Ice age

I have been following the weather reports in North America.

You folks must be so sick of the cold!

I am enjoying it.....

all that beautiful white. 

 It is inspiring.

I think I am going to call this quilt "Ice Age".

thinking about white

I have been thinking about white.....

and I really liked this photos 

So I have started.

I am going to rework this quilt (one of my favourites).

Any one want to follow along?

mother and baby

If that was a baby quilt in my last post

then this one is a big mother.

I am not sure why I bought this linen but I thought it would make a good  quilt. 

It is going to be big.

and how do you like the backing?

still quilting of course

If you are a regular reader of mine

you may be wondering what's happened to my usual goings-on.

Rest assured...

 I have been quilting a cot quilt for my sister's grandson.

Not before time as he will be one soon

And this is a spare for the cupboard,  just in case.

Sprinklers of joy

For quite a few summers sprinklers have been banned here.

So it was with a illicit sense of joy I nabbed

these sprinklers from dad's.

I remember them "watering" the back lawn 

on a hot summer's day and us children running around them and jumping them.

Sometimes they were even on the front lawn and the neighbouring kids joined in.

Might have a go soon, when I find the right connectors.

 Another treasure of Dad's is this tape measure

with it's beautiful leather cover.

He used it to measure out the vegetable beds in the back yard.

It goes up to 33 feet! (10 metres) 

and has a brass handle to wind it up again.

Just as well.

One last treasure today is this old film cannister.

Dad loved photography

and we are yet to get together and divide those spoils.

He used to keep 2 shillings coins in them......

the nostalgic journey continues

I thought I would tell you a bit about my dad this time.

In 1942 when he was not yet 20 years old,

he qualified as an WirelessAir Gunner a month after signing up for the Royal Australian Air Force.

After completing his training he saw active service in New Guinea flying Beaufort bombers.

The Australian War Memorial recently published a book documenting  photos all of their exhibits. 

This Beaufort  (A9-557) is in their collection .

My father flew missions in this plane before he completed his tour of duty, 

and before it crashed in New Guinea in 1945.

Whilst it was being restored we were privileged to be given the opportunity to inspect it.

His War story was something that my father had almost never spoken of before.

Like many all around the world, the horror of war was something that was shut away.

At least 3 times  "wipe your boots" was painted on the side of the plane.
Sand in the plane could prove fatal!
The insights that he provided to such simple statements as this were fascinating.

Here is a page from his log book.

I have his  RAAF kit bag and trunk.

It surprises me the emotion these simple things conjure. 

my dad wore an apron

We never had a dishwasher.

Dad always said he had 8 of them

but in later years, when we had all left home, he did the washing up.

This is his apron.

The mending on the straps is so me!

Dad was always meticulous with his appearance.

I like this clothes brush with a shoe horn.

He always carried a handkerchief.

There were lots of them in his things

and I find it comforting to have one in my pocket.

I think the older ones will be good for stitching.

 And I'll be wearing this beautiful silk scarf as soon as the weather cools down.

Vases......

Mum loved her crystal

and so do I.

Not really the fashion these days though is it?

Mum often gave a small piece to a newly engaged couple....

And she often gave some to me.

 I am welcoming these ones from my old home to my collection.

I think they'll make friends.

This was always one of my favourite vases. 

Thought someone else would have claimed it 

but now it's mine!

And this little cutie.

It's like a double egg-cup.

i'm off now to pick some flowers.

time for a cuppa?

I love these cup, saucer and plate sets.

They were kept in a cupboard in the lounge room 

and only bought out for special visitors.

When we were children mum and her friends and our aunts
 used to have long afternoons teas in the kitchen
while we pranced, stomped and dawdled around them.

The worlds problems were discussed at length.

My mother took a keen interest in politics, mostly viewed from the Left.

This china stayed safely in the cupboard.

More recently they seem to have come out for funerals.

I think this one is my favourite.

I plan on using them a lot more, starting today .

We drank our tea from fine bone china at class today.

I would say these are my favourites.

journey of nostalgia

I am going on a journey of a different kind.

You are welcome to come along

(or tune out for a while)

but this is the best way I can think of to document my travels

and the maybe "blog to book"

We are clearing out the family home.

I am going to try and not be sad about it.

These apples are off the tree. 

I have never seen so many big apples as this year.

My sister and I were talking about how all the trees had grown.
We had a little hum of this song.

FOOTNOTE :
I cooked up all those lovely apples and made a delicious cake