Photo Hunt - Share ANY Photo You’d Like

PhotoHunt | PhotoHunt

This week’s theme is “Share ANY photo you’d like” so I’ve chosen a couple of photos from Santorini that I really love (they’re scans from the actual hard-copy photo so the clarify isn’t great, but I still love them).  I’ve asked Mum to bring some of my other photos of Greece and Paris so I can scan them in and use them in the future (almost all of my old photos are still with my parents in New Zealand).

Barnabee’s Bride is complete

I managed to get all the finishing done on Barnabee’s Bride in time to drive her over to The Stitching Post tomorrow morning.  She looks very cute (although I have a bit of wrinkling of the green wool when she’s rolled up, if I had more fabric I might have unpicked it and cut it a bit smaller, but it’s OK I guess), and I couldn’t resist taking a quick photo in the sunlight to show off her wee sparklies

Barnabee’s Bride (kit) by Just Nan

I forgot to take a photo of the needleroll opened out - I’ll take one later … if I remember … but I’ve run out of time to take one this morning, as I’ve now got to race off to work (I’m on the late shift today ‘cos I’m “on call” for the next 7 days in case of emergencies, which gave me time to quickly take these photos this morning).

A meme or three

Just ‘cos I have nothing to write about …

 

Your Personality Cluster is Introverted Feeling

You are:Tolerant, flexible, and open to new ideas.A stickler for integrity and authenticity. Passionate about causes, beliefs, or politics. Likely to have many “best friends” from many walks of life

What’s Your Personality Cluster?

You Are A Lily

You are a nurturer and all around natural therapist. People see you as their rock. And they are able to depend on you. You are a soothing influence. You can make people feel better with a few words. Your caring has more of an impact than even you realize.

What Flower Are You?

Your Power Bird is a Vulture

You are always changing your life and the lives of those around you. You aren’t afraid to move on from what holds you back. Energetic and powerful, you have a nearly unlimited capacity for success. You know how to “go with the flow” and take advantage of what is given to you.

What’s Your Power Bird?

French Monogram tuffet

Yippee, the stitching is now all finished, both front and back, so the tuffet is ready to be put together (which won’t be happening this week … but next weekend is looking good).

“French Monogram III Tuffet” by Twisted Oaks Designs
stitched on 32ct cream Belfast linen
with DMC 115 floss

I’m soooo happy to finally get the stitching on this one finished - it’s been a WIP (or perhaps more like a UFO of late) for far too long.  It used to be my evening stitching when I was on the overnight shifts at work - that is until I found out I was one stitch out somewhere in the outside border, and only found out when I’d completed the whole thing.  Mum very kindly took it upon herself while I was at work to find out where I’d gone wrong and unpicked it all for me … bless her heart!  It’s amazing how quickly it’s stitched up once I had the time to concentrate on it without having to take phone calls inbetween stitches!  Now I just have to stitch up the needlebook and fob to match … not sure whether I’ll do that straightaway now or pick up an older WIP … ah decisions, decisions …

I have to admit after my stressful night last night I’ve been taking it pretty easy today, and didn’t attempt to put together Barnabee’s Bride - I hope to get this finished during the week, however, so I can still take it over to Katoomba next weekend.

I did manage to get the food processor out this morning and after donning a surgical rubber glove onto my injured hand I finished off the soup, as well as cooking a whole new batch of soup with pumpkin, carrot and sweet potato.  Lisa had that for dinner tonight, and apparently enjoyed it, so that’s good

As for the finger/fingernail, I changed the dressing tonight and I’m quite pleased with how it looks after I cleaned the dried ’gunk’ off it - as long as I don’t bend the nail at all you can only just see where I sliced it through … thank goodness (and no, I didn’t attempt to actually bend the nail, last night was enough trying that little trick out!!).

Rightio, time to get into bed … so much for my planned early night tonight, as I coudn’t pack up the stitching until I put those final stitches in … now I can sleep a restful and happy sleep … helped along by a glass of Omrah Shiraz that I chose as my nightcap - that’s a wine that was recommended to me while I was in Perth, and I have to say it was a good recommendation!

Accident in the kitchen

Well, the pumpkin soup is essentially finished, but not put through the blender yet … I ended up getting Lisa to heat up a can of soup for me to eat with some homemade damper fresh from the oven.  It didn’t get finished because Lisa couldn’t stand the smell of the soup (it has a teaspoon of cumin in it, and she can’t bear the smell apparently!).  Anyway, the reason I couldn’t get to finish it myself is because I had a small accident in the kitchen with the meat cleaver! 

