Musings on life and stuff like that

We have had rain!  A very little rain.....just 2.2 mls, not much more than a dribble and a drip, and it doesn't help the drought much.  But at least we can say that some wet stuff has fallen from the sky, and each passing day brings us closer to more rain.  We hope.

Gardens around town are looking the worse for wear.  The usual glorious autumn display was a mere shadow of its usual self, colours were tired and faded, and now those trees are bare anyway.  From the way some of them look now they may not be around next autumn, sadly.

However, the standard grevillea in our front yard is thriving!

 It is nearly up to my shoulder - I'm not very tall, about five ft two in - and looks spectacular in person.

 Foliage is grey-green, flowers are bright crimson.  Birds and bees love it, but sadly photos don't really do it justice - it's quite vivid.

A couple of pics from our holiday in Victoria two years ago that appear on our computer from time to time - is this a monster?  Or could it be merely a fallen tree?

 Having seen it in person I can tell you for sure - it's a tree.  Or an ex-tree, if you prefer.

With volcanoes in the news recently I am wondering if this vivid yellow rock was once part of a volcano?  It's not very big, about the size of an adult fist, but was quite a vivid sulphur yellow.

The U3A uke gig went off well last week, we played Happy Birthday (plus a few more songs) and the local branch is now ten years old.  Some footage was taken for the local news, however I managed to avoid most of it; the large camera being trundled around on the cameraman's shoulder had a bank of really very far-too-bright lights shining straight in the eyes of the hapless subject being filmed.  I took exception to that, and asked him to point it elsewhere.  He offered to turn the lights off, and I thanked him for that.  So he did.  It's all right for him - he's behind them!

I've been on TV a few times, don't care if I never am again.  Hate, loathe and detest having my photo taken anyway, so being on TV is a bridge too far.

Stuff is occasionally happening in the sewing room, the fiddly-diddly cutesy-poo applique block is done and will be handed over on Saturday.  I don't want it in my sewing room contaminating anything else......not a fan of cutesy-poo, me.  Some more tumblers have been cut, 560 done now, total needed is 840.  As my repro fabric stash doesn't contain 840 different fabrics I am cutting multiples of each; to date some have been cut from each and every fabric in said stash, so now I will start again and cut more from fabrics that didn't have many taken the first time round.

One has to be in a cutting-out mood for that, don't you find?  Sometimes I'm just not......sometimes I am in a sitting-down-and-reading-a-book mood.  So I do.  I really need to be in an unpacking-boxes mood more often too......those boxes aren't unpacking themselves, you know.....

"The eyes.
Beautiful eyes are the gift of Nature, and can owe little to the toilet.  As in the eye consists much of the expression of the face, therefore it should be borne in mind that those who would have their eyes bear a pleasing expression must cultivate pleasing traits of character and beautify the soul, and then this beautiful soul will look through its natural windows."

Riiiiiight........you all thought so too, didn't you?

Enjoy your days!

Baby bird floofiness

Some of you were intrigued by the Tawny Frogmouth in the last post, so here is what they look like as babies......this pic were taken in 2011 at a camp ground where we stayed while visiting Port Macquarie.

"Floofy" is the only way to describe it!

We still haven't had any rain.  Not one drop, not a dribble.  Showers are forecast for tomorrow so if you hear yahooing and yelping from wherever you are and see shadows against the moon leaping and cavorting, it's us here doing the rain dance.  We're not holding our collective breaths, but we are hopeful just the same.

Our uke gig went well last Sunday - we were even asked if we had a CD!  One of the songs played was "All I have to do is dream" by the Elderly Everly Brothers, and a woman sitting near the stage told us it was her favourite song.  We said we hoped we hadn't spoiled it for her forever, but she said she loved our version.......so there we have it, one woman thinks we're as good as the professionals.

In our dreams, perhaps......

The market was held in a small country church so we threw several gospel songs into the mix, all of which our audience enjoyed.....now we need to learn a whole heap more, in case we're asked back.

