Initial Heart Swap...

Once again I have participated in this swap organised by Cheryll. I have had weeks and weeks to get my item made but here it is, last possible day for mailing today, and I've just got everything wrapped, ready to go.
My partner doesn't have many blog posts but I was able to ascertain that she has received mug rugs and pin cushions in former swaps...so I decided on something a bit different. I knew that I had some very cute fabric in my stash...but only about .3 of a metre...so I made a thread catcher from the Red Home book. As the person's initial had to be somewhere in/on the gift, I stitched this on 2 of the hearts...

The little basket was big enough to put in some other surprises...

Remember when I found these cute sewing kit tins at Fantazia?

I thought that one would be perfect for my sewing themed gift... I was also able to buy a smallish box of chocolates which would fit in the thread catcher...

A few weeks ago Fiona from the Shabby Shack had these little wooden spotted hearts as her daily special...so a packet was purchased in readiness for this swap...

All wrapped up now...

Ready to post off...to somewhere in Australia!

Monday...

If you are visiting for the Grow Your Own Blog Party, that post is here. 

Last Monday was a public holiday here and DH did not play his usual Monday game of golf...instead he and I went for a drive...one of DH's 'Mystery Drives'...only he knows where we are going! 

We first drove towards Ferny Grove, but instead of driving into Ferny Grove, DH went through the Upper Kedron area. We drove along through lovely country until we came to Camp Mountain. At Camp Mountain we had a little stop at the memorial on McLean Rd South. This memorial marks the site of a rather bad railway accident in May 1947 in which 16 lives were lost and 38 were injured. (Another blogger has written about this incident here.) Nowadays the railway line only goes to Ferny Grove but prior to 1955, the line continued through to the farming communities of Camp Mountain, Samford and eventually terminated at Dayboro. There are a number of images of the crash here. I worked with a man whose father worked at the wharves and the family was meant to be going on the train that day for the picnic...for whatever reason the family were not able to go...how lucky was that?

Here are my photos of the memorial...

 The road follows the old railway line and it was on this curve that the train got out of control and left the tracks...

So now, back to our Mystery Drive... we headed into Samford Village and continued driving through such communities as Yugar, Closeburn, Mt Samson, Samsonvale, Kobble Creek and then we reached the destination that DH had planned as a lunch stop...Dayboro! 

This is a lovely little town and very popular with day-trippers. First of all we had lunch...

The 'Dayboro Deli', our lunch stop...

 Oh my goodness...who ordered those potato wedges as an accompaniment to our delicious chicken, pumpkin and pesto paninis...it was DH but I helped him demolish eat them. 

Then it was time to walk around the town...

Dayboro's early history revolves around dairying and this old milk can was near the footpath in the main street.

 The old buildings remain and businesses are run from these beautifully preserved buildings...

 The post office has a residence attached to it...

Some bike riders rode through as we walked along...

This sweet little cottage sold arts and crafts and was also the tourist information center for the region...

DH and I then walked back to the car and headed towards the town of Petrie...but DH turned off at Youngs Crossing Road before we reached the Petrie township...

Youngs Crossing is on the left in the next photo and it is on the North Pine River. I have fond memories of going there as a young child; it was a very popular 'swimming hole' in those days.

Our drive then took us through the suburb of Warner...then  through to Brendale, Eatons Hill, Albany Creek and eventually back home!

Warner shopping centre...

Map shows some of the area we covered.

It had been a lovely drive through some beautiful country. 

'Forgive me my trespassing...'

From May 2013 I regularly did updates on the building work next door to our home, where one 50's style house is being replaced by 6 terrace houses and 1 detached house...7 on one block, yikes!

My neighbour Judy took photos of the demolition while we were away in New Zealand...

Within a month, trenches were dug, pipes laid, the footings were made ready and the  floors of the new houses were poured and the walls were started...

The walls of the house grew higher and higher...most of the houses were 3 levels, but some were 2 levels...

By the end of November the site looked like this...

Now the trespassing bit...one Friday, a week before Christmas the tradesmen left a sliding door open at the back of the house which is built at the back of the property.

Tradies working near our side fence...

The detached house at the back of the terrace houses; this house lies adjacent to our backyard...the sliding door that I mentioned is at the back of the garage which is on the right of the photo...

