I won I won I won!

Recently there has been a Canadian Blog Hop, and because we have family and many friends in Canada I was reading the blogs......and there were giveaways, and the fabrics were very luscious, so I entered my name on one......

.......and I won!

Thank you to Linda at Stitch Lines, and to Sew Sisters Quilt Shop in Toronto, for my prize.

It's a very small world these days because Linda knows Karen, and I know Karen too......and now I have 'met' Linda, although we are on the far side of the known universe from each other.

Several years ago I worked for a boss who was very suspicious of the internet and anything to do with it   He couldn't believe that I would meet up (and even stay!) with people sight unseen, because we had made contact online.  That was 15 years ago, wonder if he has changed his mind since then?  Kevin and I have met some wonderful people over the years that we would never have met otherwise thanks to the interwebz, and it enables us to keep in touch with our sons who both live far away from us.

Linda even said she would send me some cold air from Canada, isn't she a wonderful person?  It has been needed here because last Saturday was 41.7 deg C (which is 107 deg if you are thinking in old money) with a hot dry wind, and it wasn't at all nice.  Fortunately the uke gig was in an air-conditioned room, we were very thankful - and so were our ukes.  Stringed instruments don't like extreme heat, they get unhappy and go out of tune.

A couple of days ago the second large block for the flower basket quilt was finished.  First large block.......

 .......second large block, 23 to go.  Blocks are 18in finished and will be set alternately.

The blocks will be quilted as I go (can't say quilt as you go, because you aren't doing it - I am) before being joined but I haven't yet decided if it will be by hand or machine.  Probably machine.  I would like to see it finished while I am still on this earth.  Next Easter will be nine years since it was started; it was never intended to be a quick finish, just a project to pick up from time to time and take away on holidays.

Last week was one year since my shoulder operation and I am pleased to report that it is still attached to the rest of me.  It doesn't even hurt now, thank goodness, just the occasional twinge of discomfort on certain activities such as hair washing.

Because of the heat, work on Cricket/ette's quilt had slowed but as today is milder the outer borders have now been cut, and the inner borders are pinned to be joined in one long strip prior to being cut to length.  Our son rang earlier today, they had just been to the baby doctor for a check-up (I can't spell obstetrician) and all is proceeding well.  He asked me what his birth weight was, he was 6lbs 12 ozs - his wife said she was over 7lbs at birth; they have been told the baby isn't too huge but has a big head.  I sent her my sympathy.

"Where gentlemen may keep their hats on.
At garden parties and at all assemblies held in the open air, gentlemen keep their hats on their heads.  If draughts of cold air, or other causes, make it necessary for them to retain their hats on their heads, when in the presence of ladies within doors, they explain the necessity and ask permission of the ladies whom they accompany."

Any sensible person, male or female, wears a hat in summer here.  I have five summer hats so can make a choice based on what else I am wearing before setting foot outside........and believe me, I do.

Enjoy your days!

Some holiday wildlife

While over at the coast we saw wildlife we don't see here......for instance, snow leopards at an animal park and a huge goanna being chased by a kookaburra in the rainforest.  We saw a few of these fellers.....

 ......the "Hello Koala Trail" features koala statues painted in bright colours and interesting designs; we did see others but weren't always in a position to photograph them.

 I like the beetle on this one's nose, and the gorgeous yellow-green eucalyptus leaves covering the body.  It lives at the koala hospital in Port Macquarie, where of course you can see the ridgey-didge fair dinkum real thing as well.......this little one, for instance.

 "Go away, I'm asleep.  Do not disturb.  Leave me alone.  I'm not awake."

Sea Acres is a national park in a rainforest within sight and sound of the sea, and one can walk through it on an elevated walk which is only just above ground level in parts while quite high off the ground in others.  Half way round is an open area with tall wooden sculptures, seats for sitting, and Ninox who is named after Australasian owls.

Ninox looks impressive but is not comfortable for sitting, as its beak pokes right in the middle of one's back.

Since returning home it has been hot, and some days have been very hot, and a few days have been really very hot.  Forecast for the next few days is more really very hot weather.  Summer hasn't officially started yet and already I am over it, so roll on autumn.  Before going away we ordered blinds for outside the windows of my sewing room and the living area off the kitchen, both of which face north - the hot sunny side in Australia - they were installed a few days ago, and already we have noticed the difference.  The sun doesn't hit the windows as strongly, so the windows don't heat up as much, so the rooms stay cooler.

I remember visiting with my grandmother or mother when a child, and those older houses often had blinds outside the windows to help keep rooms cooler.  Newer houses aren't always designed for good climate control but we are fortunate to have verandahs at the front and back and wide eaves round the house, all of which keep summer sun away from the house walls.