Stitches have been taken in the sewing room, isn't that something to get excited about?  So I am.  Two BOM obligations done so far, two more to go, and instructions to write for one of those already finished before next Monday.  One of those still waiting its turn is fiddly-diddly applique, a cutesy-poo girl in a long floral frock carrying a watering can.  The world would be a boring place if we all liked the same things.  I do not like fiddly-diddly cutesy-poo applique.  However being as how I am a nice person most of the time I shall try to do it with the minimum of grumbling, and will breath a sigh of relief when it's handed over next month.

"Scandal and gossip.
Scandal is the least excusable of all conversational vulgarities.  Envy prompts the tongue of the slanderer.  Jealousy is the disturber of the harmony of all interests.  A writer on this subject says: "Gossip is a troublesome sort of insect that only buzzes about your ears and never bites deep; slander is the beast of prey that leaps upon you from its den and tears you in pieces.  Slander is the proper object of rage; gossip of contempt."

Probably.

I am old enough to remember when so-called 'women's magazines' contained stuff such as recipes and knitting patterns considered at the time to be not worthy of any serious woman's attention, but compared to the scandal and gossip which fills the current editions they were high literature.

Enjoy your days!

It's the small things

Recently I decided the time had come to buy a replacement copy for the second knitting book lost in the flood, so I went shopping.......but alas, no joy.  Looked online......out of stock.  Finally found a copy on an online auction site and it has arrived, so all is well again!

Sometimes it's the small things which make you happy, isn't it?

Yesterday afternoon Kevin called me outside to see, and I quote, "an owl sitting on the meter box".  Owls being nocturnal creatures, that would have been a surprising sight for sure - but it turned out to be a Tawny Frogmouth, a bird related to owls but not owls themselves.

 Isn't it interesting?  A master of disguise, for sure; if it was sitting on a gnarled branch you would never see it.

Bright afternoon sunshine, as you can see - not the time of day one would expect to see an owl, no wonder I was sceptical!

We have seen them at a zoo but never had a visit from a frogmouth before, so that was pretty special.

Meanwhile, our bright sunshine is very nice but rain is badly needed.  So far this month not one drop of rain has fallen - not a millimetre, not a trace.  If rain doesn't fall by the end of the month (sadly the forecast isn't optimistic) we could end up breaking a record which has stood for over 80 years......not the sort of record we wish to break.  The official reading at the airport shows that the town has had less than one third of the rain which would normally have fallen by this time of year.

Nothing we can do about it though, is there?  We can only wait, because it will rain eventually.  Usually at this time of year the leaves are bright with their changed colours, but not this year.  This year they are faded and dispirited because of the summer heat (it was very hot) and lack of rain.

A couple of uke gigs coming up, one is next Sunday at a small weekend market just out of town....fingers crossed we don't make fools of ourselves!

"Keep your temper.
In discussing business matters, never lose your temper, even though your opponent in a controversy should become angry, and in the heat of discussion make rude and disagreeable remarks and charges.  By a calm and dignified bearing and courteous treatment you will conquer his rudeness."

I do try.  However, one thing which has always made me grit me teeth and hold onto my temper by a thin thread is people asking inane questions like "is it true that redheads have a temper?"  It ceased to be funny the second time I heard it when I was a child, and hasn't been funny since.

Enjoy your days!

Happy birthday to me......

......Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to Jennifer,
Happy birthday to me!

Finished is a great feeling!

Finally......autumn is here, and my autumn quilt is finished!

 Flapping happily in the back yard.

 A close-up of the oak leaf quilting.

Leftover fabrics were pieced to make a strip for the back; it has to hang sideways, because it's too long for the space between wash line and ground.

Finally - the artistically posed pic in the remains of the we-think-it-was-an-apricot tree. 