All limbs are still attached, but I did manage to slice right through the nail in the middle of my finger (the finger next to my little finger, thankfully on my left hand) … luckily my reflexes kicked in a bit so I managed to not take the top of my finger off!  Needless to say there was a fair bit of blood, and I broke out in a nauseous sweat thinking I was going to pass out.  But after I stopped the bleeding, I called out to Lisa to give me a hand with some Savlon and a large band-aid.  She wanted to take me to see a doctor, but I figured the bleeding had stopped, and they could hardly stitch it, so there was no point.  The nail itself seems to be sliced right through, but as long as I keep something covering it while it grows out, I figure it should be alright (although perhaps a tetanus shot may be worthwhile hmmm).

The pain was pretty intense for a while, but my nursemaid Lisa made me sit down and drink a soft drink to give me some sugar and fluids in my system (apparently I was as pale as a ghost).  I then had something to eat and took a couple of Nurofen and eventually the pain eased off, and is so far OK as long as I don’t touch the nail with anything.  I got stir-crazy and sat looking at my hand, and figured I just might be able to stitch (much to Lisa’s amazement as I’d been ordered to sit down and rest without doing anything … but I just couldn’t do it).  Anyway, sure enough it was a bit uncomfortable at first getting used to holding the needle differently so I didn’t touch that finger, but I actually managed to get a fair bit stitched tonight!  I think it helped to calm me and take my mind off my injury more than anything else!

Here’s the result of my stitching efforts tonight … I’m now hitting the hay after taking another couple of Nurofen to help me rest during the night.  Fingers crossed tomorrow it will still be relatively painfree, otherwise I just might have to make a visit to the local medical centre …

French Monogram III by Twisted Oaks Designs
Tuffet - front
stitched in DMC 115, on 32ct cream Belfast linen
(as usual at 1.30am the colours are not true to life)

Attack of the Frogs

I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to stitch up this little piece - mainly due to numerous attacks of the frogs!  If it was my own piece I’d probably have left two of the errors in it, as the larger blue flowers were one stitch out in their placement (I was quite impressed I managed to do that same error in both of them!) … and the border was unpicked three times as I’d managed to get loops and knots in the pearl cotton and not realised … mutter mutter mutter.

Barnabee’s Bride by Just Nan (kit)
(once again apologies for the bad photo - I’ll take a better one
once it’s all finished into the needleroll)

Anyway the stitching is finally all done, and all I have to do now is the finishing, which I hope to attempt tomorrow.  Then this will be driven back home to The Stitching Post where it will live happily with its owner (I’m stitching this as a model for Karen).

As for the rest of today, it will be spent making a beef stew in the crockpot, along with a big pan full of pumpkin soup ready for the freezer.

Photo Hunt - Time

PhotoHunt | PhotoHunt

This week’s theme is “Time” and my choice for the theme is the clockface on the main building of the University of Western Australia.  As always my photos are taken with a zoom lens and without a tripod, so a crisp outline may not be present … but I still love this photo, as I love the colours of this clock face 

 

Bleary-eyed finish

I’ve been stitching madly over the last two nights trying to meet the deadline for the monthly ornie challenge on XSers Yahoo Group - unfortunately I missed the deadline by 1 hour, but it still felt good to get another ornie finished.  I’ve been stitching until 12.30pm and 1.00am respectively the last two nights - the amount of stitching in those one was quite deceiving, especially all the backstitching!

“Checking It Twice” by Dragon Dreams, Inc
from 2007 Just Cross Stitch Ornament magazine
stitched on 28ct hand-dyed Dried Thyme Jobelan
using DMC only (substituted RG Fuzzy Stuff with white DMC)
(sorry for the poor photo, but it was taken at 1.00am - the
colours look so much richer in real life!)

Next month I think I’ll start my ornie stitching much earlier to save the sleepless nights!  My May ornie choice is Spool Ornament by Sue Hillis Designs.

Perth - Part 2

After the CA Wells classes had finished, Nancy drove me over to my friends house where I stayed for the rest of my trip.  We had a quiet night in with just Hayley and myself as Pete was at Rugby - it was really nice to sit and catch up on each others lives over a bottle of red wine while I cuddled Riley, their golden retriever, to death

The next day, though, we were up bright and early (well, I dunno about the bright, but it was most definitely early!!), as we got up for the ANZAC dawn service at the local RSL, as 25 April is ANZAC Day here in Australia and New Zealand.

It would have been nice to go to the major service at Kings Park, but seeing as there were about 30,000 people there, it was quite nice to be at the other end of the scale at the Nollamara RSL.  We were all handed a sprig of rosemary before the service, and this is something I didn’t understand, so I had to ask someone what the significance was - in NZ we wear a poppy, but in Australia a sprig of rosemary is the order of the day … according to my source (a biker who had been in the army for 35 years) rosemary in Greek history symbolises remembrance, and rosemary grows wild on the Gallipoli Pensinsula, giving greater significance to this hardy wee plant.

