Current Home Sweet Home

This is where I'm currently residing, it's a duplex with a mirror image unit attached to the garage. My neighbour for the last six months has just moved out. I hope I get more good neighbours. Mitch was in his 50's, very tall, long grey hair, a beard, and rode a Harley Davidson. He is a generous man who willing helped when I needed a globe replaced and we had many pleasant passing conversations. Until recently Mitch worked in Mackay and would be away for 14 days then back for five. So mostly he just wasn't here! Then the company he works for moved to Ballina and changed to daily hours and he found the long bike rides each day were getting difficult so he's moved to Ballina.

The unit is tiny and one wall of my garage is still stacked with boxes - mainly books, but as I spend 12 hours a day at work with travel and then most of the weekends with Mum, it's ok for now.
front yard is basic but at least green, the unit is on a corner so I get Jim's Mowing to come once a month. The main disadvantage is the unit is on a main road with four lanes of traffic and a bus stop and the end of the drive - this means I pick up rubbish off the drive or lawn each day and find people sitting under the trees or leaning against the building while waiting for a bus, the most irritating bus passangers were a young couple who sat on the driveway and just wouldn't move when I tried to pull in. or Mum's who let their kids just run around. It was worse in summer when the only shade is up under my eaves.

So Home Sweet Home!

Sunday and celebrating small creativity

I'm again entered in an internet swap with SCQIS, so maybe that will get me motivated to create something again. This was my first block to add to Glenda's clowns.


this is my October contribution for Sabrina, she will add the Baltimore blocks to the heritage ones from a previous swap - I was in that one too. So far I'm keeping up and even ahead! And really enjoying the sewing.


These I thought I'd share - at WWILD we have had cooking classes each Thursday for the last 5 weeks with two lovely young nutrition students from QUT. Last week we made iced bisc - the women have so enjoyed the classes and their social skills have blossomed as they cook co-operatively and then we all sit down to a two course lunch. Getting them to help with the dishes is a whole other matter but there's time to develop some understanding that the fun bits are shared but so is the work. We will continue the classes on a fortnightly basis.

I continue to scan and create with my photos - both kids will have a scrap book - or two- covering their growing up and recording the stories that go with the photos. I'm currently doing August '84 so we are about to leave the Gold Coast and move up to Springbrook, Jess has just turned two, and Dan is 4 months old. I also bounce around just randomly scanning and creating depending on what I find - today I did photos of Chris - Pete's first wife and her new husband, Paul and their girls. These go back over 30 years!
Today I made banana muffins, yesterday when I was at Mum's her neighbour Gwen came over with some bananas, so today I made muffins for lunch and took some over for Gwen and her friend Jo..... and there goes another weekend.

Table 9 on the 09.09.09

Despite my best intentions another four months have past. I had a very special day today spent with Julie Whitby (Disteldorf) we hadn't seen each other for about 20 years. We met in PNG when our daughters - Jessie and Jessie - went to pre-school together. There was so much to catch up on and I'm sure it won't be so long before we spend time together again. There were tears and much sadness for her Jess and lots of bragging about our boys. Jessie O, Jessie D and Dan, this is how I remember Jess the most.
It seems this is a time for reunions.
Last weekend was Uncle Bruce's 80th Birthday and his four children were there, Gary, Sandy, Cheryl and Joanne and we worked out it would be closer to 40 years since we had been together! Again lots of talking and laughter and easy sharing.
The week before saw me catching up with Judy Dawson, that was a 45 year gap. Her parents and mine have been life long friends with Mum and Dad being best man and bridesmaid at her parents wedding, our parents have stayed in touch though Judy and I had no connection for so long - I would never have recognised Judy but I think she is someone I would choose for a friend these days. Again lots to catch up on in our lives.
I realise just how valuable these "lost" people are in my life and I'll make greater effort to maintain these links.

Job hunting again, not the easiest task when I'm told the reason I didn't get the position is not about my work, I've done a great job, but... seems their criteria is to employ young local workers where ever possible and darn, I'm old and travel for an hour to get to work each day. So I have to accept that there's something else out there for me.
Quilt wise I'm progressing with my girl gollies for Lin's quilt and over the weekend I made some flying geese for the borders.

My friend Cathy and her husband Geoff came up to Coolangatta to their time share at the Beach House, I was fortunate enough to spend two days with them, it ws so good and so easy to chat and catch up. These photos are taken from their unit, looking north to Surfers Paradise, down to Kirra Beach and south to Coolangatta. It was so easy to just sit and enjoy the view.

Easter is looming and I'm looking forward to a few quiet days at home. I finally got my machine set up - in a corner of my bedroom, but it's all ready to go, so I'm hopeing for some quilt progress to occur. I've been playing with ideas round flying geese and the use of colour, and I went to the Craft Fair at the Gold Coast Convention Centre last weekend and soooo enjoyed the quilts on display. There were the Quilts of the Gold Coast Quilters, an exhibition from Art Quilters - where do they get all those ideas? and a small group of quilts commemorating RFDS. I loved the use of outback colours. My companion was Jean who is a 91yo quilter who does the most amazing work. I hadn't been to a quilt show since Canbera 2005- so I came away with my head spinning.
I was very restrained with my spending, or was it overwhelmed with choice? I bought one design of a frilled neck lizard, and he may just start to appear on a top I made about a year ago - or quite possibly more. I bought the book at Calico Patch in Canberra while brousing with Cathy.

I've been told my locum position at Beaucare is to be advertised as a full-time position, so I'm working on my application. I'm now enjoying the drive through the mountains, though last week we had some big storms and lots of rain that made visability difficult and the water on the roads had planeing a common occurance. Twice I saw cars come to grief - one took a bend too tightly and rolled landing on it's roof against the mountain and the other, a ute, just missed a bend and went off the mountain nose first down the side. It made for stressful driving and I'd decided if the weather continued I'd just stay home and curl up on the couch with a good book. Of course the next morning the skies were grey and only drizzling - till I hit the mountains!

I'm employed for now, as a locum with Beaucare in Beaudesert about an hours drive from home. I've rented a unit in Arundel, 4 km from Mum's, and although it's rather small it's starting to be home.

I'm the Family Support Officer in a team that contains, the Community Development Officer, (the team leader) me and a Youth Worker. The Youth Worker is a great guy, a Maori, huge, and much fun, he's a single Dad of four late teens and a new grandson. The work is more crisis work, especially housing, which just isn't available in Beaudesert. We cover the old shire of Beaudesert, and I spend Tuesday at Jimboola, wednesdays on Mt Tamborine and thursdays will be Rathdownie. It's great to be part of a team and have like minds to bounce ideas and possibilities off. It's also exciting to again be establishing a program.

I still spend time with Mum about 4 days a week, yesterday we had an interesting day, I got to Mum's just on 11am and her neighbour Cassie, came out on her walking frame calling out "help - fire" I thought I should investigate, got Mum to ring the carer, and went to see what was happening. There appeared to be no flame just lots of dark smoke so I went in and the stove was on and the pot had burned and the heat had started to melt the plastic fittings to the stove exhaust- no smoke alarms - so I turned off the stove and opened the windows and doors. Cassie was very distressed, the carer arrived having called 000 and I went down to the gate to direct the fire brigade. Two big trucks with sirens blaring turned up, gues there wasn't much happening at Sunday lunchtime.

Mum and I then revised our plans and went to the Pines for lunch at the cafe. It ws quiet and very nice, we then went to the Sothport Sharkes club, where they have real sharks, in huge tanks, and I got very excited as I won the jackpot of $50 three times, then Mum won over $700 - so we both did well and came home happy.