STILL AROUND...............CATCHING UP A LITTLE.

 OK, this post will just be a quick summary of a few things.  We've been busy in a weird way, with weather interfering for the plans we'd made for June.  So much for organising our life to get different things done in the garden, a little work on the caravan & getting out in nature for our rail trail walks. 

We'll start with some quilting, then a day out.

My Village quilt which I've been doing as a QAL with Sandra at mmmquilts and isn't going to be quilted before the deadline of 30th June.  It is ready to go, but I just can't get the mojo going.

Two squirrels happened this month, so may link this with Sandra's DrEaMi post.

Let Your Star Shine.
This is a pattern by Sandra, that I've had for a while and thought I could do it with fabric from my stash for a raffle quilt.  It will go to Windgap Foundation who are carers for my young brother.

Square Up.
Just a piece of nonsense to use stash fabric from the baskets of bundles I've put together.
One of my own designs.

The photos aren't the best due to our dreary weather and having to have the lights on all the time.  Natural light is so much better.

A DAY OUT.

We took ourselves out one morning to take some photos of a few quilts in the open air, as the weather was fine & reasonable sunny.  But not long into the journey, clouds came in, then wind and then......rain!  No quilt photos, but I did snap these two things.

We'd gone to Fish Creek, where there is a beautiful art deco hotel, to take photos of my Deco Delight quilt now that it is finished, but that didn't happen.

Whilst there we noticed a new to us mural (above) & snapped it through my open window.

On our way home we noticed this road sign.  Notice anything odd?  I'll see if anyone can guess.

This was taken through a very wet windscreen.

What else has been happening?  Well not a lot except the usual housework, cutting firewood to keep warm & dry the washing and keeping up with mundane bits of life.  I did make a bit of time to gather some thoughts on using up my stash and scraps to start a few charity quilts and try and start writing some patterns.  Will the pattern writing happen?.................maybe.

A few of my own designs laid out and one actually done.
Below are the containers filled with fabric bundles that may become quilts one day.
Excuse the messiness of my sewing room, which has actually gone through a change to accommodate a new set up with my machine table.

Lastly, 2 new books have come my way.  I may even think about going in a BlogHop with the Charm Pack book, although I've never participated in one before.  Should I or shouldn't I?  That is the dilemma.

Well, that has been a strange post for me, but until I get myself together properly, it will have to do.

Just a thought..................I was talking to a few friends at our Car Club the other weekend and some of us have to come to the conclusion, that we are suffering from "Pandemic Hangover" as the world has changed so much.  With most of us being on the older side, it's been hard to deal with so much change.

OK, enough babble from me.  If you take the time to read this, Thank You.

Take care all and hugs from another dreary wet morning here down under.

Susan.

HOLIDAY BREAK DAYS 2 & 3.

TUESDAY.

The day again arrived overcast and drizzly, but we packed some lunch & thermos and headed towards Loch Sport, somewhere we've not been to before.  Loch Sport is a holiday destination & not much else, a spit of land sandwiched between the Gippsland Lakes and Ninety Mile Beach.

Emus.

Along the way we spotted these and I took a photo from my window, due to it being very overgrown along the verge & I'd probably have disappeared into it, but DH braved getting out and................oh my...... the car filled with mosquitoes.  Hundreds of them, which we then swatted at, all the way to Loch Sport.

Finding a car park not far from the beach we parked up, ate our lunch, then with a break in the misty showers, we quickly walked down to the beach.  A few photos follow.

Walking against the wind.

Looking at the small sand-hills & bordering scrub. 

Another misty shower as I took this snap of the information board.

Looking down the track to the car park from the information board.

Turning back toward the sea.

More of the coastal ti-tree beside the car park.

We decided to head for the caravan taking another unexplored route along the coastal road beside Ninety Mile Beach.  First we had to cross a small inlet to take us back through town & I just had to snap this.................

Big Nessie & Little Nessie.
Somebody has an imagination.

Oh and this was the surprise of the day and I couldn't believe my eyes.  Pulled over quickly and at least got one good photo as she turned to look at us, then hopped away to follow her two companions.

Mum with her joey in someone's front yard in Loch Sport.

Also spotted these two murals on private houses.

And a better photo of the emus, who had moved to a more open paddock.

Plus more of the coastal ti-tree and heath in both pink & white.

Finally driving along the coastal road, we discovered this..................

The last remains of the shipwreck Trinculo which you can read about on the board .

A small curly sponge I spotted beside the wreck.

After capturing the last photo, I was suddenly inundated with mosquitoes once again & made a quick retreat towards the track back to the car.   Luckily they didn't follow us and we could take the track at our leisure & more photo spotting for me.

Lichen covered trees.

                     A carpet of lime green moss.

WEDNESDAY.

Breakfast finished, we had already planned to have lunch at Port Albert on one of the days as a little luxury treat.  They have a great fish and chip shop, so off we went.  Murky weather once again and also very windy.  Taking another new to us road, we came upon the little locality of Tarraville, which boasts a handful of houses, an old school and church, so out with the camera once again.

The church, above & below.

The school, above and below.

I also spotted this beautiful derelict building and anyone who knows me well, must know that I can't resist these evocative structures.

Isn't it lovely?

Arrived in Port Albert to howling wind & much misty rain, so no decent photos.  I'll remedy that some day, but the fish & chips were lovely.  Headed for home along the South Gippsland Highway, where you pass through the small township of Alberton where I found a mural on the side of the Hotel on an earlier trip down this way.  Hence the clearer sky, as we'd had better weather back then early in the year.

