Family,Blessings and Bucket Lists

This Easter was spent away from home but still with family. We went to Grafton 8 hours away to see Bobs Mum who is 90 and his sister Jan who is the same age as me and facing the fight of her life,she will have her breast removed next Tuesday and some Lymh nodes with breast cancer so our aim was to fulfil her bucket list or at least some of it.

Jans first ask was a trip to Nimbin! This is the place that held the Age of Aquarius festival in the 1970's and is the dope capital of Australia lol,full of hippies,dreadlocks and alternate lifestyle people, where hairy legs and armpits are a must and thats for the women!! We were out of the car only 5 mins when jan was offered some cookies that "look just like Anzac" bickies lol the seller was an Aboriginal lady in her 60's.

Bob hand I have been there before and I must say it was a lot cleaner and less "in your face" than last time, Jan and Joan loved it and we did so enjoy seeing all the hemp products and some of the lovely artwork,however there are "no photos please" signs all over I guess they are protecting their goods so i just took this couple.

The old Kombi vans are everywhere and sone have fabulous paint work others have written on them things ladies do not say lol however we did have a wonderful few hours wandering around,last time we were there the school children were crossing the road and some unruley, we heard the teacher call out, Arrow, Cloud,Summer the names say it all.

On the way back we stopped off at a fascinating place,it is an Aboriginal sacred place,once stones would have made the circle but of course people take things and the stones disappeared over the time and so posts and rails have replaced them,women were not allowed in the circle and the young boys would be taken here to be initiated into manhood,I have to say you can feel all the spirits here and no...we ladies did not go into the circle i feel that would have been just the wrong thing to do,I imagine many have just because they could!

The circle of posts where once rocks marked the area.

Although very hard to read this is the explanation of the site, there are many of these around our country and we must preserve then, the Aboriginal culture is amazing and so important,we seem to be realising this over here now more than ever,Jan has worked with the Aboriginal community for may years and so this spot held sigficance for her and now us also.

Next we went on to have afternoon tea in a lovey tea house that overlooked the Clarence River, just a couple of months ago with all the rain this was all under water,we sat on the balcony and took in the wonderful view and had lovely chats.

                                                                  Bob and his Mum Joan

Jan and myself,Jan had hair down to her waist and decided to have it cut short ready for her treatment,she is a good person,we gwet on very well,I am just sad that we did not have that relationship when we were younger,don't know why it just never happened but with the last few years it has been lovely and there is nothing I would not do to help her.

Jan is the keeper of all things precious in the family,paperwork photos etc, and she is the keeper of their Great Grandmothers paintings,we do however have one lol don't know how we managed that but with Bob being the eldest he does not mind at all that Jan has these,she gets great pleasure form looking at them and when we visit the children all want to look.Adye Hamilton illustrated many books in the late 1800's and she also passed this talent onto Bobs uncle Doug who is a Tree Doctor and wrote and illustrated some books on Eucalypts,however I digress as usual...ere are 3 of Adye's paintings,flora being her forte.

 Everyone's favourite and the moth had been flicked away by everyone who has ever seen it.

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter,with us it will be remembered for a long time to come,we were so busy we did not eat any chocolate! however we did remeber to praise God and also remember Bobs Dad and my Grandfather on Anzac day and be grateful for their fighting to make our great country free and the place it is.

     





                                       Everything Aches ...but Hey it was worth it........


The Quilt opening night went wonderfully,everyone had a great time,the guest quilter Yan Pring that gave the talk gave many good tips, the Information Centre was officially opened by the mayor and she even purchased a quilt!

This is the Quilt Yan Pring donated as a prize,it depicts our town from her eyes and was won by one of our girls elderly Mum.

Some of the 70 ladies that were "on show" on the night.

I was very shocked to see this there and can think of 100 other women that should be.

 A surprise to me was the wall of pics of Influential Women in the Hunter there were 70 all up and some amazing ladies there I was in shock to find me there!and very embarassed as I do not like to be "out there" I like to quietly go about what I do,a couple of years ago I received the Citizen of the Year Award on Australia Day and they used that pic so I am there with 4 of my grandchildren,I was unaware that this was going to happen and did not even have Bob to hide behind as he did not come with me as it was a ladies thing.



Then on Sunday it was all hands on deck as the Quilt day opened, it was overcast but the people still came out in droves, it was wonderful, however I was so busy in the kitchen did not get to take many pics, here are some of my lovely helpers in the kitchen as we made humungous amount of sandwiches and served up the yummy quiches, salad and sweets,these are just 4 of the 10 workers!

The Cackle Club had a little stall of goodies as last year people complained there was no handmades for sale,we did very well and here are Edith and Heather,just finished setting up before the people came.

