Still catching up on blog posts.................February 2026

Siblings....................

I had known Barry for about 35 years, but I was curious to see what he looked like in his younger days. I asked if he had photos and he said no. So at Christmas time I asked his siblings if they had any photos from those day, and bingo! 2 of them said yes.......and forwarded me some of those pics.

I could show you lots of others, but will post this one and the 4 siblings, all ready for school one morning. And in order, left to right, oldest to youngest. 

And this is the photo I took at their Christmas gathering.......and again in order, oldest to youngest, taken 58 years later...... and older and wiser!!! Would you have recognised them now??

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A day trip....

 Sometime in February, I had an appointment at Mount Barker with the eye specialist. I have been diagnosed with Glaucoma in left eye, so keep a check on it each year, and daily eye drops. So far, no further deterioration, thankfully. On the way home we called into the waffle shop at Coonalpyn, and enjoyed the weather, while watching the traffic go by. (We enjoyed sharing the waffle too!)

                                               

We got talking to the owner of the shop who gave us the interesting history on how she came to be making waffles in Coonalpyn. This shop is on the highway, and the main road between Melbourne and Adelaide. Lots of traffic and there are usually lots of people stopping. We were amazed at the number of vehicles going by, lots of trucks, cars and caravans.

                                   

                                     

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A custom quilt

Just so you can see that I have spent time with Max!!

                            

                            

                                                      

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A few days away..................

We took the opportunity for a 4 day trip.........heading to Lake Cullulleraine..........

The is Harding Springs, a reserve on the Ngarkat Highway which was burnt only a week or so before we headed up the road............

We crossed the river at Loxton.............

.........and soon came to the quarantine station, but as we were going into Victoria, we did not need to stop...............and we were soon in Victoria..........

                         ..........and Lake Cullulleraine.............the Tranquil Waters Caravan park..........

We had arranged to meet Jo and Tony, who live at Mildura, and they had already arrived before us...........

.......it really was a tranquil spot............

.........and we had soon set up and were ready to relax...........my notes say "we sat yarning until about 7pm.... lovely weather, pretty spot.....ahhh, the serenity!!"

We had arranged to have lunch, at the Werrimul Hotel.....(have you worked out we love going there??)

It so happens that we found out the Faye and Kym were camped not far from Mildura and so they decided to join us for lunch too. 

After lunch we all went back to the caravan park........and enjoyed dessert!!.....

.............and a bit more yarning as well...........

Next day was a lazy day, and the weather was warming up.................I think there was a lot of reading, maybe a snooze, and more yarning with friends. The bird life was abundant and vocal......and the clouds came over dark as though a storm was brewing, but moved on.

Next morning it was time to pack up and head home..............via the Quarantine station and this time we had to stop and was thoroughly searched.......

We arrived home by 3pm after a lovely peaceful, restful weekend with good friends.

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Vale - Kath

In February, 2026, we farewelled one of the members of our quilt group, the Gum Tree Quilters. She was 95 years old and still stitching quilts together. Up until recently, she regularly entered at least 12 quilts in our exhibitions every 2 years. She has been one of my more prolific customers. Well done Kath, you were a special lady and will be missed.

I went back into the archives to find photos of Kath, and it was good to remember lots of fun times with our group, but also sad to see many faces of members who had already passed.

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Another project???

I have had a lot of readers tell me that I need to have a hand stitching project to take in the caravan with me. Now if you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you will know that hand stitching is not my forte. (Give me a machine and I am comfortable, but the needle and thread and I have not bonded at all.)

But it did get me thinking and perhaps I should give it a go??

When I saw this advertised online, I was a bit interested.....a fabric map of Australia that I could hand stitch all our trip on???? Sounds like a good plan???

It even came in it's own carry bag.......so I was tempted and ordered it..........

I collected a few coloured threads and a needle and put them all in the bag for our next trip...........

...........and this is as far as I've got!!! I've marked one trip, out to Cameron's Corner, and it sits in the bag, still in the van..............I didn't find it easy, or enjoyable!!!! Threading the needle was difficult......maybe I shall have another try one day?? Or perhaps I'll draw in the lines instead!!

That about covers February for you....be back soon with March update. I feel like I am making progress.

Blessings, From Jude

Still catching up on blog posts.................january 2026

 It is tricky trying to catch up with posting, especially when I was writing about 2025 happenings and it was really 2026. Here it is the middle of  August,2026 and I am starting to write about January happenings......hopefully I'll get up to date soon...I've ordered blog books from July to Dec 2024, and then all of 2025 in one book, and hope to get 2026 in another book while the special price is on?? 

There has not been a lot of customer quilting to be posting, and trips away have not been so frequent this year. Due to staff illness at work, Barry has been putting in more hours, although we have had some shorter trips. Maybe I'll wait until the end of 2026 for the next book???

                                                On the road again.................

December 30th, 2025 saw us head off for a few days of rest and relaxation. We drove north along the Ngarkat Highway with a stop at Pinnaroo on the way.

Love the see art painted on the side of buildings and this was on the Mallee Tourist Centre.........

It was the lead up to New Year's eve and the public holidays, so we weren't sure if we would be able to find somewhere with not having prebooked......Fortunately we were able to get a booking for a few days at Cobdogla, which is a small town near Barmera, on the Murray River.

This tree has the 1956 flood level marked on it. Parts of the caravan park were flooded in 2022 and are still being renovated. A lot of the town was flooded and levee banks were erected to restrain the water from parts of the town.

This chimney, located in the grounds of the park, is a surviving relic of the Cobdogla Station homestead complex.

One afternoon we went for a drive to Waikerie.......this is the Kingston on Murray Bridge which crosses the river near Cobdogla.........

......and the cliffs on one side of the river..............

We looked around Waikerie, and then decided to go over on the ferry and go back to Cobdogla on the other side of the river................I think it may have been moving day for someone??



Overland Corner was a spot to check out on the way back........we thought it might be a good place to stop for our evening meal.....but no........they were booked out for New Year's Eve celebrations!!!

After Overland Corner, we drove into Barmera, and thought about getting some takeaway there..........but that was another NO! We were amazed that there were no takeaway shops open here at all, and on New Year's Eve too! 

In between a few drives around the district, we spent a lot of time resting this trip......it was very pleasant sitting out under the awning...........

Now it is New Year's Day and Kym and Faye came to visit us at the caravan park. We cooked some meat and salads and ate outside. It was a very pleasant day, with lovely weather, good company and the perfect way to start out the New Year.

Another day we went back to the Werrimul Hotel, and enjoyed lunch with Jo and Tony. We love going there, and the food is always brilliant.

After the New Year celebrations, quite a few of the vans in the park left, and we were very surprised how quiet it was, even though it was still school holidays?? We had intended heading home, but after Barry talked to his office manager a decision was made to stay another week! 

I thought this sign that we saw when driving around was rather funny...............

The icecream van came to the caravan park one day.....lucky that Barry heard the music...........

It was Tate's birthday, so we made the day trip to the Barossa to celebrate with him.

One day we went for a drive to Renmark. Barry bought himself an electronic monitoring tyre pressure gauge for the car, and I may have purchased a few books!!!

The lovely weather was about to end, and the next 3 days were forecast to be about 43 - 45 deg C!!!!!

I don't think I ventured out of the van for the next 2 days, and managed to do a lot of reading in between snoozes. It was lovely and cool in the van and the air conditioner coped with the heat continuously for 3 days. Very glad the power did not go out. On the 3rd day it was very windy and there were a lot of fires in Victoria and SA. It was much cooler on our 12th day away and we went for a drive to Berri and had lunch at River Jack's cafe by the river.

                            

                              

                              

Then we went to Renmark and did some shopping and drove back to the park via Monash, where there is a playground............

That evening we decided to go to the Cobby Club for a meal, and unexpectedly met up with a few people we knew from home!!! It's a small world.

Our 3 or 4 day trip away turned out to be 13 days, and we headed for home, through Moorook and Loxton and then south via Pinnaroo and home. Time to unpack and do the washing and clean the van ready for the next trip. 

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Barry's 2 Perth grandies came to Bordertown for a visit. On the plane by themselves, without parents. It was good to see them.

The rest of January was filled with the usual appointments, hair, medical, specialist and a day trip to Mount Gambier. 

I decided to repaint the pergola chairs.............

.............and there might have been a few customer quilts done, but they seemed to have left the building before I could get a photograph.

That's about it for January 2026. Be back soon with February news.

Blessings, From Jude and Barry