May 2020 Part 1

 It has been awhile since I decided to do battle with technology and download photos from iPad to Laptop to visit blogger again. I will start with October 2019. This lovely granddaughter arrived right on schedule and has been a delight for us all. She is now nearly 7 months old, and  in these coronovirus times we have not seen much of her lately to see her and the other grandchildren growing.

 At the same time as we were welcoming her to the family, I had some massive work changes happening. We had been promised by the Qld Govt for a new laboratory after the dental clinic moved off campus in 2015, well it became a reality in 2019. The above photo is part of the new area before more equipment moved in.

 This was the view back into the existing section which was then remodelled to become more of our new space. We had to endure 3 months of walking between the 2 ends of the building, which was sometimes inconvenient at 3 o'clock in the morning as the first floor corridor was blocked off. It kept us fit I suppose. We finally moved us all back together in January 2020. A few problems since, eg.  a deluge from the ceiling in a heavy downpour was when we discovered a few issues with the roof. It certainly has made social distancing at work much easier as we are not as cramped as we were.

 I still have been doing some sewing, I was supposed to be working on artwork for 3 exhibitions this year. One has been postponed already, not sure about the other 2, wait and see I suppose.

 In November, I was lucky to spend a weekend on Hamilton Island with my youngest daughter who attended a wedding there. I went off on a tour to Whitehaven while she attended the wedding.

 We stayed in one of those tall buildings, I think it was the 2nd from the left. My bridesmaid from 35 years ago, a dear Uni friend jetted down from the North to catch up with us.  It was so good to see her as a road trip takes a few days.

Little missy was about 7 weeks old when this was taken.

 All has not been doom and gloom though, I have been slowly persisting with the doors. This was the start on number 9 out of 10. I have since puttied in the missing window pane, the door has been stained, and just needing more coats of varnish after the putty hardens a bit more.

 The drought in November/December and January hit us a bit. I discovered that wallabies do not like eating lime trees. Most other citrus had their leaves eaten. You can see in the background how bare the earth got.

 This is the view of home from the front gate. Even the weaners we had around the house were depressed. They just seem to mope around, finding bits to eat. Lucky we had enough water though we were digging in the sand in one paddock. We ended up sacrificing some though as we managed to get the spring fed dam desilted about a week before some lovely rain started.

 This was the piece I started working on in a previous photo. I am glad to say it is now finished except for a hanging sleeve. I wanted to make it for the November exhibition so no rush as they say. I ended up changing a fabric out of this test arrangement.

 I used some offcuts from the previous quilt and made an overlay out of this piece. I hope to get a move on and take some photos of the finished pieces soon and hopefully can upload some of them.

 Back to the work renovations. In January we move Microbiology into its new home. I spent 2 extra days at work helping them shift. I managed a photo of the old after all of the incubators ( 6 of them) and various other bulky items were gone. Over the last 34 years I have spent a considerable amount of time in that corner, it was a bit sad to say goodbye but it is progress as they say.

Back to the house renovations, this is one of my finished doors. I think this is number 6. So hopefully soon I will have 10 of these done.
 February saw us, trying to decide whether we should fly off to New Zealand as planned for 9 days. The drought, the  developing coronavirus situation and the health of a parent were considerable angst for us. We decided to go, and we got safely home again, mid February. I will continue with Part 2 as soon as possible. Till then, take care in this Covid-19 world.