Wounded WOW

Several years ago the RSPCA used to sell 'wounded wombats' as a fund-raiser, its little claws are clip-ons and it used to hang off a lamp chord. I haven't yet decided where it will live in this house. The pretty fabrics are laid out for another table runner, as you can see the blocks are made and are being joined together.
The view looking out from the dining room, a dog wandered past just as I took the photo. He and his mate sometimes roam the reserve just outside the fences. Our back yard is very small - you can see the fence in the photo - but with so much land in the reserve, our yard feels as though it goes on forever. The new furniture doesn't seem to have suffered from being used as a bed by the visiting puss, there is no eau de tomcat as a reminder of his/her visit thank goodness.

On Monday night I went along to The Only Choir In Town and had a nice sing. A new song to learn was handed out and I don't think I disgraced myself, I was able to read the music, hit the high notes and keep up. All the members seem very nice folks and as it is The Only Choir In Town I shall join. Was talking to some of the people after we finished singing and it turns out that one of the women and I were at school together, a thousand years ago. How time flies........I grew up in this town so I expected, sooner or later, to come across an old acquaintance or two.

It has been very cold lately, minuses at night but the days have been bright and sunny even though they are quite cool. Lovely winter weather, in fact. Each morning we wake up to a very white frosty reserve and once the sun warms up a bit by 8.30am it has started to melt. If we were still living in Sydney we would also be cold, they are having some of the coldest temperatures in over 60 years. We have our wood stove keeping us warm, and a pot of stew is simmering away in the slow cooker for tonight's dinner.

The other day I bought a new set of kitchen scales. The previous set was a gift a very very long time ago and the bowl was always a bit small for measuring anything much. This one has an easy to read dial and a bigger bowl, so I am sure I will be able to cook much better with it than I could before. Good tools make all the difference to getting a job done well, don't they? Since we have been in this house I have had a renewed interest in cooking although I am trying not to make too many sweet things, because I will only eat them and then I will be as big as the side of a house. But occasionally, as special treats, is OK.

Australia has had its first week of having a woman as Prime Minister, and so far the sky hasn't fallen in. But, as they say, a week is a long time in politics. One day you're the rooster, next day the feather duster. As a fellow redhead I hope she does well. Go the gingers!

"Idleness a Source of Misery.
Perhaps the greatest cause of misery and wretchedness in social life is idleness. The want of something to do is what makes people wicked and miserable. It breeds selfishness, mischief-making, envy, jealousy and vice, in all its most dreadful forms. It is the duty of mothers to see that their daughters are trained to habits of industry, that their minds are at all times occupied, that they are well-informed as to household duties, and to the duties of married life, for upon a knowledge of household details may depend their life-long happiness or misery."

I wonder if the good folk of 1885 would regard time spent on the computer as idleness?

Before I sign off I have a question: I would like to use the font that looks as though words have been crossed out, can anyone tell me what it is called? and is it one of the standard blogger fonts? Many thanks in advance.

Now I am going to finish joining blocks for my next runner. Keep warm!

Jennifer

I has a finish!

The woven squares table runner is finished and on the table. I showed a close-up of the fabrics here all except for the red tone-on-tone fabric which I used for the binding. Made of fat quarters from a pattern in the book Fat Quarter Frenzy. The roses, gorgeous though they are, are not real.
Last night a neighbourhood moggie found our new furniture in the beer garden and was curled up for a nice sleep on the sofa when disturbed by Kevin - fortunately no calling cards were left, just a few damp footprints (it had been raining). So we will bring the cushions inside overnight, we don't want them smelling of cat. The doorway behind the sofa will take you into the dining room, where you can then admire the table with its new runner. Or you can sit at the table, look out and admire the beer garden. Spoilt for choice, really.

Yesterday afternoon we went to a concert featuring what seems to be The Only Choir In Town. I spoke to a few members and will go along to the weekly practice tomorrow night, and I can check them out and they can check me out, and if we all like each other I may join. Their repertoire is different to my previous choir, we sang folk songs from many different cultures in the original language (so I can sing in Turkish, Greek, Maori, a couple of African languages, Bolivian, Latin etc but I don't speak any of them), several oldies from the 50s and 60s and even earlier including the middle ages, and of course Christmas songs at Christmas time. We were encouraged to try different harmonies and if it didn't work then we tried something else. The Only Choir In Town seems to be somewhat staider in their repertoire, we were entertained by songs from various musical shows - one was Guys and Dolls which I always enjoy, it's a fun show - and medleys of songs from Australia, and the British Isles, and ending with a collection of gospel spirituals which the audience was invited to join in singing the second time through. (I was already singing by then anyway) I try not to be staid, life's too short.........ah well, we can only give it a go can't we.......

Today we sorted and put away all our CDs so that is the very last of the unpacking and putting away. I still need to have a good go at the bookshelves and shelve all those books of mine to my satisfaction; while I was unpacking sewing room stuff Kevin was unpacking books, and they weren't q-u-i-t-e shelved how I would do them. after more than 30 years working in libraries I know how to shelve books But that's OK, it will get done one day. And we need to decide on the placement of our pictures and hangings, because that will mean putting up hooks.

Before we left Sydney I cut out two runners, one is finished so one more to go......and I am proceeding along nicely with my scarf, this cold weather is good knitting weather. It's 5pm now and the light is going, it's time to shut the weather out and settle down for the night. The fire will be lit very soon and there's some leftover chili in the fridge to be heated for dinner. Might be a book night tonight, there's nothing I could be bothered watching on TV.

"Women should cultivate a spirit of independence.
In a young country like Australia women should, so some extent, cultivate a spirit of independence. They should acquire a knowledge of how business is transacted, of the relation between capital and labor, and of the value of labor, skilled and unskilled."

On Thursday last week Australia's first female Prime Minister was sworn in, I wonder what the writer of those words in 1885 would have thought of that?

Jennifer

Buttoned-up WOW

No, these are not wombats! I keep forgetting that Blogger uploads images in reverse order. These are occasional visitors to the reserve and there is another white horse too, which was shy about being in the photo. I can understand that, I'm camera shy myself.
Except for the embroidered wombat in the bottom right corner these are all buttons, some wood and some porcelain - the set of four is porcelain and so is the one in the middle with its bum hanging out. The wooden wombats are a true wombat shape, their back legs are set almost under their tail rather than further forward. While it doesn't appear so they do have a tail, it's rudimentary but it's there. Quilton has shown a great idea on her blog for using buttons to make a bookmark, I think I need one!

Life goes on as usual in our little corner of paradise. My table runner is quilted and had the binding machined on the right side, now it needs to be hand-sewn down on the back. When that is done and it is gracing our table I will take a pic. And I have been knitting, I decided a while ago that I would make a Lace Ribbon Scarf in the lovely Fleece Artists Somoko yarn I bought in Canada last year. According to Ravelry 4817 people are making or have made this scarf but some have had trouble with the pattern and I am afraid I am one of them. There's a particular technique giving me grief so I have decided to pull undone what I have knitted so far (only 2 pattern repeats) and try again, because I do like the pattern. But I also decided that my glorious variegated green-into-bronze yarn won't be seen to its best advantage in a lacy pattern so I will use it for a one row scarf - I have knitted this pattern, it looks good and lets the yarn be the star. The lacy scarf will be better in a solid colour.

We bought some furniture for the beer garden yesterday, it was delivered today; a wicker sofa, two side chairs and low wooden table, all still in a huge box. When it's unpacked and set up we will be able to sit back in comfort and survey our domain. We already have a table and chairs for eating, we just want something comfy for reading - knitting (that'll be me) - sewing (me again) - perhaps enjoying a coffee or even a beer or wine, and just veging out while we enjoy the great outdoors.

A question I have been pondering: is it just me, or are TV ads for cars (any make or model) the most boring things currently on the screen? Where is the wit and humour of ads - yes, even car ads - of years gone by? Discuss.

When I gave the blog its new look last week I thought long and hard about changing my header picture, but I like it very much, so it has stayed. It was taken about 45 minutes south-east from here on a visit a few years ago. Since we have been living here we haven't driven out that way, perhaps it's time we did don't you think?

"Never speak of a man's virtues before his face, or his faults behind his back, is a maxim to be remembered.
Another maxim is, in private watch your thoughts; in your family watch your temper; in society watch your tongue."

Don't you wish that some of our so-called celebrities would take note of those maxims before spilling their innermost 'secrets' to the press for the rest of the world to exclaim over?

Now I shall bring in the washing then perhaps play with some fabric, or cast on stitches for my simple scarf. Have a lovely week!

Jennifer

Beer Garden WOW

This is a very large wombat! Our son bought it for a house warming gift at the weekend and decided where it would go, it is so heavy that it won't be moved in a hurry. I don't think you can really see the size in the pic, but take it from me.......it's not small. Looks like a puddle of melted chocolate (or something else not quite as nice.....but we won't go there, will we?) So it is sleeping while guarding the potted gardenia.
Have started quilting the table runner I wrote about in my last post, straight lines in the pieced section and some free-motion work in the pink setting triangles along the sides. The thread is a red and white variegated Auriful polyester, and the backing fabric (folded over in the top right corner) compliments the other fabrics very well. I have been a little neglectful of my sewing machines lately and that needs to be corrected, doesn't it?

We had a lovely long weekend with our son and his girlfriend visiting, we showed them our new little piece of paradise, and we chatted, and we ate. And we ate. They brought up a lovely passionfruit and coconut cake, and I had made a chocolate hedgehog slice (not made with real hedgehogs but with broken biscuits, or cookies as my American friends know them), and we ate beef in dark beer stew, and pasta with ocean trout. We certainly didn't go hungry. Even the horses came to visit over the back fence.

Don't know about the rest of you but I am already fed up with all the coverage given to the soccer carnival and there are a few more weeks to go.......I am trying to ignore it as best as possible, neither of us are soccer fanatics, I'm certainly not as you can tell.......I believe Australia lost its first game but you know what, I really don't care. Many sports people are way overpaid for doing not much, the money some of them receive is quite obscene in my humble (but honest) opinion just for wearing someone's logo on their shirt or shoes.

We feel very settled in this house, it is difficult to bring to mind the last house even though we lived there for 23 years and we have only lived here for six weeks, isn't that funny? We never tire of looking at the view either from the house or other places around town and I sometimes wonder how I lived in the city for so long. But I did, and it was the right decision at the time and for quite a long time afterwards.

What do you think of the new blog look? I'm not wonderfully computer savvy but I can cut and paste.

"You are at liberty to refuse a dish that you do not wish to eat. If any course is set down before you that you do not wish, do not touch it. Never play with food, nor mince your bread, nor handle the glass and silver near you unnecessarily."

Have a lovely week, may all your points match and your seams be straight!

Jennifer

Wombats are back!

This is a gorgeous wombat, is it not? Sally sent me this lovely bag all the way from Missouri and I love it. Embroidered wombat, pretty leafy fabric (lurve that fabric) and it has mesh sides too. I'm thinking it will be just the right size to go to quilt group with me tomorrow, to hold my lunch and a few other things. So far I have been to the Thursday quilt group, and another group which meets at different times.
Before we moved house Debbie sent me a PIF gift, part of which was a kit to make this splendid pincushion. The kit came all the way from The Quilt Patch in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, to Debbie in Alberta, and then halfway across the world to me, which I think is rather cool. I started it while we were still in Sydney, then it came to a halt during the move, and I finished it a few days ago. It's made of three little pillows in graduated sizes stacked on top of each other and tied with a pretty ribbon, and is a good idea because one can use it for pins of different sizes and types. I have quite a lot of pins......flower pins for quilting, pins for jersey fabrics, fine pins for lace fabrics, glass-headed pins, and just plain pins, so it will be very handy. The fabrics are a lovely fruity purple - think of plums or grapes - and are printed with fruit, so it is a lovely addition to my sewing table.

Speaking of rather cool, today has been! We are fast descending into winter now. The sun doesn't peep into our kitchen until 8am these days, when we moved here (a month ago already) it was just after 7.30am. This morning the reserve over the back fence was quite white with frost. I have been busy today so haven't really felt too cold, but by gosh it doesn't take long to cool down when you stop being busy. We had some rain last week and the visiting kangaroos didn't seem to mind it at all, but we haven't seen them for a few days because there have been three horses grazing (and leaving their calling cards which are probably good for the garden) and apparently roos don't like horses. Our two cats saw the horses through the large window at the back of the house, the horses were fairly close to the fence.......the kitties looked appalled.......then Binky the Brave turned tail and ran for shelter. I don't think they have had anything so huge in their little lives before. Bianca the Slightly Braver stood her ground for a while longer then she, too, quietly disappeared.

We are slowly settling into our new house. Nearly all the boxes have been unpacked, there are still two boxes of CDs remaining and a couple more boxes with stuff like Christmas decorations which we certainly didn't rush to unpack. Christmas comes soon enough without getting decorations out early! The dining room table still has quite a lot of things to be put away, and so does the desk in my sewing room. But we are slowly clearing those surfaces. We will need the table next weekend as our older son and his girlfriend are coming to visit, the little card table we have been using in the other dining space is barely big enough for two people let alone four.

This afternoon I layered and pinned the table runner I made from some of the pretty fabric I won earlier this year in Tammy's giveaway, I'm thinking it will look really good when it's on the table, it's cheerful and bright in red, pink, brown and white with lots of dots, hearts and curls. I found the perfect backing fabric, a tiny red dot on cream, one of Robyn Pandolph's fabrics. Haven't really done much sewing since we moved here as the unpacking has really consumed our time, and also getting other things we needed for the house, but never mind - I will get back to it. I had a dose of the guilts when I sewed because I thought I should be unpacking and sorting, but I have moved on past than now.

"Keep yourself quiet and composed under all circumstances. Do not get fidgety. If you feel that time drags heavily, do not let this be apparent to others by any visible sign of uneasiness."

Have a lovely week!

Jennifer