Isn't it Good to have Friends

 

A Charlie Brown quilt for my friend Mary-Anne,

who is a big fan of the Peanuts gang.

The feature panel I bought a few years ago.

It was one of those occasions where I needed to spend 10 dollars more to qualify for a discount coupon and 1/2 price postage from America, so I bought this panel.

(At the same time I bought the Lion King panel and some 

Toy Story fabric which will feature in a future quilt).

 

Then last year when I was on holidays I got it out to look at it and decide what to do with it.

I kept thinking Mary-Anne would love it so much.

I decided to make her a cushion for Christmas...

I went back to work on the Monday and her Mum Vicky was in ICU.

She died on the Thursday and I went home that day and designed a whole quilt around the panel that was going to be a cushion!

Below is the top finished and I'm getting the backing ready to go to the quilters.

I was inspired by the zig-zag from Charlie's shirt and continued it around the borders.

 

Hi Mum's Dear Readers.

Its me Miss Lizzy, quilt quality controller, to let you know who is the 

world's most popular cartoon dog!

Its of course that hero dog SNOOPY!

I will also let you in on a secret, there was a lot of gnashing of teeth from our Mum during the production of this quilt as it all seemed to go wrong.

 

10 Most Popular Cartoon Dogs

• #8: Lady and Tramp—Duo from Walt Disney Movie. ...
• #7: Brian Griffin from "The Family Guy" TV series. ...
• #6: Goofy—Walt Disney Cartoon. ...
• #5: Underdog—a Superhero Cartoon Dog. ...
• #4: Odie from "Garfield" ...
• #3: Pluto—Pet and Friend of Mickey Mouse. ...
• #2: Scooby Doo from "Scooby Doo, Where Are You!" ...
• #1: Snoopy from the Comic Strip "Peanuts"
   
  
  
  Above is my pal Tiny Teddy paying his respects to Snoopy during the quilt binding process and giving his doggie approval to the quilting pattern, which was Snoopy as well!
  Until next time, love and wet noses, Miss Lizzy.
  
  
   
  
  
  As that cheeky dog of mine just alluded to, I had some major issues with 
  this quilt and a couple of sleepless nights!
  
  
  I guess its a good test of one's problem solving abilities.
  I honestly think this is the most unpicked quilt I have ever made!!!
  
  
  Above is the final design from EQ7.
  
  
  But below is the original design....
   
  
  
  
  I could not get the smaller zig-zag border to fit at all!
  I have no idea what I did wrong.
  Maybe border creep?
  That is when you work with small pieces if you are not precise
  with your piecing each block becomes very slightly bigger
  and then  you can be centimeters out by the end of a row!
  
  
  Any way, I unpicked it, took out some blocks, and moved the smaller border
  and I think it turned out just lovely and made the feature
  fabric more of a feature.
  
  
  And she loved it!
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
   

Florence turns one!

Happy Birthday !

6th June 2020 and Florrie is one year old.

 

She was given a lovely truck made of timber from the local Men's Shed. 

Also, Bluey and her sister Bingo who are the girls favorite TV characters. 

Snap! 

Kimba had the same idea. 

Except out gift was crochet versions, bought on Etsy.

 

Not walking yet but very mobile and fast crawling, 

check out those knees!

 

"Can I fit that all in my mouth at once"

 

 "I'll try to squish it in"

Happy cake eater.

 

And she can now get out of the high chair and 

ends up on the table, 

and has fallen off the table..

 

Edith turns 3...

Florence and a cheeky birthday monkey.

A quick post to share Edie's 3rd birthday.

Its all a bit different this year!

We are living in historic times, but for all the saddest reasons.

Due to the corona virus pandemic the whole of Australia is in lock-down.

The whole world is only just coming out the other side, I hope...

 

Many people are working from home. 

Graham and I still are going to work. I'm a jolly essential service, who'd thought?

The Armidale streets are deserted from cars.

People have lost their jobs.

No pubs, restaurants or cafes open and lots of shops closed.

No travel. It will be a long time before anyone gets overseas again.

Beaches and national parks have closed, no cinema, no sport, no church services, no concerts.

Schools are trying to reopen with care.

No hairdressers, I am about to discover what my natural colour is!

Supermarkets are the scariest places and now have security guards to stop people scrabbling over the toilet paper, which became difficult to get as people were hording. 

Weddings have been cancelled, as we can't gather in numbers. 

I wonder how many will never happen now.

And don't start me on about babies that now won't been born 

versus those that will come about accidentally.

The saddest part is funerals, limit of 10 people.

It's as if we are living in an alternate universe, it's like a war situation, will life be the same when its over and what will change forever?

Sorry- this was suppose to be a quick post and now I'm rambling,

but its important to get these things down so I can look back and reflect in 10 years time...

 

Mum and Dad in their kitchen

Anyway, on a happier note 

here above, are photos of us wishing Edie a happy birthday as she cut her cake.

Which was the ballerina cake from the Woman's Weekly Birthday cake book.

The new edition apparently has removed any offensive baking, e.g. Golliwog cake.

 Ah yes, messy cake!

And even messier when your not even one year old! 

Need to aim for the mouth Florrie!

We've just been allowed to visit other households again. Yippee!

Two adults at a time. so we went to Sean & Rose's yesterday for a cuppa 

and to give Edie her birthday present. 

A Barbie Doll princess, *for children 3 and over.

Now I know this post should be all about Edie, but I've worked out who Florrie reminds me of.

A girl version of Sean, 

I always wondered if one of mine had of been a girl, what she would have looked like.

 I think we are about to find out!

