Early Morning, Airport.

I got up at 3am this morning to take Sophie to the airport. She is visiting her sisters in Adelaide. I'm not really partial to such early starts and had to have a nap when I got home. (Well, it was still dark when I got home!) I am a little jealous of her because she is staying with some of my favourite people.

Some of my Adelaide people visiting Port Adelaide.

This early morning has seemingly rendered it impossible to accomplish anything today. I think I might just crank up the heater, put on a "house show", and stitch! (Gosh it is cold today here!)

Melbourne.

I did get home safely yesterday. Miss 19 took me to the airport yet again and I arrived in Melbourne to be met by my Bradley. Once home I promptly managed to nap the afternoon and evening away and woke up feeling great. I do really suffer from Dorothy syndrome ("there's no place like home") and was very glad to be back home today, even with all the unpacking I have yet to do.

twilight at a friend's house

My plan for this week is to spend it sewing. Starting this morning. That didn't happen, but I did empty five or six boxes which I was pretty happy with, and I'm sure I will start sewing tomorrow! 

Sunday afternoon Drive

 Melbourne skyline in background

I felt a need to go look at the ocean on Sunday. Well, I felt over everything and wanted to go to Glenelg North to sit on a park bench in front of the sea. That always makes me feel better. Of course, seeing as Glenelg North is a suburb of Adelaide and I live in Melbourne now, I had to make do. There were no park benches and being out of the car was freezing. (I know that the weather forecast map often states similar temperatures for Adelaide and Melbourne, but I am here to tell you that, map schmap, Melbourne is waaay colder. Not sure how that works, but it is true.) I took my camera with me and this is what I saw. Still feel pretty much over everything as you may have noticed since it took me two days to blog this. Bad news yesterday and again today (small, insignificant things in the scheme of things I guess) have kept me over everything. I think I need to make something!

Home again.

My boys and I drove home to Melbourne from Adelaide on Friday. I am getting to know that road really well. Most of the day was sunny, with a little rain around Bordertown SA. I spent yesterday recovering. I find there's nothing like sitting doing nothing in a car to make you tired!

I came home from Adelaide with a new pincushion. A Bliss pincushion in fact that picklesticks made for me. It is heavenly. Number one because I just love Bliss. Number two because she always makes such pretty things. And number three because I didn't have one! Miss 24 went to Adelaide to visit under her own steam and when picklesticks professed a desire to make a pincushion Miss 24 encouraged her to make one for me because I keep knocking my pin tin off the table! (I know! Who knew I was so clumsy, but I am!) I don't know whether I will continually knock the pincushion off the table, but I know if I do it will be a lot easier to pick up!

Melbourne

Miss 14's concert was in the city. We have lived here in Melbourne for some four months now, but haven't ventured into the city much. It was all quite pretty on a dark and rainy Thursday night and I couldn't resist taking some photos. Those are my men in the last photo. Mr 17, Mr 10, and my Bradley. Miss 14 was already in the concert building being nervous while we got to have a look around.

..... and from the back. (And an adventure)

I think his tail is very cute!

So, today's adventure in Melbourne involved a quilt shop! We have been here in Melbourne for some time now (a month? ish?) and I haven't been to a quilt shop. I have googled quilt shops and looked in the yellow pages and had not really "found" any quilt shops. I asked someone in Spotlight if they knew of any ...... and they didn't. I asked someone in Lincraft about quilt shops and she did know some. In fact she was very helpful. She wrote the addresses of three on the back of my docket. Very helpful. But I didn't "know" the areas of those three and whilst I am very adventurous for the kids (Lab coat needed? Oakleigh? Sure I can find that! Text book supplier? Hawthorn East? Yup!) I couldn't quite talk myself into it for me. I was discussing my plight with Loz via email the other day and she gave me a link to a shop's blog. When I checked it out (Foothills Fabric and Threads) it turned out it was on a road I often travel on! Of course, it was some 10 kilometres further down that road, but I felt brave enough to find it. So, I have been to a quilt shop. Thank you Loz! Whilst I was there I picked up the book for the latest Chookyblue stitchalong and am planning to stitchalong this year! I can't wait!

Progress

I have been making progress. My stitching from the tent is almost finished. I have taken Leanne's advice and bought some glue to baste the hexies so I can get more sewn. (It's working a charm Leanne. Thank you for the link you sent me!) And I have been creating some fabric to make a bag with. (Photos of everything to come)

We are getting settled into our new house. We not only hear Kookaburras singing in this new house but also frogs, and last night as I hung out the washing we saw bats flying overhead. We are also beginning to discover our new area. We visited the Heide Museum of Modern Art yesterday. I really liked it and think I will go back again. So many truly beautiful things to look at there! Today we visited the Queen Victoria Markets and Lost and Found Market which Miss 18 fell in love with. She wants to move into that market and live there!

Not sure what tomorrow will bring. I want to stay home and sew. We'll see!

Hexies

We moved to Melbourne, but we didn't have a house to move to so we have been staying in a caravan park in our tents. My Bradley has started work and is enjoying it. I have been lazing around with the kids. Playing games and playing games. Oh. And stitching hexies that I bought from Jane (the patchwork apple) in her closing down sale. You can see them above. January is nearly over and they are the only stitching I have done! It has been a lean month craftwise. Today has been a good day though because we got a house! We move in a week so goodbye tent!

Sunday Afternoon Drive.

So, yesterday afternoon (Sunday) Bradley and I went for a lovely drive. Along the Great Ocean Road. See, photographic proof! Ocean. Road. (Isn't it Great?)

It really is the Great Ocean Road! More proof is needed I see. Well, how about those 12 Apostles? (You can google them if you like!)



It was so windy out there on the lookout that I could hardly hold the camera still to take these shots! I had never been on the Great Ocean Road before and fell madly in love with it. There is soooo much to do and see there! Of course, not when you are just out for a Sunday drive. There just isn't time. We left home on Friday afternoon and started our journey to Melbourne. We slept in the Dandenong Ranges on Saturday night and on the Great Ocean Road on Sunday night and now we are home. Oh I am tired! That was a big drive. Goodnight!

A little more driving

When we left Adelaide yesterday morning it was raining. Looks like we took that rain with us to Ballarat because when we woke up this morning it was raining. Ballarat is on level 4 water restrictions and is very dry, so we felt it entirely appropriate to get excited about the rain in an Adelaide way. The photo of the leaves on the wet bituman is a tribute to the rain in Ballarat.

Our first port of call this morning (Okay, after the breakfast stop and after the jumper buying stop - did I mention that it was cold and that a certain child didn't think I meant it when I told him to pack 2 jumpers? In fact he so didn't think that I meant it that he didn't even bring 1 jumper!) was the Ballarat Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are across the road from Lake Wendouree which is quite strangely an empty lake (with jetties and rowing club houses and fishing clubs lining it's edges). We didn't bring anywhere near enough rain to fill it unfortunately, so it's still strangely empty! Just after we entered I was very taken with this lion. He seems to be an incredibly happy lion, but looking at his face fills my head with the song "Never Smile At A Crocodile". He is obviously an anthropormophised lion because he seems to have the kind of teeth you get after having been to an orthodontist for some years, rather than the kind of teeth you need to tear flesh from bones!

Everyone was happy at the Botanical Gardens actually - despite the cold! We had a good look around and then we drove to Melbourne. Melbourne is big. (I guess you all know that!) And colourful. I think if I had to describe it in one word colourful would be the word I would use. Colourful freeway barriers, colourful buildings, just colourful! We are here for a couple of days so hopefully we will see some sights!