it's finally happening

I went to see the surgeon at the hospital last Thursday ... for a review / checkup ... and he told me that they really could not expect me to wait any longer for this operation that I need so they are going to do it on the 26th of this month .. They still want me to lose as much as weight as I can before hand ... so I am doing my very best although this weight has really become very attached to me ... lol ... I have been gearing up for this procedure but did not expect it so soon .... the last they told me I was going to have to wait 3 to 4 months to allow me to lose the required weight ... oh well .. I am not complaining ... although I am a little bit unprepared really ... not just mentally but all round ... oh well ... best I get ready ... haha 

I do want to get as much sewing done as I can in the next week as it will be a while before I am going to be able to sit up at the machine I guess ... they are saying the normal 6 weeks to recover ... hopefully it won't take that long at all ... 

If I can get some things organised for handsewing that maybe a better option ... will see how I go with it all ... 

Maybe I will try to make a couple of these from HERE

thank you so much for the tutorial Shez .. they are just lovely ... I really want some 

hopefully I will be back over the next few days with some photos of some more work I have been able to get done ... I would like to get another ring cushion ready to go too ... let's see how much I can actually get done ... 

we have be getting visits from ..

This gorgeous creature ... now normally I do not like these little things ... especially when they come as big as this one .. reckon it is about 6 foot long ... I am not about to get my tape measure out to find out exactly .. but it would be about that size ..

And this is one of those rare types that we have here in Australia .. A python ... we call them Carpet Snakes ... I find them truly beautiful and it is harmless ... well maybe not harmless but it is non poisonous ... which in my book makes it fairly harmless ... unless of course your a baby bird .. an egg .. or a smallish rodent .. then .. look out cos you will probably end up on the menu ...

Now we first noticed this bloke on the 25th of July ... he was just wandering around the yard ... probably looking for lunch and the birdlife was giving hin a terrible time ... and then he found a hidey hole away from the pesky birds and rested for the afternoon in a semi sunny spot .. then later that afternoon we saw him travelling and I am guessing it is where he currently lives .. but he headed for back under our house ... 

And that was the last we saw of him until this morning ... he appeared again ... this time definately from under the house ... which I will say I truly do not mind as he will keep the mice population down and we have not had any in the house all winter and that is fine by me ... would rather a Carpet Snake than a mouse any day ... 

anyway by the time I stopped the dog from barking at it and went to get my camera he was gone ... up a tree ... and I could not see it ... the only way I knew where it had gone was cos that is where the dog was jumping up and barking her fool head off... 

anyway .. I found him ... way up on the top branches of the custard apple tree ... sunning himself in peace and quiet .. well he will have that until the birds spy him then they will hound him off again ... they are only protecting their young ... and some of them have those too .. we have a heap of baby lorrikeets about .. I hear them scretching for food ... now these birds are beautiful to look at ... but oh my they sound dreadful ... haha .. 

here he is ... up the tree ... can you see him???

now ... off to do some sewing ... may be back later today with some photos of what I have done ... 

tops .. tops .. and more tops ...

When will they end ... all these UFO's ... haha ...  possibly never .. I have so many to complete .. and these are just the easy ones .. The ones that just needed straightening and a border or two added ... there are so many more to do tucked away in the cupboard and tubs ... and only a couple with just borders .. the rest are major construction jobs ... and some are just yards of uncut fabric ... but those ones will possibly be the tops left to last ... I am still not to the point where I want to pull them out and count them yet ... 

but this past week I have managed to get 3 done ... 

I also started on a ring cushion for a friend's daughter who is getting married in October .... and while I was at it I thought I would have a play with a smaller one like it ... this one will end up about 7 inches square while the one for my friend will be bigger ... 

Look what I got today ...

Isn't he just beautiful ... 

no .. not really ... haha .. but he really hasn't been here very long and really needs to fit into his skin with air and other stuff around him .. so that may take a couple of days ... and then there are those forcep marks ... 

Our little great grandson Harrison Benjamin B came into the world rather reluctantly this afternoon ... a nice healthy weight of 6lb 13oz ... arriving at 1:37pm ... both babe and Mummy are doing fine .. Daddy on the other hand thinks no one is doing anything right and is running everything past his mum who is just about ready to hit him on the head ... but is trying to reassure him that the nurses and doctors actually do know stuff about babies and mothers ... haha ... 

