The Problem

When we returned from Australia, the next big thing was having some construction work done around the outside of the house.

Bill has long wanted to do something about the damp problem in the garage, which was a later add-on to the original house built in 1920. Also to address the mish-mash of hard standing around the house, which included cracked and


mossy antique concrete, a quaint (well, I thought so) but too narrow little rock path and some mouldy concrete paving slabs. There was also this weird break in the side wall, dating back to when the present breakfasting kitchen was a small kitchen and a scullery and before there was a garage at the back of the house. I suspect our garden was fully enclosed by the brick wall, just like our next door neighbour, Dorothy's is, except that the black wood part was the entrance into the scullery.


He met with the builder and organised for the workmen to come on a Monday after our return. Bill showed me the plan and I asked about the possibility of moving our front gate over. So we got the builder to come back out and he saw at once what I had in mind.

The house faces west-ish with the long side to the north-ish. The evening sun is by far the best hope for sitting in a warm outdoor place but it being in the front there is no privacy. Bill hates, hates, hates the leylandii shrubs and whacks one down whenever he thinks I won't notice; I think he'd find a way to inflict pain and suffering on them were such a thing possible. It's no joke that space, sunshine and light are in such short supply here in Britain that neighbours have legal wars over these fast-growing, potentially tall trees. I just see shrubs. Bill sees...something else.

He promises me there are other shrubs and plants that can grow 6 feet and higher to provide just as much privacy and so I'm resigned to losing what was once a solid green wall.


It always had the shortcoming in that the gate was right in front of the front door and with that break in the shrubbery, every passer-by was given full view of the front door, the bay window and the two postage-stamp-sized patches of lawn. If said gate was moved further along, the view would move to eventually (with new tall plants) include less of the front of the house and down the north side. So that was the plan.

I skittered around and snapped these 'before' pictures to help explain The Problem.

Crafty Stuff

Bill mentioned the other day that he thought it was time to come home from Australia and I suppose he's right, I can't blog about it forever and we have been home now for over a month.

On the other hand, this seems the best time to show you the card I made Ruby.


(Oh, gosh, I wonder if I gave it to her without clipping apart 'a very'... oh well, too late now).

As Ruby and Jane have the same birth date and we were obviously going to be out of town on that day, I gave this to Dorothy the day before we left to deliver for me. This means I was working on Jane's card along side of Ruby's.

I really dragged my feet making Jane's card, and I don't really know why except that I didn't figure it would be good enough. However, as Bill had asked me to make one, I thought I ought to at least give it a try; he doesn't often ask me to do things for him. I usually wake up about 4 am for the first few days we're in Australia, so I was thinking I'd be able to work on it then! I ended up getting up in the wee hours when we were at Avoca, since I wasn't sleeping anyhow, and that is when I finally finished it.


As usual, I didn't quite manage the outcome I wanted, but I was pleased with the fabrics and the colours.

I think Jane appreciated the effort that went into it, in spite of its imperfections. I couldn't for the life of me get decent photos of it.

I expect I will be making this type of card for a few more months -- the sewing ladies have all come to expect these, I think, but then I'm going to work on some other ideas for a less demanding way of making cards with fabric.

While I'm on the subject of crafting, I need to show you the hanger that Sharon made for me! Knowing I have this thing about hangers, she got a crochet pattern to do this black swan, which is the bird of Western Australia. I was really impressed that she took the trouble to make this. She also gave us books about Australia and Australian poetry and a cute apron with a black swan on it.



Sorry about the lousy photos -- that's what happens when you don't use natural lighting, and there just wasn't any sunshine to be had that day.


Finally, one of the days we were in Sydney, Jane took me down to her sewing room in the downstairs (formerly Tim's bedroom) and we pored over her stacks and stacks of fabric samples. Daughter Jenni works in an interior decorating shop that used to throw away the sample books when a line of fabrics was being discontinued. This seemed to her to be a shameful waste (which I whole-heartedly second) and so she began bringing them to Jane. As other shops have heard Jenni's mom does charity projects with these, Jenni seems to get more and more fabric. Jane sent me home with 2 shopping bags full -- all that the spare suitcase would hold -- and they are so lush I can't wait to do something with them, but it has to be something good.



