Round Up!

Although it has been cold, wet and inconvenient I have enjoyed the recent rainy weather as I have so many memories of crispy brown plants at this time of year. Having full water tanks also makes me feel good.

However the weed growth is phenomenal and I now accept that we simply have to use poison to maintain some sense of order on our block.  So we were busy this morning with "round-up" in anticipation of further rain over the weekend.

We've had a wonderful crop of beans and I will plant more seeds this morning.  Which reminds me of the hugely successful snow pea crop we had earlier this year which I attribute, in part, to the laundry airer that I used to support the plants.  This was the first year that I had no problems at all with mould on the plants.

What a brilliant idea! (His, not mine, I must admit!)

Yesterday I took some table mats up to my mum. I made them using the "sew & flip" "quilt-as-you-go" method from fabrics she gave to me when she last moved house.  She was delighted (and thought I was clever).  I do enjoy sewing but am never in a hurry to finish things. It's a bit like enjoying the journey rather than the destination!

Not a UFO and other things

I have finished one of my table runners - hand-quilted, machine quilted and bound it - and I don't like it! The colours suit my home and I think I have done some good work but the design is too structured and formal for me - and yes I should have thought about that ages ago! Never mind, I shall use use and not get upset if someone spills red wine on it. I guess everyone makes something that they end up not liking? I chose it originally because the pattern provided opportunity to do a "bit of everything" and it certainly did that. I reiterate my opinion that a table runner is a good beginner's project in terms of learning experiences, manageability and cost.....I have more to finish!

Talking about the formal style: my husband's comment was: "You've done a good job, it would look good on a communion table!" (Not sure that he knows what that is!) However it did remind me of our visit late last year to St John's Church at Gordon in Sydney where the pew cushions made a big impression on me. I hadn't seen anything like them since my early childhood and you have to be impressed by the work of the parishioners - so I'm going to share my photos.







My father-in-law who was with us has many forebears whose graves are in that church cemetery and that was the reason for our visit.

Last week I read "One Unknown" by Gill Hicks, an Australian survivor of the July 2005 London bombings. Easy to read, it was an emotional and inspiring book that reinforced my belief in the value of gratitude. It also motivated me to action one of the things on my "must do " list. (I have lots of lists!) Just before Christmas someone who went to the same high school in Sydney as I did during the 60s (and we've had no contact since then) traced me through the internet to tell me that a mutual old school friend was very unwell and that her husband who had recently relocated them to Brisbane would be grateful for some support. So I am off to Brisbane tomorrow to meet up with them; he is a complete stranger , I haven't seen her for over 20 years and there is every chance that she will not be able to recognise me. I am a bit nervous.

Lucky Bird

A week ago a baby galah dropped out of one of our nesting boxes and into our lives. After several messy feeding sessions in the laundry I placed him on our front verandah and eventually the parent birds came down to feed it. It slept in a box inside at night and I got up at dawn each day to put it out for the parents to feed, which they did regularly throughout the days. After several unsuccessful jumps off of the verandah, and encouraged by its parents, it flew away on Wednesday. I was relieved, and sad, to see it go.


Eight or nine years ago, prompted by sightings of squirrel gliders, "we" built a number of nesting boxes and paid someone to install them in our big trees. The unfortunate (or maybe fortunate?) galah fell/jumped about 40 feet from a box that its parents had used previously. This photo shows the prototype box that was hung about 4 feet off the ground, just outside the workshop door - and quickly occupied by a brushtail possum. Our boxes have been used by squirrel gliders, possums, galahs and pale headed rosellas.

As I was without nursing duties on Thursday I went to Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair - a first for me. Again I was overwhelmed by the talent of so many people, not to mention the range of products available at the various stalls. I only bought a few small things but will attend next year (if it fits into my busy schedule) now that I have an idea of the nature of the Fair.

I stayed overnight in Brisbane with our daughters and was able to give lots of helpful gardening advice and assistance. I'm actually delighted that one daughter has developed an interest in gardening: roses in particular which are not quite my style but she obviously gets the same buzz as I do when a plant responds to care and bursts into flower!

Since my last blog we have been away on a couple of short camping trips. It's such a nice time of year; pleasant temperatures and no school holiday crowds. We had a lovely time at Cressbrook Dam once I forgot what it used to look like when it was full. We saw dozens of deer at dawn, were entertained by boxing kangaroos at dusk and visited by paddy melons when we sat outside with drinks in the evenings. The wildlife is an important part of my camping experiences!

On one of these trips I read Christopher Koch's "The Memory Room" which I really enjoyed. That's another thing I enjoy about camping; I can sit and read for hours at a time.

I've also made some progress with my patchwork and quilting and have actually done some hand quilting. I am now going to make another table runner as I have decided they are a manageable sized project for me, something that I use, and provide plenty of "learning opportunities" which assist with confidence building.

