WHAT!!!! ......Warm Weather?

Yes, Friday & Saturday have both been warm, a little overcast, but warmth.  In fact yesterday, our weather station got to a staggering 33°, which we aren't sure is always a correct reading.  Anyway, time well spent with a day out on Friday & mowing/weeding lawns Saturday morning. 

FRIDAY.

Deciding to take advantage of the better weather we headed off to Wilsons Promontory, which is the most southerly point of Victoria.  Best to show it with photos.

Heading south on a gravel road for an adventure.

Views over South Gippsland.

Approaching "The Prom" as it is known.

Taken from one of the viewing bays.

A couple of emus near to a wildlife walk.  We'll do this when we have more time to spend in this area, ie. a holiday.😊

More rocky outcrops.

FIRST STOP......Tidal River.

The river emerges into this cove, then out to see.

 I forgot to take many photos of the river itself, but I'll do that another time.

Some people were doing a spot of fishing.

The very soft white sand.

Trudging up the track from the beach.  This soft deep sand certainly gives the legs a workout.

Ooh, and what else did  I spot?   These.

Mummy & baby disappearing into the scrub.  Does anybody recognise what they are????

SECOND STOP....... Squeaky Beach.

The sign in the carpark.

Walking down along the track to the beach.

 Through the trees, then I spy the water.


And we come out at this........

which forded a little creek that wound it's way across the sands.  Hubby chose to go across, but I climbed a small bank & walked along the top.  I didn't want to get my shoes wet if I fell off.

The sandy bank route I took, but, hmmmm..... I still had to get across that water flowing out to sea.

Solution!  Take off your shoes & socks, brace yourself for the cold water, then.....DO IT!!
Aha, how invigorating, as then I went paddling at the edge of the beach where the waves were breaking.  Ooh, I did enjoy, even the cold water, as we are just heading out of winter, so it's still chilly.

SQUEAKY BEACH IN PHOTOS.

Many rocks are scattered across The Prom's beaches.

There is a lovely gap here in between these large ones, but I didn't go
 through this time, but maybe a bit more exploring is needed.

Looking out across the water to even more rocky outcrops.

I spotted these two birds waddling across the sand.  I've checked my bird guide, but can't seem to find what they are.
Maybe a Dusky Moorhen, but I think they are way too dark.

More of that lovely white sand.

Squeaky Beach from a viewing bay on the way home/

JUST A BIT OF NATURE.

Texture.

Odd shapes.

Just emerging.

Now Sunday morning and what a difference from yesterday.  After 30+° , today will only be 17° & the wind is already blowing a hooley.  There is to be some sun, rain & maybe thunderstorms.  Ah well, maybe a bit of sewing, getting my Photo Hunt post done ready to hit publish while away at the end of next week, doing a spot of child minding, is the best  way to fill in day like this.
Hope you are having a great weekend all.  Take care & huggles.
Susan.

WHERE'S SPRING.

Well, here I am finally at the computer & writing this post.
It has been very miserable here, with cold, wet, windy weather and it is supposed to be Spring.  There are plenty of bulbs & blossom trees flowering, but the last month or so has been atrocious.  Maybe it is my age or just the lingering winter making me feel rather down. I've had a few health niggles, but seems that it all boils down to my scoliosis & weird ribs & with DD & family  away on holidays, so can't just ring & chat, plus I'm still dealing with all the paperwork etc. for my brother. That seems to be an ongoing hassle, brought on by our Federal Government, so do hope it means that more services will be forthcoming.  Enough moaning and groaning!!!! Let's see what else we've been up to, as life doesn't stop with all the above happening.

TODAY.

 A little sunshine................then...............

Rain with hail.  These 2 photos were taken within about half an hour of each other.
It has been like this for, it seems like,   WEEKS.

CRAFTING.

 Hubby has been busy in his shed.  A lidded container, box & Adam Ant.  Isn't he cute & after he named him, I said he wasn't very like the punk rocker, to which the reply was....."Who is he?😊

We went off one day last week to a large Woodworking Show and there were some amazing things there.  I took many photos, but we'll just stick to a couple of faves.

                                                             I'd love one of these!

And can you imagine this, with a wonderful painting of The Dales inside it.  Can't imagine that it would suit this house, but maybe a beautiful converted barn would do it justice.

