Back in a couple of weeks......

We're off tomorrow for ten days, normal posting will resume then. While we are away this Tibouchina (one of the survivors of The Great Hailstorm of 1990) will be in full glorious flower, it will be the last time we will be here to see this gorgeous sight. Next time it flowers we will be living a long long way away.

The bag for my friend is finished, but no pics until I have given it to her.....don't want to spoil the surprise.

Goodness, it has turned summer again....will be glad when it goes away....it's too hot and sticky for me. Come on autumn, where are you? I'm waiting! Although I have noticed the leaves on some trees are starting to turn, so perhaps it's not far away. Hopefully it will be somewhat cooler in Canberra, at least it won't be humid.

At Easter we will be enjoying ourselves at the National Folk Festival, going to concerts and workshops, catching up with friends, trying interesting food....pretty much what we did last year....and the year before that.....and so on, back for many years. A great way to spend four days. It's folk club tonight too, so somewhere in the next little while I need to find time to pack clothes and food to take away with us. I'm a volunteer in the office before the festival gets underway - I am working all day Sunday, which is why we go to Canberra several days before the festival starts. Don't worry, I will be extra careful of my shoulder, which is feeling better than before I had the injection - but it's not quite pain-free yet.

"During the performance complete quiet should be preserved, that the audience may not be prevented from seeing or hearing. Between the acts it is perfectly proper to converse, but it should be done in a low tone, so as not to attract attention. Neither should one whisper. There should be no loud talking, boisterous laughter, violent gestures, lover-like demonstrations or anything in manners or speech to attract the attention of others."

So, y'all have a nice time while I'm gone, and don't do anything I wouldn't do.

Jennifer

Twin WOWs

The wombat collection has a few duplicates because many have been gifts, and other folk don't always know which wombats are already lurking in this house. That's how I came to have two of this one. They are both the same, just photographed at slightly different angles - so they don't quite look the same, do they?

There won't be a WOW for the next two Mondays as we will be away, we are heading off to Canberra for the National Folk Festival. It is held over Easter each year and is always great fun.....several days of 24 hour non-stop (if you can stand the pace) music, and concerts, and workshops, and dances. But I won't be dancing, not with a recovering shoulder. In the past I used to spend a lot of the festival dancing, but I have been injured by over-enthusiastic dancing partners and I don't wish to be so again. The shoulder is a little better than it was but is not pain-free yet.

The house sale and purchase are apparently progressing along as best as these things can. We have done a little more clearing-out here, but of course there is more to go. I think as moving time comes closer and panic sets in we will surprise ourselves by how quickly we can clear 'stuff'.

Yesterday while getting prescriptions filled at a local pharmacy I was talking to the very nice young chickybabe behind the counter about a product they had on display, it promised the effect of botox without the injection. I think if I tried it, it would be a case of too little, too late. Besides I have earned my wrinkles (although why they have to be on my face I can't imagine; why can't they all be on the soles of my feet?) and my grey hairs (when I am emotionally ready to let them show, it's amazing what hair colour can do isn't it and I am not yet up for The Cut, I don't want to chop off my long hair) so I think I will just take aging as and when it comes. Besides when I see how some women 'age' with more cosmetic surgery every year I thank my lucky stars I am too cowardly to go under the knife. Do they honestly think that the stretched skin and too-wide-for-their-years eyes make them look good? Embalmed, is more like it. And the same for older blokes who have had surgery.....a little mightn't look too bad but they don't seem to know when to stop.........and they end up looking like caricatures of their former selves.

Ah well. To each his/her own.

On a happier note, the applique on the bag I am making is proceeding along well. The past few days have been a return to summer here so progress has been a tad slower than it otherwise would have been. It gets a bit warm sitting at the machine, head down, while sewing buttonhole stitch applique; and, because I have chosen to match the thread to the colour being appliqued, frequently changing colour makes it slower than if all the applique was done with one colour, or with monofilament thread. I like the effect of the matching colour which is why I chose this method for this project. Never mind - I shall see if I can blitz it over the next day or two.

"Dyeing the hair.
A serious objection to dyeing the hair is that it is almost impossible to give the hair a tint which harmonizes with the complexion. If the hair begins to change early, and the colour goes in patches, procure from the druggists's a preparation of the husk of the walnut water of eau crayon. This will, by daily application, darken the tint of the hair without actually dyeing it. When the change of color has gone on to any great extent, it is better to abandon the application and put up with the change, which, in nine cases out of ten, will be in accordance with the change of the face. Indeed, there is nothing more beautiful than soft, white hair worn in bands or clustering curls about the face. The walnut water may be used for toning down red hair."

There you are....that's how they saw it in 1885. And I can truly say I never used walnut water to tone down my hair.

Have a wonderful week!

Jennifer

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is our wedding anniversary, we have been married for 34 years. My goodness....that's over half our lives, isn't it......so here are some flowers for us, some Aussie orchids, I took this pic at a native garden last year. We will be going out to lunch to celebrate.

Our house sale and purchase seem to proceeding along well, no hiccups are forthcoming, and if all goes according to plan it will be seven weeks today until we move. If those seven weeks race along at the rate of the past few it will be here before we know it. We have been having discussions with removalists and have decided to pay a little extra to have them pack our stuff instead of doing it ourselves. Their packers are very quick and efficient because that's all they do. We don't mind unpacking it and deciding where it is to go....it will be like discovering it all over again. That particular removal company can even arrange to move the cats, they will be flown rather than driven to Tamworth - that's a 55 minute flight as against a five-six hour car journey - much less stressful for them, and by extension for us.

Not much to report on the sewing front. The bag I am making for my friend Liz has the applique ironed in place, and is layered and pinned ready for quilting. The applique will be done using machine buttonhole stitch so the bag will be quilted at the same time. I think it will look quite cheerful and even has a little touch of purple......just in case you are reading this, Liz........

"The custom of celebrating anniversary weddings has, of late years, been largely practised, and they have become a very pleasant means of social reunion among the relatives and friends of both husband and wife. Often this is the only reason for celebrating them, and the occasion is sometimes taken advantage of to give a large party, of a more informal nature than could be given under other circumstances. The occasion becomes one of the more memorable events in the life of the couple whose wedding anniversary is celebrated. It is an occasion for recalling the happy event which brought to each a new existence, and changed the current of their lives."

Now I am going to get prettied up to go out to lunch. Have a wonderful weekend!

Jennifer

Little baby WOW

Several months ago on a previous post the WOW was a family of three wombats, all made from the same design in different sizes. This little feller missed being included so to make up for that omission, here he is. He's the smallest, and at present sits on the kitchen windowsill, although for this pic he moved to the sewing room window sill because it has a pretty lace curtain.
Yesterday I was standing on this lovely old tiled floor playing guitar - the most I have played in one sitting for several months. The hand and shoulder felt very tired at the end of the day, but it felt so good to be able to be playing music again! Can't you just see this as a quilt? I have even included the border design for you. It was a fun day and I even got a bit sunburnt, although we were in the shade; must have been reflection from the roadway. That's the problem with living in Australia but being descended from Celtic ancestors, some of us don't have good skin for sun.

The sorting and packing is proceeding along somewhat slowly, but it is proceeding. Lots of children's books - our sons had a lot of books. They are going to the op shop (thrift shop for some of you) and I hope bring pleasure to other children who read them.

My shoulder is feeling a bit better since the cortisone injection a few days ago, and being pain-free is wonderful. It still gets sore occasionally, and I still have to be careful not to stretch it too hard, and the little man with the red-hot needle is still there but he's not stabbing me as often or as hard. I have to go back to the specialist in a few weeks, possibly for a repeat injection to get the inflammation down even further....we'll see how it is by then. And the hand and wrist are really doing well now, today is five months since my arm was broken. There are still a few limitations but many things are now do-able that I couldn't do a few months ago. One of these days I will have another go at driving the car, last time I tried it was too painful on my shoulder. The way people drive round here one needs to be alert, and one can't be alert if one is worried all the time about one's shoulder painfully hurting when one turns a corner.

