LOTS OF LOVELY BIRDS

Hello my lovelies

For my 'quilting' birthday, I requested fabrics with BIRDS.  Here are some of the fabrics I was given.  Aren't they fabby?

Carol came round the other day to give me some ideas of how I can use them.  A great quilt coming up!

I've also started cutting into them (a bit) for a 'Robyn' quilt I'm making.

Here's block number one!

Isn't this one beautiful (above)?  Papa says it is a swallow and its nest.  It's from a Japanese fabric range.

Which is your favourite?

Love Nanxxx

WASHING THE HOUSE AND PRAYING

Hello there my lovelies

Here's a photograph of Papa taken the other day.  Today, at this moment, he has the gurney going and is washing the northern, western and back deck areas.  I shall move in when he's finished and give the floor a mop and clean the windows.

While he's been directing the powerful gurney hose out the back, I've been sitting at the table doing my Bible Study for Monday.

We are still studying Chronicles which I'm really enjoying - all about Solomon and the Temple.  I love this verse where Solomon prayed to God at the dedication of The Temple after all the building work had been completed.

Then Solomon stood before the alter of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.  Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the centre of the outer court.  He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.  He said:

...But will God really dwell on earth with humans?  The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you.  How much less this temple I have built...

What a beautiful verse - and to think that a thousand years later, God did dwell on earth, not only with humans but as a human being.  

We have been loving all the photographs that have been coming through from Italy.  It looks absolutely gorgeous.  What a special time for you all.

Well I must run and see how Papa's going.  I must make sure he doesn't overdo things.  

Love Nanxxx

FRIDAY QUILTING AT ROBYN'S

Hello my lovelies!

Look at what Robyn has been working on!  Isn't it just gorgeous?

I haven't managed to take a good close-up of her little blocks.  You can see some of them at the bottom of the quilt.  Robyn has appliqued flowers on to the whitish diamonds and then she has embroidered lots and lots of lazy daises around the flowers.

I just love her tree, the leaves, the lady and her bonnet and of course the washing.

Some more lazy daises around the lady and don't you just love the old-fashioned washing line?  Robyn has one of those in her garden.

xxxNanxx

RHAPSODY

Finished and ready to quilt.

Love Nanxx

VISIT TO A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN

Well, yesterday the Gardening Club visited a garden not far from Robyn's.  The house was just a few houses down, towards Woolworths on the Range side.  As it was right on the Range, the block was a very steep block but the garden was just amazing, especially the hard landscaping that has been carried out.  Here are some photographs.

This photograph was taken from the patio area where we all had a delicious morning tea and a talk and demonstration on how to turn a little candle conifer into a topiary whirl.  The gardener who gave the talk is one of the gardeners for the Council.

Here we are making our way down from the patio area to the bottom garden.

What a surprise I got.  As you can see, all the Jacarandas are in bloom at the moment and make for a gorgeous backdrop to the garden.

The hedge that separates the top lawn from the bottom lawn.  Can you see the rose beds just below the hedge?

The top lawn.

The bottom lawn.

Stairs down to the fence line at the bottom.

As we were walking down the stairs, this small tree was hanging over the side.  Elizabeth the owner of the house and garden mentioned to me that this was a Forest Pansy and when it flowers, the flowers all appear up the stalks of the branches.  I've never seen this before, but I imagine it must look as though the flowers have been stuck on.  I'll see if I can find a photograph on Google.

Here it is!

I'm off to tidy up the sewing room.  It looks as though a bomb has gone off in it.  I am in the process of making ANOTHER log cabin quilt.  I'm loving the process.  This time I'm going for half in the creamy colours and the other half a mix of scraps - all colours.  

Love Nanxxxx  PS  I forgot to tell you - when I was walking past a small citrus tree, I could see a blossom and bent over to smell it.  I thought at the time it didn't smell very nice which is actually quite unusual as orange and lemon blossom have a beautiful scent. When I continued walking my eyes suddenly started stinging and streaming with tears.  A very naughty 'stinky bug' which are quite common on citrus at this time of the year had squirted some of its stinky stuff in my face.  When I mentioned to a few ladies what had happened one of them said "I thought I could smell something funny coming from you!"

THURSDAY AFTERNOON 5.38PM

Hello my lovelies

This photograph was taken a couple of weeks ago when Carol and Gerda popped in.  I did take a photograph of both Gerda and Carol chatting but I can't find it.  This one is Carol showing off the gorgeous dress she was making for one of her granddaughters.  Carol has three granddaughters:  Sophie, Maddie and Lexi.  

Carol popped in yesterday afternoon and we had a lovely old time chatting, quilting, drinking cups of tea and eating the chocolates which were left over from Sasha and Eleanora's visit on Sunday.

