Each another year older...

It was Kirby's 20th Birthday yesterday. She arrived home from Uni and is here for a week before she goes back to do a Research Scholarship for 8 weeks over the summer (she gets Christmas and New Year off).
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I made a very naughty Chocolate Cake with Coffee Buttercream and dark chocolate ganache...
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I'll share the recipe soon... it was very good but a little goes a long way!
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Brianna turned 17 years old while we were away overseas. She had her birthday the day we went to the Eiffel Tower and also to the Moulin Rouge. Lucky girl! Kirby and I visited several patisseries before purchasing this wonderful Chocolate Mousse cake for her.
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We bought some funky candles and we sang Happy Birthday to her at midnight after enjoying the Moulin Rouge show.
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So my big girls are growing up and we are so proud of them both. They're just gorgeous!
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Joolz

So we went bush... to the beach...

Saturday afternoon we packed Ruby up and headed to Southend, which is only 20 minutes from home.
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This was our maiden voyage in Ruby. We pulled the roof top tent out and pitched the rear tent.
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The weather was not that welcoming but it was sunny in patches (in between the sprinkles of rain). From where we made camp, the beach was only 50 paces away.
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All set up, we were quite pleased with the arrangement. We learned quite a bit, putting it up - this goes here, that goes there and is better if you put this on first.... that sort of thing. I kept saying "a lesson learned for next time".
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Hmm, those clouds look a little ominous! It's raining out to sea.
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The Southend rock lobster crayfishing fleet.
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More dark clouds...
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We camped in an open camp area (and in hindsight it was way too open and therefore windy) and paid $16 for the unpowered site. There were flushable loos about 200m down the track.
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The sea was a beautiful colour, considering there was no sunshine at this stage, only gathering dark clouds.
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All set up, we cooked a barbecue tea of lamb loin chops and I had bought 2 small salads with us. We had fried onions and a couple of leftover baked potatoes which I sliced up and fried with the onions.
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We dined like kings!
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Thankfully, Angus had rigged up a fluoro light so we were cosy in the tent, enjoying our dinner and wine.
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At about 9pm, Angus decided we would light a fire down on the beach (fire restrictions prevent us from lighting a fire after Nov. 1st in a bush setting but you can light a fire on a beach between high and low water mark at anytime of the year). Dessert was Cadbury Fruit n Nut chocolate - I kicked myself because I forgot marshmallows to toast! Duh!
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We finally ended up in our 'upstairs' bed and spent a cosy night although the wind blew and the tent flapped and kept waking me up. We need to modify the mattress because it felt like sleeping on a wooden door! More foam required, thank you!
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We had eggs and bacon for breakfast and a nice cuppa. Very civilized!
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Eggs & bacon (this was my second egg so most of the bacon was gone, and chargrilled toast - delicious!
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We boiled our 'billy' for our tea and coffee.
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I even took the 'kitchen sink'! This is a Hughie plastic sink, ideal for washing up & peeling vegetables inside at your own sink then you can discard the water on the garden and put the peelings in the compost - that's what it's designed for.
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The view of the bay after we packed up and headed for home. I hate unpacking! :(
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This is the first of many little weekend trips we hope to make in Ruby. We have a few things to perfect but we got a lot right this weekend.
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Cheers - Joolz

More cross stitch...

Welcome to all my Un Finished Objects (UFO'S) or Works In Progress (WIP's). This is one I definitely want to finish, now I've taken it out of it's package and had a good look. All that lace work.... daunting!
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I'd love to finish this one but it's on linen and I think I'd go blind trying. Maybe one day. It would be so pretty.
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This is a picture of the finished product and how it should look framed up. I even have the beads (tiny) to embellish it with.
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This one doesn't really stand a chance because it has never been started. Loved the pattern, bought it and filed it away...
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This was probably appropriate for the 80's/90's but not sure if I'd hang it in my home today...
(Lordy, look at all that back stitching...)
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Looking at this one, I think if I sat for 15 minutes I could finish it off - isn't that crazy! It's about 18 years old!
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Another wild flower one, started with enthusiasm then left for something else. I guess I did do a lot of cross stitches for people of the years as gifts so each one of these UFO's suffered because of a item needing to be finished on a deadline.
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This one (Wedding Ring Bouquet) is finished but never got framed. Don't know why, just didn't. The aida cloth has discoloured in places now.
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I loved this one but Kirby never wanted it in her room so it never got framed.
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It's pretty...
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This is a really lovely one and I do hope to finish it off one day... a beautiful bouquet of roses up against a lattice fence.
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When Princess Diana was tragically killed in 1997, I adapted this pattern
and stitched this small design in honour of her.
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Diana was my idol from the moment she came on the scene with Prince Charles.
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This tiny one is stitched on fine linen.
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This is where I am up to with my Mary Wigham sampler. I have basically finished the first pattern sheet of 9 so I have a way to go yet...
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There is ecru and white stitching that you can barely see - I didn't enjoy stitching that bit at all.
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So you can see, I have plenty to keep me entertained. I haven't bought anything since starting the Mary Wigham sampler so that's a good thing. I just need time to sit...
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Cheers - Joolz

Friday again...

Off to work today. Gus is heading to Geelong to deliver a vehicle and flying home this arvo.
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We hope to go 'glamping' in Ruby tomorrow. Ruby is our Land Rover Defender 110 wagon, fitted with a roof-top tent. Glamping is 'glamour camping' - I can rough it but ... not for long. I have to get all the bits and pieces together so we can head off tomorrow arvo. Wish me luck - not sure where we are going or how far away but it will be our first adventure! Ha ha! Kirby told me to pack a small bag, grab a bottle of wine and GO!
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I hope the weather holds out - it's just warmish today but looks like rain so who knows what it could be like tomorrow.
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This is Ruby! Should we head to the beach or bush???
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Have a nice day,
Joolz