Christmas at 'the Rail' 2007

Here's a photographic 'history' of our Christmas 2007.
This is Zara's first Christmas so she features greatly. I hope to be able to add some of Harry later on. We went to Blue Haven where I work to see Santa on Christmas Eve. Zara wasn't too keen to meet the man in the red suit. It must be pretty scarey when all you can see is eyes!
We had a lovely family day on Christmas Day with nice cool weather to enjoy a baked dinner with all the trimmings.
Zara enjoyed her gifts and loved ripping off the wrapping paper and playing with the ribbons - she was the centre of attention for us all. It's marvellous how having a small child at the proceedings enhances the enjoyment of the adults looking on....
We are off to Durras for a 'staged' family gathering with Brad and his clan over the New Year period and we plan to set up a bit of a tent city on a site across from our
van.
Not too sure if I will get this weeks Scatterdays done before we go - am a bit brain dead for 'Y' - might have to get out the dictionary.
Happy New Year to all and I wish you a happy and healthy 2008.

It's almost Christmas and it's 'S' week

I'm late again but I have an excuse - it's almost Christmas!
I finished work on Thursday and have been getting organised at last.
I can smell the lingering aroma of Christmas cake and pudding that I baked today. It will be as appreciated as if it had been baked weeks ago - I hope!
Lee is home and doing lots of sleeping - she needs to 'catch up' she says.
Here are my Scatterday pics for this week.
My S for Christmas are the Surprises under the tree - I have quite a few cute Santa's but I though everyone else would have him too!
My beverage is Sangria. We discovered Sangria in Spain and loved it. It makes up like a wine punch of red wine, orange Fanta, fruit and sugar. We haven't tried the 'made up' bottle yet - perhaps tomorrow. I don't think it was the Sangria that had me doing the Chicken dance on the bus - I'm pretty sure that was Grappa! LOL
My S for medical is Stethescope. Christmas Bear is checking out the reindeers heartbeat :-)
I will be away next weekend (but will probably get to doing my mosaic before I go) - the family are all coming down to the van for a week or so - we will have a tent city! I am just hoping that it won't rain.
I wish all my fellow Scatterdaisies the compliments of the season and health and happiness for 2008.

Lucky me!

Look what I got today!
This is 'Hat's Off to Stephanie'. They know me well don't they?
Isn't it cool?!!!
A lovely 60th birthday gift from my ScqIllawarra mates.
I actually got together with them today after a few months of being elusive and not being able to attend meetings and what a lovely surprise!
Now to find just the right place for it to hang. Thinking thinking.....
A big thank you guys - I am really thrilled to bits.

Here's a new quilter in the making ...

Zara had a lovely time playing ladies at afternoon tea - saying hulloooo and waving along with lots of smiles and eye scrunches!
She also had fun sliding along on the shiney floor and checking out the colours on the bottom shelf of fabrics. I wonder if she is chosing for her first creation?



Mother and daughter - toning in well with the purples.
We had a lovely afternoon. Back to work tomorrow :-(

All the "D's" - late again. 16.12.07

Here we are at last!
It's been a busy weekend. A Chorus singout on Friday night and then 2 on Saturday - it's fun tho' as we go to shopping centres and functions etc to sing Christmas Carols.
Then Saturday afternoon down to the van to take down some stuff for New Year and organise to have the roof on the annex looked at - it leaks.
Well - it sure does leak as we discovered last night! We have an esky, a rolly bin and several buckets strategically placed under the drips - and of course the guy couldn't come and silicone it up in the rain could he?
Oh well home again this arvo and into some jobs here so it's all good.
Now for this weeks scatter D's. I have found this one a bit difficult but have finally decided.
For sewing - here is my sewing room a Disaster area! and I am working to a Deadline with the project I have just finished - phew - into the mail tomorrow - can't tell it's a secret :-)
Vehicle - here is DD's Damaged vehicle.
I got a text message while I was in Fiji - 'I have had an accident on the way to a wedding!'- Bit of a panic being so far away but luckily no-one was injured and the car is back on the road again $4500 later - thank goodness for insurance!
And, touchy feely starting with D - here is doggy Bailey - her ears are so soft and silky - definitely touchy feely!.
Now I am off to my bed - after I have a quick peak at what the categories are for next week.