Greer, you poor thing.  You look and sound so unwell.  Make sure you rest up and get strong and well again before going back to work.  What a gorgeous pencil roll Liliane.  Looks as though it was a fun project.

Auntie Emma, Uncle Michael and the boys move this weekend into their temporary accommodation at Milton Mews.

Here's a photograph of the lounge room of one of the 'Mews'.  There are four bedrooms.

The renovations to their new home should be finished in around five weeks.  

Today has been the first dry day for a while so this afternoon Papa and I got busy cutting back the beds near the small front gate.  We could hardly get into the place for the growth.  Papa and most of the neighbourhood also decided it was a good opportunity to cut the lawns too so there was a lot of activity in North Toowoomba this afternoon.  Tomorrow the forecast is for a late shower but Saturday we're back to wet weather.

Better go for now.

Love Nanxxxx  PS  Kerrie is now a Grandmother.  Her son David and his wife had a wee boy and have named him James.

TODAY IS BIBLE STUDY DAY UP AT THE CHURCH

Hello my lovelies!

This term we have been looking at the building of Solomon's Temple described in the books of Chronicles and Kings in the Bible.

Solomon was one of the sons of King David and he was only twenty years old when he became King.  He was the King who, when God said to him that he could ask for anything and it would be given to him, Solomon asked for Wisdom.  

I loved the description of the two pillars in front of the temple.  

...First he cast two pillars in bronze, each twenty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in circumference.  He then cast two capitals in bronze to set on the pillars;  each capital was seven and a half feet high and flared at the top in the shape of a lily.  Each capital was dressed with an elaborate filigree of seven braided chains and a double row of two hundred pomegranates, setting the pillars off magnificently.  He set the pillars up in the entrance porch to The Temple;  the pillar to the south he named Security (Jachin) and the pillar to the north Stability (Boaz).  The capitals were in the shape of lilies...

Of course, nothing remains of these pillars today.  Do you think this model depicts the description?  What would you have imagined the pillars would have looked like? Perhaps you could draw me a picture, photograph it and send it through.

I love the names of the pillars.  They remind me that in God's hands we are securely held.

Thought for the day:  If God said you could have anything you asked for, what would you ask for?

Love Nanxxx

LAUNDRY IS ALMOST FINISHED

Hello my lovelies from a very wet Toowoomba. 

 There are wet towels all over the verandahs what with the dogs and Papa and I constantly taking them in and out for walks.  I think I mentioned that Papa decided to top-dress the lawn and when the soil arrived it smelt as though it had come from a pig farm.  This has resulted in us having to contain the dogs in the house and the verandahs and because of that, they constantly need to be walked.  

We have our Russian friends coming for lunch this morning.  Papa is making a lovely chicken dish with lots and lots of roast vegetables and I'm making apple crumble with custard.  I thought I'd try a different sweet for a change :)

Off up the road for church today.

Here it is waiting for us all to arrive.

  Andrew the meenister has been away for a couple of weeks and will be back this morning.  He sent an email yesterday to say that he has prepared a very special children's talk for today and Simone, his wife has prepared a very special Sunday School lesson.

I'm not sure if I posted a photograph of our finished laundry.  Doesn't it look all nice and fresh?  I've still to put up a couple of curtains;  just light ones, which with the windows open slightly will blow in the breeze.  That's the plan anyway.  I have a couple of curtains left over from somewhere or other.  I keep forgetting to pop them into Alice to have them altered.  As I often say to Papa, "I quilt!  I don't mend!"

Love Nanxxx

LOVE THOSE STAIRS

Hi Girls

Not sure where this was taken, but I saw it on the Internet and thought it was just fabulous.

xxxNan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Hope Daddy has a wonderful day on his birthday.

Love Nan and Papa xx

I'M STARTING TO THINK ABOUT CHRISTMAS

Love Nanxxx

HAIKU

I love this one:

Writing a poem

In seventeen syllables

Is very diffic

Love Nanxxx

LOOFLY DAY IN THE GARDEN

Hello my loovelies

I'm so pleased with my roses this year.  I was a bit worried when I stood back to look at them after I had finished pruning them in June.  "Oh dear!" I said to Papa.  "I think I may have overdone it."  But Papa assured me that they would all burst into bloom come Spring and so they have.

Every year before I start the pruning process of my climbing roses, I always check again the process.  This year I took note of the fact that if you tie your climbing roses in a horizontal position, you will get more flowers.  So, as you can see above, I even tied some of the canes down the banister rail at the side steps.  

When I was taking these photographs I noticed this surprise.  A year or so ago, we replaced one of the Pinkie's with a red climber and had forgotten all about it.  What a surprise it was when I pointed the camera to take this photograph.

Parrots have a gay old time in the tropical birches.

And the dogs enjoying their bones.

Love Nanxxx