A busy day today, had boot camp this morning, always a struggle at 8am on Saturday, but leaves you feeling marvellous afterwards! Then it was off to a morning high-tea for a very dear friend/work colleague who turned 70 today! Yes, 70 and she still works full time, she tap dances, an amazing person. But I have an awful feeling the high tea won't help the weight loss :)
Now I am home looking at my pile of ironing which doesn't seem to want to go anywhere :(
Then I have to make a pavlova to take to my sister's house tomorrow, as we are going there for lunch, and then I think I will crash. Well, I am not going to cook tonight, the hungry hordes can sort themselves out, there are plenty of leftovers in the fridge. We are going to have a dvd night tonight, I think the very first original Star Trek movie will be showing! Trouble is hubby likes to watch movies in the dark, which means the knitting will be staying asleep in it's bag all day (unless I feel a food attack coming on, which means knitting will replace ironing he he) Still, there's always tomorrow.
Happy knitting....
Friday, October 18, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Kalgoorlie part 2
OK, so the last day in Kalgoorlie we wandered around, had a leisurely breakfast, and we did a tour to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which has a base in Kalgoorlie, really interesting, they do an amazing job servicing remote outback areas.
We also learnt that former American president Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer in and around Kalgoorlie, before his presidential days. He lived there for some time, and one of the restaurants in one of the hotels is named after him, the Hoover Bar !! He loved the people at this hotel so much, that when he returned to America, he commissioned this amazing mirror to be made and sent over, and it still has pride of place in the foyer of the hotel...
We had a truly amazing time, and would like to go back and explore more.
Now it's back to the real world, back at work, but only 7 more weeks and that will be school finished for the summer holidays.
Meanwhile, my eating plan has been slipping a bit. However, I was really happy that when I weighed in last night, I hadn't put any weight on. Hadn't lost any either, but that's ok. I have really been slipping back into pig out mode lately, so I am now going to have my knitting handy, and when I am at home (where most of my pig outs happen), I will just sit for an hour and knit. It really does take my mind off food. The knitting diet is born !
My latest work in progress is a lovely little vintage sweater:
I asked my daughter to look through my vintage books to pick out a pattern, and this is what she picked, her reason being that if they were adult sizes, this is what she would like. I am knitting it in Paton's Dreamtime 3-ply baby wool, it is a lovely pale lemon colour, and is coming along really nicely, but I wonder if anyone else finds that when knitting from really old pattern books, some of the instructions are a little vague. I think so many people used to knit in those days, that a certain amount of knowledge was "assumed". Still, it is coming on well now, and am really enjoying it, and it will always remind me of my trip to Kalgoorlie, as I started it on the train.
Happy knitting....
And more wildflowers....
We also learnt that former American president Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer in and around Kalgoorlie, before his presidential days. He lived there for some time, and one of the restaurants in one of the hotels is named after him, the Hoover Bar !! He loved the people at this hotel so much, that when he returned to America, he commissioned this amazing mirror to be made and sent over, and it still has pride of place in the foyer of the hotel...
We had a truly amazing time, and would like to go back and explore more.
Now it's back to the real world, back at work, but only 7 more weeks and that will be school finished for the summer holidays.
Meanwhile, my eating plan has been slipping a bit. However, I was really happy that when I weighed in last night, I hadn't put any weight on. Hadn't lost any either, but that's ok. I have really been slipping back into pig out mode lately, so I am now going to have my knitting handy, and when I am at home (where most of my pig outs happen), I will just sit for an hour and knit. It really does take my mind off food. The knitting diet is born !
My latest work in progress is a lovely little vintage sweater:
I asked my daughter to look through my vintage books to pick out a pattern, and this is what she picked, her reason being that if they were adult sizes, this is what she would like. I am knitting it in Paton's Dreamtime 3-ply baby wool, it is a lovely pale lemon colour, and is coming along really nicely, but I wonder if anyone else finds that when knitting from really old pattern books, some of the instructions are a little vague. I think so many people used to knit in those days, that a certain amount of knowledge was "assumed". Still, it is coming on well now, and am really enjoying it, and it will always remind me of my trip to Kalgoorlie, as I started it on the train.
Happy knitting....
Trip to Kalgoorlie
Wow, that was a fantastic couple of days. I never realised how much history there was in Kalgoorlie!
The intrepid trio set off on the "Prospector', the train which runs between Perth and Kalgoorlie.
We arrived in Kalgoorlie at 2pm, and 36o heat !! It was hot !! Still, we checked into our hotel, then had a wander around the main street, including coffee and a late lunch. The next day we headed off on our big adventure to Menzies, an almost abandoned mine town, full of history ...
Then it was off on our adventure to Lake Ballard, first time I have EVER driven on a dirt road! Saw some beautiful wildflowers, and amazing great big lizards on the way, but they were too fast for me to get a shot of them!
