GARDEN VISIT

 

Last weekend was the Garden Festival here in Griffith. Sunday morning I took mum to one of the gardens (too hot to do any more, but there were 8 open for inspection). Everywhere you looked there were roses!!

 

 

Below is the beginning of the telegraph pole (or power pole) Wisteria Walk!!

 

 

All sorts of wild creatures!!

 

 

One of the feature corners!

 

Another of the wildlife!

 

And showing off your collectibles!!

 

This garden is only 4 years old - lots of money and time spent getting it going and maintaining - I can only dream!!!!!

Tonight I am at home for the first time in a week - mum is spending her first night on her own. We are going to do every second night with her and see how she goes. It is so good to see her getting back to her old self. Even her memory has improved a little which is really making her happy!

Now to get my place cleaned and tidied up - not being here for 4 weeks has taken it's toll!! I have days of weeding and mowing and mulching ahead of me, and planting!! But it will have to wait until the house is back in order - even though there has been only one person here it needs a thorough spring clean!! I have no reason to be bored for the next week!! 

But first I am going to send a couple of hours reading all of the blogs that I haven't had time to do - maybe a couple of hours tonight and another couple tomorrow night - I need to catch up on what everyone has been up to!!

 

 



ANYONE WOULD THINK I AM...........

 

After our day at Urban Stitches in Wagga, Dorothy & I came via Temora to call in and check out Patchwork Heaven. The shop is for sale but if it doesn't sell by 30th November it will be closed.

'Just looking' ended up 'just buying' of course. When I go to the blog meet in Bathurst I AM NOT TAKING MY WALLET OR CREDIT CARDS!!!!!!

 

Anyone would think I am Crazy for Hexies!!!!

 

I am crazy for pincushions so these kits found a new home (my to do box!!)

Two of these are made with hexies!!

 

And more hexies - 2 little hexie Purse Kits, 2 hexie templates and a packet of

500 x 1" hexie papers.

 

So with all those little hexies I needed some fabrics - well these little fat 16ths packs were in need of a new home also - (once a homemaker always a homemaker)!!!

I am thinking hexies are my newest favourite thing!!

This evening mum and I went for a drive and visited our baby Oliver.

 

 

And here we are - 4 generations of us. Myself (the hexie lover), Rheis (my No 3 son / No4 child) and my mother). Mum is really good physically now but it will be a slow road with the memory. I have told her she is lucky because although she may have forgotten the the good, bad and ugly from the past she only has to think about today and tomorrow now!! She laughed and thought that was a good thing!! Her memory is improving gradually and we have lots of laughs.

We have been going out visiting and window shopping each day this week, and mum thinks it is always a good idea to go the shopping mall here and have a cup of coffee and something to eat before we go home - she loves her coffee and this is the first week in 5 that she has wanted one!! Having a donut / slice / cheesecake with the coffee is a good thing right??

A busy weekend ahead - market on Saturday and then Sunday is a day at my home in my garden - it has been neglected for the last 4 weeks and is very dry, full of weeds, long lawn etc - so it will be a full on day.

 

 

 



Tree Change Stitching!!

 

Sunday morning saw me up at 6am bright eyed and bushy tailed to do the 2 hour drive to Wagga for the 'Urban Stitches Tree Change' and to meet bloggy friend Simone.

 

 

And here we all are getting stuck right in.

 

 

Bloggy friend Simone and I; It was lovely to meet you Simone,I am looking forward to meeting up again at Bathurst in November!! Oh and the coffee table - I liked that after travelling 2 hours without breakfast!!

 

The 3 projects for the workshop. Most of the crafty ladies got right in and

worked on one project all day, others did a bit on each of the projects. One crafty person

was too busy socialising to get much done at all!

 

The 'social' crafty person (who has channelbanks in her life) did do a little stitching and here is the proof!!

And here are some of the items in our goodie bags along with the 3 project kits (book, magazine, scissors, iron on pelon and interfacing, fabrics), plus some of the purchases from the Mulberry tree shop (the ones that this crafty person was not going to buy!!)

 

 

here is my friend Dorothy intently watching as Rosalie demonstrates!

 

Bloggy friend Simone, Rosalie Quinlan and the social person!

 

 

And of course a yummy lunch!!

 

And how beautiful are these embroidered blocks - one of the Wagga ladies brought this along for 'show & tell' but didn't 'show & tell'. She did show all of us at our table which created a lot of interest and of course Rosalie seen them and they were shown and told to everyone then. The work in these blocks was just amazing - a very talented lady!!

 

many thanks to Rosalie Quinlan, Mel from 'Melly & Me'' and the quiet and unassuming Jodi from 'RicRac' for a fabulous day of crafting and friendship.

 

There were other purchases made on our trip home today (especially by the social one who wasn't going to buy anything!!) - I will show these in another post!! (and amazingly they weren't all craft/sewing purchases either!!

 

 

 



BUSY BUT FUN

I have spent the last 2 days helping to set up the exhibit pavilion at the Leeton Show - I am the Cookery Steward - Leeton is a half hour drive from the town where I live.

This show is the last of my show 'fixes' for this year. Lol!!! I really do enjoy helping the committees and love the atmosphere as the sideshows, events and exhibits roll in and set up!

Following are some of my favourites from today.

 

 

Pre-schoolers Decorated Arrowroot Biscuits

always so creative - lol!!

 

The rose entries at the show are just stunning - if only I could get my bushes covered

with flowers like these - of course if I had these varieties it would be a good start.

 

 

the only entry in the Biggest Weed class - this Scotch Thistle (oops!!! quick edit here!!) stood about 10 feet high -

a very nurtured 'weed'!!!