Stitching has resumed on Cricket/ette's quilt and by heck it is bright.  The blocks are eye-poppers, sashing and inner border are orange, cornerstones and binding are green, and when the striped border is added it will knock the kid's socks right off.

The uke group is now gearing up for Christmas after a busy weekend; Saturday night the choir sang at a charity concert and the uke group played too (because the choir and uke group have five members in common), then again at the monthly main street markets on Sunday morning, and Sunday afternoon at an awards ceremony at the music school.  This coming Saturday we are playing at a charity afternoon tea......makes you wonder what the town did for entertainment before we came along, doesn't it?

"To remove freckles.
Bruise and squeeze the juice out of common chickweed, and to this juice add three times its quantity of soft water.  Bathe the skin with this for five or ten minutes morning and evening, and wash afterwards with clean water."

I'm afraid it's too late.......I have had freckles since I was a child, and even staying inside during the heat of summer doesn't seem to stop more appearing.

Enjoy your days!

The wanderers return

We've been back home for a few days, and very busy days they have been......so much so that it has taken until now to sit at the computer and put coherent thoughts together.

Our holiday was very enjoyable!  The folk festival was great fun, camping with our friends was a bonus as we all had a great time socialising, playing music and laughing often and long.  Then we hitched the van back to the car and drove east down the mountain to the coastal highway where we had to make a Big Decision - should we turn left (north) or right (south)?  Left or right?  Oh dear, what a choice.......last year we turned left, so this year we turned right.

One place we visited was Trial Bay Gaol.  As the link says it was started in the late 1800s but the name 'Trial Bay' refers, not to the prison as you might expect, but to the fact that a ship called "Trial" was wrecked in the vicinity in 1816.  It is quite a treacherous part of the New South Wales coast where many other ships have come to grief.

 The sign board quote starts with "Each cell is furnished with a strong front door with ponderous bolts that when shut would exhaust the ingenuity of any man to open" - obviously taking no chances that a felon would escape from what was then a fairly isolated place, although a few did.

 Remains of one of the cell blocks on a hot sunny day.

 Trial Bay itself, quite a beautiful place.

Such was the paranoia during World War I that people of German extraction were rounded up, some men were eventually interred in the by then unused gaol while their wives and family were interned in another part of the state.  Many of these people had been born in Australia or were naturalised Australians, but the thinking at the time said that they were 'the enemy' and must be dealt with.  Australia wasn't the only country to treat people in this way but nevertheless, it was done.  One such man was a prominent orthopaedic surgeon in Sydney, and he established a camp hospital where internees and local people were treated.  At the end of the war many were sent back to Germany with or without their wives and children, despite some coming from families who had lived in Australia for two or three generations and who had never been to Germany in that time.

Not far away is.......

 ......which was built in 1891, so it and the gaol are almost twins.

As the day was hot and sunny again and I had a sore possibly broken toe (don't ask) we didn't walk to the top of the lighthouse, however should you wish you can read about it here.

More on the holiday to follow in our next episode.

Bianca was very pleased to see us back and to be home again.  For the past few years we have had a house sitter while we've been away but arrangements fell through this time, so off she went to a local cattery for a bit of pampering for a couple of weeks.  This meant that the house didn't have its usual cleaning beforehand and hasn't had one since we came home either.......the cleaning fairies obviously had a holiday too, so I am going to have to wield a broom soon......

I had great plans to take needle to fabric and work on the grandkid's quilt but that hasn't yet happened either.  The next few days have taken on a life of their own, but we will see what gets done.  The choir has its annual charity concert on Saturday night, the uke group is playing again at the local main street market on Sunday morning and at an awards concert on Sunday afternoon, so that takes care of much of the weekend too.

I have decided that I was put on this earth to accomplish a certain amount, and right now I am so far behind I can never die.

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

Add to that, the ability to share a very small camper in wet weather without either party committing murder.

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!

The answer, my friends.......

.........is probably blowing in the wind today, because it is very windy and the wind is not warm at all.  Not sure of the question, though......

Meet some of the new members of our garden family:  first, "Big Red".

 Still only a teenager, and already nearly up to my chest!  (not difficult considering I'm only 5ft 2in tall anyway)

"Kay Williams" - pretty apricot flowers, she will be gorgeous when bigger, and already birds have discovered it.

 One day there were four or five honey eaters hanging off these two flowers getting as much nectar as they could, many Aussie birds are nectar eaters.

 Need to be careful working nearby though - leaves on some grevilleas, this one included, can cause contact dermatitis if touched with bare skin.