This was started in a class taught by Lyn Hewitt, from the book "Start with Squares" by Martha Thompson and taught with the author's permission .  It was published way back in 1996 but a good design never dates, does it?  It was very easy to make, and does start with just squares.

Another dry week.  You can see in the background of these pics that the hill is very dry, not a verdant skerrick, not one blade of green grass anywhere.  So far this year we have had less than one third of our average rainfall to date; there apparently "may" be a drop or two in the coming week, but we aren't holding our breath for it.  Farmers are having to go farther and farther afield to buy hay, because so much of the state is in the same position.  People are saying it's worse than the drought of the mid 1960s, which I can just remember......that drought eventually broke, and this one will too.  Eventually.  We just don't know when.

Our quilt group's annual challenge usually has its Big Reveal in late November but this year it's at the start of July, and the theme is to make a 50cm by 70cm hanging of "a local icon".  I would like to have a go but my brain doesn't do fancy-nancy applique designs.  It would have to be self-designed and thereby lies a problem......I just cannot draw.  Give me fabric to cut up and sew together, or an instrument to plink away at, and I'm happy - but am absolutely no good when it comes to artistically designed free hand stuff.  There is also the fact that so much sewing time was lost last year thanks to two floods; I would rather try to catch up with some of what didn't get done, than finagling around designing and making something I would then be stuck with because no one else would want it.  Madame President keeps saying "you don't have to do it, you know" but still, the pressure is there.

Perhaps I will get enthused during the coming week......thought I just saw a little piggy flying by, too......

More tumblers have been cut out lately, I would like to have them all done soon - only another 300 or so to go.  I find that more enjoyable than trying to draw a commemorative obelisk from 1938, believe me.

The cooler weather means spending more time in the kitchen.  Today's attempts will include an apple and pecan cake, and roast chook with all the trimmings for dinner.  The cake recipe is new to us, I found it online; should the fancy take any of you to give it a go you will need to scroll down on the link for the recipe.

"The love letter.
Of this it may only be said, that while it may be expressive of sincere esteem and affection, it should be of a dignified tone, and written in such a style, that if it should ever come under the eyes of others than the party to whom it was written, there may be found in it nothing of which the writer may be ashamed, either of silliness or of extravagant expression."

Just remember those words, next time you write a love letter.

Enjoy your days!

Progress.....

Finally, the binding is being sewn on "Falling Through Autumn"!

More progress has been made since this was taken - the binding is machined down on the front and the label is pinned on ready to be caught in the binding seam.  The edges still need to be trimmed but that won't take long, then the binding can be hand-sewn down on the back.  It can go with me to quilt group on Saturday, both to be worked on and to be waved around for show and tell.

Just in time for autumn, which is finally in progress.  We are very thankful; summer started early, went on for way too long, and was far too hot into the bargain.  Nights have cooled down, sleeping is much easier, and we wake up refreshed instead of still half-asleep and groggy.

This year we will have a longer cool season!  Autumn and winter here, then when spring is beginning to really heat up we will be off to Canada for several weeks to enjoy autumn once more.

The expensive travel paperwork question has been solved.  If one buys one's eTA (electronic Travel Authority) through the Canadian government website one pays $7 for each person.  However if one thinks one knows what one is doing but one's slightly more computer savvy wife is in the shower so is therefore unavailable to cast her sharp eyes over the computer screen and one goes to a commercial site offering the same documentation at a commercial rate without knowing what one is doing, why then......that's what one purchases.  Cost: $127 per person instead of $7.  That's $240 out of someone's budget.  It's darn well not coming out of mine, let me tell you.  It wasn't my mistake.

Not much unpacking of Stuff has been done since last week......all right, none.....but much thinking about it has happened.  Kevin is making shelving for our CDs; the new three-month old shelving had to be chucked after the second flood, and the new book shelves too.  However by making it ourselves we can have what we want instead of having to take what's available, and that is a very attractive idea. 

