How Time Flies!

 Oh my! Has it really been that long since my last post!! Well, time to do a bit of a catch up with a few photos thrown in...... 

Going back to end January the family gathered together in Sydney again for an early celebration of my sister Linda's birthday....

Into February and - surprise, surprise - I actually had some creativity happening..... a friend was gifted a "chicken" and some time ago (won't say how long ago but I've never known of chickens to take so long to incubate!!)  she asked for a couple more.... finally they got made...and a needle case for Linda - who is quite an avid embroiderer! 

And, of course, a bit of reading - really enjoy books by Kate Morton......

While we were enjoying some Summery weather here over in England Megan & James finally had snow towards the end of February..... she said it was just like walking through Narnia from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.....

Now for some holiday photos ...... No overseas holidays yet so early March my other sister & I spent a week at Linda's place on the mid-north coast....We had many afternoon / morning teas out.....here we are at Miss Nellies in Kendall - who was to know that just a couple of weeks later it was inundated by the severe flooding experienced in that area. 

The local garden centre also (very conveniently) has a great cafe - a couple of visits here....

One morning we managed to arise before sunrise and headed up to a vantage point to watch the sunrise.... with a thermos packed we enjoyed a cup of hot tea as it was rather cool at that time of the morning!

Another day and we enjoyed catching up with a dear "old" friend over lunch at the Gladstone Pub - she was our neighbour in Sydney where we all grew up together and now lives about an hour north of Linda.....lots of stories to share that day! 

With so much eating out a little exercise was to be added to the itinerary..... believe me this did not happen often! 

And.... we did get to the beach but not for long as bearing down on us was a big storm - but we did get our feet wet!

Now.... what holiday would be complete without finding a patchwork shop!! Tucked away through the gate and down an overgrown path - "I Love Country" - full of a great range of embroidery threads, a small but very interesting range of fabrics and any other notions required for stitching!! Was a purchase made you ask? Well, of course! Unfortunately, I did see on their face book page that they were closed due to water damage from the recent flooding. 

And..... my sister has a cat called Milly who shared my bed, my lap - even sleeping in my open suitcase so while on holiday I was not deprived of feline company while Dora was back at home enjoying her "holiday" at the pet motel! 

Holiday over and it was back home and back to work...... a few days off again with the Easter holiday just around the corner...... some quiet time, some catching up with friends and some stitching - have a few things on the go at the moment  - perhaps too many so will be taking a while to get something actually finished I think..... will pop back sooner next time!

Happy Stitching

Asta

 

Catching Up......

Has it really been 3 weeks since my lovely holiday came to an end?!! Well.... where have the last weeks gone - it's definitely time to catch up! 
A first stop in Sydney visiting mum & dad, then to pick up my sister Linda on the mid North Coast and we were on the way....an overnight stop in Grafton was needed as we had an extra long lunch stop with a friend in Nambucca Heads.....with the weather slowly deteriorating......here just past Grafton the following day.......

 But..... a few hours later from our apartment at Burleigh Heads! Nothing but sunshine!!

The following few days were spent with these 4 wonderful people.........a rare photo to have all 4 of them together!... James, Megan, Hayley & Mark

........... Mini-golfing

........ Breakfasts out

......... exploring Burleigh Heads National Park

All too soon our days together came to an end..... time to say goodbye ......

Megan & James flew back to Sydney for the weekend before flying back to England......

.....Hayley and Mark continue their idyllic lifestyle in beautiful Burleigh Heads! 

Linda and I made our way back to her place where I enjoyed another relaxing week....

........ Visits to an amazing nursery

..... a picnic or 2 - this one at Flynn's Beach in Port Macquarie - we had family holidays at "Port" in the 60's and 70's and used to go swimming here at Flynn's with our rubber surf boards!! 

........visits to numerous "Op" shops

........afternoon teas out - delicious lemon myrtle cheese cake at this one! (Miss Nellies in Kendall) 

.......... and the occasional walk.

All good holidays must come to an end and it was time to pack the car and start the journey home....... plants and all!!

.... with a weekend in Sydney on the way ..... celebrating Dad's 95th birthday!!......

...... enjoying an outing with mum - while dad rested at home after all the birthday excitement......

And..... then finally home!

Now....did I do any stash shopping while away you ask? Of course - how could I resist......

and have I been busy creating? Well....not a lot but these socks have been finished - another pair has been started with the wool bought while away .....  

So ....back to my knitting.... certainly has turned cool enough to be knitting again!

Happy Stitching!

Asta

Holiday Travels Pt 6

Just over an hour by train from Levanto to Genoa with a short break before the next train from Genoa to Turin....just enough time to take a rest in the park or in some cases do a bit of shopping......

......and after nearly 10 hours of travel by train and bus (from Turin) we arrived in Chamonix - in the French Alps......waking up to this early morning scenery from our window - Mont Blanc!

During the few days we had in this area we explored the delightful town of Chamonix......

Took a 20 min gondola ride from where we had amazing views of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps.......

..... and stepped "Out into the Void"......notice I wasn't too far out in the void!

Once more the girls got behind the wheel as we headed off for some sight seeing outside of Chamonix....... visiting quaint villages, beautiful scenery, forest walks and some locals!

Another day a drive further afield and we arrived in picturesque Annecy.......and it was market day!

And here we are enjoying our last night in Chamonix and the coming to an end of a wonderful holiday!

An early morning start the next day and we were on our way to Geneva and the start of our trips home..... Hayley & I back to Sydney and Megan back to England..... 

.....holding it together here but a few tears were soon to follow....

Megan was already "home" in England - and in bed! - while Hayley and I were still in transit! Flying via Helsinki and Japan can take such a long time that somewhere along the way we inevitably "crashed" - a 10 hour stopover in Japan was the place! 

And so after nearly 6 weeks this amazing holiday with Hayley and Megan came to an end.... but full of SO many wonderful memories to always treasure!!! 

Till next time

Asta