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

Pumpkin Spice Muffins......

yummm..........When we visited Toronto, Canada, last October it was pumpkin spice muffin season at Tim Hortons and I have been thinking about making some ever since. Yesterday I went searching on line and found this recipe from Canadian Living Magazine. Had to make my own pumpkin puree because it doesn't seem to be available in Australia, but that was easy - just cut up a butternut into large pieces, scrape out the strings and seeds, bake in a moderate oven for about 45 minutes to an hour, then cut off the skin and puree the flesh. We don't get the spherical bright orange pumpkins here so I thought butternut would be a good substitute.

To make a long story short, after lunch today I made the muffins, they turned out well, we have already tried them fresh out of the oven. They're a little different to Tim's recipe but not bad, if I do say so myself. I didn't make the maple cream cheese spread either, and I used pecans (because I had some) instead of walnuts (because I had none), a whole pecan half on each muffin.

Geez the election at the weekend was much ado about nothing, we still don't know who won......don't know who our government will be for the next few years.......so long as the bloke who leads one of the parties doesn't become prime minister, he has to be the scariest bloke ever in my opinion. For what it's worth. I don't care if his wife thinks he is lovely and his daughters love him and he helps little old ladies across the road, he still scares the living daylights out of me.

No pics today because the camera battery needs to be charged, but they will come in due course. You know what they say, if it's worth having it's worth waiting for. I could pop out and take a photo of the tiny pink and white wild flowers that are slowly appearing in the reserve, and the lovely wattle trees flowering just up the hill, but it's raining, cold and misty. So I won't. You wouldn't want me to get cold and wet, would you?

"How to reprove.

Parents should never check expressions of tenderness in their children, nor humiliate them before others. This will not only cause suffering to little sensitive hearts, but will tend to harden them. Reproof, if needed, should be administered to each child singly and alone."

Now I am off to make Big Decisions about cutting fabric. Have a wonderful week!

Jennifer

Sniffly WOW

Several years ago we visited an animal park on the south Coast of NSW where I met some real live wombats and was even able to cuddle some....yes, I have the photographs of that occasion and no, they will not be put up here for the world to see the two black eyes I had at the time......I bought this hanky as a souvenir of our visit. I can't bring myself to blow my nose on this little feller so it is still a pristine hanky.

The woeful story of the black eyes is this: some years ago I used to do a lot of dancing, some folk dancing and also the social dances that have been done in Australia over the past 220 years. I used to get dressed up in my ballgown and go dancing, a roomful of folk in outfits from 1800 to 1900 is a glorious sight to see. At one ball during an energetic 'Postie's Jig', a Scottish country dance, I was hit between the eyes by another woman as she flung up her arm for the final swing with her partner. I didn't fall down but by crikey I saw stars, and the bruising to my face caused two black eyes which took a few weeks to settle down. It was during those weeks that we had our holiday and met the wombats.

My new bag is finished and yes, all that beautiful even quilting was done by me! The fabrics were bought at Cock-A-Doodle Quilts in Toronto, Canada - the green fabric is Catch a Star by Whimsicals for Red Rooster, the tan fabric is Bound to the Prairie by Kansas Troubles for Moda and the lighter lining fabric is also by Kansas Troubles, but from a different range. You know how it is when you keep something in your brain that turns out to be wrong.......when I bought this fabric I had it in my head that I needed 80cm of the lining fabric and 1.3M of the main fabric, so that is what I bought......not so. I needed 80cm of the main fabric, and 1.3M of the lining fabric because it is also used for the trim, and I hadn't thought of that. I didn't realise until after we returned home from our trip, so I contacted the shop in Toronto but they had sold out. I really wanted the green fabric to be the main fabric and the other to be the trim, I didn't want to change them around. After lying awake in bed at night pondering on it deeply and being unable to buy more of the fabric I needed, I decided to buy something different but similar for the lining. So to make a short story long, the bag is made of three fabrics instead of two but I am still pleased with it.

My shoulder has decided that I prefer to use smaller bags, because they can't be filled too much and become too heavy. It doesn't like carrying anything heavy.

When I was choosing the fabrics I found the green one first then went looking for another fabric to put with it. I decided not to use two fabrics from the same range because they can be so beautifully co-ordinated it can look a wee bit boring; I like the element of surprise that arises from two different fabrics together.

This morning we saw a wallaby in the reserve on the hill, we haven't seen a wallaby or kangaroo for some time! Today is quite warm for a winter day but the wind is strong, and cold too if you are in the shade. Since it became wintry the roos haven't been around, perhaps they prefer the warmer weather? The next few days are supposed to be colder and rainy again, our nice days have come to an end for a while.

The etiquette book has a wonderful repellent recipe for mosquitoes, as they can be a summer problem in parts of the USA and Canada - here it is.

