Saturday, December 20, 2014

Too Close for Comfort


 We had a small storm front come through in early December to give us some much needed rain. The grass responded slowly. Then a few days later the clouds rolled in from the west again at midday. They certainly looked ominous with some green areas in the cloud. We scored quite a lot of wind, no hail or damage thankfully, and 21mls of rain. Up the road at Boondooma Homestead they received 80mls and filled all of their dams. We are still waiting for a large fall of rain to fill our dams. We are thankful for the rain we have received as the pastures are starting to respond. Like everybody in this drought we hope it ends soon.
 

 
Some work on the home front has been happening here at Ivanhoe. I have painted one of the two downstairs bedrooms and will start the next in the New Year after my next lot of night shifts.
The old timber skirts which were only on two sides of the house were starting to fall down. Here they are slowly being dismantled. Minutes after I took this photo, a nail was embedded in his leg causing a slight injury. The very detailed first aid kit ( a Christmas present last year, from the family paramedic) came in use, and he was able to keep working.
I have planted some hedging viburnums along the front and sides so hopefully it will not be this bare for too long.
 
I have included this photo taken by Allan Honor of the ranges around Mt Perry for no reason other than I like it. To me, it represents a typical view of our area.
 In amongst everything , I managed to attend Project Day for Pfaff Owners at the Quilters Rest near Kingaroy. This was the project I finished in a day. There is only one Christmas themed fabric in this. It is a table runner using only 8 fat quarters and a 10 degree wedge ruler. The green fabrics have apples and avocadoes on them. I was so happy to finish something in a day for a change.
 
I have finally finished my Christmas sewing for the grandchildren as Christmas is pretty close now. I have been on a learning Japanese experience as I invested in a Cucito Summer 2014 childrens sewing magazine for babies and toddlers and managed to interpret it to make something for them. My years of using Burda and Neue Mode patterns stood me in good stead to understand the pattern sheets.
Hope you all have a happy and safe Christmas and we look forward to the New Year and hope some good things happen amongst the bad things that we seem to notice more.