Changes

I'm moving to a new job next week.  I'm full of nervous excitement at what is to come, but that is tinged with sadness at what I am leaving behind.  Today my wonderful colleagues presented me with a beautiful book as a farewell gift.

'The Golden Age of Couture'

Speaking of books - despite Canberra's freezing temperatures (last night it was -8oC (17.6oF)) my husband and I are planning our garden for the coming summer.  We still have some tomatoes hanging under the verandah, but we ate the last of our potatoes tonight (along with fresh parsnip and beetroot from the garden).

And more books!...  This knitting book from the library has some lovely patterns that I'll hopefully make at least one of. 

What have you been inspired by lately?

This weekend

We got eggs!  We haven't had home laid eggs since before Easter.  We think they are from Phili, but they could be from one of the new girls - Harriet or Cottontail.

I've got the flu.  Lots of aches and snuffles.

Birthday flowers

The tulips I bought my husband for his birthday last week have bloomed to their full colour.  We really love them so if anyone knows which tulip it is please let me know so we can try and track down some bulbs to grow.  They are dark purple with blue blushes on the inside bottom of each petal.

Vive le tour!

Yay!  It is that time of the year again.  I LOVE the Tour de France!  I introduced my husband to the Tour by enticing him with the scenery and Gabriel Gate's recipes, he then got into the actual cycling and now agrees it is worth watching.  Sadly with the huge time difference between France and eastern Australia we can rarely stay up to watch a whole stage.  One year I am going to spend my annual holiday staying up late to watch every stage (and late nights in front of the TV will give me lots of opportunities to knit and sew!). 

The Tour is my favourite sporting event.  I've done a little bit of long haul cycling myself, but I have absolutely no illusions that I could ever do the distances that the Tour covers.  About 10 years ago I cycled the Orkney Islands (off the north coast of Scotland) and it rained 9 days out of 10!  I also cycled from Bristol to Exeter following the English coast - it wasn't as rainy as the Orkney's but almost!  Despite the rain I love cycling in the UK because there are such small distances between towns and villages - giving lots of opportunities to visit many bakeries!

Hopefully this year will be Cadel's year at the Tour.  Will you be staying up late/ getting up early to watch? 

Childhood memories

Late last year when Ruth Park's death was reported memories of 'The Muddleheaded Wombat' came flooding back to me.  This is my most cherished childhood book.  The adventures of Wombat, Mouse and Cat were so wonderful and endearing I read them over and over.  I wanted so much to sail down a river on an upside down umbrella. 

Thank you to Ruth Park, May Gibbs, S.A. Wakefield and all other children's authors who help to enrich our imaginations.

ps:  The Big Bad Banksia Men still send shivers up my spine and I always look twice at banksia trees - do you?!

Something special

My husband had to travel interstate for work last week.  He brought me back this lovely brooch from Adelaide.

ps: He bought some crocodile jerky in Darwin for Tansy - it smells horrible, but she loves it!

Step back in time

While I was living in the UK a few years ago I travelled to Yorkshire for a couple of weeks.  I adored the Yorkshire Dales, and it became one of my favourite parts of England.  I also stopped in Whitby for a couple of nights.  I knew of Whitby from the classic novel 'Dracula' and from countless school history lessons about Captain Cook, but it was the gem I found while wandering through the town streets that now reminds me of Whitby.

By chance I happened upon the Sutcliffe Gallery.  I spent probably about an hour in the little gallery gazing at photo after amazing photo of people and common sites in Whitby and its surrounds from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.  After much agonising I finally decided on my favourite photographs and left the gallery with two postcard sized prints (which are now framed and hanging in our house).

Early photographs always interest, and often intrigue, me - and the photographs of Frank Meadow Sutcliffe are something special.  Beautifully composed and expressive in every detail.  The milkmaid with her milking stool, the boats in the harbour, the sailor with a peg leg and the women knitting.  I love them all.  If you have some time, browse the online gallery and lose yourself in historical Whitby (I do every few months and never tire of it).

Coming Home

I love coming home from work.  Tansy is ecstatic and leaps everywhere, running to me for cuddles, then running to find a toy for me to throw, running in circles, and so happy.  My husband is there with a welcoming hug, and it is nice just to be at home.  It is made even more lovely now that it is summer and we have delicious fruit to eat in the evenings.  Cherries plump and warm from the sun pop in your mouth and the juice bursts out.  A handful of raspberries with an aroma so beautiful and rich it lingers on your fingers and in the air.  Then there is the fun of looking under leaves for new summer vegetables - on Sunday we picked the first cucumber of the season.  How wonderful it is to be home.

Vintage Crystal

We had our wedding anniversary recently and my husband gave me these beautiful 1930s glasses as a gift.