Birds, Bliss, Brownie Points!

That sums up my weekend! I told you all last post that my beloved Geek Boy had organised a surprise for Saturday afternoon. Well, it turned out to be a weekend deal and he whisked me away for a romantic interlude at Ravensbourne Forest Chalets! What a wonderful surprise! Ravensbourne is about 30 minutes drive north of Toowoomba and the country is lots of rolling green hills with pockets of cold-climate forest and it is soooooo pretty! So ... a warning now ... there are going to be LOTS of photos!!! You've been warned! Tee! Hee! Hee!

After driving in on a gravel road that wound through magnificent tall trees, we were greeted by Wes Elphick and he loaded us up with our pre-booked dinner and breakfast hampers (Geek Boy was pulling out all the stops!!) and pointed us towards our cabin - the Vines.


A bit further down the track we found our little corner of paradise.


And the full reveal ...


It was so lush and green! Sigh! Then we walked inside ...


And were greeted with a lovely welcome pressie of three fabulous deep red roses (my fave rose colour!!), a cute little gift box with some chocolates and a note from our hosts Wes and Irene welcoming us to their little slice of paradise! Could it get much better than this? ... YEP!!


Wow! Embroidered velvet bedspread on HUGE bed with a romantic canopy! And snuggled amongst the cushions on the bed ...


How appropriate!! There's a bear in there!! Sorry, 'Playschool' reference that only my Aussie visitors will recognise!! But wait, there's more!


I discovered the deck, where I promptly curled up with a cup of tea and a book while Scott had a snooze. Though, I have to say I spent more time listening to the birds and admiring the view than I did reading. Want to see my view?


This was the view straight out the back from the deck - primeval forest!! Tee! Hee! Hee! Then, out to the side of our little chalet ...


Rolling green hills surrounded by pockets of forest! There were lots of lovely bird calls to listen to - magpies, bellbirds, whipbirds ... Sigh!!! Can it get better than THIS??? ... YEP!!


SIGH!!!! Serious BLISS!!! Mmmmmm ... spa bath, bath salts, oil burner, fluffy towels and washers, heart shaped soap and a view out to lush, tangled forest and vines!! See you in a couple of hours!!! My fingers and toes were VERY wrinkled by the time the cooling water drove me out of my bubbly bliss!!! And by then, the sun had gone down, it had grown quite cool and look what my Boy Scout had done ...



A warm, romantic fire!! Sigh!! (Yes I realise there's lots of blissful sighs happening, but it was worthy of them, really!!) And I thought I'd show you where our stash of fire wood was kept, because I thought it was pretty groovy ...


It was just so lovely and rustic!! My beloved Geek Boy then proceeded to dazzle me with his culinary expertise and cooked our dinner - steak, chops, roast veges - YUM! After dinner, we curled up in front of the cozy fire, me with a book and (predictably!!) Geek Boy with his notebook computer. It was so peaceful - the television stayed off, we'd chat occasionally, we enjoyed the provided desert (golden syrup pudding and custard!), enjoyed a glass or two of wine ... very civilized indeed!!

Morning brought more birdsong to greet us - as well as a cute little yellow and black bird who spent quite some time fighting with his reflection in the bathroom window!! You could hear his little birdie brain thinking, "Who does this intruder think he is, coming into my patch of forest! Mind you, he's awfully handsome!!" Tee Hee! Hee!

Once more, Geek Boy donned his chef's hat and apron (metaphorically speaking, cos that would've just been too funny otherwise!!) and fired up the BBQ to cook bacon, eggs, fried tomato and toast. So, you can imagine that I felt like I was waddling after also having enjoyed a bowl of cereal and fruit, all included in our wonderful brekkie hamper!! Hmmm, must consider starting that diet again ... when we get home!! Tee! Hee! Hee! I then sat back with a cup of fresh coffee and listened to the wind in the trees and the bird calls while my beloved (voluntarily!!) did the dishes.

When at last we had to leave, we stopped into the office for a chat with Irene and said we would DEFINITELY be back again and would tell all our friends about their little corner of paradise and enjoyed a quick visit to the gazebo which is proving a popular spot for garden weddings. I can see why!


Apparently, at night, you can hear lots of frogs tuning up for their choral practice, along with some nocturnal bird life. You can see why it was hard to drag ourselves away and back to reality!!

Then, on the way home, we stopped off for a browse at Hampton Antiques where I found a couple of new treasures ...


The cup and saucer were just too pretty to pass up and even though the cloth had quite a few imperfections, I just loooooooove vintage cotton lace! And our final stop of the day was at Quilters Angel patchwork shop at Highfields' Village Green complex where, despite my militantly anti-pink stance ...


I actually went hunting for pink fabric on purpose with the intention of making some more shabby chic teddy bears, but have to admit that the rose one on the right has really grown on me - oh no!!! I'm mellowing in my old age!!!! Tee! Hee! Hee!

So ... that was my wonderful surprise for the weekend. Needless to say, Scott has earned himself some SERIOUS husband brownie points!! In fact, I was so impressed, I ironed him some work shirts for the week! Now, to some that would not seem out of the ordinary, but in the Meares' Madhouse, if you want to wear something that requires ironing, you'd better know how to work the iron, because it's one of my least favourite chores - most of my clothes are non-iron!! So, for me to iron more than one shirt for him, shows just how impressed I was with his efforts to organise a romantic get-away. And if you're ever in Queensland and looking for a romantic, secluded hide-away, I get HIGHLY recommend Ravenbourne Forest Chalets! Just tell Wes and Irene that I sent you!! That way, I get lots of credit when you have a FABULOUS time! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Now that I've made you all turn green with envy, I'm off to make a couple more pink bears. I know ... I should be writing the pattern instructions I put off on Friday to stitch Lynette Anderson's BOM block for April - but I'm in a lovely mood and don't want to spoil it! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing today, I hope there's a bird's song for you to enjoy! Til next time, Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS