On the road again

It was time to say goodbye to the cat, as her owners returned from their three week cycling/camping trip around New Zealand.  Their re-appearance brought a frosty feline reception and they were given the odd scratch and bite as a warning to NEVER LEAVER HER ALONE WITH THOSE PEOPLE AGAIN!

There was one last store to visit on our way out of Brisbane and luckily it was only a few blocks away.  How had I missed it all the time we were there?

It looked fairly innocuous from the street, but Mr Fudge was already crying.  He had come so close to leaving the city without having to sit patiently while I browsed.  So he decided to come in with me.

Oh my ... heaven in a shed.

Beautiful linens in every shade called out to be purchased.  I needed a brown paper bag to breathe into but settled for the Fabric Whisperer who had to admit later that he was almost as impressed as I was by the glorious and very tempting bolts of fabric.

Miraculously, I found a brown paper bag.

How the blue floral linen inside the bag found its way into the car is a mystery.  The good news is that there is also a branch of this store in Sydney.  Poor Mr Fudge.

Our journey back to Sydney was broken with two nights spent at the country home of some dear friends, who were the most gracious host and hostess.  We arrived in time for lunch, which was followed by afternoon tea, cocktail hour and dinner.

How fresh do you want your eggs today?

Who needs a market when the produce is at your back door?

Not a sight I am used to seeing when I hang my clothes on the line.

What a fashion statement the earrings make.

I could really be tempted to stay here forever, but it was time to thank our hosts profusely and be on our way again.

We crawled past this barrier at Cunninghams Gap which is laughingly supposed to deter the mountain from collapsing on top of you.  

Here is a video on YouTube which shows what it was like when we drove past the same point twelve months ago.  If you right click your mouse on the lower right-hand corner of the video, you can elect to watch it on YouTube, where you can see it in full screen mode.  I don't think anyone believed it when we described the experience, so I am glad someone was brave enough to stop screaming long enough to film the video.

Now that we are home, I have started on my first project and I must say it is wonderful to feel so enthused about sewing once again.  Three weeks away from the machine worked wonders.