Melbourne, Travel

The Enchanted Maze Garden

My first garden stop was to The Enchanted Maze Garden – this would be a fun place to take your kids on a nice day … there’s something there to please both adults and children alike. When walking through the garden entrance gate, one of the first things you see sticking up out of the main maze is this wee fella … and there’s a quirky tone like this throughout the entire garden.

enchanted maze gardens 2

enchanted maze gardens 4

There are different ‘theme’ gardens – for example the “Tile Garden”, which has a beautiful magnolia tree surrounded by pieces of tiled artwork planted throughout the garden plot … the “Enchanted Garden” has whimsical fairies etc dotted around … and the succulent garden is gorgeous (just love those terracotta pots) … and the “Christmas Garden” has a topiary arrangement of reindeer and a sleigh.

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enchanted maze gardens 6

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There is a mix of different styles of artwork and sculpture throughout the gardens (you can click here to find out more about the artists and their work – and more abou the gardens themselves of course) – I especially loved the marble sculptures near the pond. Unfortunately it was the wrong time of year to go there, as the gardens in that area are bare … it will be superb in summer when the flowers are in bloom, and I’ll definitely be taking another trip out there later.

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enchanted maze gardens 14

This was one of my favourite places in the whole garden – I just love this sculpture! It was so incredibly peaceful standing and looking at it, listening to the water running … ah, bliss!! πŸ˜€

enchanted maze gardens 12

There are a number of different mazes – there is a brick maze where you follow the brick path (no chance of getting lost here, as the maze is at ground level!), a children’s maze where each corner is set aside for different settings (such as dinosaurs, jungle, beach), a kid’s playground with three separate brain teaser mazes (loved the tyre one below), as well as the more traditional large hedge maze (which I have to admit I’m not a great fan of, so I didn’t go in).

enchanted maze gardens 15

There is also a tiny wee petting zoo for the kiddies (with a sheep, goat, chickens, and ducks) … and a sculpture walk through the bush, where the main focus is on the artwork by Ken Blum – those carvings of aboriginal people are stunning! To top it all off, you are surrounded by the peace of the bush, with lots of native birds flying overhead … I managed to recognise a few, but there were loads I didn’t know.

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Here’s one more sculpture that I really love … and very unique to Australia, I guess … the Swagman (OK, altogether now … “Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda ……..) πŸ˜€

enchanted maze gardens 22

At the end of your time here you can buy souvenirs or lollies from the gift shop, or have a bit to eat … but I had things to do and places to see, so I just hit the road and went off to the next gardens on my list – Ashcombe Maze & Lavender Gardens!

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Melbourne, Quilting, Travel

A couple of VERY picture heavy posts coming up!!!

I’m back briefly for a two-week stint on the internet, before losing it again for possibly a full month … I wish I could say I’ve been spending my time offline stitching my little heart out, but the truth of the matter is I’ve hardly touched a needle the whole time … I’ve had my nose in a book instead, and finally read Diana Gabaldon’s latest novel “A Breath of Fire & Ashes”. All I can say is “wow!” – over 900 pages, and once you get into it you just can’t put it down!!! Those novels would have to be some of my all-time favourite books – and every single one has had me hooked and enthralled through every single page!Β  Next up I’ve borrowed “The Kite Runner to read, which apparently is supposed to be exceptional – everyone I’ve spoken to so far has raved about it, so I thought I’d find out what all the fuss is about … πŸ˜‰

