~ Vale - Inesa ~

It is with great sadness that I write this post...

My Friend from Orange, Inesa, has passed away...

Even though I haven't seen her for a few years I did think of her often

I first met her at The Owl's House.......a lovely little Sewing Shop in Bathurst back in the 1990's when I heard her say her name to the shopowner and of course it caught my ear as it was a Latvian name......

We started chatting there and then and I regularly saw her while we lived in Bathurst at that time...

Inesa was a very talented Craftslady and I remember when she bought her knitting machine and made me some woolen track pants......

Above is a pic of one of the trackies with her Nifty Label on it....

and here are both pairs......

For my 40th birthday she bought me these pottery items above

How treasured all these things are to me now as I don't have a photo of Inesa handy

I think I have one in a box somewhere

If I ever do come across one I will post it up

May the road rise up to meet you

May the wind always be at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

And rains fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again

May God hold you in the palm of His hand

Inesa leaves behind her Husband Paddy, Amanda, Kevin and Aimee

Rest In Peace dear Inesa......I will miss you

Love Ingrid  xoxoxoxoxoxox

 (as she knew me before I started to use my Latvian name)

A Trip Up To The 'Big Smoke'...and Halloween...or, It's All About JoJo!!!

Yesterday we had no power here for the day...we had had notice of this, and I thought why not go up to Canberra for the day and check out the shops to see what Halloween stuff they had...

Halloween is slowly creeping into our part of the world and JoJo loves to celebrate ALL occassions!!!

We needed a coffee and first stop after the drive is The Blue Olive...

a great cafe...great coffee and a whole shelf devoted to gluten free cakes!!!

JoJo looking at some mags while I ordered...

a large cappaccino...

marshmallows for JoJo...

pistachio for me...

Here she is looking surprised on the famous carousel...a must do every time we come up...

Check out this gorgeous gown!!!

A bright green tie that JoJo HAD to have...

We finished off the day with ice cream martinis...

Set up a quick table with her new goodies...

And we actually got 2 lots of Trick or Treaters...

FUN...FUN...FUN!!!

JoJo really gets us into the spirit of the occassion...

she always seems to know what's going on and makes us stop and think...

  be in the moment and have fun!!!

And followed by Halloween we have the Melbourne Cup and, yes she wanted to wear a hat for that too...I can't help but get caught up in it all...

As JoJo would say...Take It Easy!!!

It's Just About Showtime!!! Life Is A Cabaret...First Dress Rehearsal!!!

First dress rehearsal has happened for our local amateur theatre's production of Cabaret!!!

The poster...

signage outside the Playhouse...

the Playhouse...

Empty seats waiting for Patrons...
The show opens Saturday night!!!

Before and after makeup!!!

The props backstage...

Adjusting lighting...

Part of the scene...

Some hair-dos and hats from the era...

One of the books the wardrobe mistress used as a guide for the costumes...

Costumes waiting on the rack...

And us gals posing in our little dressing room...

The gorgeous Janet...

Delightful Noreen...

Caroline looking stunning!!!

And here we are altogether...

This is part of my own clothing used in a day scene...
Since this pic the hat has been eliminated...

And after a long and fun day I arrived home and Mr Armchair cooked dinner...
Sirloin Steak...roast potatoes...asparagus...corn and mushrooms...
Just what I needed!!!

Along with Pavlova!!!
Just what I needed...thank you so much DH!!!

The play opens this Saturday...more rehearsals to go...
and I'm starting to think that the Kit Kat Club really exists...
after all...when I dress up it's where I go!!!

Until then...I'm still singing...

What good is sitting alone in your room
Come hear the music play
Life is a Cabaret old chum
Come to the Cabaret...

Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Life Is A Cabaret!!!

Rehearsals have been going on for our amateur theatre's production of Cabaret...

and I have started for my little walk on bit!!!

So very exciting...and this experience gives me a whole new insight into what goes into running a play...

For the rehearsal...on stage is a drinks table for a scene in Act I...

Costumes are being made/altered...here is one my one's awaiting alterations!!!

Shoe box...we have to wear our shoes on stage now...

Backstage looking out to the front...

Curtains awaiting the Chorus Girls dressing room...

and their dressing room so far!!!

Meanwhile...I have been quilting my A Christmas Wish quilt by Gail Pan...
I'm just feeling my way in the world of quilting and have quilted it according to Gail's instructions with my 30 year old plus machine...
I'm keen to learn quilting further and am looking at a new machine tomorrow!!!

Here is the full version...binding still has to go on but I'm hoping it will be this month's OPAM (one project a month)...
Topside of the quilting is red and underneath is cream...

And I couldn't resist this...my new purple boots...

which go with these gorgeous Eiffel Tower hairclips and buttons (centre)...they are just so cool!!! These were bought in the new Handmade shop in Canberra!!!
The Designer, Jennie McClelland, who made these named her business after her two Grandmothers...Edna and Alice May...

To check out Jennie's blog go over here
Jennie herself has a Husband over in Afghanistan...and my Heart goes out to her and her Family while he and our other brave Soldiers are over there...

And look at these fabrics...tres chic!!!

So...tomorrow it's off to try my costume on...and check out my new (maybe) sewing machine so I can get stuck into quilting!!!

As they say...Life Is A Cabaret!!!