Food shopping this morning

There are wonderful shops up here, just around the corner so more photos, J is amazed at what I take photos of, perhaps also are so many others, I dont know, but it is fun to have so many records.
These are all olives made in every way possible!
The fruit and veg, and then I couldnt resist the ice cream area, isnt this incredible (click to blow it up).
Finally next door was this glorious kitchen shop. Just as well it doent live near me or I would be broke, aprons in every colour imaginable and utensils I only see in books.
I took lots more of these but picasa only lets me do 4 photos unless I make a collage.
I am a real country bumpkin in these places.
9 for dinner tonight and I am the main cook, never cooked a large lump of beef on the BBQ before so it will be interesting.
walked around the little Botanic gardens here too this afternoon but forgot my camera. I never forget my camera so John had to use his phone, the photos are not brilliant.

Around and about Surfers

I may be making more collages, at the moment I am doing very little, it is nice to relax and just wander around with my camera, taking photos of anything that catches my eye.
Most of this is our wander yesterday down to the spit with a few rather more tropical plants thrown in than I see at home.
The skies were in credible yesterday, today it rained a lot and J had a funeral to go to so we didnt do a lot but a bit of retail therapy was done, some wine and some anti itch stuff and2 new handbags, not expensive but could be useful.
we did discover that the cat loves prawns, J is allergic to them so we have them for lunch when she isnt home. Huge and Yummy, 4 each was all we could manage.
Not sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow, no doubt a walk, we had a short turn around the park this evening, I hope no more midge bites!!

Bit more of Surfers

We are being in holiday mode today, so a few more odds and sods photos.
The orchid in flower in the garden, a close up this time.
The view from just inside to the balcony where we eat if the weather is good and the wretched midges eat me because I forgot to spray myself, so I have very itchy wrists, in summer it is ankles!
We went to look for some clothes this morning and came home empty handed but I was rather interested in this shop called I think Never old or some such thing, very shabby chick stuff and at least a bit different. So many sales, I wonder how many will survive when they have up to 70% off in some stores.
We wandered around the neighbourhood yesterday, my lead up walk to see how far I could go, and although we do this every year, I still like to take photos.
To me this is a very Surfers Paradise house, this is the street front, the other side is on the water.
More photos to morrow of our walk to the end of the spit and the crazy things some of the Asian tourists do, now to help get dinner and then drinks with friends.

Now in Queensland

From the plane en route to Melbourne, loved the circles.
Melbourne airport, we flashed through here twice, once on Saturday morning and again on Sunday on our way to Sydney.
Next, unnamed well known Welsh members at the very funny AGM and conference dinner, I dont think too many Welsh breeders read my blog so I hope they and I are safe!
We seemed to be travelling all day yesterday, but the morning was spent being told a heap of stuff I already knew, but it was great to catch up with so many old friends.
Then a mad race to the airport and we seemed to be running all day, almost from one plane to another , then dinner with the tennis crew, lots more old friends and finally fell into bed at about 10.30, a long, long lovely day.
Not terribly good photo of J's garden.
Now for a week or so of fun.

Sun moon stars

I have finally finished this small slow stitchery that I was doing in Jude Hill's on line class,
I am afraid the photo wouldnt crop and the face doesnt show up terribly well.
Lots of bits and pieces went on here.
Lots of slow hand stitching, some bleaching and playing around.
Very damp today, but I am catching up on things and getting packed to go away, trying to clean the house and leave it for the sitter.
I do hope that Melbourne isnt too cold and Queensland is warmer, not sure what I am packing, I may end up washing and wearing the same things over and over again.
More importantly what sewing and painting stuff I am taking with me.

In the garden

I have just taken these photos a few minutes ago. the garden is soggy and some of the winter flowers are damaged after the deluge of over 44 mm and the wind on Monday night but the sun was out and I needed a walk. the little blue wren was hopping around hoping I would disturb some insects. Not sure if this is a male or female, as the young males look like females at this time of the year. We have several families who claim territories in different parts of the garden but they are so tiny, and so quick I never seem to be able to get a good photo.
We call them the flying mice.
We have a large branch down off the liquidamber, luckily not the one near the house, and the quince still is holding some autumn colour.
My camellias are getting ready to put on a brave show although the first out, Debutante is almost over. The Cootamundra wattle is just starting to show its golden orbs, and jack in a pulpit was hiding amongst his leaves at the base of the pin oak.
Winter cheer is coming into flower and the datura still had some flowers and buds and my tree dahlia miraculously managed to not be flattened to the ground.
By the back door the tall sedum is starting to flower, sometimes this gets knocked by frosts but not this year, although it had a hard summer .
My poor garden is showing signs of great neglect, I have not been able to do much since I had the knee repair and now the hip is not helping(or to tell the truth my shoulder) but I will tidy it up just before spring, so long as it is not too boggy to get into it.

A bit of play and rough weather

I have spent most of day mostly inside, we had gale force winds last night and over 40 mm of rain, at one stage I really was afraid the roof was leaking. This all happened after we got home from Adelaide.
We ate a hamburger overlooking the old oil refinery site and the small marina there and the waves were going over the marina wall at times. I did get out of the car to take these photos, it actually was still quite warm there.
Not too bad until we almost got home and then we hit the rain and the wind.
Today I have washed, ironed done really dreary things and finally when I had finished I sat and played with some free motion embroidery , this is a series of layers, base was some fabric paper, then a piece of cloth I had used to bash some periwinkle flowers on, then some transfer paints on curtain material, this I sewed, then stamped a leaf stamp and finally a piece of sari ribbon with some metal cut from the top of a bubbly cork covering using a paper punch and a small sari ribbon rose.
Dale from The Thread Studio had sent me her book using sari ribbon and some of the ribbon itself. Fun stuff to play with.
I am getting a few things done, but I am being so slow though that it is driving me crazy. So much to do and cant get my act together. This is something I had never contemplated having a problem with, now ...