The view from our front verandah, with a native frangipani tree shading the mail box and our red callistemon "King's Park Special" peeking round the corner of the garage.

 We may have made a mistake planting this one so close to the house as it still has a lot of growing to do but we can always prune it if it starts getting ideas above its station......right now, though, it is spectacular.

Native plants are a better choice in this dry climate than exotics.  Yesterday we were very excited to have some rain, the official weather station at the airport measured 19 mls of welcome rain, but considering that a local agronomist said on the news last night that at least 150mls are needed to break the current drought we aren't too excited.  At present we are only allowed to use a hose to water our gardens for two hours a day, between 6pm and 8pm, but if the drought continues hoses will be banned completely and we will have to care for our gardens using buckets and watering cans.......so our fingers are crossed for some rain, although forecasts for the coming summer aren't too optimistic at this stage.

One of the tops cut out recently is nearly finished, only needs hemming, and could have been finished yesterday except for the storm which hit us in the late afternoon.  I always turn off My Lovely New Bernina during storms as it's computerised and I have heard horror tales of computer machines frying in electrical storms, a fate I don't want for mine.  It would be covered by our house insurance and I might get a new machine.......but I don't want a new machine, I love that one.  Today is not looking good for sewing because of forecast storms either, but never mind, that top will be done soon.

Our computer is always turned off and unplugged during electrical storms too, we learnt that the hard way five years ago when our modem was fried by a lightning strike, so now we err on the side of caution.

Still undecided on the sashing and cornerstone colours for Cricket/ette's quilt.........it will be left until we return from our holiday and the Big Decision will be made then.

Are TV weather persons as inane in other countries as some of ours, I wonder?  Every evening our weather chicky or bloke is on the screen to finish off the local news, and nearly evening said weather person says with a big smile "hello, good to see you again".  No, you can't see us.  Don't pretend you can.  We can see you, but you can't see us.

Oh dear......I have become one of those Grumpy Old People who talk back to the television.......no, you can't see us at all, don't be silly.......is it any wonder that, given my way, the TV would seldom be turned on in this house?  However as I'm not the only person who lives here, it's not always my choice.

"Flippancy.
In conversation, all provincialism, affectations of foreign accents, mannerisms, exaggerations and slang are detestable.  Equally to be avoided are inaccuracies of expression, hesitation, an undue use of foreign words, and anything approaching to flippancy, coarseness, triviality or provocation.  Gentlemen sometimes address ladies in a very flippant manner, which the latter are obliged to pass over without notice, for various reasons, while inwardly they rebel.  Many a worthy man has done himself an irreparable injury by thus creating a lasting prejudice in the minds of those whom he might have made his friends, had he addressed them as though he considered them as rational beings, capable of sustaining their part in a conversation upon sensible subjects.  Flippancy is as much an evidence of ill-breeding as is the perpetual smile, the wandering eye, the vacant stare, and the half-opened mouth of the man who is preparing to break in upon the conversation."

Does this mean that TV weather persons who say "good to see you", although they can't see us, are being flippant?  I rather suspect it does.

Enjoy your days!

Springing further

Proof that the we-think-it's-an-apricot-tree in the backyard is really flowering and leafing:

 Yesterday we went for a Nice Sunday Drive an hour north of here to visit Saumarez, a lovely old house with a pretty garden.  Because it is higher in altitude the gardens are different to here, and we saw plants which we can't grow down in the valley.  A pretty pink peony........

 .......with more on a bush.

 A deep red peony in the spotlight.......

 ......with the chorus dancing behind.

Magnolias do grow here, they have finished flowering locally but not so in the cooler climate.

In the Victorian language of flowers magnolias meant 'peerless and proud', while a peony stood for 'anger'.......an interesting mix in a bouquet!

The interior of the house was really interesting too, but as National Trust policy doesn't allow interior photography you will have to take my word for that.  The house was built and lived in by one family, Mr and Mrs White and their seven children, with the last unmarried daughter, Elsie, dying in 1981 at the grand old age of 97.  For many years she lived alone in the house until old age and family pressure necessitated a move to aged care in the nearby town; for most of her life she slept on an outside exposed upstairs verandah, rain, hail, wind, snow or shine.......and the winds can really blow across the plains around that house.  During her lifetime she kept everything in the house as it was when her parents were alive and after her death the family donated the house and contents to the National Trust, so it now gives us a wonderful glimpse into the life of a well-to-do farming family in days past.  Members of the family enjoyed horse riding, the gentlemen played polo, and the ladies had their hand-work and gardening.

