A Celebration of a Life well lived...

Last Friday night, a friend's husband suffered a sudden heart attack and did not awake. What a shock for everyone. Today I attended a 'Celebration of Life' service at the Enoggera army Base here in Brisbane. To be precise, the service was held at the Royal Australian Regiment National Memorial Walk at Gallipoli Barracks. Yes, Cedric was an ex serviceman and well respected in all quarters of the community. Today those army buddies gave him a wonderful 'send off' and the eulogy had a number of 'stories' about  his army days. The army chaplain spoke so eloquently...

Part of the Memorial walk...

I met my friend Theresa when I started working at my last school in 2004. It wasn't long before I found out that both Theresa and her husband were good friends of DH's older brother and his wife. He was one of those people who you could describe as being 'larger than life, a glass half full person' and someone who lived life to the full. Since retiring, both had travelled extensively both overseas and here in Australia. But in the case of such a sudden and unexpected death...people are robbed of the opportunity 'to say goodbye'. My friend was very distressed and my heart ached as I heard her loud sobs...

Ivy and I went together; we were both a bit apprehensive about getting on the base...no ID required but car details were noted. Here we are at the Gaythorne RSL after the service

A former colleague and I went together and there were also 6 other staff/parents from the school community who attended. We saw our friend 'take strength' from the huge turnout of people coming to pay their respects. She will still have many dark days ahead but the love and support she got today and that which she will get from now on...will surely help.

All former colleagues/ school community members

 So many people came to the wake that the food platters were empty in no time...we did get a nice cuppa though :-)

 Just a small section of the crowd.

It was a shock to realise that Cedric was only 64...6 months older than my DH!

Assemble IKEA furniture...check!

Last Thursday, DH and I stopped off at the IKEA shop on the way home from the Gold Coast. We bought a small shelving unit and a kitchen trolley unit and of course they needed to be assembled.

On Tuesday morning this week, while I put the finishing touches to the bunting, DH quietly worked on putting things together. It wasn't long before he got the frame assembled...

This is what it looked like fully assembled...

 A hinged flap means that the top surface can be made larger when needed...

There are 3 shelves underneath; 2 wooden and one stainless steel...

The instructions included the directions for applying a protective oil to the lovely timber surface...

Now our kitchen is rather small...this photo taken by a local real estate company a few years ago, shows how narrow it is. The refrigerator and the wall oven don't actually fit in here, and neither will this new trolley. It will be kept beside the fridge on the other side of the 'walkway' which leads to the dining room. When needed it will be wheeled into place. It will also be handy when we entertain on our large veranda.

Then DH assembled the shelves...we have 3 other Expedit shelves, 2 with 16 sections, one with 8 and now this little one with 4. These shelves are to help 'tame' the laundry. :-)

You just never know where love is 'lurking'...

One of the local radio stations is running a competition to coincide with Valentine's Day. People are asked to send in 'how they met' stories. Once I entered a similar competition, telling the story of how Mr Next Stage and I met. The company running the competition liked my story so invited us to 'tell our story' on A Current Affair. We were also offered a chance to feature in a Valentine's Day feature in the Courier Mail. The short story is that we declined both offers; the reason being that you just never know how the 'story' will go and we had to consider our families and their reactions.

But you've probably guessed that that introduction was all about that I'm ready to share our story here on the blog. It is 11 years ago now, this very month.

I know many people who talk very disparagingly about others finding partners on the internet...some people get quite heated when discussing this subject...but that's how we met. It was not a dating site I must point out.
One day DD2 suggested I join a site called Schoolfriends.com.au. I was not really interested but had a bit of a look at the site and found some  classmates and some former students who had registered with the site. Suddenly I was very interested and sent messages to these people. I had a wonderful time catching up with all these people. A few weeks later, I even found an 'old boyfriend' from school days. We sent so many emails in just a short space of time and we organised for a phone call. Hah hah...nup! that wasn't ever going to work! lol

A little while later I saw a familiar name on the site...would he remember me? I was 2 years younger than him in a school of over 900 students...When I was in Grade 6, I thought he was pretty special. Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to send him a message to say hello. After all we went to the same school, I taught 2 of his daughters when I was on a contract to their school, my DD1 went to high school with 2 of his daughters and finally, his cousin had been my friend for nearly 30 years. So our paths had wound around close to each other for a while. He didn't remember me but wrote back filling me in on what his daughters were doing then. He also said that he was single again, like so many people . Romance was the fartherest thing from my mind...but when he found out that I loved theatre, we'd found a common bond. He asked me out...