Edith actually sold the pink quilt in the background to our new doctor,funniest thing is he is her next door neighbour and when his wife popped in at her home when it was being made she kept admiring it.

Hopefully someone else took lots of pics as there were so many beautiful quilts there.

Have a blessed day and keep well everyone,soon we will have 5 days off,can't wait I am ready for a break and hopefully sit down a while lol.

                                                                 Big Weekend Arisn'


Ruth has been layed to rest in her beloved home town and her brother Mick has been lay down to join her,the family perhaps will be lost for some time as a huge gap has been made, our little family are very tired but would not change a thing they did a marvellous job of nursing Ruth and she was wrapped in love.

Now today is scary for me our eldest grandson was chosen at school 1 of 18 to go to Hong Kong for 2 weeks, they will be in the providences working in rice fields,seeing the wonders of China and such an honour but as a Grammy I am worried about him as he is only 12! gosh what a journey for a lovely young man,he is a gorgeous boy  a very committed youth worker already in his church and just seems beyond his years,his dream is to be a pilot so we will see what life deals him,safe journey darling Alex ( I always whisper in their ears that they are the favourite one so all 6 grandchildren think they are Grammy's favourite and no one else knows hee hee).

Eva my darling friends anniversary is next week so the memories of her seem stronger than ever,it will be 2 years and as her resting place is in the UK her family will take flowers there for us.

Now back to normal life,our quilt fair is on this weekend so it is go go go, it will make me think of things other than the sadness that has shadowed us recently.Today is hanging day and we will hang about 150 quilts and little displays so I will take pics.
Tomorrow night is the opening night with nibblies and drinks and a talk from Yan Pring an Aussie quilter and crafter and the opening of our new premises for our Aberdeen Information Centre which is part of the Community Group that I am in,the Mayor of the biggest town near to us will open it,a "she" how lovely women are holding these positions these days.
There will also be a tribute to Influential Women of the Hunter there,that will be intersting there will be pics and a little blurb on each one.
Then Sunday is the day it all happens, usually people come from all over to see the lovely works the ladies have made,I did not enter any quilts this year opting for smaller items for a change, I will be in the kitchen,I am happy there lol away from the maddening crowds.
My list for the cooking is quiches, boiling dozens of eggs ready for sandwiches,Strawberry Mousse,Whole Orange Cake that I make now wherever I go from Rhonda on Down Earth blog it is the best cake I have made for a long time so easy,Pecan and Maple syrup little tarts,and a caramel,macadamia and white chocolate slice,devine a little expensive but special yumm yumm ,these will be for the lunch our little group offers you get a choice of 2 lunch menus,one is sandwhices and 2 pieces of slice or cake and a hot or cold drink,then there is quiche and salad,Strawberry Mousse with wild berries and cream served in a wine glass and a hot or cold drink...I think people will be happy with that...so bring it on,a huge weekend ahead,Hang the quilts today, cook all day sat and relax Sat eve with the opening,and then the big day itself..o'h imagine the sore feet on Sunday evening I will be back to winging lol..love it all..
So have a good weekend everyone I hope that I have some interesting pics to show the quilt lovers and maybe some tales to tell .

                                             Not again...this can't be happening!!!

When announcing the passing of Ruth on friday before we left to go to our son that needed some building help,I mentioned that Ruths son Robert had been killed a long time ago at 17,I thought the post was dismal enough I did not mentiont that her niece who was 42 had died in February this year from the exact same cancer as Ruth.Her mother is Blanch, Ruths sister..Ruths brother Mick and Blanch live very close by and Blanch went to Mick on Friday evening and they shared a beer together in memory of Ruth as she and Mick always made home brew together before Ruth moved from her hometown.They shared a lovely evening of memories.On Sat morn Blanch rang Mick for some dates and family information to give to the ones getting the funeral for Ruth organised,no answer....she diecided to go around to his home to find he had died in his sleep! 3 family members in 3 months! enough! I am sorry to be so morbid,it is just awful,thankyou for letting me get it off my chest,I spoke too early a couple of posts ago when I said no more winging...
My belief is that Ruth got to heaven on Friday eve thought it was such a great place she came straight back and got her Mick...happy home brewing in heaven Ruth and Mick..please don't come for me yet,I have to finish my sewing for the quilt fair.My poor son in law,his favourite cousin,Mum and now his favourite Uncle,like I said enough!

                                                      Eternal Rest for Ruth

Ruth passed away peacefully at 7.30 last night at Steve and Kates home, she was wrapped in love in her last few months with us and found the peace and joy she had craved for many years,bless her she is now with her beloved son Robert who was tragically killed at 17 and she never got over it, they are now in Gods care together,sweet eternal dreams Ruth only the good things will be remembered.

