A family visit

This last week was spent off visiting family and friends. We mostly had a great time but it was exhausting. The hours and hours spent driving, the sleeping on other people's beds or on a mattress on the floor, just being around people takes it out of us. We both have health issues that cause fatigue and I had just started back on pain patches which make me tired (and make me even more likely to pass out on standing for the first few days, which I did.)

It was good to catch up with people. It's hard to see family so few times a year. It gets so expensive with dog boarding and petrol for us to go more often. It's also a 7 hour drive and I'm not always well enough for that.


Managed to find time to get some embroidery done though. I finished embroidering the picture of Hosie's for Steve and Susanne's wedding present and got most of the work done on the pony picture for a friend's birthday. Just have the text to finish on both of them now. Hopefully I can get them both done by the end of the week.

I had trouble getting the text in the right place and making sure it was centred and all. I played around with it on Photoshop today and will trace it on tomorrow. Tried to do it by holding the fabric over the CRT monitor but I can't see a thing through it. I've done it on the laptop before though so I'll have to use that tomorrow. I know it puts a lot more light out of the LCD screen than the CRT does.

Ruth is knitting up some more Wooly Wormhead hats and I'm making up a couple of shepherds and an angel for this Christmas's installment of Alan Dart's Nativity set for the nephews. Thankfully we've not left it until the last minute this time.

Now we're home again we're getting out around the village for our evening walks and enjoying the quiet you just can't get in the cities.

An Iris came up in the flowerbed under the bedroom window this year. We had a few tulips as well. We've been here two years and haven't seen any sign of them before.


The White Lilac near our front gate is blooming again. About a week later than a lot of the others in the village. Our plants are often behind. We're in a bit of a hollow and don't get as much sun. It smells wonderful.


Our cottage in the background



One of our nearest neighbours, other than the geese and ducks.


Denison St while we were out on our walk. We were a bit too early for all the kangaroos this day. We saw over 30 on Post Office flat the other day and more in an empty paddock.


The church is being done up by Hill End Arts Council for use as an art space.


I love this gateway and the wisteria is gorgeous.


This tree fell over years ago but it's still growing.  
 

 This quote really spoke to me. It is from the free issue of Entangled Magazine, Rachel Rayner's article Hope Chest. It's a great magazine. Do check it out.

"Fibre captures that feeling of hope better
than any other craft I’ve tried. the act
of creation is always kind of a talisman
against bad luck and broken hearts. I’m
here, it says. I’m a person with a voice and 

I can make things. Whatever else that’s
going on, whatever bad things happen in
this life, I can make things. this little piece
of my soul that I’m putting into what I’m
making will keep on keeping on whatever 

I do and can reach out to people when i
cannot.  "