Not much happening

This is the November page I received from Helga in Germany.  If you click on it you will see the embroidered cat 'Paul' which belongs to her neighbour.

She also sent me this postcard with the explanation of the page on the back of it.  Both very nice.

My November page had to be about a Van Gogh landscape, which I needlefelted, using both the embellisher and a hand needle.  You can see the picture I was trying to depict in the photo below! 

There has not been a lot of activity around here lately.  I seem to have spent my time going to doctors trying to get my legs to work properly!  Shall just have to put up with everything for a while, the soonest I can get in to see the next specialist is mid February.  Christmas activities are going to be minimal this year I suspect - too hard to walk far, so everyone will get gift vouchers to spend on what they want.  Actually the older grandchildren will get cash in the hand - they like that better than anything as they are always saving for some project.  I remember when our boys were small they used to spend half the year working out what they were going to buy with the money they knew they would get from their grandparents at Christmas - the priorities changed frequently, but they had months of fun planning!

We actually have a bit of cloud cover today and managed 2 mm rain!  This October/November had been so dry and with strong northerly winds blowing the garden is desperately dry.  At least we can water and save plants - the hinterland has quite a few bushfires burning, some lit deliberately.  That is so awful for the landholders trying to keep fodder for their stock.

Now I am off to my workroom to see what inspiration I can drum up.

More flowers - and Jock

the Leichardt trees are starting to flower at the Botanic Gardens.  I just love the golf ball sized flowers, especially looking up through the canopy as in this photo.  Looks even better if you click on it to enlarge.  Whenever I hear the name Leichardt I always think with amuzement of the directions being given on my sister's GPS system.  We were driving around Brisbane and were directed to go down 'Leechart' street.  It took a few minutes to realise the young girl reading the directions had no idea of the pronunciation!!  I know she was young as she comes from Mackay and obviously did not study history of any kind at school.

I brought a cutting of this shrub home from my sister's garden in Buderim a couple of years ago and have struggled with it ever since.  At last I think I am doing the right things by it and this lovely bloom has appeared.  I am driven to distraction as I cannot remember the name of the shrub and I can't find the article in a gardening magazine - when I know it is there somewhere!  Does that sound familiar to any of you?

This is a not very clear photo of our crazy dog, who then got into trouble for pinching my new 'feet seat' which he was sure was a new toy for him to play with.  He was running around the room and trying to toss it into the air.  We have been having words about it ever since, I think I am winning but I am not too sure, it is place out of reach when I am not using it.

Now I had better get a cup of coffee for my hard working husband who is putting up some guttering around our greenhouse.

PS.  I have finally found the name - Ruellia Chartacea, a native of South America.  I googled it and I am now going to buy a larger pot and keep it in that.  I had been planning to plant it into a garden bed, but apparently I will do better with the pot.

Some birds at the Gardens

I have finally managed a short walk in the Gardens again taking my new camera along with me.  I am really thrilled with the zoom in this coolpix camera - much improved on my old camera, but no doubt that is because it is newer!

The ubiquitous white ibis were there.  they are such a pest in lots of places, but I must admit that they like to eat baby cane toads, so I am quite glad they are around!  Some Pacific black ducks were sunning themselves as well.

This is much better when you click on it to enlarge.  The tree in front of the deck is not really dead - trees in the tropics tend to lose all their leaves in the spring, this one will be covered in new leaves and beautiful pink flowers in another month or so.

This egret is stalking its food in a carpet of a terrible weed - water hyacinth.  The gardeners fight a continuous battle against this, at the moment the weed seems to be winning, but there are weevils trying to eat their way through the weed.

I really love this desert rose - can't remember its proper name.

Not sure when I shall be back walking again as my right knee has packed it in once again and my left hip has decided to get in on the act as well! Just old age and arthritis I know, but I wish it would go away.  We have suddenly got some hot and very sticky weather which I don't think is helping.  I shall have to hide in the air conditioning and do some stitching instead.

And still no stitching

Some day soon I hope I get back into my workroom to do some stitching!  The painters have finished, yippee, but there are still heaps and heaps of boxes of china and crystal to wash and put away - after I have taken it out of its paper wrappings.

It is interesting to see some of my collections all together though.  Many years ago I bought a beautiful blue glass bowl - which I subsequently shattered, muchto my distress.  Since then, my family and friends have continued to give me blue glass. 

Bill bought the jar/vase on the front right in Isfahan when he was working in Iran for  a short while.  It is supposed to be very old, but who really knows - it makes a good story and brings back memories.

I really had to make sure this was all cleaned before it went back on the shelves.  Many of these pieces have come from Bangladesh - Bill also worked there - or were given to us by visiting Asian sugar consultants - so they all have a story. 

The two large copper plaques came from Bangladesh, the one on the left was supposedly buried during the independence fighting.  Bill's first trip to Bangladesh took place just after  the assassination of the President at the time - early 70's and I can't remember his name.  Martial law was in place, but the aid mission went ahead - the wives were not very happy about it!

