We're BBBAAACCKKK!!!

What a fantastic trip. What a loong way and in the end we didn't get right round following the coast line. We arrived in Bunbury, the house sitter said he had to go into hospital for another back operation on the 4th April, the ute started playing up and spraying the front of the van with oil and Ian couldn't always get 5th gear - it went on holidays too. Then Ian had a biopsy done on his bottom lip and its not bad but its not good either so we decided that we had stretched 8weeks into 16 and it was time to head for home.

The van travelled beautifully with only a few repairs for the fixit man here in Bundy to repair. One is the back bumper (plastic of course). Ian was turning around and backed into a small shrub, nothing wrong there, but it was hiding a koppers log, we now have a broken corner on the bumper bar and a broken reflector. The foot on one of the back legs was broken too when we went cross country, turning around to find Johannas Beach camping ground in Vic - we found it. Now that's one rugged beach.

As soon as I start transferring photos I will put them up here. I had hoped to keep you all up to date as we travelled, but it didn't work out that way at all. Internet cafes are hard to find unless you know the town, the best place I found was libraries and they were free. By the time we get going again, I will have it all working properly.

Here is a photo of "Margies Roses" that I was lucky enough to finish before we left home and she was absolutely flabbergasted when I gave it to her in Woolongong.

I wasn't able to finish any sewing as I travelled. I was going great guns on my ½" hexagons until I ran out of papers in Stratford Vic and didn't have the forethought to write down the website I downloaded them from. You wouldn't think that it would create such a problem, a ½" hexagon is a ½" hexagon. Not so. I downloaded the papers cut them out, made up the flowers and when it came to joining them to the rest I found they were 2mm smaller. So I put that exercise into the 'too hard' basket until I returned home and continued crocheting. I finished a chevron quilt for my bed, a quilt in manly colours for ian's bed [a 6row granny square x 100] and almost finished a quilt for skyelah (DGD) in purple, pink and turquiose [a 7row granny square x 108]. The quilt is now waiting to be pressed and wrapped for her 8th birthday on monday.

As I get back into the swing of things and I can assure that I will be doing it slowly. I will show you some of the sights that we were privileged to see, like wild sealions suckling their young, a picture postcard of the 12 apostles as we flew over them, the gloucester tree and the giant tree tip walk that someone who will remain nameless nearly froze with fright on.

But it sure it good to be home again.

On the Road

The party was really good. Trev met us at the door dressed as Elvis. There were lots of pink ladies and blokes with greasy slicked back hair. Took a couple of photos of Lyn and I with Trev and the quilt and would put them up here but at the moment my laptop isn't recognising the new dvd/cd writer that I bought before we left home. Once I get that fixed I will be putting the photos up here and he absolutely loved his quilt, in his speech he said that he felt 'very humble' that his "sisters" would go to so much trouble for him.

We finally hit the road on Sunday morning around 11.30 and didn't stop until we were in NSW. The coast road south is very different to 20 years ago and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip around the coastline. Some very beautiful spots.

The first night we camped in a rest area (the name of which escapes me) where we shared the area with 7 roosters. What with the trucks passing by our door and the roosters crowing we didn't get a good nights sleep. The second night was much better, again in a roadside rest area but a little further off the road and no roosters.

Sydney was a nightmare of the first order. Richard our Tom Tom navigator died 4 days before we left home and no matter how I tried I couldn't fathom out what I had done wrong. Consequently we had nothing on the navigator and no help with Sydney. Armed only with Camps3 and the Sydney throughroads (not comprehensive) we tackled the traffic and slowly but surely headed southwards through what we believe was an unbelievable amount of cars, trucks and everything that has 2 wheels or more.

We finally arrived in Wollongong late on Wednesday afternoon, set the van up and collapsed.

Marg and Hans arrived at our van park (Shellharbour Beachside Tourist Park - very nice and clean) and I gave Marg her quilt. She was very emotional and totally gobsmacked. They then took us to see the sights and we went up to the lookout at Mt. Kiera and then had a lovely fish lunch at the harbour before heading back to the van.

Friday was catching up with emails in a small video shop in the village and try to make some sense out of my Tom Tom. No luck I needed a larger sd card.

Yesterday Marg and Hans took us up to Stanwell Tops lookout via the seabridge. What an achievement is that and what a wonderful view from the top, no hang gliders flying which was a bit of a disappointment but is was showery and blustery. We found an orchard that sold from the gate and bought some white peaches and nectarines. Love white peaches! before heading to Hardly Normal to buy a sd card. Now I'm back at the internet cafe and in a moment will try to download my new tomtom map for my new tomtom card.

Will post photos when I work out why my laptop is not recognising my new cd/dvd writer.

Late Again

Doesn't time fly when you're havin' fun. I can't get over how the weeks seem to be disappearing this year.

I have been chasing my tail trying to get the van packed and ready for our trip south next Saturday.