 

I have to learn to weld - I have so many ideas for the junk around our shed but no one

to do the welding!!!

Spending the day with mum tomorrow - my turn on the 'mum sitting'; then early Sunday morning a friend I are of to 'Urban Stitches' in Wagga. Really looking forward to this day and also meeting Simone from Quilting Is My Downtime.

 

 

 



What A Difference 4 Days Makes!!!

 

The car was all packed and ready to go on Friday night - off to Yass and Wee jasper Markets over the weekend, and of course to stay with our son and family. Into the car at 3 am and off I go. had a good day at the Yass market on Saturday and that was the end of my weekend away. I spent all of Saturday night, Sunday and Sunday night in a sleep interrupted only by severe stomach pain and a few quick trips to the toilet. Damned stomach virus that everyone else has had finally got me!!

 

Never mind, back home and nearly back to my normal self.

I did manage to finish some towels for our market stall last week.

 



 

These are our tea towels.

 

And our hand towels.

We do our a little differently to how some of my favourite bloggers do them. I am going to try their way next as I do like their finished towels also.

We cut our towels in half which does make them shorter but you also have double towels which a lot of people seem to like also. BUT the single full length towels are longer which I have often been asked for also. And as usual I make these up for the markets but don't have any in my house!! Will have to remedy that.

 

 

I call these Fairy Geraniums - these are in flower in mum's pot house.

 

And this is a full size pelargonium that is in flower in mums pot house at the moment.

They were an added pleasure when cleaning the pot house last week!

Mum is much better. I hadn't seen her for 4 days and there was a big improvement.

She was actually outside doing a bit of watering yesterday which is really great - she admitted that she is lost without her garden. But all those weeks with a low oxygen count has affected her memory - she was very upset this morning when she couldn't remember how to use her sewing machine. But 10 minutes with me on the phone to my sister and my sister relaying instructions to mum and she was on her way!! We are hoping the memory problem will gradually right itself.

Best be off - my turn to do the 'mum sitting' for the next 2 days and nights.

Thursday, Fri & Saturday see me helping at the Leeton Show - I am cookery steward, and will also help out wherever they need an extra hand. I will also go through my craft and pick out some things to enter!! I do love the small country shows!!

 

And.... I do have lots of blog reading to do - I have spent an hour this morning trying to catch up and comment - there have been so many great posts from all of the blogs I follow I do believe I will be catching up for the net week!!!

 

After Today Mum has a Nice Pot House!!

 

Today while 'mum sitting' I attacked her pot house. I had my gardening offsider come around which made it a lot easier for me and we got a lot more done than just me on my own would have.

 

 

The potting bench and cutting shelves - before on the left and after on the right!

 

 

two before views looking down the length of the pot house.

 

Two after views looking back from the other end.

very satisfied and very tired at the end of the day.

Next week we hope to get in and re pot a lot of the plants as they have outgrown their current pots.

Then after that we will have a lot of potting up as we have also been pruning back as we go and have heaps of cuttings. These will go on our market stall and some for my garden as well (that is when the 'mum sitting' duties have finished!!!!)

 

My 90 year old aunty arrived yesterday afternoon to check on mum!!! The matriarch of the family coming to check that one her little flock is ok. God lover her - she went home today (Batemans Bay) very relieved and happy that her little sister is going to be ok!!

Then the youngest of the family rang this evening (the baby sister, youngest of 7 and 76yrs old)

and mum was able to talk to her for a few minutes - she hasn't been able to talk on the phone for

nearly 3 weeks - so 3 happy sisters tonight!.

Mum kept saying to us 'what are they so worried about - I am not going anywhere!!

But she was really happy to see and speak to each of them.

 

Tomorrow is another day and hopefully we see a bit more improvement. I am off to Yass for 2 days whilst my sister takes over 'mum sitting'. Looking forward to watching my son and grandchildren participating in the Yass Team penning event. Also having a market stall at the Yass farmers market which will be nice (sales or no sales I love the social side of markets!!!lol I am a bit of a havachat!!)

 

I have been doing a bit of sewing also but cannot share as the projects are secret......

 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!!

 

 

 



Time Out

 

These great old cars visited Griffith last week and spent several hours at Pioneer Park - which happened to be one of my voluntary mornings. Beautifully restored and of great interest to vintage and classic car buffs in our town.

 

 

Sunday a good friend and I took time out and spent a relaxed hour at the Hanwood Parish Fete.

A nice pasta lunch, entertainment by children on the stage, lots of chatting and of course a few purchases. The plant stall was minus quite a few after I visited - $2 and $3 plants are a great buy when you are trying to fill large garden beds!!

 

And as I was walking from my car to the church grounds I watched the congregation doing a march around (a very loud march) - it was lovely watching the children - big grins, singing and dancing whilst following the drums.

 

Mum spent 3 days in ICU, then 2 days in the general ward. She was discharged today but one of us has to be with her at all times (my sister and I are sharing this). It has certainly taken its toll on her - very weak and tires very easily (but eating better than ever). We envisage the 'mum sitting' will continue for the 3 - 4 weeks before she will be able to be on her own through the day. Night time could be longer. Today I have organised and purchased a Care Alert. At least she will now know she can access help if and when she needs it just by pressing a button.

We have so much to look forward to at the mature end of our lives don't we. On the upside I have been getting some sewing done whilst staying at mums. I have also been doing a lot of potting of cuttings - mum has a large variety of hardy geraniums, sages and lavenders in her garden. So I am actually making the best of this time 'mum sitting'!!

I will show you the results of this productivity next post!

Have a great week!!!