Table Runner

Last week I decided that a table runner would be a good project for me as a beginner patchworker and quilter and by accident, rather than design, I chose a pattern that required me to exercise a few new skills. Things didn't go well and I got angry with myself for being so stupid. (So stupid that I don't want to provide any details - but I cut wrongly, sewed wrongly, reacted wrongly...) After I cut out the pieces I seemed to have a lot of material left over, which was good because I had to recut some pieces! I consoled myself with the fact that this was intended as a learning exercise - and if I didn't make mistakes I wasn't going to learn , was I?

After directing my energies into other areas I returned to the project and have now completed three of the basic blocks. I am quite pleased with the results (finally) - and learned a few lessons!

Our younger daughter has decided to come to Toowoomba this weekend which is lovely. (Not sure why we're suddenly so popular.) She can come shoe shopping with me tomorrow and maybe I'll have more success than I did today.

I'm starting to look forward to my trip to New Zealand next week. Mum and I are the only ones going from Australia. My niece's wedding is in Queenstown on the Saturday and we will spend most of our time in Christchurch where my only sister and husband have recently moved into a new apartment. Mum looks remarkably well after her treatment for breast cancer last year and it will be great for the three of us to spend some fun time together. My sister is a gourmand and brilliant cook so I expect to be heavier on the return trip!

We can't get everything right

Yay! I finished a set of curtains today. (A set equals 14 curtains.) This is a project that should have been finished months ago but that Stupid Shop with no Service misinformed me, mucked up my order and then, last week, realised that the fabric had been discontinued. I was furious but settled down to take positive action: a quick trip to Brisbane visiting four of their stores yielded sufficient fabric to complete the project. (That was after they had tried to source it from their other stores!!!!)

I have decided to send the electric spinning machine that I inherited down to my sister-in-law in Canberra. I had great plans to resurrect my interest in spinning but it's become obvious that time is not on my side. She will put it to better use and I still have my traditional wheel which I would rather use anyway. (If and when I find time.)

They still haven't been able to find out what's wrong with our 4WD which spent most of last week at the dealers under observation. We collected it again on Saturday and then at 6am on Sunday it died again - only 300m from home. A mechanic friend called in this morning and it started straight away! The mechanic from the dealer is making a house call tomorrow morning and we're hoping the car won't start. (Did I say that? Why do we nearly always have intermittent problems with our things?)

Magic Monday

I spent a couple of hours working outside this morning which is always good for the soul. I felt so lucky to be able to enjoy such a beautiful stress-free Monday morning. I also think it is very important to be able to experience and express gratitude - and I am very grateful for this morning. It's a lovely time of year - pleasant days and cool nights.

Friday's trip to Brisbane was successful although I came home exhausted. I vaguely recall that I used to regard shopping as a recreational activity! Anyway, I'm always happy to see our daughters and they were helpful and encouraging; it's hard to believe that they've both been in Brisbane for over four years now.

More good news! I finished my bag on Sunday and I'm so pleased with it. It has lots of inside pockets which hopefully will assist with management of the inevitable clutter.

I'm keen to start another "well-defined" project. (I think that means there will be instructions and a short-term outcome.)

Yoga classes start again tonight. It seems like ages since I've been to a class - what with school holidays and our trip away during March.

Not sure when our next trip will be: the 4WD is still under observation at the workshop in town! (A not so magical part of today.)

More car drama

Today was weird: the 4WD was again towed into town because it wouldn't go - after a "thorough" checkout on Monday! Nothing went to plan - or list - again! HE was pretty grumpy. I retreated to the room I have recently called my sewing room and worked on my Miranda bag. (Thanks to Caity who provided the promotional and inspirational motivation.) I'm actually quite pleased with my progress; although I am slow because this has to be a positive experience and outcome - so I am following the directions meticulously.

We had drinks on the verandah this evening so that put paid to any project work tonight. We all know that even after only one glass of wine it is not wise to work any projects! It was a lovely evening and the sunset was beautiful.

I'm going to Brisbane tomorrow and will spend the night with my daughters after what will hopefully be a successful shopping trip. Both of our daughters are creative and draw beautifully (not traits from my side of the gene pool.) I think it was meant as a compliment when No 1 daughter recently said: "Mum is really clever: she's good at maths and spelling and organising things but she's really not creative."

It's a dull, damp day making me glad that I have spent so much time outside in recent days. Yesterday I went to Toowoomba Quilters and came home all inspired - again! I can't really call myself a "quilter" although, under Di's guidance I did make a "Strip Quilt" last year. I've sewn hundreds (not quite thousands) of hexagons and embroidered several panels for a future Crazy Quilt plus I do have a finished quilt top from the classes that I attended when I first retired. Haven't taken the plunge and quilted it yet! I have done some practice quilting on scraps.

Inspired by the ladies at Tuesday's group, I have ordered a book from the USA and a Miranda bag pattern - plus started this blog. My unsuccessful shopping trip earlier this week also involved a search for a pattern and fabric with a view to making myself something to wear to this upcoming wedding. I used to make a lot of clothes - it seems a common cry!

Our broadband connection is working so we can now download a number of software updates.