ADELAIDE TRIP - Part Two.

 Apologies to all.  I am trying to leave comments on the blogs I follow, but some won't take and then replies to me come back through my email as subsystem errors, so I am completely frustrated & getting somewhat disheartened, but will try and keep up.

Back again after such a long spell away from blogging.  It's been hectic since we got back with all sorts, me not sleeping well, cataracts forming on both eyes, which isn't helping with sewing etc., medical appointments, keeping up to date with little brothers NDIS stuff and another quick trip away.  That little one should also be blogged about too, soon.

Let's see what else we saw on our trip in September.  After a great night at the Quilt Trunk Show, we opted to head out to Victor Harbour on the Saturday and to our surprise...................it was their Rock'n'Roll weekend.  Arriving, and not knowing what was happening to start with, meant finding a parking spot was hard and then, we noticed what was happening.  To cut a long story short, there was also a vintage/veteran car display too.  A few photos follow of this lovely little town and yes we have been there with the kids a long time ago.

All sorts of cars and this was only a small sample of what was there.

A couple from my childhood and teenage years.

OH!!!!!!!  I remember these well as it was my first car when I was about 17 1/2.
Nearly the same colour too. 😂

Some other attractions in Victor Harbour.

The gorgeous horse float that brings a gorgeous horse to town.

The horse drawn tram which travels all the way on the causeway to Granite Island.
We went on the older one many years ago.

There were also camel rides along the beach.

Stumps from the old causeway.

We also spotted a National Trust building and as we are members, explored and I can't remember exactly what it was originally and didn't take any photos telling me, did manage a few snaps.

Trim, Matthew Flinders cat, which I think most of us oldies have heard about. (giggle).

Part of the very pretty walkway.

Ooh.............and a quilt hanging on the wall.

And,  what!  a redback spider on the toilet seat.
Most Aussies will remember the song.

Sunday saw us head over to Lara's for morning tea, up in the beautiful hills of Adelaide.

Lara is one of the co-founders of the on-line digital magazine Make Modern & we have met before, but was great meeting her hubby and children too.

Next day saw us making our way to Mount Gambier for the night and here is what we saw at Kingston South East  on the way,  which will round up today's post.

The Big Lobster.

A carved fur seal.

The most unusual (if not gross) algae floating on the water in a small creek.

Beautiful reflection in the pond.

OK, still having trouble with blogger, not playing like it used to.

I'll leave it at that for today, publish this hoping there are no silly errors and see if anyone is still following me.  

Take care all and hugs from Susan.

5 ON FRIDAY - GRATITUDE .

Linking with the lovely Kate from I live, I love, I craft, I am me.  I know I have so much to be grateful for and am sure it will be much the same as many, but here goes.  Seems like living in our little cocoons at the moment is trying and I smile about moments like this............
1.  Nature....

When I find this little fella in the green waste bin & rescue him.  He quite willingly hopped onto my arm, scratched his tummy with his backleg, looked me in the face a few times and walked up & down my arm & onto my back.  DH went and got the camera & took this photo.  He's not a keen on insects, but I love them.

2.  Using my scraps for something useful.........

 2 little quilts all done & waiting till we can deliver them somewhere .

3.  Having a veg garden, even if not the best this season..............

Still have plenty of silver beet and the last of the tomatoes.  I'll give a couple of neighbours some more of the silver beet over the weekend.  We are reconsidering where to put the veg beds as this seems to get a lot more shade with the 2 trees in the corner so much larger now.

4.  Watching the seasons changing...............

Freesias appearing by the dozen in the rather neglected front garden & the birches above them turning golden, shedding their leaves, giving me plenty of raking with time to chill.  Plans afoot to make it a little prettier. soon.

5.  Having a husband who is thoughtful, handy & caring and children who are making sure we are doing the right thing, by keeping in touch regularly.

My lot for now and I'm off to ring my younger brother to make sure he is OK & abiding by the rules of the moment.  Hard when he doesn't understand as we do, but all seems to right for the moment.
Take care all, stay safe &  big hugs from down under.
Susan.

LONG OVERDUE...this 'n' that!

I won't beat about the bush, but I'm not very motivated with anything at the moment.  Cold gloomy weather & hitting a big 0 birthday this year is leaving me a little perplexed..............
Anyhow, photos have been happening, so let's have a little catchup.

Hubby has been busy in his 'shed'.  The above are the animals he has cut for a pull-along child's toy.
I'll pop on another photos once finished along with a lovely train he's making too.  These along with some of his pens are to be sold at a small local craft shop.

Above are a container made from a Banksia, which could store pens or paintbrushes & a leaf bookmark fashioned from very fine timber.  I'm keeping the bookmark!!

