Winter Roars Out/In!!

Well ... The last couple of weeks have certainly disappeared in a puff of smoke ... Though given our recent temperatures, it's more like a puff of "dragon's breath" cold cloud! BRRRRRRR! Winter here on our 'hill' has been unusually mild this year ... Not that this hot-weather chicken was complaining! :0) We really thought Spring was here early ... Then winter decided to roar in ... Er ... Out?!? ... With an icy blast. It was TWO DEGREES in my kitchen this morning!! EEP!! Come on/back, Spring!

So in amidst the icy cold snap, a sneaky UTI, busy 'grown up job' schedule & hosting a gathering of the Meares clan, there hasn't been a lot of sewing happening here, but I have tried to soak up a bit of warmth in the garden ... Which has all been a bit confused by our funny cold-hot-cold weather. Some winter flowering plants are just showing now, while other Spring flowering plants have jumped the gun. So while my garden is reflecting the non-conformist personality of its owners, it's awfully pretty. :0)

This is one of the new spring flowering gardens we've established this year, near our back steps ... Which may as well be our main entrance since everyone who knows us comes in the back door. :0)

It's a bit hard to see in the pic, but there are delphiniums between the agapanthus at the back & the very showy snapdragons at the front. It's the first time I've grown delphiniums so am keen to see them flowering. The snappies sure are putting on a colourful show ... A nice, bright, cheerful way to go into the day as we head down the steps. But I still can't wait for spring to get here for real ... & warm up the temperatures! :0) Not long now! :0)

And speaking of not long now ... OPAMers ... We're about to run out of another month, so please make sure you update your sidebar lists & email your tallies to me or my GORGEOUS Partner-In-Crime Sweet Peg.

Another reason to celebrate the end of August (as if farewelling winter isn't cause enough for celebration!!) it also marks my Beloved Geek Boy's Grandmother's birthday. Tomorrow, Gran Kent will turn ...

102 years old!

WOW! She doesn't recognise many people any more, but she can usually find something to make her smile & laugh.

This pic was taken two years ago when we celebrated her 100th. GB is on the right, his younger sister & her two daughters are beside him. Gran Kent hasn't changed much since then ... Though I think GB has a few more grey hairs! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Right ... I'm off to have a HOT shower for the first time in three days ... Some cloudy days & a problem with the booster on our solar hot water led to lukewarm showers ... Not good! All fixed today, though, & the sparky is my new hero! :0) Hope your week is off to a fantastic start. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS,

KRIS

 

 

 

Girly Stitchy Road Trip!

Our brief glimpse of Spring has been blown away by freezing gale force south-westerlies here on our 'hill' ... In fact, we've just about been blown OFF the top of our 'hill'! :0) So when the going gets tough, the tough go on a girly, stitchy road trip! :0)

A contingent of our Friday Night Sit N Stitch gals hit the road today to drive down the 'hill' (before we got blown off!!) to the friendly little town of Esk, where Chriss had booked us a cosy little room to sit & stitch & enjoy yummy treats at the Nash Gallery & Cafe. I forgot to get a pic of the cafe, but it's in a gorgeous old Queenslander. We happily settled in for some stitchin' time ...

We had our own room to ourselves ... Maybe they thought it would help keep us out of trouble ... MAYBE!! :0) And we all DID do some stitching ... See?! Photographic evidence! :0) But after a while, we really needed some sustenance ... How fortunate that the menu offered some DEEEEEELICIOUS lunch options! :0)

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!! It was then back to the stitching & chatting ... Oh! & quite a bit of laughing!! We even provided entertainment for other people visiting the cafe ... A lovely cyclist decided that maybe she needed to take up stitching since we made it look like so much fun. ;0)

And after expending all of that energy stitching & chatting ... It was time for afternoon tea. :0)

The lovely ladies of Nash do their own baking & the vanilla slice was FABULOUS!

Chriss thought so too! :0)

And Kerrie gave it the finger-lickin'-good thumbs up.

Sue enjoyed a slice of pear & pistachio torte.

Gail loved her vanilla slice, too ...

She enjoyed it a LOT!! Tee! Hee! Hee!

We even had a "Ta! Da!" Moment from Kerrie ...

Isn't this a cute quilt? Good job Kerrie! :0) 

It really was a wonderful way to spend a horrible windy day. Huge thanks to the friendly, helpful staff at the Nash Cafe for helping to make our mini sewing retreat such an enjoyable, relaxed day. If you're passing through Esk or looking for a great place to meet friends, I can highly recommend the Nash Gallery & Cafe.

And now I'm snuggled up in front of the fire under my trusty flannel blankie with my Beloved Geek Boy ... Not a bad way to spend a wild & windy Saturday. :0) I hope your weekend is as enjoyable as mine is shaping up to be. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rock On Friday!!

It's Friday. It's my day off. I'm home ALL DAY!! :0) So what's a gal to do? Why ... Play with some pretty fabrics for a new design ...

... & turn up the 80's Rock & sing along, of course!! :0D ABBA, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, ACDC, John Farnham, Pat Benitar, Cyndi Lauper, Maddona, Crowded House ... Can you tell the sewing machine is ROCKIN' today?! Tee! Hee! Hee!