Then, finally we arrived at Lake Ballard, where we wanted to see the "Inside Australia" exhibition, a series of sculptures by the artist Antony Gormley. This is an amazing thing to see, out the back of nowhere, very eerie!!! However, we were struck by a dust storm, which made it very unpleasant, so we only managed to see about 5 sculptures, and we had to fight the raging winds, grit, sand, dust, salt and goodness knows what else, to make an emergency dash back to the car. The photos don't really pick up the wind, but believe me, you could barely stand up straight!
The residents of Menzies were somehow scanned, and the sculptures were based on these scans. We met a lovely gentleman in Menzies, who proudly informed us he was No. 14!! Unfortunately, the conditions were too bad for us to find him !!
I have to rush off to hairdresser now, so will post some more later.
Happy knitting.....
The intrepid trio set off on the "Prospector', the train which runs between Perth and Kalgoorlie.
This is a seven hour train journey, so of course, the knitting had to come with me, it stopped me from buying cakes to eat !!
We arrived in Kalgoorlie at 2pm, and 36o heat !! It was hot !! Still, we checked into our hotel, then had a wander around the main street, including coffee and a late lunch. The next day we headed off on our big adventure to Menzies, an almost abandoned mine town, full of history ...
Then, finally we arrived at Lake Ballard, where we wanted to see the "Inside Australia" exhibition, a series of sculptures by the artist Antony Gormley. This is an amazing thing to see, out the back of nowhere, very eerie!!! However, we were struck by a dust storm, which made it very unpleasant, so we only managed to see about 5 sculptures, and we had to fight the raging winds, grit, sand, dust, salt and goodness knows what else, to make an emergency dash back to the car. The photos don't really pick up the wind, but believe me, you could barely stand up straight!
The residents of Menzies were somehow scanned, and the sculptures were based on these scans. We met a lovely gentleman in Menzies, who proudly informed us he was No. 14!! Unfortunately, the conditions were too bad for us to find him !!
I have to rush off to hairdresser now, so will post some more later.
Happy knitting.....
Monday, October 7, 2013
Another project finished
Well, it's been a while, but haven't been that well, first I had a dreadful cold, then did something to the muscles in my neck and was in a bit of pain for a week, and couldn't even knit, which was just dreadful.
However, all is good now, and my latest project is finally finished:
I am so happy with it, I had a few hiccups, I have never done "bobbles" before, and had a little bit of unpicking to do at the start, but once I got the hang of it, there was no stopping me. I just love these teddy bear buttons that I managed to find. It is hard to find really nice novelty buttons around here, so I might have to do some investigating online next time.
Tomorrow I am heading off for a few days, to a place called Kalgoorlie, with my eldest daughter and my mother-in-law. It is a 7-hour train journey, so I will get my new knitting project all packed tonight to take on the train with me. It is a vintage, yes, really vintage, pattern from a Paton's knitting book, no publication date on it, but the price is in shillings, so it predates decimal currency, which I think came in in 1966. So it is an old one! Have some lovely 3-ply lemon baby wool to do it in. I just love starting a new project.
So, I am really looking forward to my trip to Kalgoorlie, it is an old mining town, and we are hiring a car to go and see this: http://www.menzies.wa.gov.au/tourism/things_to_see/lake_ballard.html
It is really in what we Aussies call "The outback", we will have to take lots of water and food with us, just in case we break down, and we will have to let our hotel staff know what time we expect to return! Bit scary, but very exciting. Not many people get out to see this amazing site.
Cheerio for now, will hopefully have some amazing photos to post when I get back.
Happy knitting...
However, all is good now, and my latest project is finally finished:
I am so happy with it, I had a few hiccups, I have never done "bobbles" before, and had a little bit of unpicking to do at the start, but once I got the hang of it, there was no stopping me. I just love these teddy bear buttons that I managed to find. It is hard to find really nice novelty buttons around here, so I might have to do some investigating online next time.
Tomorrow I am heading off for a few days, to a place called Kalgoorlie, with my eldest daughter and my mother-in-law. It is a 7-hour train journey, so I will get my new knitting project all packed tonight to take on the train with me. It is a vintage, yes, really vintage, pattern from a Paton's knitting book, no publication date on it, but the price is in shillings, so it predates decimal currency, which I think came in in 1966. So it is an old one! Have some lovely 3-ply lemon baby wool to do it in. I just love starting a new project.
So, I am really looking forward to my trip to Kalgoorlie, it is an old mining town, and we are hiring a car to go and see this: http://www.menzies.wa.gov.au/tourism/things_to_see/lake_ballard.html
It is really in what we Aussies call "The outback", we will have to take lots of water and food with us, just in case we break down, and we will have to let our hotel staff know what time we expect to return! Bit scary, but very exciting. Not many people get out to see this amazing site.
Cheerio for now, will hopefully have some amazing photos to post when I get back.
Happy knitting...
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