98

Come on Mum I'm ready to go - let's go now - come on ... Yes Gilly is all raring to go for our morning walk & it seems I'm the one dragging the chain - so to speak...
It's lovely going for a walk now with Spring in the air - everything is either blooming or has new growth like this gum - I've photographed my hand it this photo just to give you some idea how big these leaves can be ... I think it belongs to the Bloodwood family of gums ... there are many many types of gums - the new leaves have that lovely reddish colour with the fresh green. Ohh yes I love colour ...

97

Working away on my 'In My House' Chunky Book Swap pages - all going well.
For a little R&R I have this wonderful book to read ... I do hope they will bring out another one like it soon as this one has been a wealth of info to me, while I'm in this steep learning curve. I have had it for a few weeks now but I am still reading & absorbing it - think it will be one of those books I will read and/or look at for a long time to come.

96

Well it's all systems go now that I have my fusing - thanks Luc ... fusing is all marked out with 'in my house' page templates/patterns, have my yummy fabrics sorted & the iron heated. So on with the fusing of the material... Tonight I should be able to start to cut everything out - this alone will take some time as there are to be 15 pages for each book... I know I'm in two books - just greedy I guess.
Then I will be able to iron them [my house pages] together & then it's only a matter of doing the sewing ... ohhh mustn't forget I have to print some material out with my details ... something I usually neglect to do until it's 'nearly' too late... ha ha
Hopefully I will have some finished to show you early next week.

95

I don't seem to have done anything creative to show you although I have many things on the go but not finished. I'm participating in another Chunky Book swap & this time it is In This House - the idea came from the great book of the same name ... the other girls do more mixed media when I'm sticking more to fabric as my media of choice these days so I have been drawing out the templates that I made the other week but now find I don't have enough fusing[HeatnBond] so hopefully my friend Luc can pick some up for me when she comes visit again. Not all is lost really cause I could use adhesives spray but I need to iron up what I have got done & start cutting out as it does take time. My sewing machine is still at the doctors being fixed ... getting rather anxious as it was supposed to be back yesterday but it is giving me time to have my pages ready for the sewing part. I've also had a go at painting cloth - this is a bit of a feeble effort but it's all a very steep learning curve I've put myself on this year & guess what I'm having FUN & that's the name of the game I believe...
The Grandies are on School holidays & I'll need to see what they are all doing & when they will be available to come to the movies with me - this is our special treat each school holidays - don't know what movie we will be seeing as there are several that look good. What am I going to do when they are all too old to go to the kids movies with me ... sad to see 'mature' ladies going to the kids movies alone... ha ha There again I often go to the movies alone so what's the diff I guess...

94

What a lovely day we had on Sunday... a friend I made while working/playing in New Zealand last year was over here on holidays with her DH & they came to visit with us on Sunday. Michelle I do hope you aren't having to work too hard now that you are back at work but it was so lovely to see you again.
My DH took a couple of photos of us but sadly neither are what you would call brilliant but it a lovely record of our day... My DH[Dear Heart] has given you smoking a vise that he soo enjoyed - he is doing really well & we are very proud of his efforts, sadly when he gave up, his smoking abilities weren't replaced with good photography skills - if that had of happened then at least one of us could take brilliant photos - looks like we will need to see how Michelle's DH went with his photography skills. Sooo... if you happen to look here & see a wonderful photo of us you will know it's been replaced ... ha ha
Thanks guys for taking time out of your holidays to drop on by - hope you had more success find your way back to the highway than you did getting here ... lol.

93

Gosh I've been blogging on this site for 1 year, already ... gosh it's hard to believe - time does have a habit of flying on by ever so quickily.
I've met some wonderful folks along the bloggin way & I'd love to thank you all for coming on by and particularly for leaving me a comment ... it's amazing how a comment boosts you along. You write up a post put it out for the world to see & then wonder if anyone looks at it or even reads it, what do they think of it, am I the only one that thinks like that? or likes my own art?... etc... so when you leave a comment it is the highlight of my day - I know 'tis a bit sad but hey that's OK ...
This is what I found walking today too ... lovely brighter colour than is shows here & lovely & soft & fluffy but no idea what it's called... do you???
Have a wonderful day & when I get to 100 posts I'm going to have a blog give-away - hopefully my sewing machine will be back by then ...