This is a different collection - from my mother-in-law.  She had so many beautiful lace doilies and runners.  I am not sure what I will eventually do with them, probably cut them up and use them in stitching.  None of the younger ones are interested in them.

I have tried to show the very pretty blue the living room has been painted, but the colour has not come out properly at all.  We are thrilled with the painting - and very thrilled not to be having to get out of the kitchen by 7am in the morning!

New Camera

I have a new camera as my old Canon would only take photos on very rare occasions and that is worse than useless.  I debated between another Canon and a Nikon Coolpix, eventually choosing the Nikon.  I am having second thoughts now - too late of course - as the Nikon is noisy.  It beeps when it is focussed and ready to shoot, then makes a very loud click as you take the photo!  I have discovered on the pet portrait setting it doesn't do that but I haven't experimented with many photos to see how they turn out.
I have just uploaded 4 photos and blogger has put them all above the text - it is being very contrary today, I do wish they wouldn't keep changing the way it works.
I was experimenting with macro and zoom photos - I love both on this camera.  The first photo is of the lovely Cape York Lilies in the Botanic Gardens.  I was very worried till I came home and checked that mine are still growing.  I had dug them up a couple of months ago by mistake as I had completely forgotten they were there.  I replanted them immediately, and sure enough, I have spikes appearing.  I am sure mine usually flower after Christmas so I have no idea why these ones are in flower now - mine came from the Gardens.  The yellow flower is such a glorious yellow and the leaves are a very dense, very dark green to make a huge contrast.  It is a Golden Guinea tree.
The next two photos were using the zoom, the first one about half way and the next one almost full.  they are incredibly sharp.  Now of course I need to study the manual - at least I have a paper one as well as the CD - and take lots and lots of photos to learn how to make the best use of the camera.
Our oldest son turns 42 today - where have the years gone - so I shall take some night shots when we go out there for dinner.  We were going to have a BBQ but the weather is horrid, blowing hard with gusts to 35 knots, and the occasional shower, so I suspect Nikki is having a rethink.
I think the painters will be finished in two days, that will be wonderful after three weeks!  We have moved the furniture back into the main rooms, but only a few books back onto the shelves so far.  All the crystal and china is still in boxes, too hard to get to while we don't have much access to the kitchen.  I will get done in time.


UPDATE.....
Thank goodness for Penny's comment on Doreen's blog - I have managed to get rid of that slideshow, much nicer just being able to clidk on the photos and have them enlarge!

UPDATE NUMBER TWO.......
Thank goodness for technologists in the family.  Dougal took away the sounds in the camera with no trouble at all.  Now I can use it in concerts or wherever without interfering with the programme!

I AM NOT LIMPING!!!

Whoo hoo, the arthroscopy seems to have been a great success - I can walk without that telltale swinging limp!  My other foot has stopped hurting too, I am amazed, especially as the surgeon did not seem to hold out much hope - he was talking in terms of a knee replacement sometime next year.  I am being careful not to stretch my luck, just glad to get my life back again.

Look what wonderful goodies arrived in the mail today for me - I was lucky enough to win Dale's giveaway of black and white (and red) threads.  What a gorgeous selection, very hard to see all the lovely colours and textures, I can't wait to start using them - just have to get sorted for those pesky painters first!

Again this photo does not do the page sent from Helina justice.  All the pages are so different, I will have a wonderful variety by the end of this swap.

Very hot and dry here today with a horrid northerly wind blowing - probably blowing up a storm.  We could do with the rain, but I have polished furniture stored on a verandah where the wind could blow in - another couple of days yet before I can move it back inside, then the painters move into the kitchen - and I would love to move out!  I hate the thought of being completely out of the kitchen area by 7am - especially having to be dressed ready to go out for the day by then as well, because they are doing the hallway into the bedrooms and bathroom as well.  Ugh!  I know it will all be worth it in the end, but..................

One thing is certain, this is the last time we will be going through this process, the previous paint has lasted 35 years - I don't think we will still be around in another 35, and certainly would not be worrying about a coat of paint.

Cezanne and some flowers

This is my October page for Fibre Fever - an interperetation (?) of the Cezanne picture below.  Some of the swap partners choose very difficult subjects I must say - however they make me stretch so that is a good thing.

Still no camera, but thank goodness for my mobile phone.  The ardisia is flowering magnificently this year, the little begonia beside it looks pretty also.  Everything has been shoved together to get out of the way of the painters.

This pandorea was planted after the tree disaster last year - we started off with two of them, but one died - thank goodness - we need to chop back half of this one it is growing so profusely!  Won't happen for a few weeks yet as I am not chopping while it is flowering so well.

We have been packing boxes frantically all day.  The painters should be spraying the roof tomorrow but the forecast is not looking promising so they will probably be in the living dining room instead - we are just about all clear in there but can hardly move anywhere else!

I am off to day surgery tomorrow morning too for an arthroscopy on my knee to see what is really wrong with it.  The doctor is not hopeful of a quick fix, but at least he will have a picture of what the inside of my knee looks like and can see what to do next - I am still hoping for the quick fix!  Not sure when I will be back to the computer - it is a desktop and up a lot of stairs.