Scatterdays for K and being on the other side of the sheets! 8.12.07

Well - here are some blue Knickers! A joy to behold eh? My neighbourhood K thing are the King Parrots watching me sew up a shade blind on the verandah of the van - my second neighbourhood! and dangerous - well I thought everyone would have knives or 'killer' things so here is King Kong - he was dangerous in the movie. This one I bought at a garage sale in Canberra and I was told he was bought at a fundraiser for 'Gorilla's in the Mist' - how's that for providence?

Now, here's my big whinge for the week - I missed my ScqIllawarra GTG today.
I think it was because of my over indulgence of eating out on Saturday. I had a Fishermans basket at the Bluegum - all fried and not very nice but I ate a good bit of it. Then there were some lovely profiteroles with fresh cream at the 80th birthday bash in Nowra.
I woke at 3.30am with 'chest' pain. Ended up getting dressed and leaving the motel about 4.30am and heading up to A&E at Shoalhaven hospital - just in case. My GP emphasised after I had a bout of chest pain about 6 months ago (and then a normal stress test) that I was not to take it lightly and that if I woke at night with pain not to write it off as indigestion. I said to the RN on duty - it's probably just indigestion and her comment was - "Oh yeah - I've heard that one before!"
Anyhow after a normal ECG and an examination by the doc, seems as tho I had a bout of biliary colic and maybe have gall stones :-(
I also now have a sore backside from a couple of injections! I do not like being 'on the other side of the sheets!'
Anyhow, I started to feel a bit better this arvo and will take the antibiotics and go off to the doc to organise an ultrasound etc and see what's happening.
What a drag.
Off to check everyone else's K's.

Scatterdays and News for 2.12.07

Here is my mosaic for this week - starts with M!
For my texture I chose dear Zara with a MUSHY banana - she had just fallen over and was being consoled by DD - food is a great reward!
My weapon - a MACHETE - it's really my old Fiji cane knife. Everthing was done with a cane knife in my day there. Now they have whippersnippers! but the old cane knife (machete) is still used to trim coconuts and do basic garden tasks and I saw lots of them in Savusavu.
The hobby - well who remembers MACRAME? I was a great doer in years gone by and here is a necklace that I bought from a Fijian lady at Savusavu airport on my way home. I found it difficult to find traditional 'island' crafts as most of the traders had beaded jewellery and things that we see here in Oz. I bought this necklace because of the shells and I eventually found some things made from coconut husks and fishbones - much more traditional. I have been busy this week getting my photos and video onto the computer to do up a DVD of the trip.
I decided this week that I wanted to drive around in something a bit more upmarket than my baby Suzuki Swift. I bought that little 3 cylinder job when I still had the camper and it was a great little runabout from here to Kiama but I was reluctant to tackle the trip to Sydney up Mt Ousley etc. So, I have lashed out and bought a car. I started off with trying a sporty Celica with sunroof etc but decided it would be too difficult to manage the car seat with the two door job - It was fun to drive tho. I looked about and tested a few different models and ended up with a good little Corolla.

This will do me. It's a 2001 model with only 103,000ks - looks a bit cool and is quite zippy to drive. Next thing is to swap over the plates and detail up Swifty and sell it.
Now I must away and work on the movie! I am getting quite adapt at voice overs and titles etc. It's fun.

Singing in Paradise

Our bure at Daku resort in Savusavu Vanua Levu Fiji Islands.
Vanua Levu is the smaller of the two main islands in Fiji.
I lived for 2 1/2 years in Suva, Fiji's capital on Viti Levu and I had Scott my eldest there in 1974. I really wanted to go on this trip to see what changes had occurred in 30 years and also the opportunity to get to an 'outer' island and to have the opportunity to sing with the local people was just amazing.

