Happy birthday to me.......

.....Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday, happy birthday,
Happy birthday to meeeeee!

Swinging from the chandelier

Although it's not quite a chandelier!  A few days ago our new shade was installed.

 It is not easy for a short person to take a picture of a light fitting, you know.

 Looking up from under, the outer row of diamonds is bevelled clear glass, next row in is patterned clear glass, inner row is opalescent glass.  Shades with coloured glass are gorgeous, but we wanted a clear/white one.

We could have bought a ready-made shade in a lighting shop, had we found one that we liked......but no.  The 1970s are back with a vengeance, folks - remember brass, copper and wooden light shades? - which is why we decided to have ours made by Linda and Mark, the lovely folks at Volcania Art Glass.  We've lived through the 70s once already, we don't need to do it again.

The block that I designed last week is done, and since this was taken it has been starched and pressed.

At least I think I designed it......there are probably similar blocks floating round out there in quiltland, because there is nothing new under the sun, is there?  I called it "Spinner" because it reminds me of those child's toys that spin round on a stick.

The green top cut out a few weeks ago is being looked at next.  The fabric has been in my stash for a few years, the pattern was bought a year or two back, but I hesitated about cutting into it because I didn't to wreck it.  Up until several years ago I could buy a pattern, cut out and make up a garment and it fit perfectly but since going through menopause, changing shape and turning into a short barrel on legs, getting clothing to fit is much more difficult.  That's why the fabric has been sitting for so long, but now it's cut out and if it doesn't fit or makes me look like the side of a house and is thrown out......why then, it's only fabric.  Even if it is beautiful green fabric and was bought on sale because it was the last of the roll and there is no more because it was a few years ago and the fabric shop has none left and it's all gone.

Ah well.  It's only fabric.

This morning we had a thick fog, and the whole valley disappeared into cloud.  Planes couldn't take off or land, so pity help those folks who were planning to take an early plane to the Big Smoke to connect with another flight.  There was a good chance they missed it.  Like many country towns in Australia, on the closest hill to this town there is a lookout which affords views over the town, over the valley and for a long long way round - but there was no view this morning.

One of the local Rotary Clubs is having its annual used book sale this week, so yesterday I bagged a few bargains....and a few more today.....the sale is on all week, so I might have to visit again before it closes.  One of the books I bought today is about some of the women - some very young, still teenagers - who sailed from Australia to England after World War II to join the English men they had met and married during the war.  Going so far from their families and friends must have been a huge step for them at a time when many people didn't go far from home.  I remember watching a documentary about Aussie women who sailed to the USA after World War II to join the husbands they had married but barely knew, and that was interesting too.  Not all of these marriages lasted, a small number of women were notified by their husbands en route not to bother continuing because they were no longer wanted and were sent back (just imagine the hurt and humiliation!), and not all the women were welcomed by their husband's family when they arrived.  England has long had a reputation of looking down its nose at 'colonials', and some of the women were made to feel this very keenly.

"If, perchance, after they have entered upon the stern realities of life, they find that they have made a mistake, that they are not well-mated, then they must accept the inevitable and endure to the end, "for better or for worse;" for only in this way can they find consolation for having found out, when too late, that they were unfitted for a life-long companionship.

'Acceptance and endurance' - doesn't sound like a good bargain to me.

Enjoy your days!

Where has this week gone?

I swear, it was only Monday when I last looked......

Stuff has been happening in the sewing room!  Not very exciting stuff, but stuff nonetheless.  Today I cut pieces for three blocks, all different.....fiddly diddly......I think I would rather cut fabric for a whole quilt than fabric for only one block, it's no more difficult.  The blocks are for my local group; one is for the quilt we make each year and donate to a local Worthy Cause (who can raffle it, donate it, whatever they wish), one is for last month's block of the month which we take turns 'winning' - there are so few of us that we just take turns anyway - and one for next month's block of the month, because it's my month to do so.  It has triangles.  Some other members complain mightily if they see triangles, so I feel it my bounden duty to provide some just to keep them on their toes.  Pics will be taken of that block because I designed it on EQ7 alone all by myself me alone, and you can all admire my cleverness.

