FNSI teams with Melbourne

This post is a little late as the last FNSI was Friday night........and before I forget I must share this lovely Hexie that Maria sent me for my blogging friends table cloth........

.. now back to FNSI...... mine involved working out which projects I was going to pack ....... and this ended up having to be decided on Sunday arvo as Saturday morning we headed off to Melbourne with Scruffy to see dear daughter and her partner for an early Christmas ..........

( also trying to postfrom my iPad so unsure if photos will work)..
  We had a great time with them, but needed to leave early Sunday morning to make the trek home as we had tounpack and then repack the car as we had a last minute change of plans for Christmas ........ so with the car and trailer all packed up with basics ...

Monday morning early we left to head up to our house in Maryborough to spend some time over Christmas.  Scruffy came with us on the trek so he can start to get used to the new house...... he did pretty well - 12 hrs the first day with an overnight stop in Moree ..

then another 7-8 hrs on Tuesday.......  I started work on some cotton crochet blocks that I'll be putting together to make a cotton crochet throw for the veranda here .......

So for now it's a camp out in the new house .... although we did go straight out to buy the new bed and mattress that I've been saving up for ...... it's rather lovely and has been very comfy.i especially love the little rose in the middle .....

Itching for Stitching

My own design from years past

Since we don't know just when our house here might sell, and given the amount of "stuff" we have, we decided we should declutter and pack as much as possible at the same time.  This basically means a good amount of material and yarn and goodies  from the Beehive Cabin have been packed into boxes.  I came across this hot water bottle cover I made for our daughter years ago with a little stitchery that I designed (including the little bears that I made up)....... I still think its cute - and I haven't done any wool embroidery for years - perhaps I should get back to it as I don't think my little design looks too bad.  Naturally I've ensured leaving a certain amount of goodies out to continue to work on until such time as we do actually sell.  I have many patterns and lots of things that have been sitting while I've been so busy the past couple of years, so I had to really consider what I would keep out.  Hexies have been kept out since they are so easy to pick up and work on ...... apparently I have a few Hexie projects going .........
including my lovely bloggy tablecloth that includes hexies from any blogging friends or penpal friends who felt inclined to make one for me.  I'm working on making each of those into a lovely flower to go on the tablecloth. 

From my garden

I kept out a small box of little UFO's luckily as I've just had to quickly finish off a little Christmas ornament to post away - naturally I was so busy getting it ready to post, I've forgotten to take a photo of it!  Guess that means I need to make another one.  Mind you, I did have to go purchase a new glue gun so I could attach the little star to the top of it - oh well, I really did need a new one of those.  I've just begun to feel a little sense of "freedom" to a point, in that I can actually take some time out and relax - to a point. 

And before I'd managed to get this post finished (sometimes it takes me a few days to get a post up), Hubbie put forward the idea of making a few changes to our Christmas plans ....... So now we are heading down to Melbourne next weekend to the daughters for Christmas with her and her partner - a first since usually the kids come to us for Christmas lunch before they all have to rush off to other venues.  So they are excited as it will mean we get some quality time with them and they have an easier Christmas Day as well!  Then we plan to head north to our new home to spend a bit of time there - Scruffy will be coming with us on both trips which means he won't be fretting!

So of course I know I'll be itching for some stitching during all that time, so I need to work out just what bits I'll be taking along with me - I need crochet for the long car trip (I'm thinking cotton squares of some type to put together for a throw rug for the new veranda ??), and I think the hexies (of one size or project ) should definitely be coming along.............  in fact I'm almost thinking perhaps I should be doing some embroidery items??????

 

Outside my  Beehive Cabin, Bundalong

Dad Moves ......

Dad ready to leave his Yarrawonga unit.

As many of you would be aware, my Dad did not cope at all well with the Victorian winter (which just happened to be one of the wetest ones on record). Even so, he still managed to turn outside of his unit area into a lovely garden while he was there.  I'm so pleased he got to see the roses bloom and even the Gladioli's put out a great show.  Much better than Dad had expected since they were bulbs just bought from one of the cheap shops. 

the back yard area

He has been wanting to return to the Brisbane Bayside area of Wynnum Manly ever since he and my stepmother moved away from it about 15 yrs ago.  To cut a long story short, which I'm sure many of you might be up to speed with anyway if you follow my blog, he ended up moving down here in March this year.  His unit sold pretty quickly once he put it back on the market and 45 days later, settlement! 


Chrysanthemums flowering out of season.

  Naturally there had to be a hiccup  - a problem with the furniture removalist breaking down so they sent a friend of theirs with a car

Arriving at the new unit

and tandem trailer (and nobody else to assist with the moving of furniture - lucky I was able to roll up my sleeves and hadn't happened to wear a skirt that particular day!)  I was so exhausted, the last thing I thought was to get a photo of it, so Dad reminded me of that the day it was due to turn up at his new unit - a serviced apartment in a Christian retirement village in Manly West - and interestingly built on land that was once owned by Dad and his brother years ago for market gardening.  They had to sell up since at the time they had trouble trying to get water!  Anyhow, back to moving day ........

  Imagine my surprise when I saw that turn up instead of van, knowing it would be making an interstate journey ........ Thank the Lord for watching over things and keeping rain from getting it all drenched (kmart tarps with holes don't equal water proofing). So Tuesday was a little more tiring than I had planned you might say (not to mention very stressful for Dad who was horrified by it all - trouble is, what options do you have when you have to be out that day and live in a rural area, and it's the 2nd last day of November!) 

I was feeling more horrified/ saddened by the fact that all his stuff actually did fit into the trailer ...... even though we kinda needed it to fit in order for it to get moved! 

Dad spent that night at our house and then he and I made the trek to fly out of Albury, via Sydney to Brisbane.  I was very thankful I'd thought to phone Qantas and arrange for mobility assist - they did a great job meeting us and helping Dad, who really did need the extra assistance as the flights played with his inner ear and balance - I'm sure the stress of the big move also played a major role.  All in all, it was a good trip up on Wednesday and Dad stayed with Uncle Richie that night, allowing the brothers time to catch up with each other.
Meantime, I stayed with a friend of mine who has her own dog grooming business and Wednesday night just happened to be the Christmas dog obedience break up and all were required to attend if we planned on eating dinner lol (not really, but it was a couple of hours of much needed light relief after the past couple of stressful months). I came prepared already dressed in my dress that I told her was also appropriate for Christmas lol - I did have a change of earings with me to add a Christmas touch and being the good friend she is, she had a chrissy hat ready for me to add the finishing touch ....... and voila!  From an hour car trek and several hours of plane travel and airports and rental cars  to doggie Christmas party !  Love it  lol

Photos with one of her doggies before we left

 and Thursday morning just after 9am the stuff arrived (and another removalist to assist).  Uncle

Richie was on hand to assist and a couple of hours later an old friend of mine showed up.  We took a much needed break for morning tea at the coffee shop and Sheila and I caught up on old times.  It was so lovely to catch up with her again and she stayed to help with more unpacking of Dads stuff.    The last time I saw Sheila we were at the same retirement village cleaning out my Grandmothers Unit while she was being moved to Palliative Care! 

I am blessed to have some very special friends in my life, friends that we are able, despite the time and the miles that might separate, to just pick up where we left off, accept things as they are, no pretence, just pure friendship!  I thank the Lord that I have a few of those types of friends and I do miss that I can't catch up with them more often.     It took the whole day, but we managed to get the furniture all placed , TV reprogrammed, photos up, things packed away into drawers and Dad and I even made a trip to Bunnings so I could buy him a couple of new outdoor chairs to go with his table, and a couple of Geranium plants to add some colour, as well as a new watering can and a few colourful pot saucers to give his balcony a bit of colour.

 Can you see the little "rocks "  (Stacey had bought him those for his garden at Yarrawonga ), and the gnome light (Dad and I both bought one of those when he first moved Yarrawonga) .......... they were packed in the hope he would have a spot to put them at his new unit (he hadn't actually been able to view it prior to moving there, so it was hard to know how things would fit). 

 

Job done!  Unit all Set up xox (Dad took his 1st Ipad photo)

  Anyhow, I think we managed well and I really hope Dad is happy with it.  It was a bit sad saying goodbye to him, and goodbye again to this area as it still very much is a big part of me having spent many years of life in this area at various stages....... but now its time for this next chapter and to embrace whatever the pages ahead have for us all.   Take care my friends

xox