What do you have planned for YOUR day off/weekend? I hope it involves some creative outlet & some favourite music. :0) OOPS! Bon Jovi is singing "Have A Nice Day" ... I really should help him! Tee! Hee! Hee! Til next time ...

ROCKIN' BEAR HUGS!!

CHEERS!

KRIS xx

 

Lazy Sunday & OPAM Winner!

Hello to you all! Have you had a restful weekend? After our road trip yesterday, we had good intentions of being very productive around the house today.  Yeah ... that didn't really happen! :0) We had a lovely sleep in, then a leisurely brunch on the side verandah in the sun ... mashed avo and fetta on olive sour dough toast and freshly brewed coffee whilst enjoying our unseasonably warm August weather. AAAAAHHH!!  BLISS!! We wondered what the peasants were doing! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Then there was some garden watering for GB and thorough kitchen cleaning for me (hmm ... would have preferred they got swapped!!) The plans were then to head out into the garden ... but our across-the-road neighbour decided to burn off some felled trees/branches ... AGAIN!!! GRRRR! ... and the smoke in the front yard was too nasty to venture out in ... so it was indoor time. A spot of reading for me (thank you Nora Roberts for the MANY hours of entertainment your books give me! :0) ) and some family tree research for GB ... who is coming to the conclusion that perhaps his great-grandmother was a little free in her definition of marriage and that our surname should probably be her maiden name of O'Reilly! Tee! Hee! Hee!

All in all ... it wasn't a bad way to wind down and recharge the batteries to help us get ready to face the new working week ... SIGH!!!

However, before we get tossed kicking and screaming back into the working week, I need to catch up with the OPAM draw for July. Thank you to everyone who emailed their finish tally through to me and my GORGEOUS Partner-In-Crime Sweet Peg and a big thank you to Sweet Peg who did most of this month's blog hopping when I got caught up in life's craziness. There were 196 finishes for July - WOWSERS!! That's our second biggest total for the year so far! There must have been a LOT of  flying needles of one sort or another around the world. :0) And the winner of the random draw is ...

DORY

Congrats, Dory! Email me with your snail mail address and I'll pop a little something in the mail for you ... along with the last two winners of the draws I've been responsible for  - OOPS!! Sorry girls! During the craziness of the last few months, I DID manage to wrap the prizes all ready to post ... and then put them in a VERY safe place. So safe, in fact, that I only re-discovered them this week ... SHEEPISH GRIN!!! :0)  What a slacko host I've been this year ... thank you all for being patient with me.

And in amidst the comings, goings, busy-ness and craziness, I HAVE managed a little bit of sewing. I can't unveil the finishes yet, but I CAN give you a bit of a sneaky peeky ...

... some patchwork from pretty fabrics ...

... and some stitching in a pretty Cottage Garden thread. I'm loving how these projects are coming together and can't wait to show them to you .. just as soon as I finalise the last project.

Well, that's it from me for now. I hope the weekend has given you time to recharge your batteries and that you have a fantastic week. I'm just hoping that a scratchy throat doesn't mark the start of a cold for me ... I'm heading for the olive leaf, lemon and honey drink and putting myself to bed. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

A Birthday Road Trip!!

Hello to all of my lovely blogging buddies! Yes, I'm still here, we've just had a couple of very, VERY busy weeks, so blogging got pushed to back burner ... How DOES life get so darn busy?!

After all the busy-ness of the last fortnight, my Beloved Geek Boy and I decided to treat ourselves to a fun read trip ... A bit of a birthday treat for GB whose birthday fell on Friday. :0) So this morning we piled into GB's 4WD, nicknamed "Big Blue" (since my Corolla is a "little blue" car!) & set off on a new adventure. :0)

When we head off on our road trips, we usually have a destination in mind, but we take lots of side roads & backtracks along the way ... There are so many interesting Little pockets to see. :0)

Today, after some dusty gravel roads were driven & some winding, forest flanked roads were traversed, we arrived at one of our favourite play date destinations ... Montville. Lots of fun, interesting little shops to explore before climbing up the hill (huffing & puffing! I really should get fit!!) where we found a fabulous spot to enjoy ...

... LUNCH! :0) Yummy lamb shanks with seared mushrooms, a roasted tomato & creamy mashed potatoes ... DEEEEEEEEEEELICIOUS!! :0) Here's the birthday boy ... Isn't he a cutie?! :0) And all the while we enjoyed stunning views ...

Isn't it gorgeous?!

If I lived here I'd never get anything done ... I'd spend all day gazing out at the view. Tee! Hee! Hee!

We took a different route home ... Different even to the one we'd planned since the dodgy internet signal in amongst the rolling hills meant the map ap on GB's phone disappeared for a while. Ah well, that's half the fun of our road trips. :0)

Whatever you're up to, I hope you're having a great weekend so far. I'll pop back in tomorrow with the OPAM winner ... Sorry my crazy busy-ness has made me tardy with the draw ... I'm sure you know the feeling. :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS