When Blogging Buddies PLAY!!!

Well ... it's been a little longer than intended since I popped in last to tell you about my FANTASTIC play date at Mt Tambourine last weekend with my bestest blogging buddies the Gorgeous Kerryanne and the Lovely Lilly Linda. I'm finally back to finish telling of our adventures. BUT ... be warned ... there are quite a few pictures to follow ... you know Linda's and my version of A FEW! Tee! Hee! Hee! In other words ... you may want to grab a cuppa, a bickie and get comfy before you proceed. :0)

OK ... so ... what do three blogging buddies get up to when they finally meet up in person? Well ... they go SHOPPING of course! :0) I'm surprised you even had to think about that! Tee! Hee! Hee! Since Linda and her Beloved have been to Mt Tambourine more often than the rest of us, we let them set the itinerary ... well ... Linda did and her brave Beloved was Mr Bus Driver for the weekend! Tee! Hee! Hee! And an admirable job he did, too! :0) First stop ... some antique and vintage hunting ...

Look at that ... a sign that we decided summed us up well! :0) Though ... I don't REALLY think Kerryanne qualifies at an antique!! :0) We made sure that we inspected this and a few other shops VERY thoroughly which led to the discovery of several treasures ...

Here's Kerryanne ... do you see that grin?? That's cos she had just snagged a couple of bargains! :0) Don't you love that rustic ironing board? And the cylinder she's holding is a giant reel of cotton ... more on that later! Now ... after that spot of shopping, we were all a bit peckish and thirsty, so off Mr Bus Driver took us to a quiet little park ... where Linda and I made use of the "Devil-bite-your-bum" toilets! Linda's description of the eco-toilets that made me laugh and conjured up a VERY funny mental picture! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Linda and her Beloved are famous for their car-boot picnics and this is what we were treated to. Here's Kerryanne inspecting the table ... do you see that pretty tablecloth? Who says outdoor dining is roughing it! :0) Then it was back to the shops ... we're not wimps!! We could ... shop all day! The long-suffering husbands were pretty good about our shopping expedition ... mainly cos the shop owners at Mt Tambourine were very good at providing "husband seats" outside. Tee! Hee! Hee!

So ... what did I buy?? I know you want to know. :0)

Like Kerryanne, I couldn't go past the giant cotton reels, especially since they're complete with original packaging. I've popped a couple of my 'normal' wooden cotton reels beside it to show you the scale. The label says the cotton is for factory use in the 'boot, shoe, slipper and clothing trades'. It's now sitting on the shelf above my sewing desk ... where ELSE would I keep a giant reel of cotton?!?! :0)

I found some pretty pieces of pink Depression glass that I've put away as birthday and Christmas gifties for my bestest-buddy-since-we-were-nine Lynette ... she collects the pink Depression glass and I collect the green.

I also bought myself a French cafe` CD ... which I'm enjoying listening to as I type this :0) ... and some pretty smelling soaps to go into my giftie stash. Oh ... do you see that pretty birdcage and the Matroyshka (that's spelt really wrong, but spellcheck won't offer me alternatives!!) dollies? Gorgeous gifties from my equally gorgeous blogging buddies. :0) And in the bags I put together for each of the gals was ...

Some cute little bits and bobs that I've been collecting ever since we set our play date and a little stitchery kit of a special Tag Along Teddies design (yet to be released as a pattern) . Each gift was co-ordinated in the gals' fave colours ... pink for Linda and blue for Kerryanne. There were a few of the gifties that we exchanged that we all now have, including the stitchery that says "Friends are tied by heart strings".  Not sure when any of us will get to actually STITCH them, since all three of us seem to be constantly busy chasing deadlines, but we'll have them ready to go when we manage to find some free time. :0)

Now each time I'm at my sewing desk, I'll be reminded of my blogging buddies and the 'time' we spent together. (Get it?? Clock ... time ...oh never mind!!!)

So ... are you still with me?? If so, that's the end of Friday's adventures. Saturday ... the view from our front deck had changed a little from the clear coastal views of the day before and looked like this ...

That pea-soup is where our coastal views should have been. Ah ... yes ... THIS is the view of Mt Tambourine that my Beloved Geek Boy and I are most familiar with ... every other time we've visited, this is the sort of weather we've been treated to! :0) So what better way to spend the day than doing this ...

... and this ...

Did we mind that the weather was icky?? Not a bit!! We were cosy and warm in the lounge room, stitching, chatting, munching and drinking cups of tea and coffee! :0) In fact, we only ventured out later that evening to enjoy dinner out ... and our fearless Mr Bus Driver deserves a medal for negotiating the narrow, winding mountain roads in thick, THICK, THICK fog!! Then ... as it always does way too soon ... Sunday rolled around and it was time for hugs goodbye, promises to start planning our RE-union (very hard to explain to people that we're great friends but only meeting up in person for the first time!!!) and we all headed different directions homeward ... Kerryanne and her Beloved headed south, Linda and Mr Bus Driver headed north and GB and I headed west. We really did gather from all points of the compass for our play date! :0) (no one could have come from the east unless we'd invited a mermaid or two cos there's nothing out there but ocean!! Tee! Hee! Hee!)

So ... that was our VERY special blogging buddy play date. Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much Kerryanne and Linda for an incredibly enjoyable, memorable and special weekend of friendship. I can't WAIT til we get to do it all over again!!

And if you've stuck with me right to the end ... WELL DONE!! Go and reward yourself with another cuppa and another bickie! Tee! Hee! Hee! Meanwhile ... I'm off to do something about our dinner.

OPAM gals ... I'll be back Monday to let you know who the prize draw winners are, so if you'd forgotten to let Peg or I know your final tally for August, you've got another day to do so. Hope your weekend is off to a fabulous start and that it includes some time to relax. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!!
CHEERS!
KRIS