Stitching away

The binding on Maritime Beauty is being hand-sewn to the back, yay!

In my stash are three different blue batik fabrics but none of them were quite the right binding fabric, I was prepared to make a choice from them although one was too bright, one was too dark, one was too green - but in a local shop recently this blue fabric jumped off the shelf and into my hands, and like Goldilocks, it was Just Right.

Do you like the wiggly quilting?  Several years ago I attended a New York Beauty workshop with a tutor from New Zealand, Donna Ward, and she showed us this quilting design that she uses for the outer block points.  I liked it so much that I used it on the quilt from that workshop, and on this too.  The best thing about a wiggly line is that it never looks badly done, and because it is done in one continuous line along all the points in the block it is very easy.  I'm all for easy, you know.

The back of the dark teal jumper (sweater) is finished, the front has been cast on.  I am determined to wear it next winter.  That yarn has has three false starts already, so this will be it.

In a few weeks daylight saving will start again here and the mornings will, once again, be slightly dimmer for a short while.  The sun is coming up at stupid early o'clock now, so unless I get up before the crack of dawn for the morning walk I am looking directly into the sun while walking home up the hill.  Once I tried walking in the opposite direction to avoid the sun in my eyes but my brain didn't take to it; for one thing the uphill trudge is much steeper, for another the walk along the main road is on the wrong side of the road, and at that time of the morning people are driving into town for work so there is a steady stream of bike, cars and trucks.  Sometimes the trucks are carrying cattle or sheep for livestock sales on the other side of town, and the odour as they pass me is very........rural.

In my opinion, the term "fun run" is an oxymoron.

Spring now seems to be starting because the air is smelling different, the neighbour's jasmine is blooming over our side fence, and once it has finished flowering I will see how much I can cut back before it starts to take over the whole universe - because it will if allowed, you know.  When we first moved here it was climbing on the back fence too, but not now.  Plants which are quite benign in other parts of the world become weeds in Australia because of our climate; except for a few areas our winters are not severe enough to knock them back, so they grow all year ground.  And grow.  And grow.  And keep on growing........

Our wedding gig went off well, the bride was gorgeous in her vintage frock and she joined us for a song or two, which was delightful.  Because the music school follows academic school terms we have one more Tuesday this term then we are off for a couple of weeks.  By the time we come back we may be starting to think about end of year/Christmas concerts.  I don't know about you, but it sometimes feels that my life is flashing past before my very eyes while I sit back and watch it go by.

"It shows a want of courtesy to consult your watch, either at home or abroad.  If at home, it appears as though you were tired of your company, and wished them to be gone.  If abroad, it appears as though the hours dragged heavily, and you were calculating how soon you would be released."

It does seem to be that watches, rather being an item of jewellery, are falling out of favour because so many folk these days have smart phones which they use instead of a watch.  My phone is not smart, it's quite dumb really.......but time still passes by, just the same.

Enjoy your days!

And another week passes.......

........with not much happening here at La Chateau des Wombats.  Binky is not only back to her normal self, she has been behaving like a much younger kitty again.  Bianca, meanwhile, just sits back and watches.

 Her right eye is blue, her left eye is green - the blue eye sometimes shows up as the evil eye, and she is  definitely not human.

This is just to make us feel a little cooler as summer is now well and truly here, it was much cooler in rainy and misty Temiskaming.  There is nothing quite like wearing a black synthetic fabric sling close to one's body on a hot day, you know.

The shoulder has its good days and its not so good days, and occasionally it has a bad day, but no doubt it's progressing.  I don't have a little window in my skin to be able to see what's happening in there.  Tomorrow the shoulder will be taken to see the specialist, so we'll see what he says.  Hopefully the sling can come off in a couple of weeks and that will be a great relief, because it presses on a rib and causes discomfort bordering on pain.

The daily walk has been suspended for the interim on the orders of the specialist, the GP, the physiotherapist and the chiropractor, because it would not be a good idea to trip and fall.  The walk back up the hill had become very slightly easier so some of that progress will be lost when it resumes.  It's never been my favourite part of the day anyway, and it would be so easy to just not start again.......but one mustn't think like that, should one.......one should jump out of bed at the crack of dawn to greet the new day while pulling on one's walking shoes, shouldn't one......even if one has never in one's life been a morning person.