On the Sunday I became rather bold and took my camera and slipped through the temporary fencing...

And I then sneaked into the house via the open courtyard door...well it will be a courtyard one day! lol

The garage...note the roller door at the front of the garage isn't closed completely either...

Looking from the door into the house from the garage

The kitchen was being installed...

Another room at the front of the house on the lower level...

 The rather narrow stair case leading to the second level...which I didn't explore...

 Back outside, this is the backdoor of one of the terrace houses; you can see through to the street in front of our houses...

I'm now taking photos from our front yard, showing the terrace houses and the front door of the first one...these first 3 houses are 3 storeys high....

 So before Christmas, the front yards are still pretty rough...

The building site was idle for a few weeks after Christmas but mid January, the tradies started returning...tilers, kitchen/bathroom installers, plumbers, electricians etc have all been coming and going. The street has been full of utes like these!

I don't plan to do any more trespassing but I have continued to take photos of what is happening on the outsides of the buildings and will continue to write occasional posts until the building and landscaping are finished and people are moving in :-) .
Ooops! I forgot to announce the winner of the Fantazia Fabricland pack...the lucky person was Becky from Life for Us blog. Congratulations, Becky :-)

Grow Your Own Blog Party...

I signed up recently  for this feature over on Vicki's blog '2 Bags Full' and January 25 is already here!

The idea is that the participants write a post in which each introduces his/herself. Vicki has a linky on her blog to enable people to visit these blog posts. Over 500 people signed up this year so perhaps most people will only visit a few blogs! lol

So here goes...

My name is Maria and I live in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I am a retired teacher and have adapted to the retirement lifestyle very well! I have a DH , 2 daughters and 3 stepdaughters; the girls range in age from 33 down to 28.

A family Christmas get together with our extended family...

My favourite colour is purple...

I love old embroidered linens, pretty china and hydrangeas...

I started blogging in November 2010 mainly because I found inspiration in Rhonda Hetzell's Down to Earth blog after I read an article she wrote in one of the lifestyle magazines, and thought, 'I could try this'. From Rhonda's blog I started to visit the blogs of people who left comments on her blog...I would comment on their blogs and many visited my blog and even became followers. And I still do that...visit...comment and so often find really interesting people. I've learned so much from reading other people's blogs, free craft pattern sites especially! And I've made friends...some of whom I have gone on to meet in person!

Meeting up with fellow bloggers from SE Queensland...

My banner proclaims that the blog would chronicle my adventures as I moved into retirement, but I really had no clear goals about the direction of my blog.

So over the years I've written about the crafts that I enjoy and I 'show off' photos of things that I've made.

Knitting, patchwork piecing and stitching...

Knitting dishcloths/washers

I love working with mohair yarns...

I love hexagons and have been stitching projects with them since the 1970s...

A little bit of crocheting there too!

I've blogged about the groups that I belong to, especially the charity group, 'Knitting for Brisbane's Needy' and Sisters of Stitch, (not a charity but a group which 'feeds' my love of crafts).

With my friend Cheryl at Sisters of Stitch...

I still meet regularly with my former work colleagues...

I've talked about my family and friends in blog posts; I've also talked about the downright mundane ordinary things that are part of my life...such as putting IKEA furniture together! lol

And I even wrote posts about a stay in hospital!

Other posts have focussed on my gardening exploits and my 'battles' with the wildlife for the privilege of eating what I grow! lol

A number of people have commented or emailed me to say they really enjoy my 'looking back' posts when I talk about my life growing up and moving through the various decades to my lofty spot now in my early 60s.

Aged 10

Aged 19

Occasionally, I write posts  about my teaching career...especially my predilection for 'dressing up! Some funny ones there!

The main photo is in my Year 7 classroom...the school principal has taken over from me at the blackboard so a newspaper photographer can get a photo. We are dressed up for the school's 75th Anniversary. I did not teach when those were the everyday fashions! lol

Being retired, DH and I travel a bit more than we used to and I like to blog about these holiday adventures...

I also like to write posts about my own city...

The Brisbane River near Kingsford Smith Drive...

The Performing Arts Centre

Since retirement I have more time for reading, and occasionally I review a book I've recently read...

So there you have it; the very eclectic 'The Next Stage' Blog...