92

Out walking this morning I found this lovely succulent garden, all well tended too, and kept within the confines of the patterned path. There were some little beauties there too that I would be pround to display in my garden. We visited with the Grandies this last w/e & the Granddaughter loves to do hair but I gotta say she does have some wild styles but mine was very conservative ...

91

Last week was a week of anniversaries - some good, some bad but still they happened in our lives & need to be faced/realised. Thursday 11 Sept. - last Thursday is always a day that will be remembered for as long as the world exists, I truly believe, 9/11 as many know it as & everyone you talk to, in the world will be able to tell you exactly what they were doing at the time they first heard it announced ... Me... I was recovering from live-saving major surgery when I first saw it on the TV - the wardsman asked me to have a look at the day's news & then asked what did I see ... 'Ohh it's just an add. for some horrible movie that must be coming' - he then asked me to explain what I had seen ... & that was the plane going into the second tower... he said leave it on Love, cause it is true... this is what has happened this day - you will never forget when you had your op'. The day the world changed forever ...
So here we are seven years later - I'm well but I know there are some people in the world that will never be the same again who were affected by such tragedy... still I must celebrate my wellness to stay positive. Also this date came into my life again as an important date the next year, 2002 - that was the day we left our home of 32+years for the last time - where we had brought up our children & they were now out in the world doing their own memory making. It was time for us to move on, a decision that we have embraced & love our new home.
It makes me sad that when you do move like that that sometimes things change that you don't expect & I think for me that was, I found who my friends were ... you know the ones that you don't have to see each & every week but when you do it was just like yesterday that you were sitting on the back veranda sharing your thoughts/dreams - you will always stay in contact with even if it's only Christmas-time. I've come to realise that I had a big network of acquaintances who I had mistaken for good friends & I think this has been the biggest learning curve for me & as Christmas approaches I've decided as this will be our 6th Christmas here in our new/retirement home that I'll only be sending Christmas cards to my 'friends' - yes this makes me a bit sad as I do love catching up on what's happening in everybodies lives but there comes a time when it's not reciprocated - it's time to move on - gosh, it's not like we are, any of us, too old yet... it's like the email that gets sent around from time to time about being friends for a reason, a season or a lifetime ... just a matter of course I suppose. September must be a time of reflection ... I wonder...
I got to go down memory lane again this week - I was out doing my walk & look what I found??? Do you grow these where you live? Mulberries lovely big fat juicy ones, at that ... you can see I've had a taste test too by my fingers. Ohhh I can hear Mum now rousing at me for getting the juice all over my clothes [mulberries aren't something that comes out in the wash...] I can also hear her saying 'You haven't been eating those mulberries have you? you won't want to eat your tea tonight?' Of course you say 'No Mum' but then she asks how did you get that stain in & out of your mouth ... Sprung... ha ha
For those that read this that might not know, Mulberries are a fruit that you eat when they are that dark black sortta colour & can be eaten raw or cooked in water with some sugar to have as a sweet/dessert. We used to have it with creamed rice, baked custard, junket [ha ha remember the old junket tablets?] or with ice cream - the juice could be thickened with arrowroot [flour] cause it kept the liquid clear or was it cornflour? ha ha now I've got you guessing ...
P.S. I remember when we were first married, my sister had a tree that I used to pick from every few days ... they preserve well mulberries but I used to cook them up but I got lazy & hated cutting the little stalks off each berry - must remember Mum had the special old pair of scissors that did this job so well - so I cooked them stalk & all ... no problem really but when DH ate them he would line all the stalks up around the edge of the plate - do you think he was trying to tell me something? ... well I wasn't using the only pair of scissors I had they were my dressmaking scissors & definitely not for cutting stalks off ... lol

#90

Spent yesterday with my Mum taking her shopping, etc - we made quite a day of it too, so woke rather tired today & didn't really want to go for my walk this morning - my excuse!!! ... well we were doing our grocery shopping today & when we do that DH makes sure we walk down each & every isle at the supermarket, so I reckon I get my bit of exercise for the day. Well seems Gilly didn't think so cause as soon as we had had our morning phone call from Mum, Gilly was at the doorway of the computer room telling me it was time to go - I'm sure if she could get her lead down she would bring that into me as well - the longer I take the louder she gets... don't you just love her ...
The other day I got in & did a page in my girlfriend's altered book - I had something else to post to her so posted them off together. I can show you now as she has received it all safe & sound... I don't know why I don't do more of these as I do love doing them... I took this photo in a bit of a hurry & thought I had sorted the glare - ohh well still learning ...