I've been playing too.

This  is  Dotty Custard, made from a jelly roll I had in my stash & quilted with a pattern called Twigonometry by Naomi Hynes.

A very old strippy style I quilted with a simple custom job.  Two quilts on at once is great, especially when one is trying to finish up some UFOs.

                           The other half of the jelly roll from Dotty Custard is becoming this!

 I designed this myself, although the centre is a Paper Pieced pattern from the internet.  I've come to a standstill, as I've run out of grey fabric No.2, so watch this space for an update once I work out a solution.

IN FLOWER.

My poor little neglected cyclamen.

COFFEE AND CAKE RUN WITH CAR CLUB.
One Wednesday in August, we set off on the monthly CC run & our first stop was at the Gippy Goat, a cafe on a property that breeds milking goats.  Below, we have a few kids in a shed, who after I took this photo came for a cuddle.  One decided that the sleeve of my jumper was tasty & wanted to chew on it.  Finally it let go & off we went to one of our member's properties.

 A dairy farm with a rotary milking machine.  The whole setup is amazing, with solar panels galore, cooling & heating exchange pumps, dams & tanks for collecting water and piped waste to the paddocks.  Very, very eco friendly.

A few of calves which were ever so cute.

THE FUNNY BIT!!!!!!
I do hope no-one finds this offensive, but I'll understand if you do.  I just couldn't stop laughing, so maybe it's my Ozzie sense of humour.

Hubby & I were out and about one afternoon, hoping to have a good walk, but alas the weather was against us once again.  We stopped at a small cafe near Blue Rock Dam to at least have a cuppa.  In we went & whilst hubby ordered the drinks, I browsed the cake counter.  Next I hear him say, "That's silly, it says -don't bounce the balls".  I had no idea what he was talking about & looked towards the counter & suddenly couldn't stop laughing & asked why he'd said that.
This is what he was talking about. (Photos aren't good as they were taken on his phone).
I couldn't see these................

But I could see this!!!

Sorry, but it still makes me giggle.  Luckily, I don't like bubble gum.
When we got home, I checked some blogposts and noticed that Kate had put up her word list for the September Photo Scavenger hunt, and No. 5 on the list is 'It begins with C' & the first thing that came to mind was the above, so that set me off again.
Hope you also get a bit of a laugh from this, as there is so much tension in the news, and I feel bad just plodding away in my own little bubble.

I'll try not to be away as long so that I don't have such a disjointed posting.  It's a case remembering everything & nothing.  Have a good weekend all & take care.
Susan.
Whooooo!  The sun is shining again.

AUGUST PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT.

Joining in on our monthly hunt for interesting photos to go with a set of words from the lovely Kate.
I nearly forgot all about it, as this month has been a bit of a chore with some of our coldest weather in a long time and just being a tad overwhelmed at the moment with aches, stress & the overall yucky world news.  This Hunt helps me refocus and hopefully, I'll feel like keeping up with my blog again.

1.  RELAXED.

Hubby relaxing on a timber seat during a day out a few weeks ago.  Actually, they weren't very comfortable at all.

2.  IT BEGINS WITH AN M..........

MAILBOX.......Here in Oz, we do see some very quirky mail boxes, as unlike UK, our posties ride a small motorbike to deliver our mail & our boxes are at the front gate, though some are going over to electric pushbikes now in the suburbs and country towns.  Out in the countryside, you often see a line of mailboxes together at the junction of a side road or lane.  These deliveries are usually done by car.

3.  TIME FOR........

TEA..... a miniature teaset at the NT. property McCrae's Homestead which we visited earlier this year.  Isn't it cute & I can imagine a little girl having lots of fun with it.

4.  TANGERINE.

OK, not very original, but this was the colour of the car we hired last year whilst travelling in UK.  We could definitely spot where we had parked it.

5.  IT BEGINS WITH AN O.......

OVENS.....   I took this photo of the communal ovens in Corbridge, Northumberland in 2011.  If you click on it, you can read the blue plaque explanation.

6.  WHISKERY.

Oooh,  I found this one difficult, but thought this closeup of some white gum blossom, looked sort of whiskery.

