STILL AROUND...............CATCHING UP A LITTLE.

 OK, this post will just be a quick summary of a few things.  We've been busy in a weird way, with weather interfering for the plans we'd made for June.  So much for organising our life to get different things done in the garden, a little work on the caravan & getting out in nature for our rail trail walks. 

We'll start with some quilting, then a day out.

My Village quilt which I've been doing as a QAL with Sandra at mmmquilts and isn't going to be quilted before the deadline of 30th June.  It is ready to go, but I just can't get the mojo going.

Two squirrels happened this month, so may link this with Sandra's DrEaMi post.

Let Your Star Shine.
This is a pattern by Sandra, that I've had for a while and thought I could do it with fabric from my stash for a raffle quilt.  It will go to Windgap Foundation who are carers for my young brother.

Square Up.
Just a piece of nonsense to use stash fabric from the baskets of bundles I've put together.
One of my own designs.

The photos aren't the best due to our dreary weather and having to have the lights on all the time.  Natural light is so much better.

A DAY OUT.

We took ourselves out one morning to take some photos of a few quilts in the open air, as the weather was fine & reasonable sunny.  But not long into the journey, clouds came in, then wind and then......rain!  No quilt photos, but I did snap these two things.

We'd gone to Fish Creek, where there is a beautiful art deco hotel, to take photos of my Deco Delight quilt now that it is finished, but that didn't happen.

Whilst there we noticed a new to us mural (above) & snapped it through my open window.

On our way home we noticed this road sign.  Notice anything odd?  I'll see if anyone can guess.

This was taken through a very wet windscreen.

What else has been happening?  Well not a lot except the usual housework, cutting firewood to keep warm & dry the washing and keeping up with mundane bits of life.  I did make a bit of time to gather some thoughts on using up my stash and scraps to start a few charity quilts and try and start writing some patterns.  Will the pattern writing happen?.................maybe.

A few of my own designs laid out and one actually done.
Below are the containers filled with fabric bundles that may become quilts one day.
Excuse the messiness of my sewing room, which has actually gone through a change to accommodate a new set up with my machine table.

Lastly, 2 new books have come my way.  I may even think about going in a BlogHop with the Charm Pack book, although I've never participated in one before.  Should I or shouldn't I?  That is the dilemma.

Well, that has been a strange post for me, but until I get myself together properly, it will have to do.

Just a thought..................I was talking to a few friends at our Car Club the other weekend and some of us have to come to the conclusion, that we are suffering from "Pandemic Hangover" as the world has changed so much.  With most of us being on the older side, it's been hard to deal with so much change.

OK, enough babble from me.  If you take the time to read this, Thank You.

Take care all and hugs from another dreary wet morning here down under.

Susan.

FRIDAY PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - APRIL - Chocolate!!!!

 

Linking today with our new hostess Astrid at Dragon Stitches and Stuff.

Today we are kicking off April with chocolate.................it must be Easter, but today is also our wedding anniversary, though not much chocolate appears here these days via the bunny.  

Here we go and hopefully I've thought outside the box.  I did have visions of getting photos of a chocolate Bilby or Platypus, a couple of our confections that are truly Australian with money raised to care & protect our endangered species.  Never mind as I'm still joining in.

Playing with a selection of items featuring chocolate, being a cookbook, a quilt book, a bar of cooking chocolate, fabric with the words chocolate all over & an old tin saved from many years ago that had Old Baileys chocolates in it.  Looks good full of foliage & a camellia, which has just started flowering.

And homemade  Chocolate Orange Mousse, which has actually appeared on my blog before.  Not made it for a while, so may remedy that in the coming weeks.

Again I'm doing short and sweet, but enjoyed finding all my "CHOCOLATEY" bits which was part of the challenge for today.😏

I'm off to linkup now, and will pop into the other Hunter's blogs a little later tonight.  Thanks Astrid for taking this on.  Take care all, stay safe & hugs from down under.

Susan.

SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS..................

MERRY  CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY LOVELY BLOGPALS.

 Yesterday was spent with DD & family for our celebration as her hubby had to work today, so it was just the two of us at home today.  It dawned sunny, but very cool for this time of year (jumpers were in order for most of the day) and we decided to take a picnic lunch to our favourite spot when we are alone.

JINDIVICK CRICKET GROUND.

         The view over the cricket pitch towards the Strzelecki hills in a rather hazy distance.

            The undercover picnic tables & barbecue area with the play area in the background.

                                   Keith eating his lunch, but notice we still have warm tops on.

After eating our lunch we wandered across to the Community Garden & had a leisurely stroll around, with me taking lots of snaps, some of which I've put on this post.

                                Some very colourful large flowers residing in part of the garden.

Mosaic stepping stones with a lovely rabbit & duck & not so lovely spiders.  Note the second one, a huntsman which are quite large.  A little story following.................

