QUILTING AT KERRIE'S

Hello my lovelies!

Well quilting at Kerrie's began with morning tea and as it was a gorgeous day, we all sat outside.

Did I tell you I have new hearing aids? One in each ear!  At one point I had to say "Would everyone stop shouting!"  Can you believe it?  I can even hear when I have my head down sewing :)   

I managed to finish off all the little bits and pieces that needed to be completed on my Hebridean quilt and it is now up on the wall permanently.

In the evening, I pulled the blue log cabin over and gave some thought as to whether I would quilt it as usual with the small needle or try a different method - with a thick cotton and a longer needle. 

 This makes a longer stitch and after some sewing I think I will go ahead and use this stitch and cotton on the whole quilt.  I think it gives the log cabin a 'rustic' look.  I'm not sure if it's much quicker than sewing with the small needle and waxed quilting cotton as I can only do a couple of stitches at a time.

 Papa has headed up to the church to help continue with the renovation to the floor so that it will support our new grand piano.

There is a working bee up there as well at 3.00pm to prepare the church for the Good Friday service tomorrow.  When Papa and the other men have finished there is always a lot of dust to clean up!

I'm off to have some breakfast, give the place a bit of a tidy and settle down and do some more quilting.

Love Nanxx

FROM WIRE TO WOOD

Hello my lovelies!

Auntie Emma is going to be very pleased with her parents.  While we were down in Brisbane over Christmas she urged us to do something about the piece of wire that was strung across the verandah steps to keep the dogs on the verandah when we wanted them to stay there.

"One of these days," she said, "You are going to fall down the stairs and Papa is going to find you at the bottom, with a broken leg and the washing on top of your head!"  Oh dear!  I have been doing a bit of a balancing act climbing over the wire with the washing under my arm.  

No longer my dears!

Do you loik?

Here are the dogs trying to figure out what's going on.  Well maybe not.  Perhaps they're just wanting a wee pat.  Papa leaning down must mean a pat.

And here's where the encouraging voice is from.

Papa plans to make gates for the steps down from his office and the steps at the front door.  Watch this space!

Love Nanxxx

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

TUESDAY 9.25AM

Hello my lovelies

Auntie Emma and Fergus have not long left to head down the hill back to Brisbane.  We've all had a lovely couple of days together.

One of the first things Fergus and Papa did together was to make a wee trailer to go on the back of his bike.  Fergus loves to put things in 'trailers' as he's mad on trailers and anything else that can be hitched on to a vehicle of any sort.  Here he is with Papa putting the trailer together.  Papa had prepared all the pieces before he came.

And here is the finished product.

I think he was quite pleased with it.  It has been packed into the back of Auntie Emma's car and is now on its way to Brisbane.

While Auntie Emma and Fergus were here we took a drive to see if we could see some of the new Bypass that is being built here in Toowoomba.  We took the road up to Highfields from Toowoomba.  You don't go too far up the road before you can see some of the work - not a lot though.  While we were driving to another lookout to see if we could have a better view, Auntie Emma noticed lots of large trailer type vehicles with other smaller vehicles with flashing lights.  Before you could say "Wow!", Auntie Emma swung her car off the highway on to some dirt and grass where all the vehicles were parked.

After talking with some of the men with the yellow jackets on, we discovered that these vehicles, together with police vehicles had escorted the huge trailers carrying steel all the way from Brisbane.  They had set off around 10.00pm the previous evening so that there wouldn't be too much traffic on the way and arrived at the site around 5.00am.  So, it was a long trip.  We were so lucky to arrive when we did as the trailers and escort vehicles were getting to leave to do another trip to collect more steel for the bridges that are being built on the new Bypass.

Here's one of the smaller trailers.  Two huge ones had already left and as they were leaving gave big 'toots' with their horn especially for Fergus.  Fergus got a bit of a fright and went and sat in the car to watch the last one leaving.

After they all left, two of the yellow-jacketed men came over and chatted to us and gave us lots of information about what the journey that day had entailed. To get up the Toowoomba Range, the trucks had to be pulled up!  Here's a picture showing how large the trailers were.