# 89

When I was doing a bit of surfing today - blog surfing that is - I came across a blog that stopped me in my tracks - Ange is asking people to join her SIS club - gosh did it bring a smile to my dial as it was just sooo 'me' ... SIS stands for Six Inch Square meaning you have a full table to work on but before you know it you end up with a Six Inch Square - I have been know on more than one occasion to end up with a Four Inch Square which I actually won a boobie prize for at one of the Stamp Camps I used to frequent - yes I even did it at camp ... ha ha So I thought that I should join pronto quick. Here is a photo of my table today... went through my photos & found this one dated in Feb ... Sadly I don't clean-up all that often really - only when my girlfriends come to stay & play - always a good reason to clean-up then... But I've gotta say I do have the 'good' ingredients just off to the side of the photos ... see ...

Do pop on over to Ange the Red's site & have a look - I know you are all busting to see how others control the 'creeping' disease [ as a friend's hubby calls it ...starts in one room then creeps all over the house... he really didn't have to be quite 'that' truthful...]

# 88

Happy Father's Day to all the father's out there...
My DH has just celebrated his 39th Father's Day & if my Dad was still with us he would of celebrated his 70th Father's Day today. This year he would of been 100 years old last March but he passed 15 years ago.
I love this photo of my Dad taken around 1956 - I believe it shows his wacky sense of fun - I do so miss him & how he always saw the funny side of life. As with many families of that era Mum was the chief hairdresser cutting everyone in the family's hair - Dad had just had his cut the day before [Sat] cause we would of been going to the pictures [movies] that night...'he has got to look like he is cared for...' Mum would say. The next day on the Sunday we had gone up to the Bunya Mountains for a BBQ/picnic lunch with family friends. Of course being mountains it was rather chilly as it was around this time of year so after the short back & sides he was feeling a little bit chilly around the ears... not to worry Mum had a scarf to hold her hair down, should the wind come up, so undeterred he just got that scarf & tied it around his head to keep his ears warm - what a laugh we all got. He had to have this photo taken in front of the sign that said 'National Park' Dogs, Cats & all other domestic animals are prohibited'... Did that mean him too???
On these BBQ/picnics we would arrive, have lunch then after lunch the menfolk would take all the kids & either have a game of cricket at the Cabbage Patch or take us for a bush walk to the waterfalls, while the womenfolk had a bit of a rest & a talk among themselves. Such special memories...

#87

Now I'm sorry to those that might not have an open plan on their computer - for downloading purposes - but if you can watch this I'm sure you will be greatly inspired, I was ... so much so that I've been out in my shed this arvo 'creating' away - really gets the creative juices flowing that's for sure ... 'Tis English inspiration that I found on a site called 52 Projects & was in an August posting....

#86

Luc & I got this great DvD in the mail the other day - OK we have looked at it at least 3 times -shhhh I've looked 5 but who's counting ... ha ha
What a great DvD - we are trying to teach ourselves how to do free-motion stitching so thought this might be a way to go. There is a series of DvD's put out by Patsy Thompson Designs of Ohio, USA. Patsy is so very easy to listen to, understand & so much fun to watch - now we are all systems go ... I really think you could learn from her DvD's even if you were a seasoned free-motion stitcher & she makes it look ohhhhhhhh soo easy .... soo we will see ... Do pop on over to her website - don't forget she has lots of different DvD's on free-motion stitching so now we are looking to see which one we will get next ...no I'm not affiliated just a very satisfied customer.

Last month I showed you that I was working on some Angel Pages for a Chunky Skinny Book for a group I'm in, well, today I thought I would show you the pages I did.This is the first one - the back had to be decorated as well so here is the front & back


I was also in another book there were 6 books in all, so here are the front & back of the next one ...


All the pages are now at their new homes in Oz & O/S so that is pretty cool, I think. I'm now involved in another swap 'In This House', with the same group so I have my sketches all worked out, made the templates, sorted the materials, so now it's to work on them ... stay tuned...

