Home again home again jiggity jig

Who remembers that children's rhyme?  Apparently it has three verses!  Who knew!


Whilst I was at my lovely Ma's, she got a disk of photos from her cousin, who lives in England, with some lovely old black & white pictures of the family.  Some of these date right back to the beginning of the 19th Century, and they're fascinating.  My other great-grandmother (not Isabella) is pictured here, and she was a beauty:

Except I'm somewhat glad I didn't get the nose.  It's a bit of a honker, isn't it?  She was born in 1872 & her name was Edith Fanny Thomas.    Not quite the same zing as Isabella Golightly, but as we have no photos of Izzy, I think we should pay Edith some homage!


Here she is in 1938 or 1939 (at the beach!), with a newspaper showing a defiant pre-war headline.

Don't you just love that beach-going outfit?  Sensible shoes, a dress, some sort of capey-coaty thing, an extremely stylish hat... gorgeous.


And here she is in the 1940's, when my great-grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary:

My lovely Ma is right at the back, with her head slightly tilted.  Happy days.


In other crafty news, Gentle Readers, I am going to attempt an English Wedding Quilt with my pile of Moda's beautiful Lumiere De Noel, and I will provide photos as I progress.  I need to go to Cottage Quiltworks today to find a centre panel for the English Wedding Quilt, and I am also picking up Miss Nelly's quilt, which has returned from being quilted.  Photos, I promise.  


I have an order to make up for a lovely person in St Louis, Missouri (another one (person, that is, not order), and that will be my day today, apart from sewing the binding on Miss Nelly's quilt, which I estimate will take the rest of my life.  I had several lessons from my Lovely Ma whilst in Perth, and I think I have the mighty corners* down pat, but joining the binding?  We shall see.  Expect tears, stamping of the feet and random bouts of swearing.


And finally, it's about 21°C today and cloudy.  Just beautiful.  We've even had some rain, but the garden still looks a bit sad & dry, and one of the Callicomas is looking very distressed, so a bucket or two of water will be applied there.


And now I need to apply water to myself so I can go out in public and not get arrested.  And I can wear jeans!  Bliss!


Ciao!


*Mighty Corners - also known in some sewing circles as 'Mitred Corners'.  Go Tractor Jo!

Triptease IV - Unstuck!

Goodness me, Gentle Readers, but it's nice to be home!


We had one of those magical arrivals in Sydney last night, with the full moon shining gently down on the black velvet of Sydney, all sparkly with spangles, sequins and beads... and the harbour looking like a shiny satin ribbon woven through it all...just gorgeous.  I actually sang the first few lines of that Paul Kelly masterpiece...


"Have you ever seen Sydney from a 747 at night?
Sydney shines such a beautiful light
And I can see Bondi through my window way off to the right
And the curling waves on a distant break
And the sleeping city just about to wake
Have you ever seen Sydney from a 747 at night?"**


Paul Kelly for Poet Laureate, I say.


We were home by 8.30pm, pottered around until about 10.30pm, (actually, read that as "Mr Golightly spent time on the phone with the First Bank in Australia, convincing them we weren't committing Credit Card Fraud"), then off to bed, only to rudely awake at 3.30am.  I waited until 4.00am, then got up to fiddle with my pictures.


Oh, you want to see some?  In order of the journey, then:


Singapore:

Rome:

Ostea Antica:

Venice:

Burano:

Milano:

Rome II:

Nice Ville station:

Paris (from a taxi):

Dieppe (from the Dieppe to Newhaven ferry) :

Brighton (well, "Hove, actually"):

Home again home again jiggity jig.  Phew.


More later.  Ciao!


**Lyrics copyright Paul Kelly