Did you know that there is a Colour Of The Year?  It is announced annually (now there's a surprise), and the colour for 2013 was Emerald, my birthstone and a very nice colour.  (Have I ever mentioned that I am quite fond of green?)  However, you will need your sunnies on for the 2014 colour, Radiant Orchid.  Not being a pink or purple person and definitely not being a fuschia person I will pass on that, thank you very much.  Hopefully the following year will be less in-your-face.

"Harmony of colors in dress.
The various shades of purple and lilac, dark blues and dark greens, lose much of their brilliancy by gaslight, while orange, scarlet, crimson, the light browns and light greens, gain brilliancy by a strong artificial light."

While bright colours were popular in Victorian times, particularly after aniline dyes were discovered, I wonder what our foremothers would have thought of Radiant Orchid?

Enjoy your days!

The answer, my friends, is blowin' in the wind........

.....and it is certainly blowing today.  Last week's very welcome rain need not have bothered, as we have had very hot windy weather since then which has undone any good done by the rain.  Ah well, that's life here in the bush, isn't it.  Because of the strong winds there are bushfire warnings for all the state today.

Further to last week's pics of the view from our front verandah, here is the view from the hill behind us.  The tall spire in the middle below is a steeple at an aged care facility run by a religious order, further down the hill.  This is the back of our house, the small window (which isn't so small at all, really) is my sewing room.

The distant view, taken with a zoom lens.  Those buildings are a long way away, and the green grass in the foreground is a grass farm along the river.

Our house is not in the pic below, we are just off to the left of our neighbour's two-storey house.  The hills in the pic above are the ones in the far distance here.

When we moved here in May 2010 Kevin climbed the hill with his camera and had fun taking photos with some of the settings.  For my friends overseas, this is where we live - the "Welcome to our town" sign on the road coming from the north isn't far from us.  If we were much further north we would be right out of town.

You will be pleased to know that the sandals which died last week have been replaced by a similar style!  Slightly chunky black sandals with very comfortable soles are on my feet as we speak.  This is the brand, but mine aren't there as they are a style from last season - which doesn't bother me at all; I've never been one to feel my life is incomplete without the latest and greatest in something.  The same brand also had some shoes on clearance because they were discontinued styles, including a very nice pair of almost-flat sandals in dull metallic colours which are also now residing in my closet......The Very Thing for son's wedding in February.  Much as I love my sons I cannot wear high heels to any great occasions in their lives.

The morning walking is continuing even though it is deadly boring.  Days are getting longer now we are well and truly into spring, and the mornings are starting much too early for my liking.  If the walk is delayed then I am trudging home up the hill with the sun in my eyes, so to avoid that I am having to go out earlier and earlier.  I'm not, and have never been, a morning person.  Daylight saving will start at the end of next week so mornings will be a little darker again, for a while at least.

Everything has now been purchased to make the outfit for the said wedding right down to threads finally purchased yesterday.  The skirt fabric and lining have been pre-washed ready for cutting out.  First, though, I have cut out fabrics to make another purse using McCalls 4118; it's a very useful pattern which I have used four times, twice for View A and twice for View B.  The new one will also be View B.  Because there is very little choice locally in pre-quilted fabrics, quilting the large pieces of lining, thin batting and outer fabric together have to be done before the main bag pieces are cut out.  As it's just diagonal cross-hatching it's a bit tedious, but the quilt group is having an all-day meeting this Saturday so doing that quilting in company will make it less boring.  I will do as much as I can, then next week start working on the clothes for the wedding - the bag can wait, but at least it will be started.

Next Monday morning my shoulder will know its fate as I am taking it to see the specialist.  Fingers crossed for a good report, although I am suspecting he will say an operation will be necessary to fix it.  Ah well.......if that fixes it I should have it done......even though I am a coward.

"Corns.
It is tolerably safe to say that those who wear loose, easy-fitting shoes and boots will never be troubled by corns.  Some people are more liable to corns than others, and some will persist in the use of tightly-fitting shoes in spite of corns."

Not me.  My feet like to be comfortable, and if my feet are happy then all of me is happy.

Enjoy your days!

Squiiish........

........that will be me tomorrow morning.  Squish.  It's time for the dreaded mammogram.  Don't tell it saves lives etc etc, I know all that......I still find it a painful, humiliating and embarrassing experience.  However, over the past few days I have getting into the spirit of the test by slamming the freezer door on my boobs a few times each day and lying on our pebbled driveway these cold frosty mornings while Kevin drives the car back and forth a few times over my chest.

