Happy New Year Holiday Hello!!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!

I hope you're all enjoying the first days of 2013!? What have you been up to? They say that whatever you do on New Years Day is what you'll spend the next 12 months doing. Frankly, I'd be pretty happy with that cos ... We're on HOLIDAY! Tee! Hee! Hee! Which of course is why I've been a bit absent from blogland this last week or two. I've done a little blog reading, but mostly I've been in holiday mode. :0)

Before I regale you with our ongoing adventures ... I need to say a big THANK YOU to my SSCS swap partner, Sharon for my lovely Christmas gifties. I was a good girl and didn't open them til Christmas Day. :0)

A bright and cheerful tote bag ... with that mesh insert, it is PERFECT as a beach/swimming bag as it will allow air to circulate through so damp towels don't start to smell icky. The craft organiser tote is going to live on my cutting table so I can organise myself a little and the hot drink sachets will be enjoyed when the weather begins to cool down (not too soon, I hope!!). The cocoa is a chocolate cinnamon flavour and I just LOOOOOOVE cinnamon flavoured anything!! Thanks so much Sharon ... I feel VERY spoilt!!! And thanks again to the inimitable Chookyblue for running one of the best organised swaps I've had the pleasure of joining in.

Christmas Day (after the unwrapping of my SSCS giftie!!) was spent with my Beloved Geek Boy's family ... 21 family members who were able to gather ... and that wasn't even the entire family ... EEK! :0) It was noisy ... it was chaotic ... it was ... FAMILY! :0) We then lined up the house sitter, left notes for the dog sitter and packed up the car to head north. First stop was a few days with my folks in Mundubbera, before heading FURTHER north to enjoy a few days in tropical north Queensland ... we're currently enjoying the serenity of Blacks Beach near Mackay ... which has slightly spotty internet access ... hence me being a bit absent! :0)

But what is lacking in internet is made up for in other ways ...

This is the FANTASTIC view that we can enjoy by walking about 100m from our front door. This was taken during one of our evening walks ... I love the colours in the sky and the darker purple outline of the island  (not sure which one it is, as there are a LOT of little islands off the coast here) And I've been doing a bit of this ...

 

... paddling in the ocean and letting the gentle waves sneak up over my feet. So soothing ... even if my skirt DID end up a little damp around the hem! Tee! Hee! Hee!

 

We're having a lovely time recharging our batteries before we dive into the busy-ness of the new year. We've caught up with some friends and rellies, gone for long rambling drives around this ever-growing city/area that we hope to call home in the next few years, went to the cinema to enjoy the first movie instalment of "The Hobbit" and I've even been doing some ...

 

... Stitching!! At first I was struggling cos the light wasn't bright enough or in the right place for me to be able to stitch whilst watching tele at night ... but after a visit to the local quilting store (Needleworx) I am now the proud owner of a clever little battery powered and VERY portable Ottlight that is making ALL the difference. You can see I'm working on a series of  small stitcheries for a new design at the moment ... they're from the set I designed for Lynda that I told you about a few posts back. Oh ... and we all know you need to keep up the energy snacks when you're stitching, right?!?! :0)

 

Well, that's about it from me. We head southwards home again on the weekend and while I'm looking forward to catching up with my friends after the Christmas/New Year break, I will be very sorry to say farewell to Mackay's wonderful summery weather ... I know ... I am such a summer gal! Tee! Hee! Hee! Before I sign off ... I thought I'd share a link to a fave song with you. It's by Graeme Connors ... who incidentally comes from Mackay!! ... and it is called

 

"A Little Further North"

 

When the chills of our home on the 'hill' become too much, this is GB's and my theme song ... hope you enjoy a little listen. (the slide show presentation with it is a bit dodgy, but it was the only link I could find to it) But right now, I think I'm off to keep a date with my pillow and dream of beach walks to be enjoyed tomorrow. However you're spending the first week of 2013, I hope you are taking time out to smell the roses and feel the sand between your toes ... it's a good habit to get into early in the year to keep our stress levels down all year round! :0) Til next time!

TROPICAL BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS