A full day

I made rock buns, John likes them to take fishing ( he is going tomorrow) and he felt the biscuits I had might break, so rock buns it is. They are really easy to do. Oh and I should have taken a photo of  the Moroccan chicken we had for dinner tonight before we ate it. Very nice.
This morning Max had an early run and a bit of an adventure, I am not sure if it is the same fox, but it is pretty laid back as it didnt see us until we were only a few yards away, then it and Max took off, I am afraid that the fox has a much faster turn  of speed and he lost it quite quickly. then while investigating its smell he put his nose on the electric fence. Not a happy dog! I have been surprised that he hasnt been bitten before.
We went in to the market and then up to McLaren Vale to see two exhibitions, the one at Red poles was done by a group of print artists, interesting and we had coffee there, and then on to Dog ridge where they had another interesting collection of artists. I liked the one in the last photo although I think she used the term Boro a bit loosely in how she made her art.
Dogridge has this lovely avenue of roses going up from the gallery and tasting shed to the house.
Some where in the middle we also bought a new fig tree, we may be 80 before we taste the fruit but I can always hope, it was a green genoa.
So out to dinner last night (have to say the food here tonight was better than last nights!) and a pretty full on day.
The way I like it, but tomorrow will be a lot slower.
Hope every one is having a good week end.

TAST 2 and a new book

This weeks TAST is, well I think it looks like starfish so thats what I call this stitch, wrapped spiders web I think is another name.
It took me ages to get my head around this stitch, but I did manage it finally. The one on the right wasnt quite right but I think the others are.
This wonderful book arrived last week,it was on Dale of The Thread Studios going going list so I got it at a great reduction.
I love it.
A difficult week, my arthritic hand is paining me and has moments of being quite bad. I am doing some exercises that I hope will strengthen the hand and wrist.
The funeral on Wednesday was, really rather lovely, sad for the going of a good and quiet man but organised so well. The tiny church had had arrangements for the large number of people to come, and just as well as it thundered and lightening shot all over the place and it rained. Thankfully not a huge amount as the burial took place, in a lovely small cemetery on a hill at the end of the pony paddocks.
I am beginning to think I would like to be buried and not cremated.
Now to try and help my dear friend through the next few months.
I really havent felt much like blogging but life does go on.
This morning John and I walked the cliffs at Petrels Cove, a windy cool blowy sort of morning, so nice to get out and enjoy the waves. I do have photos but ... I havent got around to downloading them yet.
Sorry if this is a little disjointed, its the way I feel.

Ships, a walk and the cockle train

I have finished two of these little sailing ships, they have taken me forever, mostly because I was procrastinating but I have one more to finish and they are done.
This morning we walked along the coast at Pt Elliot and as the tide was very w watched a black oystercatcher and a seagull.
Then the cockle train came along on the other side of the bay, I dont very often see it from this direction, as you can see it hugs the coast.
A bit further along there was a very tame magpie sitting on a rock, who posed nicely for me and then decided to sing very nicely as well. I wonder if it doesnt get fed at the near by caravan park it was so tame.
We went on into Victor to have a coffee and this is the close up of the cockle train that we had while sitting drinking that coffee, sea on one side, railway tracks on the other, have to love The Anchorage and its great coffee.
Click or double click to enlarge.
It hasnt been a good week end, finally I managed to catch my friend who has just lost her husband, lots of tears, lots of chat and some laughs, but it all left me drained. I am going through photos of our trips away to give her, those did bring forth some laughs, our hairstyles, what we wore, what we did and where we managed to get to, so many lovely memories.

The last few days

 I have been missing for the last couple of days as I havent felt much like blogging, havent actually felt much like anything as a very dear friend has died, suddenly, his wife and I had many adventures together with our pony trips and with the two of them we spent many happy skiing holidays. I feel really upset and unable to get down to much.
Having said that I did manage to do this little bit of silliness and hand stitching, and the other one is for the exhibition over Easter, one of the wrapped dolls, a background I had hand stitched on a hand dyed back ground with wrapped wire to represent trees.
I quite like it but not sure if any one else will.
This morning we went into the market and walked along the cliffs near Petrels Cove,( the last photo) and came home the back way and one huge bit of excitement, just around the corner from where I took the photo of the dirt road there was a bandicoot by the side of the road, they are quite heavily endangered and although we know they are known to live in the valley we very rarely see them and it was a huge thrill. They are predated on by foxes and wild cats and of course their habitat has been cleared but the place we saw this one in is just the sort of area they like. Just didnt expect to see one at 10.30 in the morning.
While walking Max this morning I also saw the first harbingers of autumn here, the purple crocus that isnt a crocus and I have forgotten its name Colchium I think. They look a bit battered and the soil is very dry even though I watered there a few days ago.

Fabric and paper journal

If you click twice on this photo you can see enlargements.
This is a book I have been taking ages to do but the idea came from the journals that Ro Bruhn makes.
My photos are not terribly good but you do get an idea of what it is like.
Top right is the front cover and below it is the back, aon the left in the middle is the buttoned spine and then there are various gfabric and paper pages.
I will probably start on another one now that this one is finally finished as I have plenty of paper to use up as well as some painted canvas. Something to play with when the muse has left me.
I will also go back to making simpler paper journals and perhaps a few more totally fabric ones which I love doing.

White cockatoos and local scenery

I have been a bit off for the last few days (dropping meds) but I have walked Max and John did take me for a cliff top walk. In the midst of all that my monitor for the computer has had to be replaced so not a lot of time spent on it.
While I walked Max out the back gate yesterday I could hear the loud screeches of the big white cockies and there they were flying onto the dam bank and eating I presume the kikuyu grass seeds and shouting at each other and me and Max. I was really pleased with this top photo of a group of them in flight.
The next photo is of them gathering on the dam bank.
I didnt walk far but the light seemed quite good so I took a photo of the hills on the other side of the valley from us. Looking at it now I am not so sure about the light being good at all.
The last one is looking across to Granite Island and Seal Rock from the saddle of The Bluff early on Sunday morning, such a silver sea and lovely clouds.
Thank you to all who commented on the wedding, they were very lucky with the weather as the next day, Sunday was quite windy and not nearly as nice a day.
I havent finished yet but I have almost finished a cloth and paper journal rather like the ones Ro Bruhn makes, I dont know how she does them so fast as this one has taken me ages and it still isnt quite finished. I am sewing buttons on the spine. Then I will take some photos. I will find a reference to Ro's blog when I put up the photos, she does such lovely stuff.
I think one of the reasons this has taken me so long is that I have had to get my head around something that is new.
Oh and this morning while I walked Max a fox was only a few feet away from me and of course it was the one morning I hadnt taken the camera.
He obviously hadnt smelt either Max or I as at one stage he sat and scratched, which did make me wonder if he had mange but he shot off like a rocket when Max finally saw him, which wasnt until a crow had come down and tried to chase him off.
Poor Max could smell him but couldnt find him as he shot through the garden. I decided not to let the chooks out this morning as he was a bit close.

A family wedding

One of our grandsons was married yesterday, the tradition in our family has been to have a wedding on the property, usually in the garden but this time in the paddock of their property, which once was ours but still adjoins ours.
My camera had a few hiccups so although I thought I had taken the boys arriving on motor bikes, some how my camera only took these few photos, and then I forgot it at the reception which was held in one of the implement sheds, all cleaned out and looking smart for the day.
The bride forgot her flowers so was a tad late (an hour!) but the day was pleasant and we had brought chairs and a hat and found some shade. The bridesmaids arrived on the back of a ute and one of the flower girls had a great time climbing a tree, her white dress will never be the same again, but then nor will the brides, she arrived back to the reception on the back of the motor bike, her new father in laws Harley Davidson. Didnt get that pic either.
It was along day and we old ones left around 5 pm ( the start was supposed to be 11 am!) to feed the dogs and shut up the hens and collapse in a heap after what was a lovely day.
Click to see larger photos.