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.