Here I am

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while, but I haven't had internet service since we left Sydney last week for our train trip.
I've now got limited access, so just a quick word to say I'm still in the land of the living & having a great time. The train trip was terrific, we really enjoyed it......the meals were fabulous & the scenery was wonderful. The trip took 3 days but it seemed to go really fast.
Now we've been travelling on the West Australian south coast for the last few days.......truly beautiful part of the world. We went to a place called Cape Leeuwin, the furthermost south westerly part of Australia where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. There's a lighthouse & beautiful wild grounds and a wonderful story attached to it.
I'll post some photos as soon as I can.
But for now I have to go as my internet is about to cut out.

Oh, What a beautiful morning

Yesterday afternoon my daughter, (Rebecca or Bec) had a linen party with a few of her friends. It was a great afternoon, we had a ball, played a few silly games that had us laughing, enjoyed  a beautiful afternoon tea & managed to buy some new linen too !! Actually I bought a stand alone bag that doubles as a laundry bag, beach bag, storage bag......a versatile bag that I thought would be good in our caravan. It's lime green & I'll post a pic when I take delivery. Anyway, after everyone left & we did a clean up, I decided to stay the night & this morning was the most beautiful morning & I have to share the view from my room. I woke up at about 6.30, the birds were talking to each other, there was a gentle breeze, but the overall atmosphere was one of stillness. It was just lovely to sit in bed & admire the view. It's mornings like these that lead me gently into the day & remind me to give thanks for the beauty that surrounds me & to be grateful I can see it.

When I looked at this photo I thought the big old dead tree in her neighbours yard spoiled the view, but then I realised that big old tree was once a beautiful live statuesque specimen rising high above those around it, giving pleasure to all who enjoyed it & I wondered how long it had been there. But, as with the cycle of life & nature, its time is up. It will have to come down, it's becoming brittle.....one branch has already broken off and crashed into the yard, thus creating a safety issue. The purple tree to the left is a Jacaranda tree....Queensland is known for its Jacarandas and the tree in front of it is a Poinciana....it will bloom soon with masses of red flowers.

Nothing Much

I haven't been doing much lately apart from the usual "around the house" stuff. But I did start a small quilt each for two of my grandsons. I've had this "glow in the dark" fabric for sometime and it's time to do something with it. I'm not a quilter, but have made a couple of quilts in classes before today, so I thought simple squares bordered with plain fabric couldn't be too hard........and it wasn't. I finished one top and am half way through the second one, so shouldn't be too long before they're finished and I can mark them off my "to do" list !!!
I finished 3 fabric postcards for the November birthday girls in the group on Stitchin' Fingers, but can't post photos here until they receive them. That's been great fun to do this year & I'll definitely join up again next year.

And on Wednesday, my husband & I are off to Perth on the Indian Pacific train. It runs from Sydney on the east coast of Australia to Perth on the west coast and takes 3 days, so I'm very excited about the trip. I love train travel and have been nagging Richard to do this trip for a while, so now we're off. We'll stay with friends in Perth & have a good old time !!
For my international friends, Perth is the capital of Western Australia and Sydney is the capital of New South Wales. So hopefully, lots of photos on the blog. 

My quilt efforts........

This is the true colour of the material.....the other photos are a bit dull......

I think the boys will love them........

ATASDA Exhibition

Yesterday I went to the ATASDA exhibition at Robyn Bauer's Gallery 54 at Paddington. The exhibition titled "Beyond the Surface" celebrates 5 years of ATASDA in Queensland. It runs until 13th October. If you live in Brisbane or surrounds, do try and see it.....it's a wonderful exhibition with some very talented artists showing their work. ATASDA stands for "Australian Textile Arts and Surface Design Association Inc."

"Gallery 54" , 54 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington Queensland.

Lena Tisdall's "Book of Joy".......

Karoline Cumming's silk paper purse........

Lena Tisdall's "Book of Joy"........canvas pages using sun colour dyes.....

Sally Westcott's "Summer Breezes".........

I loved this piece by Joanne Jayne......beautiful story and a wonderful way to honour her Grandmother....

"Pick of the crop" by Sharyn Hall

"Beyond the Horizon" by Sandra Tessmann

Isn't this jacket fantastic.....by Denise Lithgow

Beautiful handmade gifts and wearable art for sale by the members........

80's party

On the weekend my daughter Bec had to go to an 80's theme party for her friend's 30th. We went op shopping for an outfit and had a hilarious time......we laughed the morning away and couldn't really believe some of the fashions were actually thought of as smart & dressy.....what were we thinking !!!



Here's a pic of her all dressed up in her gear........

and here she is with her friends......fluoro girl and the birthday girl is in the red dress......they had a great time

Southbank & the Brisbane River

Last Friday, Richard (husband) & I went to Southbank, a lovely spot beside the Brisbane River and we went for a ride on the City Cat, a ferry service which the Brisbane City Council run. It was a lovely day, the weather was beautiful and the City Cat is a great way to have an enjoyable trip. Lots of commuters use the ferry service to get to & from work in the city,....we got off at Bulimba, a delightful inner city suburb with a real village atmosphere, where we had a coffee and a short stroll around the shops, then back onto the ferry & back to Southbank. We walked over the pedestrian bridge to the city and met our daughter when she finished work. Brisbane is a great city to be in on a Friday evening, there are food stalls set up in Treasury square, lots of people around, balmy weather......we shared a German sausage and a Hungarian (?) pizza type dish I think it was called a Langos or something similar, anyway it was delicious....... & then went to the casino for coffee & cake.......a great day.


The Jacaranda trees are out in all their beautiful purple glory

 eateries on Eagle Street Pier...

I think this old paddle steamer might be a restaurant now......

 view of the city......

beautiful old buildings high on the cliff.....

 
if you zoom in on this photo, you'll see rock climbers practising their craft or perhaps, beginners just learning......either way, they can have it all to themselves !!!!

 Pedestrian bridge over the river.....

city buildings.......

if you zoom in on this photo, you'll see an orange bucket caught in the tree branches.......wonder if it's been there since the 2011 floods......

Southbank ferry terminal with the "eye in the sky" in the background.....

avenue of Bougainvillea at Southbank. This is a very pretty walk.......

Eye in the Sky.....a giant ferris wheel which I believe gives beautiful views over the city and beyond......I'll take their word for that......I noticed one of the carriages was painted black with gold VIP writing on the door.....was wondering what a VIP would get on the wheel....a glass of champagne; an extra seatbelt or lock on the door........

 one of the City Cat ferries...........