105

I have not been completely idle between going to craft & quilt shows ... I've make a card or too for my family ... both of these are wedding cards - the black & red one, somewhat matches the invitation ... when I make a card I do my best to match the inside of the card with the outside plus match the envelope with just simple decoration...

104

Well I added to my stash on Sunday at the Craft & Quilt Fair - me t'inks I had better pull my head in big time & for a long while & use my stash before I go even looking at more 'good stuff' ... ha ha, famous last words eh!!! But I have got to admit that I mainly bought non-perishables, so to speak ... still accumulating the necessities of the trade I keep telling myself ...
I also went on my pat-malone on Fri.[think I told you Wed...drrr] & spent all day taking advantage of all the lectures & hands on classes that they were offering... Free workshops ... I did one on all the different types of stiffeners, stabilisers & fusibles & what the different names were for them all ... tad confusing at times when my poor old sewing machine just stitches - none of this 600/800 stitches per something or another ... ha ha but good in other ways as they gave you a sampler pack. Another W/S on free motion stitching of flowers & the like ... another on how to organise you craft room with see-through containers etc & the last in the free ones that I did was on memory quilts that you actually did all through your cp then just stitched on the lines - all so easy & ended up looking like a pieced little quilt ...
Bernina were offering a hands on classes where we made a bowl out of a soft thick cor/rope & bias strips of fabric sewn with a large corded foot ... sorry no pictures as I'm still looking for the snake that belongs in my 'strange' shaped bowl ... ha ha and the last class I did was in the Crafty Classes area where a Lace shop did a hands on class for Fabric PostCards - right up my alley.
Yesterday we had time to look at all the lovely quilts on display - there was also a Fabric PostCard display as well as Art Quilts. In another section they had the Flying Doctor Quilts - that was a great display to honour our outback service that two of my children have used in there time out west. There was also a Japanese display as well ... We tootled off home before closing time rather time & a lot poorer but we had a great day...
Giveaway:- Please pop on over to Crafty Ramblings as Dawn is doing a giveaway for having 20,000 visitors ... great job Dawn ... to be in Dawn's giveaway she would like you to put a photo up of your crafty room/area... a lotta fun...

103

Drum roll please ... the winner of my little giveaway - picked by the Random Number Generator was #7 which is Dawn ... Congratulations Dawn & thank you for coming on by - gosh my little quiltie is going all the way to Scotland.
I would like to thank everybody for entering my little giveaway, I was surprised to see this many - I do so enjoy your comments so please pop on by again & say G'day...
I have had a very hectic but wonderful w/e - hasn't been so interesting & busy in a long time ... ha ha
DH [Dear Heart] & I celebrated our 40th [Ruby] Wedding Anniversary on Sat [& to think they were laying bets on it only lasting a year or too...] All our children live a long way away now but our youngest lives on the other side of town about an hour's drive away so she had us over to celebrate with a Seafood BBQ - yummm it was lovely & the Grandies put on a little concert for us as well so all in all we had a wonderful night - thanks Love. Our other children rang us so we had some long conversations on the phone... Telstra did well out of it ...
Sunday my girlfriend Luc & I went off to the Craft & Quilt Fair for the day ... I'm feeling slightly knackered today but we did have such a fun day. I had been on the Wed as well but will tell you about the Craft & Quilt Fair next time ...

102

Myy I'm a tad behind with telling you what I've been up too ... The other w/e I got to go to a great Quilt Show called Quilt Indulgence Festival one of the days it was on ... never been to one of their shows, only to find out it's all a bit new ... so off I went armed with comfy clothes, always wear comfy shoes, water bottle & camera ... ohhh & plastic [CC] ...
The Gee Bend quilts were on display & I found they were really quite inspirational & humbling especially when you read their story... I gotta admitt I was blown away with 'all' the quilts on display, they were wonderful & the art quilts ummmmmm I got lots of ideas & inspiration there ... seeing the actual art quilts that are being used in the Down Under Quilts 2009 calendar gives them a whole new feeling & appreciation... But I was a bit sad that we couldn't take photos of the quilts on display ... but there again I can understand the legal thingos about it all but it sure was some good eye candy.
The show was put on by Creative Living but I don't think it was advertised that well which was a bit sad for the stall holders but great for me the shopper as I had time to have a really good look around [I think there was a grand total of 10 stands] didn't get squashed & shoved in the maddening crowd as there wasn't one but I did manage to give my plastic a bit of a work-out. Here is what I bought ...plus some books - well ya just gotta have more books ...
I did a free workshop by Genesis Creations about dying cloth, clothes etc & was very impressed. It's an all Australian product ... gotta love that too, so I hope to be having some great fun very soon.
Now to top all of this we have another show this w/e ... Craft & Quilt Fair & there are so many free workshops I'm actually going an extra day just to try & fit them all in ... daa drrrrr

