More birthday, and a winner.

Oh, is there anything more dreadful than a Dh with the flu?

Because he is so far in the good books I will just leave it right there!! And keep getting the panadol!

I had a lovely time reading through the Tracey Kasem Top 40 ( or 30!) Amazingly a good few songs I didn't know, and i thought I was a music trivia-ist!

The random winner is Lady Hopwood's blog, http://primrosegirl.blogspot.com/

I hadn't heard this Dr. Hook song and enjoyed the youtube version very much. If you would like to contact me, Lady Hopwood, I will share the birthday joy!

Continuing the birthday joy theme, my kids bought me the Pandora bracelet and my family started off the charm collection.-all courtesy of an organizing sister!

There's a heart, an elephant, the zirconia one, the sand coloured to represent the beach my sister and I are both happiest upon, the rose from my sister that she thinks looks like my patchwork on, The Church and the chook make up my collection so far. I am being very well behaved and not wearing this or the ring when doing my farm work!

Our quilt group has birthday buddies for the year. Christine was my buddy this year and I was very lucky to score this beautiful table runner that I have shown previously. I love her first try at machine piecing, and I love IT very much! Thank you, Chris.

This is the back.

I am loving these patterns as well, the melly and Me chooks look great fun!

The lovely Chookyblue sent me these gorgeous cow salt and peppers, hope you regular readers remembered it was Donna's birthday Saturday!!

And I will leave you on a floral note, I have been asked to provide australiana cards for a big event coming up here,

Here's a little taste, they really do look like kangaroo paws, don't they!

Have a great day, Tracey

"Tracey" Kasem's Top 40.

I picked up the Jukebox for my party today, 3500 songs!! I have been having fun finding obscure numbers all afternoon and watching the dodgy old video clips. I Grew up with Casey Kasem's American Top 40. Even here in Australia it was the "have to" listen to show on Sundays. We would all get out of Church and pile into the cars to listen for number 1, even though it may never make it on our own radio stations.

It has actually been digitally remastered and we get old editions on Saturday mornings now! Love to hear the ads for the Osmond t-shirts and Jackson 5 cups!!

Seeing i am about to be 40....and I am more than happy to be ...and enjoying life, I thought we may revisit the Top 40 idea..with a few differences of course.

I would love a comment from you on at least one song that brings a special memory back to you...and preferably why? I have a few, usually old boyfriend related! Roxette's Joyride, Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman and Lee Kernaghan's Goondiwindi moon are fairly high on the list for romantic reasons, at least the last is with my husband!!

So, share the fun, there may be a lucky commenter drawn..and I'll be really excited if we reach a TOP 40!!

Thought you may like a peek at the invites, pity I can't have a cyber birthday!!

Of exercise, finished quilts and a fast approaching big day!

Wow, has anyone tried to fit in a good amount of exercise into their life lately? Really sucks up those few precious "spare" hours that I would normally have stolen for sewing. I wonder, in the comments, whether you think it is difficult to be thin-ish and a quilter as well, do the two go together?

Now, why would I do such a silly thing as sacrifice sewing for exercise, well, 1. It's good for all of us AND 2. I have tried and tried but cannot invent a suitable machine that I can exercise on as I sew. But the big point number 3. is that I have only 2 and a half weeks left until I hit a very big birthday...and I can't keep calling it baby weight if the baby just turned 9, can I??? So, since about last birthday I have been doing the odd gym class, definitely got fitter, but haven't appeared magically slim. How much of a miracle can occur in less than 3 weeks...probably not much! Luckily clothes size doesn't make the man...or in this case, woman!

The cards are keeping me busy, thanks to all those who have ordered, many on their way and more being mailed off hopefully tomorrow..Narelle!

raining again tonight, but we had enough let off this last week for Dh to get back on a few more paddocks to get some more barley sown.

When shifting him from paddock to paddock I spotted a few unexpected visitors,

I tried to get nice and close to these Brolgas, but this is the best I could do. They hang around in pairs, around wetlands. I don't think thse are nesting here, still flying around deciding where to settle.

And these black swans are doing the same thing, back through the same wetlands, except there isn't enough water for them here, this can be a full swamp. DH hopes it doesn't fill because that means a wet year for croppers! There are plenty of other lakes for them to nest in around here, they build fantastic nests in mounds in the swamps, last few dry years it is a race to see what happens first, the water dry up enough for the foxes to get to them..or they successfully get the babies hatched and away.

Bushfire blocks/quilts continue to call back in here and disappear again-to many homes. Kath from my quilting group recently gave these to me, anyone recognize their blocks?

A star block stack and whack.

Kath's sister-in-law donated this post and rail in muted green shades.

Now, were these start Libby's? Think so,I will have to check, look fabulous as a table runner.

Well, quarter to midnight..again! Even without cricket on I am up too late! Shouldn't mention the cricket, a heartbreaking loss last night, oh well, 3 more tests to get it right!

Have a great day,

Back to farm wife life......

So, what's my excuse??

Well, I consider myself on a month's annual leave. Annual leave from organizing anyway! The market is done and dusted. School made around $8000 from the morning. It was a great team effort. My excuse for the slack posting?...150 jars of jams and pickles, 25 foot of Strudel, 10 slabs of hedgehog, 25 bags of toffee, 25 of Rocky Road, buying all supplies and doing all other necessary coordinator stuff...while fitting in picking up a dog, finalizing raffle quilts...throwing the family food.... You know how it is!

Our lambing began the day before the market so i promised DH as soon as the market was out of the way I would take over the sheep and cattle and he could happily sit in a tractor around the clock and get the crop in. So that's what's happening.

I am watching a lot of ladies sort out whose kids belong to whom..and feeding 3 orphans already.

While Dh got in the Willy Wonka man with his seed cleaning contraption and is now flat out sowing the crops. -In the mornings my house yard looks like the yard of a machinery dealership, I will have to snap a pic next time all the tractors and equipment are here.

Haven't had the proper Autumn break yet, our springs aren't running and it's only drizzling rain. Lots of frosty mornings and clear afternoons. The pets that live outside have developed strategies for this...

Do you think Archie minds Mr. R the farm cat utilizing him like this? Not one bit, I would say! Rosie is still living a cosier life, I am pleased she was a hit, we adore her, my big tough DH and I fight over who gets to cuddle her of a night...now if there was only an easy way to cure the little accidents on my kitchen floor!!

In between trying to rediscover whether my laundry in fact has a floor, and whizzing around my farm on the motobike, I have also done some sewing.

My little niece, Daisy is one already. I dropped her in a bigger quilt than her original "Daisy" balnket a few days ago. That barefoot roses stash is just about gone now! I still like it, even after the fourth quilt top.

Just 2 layers, my sister likes them like that, the pieced DNP top (I love this new block!!) and nice warm cream fleecy on the back. I was running so low on the fabric it has a tiny binding, but it seems to be a success.

She was cuddling it at the party today as well.

I did go just a tad silly about the birthday yesterday( I only have one sister and a few little nieces and nephews...you can't really spoil them!!) and decided to have a go at a baby sleeping bag. Beautiful ones of these are all the fashion here, but deathly expensive. My sister had casually shown me a catalogue, so i had a play....

I practised on baby Born first, just to sort out how to do the zip, the sleeves, neck etc. Baby Born's just has a half zip and no sections for wearing with a seat belt in a baby car seat. It is a little big for Baby born as I did have some idea that it may as well be useful in a dozen years or more perhaps, for it's owner. The real one, on the left, is lined with fleecy, has a two way zip so that you can open it from the bottom to slide the seat belt through, and a bound and velcroed slit in the back where you can put the seat belts through the rest of the way. I also made a flap at the top to cover the zip and protect baby's neck. The only problem with the success is that judging from the interest at the birthday party I may have to make a few more! They will be paying proper money!

Time for bed now, i am still way behind on sleep..I was just catching up and DS had a friend for sleepover last night and from 4 am they were talking and wanting to get up...I had to get up every hour to tell them it wasn't morning and to go back to sleep....

Hope your weekend is great, Tracey

Birthday

Sitting here organizing block photos...post to follow soon......but thought my many cat loving bloggers may like to see DD's birthday cake. I got the basic idea out of the Women's weekly birthday cake book...but had to change the face to make it look like her kitten..-so had to try and think up something for white whiskers instead of licorice ones at midnight the night before..how did I go???

(-and note to anyone trying it, mixing orange in 4 different shades is tricky!!)

And as I go off to decipher more return addresses, here's the chocolate fondue fountain everyone should have at their birthday....reminds me of a Vicar of Dibley episode, anyone remember??

And, yes, filled with Cadbury dairy milk...it was goooood!

A birthday and a donated quilt....

Started my daughter's birthday "week" celebrations yesterday, she passed one small rite of passage and had her ears pierced....hopefully we will again get her to wash her hair in the not -too-distant-future....but right now she is being very pedantic about ear care! She has been wearing her hair in a ponytail to highlight the ears. My sister took a pic of us this afternoon when she came for cake-you don't see many of me so make the most of it!! I prefer being behind the camera.

I love making a fuss of my kids' birthdays (there are a dozen little girls due any day for a pool party..sorry, should probably say young ladies, but they really ARE just little girls!!) But I would have to say the height of enjoyment of this milestone came after my sister and Mum had left and we were jumping on the trampoline, "you know what Mum, I was jumping before and I thought, I really love my life" I said that was what all Mum's wanted to hear and she said, "yeah, I'm pleased i didn't die when i was sick all that time!!" So am I!!

I hardly dare mention that it has been six months since the last serious bout of her irritable bowel/migraine trouble, she seems to be okay as long as she is well rested so we are hopeful that that particular 2 year phase is over. A very joyful lady informed me the other day that it will probably come back really bad when puberty hits.....that lady is extremely fortunate she isn't buried in my backyard!!! Nothing like looking on the bright side!

Speaking of looking on the bright side, I had some finished quilts dropped into me this week, more information and pictures will follow, but this one I just have to share.

This has been donated to the fire effort from a lady in the blue mountains. It is stunning!! And hand quilted as well. My job was to find it a suitable home and it has left already, it has gone to wrap a lady in love who lost the majority of her family in the recent fires. I had a contact for her and thought this appropriate as it seems a little like the light shining in the darkness.

I have received a huge amount of blocks this week, people have been very supportive and I am getting ready to start sorting and sewing. I am going to show you them all, but it takes me a while to get them all in order for you...especially after Tuesday......

Tuesday was almost hurricane like winds....in a tinder dry state! Not as hot as the very bad bushfire day a month ago, but windier! They closed almost 200 schools and closed down the Govt. bus service. i took mine to school in town as they were safer there. Before they went they had to tell me a few things for me to collect if I went anywhere. My girl was her quilts, Hannah montana doll and her cat!! The boy was his motorbike. I packed up my photo albums and everybody's donated blocks!!!! There was no way I was losing them.

I trotted off to Church ladies coffee in the afternoon with the backseat filled with everyone's most precious stuff. Interesting exercise that, when it comes down to it...what really matters but your family? Must admit i would have been a bit sad to see the stash go-but there was no way that was fitting in the car!

Needless to say we got through that just fine, but as you can see, everything got packed in in a hurry and some of my elaborate "ownership" system may have gone astray-but I will do my best. Since then there would be at least 2 or 3 more bags as big as that front one -full of blocks, tops and fabric.....a great effort!

Aside from turning 20 kilos each of zucchinis, plums and apples into pickles, and sauce this week, i also made this little quilt for a friend's baby.

Which brings me to the fact I have nearly done enough for the week, so off to bed I go.

But I didn't forget my competition winner, the kids drew out nancy in philadelphia as the Tag galaxy winner, I have a funny feeling a few of my Bible verse and quilting cards will suit Nancy, so well done! And the "Belladonna quilt group~beating the recession one recycled quilt at a time" idea? I am seriously considering starting that up as a forum for sharing your recycled efforts-stay tuned!

Have a great day

Tracey

Quilt retreat

I just tried to do a Wikipedia search for the 7th August, in the hope that something exciting happened on it (other than me being born!)...but it seems everything notable happened either side, including Hiroshima, John McCarthy being freed, etc, etc. so I have to stick to the big news that starts with the fact that August 7 is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 146 days remaining until the end of the year.
But the clincher, for those of us who are freezing down here... is that the 7th August in
The Northern Hemisphere is considered to be halfway through its summer and the Southern Hemisphere half way through its winter on this day.
Oh also, these are about the only people I know who share my birthday.....is there a chance Charlize and I are identical twins I wonder (Ha Ha!)-just a small matter of 6 years difference-and some small facial feature discrepancies that may make it easy for our mother to tell us apart!!
1960 - David Duchovny, American actor
1975 - Charlize Theron, South African actress

It is 11:37 pm and I think I have successfully filled the kitchen floor with enough projects to take on my retreat so I am off to bed. Thanks for all the different quilt weight info. I think I will still give a varied one a try on the weekend but i will keep the other ideas in mind. Sounds like i am not alone!
I drank far too many coffees with friends on my birthday, and ate far too much cake-so a great day! Hi to Suse, sorry I missed your call!!
See you by Monday with lots of show and tell, have a good weekend, Tracey

Favourite week of my year

My internet has been out, my camera batteries have been dodgy and so a little blogging break has occurred.

I can't say I have a lot of sewing to show though. I had my rally Day for Church Ladies, my nephew's all day birthday and a couple of committee responsibilities and the week has disappeared.

This did get completed.......

I was a few days late sending it...next time I will print off the swapper's name prior to mailing day-because then I couldn't access my internet! A small aside here, my Dh doesn't often notice what i am working on, but i was in the living room due to the freezing weather and he asked about it, I said it was an international swap. He said, "boy, the person who did the middle must sure like gold." I said, 'well, that would be me'!!

I attempted to explain it represented the Australian colours...the light, the ground, the water.....and that will probably be the sum total of patchwork discussions in our house for the year!

Here's a snap of my bodyguards when i did work over in my sewing room. I can sneak out the front of the house and they always end up there within minutes, Archie the dog without fail. If it is raining he has dug a path under the room and he sleeps under my feet at the machine.

I forgot to say it is the best week of my year this week; I have my quilting retreat this coming weekend, down in Port fairy, same house as last year, -

Nothing like the sound and view of a winter beach for patchwork inspiration. As usual I have about 10 things I want to get done, the aim is to get back on the sewing track.

It's also birthday week. Seems to have started already, gotta love the birthday lasting all week. (Though my Mum told me it is all down hill from 40 and I will only be one year away!)

A friend took me out last night to the big fashion parade held here every year, my DH bought me ear-rings in Queensland (and handed them to me straight away in the plastic bag.....but anyone who has been reading since last year will acknowledge he gets a lot of credit for trying!!) and my dad called on his way through today and gave me an interesting necklace and bracelet from them. I have never worn orange, shall be interested to see how that goes. The only trouble with early presents is that I may have run out of birthday by the time Thursday gets here!!!

Speaking of jewellry, I picked up a piece for myself today at the big farmer's expo type thing that is on here at the moment. I was working on the theory my MIL will get me to get myself something! Here's a peek-

It is a brooch or scarf pin, I have assured my sister I wont necessarily wear it up the main street of her town all the time, but I will definitely wear it! I love old sewing machines.

So, other than the fact I have to make a 300 km round trip to get my son's missing filling seen to by a dentist tomorrow, life is great. Hope yours is as well, see you soon, Tracey

A birthday

My baby is turning 8.

We could do a multitude of things for his birthday, so how did we end up with this?
He goes to a town school where farmers are in the minority, so we transported his class out to our place on the shortened last day of term for a bonfire, pet lambs at their feet, marshmallows, kicks of the football...and rides from my boy's good dad at nice low speed around the paddock. The kids were beside themselves with joy and all wanted to stay longer...and me, i was just that thankful it didn't rain!!
And what about the cake....In March it was Hannah Montana concert stage, last year a spooky castle, what was this creation?
Well, that would be a Pavlova...with broken up peppermint crisps on top.I had to suck up the fact that he's getting bigger and go with what he wanted...a pav!!
Here he is cutting it, his sister has moved in next to him in the hope he will touch the bottom of the plate and have to kiss the nearest girl!

The sister has had some of her dressings off, this is how one cut looks, I wont give you the close up! She still doesn't like to look at it but is improving.

Took these when going around the sheep the other night, can't quite decide which i like best.-i think the first probably, but the second interests me as well.

That is part of my gratitudes today; a farm that I love, along with smiling happy children who like each other.... and are healthy (today!!) and a workaholic husband who took time out to help me with the party. Life is good.
Hope yours is too.
Tracey

Traps for new players

Note to self:
"self.....in future, you know, in relation to all those future children you are going to have (stop for a moment for choking fit and dizzy spell-and that is just DH!) Can you please remember that child management techniques that seem like a good idea at the time are not always so. Especially that one where you tell your 7 year old who wants a baby turtle that "you can have it when you are 10!!" Because, they get to 10 and....they don't forget!!!
Hence, while I could have spent the evening organizing a beautiful and exciting 15 minute bag tutorial I am instead trying to set up an aquarium whose components came with NO instructions, at this point I would even appreciate them in Chinese...if they had a picture!
Who knew a turtle needed a licence, that has to be paid yearly, a heater, a special reptile light, a pump, a floating pretend rock dock and frozen tucker that I could eat!!! I have decided we should give up the cropping and breed turtles, far more lucrative, especially as there is a shortage and very few in the state-should just go to the dam!
But the worst, before I realised they do not forget, I told DS that he could get his lizard/snake when he was 10, how will I break that to his father!
Speaking of cropping, I didn't show you the crop duster spraying our linseed crop, the things I do for you, I almost stood in it! Luckily DH tells me it is effectively just a basic pyrethrum you would spray in your garden so nothing too life threatening-unlike the job these crop dusters do, how do they get insurance and how do their wives sleep at night.
No sleep yet, I am working on the Hannah Montana birthday cake as well, just finished the party bags, not sure if i will be show the cake, it may look a little out there as I am making it up...and I have high standards to keep up from last year's efforts!
Have a great day, Tracey

Birthday round up.... and a huge case of Mother guilt!

A fair bit of chaos around here, (hey, don't say, "As usual!!) I only have today to get all my little retreat packs/gifts done for 9 people, I have not quite finished my last rounds of frienship border and the reveal is on the retreat. DD is on the couch with what now looks like the 'flu, DH is not recovering as quickly as I would like from his chesty type flu. I want to make soup and slice for the retreat, I haven't cut up my shirts, the phone keeps ringing and I have the housework to do as well!!! On top of all this I think I may have a slight touch of something myself ....but I don't have the time or inclination to succumb!

I could, of course, say I wont go, but I need a change of scene, I get to blow out my candles on Friday night and this is my favourite weekend, also, it will do DH good to rest in front of the TV with the kids on the weekend AND I'm sure that once I actually get out of the house, the motherguilt will disappear. (well, I hope!) I am well aware he can cope with any eventuality, he is just not looking enthusiastic-we'll blame the flu!


Here's the bouquet of Australian natives the family bought up for my birthday, they would make anyone feel better!

Thought you may like to see some of my lovely presents. My friend Lyn made me the lovely covered journal, and gave me some of her cute bias and ric rac she found on ebay.

Quilting Bebbs sent me the pincushion-thank you so much! It even arrived the day before, I was very impressed!

Family came good with a massage voucher and a plate of soaps and lotions. DH said the kids were gorgeous, they spent 3/4 of an hour examining everything in the shop, then they had to get little individual things and the plateful, all the time dancing around and hugging each other in excitement. You see that knowledge is all I require...that there was effort!!!

My sister found me the great print of Audrey, and the naughty little rooster sign and hook. DH is not sure what to make of that! He did say that all we needed were more chook things!!!
There were also about 3 boxes of chocolates...they are gone! And really, I shared some!

A close up of some of the scrap bags from Mum. I rang her to tell her they were in the sale a few weeks ago, so she was waiting when they opened the doors after Church. There are some great pieces, not really scraps at all!

Got this huge bag of wool tops for felting at the sheep show, I am thinking about a big blanket with hot pink through it-maybe when the weather warms up, it's a little cold for throwing around water at present. The check material is from the op shop-50 cents! It is going in with the shirts this weekend. I need a 2 week retreat to get all I want done!

I bought this gorgeous velvet kangaroo paw at the sheep show as well, another Australian native. If you go back to last weeks' kangaroo post you will see why it is called a kangaroo paw.



And, last but not least, the cat and the dog enjoying their strange relationship. I am trying to get a pic of how the cat softens him up with her claws but they stop as soon as I appear.

Well, duty now REALLY calls! Back Sunday, should have 7 round robins to post and 9 people's work from the weekend, have a good one, Tracey