Getting ready for ....

I do not enjoy the Stress and Hype leading up to Christmas and

Some days are that bad you just have to Drown a Reindeer 

in Your Coffee!

DH Birthday✔

Meltdown ✔

Christmas 

Good to get some things off the list early. 

2022 - Christmas

Christmas has been Cancelled.

When my allergy symptoms didn't clear up once we got home.....

  

THIS was NOT what I wanted to see 2 days before Christmas. 

(DH had a matching one a few days later.)

We signed up for Home delivery 

Put a Note in the Window letting everyone know why we couldn't answer the door 

and Quarantined until New Year. 

In the Meantime ...

Apparently, 

No.#1 Granddaughter considered that she was being neglected so deciding to take matters into her own hands, built herself a Car and when asked Where are you driving? Casually replied "Grandma's!"

(I think we are going to have to keep an eye on this one!)

 

Dream Date?

I have heard of Dreamy Desserts and Dream Dates and even recipes that were a Dream to Make

BUT

Can Someone please explain how I managed to be Totally asleep whilst making Dinner?

5:51pm - 10:53pm 
I think my Fitbit went for a snooze without me!

Technical Difficulties

I enjoy Blogging
I enjoy the Creative writing side of making a Post

What I do not enjoy is --- Fighting with my Laptop!

When it takes 10 minutes for the machine to decide to Boot up I start thinking of giving IT the Boot and begin researching new ones.  

On my phone.....

Then I start looking for THAT photo, the one I took for a specific post only to find that it is missing, lost or misfiled. 

So I start searching.

I have discovered that I have way too many photos of my Cat.

So my Friends, I am not Missing In Action and April really DID happen.  

I will catch up  - Tomorrow!

When a Link takes you to a Link that ...

This Morning I went down THAT rabbit hole 

and ended up laughing so much I had to share.

Photo and other thinks that brightened my day from: thequiltinggarden.blogspot.com

I think I need help.

1. Needles

You know you need to go visit the Optometrist  when you need to resort to using a Macro Lens on your phone to see what size needle you are using!

2.  Leaders and Enders

They were a good idea at the time, but does anyone have any idea as to what to do with these?

Or do I just keep making them until eventually they take over the sewing room?

House Hunting

DS#2 is currently House-hunting, which is quite the adventure.
They have researched some beautiful places.
This Pretty little Cottage in Brunswick would suit them just fine - but at $1.7 million it is a BIT (Lot) out of their Budget!

Yesterday we viewed a much more affordable property.
And we discovered very quickly just WHY it was $1.2 m cheaper!

This is the Kitchen/Lounge area as viewed from the bathroom door.
We are wondering just where the furniture is supposed to go!

We now come to the Pantry -
at a guess it is a "very spacious" 1000 mm x 400 mm (DS was not able to squeeze between the shelf and the wall)...

It may JUST hold their Coffee paraphernalia and Gourmet Tea Collection.

And maybe a tin of biscuits?

But not much else.

My DH thought the Cupboard beside the Fridge recess was the Pantry, after all it was about the same size as the Fridge recess but that turned out to be

the Laundry room!

It bewilders me as to just HOW someone is supposed to wrangle a Washing machine into that space.

And this brings our tour of this "Spacious Unit", "Suitable for a Retired Couple, or even a Young Family" to the Main Bedroom.

With double Wardrobe and Built in Hot water Storage Unit - Hey WHAT?

The photograph says it all - One Third of the Built in Robe (that you are supposed to keep Clothes in) houses a Tank Full of Boiling Hot Water......

I managed to get to the Car before erupting in a fit of Giggles that lasted until someone handed me a VERY strong Coffee!

--- The Hunt continues......

Garage Floor Update

Where do I start?


The Garage is empty,
the lining ply has been removed
and it is is ready for its makeover.

The Tradesmen came full of enthusiasm and sanded the floor.

They then coated it with the special paint that is designed to push the water back into the soil under the concrete.

Leave this to dry and return a couple of days later to put the second coat on.