101

Thank you so very much to all that have left comments on my 100th post giveaway ... only days to go now... 'ya gotta be in it to win it', as they say ...
Got a lovely surprise the other day when I got home from a very long day shopping with my elderly Mum ...
my flat-top sewing table arrived & I'm thrilled to bits with it - it looks good - it feels great - it fits well & best of all it works ... I know, I'm sooo easily thrilled!!! but it has come from ID. USA. I had asked my local Janome dealer if I could buy a flat-top table for my machine & with a little scoff she says ''no' not with the age of your machine' ... gosh she didn't have to rub it in, I know my sewing machine is old but she has been very faithful, sewn many clothes for me & the kids, plus curtains, etc, she still sews like a dream [she does like to be serviced regularly]& she is the last of the models they put out before they went fully computerised. She's nearly 30years old & from what I hear around the traps you don't get that age out of the newer models so I'm hanging onto to her for as long as I can... like they say 'if it ain't broke why fix it' ...
I'm am also very thrilled with the service as I had it in about three weeks - I know I couldn't be buying something from O/S at a worse finical time with the money exchange at pressie but that's OK as I couldn't get one here plus the workmanship on it is great ... I got it from Nancy's Notions - don't ask how I found them cause I really don't know but I'll hazard a guess at finding it while I was blog surfing - the weather's great for surfing at pressie ... ha ha. I did spend some time on their site as there is a lot of very useful info there besides things to buy ...

100 yaaa 100 posts = Giveaway

Yep 100 posts does equals a GIVEAWAY ... and I even have something made for it too ...



This is my little 'Thank You' for popping on over to my place for a look-see & leaving me a comment [can't get on by without your comments ... even if it's only from the 3 of you that visit me ... ha ha] - please leave me a comment as I will take the names from the comment section - if you don't have a blog that's OK still leave a comment & then contact me via the email addy in my profile. I'll be drawing it on Sat week - 25th Oct [or day after] as it is a very special day for us here - I'll tell you more of that then...
I'm giving away this little quiltie 'Shine' that I made - I'm still in my learning curve with these & loving it - it is approx. 200mm [8"] X 150mm [6"], machine sewn with a little beading. Come one, come all I'm thrilled to have been blogging for 100 posts which for me has equaled 12 months at Bethel's Place.

99

Back from a couple of little trips away to visit with the Grandies ... poor DH had to have surgery on his lower leg for sun cancer - poor thing this is a legacy of being of Danish decent with the red hair & skin to match & being brought up out west where it is so hot & before they knew about the Slip, Slop, Slap where you Slip on a shirt, Slop on some suncream & Slap on a hat... but DH was a outside worker, he often worked without a shirt or even a hat for that matter for hours on end coming home very burnt... luckily our kids know so they cover their kids but they themselves have sun damage already just by inheriting their father's genes plus I also had copper hair when a child with a fair complexion/skin SOOO please now that we are in our southern summer Please remember to cover-up & Slop on the sunscreen even just for a morning walk or school. I see they (SunSmart) have extended the saying now to Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek & Slide the 5 S's - Do click on the hyperlink & go to the bottom of the page & hear the little song our kids used to sing.
Talking of walking Gilly must of found the trips away a little exhausting, as this is how she looked at me the first day we got back - you will notice that she parks herself in the covers after I have got up in the morning ... but she still came for a walk with me then the next day one of the neighbours dogs were out wondering the streets & as Gilly is only a toy poodle I had to very quickly scoop her up as one swipe at her by these much bigger dogs would have been disastrous so we were both a little nervous going off today but that soon disappeared when a chap further down our street brought his little grandie out so she could pat Gilly - Gilly loves kids & of course loves to be patted but not them big dogs ... ha ha
As per usual I was doing some blog surfing since I've been back & found that Denise Fenton had commented on Baumcat's blog so of course I followed the link and then found Tactile Pleasures... in Fabric... Myra is doing a giveaway[I'm late it's only til Sun] & would love folks to pop on over & visit - I found Myra's Tactile Pleasures a very inspirational blog to visit with a few tuts to look at too, so even if you miss the giveaway for her 200th post I know you will find it a great blog.
Did I say that I got my sewing machine back from the dr.? So now that the visiting is over I need to get back into my 'In This House' swap... I was a tad naughty while DH was having his surgery - well maybe it was "Stress Relief" in the form of 'Retail Therapy', but I visited Spotlight[large fabric & homeware shop] & just had to bring some of the lovely fabrics home - I'm going to have a go at making some aprons for Christmas pressies - well that's what I say now ... lol but first I need to finish my swap.