Here's proof that I was there! I am usually 'behind' the camera. Here I am on our front deck.
We had just returned from our first visit to Vivili Village to sing with the people there - it was great. More later.

I'm home

Just home from a lovely holiday in Fiji. So Bula!
Had a great time 'Singing in Paradise'. More info later when I can get to the computer and upload some more photo's etc.
Here's a quick Scatterday for the letter H.
For the human of course I had to pick our lovely HARRY. Here he is in his farmer overalls. Then for soft my Harrod's teddy and the toy - Maureens old handcrank sewing machine which she was give as a child.
Off to the van to hopefully erect the bunk beds which we have modified to suit us better. From a triple single to a double on the bottom and single on top. I don't work well with steel! give me fabric any day, much more forgiving. Hopefully the local metal fabricator in Batemans Bay has the holes drilled just right this time!

Saturday 10th November. Not Scatterday

Well no Scatterdays today.
I've been busy singing.
I am a member of the Wollongong Harmony Chorus and today we sang at a street festival in Albion Park - just a few k's away from home. We have over 40 in our chorus so as you can see just a few of us out and about today.

There I am - up the back.
It was fun to entertain in the open air but a bit difficult to compete with the motor bikes and hot rods passing by behind us on the street.

No more news from me for a few weeks now as I'm off OS.
Tomorrow I am off to Fiji.
I'll be back online after 24th. BULA!

ScatterSunday 3rd November - A's

Well, here we are Sunday night.
I am just back from a quick trip up to Taree ( 5-6 hours from home)to check out grandson Harry and family - will post some piccies later.
These babes grow so quickly don't they? so I needed to catch up and say hi as we won't see them now until the end of January.
Here are my 'A's'.
My veggie is asparagus courtesy of Mr Spuddly - not nearly as nice as Pennies but certainly tasted OK!
My round things - yummy apricots.
And - the things that I think smell nice are twofold - my aromatherapy oils and hmmm hmm my aniseed black jelly beans!

Scatterday Sunday 28th October - Jay Day

Here are my 'J' things, better late than never.
The Jasmine Rice Thai restaurant in Wollongong - not my favourite food but there you go. My sport is Jumping - show jumping. I have always loved to watch it. This is one of the photo's I took at the Royal Easter Show this year. And, my pointy thing is the jib on this crane that I photographed in Wollongong last weekend. This is a scene of City Beach, taken from the Lighthouse and the overlooking WIN stadium - a popular spot - the crane is working on an apartment building behind the stadium.
Now to find out what are our subjects for next week.

BOOOO 25.10.07 - Scatterday will be Sunday this week!

Hi ho all,
Off down to the van in 5.
Have my piccies all organised and will get to it Sunday night.
Until then ..........................

Babies update 23.10.07

Firstly there's our Zara - she is quite the young lady now.

I was babysitting tonight and we had a nice visit before she went off to bed. She scoffed up a little plate full of avocado and banana and thoroughly enjoyed it too. How tastes have changed.
Of course she is sitting up and reading already.

Here she is in her new hat! Next we will be having beach belle photo's.

Then there's Harry.

This was his first day at the beach - the first of many if he takes after his Dad and big brothers.

This is his first fishing trip with his Dad.
It's lovely to see the kids all enjoying their babies, and of course I do too!

On the way home from work .... 18.10.07

On Thursday afternoon we decided to go for a coffee on the way home.
Too windy to sit in the street and watch the passing parade so we decided to get a takeaway and went up to the lighthouse at Kiama to sit and drink it.
Kiama is about 15 mins south of Albion park and is renowned for it's blowhole which puts on a great show when the wind is blowing in from the sea. I'll find a photo of it and put it up later.
I'm so glad we did. Here was mum and baby heading south, leaping and frolicking just a few metres away from the headland. Luckily I was able to scrabble in my bag and get my little Ricoh R4 and record the scene. Wonderful.

