25 April, 2024
18 April, 2024
Scrub Stitchin'
has come and gone. I had such a fabulous time.
Five days of friendship, fun, laughter and a bit of sewing too!
It was so great to finally meet the girls I have been
blogging and zooming with over the years.
As you can see, I had quite a drive to get to Baradine!
Monday I headed off to Corowa to pick up
Sharmayne from Country Fragrance. This meant I was
only on my own for three hours of the trip which was great.
On my way to Sharmayne's I dropped in to surprise my niece Andrea
at her diner Lulu and Didge in Chiltern. Andrea (Didge)
and Lulu opened the 1950s style diner about 4 months ago.
They have every flavour of milkshakes and spiders
you can think of. If you're ever in Chiltern,
I can highly recommend a visit to Lulu and Didge.
for many years. We think maybe 13 or 14 years.
The first time we met in person was when I drove
into her driveway! We sat and talked late into the night.
Tuesday we had quite a long day of
driving to Dubbo. We stopped at the Junee Licorice and
Chocolate Factory for morning tea.
Did a bit to help the economy at Coonabarabran.
We arrived at Scrub Stitchin' and I finally got to
meet Chooky from Chookyblue in person.
We all received a goody bag.
There was a project kit that Anni Downs from
Hatched and Patched had designed especially
for us at Scrub Stitchin'. In the box is a
lovely mug and Brenda crocheted
everyone a little flower brooch.
Sharmayne and Trish. Trish is now a blogger
after starting Coming Home with Sharmayne's help.
Chatting with Janice from Jannimary.
You always have to have scones at retreat!
Chooky's mum made these delicious ones for us.
Late Saturday afternoon we were kicked out of the room
so it could be prepared for our Starry Starry Night.
It was so lovely enjoying a drink and
nibbles as the sun was setting.
We were supposed to be getting ready but
we couldn't stop looking at the sunset.
This is just one of the many photos taken.
You had to dress up for the star theme.
There were many interpretations of stars -
movie stars, Star Wars, stars on clothes.
As for me, I attached star lights to my dress.
The room was decorated beautifully.
We had such a fun night.
After dinner we swapped our
Make It, Bake It or Fake It gifts.
Fake it gifts were gifts you bought.
I received this lovely zippered pouch, along
with some soap and handcream, from Maureen.
Maureen also started a blog
Pink Sunset Cottage over the weekend.
I was lucky enough to win a prize.
A fat quarter with lots of rabbits, deer, foxes and hedgehogs.
The Bug Buster is a herbal anti-moth protector.
Here's a little sneak peek.
You'll have to wait to see what it is.
Then I made a start on my
Project #9 of our Chookshed Challenge.
Sunday morning I picked up my
rather neglected Tilda hexagons.
Twenty-eight of us attended Scrub Stitchin'.
Some were bloggers and zoom stitchers.
I made some lovely new friends.
The thirteen bloggers.
Back row - Raewyn (Stitching Farm Girl), Chooky (ChookyBlue),
Sue (Kiwikids), Betty (Rainbow Connection Quilters),
Lianne (Lianne Makes Stuff), Lynda (Heavens to Bettsy).
Middle row - Jindi's Cottage, Maureen (Pink Sunset Cottage),
Sharmayne (Country Fragrance), Trish (Coming Home).
Front row - Janice (Jannimary), Jenny (Bird on the Border) and me.
After lunch it was time to say good bye to everyone.
Thank you Chooky for organising Scrub Stitchin'
and allowing me to be part of it.
Thank you Sharmayne for being
such a fabulous travelling buddy
and welcoming me into your home.
Even though we had never met before,
it was like we had known each other forever.
Lucy made me feel welcome too!
09 April, 2024
2023 Scotland/England Adventure (Final!)
Cutty Sark, Greenwich.
The Meridian Line at the Royal Conservatory, Greenwich
View from the Conservatory to
The Queen's House Museum, Greenwich.
On the Wednesday we stayed in Leighton Buzzard
as I was expecting a very special visitor.
Christine from Patchwork Allsorts made the trip
from down South of London especially to see us.
Christine and I have been blogging friends
for many years and it was so lovely to meet her in person.
It's not often to you to meet a blogging friend
from the other side of the world!
We had a fabulous time and all too soon
it was time for Christine to head home.
Buckingham Palace.
"Big Ben", Palace of Westminster.
Westminster Abbey.
Westminster Abbey.
Westminster Abbey.
Westminster Abbey.
Horse Guard, Palace of Whitehall.
Trafalgar Square.
Dinner at The Grove Lock pub, Leighton Buzzard.
Andrea's son Oliver joined us for our last dinner.
The Grove Lock pub, Leighton Buzzard.
All too soon our fabulous adventure came to an end.
We were away for two months and spent six weeks
in Scotland and one week in England touring around
in our motorhome. The last week staying with Andrea.
The whole trip was done ad hoc, other than the first three
days in Edinburgh and going on the Jacobite Train
(you have to book that months ahead), just deciding that
day (sometimes the day prior) where we would head.
By doing this, we were never locked into anything.
If we spent four hours somewhere instead of the two
we planned it didn't matter. We didn't then have to just drive
to get to any caravan park we had booked.
The caravan parks in Scotland are fabulous. We would just
turn up and if we couldn't get in, we would just go somewhere else.
Sometimes we stayed on farms that were set up for vans. In Sterling we
actually parked our van in the Park and Go bus station (all legal)!
As we were fully self-contained, we could stop anywhere.
We travelled thousands of kilometres (couldn't find the
note I made of the final tally). Visited many castles and palaces,
both ruins and living museums. Not forgetting the cathedrals, chapels
and churches. Spent many hours exploring museums
and beautiful gardens. We also met lots of lovely people.
The photos are only a snapshot of the many places we visited.
Of course we couldn't show you everywhere we went.
We follow the Facebook group "Scotland Travel Tips"
where we found out lots of places we didn't know about.
People would often post that they had just returned from Scotland
and were already missing it. Now we understand
what they were saying. We just loved it there and
would travel back to Scotland in a flash!
I hope you've enjoyed my (many) posts. It's been lovely
revisiting while looking at all the photos again.
Hector's first sight of Melbourne!
08 April, 2024
2023 Scotland/England Adventure (Part 7)
Noel, Andrea and I headed into London for what
turned out to be a very long day. We left home at 8.30am
and didn't get back until about 11 o'clock!
We got off the train and came across some Morris Dancers.
Of course Andrea said she planned it!
Didn't notice the happy photo bomber until we got home!
Portobello Road. Such an interesting place
with hundreds of people everywhere.
I found this 1796 cross-stitch
along with many other very old ones.
I would have loved to bring one home with me
but unfortunately they were out of my price range.
Andrea got us tickets to the Crown to Couture
exhibition at Kensington Palace.
We were very lucky as it was finishing a few days later.
We saw the most amazing clothes.
This dress and suit were from c1730.
Came out of the palace to pouring rain so
we bought a bit of Melbourne to Kensington!
We gave Andrea the umbrella to remind her of home.
Dinner at The Champion pub just near the palace.
When we came out the rain had stopped
so we kept exploring and enjoying London at night.
Walked around the corner and look what I saw - the Liberty Store!
We only had 15 minutes before the store closed
but still managed to get myself a couple of things!
Soho.
Piccadilly Circus.
Leicester Square.
We spent the next day at the Tower of London.
Yeoman Warder "Beefeater".
Tower Bridge.
St Paul's Cathedral.
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