Norton Summit

Yesterday John had a meeting in Norton Summit and I went along for the ride, well I had to as we had stuff to do in Adelaide and this was on the way home.The plase that the meeting was at had this car park with the most incredible view down to Adelaide and across to the sea with this deep valley below. The township itself is almost up on a ridge and it is where one of our famous Premiers came from, Sir Thomas Playford who grew cherries and was Premier of this State for a very long time. And a very astute man.
Any way the first one is of these huge dark pine trees almost glowering over the top of this farm house roof. The second is of what I could see of the very grand church looking at it from across the roof of the building in front of me. It was all in shadow and surrounded in huge trees so a little hard to work out what shape was what but I am quite pleased with the way it came out.
I was up really early this morning as I have to get Celina and Gaby off to the school bus by 7.50, dressed, showered, lunches packed and breakfast eaten. Whew! Not me at all who is usually a bit slow in the mornings.
I will put a couple more of my sketches on With my boots and sketchbook blog in the links.

Latest Fabric ATC's

These are my latest fabric ATC's. I made them last week, the left hand one is a base of various things burnt back with my heat tool and the other one is the same but with gold shiva stick over before I burnt it back. Beads, sari silk and metal with flower stitch foot. I had fun.
Adelaide today and I saw my mother, there are also a couple of sketches I did while John was at a meeting in the pipeline.
My mother looks ok but is in a wheelchair but I do worry about what happens next. I am glad I saw her.
Waiting for my grand daughters who will be here tonight and tomorrow night. They always give me a lift.

EDM challenge, Lamp post

I did this a little while ago, sitting in the warm summer evening waiting to go to my beading class. Here it is still cold and althugh it keeps on promising to rain so far it hasnt, well a few drops, nothing of any significance. We are so far below our winter rainfall it isnt funny.
Our town has these lights all over the place and they are rather lovely, if a bit incongruous as we have so few old buildings left.
The sketch is a bit wonky, I dont seem to be able to do very straight lines and I am sure it is because of the hole in the retina in my left eye. My right eye has compensated really well but drawing straight lines doesnt always work. Must take a small ruler with me, just one more thing to add to my handbag!
More bad news about my mother, apparently she has had a fall and broken a bone in her foot, but of course because she has slight dementia forgets that she shouldnt be walking on it. This is all second hand so far as my elder sister rang last night in a panic about it and so far I havent got through to the nursing home.
I dont know what you do in these circumstances and I am so far away, and at the moment think I may be going down with whatever John had last week. No car available either. I hope it is not as bad as it all seems,

yesterday

I was heading up to Adelaide in the very early afternoon yesterday and i saw this half grown echidna on the side of the Back Valley bridge, luckily I had my camera with me as he was a really quite dark fellow looking very bright and where he was he couldnt rush away from me as one side was the drop into the creek and the other the bitumised road.
A very handsome fellow.
The other photo is why I was heading to Adelaide on a Sunday! Old school friends Pauline (known as Schom at school), who I had met ages ago but not since and Darrien who I hadnt seen at all since we left school. A delightful few hours spent at the coffee shop in the Botanical Gardens catching up with them and Denise who I have seen but not for a few years as her husband is ailing and Di who again I saw about 10 years ago. Some of us look good, some not so good, but interesting where all our lives have taken us as we head for 70 (well 3 years to go).
A bit frightening in a way, I feel at times totally inadequate, most of them went to University but then I have also seen some of the world, had an interesting life here and I certainly am not sitting back wondering where it all went, there is still so much to do.
Raced home to find my dinner guest talking to John about local matters and organised a meal in about 3/4 of an hour and was able to enjoy the talk and chat.
Very tired at the end of it, the traffic to and from Adelaide was not predictable.

My mothers wedding party

I found this old photo while going through my mothers stuff, I had never seen her entire wedding party before and must ask her who they were as I only know my mother. She was only 18 at the time, but I just love the hats and the frilly dresses for the little girls. It is slightly out of focus which is probably why I havent seen it before. I think the photographer somehow focused on my mother and the little girl to her left.
Her train was supposed to be Honiton Lace.
I remember her telling me that she had an unfashionably large bosom and it should have been bound, doesnt look much like it.
So many things seem strange to us now and so many things that we dont know and soon it will be too late to find out.

Flowering pear

I took this photo two days ago when I was walking, it is a flowering pear we planted a few years ago in one of the shelter belts. I should remember its name but cant at the moment. It has been quite spectacular, as have most of what has been flowering up till now, still the apples to come.
Today I spent going through boxes and doing a bit of a sort, I also played on my sewing machine but havent got very far with what I am doing there. My joints are aching so I have been rather slow today.
I had a call from an old school friend today and a few of us are meeting at the Botanic Gardens for a coffee on Sunday which should be nice, I havent seen any of them for so long.

ATC's

These are the ATC's that Dale sent me in exchange for the ones I made for the Perth Show, I cant remember its correct name, sorry, the top one is Jennifer Green's. the left bottom is Kelsey O'Mullane's and the bottom right is Liz Plummer's. I love them all and thank Dale for choosing them.
Today has been very wet and grey and miserable, and cold after the last very warm burst of weather. When I say wet, well it drizzled all day and we got about 1mm out of it.
I spent a large part of the day sewing up bases for some ideas that I have that I hope will look good when I have finished, I must say I love making crusty surfaces out of layers of nappies, shiva sticks, panne velvet, felt, chiffon scarves, lots of stitching and "bits" vliesofixed together and zapped.