Anyway, I can say that I have done some sort of stitching, although it’s not embroidery … I finally hand-stitched all the binding onto my Quilt UFO – this would have to be about 8-10 years old, and it’s a great feeling to finally get it finished. One of the Supervisors at work has offered to buy it from me, as I wasn’t too sure what to do with it now it’s all finished, so I’ll probably take her up on her offer – even if I just get $20 for it.Β  I need to get it drycleaned first, though, to get rid of both the old musty smell and the wrinkles πŸ˜‰

golliwog quilt finished

As to what else I’ve been up to … there have been some hiccups with my housesitting, which I won’t go into in huge detail, but it’s started me thinking about giving it up and looking for my own place in November. Daniel came home from overseas a day early, when I was in the middle of packing up … I got a call at 7pm (on a 6pm shift) to say they were at home and basically wanted to get into their own bed – having no spare room, they stayed at his parents place overnight and kept saying “how early can we come over?” so I felt really uncomfortable, I ended up finishing my packing after work at 2am and doing the last lot of cleaning, then going back to work at 5am to pick up a key from my pal a day early … she wasn’t expecting me turning up at work, of course, and let’s just say I had a frosty reception. Made me realise how much I rely on her for my ‘inbetween’ times of housesitting, and I think it would be better to call it quits (mind you, I did get an apology from Daniel when I saw him next.) It would be perfect if I could get something for 2-3 months over Christmas, but I guess that’s not going to happen, so decisions need to be made ho-hum 😦

While I had my days off, though, I made a concerted effort to get out and see some more of the Mornington Peninsula – I headed out for a drive to Arthur’s Seat to take in the views, then spent time in both The Enchanted Maze Garden and Ashcombe Maze & Lavender Gardens, before taking a quick drive out to Sorrento and back home. It was a wonderful day out, and even though most of the garden wasn’t in bloom yet, it was a really pleasant way to spend the day. I’ll definitely have to go back again when the flowers are out, as the gardens will take on a whole different personality again πŸ™‚

Here are some shots of the views from Arthur’s Seat … there’s usually a chairlift operating to the summit, but it’s closed during winter, so I just drove up to the top instead πŸ™‚

arthur's seat 1


arthur's seat 2


arthur's seat 3


arthur's seat 5

The next couple of posts will be dedicated to both of the individual gardens I went to, and they’ll be pretty chocka full of photos – I took oodles more as well, and in fact went a bit snap happy overall haha.

In the meantime I’ll close this post with photos of some of the colourful beach huts on the beaches of the Mornington Peninsula – I just adore their bright colours, and I’ve been dying to take some photos of them forever. I still want to head out to Brighton beach at some stage and take photos of those ones too, as they’re the most famous ones in Melbourne, I think (there’s a great shot here – love it!). Here are a few from Dromana anyway …

beach huts 1


beach huts 2


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Rightio, while my next lot of photos are loading up into Webshots, I’m off to clean up cat sick … that was what greeted me on my first ‘morning’ here in Edithvale – I woke up after my nightshift to find a pile of cat sick on the lounge carpet and floorboards … there’d better be some rubber gloves somewhere, that’s all I can say!!! Let’s just hope I’m not like I normally am … I often join in in sympathy at the sound and smell of sick … yukky!! 😦

PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt – Music


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This week’s theme is “Music” – the first photo I’ve chosen is from Fiji when we first started visiting … on this particular day the boys (Joe is on the left, and Akuila on the right) made me come and sit and sing with them – then they stopped singing so I had to sing solo for a short while … just before I throttled them! πŸ˜‰ Elton John would be crying if he’d heard my murdering of his wonderful song LOL. One of the highlights of my Fijian trips was listening to the ‘band boys’. The second photo is one I quickly snapped of a local busker in Acland Street, St Kilda.

PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt – Dirty

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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I have to admit, I’ve really struggled with this one – and this is the best I could come up with … Mum’s face was a real picture when Fraze muttered a very “dirty” word in her ear … and the camera was there to capture the moment perfectly! This photo cracks me up!! Those two together are a bundle of laughs! (And no, I’m not going to tell you which word!!) πŸ˜€

dirty

Blogging Memes

Horoscopes

Hmmmm, being an Aquarian this one’s pretty much spot on for me (aside from the attractive inside and out bit … LOL) – I received it from AnneΒ via email, and thought it would be fun to share:

VIRGOΒ – TheΒ Perfectionist
Dominant in relationships. Conservative. Always wants the last word. Argumentative. Worries. Very smart. Dislikes noise and chaos. Eager. Hardworking. Loyal. Beautiful. Easy to talk to. Hard to please. Harsh Practical and very fussy. Often shy. Pessimistic.

