Autumn in the Hills

Had a drive out to Stirling on Wednesday - the Autumn colours are spectacular.  Went to Mount Lofty first and also did the walk round Woorabinda.  Great fun watching the boys and their toys (radio controlled yachts)

Woorabinda (part of the Stirling Linear walk)

 Mount Lofty

View from Mt. Lofty towards Picadilly

Stirling

cormorant

yacht racing!

Great chilli harvest

roses still looking good

Beautiful Autumn

Can't believe its autumn already.  The nights are much cooler now but we still have lots of beautiful sunny days.  We've even had 8 days in a row in the mid 20s.  Last week was busy as we had the girls to stay while Karen was in Singapore for a 'girlie week' with some of her schoolfriends who all have their 40th birthdays this year.

Have spend several days walking on different beaches along our stunning coastline and are now planning our next short break. 

This time we are going to the Clare Valley at the end of May.  The cottage has a log fire and electric blankets if it does turn a bit nippy!

6th Month Anniversary

Unbelievably we have now lived in Australia for 6 months and although the time has rushed past in some ways it seems much longer - we are so settled and happy here.  We have just walked round the nieghbourhood this morning and can't believe how lucky we are living in such a beautful area surrounded by breath-taking views, bush & parkland, woodland and stunning houses.  We miss Iain and many of our friends but really haven't felt homesick at all.  It's lovely having Karen and the family just 20 minutes drive away and we see them occasionally for meals and the odd bit of baby-sitting.

We love our new house and have spent many happy hours furnishing it and planning and planting shrubs, annuals and hanging baskets in the small but managable garden.  We now have the irrigation system working so can forget the watering cans, hoses and buckets for a while as it it programmed to run automatically.  Unlike in the picture above - the grass is now green and healthy again.  Its great to sit on the veranda and read, relax or drink coffee and admire our handiwork and the views to the hills beyond while being 'serenaded' by magpie-larks, kookaburras and many types of parrots.

Our social life is very hectic - lots of craft and cooking for me and plenty of sport for Clive.  I've taken up patchwork and aquafit and am trying to get card classes started but the uptake is very slow and may take time to get established.  The AFL season has started so Clive is visiting lots of different clubs to watch Aussie Rules Footie now the cricket season has ended. He is also a 'natural' at Bowls so is playing at the local club regularly.

We are involved with a large church in Blackwood and have made many good new friends there.  I also work once a fortnight in their Cafe helping to prepare, cook and serve light lunches for up to 90 people in a session. I was very involved with refreshments for the Christmas Carols on the Oval but never want to see a hot sugared cinnamon doughnut again! (The heat in the marquee was unbelievable and it was over 33 outside).  We loved our first family Christmas in the sun and look forward to Christmas 2012 when Iain will be with us too.

The summer has been glorious and we've spent lots of time on the various local beaches, visiting local markets, going to free open-air concerts and driving round the hills and wine regions.  We had a marvellous time during the Tour Down Under in January when we had the Singleton family to stay from Sydney.  Autumn promises to be a beautiful time of year too with warm(ish) sunny days, colourful trees and cooler nights.  Hopefully winter won't be too cold - it certainly will be nothing like winters in the UK.

We have had three short holiday breaks - Victor Harbor B&B (with a wildlife artist and her National Park Ranger husband) an overnight stay in an Eco-cabin at Warrawong Animal Sanctuary and 4 days at a Caravan Park in Goolwa (with a great boat trip along the Coorong).  We are already planning several Spring breaks to the Yorke Peninsular and the Loxton/Berri/Morgan area of the River Murray.

Things are finally slowing down to a more comfortable pace as we adjust to our new way of life in a very different culture and we look forward to the next 6 months in this adventure of a lifetime.

Spirit of the Coorong

Had a great few days away at Goolwa on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsular. Stayed in a basic but comfy cabin at the caravan site with some friends from Probus. The highlight of the trip was the boat ride down the Coorong National Park - stunning scenery, beautiful weather and a really good day out. Our guide was very informative (note his comments about the emus) and we did 2 walks too - one to the ocean and another through aboriginal land to see their sacred sites.

We had done the trip 2 years ago when the Murray Mouth was silted up and they tried to keep it open by dredging. This year the rains areslowly making their way from NSW, Queensland and Victoria and the barrages are open to let the flood water through for the first time in many years.

Here's a piece of trivia for you - David Unaipon (born David Ngunaitponi) (28 September 1872 – 7 February 1967) was an Australian Aboriginal of the Ngarrindjeri people, a preacher, inventor and writer. He was the most widely known Aboriginal in Australia,^[2] and broke stereotypes of Aboriginals. Unaipon is featured on the Australian $50 note in commemoration.
You can read all about him on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Unaipon

More Quilts

Had the last session of our 4 week beginner's quilting course and we've decided to fit in 1 more session next month rather than have a demo and be left on our own to finish the table runners.  I have one more border to add then will start the quilting (by hand as my tiny sewing machine can't cope) at our last meeting.  We plan to finish off the course with a nice lunch at Brighton (Adelaide)

I've done one of the four mitred corners on the narrow green striped border and just the wider dark purple leaf to add next.  The colour scheme goes well with the dining room, iris picture and both sets of crockery.

I have been really encouraged and made some lovely new friends, 2 locals, 2 Kiwis and three others from different parts of the city.  Our tutor has been great and a real inspiration - you may have already seen pictures of her work in previous blogs.  Here's a couple more.

more of Kerryn's quilts

A few more stunning quilts made by Kerryn Brand (from Victor harbor)

Kerryn's Quilts

Absolutely hooked on my new hobby - Patchwork and Quilting.  Have just completed week 3 of a 4 week's beginners course given by Kerryn Brand at Patchwork-by-sea in Brighton (Adelaide)

Here are some of Kerryn's beautiful quilts.