Another small house

This is the front and the back of a fairly rough little house that I made today. I wanted to see how this sort would work as against the ones with four sides. I like this better.
I had trouble with my machines, and thread etc etc but I have finally got this little one together. I had fun playing with my machine stitches.
I was up early today and headed for Adelaide, here the temperature only got to about 25 degrees C but in Adelaide it was going for 39 so I went up and delivered a late Christmas present to my sister, took her in to town to pay a bill and was home after getting the mail (and forgetting the wine and the papers!) by a bit before 1pm.
We did go in later to the market where I wanted to get some fresh vegetables for tomorrow night. So the papers and the wine were collected then.
I am a little bit weary but the house is as good as it will ever be for tomorrow and I have the meat etc so another early trip in to do the weeks shopping tomorrow, better before the holiday makers get out of bed! The town is a nightmare otherwise.
I am being a little hit and miss posting at the moment, the house is keeping me busy and with 7 for dinner tomorrow night, I have to be organised.
Happy New Year!

An 84th Birthday, returning from the Island, last dinner and a weevil

Boxing day I forgot to take my camera, shock horror I never forget it. We went for a walk on a beach in drizzle and called in on someone who wanted to talk to John about one of the boards he is on. We had a slow day and didnt eat or drink too much. I began packing as we were on the early ferry home, we had to be there by 8 am and it left early. We just made it.
It happened to be the work ferry and unfortunately had the smelliest load of uncovered rubbish on a huge truck and no where could I get away from the smell! And I get sea sick and need to be outside, luckily the roll wasnt too bad and we were back on the mainland earlier than we expected.
We arrived home and I unpacked the ute and John raced in, in my car to collect the cat, and unfortunately not his computer.
I unpacked the kitchen stuff, and then had to change as we had been invited to John's fishing mates 84th Birthday lunch, all with friends and it was glorious, the best food (he owns one of the best restaurants in McLaren Vale and the food is bliss.)
We left late and were home around 6pm and the dogs were fed, and Oscar, and we ate nothing, we didnt need to!
Early to bed and today it has been just as bad. I have spent most of the day unpacking and washing.
The beetle? Well it is some sort of weevil and was at least an inch long and was walking on the sand hills as we left the beach after our final walk, as John said if he had seen those tracks he would have thought it was a lizard not a beetle. Arnt they wonderful?

Christmas Day

A few bits and pieces, the day has not ended yet, and we will be having duck for dinner tonight, we had prawns and salad and oysters kilpatrick for lunch, with lovely bubbles.
A walk this morning over to lovely Pennington Bay where the water is the most unbelievable blue. My knee coped well with the steps and soft sand I am happy to report.
We awoke to humid weather and some rain early, the mainland, last photo, was very misty and odd looking from the front door.
I made the little fabric house yesterday, I think this is a prototype as I didnt realise it would be so big or so squashy, need to re think the lining, and I really was only playing to see how it would turn out. Just used the very basic stitches on my little pfaff hobby machine too.
So far a lovely day, the duck will be eaten late as we dont need much more food for ages!

Christmas Eve

The little tree is up, my mad dolls are on the mantle piece, we have walked the beach, had a drink with friends, and to all my blog friends, have a lovely Christmas and New Year. I rambled on a bit more on my other blog!
Off to watch Love Actually.
Love Penny

A few things I have been doing

A holiday hanging, taken from Jude Hills blog, these are remnants of my mothers clothes and bits and pieces put together to remember her. Then playing with these reverse applique I think it is called, I have been meaning to have a play with this for ages and jsut happened to put in a few small quilt squares I bought years ago, one worked well the others, well...
then I have been making a bit of fabric paper, this is a small piece of a much larger piece I made and then cut into more manageable pieces.
So a few things under way but not as much as I would have liked, but then again, I am on holiday so I am reading and relaxing a bit too.

Collection and the Raptor display

I have been collecting a few shells, although a lot of the beaches here are pretty rough so not too many shells, but the one in front of us has shells whenever I walk.
this morning we headed over to where the Raptor display is held as we had heard it was good. A reasonable price and nicely set up they had owls and hawks and eagles, and a few other birds trained to sit on peoples gloved hands. I really liked the barn owl who hopped from knee to knee in the front row and I took a photo of it sitting on Johns knee before it hopped onto mine. We could run the back of our hands down them, it was sooo soft. I have a huge thing about owls and have quite a collection of ceramic ones at home.
The first photo was of a little Nankeen kestrel, I had one for quite a time in the house near the back door until we released it, a lovely little thing who used to put the wind up visiting sales men.
The big owl, a barking or screaming owl was magnificent and then the wedge tail eagle, he is our largest eagle in Australia and this was only a young one, and today he wasnt being terribly cooperative!
All in all our $10 each was well spent.
We had friends in for dinner last night, and tonight more in for drinks tonight, we are being quite social, and trying to remember what the oven does can be rather interesting! All went well though and it is always lovely to catch up.