SCORPIO – The Intense One

Very energetic. Intelligent. Can be jealous and/or possessive. Hardworking Great kisser. Can become obsessive or secretive. Holds grudges. Attractive. Determined. Loves being in long relationships. Talkative. Romantic. Can be self-centered at times. Passionate and Emotional.

LIBRA – The Harmonizer

Nice to everyone they meet. Can’t make up their mind. Β Have own unique appeal. Creative, energetic, and very social. Β Hates to be alone. Peaceful, generous. Very loving and beautiful. Flirtatious. Give in too easily. Procrastinators. Very gullible.

ARIESΒ – The Daredevil

Energetic. Adventurous and spontaneous. Confident and enthusiastic. Fun. Loves a challenge. EXTREMELY impatient. Sometimes selfish. Short fuse. (easily angered.) Lively, passionate, and sharp wit. Outgoing. Lose interest quickly – easily bored. Egotistical. Courageous and assertive. Tends to be physical and athletic.

AQUARIUS – The Sweetheart

Optimistic and honest. Sweet personality. Very independent. Inventive and intelligent. Friendly and loyal. Can seem unemotional. Can be a bit rebellious. Very stubborn, but original and unique. Attractive on the inside and out. Eccentric personality.

GEMINI – The Chatterbox

Smart and witty. Outgoing, very chatty. Lively, energetic. Adaptable but needs to express themselves. Argumentative and outspoken. Likes change. Versatile. Busy, sometimes nervous and tense. Gossips. May seem superficial or inconsistent, But is only changeable. Beautiful physically and mentally.

LEO – The Boss

Very organized. Need order in their lives – like being in control. Like boundaries. Tend to take over everything. Bossy. Like to help others. Social and outgoing. Extroverted. Β Generous, warm-hearted. Sensitive. Creative energy. Full of themselves. Loving. Doing the right thing is important to Leos. Attractive.

CANCER – The Protector

Moody, emotional. May be shy. Very loving and caring. Pretty/handsome. Excellent partners for life. Protective. Inventive and imaginative. Cautious. Touchy-feely kind of person. Needs love from others. Easily hurt, but sympathetic.

PISCES – The Dreamer

Generous, kind, and thoughtful. Very creative and imaginative. May become secretive and vague. Sensitive. Don’t like details. Dreamy and unrealistic. Sympathetic and loving. Kind. Unselfish. Good kisser. Beautiful.

CAPRICORN – The Go-Getter

Patient and wise. Practical and rigid. Ambitious. Tends to be good-looking. Β  Humorous and funny. Can be a bit shy and reserved. Often pessimists. Β Capricorns tend to act before they think and can be unfriendl y at times. Hold grudges. Like competition. Get what they want.

TAURUS – The Enduring One

Charming but aggressive. Can come off as boring, but they are not. Hard workers. Warm-hearted. Strong, has endurance. Solid beings who are stable and secure in their ways. Not looking for shortcuts. Take pride in their beauty. Patient and reliable. Make great friends and give good advice Loving and kind. Loves hard – passionate. Express themselves emotionally. Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums. Determined. Indulge themselves often. Very generous.

SAGITTARIUS – The Happy-Go-Lucky One

Good-natured optimist. Doesn’t want to grow up (Peter Pan Syndrome). Indulges self. Boastful. Likes luxuries and gambling. Social and outgoing. Doesn’t like responsibilities. Often fantasizes. Impatient. Fun to be around. Having lots of friends. Flirtatious. Doesn’t like rules. Sometimes hypocritical. Β Dislikes being confined – tight spaces or even tight clothes. Doesn’t like being doubted. Beautiful inside and out.