A few days ago I fronted up at the doctor's for the annual flu shot.  Like most people I'm not a fan of having painful things stuck into me, so imagine my horror when he said "come back a few weeks before you go overseas and I will give you another flu shot"!  When I asked why, he pointed out that we would be heading into the flu season in Canada and possibly sharing a plane with flu germs (as well as with 300 of our new best friends and 97 crying babies) so a further shot would be a good idea.  I can agree with that logic, but the thought of having another painful thing stuck into me doesn't fill me with glee.

Oh well......I have several months to psych myself up for it.

"Keep yourself quiet and composed under all circumstances.  Do not get fidgety.  If you feel that time drags heavily, do not let this be apparent to others by any visible signs of uneasiness."

While waiting for the doctor on Monday I kept myself occupied by some hand-work (as I usually do) and was also (as usual) the only person doing anything other than staring blankly into space or fidgeting with a phone.  I was certainly not visibly uneasy, even with the idea of having something painful stuck into me hanging over my head.

Enjoy your days!

It's now the middle of April!

We're back, as you can see!  We had a good holiday; the Canberra family is well and happy, Young Euan is growing like you wouldn't believe and leading his parents a merry dance while his grandparents sit back and chuckle remembering the days when his parents did similar things,  the folk festival was fun (although it would have been much more funner had I not succumbed to a bad dose of hay fever), no new instruments came home with me although I had a play of a beautiful small-body guitar which I still covet enormously, and the chocolate shops in Canberra still have some stock left.

The weather was surprisingly hot, dry and sunny.....a bit too hot and sunny for comfort most days.....Easter in Canberra is supposed to be autumn colours, mild days and cool nights.  Not so, this year.  Don't be fooled by the greens in the picture below, everywhere else was very dry.

 More like these two pics show.

 We discovered the new-to-us lookout at Red Hill last year and were most impressed!  This year we had lunch at the cafe overlooking Canberra, and a very nice lunch it was too.

Some brave locals were traipsing up and down the somewhat steep hill for their daily constitutional.  Hardy folk, those Canberrans.

We also went to the jewellery exhibition.....well, what can I say......those trinkets were mostly very gorgeous although there were some I didn't care for, the tutti frutti pieces among them.  There is just too much going on in those pieces.  I have never cared much for diamonds but after seeing some - not all, mind you! - of the diamond pieces on display I can see the attraction of a wall of shimmer on one's bosom or head; every time one moved one would sparkle and dazzle.  My favourite - even though it's not green! - is this pretty little tiara; compared to some of the jewellery on display it was fairly modest, but was quite sweet and I loved it.  Just the same, the green baubles were all rather lovely and I could have brought any of them home with me.

But I didn't.  Law abiding Jennifer, that's me.

Now we are back home and settling in the next Big Trip will be to Canada in early October......and the months won't take long to fly by, if the last few are an indication.  However, the Canadian government has now decided that Aussies travelling to Canada have to fill out and lodge a visa waiver form thingy which we have duly successfully done, but imagine our surprise when we found out, upon completion, that each form is costing us $127!!  Geez!!  That's $254 less to spend on maple syrup and fabric, you know......never had to do that in the past and we have visited Canada five times......sorry Canada, I love youse all but that's a bit rude......

Oh well.  If we want to see our boy we have no choice, and it's already paid.

My quilt is waiting to be bound, it is quilted with a design of oak leaves which suit the autumn colours.  The binding is made and pressed, still need to design a label but that will be done soon.  Something with an oak leaf or two, perhaps.  Then, hopefully before you know it, the whole thing will be all finished, done and completed!  Yay!

"Cleansing gold jewellery.
Gold ornaments may be kept bright and clean with soap and warm water, scrubbing them well with a soft nail-brush.  They may be dried in sawdust of boxwood.  Imitation jewellery may be treated in the same way."

I wonder if that method would be used on a diamond tiara?  And I wonder if one can buy sawdust of only one particular species?

Enjoy your days!