I'm Into Something Good

It's been a while since I 'blogged' but I can honestly say I have been very industrious over the last week.

Completed the prototype for my new cushion design as seen in the pic.  Workshop yesterday but only Renee, my lovely step-daughter came and completed a cushion.  It was lovely catching up with her.  When her Dad (WH) came home from house renovations in town he sat with us and chatted.  Couldn't convince him to tackle a cushion though.  Renee wants me to teach her how to sew/patchwork - yay a convert.  Renee is very 'crafty' and we used to attend ceramics classes together.  My elder daughter, Kirtsy, and two of her children also came out later in the afternoon but didn't sew.  Instead I ended up making a bag for Kirsty in a few hours. 

Earlier in the day another of Kurt's daughter's, also a Kirsty, her partner and two children visited so altogether it was a lovely Sunday.

On Saturday I visited the Handmade Expo in Ipswich with the intention of finding out about organising a booth for my stuff.  Some beautiful work was on display and for sale and it seemed to be quite a popular destination.  There was a great variety and all handcrafted - from fabric, paper, canvas to glass, wood and metal plus jams and chutneys and home grown produce.  Definitely not a 'flea market' - all well made quality items and the whole event is very well organised. 

We are in the middle of our south east Queensland winter and the temperatures are a little cool.  Yes it does get cold even in Queensland.  Here, west of Brisbane, our early morning temps can go below the zero mark, as experienced last week, and we do have frosts.  The days have been glorious though.  We are very luck to have a wood fired stove in our lounge and WH gets up very early in the mornings to light it up so the house is lovely and warm when I rise a little later.  Love him to bits.  Because I spend most of my days in my studio I usually let the fire burn itself out but light it again later in the day.  We have solar hot water so unlike many relatives in New Zealand who have to keep their fires going all day to heat their water,  our water stays quite hot most of the time.  Sometimes we have to use the electric booster if it has been overcast or rainy for a day or so but not very often.

My cooking/baking resurgence continues.  Yesterday I made a lovely Lemon Loaf but actually I think it was a Blood Orange Loaf.  We have a few citrus trees and some fruit I needed to use.  I have juiced half a dozen fruit to make a desert for dinner.  No, we don't often have desert as such very often (usually only when we have guests) although I have grown fond of a 'Skinny Cow' icecream in the evening and WH often has a bowl of icecream (he is doing the Hokey Pokey thing at present).  I believe that if I am having skinny icecream I am being very virtuous in my weight watching (I do try). 

Last week I made a lovely Sultana loaf and Peanut Brownies - always a favourite of my children and always demanded of Nana when she visited.  The Minestrone Soup I made recently did several light meals and was quite scrumptious, I thought anyway.  So I am really making good use of my Edmonds cookbook although have referred to some of my many other cookbooks if the Edmonds doesn't provide (not very often I must admit).

What's on the boil this week?  Finishing the dressing gown I started last week, finishing a couple of table runners,  starting a 'sewing' set gift for a friend and a birthday quilt for my brother (hope he doesn't read this) plus a few other projects.  Life is never dull for me.  Love life, love my work, love the world.  Yay to being alive and well and happy.

Thought you might like these words below.  It was sent to me by my lovely friend, Robyn, in Scotland and I just love it:

BANK ACCOUNT!!! This is AWESOME ... something we should all remember.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each
morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved
perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After
many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled
sweetly when told his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description
of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.
I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just
been presented with a new puppy.
Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'
'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied.
Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.
Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is
arranged ...... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.
'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice;
I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the
parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful
for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day
and all the happy memories I've stored away.. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
account of memories!
Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank.
I am still depositing.
'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Against the Wind

A bit windy today but nothing to complain about when I think about my family in Christchurch and their fellow Cantabrians and the continuing earth tremors they are bearing.  You are in our hearts and our thoughts are with you always.  Don't forget that our house is always open if you need to get away for a while.