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Stitching Smalls

Two more small “finishes”

I managed to get a couple more small finishes done last night – as well as taking a better photo of my finished needleroll today (so I’ll replace the photo in yesterday’s post). I’m finally trying to make up a close pal’s gift that is months overdue, so I did this as a trial run first – definitely not my finest finishing ever done, but it’ll do …

christmas heart finished

Then I sat and finished off my Pansy Magnet Pillow into a finished pillow. I just adore this piece – it’s a shame to see it go into storage now it’s finished, as I just want to sit and admire it … I just love looking and playing with all the beads in the fringe! πŸ™‚

pansy magnet pillow

pansy magnet pillow 2

Lucky last, I used the sewing machine to stitch the binding on my oldest quilting UFO, and it’s all pinned ready to do the hand-stitching on the back of the binding – I’m coming up to almost 4 weeks of late shifts, so I thought it could be the perfect project for the office on the overnight shift. Mind you, one week will be spent training a new person on the Hotline, so I might not get quite as much done as expected hmmm. No piccies yet until the whole thing is finished anyway … I have no idea what I’ll do with it when it’s finished!

Rightio, back to packing up … so far I’ve cleaned out my car boot ready for loading everything into it again – done the laundry washing for the week, all apart from my bedding which I’ll probably do next week in Seaford, and most of my stitching is put away again. My sewing machine will be packed away tonight, in readiness to going back into storage again either tomorrow or Saturday before work. Only two more sleeps left before I head back to Seaford again for another week, then off to Edithvale for 3 weeks.

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Needlerolls

A tiny spot of finishing

Today I started putting together a needleroll tutorial for use later next year on the Focus on Finishing blog – and managed to get the following needleroll completely finished (excuse the very poor photo, it was getting dark and I couldn’t get a decent shot without flooding the whole stitching with the flash), plus one more to the stage where I just need to add the ribbon and stuff it (this was actually my subject for the photos, but I realised when I got to the ribbon stage that all my ribbons are in the storage unit, except for the one I kept out for the Planted Hearts one ho-hum).Β  Anyway, it means this one is finally completed and can be sent on its way to a new home somewhere πŸ˜€

planted hearts needleroll finished

While I was at it, I also decided to keep going with the hemstitching, and finally put together my Thistle Bag that Tobie kindly sent me the kit for ages ago.Β  It’s about time I pulled my finger out and got this bagΒ made upΒ – and once I put my mind to it, it didn’t take too long whatsoever! πŸ˜€

Thistle Bag by M Designs

That means I can finally say I’ve contributed to the monthly Finish-a-Long on the Focus on Finishing blog, instead of just being on the sidelines cheering everyone else along πŸ˜€

I may try and squeak in one more quick ‘finish’ tonight … something that will be super quick to finish off and won’t take up much room in storage (that’s something I started taking into consideration today – I was going to make a tie-on pillow using KarenV’s tutorial, but I decided I’m probably better off leaving everything ‘flat’ rather than stuffed, as I just don’t have space for it at the moment).

Lastly here is my latest stitching finish – I completed this yesterday afternoon … and I just love the colours and shimmering gold metallic thread – the photo doesn’t do it justice whatsoever.Β  The red is deeper and richer, and the metallic just glistens and twinkles πŸ™‚

christmas heart

Christmas Heart by Birds of a Feather
Stitched on 32ct white Lugana
with WDW and RG gold Petite Treasure Braid
(instead of Kreinik #4 gold braid)

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Small finish and lovely visit

Just a really quick post to show my latest small finish – I’m thinking of picking up a bigger project next, so it may be a while before there’s another finish … as well as the fact that I’ll be losing my internet connection again in a few days time.Β  I’ve just spent a couple of hours uploading piccies for the next couple of months for the Photo Hunts, for that exact reason – I’m not sure when I’ll be up and running for the internet again, and uploading and downloading is a tad harder at an internet cafe than it is at home … anyway, if you don’t see me online for a while soon, you’ll at least see one post a week, as I’ve uploaded posts for the Photo Hunt right up until 3 November – I know I’ve said it before, but I seriously LOVE that functionality of WordPress!!