There is something really cringe-making about having to take off one's clothes and show one's bits in public, isn't there?  To me, that also includes medical procedures which requires baring parts of one's body usually covered by clothing.  Makes me come over all faint at the very thought.  When I was younger I wasn't so self-conscious about such matters, if it had to be done then it had to be done, but the body changes which have come about with age have also brought more reluctance to show said body to anyone, including medical people.  It's not a pretty sight, folks.

We need a nice picture to take our minds off such matters.

Taken in Bayfield, Ontario. last October........such a lovely little town!

The sewing project from the fabrics in the last post is coming along nicely in between uke practice, and sweeping the occasional floor, and cooking, and choir practices, and shopping, and volunteering, and presenting a radio program, and relaxing......but never mind, it will get done......what has been done so far is looking good.

Winter has returned this week, very cold frosty mornings and some fog in the valley below us.  Being out walking in frost is not for the faint-hearted but if I don't go because it's cold it becomes very easy to stop completely.  If I don't walk it's because I have an appointment which means keeping an eye on the clock......like tomorrow morning's test.  That means most days I am out and about, struggling home up the hill with the sun in my eyes, and breathing a sigh of relief when I walk inside and shut the door behind me.

We have started planning our next trip away in a few months, heading north to a small folk festival a few hours away then continuing to the coast and going to.......who knows where?  We don't!  We will make decisions when we get there, even though we don't yet know where "there" is.  Our house sitters are already booked, just need to buy our festival tickets.  My new uke will, of course, be coming along; our caravan is quite small but there is room for a tenor uke.  There is room for a guitar too.....always take my guitar to festivals, it wouldn't feel right to leave it behind.

"When a color is chosen which is favorable to the complexion, it is well to associate with it the tints which will harmonize by analogy, as to use contrasting colors would diminish its favorable effect.  When a color is used in dress, not suitable to the complexion, it should be associated with contrasting colors, as they have the power to neutralize its objectionable influence."  

Another thing about growing older is the changes in one's hair colour and skin tone, which in turn governs what colours one can wear  We don't think of these things when we're young and slender, do we?  But it doesn't matter how much my skin and hair change, I do not look good in pink.

Enjoy your days!

Nice

The world needs more nice at present, doesn't it?  So many nasty and sad things happening out there.  So this will be a nice post.

My zygocactus is flowering.  There are much prettier and more spectacular zygocactus in the world, but this one is mine.

 When we bought our last house in 1987 this was left by the previous owners and the pot it was in was disintegrating.  A chunk of plant fell off and I shoved it in this pot, a gen-u-ine orange plastic pot left over from the 1970s.  The original plant died off, the piece I planted kept growing.....but it never ever flowered.  I brought it with us when we sold up and moved here, goodness knows why.....yes I do know.  I wasn't leaving anything behind for our buyer after the hoops she made us jump through.  I had run out of nice by then.  It hangs on our covered back verandah, and has flowered every winter since we came here.

Perhaps one day it might even be planted into a more glamorous pot with new soil........or perhaps I should leave well enough alone!

 My little project is finally finished, a souvenir of last autumn's holiday in Canada.  It's called "Leaf Peeking" and will be used as a table topper.  With the exception of the pale background print behind the leaves it's all batik fabrics.....I love the border print.  It's a very gorgeous green.  Have I ever mentioned that I am quite fond of green?

A few times recently we have woken up to frost, the hill behind us is quite white, and some mornings the shady bits haven't finished melting by 11am.  Well, it is winter after all......the morning walk has been a bit of a trial on such cold mornings, but I am persisting with it.  Cloudy mornings are easier, because the last part is uphill and it doesn't seem to matter what time I go out, the sun always seems to be in my eyes when I am coming home up the hill.  However, I am not getting up at the crack of dawn just to beat the sun.  Mornings just don't do it for me.

So far the fingers haven't fallen off, the difficult chords are becoming easier with the daily (except when I occasionally forget) uke practice.  It's the barre chords which are still giving me trouble.  A barre chord is when you place the left index finger across all the strings at once - that's not so bad if it's only one finger doing the work, but when the other fingers on that hand have to hold down other strings too, well, that can be a bit painful.  At least the narrower neck on a ukulele is easier to barre than a guitar neck, I have never been able to quite get the hang of that.  My fingers aren't particularly short, but just a bit more length on them would make barre chords so much easier.

