A Nearly Normal Morning

The alarm goes off at 6 a.m.

I’m up, showered.

Then I open the back door for Georgie to do her morning business.

Alfie stays sound asleep, he’s not a morning dog.

I step into the backyard to look at the weather,

I say good morning to the koala in the gumtree in the backyard…!!!

I grab my Camera!

I wake up Graham…

“Graham, Graham, there's a Koala in the gumtree!”

Georgie could smell it but couldn’t see it,

and it was having a lovely time, nibbling on the leaves in the tree.

However, our Magpie family were definitely unimpressed, and harassed it until it felt it was time to move on.

so down the tree it came and wandered all around the backyard.

The Magpies are NOT happy… Magpie bullies!

Georgie, of course went ballistic,  but that didn’t stop it coming right up to the backdoor (although we missed that photo).

I never thought in my wildest dreams that  I would  ever see a photo of Georgie AND a koala!

It found its way out of the backyard while we were at work, but now the council want to investigate the tree so they can plant more!

So CUTE!

Its Nearly Christmas

A quiet Christmas for us this year.

I have made a bit of an effort and put up the tree. It has a Mardi Gras theme. Which means I just put every colour bauble on the tree rather than my usual designer colour scheme!

I haven’t put out the Christmas village this year. We just don’t have the room.

Next year – I’m going ALL OUT with the decorations – new fairy lights all over the house!!!

We will have Christmas lunch with Sean & Emmy.

I was expecting to be working on Christmas morning  BUT,  SuRpRiSE,  now I’m NOT WORKING!

As for the first time in history they are closing our ward for Christmas and sending all our clients to Tamworth.

(how this will work? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll hire a mini bus.

No one in Armidale must have Mental Health issues at Christmastime)??!

We might go away in the New Year period but currently I am Nurse Unit Manager and I am really busy and sTReSsED  trying to organise this last minute shut down business. 

I haven’t even had time to think about holidays yet.

Bugs in Jars

I have always wanted to do a bugs in jars quilt, so this is my latest project.

I have collected lots of bug fabric and will use a nice ‘Michael Miller Painters Canvas’ black fabric for the background.

 

I have designed 3 different jars, thick lid, thin lid and shelf jar.

One jar will be without its lid so the contents have escaped and will be running amok on the borders.

This quilt should be completed early next year.

Ripe Strawberries for the Table

Finally complete is the second of the Ripe Strawberries quilt.

This is the smaller, sister quilt to the larger version pictured below.

I completed that one 3 years ago.

I always struggle to complete quilts that are for me as I have no deadline!

And they get put aside until I complete other projects.

This quilt has four of the basket blocks and I used up the remainder

of the lovely afternoon tea fabric in the backing.

It fits our round table perfectly – although when we move I plan to get a new larger table.

Its too sunny in our current backyard to take good photos of the quilts. I’ll have to find a better quilt photo spot when we finally in the new house.

 

New House

Finally, the contracts are exchanged and the purchase of our new house is going ahead.

The downside is that it currently has tenants, and they have a lease until early May 2014.

Our lease here runs out in February 2014, so hopefully we can extend it.

The good news is that their rent is a lot more than our rent!

Ours is the one with the red roof and yes it was a big turn off when they built the enormous house next door, which didn’t exist when we first looked at our house back in January.

Can wait to get into the garden and start planting some trees.

Its on the northern edge of town. These photo taken from the park next door.

Mrs C & 1973

Do you Remember 1973?

Mr Whitlam was the Prime Minister.

Manly beat Cronulla in the Grand final,

and of course, the Sydney Opera House was opened.

‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon round the ole oak tree’ was the number one hit single.

Yet, it was a great year for classic hits, Elton John, Wings, David Bowie,

Deep Purple, Billy Joel and Pink Floyd all had memorable big hits.

The top movie was ‘Live and Let Die’

Tony Barber won the Gold Logie and ‘Number 96’ won the best new drama.

I wasn’t allowed to watch ‘Number 96’ as it was titillating and I was only 10….

The Tale of Mrs C

40 years ago, in 1973, a 54 year old lady called Mrs Cusick travelled from Canberra to Wollongong to purchase a brand new Ford Cortina. She took it home to Downer in Canberra and put the new car in her garage.

She loved her little car and kept it regularly serviced, but as she got older she drove it less and less.

In 2013, Mrs Cusick had her 94th birthday. But the time came, as it does to most of us, where decisions had to be made on her behalf. She went to reside at a  Nursing Home and her son was left to tidy up her affairs.

Mrs Cusicks son decided to sell his mothers 40 year old , but much loved car, to another Canberra man named Luke.

Luke spent a lot of time with the old car, fixed many of its mechanical faults and got it up and running in tip top condition.  However, he decided that he wanted a different sort of car and so after only a few months he decided to sell it on……………..

Enter Kim and Graham into the tale,,,,

This is our new purchase a 1973 Ford Cortina that I have named ‘Mrs C’…!

We flew to Canberra this last weekend to decide if she was the car for us. AND yes she is!!!

She’s not perfect, a few little dings, chips and part of the upholstery needs lots of attention.

But for a 40 year old girl I think she's in great shape.

 

We flew down to Canberra last weekend then drove

her home over 2 days and she hardly missed a beat.

I took a turn driving. She’s a 3 speed auto a bit hard to brake and slow on steep hills but otherwise great to drive.

Here she is at the top of Mount Panorama! (I had to take her around the mountain)!

This was probably the longest trip she’s done for years – maybe ever!

The front of our house is now a Ford car lot!

Dr Seuss is on the Loose!

Here are the photos of my latest finished cot quilt.

Above: Its our new NUM Clarah & Sally-Anne.

This is the quilt I made for Sally-Anne & Ben’s  new baby girl.

Its called Dr Seuss is on the loose.

 

Above: first quilt photos on a different Hills Hoist!

..and as we were in the middle of a busy ‘moving house year’

I cheated… *blush*

and bought a fabric panel and matching fabric

with the Dr Seuss characters (on special at Equilter,,, yippee).

Above: The scanned quilt label, I even downloaded the Dr Seuss font! 
(and I personally wrote the ‘Seussian’ 5 stanza poem)..

Then from the panel, I cut out the pictures and added sashing and a border in coordinating colours. 

It was quick, fun to make and Sal loves it! Yippee again!

Even the back is Seuss!

Sally-Anne’s {{ HIGH TEA }} !

She is the FIRST (girl) to have a baby at the Clark Centre!!

So we gave her a special send off, in Mindy’s beautiful garden…

On a lovely afternoon .. beautiful weather. (BUT we NEED rain)!

Lovely food – But the time went by in a snap!!

I told Graham that I'd be home at five,,, I was home at nearly 8 o'clock!!

……& we move on…

 

Graham & I have  been very busy (and stressed) moving house.

here are my final pictures of our old home, all empty and I cried.

 

We have now rented a house which could not be further away in Armidale.

Moving from North Hill to South Hill. Although, in Armidale this was a 9 minute drive!!

This rental’ is only a little place, it smells like cigarettes and the kitchen is like cooking in a caravan..

BUT it was reasonably priced, gave us a short lease and allowed outside dogs. 

Whoops, not quite the outside dogs we promised they’d be! *blush*.

Above: Graham on his birthday at the ‘rental’.

However,, there is some good news ,, we have had an offer accepted to buy a new house!

Below is the backyard.. it’s over 1/2 an acre.

When the purchase is nearly 100% certain, I will be excited to blog about our pending new home!

AND guess what – this current rental is about 2 house from the south edge of town…. The new house is on the very edge of the north side of town!…. figures..