Anyway, onto the piccie – here is my latest finish:

christmas bellpull 1

Miniature Bellpull Ornament by The Drawn Thread
from 1999 JCS Christmas ornie magazine or 10th Anniversary issue (which is where I got mine from – the 1999 JCS ornie mag is the only one I don’t own … {pout})
Stitched on 36ct summer khaki Edinborough linen
using DMC and Needle Necessities threads as recommended

In other news – my foot is perfectly fine … I had a lot of stiffness and pain in it on Saturday, and went to see a GP as I felt quite worried about it – but she said I hadn’t done any major damage and I still had relatively good mobility, so just to keep applying the ice packs.Β  Well, you’d never believe it, I woke up on Sunday and hardly had a twinge!!Β  It feels fantastic! πŸ˜€

The other great news from Sunday is that I caught up with Tannia and had a lovely relaxing stitching day (hence the reason my Drawn Thread ornie got finished – I just did a couple more hours when I got home and finished it up).Β  As always, Tannia is wonderful company, and it was great to just kick back and relax with needle in hand, and old movies on TV, without a care in the world.Β  There’s also a treat in store for you, Mum, next time you come over – Tannia has very kindly given me some Christmas ornie magazines for you πŸ˜€

Not much else to report apart from that … I’m now off to the lounge room to watch a couple more episodes of series 3 of Moonlighting while I put a few more stitches into another ornie, then tomorrow is “clean up” day when I start packing my things away again in preparation of moving out.Β  I have another week out in Seaford, then I’m looking after a place in Edithvale for 3 weeks with an elderly (and apparently well behaved – that’ll be a nice change) kitty.

Β Rightio, time to get cracking again …

(Updated to add:)Β  Forgot to say, I finished reading Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows yesterday morning – couldn’t put it down in the end!Β  Even though I haven’t read any of the others yet, I have no regrets whatsoever for reading it.Β  It’s unlikely I’ll sit down and read the other books yet, and I wanted to read it before I knew what the ending was.Β  I’ve seen all the movies to date, so at least I knew all the characters and the terminology … although after seeing the movies, I have to say all the characters in the book were now ingrained in my head as the actors who played them … much less imagination needed haha.Β  Anyway, I have to say I loved it! πŸ˜€

PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt – Happy


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This week’s theme is “Happy” – my photo choices are from when we used to own a timeshare in Fiji, on one of the Mamanuca Islands … for a few years we had some immensely happy times during our visits there … it’s a shame that had to change, thanks to the thieves that stole our money and our trust. In the meantime, we still like to remember those happy times, as there will always be happy memories that overshadow everything else – and some wonderful friendships made. The bottom photo is from New Years, on the night of the Millennium … along with the gift I bought Dokko from Suva (a banjo that he really wanted). On the left is Ana (I’m called Ana in Fijian … so we call each other “tai Ana”, which means “my namesake Ana”) – she’s a real sweetheart. Whenever we visited Fiji and didn’t stay at our resort, we always tried to make a special trip out to the islands to visit Dokko and Ana, and brought gifts with us – I miss seeing them, as it’s been a number of years since we’ve been back. Yep, definitely happy days πŸ˜€

Cross Stitch, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Evil kitty … and squishy mail (picture heavy!)

I’m sure no-one will be greatly surprised when I recite the story of my morning yesterday … it pretty much follows the vein of the rest of the year, and if I could have seen my own face yesterday it would have had me in fits of giggles for weeks on end, I’m sure!!