P is for us - PERFECT PEOPLE!

Here we are my letter 'Ps'.
I was having problems with accessing the Net to do my mosaic so decided to do it on my own computer on Photoshop. Much easier, no uncontolled cropping and I could alter the sizes of the photo's no trouble so think I will do that in future.
Something red my Pointsettia - grown to a big shrub now from a small pot given to me for a Christmas present. The metal thing is my pewter pussycat and the sweet things - I roamed the shops at Shellharbour Square and came up with some yummy sweet things. Couldn't chose between the Peanut Brittle and the Picnics so here they both are!
Not much news this week. I am looking forward to a nice quiet weekend at home to catch up on gardening and am even hoping to make it into the sewing room.

The Letter 'F' as in Froid .... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Well we had a busy week looking for all the 'F' things.
I found this amazing 'F' Firewood sign down the South coast on the road into Bawley Heads and Kioloa. I had a couple of other maybe's but I thought this one took the cake really. For something cold I thought about frosty foto's and foggy features but kept coming back to this one of DD Leelee a Freezing Froid Female.I took this photo down at Bendalong last season - you can see her holding her breath and trying not to get too wet. Of course for the elements I chose this lovely warm fire. There's nothing like an open fire.
I have been up half the night watching the International Competition of Sweet Adelines International - what a great group of sensational singers. We have a Kiwi / Aussie chorus in the finals so that's really exciting.
I am off to the van on Sunday to sort out some reno's with a builder down there and we can hopefully make our sleeping quarters a bit more comfy.
Hence here is Scatterday on Friday.
At the moment I have to sleep in the dungeon on the lower level. VERY difficult to get in and out of - I have to get down on my knees and sort of roll into the bunk - getting OUT does not need description - LOL.


Here is Bailey saying hullo - I had 'stolen' Maureen's bunk for a daytime Nanna nap - my bed is the one below on ground level!
Cheers girls

Scatterdays C could be for Cat or Canine really.

But this time it's for a hobby, furniture and a pizza topping. I'm not s'posed to eat cheese 'cause my cholesterol is up.
I have not been very imaginitive with the pizza - loved Fran's capsicums - don't fruit and vegs stacked up in shops look just so great? Anyhow - here is some unimaginitive CHEESE - it is LOW fat.
You would have a very dull pizza without it really.
My furniture is my old china cabinet - bit retro isn't it? I bought it at a clearing sale at Baan Baa - near Narrabri and then had to con the local carrier (husband of a friend) to bring it home for me and then had to con the local glazier (husband of a friend)to replace the mirror in the back of it. It's full of all that crystal that I have inhertited or bought at sales 'cause it was cheap but then never use. Know what I mean?
Then hobbies as you can see - I have chosen Cake decorating - I need another mosaic here ....


I also have Fran's problem of cropped photo's - we'll work it our one day. So you can't really see the two tiers of the wedding cakes but no doubt you get the idea. I photographed the old photo's so the clarity is not too great either. On well it's not a competition is it? So here is what I did in another life - prepared me for free machine quilting tho' with the 'cornelli' pipework (all the squiggles like stippling). I'll just tell one story and that's of the hexagonal cake you can see there with the sweet peas. Well it was an order for the wife of one of the local GP's in the town. It was finished(used to burn the midnight oil then too)late one night - the day before it was being collected. When I got up the next morning, my two little darlings (twins) who would have been about 3 or 4 or so at the time I guess had been up before me. They had removed and eaten every flower! All that was left were the little curls of wire which were like the tendrils of the sweet peas. I was NOT amused as you can imagine - I actually can't remember ever being so angry really. Anyhow they disappeared post haste from my wrath and luckily -for them - as they had been VERY careful removing the flowers and not damaging the icing at all I was able to resurrect the cake and redo it with the spare flowers that I had left over. A couple of years after the event I was able to tell the recipient and we had a good laugh about it. The girls say they don't remember - maybe they are blocking it out! I will NEVER forget!
I am off tomorrow to Syders for the day to catch up with Scquilters and then with some old nursing buddies and then off to M&M's on Sunday. That's why my piccies are up now. Catch ya next week!.

