the weekend

when we head off to Nepal we are doing a 10 day trek through the Annapurna region.....so needless to say I need to prepare for the walks. last week I bought my trekking boots and have been out walking each afternoon since. yesterday I walked to the lookout in my nearby town of Maclean ......phew! I have driven up there many times but never walked and it's quite a hike.....but I made it. there are some great views from the walk up and back. afterwards I met my lovely friend for coffee and a long overdue catch-up, bought some magazines and did a little op shopping. in the afternoon I tried out my new watercolours - not a medium I've used much but one I want to get better at. hope your weekend has been fun.

spring moments

spring has well and truly sprung here at my house. the flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, the weather is warming up and the days are getting longer. I have to admit I hate to say goodbye to autumn and winter as they are my favourite seasons (I know, I know...I'm a bit weird) but also because it means that hot summer days are on the way and I don't cope with heat very well anymore. but spring is beautiful and our days have been lovely lately - how could they not be with all these prettys in the garden. here are some snaps I took yesterday afternoon. hope you've been enjoying your weekend.

time

time is so hard to find at the moment...especially time to blog. ahhh. we are planning a trip to Nepal and India later this year and every available moment is spent researching. we are travelling with dear friends and one of them has had some health concerns over recent months so our plans have fluctuated over the months. now it seems that things are looking good and planning is full steam ahead. my excitement is building. I love travelling - as those who have read my other blog will know. lots of the excitement comes from planning and organising but also from going into the unkown. I'm finding it hard to concentrate on other things at times as I immerse myself in reading about Nepal and India....these birds were inspired by the colours of India for a member of my Passages group toran.

more treasures

oops it's been a while...again! but I read a post recently about blogging without obligation so that it doesn't become a chore. I love keeping my blog but sometimes (read several recent weeks/months) it's just been too busy to post consistently. I've been to Sydney and Brisbane to textile events, been away to visit friends and tried to survive the end of term rush. the Textile Art Festival in Brisbane was great - a really interesting and informative mix of exhibitions and traders...well worth the visit. anyway here are some more pics from my auntie's house. some photos from the kitchen.

long weekend

what a lovely long weekend we just had. big family reunion, seeing relatives I haven't seen for ages, visiting the home of an aunty I haven't visited for a long time and taking lots of photos. here are a few of the photos from my aunty's home....she loves to collect old things just like me!

sunday moments

this past week has been very busy, busy, busy. today I plan to do some gardening, catch up with a friend over coffee and try to rearrange my house a little to accommodate the new drum kit my son bought last weekend....actually a little is probably an understatement - we are doing a major rearrangement! her are some lilies from my garden back in summer. hope your weekend has been fun.

drum roll please!

I've had word back about one of the exhibitions I've entered.....and I got in!!!! I'm a finalist in the Brisbane Textile Art Festival recycled textiles exhibition - in the textile art to live with. I'm very excited and now I'm definitely going to Brisbane that weekend. now what else can I fit in whilst I'm there???!!

too long

oh dear it's been a long time since I've posted. but I haven't been idle. I've decided that I really need to start entering some exhibitions and competitions again this year. I had a bit of a break last year whilst trying to get Etsy up and going (without a lot of success!) and doing some local markets (much more successful!). but I really miss entering exhibitions...it's very nice to see your work 'out there'. so this is a little sneak peek of what I've been up to. both juried shows so I won't tell you what they are until I know if I get in.....maybe later! off to do some op shopping now. have a good weekend everyone....

Anzac Day

the end of a beautiful and moving day

the Australian trenches

today is Anzac Day in Australia. I have to admit that until my son and I travelled to Gallipoli in 2008 I hadn't felt much connection to this part of our Australian history. that visit, however, was deeply moving even though at that time I didn't think we had any direct relatives involved with the campaign. Gallipoli is a significant site for Australians and Turks and both countries were involved in a war they didn't want to be in. the loss of life was staggering. to realise that if he had been born in another time my son could have been part of the losses which many Australian mothers endured was very scary. I felt real grief whilst I sat in the Australian cemetery looking out to the Aegean sea - such a beautiful place which has seen such horrible outcomes for so many young men. here are two of my favourite photos from that day when I learnt and felt so much....

bundles revealed

weathered photo and fabrics

nails peeping out from their bed - wake up!

some beautifully rusted lace

it's a little past the official reveal date but this morning I dug up, cut down, collected and revealed my erosion bundles......here are a few of the delights found inside. of the four bundles I made and placed in my yard one didn't quite make it. it was the one I buried in earth and I almost couldn't find it, but after a little digging I did find some bits and pieces. most of it though has completely eroded into the earth! I'm going to attempt to put lots of images up on a separate page (when I figure out how to do that) in the near future, but for now here are a few so you can see the changes....some really interesting things happen out there in my yard!