So, what happened to bring all this mirth on … well, to be honest I didn’t find it particularly funny at the time – and if my day tomorrow is not pain-free I may not see the funny side yet again … but I’m getting ahead of myself already …

Yesterday was like any other day this week, except that I had a slight sleep-in – the alarm went off at 4.30am instead of 3.30am like the other days this week (thanks to Lucien swapping his 6am shift for my 5am one so he could go and play golf after work).Β  As per usual when I got up it was a hot and humid 4 degrees Celsius (aaarghhh), and the country was in darkness.Β  Being a lazy so-and-so for the first time all week I decided I couldn’t be bothered walking up to the end of the hallway to put that light on, then come back halfway up the hall to switch the other one off, I decided to just brace myself, study the layout of the hallway, and memorise the lightswitch location in my brain … considering it’s only a few steps away, it wasn’t too difficult to do … or do I thought …

Someone else had other things on his mind, thoughΒ … “evil kitty” all of a sudden appeared out of nowhere – I assume it was him, but I have to say I couldn’t actually see him, and it could have been Satan himself for all I knewΒ … all I could hear was a whole heap ofΒ meeowing going on from the area somewhere near my feet.Β  Now I was worried I was going to stand on the stupid cat in the middle of the hallway, so I started swinging my feet out with my footsteps … the only problem was that now I’d been distracted by trying to find the cat in the dark with my less-than-nocturnal eyesight, I also couldn’t work out where in the damned hallway I now was!Β  Aha, I thought – there is a grey patch over on the wall to the left, of course that must be the laundry, as the light will be reflecting through the door … let me just walk out and reach out to switch on that light which is closer than the other one … let me just take one more step and reach ……………

The next thing I know I’m stepping out into mid-air, then with a comical expression of total surprise I find myself tumbling down the couple of steps at the end of the hallway … ’twas not the laundry light at all, it was the kitchen!!Β  My mobile phone went crashing off across the wooden floor, but the final Harry Potter book decided to just sit crying in a heap as it wasn’t in a bouncing mood … me, I just sat there in a heap trying to work out which part hurt most, and which part of my anatomy I should try to move first … crikey, it would have been a picture and a half with that stunned look on my face!!

Luckily, though, nothing was majorly damaged – I felt a bit shaken up and a bit queasy, which I’m sure was from the shock rather than anything else.Β  Because I was on such an early shift I didn’t want to let my colleagues down at work, and seemed OK to drive, so I went into work – by the time I arrived, though, my right foot was throbbing like hell.Β  I ended up tipping a recycling box upside down and elevating my leg under the desk for a few hours, and Lucien got a great deal of mirth out of watching me get up to answer a phone call at another desk when my legs nearly buckled from underneath me … glad I could put a smile on your face Lucifer! πŸ˜‰

Anyway, today I woke up feeling as though I’ve been run over by a Mack truck – the muscles in my left leg, especially my thigh, feel as though I’ve done 3 hours hard work-out at a gym and are very strained and uncomfortable.Β  My right foot also started really throbbing again after about 6 hours, but luckily today we were working with Bernie who’s a Nurse in her other role (she does a few hours after work to keep her qualifications current) – sheΒ had an ice pack put on it, then strapped it up for me.Β  I’ve been given orders, though, that if I get any more discomfort from it tomorrow I’ve got to go to the doctors as she thinks there’s a possibility of it being a hairline fracture – so far there’s only a little bit of swelling and no bruising yet … fingers crossed it doesn’t turn to anything more sinister!Β  I’m currently sitting here with another ice pack on, so hopefully that will help πŸ™‚

So, that’s been the last couple of days for you … on a good note, though, I’ve had some exceptionally gorgeous gifties over the last week that I can finally share with you as I’ve sent off all my thank you emails.Β  I’ll show them in the order that they were received – and I have to say I love every single one of them, thank you ladies!! πŸ˜€

First up is an exquisite parcel I received from Isabelle – I must say I tried to help Isabelle and Seb out by buying one of Isabelle’s beautiful bags from her Etsy shop (I fell in love with this one hook line and sinker), after finding out what the proceeds were going towards … and Isabelle said she wanted to send something extra with it when it came time to post it out.Β  Here are all my goodies – am I spoilt or what??!Β  These were actually posted quite a while ago, and I started wondering if they’d gone missing … it turns out they had – they were found at the East Camberwell post office, after I queried it!Β  They’d been having a lovely quiet holiday over there, with no-one any the wiser!Β  No doubt Isabelle will be pleased to know they finally turned up safe and sound.Β  The blue bag with white lace on the left is the one I chose to buy, and the other bag is an extra one made especially for me.Β  Aren’t they beautiful?Β  Not only that, but I now have my very own French XS magazine that I’ve been spreading drool over for days – I think I could quite easily become addicted to these!Β  But the piece de resistance for me would have to be the little bourse at the back – this has extra special sentimental value for me, as this was made from the fabric from Isabelle’s wedding dress … I had a serious lump in my throat when I read that!Β  I’m going to use it as a jewellery pouch for my favourite pieces of jewellery.Β  Thanks again Isabelle – everything will be treasured always, my dear friend – I feel truly honoured to own some of your masterpieces!