"Another prescription, used by hunters to keep away the black flies and mosquitoes, is said to leave the skin very clear and fair, and is as follows: Mix one spoonful of the best tar in a pint of pure olive oil or almond oil, by heating the two together in a tin cup set in boiling water. Stir till completely mixed and smooth, putting in more oil if the compound is too thick to run easily. Rub this on the face when going to bed, and lay patches of soft cloth on the cheeks and forehead to keep the tar from rubbing off. The bed linen must be protected by cloth folded and thrown over the pillows."

That sounds as though it would keep just about anything away, including one's bed partner.

Have a lovely week!

Jennifer

Sewing Helper WOW

My little furry friend is helping me make my new bag, isn't that nice? My wombat collection has a few furry little ones. You can see the pretty fabrics I bought in Canada last year, the green fabric and the golden brown are the main fabrics, and the paler tan is the lining. Due to my tiny brain getting the quantities wrong I chose to buy a different lining fabric, rather than spend ages agonising over my error and getting nothing made. I had great plans to sew some more today but got very little done because of a headache - not a bad one, but a niggly little one that hung around and wouldn't go away and made me take a slightly fuzzy photograph. Never mind, as Scarlett O'Hara said, tomorrow is another day.
It has occurred to me that, while the world has seen pictures of the outside of our new house, none of you know what the inside looks like. So.......when you come to visit and step inside the front door this is what you will see. One of the shops in our new town sells all manner of lovely things, patchwork fabric and supplies, pretty flowers like this one, even containers for pretty flowers. And coffee and cake. That's right, they even have a cafe! It is a gorgeous place to browse while one is waiting for one's excellent coffee to be made. The orchid was also available in bright yellow which I loved.......I really really love yellow and it looked great in the grey pot......but a yellow orchid against the pink wall would not have looked so good. More pics will follow in due course.

I still might succumb to the yellow orchid - not all the walls are pink.

The election campaign is getting quite annoying, it is very negative. Most ads are more about running down the opposition than telling us anything positive. Another ten days to go.....but it doesn't matter who we vote for, we will still get a politician.

Been trying different food ideas lately, tonight I made a blue cheese sauce for ricotta and spinach wholemeal ravioli. We both enjoyed it, which was a surprise! But sometimes my brain doesn't want to think food, it would like someone else to make the "what shall we eat tonight" decision.

"Unladylike conduct toward a suitor.

It is only the contemptible flirt that keeps an honorable man in suspense for the purpose of glorifying herself by his attentions in the eyes of friends. Nor would any but a frivolous or vicious girl boast of the offer she had received and rejected. Such an offer is a privileged communication. The secret of it should be held sacred. No true lady will ever divulge to anyone, unless it may be to her mother, the fact of such an offer. It is the severest breach of honour to do so. A lady who has once been guilty of boasting of an offer should never have a second opportunity for thus boasting.

No true-hearted woman can entertain any other feeling than that of commiseration for the man over whose happiness she has been compelled to throw a cloud, while the idea of triumphing in his distress, or abusing his confidence, must be inexpressibly painful to her."

So next time someone makes an offer for your hand and you refuse, don't boast about it. That would be unladylike, and we can't have that can we?

Jennifer

Three months ago today.....

........we moved into our home in the country! Three months, that's a quarter of a year, but it doesn't seem that long at all. To celebrate we went out for lunch yesterday at a local restaurant, and had a very yummy meal. We haven't seen the kangaroos for several weeks, so here is a picture I took from our back yard to remind us that they really exist.

We are slowly doing the changes we want to make. Today we tackled (that is to say Kevin tackled - I supervised) chopping a nandina bush out of the little garden surrounding our letterbox. Heavens - have you ever tried to chop out nandina? What a job that turned out to be. We bought a native westringia to plant in its stead but will first make sure that none of the broken roots of the nandina sprout again. We prefer native plants where possible, they are usually easier to grow than imported plants. Except for nandina, which can be a weed. One bush down, four to go. In the meantime we might find another spot for the westringia.

And this garden has roses, I have never grown roses before! While they are doing OK they can stay. If they need babying they will go. I enjoy gardening, but don't want to be a slave to the garden.
This really made me laugh last weekend when we were taking pictures of the floods last weekend - a couple of native ducks swimming in the floodwaters. The water was flowing very fast and the ducks were swimming against the current, they were paddling their little webbed feet like mad under the water and making surprising headway. You will probably not be surprised when I tell you that almost all sport was cancelled for the weekend, the football fields were awash as you can see by the goalposts.

It has been a busy couple of days and I have not sat at the sewing machine, my brain is starting to get itchy for sewing. I have plans for tomorrow though, as Kevin will be spending all day playing in a lawn bowls tournament. It will be just me and the kitties, and the CD player and sewing machine of course. I want to get on with my bag, and one of my CDs has two of the madrigals The Only Choir In Town will be singing in a concert next month so I can learn them as I sew.

"Family jars not to be made public.