Welcome to the world little man ... Grandma will be down to visit you and have a cuddle or 10 before you get too much bigger ... oh and by the way sweet little one .. I love you .... 

A quick finish for today ..

I started  this cushion cover awhile back ... along with many other things that are poked away in my cupboard ...  I had made one like it some time ago in greens ... but this one I finished today ... and I really like the blues ...

Getting a little excited about what else I am going to pull out and finish off ... I think I will start with the easy ones ... all those 'almost finished' quilt tops that are just missing their borders ... yep ... I have a few of those in there ... along with multiple other tops that are in various stages of incompleteness ...

I will go have a look later tonight and decide then ... 

but for now ... I think it's time to think about what to have for dinner ... 

I have worked up a bit of an appetite ... 

Leader & Ender blocks continued ...

Last night was the first Friday of the month .. so I thought I would join the ladies over at 

Cheryll's Stitching CubbyHole for her

 FriDaY Night with FriEnDs

It was my first night with the ladies there and I did manage to get some sewing done ... and what I did was to my amazment a fabulous nights work ... 

now some time ago ... like back in May of 2012 I had started a few blocks of some leader and ender bits that I had been sewing together as I went ... there are some pics HERE to show the progess at that point ... 

well over the past couple of years I have managed to put all those 2 and 4 inch patches into 80 x 8 inch blocks and those into 20 x 16 inch blocks and last night I sewed them altogether into a quilt top that now measures 64 x 80 inches ... I had planned on a smaller quilt in the beginning but this is a great size ...  

It is the first scrappy quilt I have made too ... and I love it ... 

I have more 8 inch blocks made waiting to be put together into larger blocks too ... I wonder how many more years they will sit before I put them together ... 

Thanks for a great and productive night Cheryll ... see you next month ... 

Christmas in July Swap ... finished ...

I am so pleased with this table runner ... it will be on its way to Canada shortly ... just have to get to the post office and then I can truly say .. my swap has finished ... 

the backing I did in a small tone on tone cream ... it looks great .. and just a very simple wavy line for the quilting .. one day I will get a bit better at this but for now it is what I know I can do ... 

I am also making great progress on the baby quilt .. it should be all finished in a couple of days

getting there ...

So far I have 2 quilting projects not finished this month ... but hopefully by the end of this week they both will be done and in the mail to their new owners .. 

this is the baby quilt I am making for our little Harrison ... I put the applique on tonight and now just need to do the quilting bit ... 

This is a table runner I am part way through making for a swap ..

this also needs to be done and mailed asap ...

 

And here is something that is actually finished ... 

a sweet little pair of booties for yep you guessed it ... 

Harrison .. these will be put into the parcel with his quilt

Great Grandie due real soon

And this Grandma has not been very good ... our darling little Harrison's quilt is still but a top and is still hanging around on my wall ... still waiting for borders and finishing ... and the applique of isome characters and I am sure it will get finished ... I am just hoping it will be done before his 18th birthday .... lol

Harrison Benjamin B is due on August 2 .. .... and he is so adorable .. his mummy sends me photos of her 3D scans ... what an incredible thing they are ... you can see his face ... eyes .. nose and mouth and he has the chubbiest of cheeks ... this would have to be my favorite one ... what a sweet little mouth he has ...

isn't he just sooooo cute ... 

Things are getting better !!!!

Yeah ... things are definately getting better ...

I am feeling almost great ... I certainly can't complain at all ... Marcos has been fantastic .. he truly is my rock ...

The doctor took the PICC line out last week .. and the meds I have been taking are working perfectly and I have another appointment at the hospital next week .. just checking up to see if all is going ok ..

I will need to have more surgery at some stage to try to find the source of this problem .. but as this is not a major necessity at the present time the surgeon is not willing to operate on me at my current weight .. he wants me to lose at least 20 kg before doing anything ... OMG ... that seems like it will be never that I get this done as I have not had much success in losing weight in the past ... and to walk for at least 30 minutes a day ..