This is us at our school's 100 years celebratory dinner. Our music teacher is sitting behind me.

He took me to a performance at the  Arts Theatre and we talked in the courtyard before the show and then at intermission. He was so easy to talk to and with. The next time we went out it was my 'shout'. I initiated that outing because I found as the weeks went on since the theatre outing, that he was starting to intrigue me. We went to Earth and Sea restaurant...we talked and talked...we had so much in common...then we noticed we were the only ones in the restaurant and that the staff had been putting the chairs up on the tables... (I must add that on a Sunday night this place is closed by 9.30 at the latest, so it wasn't that late! lol)

Not long after we met, I went along to a family celebration for the  DH's brother when he turned 55.  He's the one in the middle. This was the first time I'd met his family. My future SIL, Mary, in red, 'told me to run while I still had the chance'...I think she was joking! 

Yep! Something had happened that night... and the rest is history. This history included challenges caused by children and various insecurities...but we faced all that together. We met in the February and later in the year, my new special friend went to PNG for a tour of duty. I house sat for him, taking care of the pets, the house, day to day issues with children etc...and when he came home...DD2 and I stayed. I'm still here! lol

When the future DH came home from PNG, I arranged for a former colleague, Kevin, to take me out to the airport in his beautifully restored 1929 Buick and back home again of course...it was quite a surprise for the  DH!

 DH loved my nephews as much as I did...when possible, he would watch them play football.

 When I first met him, he would not miss golf on Sunday for anything...and I accepted that and just did what I wanted to do. But then, the odd Sunday he didn't play but instead joined in what I was doing either on my own or with the girls...
That's why one Sunday before he went to PNG, he went up to Warwick with DD2 and I for a baptism. DD2 was the godmother for her friend's baby.

 Yep! I reckoned he was (and is!) the one.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

It's finished!

Yep! I finally finished the bunting that I was making for my great niece Lucy's 3rd birthday. It was duly wrapped up and posted off this afternoon, so that it can be used on the actual day, which is Valentine's Day.
There are lots of tutorials on the internet for making bunting, but I used one found on Grace Designs' blog. I didn't put the letters 4.5 cm apart as the pattern suggested; I made them a little closer together and had about 10 cm between words.

 I used a remnant of cream coloured sheeting for the front of the flags, and I hand stitched on the letters...

This photo was taken the other day. By yesterday each letter was decorated with a novelty button...

I used this colourful fabric for the backing of each flag and also used it to cut the strips to sew each flag to...I bought the fabric about 11 years ago, so that's not too long in the stash...it was perfect for this project though :-)

Not the best way to display it! But you can get an idea of what the overall effect is.

I used the 2nd option suggested in the tute...I placed the flag and backing, wrong sides together, stitched  around the edges, about 7mm from the edge...then used the pinking shears.

I traced the letters from Creative Memories lettering stencils, but some look a bit outlandish to me. But they were a good starting point and when I use them again, I may adapt one or two.

I wrapped up the bunting, tied it up with some pretty ribbon and wired a beaded dragonfly on to the ribbon. Lucy's middle name is the German word for dragonfly...Libelle. Then I forgot to take a photo :-( Darn!!

Today I spent some time in our back yard with the camera...lurking near the back gate...
I was waiting for the opportunity to take a particular photo...so I took a few other photos while I waited...

Hmmm...the 'tropical' garden under the jacaranda is a bit overgrown...

The small leafed plant, a form of tradescantia, is a bit of a pest...it just takes over!  A number of years ago a friend gave me a plastic bag of it and said, 'This is a great groundcover!'. It's a pest!!!It has escaped into my neighbours' yards too. 

The sweet potatoes have really taken off since the rain from ex cyclone Oswald. The grasshoppers are enjoying the leaves too. 

The weeds are growing well since all that rain too!

 Now in the garden under the jacaranda is a statue that DH bought me one Christmas...the plants are starting to smother this sculpture...I pulled some of the plants back from it...That's funny I've never noticed those marks on the man's shoulder...looks like adhesive from a bandaid???

