A Day at the Races

Yesterday, for something completely different, we played 'dress up' and went to the races!  To Royal Randwick for the Emirates Doncaster Day, no less.

And not just as some of the crowd, either.  My son's girlfriend works for another airline and was able to secure four tickets and took her mum, my daughter and myself as guests in the Emirates Marquee, where we rubbed shoulders with celebrities from the world of sport and entertainment.  We got to drink a seemingly endless supply of Moet champagne and nibbled canapes and such whilst trying hard not to stare open-mouthed at the parade of fashionistas around us.

The two girls almost instantly turned into fiendish celebrity stalkers and proceeded to have their photos taken with everyone they thought was half famous!

There were Rugby League teams,

and famous ex-cricketers,

and gorgeous heptathletes,

and ex-netballers and current newsreaders,

and 'Packed to the Rafters' stars,

and 'Ready, Steady, Cook'-ers!

What horse won the big race?  Who knows!!  All we know is that after it was all over, we climbed back on the bus and made our way home again to our much less glamourous existence, where we wear clothes, not fashion, and where our faces are used to smile out of, not make us our daily bread.

That said, the champagne was lovely!

Monday again! Again!

We have house guests.  An old friend of Mike has recently sold his business in Queensland and he and his wife packed up their stuff, hitched the caravan to the car and set off on a grey nomad trip.  Not that they are particularly grey.

They arrived here on Friday and have now travelled up to Little Hartley in the Blue Mountains to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.  And left their 2 little dogs here for a couple of days.  Welcome to Kurrajong Doggie Day Care!

This is Chloe, a sweet, quiet, TINY girl, 7 years old, cross Papillon/mini Fox Terrier.

I think she is missing her human mummy quite a lot.

This is Buddy.

He is a 3 year old Jack Russell/mini Fox Terrier cross.  He has total ADHD.  He is a tightly wound spring on 4 legs.

How come I'm outside?!

This morning, I took all my doggie companions down to the olive trees and picked the olives from one of the trees.  Well, some of the olives from one of the trees.  I left the ones up high and the ones that didn't look real choice.  Even so, I got a jug full -

which are now packed in sea salt, according to the recipe of the Italian mother of a neighbour of ours.

They have to stay in the salt for about a week, then you soak them in water for about a week, presumably to get the salt out!  I can't wait to try them.

In the meantime, the other 3 olive trees still have their olives on them.  They must be a different variety, because their olives are all still green.  I could be picking olives for some time yet!

Bye quilts

Today, I took to the post office two quilts, neatly folded, which were stuffed into a postage bag and posted to a far away destination.  They are gone!

I wish I could say I am happy with how they turned out.  I am however very happy that they are finished.

We bought this dining table on eBay.  It is made from recycled floor boards.  How convenient that there is a large hole in the timber where I was sitting, stitching the binding.  I always knew where my scissors were!

This is my Auntie.  She is the last surviving sibling of my dear old dad.  She still lives in the house she moved into on the occasion of her marriage to my uncle.

My auntie is now approaching 98.  She has been married over 70 years.  She broke her shoulder late last year, falling off a ladder while sweeping down cobwebs!  I do so hope that the quilts keep their feet warm through the upcoming winter.  They may not have been made with great accuracy, but they were made with love.

No news is no news

And on and on I stitch.  I have finished the quilting on the second quilt and am now hand sewing the binding around the edge.  It's like never-ending!  My fingers are like minced meat due to my being completely disabled when it comes to sewing with a thimble on.  It never seems to be on the right finger at the right time.

I have taken time to plant some bulbs I received in the mail from Vogelvry Bulbs in Tasmania.  Near the front steps, I've planted a little patch of Galanthus elwesii, the original Snowdrop as distinct from the Snowflake which I also love.  I admit to confusing the two names often.

I also planted a patch of daffodil Avalon.  Love daffodils!

Otherwise, I have no news!

Monday again

The first of the quilts is finished!