Here's a video showing drone footage of the progress on the new road.

And a wee picture of Fergus and me chatting while having lovely strawberries and ice-cream.

Hope you had a nice time down in Montpellier.

Love Nanxxxx

VISITING, BUILDING, CHATTING, THINKING, TIDYING, QUILTING

Hello my lovelies

We had a lovely day yesterday with Don, Jenny and their youngest daughter Sarah who has not long finished high school.  We started the visit off by going outside, sitting in the winter sunshine and munching on the yummy nibblies that Jenny had prepared.

Then, Jenny called us in for a most delicious lunch - the main was apricot chicken.

While we were still sitting around the table, Don and Jenny's son Brendan popped in with his partner Sarah.  We all continued chatting, drinking our cups of tea and eating lots of delicious chocolates until it was time to head out and see how Don and Jenny's new home is coming along.

The new home is being built just off Happy Valley Road which is on the right hand side, just passed the army barracks.

Their block is on the high side of the road and has a fabulous view over the escarpment to the east. This photograph is taken on a block on their road  showing the view.  I don't think this is their block but it's on the same side of the road.  I just got this one off the Internet.

The builders have reached the stage where all the frames for the house are up and probably this week they will get the roof timbers up.  Even though it was just timber frames, we had a good idea of how the house is laid out.  Here's a photograph of Jenny and Don outside their new front door.

They have used lots of great 'patterns' described by the famous architect Christopher Alexander in his book A PATTERN LANGUAGE.

One great pattern that they have used is the creation of an outdoor room.  Although this room has been created as an outdoor room which will include a special kitchen for barbecues, it has been built under the main roof.  When not in use, the room can be closed off with shutter doors.  In this room there are wonderful views into the garden.  These windows will be glazed so that if it is a coolish day, the room can be closed off.  I'm sure this is going to be a well-used room.  This room also has a northern aspect which means it will receive sunshine in the winter.

Here are a couple of examples of 'patterns' from Alexander's book.

I will continue to take photographs as the building continues.  Actually, Jenny sent me an email this morning to say that she has a Facebook Album chronicling the build.  When I find it, I will let you know so that if you like, you can follow it too.

Today is Bible Study day.  I finished off my study last night.  We are nearing the end of our study on Haggai and Zechariah.  Although I had hardly heard of these two prophets, and although their 'books' are quite small, what they have to say has been very encouraging.

When we start each study in our study book, the first question is always "Write down something you learnt or that was helpful to you from the previous notes."

This is something I learnt and found helpful from the last study.

"Only by consciously drawing aside to spend time with God are our spiritual lives enriched and we are equipped to serve Him and others."

Well my loves, I must away.  I have another LIST.  I'm aiming to get this office tidy, clear the sewing table which is now ten metres high with stuff that I need to find a place for, organise my gardening file and sew an extension on my Christmas quilt so that I can continue quilting near the edges.

Love Nanxxx

QUIET DAY WITH DUST, EASTER AND STREET LIBRARY

Hello my lovelies

It's been a fairly quiet day today.  That is, apart from the builders next door.  Lots of banging, shouting and laughing.

I had just finished mopping the verandah when I heard an electric saw going.  I looked up and saw they were cutting cement sheets for the ceiling above the new verandah and heaps and heaps of dust was being blown my way.

I quickly ran and locked the doors to Papa's office.  Just then, Papa arrived home with all the shopping.  "There's a lot of dust coming from next door David." I said.

"What from?"  he asked.  When I told him, he went straight down into the garden and called on the builder.  He explained to him about the dust and I could hear the builder apologising profusely.

When Papa came back I said that I didn't expect him to speak to them because all building involves some dust somewhere along the line.  But Papa said cement dust is a different matter.  He said that the men shouldn't even be cutting the sheets without protective masks and eye wear - which of course they weren't using.   So there was no more cutting with the saw and Papa said they were probably using cement cutters.

After all my chores and lunch, I settled down on the side verandah to read the new book Papa picked up from the library for me.  He had picked up a couple last week which I just couldn't get into.  This one though is keeping me reading.  It's set in Ireland and is a mystery novel.

There's no Wednesday quilting for the next few weeks as Kerrie's in France at the moment.  But I do have quilting this Friday with Robyn which will be lovely.

Talking of Robyn, she sent a fabulous link with Dolly Parton singing "HE'S ALIVE!".  If you click here you will be able to link into the song.  Listen to the song to the end.

Here are some more photographs from Easter.

This photograph is of the Street Library round the corner at Mary-Kate's place.  Her house is the one with the Jacaranda tree outside where the children decorate it with beach-balls, flip-flops etc at Christmas.

Hope the cooking classes are going well.

Love Nanxx

WE'RE HOME AGAIN

Hello my lovelies!

Before we left to go to Brisbane last week, we had been looking after Spot for a week or so while Emma and the family were in Melbourne.  Here are the two of them making sure we don't go without them when we were packing on Thursday.

This photograph shows Hamish working on worksheets given to him by his basketball coach.  His coach is American and when the team are speaking to him they call him "Coach".  The booklet he is working on is to do with leadership skills.  I had a browse through the booklet and it was just fabulous. "A good 'team leader' leads his team in such a way that they achieve their best and think they did it themselves."

Here's Fergus practising his basketball skills.

After lunch Fergus would have a wee 'rest' time.  I had him up on the couch, but he dragged his pillow and quilt to this spot so he could rest near Molly.  As you can imagine, not a lot of resting was done but it gave him something fairly quiet to do for a while.

And this is a photograph I took while Papa was driving.  They're the hills of Toowoomba in the distance.   I thought the cloud formation was amazing.  By the time we had reached home though, the cloud had all broken up and it was nice and sunny.

Today I have been flat out in the garden.  I have weeded the whole garden, the nature strip and behind and around the shed.  Autumn is definitely in the air with evenings and morning quite cool.  We've got a heavy quilt on the bed now and are even into flannelette pyjamas.  The leaves are starting to turn too.

Auntie Emma and family are coming on Saturday through to Monday which will be lovely.  I've got lots of little eggs and a few wee bunnies for Fergus and the boys to find in the garden.  Oops!  I mean, it will be lovely on Easter Sunday when Fergus and the boys go to check if the Easter Bunny has been.

Are there any Easter traditions in Switzerland that are different to the ones we have here?

xxxxNanxxxx  PS  The house that is being renovated next door has been sold.  It will still be a month before it's finished.   It's a young family who have bought it.  They have two little girls, the eldest who is around seven is called Matilda and goes to Fairholme.  I'll take some photographs of the house in a week or so when the painting has been completed.

PROGRESS ON THE HEBRIDEAN QUILT

Hello my lovelies

I've just checked the time your end and it's 7.30am, so you are either on the bus or still getting ready for school.

Papa and I are coming to the end of our day and starting to clear up a bit before Papa makes dinner.  The day has been quite busy with me doing some gardening and working on my Hebridean quilt.

I headed into the garden after breakfast and managed to do quite a bit of weeding before exhaustion and heat caused me to call it a day.   Before I came in, I raked up all the weeds I'd thrown on to the lawn as I went so that it was easier for Papa to clear up for me.  Papa in the meantime had taken himself off to do some shopping and a visit to the dump to drop off the huge cardboard boxes the outdoor setting came in.

After I came in, I had a shower and a couple of drinks of water but still felt awfully hot.  So, I settled down in Papa's chair in the library, turned the fan full on, got my book to read and settled down for a wee rest.  Papa brought me a wee cuppa too.  I was so tired from my gardening that I fell fast asleep and woke up with Papa calling me for lunch.

After lunch, I got stuck into my 'field'.  I am really pleased with it.

What do you think?    I've still to create a bit of a downward slope with the haystacks at the right hand side of the field and have a think about borders.

The renovations to the house next door advances by the day. 

 Today the roof went on.  Papa and I are not too happy with the roof.  The plans for the renovation said that the roof was going to be Colourbond but the builder has used a silver roof which is very glarey for us on the side verandah.  Not to worry.  Once our trees grow it should give us the shade we need.

