Back to Brunswick Part 2...

Each day I would go for a walk along the river bank and also around the park itself. The area is quite flat so it was perfect for me getting back into exercising.
Looking upstream...

A closer look at that peak in the distance...

Looking straight across the river from near our cabin...

Looking across the river and towards downstream...

Looking towards the mangroves...the birds love this area

 There was a crested pigeon walking around the river bank but the photo is a little blurry as he wouldn't stand still for me! lol

I took the next photo looking straight down at the river's edge. I was so amazed by how clear the water was. You can see the tiny fish...

Another shot from the river bank...this time looking towards the bridge

Now some scenes inside the park...

The sites in the middle of the photo belong to 'permanents' and I loved their little gardens; so many bromeliads!

A view of the grassed area behind one of the amenities blocks; a group of people had marked out a yellow rectangle earlier in the day and had played some sort of game

On Thursday afternoon, the manager of the park came around advising campers to secure any loose items because there was a storm on the way. I took this photo of the sky...

As it turned out, the storm did not arrive but we had some rain...

On Thursday night, DH and I went out to dinner with another friend of DH's who was also playing in the comp. This friend had been told by workmates of a good place to eat in Brunswick Heads...The Fat Belly Kaf, so that's where we went! This restaurant serves Mediterranean style dishes and the idea is to order a number of dishes to share...and we did. The food was delicious! DH's friend ordered Greek custard for dessert; the waiter warned him that it was a big serve...and it was! A dish 15cm square filled with the lightest custard...I don't normally eat desserts but I had 2 spoonfuls, as did DH, just to help Allan out! It wasn't very sweet which was a nice surprise... it was delicious. 

On Friday I had some visitors who came to lunch. Nanette, a fellow blogger and also a member of K4BN, along with her friend Christine, joined Mary and I for lunch. I had made a quiche ( with DH's help) at home which we had frozen and brought with us specifically for this lunch date and Mary cooked one of her special eggplant dishes.

Mary cooking on the little camp stove in their annexe

And Charleigh the dog also came over for lunch. Charleigh couldn't come up on to the veranda where we were lunching (park regulations) but she stayed happily on her lead snoozing under the hedge at the front of our cabin.

After lunch Nanette and I had some Show and Tell, but as we are both working on 'top secret' projects at the moment there wasn't  a lot I can show! lol

It was lovely to finally meet Nanette in person but as she said, because of her reading my blog posts she already knows lots about me and that is the nature of blogging...some great long distance friendships!

Back in Brunswick Heads...

Last week, DH and I spent 4 nights in Brunswick Heads while DH played in a golf competition. The farther south we drove from Brisbane, the more menacing were the clouds...

Our 'home away from home' was one of the very comfortable Starfish cabins in the Ferry Reserve Park...

I packed a number of craft projects to work on while we were away, but spent much of each day visiting my friend Mary, who was also staying in the park with her DH. Both of the men were playing in the golf comp. I would take my craft projects to their campsite but we would talk more than stitch or knit! lol  Mary would make lunch each day and I would make a platter of cheeses and fruit for our afternoon tea. Pretty nice way to continue my recuperation :-)

DH and I went for a little drive on the first afternoon to purchase some groceries at the shopping village at Ocean Shores.
I saw this collection point for the four legged creatures in the community...

Just near the entry to the supermarket was this container for donations of cat food for a shelter at Mullumbimby. 

 On the way back from the shopping expedition, we explored a few areas...

Just near Ocean Shores we saw a sign for a Lookout. We followed the road and ended up at Devine's Lookout. The Devine family used to run the ferry service across the Brunswick River in the days before the bridge. It was raining at the lookout so no photos but I found some photos at this site. As we were coming down the road from the lookout, I saw this interesting Art Deco house... and I just had to take a photo!

As we were heading back to Ferry Reserve Park we saw a well used track leading off to the left just before the bridge...it was a wildlife reserve...

You can see that there had been rain in this area as evidenced by those puddles.

The weather had been so threatening on the drive down but the 'boys' were able to have 3 full days of golf without rain...it just rained each night. It was so lovely to lie in bed and listen to the rain pattering on the roof...more about our stay in another post :-)

FNSI...

Last night I spent knitting while watching a couple of my favourite TV programs on Channel 2. That adds up to a great way to spend a Friday evening in my estimation! lol
In a post recently I talked about a lovely yarn that I had seen being crocheted by one of the 'regulars' at the Sit and Stitch nights at my local yarn shop. I tried to buy some about 6 months ago but there was none on the shelves but about 6 weeks ago I was able to buy 2 balls. It has the sweetest little sequins in the fine mohair yarn..

So last night I knitted a few more inches...

Thank you again to Wendy from Sugarlane Quilts for organising FNSI. Why not head over to her blog to use the links to visit other FNSI ers and admire all the lovely projects being worked on, all around the world?

Getting back into the swing of things...

It's 3 weeks tomorrow since my stay in hospital and in the last week my mojo has really come back and I've been sewing and knitting away...in between those naps of course!
Most of it is secret 'stuff' so just little glimpses for now...

 Some English paper piecing...

Some stitching...

Plastic bags with a few different sized hexagons plus papers to match...

Some triangular shaped pieces of fabric...

 Even more configurations made from sewing elongated hexies together...

Started a secret knitting project using this lovely yarn...it has sequins threaded on the mohair yarn...

Last week I laboriously cast on the 213 stitches for a chevron blanket, and then over 2 days set the pattern without too much pulling out...brain fog was starting to lift by then...

I bought this lovely pattern from Michelle but have realised that this project won't be finished for this Christmas. So I'm incorporating a couple of the stitchery designs into projects I'm making for swaps. And that has been fun.

