Author: Anne S

Brightening my life one stitch or one card at a time, and sharing my joy of needlework and card-making.
Travel

Final fling (Sydney day 4)

Anne S

My final day in Sydney started very leisurely – we had a buffet breakfast set up for us in one of the ballrooms, so after I finished repacking my case etc I wandered down to consume a cooked breakfast, followed by fresh melon, danish pastries and coffee … just what the doctor ordered!  After I’d finished I took my bags down to the Concierge and asked them to place them in storage for the day, and hit the road … my first port of call was to Town Hall train station where I caught a train out to Killara – most of you who’ve been there will likely guess where my destination was 😉

On arrival at Killara, I walked the few short steps round the corner to Crewel Gobelin for my first LNS visit in Sydney.  I just browsed around the shop for a while, kicking myself I didn’t think to bring my list of threads that I needed … I absolutely refuse to visit a LNS and not buy something, it just isn’t right!  Considering I’m supposed to be on my 50 Project Challenge, this now put me in a bit of a quandary … do I buy some threads that I ‘think’ I need, or do I just go ahead and break the challenge for a while … I guess you can see for yourself what my decision was! 😉  Now I just have to work out how I’m going to deal with my breaking of the challenge – perhaps add on another one or two projects for each new project bought … hmmm … 

I ended up coming away with three charts for smalls (I had decided to buy The Cat’s Whiskers Dilly Bag, but then who could resist With My Needle charts for $5?  So I bought both of them – Swan Stitcher’s Etuis, and Cherished Workes) and the Dec 2006 JCS magazine (which I can never buy locally in my newsagents).  I was seriously tempted to buy one of the Veronique Maillard alphabet books (the one I fell in love with was $85, though, so I think I’ll just have to save up for that one).  I meant to order some fabric as well, as I need some 32ct Belfast in Little Boy Blue for a couple of different projects, but I got chatting with Margaret (the owner) and I forgot all about it.  I have to say we stood at the counter and chatted away for quite some considerable time, and it was the most wonderful time spent – Margaret is a really lovely lady who is extremely knowledgeable about her craft and eager to share her knowledge.  If anyone is visiting Sydney it is the easiest shop to get to by public transport – you just hop off the train at Killara station, and if you stand at the station facing back towards the city, you head off to the right.  Turn left at the road and head towards the park on the corner of Marian St & Culworth Ave, and Crewel Gobelin is just a few steps up the street on the right.  It is literally only about 2 minutes walk from the train station. 


Where Crewel Gobelin is located – within a 2-minute walk of the Killara Train Station

Eventually I tore myself away from Margaret’s wonderful company, and headed back by train to Circular Quay to buy a ferry ticket to go to Taronga Zoo – unfortunately, though, this was now 2.45pm and the ticket seller said I’d be lucky if I got an hour’s visiting time at the Zoo so I decided it wasn’t worth it (it just means it’s something left for me to do next time … along with a trip to visit Karen at Dragonfly Dreams!).  Instead of the Zoo, it was time to get back on the train again on my way back to the Hotel.  I thought I’d just take a leisurely walk over to Darling Harbour and ended up having a splash-out dinner at one of the restaurants instead.  On the way, though, I was transfixed by some beautiful old buildings by the Town Hall Station – one was the Queen Victoria Building, and the other was the Sydney Town Hall.  I just adore grand old architecture, and I spent a wee bit of time just pondering the wonderful nooks and crevices of the outside of the buildings.


Queen Victoria Building (“QVB”)


Town Hall

From there it was over to Darling Harbour – once again I took my time to just stroll and dawdle round the harbour, before I settled on having dinner at Blue Fish restaurant (mainly because they had a 25% discount for earlybird diners … but also because I was dying to try their Vanilla Creme Brulée haha).  Creme Brulée is one of the bad habits I picked up on a trip to Paris … I had it once at a restaurant and never looked back – it would have to be one of my absolute favourite desserts, and thankfully one that isn’t very popular so I can’t have it very often, or I’d be even bigger than I already am teehee.  I started off by having Kangaroo Loin on sweet potato rings with crunchy asparagus, washed down with two big glasses of Sangria, followed by the creme brulée and a mug of cappuccino … it turned out to be a wise choice to eat before I flew, although I was questioning my choices while I was waddling back to the Hotel after totally stuffing myself stupid 😉


One half of Darling Harbour (with my Hotel in the centre)