Keith dropped in this afternoon for a wee cuppa.  He and Margaret are well.  The government has given him access to quite a lot of money to help Margaret get on her feet again.  He is going to have the Blue Care nurse come in each day and also get the physiotherapist to organise the exercises Margaret needs.  He can also access money if he would like to have their bathroom changed to suit Margaret's needs.  All this should help both Margaret and Keith as Margaret slowly gets better.

Well my dears I shall away.

Hope you have had a wonderful day when you read this.

xxxxxNan  PS  Remember you can enlarge the photographs by clicking on them.

THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR

Yesterday, I popped in to see how Keith the builder is going with his renovations on the house next door.

Can you see that he's taken down the small porch where the old couple used to sit?  I wish he would take down the two terrible fly screens too.  In fact I don't know why he just doesn't pull the whole lot down and start again.

I had a lovely chat to Keith who is very excited about his renovations of the house.  Inside he has pulled out everything and is going to add some more on to the house out the back.

Here's a photograph of the inside at the moment.

Still quite a bit of work to be done!

Well, the painters all arrived this morning.  There are three of them.  Chris and his son Sam and another young man called Cody.  They all seem very nice.  Everything is draped with plastic and dust sheets.  They used a  Gladwrap-type of stuff to cover the bookcase so that all the books won't get dusty.

They've been busy sanding and filling up gaps and any bits on the wood that's a bit rough.  I noticed that Chris was busy with a very long pole doing the kitchen ceiling, and from the looks of it, the ceiling in the 'library' has been done too.

Troy Markey the electrician came in today as well to change some sockets that are a bit yucky and old with fresh new ones.  He also brought a new fan for the library.  The one that was there was way too high and Troy couldn't get an extension pole to make it lower.  So a new one it is and it's just lovely.

Papa and I are a bit locked-in, he in his office and side verandah and me in my office.  Sometimes I go into his office and lie down on the couch with my book.  When it gets a bit cooler, we will take ourselves out into the garden with a wee beverage.

I went to the library this morning to see if I could get a few interior design books.  I ended up with heaps on a table in the library, but most were pretty old.  The two I did bring home weren't too bad, but not brilliant.  One was on Scandinavian design which I really like but the book was just full of these strange chairs the Scandinavians are famous for.  So that's one to go back to the library.  The other one was called FINISHING TOUCHES and again not much in it to get me overly excited, so back that one goes too.

I'm reading a great book at the moment called MY BRILLIANT FRIEND by Elena Ferrante an Italian author.  I'm not reading it in Italian though, I'm reading an English translation - just in case you were wondering;)  So, while I was at the library, I ordered the next two as this one that I'm reading at the moment is the first of a trilogy.  Although the librarian said the author actually did a fourth in the series.  I am so enjoying the book.  Perhaps you can tell Mama about it.  She would just love it.

After the library I headed for home and just as I was heading into the lift, out of the corner of my eye I saw the café and quickly rushed in and picked up a couple of sandwiches for lunch.  Daddy was so pleased when I arrived home.  "You brought some lunch!" he exclaimed when I fell out of the car with all my books and purchases.  I was very pleased with myself for remembering we wouldn't be able to get into the kitchen what with the painters an all.

After collecting the sandwiches, I made my way to a sewing shop which wasn't too far away to see if they had any light boxes.  Do you remember I had a light box in Summerfield which I used for tracing shapes on to fabric?  Anyway I managed to get one which is super thin and about the size of an A4 sheet of paper.  It will come in handy not only here but to throw in my bag if I need it at quilting.  So Liliane, I'm really getting ready to knock the Hebridean quilt on the head.

Also popped into Hannas and picked up some new tea-towels.  A good number of my present ones are beginning to look like rags.  Also picked up new oil-cloth material for the kitchen table.  It's in grey and will match the kitchen quite well.  The walls are going to be in the greeny/blue we have in our bedroom so all the 'red' bits are out the window now!

Well I'd better go now.

Love Nanxxxxx