I had to pull the bromeliads back even more because this little darling couldn't be seen...

I love this sculpture...but I've let it get very grubby!! Must fix that up!

 Around the yard there are splashes of the prettiest blue...yep! another variety of tradescantia, which is classed as a weed!

 Here's a plant that grew from a cutting from my parents' garden...a form of plectranthus. My mum called it 'mixed herb' plant and used the leaves chopped up in stuffing and potato salad.

And this is another plant that came from my parents' garden...a fern.

But now I hear the sound I've been waiting for and rush to the back gate...

Just engine noise at the moment...

 Here it comes...

Late last week, the 'trucks started again'...driving up the back street and then 15 minutes or so later, they drive back again...all day a procession of trucks...

And that means that there is another new building site, a street away. It's going to be a big development because the trucks are taking away the dirt from the digging out for the underground carpark. So one house will be replaced by a units/townhouses' complex. We may get a few days quiet and then the cement trucks will start...I'm amazed how much cement these developments use...the trucks line up to take their turn pumping out the concrete.

Bye for now...see you next pick up! lol

Pretty soon, DH and I will be living next door to a building site. Months ago the surveyors were there and 2 weeks ago the young man presently renting the property said he had to be out by March 15. You can bet on it! I'll be taking photos of every step of the way! lol It's a shame I don't have a little grandson who could watch all the big equipment and trucks being used right next door!

Enjoying some crafting time...

I mentioned in a recent post that I was working away at a few projects. Unfortunately this has tended to mean, that in various locations in the house, there are little 'piles' here and there. I have had one finish...
The knee rug that I was working on for FNwF has now been completed. I used 24 of the donated white rectangles that were similar sized, added three rows of crocheted squares, using the same variegated yarn that I joined the rectangles with. Then I crocheted a number of rows around the edge using a lovely soft yarn in royal blue. So this will go to Knitting for Brisbane's Needy ready for distribution. I still have a number of the white rectangles left to join up into something useful, but I'm going to have to come up with a nifty way of making them all fit together, (and not look boring!!) lol

 Another project that I've been working on, involves cut out felt letters. I'm using the pure wool felt pieces that I bought from Winterwood last year. Winterwood is a family company based in Victoria (Australia) It is absolutely gorgeous felt to work with. I'm 'making do' with the 'Christmas colours' pack that I had; luckily there are a lot of colours in the pack, not just red,green and yellow! lol

I'm making a surprise for my great niece's birthday this week. Lucy will be 3! You can probably guess what I'm making when you see what I've been stitching:-) Hopefully a gift that can be used for years.

I'm working on the 'long word' to night and hopefully will sew it all together tomorrow...and then post it off on Tuesday. We're having a family get together to celebrate miss Lucy's birthday next weekend, but as her birthday is actually St Valentine's Day, I want her to have this gift before that so they can use it. More photos when it's finished!

Another on-going project has been making squares for a 'Raggy Quilt'. The basket is filling up with novelty fabrics' squares and quite a few of the squares have been stitched. It won't be long now until I will have enough to make a child's sized quilt.

I'm also working on a knitting project at the moment but have only done the ribbing, as stitching seems to be taking precedence at the moment. 

The Newmarket girls get together...

Today I met up with some school friends to have lunch. Five of us went to primary school together so we go back a long way (to 1957 to be exact!) and 2 of these friends went to high school with us, starting in 1964. I feel so fortunate to have friends such as these...and our 'get togethers' are always so much fun! 

Today we didn't go to a cafe or restaurant, instead our friend Val played hostess at her house.

 Here is the wonderful spread prepared by Val and Christine...(thank you for the photos, Jane)

 This is Christine (in the white) and Val. Christine lives in Sydney these days but has come up to Brisbane to stay with Val for a few days...

A quick photo before we 'tucked in'...

Jane took a photo of the cupcakes with Christine and Sue in the background...

Jan and I are looking at photos on the iPad of the holiday in Thailand that Val, Christine and another Christine had at the end of last year...

The girls had taken lots of photos of the food in Thailand and we wanted to know what this one was of...lol

We arrived at Val's house at 12.30 and we left at 5...now that's a long lunch! lol