gift from isabelle aug 07

Next up is something totally different … while Tessa was away in the UK she found this adorable, gorgeous duck and thought of me when she saw it!Β  I don’t know why?!! haha.Β  Doesn’t it have the most awesome character??Β  I just love it to death, and it will be a most prized possession in my collection.Β  In fact the day it arrived it spent all day sitting on my desk atop my computer base – it put a smile on my face every time I looked at it.Β  Thanks so much again Tessa – I really love it to pieces … it’s so sweet of you to think of me while you were away, especially knowing the reason you were there {{hugs}}.

gift from tessa aug07

Now last, but by no means least … I received an absolutely exquisite RAK from Dawn in the mail today!Β  After tumbling down the stairs yesterday, and feeling crappy for two days, this did an exceptional job of cheering me up today!Β  Isn’t it gorgeous?Β  And the colour is so scrummy, and my fave … BLUE!Β  Thanks again Dawn, for a wonderful RAK – I truly do feel thoroughly spoilt, and really appreciate your gift.Β  I can’t wait to get it on a pair of scissors!Β  I love the postcard too! πŸ˜€

gift from dawn townsend aug07a

Talking of work (well, I was earlier in the post anyway) …Β I cashed in my bonus payment this week – and bought my GPS/iPaq.Β  I decided to go without the WiFi and extra 1GB of memory and bought the HP iPaq 5765, and spent the extra $180 on somethingΒ different … I spent the rest of the bonus money on upgrading my compact digital camera.Β  I’ve had my old Canon PowerShot for about 6-7 years now, and while it’s been an awesome camera, technology had most definitely improved over the years and my 3 megapixels are a bit lacking these days.Β  I wanted something with a better macro capability, and I considered getting a macro lens for my Nikon digital SLR, but it was out of my price range … but I got something even better – in fact it’s seems clearer than my SLR lenses, which is amazing!Β  Hopefully it’ll be better for taking shots of my needlework once I get my head around all the settings.Β  The camera make I got was a Panasonic Lumix which has a Leica lens and aΒ 10x optical zoomΒ … I shall say no more!! πŸ˜‰

Here’s a couple of shots taken on it by Lucien … he spent more time playing with it today than I did!!Β  Here’s one of our office desks in the area I work in … plus one of me actually doing work while Lucien goofs off!! As you can see, it’s casual dress day today yippee!

work1 aug07

work2 aug07

Then there are a couple of shots I took on arrival home in Daniel’s gardenΒ – the close-up views when you zoom in are exceptional on the flower stamens in the 2nd photo … wow!!Β  So much so that Lucien is thinking of buying one now too πŸ˜‰

daniels flowers 3

daniels flowers 2

daniels flowers 1

So now it’s back on the wagon again spending-wise … time to pull the horns in again and get some $ back into the bank once more.Β  Bless you, though, work management for giving us a wonderful gift of cash … I, for one, wholeheartedly appreciate the thought! I thought of being very responsible and putting it towards bills, but then thought “sod it” and went spending haha.Β  As Mum always says, “it’s money you never had, so treat yourself” πŸ˜€

Rightio, time to remove the ice pack for 20 minutes … then it’ll be time to sit back down again with it back on again – if this keeps up you might even see another stitching finish soon … I’m halfway through a Christmas ornie, so you never know your luck in a raffle! πŸ˜‰