A day out saw us watching boats on Port Phillip Bay at Williamstown on our way to DD's as a surprise, though the surprise was on us, as they weren't home.  Did what we did, & had a spur of the moment day out.😞

 A large ship,  making it's way out of the bay, along with some very friendly seagulls.

A walk along the foreshore had us crunching over all these shells.  My goodness, it is amazing where they must all come from.

In the garden.............

 Making an appearance in my pot, are these little bulbs, which I call tiny pink bluebells.  I'm surprised they are still there as the birds dug quite a few up during summer.

One of my hellebores with lots of buds.  This is usually the first one to flower.

A few jonquil bulbs I popped in the corner of a bed have also made an appearance again & have buds.
I wasn't sure how the garden would survive last summer's heat & drought conditions, but looks like we made it through.
Still in the garden, we've been having some different visitors. 

Although I've seen him before, this year he has come more often & is now bringing a friend.  Hard to capture a good photo, but this is a grey butcher bird, (Cracticus torquatus) & reminds us of a small kookaburra in shape.  Hope we see a few more of our native birds over time.

One Monday morning I did some baking................

                                              A ginger loaf & chocolate peppermint slice. 
Whilst making these I put on some LP records & bopped away in the kitchen along with cooking.

Taking a walk one afternoon, we discovered this fungi. It is autumn, so we see plenty at the moment, but not many this HUGE.

                                                                         The big one.

                                                                       A cluster coming up.
There was once a gigantic gum tree on this spot at the corner of two streets & the council cut it down.
So many people were devastated, as it was like a landmark & I wish I'd taken a photo of it at some time.
And last...............

Last week I had this cut off to shoulder length.  I was having trouble reaching the bottom of it.
Much tidier, but still keeps my ears & head warm in the cold weather.  😉

OK, enough from me.  Hope to be back later in the week with a "quilty" catchup post.
Off to put the heater on, ring little brother & try to do some hand sewing after tea with my poor hands full of chillblains.
Have a great week all, take care & huggles.
Susan.

WHATS ON............................

The design wall.............

The flower fairy panels that I showed on a Photo Scavenger Hunt have now become a baby quilt, yet to be quilted & bound.  I don't know any baby girls, but it will be there when I need one.

The big machine...............

Well this was, when I decided to do this post a couple of days ago.  It's now off along with the smaller one & await their bindings.

The craft table........

A doily DD gave me one day when she was having a cleanup.  I embroidered, then did a crochet edging & will give it to Missy Moo next time I see her.  Hope she likes it.

The floor...................

A Rainbows pack (aka jelly roll), I opened & have decided to do another 2 quilts from the one pack.  In other words watch this space to see what I've designed & do with it.

On the washing line........

Two backing fabrics awaiting their turn for the machine.

DH's work bench......................

A very old Singer sewing machine we found for $25 at an antique place, lying on the ground, covered in soil, rust & dust, which hubby is cleaning up for me to use as a prop in quilt photos.  It doesn't have the usual bobbin, but a shuttle & I've looked up the approximate date from the serial number plate & as far as I can tell, it is around circa 1874.

The rug.................

A little basket hubby has made & which is now being stained.  Isn't it cute?

We had a little jaunt out yesterday, as it was warm & sunny.  We knew the weather today was going to be overcast, cooler & maybe miserable.  I got to have a water fix!  To Coronet Bay on Westernport.
Continuing with the ON theme.

The way...............

Looking across the hills, you'll notice that it still quite dry with patches of green.

The roadside................

A lovely old timber cattle ramp.  Could be worth remembering for those quilt photo shoots.

The water...............

Many black swans, which I'm not sure I've seen on Westernport Bay in the past.  Maybe we've not been at the right time, but there must have been hundreds scattered around on the water.

The sand.................

Many shells crunching under our feet.  You couldn't really avoid them, but they were so pretty.

The beach.................

Some small sailing dinghies.

A stone.......................

A large green grasshopper.  He did hop back to the grass that runs alongside the top of the beach.

A bench.................

This is a depiction of a Tasmanian Tiger & was part of a small sculpture trail with some information about Coronet Bay & it's surrounds by a local sculptor & also a few made by school children too-
A rock.................

One by the children.  I found it hard to take a photo so you could see it properly, but it depicted a birthday party with cake & presents.

A sign........................

Not much to say here, as the words say it all.

Enough of my nonsense today. 
I've been lagging behind on so much & I really must stop procrastinating & just do, not worry about what other people might think or not think and get on with life.
I've had a bit of fun with this post and am also trying to think outside the box for our April Scavenger Hunt, so spent a bit of time browsing my photo archives.  Best now get our tea on & publish this.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend, take care all & huggles.
Susan.