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!

It is said your day is wasted if you don't learn something

Today I learnt a little about praying mantises.

 Sometimes they visit our garden and hang around on the shade cloth blind that keeps hot sun off the back of our house.  This one was bright green but you can't tell that because of the sun glare, and was several inches long.

This morning this large brown girl - for it is a female - was making her ootheca, or egg capsule.....we know what she was up to a week or so ago, don't we!

 This afternoon she was gone and had left this ootheca behind on the post; the colour could be best described as pea soup green and it's a bit over one inch long, or 2.54 cms if you prefer.

When all those new critters hatch we will have lots of new friends here at the Chateau des Wombats.  If they were cute little things I might keep one as a pet, but I don't do insects.  Fur, yes.  Feathers, maybe.  Fins and scales, definitely not.......we're getting further away from warm and fuzzy here, folks.  I only do warm and fuzzy.

However - my day wasn't wasted, was it?

Last week's promised rain didn't happen.  We had a few spots, a bit of a shower, but it was nothing to get excited about.  So we didn't.  Right now it's trying hard to rain, fingers crossed that it does, as this month is on track to be the one of the driest Februaries ever since records were kept.  That's not the sort of record we wish to set.

Work on Euan's quilt is proceeding, with only eight blocks to be quilted before the border is tackled.  It will have to wait for a little while; this coming Saturday is quilt group and I am organising what to take, and making sure my little vintage Singer Featherweight is oiled and working (My Lovely New Bernina is set up for free-motion quilting, and it's staying that way until Euan's quilt is done) as the plan is to work on making quilts for the local Ronald Macdonald House.  It always takes so long to pack up 'stuff' for a day's sewing, doesn't it?  Then when you get there and start to set up there is always something which has been forgotten, which is why I need to prepare in advance.

Next week we will be away for a few days, we will be making our annual pilgrimage to the Big Smoke to see our financial bloke to make sure we can afford to keep living until Christmas, and to catch up with friends, and to do a little shopping for things which just aren't available here - good quality dark chocolate from a proper chocolate shop, perhaps a CD because my kind of music isn't available here in the Small Smoke, a visit to a big huge book shop - we have a book shop here, but it's not big - maybe even take in an exhibition.  It's going to be a busy few days, isn't it?

Then on Friday we will drive back home, and no doubt breathe a sigh of relief as we leave the Big Smoke behind until the next time.  I lived there for forty years, but now when we visit I find it suffocating.  So many people, so much traffic, so much noise.......

"The girl who has so educated and regulated her intellect, her tastes, her emotions and moral sense, as to be able to discern the true from the false, will be ready for the faithful performance of whatever work in life is alloted to her; while she who is allowed to grow up ignorant, idle, vain, frivolous, will find herself fitted for no state of existence, and in after years, with feelings of remorse and despair over a wasted life, may cast reproach upon those in whose trust was reposed her early education."

That sounds to me like a fancy way of saying girls should learn interesting things - for example, studying about praying mantises.

Enjoy your days!

Waiting for the pitter patter

Not of tiny feet, but of raindrops - today's forecast is for showers later today, and for rain tomorrow.  Fingers crossed that it happens.  So far this month we have not had one drop of rain so there is a lot of catching up to be done.

Some of the world is buried under tons of snow right now, we'll send you some of our sun and heat if you like......we have more than enough to spare!

However it appears that summer is losing its grip because we are noticing changes in some of the trees hereabouts; leaves are losing their bright green colour and looking faded, while some are turning yellow and bronze already.  Our neighbour said it's because of the ongoing drought, but I like to think it's because summer is on the way out.

Just looking at these photos makes me feel cooler.

 Canada in autumn is beautiful.

We don't get the same glorious colours, but summer's green still makes way for light gold, red and bronze.....there is more colour here in the change of seasons than when we lived in the Big Smoke.

Last week the medical centre rang to tell me that I don't need to worry, the 'thing' on my forehead is a solar keratosis not deadly skin cancer, so my face won't fall off.  It's good that I don't need to panic......wouldn't want to waste a good panic, would we?

Also last week I managed to scald my stomach when my hand slipped on the kettle handle while pouring boiling water into the kitchen sink, and water splashed onto the edge of the sink and onto me.  Oh dear, it did hurt.  I reckon one of the most painful ways to be injured is by burning or scalding.  Way back when I was a little tacker I pulled a pan of boiling milk off the stove and onto me.  The scars are there to this day, inside my right arm and elbow and on the outside of my right breast.  I'm really glad I have no memory of it, because it must have been horrendously painful.

Work is continuing on Euan's quilt, I tried to get a picture but the bright colours make it hard to photograph indoors - every block looks very orange, even if there is no orange in it.  So take my word for it, progress is continuing and eventually it will be finished.

Then a Big Decision will need to be made, about which of many projects to work on next.

Recently we went for a Nice Sunday Drive on a Friday to Nundle to order a shade for the light in our bedroom.  The current shade was in place when we moved in, and it's not lovely.  We will be glad to get rid of it, and replace it with a glass shade from these glass artists, whose work is gorgeous.

We've been in this house now for nearly five years, and are still finding things we would like to change.  Last year we had the fussy frilly curtains, valances and pink blinds taken away from the kitchen and the living area next to it;  they were replaced by cream blinds and no curtains, so much neater and less cluttered.

"A douche or hip bath may be taken every morning, with the temperature of the water suited to the endurance of the individual.  In summer a sponge bath may be taken upon retiring.  Once a week a warm bath, at from ninety to one hundred degrees, may be taken, with plenty of soap, in order to thoroughly cleanse the pores of the skin.  Rough towels should be vigorously used after these baths, not only to remove the impurities of the skin but for the beneficial friction which will send a glow over the whole body.  The hair glove or fleshbrush may be used to advantage in the bath before the towel is applied."

It seems funny to us these days that people once needed to be reminded to bathe daily, doesn't it?  The thinking, so I have read, was that one bathed once a week whether one needed it or not.....or perhaps it was once a month.  Could even have been once a year......now there's a scary thought.....

Enjoy your days!