The final Third coat went on a day or two later, and when they finished we were told "Walk on it in 4 hours and you can put your car back in a week."

And that was it - Job done.........

4 hours later the floor was still wet.

24 hours later, the floor was 'stick your finger in a paint-pot' wet

48 hours later I sent them a message.

The Young workers learnt THREE vital lessons that day

1.  If in doubt - Ring the Boss

2.  Don't use a Water based Catalyst when you should use a Thinners base.

3.  You Muck it up - You fix it!

He worked alone in the freezing cold washing and mopping and scraping until he finally gave up and went home.

The next day a new team arrived and the decision was made to sand it back to bare concrete and start again!

This time everything went as it should.  

I understood that we were being slotted in around other jobs - more drying time between coats.

And the mouldy corner from my previous post? 

What a difference!

4 Hours later we could walk on it 

and when we did.....

We discovered these....

Blisters!

Another email with photo attached resulted in an immediate reply.

It's ok - we can fix that easy!

Famous last words!

Easy it was not.

These Blisters were not in the top finishing coat - They went down all the way into the concrete.

Two days later they were back to sand, fill, patch, coat, re-sand and reapply another top coat.

Yay - We are Finished!

No - we are not.....

When we met them at the Home Show, They said they hadn't met a floor they couldn't fix.

My reply all those weeks ago?

Challenge accepted!

They will be back on Monday.

* * *

Footnote:
I must emphasise that throughout this entire process -  I have not had to wait more than a couple of hours to get a reply to my messages. The Team members who have worked on the project have always been Courteous and Polite.   They have admitted when they have made mistakes and rectified them as soon as possible.  And are committed to finishing the job to the standard they promised.

Getting Back into Quilting - ALMOST. . .

The Garden Reno is as finished as it can be for the moment, and it was way too hot to be out there anyway - so I thought it would be an idea to get started on my New Quilting Adventure for 2019.

I have resisted Quilt Fads (Like Jelly Roll Quilts etc) but the Temperature Quilt has sparked my Interest and I thought I would give it a go.  So from January One I have been taking note of the High and Low Daily Temperatures -

I have collected a range of fabrics from my Stash which I think will be appropriate. And I have worked out a pattern - as none that I have seen online have been suitable.
So with all my things around me I settled down at my work table . . .

Oooooh! (Says newly retired DH) seeing you have your machine up - Would you take up my new trousers.  And while you are at it . . .

 ...could you do something with my Pockets?

How many Trousers are there?
One needing Hems and Three that need Pocket repairs.
(8 pockets in total)
You are Kidding? 
No?

How does this happen?

Well - patching was not an option - And my valuable Quilting time went 'out the window' when I picked up the seam-ripper.

As I handed them back to him I only had TWO things to say...

1. You owe me BIG time.

and - 

2. You are VERY lucky I did not use "Itty Bitty Kitty" Fabric in there!

And SOME DAYS you should just stay in Bed

Band-aids, Panadol and a Good Strong Cuppa Tea was the Order of the Day!

It all started last night when DH was pressing his shirt for work today.

My Old Faithful Iron finally 'Gave up the Ghost' in a blaze of Smoke and Sparks - tripping the Power Safety board in the process.

The Iron will be hard to replace as I have not seen another that can disconnect from the power cord to be used as a Corded/Cordless version and that function is VERY useful!

I feel like I have lost an old friend.

Not feeling like doing any Quilting (requiring pressing) I then decided to do some mending.

I am told that darning the sleeve together while using a Darning Mushroom takes REAL talent!

But my day of pain only got worse.

I wonder how many younger Quilters know that the 'Free Motion Quilting' foot in Grandma's Machine cabinet is actually a Darning Foot.
(I learnt to do this in High School Circa 1970 on a Treadle machine!) 

While doing some 'Old Fashioned' Darning on a pair of trousers, I ran the needle right through my finger.

And then to cap the day off - I found out the hard way that the (backup) Iron was still on...


So Dinner tonight will not involve using anything Hot or Sharp! 
Take Away anyone????

Has anyone seen my Mojo?

I haven't posted for a bit as I seem to have lost my 'Mojo".

I have looked for it everywhere - 

I tidied up my sewing room in the hopes it had been left under the pile of 

"not the right shade of Green" fabric. 

But alas - it was not there!

I searched for it in fabric stores near and far - 

which included consuming a fair amount of coffee in the process....

But it was not there.

And then - 

when I least expected it

I FOUND IT!

Who'd a thought you can buy it in bottles?

... and it comes in GREEN!

* * * * * * *

Tempting as it was, I didn't buy any - but the wholehearted laugh I got, did me the world of good, and I am back in my sewing room and anxious to get moving on my next project.

Seen in Bunnings ...

Bunnings is a local Hardware store chain

 and just sometimes we have a real giggle at their expense.

So here is today's find.

Hmmm..  Must be for when you just need to finish the job!

Where would YOU wear this?

Bye Bye Barina

He had only got his licence a few days earlier and was off to Church for a Youth meeting when the phone rang...

"Mum? - I think I broke Dad's car"

Well, at least he had the sense to pull into a side street. By the time we got there the steam had dissipated but the trail of radiator coolant was still glowing green for much of the length of the street.

We patched the burst hose with Gaffer tape and nursed them both back home.

The young lads across the road stood in silent reverence as the car pulled into the kerb giving a credible impersonation of Puffing Billy.  Then one quietly said "Bye Bye Barina" before returning to the engine they were working on.

That was last November... and we have been patching and filling and gaffer-taping the car ever since.
At 19, it was way past its USE BY date and I had been unhappy about my Sons driving it let alone placing someone else's Daughters in that car as well!
So I was not sad to see it go.

And from the look on his face ...

... I don't think DH is sad to see it go either!

HELLO MIRAGE!... Now What are we going to call you?

UV Filters ...

THIS is a UV filter

and THIS is WHY

you put a UV filter on EVERY lense you have!

So - How did that happen?

The Camera strap got caught around the Tripod 

which was sitting on the Kit bag 

which overbalanced,

pulling the Camera off the desk

and onto the floor...

And the Official word from Canon as to how to fix it?

Take a hacksaw to it!

Never a Dull Moment - - -

Doesn't everyone have?










An Orchestra rehearse in their Family room?

Bobbin Wind FAIL .....

I am STILL trying to work out how I managed this.....

I think that, as I was holding the leading tail of thread out of the way (so it didn't get caught up in the wind and make a mess...) I lifted the almost full bobbin just enough for the winding thread to slip underneath and continue winding a 'second bobbin' onto the spindle.

That is a LOT of thread to loose - so I wondered how much I could salvage. If I was VERY careful I may be able to get a few meters to use in hand sewing.

Now at this point in time I should mention that Spike was "Dead to the World" asleep on his tower beside me.

I am not sure how Cat Radar works but he didn't STAY asleep for, out of the corner of my eye I saw the cat coming stealthily down each step of the platform ... his eyes fixed on the dangling nest of thread.

If it had not been for Spikes help,

I think I may have salvaged ALL of the thread

 - but then ...

 really ...



He was just trying to help... And

Who wants to use thread that a cat has flossed his teeth with anyway?

No, seriously.......

... I am just trying to get to the QANTAS terminal!

Photo from The Hume Leader News

An Eastern Grey Kangaroo was found wandering on level 5 of Melbourne International  Airport (Tullamarine) Car park  this morning.  Staff, once alerted to his presence, cordoned off the area and called Wildlife Victoria, who tranquilised the bewildered 'roo before taking him off to a vet for a checkup prior to releasing him back into the bush.

I am sorry to advise my international readers that this is not a common occurrence, and usually the only Kangaroos at Tullamarine Airport are the flying variety!

But, having driven up onto Level 5 of that car park - It leaves me wondering ... How on earth did he get that far without being noticed?

Hmmm - was he was heading for 'Departures' ?

- maybe he'd just arrived!