On return to the hotel I grabbed a quick change of clothes into my business attire, ready for my taxi to the airport and my flight home.  It turns out I hadn’t realised they’d changed my flight home for 1/2 an hour earlier (they’d stuffed up my booking a total of 3 times, including sending me home before the actual event had even started!!), so I couldn’t check my bags in using the quickcheck service, and had to pop over to the sales desk for assistance – she managed to get me back on the original flight I’d been given, and gave me my business class upgrade straightaway, which was wonderful news.  The flight was very full, though, and because of that I missed out on the food inflight (one of the downsides of being staff, because you travel on a standby basis all the time there are no guarantees you’ll actually get fed if they’re running short) … the crew member was very apologetic, but I was personally just happy to be on the flight in a seat – anything else is a pure bonus, and as it was I would have been turning the food down anyway after stuffing myself senseless at the Darling Harbour restaurant LOL.  Unfortunately when I arrived there was some sort of problem with the baggage carousel so we had a significant wait for our bags, but eventually they arrived, and it was time to jump on the bus to the long-term parking ready for the drive home.  I got in at about 11pm, and was back in at work for 11am yesterday where I had to re-tell the event stories to a few people.  There is also a “day of stars” at work next week, where we get to celebrate with our own colleagues after the event, but I’m on night shift this week so I’ll miss out – but I have enough memories to last a lifetime already.

All-in-all it was a wonderful time away – filled with love and laughter, wine and song, and experiences that lift the soul and make life worth living.  For now, “life is good” 😀

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Travel

The big event (Sydney day 3)

Anne S

Thursday started nice and slowly with a small sleep-in.  I had a couple of ‘stupid’ moments, though, like when I realised I hadn’t brought any styling products for my hair, and I had to wash it, so just had to let it sit and dry naturally.  Then I thought I’d pop out to a hairdresser and get it styled for the evening, only to remember I didn’t have any keys to the house, so had no option but to sit still and relax.  I just spent the day reading until it was time to get ready for the function.  We had to be at the Hotel “ready to leave” no later than 4.45pm, so Brenda had to finish work at 2pm to have us ready to leave by 3pm – Nigel very kindly came home early as well and drove us into the city.  Here’s a photo of my beautiful hosts just before we left the house (jeez, I wish I could’ve done something with my hair!).


Me with Brenda


Me with Nigel

We managed to get to the Hotel at 4pm, so we checked in and took my bags up to the room, then went down to the bar for a vodka for Brenda and a bourbon for me (at the price of $17 for two drinks that’s where we finished LOL).  The Hotel we were staying at, compliments of work for the night, was the Four Points by Sheraton, Darling Harbour.  I’ve included a piccie here of the Hotel that I actually took on Friday, as it made more sense to include it here.


Four Points Sheraton at Darling Harbour

We all had to meet in the Lower Ground level of the lobby where we were given “boarding passes” and name badges.  Here I managed to meet up with the other two ladies from Melbourne that I work with, Mary and Carolyn, and Teresa that I used to work with in Auckland (it was so lovely to see her and here Auckland’s news).  We didn’t have to wait around for long before we were sent on our merry way in two groups for a short walk … down to the harbour.  At this point I was getting a bit disgruntled and jittery – I get seasick, and I’ve been hoping like heck we weren’t going on a cruise, but unfortunately those hopes were dashed!  I’d packed my Sea-Bands ‘just in case’ and popped them on, but that basically meant that I wouldn’t be drinking or eating on board, which put a real damper on the evening for me … the boat started rocking a bit while we were moored, at which point I figured it would be better to get off until we were ready to actually move, so I asked a crew member if I could leave – and he kindly brought me out some homeopathic travel sickness tablets (ginger-based) that wouldn’t affect me and meant I could have a drink etc … that went a BIG way to putting me at ease!  I’m usually OK on boats for about 1/2 hour (which I why I felt OK to try the ferry the previous day), but after that I’m laying ground bait …

As it turns out we were on board that vessel for some considerable time – we had one of the chief managers of the company with us and we each had to go up to to the front and receive a framed certificate from him and have our photo taken together.  There were even people from as far away as our London and Tuscon offices – I thought that was wonderful.  Brenda mentioned to me during the night that “this really is a big thing that you’ve won, isn’t it?”, and I probably had to agree that I guess it was – the whole event made me realise just how big it was.  Out of 7000 nominations, I was one of the 200 around the world who won … wow! 🙂

