Yesterday upon the stair

I met a man who wasn't there... actually, today, I had a lovely email from one of my bloggie readers, "A Peppermint Penguin", who took the time to do my 'anonyblogger' challenge and posted successfully to my blog without having a google id or anything else...


It's every bloggers dream, you know, to actually have communication with people out in etherland, and I'm kind of envious of all those women in America who go to "BlogHer", except that I think they  might all be mid-western kind of white bread weirdos, completely unlike anybody I know.  Or not.  They might be all like Fluid Pudding, who is without a doubt one of the most original thinkers out there... she cracks me up.


So, here I am having cereal for dinner, (with a banana and low fat strawberry yoghurt, nothing unhealthy here), wondering why in Australia they say yo (rhymes with ho)-gurt, rather than yog (rhymes with jog)-urt.  Any answers?  


So, what does this weekend bring for the Golightly camp?  My lovely SIL is having a birthday, and she wants a shovel.  Much hilarity ensues, quotes from Ripping Yarns, and much discussion about the types and varieties of shovel... and she wants a bag for the shovel - I'm going to make a shoebag, and give it to her round the shovel - she did say she wanted a bag, and you know me, I just do what I'm told.  Well, kind of...


I'm thinking about using some of these:

Well, maybe not the zips, (I was going to make some pouches out of these, but shoe bags might be nicer...), but we'll see what comes out of the small but perfectly formed room tomorrow...

Didja, didja, huh, huh, huh?

Miss me, I mean? Did you even notice my absence from the blog-i-verse? Well, don't blame me, blame the tech, don't blame it on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonlight, blame it on the tekkkkkkkk boogie... sorry. See, I've been away so long I've just about lost the plot. It's amazing how reliant on technology we've become, we're so used to being able to boot up the computer [note to self, stop using that geek-speak in yr blog, yr frightening people] & connecting almost instantly to the www, that when it doesn't happen, we get all jittery. Well, I sure did.


Our third world telephone system (which, considering where our electricity wires are, is amazingly, underground) has a few glitches. One of which is that our broadband line occasionally goes into "you can't find me, nah nah na nah nah" mode, and stops working. The last time this happened it took about three weeks to get sorted out and I was going spare - no Etsy, no email (I can't actually remember if I had a blog back then, I don't think so though), no whatever else I used it for - but three weeks without it, meant I was a very grumpy Golightly.


This time, MWH* was able to sort it out after only five days. It feels a lot longer than five days, for certain sure, and I feel that I've neglected you all shamefully, but I can't post when I'm in the Corporate Hellhole, that just wouldn't be right... so I've just been waiting.... patiently... less patiently... screamingly impatiently... but now it's okay. It's fixed. And, (and don't you just hate people who start their sentences with a preposition), we've got a spanking new wireless modem to boot.


Not quite as exciting as my latest trip to the fabric shop. They must love me, they know I can't leave without a bundle of stuff, even if it's stuff I don't actually need. Come on, admit it - who actually needs quilt fabric? Nobody, that's who. Doesn't stop us though, does it?

The upside? I got a lot of sewing done, and it made me realise how much time I spend reading blogs, rather than making stuff, which is what I should be doing! Anyway, pictures, then (late) dinner. Good thing MWH* is still at work in his Corporate Hellhole, otherwise I'd be in the shi tzu house.

closely followed by:

Toy bags for Miss Mandy?

Then these:

The last of the box pouch order for the WMIL, and these arrived in the post yesterday:

I've said it before & I'll say it again - somebody stop me!!!


Now - off for dinner! Ciao!

PS - this is a test for the really dedicated - can somebody please try to post a comment without using a google id or other id, & see if it works? I keep getting feedback from friends that they can't post anonymously... thanks!

Uncle...

Does anybody except me and the lovely Yumptatious remember the Nigel Molesworth books by Ronald Searle?  They were fabulously funny, in a very english way, and were great reading when I was 9, 10, 11... her post about finding a copy of one of these also made me think of the Uncle books, by J. P. Martin, which are apparently now quite rare - they were illustrated by the fabulously talented Quentin Blake, who is famous, quite rightly, for illustrating the Roald Dahl books, but who has done many many other fantastic things:

My local library had both in abundant supply, along with all of the Sue Barton Nurse novels (except one, which I've never found), and of course, Swallows and Amazons...  

Is it a sign of impending old age when you start to want to repurchase and re-read all the books from your childhood?  I bought a reprint of "Little Black Sambo" by Helen Bannerman - it's a gorgeous story, just ignore the people who tell you it's racist because of the name - it's about a brave little kid who outwits four hungry tigers... and I'm on the lookout for the Ladybird Cinderella, which was in the "Well Loved Tales" series - mine was exactly the same as this, and I had "The Princess and the Pea" too. Also, "Shopping with Mother" and "The Nurse"  - I just saw it for sale for 28 pounds sterling.  Wow.  I'm pretty sure it was about 2/6 when I had it.  Should have kept them, huh?


And this arrived in the mail:

Too gorgeous for words.  Need to stop buying & start making, methinks.  Need more hours in the day!

Oh yes, I almost forgot - the bunting:

Carefully taken down, folded & taken home for the bride by the chief bridesmaid.  I think it's a keeper!

Too pooped to pop...

I'm pretty sure that was a song title back in the day... anyway, it's done, they're wed, and it was absolutely gorgeous... lovely spot, down by the water at Glebe, everybody behaved as you would expect, there were no fights, nobody got falling-over drunk, the bride & groom left under their own steam before their guests (and why do I mention this?  Well, that's a story for another time...), and we were home in bed by 1.00am.


Yippee!


My favourite photo (well, that I took, anyway):

Just beautiful.

And the most unexpected photo of the day:

Who was she?   Who cares?  She knew a good thing when she saw it!


And finally, the funniest photo of the day:

He's got the flowers & she's trying to get the ring off.  Just look at that concentration!

Well, what a day...

So here, gentle reader, is what the beautiful beach at Newport looked like yesterday morning at about 7.40, when I was waiting for my bus to work:

This is what it normally looks like:

You may be able to tell I was standing in the middle of those Norfolk Pine trees when I took the photo.  Amazing.

This is my backyard as it normally looks:

This is what it was like at about 7.20 yesterday morning:

These came straight off my camera.  Incredible.  And so much fun to breathe in - I just left my nephew a message on Facebook saying how delightful it was to be blowing red snot yesterday... charming.  And we were breathing that in!  I can't believe the government didn't show a little leadership & tell us all to stay at home - oh wait, what am I saying?  This is the NSW government I'm talking about here.  D'oh.

I also had to chuckle at MWH's niece, who is here from Melbourne for THE WEDDING, who said "of course she had to come to Sydney for the freakin APOCALYPSE"... I was thinking of the Red Dwarf moment when Lister is really sick & dreams of it raining herring, and the mayor of Warsaw who spontaneously combusted in 1546, appears in his quarters.  

Some may think that the red dust may be the precursor to said Apocalypse, and I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of Rapture Ready loonies out there cutting down trees & peering through the haze looking for the one great magician to come & take them all away from this... oops.  Just slid off the soapbox.

Ah, it's so much fun out there... 

Happier news, The Bride took delivery of the bunting today, and sent me a lovely text message saying she absolutely loved [them], which is great to hear!  I just have to decide now if I'm going to wear the red shoes to the wedding or the black ones.... it's a tough choice... the bag I bought from the lovely Rowena would go well with either red or black...  opinions pls?

Oh, my outfit?  Black satin pants (yes, yes, I know, very 70's disco), a cream silk blouse & a black lace jacket-y coat-y thing.  Like a dolman coat but with almost a shawl collar... the lapels & collar are all one piece. Who cares what I'm wearing?  The BRIDE is wearing a beautiful Colette Dinnigan dress and she will look absolutely beautiful, because she is a beautiful person, in & out.   So exciting!

Pictures next week.  Now, dinner calls.  Well, it's more of a whimper, actually because of the BLT I had for lunch with Ms Creek... v. naughty.  Good thing I don't have to squeeze into that Colette Dinnigan dress!  Bye!  

West meets East

And the red rain falls out of the sky... 


Did anybody chance to check out Nostradamus today?  I'm sure the end of the world was predicted for today, but we forgot to notice.  Also, gross moment coming up, be warned - I blew my nose today & it was full of red dust.  No wonder my lungs hurt.


Check out my good friend Kaz's blog for a first hand glance at the dust, if you want!  This is where we spent the weekend. Looked a bit different this morning!


Check this out: When I came over The Bridge this morning, visibility was so low we couldn't even see the Opera House!


I took my camera to work today, what a nerd, hey?  My photos here tomorrow, honest.  Early start tomorrow, 5.30am.  Bed, sleep.  Dismissed.

Phew...

What a month September is turning out to be..although I'm not doing the 45 hour thingy anymore, I'm still pretty tired when I get home, but it's the routine - leave work at about 5.30pm, get a bus about 6.00, arrive home about 7.20 (yes, really), make dinner, lie on the lounge like an exhausted beached whale, go to bed, get up at 6.30am and do it all again.... and so far this month, I've been to Perth, the Hunter Valley this weekend, we've got THE WEDDING next weekend, the annual Festival of the Boot the weekend after.  I want a holiday!


However, I did spend some productive time sewing yesterday, for the first time in a couple of months I was able to spend some quality time talking to my sewing machine... maybe the trick to producing stuff is not to have too much fabric choice?  I took 3 linens & all those nice cottons (the pink, yellow, blue & green series) for linings, six ribbons & some zips, and I didn't have any problem chosing what to make!  


Some small items for the shop, then, after an age of not putting anything in there:

These are the perfect size for phone, credit cards & cash - these are the same size as the one I made for myself a while ago...


I spent some quality time with the best dog in the world, too - she's recovering nicely from her 2nd knee reconstruction, and is now walking (and falling) freely - but she was fine in the water, swimming with the swans:

And we went up the road to visit the French Quilter, who is making a gorgeous quilt using this:

Gorgeous... but apparently there isn't any more of that gorgeous red & blue to be had - shame!


Kaz's good friend Morag Laird came up for a visit too, and she made me some co-ordinating buttons:

And I took some flower shots in the French Quilter's garden:

And the surrounding landscape:

And then we played with the swans:

And I relaxed.  Can't you tell?