Three Already!

Miss E about 12 hours old

This week

Enjoying one of her gifts

Berry ice cream cake

Amidst a whirl of pink and little girl curls, our "baby" turned three this week! Happy Birthday little Miss E! As we looked through photos of her first year, the unanimous cry was "You have to have another one!" There are seasons in life and we have to make the most of each one and be grateful. As we looked around our meal table we realised afresh the tremendous blessings we already have, amazed by God's grace, yet again.

Celebration

More to share later....off to church for now....
Have a great day!

Koalas

Koala's sleep about 20 hours a day, feeding on certain gum leaves, mostly at night. Koala means "no drink" in an Aboriginal language, they obtain their moisture requirements from gum leaves (which are really quite dry).

The first two photos were taken at Sydney Wildlife World. The last one is of a koala in the wild. We stayed in a holiday house on Phillip Island last March for a few days. One morning we were thrilled to discover a koala high up in a gum tree in "our" front yard. It slept pretty much all day and moved on at some stage during the following night.


Sharing this delight at Live Every Moment: Animals (and chosen as a favourite).

"Fresh Flowers" Quilt

It's finished! And it's rather pretty I think.

In the early morning light after completion this morning.
You can see the simple quilting lines accentuating the diamond shapes.

 This is the first quilt I have made using a charm pack (5"x5"squares) however I did end up leaving some fabrics out and adding a few extra squares of my favourites, all from Deb Strain's Fresh Flowers fabric range by Moda. Completed size, unwashed is 43" square (110cm).

*** You will find an easy to follow tutorial for making this quilt with slightly different border construction and a little smaller in dimensions over here at Wedding Dress Blue. Deanna has done a wonderful job of detailing how to construct an almost visually identical quilt.

Royal Botanic Gardens

We'll finish our mini-tour around Sydney with a walk from Hyde Park, down through the Royal Botanic Gardens, right in the heart of the city.

This is Farm Cove where the First Fleet attempted to grow crops.
Notice what's peaking through on the horizon?

From the Opera House I took these photos of Kirribilli House and the boat.

Thank you for joining me on our little wander through some of Sydney's centre, on my journey back through memories. All photos taken during our brief visit, early March 2010.

Hyde Park

Coming down from Sydney Tower, let's have a quick ground-view look at Hyde Park.
Remember the hexagonal fountain from the last post? Well here it is. Notice the avenue and lights beyond it too.
I wonder what it looks like at night.

Near the fountain, within the same Hyde Park area are these two imposing statues:

Queen Victoria

Prince Albert, or as stated on the stand, "Albert the Good"

Sydney Tower

Three more photos from Sydney Tower before moving back to ground level.

Looking across Hyde Park to St Mary's Cathedral and beyond

A closer view of St Mary's Cathedral

The fountain in Hyde Park

Now Do You Know?

Who will be first to tell me name of this well known Sydney building?

A Clue....

The "Guess" photo was taken from the top of Sydney Tower.......

Anyone ready to have a guess? Have a go.

Guess!!!

Ok, for a bit of fun, who can guess what and where this is???
More will be revealed later.

Sydney Landmarks

                                                                                                                                              Available for purchase here

The Sydney Opera House is recognised around the world, no explanation required.
The third shot is at Darling Harbour, Sydney Tower in the background and a small YWAM Mercy Ship ("I Want To Live") in the foreground. We had a look on board this tiny old ship, including the dental clinic. The work they do in developing nations is amazing.
The last one is taken waiting for a bus at Manly, watching a ferry coming in to Manly Wharf.
All were taken early March last year.

Scammells Lookout

Royal Grevillea in bud

Royal Grevillea in flower

Scammells Lookout, on the Alpine Way, looks east up to Watsons Crags on the Main Range, Snowy Mountains (about 390km  southwest of Sydney). On a clear day the view would be magnificent. I was taken by the unusual tiny Royal Grevillea buds and flowers around the lookout.

The Alpine Way was a drive with beautiful scenery and many bends in the road. I had not seen roadside cuttings wired in this way before.  The netting was to hold back rock falls, the evidence of which we saw in many places along the road.

Sneak Peak

I have just finished this quilt top. Lots of threads to trim before basting.

Aussie Pretty

I don't have a name for this one. Taken at Fitzroy Falls. It's unlike anything I've seen in our local area.

Kookaburra

We often hear the raucous laugh of this Aussie bird, even in town, with the occasional one visiting our own backyard.

Photos taken during our visit to Sydney Wildlife World last March.

Working on the Details

More to share in a few days......

Sunday Afternoon

We spent the afternoon visiting with my parents-in-love and attending to a few odd jobs for them.
Here's a sneak peak from their side gate....

No wonder they enjoy living there.

Sunday Quotes

Fitzroy Falls, NSW,  March 2010

"You only have what you give away.

All that you'll ever have is only what you've shared."

We aren't what we possess or what we pretend,

but only what we pour out.

These lines are quoted from this post by Ann Voskamp a few days ago.

"So these three continue forever:

faith, hope and love.

And the greatest these is love."

                    1 Corinthians 13:13

"Nature Play" Quilt Finished!

I love the satisfaction of completing a quilt and being pleased with the end result. For this quilt I have used a variety of Patty Young fabrics and fine tuned the design as I went. Hand quilting with variegated sulky threads worked well for this design and was quite relaxing to do. It's certainly a "happy/playful" feel quilt.

Progress

My fellow quilters will know what this is. Progress is being made, there will be more to show in a few days.....

A Rare Treat

This week the Chamber Philharmonia Cologne had a one night concert in our town.

Living in a country town far from any large city, an opportunity like this wasn't to be missed. Accompanied by  my four eldest daughters, three of whom play instruments themselves, we enjoyed a sensational evening out.

A Country Road

A favourite photo of mine.....

This scene reminds me of the beautiful countryside where I grew up. Our family farm was connected to the outside world by narrow windy dirt roads. As a young child I walked along dirt roads to attend a one teacher school, the same school my father had attended before me. Looking at this photo I can almost smell the gum trees and hear them rustling in the breeze. Beautiful Australia.

Taken at Washpool National Park, northern NSW, April 2006