Australia Day for an Anglophile

Just to prove I am also a proud Aussie I am showing the cook book I got as a xmas gift. It has 400 recipes from Country Women's Association members all over Australia. All the recipes are simple, easy to cook and contain no exotic ingredients that I have never heard off. I am showing the Tuna and Mushroom casserole I cooked Monday night. The recipe said 'serves2' right, was still eating it 2 days later after freezing a portion. Most of the recipes are meant to feed farm and station workers and men from the shearing sheds who have been tossing sheep around all day and need a huge meal.
The idea behing this gift was that I would use it to fatten up my patient who lost so much weight during radiotherapy. Yes it works!! I am being fattened up very well but I'm not the patient!!
Hope I don't get a gardening book next xmas. I would rather cross stitch than cook or garden.

One of the recipes I have put in 'the too easy' basket for now. Basically it is some boiled mince with a tin of spaghetti on top.

I'm keeping this one in mind for one of those days when I feel the need to serve rat bait to a guest or family member.

Am going to visit son D on saturday and will take along a plate of these Ginger Crisps. Well I'll have to now, if he sees this post he will demand Ginger Crisps.

Tonight I am cooking Sausage Casserole from the book. There will be enough to last 3 nights.

Here is the ship and the journey that one set of great grandparents took to arrive in Australia as free settlers in 1862. Born in Somerset, Francis and Susan Wakely left Liverpool on the Ariadne with sons William3 and John a baby. The voyage took 120 days and during that time William died and was buried at sea. The Ariadne was the first ship into Maryborogh Nth Queensland and carried much needed workers and single women. Francis and Susan went on to have 7 more children in Australia, my grandmother was the youngest.

The last years and early death of my great grandmother is a very sad story I will leave for another day except to say all hidden family skeletons eventually come out of the closet.

The family seems to have moved around a bit until Francis opened this Bakery in a Northern N.S.W town. Francis is standing in front of his shop here. There is a small hard to see dog behind him and perhaps one of his sons on the left. My grandmother is on the verandah to the right and an unknown woman (though I have my suspicions) on the left.

Emily is very keen to pass on her latest beauty tip. I've told her it's out of context for my Australia day post but she insists, so here it is.

Emily's Beauty Tip #???. Always sleep with your chin resting on the edge of the bed. This will prevent a double chin in old age.

Wish you'd told me sooner Emily, I think it's already too late for me.

Royal Doormat Diamond Jubilee Bears and More

A perfect doormat for a Royal household such as mine in Jubilee year.
The mat was a gift from Ruth at http://britsamplers.blogspot.com/ who was passing through my area last week and called into to see my Royal samplers and show me photos of some of the beautiful Royal samplers she has in her collection. We had a very enjoyable visit and hope we can do it again one day.

More Royal bears are joining my collection, The 2 bears at the back are just arrived Diamond Jubilee bears. The little one in front is a Golden Jubilee bear.

This bear is a rescue bear from the local flea market. I'm sure he has a sad story to tell about how he ended up there. He started life as a smart Harrods bear and things went downhill until I spotted him, paid $1, took him home, washed and mended his woolly jumper and will sew a flag on his foot to cover the Harrods name. They don't deserve to have their name displayed after selling him to such an uncaring owner.

I bought the cane chair for 50 cents at the same market and smartened it up with a coat of red paint.

Really bear! don't get too pushy, the other bears won't like it. I don't know how you managed to get your picture in twice. you must already know I'm no blog expert and don't know how to delete one photo. I need more lessons.

These very pretty plates were an op shop bargain, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them and at a bargain price. They show the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. Later King GeorgeV and Queen Mary. The Duke and Duchess visited Australia in 1901 to open the first Parliment after Federation.
I think the plates must date from that visit.

Another op shop bargain, this time found by blogger friend Gina in Melbourne. A Beswick Coronation Mug, I don't think my camera shows how very nice it is and such a pretty colour.

Gina has been blogging for a long time but has just started a new

blog http://earlyaustralianlinens.blogspot.com/ to show some of the linens she will be displaying at an exhibition in Melbourne starting in August. I hope to be there to see her amazing collection.

Just to show something a bit different, this was a beach wedding I saw on my walk last week, very pretty. Later the bride was sitting on the beach. I must be getting old because all I could think about was how she would get rid of all that sand from her legs and clothes.