This week has been busy, I was out almost every night to rehearse for Friday night's musical extravaganza tribute to Anzac Day, which was yesterday.  The show ended with massed choirs singing from the balcony of our lovely old War Memorial Town Hall much to the surprise of the packed audience, who thought all those people sitting together dressed in black were more members of the audience.  A little more about the Town Hall here if you are interested; it's a rare city, town or village in Australia that doesn't have a dedicated war memorial of some sort whether it is a building, a cenotaph, a statue, or a set of gates at a local park.

Here are some of the wildlife we met on our holiday, first some ducks by the Murrumbidgee River.

 Don't be fooled by that calm still water.....a short distance away it was a raging torrent, thanks to lots of rain earlier in the week.

It breaks my heart to show you this, but it's not real.....it was once, but now the poor thing is stuffed.  It was in the visitors' centre at Tidbinbilla.

 Quite a pale wombat, this one!  Some are nearly white, we once saw an ebony black wombat strolling along the road in front of us in a national park, and there are all shades of greys and browns too.  Their colour seems to depend on where they live.

This quite amazing critter is a leaf insect, a staff member very bravely offered to sit one (they had several in a glass terrarium) on her arm so it could be photographed.  She said that although it has tiny claws on its feet it doesn't hurt, but it does tickle.

She was braver than I was.  I don't do insects.

We've had a foretaste of winter this week, and it hasn't been good.  However our cold winds and low temperatures have been nothing compared to storms and floods suffered along the coast, they also had hail and damage from strong winds, many homes destroyed by falling trees, some homes washed completely away in flooded creeks and rivers, and sadly several people drowned in the unexpected floods.  Mother Nature can be benign, and she can also be very cruel; my heart goes out to everyone affected.  We have started getting out our winter woollies because they have certainly been needed, and the jumper (sweater) that I was knitting before we went away is now in the process of being sewn together so I can have a nice new cosy woolly for the colder weather to come.

"Carriage dress.
The material for a dress for a drive through the public streets of a city, or along a fashionable drive or park, cannot be too rich.  Silks, velvets and laces, are all appropriate, with rich jewellery and costly furs in cold weather.  If the fashion require it, the carriage dress may be long enough to trail, or it may be of the length of a walking dress, which many prefer.  For driving in the country, a different style of dress is required, as the dust and mud would soil rich material."

Does this mean that anyone lucky enough to possess 'rich jewellery' can trot it out in cold weather?  I have a few pretty pieces of real jewellery, some are even antiques......one is a gold bangle that belonged to my maternal grandmother, she is wearing it in a photograph taken in 1924......and I love wearing them, although I would have said some were more suited to lighter summer fashions than dark heavy winter clothing.

I do not, however, own any furs, costly or otherwise, because our climate isn't cold enough to need them.

Enjoy your days!

We're back......again!

We had a fun time on our holiday, Euan The Wonder Kid is growing - four months old today but not yet walking and taking, as we expected (obviously our expectations are a wee bit high) - all our family and friends in Canberra are well, and the folk festival was great.

First up, Euan The Wonder Kid looking serious while relaxing on his father's lap a week ago:

 Talk about living the life of Riley.  He's not fading away, is he?

A couple of days earlier we went for a Nice Sunday Drive on a Friday, and stopped here:

 Not to camp, but we had a look around and took a few photos.  Although you can't quite see it, the Murrumbidgee River is behind those trees.

Then we drove to Tidbinbilla......

 ......where we admired this beautiful eucalyptus tree, had to stand a long way back to get it all in because it was tall and wide......

 .......and when I turned around, we could see across the car park for a very very long way.

The countryside around Canberra is really lovely, so Australian, and can get quite cold; it snowed on some far-away hills while we were there, we could see it on the mountain tops in the distance.  No wonder it was slightly chilly for a few days!

