RSC - Orange

 My orange Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks are done for August. I didn't have a lot of orange but I'm glad its included as it will brighten up the quilt.

I will need to make a few more blocks in some of the colours so I have enough and then I can get started on piecing the top. I'm not going to do brown/dark blocks as I think the blue and purple are enough dark.

We got our tax done for the year and submitted it yesterday so the refund should not be too long coming. It was good to get it out of the way. I also cleaned out two of the drawers in the office filing cabinet while I was looking for documents so I have now have a huge box of paper shredding to get done. 

Its pouring rain here so I'm having a day on the sewing machine and enjoying catching up on everyones blogs.

Linking up with SoScrappy where you can see lots of great RSC ideas to use up your fabric scraps. 

Back home again.

We arrived home a few days ago, just in time for a light dusting of snow overnight. Today it's a lovely sunny day so hopefully the winter weather is over for the year.

The trip away was great, so relaxing. We visited Moree again where we saw a beautiful quilt made by Moree Quilters group in 2001 for the Federation Centenary. It features various aspects of life in Moree.

There was a brightly coloured 'yarn bombed' tree near the sewing shop.

and on our morning walks we saw the colourful murals painted around town, this is just two of many...

We also went up to Warwick and Texas, just over the border in Queensland where the weather really was perfect and the roads were much better than in NSW. We visited a few National Parks for some bushwalking including the Queen Mary Falls which was a good workout for the legs climbing down and back up all those steps. It was nice to just stop where we felt like it and most days we had a picnic lunch somewhere along the way. It was great to see everywhere so green with all the dams and rivers full as we go into the warmer weather.

Now I'm back home I'm about to sort through my orange scraps for RSC, I have already cut some and then I'm meeting a friend for lunch. I'm hoping to start work on our bathroom next week, not a full renovation but a 'refresh' on a budget. I'm looking forward to creating some new retirement routines and housework habits as we go into spring.

At the beach

We're back on the road again, having another week away from the cold weather back home. I guess thats one of the lovely things about being retired, you can just decide to go away on the spur of the moment and off you go!

We've been in Coffs Harbour and the weather here is perfect.  Neither of us have been here before and we've been impressed with how quiet and laid back it is despite being a popular tourist destination. 

We're staying across the road from the beach so we've been out early to watch the sun come up each day.

You can hear the ocean all the time which is really lovely at night-time.  Theres lots of walkways and places to sit, we've been sitting outside for breakfast and lunch enjoying the views.

Yesterday we went up to the Forest Sky Pier which had the most incredible views of the coastline. The lookout bridge goes out over the rain forest & moves in the wind.

It's not possible to get the whole view in one picture, this is about a third of it.

We have another day here and then we're off to Tenterfield for a look about. Today we're going down to the jetty & to Mutton Island Nature Reserve. I'd certainly come back again and perhaps stay longer next time.

Well its almost time for another sunrise so I'm heading back to the beach for a while.  

“To escape and sit quietly on the beach – that’s my idea of paradise.” 
Emilia Wickstead

If you'd like to see some more Australian travel Janice is blogging her trip with some fabulous photos at Jannimary

Catching up & a few more blocks.

Last week we all ended up sick - fortunately not with covid, or the flu but the last few days I've just been resting/sleeping on the lounge all day. Today I'm feeling a lot better and have been up and about getting things done again.

I did get a few more blocks done for Summer in the Country:

I have the rest of the blocks cut out ready to sew. I'm looking forward to seeing this quilt top completed, its such a bright happy pattern.

DH and I are starting to work out new routines to our days together. Mostly its work about the house, having a leisurely morning tea together out on the front verandah when the weather is nice and planning our trips to the shops or to do errands together. I am enjoying this more relaxed pace so much :) 

This morning DH finished changing all our door handles over to lever handles instead of doorknobs. They look great and they are so much easier for me to use. I have arthritis in my hands and have found it difficult at times to turn the door handles.  

I've been plodding away at decluttering so we took 8 bags to the op shop today and stopped off at Bunnings on the way home to get some potting mix and some geraniums that were marked down. I'm planning on starting some seedlings this week but I cannot remember where I put the packets of seeds! As my family say - I put them in a safe place, I just don't know where that is! If I have also been saving some seeds from my veggies and some cuttings. Vegetables are getting so expensive it just makes sense to grow them to save a bit of money and growing the from scraps saves even more. Do you grow veggies from scraps or have a veggie garden?  If so what do you grow - open to suggestions - I am cold climate NSW.