Bobs sisiter Jan saw the specialist yesterday and she wil have her operation in the next 2 weeks followed by 6 weeks ray treatment, our prayers are with her as she goes on this journey,we will go at Easter and have time with heras she is 8 hours away from us.

                                                              That awful "C" word.

Those that follow by blog will have read that my daughter is nursing her MIL with terminal brain cancer,the update on Ruth is that she is still with Kate and Stephen and although sleeping almost all of the time,pain free at this point ,her time is very limited, all has been said that needs to be said,peace has been made where possible and  Kate is the main carer but Stephen sits beside his Mum on and off and hour at a time just gently stroking her,Olivia who is 8 brushes the little hair that is left after chemo and yesterday brushed Grans teeth which was hillarious apparently and Gran stired enough to smile,she is so humble in her time of exiting our world,Alex 12 does not say too much goes in and touches Gran and next Friday he goes to Hong Kong with school,such a huge journey and he wonders if Gran willl be there when he returns in 2 weeks or if she will leave them before he goes, William 4 is the one who has made her laugh so much in the last 4 months,only time he pokes his head in the door is to hug and kiss Gran and when they are bathing Ruth as she can no longer make it to the shower,calling out in his naughtimess "I can see your bumm" this just makes her smile and I bet she thinks he's a buggar of a kid.How lovely that she is nurtured in all this love and kindnss,this sweet humble lady that was once a vixen with a tongue like a knife,this family on the moment of being told of her illness said "you will come to us and thats that" otherwise she would be alone somewhere going through this,I am in awe of my little family.
Now the awful C word has come to bite our family again.
On Monday my sister in law was walking past the local florist and saw a painting in the window,   it was Bouguereau,,,Evening Mood,she thought the lady in the painting had a strange looking boob like hers so proceeded in to ask about the painting,she was told it was the artists wife who had died of breast cancer,Janet hot tailed it to the womens health clinic,they in turn took her straight to the doctors surgery, a biopsy was done on Wed and today she will be given her results and will be told what is to be done, already more or less been told the breast and Lymph nodes will have to go but as that was the GP's comment she is holding out for what the specialist has to say.
Do you check your body? I know I don't,we are always told look in the mirror for changes and feel for lumps,Jan never does either.
O'h but for that painting it may have been too late, it may already be,I wonder how many women have looked at it and seen a likeness, my daughter tells me that at University when she was studying nursing they were shown this painting as an example.

BOUGUEREAU-EVENING MOOD.

Prayers and thoughts today for Janet and for Ruth who are both precious in our eyes, and to any of you who have someone in your family in the same position.

A Mixed Bag

I wonder what you do when you are stressed or worrying too much for your own good.For me it is sewing I suppose,either that or I have a compulsive disorder I am not aware of lol.

Ever since I started to sew,paint and do craft in general I could never just do 1 item,it is as though I just can't help myself.

We have our quilt day in 2 weeks and we were all asked to do a display and as you saw in previous blogs I made all those bags to go on display,I wont however be putting them all in.

I also make cup holders that you take your coffee cup to work or meeting etc,it is a lovely little bag,it has pockets for teaspoon and tea bags or little jar of coffee.I often make these for gifts and my daughters friend ordered 6 in "shabby chuc" colours,I decided well I will do one for her other friend that loves horses and a few for the display.Same as for the little thible holders I made a few of them.

So this weekend my sewing coener looked like this:

From this chaos(although I knew where every thing was) came this:

Yes you are seeing right!! 22 cup bags some with embroidery,some just scrap and patch types a horse one in there lol and 18 little thimble holders! Crickey no wonder my eyes were popping!

So all I have to do now is finish off a quilt that will be given to an elderly lady yet to be chosen on our seniors day and then I am done until it is time to cook for the day.Yes it is a stress reliever, and yes it does stop me worrying about everything and yes I am feeling like a sausage factory.Why do I make so many of everything,blessed if I know.

Here are a couple of finds I had this week and could not resist.

                                                These cute little pink pepper and salt shakers.

My  grandaughters will love these tiny fine china cups and saucers for their cuppa next time they visit and a lovely Robert Burns birthday book.

Have a great day,enjoy the ride of life no matter how rough,keep your chins up and know that things can only get better,have faith that all things happen for a reason and that reason will be revealed at some time.Pray with meaning, love with all your heart and give thanks daily for even the smallest things that come your way be it even a smile or a touch of kindness.
NOW!!! if I can just take all that advice and use it I will be fine lol
Thankyou all for your friendship.xx