The house sitters arrive on Friday (fingers crossed) and we will sleep in the van so that they can have the house and then Saturday morning we vote and then head off.

First stop Gympie to help my Dad lift one more heavy steam train item into the container ready to be shipped off to the new owner and then to Brisbane to help DB2 Trevor celebrate his 50th birthday and finally hand over 'the' quilt. Would love to post a photo here, but after he looked at my blog last time and saw the top, I don't want to take the chance of him seeing the back, but rest assured as soon as we get back I will post a photo or two.

We haven't made any plans other than we head for Woolloongong to catch up with Marg and Hans. I have the rose trellis quilt on the long arm at the moment and will post a photo next week before we leave. I will be sewing down the binding enroute and then we're off to Victoria and Reg and Lori who have the huge american motorhome and then spend Christmas somewhere along The Great Ocean Road before heading back north from Portland through Bendigo and Ballarat or is it Ballarat and Bendigo then north to Bathurst where I'll get to drive up 'the mountain'. They say you're flat out getting around it at 60klms.

Did you see the flowers on my cactus last posting. It has now got a second lot and I have a half a dozen flowers, looks stunning. I'm not shifting the plant from where it is - ever!!

I made the fringing for my santa claus tassells, this morning I put the gold paint on the wooden tassels, tomorrow I'll start varnishing, then use the hot glue gun to attach the fringing and braid.
I've also been making tie downs, bags for new camp chairs, shorts for me to wear and having a colonoscopy this last week. The tie downs, bags and shorts all finished and they found 1 polyp which the surgeon dutifully removed. I'll find out next Monday at the drs whether it was a good or bad one.

During this last week I also pressed the wrong key on the keyboard and somehow turned the darn keyboard off, do you think I could get it to work again? In the end I have no idea what or how I did it, but as you can read it's back working again.

Ian has been busy doing the last minute things that need to be done when you're going to be away from home for a while.

Maybe one of you can help me? If where we're staying at the time has broad band and I take a laptop with me will I be able to connect into my outlook express mailbox? I really have no idea when it comes to the Internet and the knowhow of its workings and if I can't how can I?

By Myself

My DH Ian left last Wednesday afternoon to take some of Pete's welding equipment to Gladstone. While there he's trying to find a cousin of his Ken Edwards, the last address we have is Boyne Island. So far no luck, he will be home again by Wednesday, fingers xrossed.

Of course while the cat's away the mice will play.

Guess where I've spent most of my time. You guessed it! The sns shed.

I've finished the quilting on Evelyn's queen size quilt. Practise makes perfect. I've made this months, next months and December's churn dash blocks ready for Kraft Klub's swapping. I've made November's cobblestones and posted them to Stephanie in WA. I've finished zigzag-ing round the leaves and am halfway around the roses on my 'Rose Trellis' quilt. I've got to get a move on with this one as I'm giving the quilt to Marg on our travels. It's only 3 weeks until we leave and I have to quilt DSIL Lyn's quilt first. Actually I would like Lyns finished so that I can take it with me next weekend and give it to her then.

We're off to a family 3day holiday. Not Ian and I and our tribe, but my Mum and Dad and their tribe + spouses. Ian and I, DB Ken and Lyn, DB Trev and Karina and DS Jen and Steve. The only problem is that the weekend starts on Sunday and ends Tuesday. Ken and Trev are both shift workers, Ken with ACI making beer bottles and Trev with the fire service. Luckily it doesn't matter with us 'cause we're retired. But it means that Karina and Steve can't be with us. I wish it could be otherwise but that's just the way it is.

20+ yrs ago DD#2 Robyn gave me a cactus. Until 2001 it lived on the windowsill in the laundry, where it copped the western sun. Every so often I would remember to give it a drink. When we sold our house and moved across the road into the shed it came with me but for the life of me I can't remember where we put it, but put it somewhere we must have because when we moved to Gin Gin it came with us, it then sat under a tree and the main cacti nearly died until one day I was repotting (not something that I do too often, brown fingers that I have) and decided that the pups deserved a second chance. Naturally with my logical reasoning (ha ha) I reckoned it would be happier in sand not soil. Well I was cleaning the kitchen this morning and through the louvres I saw my cactus in flower and I know Ian won't believe me so I took a photo to prove it.

This Weeks Happenings

Each day I endeavour to get out to my sns shed for the afternoon and most days I'm successful.

So far I have made my blocks for October and November for my club's churn dash swap and scquilters cobblestone swap. I am thanful that there is only a couple of months to go in the year and then I can start thinking of ways to put the cobblestones together. So far I am putting them into a quilt for my grandies. Next year I've given myself a goal of making each one of them a quilt. Right now I'm wishing my girls hadn't been so prolific. 10 I will have to make the first one due in Feb - Tanee's, one in March, 2 in April and so on.