Our Fiji holiday doesn't quite seem like a distant memory but WH (wonderful husband) has gone back to work today with a cold so to him I suppose our holiday seems a bit surreal now.  We have unpacked and stowed everything away, the washing is all up to date and I am now printing off some of our pics.  Beautiful memories of a wonderful week.  I have published some of our photos on the Fiji 2011 page.  These are just a sample of the many we took.  I'll publish more during the next couple of days. I am a happy snapper and with a digital camera it is so easy to do this.  WH, however, has some special camera gear and he is more selective in what he photographs.

I have created several digital photo albums, using various software, of past holidays and have been thrilled with them.  What are probably called "coffee table books", they are wonderful to look at and show off.  But this time I bought a photo album covered with Masi cloth (bark cloth) in Fiji and will fill it with some of our better pics.

I am also one of these unusual, I believe, people who love looking at holiday snaps and probably bore many others by showing off ours.  Love, love, love looking at distant shores.  The world is so big - so many beautiful and interesting places to see and things to do.

Today I have also been working on another design for my next workshop on 26th - this time a cushion.  I have several cushion designs ready but I felt they were a little more complicated than need be for relative beginners to patchwork.  I'll work on creating a prototype this week.

My plans for this week include, of course, finalising that cushion design, finishing a table runner with some machine embroidered panels included, quilting a lap quilt (or throw or tablecloth - can be used for anything), finishing a couple of "chookie" cushions for my lovely Aunty Shirley (who collects chookie things) and hopefully finishing quilting a child's quilt that has been sitting on my quilting frame for some time.  Something went drastically wrong when I last tried to quilt it.  The needle kept breaking and in the end through sheer frustration I left it but I know I have to try again.  No use having a quilter there and not use it and I have several large quilts I need to finish.  I am trying to use my positive thinking and put it out into the universe that whatever was causing the problem will miraculously be gone.  Here's hoping anyway.

Home Again, Home Again.

After a fabulous week in Fiji with great friends, Jill and Errol, we finally touched down in Brisbane last night - 10 hours later that we were supposed to but it all added to the excitement.

What an absolute beautiful week we had - meeting people from all over the world as well as the warm and wonderfully friendly Fijians who went out of their way to make everyone welcome and happy.  We also embraced "Fiji time" which is well emphasised everywhere.

A lovely flight on Air Pacific from Brisbane to Nadi was followed on Saturday evening by a quick dip in the hotel (Mercure Nadi) pool and a spot of dinner, swimsuit and sarong clad.  We asked if it was okay to dine dressed as we were and were told "Fiji time - dress as you like, do as you like".  By the end of our holiday we were as unselfconscious wandering around in our swimsuits and sarongs or shorts and singlets as were the taut and trim young things.  Nobody cared, nobody laughed (at us anyway).  Everyone was out to enjoy their holidays as much as we were.

On Sunday our first visit was to Nadi Town - unfortunately only touristy type stores were open but we did see the beautifully pastel coloured Hindu temple at one end of the main street and enjoyed a lovely lunch (well actually entree and desert) at the elegant Saffron Restaurant on a side street.  The theme of our trip, as with a journey to Singapore some years ago with the same friends, was eating.  So we have many pics of us eating lunches and dinners throughout the week (won't bore you with too many of those though).  No, we didn't just eat and drink.  We did do and see many other things in between.

We took a bus trip to Suva on Monday.  This was a four hour trip there and back with about 2 and half hours actually in Suva.  I must say that the best part of this day was the actual bus journeys.  We had a wonderful Fijian guide who was informative and interesting and very entertaining.  He sang and played his guitar on the return journey.  He talked about how poor Fijians were and how little they earned and we could see by the paucity of the villages we passed - compared to the resorts we picked up from.   However, poor does not equal dirty, and nowhere in our whole week did we see an overabundance of dirty conditions.  In fact, in all the villages, washing was waving on the clotheslines and one thing that struck us was all the napkins out to dry.  Something we don't see in our society now.  We were also awed by all the school children heading to and from school in their school uniforms - and many of the schools wore white uniforms (both boys and girls).  Imagine the job their mothers have to send them off to school daily in clean white uniforms.  And they were clean.  Even young people at one university we passed were in uniform.