Another lovely (although wet & windy) day was had, and discovering lots of new to us roads off main highways is something we delight in.  Not for everyone I know.

I'll catch up again hopefully tomorrow with the last bit of the trip, as I've lost count of all the things I've been going to post about over the last 2 months, namely some of our local walks & drives and lots of crafty bits.  Thanks for following & still commenting everyone.

Take care, stay safe & huggles.

Susan.

TREES........UP & DOWN.

 OK, I've been a little quiet of late, but it seems our I'net Provider is doing some "updating" so I've been a little out of sorts with my computer.  My webmail/email is so slow, though I seem to be finding it difficult to come to terms with so much upheaval with all sorts & not being able to go very far from town or see anybody at the moment is really doing my head in.  Hopefully some normality will creep in slowly over the next few months, though I won't hold my breath.  Even finding things to blog about doesn't seem to be coming easily.  Enough of my moaning and let's enjoy a bit from our local walks & something I promised I would show too.

A couple of days before my birthday, we had horrific winds here in southern Victoria, which did unseen amounts of damage due to fallen trees.  My birthday was one of the best sunny days we'd had in about 3 months, so it was off for a local walk and we discovered this tree which had come down in a small reserve 5 minutes from home.

DOWN....................

Our path blocked from this side and the damage to someone's shed is extensive.

You can see the size of the root system, but because gums are shallow rooted, after much rain they become unstable & whoosh, down they come.

This is what it looked like from other side of the path.  We'd had to walk back to the street & come from the other side.

UP..................

                                                 My magnolia has withstood the winds well.

DAMAGED but still standing.

We pass this tree just out of town, when we head for the coast & I'm always going to take some photos.

Yesterday, being able to have a small outing without going further than we should, I decided to stop and snap this fascinating curly tree, but oh dear, it had lost a limb.  

Don't  you love it's little round keyhole.  I love this tree.

The little trip was about taking some more photos of the daffodil farm which I said I would do before the flowers fade too much or have been picked for the cut flower trade.  

Taken from the main road showing the different colours behind the tree line.

Looking down from the gravel back road we took to go home again.

Along said gravel road, we came across these wandering cattle & one very woolly sheep.  Not sure they should have been out, though if trees had come down on fences, it could have been why.

                                      

                                      The views are spectacular in this area to the south of us.

                                                   

Also, a very large Wombat burrow.

A quick local walk today, I discovered this and have now been told they are popping up all over the place.

 Isn't it the cutest!

I've waffled on long enough, so I'll leave it at that.  I hope to be able to catch up with some blogreading over the next few days, so sorry I've not caught up with some recent post.

Take care all, stay safe & huggles from a windy down under.

Susan.

STAYING BUSY ....TO KEEP THE DEMONS AT BAY

 Being back in Stage 3 lockdown is becoming very tedious.  Even heard "rumours" about nothing happening till 2022.  Really!!!!

Need to keep myself busy and as the weather hasn't been playing nicely, nothing is being done in the garden, which is annoying me and not sleeping well hasn't helped my mood or mojo.  We've been trying to make sure we at least get in our walking routine, but today that isn't going to happen with intermittent light misty rain & when you need to wear a mask when not in your own home/garden, it seems to make it even more uncomfortable.  A wet mask that is......

OK, we'll make a start and just to let you know the camera has been put to good use around the home.

GARDEN.

2 different pink hellebores.

A very pale greeny/lemon hellebore.

The blueberries are just starting to flower.

The tiny pink bluebells are up & sure have multiplied.

The circular garden out the front with many bulbs either flowering or nearly flowering.

A closeup of the crocus.

The rather untidy area beside the shed. 
 DH intends to extend the shed in the very near future, which is why we need to relocate the veg beds & rethink the layout of this area.

On the right is the olive tree we inherited when we purchased this house.
The house was built in 2001 & I'm sure the tree is much, much older than this, going by the size of both the trunk & canopy.
I do need to re-sort that garden on the left to, which is above the retaining wall & being so short I cannot reach most of it.  Another on the list of the list of to-dos.

FLOWERS INSIDE.

Remember I showed on my last post our daffodil farm just outside town.  These below were bought from our local greengrocer & they were from said farm.  I had fun arranging them in 2 vases.

CRAFTING.

Designing on my computer.

In progress.

Designing labels on the computer, which has been a big learning curve, but I did it all by myself.😊

And playing with another design after speaking with my friend Joy from Days filled with Joy.
She had ideas for another QAL & I came up with this design, which I may or may not do.

OTHER HAPPENINGS.

I had a small lapse about buying books............

The box arrived.....

Opened it....................Oh boy, I wasn't expecting this!!!!

Ah.............but underneath were these.
2 gorgeous garden books, 2 quilt books which were on special and to my surprise the one at the top on the right turned out to be a children's book.  I thought it was a true story, which it is, but only in pictures with captions.  It is still beautifully done & one day when all this pa-lava is over, I'll be able to read it with some small children    Hoping.......

ONE TO FINISH.

                              I've done a little colouring in too.  The child coming out in me.   😉

I think that is enough nonsense from this old lady.  It is still cloudy, but some blue sky has appeared, though too late for a walk, as I need to make a start on our evening meal.  

I'm trying hard to keep blogging & staying calm and know one day there may again be a semblance of normality to our lives.  Until next post, stay safe, take care & huge hugs from Susan.