BLESSED SPEEDY

Five or so years ago I joined into an international block swap - we were placed into groups of five from what I can remember and we sent each of the other four people a piece of fabric to be incorporated into a quilt block and be sent back to us.  I received back three blocks and had my own but the lady who was making the fifth block was somehow lost contact with.  Therefore I gave up on that last block and made a table runner from the four blocks I had. However several weeks ago I had an email from that lady who lives in the US and she said she had always intended to make my block and had done so and was posting it back to me- I was stunned! Anyway the block arrived and I still had some of the fabric left that I sent (its in the centre of the star) so decided to add a few rounds to the block she sent and make a table topper. This is the result - and Im quite pleased with it if I do say so myself - and it this small exercise may well have rekindled my quiltin...

Hooray! Our home renovations are finally completed and we are both so please with how they turned out.  From a very small lounge room and a very old kitchen and a useless passageway we now have a beautiful open and airy space.  Everything looks so lovely, clean and shiny - I wonder how long it will last? Of course this makes us want to more in other parts of the house, but I think we need to save up a bit first!

We've just spent a lovely weekend with Mia and Maddison (and Aimee and Jason too) coming to visit - much fun was had - and even some farm work too! As you can see Mia is still one of the best "gates" around and is always happy to do it - yes we did this safely as if you look closely the gate is tied with hay band just in case the cow got a bit "cranky" Mia is also very helpful when you are rolling up an electric fence or setting one up - its so much easier with someone holding the posts for you as you walk along! And Maddison was Very Impressed with sitting on the wheel of the tractor - just didnt really like the loud noise it made when running!

The last few days have seen some extreme weather - gale force winds at times reaching 140 kmh and rain as well.  We've had a bit of damage but thankfully nothing life threatening and no animals (or humans!) injured. Clothes line is pretty sad but thankfully we have another clothes line over at the other farm which is not being used so hopefully that can come and live here. We now have plenty of firewood for next year!

Where have I been you may well ask since its been three months or more since a blog post? I've been guilty of ignoring my blog and concentrating more on facebook etc to give people updates of our comings and goings....so sorry! Yes we are still here, so are the cows! We've been renovating, calving and doing farm stuff and things are "almost" back to normal - as will hopefully be regular blog posts!

How lucky am I? Last Friday my daughter Aimee and hubby Jason brought my gorgeous granddaughers Mia and Maddison for a two day visit for an early mothers day treat.  Aimee was wonderful - she cleaned, changed my sheets on the bed, took me shopping etc and really looked after me.  Jason had a great time around the farm and riding the motorbike and Mia and Maddison had a great time too - and yes there were lots of cuddles!

Today is mine and Gary's 7th wedding anniversary - I cant believe how the time has gone! During that 7 years a lot has happened - new dairy, drought, flood and some health issues for both of us.  Three grandchildren born and the farm growing and sometimes flourishing under our management. I feel truly blessed to be married to such a wonderful man, he is truly encouraging of all I do.  This photo was actually taken the day we got married, and he hardly looks any different at all! As for my recovery - Ive been going walking every day - now have it up to 15 minutes and a pretty good pace, and its nice I have two dogs to keep me company. Molly is full of life and runs here and there, whilst Bronte just plods along.  At the moment I feel more like Bronte but hopefully soon I will have some of Mollys energy! I've also been trying to adjust to not being quite able to do all that I usually do - and one of the things I CANT do at the moment is ...

Gary, my Mum and I travelled to Bendigo yesterday to watch my daughter Sarah graduate from university. It doesnt seem that long ago that I was posting that she was heading off to university - and here she is a graduate - Bachelor of Visual Arts from Latrobe University in Bendigo.....she is now a "qualified" photographer! She has already obtained photography work - part time on the weekends working for vision portraits which will hopefully give her a good grounding in photographing people and families and will lead to bigger and better things. Well done Sarah - we are proud of what you have achieved!

Sorry once again for the lack of posts - but I do have a good excuse I've had an operation (well that operation that ladies of a certain age have that starts with "h") almost two weeks ago and I'm at home "resting" and recuperating.  Frustrating would be more the word I would use - I'm not to lift anything more than 3 kgs and no vacuuming or housework etc for 6 weeks 6 weeks you say!!!! Yes - I have plenty of other stuff I could do - i.e. crocheting, knitting, reading, dvds etc but I dont seem to be able to concentrate for too long on any one thing - have spent lots of time  wasted lots of time browsing stuff on the net though! Must admit Gary has been wonderful - cup of tea in bed each morning and working non stop and not complaining - I do love the man! Stay tuned for regular programming at some stage!

Please meet our newest family member - Molly.  She came from a friend of our who had a litter of pups and dropped two off for us to "try" - I fell in love with Molly on sight and now she is ours.  She is apparently 3/4 border collie 1/4 kelpie so she is a new "exotic" breed called a bordelpie!  She is very friendly and our two other dogs Ruby and Bronte seem to have taken to her.  She is finding the cows a bit large at the moment, but hopefully that will change.  She's already had a go at rounding up the chooks though, which Gary tells me is a good sign of a potentially good working dog.