Education is one of the most important things in Fiji - educate the children so they can earn good money and help the country's economy. 

Tuesday was spent relaxing around the pool.  WH (wonderful husband and I) went for an early morning walk in one direction from the hotel.  Nearing peak traffic time when buses and cars carrying workers and school children were hustling along the dry, dusty roads. 

We had a wonderful Indian dinner at the Sitar Restaurant a few blocks down from the hotel.  Well patronised and with live music for entertainment.

One of our most memorable days was the Robinson Crusoe Island cruise on Wednesday.  We took the day/night combo which meant were out all day from early in the morning until after 11pm at night, but what a fabulous day.  A journey down the river and out to open water to our island home for the day.  Greeted by a welcoming party - warriors and singers - were then able to do whatever we wanted to for the whole day.  Swimming, snorkelling, fishing, scuba diving, massages, drinks, lunch provided, walk around the island at low tied (about a 20 minute walk), crab racing, volleyball, coconut education or just lying around doing nothing.  Jill and Errol took the fishing opportunity and Jill brought back a beautiful Trevally - apparently getting scarce in Australia.  I had a wonderful back massage.  At night another boatload came in for the evening's entertainment starting with a kava ceremony, a "loau" (not sure if that is spelt correctly but like a NZ hangi or Aussie 'barbie') where the food is cooked over hot rocks, fire walking, fire dancing and other dancing. 
What a wonderful evening.  We were mesmerised by the virile young dancers - they were brilliant and we loved watching them.  I don't think any of us wanted that evening to end.   The boat trip back up river was a little scarey with no lights on the front of the boat.  One of the young staff stood up the front with a torch showing the 'captain' at the back where the river banks were.  But we arrived back to shore safely and all very happy after a gorgeous day.

A visit to Vuda lookout, Garden of the Sleeping Giant and a village was our Thursday afternoon outing.  A lovely afternoon spent with a group of Americans who had just flown in that morning.

Friday was our cultural experience.  A breathtaking day with so many memories.  This was a personalised tour - just the four of us plus another couple in a separate vehicle - in a modern four wheel drive northwards from Nadi through Latoka to the Ba Markets.  What an amazing array of fruit and vegetables and fish.  People (mostly women) come in by bus or other vehicles from many outlying villages with their produce and set it out for townspeople to purchase.  We then went to one of the few traditional villages in the country.  A beautiful setting offering a warm welcome and lunch.  No television, ipods or computers here.  We wandered through the village and school, took part in a kava ceremony (our second) and enjoyed traditional food at lunch. 

Then came Saturday, our last day in Fiji, and what an awesome day.  The 'Whales Tale' cruise from Port Denarau to Snorkel Island - all food and drink provided.  Meeting people of all ages from all over the world, looking out towards the Mamanuca Islands group, catching fish, lunch on our island 'home' for a few hours, sitting in the sea, looking at the coral through the glass bottomed boat, another kava ceremony, entertainment by the crew - so many memories for such a fabulous day.  It was our sixth wedding anniversary and we were honoured, along with another couple celebrating their second anniversary, with a cake, a song and cheers.  What a way to spend a very special day.  A few wines along we reluctantly docked at the end of the day.

