A Long Long Tea Break

I'm taking a long break from my blog while a close family member undergoes treatment for an aggressive facial cancer. An extensive operation performed 5 weeks ago now being followed by six weeks of every weekday hospital visits for radiotherapy leaves little time for blogging or commenting. I might pop up now and then but I don't expect to be back before Christmas. I will still be following my favourite blogs as some give me a much needed laugh even if I don't have the heart to comment.
Charlotte and Emily are being very supportive at this time and I will try to keep up with my Royal stitching.

THE QUEEN Has Arrived in Australia

The Queen arriving in Australia just 2 hours ago and looking as ever very Queenly in a pretty blue colour. I took these photos off my TV as the news was broadcast live.

Meeting our tall elegant Govenor General who curtsied to the Queen. In the background on the right is our not very popular and hanging onto govt. by a thread Prime Minister wearing unfortunate blue/black stripes, no hat and clumpy shoes and did not curtsy but only nodded so please diregard this last long sentence as I am only being mean and don't want to discuss politics on such a great day or on my blog.

See, already I'm over excited and should put myself to bed..

Accepting flowers from schoolchildren.

H.R.H landed at Fairbairn RAAF Base in Canberra where she will stay the night then onto Melbourne, Brisbane and then Perth for the C.H.O.G.M meeting. Sydney is not included in this visit and family commitments prevent me going to Canberra so I'm a bit sad about that.

The Queen's last visit here was in 2006 and I was sitting on the steps of Sydney Opera house when I took this pic. I think I sat there for 3 hours and it was January and so hot I stuffed the newspaper I had with me up the back of my shirt to keep the sun from cooking me. I don't know how the Queen managed to inspect yet more troops in the heat and I think she was treated badly on that day.

The Queen steps ashore in a very different Sydney in 1954, the first visit ever of a reigning monarch. On the 1954 trip she came by ship and was away from home and a very young Charles and Anne for 6 months. This latest trip is her 16th visit to Australia and many people say her last trip here, I hope not.

I still have my ticket from the Surf Carnival arranged for the Queen in 1954. I was still at school then and went with my sister. The tickets must have been bought by my mother as I think 20shillings was a lot of money back then.

Tomorrow I will be watching TV for mor Royal Visit news.

Thank You to Racquel

A few weeks ago I sent Racquel who lives in Manitoba Canada some of my old royal cross stitch patterns and look at the surprise I received in the post today. Racquel knows what I like and has stitched my initial, a daffodil and The Gold Coach in a sparkly thread all with a cute cat fabric background. Even the pretty thank you card has a crown. I will hang these pretty stichings on door knobs.
Racquel emailed me to ask if I knew where she could buy charts for some of the samplers I had stitched and I jumped at the chance to help a Canadian as Shirley in Alberta had sent me some beautiful samplers. Aren't Canadians wonderful!!!
Thank you so much Racquel...you shouldn't have, but I'm so happy you did, I love my gift.

In the same post I received the 1/12 scale doll house plate of the Queen Mother I bought on ebay. I think I'll put the plate on the wall of the doll house. I already had a small collection of the 100th birthday china and now my doll house is going royal.

Now for something completely different, a jelly fish stranded in the lake when the tide went out on Sunday. There was just enough water left to keep him in good condition till the tide came back in and he was able to swim away.

Detective Inspector Charlotte

Some unscrupullous villians came by last night, saw my little boat at the side of the house and put it in the lake for a joy ride. This morning I saw my little boat waiting for me on the other side of the creek and brought it home again.

No need to call the police as I have D. I. Charlotte working on the case and here she comes now.

Look up and to the left Charlotte the Paparazzo are here. This reporter is most likely from one of the big Sydney papers, not the small local rag. T.V cameras are on the way I think.

No the oars were locked in the shed last night so the rascals must have used their hands to paddle.

Check for fingerprints and D.N.A too. Lucky that little piece of rope wasn't stolen.

Yes go and get Emily and see if she heard any bumps in the night or strange noises. If you have finished looking for clues I will have the boat pushed under the house where it safely lives. I only had the boat out so a workman could get under the house.

Are these your witnesses Charlotte? I think they are ready to make a statement now. I'm sure you will soon solve this terrible crime.

Charlotte and Emily doin' it tough.

