More Renovations

We have got one heck of a mess happening in our yard.

They started last week with removing all the gravel on the roundabout and the driveway. Next we had Kwik Kerb from Bundy arrive and make the edges for the garden and the bitumen.

Then we had the concreter arrive to box in the pathway

So far this is what we have and I have to be very careful on how I walk across the mesh, if not I'll go A over T. Notice our hand railing - 1of.

Meet Amy-Lou

I would like you to meet Amy-Lou, my completed teddy-bear from my lessons, I also have two other bears Charlotte and Fred (who likes to be called Frank). They still have to have their faces done.

I tried to do them myself and while following the pattern was easy, I didn't fill them enough, couldn't get Charlottes nose right and I couldn't get the joints tight enough to stop them from spinning around too easily. So I decided that the best way was to do a course and learn how to do it all properly .. and so Amy-Lou was born.

... and here is a photo of the three of 'em.

Churn Dash Blocks

I have 108 of 'em from our clubs 12month swap last year ... and so far this is what I've put together and the quilt will be finished for DGS 7th birthday on 8th June. His favourite colour is dark blue and the best one I could get was the extra wide fabric for backing, he'll just love it. So far I've cut the half square and quarter square triangles and I am in the middle of cutting the strips to join the top together, then I'm in a quandry as to whether I put a narrow red or yellow border next before adding another d.blue one to finish the top.

One of our club members Evelyn is on her umpteenth churn dash quilt. This one she is donating to the local hospital.

I thought you might be interested in this little shoulder bag, this one Sue (a club member) picked up at the Bundaberg sunday markets at Shalom College. So simple but looks fantastic. I am now collecting ties.

Latest News

We have been absolutely flat strap since we arrived home. Have had all my xrays and scans done and no real bad news other than arthritis in my left wrist, fingers and right knee, well thats just more to go along with the arthritis in my lower spine and neck. Years ago I had a large gangleon on my left wrist which my doctor at the time said to hit it with the big family bible. Wouldn't leave the hand there long enough for DH Ian to hit it .... I'm not that stoopid! Anyway over time the lump disappeared and I thought it had gone to gangleon heaven. Not so, it is still there about 1cm thick under the skin and I'm going to leave it there too unless it decides to grow again. What the pain in the left wrist came from while we were away was a combination of the arthritis, the gangleon and then crocheting while we were on the road. RCI [repetitive crocheting injury] I call it. But since I've been home, not doing so much crocheting, the pain has lessened to a bearable degree but the wrist is still weak, I don't use it if I don't have to. Other than that I'm in fine fettle. My glasses are still fine for me though I have large floaties in the eyes, which will go away when they are ready.
Ians' news is good too. No operation on his lip, the severe sun damage has healed according to the plastic surgeon. Eventually he will have to have some sort of surgery for his sun damaged skin everywhere else on his body but we don't have to worry about it for a year or three.
Last weekend we headed to Brisbane. Saturday night was a barbque for DB#2 Trevor and his partner Karina to celebrate their engagement, their wedding date is 27/9/08. Sunday morning was DB#1 Ken and DSIL Lyn's first grandchilds' christening and he did look absolutely gorgeous as you can see.


... and he didn't make a sound even when the minister poured water over his head.

... that's DB's big head in the road. In the background to the left is their other daughter.

Now to travelling news.

Travelling south we found some wonderful things, people come up with brilliant ideas. Like making cages out of chicken wire and filling them with small boulders then using them to build tunnels.

A much better idea - utulising the small boulders dug up out of the hill and looks fantastic too. Our first nights stop in a free rest area was not what we invisaged. Seven roosters lived on the rest area and one of them decided that our car made for a nice warm spot to roost for the night. What with the semis travelling south on the highway beside us and a full moon above, you can imagine what the roosters did all night too. Not much sleep that first night.

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?