Whatever may be the family disagreements, they should never be made known outside of the home circle, if it can be avoided. Those who expose the faults of the members of their family are severely judged by the world, and no provocation can be a good excuse for it. It is exceedingly vulgar, not to say unchristian-like, for the members of the same family to be at enmity with one another."

Have a lovely weekend, and don't fight with your family. It's vulgar.

Jennifer

Dangly WOW

It has occurred to me that these wombat earrings haven't yet had their turn on the blog, so here they are. Back left are wooden - right are titanium, they're a purplish-brown colour and are incredibly light - and the little ones in front with the bead trimming are pewter. A little bit of fun for when I'm feeling wombatty and frivolous!

The floods have subsided although there is still a lot of water coming from upstream. According to the local paper a few people were stopped from driving onto flooded roads by the police and fined......jolly good, say I. Not only do they put their own lives and those of any passengers at risk, but also the people who attempt to rescue them.

Today I baked some pecan brownies.....recipe is here......this house has an electric oven and cooktop, but for the past 20 years I had a gas stove so I have to re-learn cooking again. If you have ever used both you will know they are different! The oven seems to bake well, a few weeks ago I made some little cupcakes to try it out so today I was a bit braver. I had a piece of brownie with my coffee a few minutes ago (can't serve it to Kevin without trying it first, can I?) and it was delicious. But I wish I had a gas cooktop, so much better than electric hotplates, more instant control when turning the heat up or down.

I have started making my new bag and will take a pic soon, hopefully it will look very elegant. The book I ordered to help me make my maritime challenge quilt came from the UK today - "9-Patch Pizzazz". Great service, 10 days from there to me, and a good price too. As soon as the bag is finished that will be my next project, I have already started thinking about it and am looking forward to making it. Some of the fabrics have been in my stash for a long time, they should be matured by now - like fine wine and cheese! Colours are lots of blues, with some red and gold.

Today has been lovely and sunny, a good afternoon for a walk - only problem is, today the locksmiths keyed all the locks in the house to the same key, and he left the new keys with me because I was home and Kevin was out playing lawn bowls, so if I go walkies taking the new key with me and Kevin comes home........he won't be able to get in!

I have had EQ6 for some time now, and the new update for EQ7 is out - I'm debating with myself whether I really need it - while EQ6 is handy I don't use it to its full capacity, but does that really matter? So long as I can use it for what I need. I might debate for a wee while longer.

The Only Choir In Town is practising for a concert next month, we will be singing some songs from Gilbert and Sullivan, and some Elizabethan madrigals, and some hymns and sacred songs. And a chorus from an opera. If I am singing opera does that mean I can be a diva and throw tantrums if things aren't to my liking?

Must share this with you, the 1885 etiquette book has a chapter titled "Toilet Recipes" of which this is one.

"Wash for the complexion.
A teaspoonful of the flour of sulphur and a wine-glassful of lime-water, well shaken and mixed; half a wine-glass of glycerine and a wine-glass of rose-water. Rub it on the face every night before going to bed. Shake well before using."

Some old recipe books use "a wine-glass" as a measure, I wonder what size glass those Victorians used? If anyone is brave enough to try this, don't come crying to me when your face falls off.........

Jennifer

It's raining, it's pouring.......

Following lots of rain over the past few days, yesterday the local river overflowed and flooded.....lots of muddy brown water flowing very quickly along what is usually a quiet watercourse. This picture shows how high the water is over the walking path - you can see the path in the bottom right corner, the people are also standing on some of the same path, while between the path is covered with water. The soccer fields in the background were also under water, one of the goalposts is visible in the distance. This was taken several hours before the floods peaked last night.
This was one of the roads closed by the river, the dark brown shape on the right hand side is the roadside fence which is nearly thigh high on me - bearing in mind that I'm short, but just the same it's too high to drive through. The road goes between the fence on the right and the light pole on the left.
This raging torrent is the normally placid Peel River. The bank on the right hand side is visible, and the low tree in the centre is usually on the other bank not in the middle of the river. We were standing on a road bridge taking some of these pics.
Several of these signs around town........just the same it was surprising how many Special People drove past them, obviously too special for signs that the rest of us took care to obey. Many of the Special People were in SUVs, one was a woman with young children. She is obviously bringing up those kids to be Special People too. When we pointed out that the road was closed she said "yes I know".......and kept driving, although fortunately she stopped before driving through the water. One doesn't want to see harm come to anyone, but really some people ask for it.

The rain stopped yesterday but the river kept rising for some time, because there has been a lot of rain upstream from here. The local dam is 101% full so it won't hold any more water, and of course the river collects other creeks and rivers as it goes along so the level keeps rising. Today was cold, clear, bright and sunny; although there is still a lot of water around the river level is falling........and now it's 9.30pm and guess what.......

..........it's raining again!

"Wherein you reprove another be unblamable yourself, for example is more prevalent than precept."

Jennifer