John's Birthday and Dudley Peninsula photos

This morning we went to Antechamber Bay and the Chapman River, here is John feeding the bream with my bread, they love it and really swarmed but he wasnt catching them, just feeding!
The next photo is of water, more water than I have seen in years on the lagoon with the mainland in the background.
some of the scrub and Antechamber Bay as we walked through the sand hills to get there and finally these magic ripples and reflections in the Chapman river. I took over 60 photos all up and had a lovely time editing them.
Off to dinner to celebrate and I have been busy doing odds and ends it is terribly tiring doing not very much!
Do click to enlarge all photos.

flowers and a walk on the beach

This morning I picked these flowers, for those in the northern hemisphere I thought you might like this bright bunch.
It has been pretty grey and overcast all day, we walked to the shops this morning and met old friends from here and at home! Half the world goes through Penneshaw.
I bought some cheap second hand books and some food and a wooden spoon for the house, although we will probably have enough for an army and we dont have an army to feed.
Any way that was walk one and this evening we had a quiet stroll along the beach, if you enlarge the fourth photo you will see John, he had a phone call and was way behind me. The second photo is of the sand hills we go through to the beach, then the third is one of the Islands blue wrens, I think they had a good breeding season as there are lots, they are a bit different to my home ones, longer and slimmer, mine are small and round, these are also a lot tamer.
Then walking across the sand was a dung beetle, leaving lovely tracks in the sand.
A lovely day for me, I made some fabric paper and am doing some sewing on my slow cloth Christmas hanging that Jude Hill was doing, mine is going very slowly!
John spent most of the day cursing his 2 (!!) computers that he brought here to upgrade and do other things, only to find he cant upgrade but will have to buy the newer version of quick books. He is not a happy chappy.
The knee is not hurting, I am probably gaining even more weight, we are eating and drinking well, but what are holidays for.
I am starting to relax.
(Click on photos to enlarge).

A wondrous moth and a very rough crossing.

Yesterday John brought this moth in, he was about 4 inches and very active and trying to take its photo was not easy. I assume he is one of the gum moths but so pretty.
Oh bother I have loaded these the wrong way.
I have spent the last two days packing and unpacking, sorting out the house for the sitter etc etc so I am now very tired and this morning as we headed over the peninsular for Cape Jervis it got damper and the wind was up and of course as we went down the hill to the ferry the white caps on Backstairs Passage were large and I knew I was in for a cold, damp and bumpy crossing. I sit up on deck facing the wind with as many clothes on as I can find, always prepared for this as sometimes the crossing to Kangaroo Island is calm and beautiful and sometimes it is like today, horrid. I had taken my sea sick pill and was fine but a lot who were around me were not. Not John he is fine and was down in the warm cabin. It took me ages to thaw out.
So a few shots, the first should be the last, is taken from the door of the holiday house looking at Hog Bay and the ferry berth.
The next is the other ferry which passed us at about the half way point, and then two taken from the ferry while it was berthed at Cape Jervis, it was pretty wild and windy, looking across to the island.
We called into the marked and bought some island produce and then as the house was still being cleaned went to visit our friend Bernard who has a wonderful glass gallery, I had lessons with him a few years ago and he does the most wondrous things with glass. I bought a stunning glass heart pendant.
Two more galleries to call into on the way back, one was a new one with some really great paintings by an artist who did some really good paintings of places on the Island as well as other places, his name is Richard Musgrave-Evans, one he had done of water reflections in the Chapman River was outstanding.
So we are here, re grouping and eventually I will hang the clothes up, all the other important things have been done.
Happy holidays!

Of baking and Jakaranda's and beetles

I have had a busy day today, baking, I havent got quite all I want to do done, but maybe I will manage a bit more tomorrow, depending on how the knee feels, I have been on it all day and it is not really liking me.
So the last boiled fruit cake, some biscotti and some plain biscuits are finished, the bread is still cooking, the washing is in, and I have been moving hoses all day.
Not that the weather is bad but our deep sand needs all the water it can get and so while I have it, I am making sure it gets it. I just hope the lawn mowing fellow comes tomorrow to cut as he is a week late and with all the rain we have had the kikuyu grass is going mad.
Yesterday we were in Adelaide, the jacaranda trees are late and have nearly finished, but I do love them so and this one was just opposite where we parked our car for the hairdresser, that wonderful blue.
I have also finished three more beetles. They are becoming addictive and I have a few more cut out and stuffed to take away with me.
the days are racing past and I need to sort a few more things before we leave on Sunday, not least leaving things for the house sitter so it (the house) doesnt look like a tip!

Red Gums

I stopped on the back road for a minute to take this photo of the red gums looking so well after the large amount of water they have had this season.
I had a round trip this morning of a blood test, dropped a very late birthday present in to Tab and saw a very naked Millie, then on around Myponga to Yankalilla and then to my sisters holiday house where she was for a few days so that we could exchange presents.
A nice trip, the back roads are lovely, although a bit dusty again, but it was enough for the day.
Adelaide tomorrow which I am not looking forward to but hair has to be cut and a few gifts still to deliver and be bought.
It is going to be hot too, and here it has been beautiful, not too hot and not too cold!
Hope every one is coping with all the pre Christmas stuff.

Waiting for Father Christmas, and a walk

I had a bit of a giggle at this set up in our shopping centre on Saturday, with no one there. I had to take a photo.
I went for a walk this morning as we were expecting a new foal and there she was in the furthest corner of the paddock.
She is the little one with the chestnut mare. These are a bit out of order. the sky and view from the bottom of the house paddock, then my Champion Section B Welsh mare and her lovely filly foal, the new baby, a little Section A Welsh . and finally my Cob mare with her Section C filly foal who is owned by my grand daughter Fenella, the start of her Welsh C stud.
I walked a bit further than I meant to, and then had to go out to a Christmas lunch but I found a chair and sat and then had people coming to join me which was lovely.
Then a cold wind came up, we were outside and I came home frozen and slept for two hours! I never sleep during the day, but we had a very disturbed night last night with high winds and the power going on and off.
We did prove you can still see to read by a candle but I dont much like doing it as it is quite dangerous.
Click to enlarge the photos.

Heads of garlic

I am just popping in to say I am still in the land of the living but things have been a bit busy and I have over done things with my knee a bit.
So I am feeling a little sorry for myself and hope to be back to regular blogging in a few days.
I took this a couple of days ago, before the storms, the vegetable garden full of weeds ( another worry!) and the hills beyond.