The reason for Australia Day

In the beginning God created day and night. He created day for footy matches, going to the beach and BBQ's

He created night for going prawning,sleeping and BBQ's and God saw that it was good.

On theSecond Day, God created water - for surfing, swimming and BBQ's on the beach and God saw that it was good.

On the Third Day God created the Earth to bring forth plants - to provide malt and yeast for beer and wood for BBQs, and God saw that it was good.

On the Fourth Day God created animals
and crustaceans for chops, sausages, steak and prawns for BBQ's, and God saw that it was good.

On the Fifth day God created a Bloke - to go to the footy, enjoy the beach, drink the beer and eat the meat and prawns at BBQ's, and God saw that it was good.

On the Sixth Day God saw that the Bloke was lonely and needed someone to go to the footy, surf, drink beer, eat and stand around the barbie with. So God created Mates, and God saw that they were good Blokes,and God saw that it was good.

On the Seventh Day God looked around at the twinkling barbie fires, heard the hiss of opening beer cans and the raucous laughter of all the Blokes. He smelled the aroma of grilled chops and sizzling prawns and God Saw that it was good ... ...

Well .. Almost good.

He saw that the Blokes were too tired to clean up and needed a rest.
So God created Sheilas - to clean the house, to bear children, to wash, To cook and to clean the Barbie, and then God saw that it was not just good.

It was better than that, it was Bloody Awesome!



IT WAS AUSTRALIA !!!!!

Scatterday N

Nursing Mothers Association of Argentina has recently announced that frequent breastfeeding  of JAUNDICE NEONATALS is an excellent way to assist the early term baby's body to clear unwanted wastes which cause the yellowing or orange colouring of the skin. 

Frequent NURSING will also minimise or relieve blocked nipple pores. 

Although the NEONATAL'S SUCKING of the NIPPLE is rather painful for the nursing mother the process assists in elimination of the nipple blockages.

 

The latest newsletter reports that it is important to nurse at least every two hours and empty the breasts 

thoroughly (Ouch! This does not bring back pleasant memories).

There has been a move to increase the level of education in nutrition programs for NICARAGUAN NURSING MOTHERS in  South America in a bid to increase breastfeeding and so improve the health of NEWBORNS and children under the age of two.

P.S.  Anyone else choose navel for their orange thing? Pity I couldn't find one with an orange peg :-(

Through the Window

Personally I wanted to call this quilt Dusting Crumbs but Paul thought it detracted from the design.  I thought it was a most appropriate title since the first few blocks started out with crumbs but as I progressed the pieces I used were even smaller, rather than larger, and so to me suggested crumbs.  Not a bad result from using up leftover leftovers!

Will post picture when I get a chance

Kangaroo Island Fires

Richard has been asked to submit his videos and photos from the Kangaroo Islands to CFS for possible inclusion in a training video. 

Anyone interested in seeing some of his videos check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejOSxLGNLVk&feature=user for  the fire or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpBU1v1GWJ8&feature=user for clips on the devastation

I will upload this later if I can work out how!

Pretty scarey if you ask me. It is lucky there are some people who get their adrenaline rush through stopping the fires rather than simply starting them.

50 years of images in 3 minutes

For those who like Billy Joel or not this is great!!

Someone went to a lot of trouble to put this video together.
It is well worth the time for a couple minutes of enjoyment. It takes a few seconds or so to load but very entertaining. Turn up volume, sit back and enjoy a review of 50 years of history in less than 3 minutes!

Thanks to Billy Joel and someone from the University of Chicago with too much time on Google!

Just paste the link below into the address line. When the song starts it helps to click on Lyrics in the lower right. Use the full screen option on the upper left if the images are too big or too small.

http://yeli.us/Flash/Fire.html

212 Brag

Well I had a huge day of organising and designing for my mini hexagon quilts and when I did a count discovered that I have 212 different designs.  Not bad what you can fit into a 2.25in hexagon ... and they are all pieced!  

ETA probably Xmas 2009 .... hey I am even giving it a year, usually only give the date but not the year so I have some flexibility.

This one is called Round Two ...  don't ask me why.  It just seemed an appropriate name.

No Scatterday for X or Z

Lament of the Omitted Ones.

Rejected Xmas, excitement and xylophones

Replaced by mass (who needs more of this?), citations and lo phones (think call centres - how much lower can you go?)

Rejected zabaglione, zany zed and Zaire

Replaced by 'a bag lion', any ed (perhaps the talking horse will suffice) and air

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Without zeros there would have been no development of higher mathematics .... and without that there would be no internet ... no computers.  

Yes I agree that many of you prefer Eros, the god of love to zeros the god of mathematics but that is another arguement and irrelevant at the present time.  

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For thousands of years the scholars have changed and refined our lexicon (word bank). Even in 1700BC when we were birthed in the Mediterranean  there were only 24 of us.  Yet we were seen as an essential component of that original alphabet.  We were needed.  Uneducated traders created all of us as equals.

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But now we are rejected, deemed unworthy and unwanted ... no day in the sun for us... no scatterday.  We retreat defeated to a world without excellence ......  without a zephir of breeze to cool you on a hot summer night .... without zest.

.

Signed

The Outcasts ..... X and Z 

Scatterday U

FOR SALE

Unique once in a lifetime opportunity not to be missed.

Unusual offer.

 Uranium powered underwater umiak(water vehicle). 

First submarine to be driven under the North Pole.

Only one owner and she used it only on Sundays.

USS NAUTILUS 

Sea worthy and needs only modest refit to again reign

 supreme below our oceans

Presently docked in UNDER RIVER RD, URALBA via Lismore.

Must sell before floodwaters recede.

Going Cheap! Massive Reduction! Only $500, 000

Contact UNCLE SCROOGE at http://www.maritimesales.com for further details

FAB day

Well it was definitely a FABulous day.  Three FAB birthdays and two of them special ones, Chris hit the 55 while little old me has finally made it to the 5s ..... 50 and Ravishing Rhonda celebrated her 51st.  I always thought 50 sounded old but not so once it actually comes here.  In truth I'm not 50 for another month but this was the closest date for our celebration. 

Here we are all about to toast the birthdays ... do you notice Chris sitting there totally oblivious to the sheet hanging in the background ...  that was her quilt.  It was definitely a Chris quilt ... well she had bought the pattern and after I borrowed it I'd had to spend the past few months lying to her saying I had returned it whenever she asked for it.  Just in case she had become conscientious and wanted to start it herself!

 

As I had already received a FAB quilt previously from the group I received a gorgeous Pandora thimble bead for my bracelet ... that pretty well fills the bracelet now what will people do for my birthday!

Turmoil plus

Today I finished two more of my hexagons.  The yellow one suggested an exploding volcano and so is named 'Turmoil'.

The soft green among the whisps of pink suggested a 'Field of Heather'.  

I really do need to get a life.  

Pay It Forward

The season for giving has just passed but fit can continue throughout the year.  The Pay it Forward exchange is a way to pass on some joy at an unexpected time to someone.  I just had to join the fun .... "I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange.  I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within the next six months, that is my promise!  The only thing you have to do in return is "Pay It Forward" by making the same promise on your blog."

Please leave an email or blog address so I can contact you about a snail addy.  

Interesting Discovery

I just discovered that if I click on the photos of my mini hexagon blocks the bigger image which comes up is almost twice as tall as the original block.  If I hadn't been such a scrooge when I started this quilt I could have made the blocks bigger but I suppose the limitation was the fact that my sample was made from leftovers from another miniature scrap quilt and so they were only tiny.  Some day I will make a quilt which isn't primarily composed of scraps .... I do have fabric.

This block is called Bit Thin and was finished about a fortnight ago.  I'm not overly fussed on the colours and so will probably redo it also.  At this rate I will have enough reject blocks to make an entire quilt!

Starburst

Well I have finished another of my mini hexagons.  This one I have decided looks just like a star exploding and so the name.

I am really enjoying this quilt. Now to start another block.  I suppose I will soon need to cut some more as I think I only have about twenty other blocks cut.

I will try to upload some more of the finished blocks onto my WIPs page soon for anyone who want to check out the others.

Scatterday E

The essential elements for this extravagant event extended even the most earnest of entrants. Even so for every essential entry an environment was established and eventually exposed. 

What better example of our exotic flora than this EMBRYONIC  EGGPLANT?  This plant is often enough ignored by the enterprising emporium gardner who elect  the everyday aubergine or purple European Eggplant as the edible entree of choice.

.

A recent terrifying experience eventuated when my son's bedroom was invaded by an ENIGMATIC ENFANT TERRIBLE. Using what had appeared to be an exemplary sock and some everyday threads this terror was engineered, endowed to him and has now become entrenched within.  The fear that it struck throughout the household needed to have been experienced to be believed.

The festive era has just ended and in this erected edifice as in many others EXTRAVAGANT  WHITE  ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT EQUIPMENT was exchanged for an promised elevation of etiquette in everyday ethics.

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Where would one be without a thesaurus???

 

Take It Further Challenge

Have finally worked out what to do for this challenge.  Well I have worked out what to do for the background.  My mother in law was a wonderful lady who had an enormous influence on all of my family.  Although she only attended school for a couple of years she enjoyed writing and wrote many profound things in her life.  One of these was a poem "Because You Are My Friend" which my family have kept and treasured.  

I thought that I would print this poem out and then copy it onto the background fabric.  To fill the background fabric I will repeat each line until it totally fills the line but use a different font for the central version of it.  This way at a quick glance one will see lots of writing but then on second look they will see in the central section the poem.  

I am unsure whether I will add a photo of her or what I will do from there.