Fabric has been purchased for the sashing, cornerstones and binding of Cricket/ette's quilt, not the pale gold and turquoise I had in mind as my favourite local shop didn't have the right colours so I ended up buying spring green and bright orange.  I'm not sure that I really love them, though......the blocks are being squared up now so the decision as to whether to use those fabrics or shop further afield had better be made soon.

These days every second TV program seems to be a so-called 'talent' quest, doesn't it?  We don't watch them, the trailers are enough to put us off.  Why, in this day and age of advanced electronics and headset microphones, do some singers persist in using a hand-held microphone which obscures much of their face?  and why do they sing with their heads thrown back, eyes closed, mouth wide open and face contorted as if in agony?  If singing you causes that much pain, become a plumber or a brain surgeon instead......something you can really enjoy.

"The gentleman's duty as an escort.
When a gentleman contemplates riding with a lady, his first duty is to see that her horse is a proper one for her use, and one that she can readily manage.  He must see that her saddle and bridle are perfectly secure, and trust nothing of this kind to the stable men, without personal examination.  He must be punctual at the appointed hour, and not keep the lady waiting for him clad in her riding costume.  He should see the lady comfortably seated in her saddle before he mounts himself; take his position on the lady's right in riding, open all gates and pay all tolls on the road."

Perhaps that point of etiquette could be better worded?  A gentleman would mount his horse, not himself, and I sincerely hope he doesn't don a lady's riding costume.

Enjoy your days!

Squares in squares in squares

Over the weekend 25 blocks were made for Cricket/ette's quilt - that's how our son and DIL are referring to their baby.  Some referenced his/her parents' jobs and interests......like this one, because son is a drummer and his kit is about the same colour as this little feller's drum.

 Mum plays French horn in a symphony orchestra and in a military band.

 Some of those blocks are real eye-poppers......poor little tyke will need to wear sunnies when it arrives in the world if that quilt is anywhere nearby.  The border fabric, a diagonal rainbow stripe, has been in the stash for a while and was also used as a border on a quilt a few years ago.  Still need to buy fabric for sashing - I'm leaning towards light gold, not yellow, not orange, something in between - with cornerstones and binding in turquoise, and also need backing fabric.

Also over the weekend Maritime Beauty had its moment in the sun at a quilt show, and was displayed with a lovely vintage machine......not mine, alas........on the stage.

Also waiting to be sewn is fabric to make two tops but first it will be washed, after learning the hard way when I was a Sweet Young Thing that fabric which has not been washed can, and does, shrink when made into a pretty yellow dress.

Leaves on the we-think-it's-an-apricot-tree in the back yard duly turned golden and fell during autumn and winter, and it has been bare ever since with no blossom, no green shoots, no sign of life at all even though blossom trees hereabouts are covered in flowers, and other deciduous trees are already wearing their bright spring green leaves.  We were concerned that like Monty Python's parrot it had turned up its toes, joined the choir invisible and was demised, which would be very upsetting because it provides welcome summer shade.  It was bad enough losing our big tree in the front yard earlier this year in a storm.  However - a couple of days ago I noticed one, just one, flower and today there are more, lots more, flowers and buds.....and on a couple of sprigs there are signs of new little green shoots emerging, so there is much rejoicing here at the Chateau des Wombats!

Now that it is getting warmer the sights we see on our strolls down the main drag will get even better - or worse, depending on one's point of view.  Mirrors were invented for a reason.  Why is it that those who shouldn't wear revealing clinging clothes are the very ones who do?  Leggings under a skirt are fine, on their own are not.......they are not pants, you know.....whoever invented them should be lined up against the wall to face a firing squad at dawn.

This morning I finished reading a book about William Shakespeare written by Bill Bryson and very interesting it was too.  We didn't learn a lot about Shakespeare, because very little is known to begin with.  It has been said that he didn't own any books, but we don't know that for sure.......just as we don't know if he owned any shoes or what he wore or indeed much of anything, because very few records have come down to us about such things.  Most of the 'facts' about Shakespeare are conjecture and wild imaginings; some people like to think that just because they wish a certain fact to be true, it indeed is.

"More formal entertainments.
Evening parties and balls are of a much more formal character than the entertainments that have been mentioned.  They require evening dress.  Of late years, however, evening dress is almost as much worn at grand dinners as at balls and evening parties, only the material is not of so diaphanous a character.  Lace and muslin are out of place.  Invitations to evening parties should be sent from a week to two weeks in advance, and in all cases they should be answered immediately."

I wonder if many people nowadays know what evening dress looks like?  When I was young and slender we used to dress up to attend balls, it was great fun and taught us how to wear formal clothes.

Enjoy your days!