Scatterdays 'W' Sun 30th September

Here is my mosaic for 'W' week.
I also had difficulty with 'W' especially for the game.
So we have black wool for something black - it's a vintage ball of wool, purchased when I was knitting with the knitting machine years ago when the kids were small. It is still in the shed (with a spare) just in case I need it one day. I am enjoying the hand knitting again now with the grandbabies. The Afan crochet rug underneath it is one made by my DF Maureen's mother Pauline. She made a rug for each of her children and grandchildren - that's nineteen in total - 3 double and 16 single. She gave them to her grandchildren on their 21sts except for the last four which she gave when they were finished as she didn't want to wait for their 21sts in case she didn't make it! As it happened, they were all past that milestone when she died at the age of 94. She was very proud that no two squares were the same and offered 20c reward to any child who could find any the same. It kept them amused for hours I'm told.
The'W'tool is the notorious 'Wippersnipper'. I photgraphed this row at Bunnings this morning (I was there doing a Sausage Sizzle) as it was easier than dragging mine off the wall in the garden shed - it is down a couple of layers as I don't use it much any more, preferring 'Roundup' for the edges.
The 'W' game (at last) is Whist! I had to search to find a pack of cards - there are a couple of packs down at the van. I have never played it but am told that there is a great version called Crazy Whist with rules for each hand played - sounds like fun and one day must try it. Don't seem to have much time for cards these days.
It's been an eventful week following my dear uncle's funeral on Monday. I managed to get through the eulogy OK and was complimented by several people so it must have been alright. It was sad to say goodbye but at 74 and after 3 bypasses, he went out in style on the golf course which was his choice.
I am looking forward to next weekend when on Saturday I hope to get together with the Sydney Scquilters and then go on to RNSH nursing reunion. It's 'Goodbye to Vindin House' which was our old nurses home. Not sure what they will be doing with it. It's 36 years since I finished training and it's always interesting to see the people that you knew 'way back then'and try remembering names etc. On Sunday we plan to head on down to M&M's with some of AM's rellies to show them the ropes there as they stay on there for the last week of the school hols.
Now off to check on everyone else's 'W's'. Check in next week.

Scatterdays Week B

Here we are the B week.
I had difficulty in restricting my images to the required number this week.
I decided to do my mosaic myself rather than getting the cropping happening when I did it on the Net and it was much easier on Adobe and much quicker to upload and took less space.
So - for the big things. There are a lot of them aren't there and lots of "B's".
My first ever big thing was of course that Big Banana. Here are the family in front of it which was the required shot when you went to QLD. The girls look about 5 so that would make it about 1987. Then we went to Cairns later on and found that big Barramundi in Daintree and a couple of years ago we did the grey nomad trip in the camper and found that great big Bull in Rockie.
I had trouble picking 'favourite things' - had a picture of black and white Bailey and then there's those beautiful babies but eventually decided on the Butchart Gardens on Victoria Island - off Vancouver in Canada. I love flowers and gardens etc and Maureen and I have checked out quite a few as we have been travelling over the last few years. We spend a lovely few hours wandering in this lovely place which was created out of an old gravel pit.
The shop - I took pictures of biscuits (the Cookie Man at Shellharbour Square thought I was a terrorist I think - he went of to ask his boss!), bread at Bakers Delight and even snapped the BOdy Shop in the QVB today but finally decided on this bead shop. I took this photo in Vancouver. It was on Granville island in the Harbour and there are lots of fruit and food markets as well as trendy little shops - I got some great photo's.
Now off to see what the rest of you have done.

RIP Rob. 17.9.07

Yesterday we lost my dear Uncle Rob. He was doing what he loved best, guiding his mates - blind golfers, "blindies" as he called them around the golf course at Bowral in the Southern Higlands of NSW. He always said that when his time was up he wanted to 'go' after hitting a good one on the golf course. Well, he got his wish. He hit that 'good one' and his old heart gave out. No nursing homes or hospitals for him now. We'll miss you Rob.