This morning 2 of my magpies came for some breadcrumbs, so I went inside to get them & when I came out they were looking at something on the underside of our verandah roof.  To my horror, there was a big Huntsman spider up there & roaming around.  We then sprayed with insecticide as this is one spider that scares me.  Most smaller spiders I can deal with & the really little ones I talk too & put outside if they are in the house.  My trusty magpies do look after me.

         At the end of the community garden there is an outdoor gym & we took advantage & used it.

                 Just a little....... & have decided to try & use these more often, when we get up that way.

The view from the Community garden looking back across the cricket pitch to the clubrooms & picnic shelter.

Next we took the long way home via Blue Rock Dam.  Again a few snaps were taken.

                                          Many tree ferns among the tall trees in the forest.

                     Trying to capture the height & straightness of the trees along the roadside.

A view of the very back end of Blue Rock Dam with the Great Dividing Range looming in the                                                                                           background.

                                                 Looking down the length of Blue Rock.

Home again this afternoon & I ran around with the camera to finish off the day.

Keith's Christmas present.  A new thicknesser planer.  He'd purchased a second hand one a few years ago & it decided to die on us & the cost of having it fixed was nearly double the price of a new one on special till the end of December, so it became his present this year.

                                           Doing a quick bit of painting on the extended shed.

               I've another 2 flowers on my water lilies.  I did think they'd finished for now.

A lovely gift left on our doorstep today.  I'd given a punnet of blueberries to everyone in our court as a little gift, as we'd had such a horrible year & a couple of have thanked us with a card, some shortbread & this strawberry plant.  I've still got 2 more to catch up with as they haven't been home when I've called in.  There are only 14 houses in our court.

                                             This was my lovely gift from DD and family.

Talking of blueberries..............picked this morning & weighing in at 850gms.  Total so far is 8.5kgs with lots more to be picked & ripen.

And can you see the cheeky blackbird in the right hand corner trying to peck through the net to get a                                                                                    feed.

Well just thought I'd pop through a post wishing you a Merry Christmas & to show what 2 oldies get up to when on their own for the day.😉

Also a very Happy Birthday to our son-in-law today.  Pity you had to work.

That's all folks.  Take care, stay safe & huggles from Susan.

STAYING BUSY ....TO KEEP THE DEMONS AT BAY

 Being back in Stage 3 lockdown is becoming very tedious.  Even heard "rumours" about nothing happening till 2022.  Really!!!!

Need to keep myself busy and as the weather hasn't been playing nicely, nothing is being done in the garden, which is annoying me and not sleeping well hasn't helped my mood or mojo.  We've been trying to make sure we at least get in our walking routine, but today that isn't going to happen with intermittent light misty rain & when you need to wear a mask when not in your own home/garden, it seems to make it even more uncomfortable.  A wet mask that is......

OK, we'll make a start and just to let you know the camera has been put to good use around the home.

GARDEN.

2 different pink hellebores.

A very pale greeny/lemon hellebore.

The blueberries are just starting to flower.

The tiny pink bluebells are up & sure have multiplied.

The circular garden out the front with many bulbs either flowering or nearly flowering.

A closeup of the crocus.

The rather untidy area beside the shed. 
 DH intends to extend the shed in the very near future, which is why we need to relocate the veg beds & rethink the layout of this area.

On the right is the olive tree we inherited when we purchased this house.
The house was built in 2001 & I'm sure the tree is much, much older than this, going by the size of both the trunk & canopy.
I do need to re-sort that garden on the left to, which is above the retaining wall & being so short I cannot reach most of it.  Another on the list of the list of to-dos.

FLOWERS INSIDE.

Remember I showed on my last post our daffodil farm just outside town.  These below were bought from our local greengrocer & they were from said farm.  I had fun arranging them in 2 vases.

CRAFTING.

Designing on my computer.

In progress.

Designing labels on the computer, which has been a big learning curve, but I did it all by myself.😊

And playing with another design after speaking with my friend Joy from Days filled with Joy.
She had ideas for another QAL & I came up with this design, which I may or may not do.

OTHER HAPPENINGS.

I had a small lapse about buying books............

The box arrived.....

Opened it....................Oh boy, I wasn't expecting this!!!!

Ah.............but underneath were these.
2 gorgeous garden books, 2 quilt books which were on special and to my surprise the one at the top on the right turned out to be a children's book.  I thought it was a true story, which it is, but only in pictures with captions.  It is still beautifully done & one day when all this pa-lava is over, I'll be able to read it with some small children    Hoping.......

ONE TO FINISH.

                              I've done a little colouring in too.  The child coming out in me.   😉

I think that is enough nonsense from this old lady.  It is still cloudy, but some blue sky has appeared, though too late for a walk, as I need to make a start on our evening meal.  

I'm trying hard to keep blogging & staying calm and know one day there may again be a semblance of normality to our lives.  Until next post, stay safe, take care & huge hugs from Susan.

WORDLESS WEEK - WEDNESDAY.

Wet  5.5mls today.

Progressing.

Gee Whiz.
When did that happen?

Browsing and dreaming.

Take care all, stay safe and huggles.
Susan.