Cyclone Debbie

The Bureau of Meteorology hasn't ruled out the chance it will turn into a category five cyclone and has warned it will be the worst storm since Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

Our Thoughts and Prayers are with all who are in her path.

Allietare - off to be quilted

I always like putting the last stitch in a quilt top.
It certainly is satisfying to spread it out on the floor and take that photograph.

And now it is safely in the hands of the wonderful Desley who will turn my frayed nerves into a beautiful quilt for my DS#1 and DDIL an appropriate gift for their new home (once it is built!)

Now I really should finish their Wedding Quilt!

Valuable Lesson learnt . . .

Part of the Long Weekend clean up was to check the Hive.

It is necessary see what "the Girls" are  up to now and then...

Good to see they are filling up the Flow Hive

The Summer blossoms have been late this year and now the Brood boxes are over full.

The Girls are rather put out that someone is poking around and ...
that someone also made the mistake of using hairspray this morning.
Being angry and also attracted to the smell of the hairspray they managed to get inside my veil and

I got stung!

OUCH is a bit of an understatement.

I've heard that some folk use Bee Venom for cosmetic purposes but I don't recommend doing it this way.
This one was in my eyelid.

I look and feel like I have been in a fight add to that the damage to my car it has been quite the weekend.

Even more Frayed . . .

It is the Labour Day Long Weekend - a time for families to get together and enjoy the beautiful weather Melbourne has put on for our MOOMBA Festival.

It is also the ideal time to get those overdue jobs done around the house - or in our case around our Daughter's house.

Time to tame this - yes that IS our SIL's car under the mess !

And while we were working out just how to do that we heard a stomach churning crunch....

OUCH! - 

Now "My Girl" may not look to "flash" to some, she is after all approaching her 20th birthday and has a few issues - like no working air-conditioning, but we have been on many adventures together and she still has a strong heart and I will be so sad to see her retired when the time comes. 

(Station Wagons are hard to come by.)

But you know the old saying "Yeah but you should have seen the other guy...."

THIS is "the other Guy" and THIS is what hurt... He asked me not to go through my insurance company because his excess was $1500. 

Making matters worse, his was a new car with rear reversing sensors and a reversing camera and he STILL hit me!

As I pointed out to the driver's employer - Yes, this is my car and I am disappointed and inconvenienced - but it could have been a child!

I saw his face blanch when he realised it could have been HIS child!

Warning lights and sirens are there for a reason people! - don't ignore them!!

* * * * *

As far as his insurance excess is concerned that is not my problem but keeping good neighbour relations between our DD and her neighbours - that IS my concern. So, I will be getting a quote for repairs and giving them the option of paying the bill or gong through the Insurance company.

In the meantime - I have to remember to wind the window down before getting out of the car - to give me more room to squeeze out my door! 

A bit Frayed at the edges

Sometimes my Allietare Quilt is a welcome distraction and other times it just reminds me of exactly how I feel at the moment -

- A little frayed at the edges but getting there!



There are so many pieces in this quilt I can't help but notice how it mirrors my wall-planer.
Each family member has a highlighter colour and each item/appointment/event is coloured to remind me of what is going on so I don't forget anything.

Eventually everything will turn out right, eventually all appointments will be kept and eventually this pile of frayed fabric will become a Quilt that will keep one or two of them warm.

A symbol of love and care.

When I looked at this quilt I realised that no matter how many of these loose threads I try and tidy there will be some that will continue to unravel.

You decide to keep going
throw it over the table -

Crawl under there to see what the cat was up to and get to see something wonderful.

Stained Glass Allietare!
Truly "To delight - To Gladden"

Cake Decorating Workshop

I had the opportunity last Saturday to participate in a Workshop with the talented Helen Dissell from Sugarart Creations

I like attending hands-on Workshops as opposed to Demonstrations, as I have been known to 'nod off' during the odd, non too engaging descriptions of how to roll the perfect icing.

Workshops challenge me to do things I haven't done before - in this case make my own flower paste.
An interesting experience that I don't think I will repeat in a hurry - but is good to have in the event I can't get my 'perfect for me' pre-made version.

Saturday's flower was interesting and one I had not heard of before.  It is always a good thing when you can add another feature flower to your repertoire.

The Black Bat Flower in real life is a very large bloom - but for our workshop we made one in a little easier to manage size.  I am actually looking forward to seeing if I can up-scale this beauty to near life size and sit it atop a tiered cake with it's 'whiskers' flowing down the sides.

Maybe it will be just the thing to use up all that flower paste I had to make!