Made some more cards

Had fun with masking and sponging and shades of blue to make these three 'night bird' cards

Bleached Cards

In this morning's workshop we were making 'bleached' cards. Couldn't get thin bleach which gives a better finish but watered down Domestos worked OK

Back so soon?

After just 4 posts this year - here's the second one in as many days. Forgot to show you the recent cards and ATCs I've made.

Where's Spring gone?

I can hardly believe we've been back almost a month now. We are still in the grips of Winter and waiting for the temperatures to reach double figures. After all that lovely Aussie sunshine it is taking ages to get used to the cold and grey days again.

We have finally decided that we want to retire to Adelaide to be closer to the family and spend more time with them, watching the grandchildren grow up and to enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle in the WARM climate.

South Australia's only nudist, or as they prefer to call it, 'unclad' beach!

The long Visa application is underway and it could take up to 2 years. I've started decluttering already as we won't take much stuff with us. We've been married nearly 40 years and lived in the same house for most of that time so you can imagine how much stuff we have accumulated. The charity shops are doing well as I prune wardrobes, strip bookshelves and delve into cupboards and drawers which haven't seen the light of day for ages. Far from being a dauting prospect it is quite liberating and I'm look forward to starting over in a new home and country and buying lots of lovely new furniture including the essential Gas BBQ, sunloungers and supersized fridge for the wine and beers.

Watch this space!

We're back from the land 'Down Under'

Had a brilliant holiday with the family in and around Adelaide but for the first time ever, we were not glad to be back home. Several reasons for that -
1. the house was like an icebox and took 3 days to get cosy again (won't put the thermostat down so low next time!)
2. The batteries had gone on the TV remote so couldn't even watch the TV programmes we wanted - no shops open as we were still on Singapore time.
3. The PC blew up when I switched it on and I couldn't get the forgotten password to enable me to log on to the webpage to pick up 400+ emails at work for several days.

Things have now improved and I have a beautiful new PC and they managed to retrieve 95% of my hard disc contents. Its a bit scary with lots of updates and so fast I can hardly keep up with it. I'm so glad I went to a local shop and not one of the big 'chains'. They even came to the house and set it all up for me, making sure all the correct drivers were loaded and everything worked!

Anyway..........back to Australia

Week 1 was spent mainly with the girl's as they were still on their summer hols. We saw the pandas at the zoo, visited the seahorse farm and spent lots of time at the beach, eating out or in the pool. The temperatures were in the 30s for the whole month so most meals were eaten outside (until it got too hot - 43C).

Week 2 began with Australia Day celebrations and a sausage sizzle at the local beach - Brighton! Once the girl's were back at school there was more time to visit the city and shops. My torn cartilage slowed me down a bit but I managed better than I expected.

Week 3 We stayed at a lovely 'cabin' at Mount Compass on the Fleurieu Peninsular
1. to give the family a break and
2. to give us a much needed chance to rest and just chill out.
Highlights included wine tasting in McLaren Vale and Langhorn Creek, an all boat trip up the Coorong (National Park at the mouth of the River Murray)with BBQ on the beach and closeup views of emus, dolphins, black swans, pelicans and seals. We paid several visits to Victor Harbor, Goolwa and the many stunning unspoilt beaches. The countryside was brown and dry and mainly used for grazing cattle. We saw more alpacca than sheep!

Week 4, now back with the family and checking out the houses for sale in local suburbs with a view to retiring out here if we can get visas. We were sad to leave and the farewells were a bit tearful but we had fun for 3 days in Singapore to break up the homeward journey. It was Chinese New Year - the Year of the Tiger and we managed to fit in visits to the Night Safari Zoo, Bird Park and Orchid gardens.






Who knows? Maybe we may not come back to the UK after our next visit.

Goodbye snow & ice, hello sunshine and lazing by the pool!

The cases are packed, the hand luggage almost done, house reasonably tidy and the fridge empty! Australia, here we come. Thank goodness the snow has melted now! We should be able to get to Heathrow without a hitch tomorrow after all those anxious days and nights watching the constantly changing weather forecasts last week.

I've slept like a log for the last two nights and, between bouts of heady excitement, I've even been relaxed enough to make a few cards in my relatively clear craft room. I've got hooked on side-step cards now and here are few I made ealier.

I for Emily's 4th birthday,


a cute 'Heidi' one with decoupage flowers and glitter (take my word for it - they don't show up well in the picture)


and another using a left-over wire flower from last week's efforts


Even my knee is much better and I have managed to hobble to the local shops and back and also get to Slimming Club to check I'd lost my Christmas excess. All that lovely fresh fruit, salads and vegetables, sea-food and BBQ kangaroo steaks should keep me on track even if the exercise regime is on hold for a while. I'd better not overdo the Chardonnay and Merlot - little and often should be OK.

It's a New Year

Well, I've been housebound for most of the last month - firstly with a badly damaged knee and then because we're snowed in! The snow was very pretty to look at at first but the novelty is now wearing thin. Our road is impassible for anything other than a 4-wheel drive and we're some distance from a gritted surface. Food stocks are running low so the diet is going well.

I'm watching the weather forecasts anxiously as we're off to Australia in just under a week's time. Getting to the airport could be a bit of a problem as, even there are trains, we can't get to the station with our luggage. The planned lift could also be difficult as my son's car is stuck in snow on his hilly driveway. We may have to drag our cases down 2 roads and pick up a hired car. Hopefully it will thaw a bit before then or I'll wake up and find it was all a bad dream.

When we do eventually get to Australia it will be to a heatwave as they are currently experiencing temperatures in the low 40s. The local koala was so thirsty he came down from the eucalyptus tree and drank water from a ladle

History seems to be repeating itself as the same thing happened to us last February. Talk about one extreme to another. We'll stand out like sore thumbs as we will be the only people arriving at Adelaide airport to 43 degrees wearing fur hats, thick cardies, gloves and Ugg boots!

I may have to walk with a stick at present and can't manage anything more than a couple of hundred yards yet, but as long as I can get in and out of the pool I'll be a happy bunny.