What he has suggested is .. a no carb diet ... and from me another OMG ... that leaves very little to eat really .. meats fishes chicken etc are all ok ... as they have no carbs depending on how they are cooked ... then there are veges ... well most of them are out ... as most have some carbs ... most salad is ok although some do contain carbs and again it depends on how it is prepared ... all cereals are out ... no breads .. pasta or rice ... and just about every fruit I have researched has some form of carb in it ... lemons and the peel from lemons and oranges are the only zero fruits ...

I am to see the dietian and get a proper diet plan as I am struggling a bit to find stuff to eat and enjoy .. I like a bit of variation in my meal choices .. and eating eggs everyday for breakie is not really a great idea but I am not sure what else to have ... so I don't know how healthy all this can really be when there is no fruit and few veges that I can actually eat ... but I guess I will loose weight .. just not sure if it is honestly the best way to do it ...

He did also suggest the 'opti-slim' diet shakes and bars for breakfast and lunch .. but they honestly are loaded with carbs ... so I am rather confused ... and for dinner he said an egg white omlette .. ohhhh yummmy ... haha ... sorry but I prefer my eggs with colour ...

All I guess I can do is chat with him again next week .. or wait to talk to the dietian and go from there .. but just watching what I eat and sticking to the lowest of carb foods I have lost 3 kilos ... so that is a bonus ... as I have not been doing too much in the way of  'exercise walking' ... there really is nowhere to do that here ... everywhere is very hilly and sure I can walk down the hills but I would never get back up them with the knees and ankles that I have ... haha ... I am just no way fit enough to tackle any of the up and downs we have here ... but when we go shopping I get Marcos to park at the far end of the car park and we walk that distance .. same for anything else like that .. the further away that we can park the better cos at least I can get that bit of walking in ... and I no longer use the lift at the shopping centre .. we use the stairs or the ramp .. every little bit helps ... and just with the 3 kgs that I have lost I am finding some things easier to do ..

Let's see how I do by next week

Really Missing in Action ..

Since my last post I have not been very well ... I had a couple of small things that had to be checked over early in April .. that was done and all seemed well .. then I started feeling a little more unwell as time went by .. I had a lot of pain and then started to get a high temp every now and again .. anyway to try to cut a long and rather boring story short I had Marcos take me to our local doctor a few times over a period of about 10 days ... she eventually decided that the best place for me was hospital and had me transported by ambulance ... all a bit dramatic I thought at the time ...

Once I got to the hospital everything became a bit of a blur ... for about 4 days ... I had a staf infection inside my pelvic cavity and it was a bit of a nasty one too apparently ... which they treated with massive antibiotics ... and dosed me on considerable amounts of morphine and pills for pain .... which I truly appreciated ...

There were however a few complications from the infection ... which the doctors treated promptly and seemed to have stopped the progression of the infection nicely ... they kept me in the hospital for 2 weeks and sent me home with a PICC line in my left arm and a weeks supply of iv antibiotics ... these are in little bottles which infuse over a 24 hour period ... I need to change these bottles once a day .... and once a week I have to have blood tests to check the infection and then go to the hospital to get a check up ... have the dressing on the PICC changed and get more antibiotics ... this they tell me will be ongoing for 8 weeks ... heaps of fun ... NOT!!!!

But I am much better and well on the way to good health ... I may have to have an operation a little later to fix one or two of the complications that arose from all this but all in all I am fine ... I am home ... and I am still alive ...

Massive thanks to all the staff at the Nambour Hospital who looked after me ... and a huge thank you to my darling hubby who never ceases to amaze me with how much he will do to make sure I am looked after ....

He honestly is ... my better half ...

Back again ...

I thought I had best get in here an do a post before you all starting thinking I had really fallen off the face of the Earth ... I have just been busy with a few things and life in general ....

A few things being a bit of quilting ... a bit of finishing off one or two UFO's ... and that is about it for the sewing / quilting side of things ...

And life in general ... we moved .. as you may have read a few months ago ... and our son and family moved close to us not long ago ... so it is so wonderful that they are near us again ... I just love it ... these grandies are lovely and close and life could only be better by them all being this close ...