Ah well, can't change what nature gave us, can we?  If we could I would be a bit taller, my fingers would be a little longer, my hair would not be going grey, I would still have the slender figure of my youth.  At the folk festival at Easter a friend who is a few years younger said she admires me and hopes to be as good as I am when she is my age, she considers me to be a role model.  It was meant as a compliment and I took it as such, but oh my.....I hate getting older.  I hate the way my hair is white round my face but still has a lot of its natural dark auburn elsewhere.  I hate the way my waistline is but a distant memory.  I hate the wrinkles which make my eyes look so small now, when they used to be big.  I hate the way some health issues, thanks to inherited genes, are surfacing.  Bugger growing old gracefully.  As far as I can see, there are no compensations for getting older.  Not one.

Much is made in the media about young women and body image, but what about Olde Phartes?  Are we not allowed some regret for our younger selves, or are we supposed to just be resigned to the fact that our most attractive years are well and truly behind us, be thankful for small crumbs like my friend's compliment, and uncomplainingly put up with our lot in life?

And this was going to be such a nice post.

"Can any one fancy what our society might be, if all its members were perfect gentlemen and true ladies, if all the inhabitants of the earth were kind-hearted; if, instead of contending with the faults of our fellows, we were each to wage war against our own faults?  Every one needs to guard constantly against the evil from within as well as from without, for, as has been truly said, "a man's greatest foe dwells in his own heart".

Indeed, the world would be a nicer place, would it not?

Enjoy your days!

Falling out of fall.........

....and into winter.Winter has arrived, frosty mornings, fog and cold nights.  Warm clothing, and cats spending their time by the fire.

Although these pics were taken on our visit to North Bay, Canada, last fall they could have been taken here today......even the Queensland Blue pumpkins, which are available here now!

 I love the idea of decorating for different seasons, Australians don't do much of that except for Christmas.  I haven't seen these interesting shapes and colours of squash here either.

 It was a very tempting pile of orange goodies!  But you will be pleased to know that we obeyed the signs and did not grimpez sur les citrouilles.

The walking continues.  There are several dogs hereabouts who also trot round on their morning walk, one little terrier drags his hapless owner along as though he has the world to organise and needs to get home quickly to do it.  One nods one's head and mumbles "morning" to other walkers, who smile and cheerily reply.  One does not wave and smile a cheery smile back at them.  They should consider themselves lucky to get a mumble, really.  I am not doing it to improve my social life.

Those autumn leaf blocks were won by someone else, which was a shame as I quite liked them.  But as the fiddle factor involved in making them is more than I can be bothered with, it's probably just as well; I shall stick to my Bear's Paw blocks made using my gorgeous autumn leaf prints, which are a leisurely leader and ender project.  No hurry to get them done and made into a quilt, because I still haven't decided on a setting for them.......although ideas are percolating in my little brain.  Ideas involving lots of small squares.......

There will be no blog post next week as I will be visiting the Big Smoke, staying with my friend Nola and attending a quilt and craft show.  One of the few things about living here in the Small Smoke is the lack of local quilt shows, although there will be one in a month in a small town an hour north of here.  Most of big city life I don't miss at all.  Certainly don't miss the traffic, which by the time we moved out was horrendous.  Here, if there is a line of six or eight cars during what passes for peak hour.......that is considered really bad by the locals.  We laugh.  Ha ha, we say.  These people do not know heavy traffic.

Meanwhile the road construction between here and town continues, and sometimes can be rather exciting.   We had some good rain last weekend and the potholes which it opened up in the little strip of road we have to drive on made for interesting driving, especially with a large truck or semi coming the other way.  Did I mention that little strip of road is quite narrow in parts and carries two lanes of traffic, one each way?  During the day the lanes can also swap and change, which makes for even more excitement when the lane we drove on going into town has changed completely by the time we come home an hour later.  If only the road could be closed completely it would probably have been finished some time ago, but as it is the main (almost the only) way into town for many locals, and is also a minor highway leading north, it has to be kept open.

Life is never dull here, folks.

"Never turn a corner at full speed or you may find yourself knocked down, or may knock down another, by the violent contact.  Always look in the way you are going or you may chance to meet some awkward collision.  People are very rude and vulgar who do not look the way they are going; it annoys others.

