Things Girls get up to ...

The day started with  DD being presented with her 

Bridal Shower Sash and Tiara

and an elegant High Tea 

at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens Tea House

after which, the Bride to Be was "Kidnapped" and whisked away to the Peninsula Hot Springs at Mornington where the Girls had an absolute ball soaking all the stress and cares away in the Thermal Springs.

It was a beautiful day and the Bride was returned home VERY relaxed!

Scatterdays - K

Oh my goodness - What happened here?
I must be a total Scatter-brain for forgetting Scatterdays this week!
In my defense - It wasn't on the calendar.

K - IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD: KODAK Factory - This place where dreams were developed has been a part of my neighbourhood for 50 years.  My Parents watched it rise from the ground and return to the dust again.

Now, with the advent of the digital age of Photography the factory is no more and this valuable land, so close to the City of Melbourne is providing a new generation a place where new dreams are once again being made.  I miss it's big chimney, for as it loomed into view - I always knew I was almost home.

K - EDIBLE:  KEWPIE Mayonnaise - It is the consensus of opinion from some members of my household that this may not actually be edible. But here it is... in my pantry, bought solely to compliment the Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancakes) I (try to) make occasionally.


K - CONTAINER: KLIP IT Containers - A New Zealand product that has certainly cornered the market for storage.  I pick these up whenever they are on half-price special and have many now scattered across my various hobbies.  I am sure there is not one room in my home that does not have at least one of these containers in it - I even have one with my (meagre supply) of makeup in it in the bedroom!


K - KING SIZE in the SEWING ROOM:

Hmmmm does a King Size Mess count? or perhaps a King Size Headache? What about a King Size project for next year?
TWO Wedding Quilts, already booked in to be custom quilted by Christmas 2014 and I haven't even started yet!  At least I know what DD wants, and DS#1 - well I think maybe he will get whatever it is I feel like making...

Well, that it it from me for this week, it has been a fairly long post.
Next Scatterday, brought to you by the letter G, may be late as well as it is due the day after my DD's Wedding.
Can I work up these Categories along with Wedding Themed Photos?

Flowers, Flowers and more Flowers

The Wedding cakes are now cooked and smell incredible.
Now they just need some flowers.

I feel that Ivory flowers on an Ivory cake can look very bland, and the photographer side of me is always thinking of how a cake will photograph and to photograph well - it needs colour.


So I made LOTS of filler flowers in 3 shades of blue.
Because all Brides need "Something Blue".

I made a dozen or so small Orchids
(because I really wanted to learn how to make miniature Orchids)
and dusted them a lovely golden yellow.

And I made lots of petite Calla Lilies.
That hung around the kitchen like a family of Field Mice for a week while they dried.
And then another week until I could get around to dusting them in the chosen colours.
(Using a Pasta Drying rack certainly kept them all out of mischief.)

And now the fun part starts...
Wiring them all into THREE bouquets to sit on the Three tiers of The Cake.

Will they come out OK?

I don't quite know -
But I was happy enough with the sample spray that I attached it to the cake knife and promptly ticked THAT job off the list!

Now of course, you all realize, that you are now sworn to secrecy and that none of this can get back to any of the wedding guests!
It is just between you and me... OK?

Scatterdays - P

When I think of the letter P- I think of Pirates,
the ones that come from Penzance of course.
But todays categories are not from a
Gilbert & Sullivan Operetta.








Today I had to locate a Piece of FURNITURE . The photo that I have chosen is of  a PICNIC Table. Hmm The PERFECT PLACE to boil the billy while keeping an eye out for Pirates.... ?

I also had to find a BOOK the title of which started with the letter P - What better choice could I make but J M Barrie's PETER PAN?
If ever you have the opportunity of reading an ORIGINAL copy of this wonderful novel - you will certainly find the description of the notorious Pirate Captain Hook one of the most eloquent pieces of literature ever written.

I was going to post a photo of a Porcupine Quill for the next category which is ANIMAL, but I can sense a theme going on here ...
so I thought another sea themed photo of these PELICANS that we met at the Pivot Point of our adventure holiday at a town on the South Australian Coast called Streaky Bay.
(I'd like to see a Pirate with one of these guys balanced on his shoulder!)


And that just leaves me with a P category from my sewing room that is P for P.I.G.S no, it is not another animal but the Quilting term for Project in Grocery Sack...

A collection of fabrics or kit that is still in the bag it was brought home in - no matter how long ago that may be!

I don't have any Pirate Themed fabric (I do have a lot of Nautical fabric ... somewhere) But I will leave you with the very beautiful PINCUSHION kit (by Helen Dafter) that I couldn't resist - yet here it lies like buried treasure, in the bottom of my PIGS drawer.


Join me in a fortnight ...
... What can I come up with for the letter K ?

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?

Scatterdays "F" - the 'real one'

A few months ago I posted my very own (unofficial) F Category as I was (officially) happy to have finished a long term Quilt I had been working on.
But now the alphabet has finally caught up with me and it is time to hunt for the chosen F categories!

INSECT - 
Fireflies: I had the opportunity of watching these beautifully fascinating insects on a warm July evening in Alabama, but try as we might we just couldn't get one to sit still long enough to get a photo.

COUNTRY - One of the things that intrigue me about blogging is all the countries that my readers come from. And, believe it or not, I keep a list of these countries (at last count 82) but only two start with the letter F.  So a big HELLO to FRANCE and FINLAND!

SHOP - 
Freedom: It certainly wasn't deliberate - but I found myself at Freedom Furniture this week and discovered this awesome spare bed that folds inside a Footstool (well OK it's an Ottoman... but that doesn't start with F).

FUTURE PROJECT - 
Felting:  The thing about having a long haired Cat is that he needs a lot of grooming. The resulting tufts of ever so soft fur that collect in his brush has had me contemplating using it for a felting project in the future.
(Maybe when he is old and grey(er) I can make him a coat ........ ?

Well, that's it for today's Letter. Be sure to check back next time to find out what I come up with for the letter P.

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!