Cause for Celebration

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Posted on November 21, 2015

I missed writing a blog post last night as I went out to dinner with my mother and brother. The occasion was my mother’s birthday.

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While this year was not what is generally regarded as a ‘milestone’ birthday it was particularly significant to me.

8 months ago Mum was not in the best of health and over the next 3 months declined further until her open heart surgery in June. We were all well aware of the very real possibility that she may not get to celebrate her next birthday. However, the surgery was a success and Mum has recovered exceptionally well. So, it is with great joy that we were able to to celebrate her birthday yesterday evening.

Happy Birthday, Mum! May there be many more.

Food for Thought

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Posted on November 14, 2015

Every now and then I come across a discussion or comment (either in real life or on an internet forum) that stops me dead in my tracks.

The other day I read a comment where a teacher asked about a remark made by another teacher, that she would never eat any home-baked gift that was given to her and simply threw them out.

As if that was not enough to throw me for six, I was astounded by the robust online discussion that ensued.

Some of the issues that were raised included not buying home-made cakes from cake stalls, the hygiene standards of the kitchen, not eating anything from anyone unless you had intimate knowledge of their home and kitchen and so on.

Do these people ever attend a function where people bring a plate of food to share? Are their children allowed to attend birthday parties, where, heaven forbid, there may be home-made food? What about class parties at the end of term?

I can well understand people with food allergies being unable to accept food gifts but some of the other issues just seemed over-the-top to me.

I was not alone in my response as there were others (teachers and others) who said they welcomed and appreciated the home-made baking that was made and given with love.

Then the conversation headed in another direction as to the reason for giving gifts to teachers as they are ‘only doing their job’ and get paid like every other employee in any line of work.

Am I naive? What do you think? I am particularly interested to hear from teachers as well as parents who have given home-baked gifts. Will this revelation change your plans for Christmas gifts?

Happy Birthday

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Posted on September 3, 2015

On this day, 33 years ago my life changed forever with the arrival of my first-born child.

There was no internet, Skype, Instagram or Facebook. We did not even think to take a photo while in hospital. This is the first photo of our newborn daughter at 7days, once we were home from hospital.

It seems like yesterday but so much has happened in those intervening years.

There have been highs, lows and plenty of challenges but I am so proud of what she has achieved and the woman she has become.

Happy Birthday, darling and best wishes for an amazing future.

All Work and No Play….

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Posted on August 9, 2015

….makes Jack a dull boy, according to the rhyme.

Well, although I have been busy with work at home and in the office it is great to ‘play’ a little, too.

On Wednesday I visited the retirement village where my mother lives and joined in their Ekka Day. For those of you who are not Queenslanders – the Ekka is the nickname for the Royal Agricultural Show which happens in Brisbane each year for about 10 days in early August. To celebrate this occasion there was a morning of games of chance, bags of sweets, art and craft displays followed by a themed lunch. In the true tradition of this time of year it was a bright, sunny day but with a bitterly cold westerly wind so I was rugged up. Mum and I inadvertently managed to match our outfits.

GMan and I dined out on Friday to celebrate his birthday. We went to a local Italian restaurant for pizza. They have the option of a gluten-free base for the pizza which suits me and we indulged on dessert as well. Waffles for GMan and pavlova for me.

We have been socialising again today when we went to visit some friends who have recently moved into their new home. Instead of driving down the highway we took the scenic back roads. At Mt Mee we stopped at a lookout and captured the views. This is looking north-east towards the Glasshouse Mountains.

An old cottage and bunya pines.

North-west towards the Blackall Range.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch, lively conversation and a stroll around the back paddock. What more could we wish for on a sunny Sunday afternoon in winter?

I hope you have had a wonderful weekend with time for both work and play.

Live Life

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Posted on July 22, 2015

This blog is not about my life laid bare for all the world to see. However, I have alluded to the fact that I have been very busy recently so tonight I wanted to share a little of that with you.

About 10 days ago I was part of a gathering of my extended family. Like many families, sometimes it seems as though the only times we connect with cousins and others beyond our immediate family is at funerals. Some months ago I came up with the idea of gathering on the centenary of our grandfather’s arrival at Gallipoli. He was not in the first contingent of Australian forces who landed on 25th April but was in some of the reinforcements who arrived in mid-July. A series of events led to him meeting his future wife (our grandmother) in England, and so, our branch of the family grew and flourished.

