Not a Happy Chappy

I was always under the impression that if you subscribed to a magazine you would receive it before it hit the newsagents--after all the supplier already has your money. Late last year I subscribed to the CPS magazine for 12 months and the sub started with the January/Feb magazine which I should have received at the beginning of January. Unfortunately it arrived 3 weeks late much to my annoyance. Now I am still waiting for my second issue which was due out at the beginning of March and it is the 31st of March today and still no show. I had subscribed for 2 years to this magazine when it was first issued and I did have similar issues with it but never this late. I had hoped this problem would have been solved by now but obviously not. My point is are other people in Australia or other parts of the world having the same problems or is it just me.

I do know one thing --I will never subscribe to magazines from these people again--never ever.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Green Green Everywhere

"It isn't easy being green" sung Kermit the frog----------------- For the last 10 years our back yard at the beginning of Autumn was dry brown dirt where the grass should have been and the shrubs were dying one by one and the whole area was an eyesore. But look at it now----the grass is green (I won't call it a lawn because it isn't)--the trees and shrubs are green and growing every day and we have been able to replace three of the shrubs that had died previously. It is a pleasure to walk out the back door and see all this lovely green space..

You can see in the middle of the photo a green bird bath under a shrub--well at the beginning of Summer that bird bath was out in the open and now it is totally hidden by the foliage of the shrub.

If you enlarge the picture you will see it better.

The dirt area will have mulch on it very soon.

It is wonderful to drive around Canberra and see so much greenery.

Oh and Robin did you notice that the two trashpacks have gone--we had to get someone else to take them.

Stuff and a Friend

Well here is the "stuff" that I purchased from Dale all piled up on the table --- There is a book The Found Object by Cas Holmes that I have wanted for ages--a "Flimsie" wool pre felt which is so soft and beautiful in the Paris colourway plus some Sari Silk ribbon strips which I have ironed out flat ready to use. I also bought some Silk threads in the Paris colourway to go with the Flimsie. A huge bundle of Colourstreams silk threads (I still have 3 more to come). Three cards of variegated cotton threads and a jar of printability stuff. Oh joy is me------ Back at the beginning of March(I think or late February) I had a visit from a blogging friend who lives in Sydney and she wanted to come to Canberra to see Ballets Russes so I offered her a bed for the night and we both went to see the exhibition the next day. We also met up with Sharon Boggan for lunch before going to the exhibition. Christine who's blog is Lady Janes Journal belongs to the NSW Embroiderers Guild in Sydney and we had met previously when she came to see an earlier exhibition in Canberra. Christine and I talked and talked non stop because we have so much in common--in fact when I picked her up from the train station and we were heading home I kept taking the wrong turns because we were talking so much. No I wasn't a dangerous driver I was looking where I was going but not actually going in the right direction. Anyhow we had a great time which was over all too soon. We asked a stranger to take this photo of us while we were waiting for the train--I know we were told not to talk to strangers when we were young but how else were we going to get this happy snap.

I'm Back

minus my money-----and do I look like I am having fun--you betcha--like a kid in a lolly shop.
Talk about stuff-my little fat fingers fondled just about everything.






Dale and I in the back garden waiting for Ian to cook the lamb on the barbie-----

and it was worth the wait.

This is a leg of lamb that was boned and then butterflied out flat and marinated for a couple of days.

I have never tasted anything so beautiful and tender in all my 70 years of eating and he cooked it on a little Hibachi cooker.

All that was left after we all had two helpings-----I would probably have had an extra piece but I thought better of it.

I haven't taken photos of my purchases yet but will do so tonight.

Oh and the wedding was lovely as well which was the reason that we went to Perth in the first place.

Blog Break

Just letting you all know that I will be away for a week--we are off to Perth again -for a wedding this time and a spending spree with Dale at the Thread Studio--I can hardly wait to enter her Aladin's cave of wonderful treasures.
See you next week.

A Great Day

Today we had a visit from my dear blogging friend Robin from Robin's Ramblings and her husband Bill.
We chatted for 4 hours non stop except for when we were poking food into our mouths.
I have known Robin for over 4 years now and we have met on several occasions before when she had come down from Queensland to visit her son who now lives in Canberra.
We had a lot to talk about because we have so much in common and the words kept on flowing with hardly a breath taken in between sentences.
We got our husbands to take our photos together using both our cameras and all I can say is thank goodness they don't take photos for a living because we would all probably starve.
But we got there in the end.




Robin gave me this beautiful box that she made--I saw it on her blog the other day and secretly admired it little knowing that she was bringing it down here for me.
Robin does the best edges using zigzag stitch on her sewing machine and the beautiful gifts that she makes are fabulous.
I tried to take a nice photo of it but to no avail so I nicked this one off her blog-hope you don't mind Robin.



It's nice having good blogging friends.

New Banner

I'm in the process of making a new church banner for my local church(St Barnabas) which has to be ready for Palm Sunday on April 17th.

My friend Dimity who attends the same church is helping as well.

As you can see there is a cross with a crown of thorns over the top and there will be a palm leaf behind the lower half of the cross.

We are also making 3D thorns which will be attached by hand to give it texture.

Sorry about the bump underneath but that is the carpet behind it.

The pins at the bottom are there because some of the palm leaves have to be attached under the cross.

I will show you the finished banner when it is hanging in the church in April.