Although this advice was meant for pedestrians it can also apply to some of the drivers with whom we are sharing our de-constructed road.

Enjoy your days!

Wouldn't an alpaca make a nice pet?

A few weeks ago local alpaca breeders joined together to hold an open day.  

 This boy was very handsome, and didn't he know it too!  His colouring was quite unusual.

 This young cria (baby alpacas are called crias) was a bit shy, but was very cute just the same.

This was at Duri, a small village not far south of here.  You can see how dry the local sports ground is, and it's just the same here.  One could even try alpaca meat, which we did.....alpaca sausage is quite nice, with a slightly sweet taste.  I also bought some alpaca yarn with a pattern for a beanie and scarf, the beanie is already partly knitted and will be handy in winter on my morning walk.

Yes folks, walking has started again on doctor's orders.  It has taken a while to reach (because of my foot and ankle problems, and my general state of unfitness) but I am now up to 30 minutes, the last part of which - the most difficult part - is uphill coming home.  Much as we like living here on the hill, it does have its disadvantages.  I spend most of my walk watching my feet to make sure I don't stumble or trip as I don't want to break any more bones.  It's something I do because I know I have to (wouldn't even be so bad if I thought it would make me lose weight but that's a lost cause given my age, hormones and genetics) and not something I enjoy.  According to what one reads, exercise is supposed to release endorphins in the body which make one feel invigorated and happy afterwards.........I think they're missing in me, because that doesn't happen at all.  When I get home I don't feel elated, just tired and out of breath from walking back up the hill.  And hungry, because this is before breakfast.

End of moan, thank you for listening.

Kevin is now driving the car again!  That's good, because I don't need to dry him anywhere he needs to go......and not so good, because we are back to sharing the car.  Oh, well - at least he can now hang washing out again too.  No doubt about it, having someone to share the domestic chores makes life easier.

Not much action to report in the sewing room, block obligations are now down to one block being finished off (which will be done tomorrow) and two more to be made.  My quilt group - the one I will stay with - has a block each month which members take turns at making, and it's my turn next Monday to have a sample block made (that's done) and instructions written out (also done).  Meanwhile the block from this month's meeting still hasn't been started.....but it will be, never fear.  It's a leaf design and I quite like it.  Whoever "wins" the blocks each month has the option of keeping them, or using them to make a quilt which is donated to the local Ronald Macdonald House.  I have my eye on the leaf blocks and if I win them next Monday, they will be mine.  Not Ronnie Mac's.  I'll make him something else.  The remaining block is for the annual quilt which we make and donate to a local charity to use as a fundraiser, and it's a very easy design.....or would be, if I kept a stock of 2-1/2 inch squares ready cut, which I don't.  Sometimes it's almost as fiddly to cut pieces for just one block and to make it as it is to make a full-sized quilt, don't you think?

Ukulele group is proceeding well, and we are having fun.  The new uke is so beautiful to play.......I love it.  It is worth every cent it cost.  Also, the radio program has been getting good feedback.  Much of what I play comes from our own CD collection, although I do play selections from the station computer too.

Leaves on the we-think-it's-an-apricot tree in the back yard are turning lemon-yellow and falling, much to Bianca's amusement.  When you are an inside cat I suppose you have to take your entertainment where you can find it, and watching the occasional pretty leaf drift to the ground or skitter along the path on a windy day is obviously worth spending time doing.

"After you have visited a friend at her country seat, or after receiving an invitation to visit her, a call is due her upon her return to her town residence.  This is one of the occasions when a call should be made promptly and in person, unless you have a reason for wishing to discontinue the acquaintance; even then it would be more civil to take another opportunity for dropping a friend who wished to show a civility, unless her character has been irretrievably lost in the meantime."

I suppose you could say we called on the alpacas at their country seat?

The sewing room is calling.......

Enjoy your days!

So.....tonight's the night!

Yes folks, tonight marks my debut as a radio announcer with my own weekly program and apparently the station is now streaming so you can listen online, should the time suit.  From 7pm to 9pm Eastern Australian Time, which is probably stupid dark o'clock in some parts of the world - if you would like to listen you can find world clocks on the interwebz; we are in the same time zone as Sydney.  Station details are here.