Charlotte and Emily have begged me to get back to blogger and do another post. They are fed up with my domestic dramas and family health issues. They want the rest of the world to take some of the burden of ME off their shoulders. Because I have not posted for 3 weeks they have had to admire every new stitch in a royal sampler, all my so called ebay bargains and exciting op shop buys. Because of the stress this is causing them they have had to fit in even more sleeps, hard to do when each day is only 24 hours long. This post is dedicated to easing the hard life of my 2 girls.

Another coronation embroidery from ebay. This is a cushion cover, a bit worn as it has been used and washed often in it's life. I will frame it as this will help to preserve it. Shows Commonwealth/Empire countries with emblems.

I think this embroidery would have been done for the 1953 coronation too. It is on a small piece of worn fabric, I will stitch it onto a stonger piece of fabric and frame.

I have had to set aside my Kate and William cross stitch after seeing this design on Ruth's blog

http://britsamplers.blogspot.com/ This is the official logo for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and Ruth has turned it into a free download cross stitch chart. Ruth has lots of great links on her blog and on one link I saw the Jubilee design with red background and as I already had some red aida cloth in my stash (an op shop bargain) I decided to use that.

I haven't forgotten about my apron collection and this pretty hand crocheted apron is my latest addition. I have seen similar patterns in 1940's magazines so think it safe to say it is a vintage apron from that era. My collection is really about embroidered aprons but I now have 2 very special crocheted aprons.

Charlotte is threatening to swipe this object to the floor with her paw if I don't show this to the rest of the world, then shut up about it. But look-an EdwardVIII coronation teapot in 1/12 scale to go in my doll house, how exciting is that?? I already have a coronation biscuit tin and a Queen Mother 1/12 scale plate on it's way from ebay U.K.

Is that enough for now Charlotte and Emily? can I go to bed soon and read my library book???

Lake Views and Op Shopping

Once again real life has interupted my blog posts but my Lake views give me something to blog about. Sunday was a bit windy but perfect for skimming along the Lake with a mini parachute or kite, fun to watch but something I would never do. Not sure what this sport is called and mostly done in the ocean but perhaps these were beginners practising on the Lake. There were three kites in total.

Today a professional fisherman was out with his nets and he always has a following of pelicans willing to catch any falling from the net. Behind the pelicans is an island, you can see a white boat going through the channel then I will see that boat again when it comes out from behind the island.

Now for the Op shopping display. I bought these casserole dishes at different times because I love the colours but have since been told some people love to collect these old dishes so now I want more and have another item to look for when Op shopping.

Bought the cardigan last week at the Salvo's store, a brand new bargain still with tags though the size had been cut away but the Keynote Made in the U.K brand was attached. I think Keynote was a Littlewoods brand. I did a google search and found the same cardigan but in a pretty green on ebay advertised as vintage 60's if that's right this cardigan has been stored unworn in someone's wardrobe for many years.

Another new item with tags this very pretty dressing gown Made in Italy I bought last year and still haven't worn it. I think I'm afraid Charlotte or Emily will catch the silky fabric with their claws or I will spill my morning coffee down the front but it was such a bargain I had to buy it.

A queue for tunnel fun, Emily is first in but always has to take time to think about going through to the end or backing out and walking away. Charlotte waits for Emily to decide. Charlotte always goes through and out the other end.
Emily never goes through to the other end, I think she is just teasing Charlotte.

Comment Problem Solved by Genius Grandson

For many weeks I have been frustrated by being unable to leave comments on some blogs. I would compose what I thought a clever comment then want to throw myself on the floor and scream when my clever comment would not go through.
At last a visit from tall, talented and very handsome grandson who found and solved the problem in only a couple of minutes. I won't show his face as I don't want him mobbed in the streets by others with problems. I want to keep him to myself.
The answer for anyone still having problems is......Third Party Cookies.
Here are some of the blogs I want to apoligise to for being out of touch. Sylvia at Cosiness, Fran at Being Me, Mary Anne Tate at Tate Gallery and Cat Mandu to name just a few.
Still busy while not blogging I have finished the Kate and William engagement sampler. This one is pretty and was easy to stitch and came as a kit from Majesty Magazine. Now stitching a much bigger Royal Wedding sampler which will keep me busy until the patterns for the Diamond Jubillee come out next year.