After much anticipation, family members gathered from near and far for a day of celebration and reminiscing. The weather was kind, memories were shared and connections rekindled. We had an amazing day.

I think this photograph captured the essence of the day perfectly.

Centenary

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Posted on April 25, 2015

Today, 25th April is the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli during WW1.

2015 marks the centenary of this event and the various commemorative events have attracted huge interest and some of the largest crowds ever.

I did not attend any formal gathering but did spend time reflecting on the service of men and women in all conflicts. As well as those who made the ultimate sacrifice, let us not forget the prisoners-of-war and those whose lives were curtailed by physical and psychological wounds and their families.

It seems that there is barely a family who has not been touched by war. Social media has been awash with posts as many seek to share their stories. One post led me to find this poem. The final two lines are a stark reminder.

A Poem for Remembrance Day

Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?
Selling poppies in town today.
The poppies, child, are flowers of love.
For the men who marched away.

But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy?
Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my child, men fought and died
In the fields where the poppies grow.

But why are the poppies so red, Mummy?
Why are the poppies so red?
Red is the colour of blood, my child.
The blood that our soldiers shed.

The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy.
Why does it have to be black?
Black, my child, is the symbol of grief.
For the men who never came back.

But why, Mummy are you crying so?
Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are my fears for you my child.
For the world is forgetting again.

Lest we forget.

Just Another Day………..

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Posted on April 20, 2015

You may or may not have noticed the lack of ‘Sew My Stash Sunday’ post yesterday. There was not much use posting as I had not done any sewing.

A busy week at work followed by gardening on Saturday and guests for lunch on Sunday put sewing firmly on the backburner this week.

Today was not quite ‘just another day at the office’ as it was my birthday and of course that was a great excuse to have cake for morning tea.

GMan happened to have the day off today so it was lovely to come home to dinner prepared and ready to be served.

I am feeling very loved thanks to all the messages, phone calls and cards from my family and friends.

Celebration Central

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Posted on April 9, 2015

April is quite a month for celebrations in our family as it was our wedding anniversary earlier in the week and will be followed up by my birthday later in the month.

It is my brother’s birthday today and we will be going out for a family lunch on Saturday to celebrate.

This year is a milestone birthday and here are some past photos of the birthday boy.

Wishing you a wonderful birthday and best wishes for the future.

Flashback Friday

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Posted on April 3, 2015

As with all new projects, ‘Flashback Friday’ is being fine-tuned. As well as linking back to the original post I am going to copy and paste it into a new post. So, here goes…..this is from August 2012 just before Izz turned 3.

I have been making a gift for Izz for her birthday. She has a doll’s bed which has been passed down to her but no bedding.

I bought 2 u-shaped pillowcases recently from the op shop. Here is one that I have unpicked ready to use. Note the roll of fabric which is the dismantled and pressed frill.

The Duke bought a piece of foam cut to size for the mattress and I have covered that using some of the pillowcase fabric.

The next step was to make a patchwork quilt. I worked out the size and number of pieces I would need. The plain pink is more of the pillowcase, plain mauve from a piece in my stash of fabric, Dora pattern is a few leftover scraps from the doona cover and curtains that I made for Miss O last year and the pink patterned fabric is from a blouse I picked up at the op shop. The frill is the one I unpicked from the pillowcase. The hemmed edge remained intact so I simply regathered it and reapplied to the quilt edge.

I bought a large piece of cotton/bamboo batting for a bed quilt I am working on for Izz’s bed so I used a small piece for this quilt. (I think this is a rather spoiled doll!) The backing is more leftovers from some op shop fabric. I quilted it by simply machine stitching along the seam lines which is nothing fancy but seems effective.

The finishing touch was to make a matching pillow. A couple more fabric scraps and some salvaged filling from an old cushion and I had a complete set of bedding for the doll. Here is the mattress with the pillow.

The total cost of things I bought specifically for this project was $6.60. This is a gift which I know will be loved regardless of the cost. I am looking forward to seeing Izz’s face when she opens the gift.

Now I need to work on the the bed quilt I am making as well since her birthday is in 2 weeks and I want to be able to give her the present before we go on holidays.

In the interests of presenting a complete picture here are a couple of photos I took when she received her parcel.