Diamond Jubilee and Coronation Samplers

Thank you to everyone for your Welcome Back comments. Now back to the serious stuff of samplers and The Diamond Jubilee.
I stitched this Jubilee sampler last year and posted it on my blog. It was originally for the Silver Jubilee in 1977, then was released again for the Golden Jubilee in 2002. I bought the kit on ebay and decided to stitch it for 2012. I was waiting for official colours to be released before I finished the letters and numbers.
I decided on red and now it is finished, framed with a frame from the op shop and on the wall at last.

This sampler shows the official Diamond Jubilee logo. The chart was a free download from Ruth's blog http://britsamplers.blogspot.com/ Easy and quick to stitch, I chose a red background simply because I had some red aida cloth I had bought from the op shop. I love the red but it could also look good on blue or white fabric.

I love this just released kit from Riverdrifthouse. I bought it on ebay as soon as I saw it. Arrived on Thursday and I started stitching on Friday and will do more this afternoon.

The only change I made was to use aida cloth I already had as I like softer cloth. The dark lines on the cloth are pulled out later.

Ruth at Britsamplers sent me this lovely Diana memorial tapestry to stitch. As the correct wool wasn't available I am working it in 6 strands of DMC stranded cotton and this works well. I had hoped to get more of it stitched during the hours spent in hospital waiting rooms. But really the waiting room turned into such a friendly and chatty place and for a while patients and carers were like family or new best friends, then we parted hoping never to see each other again.

I have done it again!!! My enthusiasm has overridden my commonsense and I am trying to knit a Union Jack bed throw. The wool was expensive and I had to buy it from the U.K so I must finish this at some time in my life. Forget that I can't really knit and rarely finish any knitting I start. It's knitted on 12mm needles and worked from a chart using a method I had never heard of and had to google it. Now when I knit I have a huge tangle of wool following me. My goal is to knit one row a week and I will be finished in less than 2 years.

A coronation sampler worked before EdwardVIII abdicated. I bought it on ebay from Canada, it has the Maple leaf in the centre so a design for the Canadian market. The colours of the flag, leaf, lettering and shield are printed on the fabric and then embroidered around. It is a cushion cover, looks never used and I think it will be better preserved in a frame. This is the second EdwardVIII I have in my collection.

This coronation sampler from 1953 is really a cushion cover too. It has been well used and washed and some of the stitches have worn away. Much safer framed in this pretty frame. I bought the sampler on ebay and the frame from the op shop.

My Motto for 2012
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON COLLECTING

My already broken New Year Resolution for 2012.

KEEP CALM AND FINISH WHAT YOU START

Happy Diamond Jubilee Year

Speaking on my behalf Charlotte and Emily want to wish everyone A Very Happy Diamond Jubilee year and to say we are back in blogland.
Charlotte would also like to complain about Emily being a queue jumper as she was about to sleep on that chair.

You can see what an exciting christmas I had. Three male family members are asleep, a fourth is reading a book and yet another one not pictured is asleep on a bed. I think I am with my daughter in the kitchen.

The bookworm reading is suffering from an inherited family trait which means he can never go anywhere without a book and will read any chance he gets.

I did receive some very nice gifts which I will show later.

Some of my christmas reading from the library, four autobiographies and two fiction. All very good though 'Harbour' was a bit strange. 'The Exotic Rissole' is about a family from Bangladesh and their schoolboy son who is longing for the bland Aussie food his schoolmates have, not his mother's spicey cooking. He did grow up to be a doctor so he didn't suffer too much.

Remember that dolls' house I bought at the op shop two years ago??

Still a work in progress and it's taken me a long time to get this far but I think it is starting to look good. I divided the attic and now I will be able to have a sewing room on the left and a nursery on the right.

And last I will show my very brave patient who endured a nine hour operation on his face and 33 sessions of radiotherapy and is slowly recovering and having a New Year walk on the local beach.
His face is forever scarred and changed. His back too has a huge scarr from the same condition years ago. He is paying the price for a misspent youth playing tennis and going to the beach.

This pic was taken at 8.30 in the morning as he must stay out of the sun as it was most likely the culprit for his problems.

I have a message for any young people reading this blog (unlikely I know) Stay out of the sun, it is not always your friend. As the latest TV add says, You Know What to Do So Do It. Which means Cover Up.

My next post will have to be back to my stitching and Royals as I have lots of new stuff to show and tell.

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???