If you are interested check out the link on the RHS.

Successful Day

Richard phoned home last night.  He has gone with his flatmate to visit his parents in Ballina for the weekend.  I think this was due to the fact that Lismore is under water and they were unable to go home.  They are hoping to be able to return home after work on Monday.  He is really pleased with all of this and especially since he has been able to join a local surf patrol and will have done a patrol today.  Hopefully they didn't get into the water.  This is looking like quite an exciting work experience!

Busy day.  Finished all of my ATCs - labels and all!!! This set is called "FABulous 2008" and is a selection from the various sets that I made.  

It's funny that when I look at them in their separate sets I have definite favourites but when grouped together here there is no favourite.  Each one was selected for a particular friend as to me they reflected something in that friend.  Pity the picture is in sideways.... might fix it someday.  

 

It was a great opportunity to try my hand at embroidery in the crazy patchwork.  Although I loved doing it, I didn't relax and so probably won't do any more.  A little bit of beading and couching was again fun but probably won't be done  again. Strip piecing I must say was the most relaxing but to others it probably looks too plain. Might try another set at some stage but right now I have had enough of machine work.

I also finished another block in my mini hexagon but I'm not sure that I will be able to use it in the quilt as the colours look nothing like I thought they would when I cut them out.  Definitely too bright.  

Might add another border around it and use it as the centre for my Roosting Robin.  Will try that out tomorrow better than throwing it out or worse still staring another project just to use it up.  Mind you it was a delightful block to make so I will have to cut another one in better colours.

Take a Stitch

Will have to get into this challenge soon. Thankfully the challenge proper has finished and so I don't have to keep up with anyone but I would like to do one new stitch a week.
I think I will try out stitch one, Herringbone, on one of the ATCs which I am making for the Cheer Me Up swap .... two challenges with only one product.... way to go!

Roosting Robin

I have for a time now been thinking of making a round robin quilt but for various reasons never signed up. Well Rosemary Small has offered a new version of the round robin. The quilt doesn't actually do the rounds. It stays put ... as in it roosts at your own place.
The size and theme are personal choices and the quilt will simply need to follow Rosemary's guidelines / rules for the month.
Each month Rosemary will post the next round requirement and everyone has a month to add that to their quilt. A blog has been started so that people can keep track of what others are doing and also talk if they get stuck or need ideas. Should be fun.
I think I had better slow down on the number of things I am signing up for!

Take It Further Challenge

 Ok January is here and the challenge begins   ".............. who do you look up to and admire? Why? What is it you admire about them? ............. Take the idea, develop it into a resolved design ........... apply it to fiber."

OR option 2- colour scheme as below

Or ...... work with both.

Full details of the challenge can be found by checking out http:/sharonb.wordpress.com/ or clicking on the TIFC link on the side.

Hmmm ..... interesting.  Who do I look up to?  

Do I want someone famous who has set out to save the world or do I want someone who has challenged themselves and even if they haven't met the challenge fully they have developed from it.  Second option is more of the kind I'm interested in.

So now I look to people I know.... looks like there will be little opportunity for name dropping here :-(

What kind of challenge? Will think about this further but I think it needs to be such that others can benefit from the challenge rather than just an "I won" situation.

2008 is here!

Yes it is now 2008.  As per other years my desire to remain awake, or alternately wake up at midnight, and watch the fireworks did not eventuate.  By the number of empty firework wrappers and containers in the park I assume there was a beaut display for all who managed it.  As there had been less children in the caravan park throughout the last week it didn't surprise me that there were no 'human hour' fireworks display.  Such is life!

So what has the day been like?  Well Richard was finally forced to learn how to iron.  He is departing for Lismore tomorrow and as he only has three work shirts he could finally see the necessity..... mind you he said he would prefer to find an illegal immigrant and hire him/her at ridiculously low wages.  that boy watches too many American TV shows.

I sewed a few more seams on my charm square hexagon and am now trying out some embellishment for my first batch of ATCs ... so far dismal flops .... can only improve.

Diet has gone out the window as there was a bottle of cream in the fridge so a desert had to be made.  This led to three egg whites being left over, which in turn led to a pavlova being made and another bottle of cream being bought.  When that is gone there will be no more.  I bought a fantastic pair of stripy trousers on Boxing Day and can no longer fit into them!

Paul had intended to do some cleaning but came to his senses and so apart from forcing me to go with him out for a four km powerwalk and then a three km beach walk he has been resting.

So there is the start to our new year .... quiet and relaxing.

Previous Scatterday categories

O - library, sweet, Hawaiian
H - Colour, Games, Pointy things
S - Fruit, Itchy, Gold
I - Yellow, Australian, In the air
Z - no set categories
N - Orange, South American, good for you but disliked
U - Street, Cartoon, Expensive
E - White, Plant, Terrifying
V - Car, Office, Kitchen
Y - Green, School, animal