Tourist for a day (Sydney day 2)

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!)

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

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.

It’s all about me …

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

A quick update before I fly out

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 :D  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 - Empty

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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 …

A bit of pampering

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 …

Just another day in St Kilda (picture heavy!)

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.

Not much stitching being done

 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!:

My ducks are coming home

I heard from Vash that my Ducks RR is finally completed and they will be winging their way homeward to the Southern Hemisphere soon - it was wonderful to see a piccie of the completed RR on Vash’s blog today … and I immediately did a mock-up to show Mum how I was thinking of framing them when they get home.  I thought I’d share it here too, seeing as it will be a while yet before I can afford to do the framing … but I couldn’t wait to start dreaming about what it will look like.  The colours are obviously not exact, as I’d need to find a matboard and frame what will pick up the colours in the stitching, but it’s more of the concept of what it will look like … kinda ;)  I used the photo that Vash posted (hope that’s OK Vash) - aren’t they beautiful?  Vash has been in a stitching slump due to personal reasons, so I’m appreciative she managed to get them finished during trying times.  I’ll post again when they’ve actually been received

We’re having a slow start to the day today - I only managed to get 5 hours sleep thanks to a ringing phone and the aerial display of the fighter jets, so I feel a bit jaded (I didn’t get to bed until 4am) … I have the weekend off, though, and any day off work is a good day   I’m hoping to get one side of the Peacock needlecase totally finished, then I thought I’d have a break and stitch one or two over-one grapes on the Bordeaux Sampler … I’ve been missing my weekly SAL with Carol and Leslie dearly, so I thought an hour or two tonight wouldn’t go amiss to have a break from the CA Wells projects …  It’s given Carol an opportunity to catch up now, though, and I think she may just have overtaken me this last week

PhotoHunt - Drink

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This week’s theme is “Drink” … and these two photos suit the theme down to the ground! The first photo is my extensive cocktail booze collection, with my Aunt posing for a joke as if she’s working through the collection. Every time Mum comes over to visit me she brings another two bottles from my collection rather than buying duty free … I’m slowly getting them all ‘home’ - so, who’s up for a cocktail party? LOL.

This photo cracks me up … just the look on wee Danial’s face is a delight … and a look that you don’t normally get until your teenage years when looking at a can of beer!! He looks like he’s just found a pot of gold!! LOL. This was taken at my Dad’s 70th birthday.