The churn dash blocks are going into a colourwash - I have never made one and years ago I saw a churndash colourwash quilt made by a Samford patchworker and have wanted to have a go at making one ever since. I will have 108 blocks to choose from.

To date I've almost finished the 'rose trellis' top and I'm in the process of appliqueing the leaves and roses on the last border. No photos yet as I keep forgetting the take the darn camera with me.

I've been busy on Tanee's first birthday quilt. Its taken from one of Lynette Anderson's patterns which is covered in appliqued butterflies. Early this year on one of my many trips up and down the Bruce Highway I called in and fell in love with the pattern so just had to have it. At the time I had no plans for the quilt just knew that I had to have the pattern. Well now it has a purpose - Tanee's quilt. I've altered it a little (of course, I hear you say) the pattern is for a square quilt and I want it to fit a single bed. After a lot of thought and trying different things I have just decided to add a couple more rows of butterflies.

On the 29th of Sept DH Ian and I headed south for DSIL's 40th birthday party. I couldn't get over that this party was is very first birthday party ever!! It went all day and he had a wonderful time and there was food everywhere. Shane and Sharyn did a wonderful job and we had a lovely time.


My Mum and Dad were there as well and Dad's eyes were like circles when he espy'd his favourite food — lollies. We had a terrible job getting the container back off him. Just like a big kid. Love him heaps.


My problem is that I try to do too many things at the same time and I want to learn every craft known to man and beyond. These little santa heads are 5" high and will eventually be tassells. They have a central hole drilled all the way through for the cord. I still have to finish the gold work, varnish, buy the tassell and trim, glue them on and then I can wrap one of them. The other one is mine, all mine.

I'm exhausted!

It's midnight and I should have been in bed hours ago, but I sat up watching Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Quite a good movie, a little far fetched but good to watch while I got my vliesofixed leaves for my 'Rose Trellis' quilt cut out and then did a little more crocheting on my zigzag quilt.

I have finished 'Trev's Quilt' even down to the label. Just have to sew the eyes back on and it is ready to be wrapped. Would show a photo but you know what happened when I put a photo of the top here. He hasn't looked at this site since, I scared him that much. lol. Must get onto DSIL to see if she would like to get the card.

DH Ian has been terribly sick for the past 4 weeks, starting with a head cold that of course went to the chest. After xrays it was found that the chest was infected so onto antibiotics he went. He spent the whole of last weekend in bed just coming out to watch the start and end of Bathurst. Now for him that's sick!!!

I have my first outside quilt on the longarm. Thankfully EJ doesn't mind how I quilt it, she will be happy with anything. The quilt is beautiful a single irish chain with a (sort of) log cabin border all done in pinks and burgundys with green and brown as highlighters. It took my about 4 hours to load it onto the machine. I think it is queen sized. Boy is she trusting. We're talking learner here with a capital L.

Retired????

Whoever said that when you're retired you'll have the time to do what you want is obviously still working full time. I feel like I'm being pulled in six different directions and feel really uptight.

DD1 Sharyn arrived this morning with 4 of her 6 littlies in tow and will be here until Friday. Now I know what you're all thinking and saying and yes I do love having my grandies here, but what a full week I had planned. Plus DD3 Katie has now got a date for her gall bladder operation — Wednesday. Now on Wed I'm supposed to be going on a shopping excursion with my craft group and I have a list a mile long (of course) but I shall do the mother thing and be good (can't you see my halo).

No, I'm really just joking, I remember when I had my first operation, my DH Ian had to leave me and milk the cows so I had to head to theatre by myself and back then it was the full cut from neck to knee, no such thing as keyhole surgery and I remember that I was totally terrified, so I will be there if Katie needs me and even if she doesn't.

Marg and Hans are still in Gatton after seeing her doctor and when I spoke to her last week she is trying to contact the PA in Brisbane for an appointment to a vascular surgeon.

Ian is sanding off the stairs in preparation for painting. We tried to buy the rods for the hand rails but I think we bought out Bunnings last time and they still haven't replaced their stock.

This morning Ian headed off the Gladstone with Pete DH of Katie to help with the welding of pipes. They were going to be away for tonight, coming back for Katie's operation and then heading back up for 2 weeks. The company they will be working for hasn't even started drilling yet, let alone be ready for them. Oh well, as Pete said that little trip cost them $1000.

We also picked up our new caravan today. We have gone back to single wheels and a pop-top and we both agreed that it towed a lot smoother than the Roadstar. Next month we hopefully head south taking a boat and trailer on the ute and towing the van. We will visit Marg and Hans and then head to Melbourne and spend a week with the owners of the boat. Then we are heading along the Great Ocean Road, a trip that we have been wanting to do for ages. We will be gone for roughly 2 months and will be spending Christmas on the road. I got onto the website for house sitters and one couple are free for this time and we will be meeting them next Monday. Hopefully we both suit each other.