As usual the folk festival was wonderful, spending time catching up with friends not seen since the last festival and seeing a few performances.  I had more artists marked in my program that I missed seeing because of time spent with aforementioned friends, and because I had a fabulous time playing music and singing......'my' festival is more about participating that watching, about making my own good times rather than watching other people make theirs.  A couple of souvenirs came home with me, a new hat in a gorgeous shade of emerald green to keep the sun off my face (because I burn fairly easily) and......a new baritone ukulele, the big sister of the tenor uke bought at the festival two years ago!!  I had no intention of buying a new uke, but on the first day went into the instrument makers' display to say hello to Doug who made my tenor uke and mentioned that I had been wondering about playing a baritone uke, whereupon his partner Dale handed one to me saying "here you are, Jennifer, it has your name on it"......I played a few chords......thought "geez, Dale, you shouldn't have done that" because it was so good to play and sounded so amazing......and I bought it.  A baritone uke is strung like the top four strings of a guitar, and I can play guitar, so this is easy to learn.

If only I could play a uke in each hand at the same time I would be one of the happiest women in the entire universe, because deciding which uke to play at any time is a Big Decision.  Uke class starts up again this week, so I shall be a show-off and walk in with two instruments.

Euan's quilt was handed over and duly admired, when he is older he can use it to play "I spy", and count how many dogs, and how many cats and penguins and butterflies and other creatures, and learn his colours, because it has every colour of the rainbow in it and a few others too.  Now comes the decision - what to work on next?  First up is to clean the machine, it's probably full of lint after all that quilting, then I can play with fabric again.

"Introducing yourself.
If, on entering a drawing-room to pay a visit, you are not recognized, mention your name immediately.  If you know but one member of the family and you find others only in the room, introduce yourself to them.  Unless this is done, much awkwardness may be occasioned."

Does this also apply, one wonders, when one joins in a music session - as happened at the folk festival?  I did know one person in the session and he knew me, we (two guitars, two mandolins and two ukes) had a great time playing together until well after 2am.  I never did learn the names of the other players.....but it didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves.

Enjoy your days!

How cute are these wombats?

Last week I came across this mug and matching tray, and even though it's pink it had to come home with me to join the wombats already living here.

Shame they are not green, but one can't have everything one's little heart desires in this life, can one?  Coffee is being drunk from it as we speak.

It's been a very busy week here at the Chateau des Wombats.  Yesterday I loaded up the car with my gorgeous tenor uke and some music books (365 songs makes for one very heavy book, and I had three) and drove 60kms south to Quirindi for a ukulele meet-up with the local group and another group who had come from a town an hour west, and a great time was had by all of us - so much so that it looks set to become regular, held every couple of months and rotated round the three towns.  If more groups from other towns join in, as we hope, we can extend it.

The previous evening we attended the theatre to see our local Dramatic Society's current production of 'The Lion in Winter', and very well done it was too.  Bianca's vet Robyn played the part of Queen Eleanor, that's something about living in the Small Smoke.......doesn't matter where we go, we come across people we know!

On Thursday we celebrated our wedding anniversary, 39 years since we tied the knot.  One more year and I qualify for that ruby......so long as it's a red red, and not a pink red.  I have my standards when it comes to trinkets, you know.

Today and tomorrow we are cleaning house and putting aside things we wish to take to Canberra, tomorrow clothes will be washed and packed, on Wednesday morning the caravan will be hitched up and off we will go.  Euan's quilt will go with us, the binding is now being hand-sewn down on the back but it will be finished in time to be handed to its new little owner.  Pics will, no doubt, be taken.

"Forbearance with children.
A guest should not notice nor find fault with the bad behavior of the children in the household where visiting, and should put up with any of their faults, and overlook any ill-bred or disagreeable actions on their part."

We won't be staying in the household where the child resides, but let's face it......how ill-bred or disagreeable can a three month old baby be?

While we are away I won't be spending much time on the computer, so until we meet again......

Enjoy your days!

Glorious oceanic lusciousness!

Late last year I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on Linda's blog, and yesterday my fabrics arrived from Sew Sisters in Toronto, Canada......aren't they gorgeous?

Colours of the ocean, from a tropical lagoon to a stormy sea!  Thank you, Linda, for letting me join in, and thank you to Sew Sisters for such beautiful fabrics and for sending a second parcel when the first one failed to arrive.

The cunning plan is to put these with more blue batik fabrics from my stash and to add touches of yellow/gold for contrast, what do you reckon?