Hopefully the people in our new town will be better drivers than Sydney drivers are. They are shockers here.

The applique design for the bag I am making is all traced onto fusible, now the next step is the fun step - choosing colours! so with a bit of luck I can choose a colour or two before I head off to choir practice later.

"If you have observed anything to the disadvantage of your friends, while partaking of their hospitality, it should never be mentioned, either while you are under their roof of afterwards. Speak only of what rebounds to their praise and credit. This feeling ought to be mutual between host and guest. Whatever good is observed in either may be commented upon, but the curtain of silence must be drawn over their facts."

So now I am going to play with fabric. Have a wonderful week!

Jennifer

We have bought a house!

Well, all is moving along nicely. As of this morning the sign on our front lawn now has "Sold" in large red letters across it, and yesterday afternoon we signed the contract to buy our new house. We feel confident now that we can call it 'our' house. It's a great feeling. The woman buying this house gave us a few anxious moments in the past week, but all seems to be now sorted out.

So.....in just under two months we will be moving from a city of 5 million people to a town of just under 50,000, and a slower pace of life with less traffic and less big city stress. I am looking forward to meeting new friends, and perhaps renewing an acquaintance or two.

I realised this week that the house we are buying is on land that was used during World War II as an army camp. My father was one of the interstate soldiers stationed in that camp and my mother was a local girl.....so that's how I came to be. And now I will be living on the same land. The wheel has turned full circle. Isn't it a funny world?

The MRI scan of my shoulder this week showed that the tendon tear is not deep enough for surgery, so yesterday it was given a cortisone injection. It is feeling a little better today, and doesn't feel as though there is a little demon continually stabbing my shoulder with a sharp needle. If it is still sore in a month then it will have a double-dose cortisone injection to reduce the inflammation, and perhaps a bit of physio to help it along. Did you know that a tear in a tendon will never close again unless it is surgically fixed? I will take this little hole in my shoulder to my grave.

Meanwhile the making of Liz' bag is proceeding along. The background is all pieced and, if I do say so myself, is a true work of genius. Next step is to trace the applique onto fusible stuff and choose lovely bright colours for the flowers, including perhaps a little purple.

"The rule on which a host and hostess should act is to make their guests as much at ease as possible; that on which a visitor should act is to interfere as little as possible with the ordinary routine of the house."

Enjoy your weekend!

Jennifer

Spiky Little WOW

These little wombats have spikes because they are brooches. Top one is wood, left is pottery clay, bottom is bronze metal and the shiny little feller on the right is also wood. They get worn from time to time - one at a time. The background fabric is deep lime green, quite a nice colour, but it looks rather icky in this pic; green can be a difficult colour to photograph. Why, I don't know. I can't be this beautiful and have a technical brain........

We have found ourselves a house in Tamworth. We're being cautious by not calling it 'our house' yet, as our buyer is sorting out the last of her finance. So, until we know for sure that our buyer isn't pulling out (should only be a few more days, we hope) it's 'the' house, not 'our' house. It's roomier than this one so there will be plenty of room for sewing space, and for getting-out-of-each-other's-way space, and there is a garden that is big enough to enjoy but not big enough to take all our time. On the other side of the back fence is bushland, part of which is a bird sanctuary. It's a very nice house even though some of the walls are pink......I'm not really a pink person.......could learn to live with it though as the alternative is an awful lot of repainting because if we paint over the pink walls - there aren't many - it would be well nigh impossible to match the colour of the other walls so we would have to end up painting the lot and we're not emotionally prepared for that yet. (you try saying that in one breath) So perhaps I will add a couple of pink touches to blend our belongings with the walls and window blinds, and see how it goes.