The ukulele and Beethoven are becoming more friendly toward each other, you will be pleased to hear.  Oh my......last week teacher Sam let me use one of his tenor ukes.  Mine is a soprano, the smallest size, then there's concert size, tenor, with baritone being the biggest.  Tenor is so much easier to play because I am used to playing guitar, my fingers are long and often reach too far on the little soprano's neck so I end up playing wrong notes.  Didn't have that problem with Sam's tenor uke!  I can foresee a tenor uke in my future, and some of the time spent at next month's National Folk Festival will be checking out the hand-made instrument makers' display to find just the right tenor uke.

We need a picture, don't we?  Let's see what we can find.

This really made us chuckle, we thought it was fun!  In Sidney, B.C., Canada, this tree beside the water had bottles hanging from its branches.  You may not be able to see the contents of the bottles, but there were objects like a key ring (with keys attached), a little yellow duck and a red poppy - it was a few days after Remembrance Day.

There was even a sign attached to the tree giving an email address, perhaps it's the Keeper Of The Tree?  One would need to be nimble and a little fearless to hang a bottle from some of those branches.

Last night I received an email to tell me I had won some Aurifil thread from a blog giveaway, isn't that great?  It's a thread I really like, and use often; I've been buying thread online from them for several years.

The other day I checked in with Emma the physiotherapist and she has given me the green light to start walking, but not too far, in addition to the usual walking while shopping etc..  The doctor has said 30 minutes a day, but so far 10 minutes is about all my foot and ankle will happily do - according to Emma, we should stop when it starts hurting so as not to damage still-healing tissues.  That's all right by me, I am so unfit and out of condition that it will take a little time to build up my fitness again.  We live near the top of a hill so walking away from our house is fairly a easy downhill stroll.......but coming home is always uphill.  I can't believe how long this is taking to heal, it seemed a fairly ordinary (if somewhat painful) whack when it was first done!  Just goes to show, you can damage yourself more easily than you think.

Last weekend Kevin and I went to see "Quartet"......it's gently humorous and has some wonderful performers who can still sing and play up a storm although in what would be considered their senior years.  While it's not the best movie I've seen about older people we both enjoyed it, and friends who have seen it have also liked it.  It's good to see a movie which doesn't depend on violence, action, special effects and sex, sex and more sex to tell a story.  Is that really what people want to see these days, or is it what movie-makers want to make regardless of the public's taste?

"After you have visited a friend at her country seat, or after receiving an invitation to visit her, a call is due her upon her return to her town residence.  This is one of the occasions when a call should be made promptly and in person, unless you have a reason for wishing to discontinue the acquaintance; even then it would be more civil to take another opportunity for dropping a friend who wished to show civility, unless her character has been irretrievably lost in the meantime."

Oh dear!  I have sometimes lost my way, or lost an object.....but to lose one's character would be disastrous.

Enjoy your days!

If a tree falls.....

.....and no one hears it, does it really fall?

A couple of months after we moved here this pic was taken from the hill behind our house.  That's our house with its red roof - the pointed steeple you can see belongs to a large nursing home complex lower down the hill, behind the houses across from us.  You can see the small group of trees which give us wonderful summer shade, just uphill from our back fence.

 But on Monday afternoon we had a storm, and this very large section of tree came down.  It's from the tree on the extreme right, fortunately it fell sideways and not towards us.

The trees are a hangout for many birds, so I hope none of them went for a ride when it came down.  The rain was so heavy and the storm so fierce that Kevin didn't hear it fall.  Perhaps, in that case, it didn't fall at all and this is an illusion we see every time we look out our back window?  I was out at the time and had a most exciting drive home through pouring rain.......talk about cats and dogs.  Fortunately it had almost stopped a few hours later when it was time to drive to choir practice, that was a much more sedate drive.

A less exciting happening during the week was, we have joined a walking group which meets on Tuesday mornings at 8.30am.  That's very early, to me....I am not a morning person by nature, getting up early all those years I was working was a real effort but I managed, and when I retired and could get up whenever I wanted not when the alarm said to it was wonderful, so I love being retired for that reason alone......but we went, and while I didn't manage the distance of those who have been walking for several months I hope to improve with time.  I have even swallowed my pride and bought new walking shoes which are glowing shining shimmering......white.  What is it about white shoes that makes one's feet look absolutely enormous?  And why are most women's walking shoes white?  They are comfortable, and I will wear them, but I do not like them.  They make my feet look like Minnie Mouse's feet.  I don't enjoy walking either, in fact even as a child I was never ever one who liked exercise or sport, but for my health's sake I felt I should do something more than sitting and sewing, or sitting and reading.  So there it is.