We made notes of her most common sizes of samples in inches:

16.5 x 18
11.5 square
26 square
26 x 24
23 x 17
24 x 17.5

Jane has made quite a number of simple but very effective quilts with some of the heavier velour squares and copied a doorstop she saw in a posh shop here in Newcastle. However, she's always on the look out for other crafty ideas, I think preferably ones that aren't too fiddly. She hasn't actually got a huge amount of spare time after her volunteer work and running two households.

I did a bit of internet research and found these websites:

http://www.freepatterns.com/content/content.html?content_id=604

http://www.amazon.com/Shirley-Botsfords-Decorating-Fabric-Crafts/dp/0873416775

http://www.outsapop.com/2008/12/trashion-crafts-resource-fabric-and.html

http://coolkidscrafting.blogspot.com/search/label/Find%20A%20Use%20For%20Fabric

http://www.ehow.com/how_5363153_recycle-wallpaper-sample-books.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_4507023_make-wallpaper-covered-frames.html

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/47783/make-a-quilted-bag-and-tote-your-laptop-in-style

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/48756/upcycled-custom-drapery-panelgo-green

Some are specific ideas, others just general and some talk about using wallpaper samples, not fabric. I Googled using terms like "fabric sample books" and at some point hope to try searching on the specific size dimensions.

Anyhow, I thought I'd put this out there in case anyone has other ideas for Jane (and me).

Happy Halloween

Little Bo Peep - 1959 - Pink net skirt and hat, cerise velvet* bodice and trim, crook is net-wrapped concrete rod, Lambie-Pie* was gift from family friend.

*50 years on, I still have Lambie-Pie and swathe of cerise velvet.

Horses and Dogs

I knew from Sharon's email that there was a horse in the family and that it normally lived in a field at their place. Sadly, when we were there, the horse was at its other home, a riding stable whose owner usually boards a second horse with Sharon and Tom, in addition to their own.

However, I was very pleased to make the acquaintance of Gabby, a young rescued dog. She had a great big scary bark, but she was actually very affectionate and a little shy. She couldn't get enough of our attention, once she got over being nervous, and I filled up on doggie love, having not had any for so long.


Despite her size she was definitely a lap dog and between Tom and Bill, she was obviously a very happy puppy.


Then it turned out that we did have a horse in our future. Her name is Chelsea and she's a Great Dane. She came out of the back of the house the first morning when I was talking with Sharon and it was quite a shock seeing her standing there looking at me.


Fortunately, Chelsea turned out to be just as affectionate as Gabby. Equally fortunate, Chelsea being quite a bit older wasn't nearly as bouncy, though she did try to gambol about with Gabby a couple of times in the yard. It made Bill and me fall about laughing, she looked so comical. The yard is plenty big, but she's so enormous that it only took her a couple of gallops to cover the length of it.

Bless her, Chelsea preferred the couch to the yard, just as Gabby preferred laps to the floor.


I petted each for as long as they liked, but stayed out of lap-dog reach, fearing I'd be buried completely, having seen it happen to both Bill and Tom.

So far as I could tell, the large couch actually belonged to the dogs, which is a concept that I grew up understanding. They generously let Bill use it, in return for a little attention.

Perth - Part III

Sorry this has been delayed -- our internet connection has been really dodgy and for a while Blogger wasn't doing very well either. Fingers crossed the British Telecom people have sorted it. So where were we? Still in Perth, I believe...

The next day Sharon took us to a place called Serpentine Falls where the about the first thing we saw was this kangaroo that didn't seem at all concerned about our proximity. I thought he looked pretty confident about being able to make a quick getaway if we tried anything silly.