Our home coming day started very early.  Plane was due to leave at 8.30, we had a wakeup call at 4.30 but were already up and about, and pickup at 5.30.  But unfortunately things didn't quite go to plan.  Jill had tripped and cracked her head on the balcony railings outside their room and gashed the back of her head quite nastily so we made a detour en route to the airport at a 24hour medical centre where she emerged with a few stitches.  On arrival at the airport we were greeted with the news that flights to Sydney and Brisbane had been downsized necessitating the 'bumping off' of about 200 passengers, us included.  We were sent to the Novotel Hotel for the rest of the day, overnight and given meal vouchers for all meals that day and breakfast the next.  As we hadn't had breakfast we did this on our arrival at Novotel then waited around for about two hours for a room to be free.  Finally we reached our room, changed, made a cuppa then lay down.  Just drifting off when the rude noise of the telephone informing us we had been booked on a flight at 4pm and would be picked up at 1pm.  It now being about 11.30, time for a mad scramble to re-change, re-pack and toddle down to the restaurant for lunch.  Then three hours at the airport before our flight left.  Jill was rested and ready to fly by then and an uneventful but pretty packed flight saw us arriving into a very chilly Brisbane night.  10pm before we got home - happy, thankful but full of wonderful memories.

I even had time in Fiji to buy some fabric - one of my little vices when we travel.  I still have fabric from Scotland and Denmark from our trip in 2009 that I haven't yet found a use for, although I did use some of the Scottish fabric in a quilt for my sister last year.  Fabrics that I purchase on holiday has to be used for special projects - for our home or for loved ones.

I will post some of our holiday photos on a separate page soon.  Hope you enjoy this short account of our Fijian sojourn and the photos.

We and our friends are thinking of ways in which we can help the Fijian people - with dignity, friendship and love.  Many strive to work hard to earn enough money to educate their children so they can have a better lifestyle and in turn can help their communities.  How do we do this? 

Up, Up and Away

My title today could either describe the windy weather or the fact that we are preparing to jet off to Fiji on Saturday for a wonderful week's relaxation with a couple of great friends.

So windy today that I put the washing out at morning tea and within an hour it was dry even though we are into our second day of winter.  Looked as if it was clouding over ready for rain but so far nothing.

Another busy week - a full day out on Tuesday with my morning shift at the hospital and afternoon at the library - but I have produced a few things and pics follow below.

I have been very disciplined and not bought any fabric although did go onto one of my favourite online fabric stores in the US and was in the process of ordering some but stopped myself.  How good am I?

The Dresden Plate set that you see below is the second I have made.  The first sold recently and you can see it in the Creations Gallery.  I have this new set down in Cafe Kiks at Fernvale along with quite a few other items.  Selling slowly but a great kick to see my creations on display for sale.

In trying to be good (see my halo) I have been utilising scraps and making things up as I go.  For example the yellow round placemats set, blue (don't you just love blue - I do along with white and yellow) table runner, green & black cushion covers, pink table centre and blue bag are all made from scraps.  In the centre of the blue table runner, if you look closely, you will note the little triangles.  These are leftover corners cut from the blue bag fabric.  During my bag workshop on Sunday I asked the girls to put all their cutoff corners into a box for me and from them I will make potholders, cushions or, as in the case of the blue table centre, table decor items. The dog blanket is made from fleece and folds up into a roll with the head at one end and the tail at the other (of course).

I am also trying to be very disciplined in delving into one of several project containers and finishing half started items before starting others.  I did say "trying".  Sadly I don't succeed very well with that line of thought.  Often, if an idea occurs to me, I will tackle that to the finish and the UFOs (unfinished objects) are left in that state for a while longer.

I have had some lovely phone calls this week - I talked to my sister which is always a treat (I really miss the close contact with her and just love catching up whenever we can - she lives in NZ and I am in Queensland); my sister-in-law (not strictly speaking now as I was married to her husband's brother who has since passed on but we continue to be good friends and she is like my big sister); a couple of friends and my lovely daughter, Fiona.  Fiona works at The Coffee Club at Brisbane International Airport and is often spotting celebrities wandering through.  Sometimes she can talk them into having their photo taken with her.  Certainly not slow in coming forward is my Fiona.  So if you are ever landing at or leaving from Brisbane during the week stop in and say hello to her.

Whatever you give out in life is what you receive back in life. 

Give positivity, you receive back postitivity; give negativity, you receive back negativity.