WEEKEND WANDERINGS.

Well, actually one was Friday and the other Sunday, but I need to do some catching up with what's been happening in Oz.  The folk here in Melbourne celebrate a "horse race" on the first Tuesday in November and some even take a 4 day break for it.  Our weekend sort of began on Friday, by taking ourselves off to Ballarat to help Joy to remove some branches from a tree that had fallen on her fence.

FRIDAY.

Offending downed branches.

The little pony I nicknamed Cadbury, and hubby talking to each other.

Many branches Joy & I dragged to a pile that could be a bonfire.

Finally, the fence has appeared again.

It did not take hubby long  to cut up the branches.  Joy and I had a little time in her studio, whilst hubby got the chainsaw sorted with the help of above pony.  There are two of them trying to keep the grass down.

Snowy & Cadbury munching away.

SUNDAY.

The morning dawned quite cool and was supposed to be wet and windy.  We set off on the train to travel into Melbourne, where I was to meet up with Joy again and four quilters/bloggers who had planned to see a Quilt Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.  The day certainly turned warmer than expected & not windy till about 3pm.
It was a wonderful day, meeting 4 new, lovely ladies & an exhibition which had amazing old quilts along with a brief description of their story.
I only took my small camera with me, so these aren't the best snaps & also we couldn't use our flash.  A very small selection.

This next pic is really not good & hubby did take one of the six of us later, but it is even worse, so this is it.

Lovely ladies, plus Joy.

A small section of Melbourne skyline across the Yarra River taken from the 3rd floor landing of the NGV  annexe, where the exhibition was being held.

This book, that accompanies the exhibition was on sale in the gift shop, so I purchased a copy to read more about these amazing old quilts.

Notice the dates.  Some of the quilts were very old, with exquisite workmanship.

Two odd photos from our garden on Saturday.  This was a day we popped to the shops, washed, did some pruning, mowed lawns and generally caught up on some odd jobs, but the camera did come out for these.

A King Parrot sitting on the railing, waiting to support the net for the blueberry bushes.  He has visited a few times lately.

One of my roses, Fiona's Wish, which is huge.  This bloom measured 7" across and if only we had smellavision too, as it is a highly scented one.

Enough of my ramblings today.  I have so much more to show of both the UK and our garden, but unfortunately not much sewing has been going on lately.  Lost some craft mojo somwhere, but I know it will come back, so won't push it for now.
Have a great week all.
Huggles, Susan.

OCTOBER SCAVENGER PHOTO HUNT.

Here we are again, already!!!!

Joining in with the lovely Hawthorn at I live, I love, I craft, I am me.

1.   A is for...



Arches.           The cellarium at Fountains Abbey.  Taken on our recent trip to UK.

2.   LUNCH.

A picnic in the park surrounding a dam in Ballarat. One from the archives.

3.   11 0'clock.

Taken last week on day that was chucking it down with rain and we were going to a quilt shop (oh dear), so I could get some backing fabric to finish a few quilts.  When I saw the sign we couldn't stop, so took it on the way home & it was still raining.  I thought this category was going to be a no, no, so I count myself lucky.

4.   BLACK & WHITE.

The lighthouse at Dungeness.  Taken on our recent UK trip.  The beach of shingle is amazing.

5.   LOOKING UP.

Ripon Cathedral.  This hand is lit up and looks quite spooky.  One of the volunteers did tell me why it was there, but I've forgotten.  Sorry!  Again, taken on our recent trip.

6.   T is for....

Train.  This little blue train is another from our time at Dungeness.

7.   LANDSCAPE

Another photo taken whilst in UK,  as we were heading home from visiting Timble, a small village in North Yorkshire near Swynsty Reservoir.  I did like this little village and would have liked to have explored, but time wasn't on our side.

8.   TWO.

Two odd thongs (flip flops for those overseas).  They were on the banks of the Cotter River near Canberra, taken last Xmas, whilst visiting our  youngest son who lives there.  Why?  I guess we'll never know.

9.   SWING.

This is the "Swing" Bridge near Sale in Eastern Victoria.  One from the archives.

10.  MY OWN CHOICE.

Now what is celebrated this weekend?  HALLOWEEN!!!!!  I thought this pile of pumpkins was an appropriate photo for my own choice.  Taken at a garden show in Melbourne in 2014.

I hope everyone enjoys my odd bunch of photos for this month's photo hunt. 
Thanks Hawthorn for these 'thinking outside the box', challenges, I do so like  taking  part and also see what others come up with too.  That doesn't sound right, but it will have to do.
Take care all and have a good weekend.
Susan.

PS.  Think I'm early with this one, but we have a busy few days coming up, so am posting tonight as we have an early start tomorrow to get to Ballarat, to help a friend cut up a tree that was downed in some wild weather a couple of weeks ago. 

FOUNTAINS ABBEY & STUDLEY ROYAL.

First I'd like to thank all who left comments on my last post.  With ongoing computer issues & not settling well after our trip, I've just been catching up with other blogs and leaving comments there.
Why our i'net providers can't leave well enough alone, I'll never know!
Onto a couple of wonderful days out.

DAY ONE.

We visited Fountains one day, then told S-I-L and she remarked we hadn't taken her, so we went again another day.  This particular day we just visited the abbey and grounds.

As you can see the ruins are beautiful.  Again I didn't take many photos.

DAY TWO.

