Hello Blogland - Christmas Round up

Ahhhh, its soooo nice to be able to just take a relaxing breath at long last ....... I'm sure many are feeling similar - but is it a feeling that stays with you for most of the year? 

 What I have discovered is that when I'm blogging, I'm in a  more consistently less stressed time.  FB posts are things that are rushed and posted with haste and glanced over by people with a button to press like because you might not have the time to make a reply or response ........ blogging is more a time of sharing with a cuppa, sitting back and enjoying a bit of a blog hop to see what's going on elsewhere and to link up with other bloggers.  I enjoy the process of sharing a bit more about what's going on and  people enjoy taking the time to leave a comment or send an email in response. 

 Yesterday Chooky had a zoom party for a number of bloggers which went the whole day and allowed us to come and go as time allowed and also meant getting to see some of the girls in different time zones (US/ Canada/ Germany/ New Zealand and around  Australia  - I believe some from the UK were also on at some stage but I missed them). 

 Most were doing various bits of hand sewing, but I was mostly working on knitting my socks which are making good progress.  Jo also asked about the table cloth from a number of years ago that some had helped out with the hexies for me  (at this stage I was still living in Bundalong in Victoria, in the process of moving to Maryborough where the tablecloth was completed - see the top photo) and I was able to show them the finished said item which they were happy to see completed (how lucky was it that I'd only unpacked it a few days earlier and knew where it was lol) .........

My Sock progress ........... I'm a little nervous as I get closer to the heel section which will be a new thing to experience in my knitting adventures 

Sock Progress

Many of the girls were sitting in their designated sewing rooms ...... mine will be a shared room with the study but after just an hour or so sitting with the girls on zoom, I felt the urge to get into that room and try to maneuver furniture around again to try making it a little more user friendly and I also tackled some of the paperwork sorting out the filing cabinet so I can actually use it a little more effectively as well and perhaps make the study section a little  less  cluttered!

 When I'm having to work from home on some days - that's the room I'm having to work from and at present it is a very small corner of the room surrounded by piles of stuff and boxes which is not the ideal!  Progress was made but I need some shelving for the hanging section of the wardrobed ....... planning a trip to Bunnings on Friday!  No photos of this space yet but hopefully it will be sorted by the end of January!  And I called back in on the zoom later in the afternoon for a bit more catch up which was lovely and when most of the Aussie girls were on!

 After doing some more sorting out in the craft/study - Pete and I took a boat ride up the Murray which was a bit of fun (except that the motor was flat to begin with so we weren't game to turn it off and do any fishing ) - Instead we went for a bit of a fishing adventure this morning ........ and had lots of fun with the battery dead in the water again and needing jump starts (thank goodness for a friend and also our battery jump charger thingy!

This is the old bridge between Wahgunyah and Corowa separating Victoria from New South Wales.  There is also a newer bridge a little further upstream.

And I guess I'd better mention Christmas Day for those of you who will likely ask ...... it was quite with just Pete, myself and I brought Dad over for the day as well which he really enjoyed.  He's doing very well for 92 years of age and wore the Christmas shirt that Jaron and Renee and his great grandchildren had given him for Christmas! 

The 3 of us having xmas lunch and that is Ginger ale not Beer that Dad has 

Last year Stace made aprons for both Pete and our neighbour Scott (they joked about being the "house bitches" since both Martine and I worked and they were both stay at home lol ...... They kept talking about getting some pink aprons ....... So stacey surprised them both and made matching ones for them ..... after an early phone call on Christmas Day they both decided to put them on again this year to do the lunches at both places (Scott in Maryborough and Pete here in Corowa) and we took photos and sent them to Stacey which made her day !

Scott in Maryborough

Pete here in Corowa

And me with my new bike lol

John & Stace decided Murray Cod shoes would be a fun thing for Pete lol

 And now I'm glad for a bit of relax!! 

 Take care, Hugs Sharm 

Merry Christmas 2021

Peppermint, Apricot, Lemon and
Mars Bar Slices

 Today is Christmas Eve, although I have to admit that it just doesn't feel like it is.  It's different this year
knowing none of our children will be visiting us, although I will go and pick up Dad and bring him over for the day.  We will still have our roast port and turkey and I've baked a number of  yummy slices as well as a trifle and choc ripple cake to enjoy.  Last night we were invited to spend the evening with a number of the neighbors - meeting a couple of new ones and getting to know others a bit more - such a lovely evening!!  We are really blessed with lots of lovely neighbors around here.

We had a massive downpour here the other day ....44ml in a very short time and we got to see where all the rainwater runs! Pete had to dig a bit of trench to divert some of the water that was building up and we now have to get more downpipes and better drainage sorted. 

We have 2 very small water tanks here both of which were full and overflowing which didn't help with the water run off ........ it also meant trying to keep all the shed stuff under plastic, tarps and anything else we could find since we have still been waiting for the guy to get back to us about building the shed.

We had another visit from this guy (blue crane) ................  he's been a couple of times that I've seen and does a lap or two around the pool before flying off !

The rain followed by warm/ hot days if having a wonderful effect on my garden out the front (and the vegies which are going great - picked our first lettuce yesterday!)

Pete gave up waiting for the shed guy to get back to us with a quote (we've only been waiting since July and he doesn't seem to want to return phone calls) ...... and oh boy do we need to get the tools and such properly stored rather than under tarps and plastic all around the house and BBQ area (thank goodness we spent the time taking the old shade cloth and overgrown creeper off the pergola and Pete put roofing iron on in its place! ....... 

I'll let the photos show the shed progress which is still needing to be finished off - but he has managed

to get such a lot done in a week or so and very thankful for the help from one of the neighbor's with the roof and big steel beams. 

You can see how full the pergola area is trying in vain to keep things out of the wet!

There was a slab in the middle which is where the old shed sat till Pete pulled it down - we then had to dig the ground either side of it to pour slabs either side.

We are lucky to have rear lane access at this house for all backyard deliveries! And to the side you get a glimpse of the vegie garden

Concrete dry and able to start putting some stuff under cover - front and doors yet to be attached but great to get some of the stuff moved into better cover and away from the house

 

And with that I wish you all a very Merry Christmas Day tomorrow

Hugs Sharm xo

December FNSI and a peak inside

Our new loungeroom has a mantel!

And who would have thought I'd actually make a FNSI before the end of 2021!!!  I'm loving being back in this area with lots of friends with like minded interests - not to mention the weather patterns certainly work better for my past times and interests.......  Anyhow - who said I needed an excuse to enjoy where we have moved to lol ........... 

 Early in Dec I got to catch up with one of my friends who is very talented at both spinning and weaving.  She helped to get my spinning wheels sorted out (although they need a bit more tweaking to make spinning a little easier) 

This is a tea towel she hand weaved in one of her looms, which she gifted to me as a house warming gift!  It's just so soft and luxurious - I  feel very blessed to have such an awesome gift!

- and she helped me finally get started on knitting socks.  This is something that has been on my list for a few years now and I'm really enjoying the process ...... So I got to do a bit more on my socks last night for FNSI.   Thanks Wendy for hosting this!

 I'm working on both socks so that it helps cement what I'm doing and also has the advantage of having a pair at the end of the process rather than having to turn around and start again lol .......  in order to do this I had to wind half the ball of yarn to another ball to make it easier to work on.  The pattern is coming out different but since I'll be wearing shoes anyway I don't have a problem with this.     

I have a few other items currently on needles as I got a little excited when we first got down here and I started unpacking my yarn stash ........ and deciding that most of it could live in the Pie Cupboard had to have its new home in the craft room/office (still a work in progress ............ soooooo much paperwork to sort out UGGHHHH! 

 The spinning wheel now lives in the lounge room ...... close to the reading nook I created which has my big bookcase, rocking chair and writing desk together with that little wooden red gum table Pete made me up in Maryborough.  I'm really enjoying my little nook. 

 It was the formal dining room when we bought the house but I hate carpet in a dining room area and luckily Pete felt the same way - so the big table is in the family area between the kitchen and bar (yes! You heard right - this house came with a bar and they even left the little bar fridge with it!  Since I still have boxes to unpack in this area - you will have to wait to see this another time  lol

The Move South

 6 Days after our daughters wedding the big semi and trailer arrived to pack up all our belongings for

The New House

the massive move south ..... to Corowa in Southern NSW, which is right on the Murray River on the North side from where we used to live in Bundalong (on the Victorian side of the Murray). .  

The Townsville crew had called back into our place in Maryborough after the wedding to stay a night before heading back up..... it was great to see them all again.

It took from 6am to 4pm with 6 guys to pack up the truck and at 4pm Pete, myself and my Dad left Maryborough - Pete with the ute pulling the green boat and me with Dad in the Kia pulling the camper van. 

Dad loves the new unit

We arrived on Saturday, 2nd Oct at 8pm to the new house It was hard to imagine the week before we
had been celebrating the wedding!  A lovely welcome gift had been left by the real estate which was lovely! And we had also purchased some of the furniture in the house so that we could not only use it when we arrived, but we would also be able to use it to furnish Dads new unit in the retirement village in Corowa that he was moving into on the Tuesday!

So Tuesday we moved Dad into his unit and did a few trips with the Ute to move furniture from this house into his unit and get him set up (and safely out of the chaos that would descend on us 2 days later when the truck arrived to unload everything here!!!

Pete pulled out the large bush out the front that I wanted out in order to replace it with a garden more to my liking.  We also had to pull out some horrid prickly bushes from near the front door. I soon got to it and was able to get lots of plants out of pots and into the ground and create a whole new look ...... its going to take some time to take shape so watch this space.............

Scruffy is now in the ground after being in the pot for the past couple of years and Cliffy is under his little bush in another area.

Before

This house is low to the ground which is nice when you have a sore back or hips to contend with!  It also has a pool which will be a blessing in the hot weather over summer for sure.  Lots of lovely walking paths on my doorstep with the river just a street away.  There is a track that follows the river and the golf course which is a lovely walk I've done a few times and once with a friend from Wangaratta who came over to catch up with us. Palm trees around the pool were quickly removed after all our dealings with palm fronds over the past 3 years!!!

and After removal!

Its been a bit chaotic with boxes everywhere and extra furniture that needed to be sold,.... but we are getting there.  We spent 3hrs getting  a massive creeper off the pergola near the pool so we could remove the old worn shade cloth and replace it with iron.  This was a priority as the shed needed to come down for a larger one to go up in its place so all the shed items would fit!  Meantime they have had to sit under the eaves and pergola to stay dry.  

3hrs with the both of us to pull this creeper down from the pergola!

We also got a couple of loads of soil in to fill up the empty garden bed that had been a vegie garden at some time in the past ....... and now is again!  We have planted quite a few vegies and waiting on getting some fruit trees into the yard as well and get back to producing quite a bit of our own supplies once again!

And with that catch up  I'll leave you with a couple more photos from the wedding as some of you had asked me of photos of Pete and I as well ..................   

Dad and I

Jaron, John & Pete (PJ was in lockdown)