Florence 2020

Sean 1985 - He's dressed like his doll. Cruel mother!

Kim and Graham's 15th Wedding Anniversary

 

 

23rd April 2005 - Moore Park Inn - Armidale

Back row:- Paul, Michael, Andrew (brother-in law) Bruce (brother), Sean and Andrew (son's)

Middle row:- Gail, Jessica, Mum, Dad, Violet, Cathy, and Ben

Front row:- Rachel, The Bride and Groom and Rebecca

So as the post title says its our 15th Wedding anniversary today, 

so I thought I would share some  pre-blog photos from our wedding in 2005.

Not just pre-blog but pre-digital! So if these pics look a little grainy 

its because I scanned them.

Starting off with the above photo to continue 

the sentimental family group photo theme from my last post.

We used music from the Beatles throughout the day.

So, I'll also share the lyrics that this blog was named 

for and seems appropriate for this post.

 In My Life

There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone, and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead, and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all

 

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney

 

 

Violet made my outfit. Cappuccino colured, lacy, beaded thing.

 

We were going to go on a trip to Sydney to celebrate our anniversary,

But that was cancelled due to COVID-19.

 

So, I'll have to forage for something special for dinner.

Because we can't go out to a restaurant, and the supermarkets 

don't always have the exact ingredients you need. 

 

My bridesmaids, my very pretty nieces Rachel and Rebecca.

 

And we used the Lotus as the wedding car, with a bit of creativity so they bride didn't 
arrive overly windswept. 
I also had to practice making an elegant entrance, 
getting out of that car in high heels was a challenge.

And here is me and Dad, giving me away, again... sigh.
(and in front, there's the white Falcon with my lovely plates)
 

So, My Dear Readers and fellow time travelers, 

lets slip back in time to the year 1982...... 

Malcolm Frazer was P.M.

Neville Wran was Premier

Azaria Chamberlain became a household name for all 

the wrong reasons. Her mother is wrongfully charged with her murder. 

The movie 'A Man From Snowy River' was a big hit.

'What about me?' was the top Australian music hit for the band Moving Pictures.

Kim and Dad, the first wedding.

25th September 1982, Naval Chapel at H.M.A.S. Watson in Sydney.

 *snort*!

I tried not to look like a meringue,

but it was sort of the fashion in the early 80's.

  

 I still have the dress, in a box under my bed.

The second wedding outfit is with it, and if anyone has a use for these gowns

please let me know. The lace on the white dress is beautiful and it 

was made for me by The House of Jean Fox in Parramatta.

I was 19 years old, in case you were wondering.

AND, Rose... look there's the pendant and earrings I gifted you.
 

Yes, you can see, its all about ME.

I've cut out the ex.

But he does turn up occasionally on this blog,

usually in the background of wedding photos, (I dare you to spot him)...

I should do more of these pre-blog retro posts!

Me and the boys on our Northern Territory trip would be a good one.

At least its an easy way to others in the family have access to these photos.

Although boring for non- family, sorry!. 

But times are different now.

I'm not doing any new memories, not going anywhere, 

so I'm reliving some of the past best ones!

 

 

In My Life 10th Anniversary Year - Chapter Two - Favourite Family Group Photos

Dad's 80th Birthday 2018

Hello My Dear Readers,

well, we were suppose to be away in Sydney this weekend but because of COVID-19
everything has been cancelled and no one in the world is traveling anywhere!

Well, we hope we will get to see the magicians Penn & Teller in concert one day,
but just not this year!

It does, however, make it the perfect time to reminisce as I continue with the best of the blog for the past 10 years. So seeing we can have NO FAMILY GATHERINGS, lets have a virtual one here!

The above group shot is one of my favorites, taken with Sean's drone. I also can't believe how colour co-ordinated we all were! That wasn't planned it just happened that way.

Okay now lets step back to 2010...

Christmas 2009. Back Row:- Andrew, Louise, Emily, Sean and dog Millie.
Seated:- Kim, Graham, dog Georgie, Mum (Margaret) dog Seth, Dad (Ian).

Yes it was pre-blog, but one of my first posts in 2010. The year we rented a beach house at Forster. The boys have both re-partnered now and the dogs are all dead.

Violets 80th Birthday party 2012.
Back row:- Gail, Michael, Jessica, Jarrod, Me, Graham, Mum, Dad Merel and Tom
Front Row:- Josh, Violet, Charmaine, Steph, Mel, baby Kayden, Paul

Held in Paul and Mels garden at Invergowie.

Kim's 50th Birthday December 2012

Me and my boys - Christmas day 2013

Boxing Day 2016 on our back deck
Back row:- Gail, Michael, Merel, Tom, me, and Paul holding Kayden
Seated:- Violet, Georgie Girl, Graham and a bit of Miss Lizzy, Mel with Sienna on her lap.

Paul (Grahams younger brother) died of cancer 11 months later, 26th November 2017. So its a timely reminder to take these sort of photos when you can.

 Sean and Roses wedding 2018.
Above, Mum, Cathy (my sister) Millie the dog and me.

Above;- Graham, Edith, Rose, Sean, Me, Andrew and Hailey.

Another shot from Dads 80th. Mum and Dad and their 3 kids.

 And of course this silly photo from Mum's 80th birthday in September 2019.
Mum, me and my sister Cathy.

And finally a very recent photo. December 2019 our Christmas get together.

At back:- Sean, Rose Me and Teddy the dog
Seated:- Edith, Dad, Mum with Baby Florence, Violet and Graham.
With just a touch of Lizzy who does not stay still for photos.