Busy, busy, busy

Somehow the days are vanishing faster than I know without my getting nearly enough stuff done!  We had a lovely morning tea at the library this morning to farewell a very long serving volunteer who has been volunteering there for over 33 years.  Unfortunately she has gone almost blind with macular degeneration so can no longer see to do anything,  The library staff presented her with a lovely cushion, heavily textured, and a very soft throw, also quite textured, so she can feel as much as look at them in her room in the aged care facility into which she has recently moved into.

The library has a wonderful service providing home deliveries of books to over 150 clients who are housebound and today was the last delivery for this year.  I deliver to about a dozen people in an aged care facility near my home and I have made some lovely friends over the years.  Sitting for a chat is as much a part of the  service as delivering the books I think!  Sadly I shall be away this year for their Christmas party to be held next Friday.  Helpers bring most of them into the one of the libraries for a bangup morning tea and lots of entertainment.

 I have managed to go for a couple of walks and saw this beautiful Tabebuia tree the other day.

 This is a closeup with the sun shining on the flowers.

 You know Christmas is close when the Poincianas are all in flower!  I couldn't get close enough with the traffic to take another photo but click on them all to enlarge.

I have done a little bit of sewing - finished this little bag and I have another couple under way, but not ready to show yet.  I have made one Christmas cake and cut up fruit to soak ready to make another one on Saturday.  I need to spend some time in the garden mulching everything at the weekend.  The weather is still very dry and quite hot and I am going away for four days next week, leaving Bill to do the watering!

I haven't quite vanished!

It seems an age since I have had anything worth posting about, but I have finally made a few items worth showing.  Most of my time these days seems to be taken up with health appointments of one sort or another - boring and time consuming but necessary.

 I have made some birthday cards and one Christmas card for my Fibre Fever group

 This will be the end for me with this group as I am retiring from it at the end of the year.  I have really enjoyed the interaction, but the pressure of producing something  at a given time about a given subject has got beyond me.  I am not nearly as talented as the wonderful artists in Europe!

 Today I received my Christmas card from Margreet, with beautiful hand sewing as always.

I have made a couple more glasses cases and bookmarks today, with some more in process.  I have finally had a whole day at home without having to poke my nose outside the gate - wonderful.

Jock was not happy though, we did not go for a walk this afternoon as I spent the time in the garden instead - he still had plenty of exercise chasing toys while I was there.  Tomorrow is our bin collection day and as we never have much rubbish to put into it we fill it up with garden rubbish, so Wednesday afternoon is pruning time - or weeding time.  It had to be watering time as well.  We have had very hot weather with strong northerly (very drying) winds and no rain.  Now I hear the forecasters saying we are likely to have a hotter and drier summer than usual in the northern part of Australia.  Looks like I shall be chasing hoses all summer.

High Tea and heritage

Last Saturday the Garden Friends had a special event exclusively for members - high tea in the cafe followed by a walk to the heritage Garden and a talk by a very knowledgeable local historian on the people and businesses which were in the area in the early days of settlement in Mackay.  Mackay has been settled for 150 years so there have been many celebrations throughout the year.

 This is a sample of the high tea.  The cafe specialises is local indigenous ingredients so there were some unusual flavours but all very yummy!  There was a selection of very unusual teas - Australian eucalyptus, macadamia, lemon myrtle etc - or if you were not game to try them you could have coffee!

 We were all supposed to come dressed for the occasion, but most of us didn't.  Kevin and Maya really got into the spirit and looked magnificent!

 While we were walking to the heritage garden I saw this fantastic skink in the pond.  It was about 9 - 10 inches long, and is the biggest skink I have ever seen.

 We were sitting next to the lagoon so I took a snap of all these birds while I was listening.  Click to enlarge and you will see them all, pelicans, ibis, a spoonbill, some black duck, a black swan and a moorhen - all busy feeding.  I hadn't realised the black swans were back till I took the photo.

 I took this photo because of the two shelducks which are in the picture.  We don't have them visit very often so it was lovely to see them.

Recovery

We have seen the specialist and had a very satisfactory report.  Bill has some badly squished vertabrae in his lower back which have of course pinched the nerves, but he is recovering well with physio and hopefully will not have a recurrence.  I was hoping the doctor would say he was not to climb ladders and get onto the roof etc, but he only told Bill to be careful - one man to another!!!

We went for a slow walk today in the Botanic Gardens and I took my camera.

Lovely shade along the lower path now the trees have grown.

 Steps leading to another level

 Livistona palms line the path on one side and she oaks the other.

 The whistling ducks were having a ball.

 A very pretty bottlebrush from Eungella National Park in the hinterland

 with a closeup -

 and I have taken the vine arbor from both ends.  All the photos should enlarge if you double click.

I need to start collecting before and now images to show at events next year, our tenth anniversary. Everything has grown so much.

Phone photos

 I forgot to put some text on top of this photo and with the new version of blogger I can't move it !  I have only just learned how to transfer photos from my phone to the computer and now I have to learn how to take proper photos with the phone as well - just for the times when I don't have my camera with me!
Jock and I were walking in  the Gardens.  If you double click on this photo you may be able to see the two waterbirds resting on the pump.  In the far distance is an old pumping station and in years gone by the flood waters came up to the bottom of the windows several times each wet season.  This hasn't happened since the Gardens have been opened, but I am sure it will again.

 This is the sign you see driving into the city along the Bruce Highway.

 And another closer view of the grass trees, which we used to call blackboys when I was a child.  The parrots absolutely love the flower spikes when they are in bloom, but they are past that now.

This teak tree was absolutely full of parrots, but of course they are all hiding! The noise was incredible.
Hot and dry here, with the faint possibility of a storm tonight, but I am not waiting, I am off to do some watering, then another walk later when it is a bit cooler.