Anyway, back to the story … we cruised up the river for a couple of hours, and in fact almost made it as far as I had the day before when I travelled to Rydalmere – eventually, though, we got off the boat at Homebush.  We were then bundled into coaches and taken a short distance up the road to our final resting place for the night – Acer Arena at Sydney Olympic Park.  Here we were ushered to a lobby area where there was a band playing and yet more alcohol being offered (boy, oh boy, they certainly didn’t skimp on providing refreshments!).  We stood there for a while chatting, then all of a sudden curtains were pulled back just behind where we were standing, and the doors were opened into the stadium itself – it was like we were Olympic athletes flowing into the stadium … and when we walked in it looked like something from a fairy tale!  Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of it all, and the photos in general from now on are a bit crappy due to the poor lighting, my poor camera, and being a fair distance away from the stage etc.  But take my word for it, it was magical!  We were seated in the middle of the arena itself, with formal dining set ups, and a stage with two large screens on each side.


Sydney Olympic Park – Acer Stadium


Brenda and I inside the Stadium about to sit down for dinner

Unfortunately we were all split up at different tables, as they’d already given seating allocations … at each place setting for the winners, though, they’d put a book together as a momento – inside it includes a photo and blurb about each of the winners and what they did to win the award, plus a copy of the menu, and the entertainment schedule for the evening etc.  It was a great touch, and made the evening even more special … although those special touches just kept on coming!

After everyone was seated at their tables and introduced themselves music started in the background then eventually it changed … the lights dimmed and then a spotlight went onto three members of the Australian Girls Choir on stage, who started to sing “I Still Call Australia Home” … then a line or two in spotlights moved to our side of the stadium where a line-up of more girls appeared at the top of part of the stadium seating, then the same happened on the other side of the stadium.  I have to admit it brought a lump to my throat and goosebumps to my arms … that to me was one of the major highlights of the evening.  I’d rather not say in print what the significance of having them there singing that meant … but I’m sure at least the Aussies will know why that’s important 😉


Part of the Australian Girls Choir singing at the top of the stadium

That, though, was just the start of all the entertainment!  We had speeches from top management, and I have to say they really made me feel proud to be sitting there.  They also put together a video set to music of all the photos they took of us onboard the boats receiving our awards from management – it was great.  During the evening we munched our way through the various courses – the menu was (sorry, but no stone is being unturned in this post haha):

 Entree
Salad of chicken breast with sweet potato, cucumber and semi sun-dried tomatoes, tossed with spring leaves and a lime and sweet chilli dressing
or
Goat’s cheese and semi sun-dried tomato tart with Italian antipasto salad

Main Course
Marinated rack of lamb with seeded mustard potatoes, vegetable bundle and balsamic vinegar jus
or
Pan-fried Atlantic salmon fillet with potato gateau and fresh herb hollandaise

Dessert
A trio of desserts:
Lemon tart, chocolate charlotte and assorted desserts served in a shot glass
or
Triple layered chocolate black forest, white swan mousse and assorted desserts served in a shot glass

Tea/coffee … followed by port

During the entrees we had an Aerialist perform, hanging from two strips of ‘fabric’ from the frame surrounding the arena area … that was a bit ho-hum, but the next lot of entertainment blew me away … next up we had, of all people, the infamous Toni Collette and her band performing live for us – wow!!  She performed about six songs for us.


Toni Collette singing

The next, and final, act was someone I’d never heard of, as I’m not a jazz officianado … but now I’ll remember his name as he was the best entertainer of the evening!  It was James Morrison and his band, along with Emma Pask on vocals … all I can say is “wowzers!!!”.  That guy can really PLAY!  He’s also a really fun entertainer and showman – just exceptional!  And what a way to finish the night off!!


James Morrison and his trombone (shocking photo sorry)

Eventually the night came to an end – to say this was a memorable event in my working history for the company would be an understatement … I for one really appreciate all the work and effort that went into such a successful evening, and I’m extremely grateful I was able to attend.  We finished the evening by being taken by bus back to the Hotel again (here, though, I said goodbye to Brenda, as Olympic Park was closer to home than the city, so Nigel came to pick her up from the venue).  It was sad to say goodbye to Brenda, but we’ve agreed I really do have to make the trip more often, finances willing.

When I returned to my hotel room, though, there was another surprise waiting – they’d taken the framed certificates off us again on the boat so we didn’t have to think about losing or breaking them during the night, and they said they’d be waiting for us in our rooms … that they were, BUT they weren’t alone!  There were two black boxes sitting on the bed – when I opened one up there was the certificate tucked in under a couple of straps in the lid, and sitting in the base was a bottle of wine, a pair of the pyjamas designed by Morrissey that people get in First Class, as well as the little First Class amenity pack.  My jaw nearly hit the floor!  What an awesome way to finish off an already perfect night!! 😀

Now I can explain why it was a good thing I bought another ‘wheelie case’ two days earlier … while I loved the gifts etc, they were quite large, and weighed a ton (the box itself is really really heavy!) … and of course because Brenda didn’t stay at the Hotel I ended up with two boxes, with the quandary “how the hell am I going to get them home?”.  In the morning I did some major rejiggling with the suitcase and managed to get one box in the bottom of there, then I asked the airline staff to let me take the 2nd one on board with me (the one with the certificate) – as it turned out it wasn’t an issue, as I managed to get business class home again, and you’re allowed two pieces of carry-on bags anyway … phew!  I almost dumped the second box, but then decided against it, as I figure it will make a lovely storage case for some stitching supplies, or other crafting supplies 😉

So, all-in-all it was a wonderful, wonderful experience that I’m extremely grateful for.  Mind you, by the time lunchtime rolled around the next day, I probably wasn’t quite as grateful for having the Chardonnay flowing so freely as I do have to admit to feeling ever so slightly seedy haha.

Travel

Tourist for a day (Sydney day 2)

Anne S

Wednesday is where I started my first day in tourist mode – it was an incredibly pleasant way to start the day, by cruising leisurely up the river on the ferry picking up fellow travellers on the way to the city, and I have to say that I concur with everything I’ve read so far about the majesty of Sydney harbour.  I used to think “yeah, sure, whatever” when people raved on and on about how amazing the harbour is … well, I’m one of those converts now too – there are no words to describe the view as you approach the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the Sydney Opera House nestled in beneath it, it truly does take your breath away!  It probably helped that it was a stunningly sunny day, but it was exceptional and definitely a highlight of my trip.  This photo is of my first view of the harbour as we sailed under the bridge (sorry, but it’s taken forever to upload the smaller shots, and I can’t be bothered re-uploading for the larger clickable versions).


Sydney Harbour Bridge with Sydney Opera House in the background


Sydney Opera House

I spent quite a bit of time just meandering around the Opera House, and watching the boats come and go, then I walked up to The Rocks area, which is rich in Sydney’s oldest history to find the information centre and plan my day.  As it turns out I ended up finding a walking map of the old classic buildings in the area, and walked for miles that day through many a back street (I followed the Colony walking map) – my feet were killing me by the time I finished, but it was great fun.  I then walked back and had a late lunch at The Rocks (at Nurses Walk to be exact, at the Gumnut Tea Garden) – it was lovely to sit under the shade of a big tree outside, sampling fresh mint and lemon iced tea and Caesar Salad with chicken, while listening to the live jazz duo … it was very relaxing.  Then I walked further into the city centre and went shopping – to buy a new wheelie case (as it turns out later on, it was a good thing I did, but I’ll tell that story later!).  After that I had to rush back to Circular Quay for the ferry trip home for Brenda to pick me up again.


The Rocks (behind the Information Centre)


View of part of The Rocks from the ferry


A local character in aboriginal dress at Circular Quay

While I was in The Rocks I had a couple of phone calls from my real estate agent, giving me an update that the work on the building won’t be taking place until May some time, as it’s quite serious and major work (the building is basically sinking!!) and has to get consent from the Council etc.  Sitting here in the freezing cold right now (where did that heat go while I was away??), not able to close the windows, I’ll be making another phone call myself next week for them to at least come and fix the damned windows so they’ll shut … hmmm 😦

Anyway, back to Sydney again … That night I just had time to quickly have a shower and get changed before we were being whisked off to dinner with a friend of Brenda and Nigel.  We went to a Chinese restaurant – unfortunately I have to say I didn’t really enjoy the food.  It’s strange, as I absolutely adore most Asian foods, but Chinese isn’t one I really enjoy … There was only one dish out of the 4 that were ordered that I really liked (everyone chose a dish and we shared) – I felt dreadful, and a bit difficult, but I ended up ordering a Tom Yum soup instead while they polished off the other dishes (and I have to say the soup was yummy).  All-in-all it was a great night, though, especially when we relived some stories that I’d forgotten about – there was lots of laughter and merriment, as well as lots of wine haha.  We ended up tiring ourselves out so much, though, that it wasn’t long that we were in bed!

The next day is all to do with the function itself, so I’ll wait and post that separately tomorrow … I’m starting to get quite tired as I’ve been at work all day, and didn’t get in until very late last night … I’ll finish off the rest of the trip tomorrow 🙂  (Apologies also for any typos, but I’m getting too bleary-eyed to read my own typing!)

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Travel

I’m back and feeling refreshed! (day 1)

Anne S

I’ve decided a mini-break is most definitely good for the soul … especially when you spend it with friends that you’ve known for a squillion years (I’ve known Nigel for about 30 years, and Brenda for about 14).  I’m definitely going to have to do that more often – and as well as that I played tourist on my own for a bit, which I haven’t done in a very long time, and it felt really good 🙂  There are a fair few photos I’d like to share, so I might split it up into a couple of posts … I’ll document it all in chronological order, so it makes more sense to me more than anything else …

My trip to Sydney started off quite eventful – I had my little ‘overnight wheelie case’ packed in good time and ready to walk out the door at the planned time, until I flipped over the top of the case to zip it closed … only to find the zip hanging off!  A slight panic ensued as I struggled to find another bag that would suit … finally I found a soft-sided bag that has back-pack straps hidden away, and everything fit in it nicely … not a great start to the trip, though!

I arrived at the airport, after leaving my car in long-term parking, just in time for check-in and wandered through to the gate.  My company were very kind to send lounge passes to make the trip more memorable, and gave me a ticket that was able to be upgraded to business class if there were no paying customers wanting the seat – it was a wonderful way to start being spoilt.  (You may/may not recall that the reason for this trip to Sydney was for the service award presentations to eXcel winners from all over the company, and we were being flown in for a big gala event in our honour, so we got spoilt from start to finish.)

The flight to Sydney was pleasant and smooth, and when I got there I went straight to the train lines to journey into West Ryde, near where Brenda works so she could pick me up and drive us home from there.  When I arrived I had 1 1/2 hours to kill so I just went for a wander and eventually found a shopping mall with a Gloria Jeans coffee shop … I plonked myself down and stuck my nose in my Jeffery Deaver book (The Empty Chair – great book!) with a coffee or two and waited.

I hardly recognised Brenda when she arrived – she’d had her hair cut off short and lightened, and has lost about 30kg … she looks amazing!  She hasn’t changed inside though, and is still the same Brenda we all know and love – she’s so bubbly, and so much fun to be around … it was wonderful to see her again.  When we got home I got mauled by the over-friendly border collie Dusty, and snubbed by the two cats (although we were the best of pals by the time 24 hours had rolled on by … especially with Obi who is totally schizo and normally has nothing to do with people).

We didn’t have to wait too long before Nigel got home from work, and there were more hugs all round … then we did a quick change of clothes before heading off for a short walk to dinner – they have an “Outback Steakhouse” just up the road from them, so we went and troughed out after Brenda and I slugged back a frozen Margarita each 😉  It was a wonderful night – there’s something to be said about hanging out with people that have known you for so many years … there’s a level of comfort that is so refreshing, as you know they already love you and accept you warts and all, and there are so many stories and memories that you share, it’s such an awesome feeling.

We spent the rest of the night watching TV and chatting, then we hit the hay for the night as we had to be up early.  Brenda was going to run me up to the ferry terminal before work, so we had an early start.  I had the earliest start of all, however … I opted against taking my separate alarm clock with me and thought I’d just use my mobile phone … hmmm, dopey me forgot that daylight saving had changed, and I’d forgotten to reset the time on my mobile phone clock – it was amazingly quiet in the house when I got up to have my shower and get dressed to start the day … and has a lot to do with the fact I was actually up at 5.30am!!  What a blonde!!!  Gave us a laugh for the day, though, and I’m happy to say my mobile clock has now been updated! 😉

I’ll continue the story in a new post, as there are some piccies coming.

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

It’s all about me …

Anne S

Today has been a day of doing stuff just for “me”, and I’ve absolutely loved it!  I know this has all been generated by having this evening function to go to, but I was thinking today that I really should do this sort of thing more often, because it makes you feel fantastic!!

I started the day off with a drive into the suburb where I work (which meant those RAK parcels are also now on their way, as I dropped into the PO Box first), and spent 4 hours in the hairdressers getting a cut and colour done.  I have to admit I was a bit worried when the colourist turned out to be just learning, but between her and Sam (the guy who did the cutting and styling) they did a fantastic job, and I feel wonderful! 😀

When I had my financial woes before Christmas, I couldn’t afford to get my hair cut for a few months, then in January I tried to book in only to find my stylist had left the salon.  Since then I just haven’t had the impetus to find somewhere new … until now (I can’t believe it’s been almost 6 months since my last cut!!).  My hair is now styled a tiny bit differently in that I no longer have the short fringe (it grew out due to not having a regular cut, then a compliment from a girl at work made me decide to try it out that way for a while) … and there’s a lot more blonde in it than I originally had (I can see Mum cringeing all the way from there! LOL) – and I truly love it!  I’ve kept the length in the back, but it’s more shaped in the sides around my face and has more layers … I wish I could get a photo of it for you Mum, but you’ll just have to take my word for it that it’s nice 🙂 

Another great part of this is that during that 4 hours I also managed to get some serious reading in for a change – I took in The Empty Chair by Jeffery Deaver, and managed to get up to page 226, which is not bad going considering the book only has 594 pages, so I almost got halfway through in one sitting … geez it felt good to have the time to read – I usually feel guilty if I’m not stitching at home (which is why I use books on tape so I can do both), and it feels particularly fantastic to have a book in hand again … just a bit more added bliss for the day 😉

From there I went to the local lingerie shop where I was holding a shop credit for some PJ’s I’d bought and returned last year – and bought a pair of black bras by Playtex … something I was getting quite desperate for, as I haven’t bought new bras for, dare I say it, about 5 years.  The extra great news was that they cost exactly the same as my PJ’s so I had absolutely no outlay whatsoever yippee!

Then lucky last I called into Strand Bags where I found a reasonably ‘OK’ smaller handbag that will hold my small digital camera, and a small purse and mobile phone for the evening … on sale at a very expensive $6.99 – I nearly cracked up when she told me the price, as I was quite thrilled with the $14.99 price tag that was originally on it … $6.99 was a steal!!  I also found some jewellery that was lovely, but I don’t see the point of paying $90 for a necklace when I probably won’t wear it that much, so I left it in the shop, along with the $189 black wrap I loved … instead I’ll see if I have time tonight to think about putting something together myself.  If not, I’m happy with the plain gold jewellery I wear every day (ie just a plain gold chain I got as my farewell gift from work in Auckland, and a gold ankh I bought in Egypt), as well as Mum’s gold chain bracelet she gave me last year.

I can’t take a photo of me wearing the outfit, but here’s what my new top and shoes look like.  I’ll be wearing plain black pants with it.

That would a wonderful day in itself today, but the threads arrived that have been on back order from Karen at Dragonfly Dreams, as well as Mum’s aida we ordered for her.  The infamous Rainbow Gallery thread I’m waiting for to start the Laura J Perin canvaswork piece is still AWOL, though … I think they now hold the longest record for the back order of items, as I think it’s almost 9 months since we ordered it from RG.  I haven’t stressed about it at all, though, as Karen has continued to keep me informed along the way, and that’s the key to great customer service … communication! 😀

The other thing that is wonderful is that my ducks came home to roost from Vash – along with a pack of cards and fridge magnet from Cornwall.  Thanks again Vash for getting them finished – and thanks also to Wendy and Lynn for their work on this beautiful piece, it will be treasured for years to come and will be one of the first things I get framed this year! 😀

Lucky last, thanks also to Vee, who surprised me totally by a Random Act of Kindness … I have been stunned by the generosity and love shown by my fellow bloggers, and this gift from Vee is no exception – she sent the most wonderful packet of White Hot Chocolate with marshmallows (a little mini-kit, how cool is that?? – I can’t wait to devour it!), along with a fusible letter “A” that I’m conjuring up wonderful uses for … not to mention a pile of scrummy blue threads – how gorgeous is that little bundle of blue goodness?  Totally scrummy, everything!  Thanks again Vee for truly bringing some joy into a crappy week!  It actually arrived on Friday morning, but I forgot to post about it until today (my mind was pre-occupied with Mum’s farewell).

Well, that’ll just about do me for today – I think I’ve waffled on quite sufficiently for now … see you again in a week’s time, after which I’ll hopefully have some Sydney tourist photos to show, even if there’s no stitching 😉  Now I’m off to start packing … my least favourite part of any holiday, except maybe for the UNpacking ;P

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Works in Progress

A quick update before I fly out

Anne S

It’s been an interesting week in many ways – after the stresses of last week Mum and I cleared the air on Friday morning and went shopping … I found a top to wear to the eXcel function at Target of all places for a very cheap price, meaning I also didn’t have to undertake the lengthy drive to Dandenong.  We then had lunch with Fraze in the city before heading to Myer department store where I found a pair of black shoes for my outfit … I feel so much better now!  I’ll take photos later of the whole outfit if I get chance 🙂  It was a really lovely last day for Mum, and one that we enjoyed immensely.

Unfortunately the flight loadings weren’t looking too fantastic, so Mum had to be dropped off at the airport before work on Saturday – I could’ve cried when the alarm clock went off at 5.30am, and I have to say it was the longest shift in history to get through to my 5pm finish time … but poor Mum was sat at the airport for 4 hours before her flight – I’m not sure which was worse!!  Eventually, though, she got home OK … and I have to admit the flat felt very empty when I got home that evening – but I got busy and cooked up a beef in red wine casserole, did a load of laundry washing, and some parcelling up of RAK’s, and it helped to fill in the time.

 Talking of RAK’s, I was glad to hear over the last week or so that my last lot of post I sent to people have now all been received … I’ve been scouring wishlists and sending off charts from my “I no longer love it” pile and sending them off to someone else that will give it a more loving home 🙂  Some of the recipients have been on the blog-circuit, but others are from The Wagon BB – TW’s Lily Maiden and Spring Faerie are now being loved, as is HIH’s Steeple Sampler, and Barbara & Cheryl’s City Collection, plus Marbek’s Regency Angel … and there is a small pile of the next round ready to be posted out to new homes … plus a few others that yet have to be parcelled up.  I was originally thinking of putting them on Ebay or Trademe, but to be honest I can’t be bothered with the hassle of either (although the money would have been nice LOL) – it feels so much nicer to give them as a small RAK knowing that it will be well received 😀  Here’s the latest round ready to go … will one be coming to YOUR door? 😀

I’ll finish with a quick update piccie of my Peacock Needlecase … still nowhere near being finished, and unfortunately my hissy dramas over the evening outfit threw all my plans out the window, and I’m now waaaay behind schedule with this project as I haven’t touched a needle in just over a week.  But I still have two weeks to go before the class, and miracles do still happen … right? … OK, maybe not 😉 (sorry for the crappy photo … and for those of you with eagle eyes, yes I still have one row of chain stitches on the bottom right-hand side yet to complete)

Only one more day before I fly out to Sydney, then I’ll be out of blogging/email action until at least next weekend.  Tonight I had a phone call from the best friend in NZ – which was a wonderful pick-me-up, and definitely what the doctor ordered … and in two short days I’ll be living it up with her brother and beautiful SIL in Sydney – yippee!! 😀

Hope everyone is healthy and happy … I hope to get back to reading what you’ve all been up to when I get home 😀

PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt – Empty

Anne S


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This week’s theme was a bit of a challenge … which is what it’s all about really, and the reason I enjoy the weekly Hunt! 😀

The theme this time is “empty” and this photo just makes me think of “empty” when I see it … it’s an empty vessel with an empty beach on the horizon … in fact it was from a day that was far from empty – it was the wedding day of close family friends (I’ve known the groom since we were toddlers!). I’ve always loved this photo with its muted colours … it almost has an ethereal quality to it …

Uncategorized

A bit of pampering

Anne S

Thanks again for all your wonderful and supportive comments – I’m glad to hear I’m not alone out there, and a number of us deal with similar issues. Sorry to those of you that missed the posts, so you won’t know what I’m talking about, as I’ve now deleted them both … time to move on …

Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get the time off over the weekend that I needed, but I did finally wangle tomorrow off after a bit of negotiating … and as it turns out the flights aren’t looking that crash-hot so Mum’s ending up going home two nights earlier than planned.  It was either that or she was going to have to stay for at least another week – and to be honest I think I needed a day to myself before flying to Sydney to unwind a bit.

Today I decided to pamper myself a bit to make myself feel a bit brighter and positive about myself – I’ve booked myself in for a haircut and colour on Monday (the original flight day for Mum), and tonight after work I went in to get an eyebrow shaping and eyelash tinting done … it was a really nice pick-me-up.  Anything that makes me feel a bit better about myself this week has got to be a good thing! 😉

Tomorrow I’m driving out to Dandenong to “Big in Black” a shop that apparently specialises in eveningwear for the larger and voluptuous figure … thanks to the generosity of Sharon, though, I have a back-up plan of a black jacket/top that I can borrow … at least I have the day off tomorrow to work on it.  Then Monday I can take the entire day off (hopefully) to pamper myself – unfortunately I still have to work all weekend, so poor Mum has to sit at the airport for a while … we’ll probably have to leave here at about 6.30am at the latest for me to get her there, drop her off, and have time to drive back again in time for a 9am start at work.  Unfortunately Mum’s flight doesn’t leave until 11.45am, so she’d better take a good book or her stitching!  At least if she doesn’t get on that flight, the evening flight has more free seats so there’s a back-up option.  Unfortunately because I can’t get off work, we can’t just go in for the evening flight, as I finish work at the time she’s supposed to be checking in.  Anyway, everything will sort itself out, I’m sure 🙂

Now I’m off to chill out for a short while – I’m not in the mood to stitch, and it’s possible I won’t touch a needle over the next week or so while I’m in Sydney, as I’m not 100% sure whether I’ll bother taking any with me … that’s something else I can decide on Monday 🙂  Right now my stitching has lost its priority … c’est la vie …

Melbourne

Just another day in St Kilda (picture heavy!)

Anne S

We thought we’d wander down to the waterfront at lunchtime to watch the last of the aerial displays that are meant for the Australian Grand Prix audience … but in the nearby suburbs we get to share in the excitement as well.  We’ve had jets and choppers buzzing overhead the flat the last two days, but we wanted to get a bit more up close and personal so went for a short wander.

To our surprise St Kilda was packed (well actually that’s no surprise for a weekend with barely a cloud in the sky and blue skies everywhere, but it was more packed than normal) … we were soon to find out why … not only did we get to see the aerial displays flying overhead, but we also found ourselves in the middle of the audience for the FINA world swimming championships with an open sea swimming event happening right on our beach – there was also a free beach party happening with music pumping on the foreshore, and a trapeze group performing.  Not only that, it was Sunday so the open air craft stalls were out on the promenade … we spent loads of time there today, in fact pretty much the entire day.  After all the excitement of the entertainment we sat and had brunch, followed by a bit of grocery shopping and a tub of berries and gelati to eat on the way home … it was sheer bliss, and probably one of the most enjoyable days of Mum’s stay to date.  We finished off with a quick trip to Spotlight for some machine sewing threads, and now we’re blobbing out with a glass of chilled Chardonnay while perusing our photos from the day along with this evening’s TV Guide … ah bliss 😀

Mum has helped me choose a selection of photos from today’s events to show the wide variety of things we got up to today, in order of it all happening …

 


Mum wondering who’s stolen her bike!  Just kidding – I just thought she looked funny standing in the middle of all the bikers (she was actually watching the big screen of the swimming and the trapeze show next to it) 😉

So, all-in-all a fun-filled day in St Kilda!  We now both look exceptionally healthy and glowing … not just from the Chardonnay, but from the lovely light dose of sunburn we’re both sporting haha. 

I’m halfway through the top part of the Peacock needlecase, but I won’t bother posting a progress piccie until it’s all finished.

Quilting

Not much stitching being done

Anne S

 It’s been a very slothful St Patrick’s Day here in Elwood today … Mum’s been sat at the sewing machine, and I’ve been sat next to her playing with a quilting program on the computer.  Here’s what we came up with for my upcoming quilting challenge with Isabelle   I LOVE the colours … I just have to find fabrics to kinda match my expectations haha.  It will make it easy just to print off the piccie and take it with me to the quilting store later … I already have the navy/turquoise fabric we bought a couple of weeks ago, which is what this quilt is based on.  Crikey, I wish the CA Wells class would hurry up, ‘cos I’m almost bursting at the seams wanting to start this among other things LOL.

The quilt I’ve come up with is based on the Winter Carnival quilt by Marianne Elizabeth in The Quilter Magazine Jan 2007, but has some changes to the colour usage in the blocks, and in fact no longer really resembles that quilt whatsoever!: