Mail deliveries.

How do you get parcels, do they deliver to your door? We only get general mail here 3 times a week and if we have a parcel over a certain (small!!) size we get a collection slip in with our post and have to pick it up in town...there has been a LOT of picking up in town lately!

Such a lot of good mail..and just in time!


First, my SSCS parcel came ...in a huge box! All the way from Lynn E in Canada. I have been very good and just opened the box but not all the beautifully wrapped presents-they are under the tree. It had been opened by customs, considered suspicious! The must have been having a slow day. But they never unwrapped any of the gifts and they put it all back together nicely so well done customs.....(attempting to rid the world of nasties in patchwork boxes one fat quarter at a time!!)





My Christmas present photo book for Dh has also arrived, I am in love with this. Did this one through 'My reflections', an Australian company. Fantastic service. Ordered and delivered from West Australia in 4 days! I had plenty of time at home to play around,put text in and to put the photos just where I wanted. It is a bit too stressful to do that in a photo lab.


Dying to show him, but trying to wait.





The calendars for the Grandparents have come, can't wait to show these either. There are individual, group and collage shots of all the grandies. It seems to me that grandparents can probably get anything they really need, so something unique and generally unpurchaseable seems the way to go. I managed to work out how to collage through flickr but I am not that happy with it for then turning into postcards and calendars,(loses resolution) anyone got any better suggestions?





And the first of the Hospital calendars have arrived. They include all local shots from the Show photography comp. and I've put them, and a lot of Postcards, in the town PO today. I was very proud of how they turned out. I hope we get heaps of orders...it's fun using my photos to make money for a good cause.





I have done some sewing aside from all this publishing, my nephew has added another daughter to his family...(who just managed to get in the calendar) and she arrived for an unexpected visit during the week. I managed to start a blanket at 9.30 pm and deliver it the next morning. She may get a proper quilt by her baptism! So meet Ruby.....

The 6 santa sacks are just about pieced and laid out on the kitchen table so I had better run. Things have been a little stressed around here...the rain turned into 3 and a half inches and it is still wintry now, just about disastrous with windrowed canola and wheaten hay cut but hope always springs eternal with farming so something may be salvaged. I've got my camera, the sewing room has stash...I can live for quite a while!
Have a great day, back with santa sack pictures soon, Tracey

Photos to share
Up late last night in the sewing room working on Dad's quilt and watching Northern Exposure DVD's in peace and quiet... that started to be not so peaceful...I looked out the door and watched all this unfold over the mountains.....and this is only a tastes as the batteries were flat when it got really good.

It was terribly hot and muggy so not unexpected.

Speaking of photos, while I don't yet have any of Dad's improved (?) quilt, I did get my DH's Christmas present back from the printers today and I am so happy with it.

It's a coffee table book of all my favourite farm photos from the year.

He is terribly hard to buy for, his only real passions are farm and family so I combined both......in a way I love as well. Should give me years of excuses for taking photos.

have a great day, Tracey

Summer Wonderland?
Do you know what? I have lived within 3 hours of my present location my entire life, and even I think Christmas in the Summer is crazy!

I see people in the the Northern World laying in their treats, decorating their homes in the growing darkness, shovelling their pathways and generally taking time to reflect as Winter and Christmas close in....and it all makes perfect sense to me. But what am I doing? Trying to jam a multitude of events and responsibilities into the day, knowing full well that until School closes for 7 weeks (in exactly 8 days but who is counting), life will be crazy.

I have just spent 6 hours working out the swimming program for the School sports, I now have to do my President's report for Church Ladies lunch and AGM tomorrow, Thursday is the sports all day, Friday DD performs his Nativity at School Chapel, Saturday another break-up for School Council....and all fitted in around the fact that it is not deep in a quiet winter but right in the middle of our busiest farm seasons. ....I suppose there is no point starting a movement to shift Christmas to winter here so I can enjoy it and guaratee DH wont need to get on the harvester! I would promise to give a Winter Christmas even more religious respect...does that count?

Anyway, one good thing is that in the midst of all the reruns we will be given on TV for the next 3 months, one channel is actually doing Friends from the start, 7 nights a week...so I am guaranteed I can watch something of a night!

Another huge excitement is the first of my notecards have arrived. I did these with my Christmas cards and I am so happy with them. What do you think?

The Canola ones are just for me, but the others I can share with the World, I even included my own little label on the back of the pink succulent.

I love playing on the net!

These are the Jim Shore's, with "she wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger" printed on them.

And this is my pink succulent.

I am more than happy to share these further afield than just my local quilter friends. I can post around 8 internationally for $1.95 post and in Australia for 50 cents. I am selling them for 50 cents Australian a card, but am fully prepared to negotiate over fabric. Just drop me an email if you would like some.

Last but not least is my buy of the week!!! Dh did look at me as if I was crazy, but what is a person to do when their printers show them how good a photo looks on a t-shirt...and it is on sale as well!

I remember a male cousin of my Mum's coming to Christmas once. I arrived with my very small kids and framed pics of them for Mum and Dad, he looked at me and smirked in a very condescending way and announced "You are really proud of them aren't you!" It wasn't a compliment, I remember turning around and saying, "of course I am!" I often think of him and the fact his own children didn't care to have him at Christmas...and it is just one more reason to wear my t-shirt proudly.

Have a great day, Tracey