Monday 10 April 2023

Exciting Times

Yesterday was the culmination of plans that have been evolving over the past year.  Who’d have ever thought that we would have friends from New Zealand, Germany, America and Australia all having lunch together in our home.  It was a wonderful experience, as we all start to gather for our retreat “Scrub Stitchin’” at Baradine next weekend.
The fun started on Saturday, when we drove to Sydney to pick up Lou and Tony from the airport.  As their flight arrived late int the afternoon, we called into the village of Glenbrook on the Blue Mountains to find somewhere for dinner.  We stumbled across a little Italian restaurant which has absolutely delicious food.  A great way to start the fun of the next week or so.
Not a great deal else happened in the last week.  The weather has turned decidedly autumnal, with our street trees starting to change colour and now lose some of their leaves in the windy weather.
When we were in town the other day, Mick wanted to have a look at drones and now has a new toy to learn to use.  He has been talking about getting one for a while and I think he will have fun with it on our travels.
Meanwhile, I noticed our Jacobean lily has flowered.  I bought the bulb some time ago.  Mum always had a plant in her garden.  They are quite striking.
I had to make a quick change to the little shelf in the kitchen, now ready for Easter.

Despite having quite a few things to do, I did take time out to read a book.  You know how it is, when there are things you need to do but can’t get enthused.
The book was ‘The Enemy within”.  The front cover said it was a Guaranteed Good Read and it was.  It is set in Sydney in January 2020, as bushfires rage and just before COVID hit.  The author is an ABC journalist and the main character is an investigative journalist.  Apparently, there are a couple of other books with the same main character.  I’ll have to look them out.
I did manage to maintain my 15 minutes a day.  I did some secret stitching and otherwise continued with my knitting.  I could cast it off now, but will continue a bit further, otherwise I would have nothing easy to work on over the next couple of days.  I’ll link up over at Life in Pieces.  I’ll update my stats next week.
As soon as I pick up the needles, Joey decides that my lap is the place to be,  At least he was reclining in this photo, usually he decides to sit up like Jacky, which makes things a little difficult.
On our way to Sydney we called in at the wool shop in Katoomba for me to buy some more knitting needles and this ball of very pretty 2-ply wool just happened to jump into my shopping bag.  It will be made into a lacy scarf.  They had one as a shop sample which wa absolutely gorgeous and so soft.  I couldn’t resist.

15 comments:

Katie said...

Wish I was there too!

I love your little shelf in the kitchen, though I have problems equating Easter rabbits with Autumn. :-D
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Katie said...

Love your little shelf in the kitchen, though I have trouble equating Easter bunnies with Autumn. :-D

Wish I was there!

Jennifer said...

Looks like a lot of fun, enjoy the time with friends!

Kate said...

Sounds like you've got a fun week planned with your friends. Congrats on maintaining your stitching time metrics. Have a great week.

Maria said...

So special to have all your friends enjoying time together at your home.
Nice to still get your 15mins of crafting each day.
I’m sure you’ll have a great time at SS.

Susan said...

It’s getting exciting…that is very pretty wool

Chookyblue...... said...

lunch was a great start to our week ahead.........

Sharm said...

How fun!!!! I think I'm going to have to make a concerted effort to book for Scrub Stitchin next year! ..... ohhhhh I love that yarn, it looks so sqishy and soft and can't wait to see the shawl you plan to knit.

Cheryll said...

EnJoY the Scrub Stitching...& say HI to anyone I might know... xox

Raewyn said...

A fabulous start to your week Janice - lovely to see everyone at the table! See you soon :-)

Jenny said...

Looks like a wonderful start to your trip!

Karen's Korner said...

You are off to a great start for SS. Enjoy.

ButterZ said...

You look like you are all enjoying yourselves. The group is gathering.
Have fun with your knitting.
Good to hear your travels were safe.

jude's page said...

Was a great start to SS for you, time with Lou and Tony and the others at the table.

dq said...

IT is great to see you with Lou. I sure loved meeting you in person and was so sad you had to stay outside. I really enjoyed our short moments together though. Loved your trailer visitor - stick man.