It was a beautiful day, just a touch on the cool side. The falls were noisy and full of water. I know that sounds daft, but rainfall and water aren't to be taken for granted in Australia.


I was still in love with the colours and the (you'd never believe it) the trees.


I got Bill to snap a few photos of Sharon and me. I know I look goofy here, but as often happens with these things one of us was talking or distracted when the other looked OK; I decided to let Sharon have the better photo this time.


We then moved on to Turner Cottage, more or less across the road.


It is one of the old original farms that I bet will eventually be swamped by suburbia, but not yet and for now one of the farm buildings was a little cafe. Another used to be a craft / souvenir shop, but sadly they'd turned that into an office. I was looking forward to some shopping. After looking over the grounds and then the menu we ate outside and talked.


After lunch we looked over their collection of old farm equipment


and admired their dog (with different coloured eyes, I now notice)


and horses.


And then we went back to Sharon's place. Luke and Jo dropped by with baby Tommy about the time Tom got home. Everyone sat out in the covered yard between the main house and our little apartment. Bill and I organised our packing as we were leaving that night.

I really enjoyed trying to catch pictures of Tom and Tommy.


We would like to have taken Sharon and Tom out to a nice restaurant for dinner, but Tom wisely pointed out that just the slightest glitch in seating or service would produce worry about making our check in time, etc., so we'll just have to save that for another time. I know it sounds like we're leaving Perth now, but I have more to tell you, so (with a little cooperation from British Telecom and Blogger.com) we'll carry on a bit longer in the next posts.

Perth - Part II

After lunch at the cafe,


Sharon showed us Cottesloe Beach and the older


neighbourhoods where she and Tom, her husband, each grew up. As with many larger sprawling cities, the older inner areas have become quite trendy, being more convenient for


commuting. We agreed that we grew up in a different era, when parents sent children to neighbourhood parks and play areas to entertain


themselves, without today's worries about kidnapping or molestation. I was envious of Sharon having grown up within walking distance of a beautiful beach.

We weren't back at the house for too long when we got to meet Tom, now home from work. Then their son, Luke and his wife, Jo, brought over the Blessed Grandson, Tommy. Luke and Jo were off to a concert they were really excited about (?No FX?) and Grandma had promised to babysit ages ago before we were scheduled to come. Tom was off to a meeting, something about the local sports league organisation, in which he's been heavily involved for years.

Meanwhile Sharon started making dinner. Now, I'm useless with babies -- they generally start crying as soon as I pick them up -- but Bill proved himself entirely competent and Grandpa-ready.


Sharon was well impressed, as was I. She fed us a huge chicken dinner and I don't think we managed more than a cup of tea or two after the dishes but we were ready to crash and burn yet again. I worried a bit that we weren't very good guests. Mind, when I thought about it later, Sharon and I talked pretty much non-stop for the whole visit. Bill maybe got a dozen words in there, I think. No wonder he picked up little Tommy -- he needed someone to talk to.

Perth - Part I

For our first full day in Perth, Sharon suggested Kings Park and Botanic Gardens. It was an excellent place to wander around, admiring unusual plants and trees, not to mention stunning


views of Perth.


That body of water is the Swan River, the mouth of which is at shipping port, Fremantle, just south. Sharon and Bill got to know each other a bit whilst I did my usual with the camera.


Check out this weird, huge (sweet-potato-looking) boab tree,


transplanted to this spot from nearly 2,000 miles away.

Also, the state flower of Western Australia, kangaroo paws.


Sharon had thoughtfully provided a bouquet of these in our bedroom, as well as some lovely yellow freesias in our sitting room.

I haven't mentioned, have I, that they put us up in the one bedroom apartment in the back of their house on the other side of the swimming pool. We had our own kitchen facilities with breakfast goods so we could take our time getting ready in the mornings. I must have mentioned in one of our squillion emails over the past 14 months that I'm not really a morning person...