With their move came changes ... they are both working and we are currently on school holidays ... so Nanni has been babysitting .... not that they need too much in the way of looking after ... I am doing it at their place so the kids have everything they need to keep them happy ... they are all very self efficient and know exactly what they can and can't do ... what they are and are not allowed to eat ... and I only have to fix snacks and meals for young Master Chance who is a big boy now at the ripe old age of 5 ... He does keep me in smiles ... My life will return to 'normal' as of Easter .. they all go back to school the Tuesday after .... I think I will miss them ...

The quilting I have been doing as I said was some UFO's .... actually just a couple of placemats ... I love the way they have come up ... just a 12 inch logcabin block ... 3 inch slabs of fabric on two sides to give them length ... a bit of quilting ... backing made up of odds and sods of left over bits .... and binding with a dash of red also thrown into it ... looks rather elegant me thinks ... and Hubby really likes these .... so I will be allowed to use them freely on the table ... lol .... like he would be able to stop me anyway ...

 I am really happy with them ... 

My daughter approached me a couple of months ago and asked if I would make her a quilt for a friend who was having a baby ..... as she had no idea what she wanted ... I sent her photos of different quilts I could do for her .... she picked out one quilt ... and such a gorgeous one too ... Remember Whooo Loves You ... and she wanted pinks and greens please ...

Then after sorting out that quilt another message came through on my phone .... 'ummm .... could you make me another one as well please .. please .... please ??' ........ this made me giggle .... she wanted another one .. simple little charm patches with hearts ... ....

This is what I mailed to her yesterday ... the simple little heart applique quilt ... it is sooo cute ... and the colours in the fabrics ... just gorgeous ... 

The backing was just a combination of all the fabrics on the quilt top ... it just made sense to do that ... 

This is the Whooo Loves You quilt ... I love love love the way this one came up ... 

the colours are much brighter than this pic reflects ... 

Again I did a pitchy-patch backing ... and out of all the left over pieces I had I made a small quilt that the new mummy could use in a pram or basket ... 

I know ... I really should have made another owl for this one ... but ... she will just have to do without ... 

and that is it for my sewing feats thus far ... 

We did have a bit of rain a couple of weeks ago ... around 12 inches over a 3 day period .... and while it rained all was good .. the rain just soaked into the ground ... which was very very dry ... and the grass was dying rapidly so the rain came just in time for many farmers in the area ... 

but the day after it stopped here the river below us started to run ... and rise ... it came up 12 metres .... and looked absolutely incredible .... the road was cut by the rising water but we are very very safe here ... the house is a long way up from where the water collects ... and it would take almost biblical rains for it to affect us ...  

BEFORE

AFTER

    

I tried to get the exact shot as the first photo ... almost had it too .... 

And here are some other pics of around the property ... 

a close up of the photo above ... 

Well here it is April ... next week end is Easter ... and I have done almost nothing with this year ... it is raining again today ... my life is going wonderfully well .. and ... it is raining again this weekend ... but the river is playing nice ..... at the moment ... 

 I will try to do these posts more often .... 

 Have a wonderful week people ....

We're on the move again ...

well ... marcos and i have decided that travelling in a big old bedford bus in NOT the best way for us to be doing this ... we need something a little smaller so that we can get into more places ... and ... something that won't cost so much to move around ... the fuel bill was just a little too much for these pensioners .. haha ..

so ... we are moving into a little 'house' up near Gympie in Queensland ... it has one bedroom and another area ... like a very large hall way .. that i will use for my sewing ... he says i am not really nice to live with if i am not sewing anyway .. haha ... ..

the plan is ... in 2 weeks time ... we move in .... get me sorted so that i can do some overdue sewing and quilting ... and then ... him get some sort of part time work .... and then ... fix the bus up ... more tidy it and get some of extra rough edges off it ... internally more than the external side of her ... sell it ... and then buy a decent towing vehicle and a not too big caravan ...

we did think of going into a smaller bus ... but .. that would mean more downsizing and that is something i am just not prepared to do ... i reckon i have done enough of that ...