Only one block on Euan's quilt to be quilted, then the border, and then it can be labelled and bound.  It might just be finished in time.......machine quilting is hard on one's neck and shoulders, so after every block I take a break to stand up, stretch, walk around, have coffee or bring in the washing, all of which slows down the quilting but makes for a happier body.  Right now it's coffee o'clock.

If you were here with me now, enjoying coffee, you could also listen to my new CD purchased recently in the Big Smoke, "Pilgrimage to Montserrat" by Australian early music group The Renaissance Players.  Musical from the middle ages really speaks to me, goodness knows why - it's not as though I can remember hearing it when it was new!  We do have shops here where CDs can be purchased but they are not all my taste, so I content myself with online ordering and the occasional visit to a Larger Smoke when I can treat myself to some new old music.

Lately we are seeing signs that summer is on the way out, today is beautifully mild, but looking ahead at the forecast for later in the week hot weather is to return  - with a vengeance!  Hopefully, though, not too hot and not for too long.  We've even had a little more rain, so gardens are smiling.

This quote from my 1885 book is for my friends in colder climes.

"Putting away furs for the summer.
When you are ready to put away furs and woollens, and want to guard against the depredations of moths, pack them securely in paper flour sacks and tie them up well.  This is better than camphor or tobacco or snuff scattered among them in chests and drawers.  Before putting your muffs away for the summer, twirl them by the cords at the ends, so that every hair will straighten.  Put them in their boxes and paste a strip of paper where the lid fits on."

I hope that advice is helpful......are muffs still used anywhere?

Now I am going back to the sewing room to quilt, and to fondle my new fabric again.

Enjoy your days!

Gee, it's good to be back home again!

So goes the song, so I feel.  Kevin was born and bred in the Big Smoke, I lived there for forty years, but we feel so much more at home here since moving to the Small Smoke nearly five years ago.  We enjoyed our visit but aren't in a hurry to return.

However we will be returning later this year, because we have booked (and paid for, so we can't change our minds) plane tickets to Canada in September.....yay!  We will get to see our younger son again and his lovely partner, and spend time with our Canadian friends once more.

We're not getting too excited about that trip yet, though, because we have another trip coming up much closer to home, our annual trip to Canberra to catch up with our older son and his gorgeous wife, and of course our grandkid Euan The Wonder Kid, and to spend time at a folk festival over the Easter weekend - something we have been doing for 20 years now.  Once we return from Canberra we will be able to get excited about our Canadian trip.

This is where we spent some of our time in the Big Smoke.

 Not in the pool, though.......just admiring it.  I don't do water.

These pics were taken on a previous visit but the view hasn't changed, the only difference is that this year it didn't rain.  According to my 1885 etiquette book, in the language of flowers hibiscus stands for 'delicate beauty' - now that's a surprise, I would have thought 'bold and flashy' was more like it.

The day before we drove to the Big Smoke we had a phone call, one we have been expecting for a while, to say that a friend had passed away.  Kevin and Bob were friends of very long standing having played tennis together as teenagers and Bob was best man when we married, so it was a sad goodbye to him at his funeral on Friday.

Progress on Euan's quilt is being resumed......better get a move on, hadn't I!  It has still been fairly warm though, and the last thing one feels like doing in the heat is sitting at the machine, quilting.  Summer can finish now, I am over it, seems like ages since we had a day under 30 deg C.  However we have been thankful for a little rain, not enough to get gardeners excited, just enough to help our dry thirsty gardens slightly, with the possibility of more later today.

"Ladies invited to funeral ceremonies should always wear a black dress, even if they are not in mourning; and it is bad taste to appear with a gay bonnet or shawl, as if for a festive occasion."

Bob's funeral was held in a Catholic church and while some women wore dark colours or black with a touch of colour - myself included, I wore a black skirt with a dark emerald top and black accessories - many wore black from head to toe as is customary at a funeral, but the surprise was the styles being worn.  A black lace dress with almost bare shoulders and very little back at a funeral mass?  Another dress with black lace overlaid on white satin?  We both thought such dresses, pretty as they were, more suitable for a night out than a formal church funeral.......but then, what do we know?

Enjoy your days!