Look what I've got!!!

O.K., Ok. I know l promised to blog more, but l have a good reason why l haven't.
My trusty computer died on me. May it rest in peace.
How did we ever get to the stage in life where we couldn't live without one?
How sad my life has become!!!
Never fear. I have a new toy. I decided that l probably could do without an expensive laptop for awhile, so l took advantage of the pre iPad 3 sales.
I'm now the proud owner of an iPad 2.
That is when l can get it away from the grandchildren!


It's not a very clear photo, but you get the gist.

I started to blog last week, but found out that I needed an app to do that.
It's a whole new world that I have to learn about.
I may not like this as much as I did when I used my computer. Time will tell.

Ok. Now what else has been happening.
The twins were invited to there first birthday party on Saturday.
You would have thought it was Christmas. I have never seen them that excited.


They had a wonderful time (and so did I ). It was at the local park and a perfect place for a treasure hunt. The prize for each child was a bubble wand.
It was absolutely magic seeing the park fill with bubbles. The parents were having as much fun as the kids.
Must have something to do with getting in touch with our inner child.



Tahlia really got into the spirit of it all.

Today is my day.
Each Tuesday I spend the day with my girlfriends. These are all girls that I have met through patchwork. There is nothing more relaxing than spending the day talking, sewing, eating (and blogging).

There are 9 of us, and all the girls want to blog what we are working on. I will spend this week trying to learn more about blogging on the iPad and then we will be ready to share with you all.
So until then
Stay happy
Lynne

How Time Flies

I can't believe that it was 2010 since I last blogged.
So much has happened in that time, that it is hard to know where to begin.
I suppose the biggest change in our lives is that we now have 3 of our grandchildren living with us permanently.

Aren't they cute.

Jordan,8 years old, and 4 year old twins, Tahlia and Ebony-Rose, moved in last March.

It's been a hard slog having to raise little ones again, especially with all the trauma that they had been through.
I have had a lot of help from Anglicare with their Kinship Program and Bev from Anchor. They kept me sane. (although I know some of my friends will say that I wasn't all that sane to start with.)
As you can see, the kids are now happy (most of the time) and the good times far out weigh the bad.

The other big change in my life is that my best friend, Ann-Maree, closed her patchwork shop, Primitive Patches. That means that I am no longer teaching for her and I have more time to finish off a room full of projects.
That being said, I guess I will have no excuse now not to blog about my crafts.
So, as I am sewing with my Tuesday Friendship group tomorrow, I will show you what I worked on tomorrow night.
Until then, stay happy
Lynne

It's Melbourne Cup Day!

It's Cup Day and the rain has not stopped. So much for spending the long week-end in the garden. My darling husband has turned over my veggie garden for me, (despite the fact that he is dying with a head cold) so at least when the rain stops for 5 minutes, I will be able to start planting.

It would have been just prefect if the weather had stayed like it was earlier in the week. It was true Spring weather.

The rhododendrons are starting to bloom.



The girls and their beau are loving scavenging in the garden.

As we have one of our grandsons living with us Monday to Friday, I thought it was time to start teaching him to cook.

We made salmon patties and Jordon had a wonderful time getting his hands into the egg whites and bread crumbs. I have to admit that they were delicious. Well done Jordy!

You won't believe it. The sun is trying to come out. I just went outside to check the veggie garden and took a couple of photos.

This is my veggie garden. With a quick rake over, it will be ready to plant up.

 And take a look at this rhody. This is the same one that I photographed earlier in the week.

It's in full bloom in under a week. It's amazing how a little bit of sunshine can transform the garden.

This is not my most spectacular specimen, but it is by far the biggest. At about 20 odd feet, it towers over some of the others.
Well the Melbourne Cup is about to run, so I am off to watch it. Will write again soon.
Until then, be happy!
Lynne

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The week that was!

The rain has not stopped for the last two days, and quite honestly I love it. This is the perfect weather to catch up on the things I have been wanting to do at home. One being to tidy my sewing room so that I can be creative in there. The other is to catch up on my blogging.
I so want to tell you about my week.
It started with last Sunday. My darling husband organised my youngest son to come and cook brunch for me as a belated birthday celebration.