the 'house' is not really a house ... it is half of an out building on a farm ... that was converted by the current owners when they decided to build their new home .... they knocked down the main farm house that was there and rebuilt on the same ground and so did this conversion so that they had something other than a caravan to live in ....... anyway this is not by any means the Ritz ... but it will do me .... it is furnished to a point ... we need a bed and a refrigerator .. which the kids have given us .... and everything else is there ... the rent is very reasonable and the conditions are fine ... i have lived in much worse in my day .. haha ... and one of the very very best bits is ... we will be about 1/2 hour from the beach ... yay ... and the views are to 'die for' ... and the country side is sooooooooooooo green .... grass for miles .. haha ... now this may seem normal for some ... but for almost 10 years all i have looked at is dirt .. dirt and more dirt .... dead grass ... and prickles ... and ... more dirt ... haha ... so this is wonderful ...

there is a river that runs behind the property ... and is close enough that i will be able to walk the dog there for a swim ... but the land is sloped and i may have a slight problem walking back up the slopes .. haha .. but given time i will make it ... and given time the slopes won't seem so bad ... and the exercise will do nothing but good things for me ... i guess .... that bit i don't think i will mind too much ...

the property is 17 klms out of town ... so we will have a short drive to do groceries etc .. but that is ok ... we have to do a minimum of 50 to see the doctor and 100 to do serious groceries at the present time ... so that bit is fine ... and when marcos starts work he can get anything we need before coming home ... the only time i would need to go to town would be to buy fabric ... or thread ... ... but ... i can get them online too ... heeeheee ... and he will never know ... lol

AND .. there are fruit trees too ... mandarines ... mangoes ... custard apples ... lemon ... some sort of berry bushes ... avocado tress ... maybe 4 of them .... tangelo ??? trees ...

we leave here on the 31st .... so ... 2014 is looking interesting .....

and in the next couple of days i will do a post regarding my gorgeous SSS that i received from my ever so sweet partner Marcia ...

When they throw caution to the wind ... it will eventually happen ...

OMG ... I am 56 years of age and one of my darling grandsons has decided to make me a great grand mother .... he is all of 20 .. just turned 5 days before Christmas ... and his girlfriend .. who I must admit prefers to be called his fiancée .. whatever she is … she is still only 18 … oh they got engaged when she was 16 … with her mothers blessing …. 

my son and wife are clearly not happy about any of this … and nor is the fiancée's mother … who promptly threw them both out of her house when they broke the 'welcome' news the other day …. 

and as they had already burnt bridges at my son's home before that … 

and as they are both unemployed and now homeless they are selling everything they own to pay for a motel room … 

and .. I just got a 'collective' text message from them to say … 

we are pregnant and even though you all think we don't know what we are doing … we are just fine and need no one's help … …… ……………… 

apparently they sent it to EVERYONE .... 

So I guess they won't be needing help from anyone at all ... including me who never even got the chance to offer any .... mind you .. there would be a slight lecture before any help was offered ... 

did i mention that i was 56 years old .... and have i said it yet ... OMG ... a great grandmother ..... 

this is something i really was not honestly ready for ... but ... hey .. they run around doing things that can make babies ... apparently using NO protection ... yep  they certainly are the Educated generation aren't they ... 

oh ... and this lad cannot get unemployment payments either cos Dad earns too much money so he has to be working ... 

and in fairness to him ... he did have a job at Christmas .... he started working at a local petrol station ... night work and good pay for a 'trainee' .... he started the job on the 19th December and on the 23rd decided he had to have a night off so that he could take the fiancee out to dinner to celebrate the fact that he had a job ... and of course he had a couple of drinks and then could not go to work ... told the boss he was sick ... that was ok ... but then took the next night off too .... 2 shifts in a row needs a doctors certificate ... .... long story as short as i can make it ... he is no longer working there .... but says he will take them to the unfair dismissal tribunal cos he didn't know he would need to 'prove' he was sick ... and this is the 'grown up' who is having a baby ..... OMG ... they are way too young and so am i ... 

so I reckon this will age me without any problem what so ever .... 

Yes ... i understand this is not really about me .... but gee .... read the title of my blog and you will see .... everything is always going to revert back to being ... All about me !!!!... 

and did i mention .... I am only 56 years old .... 

first part of what we're up to ...