Weekend at M&M's

From the beach looking back towards the van park - you can see the main house in the distance


This is the island off the beach - our research has told us it is called Wasp Island - we'll have to find out the story. We chatted to some guys from Canberra - lots of people from the National Capital - they just come down the mountain and they are at the coast. And - they tell me that they ALWAYS catch salmon from the beach so I'll have to try it out.



We have installed some new feeders (used to be cake tins) - they are working well - this is a male King parrot

We have to look up this fellow - obviously a 'bronze'pidgeon but not sure of the variety.


They call in a few times a day - at least morning and afternoon. they are usually joined by Crimson Rosella's and rainbow Lorikeets - who as the bullies! and this weekend we had some galahs too. We are not encouraging the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos- they are just TOO destructive.

We had a lovely weekend away at Durras. Nice and quiet, communing with nature. I did manage to find a market tho' in Bateman's Bay on Sunday morning. The weather was beautiful and mild and I almost ventured into the swimmers - but not quite. I stood for an hour in the water hoping to catch a fish but no luck. I think I need a bigger rod - my wrists are sore from casting - a misery to be getting old and feeling ever ache - but I guess it's better than the alternative. Here are some photo's ....

Q is for - things starting with Q!

Here's my mosaic for Scatterdays this week.
I am off to the van for the weekend so that's why I'm early.
I chose a quad stick - from work of course - it's kinda square at the bottom altho the photo came out a bit squashed in the creation of the mosaic. Me in a quilted HAT! - it really is quilted - I must remember not to crop the photo's too much as they get cropped even more. AND for music - a quartet - Sweet Adelines of course. Singing at our convention in Brisane this year - go girls!. That's all folks.

Catching up ... the babies are growing!

Look at their hands. Harry's hand is almost twice the size of Zara's.

Harry looking puzzled

Cousins together - both dressed in Mardie Creations

Zara at Brad's wedding - the Pink Princess


Harry with Mum Katrina at Sal's wedding ...

It's amazing to watch our babies grow. Zara is 5 months now and Harry is 4. He has overtaken her in the weight scale but she has it over him in development of course. Check out their photo's taken last week. Harry was very smart in his 5 piece suit with his big brothers while Zara is our princess in pink!

Scatterdays R for Robert

My creation
Originally uploaded by sjmcc123

Here it is - better late than never.
R is for - Renoir - the Arts, Rhubarb in my garden and one of Zara's Rattles - for childhood.
Now I'll have to look up what is for next week!.
We are off down to M&M's for a lovely long weekend on Thursday after work so I'll have to post this weeks mosaic early or late.
What it is to have such a busy lifestyle eh? Ah well it keeps me sane.

Wedding Take 2. Sally and Sam Low. Saturday 8th September 2007

My neice Sally Cuza married her fiance Sam Low at Castle Hill in Sydney. Another great celebration and while the weather was not quite as good as last weekend there was lots of joy and happiness despite the showery weather. The cousins always enjoy getting together - here's just a few photo's taken on the day.

Family weddings - Take One . Brad and Katrina 1st September - the first day of Spring 2007

Here is Katrina 'being given away' by her three older boys, Ben, Sam and Nick. They are walking down to the seafront to meet Brad and GS Harry.



Brad and Harry are waiting for them- brought tears to the eyes!


Here's the family photo - I don't know where Harry was! Scott was off doing other things too so I've 'cloned' him in on the end of the row!


Katrina, Harry and Mardie

Here's the cake. The mud cake was courtesy of Michel's and I did the decorating. Everyone was happy with it.

I missed the 'G' Scatterdays last week as I was off in Taree with the family welcoming my new DIL and her boys into our family. Brad and Katrina were married at the Meridian Resort in Old Bar. It was a lovely day and here are a few photo's as a reminder of the day.