Been Busy But Back!!

There's a nice bit of alliteration to distract you from the fact that I've been a bit of a slacko blogger in the last few weeks! :0) How the heck does life get so busy and complicated?!?!?! I feel like I'm a clown in a circus juggling a dozen or so balls and I think they're going to all drop on my head at any moment. Well ... the clown part is pretty accurate, hey! :0)

OK ... so last post I told you I've be back to tell you about an adventure that started with a trip on a jet plane. It was actually last Thursday/Friday/Saturday that I joined my Beloved Geek Boy for a work-related road ... er ... plane ... trip. He had to fly up to Mackay in north QLD for a few days to install some video conferencing equipment and we decided to take advantage of some cheap airfares so I could go along with him ... it's WARM up there, after all! :0) We had hopes (since he'd organised for some of the cabling etc to be done before he got there) that we might even manage to have half a day to ourselves for some fun stuff. Alas ... this didn't happen, but at least I got to go on a couple of plane rides (did I mention that I LOVE to fly?!?!), I got to spend some quiet time in the motel room stitching ... when I wasn't soaking in the spa! Tee! Hee! Hee! And in the last week of Autumn when it was NASTY cold here on top of our hill ... we were wearing t-shirts in 22 degree warmth ... AAAAAAAHHHHH!!! :0)

We DID manage to snatch an hour to ourselves late on Thursday afternoon and quickly decided to scoot out to the harbour/marina for a little look see. We both remember how it was when we were kids (both our families come from the Mackay area and we spent a lot of school holidays here ... just didn't know each other then!!) and it is DEFINITELY classier these days! :0) While most of the shops had closed up for the day, we did enjoy some lovely ocean scenery.

This is the old lighthouse at the harbour ... no longer in use, but protected and preserved as a reminder to Mackay's long maritime history. It's just one of those postcard pictures, isn't it!! :0) And I haven't tweaked the colours or levels at all ... it was just a GORGEOUS day up there in the north!! And my boss wonders why I was threatening to send him a postcard to tell him I was spending winter in Mackay and not coming back til Spring! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Here's one of two tug-boats that was tied up at the wharf while we were there. They always seem so small in pictures, but are really quite big ... as GB pointed out, though ... you usually see them in photos pushing REALLY big tankers or liners around, so they just look small in comparison! :0) See the colour of that water and sky ... GORGEOUS, I tell ya! :0)

Hmmm ... now ... where DID we park our boat?!?! Wouldn't want to be making your way back to your boat after a few drinks at the local tavern ... they all start to look a bit the same! :0) Still ... wouldn't mind if one of them was ours cos there are hundreds of islands, large and small in the Whitsunday region that would be fun to explore ...

This pic isn't the best, cos it was taken out the window of the plane as we were flying home, but it gives you a bit of an idea of those islands.

So ... that was about the extent of our 'fun' time in Mackay (I'm not counting the stitching and spa times cos GB was working! Tee! Hee! Hee!) But I did manage to get him to let me pop into a lovely little French-inspired gift shop we found last time we visited Mackay. I was given 15 minutes on our way to the airport to catch the plane home on Saturday morning ... not really enough time to enjoy all of the pretties, but we women are talented and can make the most of ANY shopping time, no matter HOW limited, right?!?! :0)

I adopted this sweet rosey plate ... just big enough to fit a couple of biccies or a cupcake on, I think! :0) And I also found some yummy orange flavoured tea that will help keep me warm as winter's chills set in.

Now, after our quick trip north, I had to hit the ground running, as we got home just in time for me to arrive late at a choir rehearsal session (we had a concert last Sunday arvo, which I managed NOT to be late for!!), then after grabbing a few fresh groceries, we popped into the hospital to visit GB's Mum, who had been admitted with pneumonia while we were in Mackay. She's now back home and on the mend, thankfully, but we sure did have a busy homecoming ... then it was the end of month OPAM blog-hopping time (Peg will be announcing winners in the next day or so, so stay tuned to her blog!!), back into the working week, playing catch up, coping with major computer issues at work (IT departments ... GRRRRRRR!!!! ), meeting up with the Quilting Angels gals to start work on more care quilts ... PHEW! What a week!! And in all the busy-ness ... I forgot something important!! You see, I came home to find a lovely email from Toni at The Red Boot Quilt Co. to tell me that I had won her pattern giveaway!! WOW! I hardly ever win stuff!! :0) And this arrived on my doorstep this week as a result ...

The giveaway prize was a kit to make Basil and Hettie, two VERY cute fuzzy bears! :0) THANK YOU TONI!!! I know these bears are super sweet, cos I was lucky enough to receive a Christmas bear from Toni last Christmas ... yep, I'm spoilt ... but worth it! Tee! Hee! Hee! Now ... being a fellow designer, Toni KNOWS how long the ol' "To Do" list can get, so she suggested I might like to pop this fabulous kit into the OPAM prize pool ... what a WONDERFUL idea!! So, one of you lucky OPAM gals will be receiving this kit next time I do the prize draw for OPAM. But ... if you can't wait to make yourself one of these cute bears, pop across to Toni's blog, cos she sells a lovely range of patterns ... not only does she make sweet naive softies, she designs GORGEOUS patchwork/applique quilts!!! Your problem will be deciding on just ONE that you love! :0) Thanks again for your generosity, Toni!!

Well ... I think that's about it from me for now. I've caught you up on my 'jet plane' adventure and what I've been up to this week, so I think I shall head off to play in my sewing room. As always, I have seven or eight things on the go!!!! :0) I hope to pop back before the end of the weekend to show you some progress ... but if I don't, you'll know that all my travels and adventures have caught up with me and I've found a warm, quiet corner to curl up for a kindy-kip! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hope your week has been spectacular and that your weekend includes time to dream and create! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS