Feather Stitching

Katoomba & Blue Mountains

21 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

First of all, my apologies if this post is a bit ‘abrupt’, but I’m pretty shattered … I do want to put our ‘journey to bed’, though, so here goes …

The final expedition of Mum and I was last Tuesday – my final day of freedom before starting work on Wednesday … I was originally going to drive to Katoomba, but needed to drive to the train station to pick up a timetable and work out where I’ll need to park my car etc for the commute into the city. In the end we opted to take the train into Katoomba instead of driving – and I have to admit I do regret the decision! It would have taken us approx 1 to 1 1/2 hours to drive there, but instead we were on the train for almost 3 hours (there were some track works, it seems, which slowed things up a wee bit) – it was a lovely train trip, but very very loooooong. Coming home was a much shorter 2-hour trip!

I’m very glad we decided to head out there, though – I really wanted to take Mum to see Karen and the shop at Dragonfly Dreams (as well as being very keen myself to say “hi” in person). It was a very hot day, and Mum and I walked from the station to the shop … when we got there I was thrilled at what a wonderful haven Karen has put together – we loved every minute of being there! Karen was an exceptional hostess, and it is so easy to chatter away to her as if we’re long lost friends, instead of strangers … and every room we entered at Dragonfly Dreams I’d say “but wait, there’s more!!!” … every room hosted a treasure trove of goodies … sheer bliss to a stitcher’s soul! 😀

After spending a couple of hours with Karen, Mum and I headed off with goodies in hand to the end of the street where we were most impressed with the sight of the Three Sisters. Unfortunately by the time we got down there it was too late to do any of the tourist trips, but we enjoyed the scenery for a while before starting the arduous trek back to the train station again. Brenda has offered to go with me again one weekend to do the cable car trips with me … which is awesome!

Following are some photos of the Three Sisters – and the first one shows the cable that the cablecar travels over … with a glass bottom car!!! I might need a stiff drink to get into it, but it’s just gotta be done one day!! 😉

We got home around 8pm, and just had time to eat dinner before having to hit the hay for bed – and thus it has been ever since I’ve started work! On the previous weekend, though, I did actually have time to put a couple of stitches into fabric, and finally managed to finish off It’s Halloween by The Drawn Thread.

Here endeth the fun part of moving to Sydney … from now on the drudge begins … 😉

I’ll tell you about the arduous task of getting to and from work another day – ‘cos it’s now almost bedtime … already! 😦

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Life in Sydney

18 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

We arrived Saturday night, and headed straight out again the next day … to Craft Depot to drool over their patchwork fabrics. Advertised as having over 8000 bolts of fabric, it was great fun walking up and down the aisles. Managed to bring home three pieces of fabric (well, we had to buy SOMEthing haha) – plus Mum very generously bought me a floorstand Ott-lite for my Christmas present. My old one is still in storage, and it needs a transformer for it as I bought it in the USA before you could buy them locally, and the transformer always affects the TV … so now I don’t have to worry about that anymore yippee!!! That was all we achieved on our first day in Sydney – we finished off by having an appetiser plate of flathead fillets and potato wedges at the nearby pub at Pennant Hills, and it was totally divine 😀

The next day (Monday) we hopped on a bus into Parramatta, then caught the train into the city and had a wander around Circular Quay to see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, before having lunch at the Gumnut Cafe in The Rocks. I’ve decided I’ve now fallen in love with Iced Chai tea … just divine!!!

After lunch we waddled over to the Information Centre to pick up oodles of brochures for later visits, then headed back over to the Opera House and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through the Royal Botanic Gardens.

We spent ages looking up at the gazillion grey-headed flying foxes (ie fruit bats) hanging upside down in the trees … they look like huge pods hanging down – I tried to get a photo of one in flight, but didn’t manage to get a good clear shot.

After that we tried to hurry to get to Tapestry Craft in the city to look at their displays on the walls, but they closed at 5pm so we missed out. Poor Mum and I were both hobbling by that stage, our feet were so weary – so then we continued on up the street to the QVB building for our train home again. It was a very long, but very enjoyable day … although we ended up on the wrong bus coming home and it took us 2 1/2 hours to get home … “not happy Jan!” (if you’re curious how that saying came about, you can check out the link to the YouTube video 🙂

Travel

The saga continues

18 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

Rightio, now where was I up to when I posted last??? Better go back in again and find out …

When we arrived in Bermagui, we decided to get a motel room as opposed to a cabin – and arrived just in time before the heavens opened up and it poured down with rain. There was a fish and chip shop/restaurant directly across the street from us, and once the rain eased off a bit we walked over to find at 7pm they were closed for takeaways … what the? Anyway, we then took a short stroll in the drizzling rain into the main township and found another place for fish and chips, so we decided to sit in and eat before heading back to the motel room. Unfortunately I personally have to say it was the worst fish I’ve had in years … it was marketed as Blue Grenadier, but when questioned what sort of fish that was we were told kiwis may know it as Hoki – I had reservations, as I was sure Hoki was one fish I’m not keen on, but ordered anyway … and was proven right, it was bl**dy horrible! The chips and salad were nice, though, and we still cleared our plates as we were so hungry – I definitely wouldn’t go back there again though 😦

The next morning we re-packed the car and had a quick look around the area of Bermagui. It is only a very small little hamlet, but very very pretty. Straight opposite the motel was the harbour of fishing boats (I won’t bore you with too many photos, but let’s just say I took a fair few photos haha), and it was a wonderful sight to see. After going photo mad for a while, we drove just around the corner to look back at Bermagui from the ocean inlet and took another photo.

From Bermagui we started our trek back up the coast again. We took a small detour just up the road to see Camel Rock – and spent a short time watching the surfers catching a few waves.

The next detour we took off the main highway was to go to Pebbly Beach – on a lengthy unsealed road, it was a lovely drive through Murramarang National Park to get there, and we had stopped and ate our ham-filled bread rolls under the trees. A friendly crimson rosella flew over to see what was on offer, but unfortunately we didn’t capture him on film as the camera was in the car. Anyway, I was thrilled when he hopped up on my knee, then started walking up my chest … I put my hand out and he sat there for ages … all the while trying to get my filled roll! We had fun watching him each a grape, then he pinched the last inch of my bread roll from my fingers, the little sod – it was great fun!! Not so great was when a great big black bird of the raven family started to try to do the same thing, and trying to take the entire bag of grapes … at that point I decided it was time to stand up and leave!! We did manage to see one female kangaroo and her joey near the beach, which Pebbly Beach is quite famous for.

In fact a great thrill for us on the whole trip was the different amount of native wildlife we saw on the way – we had an echidna, a wombat (unfortunately the victim of a car accident, I think, as it was laying on the side of the road with one paw up – I don’t think he was trying to hitch a ride), a snake (thankfully half-dead on the road, also the victim of a car), kookaburra, galahs, pelicans, rosellas, kangaroos, and koalas (Mum saw them while I was driving). It was wonderful!!

Anyway, after Pebbly Beach we pretty much drove straight up the coast, and just had a short stop in Woollongong. While we were driving we saw a wonderful temple on the skyline – when we saw tourist signs giving directions to get there, we thought “what the heck” and took a quick detour. I’m so very glad that we did!! What a gorgeous place – unfortunately the temple itself was due to close in a few minutes time, but we could still have a quick look at a small part of the gardens. I definitely want to go back again and spend more time there. They have a website, so you can see more of it there – it’s called the Nan Tien Temple, and it’s a Buddhist temple … it’s just exquisite!! 😀

It was then back on the road again – we looked at the map and decided it was easiest to miss the final hour of coastal driving into Sydney itself and headed over to the Hume Highway, as that then linked to the M7 which took us up to where Brenda and Nigel live. We arrived about 7pm, and after chatting for a while we popped around to the local Outback Restaurant where we had dinner. It was wonderful to see them again, and we’ve had a lovely week here with him so far. I’ll go more into what Mum and I got up to during our two days free before I started work in another post … right now I need to get dressed and head over to the other side of Sydney to look at a flat! 😀

PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt – I Love …

17 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

PhotoHunt | PhotoHunt

It’s hard to narrow it down to just one thing that I Love … so I’ve chosen three different things …

“I Love … my Mum” – she’s always there when I need her, albeit it across the ocean … she’s my friend, my mother, my role model, and I feel blessed to call her my Mum 😀

“I Love … Ducks!!” – no need to say anything else … I can’t explain why, but I’ve always been drawn to them, both the feathered and immitation kind – a girl can never have enough ducks!!

And lucky last … “I Love … a Jim Beam and L&P” at the end of a long day – unfortunately L&P is like gold dust over here, as it’s imported from New Zealand, but it means I savour it when I get my hands on it!

Actually, I just thought of one more to add …

“I Love … Melbourne!!” – this photo is taken at the waterfront of Docklands, with the Telstradome arena in the background.

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Travel

Farewell to Melbourne … but hello eastern coastline!

14 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

Before I do anything else, let me post a piccie of Tannia, Mum, Fraze and Jason (and me) from our pub night out – for some reason WP won’t let me edit my last post whatsoever, so the formatting is totally screwed up, and a couple of piccies missing ho-hum …

Rightio, back to the story we go …

My final day at work in Melbourne was very very sad – I was mortified that the my fellow Hotliners had done a small collection for me (which never happens for a secondment as technically you’re not ‘leaving’) … so I was very unprepared when a sign went up saying the presentation for Anne was about to start … yikes!! I was so overcome emotionally I could hardly say anything, and got all teary-eyed. Their gift for me was perfect – I got given a book of Sydney street maps for driving (which was christened on my way into the city on Saturday night) and a $50 gift voucher from Visa so I can use it anywhere … to say I was stunned and touched is a definite understatement!!

Anyway, we didn’t do too badly by getting on the road by 1pm (I finished work around 12 noon, although I only answered about 4 phone calls all day – I brought mini chocolate bars in for everyone in the building and spent 2 hours walking round handing them out and saying farewells to everybody … gotta love that! haha). As we’d been up since just after 4am, we decided not to push things on the first day of the journey, and drove as far as Sale before stopping for a leg stretch and drink (I also paid my RACV membership which had expired and got printouts of a driving map for the next day). After that we just drove to Lakes Entrance, arriving around 6pm, where we paid for a cabin with ensuite at one of the Big4 Holiday Parks. We unpacked the car which was basically the entire back seat jam-packed right up to the top of the seat head rests haha, and then wandered over for a walk up the river inlet and over to the beach to see what “90 mile beach” looked like. It was nice and invigorating having that walk, as we’d been feeling like death warmed up just moments before being over-tired. We finished the day with a chicken salad and bottle of wine while watching So You Think You Can Dance on TV … and so endeth our first day travelling. One highlight of the day for me was seeing an echidna on the side of the road (alive).

Day 2 saw us driving up the coast with a bit of a side trip. I’d been advised Mallacoota was a nice spot to visit, and I have to say they weren’t wrong, but before we got there we took a side trip to Marlo … a very small and peaceful hamlet, we were thrilled to see our first pelicans in the wild when we drove down to the water’s edge. I got a bit camera happy there, but loved every minute of it. I have to say, too, I wish I’d had the guts to also take a photo of some of the local fisherman as they looked like they’d just walked off the set of Deliverance!! Picture the long flowing beards and look of Z-Z-Top, and you’d have the image perfectly created!!

After Marlo we drove on to Mallacoota – it was a fair detour off the main highway, but it was just lovely. It’s definitely somewhere I could have stayed a night or two and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the area. Here I found another stuffed duck to add to my collection (actually the dog here, Dusty, can obviously sniff out a ‘toy’ at 1000 paces ‘cos I caught him with his snout in the bag last night, with jaws around my poor duck – it’s now residing on a top shelf in the wardrobe away from his drooling jaws LOL), and I grabbed a cappuccino to take away so we could sit and have lunch and refreshments down on the lakefront watching yet more pelicans and their antics. They made me laugh when at one stage there were four of them lined up at the fishing station begging to be fed fish scraps – it was too funny!!

From Mallacoota we took one more quick detour before returning to the highway, to Gypsy Point – mentioned in the tourist info it’s supposed to be a great haven for bird lovers, and it was lovely and secluded with a small like in the bush setting … definitely a place to ‘get away from it all’ and relax. Here we managed to see some Galah’s up close (although they’re really common in Victoria too, Mum hadn’t seen them that close I don’t think).

After that we continued on hugging the coastline via Eden, Merrimbula, Perrimbula, and Tathra, before finally settling in at Bermagui for the night … but I’ll leave the tale there for another night, as it’s way past my bedtime before my alarm goes off at 5.50am tomorrow!

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Melbourne

Arrived in one piece!

14 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

Here we are in Sydney … 1190 km after leaving Melbourne, we’re really here!! In fact we arrived on Saturday night, but I haven’t had time to post until now. It was a great trip, with some exquisite scenery and wildlife that we encountered along the way. Parts of the trip were a bit boring, but you’ve gotta expect that driving across such a vast land mass. I’ll share a few photos of the journey just to give you a tiny taste of what we saw etc in another post (in fact, I think I’ll do a few separate posts to make uploads easier).

Firstly, though, I want to share some words of belated thanks to Jenna, my northern twin … weeks and weeks ago she sent me the most awesome card in the technique of quilling, and I just love it to death. I was parading it around the office showing it to anyone who would stand still long enough, then had it sitting on my desk all day. Unfortunately it arrived on the day when I was moving housesitting jobs and it got packed away – and I couldn’t blog about it immediately as I didn’t have internet access at the time. I did take a photo that night, but in no way does it do it justice (I really should take another photo in daylight!). I can finally share it, though … isn’t it the most perfect thing for a duck lover like myself? I just adore it to bits!! I’m going to get a wee frame for it to keep it protected – thanks so much again Jenna, I totally adore it! 😀

Rightio, now back to the travelling news etc … in fact, I think I’ll do a separate post for each day, and I’ll start off with snippets from our final week in Melbourne.

As I’ve already mentioned, we managed to get to see Tannia and Bill performing the week before we left – it was a wonderful listening experience, and the time flew past. I have to say the food was also great – and the company just as great. Thanks again Tannia for your friendship – while we only start meeting each other recently, I hope the friendship continues, and I look forward to the day when we can catch up once again 😀

On the Sunday before we left, I took one more day of annual leave so Mum and I could have a “free day” to go back out to the Mornington Peninsula and Arthur’s Seat to see how the gardens have changed, and see the roses in bloom. It was absolutely pelting down with rain, and I found out later there were flood warnings out past the area where we were … but we decided to brace ourselves and get out in the abysmal weather and still have an enjoyable day out. The winds were quite blustery so Mum’s umbrella ended up inside out a couple of times – and she was holding two umbrellas over me while I tried to take some photos of the roses – we didn’t let the weather get us down, and we had a really lovely time together as always. I’m very lucky to have a really close relationship with my Mum! Here are some photos I took that day … including a funny one of Mum!

Ashcombe Lavender Gardens & Maze
Of course we couldn’t go and not sample the rose petal scones – which were divine! (plus some plain ones)

I think this one is from the Myrtle family?

Of course I got all excited when I saw a row of ducks waddling in formation across the lawn – I finally managed to get a quick photo when they stopped for a bit of preening!

Enchanted Maze Garden
It was nice to see the cottage garden all filled in with flowers, and leaves on the trees 🙂

And the piece de resistance:

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On the way home we called in to see our good friend Sharon, along with Pete and Erin – as always it’s a pleasure to spend time with them … Sharon was the first stitching friend I made in Melbourne, and it was sad to say goodbye – but it’s not for good as Sharon is hoping to come visit me in Sydney, which will be wonderful! Both Mum and I adore her, and even though we didn’t see each other that often, I will miss being able to pop over and say “hi”. Sharon spoilt me rotten with some farewell gifts, which I forgot to take a photo of, and everything is now packed up – as soon as I unpack everything again, I’ll take a piccie – I especially adore the birdie ornament, it took my breath away – but everything was very thoughtful and touching … Erin kindly took a photo of the three of us ladies together – I’ll check that Sharon is OK to add the photo to the blog and hopefully I’ll be able to post that later as well 🙂

OK, that’ll do for today – there’s so much more to write, but I have to run to get ready as we’re heading out to catch a train to Katoomba today. Dragonfly Dreams, here we come!! 😉

PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt – Flexible

10 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

PhotoHunt | PhotoHunt

Here is a photo of some trapeze artists at St Kilda Beach during the recent FIFA swimming championships. I reckon you’d have to be pretty flexible to do that! 😀

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Bye-bye to Melbourne

7 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

Sorry, no time to write … am frantically trying to pack up the boot of the car etc ready for a 4am wake-up call to finish off the final packing and heading off to work for a 6am shift (the final one!). Then tomorrow lunchtime we take the journey up north … will try to write more either on the road or in Sydney – just haven’t had time to sit at the computer this week at all. I promise photos etc very very soon!!!

Now I’m off to pack up the laptop for the journey as well … hooroo!! 🙂

PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt – Classic

3 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

PhotoHunt | PhotoHunt

Here is a photo of some classic cars (post-war vintage) at a car rally held in Auckland – the photo is taken in front of the Auckland Museum, and the cars are all Armstrong-Siddeleys. Dad has only just recently got rid of our old car, which is the blue and black one, 2nd in from the left. We had some great times with the Car Club in my younger days, and I was even Editor of the National Magazine for a while – not bad going for someone who knows nothing about cars! 😉

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

A little bit AWOL

2 November, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

Sorry I’ve been absent for a while – things are pretty hectic around here, and to top things off my modem has been playing up and not working … tonight is the first time in a week I’ve managed to get the darned thing connecting hmmm.

Anyway, this is just a really quick post to let you know I haven’t fallen off the planet just yet – I’ve been spending my spare time catching up with wonderful friends in Melbourne … last Sunday we had a ladies day out at Tannia’s home, with Mum, Sharon, Tannia and myself, and had a fantastic day out – as always, Tannia was the perfect hostess, and it was a great day in great company 🙂

Yesterday we hiked all the way over from Airport West to Lilydale to catch up with Frazier’s folks, which was another great visit. We also caught up with Phil & Dawn, friends I made through Frazier a few years ago – they’re always great company, and the favourite of all of Frazier’s friends that I’ve met to date.

Tonight we spent a couple of hours in the storage unit in Highett before treating myself to a new duvet cover set in the sales at Myer at Southland shopping centre, then trekking out for almost 2 hours doing 15km/hour in peak hour traffic back to Airport West to feed the menagerie before heading straight out the door again to head back into the city. We met Frazier and Jason for dinner at a pub where Tannia and her DH play – it was wonderful to finally see and hear them performing together … Tannia has a magical voice, and it was truly a pleasure to spend the night out there. I hope it won’t be too long before we can catch up again 🙂 It’s been one of life’s treasures getting to know Tannia over the last year … and I hope there will be many more to come with our friendship 🙂

Tomorrow it’s back to work time, then I’ve been given Sunday off as annual leave, so we’re heading to the other side of the city again to Arthur’s Seat and the Mornington Peninsula to revisit the Enchanted Maze Gardens and Ashcombe Lavender Garden. I’m really looking forward to seeing how different the gardens look now the flowers are in bloom (especially the roses etc). Alas, then it’s back to work again right up until leaving on Thursday … ho-hum …

I have a few photos to share, but it’s now almost 1am and the alarm is going off at 7am, so I’d better call it a night – I’ll upload some piccies during the week hopefully and post again before we hit the road, as I have some lovely gifties to share – and one especially is very out-of-date as I received it weeks ago and didn’t get chance to blog about it immediately. When you see it, you’ll understand why it gets shown off to everyone that will stand still long enough, though 😉

Rightio, off to sleep I go … fingers crossed the modem connection returns later … hope you’re having a good week – my apologies for not blog reading at the moment, but things are a bit frantic around here of late …