set with a slight downward bend for some medical reason, can't you just imagine how tender it's going to be when it's finally free? I know there are many people in this world who are putting up with much more than I have to, but it is still driving me spare. Two more weeks will be six weeks since it was broken. I wonder if I will still remember how to knit? or play guitar? and as for using a sewing machine......and my beautiful new overlocker is out of its box waiting for me to play with it and I can't........

In the past five days I have read four books and am half-way through a fifth which isn't grabbing my attention as much as some I have read, so I might give it up as a bad job and not even try to find out who dunnit. It's been a while since I have read such a cliched book. One I particularly enjoyed was "Bugatti Queen: in search of a French racing legend" by Miranda Seymour. Helene Delangle was a racing car driver in the 1930s, and led a rip-snorting life off the track too; she had been a dancer before taking to the race circuit. She was glamorous with a beautiful smile as a young woman, but ended her days in a tiny apartment alone, estranged from her family and in poor health in her eighties. Some of her race driving records still stand all these years later.

My sewing room is unusable at present because it is being painted, we are freshening up the house with a coat of paint before selling it early next year. Kevin's plan is to have it ready for me to use again when I an able to, isn't he great?

"Keep to the right.
On meeting and passing people in the street, keep to your right hand, except when a gentleman is walking alone; then he must always turn aside to give the preferred side of the walk to a lady, to anyone carrying a heavy load, to a clergyman or to an old gentleman."

Enjoy your weekend.

Jennifer