All the way from Norway

My SSCS gift has arrived all the way from Norway. The lovely lady who is my partner (there's no name on the parcel) included a   gorgeous felt stocking ornament   and two little gift cards. So thank you very much,  whoever you are! I was so good that I made my husband open the parcel and have hidden the rest of it.

SSCS parcel posted

My SSCS parcel is now making its way to somebody somewhere - hooray! Now to finish more secret sewing - I'm in 3 Christmas swaps - how mad is that!

Good times

The Mr and I have been on a little motoring holiday to NSW. Being the first of many trips (I hope) of our retirement, it was quite special.
But what made it even more special (for me, and the Mr didn't mind a bit) was being able to attend a bloggers' get-together in Bathurst, organised by the legendary Chookyblue.
And what a gathering it was. People had come a LONG way to be there and it was lovely to meet longtime friends like Chooky and Peg for the first time, reconnect with stitching buddies in the on-line group I belonged to for several years and meet people who were new to me (and of course now I have a lot more blogs to read!) There were swaps and some truly amazing show-and-tells and lots of laughs and friendship. Oh, and shopping - visiting Anni Downs' Hatched and Patched store for the first time was a great treat and yes, some lovely fabrics and such came home with me.

While  I was socialising, the Mr was hanging out with the old school friend we were staying with so he didn't miss me a bit.

Before Bathurst we'd had a night in Beechworth at a gorgeous B and B (Barnsley House); we'd stayed there before and it was just as good as we remembered. I spent a lot of time sitting out on the verandah off our room, admiring the garden and listening to the birds.

In Benalla we stopped to smell the roses (literally, the rose garden is gorgeous) and admire the statue of Weary Dunlop.

After Bathurst was Mudgee (such a friendly town) and Orange, which is a pretty city with good shops and lovely parks. And some rain, too, which I know many of the blogging girls would have loved to see in their home patches - most of the countryside we passed through was alarmingly dry.

Then came Corowa on the Murray, where we stayed in a comfy cabin in a holiday park. It's not  the sort of place we'd stay in during the holiday season but at a  quiet time it was just fine. The river was just behind us and a kookaburra joined us at teatime. And lunch in a winery café and tasting at another winery just across the river was pretty good too.

Lunch on the way home was a picnic beside the lagoon in Wagga Wagga, where we lived for a while way back when. It's a really busy town, with some fine old buildings and a good art gallery.

And somewhere along the way we fitted in a stop in Cowra. Cowra is probably best known for the break-out of Japanese prisoners from its POW camp. We'd been there before, and had limited time, so we opted to visit the newish Japanese garden nearby. As a place of reflection, and symbolising friendship between Australia and Japan, it was an attractive, thought-provoking place to visit (and feeding the fish was fun too.)

Oh, and a visit to Hill End, the famous former mining town, was fascinating, not so much because of  what's there, more because of what's no longer there. At the height of the roaring days of the goldrushes, Hill End was thriving, with pubs, schools, flash emporiums, a hospital and all manner of entertainments and opportunities. These days, it's very quiet, with a small population.

And I nearly forgot Gulgong - such a pretty little town and its Henry Lawson centre is well worth a visit.

Eight days away from home and it was back to reality - and a mountain of washing. I'm still patting my fabric purchases and reading more blogs and hoping we'll be back on the road again soon.

Colour

We've had some very grey, wet days in my neck of the woods (Ballarat, Vic) and some lovely sunny days too. This is some of the colour I've been enjoying in my garden and beyond.

Our two little darlings Katie and Gus - if they look sleepy it's because they are - I woke them up so I could take this photo (and forgot to give them a treat afterwards; no wonder they are looking a bit disgruntled).

My Angel Face (I think) rose with philadelphus in the background - both so pretty and fragrant.

Our front garden - the photo doesn't show the real lime green colour of the gleditsia trees - they are looking spectacular right now.

The back yard - wallflowers, quince tree, purple thing that I forget the name of and miniature pink tea-tree, which looks better in the pic than in real life because it is infested with spiders' webs and I keep threatening to dig it up.

And the quilt-covered car parked outside the Mining Exchange- where miners once swapped their gold finds for cash and which is now used for all sorts of events - pointing out the way to the Ballaarat Quilters' exhibition last weekend.

Tomorrow Mr LRH and I are leaving it all behind and going on a little road trip to NSW. We can't wait to visit pastures new (or at least different) and I am feeling very excited, and very lucky, to be joining lots of bloggers for a day out in Bathurst. Hooray!