My macho chef son with his tattoos and pretty frilly apron.

You can tell he is his father's son. Always out to make you laugh. He brought one of his house mates, Taryn, along to help.They really whipped up a storm. Taryn made delicious pancakes and Luke cooked the rest of the makings for a Canadian breakfast ( my favourite)



Luke will make some-one a good husband one day( or is that a good wife?)

While Luke cooked, his Dad played games on Luke's I-Phone. Talk about role reversal!!!



I had to download this game for him on my phone after Luke left.

The weather was beautiful, the food was amazing and the company was wonderful. I think that was the first time that my eldest son, Marc, had brought his girlfriend, Sam, for a meal. And to top it off, the in-laws were very well behaved.(just kidding guys)
Mark then disappeared for a while and came back with a bunch of white roses.

He said that they represented a new beginning in our life. We are starting to take back control of our lives, from our kids.

So  a big THANK-YOU to Lukey and Taz for a wonderful meal and your uplifting company.
O.K. Ex factor has started, so I will write about the rest of the week tomorrow.
Until then, be happy!
Lynne

I remembered.

As promised, I am posting a photo of the cross stitch dish that I bought at Cameo Corner.

Isn't it the cutest thing

As I said yesterday, Ann-Maree and I bought some fabric from Threadbear. This is the bundle that we bought to share. It's  called "Whittier Crossing". A nice addition to our repro stash.

Ann-Maree only bought the paisleys for the shop.

Today I spent the morning with another of my wonderful friends, Mazzy. I had to go to Knox, and as her hubby is in Germany, she jumped at the chance to get out of the house. We had a lovely time browsing the shops. She was looking for clothes, and I started my Christmas shopping. Christmas shopping is so much more fun when you know what you are looking for, and you have a friend to share it with. The chai latte wasn't half bad either. Thanks for a fun morning Maz.

O.K. It is 3:30pm. time to put dinner on before I pick up Jordy from After School Care. It's roast chicken tonight. Wasn't home on the week-end, so I had better feed the boys a decent meal tonight.
Until next time, be happy.
Lynne

What a month it has been!!!

Well it is official. I am a terrible blogger. For some-one who loves to talk, you would think I was better at this, but noooooo.

Anyway, on with the goss.

Let's start with today. For anyone that is into quilting, then they would know that Quilts in the Barn at Wonga Park, was on this week-end. Linda  has a wonderful husband, who built her a huge American style barn on their property. Each year she, and her many friends, holds a quilt expo to raise money for Breast Cancer Research.

This year the quilts were the amazing works of Di Ford and the Secret Sewing Sisterhood. What a fantastic name for a sewing group!

Here are some of the girls in the group (I believe there are 4 more) posing in front of the quilt that they made for Di's special birthday. Ann-Maree and I just loved this quilt. We might even attempt a smaller version for ourselves.

A lot of the money that is raised comes from the raffle quilt and I believe that the Sisterhood had a hand in making it this year.

I hope you can see it clearly enough to appreciate how lovely it is. I didn't get a phone call, so I guess I wasn't the lucky winner. I did buy the pattern though, so maybe one day I will have one.
Another quilt that I have the pattern for is this one, designed by Michelle Yeo.

                                                      At least this one I have started.

A large amount of the quilts had hundreds of different fabrics. They justify the need for buying more fabric and luckily, Threadbear from Castlemaine, was there. Even Ann-Maree bought fabric, and she owns a patchwork shop.

After we left the Barn, Ann-Maree and I, and our friends Tracey and Debra, headed to Cameo Corner in Wandin. A mixture of antiques and French provincial, it is a favourite spot of ours. I bought a lovely little dish with a cross stitch design on it. ( will post a pic tomorrow.)

From there we all headed to the Patchwork Teahouse in Warburton for lunch. There is nothing nicer than having lunch surrounded by interesting things to look at. The four of us do the same thing every year. It's always nice to have a great day out with like minded friends.

This is all I have time for tonight, but I promise to post more tomorrow. Promise!!!

Until then,

Lynne