~Floriade~

Floriade has come and gone for another year here in Australia

Floriade is Australia’s biggest celebration of spring. This iconic Canberra event, which is now in its 26th year, runs for 30 days over the months of September and October.

The tulips are the attraction here for most people

but when going with JoJo it is the Australia Fair Street Organ and it's Boss.......Rick!

“Australia Fair” is a Belgium built travelling Concert Organ. It was built in the workshops of Verbeeck’s Organ Works (Est 1884) in Antwerp and is the only travelling Concert Organ in Australia. It has entertained at all levels from local functions to “Yarralumla” – the residence of the Governor General of Australia.

The organ has the equivalent sound of a 20-piece band and operates on air pressure generated by a bellows and regulated by a reservoir. 

Jo's Hero Rick

Some of the 'books' played

After Rick comes the Ferris Wheel

above is a pic from the Ferris Wheel in action

All the while we meander through luscious beds of Tulips.....

Amongst them was this sign......there must've been a competition or something on

I had never heard of remote control candles before until Anita from Castles Crowns and Cottages told me about them so I had to have them!

They change colours too with the flick of the remote!!!

After we were finished there.........and had gone back to Rick 3 times we headed off back into the Canberra Centre shops and saw these beautiful models only I likened them to Faeries!

A great day out and always lovely to catch up with Rick again and watch JoJo's absolute joy with him and the Australia Fair Organ and the Ferris Wheel!

~Aloha......it's Carer's Week 2013......A Special Verse for Carers~

Last week it was Carer's Week and our local Council organized a special little lunchtime getaway for Carer's in the Shire......

Above are the steps to a property out-of-town Moruya called Cattinya

The property sits on about 32 acres and is an Eco Property

It sleeps approximately 32 people.......4 to a room and was built as an Education Centre

One of the girls was thinking what a fabulous place for a girly weekend

A bit or organization would be involved here as we are all caring for somebody

By the front steps

Verandah

And upon entering we were each presented with a lei

a little goody bag

and a Mocktail!!!

Part of the open area inside

One of the Hostesses Shaneane at the 'Bar'

I loved this green crepe paper cut into strips

Part of the lunch......Frittata......made by Gundary Store

View from one of the bedrooms

A seating area outside

And I had to take a selfie into this fabulous mirror!!!

Thanks so much to the Organizers........we all had a great time for a few hours!!!

Caring is a hard job......there are no sick days if you are sick.......no holiday

Hard if you have no family around

Caring is ongoing

This verse below written by a Mother beautifully describes our very own piece of Holland......

especially the last 2 verses

'Welcome to Holland' 

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this ...

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Colosseum, Michelangelo's David - the gondolas of Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, 'Welcome to Holland'.

'Holland'? You say. 'What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy'.

But there has been a change in the flight plan. They have landed in Holland, and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, filthy place, full of famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they are all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, 'Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That is what I had planned'.

The pain of that will never go away, because the loss of a dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

Written by Emily Perl Kingsley......Mother of a Child with a Disability

No matter how many times I read this it still gets me every time and makes me all teary

I hope all Carers were treated out by somebody and were spoilt for a few hours......coffee......even a meal.......perhaps some respite while you had a massage, pedicure etc!!!

Hugs, Dzintra xo

~Fun in the School Holidays~

School holidays have been and gone and I've just had my 2 little grandies here for a few days

Lots of fun drawing in the sand

Above is a drawing of a cat by Lidija

Ryan drew a Thomas train and lay down in it

Lidija drew a house and lay in that!!!

Fun, fun, fun

I took them to The Olive Tree for lunch with another Carer

Little 'Meow Meow' came 'round the corner......

Ice cream after seeing Smurfs 2

You would swear that Lidija had seen nothing more beautiful when she saw this Camelia in the garden

Lidija told me that she was Chief Pasta Tester

I gave her some to test and this is her reaction
Thumbs Up LOL

And Mum came to pick them up after a few days and they were all over her!!!

Thanks for a lovely few days Ryan and Lidija

We always enjoy having you......Nana......xoxoxoxo

~Congratulations Castles, Crowns and Cottages~

Congratulations Anita on winning my 5 year blogaversary giveaway patterns

I drew the winner tonight on random generator and the lucky number went to you

If you send me your address I will pop them in the mail for you

Thank you to everyone for popping in to celebrate with me....

Now it's on to the next 5 years

Happy Week everybody

Love Dzintra xo

~OPAM September 2013......A Gardener's Journal FINISHED~

Hi Everyone

Introducing my OPAM (One Project A Month) for this month

doing a great big Happy Dance wooo hoooo

my Gardener's Journal quilt is finally finished

and I am soooo happy with it!!!

I remember a few months into starting this quilt I broke my arm which just put me back several months in everything and at one stage wondered if I would ever get it done!!! 

 I'll never take the use of 2 arms for granted again....

Thank you so much Chooky and Peg who are the inspiration for doing this Quilt in Stitch-a-long

and also thank you to all the fellow stitchers out there for all the support and encouragement along the way in getting this quilt finally completed....

I have thoroughly enjoyed doing my Gardener's Journal and I will bring it up to Nundle next year to show it off.....

And thank you Peg and Kris for hosting OPAM
I love that most months I can get a project complete no matter how small

Till then.....Happy Stitching

'bye, Dzintra xoxo

And this is how it all started off
A Gardener's Journal pattern by Anni Downes of Hatched and Patched