This will come in segments .... when I get time to do an entry .. 

We left Levi and Katie's on the 23rd November … and as I had a few appointments in Tara with doctors and physio's etc we headed there and stayed at the lagoon until we were ready to go .. which took about 4 days … it was just nice sitting by the creek .. watching the busy world go by .. not that Tara gets too busy mind you … but it was certainly more busy than what we were used to livning on the farm … when that was all taken care of we set off … south …

As we drove past Levi and Katie's for the last time I waved them a fond farewell .. will majorly miss them all … but I am certain after a wee while they won’t be missing us too much … Chance did say he would miss Pop and his game time … 'but will you miss me' I asked him … NO .. but I will miss your chocarlart bicsets … nice to know I will be remembered … haha ..

 really miss this ...

The bus ran like a dream .. It was hot all the way .. Hot and dry everywhere .. The landscape told the story of the lack of rain and lack of wheat harvest … There were some places that the wheat still stood in the ground .. barely anything on the storks and certainly not worth the farmer harvesting it .. I guess most will just put cattle in the paddocks to eat what crop there is .. it was a sad sight indeed and I reckon very heartbreaking for the man on the land … I truly admire these people .. they spend their whole existence providing food for a nation and trust me it would be a lot easier for them to pack up their stuff and move on to much 'greener' pastures .. but they stay and hope for a better year next year … I truly love and admire these folk .. they really are the backbone of this land … I don't know what makes them stay .. but I am honestly glad they do … God Bless them one and all …

I am running about a week behind here .. but I will try to do a catch up as I go along … we are having a good time … staying safe and trying very hard to be good … not all of that is working tho … haha … 

All done ...

Well .. my SSS is finished .. packed ... and ready to go ... phew ... and with 5 days to go till mail out I am cutting it a little close ... but that's me ... always rushing at the 11th hour to get it done and off to its owner ... but this time I have at least some time up my sleeve .... bonus .... and yay me !!! ...

I will mail it off to my lovely partner on Friday ... I really cannot believe that it has been 6 months already ... my how the time has gotten away ... and Christmas only a month away too ... oh my ... it really is happening all too fast ... and like everything else in life it will happen whether I am ready or not ... and I really would like to be ready just this once maybe ... lol ... so I am going to try extra hard this year to be good ... and then Santa will do everything for me ... right ?? ..............

Time to catch up !!!!!!!!!

My word .. yes indeedy .... it most certainly is time ... I don't believe it has been 3 months since I posted in here last ... now that is just plain out and out bad form ... but ... that is me .... 

Update on my SSS ... I have 10 days to go before the big mail out ... the time certainly has gone by reasonably quickly .... well it feels like time flies by these days ... maybe it is because I am getting older ... maybe it is because I spend a lot of time not sleeping and therefore days sort of just roll into one another ... or maybe ... the clock really does tick faster and faster the older we become ... sort of to get rid of us quicker ...... or maybe it is just cos we are so busy doing important stuff that we just don't realise that the time is slipping by ... we must all take time out to smell the roses ... pick up the phone and ring that someone you've been meaning to call for months now ... stop and give the dog a pat just cos you can ... 

or .. be like me and sit and sew just cos there is nothing else to do in your day .. well nothing as important as sewing that fabric back together after you just cut it all up into little pieces ... haha ... 

my SSS is packed and ready to ship out ... well most of it ... just a little binding to finish ... why is it that the binding on some things takes months to finish ... everytime I walk past it I think .. oh I must finish that ... and just keep on walking ... but .. 10 days to go ... and I don't want to be sitting up all night 8 nights from now .. sewing down the binding ... so I promise myself I will do it in the next 7 days ... .... that will at least give me time to wrap it nicely ... 

