This Week...

Can you take the hem up for me please?

I am used to being asked to take Hems up.

4 inches off the bottom of a Petticoat should not normally send me into Panic Mode.

And then just a Rolled Hem to finish it off.

I have done them Many Times, 

in another Life - when I was making Costumes for Toys.

But THIS was no ordinary Hem.

This was the Inner hem of Her Wedding Dress.

One of 7 Petticoats  

and She kept stepping on it. 

So it needed to come up.

* * *

Mum..  

Can you Sew a Lapel Mic into the Dress?

You can take the Clip off so it can't be seen.

Oh and the cord for the receiver has to be somewhere easy to access . . .

* * *

Can You make something with This?

Guipure Lace from my Mother's Wedding Dress and Chantilly from my Grandmother's.

Perhaps for your Hair-combs?

Maybe not for my Hair - I have another Idea.

Masks are Mandatory.

Even for Weddings, (don't worry, we are allowed to remove them for Photos)

I think this Works!

Mom and Grandma won't be forgotten.

* * *

Being Mother of the Groom and Stand-in for the Mother of the Bride means that this could not be done without a List.

Actually - Many Lists...

Some of My Lists even have their Own Lists...

We WILL get there!

Well Done Melbourne.

Over the course of Melbourne Lockdown we have been tuning in to (Premier) Daniel Andrews Daily News Conference. Sunday's conference was one that everyone was eagerly awaiting. He sounded tired and very emotional as he told everyone that we could start the road back to our "New Normal".

There will still be rules and restrictions but Shops can open and yes, You can go for a Beer - or in our case Coffee.  

How Sweet was it to sit down and have a Latte in a Glass!

It's not the Coffee that I have missed but the "People Watching" - the company of strangers.  The banter at the tables.  

These people are the Friends we haven't met and we have missed them.

Sunday's announcement also removed our 5 km travel restriction - expanding it to 25 km.  We can now have that 'Spatially Distant" Coffee elsewhere.  

This is what we found at the very end of our allowed 25 km. 

Oh to see the Water and Feel the Sea breeze on my (masked) face! 

It did more for my COVID muddled brain than any therapy.

Then there WAS an added extra - 25 km happens to intersect with where our DS#1 works.

We have not seen him since they put the "Barrier of Steel" between Regional Victoria and Melbourne.

It was SO good to see him again.

We eagerly await each announcement. 

As Infection numbers fall so do the restrictions.

We have brought down our Second Wave. 0 New Infections/ 0 Deaths

 Well done Melbourne! Keep it Up.

And we Celebrate? - with Donuts!  (Of course we do.)

Flowers for My Wedding Cake

 In Australia the THREE most photographed things at a Wedding are in Order:

1.  Bride

2. Wedding Cars

3. The Cake

Our Bride to Be doesn't understand the ritual of leaving home, Chauffeured to the Church in a Glorious Car bedecked with White Ribbons. 

All that see her on her journey wish her well. Often with a Toot of Horns or a Wave. 

So there will be no Vintage Cars this time.

However - There WILL be Cake!

I have been working on the Special Flowers for their Cake over the past few weeks.  

Cake decorators are pedantic about Botanical Accuracy when making Sugar paste Flowers and this time A LOT of research has gone into these blooms so I can get them as close as possible.

The Groom wanted Australian Flowers.  

The Bride?  Well of Course it would need to be Flowers from "Home" for her.
The "Yellow Rose of Texas" (Harison's Yellow Rose) and a certain little Wildflower that is close to her heart - The Texas Bluebonnet.

They haven't seen their Flowers yet so this is all I can show you.  I am happy with how they have turned out - Just hope that they are!

Life in Lockdown - Continues...

My Grandfather used to say that there was "No Rest for the Wicked - and Precious little for the Righteous".  Those that know me can wonder about which category I fit into - nevertheless I don't think my feet have touched the ground since my last post.

Back in an alternate Timeline (AKA - 2019) we were planning a Wedding.  Everything was falling into place nicely.  

Big ticket items were being Crossed off the List.  

Venue - Tick  
Mother of the Bride, 

Airfares and Accommodation - Tick

Wedding Dress - Tick

Florist, Photographer - Tick Tick

Celebrant - BIG Tick

and then the one thing that would really muck EVERYTHING up

 - A Global Pandemic.  

Back to Square ONE.

The Reception Venue closing down was bad enough.

But Closing Our International Borders means the Bride's Mother and Friends can't come.

We have watched restrictions bounce over the last 6 months from 

NO Weddings Permitted at all, 

through "Just the Minimum Five", 

to Ten allowed - including the Celebrant.  

We wait and Pray 

for Just a Little more wriggle room...

* * *

25th October UPDATE:

We can now plan for "Celebrant, Photographer, Couple 

and "No more than 10 Guests." 

That JUST scrapes in the immediate Family, 

2 Friends and a Bridesmaid.

A new Wedding Venue has been booked and we are almost back on track. 

Almost - there are a few other Issues we have had to deal with but I will cover those in another Post!

Scrapbook Adventures - The Final Chapter.

Berri is where the Mighty Murray River that forms the border between Victoria and NSW turns to head to the sea. River Boats are a feature here.

It is also is the Riverland - 

Citrus Country and a lot of Orange Themed things dot the township.

At Loxton, we see the extent of River Floods since 1931 on the "Tree of Knowledge".  

1956 was particularly high - especially when you realise that the river flows behind the line of trees in the background!