I have received a 'I Love Your Blog' award from Robyne at Creativ Spirit.
Thank you Rob so much for nominating me the other week. I'm thrilled that you enjoy looking at my blog.
Here are the guidelines...
1. Put the logo on your blog
2. Link to the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate seven blogs you love to read
4. Link to those blogs
5. Let those bloggers know with a comment that they've been nominated.
The folks I've nominated - please don't feel obliged to do the same. These memes are meant to be fun to do, but sometimes they can feel a bit like a chain letter.
I can talk for hours about the blogs I love to read and why, but the people I've nominated shouldn't feel pressured to do the same.
I would like to nominate the following blogs to receive this award.
Paula at Paula's Palace of Altered Art
Linda at Q
Jane at Oz Attack
Kellie at Don't Look Now
Debbi at My Abundant Life
Susan at Blissful Artist
Vanessa at We've only just begun...
Hope that you enjoy all of these blogs, each one is slightly different in flavour but I like to pop in & check them out from time to time.

Some weeks ago I received a lovely parcel from Barbara in Germany with a great hat I had admired on her Rainbow blog + some little goodies so as a thank you I made her an Australian Fabric PostCard + sent some Collections chipboard cutouts that I hope she will have fun with [Collections is Australian]. I had hand stitched the PostCard + added some beading but I must remember next time not to put the beading sooo close to the edge cause when you machine edge it the needle & foot don't like beads ... ha ha The one above is the one I sent Barbara & this is another one I made.My DH wanted to know did I make a mistake with the water on the Qld coastline - drrr that's our wonderful Great Barrier Reef man.I suppose he was only 'trying' to be helpful/constructive...I've just been over to Linda's blog Q and I was so surprised to see she had made some Australian Fabric PostCards as well & around about the same time as me, how is that for a coincidence - love the Aboriginal Art Fabric ... ummm I have some of that in my stash too... I think it is quite funny that some of my Aboriginal Art Fabrics + my Australian Icon Fabrics come from New Zealand - like what's that about ... so do I look for Maori Art Fabric in Oz? - I'm on the lookout for some Paua Shell Fabric ... now do I ask my NZ daughter to look for it or do I look for it here - I wonderrrrrrr ...... ohh the idiosyncrasies' of life ...

Spring ...

Here we are Mon 1st September where ohhh where have the months gone ... I feel I've been in some sort of vacuum or something, here, but not here... been doing a few things in the creative line but blog surfing more than anything else but it's Spring so I need to get myself sorted and motivated - NO more PROCRASTINATING ... I've seen so many beautiful things while I've been surfing - my mind is full of great ideas. I'm not a sketching sortta person but have a couple of books that I use to write stuff o interest in plus a few sketches of lay-outs/plans whatever you want to call them cause I don't class myself as a person that can draw but I'm going to work on my sketching but in the long run I guess so long as I know what it represents that's all that matters but they say the more you do the better you get so that's ME...
Since Luc & I went to Adelaide back in May I have been doing a bit of walking each day [I was so sore walking in Adelaide by the time we came home I was starting to feel a bit better about it so decided it was time to make some changes ...] I've kept it up and enjoy my little walk each morning even Gilly is coming with me now and is very forlorn if left at home. So that's 15 weeks so does that mean I've formed a pattern that I will want to keep - I know it still need MY will-power...
I've noticed while walking that the local house fences still get graffiti even these days - I thought with shops & a railway station not far away they would concentrate on those. I gotta say I like some graffiti but what I'm seeing is certainly not Art...this sort of graffiti is just vandalism in my eyes, but, I'm not going to get into this debate what I did find on this fence was an interesting confession of love & admiration a young lady has for her man - there for one & all to see ...I think this girl could have a career in writing if she put her mind to it - she definitely knows how to express herself just a shame it has to be on someone elses fence...
I do enjoy looking at other peoples gardens as some of you will know I love my garden so I can get lots of ideas. My hairdresser has a wonderful 'whimsical' garden as she calls it & I just love it & you can see she gets so much pleasure from working in it & collecting her stuff for it ... go Deb.
I found these whirly gigs in a yard not far from me - they look like the gentleman garden might be the maker as well - so kool ....