Catching up

I see it will be a week tomorrow since I posted on my blog. Even my 84 year old mother commented that it is a few days since I had written anything! This photo is mum showing me her Ipad skills when I called to see them on Friday.

 So while I am having a break and a late lunch I shall give the newsfromjude for the week gone.

RENO PROGRESS

I spent most of the week working on quilts, and have walked around the mess and stuff in the kitchen. But today it is back into it, and emptying cupboards is happening. I have the saucepans and 2 drawers to empty. It is amazing just what you find at the back of cupboards. I can't reach into the back corners, so some things have been there for years! (I have used a long stick to pull things out from the back corners!) It has been a bit of a trip down memory lane as well. A long time ago, I used to decorate cakes, and I found the "stuff" I used to use, and one little dolly all decorated with an icing skirt and some waiting for their skirts!

 A Kenwood mixer was an engagement gift back in 1972, and it is still in use after all these years. But it is a long time since I have used the attachments I found in the back of the cupboard. A mincer, juicer, dough hook, and a liquidiser, all in the original boxes.

This mixer has done a LOT of work through the years, and there are probably not many that have survived 43 years of use.

And this photo shows a bottle of the sparkling wine that was served at our wedding reception in 1973, alongside a few serviettes that I also kept from that occasion. I don't think the wine would taste very nice after this long, but tell me, all you who don't keep clutter, how could you throw this out?? It has survived about 10 moves over the years, so I think it deserves a little corner somewhere!

Now I can dispose of the following item, which was a wedding gift and is very orange. I don't think it has hardly ever been used. It takes a lot of food to fill it.

You can see I have lots of sorting out to do. And I would like to know just how the things in the back of the cupboard can get so dusty and grimy?? More dish pan hands today as I wash a lot of stuff. I am not sorting everything, so that will need to happen as I put things into the new cupboards. This is how it looks today. When I have finished emptying the cupboards, I shall cover the floor with plastic sheets and then it is time to attack the tiles on the wall. By the end of the week, the room will be empty of everything, and I shall be able to paint next weekend. Progress is being made!

BIRD WATCHING

Just outside my work room there is a very large kurrajong tree. It is covered in large seed pods at the moment, which have dried out. I don't mind the tree, but dislike the mess of the pods when they fall on my driveway and after a rain they get quite sticky. I need to keep raking them off the drive, so that people don't walk on them and bring the sticky inside. This week there has been a lot of noise in the tree, and when I investigated I saw lots of birds swinging from the branches, and pecking at the pods. I tried to get closer, but they saw me through the window and flew away. I did get a couple of photos. You can see just how large this tree is, and how many pods there are in all the brown spots.

This is a close up of one the branches, and if you look closely there is a bird with speckled feathers, on the other side of the pods.  

FROM SMILES TO TEARS

This week it was time for the newly married couple to finally view the professional wedding photos. I received this photo by text message. I obviously had smiles before we arrived at the chapel, but the bottom photo shows me in tears. DD3 was all smiles though. In the top snap I was fixing the veil to her hair. It was very special that she wore my veil, which had been in a box on top of the cupboard for 42 years!  Just goes to show that sometimes it is good to keep things.

These photos, above and below are taken just over 42 years apart, both with the same veil in the photo. (These photos are both rare, because I usually keep my mouth shut in photos, and you can see that the teeth are the same too!!)

I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos.

BATHROOM UPDATE

The bathroom is almost finished, with only the shower screen left to be done. The guy was here on Thursday to measure up for it, and then told me it would be 4 weeks until installation! Lucky we can use the room as is though. Before and after photos follow. That brown bath is going out in the garden to plant things in.

ROAD TRIP

Friday I took the day off and went on a road trip to the city. I needed to choose the kitchen tiles, get a curtain rod, and a few other bits and pieces. I have 2 grandies with birthdays next week, so it was also a chance to visit them with early birthday gifts, as I won't be back to the city until after the kitchen is done. This is "Mr almost 6 years old", showing me his trucks and anything that has wheels, and especially a towbar. A real little boy.

On the way home, I called to see my mum and dad, and arrived home about 10pm.

MISS BRIDIE

......is 7 months old now. I love that her mum sends me photos so that I can see her progress. She is growing up so fast. The message that came with this photo said..." Brad can't get over how much Bridie looks like him"......

and then this photo also came through, and I can't get over just how much Brad looks like his dad in this photo! The face "fungus" might make the resemblance more pronounced, but the side facial view is incredible. More memories.

My late lunch break has turned into a bit of a marathon, and I better get back into the kitchen before the day finishes.
Another busy week is coming up, and I have a quilt to finish tomorrow, and then a few allovers to get done too. There is also work in progress in the garden, where a tree has been removed.
I shall be back soon with more quilt photos.

Have a good week,

Blessings, From Jude