It's Spring and time for a catch up 😃

 I received my Spring newsletter this morning from a South Australian author that I follow: Tricia Stringer. I always look forward to her correspondence that is full of life's highs and lows but sprinkled with joy and delicious recipes as well. So it prompted me to do this post to you our friends, quilters and Morris devotees far and wide. So maybe this is also our Spring chat and we will come back when Summer starts. It is almost three months since I last posted and an awful lot has happened. I might get over the "low" side of it first and finish with some "highs".   The daffodils will give you a hint as to what is to follow.......

Just over 5 weeks ago we were given the news that Larry has bladder and kidney cancer. The specialist told us it is "complicated" and has continued to use that term ever since! Larry has had four procedures under anaesthetic in the last month and 10 days ago two surgeons spent a very long and unexpected seven and half hours operating on him. We were told it would take three hours and they didn't start until 6pm as that was the only time both surgeons were available, so it was a very long night for me sitting by the phone. Apparently it is very rare to have two different primary cancers at the same time so it has been a rather challenging time. We are being optomistic and know we are in good hands. It is almost four years to the day that I too was diagnosed with cancer and I can completely empathise with Larry knowing it will be a long and challenging 12 months or more of procedures and treatments ahead. Larry has two more stints in hospital over the next week and then in six weeks he will start immunotherapy. So together we will face what is ahead putting on a brave smile and taking it one day at a time. We are so grateful for family and special friends and were extra grateful for our son in law Brett's cooking skills....what a thoughtful thing to do for us so the freezer is now full of nutritious meals......

Larry received some very special cards including these handmade ones from Beau and Maisie and take an extra look at Maisie's words.....so precious and they certainly say it as it is......

So that is the low part so on with the "highs". Larry actually had a very special birthday back in June and I am so glad we didn't know what was ahead......

Maisie also had a birthday in July and being school holidays she spent it with her best friend and cousin Wade. They are all growing so fast and Beau is now 5 feet 6 inches and way above me and he's only twelve.....

 

I've kept myself busy as it is good for the mind and I've become quite obsessed with making these wool felt bears from a designer on Etsy that you can see here: Amuru toys. They have made great gifts for special people.....

I also found a lovely owl pattern that I reduced in size and gave to a special nurse in hospital. You can find that pattern here: My Felt Room

We've also had the SA Quilters annual quilt show in July. I haven't entered a quilt for over ten years but this year decided to enter as it was the 40th anniversary with a theme of Red. Larry actually decided on what I should make using William Morris' Brer Rabbit pattern that he also produced in red and white. I was chuffed to receive a 1st place and we took Maisie and Wade to see it all......

I've also been stitching goodies for our Local Red Cross branch to sell at our fund raising events.....

Our small friendship quilt group are always busy and I made a doll/teddy themed quilt for one of our members for an event coming up for her. I've also finished quilting several quilts for palliative care and completed the pelican quilt designed by Julie Haddrick that one of our members never finished before she died. That is now going to be a prize in the Red Cross raffle.......

One of our group had a sale many years ago when she was downsizing and moving and I bought one of her woollen wall hangings that I am embarrassed to say has languished in a cupboard for many years. As we all get older there seems to always be things we need to get rid of and I really didn't want to get rid of this quilt. Having no room on the walls I decided to cut the hanging up and I had just enough to make each of our group a small zippered purse. So we all have a little bit of Lessa's handiwork that is in Morris' words..... useful and beautiful......

I've been planning in my mind which special things I will leave for the grandchildren so I had a talented woodworking friend make me these beautiful memory boxes. I will fill them with photos, letters and special trinkets and memories from our lives and their great grandparent's lives. I was so thrilled with how they turned out.....

I will leave you with some images of a local florist's window in a nearby shopping centre that we saw some weeks back. Mr Morris seems to pop up all over the place! Until my Summer post take good care........

Tea, Toasties and Trips

 It's not even quite six weeks and I'm posting again! It seems to have been a jam packed few weeks and it is nice to share it with others. I'll start with the "Tea's" with the first being a High Tea with some friends last weekend  as we celebrated 50 years since we started our nursing training. The venue was the historic Mt Lofty House in the Adelaide Hills and it reminded me of the surrounds on some of our UK Morris tours.......

A few days ago I was guest speaker at a cancer fundraising Morning Tea event with the Port Elliot Patchworkers and these girls can certainly do a morning tea with Morris napkins included! 100 attended and it was a great honour to be a part of it all...............

My quilts are always glad to be taken out of the closet for a few hours too.......

The "Toasites" part is possibly because Larry just made me a toastie. The weather has finally turned chilly with the first day of Winter this weekend and boy it's been hard to keep toastie warm! We have had a very long dry spell and had we not received rain a few days ago it would have been the driest Autumn on record for our state......the full story is at this link; Rain finally arrives

Now to the "Trips" and there are a few to share. One weekend recently we made the long drive to Bordertown and back to celebrate our friend Judy's 70th birthday. It was a great thrill to be able to share it with her family and friends and was worth the drive.....for us that was a total of 7 hours driving in a day.......

We had an another trip to the city a few weekends ago as we'd been given tickets to an Adelaide Symphony  Orchestra concert. Our generous friends Lessa and Roger were unable to go and knowing Larry and I both love classical music thought we might enjoy the tickets and it did not disappoint. Our seats in the Adelaide Town Hall were amazing and the sounds spectacular with a guest conductor from Finland and guest pianist from Uzbekistan . The ASO has a diverse program and you can see more here; 2024 ASO Program

We also had a longer "Trip" of our own two weeks ago. We had 8 nights away enjoying a cabin at Cohuna a small town between Swan Hill and Echuca in Victoria. We travelled south (a 5 hour return journey), to catch up with quilting friends), so all up we travelled about 2,000 kms coming home via Renmark......

 These were the views from our cabin and it was very restful.......even Topsy our budgie came with us this time.......

On the road we saw some of the amazing Silo Art Trail and one day we celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary having lunch by the river in historic Echuca.......

Our good friends Faye and Kym are currently on a very long "Trip" travelling to Western Australia and they have already shared some amazing photos in the Kimberley and beyond. An amazing experience in the true outback of Australia and they will be away for about 3 months.......

Beau and Maisie and family are on their way back today from their "Trip" to Japan. Before they left I made Maisie a bag and purse to take with her and some zippered pouches for the others with their names appliquéd in Japanese on them but I only got a photo of Maisie's bag. What an incredible experience for them all and extra special as both Beau and Maisie studied Japanese at school. There have been many wonderful photos and we look forward to hearing all about their two weeks away.......

Yesterday I went on a much shorter "Trip" with some quilting friends to Goolwa to see an exhibition at the gallery Artworx. Five local artists have been selected to have their work placed in a NASA time capsule and sent to the moon. You can read more; HERE where it is explained that works are to be digitally miniaturised for the project. It is well worth visiting the exhibition and even more so to see Cheryl Bridgart's spectacular textile pieces up close. We all feel like Cheryl is one of us as we have known her so long and  she is such a kind and humble soul with incredible talent. Her work is all free hand machine embroidered and her distinctive style is in collections all over the world.........

Cheryl was also featured recently on this video so make a cuppa and have a look. It goes for about 23 minutes and is wonderful.......

Under my sewing machine right now is another quilt for palliative care. Both these quilts were pieced by our intrepid group leader Lessa, but with Faye travelling it means she isn't around to quilt them, so here they are on my much smaller machine........

So that is it until next time......take good care wherever you are x