Long time and my blog has been ignored - sorry one and all! I'll try and do a catch up on what has been happening in the last month six weeks or so. Firstly, my gorgeous granddaughter Mia started school - it doesnt seem that long ago that I was blessed to be at her birth, and here she is all grown up! Next my other gorgeous granddaughter Maddison turned one - again doesnt seem that long ago that I was at her birth as well, my how quickly they grow up! And thirdly, my baby Megan has spread her wings and gone off to Bendigo to study nursing at La Trobe University - once again, how quickly they grow up! Add into that mix me heading off twice to Melbourne in a month, firstly to the Dairy Australia Leadership Program and then to the Murray Goulburn Supplier Development program life here has been busy. Gary and I are enjoying just being "the two of us", and I even have been able to fit in some cow time. Phew.... how's that for a catch up?

Managed to get a couple of "ufo's" (unfinished objects) off my list.  Firstly I finished the second sock of a test knit that I had been doing - I was distracted by working on another pair of socks (as you do) after finishing the first sock.  Im sure all you sock knitters can relate to that.  Interesting pattern and a great way the heel is done as you dont have to pick up any stitches. Secondly is my granny stripes blanket that I have been crocheting.  Really enjoyed it - the bendigo woolen mills cotton is great to work with and I do think the colours look great together.  Mind you I did buy way too much yarn so have enough yarn left over to make a second crocheted rug - think I might try a ripple blanket next time - stay tuned!

I spent a lovely day in Bendigo yesterday babysitting my two granddaughters Mia and Maddison.  They were both so good and we had a great time.  I even managed to get Maddison to have a sleep and she slept for 45 in her cot during the day which apparently is unheard of - I must have the Nanna touch! The absolute highlight was that Maddison said "nan" for the first time and continued to say it over and over so I got it on film! I also took my Mum with me for a day out and she had a great time too - after our "work" was done we did a bit of shopping and then headed home - tired but happy.

Here we are on week two of scatterdays - brought to you by the letter "r" First word is MAMMAL - not that hard for me...lol...our own Red Cow in the herd.  I actually picked her when we bought several cows from a neighbors herd and I liked her cos she "looked pretty".  Our advisor wasnt impressed but she has turned out to be a very good cow, produces lots of milk and is quiet and well behaved, just the way I like them!  Also a bit of trivia - her number is 3034 Next is TECHNOLOGY - R for Ravelry.  Its a fantastic website for knitters/crocheters/spinners/weavers etc.  I joined a couple of years ago and it has really got me enthused with knitting again.  You can make friends on it, join groups, download free patterns and also download some you have to pay for, search yarns, patterns etc.  And its Free! Next one is technology - this photo is of a Regulator - and its located in Pericoota State forest....

For those of you who have been missing "farm photos" here are some photos of our herd that I took while on my evening walk - dont they look contented?

Today I had a rare few hours by myself - Gary had gone to play bowls and I had nothing I had to do while he was gone, so decided to dig through my ufos.  Guess what I found? One of the two dear janes I have been working on VERY spasmodically. This one I've been working on since 2006.  Don't think I've touched it for two years but today I got to see the light of day. It's not the complete quilt but about 2/3rds of it and I'm doing storm at sea sashings. After spending a good half an hour working out exactly where I was up to I managed to get six of the cornerstone blocks done, as well as printing out a heap of foundation papers and sorting out what went where.  Mind you I had to actually force, and I mean force, myself to start doing this, but once I got going I got into the swing of things and really enjoyed myself.  I'm going to try and keep going and actually get this one finished sometime in the nearish future.

I've finished the first sock that I have been working on for a week or so now.  Its a test knit winter wheat  (ravelry link) and I'm quite pleased with it.  It fits well and the pattern is quite interesting - uses a different heel that I havent done before, you dont need to pickup any stitches which is quite nice.  Test knits are great as they keep you focused and keeping moving.  On the down side, the test only requires you to knit ONE sock so I've quickly cast on the second one in the hope that I will avoid the dreaded "second sock syndrome" (i.e. one sock is knitted and waits forlornly for its partner to be knitted)

With the weather being so hot - as can be seen by this photo that was taken two days ago in Cohuna (15 minutes drive away) at 7.30pm and of course with the cricket being on the television - thanks to my Grandpa who taught me from a very young age to really appreciate the "proper cricket" - i.e. test cricket and of course the "holy grail" of cricket - the ashes closely followed by the boxing day test, neither of which was on but still a great test game between Australia and Sri Lanka I have been working on not one but four projects at once, working on each as the mood takes me. Photo of all four is here - crocheted blanket in bendigo cotton, embroidery block from "love is" block of the month, a sock I am test knitting and chair covers for the two lounge chairs. I'm doing a bit on each in no particular order - just as the mood strikes me. But trying to do a "little bit" of each daily. Today I managed to finish the chair s...