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 ....

I gotta 'Prise' today...

Yes I got a lovely 'Prise', as in 'Surprise' - as one of my Grandies would call it ... Paula over at Paula's Palace of AltAred Art sent me a wonderful RAK with a Halloween theme ... Thank you Paula it was so lovely to come home from a long drive & visit with DH's Mum to find this gorgeously decorated box waiting at my front door - filled with these little goodies - the lollies/candys are nearly all gone as we speak & the magnet is on the frig - forgot to add it when I took the photo ... Thank you Paula for spreading Love & Peace around...I wonder what Paula has up her sleeve at present as she has a big announcement to make this week - only two days to go ... ummmm wonder...

Smell.......

Can you smell this beautiful rose ... snifffffffff
This rose is spent now but I've had it two weeks - but why did I get it? you ask... No, it wasn't a pressie... Strangely enough I was sitting in our lounge having lunch & I said to DH that looks like a flower out on the road - of course, I had to go & retrieve it... don't know if it had been dropped by someone walking past or it had been thrown out in the rubbish [which had been collected that morning] but there was a dead rose on the road too...so I didn't want to leave it there as it was so lucky to survive our busy road. I brought it in ... recut the stem & just popped it into a jar of water and it has survived this long and it smelt beautiful - a great bright spot on my kitchen bench to brighten my day... simple things give sooo much pleasure...

Have a look..

Do pop on over to Carla of Feathered Fibres ... she is having a blog give-away 'just cause' she can & wants too - don't you love that sortta give-away, from the Heart. Carla is giving one of her Freeform Crochet Scarf and man I wanna win the purple one, it looks so warm & cuddly ... do pop on over & have a gander...

AWOL...?

Yep I'm here ... not really been Absent WithOut Leave - well maybe mentally ...lol but that's a whole different thing.
Well the weather is really cool here at present ... Ekka[show]time so the winds [Westerlies] will be up by the end of the week I guess & that will make it even colder. Last year there was sooo much sickness around that the authorities were advising folks to stay home but I believe it has been a great Ekka this year with lots of people going & the weather is perfect for a good day out as the sun is warm but not burning like summer. Tomorrow is Ekka Day or Show Day & is a public holiday so it will be packed. Am I going? 'No' it's only about a 5 year thing for me & 5 years aren't up yet ... ha ha
Well it seems like months ago that I went for my long w/e with Luc ... we had a great time & I got a few things done & we looked at DvD's I've been collecting. I've been involved with a Skinny Book swap & seem to be taking wayyyy tooo long to get my pages done but I'm nearing the end now.
I've been using this project to learn how to do free motion sewing ... steep learning curve ... I did start this project just before I went to Luc's & worked on it there as well. Here is a teaser as I can't show them all until at least half of the folks have received them...the theme is Angelic. At least you know I have been doing something...
Ohhh did I tell you we went to see Mamma Mia... was so good we actually have been twice now such a great 'feel good' show so if you get a chance to see it do ... I'm sure you won't be disappointed. I think Meryl & the gang did a great job of singing although they are far from singers but it gave you that feeling that it's quite OK to go around singing so long as it makes 'you' feel good. It amazed me how clever the writers were to be able to weave a story around the songs that had/have been hits just sooo long ago ... real talent I believe.
Here are the some of the DvD's we watched & got some great inspiration from ...Now we will have to schedule time in to have a go at some of the wonderful projects. Seems you can use anything to make art these days making it a challenge to find 'stuff'. I often wonder if we enjoy the making of the art more or the hunting for 'stuff'?
In the last few weeks I received a great parcel from Barbara in Germany[Thank You Barbara] & this is part of a little something I'm sending her ... I know another teaser ... All for now, Take care & Keep Smilin'... B

BFF Gold Card

Mary-Beth in Canada has honoured me with the BFF Gold Card - BFF standing for Blogging Friends Forever - thank you Mary-Beth you are so kind & I find your blog a great inspiration & I'd love to meet you one day ...
Here are the rules.
1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award.
2. Four dedicated followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the award.
I would like to pass this honor on to the following five persons, whose blogs I enjoy.
They are:
Jean
Nic
Cat
Kristy
Barbara
Thank you Mary-Beth for giving me this great award and thank you ladies for checking in on me. There are a few more ladies to whom I'd love to give this award but I've been pipped at the post so to speak ......