I will be sewing tomorrow ... something else that needs to be done sort of urgently ... and then my machine will be getting packed away for a couple of weeks ... I have some hand sewing that needs to be done .. yes other stuff besides that binding .... so I am hoping to keep me busy with some hand sewing ... I am not really very keen on using a needle and thread as my fingers don't work as good as they once did and I am still having a wee bit of trouble with my left wrist and thumb .. so things pinch up after awhile .. but I want to hand sew this thing for a friend ... hope I succeed in getting it done ... Photos if I do .... but whatever the outcome ... the binding will get done .... oh ... and a couple of buttons that need to be sewn on too ... just remembered them .... 

anyway ... just thought I would pop in here ... do a quick post and then make a cuppa ... and sort out the thread I will need to do this little project .... and then I need to find some patterns for a baby quilt my daughter has asked me to make for one of her friends ... it will be a pink quilt and needs to be done by March ... once she chooses a pattern I will be able to get the fabric and make a start on it ... pinks and purples ..... sounds lovely already ...  

Shhhhhhhhhh .... here are some pics ...

I thought I would be sneaky .. and very norti and show you some photos of what I have made for my partner in the SSS ... but this is what happens when you go outside the rules .... Karma ...


Now I have NO IDEA what went wrong ... honest ... all I know is .. The battery on my camera was dead then I had what I thought was a great idea
 ..
"hey .. I have that new iphone ... the kids say it has a fantastic camera .. so .. just use it ..."

so I did .... 

Well .......... Never again ... if this is what I am going to get as finished photos .........

Absolute rubbish ... I truly am sorry about this ... I don't think it was anything I did .. I will have to check with my kids tomorrow and ask them if there is a special way to hold ones tongue while using an iphone to take pics ... it has me totally confused as to what went wrong ...

But anyway .. it is what it is and this is all I have to show you .... 

this is the first thing I made for my partner .. now if you could see the colours and the patchwork in it you too would say that I had done an exceptionally great job in making this ... but .. I don't think anyone would say that by looking at this particular photo ... 

and as for this ... well ... who knows what anyone would say ... 

if I didn't know just how lovely this looks then I would probably say myself that ... 

'it certainly is nothing much to look at" .... and just leave it at that ...

And dear bloggers (and my SSS partner... I know you are reading this ...) You are all going to have to wait until December to see the real thing ... because the gifts are all wrapped up now in very very expensive wrapping paper .. 

and I won't be destroying such excellent packaging just to take photos .. sorry about that ...



now even though I can't show you a decent pic of what I have made ...

I would like to think my partner is as excited about these as I am .... 

I would like to think she is .. but I doubt it very much ... 

I have been sewing but I can't show you !!!!

I spent last Friday sewing ... but didn't have my camera to take pics of what I had done ... and even if i did have it .... I wouldn't be able to post any photos here because what I am working on is for a S S S ... which stands for Santa Swap Sack ........... and it could also stand for Secret Squirrel Stuff ... which also sounds like it could be a lot of fun too doesn't it ...

but what I can tell you is ..... it is is a Christmas themed quilted thingy ... for my not so secret partner ... yeah .. we know who our partners are (and she knows who I am) so that makes it hard to brag about what you have been making ... and totally impossible to post photos of what you have done on your personal blog ... so you will all just have to take my word for it when I say it is just absolutely gorgeous ... and I love it ... of course I haven't finished it yet .... and it is not quilted .. so there is always the possibility that I could stuff it up and it could end up and non event ..... but .. it has been awhile since I super stuffed up something ..... so I dare say this one will get finished ... and when it is done and finished and photographed I am allowed to post a finished photo of it HERE ........... eventually ... we have until the end of November to have our things finished ...

and I can't even share a photo of the fabrics cos that would give away the identity of the item too ... so ... will just have to wait ... until Christmas time .. when my partner finally unwraps her gifts from me ... all 6 of them ...

And so far I have completed 1 ... and have 3 more in the process of being made .... I will be cheating and purchasing a couple of things that I will be sending ... only because it is too hard for me to make these things .......

But .. what I can show you is ... where I am sewing these days ... but those pics will have to wait until tomorrow .. cos I didn't take the camera up there with me today ... 

As you all know .. my bus is not quite drive-able again .. haha ... it has no wheels on it ... haha ...  that's right Bobbie .. laugh ... it is better than the alternative ... .... anyway ... my son has made one of the 'workers' houses on the property available for me to sew in .... I can spread myself out a bit and make a little bit of a mess if I want too ... the bus is good ... but doesn't have the room to really make a chaotic mess ... haha ... sort of like I am used to ...