Blogger has done the dirty on us with its double word verification, hasn't it?  We weren't asked if we wanted it.  However I am reluctant to turn mine off as I have had a problem in the past with nuisance spam comments, so my apologies if it bothers you but it is staying.  I have noticed, though, that if you click on the question mark ? beside the window where the words are to be typed, up comes a page which has a "contact us" message at the bottom.  Click on that and you get a list of five options, one of which is "words are too hard to read".  I have been clicking that and sending it off - if enough people do it, the message may get through.  Perhaps it's my imagination, but over the past couple of days the verification words have seemed easier to read - so possibly the message is getting through.

Although I don't specially follow these things, I believe some award is happening this week in Hollywood.  Checking out the outfits worn can be interesting, can't it?  Some are beautiful, and some are a real train wreck.  We very seldom go to the movies, so winners and losers make little difference to us.

"After you have visited a friend at her country seat, or after receiving an invitation to visit her, a call is due her upon her return to her town residence.  This is one of the occasions when a call should be made promptly and in person, unless you have a reason for wishing to discontinue the acquaintance; even then it would be more civil to take another opportunity for dropping a friend who wished to show a civility, unless her character has been irretrievably lost in the meantime."

We live in a country town.....does that mean we have a country seat, or a town residence?  I can assure you, you will find no lost characters here.

Enjoy your days!

WOW Quintet

Some years ago a friend painted these wombat coasters and storage box, she even painted a wombat on the lid of the box, that's the larger one at the top. It was an unexpected 'thank you' gift - thank you, Ros!

It's raining and misty today, not specially cold though, just the sort of day where it's hard to get motivated to do something. Anything. The fabric for my newest bag is all quilted ready to be cut out and made so perhaps I shall do get in the mood soon. And I have bought different fabric for borders on my wombat quilt. That dandelion fabric, pretty though it is, was never right for the quilt - it just wasn't dark enough. So I took off the borders and bought a dark striped fabric which will compliment the quilt so much better.

I've just been mucking around on the computer and as you can see have changed my blog picture. Much as I like the other picture (and I really do love it) I thought this would also make a rather nice header pic. This is the MacDonald River at Bendemeer, about half an hour north of here, and was taken last year in mid-winter.

Aren't you proud of me, I've been walking! For quite some time now I have been having problems with back pain, and last week the chiropractor told me that if I walked for 10-15 minutes a day that would make a great difference. Our street turns off the main road, heads uphill and curves back down to the main road again, and to walk around that circuit takes about 25 minutes. I don't think we will be walking today because of the rain, the road becomes slippery especially downhill, and the last thing I want is to fall and break something again. But it's also a good way to get to know our new neighbourhood and some of our new neighbours; a couple of days ago we found ourselves walking along with an older lady who lives a little way from us and we had a nice chat. We check out the gardens to see what plants are growing, and have also met a couple of the local cats and dogs. One house has four identical floral design wall plaques set two each side of the front door, and that has given us the idea to hang the wombat plaque on the front door for the world to see rather than in the beer garden.

We bought two plant pots for the front verandah and have planted grevilleas in them. The ends of the verandah have no way to stop anyone falling off, and we didn't want anyone to fall over the edge as it would do them a nasty mischief (and they might sue us for every penny we own), so the pots are rectangular and block off the ends very well. There are a few plants in the garden that I wouldn't mind getting rid of, but we'll wait for a while yet in case they turn out to be spectacular at certain times of the year. So far they're a bit ordinary. We have a great liking for Australian plants and there aren't many here, but that's easily fixed isn't it? However......we have wrens visiting our backyard from time to time and we don't want to get rid of any plants that they use for shelter, we want to make sure they are happy with any changes. They're such pretty little birds and it's lovely to have them. We have also planted a rosemary bush which is (hopefully!) enjoying today's rain.

I shall leave you with some words of wisdom from the etiquette book.

"Forming street acquaintances.
A lady never forms an acquaintance upon the street, or seeks to attract the attention or admiration of persons of the other sex. To do so would render false her claims to ladyhood, if it did not make her liable to far graver charges."

Enjoy your week!

Jennifer