Sunday, November 25, 2012

All Done !!


It seems ages since I blogged....that's the penalty for selling one's house and having to pack up everything.  My brain wouldn't let me escape & kept saying "shall I discard?....... do I really need that?......... if I haven't used it by now, will I ever?.........hmmm I might".......

but eventually, it all came down to several piles......

1) definite discards,
2) possible discards,
3) oh dear, I can't bear to part with it,

and I hadn't even touched my craft corner !!!!!!
then came the second cull.......

the definite discards had gone,
the possible discards....some became "I'm keeping that"....some became definite discards & some went in to the the "oh dear, I can't bear to part with it"

but soon enough they became.......just one pile of what I chose to keep......and I'm happy....

Actually, on a deeper level, I found the process enlightening, it illustrated to me the extras I had in my life and made me question the necessity of what I call, "the peripherals" ..........did I really need all this stuff ?.............I'm grateful I've had the opportunity to simplify my life.







Thursday, November 15, 2012

Mess, mess and more mess!!

First of all, thanks Margaret for your help with loading the badges of Stitchin' Fingers & Hand Embroidery Network.....my daughter helped too, so thanks Bec.

My house is a disaster zone at the moment because we've sold it and are packing up. We plan to travel over the next few years, mostly around Australia but I'd like to think we could manage a couple of overseas trips too. We decided this a long time ago and have had a couple of goes at doing it, but somehow we've always gotten off track and never quite made it. But now, it's all systems go......and we're both very excited......
We've bought a beautiful caravan from some very special people who won't be able to travel with us physically, but will definitely be with us in spirit. We're very lucky people.......



I said it was a mess, didn't I ?

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Fabric Postcards

I'm a member of an internet embroidery site called Stitchin' Fingers and as soon as I can figure out how to put a link on, I will !!
Margaret, help !!
There's lots of groups within that site for specific types of embroidery such as Ribbon, Stumpwork, Felting etc, and I joined the fabric postcards group, more specifically the birthday swap fabric postcards group. That meant each member received a postcard on their birthday from each other member. I think their were 13 members and I loved my birthday this year receiving all the gorgeous cards from across the globe and some close to home too.
It's come to an end for this year but I'm going to facilitate it for next year.......and I thought I show you a few I made this year.







Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Spring Racing Carnival

Today is Melbourne Cup Day. It's part of the Spring Racing Carnival held every year in Victoria and Melbourne Cup is always on the 1st Tuesday in November. It's touted as "the race that stops a nation" and it pretty well does. Every punter, both the "once in a year" mugs like me & the more serious ones have a bet. It's a public holiday in the city and surrounds & I doubt there'd be a person in Victoria who doesn't stop to watch the Cup or Australia, for that matter, probably the world..... It's an exciting spectacle.
It's broadcast all over the world and this year we have Prince Charles & Camilla as guests. Of the 24 runners in the cup which is run over 3200 metres, 22 of them are from the Northern Hemisphere. It seems to be the one race everyone wants to win. I read where the day brings around $400 milllion dollars into Victoria's economy with retail, hospitality, tourism all benefiting. 

The race is at Flemington race track and the ground staff have the place looking magnificent. Well known for its beautiful roses, they work hard to get them at the optimum for Cup day.
The races at Flemington go for a week, starting last Saturday with Derby Day, Tuesday is Melbourne Cup Day, Thursday is Oaks Day, otherwise known as Ladies Day & Saturday is Emirates Stakes Day.
As well, during the carnival there are numerous races at country racetracks and lunches, parties & celebrations everywhere.
I sometimes think the horses come second to the fashions......

As per my usual form, I didn't win any money on the Cup....I did, however pick the winner but I put my money in a trifecta & the other two were nowhere near the finish line.

Anyway, my daughter Rebecca (Bec) & some of her friends have travelled down to Melbourne to join in the fun & festivities.......and to shop, find exciting eateries, drink good wine & generally have a girlie few days.

Here's a couple of pic's.........

Derby Day.......the tradition for Derby Day fashions is black & white.....

Bec & Tanya.....Tan works for radio station, Nova & they had a marquee on Derby Day


My girl loves a bit of finery......



Melbourne Cup Day luncheon......Lisa, Bec & Nat.....these girlies travelled down from Brisbane for a week of fun......they deserve it, they work hard

Bec & Tan Derby Day
 Bec & Lisa, Oaks Day 


Bec, Lisa & Nat Oaks Day

Nat thanking Bec for a winning tip ....






Monday, November 5, 2012

Little bit of textiles

This is a glimpse of the small exhibition I saw at Mandurah.........you can double click on any of the photos to see them enlarged........at least I think you can !!

















Perth, Margaret River, Cape Leeuwin, & Fremantle

Richard is a Vietnam veteran and arriving in Perth meant we got to catch up with some of our veteran friends and their wives. We'd seen most of them about 4 years ago, but there was one couple I'd never met & it was about 20 years since Richard had seen him, so reminiscing was the order of the day. And a great day we had too.
The next day, we headed south of Perth to Margaret River which is a beautiful spot known mostly for wineries, galleries and beautiful scenery. We based ourselves there and explored the region. Stunning coastline, with lots of things to do & see......we really enjoyed it. The flowers were stunning....grevillias, bottle brush, banksias, proteas, waratahs, kangaroo paw in full bloom and the colours were unbelievable.....
















Augusta hotel


view from the verandah.......


This notice was in the pioneer cemetery........I reckon these people were exceptionally brave to come halfway around the world to a place they knew nothing about to start a new life......

and a hard life they had too.......

 Across the road from the cemetery is a War Memorial and this site was dedicated to the nurses.......sometimes I think the nurses were forgotten heroes, although that's changing now.







And this bloke took exception to us being in his park........



 Margaret River region coastline





Part of that region is a place called Cape Leeuwin which is the extreme south west point of Australia and is where the Indian ocean meets the Southern ocean.........what a beautiful place. The lighthouse is open to tourists and for a small fee, you can have a guided tour or simply look around yourself. We opted to look around ourselves because part of the tour includes climbing 176 steps to the top of the lighthouse and that didn't appeal to me at all!! It has a great history and is well worth a visit.









There's also a War Memorial at Cape Leeuwin to honour 10 seamen from HMAS Nizam who lost their lives on February 11th 1945 when a freak wave struck the ship and they were washed overboard.




We stayed a night at Bunbury and went to dinner with some more friends & had a good look around the area. 

Bunbury lighthouse....very impressive

 View from our room.....


View over part of Bunbury


A day at Fremantle completed our little tour before heading back to Perth to spend a couple of days with our friends before heading home.
Fremantle is a major city situated on the mouth of the Swan River and the harbour is the Port of Western Australia. It was settled in 1827 and has beautiful heritage listed buildings, a rich maritime history and is a lovely place to visit. It was quite hot the day we visited, but it was a pleasure to wander around the streets and parks.......fish & chips on the wharf for lunch......great day. 











Well, that's pretty much the end of the Perth trip........have to find something else to blog about now !!!!!