It is very basic and nothing flash or fancy ... but there is a large table ... and lots of room to put up the ironing board .... and ... there is a little room off from the kitchen ... i am sewing in the kitchen ... it gets lots of sun in there and is nice and toasty warm .. anyway ... in this little room I have my sewing tubs ... and although I don't have the stash that I once possessed ... what I do have is very precious and oh so useful ... and I realised today that 2 of the tubs could get packed away and not dragged out at all .. cos they only have finished quilt tops in them .. yes .. 2 tubs full of tops waiting to be finished ... I will have to start saving my pennies so that I can get someone to quilt a couple of them for me ... some of them I can do myself ... but there are a couple in there that I would love some custom designs done on the blocks ... just to make them a little more special ...

I went back up to the house today and did a little more on some of my SSS bits .. I am really really happy with the way the bits are coming together ... especially as I have no pattern to work from .. just popping it all together as I go along ... haha .. 

well .. I am off to bed now ... have an appointment in town tomorrow to see a podiatrist and get my horrid little feet seen to ... Hopefully she can help with a couple of painful issues ....

Will catch up again real soon ... with pics of the house ... and hopefully of some other things that I may get done ... 

Barak turned 9 .. Happy Birthday Darling ...

Our Barak had a birthday on the 11th of this month and I have not blogged about that yet (norti nanni).. so I am thinking I should do that now ...... before I totally forget ... 

He turned 9 and is another one of my precious grandson's who came into the world earlier than expected .. by approximately 5 weeks ... very very tiny and oh so very loved ... 

Barak in the early days ... he was 5 days old in this photo

and here he is .. 5 months later ... seems the early arrival didn't hurt him too much ... 

 Ok ... this is how the day started ... with Dad and Mum in the kitchen making breakfast for the lad ... 

just as ordered by the birthday boy ... 

and Poppy giving the birthday boy a big hug ... not everyday you get to turn 9 years old mate ... 

and after our oh so yummy breakie ... of scrambled eggs and toasted cheese rolls

(aka - heart attack in disguise)

we got to watch the pressies getting unwrapped ... 

And here he is with his spoils ... a couple of DVD's ... a couple of Wii games ... a pair of jeans and a Tshirt .. a pair of skate shoes ... and some excellent Lego ... looks like one happy little chappy ... 

but Chance is here to tell us something ... 

What was that mate?? ... Barak has to come outside?? ... OK .. but I think he wants to build his lego ... 

But why does Mum have to do this ???? must be something he isn't allowed to see ... or ... maybe Mum just wants to push him down the stairs without him knowing it is coming .. haha ... 

no .. that's not it ... there really is something else for him to see ... !!!!!!!!!!!!! 

WOW .. check it out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am getting the idea that he likes this pressie too ...

Oh ... what .. you can't ride a motorbike ... oh dear ... that is sad ... 

but he certainly took to it like a duck takes to water ... 

he honestly could not ride a bike before this ... pretty good for a beginner me thinks .. 

Go Barak ... !!!!!!!!!!!

and there was NO stopping him ... he did this all day ... up and down the driveway ..

then up and down the road way ... and then took to the lane-way ... I thought he was going to head for the highway ... but he stuck to inside the property fences so that was good ... lol

Cameron was feeling a little left out cos he doesn't have a bike .. yet ... so dad got the quad out for him ... 

ahhh .... happy boy .... 

didn't see too much of him for the rest of the day either ... 

and Brodie got his bike out ... and was gone ... 

Daddy took Chance for a little ride around the yard ... and up the dirt track ... he came back with a grin as big as a dinner plate and more dirt on him than we knew what to do with ... but he was another happy little chappy ... 

and what is a day with the bikes without a breakdown ... 

but it is ok .. 

the men have it under control ... 

well there is a lot of head down and bum up here ... 

but eventually they got it back up and running .. and Brodie was off again ... 

Later that day .. Barak did get to make up his Lego sets ... and don't they look great .. 

then came dinner and his cake ...

oh my Mummy certainly did make a big cake ... didn't she .. haha .. 

and it too ... was ... oh sooooooooooooo yummy .... 

Happy Birthday Barak .... love you my darling ...