According to the ANZAC Day educational website, the following is said about the significance of the rosemary:

“This plant was, in ancient times, supposed to strengthen memory. Greek scholars wore rosemary in their hair to help remember their studies, and the association with remembrance has carried through to modern times. In literature and folklore it is an emblem of remembrance.

On ANZAC Day, the wearing of small sprigs of rosemary in the coat lapel, pinned to the breast or held in place by medals is thus synonymous with remembrance and commemoration.”

The service at Nollamara was extremely short (only about 10 minutes in total), but as usual I got choked up at hearing the Last Post being played and when the wreaths were laid.  We then followed tradition by heading to the bar for a drink at 6.10am (!!!) - I couldn’t face beer or spirits at that time of the morning, so thought I’d be a girl and have a glass of port instead … well, it turned up in a middy glass filled to the brim!!  They didn’t have real port glasses, so my $3 bought me 1/4 bottle of port in one glass instead haha.  My Dad would be proud! haha.  Pete latched himself onto a group of Maori boys that were there and he was truly settled in for the day - Hayley and I finally left at about 11.30am, even though the Maori boys kept trying to buy us drinks (not to mention head back to their place for a party and BBQ afterwards) and wandered off home where we sat and blobbed in front of the TV all afternoon before having KFC for dinner.

I must say I was really impressed with the interior of the Nollamara RSL - it has numerous pieces of war memorabilia on the walls … this photo is just part of one wall.

* * * * * * * * * *

The next day Hayley drove me out to Joondalup where my jaw hit the floor in the Kiwi Shop!  OMG, I’ve never seen so many Kiwi foodstuffs outside of NZ … heaven isn’t in it whatsoever, and I spent a few dollars in there before she managed to drag me out the door!  My suitcase took some carrying up those flights of stairs this morning, I can tell you that! haha.  I bought some Maggi Onion Soup of reduced cream for Kirsten here in Sydney (of Gift of Stitching magazine fame) … and managed to find a few things for myself too - including Glo-Harts!  Woohoo!!!!! A few packets of biscuits came home with me, along with Bluebird and Krispa potato chips, Perky Nanas, Caramel Chew, Black Knight licorice and a few other things. The following photo of the shop interior is only side one of two sides!!!!!

After the Kiwi Shop we headed to the coast to Sorrento Beach where we wandered around the shops for a while - unfortunately my wallet took another bashing as I found a British lolly (sweet) shop that had some sweets I hadn’t seen for years …  Coming home with me were pear drops, walnut whips, midget gems, sherbet UFO’s, and the ultimate treat for me that I haven’t seen for years and years … bonfire toffee!!!!! 

After buying out both shops of junk food (Weight Watchers eat your heart out! … guess who’s going to be given rations over the coming months?), we sat and had lunch at a local cafe on waterfront, followed by dessert at Cold Rock.  If you haven’t had it before, it’s a real treat - very expensive for what it is, but it’s scrummy … you basically choose your ice cream flavour, add ‘mix-in’ treats of your choice, and they mixed it all up for you.  My choice was Baileys ice cream with a Twirl, Crunchie and Maltesers chopped up in it … heavenly, and definitely NOT for the faint-hearted!

We finished off the evening by heading over to visit friends of theirs, Pam and Michael, and we ended up staying until nearly 11pm - it was a great night of good wine, good company, and good food … Michael surprised us by telling us we were now staying for dinner and we had beautiful steaks for tea … ah heaven

* * * * * * * * * *

Our final day was a little bit disappointing in that the rain stayed with us all day and it hindered our plans.  At my request we drove out to the University of Western Australia again while I bored them silly as I wandered around the main building taking photos - the stayed in the car the whole time, so I quickly realised that our tastes were totally different where sightseeing is concerned.

After taking a few photos, we headed out to Fremantle where I’d been looking forward to wandering the streets with camera in hand drooling over the old buildings.  Instead we went to the Fremantle Markets, which were quite enjoyable (to me anyway - I think the others were bored about halfway round).  We ended up standing watching a street performer outside the Markets for a short while before heading over to La Porchetta for some cheap pasta and pizza followed by Cold Rock again, as Pete wasn’t with us when we tried it the previous day.  All-in-all it was a fun day, but I definitely want to go back again and see the whole area on foot.

I’ve already told Hayley I’m returning next year again, and she’s probably going to take a couple of days off work and take me to Rottnest Island - I’d also love to take a day trip by bus up to the Pinnacles and Wave Rock, so that could be something to look foward to again next year.  I’d better book in my annual leave straightaway when I find out the class dates!