When I first concocted the idea of making this pair of matching quilts, I thought to myself 'I'll make a pair of matching quilts, nothing complicated, just something quick'.  What is that sound I can hear?  Why, it's the sound of quilters the world over, laughing like drains.  The moment you think they're going to be uncomplicated and quick, they turn into the absolute opposite.  And I'm going to get in first and admit that I have been less than careful and accurate and that I have committed great quilting transgressions with this first one - including trying to quilt it with the backing fabric only minutely larger than the quilt top, and ending up with one corner where the backing didn't reach the edge of the border and was therefore fudged with an extra bit of backing.  Dreadful!

We have a new resident at the Kurrajong garden!

His name is Merlin - now Merlin the Great or Merlin McTavish or Merlin McDougall.  He is 9 years old and a purebred Cairn Terrier.  He was rescued from the pound 2 years ago and rehomed with a lady who neglected him badly - despite being a house dog, he's been locked outside for the last 2 years and when she surrendered him back to the rescue organisation, he was matted and flea ridden and with 'dry eye' which hadn't been treated for 2 years.  So he's been in a foster house for the last month, learning how to live inside again.  We saw him on the rescue website on Friday evening, rang them up and he was ours by lunchtime Saturday.

He is an absolute sweetheart, calm as can be, doesn't bark, LOVES his food and is getting on nicely with our Daisy and Ewan McGregor.


Welcome to our garden, Merlin!  We love you already.

What's in the garden today

Well, not me unfortunately.

No, not quite true - I did spend a couple of hours this morning spraying toxic poison on the weeds!  Sometimes, pulling them out just doesn't work.  And obviously bad things happen in our shed because the spray bottle that I use wouldn't work either.  It was working fine when I put it away last time, now it won't hold the pressure when you pump the thingy on the top.  So I had to spray and pump at the same time.

Aumann clematis on the archway.  Nice.

Jean Galbraith, complete with dead heads and black spot.  Hmmm.

ENORMOUS caterpillars on the gardenia.  They've nearly eaten every leaf.  Crikey!

I used to think this was Angel Face.  Now I'm wondering if it is Blueberry Hill.  Lovely.

Abraham Darby.  How many petals!  More than lovely.

The rest of the day, I have spent inside.  First I shampooed two stinky doggies and then I've continued quilting the first of the quilts.  It is taking me forever.  Sigh.

Red Cow Farm

Yesterday was a good day for a Sunday drive, being Sunday, and I can think of no better place to drive to than to a garden!  And one I have not visited and always wanted to see is Red Cow Farm at Sutton Forest in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.

So after a two hour drive, with a minor detour via McDonalds, we arrived at the front gate of the sweet little historic cottage, surrounded by 6 acres of garden.  And Mike and I spent the next hour and a half wandering up and down and round and round, totally entranced by the sheer quantity and variety of plants and the vision gone into the planning.  Well, I was entranced, Mike was more enjoying our walking companions, a pair of Border Collies who led us dutifully up each pathway, waiting not so patiently for us when we paused to look at things.

This is the Curved Pergola.  And I want one.

Here is Apollo Walk, looking from the Curved Pergola.

Through a doorway from the Walk, was the Abbess's Garden.  Look at the clipped box hedges!

Another look at the Abbess's Garden.  The nepeta was covered in bees.  I had some growing in my previous garden, but haven't planted any here, I love it's soft, billowy growth out over the path.

There is a huge lake in the middle of the garden, with grassy walks like this through the trees towards it.  You can see our garden guides up ahead!

Here's the lake, with one of our guides emerging from a quick dip!  I snapped the photo and then scampered to avoid the inevitable dog-shake shower.

After the more informal sections of the garden around the lake, we came to the Monastery Garden.  More clipped box edges and lovely cottage-y plantings.

We then back-tracked back around the lake again and walked up towards the house through the Beech Walk.  It made me giggle at my feeble attempts at clipping hedges.

On the southern side of the cottage is the walled garden.  More nepeta and roses and aquilegias.  And Mike disappearing up the path, pretending he can't hear me saying I want one of these too!

The walled garden again.

The cottage was purchased in 1990, sitting in essentially a bare paddock.  After a two year period of house renovation, the garden was started in 1992.  I'm in awe of the guys who made the garden and their vision in it's design.  I've wanted to visit this garden since reading Susan Irvine's chapter about it in 'Rose Gardens of Australia'.  It was certainly full of lovely gardening inspiration.