Back on Deck

I've just spent a couple of days in bed with a virus/cold thing. I was extravagantly kind to myself and reflected that in a previous life I would have drugged up and dragged myself off to work! Obviously I'm getting soft!

However, that is no excuse for my not blogging for ages. I know I've had trouble getting my fair share of access time to the computer in recent weeks. Well, personal time - I've learned a lot more than I intended about MYOB as my husband deviously involved me in the end of financial year work he was meant to do.

We did have a wonderful and unique trip to the Northern Territory, spending most of our time at Daly River. It's a beautiful spot - completely wasted on the many crocodiles that frequent it. This causeway near the Daly River pub was 4 metres under water during the last wet season and during the dry season it is favoured by sizeable crocs that wish to sun themselves.

This is a photo of our friend and neighbour with one of the barramundi caught last month. (My husband is shy!) We froze a few fillets to bring home with us.

We met some interesting people including some dental technicians who do the rounds of the indigenous communities helping the children to look after their teeth. They were a good source of information about the dynamics of the communities in that area and certainly prompted me to read a bit about the "NT Intervention" which has now been in place for just over a year. (The "Crikey" website is worth reading.)

Since we've been home I have caught up with friends and family, including some of the wonderful people at Toowoomba Quilters. I've also been to the Empire Theatre (Toowoomba) to see the Queensland Ballet's performance of "Carmen" which was simply wonderful and another example of Francois Klaus' brilliant choreography. Our daughters took me to see the "So You think You Can Dance" concert and my husband took me to see "Shine A Light" in Brisbane. (I'm a Stones fan from way back!)

Plans for the coming months are under discussion and now that I am no longer "unwell" I feel a lot more enthusiastic. A return to yoga classes and gym sessions is required!

Lost week

I'm not sure what happened to the past week! Mostly I have lists of things that didn't get done and places I didn't get to! (They include my yoga class, gym and Toowoomba Quilters.)

I did, however, get a bus to Brisbane to see our daughters before we go away again. A $10 bus fare (one way) makes it not worth driving and their devoted father didn't need to see them because he "can remember what they look like!"

Wasn't the rain wonderful! We had a total of 62mls and our tanks are overflowing - it's especially good when you are totally reliant on rain water. Hopefully, this area will be nice and green when I get back from Darwin.

We fly out from Brisbane on Friday and will be staying in a fairly remote part of the NT. I have several novels to take with me and I will be back to sewing hexagons again while we are away because I haven't progressed any other projects to an appropriate hand sewing level.

Back from NZ

Back home to my Spartan lifestyle (for a short time anyway) to compensate for the extravagances and indulgences of my trip to New Zealand. I had a wonderful time and again extol the virtues of New Zealand as a holiday destination. I hadn't been to Queenstown for decades and it it a beautiful place although changing quickly, I'm told, as it attracts increasing numbers of international tourists.

My niece's wedding was beautiful and a delightfully extravagant affair. (She was heard to say "Just because Mum and Aunty Ruth had hippie weddings doesn't mean I had to !") I was sorry that our daughters were unable to attend the wedding but it may have been a good thing; the bar was set high! I can share the view from the hotel room and the delights of the autumn leaves on the balcony.

Back in Christchurch we enjoyed some old favourites: a visit to the Botanic Gardens (I'd never been there at this time of year) and a walk in Victoria Park. Lunch at the restaurant in the Gardens is highly recommended! As usual my sister also produced some wonderful culinary delights.


The weather was great while we were there: cold, but clear and sunny. We were lucky because it clouded over on the day we left and was actually raining as we flew out of Christchurch.

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!

Cauldron Fire

Our plans were modified a bit when our elder daughter decided at short notice to spend the long weekend in Toowoomba. We enjoyed her company - and the visit did make me clear off the spare bed. We do tend to use it as storage space and dump a lot of stuff on it!

Last night we had a cauldron fire on our water tank where we enjoyed several hours of fire gazing, star gazing and quiet conversation. We've always enjoyed bonfires and since the introduction of fire restrictions we have modified our methods. It was such a beautiful evening with a glorious clear sky.

During the week we cleared a bank of lantana. It wasn't actually convenient for me but the time is always right when male muscle is volunteered! I should add that it has been there for decades but only recently earmarked for destruction. The results suit both of us and my scratches and wounds are healing nicely.

I thought our computer was dying earlier today so freaked out a little. It must be three years old and there are some files which should have been backed up. It seems ok again now but the experience served as a reminder to save files responsibly!

We are still without our 4WD after it was taken back to the dealer's workshop last week (for the thrid time)! I'm going to New Zealand in ten days' time so there won't be any camping trips in the immediate future. I just checked out the weather in Queenstown: maximum of 8 degrees today, minimum of -4!

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?)

Pop!

There's always someone or something to burst your bubble! Today it was a white faced heron that visited my fish pond, which is all of 70cm wide, for a feed of goldfish. I was very upset because, in the interest of trying to simplify our lives, my fish are my only domestic pets. (I do have wildlife "pets".)

Yesterday I was so happy with the way I had tidied up our outside area - and that rotten bird spoilt it for me.


Anyway, my dipladenias still look beautiful. They must like their location because apart from an annual cutback they are pretty well neglected and I've had them for 13 or 14 years.

I had a good day. As usual the ladies at TQ were really helpful and I'm keen to start work on a table runner now that I have completed fixing and mending my daughters' clothes that I brought home last trip.