At home on the farm

It's a bit of a dreary day today. I've been inside working on my quilt, plus outside exploring with my loyal companion, Miss Dog. My sewing machine threw a hissy fit before lunch and I had to problem solve. I am pleased to say it is humming along again. All of the lower threads kept getting tangled on something, and the fabric wouldn't move along. I took out the bobbin case and gave it a good brush out. There was a surprising amount of lint in there! Once I reassembled everything it went happily again. Thank goodness.

Here are the fabrics I got yesterday. I love them. It is hard to find fabrics that I really love among the vast collections of fabrics for sale in quilting stores.







I couldn't resist taking this photo of Oscar. He is so sweet with his chocolate chip tummy and long, long legs.
That is not actually his tail making him look like Basil Brush, it is Lily's back and hip.



Miss Dog took several fungi hunting missions with me today. I am fanatical about fungi. Yes, I'm a little odd. Miss Dog gets into the creek at every opportunity. Daisy was tearing around with excitement in this spot earlier in the day when she accidentally fell into the creek. It was so funny seeing her suddenly disappear in mid wheelie. I had done so well keeping her dry up until that point. I have to admit, I wasn't too worried about Miss Dog having a swim because I caught her plunging her head down into something smelly and thought a swim might get rid of the stink. Cats are so lovely and fastidious compared to horrible hounds.



This is a bit of a spooky spot in the creek. The water passes through a tunnel. When we were small (and thin) we used to bravely crawl through the tunnel in our swimming togs. It is about 6 metres long. I was scared there would be spiders living on the inside of the tunnel. Yes, I know I'm ridiculously fond of spiders, but not ON me uninvited!



Here is Nanny with the Terrible Two. We were going to get the mail. Miss Dog loves Nanny, but we have to be careful because Miss Dog is awfully strong and boisterous. She'd send Nanny flying if she got silly around her.



Here is the view back up to the house. I love the house. It is over 100 years old. I grew up here on the farm. Mum and Dad have built on and improved the house as the family grew. There are 5 bedrooms plus the sun room, which used to be my room.




Here is the view from the same spot across to the cottage. It is a wee two bedroom house. Meg and Ryan lived there for a while before moving to Nelson. Mum and Dad had tenants at various stages, and Grandma and Grandad lived there for a while (not Nanny). We've had happy times staying there at Christmas. The little verandah is a fairly recent addition. Dad was a carpenter before he retired, so he is awesome at building stuff, of course.



Nanny is busy making an apple pie. She loves being busy. Mr B is busy playing X-Box games. Those are such time-wasters! I've almost finished quilting my first square quilt. I was interrupted by fungi hunting urges. I've got to make the most of the time here as we are going back to the city on Friday! Yes, Mrs CT. We'll be home soon. On Sunday we are planning a land-warming picnic. The land officially passed into our hands on Monday. I am sooooooo excited about building the house. Yay! It seems real at last! XXX

Rain, rain and more rain!

It has rained all day today. Never mind. It has been snug as a bug inside, and refreshing when I took Miss Dog for a run around the paddocks. There was much excitement from one of us when I found lots and lots of fabulous toadstools, and even a few field mushrooms. This weather is perfect for fungi growth. So I think I might need to start another blog about fungi, and other fascinating things. I wonder if I can handle three blogs. Currently I am not really taming the chocolate baby, due to Nanny being chief cook around here.

Today we had a visit from the gorgeous Miss M. and her daughter Missy R. We were all very pleased to see them as it has been about a year since I last saw them, and they are back in the family fold once again. Long and complicated story! Anyway, Miss M. loves pretty floral things, so guess what? I've got plans for another quilt! I've got three underway. Here is the latest project. Yes, that is Henry helping again.
Just after I took this photo he proceeded to undertake a long and complicated bathing routine, involving a variety of complex yoga moves. Needless to say, he showed no respect for my careful placement of patchwork squares. This quilt is for Meg. I'm going to get the sewing machine dancing along shortly. I want to do a pink border (preferably a matching floral) and then a blue spotty binding.

On the subject of pretty things, these are my new pillowcases from Wallace Cotton. They came with a fabulous quilt, which I have already pressed into use due to the inclement weather. Nanny gave me these for my birthday, which is not until August, but I like to spread the celebration out. I'm intending to put them in my spare room at the new house, but will probably end up wanting to be in there all the time just so that I can look at them. Don't think I'm strange, but I'm seriously thinking of painting my studio the pink of the background of the pillowcases. Remember, it might look yucky on your computer screen, but in real life is so sweet.



Miss Dog sends her greetings. She has taken over Daisy's chair and the cats are now daring to use the cat door while she sits there. Maybe she is invisible in her black furry disguise.


Oooh, Henry just brought us a present, and deposited it on the mat by the fire with a satisfied "Yeeeowl." A dear little mousie, unfortunately (or fortunately- depending on how you look at it) deceased. He went straight for the food bowl and had a munch. Maybe he didn't want fur between his fangs. Considering the weather, and the level of catly activity around here, it was a remarkable achievement to bring home a snack.

Here is Oscar making the most of a warm fire and cozy blanket.



Siamese Twins? No, just Lily and Henry having a hug.


Yes Mum, I've got the towel ready for damp cats returning from a quick foray into the garden.

It is just Mr B, Nanny and I at home now. Ryan is off to Canberra for a conference. Jim has headed back to the Bay for work. Meg is working tomorrow. Have a lovely week everybody! XXX