Moving on to Bordertown - we saw a Mob of Rare White Kangaroos.  

Bred in Captivity, these are not Albino animals but a Genetic Strain of the Eastern Grey.

The Limestone Caves at Naracoorte were a MUST SEE on our Adventure Bucket List. 

With a "Look but Don't Touch" policy, well managed tours ensure these ancient formations will live for future Generations to marvel at.

Fossilised remains of Giant Marsupials such as the Wombat-like Diprotodon that once lived in the area were found in and near the Caves.  

I am Sure this fellow has heard a few secrets in his time!

Our time in South Australia has come to an end as we reluctantly cross the Victorian Border and head for home.

The road took us through the Wheat Country Town of Horsham 

And past the "Rather disturbing and slightly scary" Big Koala at Dadswells Bridge.

From here we were on Roads well-travelled. 

Cameras were mainly left on laps as familiar scenery flew past.

Our Epic Journey of 20 Days finished when we rolled into Home on the 12th December 2008        at 6:57 pm. 

Packing all this into One Small Magna Station Wagon.

We Went "There and Back Again" to see how far it is.

Travelling 5,091 km by Road and 72 km by Sea.  5,000 Photographs were taken, and many more memories made.

We DID 

'Put Our Hands into the Hand of God' 
And He Kept us Safe.

* * * * *

And it has only taken 12 Years and One Pandemic to complete the Scrapbook of "Our Great South Australian Adventure".

Scrapbook Adventures #3

My Post of 16th July ended with the quip that I wondered if 6 weeks of Lockdown would be enough to finish my Scrapbook Project.  - It wasn't.  

But then 'The Powers that Be' added another Two weeks to our Stage 4 Restrictions - so was 8 weeks enough?

YES!  -  JUST!

I left Our Adventure having to Phone Home from Iron Knob. 

(Birthplace of the Aust. Steel Industry.) 

With nothing more than a 'Flip Phone' on the CDMA network I was able to put minds at rest that we were "Still Out There."

Moving on - we found our way back to the Coast and the Stark Beauty of Point Lowly Lighthouse. 

[This is the Lighthouse I place on my Blog sidebar every time one of my Children are away from Home.]

Next Stop - Port Augusta.  Here the Eyre Highway starts or ends depending on which way you are travelling.  It was here we saw our first signpost to ... Darwin!

With a 2 Night stopover we had an entire day to explore as much possible.

Arid Lands Botanic Gardens in the morning and Alligator Gorge in the Afternoon - on the Hottest December day in Port Augusta for 2008. 

We learnt that HAVING water with you and TAKING water with you were two different things. 

It is no use to you left in the boot of the Car!

"Come on Sis... no one gets left behind."

Our whistle-stop tour took us 1.5 km to the end of Australia's longest wooden Jetty at Port Germein.

For our effort we got a lesson in fishing for Blue Swimmer Crabs from a Chap that was supposed to be painting the local School Hall.

(He said he would go back to it when his 6 pack of Beer ran out.)

We also learnt that they take Truancy VERY seriously at Port Pirie.

We got lost in Mazes at Mintaro

and were Amazed at the Opulence of a Bygone era at Martindale Hall. 

(Incidentally this is where the Appleyard Girls School Scenes for Picnic at Hanging Rock was filmed.)

We called in at Cellar Doors had lunch at Wineries in the Barossa Valley.

And it was here the Weather took a turn for the worst.

A Storm that made the News back home.

Black Rain Clouds darkened the Sky but not our Spirits.

Sheltering from it was not an option - We had to Out Run It.

Scrapbook Adventures - Eyre Peninsula

Our "There and Back Again" adventure has proved to be bigger than One Scrapbook Book could handle - 

We had seen so many wonderful sights as we travelled West via the Coast.

We went "Down Rabbit Holes" to discover for ourselves treasures, like the Inselberg Rock formations known as "Murphy's Haystacks"

Over 8 meters in height these rocks were weathered and sculpted into their present form over 100,000 years ago!

Flicking through all the Photographs - Some have made me smile as I remember the day - so long ago!

"Prayer For Tourists" - Priceless!  

'Grant us the Strength to Visit the Museums and the Parks, the Government Buildings and all the "MUSTS" in the Guide Books......'

And Others - made my Heart skip as I saw moments captured by others while I wasn't looking!

Exactly HOW close to the edge was he?

Remembering back to that time - He was TOO Close! 

I finished our First Album at our "Turn Around Point" of Streaky Bay.  

I wish I could say we added
"BIG SEAGULLS" to our list of "Big Things" we saw along the way - but they were just the Local Pelicans that greeted us, hoping for a feed!

Turning Our backs on the Ocean we we headed Inland.  Across the Eyre Peninsula.

The first thing that greeted us when we rolled into KIMBA - Was an 8 meter tall Galah.

Built in 1993 it marks "The Halfway Point across Australia" between Sydney and Perth. (Only it ... isn't. But lets just keep that between us and Google Maps shall we?)

The second thing was the big sign saying
 "Last Fuel until Port Augusta"  

In the Outback you do not ignore signs like this.
We had enough Fuel and made sure we stocked up on Water for the next leg of our journey. 

We had learned very early in the trip that Coffee Shops were a lot further apart than Petrol Stations! 

What we were NOT aware of at the time was the actual reason we had no one calling us....

No Mobile Phone reception!  
We don't know when we went 'off the grid' but the minute we passed this sign, ALL our phones started ringing with missed calls and text messages!

ALL from my Mother.....  Time to "Phone Home!"