7.  LACE.

IRON LACE......The wrought iron lace on the top verandahs of this row of terrace houses in Melbourne is, I think, lovely when kept in good condition.  It was used on many houses and even bridges here in Australia in our colonial past.

8.  BRIDGE.

SEA BRIDGE.....  Actually, I've shown this before, but think that some bloggers who do the Hunt, may not have seen it.  Just south of Sydney, it was built to replace the road that kept slipping into the sea at the bottom of the cliffs.  There are several view points to take photos and I took this one in 2014.  I must like taking pics of bridges, as I found at least 8 to choose from & dithered over which one to pick.

9.  LETTERS.

Whoops!!  Just one letter, that I found at 4 Elms Nursery in Kent last year & wanted to bring home with me, as hubby's name starts with a K.  We didn't think we'd like to pay extra for luggage so left it there and only took a photo.

10.  MY OWN CHOICE.

Beach hut roofs.

Taken last Sunday, when we popped out for me to go to a small Quilt Show at Mornington.  We ate our lunch looking down on these, clouds rolling in, people walking dogs along the beach, some rowers in canoes and seagulls soaring on the wing.

Well, that's me done for another month and look forward to seeing what everyone else has chosen to go with their words.

Happy September all, Spring for us and Autumn in the northern hemisphere.

Thanks Kate.

LOOKING!!!!!!

Well, where has the time gone since I last sat & posted.  Maybe, because we've been busy, both on the home front & out and about.

Thursday the 3rd, we popped on over to Bairnsdale to pick up another chuck for hubby's lathe & whilst in the vicinity went out to Paynesville, ate our picnic lunch then boarded the small ferry as pedestrians (free) to take the Koala Walk on Raymond Island.  It was very cold, but we so enjoyed.  I was doubtful if we'd see any grey woolly bumps in the trees, but oh, what a feast.  This could be a bit top heavy with photos.
                                                                 LOOKING DOWN.

The start of the walk from near the ferry 

LOOKING UP.

I had a sore neck, by the time we'd made it back to the water's edge.

LOOKING AHEAD.

 A Banksia tree in full flower.

And sipping nectar, is a lovely Rainbow Lorikeet.

We walked along here.

Came to this seating area where parents can watch their children paddling.

The ferry coming across the river.  It's not far & only takes about 5 minutes.

Looking across to Paynesville.

Looking along the river with the mountains in the distance.

A black swan crossing the path.

A plethora of birds......2 pelicans, many seagulls, 2 different sorts of shags & 2 swans aswimming.

                                                           LOOKING DOWN AGAIN.

Not the best, but here we have a jelly fish floating near the jetty.

LOOKING LEFT.

Now this was something I'd never seen before, both on the way to Paynesville & back.  Lucky for me they were still there for a photo on our way home.

So many black swans in a large paddock.  Usually you see them near water, but I think there might have been something tasty they were after in here.

LOOKING AGAIN.

Yesterday we needed milk, so popped out & also took a little trip to work out times for our Coffee/cake run next Wednesday & came home via a gravel road & spotted a paddock of these............

Kangaroos.

I've not seen so many this close to home, even though we use a lot of back roads in the area.  Lucky I had the camera in the car.

LOOK WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO TODAY.

Oh, BTW it is now Sunday & been reasonably warm after so many cold, inclement days, so hubby set about finishing these.  Um... just a couple of pics.

Busy, working, doing............

these.

Huuuuh!  This says it all.  I think he's glad that's nearly done.

We purchased a pressure washer yesterday too & the treads will look better for a wash, as will some of our paving once Spring is here.  These steps were timber & very narrow & as we aren't getting any younger, we decided before winter, that they needed to be wider.  We already find them so much better.

Although I'm sitting here doing this post, I've not been too idle with washing done, a Butterscotch Tart made & trying to finish this on the big machine.

A few UFO tablemats, that I popped onto the end of the Mystery Case quilt backing, which is rolled up behind.  I needed to do this, as I have a customer quilt coming in next week.  What!!!, you say. "But you don't do quilts now for other people".  Well, a friend popped in during last week & asked if I'd do one for her and I said yes. 

OK, I've babbled on for long enough & posted way too many pics, but I'm just catching up with what we've been up to.  Another busy week ahead, so may be quiet again till next weekend.

Take care all, have a good week & huggles from

Susan.