This day we we started at the Studley Royal end, had a cuppa at the cafe and were about to start our wandering, when at a nearby table we overheard a conversation by some of the volunteers, who then said hello to us as we went by.  I remarked, as she told her co-workers that she'd baked them some Anzac Biscuits and offered them to us to try too.  As she went to explain what they were, I said I knew, as I was Australian and also baked them at home.  She then asked if she'd got the recipe correct, which she had.  As we'd just eaten, we didn't try, but we all had a good laugh about me passing at that moment.

The lovely lakes.

The Octagon Tower.

The Temple of Fame.

View down to Abbey.

Church of St. Mary the Virgin stands at the highest point of the Deer Par, though we didn't see any deer.

Now for something unforgettable.

This chandelier is in the Banqueting House and is only on display 'sometimes', but is definitely worth seeing.
It is lit by strobe lighting and is quite amazing when set in motion.  I am not going to try and explain, but if you get the chance ,try to see when it is open for viewing.  I'll tell that this space was also used for more than just dining.  Ummm!

OK, just a short post, trying to catch up on our holiday bits.  I'll probably be here again on Friday with our Scavenger Hunt Photos, so all have a great week and take care.
Susan.

WALKING WITH JAYNE.

Yes, we are back in Oz and now that the jetlag has passed and we are nearly sorted with internet problems, I've decided it is about time to get back into posting on this poor little blog.
I am going to post about our holiday in 'bits'.  My small camera that I took with me is not a u-beaut one & the fact I dropped it at one point doesn't bode well either, so the photos are very light on this time.  A lot of our days were taken up by family gatherings & meetings, so I'll just tell about our small adventures, starting with this one.

THE LAKES DISTRICT.

Saturday morning of the 24th October, we packed the car & headed off, stopping on the way here-----

Yarndale.

I spent a lovely morning wandering, though being so crowded it was somewhat a bit hard for me to see a lot because I'm so short.  I did purchase a couple of patterns, which I'll tell about some other time.  It is a wonderful event if you've plenty of time, which I didn't have as we had to travel that afternoon.  I was disappointed that I didn't meet the wonderful Lucy from Attic 24.

On Sunday we drove and met up with the lovely Jayne, her husband & Daisy from The View from Bag End.  We gathered up some makings for lunch, then set off for a wonderful drive and walk, with just Jayne, as Daisy isn't all that fussed with travelling in the car.

THE WALK IN PHOTOS.

Passing a mossy stone wall.

The scree slopes, of which one of these treacherous looking places was being climbed by  people.  WHY?

A beautiful view.

Another beautiful view.

As I explained before, I just didn't take enough photos.  The climb was reasonable, but very achievable.  In some ways I would have liked to have kept walking.  It was lunchtime & hubby's foot had probably had enough anyway.  Lunch was eaten overlooking one the many lakes and was so peaceful & scenic.

After lunch it was time for a quick touristy bit.  First we had a stop at the Honister Pass Slate Quarry.

Honister.

Next we stopped at the Bowder Stone, which I climbed  via these steps.

Pity I don't have a photo of some people attempting to climb the rock face.

As we travelled, we passed pleasant spots like this.

Boats on the edge of a lake & mountains in the distance.

Lastly we drove down a very narrow road to the beautiful setting of Watendlath (hope that's right, though I know I'll be corrected if not).  This the most wonderful spot, where I'm sure many people walk, fish and just relax and drink in the scenery.

The charming old barn.

A babbling brook, which can be quite ferocious when in full flow, as witnessed by the rebuilding of the little bridge after the floods of last winter.  Hope they finish it before this winter sets in.

OK, that's my lot for today.  We had the most wonderful time with Jayne, finishing with a beautifully cooked meal, a tour of her lovely garden, patting Daisy & then heading back to the Motel, hoping we could do it all again some day.  Maybe!  A BIG thank you Jayne.

Take care all,  Susan.

SEPTEMBER SCAVENGER PHOTO HUNT - A Little Late!!!

Joining in with Hawthorn from I live, I love, I craft, although I am a bit late due to travel and then internet issues for most of September and also when we got home, but here we are, nevertheless.

1.  WEB.

From the archives and taken at our old house one misty morning.

2.  BLADE.

Now, a spade has a blade, but this huge.  Taken at Harlow Carr on my birthday this year whilst visiting UK.

3.  FILIGREE.

Also taken recently on the last morning of our trip.  It was a feature at The Vauxhall Inn, in Tonbridge where we were eating our breakfast.

4.  TRAVEL.

Taken from the plane window at the start of our recent trip.

5.  BRIGHT.

I thought this little fellow was cheery & bright.  Another photo from our trip, taken at Dungeness, near the miniature railway.

6.  ASLEEP.

OK, I've shown this before some years ago, but couldn't find anything else to fit this category & still suffering jetlag & brain fog. (or so I think)..
This young lady will be 20 next month.

7.  FLOAT.

The name says it all!  Another photo from our trip taken at Hebden Bridge.

8.  AUTUMN.

Again from the archives.  Our weeping cherry changing colour at our old house & gorgeous garden.

9.  FUR.

Taken recently at a Garden Centre in UK., I thought this very cute & realised it could be used for my fur category.
It is actually a loooong draught excluder. 

10. NEW.

Whilst in UK, everyone was talking about the new plastic five pound note and to our surprise, when we got home we have a new rather fancy $5 note too, although ours have been plastic for a long time now.  

OK,  that is a quick one from me and hopefully, I'll be able to do some posts in the near future about our trip and catch up on lots of other stuff too.
Take care all,  Susan.