By the time this scheduled post is published I will be staying in Brunswick Heads while DH plays a 3 day golf competition at 3 different golf courses in that part of NSW. I will be working on all these projects and enjoying the peace and serenity of the Ferry Reserve  Resort Park on the banks of the Brunswick River. Absolute bliss!

Red Food; Green Food...

In my job as a classroom teacher we would discuss with our classes, foods which were healthy versus foods that were not so healthy. Foods designated 'red' were usually not able to be sold in the school tuckshop but could be a 'once a term' treat such as a pizza day, ice cream or sausage sizzle. 'Green' foods were 'allowed' all the time. (Some foods were Amber too)
Well last week those terms came to mind as DH had a bit of both!
Last Wednesday night we went out to celebrate DsD2's husband's birthday. Karl loves carbs so we went to a Pizza and Pasta restaurant. DsD2 provided the birthday cake...

Now that is definitely a healthy cake!

 So that was Wednesday night...then on Saturday it was McHappy Day at McDonalds restaurants. One dollar from every Big Mac sold is set aside, raising money for all the Ronald McDonald houses in Australia. These houses provide accommodation close to the hospital for families of very ill children who have to come to the city for treatment.

 I have some friends (2 sisters) whose great niece/granddaughter is seriously ill and waiting for a heart transplant. The family had to go to Melbourne and while little Miss A is in hospital, her mum and dad and big sister are able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House there.
So naturally DH and I visited a local Maccas for lunch and ordered 2 Big Macs!

It was the least we could do!

Now more about that cake. As soon as I saw it, I said 'I saw that on Pinterest!' I've got quite a collection of ideas for healthy 'green' foods that I've pinned. Here is the link to my board.

William McInnes..

Last Thursday night DH and I were lucky enough to attend a Book Talk at a local library. The author was William McInnes, who as well as being a successful author, is also a well known Australian actor. Although he lives and works interstate, William has a soft spot for Queensland as he grew up in Redcliffe. 

The evening started with drinks and savouries in the foyer of the library. Then we moved to the meeting room which was set up with chairs and a lectern. It's the same meeting room where Sisters of Stitch meet each fortnight.
We managed to get a seat near the front and to one side near the door...

Waiting for William to arrive...

 And here he is...just 60cm from me!

Here he is being introduced to the audience...

 As soon as he took over the microphone, he enthralled us with his stories of life when he was a boy; especially his early memories of Chermside and also of Redcliffe.  He told us funny anecdotes about his parents who sounded like they were 'real characters'.  He talked of the sadness when his parents died and also the all consuming sadness when his wife Sarah died in 2011.

 He told us that the new book was the result of his 'trying to make sense' of his wife's passing...

He had us in stitches as he told us what it was like being a single father of a teenage daughter. (he also has a 20 year old son) 

 William told us how he came up with the characters in his latest book. Writers really store store little bits of information away ready for a time they can incorporate it into a book. Every now and then he would do an impersonation of people ranging from John Howard to his parents, especially when his mother was fed up with his behaviour in his teenage years. Young william was certainly a larrikin and still is, I suspect! lol

William read some excerpts from the book every now and then but most of the evening was taken up with his telling funny anecdotes, singing ads from the 1960s 1970s word perfectly  or imitating a public figure.

Most author talks are just half an hour; William talked for over a hour! lol

But we did have time for a few questions from the audience...DH tried to ask the question ' Will there be another series of "The Time of our Lives" ' but question time was over.

DH and I usually borrow books for the library, occasionally buy books as gifts and sometimes buy eBooks. But last Thursday, I bought a copy of William's latest book, 'The Bird Watcher'. 

While the book was being signed DH asked his question. And the answer was, 'Yes! Filming of the 2nd series starts in January and William said that he has to lose weight for the role'. lol

There are lots of photos of William McInnis in this post. That's because I took lots as he's sort of my 'pin up boy'!

Scarborough Knit and Natter...

The first Monday of the month is the Scarborough Knit and Natter. DH knew that I really wanted to go to this so instead of him heading off to his usual Monday golf game, he drove me to Scarborough. We had bags of yarns that friends had given me for K4BN, some fabrics for some of the sewers, a gift card from Yarn Over that DH and I had donated for the Christmas Raffle and I had a blanket of donated squares that was ready to hand in.

Blanket made with squares donated by Stephanie and Julie from Sisters of Stitch

 I loved 'Show and Tell' as there were some beautiful blankets...

Gorgeous! This is a new pattern that Angela tried and loved doing it; she used indigenous colours

 And here's another one that Angela made

 Karen held up this one that consisted of lots of small crocheted motifs

Here Karen is holding up a jumper and beanie set in indigenous colours. Hmmm hiding behind that beanie eh?

And this one was knitted in strips by Helen. Then each strip was crocheted around in dc and then each strip  was joined...very effective!

A new member, Robyn, brought along some wonderful toys that she had sewn...

These will make lovely gifts for needy children...

The next photo shows a bag filled with mini Christmas stockings which have been made by many of the group's members.

Each mini stocking is filled with sweets and then community groups hand these out to the needy at Christmas functions. Karen had been asked that group provide over 2000 of these Christmas stockings. That's a huge amount and members of our sister charity knitting group, Knit for Charities have given us a hand to get that number.

At many of the K&Ns at the moment, members are filling the stockings ready for the community events.  Here's my wonderful DH helping fill mini stockings...

And here's the stocking fillers on the other side of the table...

We only stayed for an hour as I was starting to tire...but it had been a wonderful outing :-)