Thanks for the positive feedback about my rotation – in fact it looks more complex than it actually is … essentially it’s just a rotation with 6 projects on the go at any one time, and rather than having a measured period of time per slot (ie 10 hours or one week per slot), I’ve given myself project deadlines to complete before I move on to the next project in the rotation. Basically the slots will be:
- Commitment stitching (until all 3 item are completed)
- Snapperville – Bent Creek; then Stitching Leporello (Chatelaine)
- The Drawn Thread – It’s Halloween, then Autumn Arbor, then Garden Recipe – then Victoria Sampler’s Crimson Fire Sampler
- CA Wells – Sailor’s Valentine, then Cottage Etui, then Pyramid Etui
- Lanarte – Sea Life
- Free choice
The next few projects that will be added as time goes by are – Blessed with Happiness box (The Cat’s Whiskers), Blueberries (LHN/CC thread pack), My Treasures Workstation (Judy Odell), plus a myriad of others, all vying for attention. There are many ‘smaller’ projects that will slot in very nicely into the “free choice” spot, as they’ll only take a couple of nights of stitching to get each one finished (such as Xmas ornies etc).
As for right now, I put one whole hour’s stitching into the dratted Winnie the Pooh bookmark tonight – it’s the first time I’ve actually brought my stitching out while staying at Ali’s, and I can’t say I was particularly productive, but it was nice to get the frame out and give it a go!
I actually had a pretty rough night’s sleep last night and didn’t feel too perky when I finally emerged from the bedcovers. I was cheered up pretty quickly, though, by a visit out to see Lisa to take her house keys back … and I was spoilt to death by being taken out to lunch to an awesome beach-side cafe at Parkdale (I would definitely recommend that to anyone in Melbourne!), as well as being given a really sweet tote bag from Harrod’s, and another wee black bag from Hong Kong – wow! Gifts are always lovely purely because of the sentiments behind them, but these are super useful! 😀
After we had lunch I decided to head out to the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens, and walked around the Australian Garden, which is full of Australian native plants. There isn’t as much to see and do as there was at the other gardens I’ve recently been to at Arthur’s Seat etc, but it was lovely to spend an hour walking around and seeing some native species I hadn’t seen before. It was also lovely to see loads of Superb Fairy Wren birds flitting around among the ground cover – I just adore the colourings of the male bird, the bright blue is, indeed, “superb”! 😉
After wandering around the gardens, I headed back to Seaford and picked up a healthy dinner option – fresh Mediterranean salad (mixed lettuce leaves, with crumbled feta and sundried tomato dressing), a bunch of fresh asparagus spears (yummo!), and a piece of fresh salmon fillet. All I had to do when I got home was to crack open the bottle of Chardonnay I also picked up, nuke the salmon and asparagus spears for 3 minutes in the microwave, and pile everything on a plate … it was absolutely divine! Of course, the added company of Ali chatting to me during getting everything ready was an added bonus! 😀
I’ve been chatting to a few people at work about the option of applying for the job in Sydney, and the consensus is that I should go for it! I wanted to chat to Ali especially to get her feedback – even though I’m only just starting to find my feet socially here in Melbourne after being here for 4 years, it’s a damned good opportunity to give it a try. The salary is about $7,000-$10,000 more than my base salary here, although with the shift allowances it would even up a bit overall. I’m currently on a level 5 salary band, and the training salary is level 8 for the first 3 months, then it goes up to a level 9 (which is basically above our Supervisors in Reservations). Anyway, it’s only for 12 months, and it would be fantastic experience – and it seems there’s no time like the present, since all my things are in storage! So, basically, I’m going to “go for it” … that’s not to say I’ll actually get the job, but I won’t get it if I don’t officially apply!
Crikey, I’ve just seen the time … I’d better hurry up and call it a night, as I’m on earlier shifts this week, and the traffic is horrendous so I’ll need to leave early and allow about 1 1/2 hours driving time ho-hum. I have 2 hours overtime after work tomorrow, so that will at least see me leaving to come home outside peak time, which is great! 🙂
I’m going to call the boss in Sydney tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll have an update by the next time I jump online … I’ll also try to remember to post some piccies of the Australian Garden too 🙂
Feather Stitching 
Sounds like you had a fun time! Fingers are crossed for you that you get this postion as you sound like you would really love it 😀 Good luck!
Sounds like you are having fun! I put my blessings on your rotation too. I cannot wait until you have a home of your own again and can get all settled down.
My vote is to go for the new job opportunity…you can always tell them no, but you definitely *won’t* get it unless you try 🙂
Good luck on the Sydney job! Sounds like an awesome opportunity! Would you do housesitting jobs for your living arrangements while you are up there?
Good luck with the job! It sounds like you have the rotation all planned out very nicely – I hope it goes well!