And the house has a view way across the valley. The house I grew up in had a wonderful view, so when I move back to Tamworth I need a view to make me feel at home again.

So Friday 7th May looks like being moving day. We have done some sorting, packing and donating books today....my goodness, one bookshelf can hold a lot of books, can't it......and don't books get dusty......

Meanwhile in the sewing room some small progress is being made on the bag for my musical friend Liz, she of the wonderful voice. It would be further ahead but we were in Tamworth for two days last week, then I spent most of Saturday making a recording with my choir, and some of yesterday having lunch with friends. All important things. Don't get excited about the choir recording, we aren't going to be selling it to make our fame and fortune - it's purely a demo to show what we can do if we apply to perform anywhere. Although when I say we I mean they, because I won't be in that choir for much longer.

I have just been looking at pictures online of some of the outfits worn to the Oscars by people I have never heard of (I bet they have never heard of me either); my goodness. Someone should point out to skinny chickybabes that if you don't have much in the chest department, then a strapless and/or plunging neckline is not a good look. Some fabric over the shoulders is much prettier and more flattering. And how ever do they sit in some of those frocks? One had a large piece of.....something......looked like sparkly embroidery or fabric.........draped right on her backside where she would sit down. Just imagine the imprint.

So the Vancouver Paralympics are about to start, good on them. These are folk I really admire, more so than regular athletes as they have had many obstacles to overcome to get where they are. The Paralympics are treated as the poor relation of the regular games, and they shouldn't be.

Tomorrow my shoulder is having its MRI scan, I believe one is allowed to take along one's favourite CD. I think I shall do so. The alternative, I am told, is listening to a noisy machine. On Friday when I visit the orthopedic specialist yet again hopefully I might find out what is to be done. It is all getting a bit wearisome and the continually hurting shoulder is beginning to bug me. Has been bugging me for some time, actually.

"It would be well if people would abstain altogether from this custom of giving general invitations, which really mean nothing, and be scrupulous to invite their desired guests at a stated time and for a given period."

Now I am going to play with fabric. Have a wonderful week!

Jennifer

Climbing wombat

This is a little wombat pencil topper - the pencil will give you an idea of the size. The only way I could take its photo was to prop it up in a little vase, as the pencil kept swinging around.

The contract to sell our house was signed on Friday, and as we have a ten week settlement that means we move out on Friday 7th May. Day after tomorrow we are flying to Tamworth to look at houses, we have made appointments with agents. Our first choice house was sold - the contract for it was also signed on Friday! - so obviously we weren't meant to have it. But second choice is still available, and third and fourth, and a few others. It will be a busy couple of days but could be very interesting.

The sewing room has been a hive of cutting recently. I have cut pieces to make two table runners, and one bag, and a couple more Bears Paw blocks, because even in the middle of frenetic moving I may be inspired to sit at the machine and mindlessly sew pieces of fabric together. And I am making a bag for my musical friend Liz, who doesn't have a blog but reads mine, because she admired the flower bag I recently made........but this one will be a little different. (insert diabolical laughter here) Could be a clue in the wombat picture, Liz.........

The Olympic Games are over, and we enjoyed the bits we saw. Because of the time difference we didn't get as good coverage as some countries, but it wasn't too bad I suppose. We saw Canada's win in both men's and women's hockey and just loved the crowd reaction. And following my last post, another thought on the costumes: who in their right mind decided to put male athletes in skin tight white stretch pants, for goodness' sake? Every little bulge is outlined.....every little nook and cranny......brighter colours are bad enough, but white should be completely banned. Taken off the list of permitted colours. Verboten.

Same goes for cyclists.

Continuing on from the etiquette quote in the previous blog post:

"A person who pays a visit upon a general invitation need not be surprised if he finds himself as unwelcome as he is unexpected. His friends may be absent from home, or their house may be already full, or they may not have made arrangements for visitors. From these and other causes they may be greatly inconvenienced by an expected arrival."

Enjoy your week.....we certainly shall!

Jennifer