My walls are becoming a bit crowded but still space in the bedroom, the latest sampler is on the right. My mother's wedding photo is left.Look closer and there a two more cats in the mirror. Emily always falls asleep waiting for me to come to bed. Some furniture upheaval recently and the little desk you can see had to find a space in my elastic sided bedroom. The cute little desk has a total of 16 very tiny, very sweet and totally useless drawers in it.

Charlotte heard about International Cat Box Day on Cat Mandu's blog and though she missed it this year she is showing she will be ready for next year.

A family day last Sunday as some birthdays had to be caught up with. I think " 'Elf and Safety has also caught up with us. So, my household tip #789, place the candle in a strawberry or similar, blow candle out, sing Happy Birthday etc, throw strawberry (or similar) out and eat cake. If any of the birthday revellers has a cold there will be no spreading of colds, or similar, easy.

A book I have just finished reading and can thoroughly recommend. Set in Nigeria it is so well written I could see the scene before me in only a few words, the type of book I love and better than TV any day.

Doll Club Day and Luck at the Library

Last Saturday was Doll Club day and this beautiful limited edition Hermann bear was on a trade table along with a note saying that as he was a royal bear I was to have first look at him and of course I had to have him for my collection. He is #5 in a limited edition of 500 made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the coronation. I bought him for a bargain price, made in Germany from mohair he has the Hermann tag at the back of his head.
I would have been able to take a much better photo if Charlotte hadn't insisted on posing with the latest bear for my bear/royal collection.

The first section to enter for a prize on the day was a room of doll house furniture with limited pieces of furniture. No prize for me but I had to lie and tell Charlotte I won or she would be upset on my behalf.

This very nice sewing room won a well deserved prize and now I want a sewing room for my dolls house.

Next section was a bear in a cot. Mine is #9 and I think my bear outgrew his cot but at least I tried.

Luck at the library today when I picked up the latest Ruth Rendell along with some great autobiographies. Called a Fast Back because as it's a new book I only get two weeks to read it instead of the usual four but if it's a good book two days is enough for me.

The book on the left is a new book of cross stitch charts based tattoo art, not my type of stitching at all but fun to look through.

Well I was warned, it does say not for grandma on the back of the book. The book is by Don Ed Hardy and they are his designs. Another quote from the back "Grandma can't wait much longer for that flaming skull tea towel" I don't think so, anyone thinking of stitching for me; remember I like cats...

Here's my tip for anyone thinking of getting a tattoo. Work it in cross stitch first just to make sure you really really like the design.

To be fair to the book it also includes a very colourful butterfly chart but I only have time for Royal stitching.

Royals,Census and My Birthday

9th August was my birthday and also Census day when all Australians had to fill in a form and be counted. Charlotte helped me fill in my form. I wish you had made me sound a bit more interesting Charlotte. Daffodils were on special at the supermarket as they often are for my birthday so I was able to have a treat of my favourite flowers.

A bit of bad news on my birthday when I read that Janet's Royalty rooms are closing next month. Perhaps the largest collection in the world, Janet lives not far from me and her displays are always fully booked and very popular. No I don't think Janet will have a garage sale, she is closing next month then will decide in a year or so what will happen to this wonderful collection.

Janet always serves a delicious morning or afternoon tea to her guests. my collection is miniscule compared to Janet's and I could never cook those cakes she serves.

I bought a cloth panel and made my Charles and Diana dolls some time ago and didn't do a very good job. I was pleased to find another panel on ebay and this one will be left intact. I'll remove the cat and cat hairs later.

I bought this cute little cupboard at the op shop a week ago, it was varnished and oiled in a very dark colour and had chicken wire across the door. A good little project to keep me busy. Three coats of paint, wire replaced by curtains and now a little display case. It will go back to the op shop when I have had enough of it. I wish I had remembered to take a 'before' photo.

This large Royal Visit 1954 tablecloth arrived from Gina in Victoria this week.
I think a rare cloth partly embroidered and with a mix of australian wildflowers and the flowers of Britain. Some sprigs of Wattle can be seen embroidered.

And some of the wording has been worked. The crocheted edge is very pretty.

A Royal Visit tablecloth I have had in my collection for some time. I think Gina has this one too fully worked.