It's official ... the drought's over

And how do I know? Our State Premier announced it over the radio as I was stuck in the middle of flood waters while attempting to drive home on Wednesday. I think she was Minister for the Bleeding Obvious in a former life. These images were taken by a friend of mine who lives locally. They are pictures of her driveway and she used it as an excuse for missing our quilting group meeting. Where was her pioneering spirit?

Mind you, this is what happened to her neighbour and he has no recollection of where he left the road or how long he was in the car before he scrambled free. He must have been a quilter.

Anyhow, it's been that sort of a week. Let's take a step back in time to Wednesday of last week, which we spent in Sydney.




Spot the difference?

Our daughter and son-in-law took us to lunch at Bill Granger's restaurant at Woollahra in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The memory of the of the main course was obliterated by the arrival of the cake ...




... and coffee.





Our two-year-old grandson was more interested in his new toy train.






We girls wanted to take in the new Donna Hay shop around the corner, and I was fascinated by these wonderful felt pebbles on display. They were very tempting, but I resisted and bought a box of yummy chocolates instead - far more practical.

That evening we stayed with our daughter and family, babysitting while she and her husband had a well-earned break . They had tickets for the Paul Kelly concert and left early to take in a meal before the performance. We had bought our four-year-old granddaughter a picnic set which she gave a really good workout that evening. We had high tea in the family room with some of Miss E's close personal friends ...




... after which we had to wash all the dishes before having a picnic in the children's room, followed by a party back in the lounge room, and on it went until it was time to go to bed.

The next day Tony and I spent time in the city, where we had breakfast in my favourite place, the Strand Arcade. It is the most beautiful arcade, with the natural light pouring through the glass roof ...

... and three levels of the most desirable designer fashion.

Our time in Sydney was a joy - staying part of the time with my oldest friend from our school days (we first met when we were 6). We did some serious damage to some bottles of wine and reminisced days long gone but so vivid in our memories. We caught up with family and friends and the five days went in a whirl.

Wednesday's flooding caught us out and after leaving a friend's home where a group of hardy quilters had gathered, I was stranded on the only road into our suburb. It was then I recalled that I had left my mobile phone at home, so I drove back to the nearest shopping centre to find a public phone to let Tony know that I was OK, before rejoining the ever-growing traffic waiting in the hope that the water would subside a little so that we could get home. Thankfully by some miracle the water level on the road did drop a little and we crawled cautiously through it and eventually arrived home safe and sound.

Fifteen Seconds of Fame

Thankfully by the next morning the skies began to clear a little and I ventured across the other side of Brisbane to be part of the crowd scene in a TV regular programme, The Great South East. They were doing a segment on local designers and BrisStyle was to be a major part of the story. There were six BrisStylettes and two delightful little four-year-olds, twins Charlotte and Riley, who were to model clothing made by their talented mother, Christine of Little Diva, whose home was used for the filming.

The charming presenter Sofie Formica immediately put us at our ease and the filming went without a hitch.

Left to right: Lauren (Raspberry Pink), Amanda (Twinkle Star Art), Moi, Christine (Little Diva) with Charlotte on her lap, Sofie Formica (show host), Sandrine (SM Boutique), Carole Horne (show producer) and Helen (Ruby 2 Go Go and Ruby Red Studios) - with Riley on her lap.

The film crew then departed to interview sisters Bec and Jade of Beckybean, who were waiting anxiously at Bec's home. Sadly we will have to wait until 5 July to view the show, which is the day after our market, but it should be well worth the wait.

After the filming I found my handbag to take out something out, but was puzzled by a box of Moo business cards which was lying in the bag. I asked if it belonged to anybody and was informed by Amanda of Twinkle Star Art that yes, they were her cards and in fact, I was rifling through her belongings - our bags were identical! Some time later Amanda bade us farewell, as she was to collect her little daughter from the babysitter. Within a few minutes the rest of us prepared to leave. I collected my clothing and quilt and unzipped my bag to get out my car keys. They were not in the usual place, so I proceeded to search a little more thoroughly. It was about now that the penny dropped. The car keys were in Amanda's bag. One of the girls rang her mobile number, but she had quite sensibly switched it off while driving.

I must admit my brain closed down for a few minutes as I tried to come to terms that for the second day in a row, I was being thwarted from driving home. Without hesitation, the lovely Helen of Ruby 2 Go Go offered to drive me all the way home to pick up the spare keys and back again to the car. Now, this wasn't a trip to the next suburb, but a drive of nearly an hour each way. I was overwhelmed with her great kindness, but wasn't really surprised - she's such a lovely person and I am indeed blessed to friends such as her.

All's well that ends well and the good thing is that Amanda, in an effort to find my keys, has discovered new and wonderful pockets in her bag that she did not know existed, so it was all for a good cause.

I wonder what next week will bring?