* * * * * * * * * *

So, there we have it, my trip in a nutshell … it was a wonderful, wonderful time away with so many experiences making the trip memorable - now it’s time to start saving up again for next year!

Home again, Home again, Jiggity-jig!

Feeling most definitely worse for wear, after taking the overnight flight from Perth - we had an electrical fault so we were 1/2 an hour late leaving (originally due to leave 1/4 past midnight).  The flight was 3 1/2 hours long (SUPER quick!) - as soon as I could I turned down the ‘evening’ meal and lay my seat down as far as it would go and tried to sleep … I gave up after a while feeling really fidgety, and thought unhappily to myself that I would just have to give up trying to sleep and watch a movie.  When I checked my watch, though, I was shocked and amazed to see that I’d actually been zonked out totally for almost 3 full hours - woohoo!!  I didn’t feel as though I’d slept at all, but I slept almost the entire flight

After arriving home I sat at the laptop and uploaded the few photos I had taken, then eventually climbed into bed again where I’ve had another 4 hours nap time and feel loads better.

Now it’s time to recant the week’s tales … starting with the CA Wells classes …

* * * * * * * * * *

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while now may remember that last year I got horribly lost in the car when driving to the CA Wells class - Judy (our hostess) had decided she’d prefer me to stay closer to her home this time round, and I have to admit it was a wonderful idea!

I was picked up at the airport by the lady that I was going to be staying with, Nancy - and I hadn’t met her previously.  We hit it off straightaway and she really is the most fascinating lady to talk to, exceptionally knowledgeable and a truly interesting life.  After being picked up I was told the day was ‘her treat’ and she whisked me away to Guildford where we drove around looking at the beautiful old buildings before stopping for lunch at a cafe set in beautiful grounds on the banks of the river.  Here we both had leek and potato soup followed by pumpkin quiche and salad - it was a lovely welcome to Perth!

Afterwards Nancy found out that I hadn’t seen any of Perth whatsoever, so we spent 6 whole hours driving around the various suburbs and landmarks with Nancy telling lots of stories about the various properties.  We started off driving up The Esplanade, then ducked into the driveway of the University of Western Australia where my jaw hit the floor - the main building as you come onto the property took my breath away!  There will be photos in the next post.  After that we headed up into the expensive suburbs and then on over to Fremantle for more driving - we didn’t actually stop and this has now whetted my appetite to go back again and spend more time on foot exploring the place in detail.  We eventually ended up at Cottesloe Beach where we had coffee and cake then drove back via Kings Park.  The entire venture took my breath away - it was an awesome introduction to Perth and I’m extremely grateful to Nancy for that wee adventure!

The next day was the Sailor’s Valentine class - I was interested to note that I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t enjoyed stitching this one … but by the end of the class, the project has really grown on me, and it truly does look so much better all finished!  Unfortunately I had forgotten to stitch the bands, which is the first thing we needed to work on, so I don’t have much stitching to show … but over the coming weeks I’ll endeavour to get both projects finished.

The great thing about this year’s class is that there were so many familiar faces from last year - I sat with Joanne and Lisa and had a really wonderful time … their company was great!  CA was as charming and histerical as always, her stories had me in fits of giggles at times.

I was very privileged to find I’d been invited out to dinner with Nancy, along with CA, Michael and Judy, Val, and Lisa - it was a very memorable dinner at a local Chinese restaurant where the food, wine and company were sublime.  It was an unexpected highlight of my visit

The next morning we were working on the Cottage Etui - I managed to get my scissor fob almost completed (I just want to add a bead to the bottom if I can find one suitable in my stash), and also managed to get my ‘trunk’ pincushion finished aside from tying the ribbon bows (I thought I’d wait until I got home so it wouldn’t get totally crushed inflight).  Once again, I’ll make an effort over the coming weeks to get this one finished off.  I’ll take photos later of the finished project.

Here is a photo, though, of the group hard at work finishing their Cottage Etuis (close to the camera are my stitching buddies for the weekend).

I will, however, show you photos of next year’s projects!  I’ve reserved my spot already, both with Nancy and CA … especially now I’m finding there are so many beautiful places to explore in Perth, this will turn out to be my huge personal treat each year.  Next year CA is offering the Mermaid Bag and the Acorn Etui (it opens up, and is gorgeous! - I adore both items, so I’ll definitely be signing up for both!

I’ll finish off this post with a photo of the ladies who really looked after me throughout those couple of days - from left to right we have Judy (the hostess with the mostess), CA, myself, and Nancy (accommodation and tourguide extraordinaire).