Happy New Year!!

New Years Eve was a wonderful celebration for us. Ruth who works with us and is like a daughter got married to her long time beau Clayton. Despite being a really hot day, the celebrations were wonderful.




















I just love this picture -they look so happy!



I was especially touched as Ruth wore my veil from when Jeff and I got married!


This is my favourite photo of Ruth. She spotted me snapping away and actually stopped for this one - just for me!



This is the work crew - Ruth, me, Sarah from our Midland office and also like a daughter and of course Jeff (Isn't he gorgeous - but I am biased!) There is also Krystal and Jo but they weren't at the wedding.

...and on to Africa

After a week in Mauritius a group of 24 intrepid travellers continued on to South Africa for another week. We stayed one night in Johannesburg and then boarded light aircraft to be flown into Madikwe Game Reserve for a three night stay at Tau Game Lodge and a series of Safari drives. WHAT AN AMAZING PLACE!!! All 24 of us agreed that this was the most amazing part of our trip. We also spent two nights at the Palace of the Lost City at the Sun City resort in Pilansberg but all agree that if we ever did this again, we would rather spend the extra time on Safari.

Tau gave us two drives a day and they were amazing. We saw lion and elephant just driving back from the air strip.We hadn't even been there for half an hour! The two young male lions were just lazing under a tree on the side of the track! We were stunned!

During the total of 6 drives, we saw elephants - and were even charged at by a herd which was a bit scary, black hyena, white rhino, Lion, the two mentioned above plus a big male who had been in a fight, wart hog, african wild dog, spotted cats, impala, buffalo, monkeys, eland, wilderbeast, giraffe, and many others that I can't remember. The rangers taking us on Safari were wonderful and couldn't do enough for us. We had morning tea with giraffe on one day and sundowner drinks near buffalo and zebra on another evening.This picture with the elephant in the background was taken from the deck of our room!! That elephant was only metres away from me and the group of elephants were on the other side of the water hole that our room overlooked! It was just fantastic! The elephants came every morning and evening to drink!

While there I ate things I never thought I would! I have now eaten buffalo, crocodile (curried and it was yummy!) impala, eland and goat! But hey- when it is all cooked and served for you - why not!!!

After Tau and Madikwe we said goodbye and headed an hour and a half down the road to Sun City. This is a man made oasis in the middle of the veldt. It has four hotels, several casinos, two golf coursed and a huge water park. It was the ultimate experience of indulgence. The Palace hotel where we stayed was opulent. There were huge sculptures of animals everywhere and big chandelier and gilt furniture covered in zebra hide. It was truly amazing. We had a great day at the water park and spent a lot of time just wandering around. I had a wonderful massage at the Gary Player Health and Beauty Spa!

This picture is in the court of the hotel - this is the back folks! You are looking at the Crystal Dining Room whichis where we ate breakfast. The little orange dot is Jeff! Don't you just love that Jacaranda tree!




















These two chairs were just two of many dotted around the hotel Yes - they are REAL zebra skin. Just awful! But I had to take pictures - they were amazing and HUGE!

Two days there and it was back on the bus and back to Joburg to catch a flight back to Mauritius where we spent one final night before coming home. We arrived home tired and weary on the 17th October. Just in time to put Matt and Kerry on a plane to New Zealand on October 18 which as also Matt's 21st birthday. The trip to NZ was our birthday gift to him.

Mauritian Fun!

Well, here I am after not posting for so long. Once again Jeff and I have been galavanting around the world! We spent the first two weeks of October in Mauritius and South Africa. While I have been to Mauritius before, it was still a lovely place to visit. The local people are just so friendly and helpful and the setting is idyllic. Our business forum was held in the Hilton just outside a little village called Flic en Flac. What a great name! We had a wonderful time.

We went on a car rally that ended in a place called Chateau Domaine which is high on a mountain and has the most wonderful food. We saw old plantation houses and learned a lot about the history of Mauritius which is very culturally rich. There is a French, Dutch and Indian influence there plus the pull of Africa. The Creole cooking was fantastic. The trip up the mountain was very exciting as we had to go up in the back of open vehicles because the cars we used for the rally weren't able to cope with the steep roads. It was so much fun!

The last night in Mauritius was an Indian Feast and we were supplied with traditional clothing to wear which we got to bring home with us. The women even got to choose their own sari fabrics and the tops were made to measure. (though mine was too big when it was made up and I was pinned into it!!) I thought we looked fabulous, evenwith the name tags around our necks! I had a henna tattoo painted on the palm of my hand which lasted for three weeks. I just loved it!

Catching up!

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted. On the weekend of the 8th -10th September, I went to Fairbridge Village in Pinjarra for a quilting retreat. A few projects came to fruition while we were down there.

I know those of you who have been following the row by row quilts I have been working on are dying to see how my quilt turned out! Well I love it!!!! It is truly amazing how the ladies doing the quilts stepped up to the challenge I set them! Here is the result - not the best photo but will have to do for now!

The other challenge I did was to use 8 very incongruious fabrics together in a quilted item making sure that all fabrics were recognisable! I decided to do a bag and added a few other colours to make it all work. I was very happy with the outcome but would never use it - just not me! At the retreat only 3 out of the 8 ladies doing the challenge had our items there and I think I came out a winner! Jocelyn had made a stained glass slash and stack quilt with hers that I fell instantly in love with - so she swapped with me! She liked my bag, and hated her quilt! Here they are!


The other swap we do for the retreat is a mini fabric challenge which has to be a quilt no bigger than 12 inches square using the fabric provided. As soon as IThe other swap we do for the retreat is a mini fabric challenge saw the fabric, I saw a Hawaiian girl so that is what I did. I think she is rather cute and is actually the 2nd in a theme I have started for this particular challenge.
Last year I did a Japanese girl. I think they are both pretty cute!
The fabric for next year is really crying out for a Carmen Miranda type personage, so I am working on that one at the moment in my mind!

I have actually finished a long standing UFO this week that I am very proud of. It is a Sloping Star quilt made with blocks from the Internet group I belong to called the Magpies. The girls sent me these blocks for my birthday in 2000!!! But Hey! It is finished and I love it! Well thats it for now!

Cycling Legs

Tonight I had a new computer experience. I got to chat to my favourite friends Ali from Britain and Cheryl from Kentucky on the new Yahoo Voice MSN. It was unreal! It will be even better when Cheryl gets her head set from Walmart today! We were talking about Jeff and the girls want to see him in all his cycling glory so here he is! He looks pretty speccy to me!

My Pirate Son

Matt had to go to a 21st a couple of weeks ago and the theme was "porn Stars" - Yeah right! Matt decided that he would be different and go as a pirate and this was the result! I think he would make a great Goth with all that black eye makup! Don't know about the hair though! He drove to the city dressed like this!
So Now I will hand the computer over to the pirate and talk to you all later! xx

I haven't really dropped off the face of the earth!...

Just busy living! I know I haven't posted in a while but I promise to do so a bit more regularly. I would write more right now but there is a tall 20 year old waiting to use the computer!

I have finally finished the row by rows. Karen's was the last one and I found it the most challenging! Karen had chosen the theme "C
hildren" and thirties fabrics. This is what I received:


















And this is what I did! It took me so long to decide what to do! It was tough! Firstly because I was the last to work on the quilt and secondly because I am not really partial to thirties stuff! I came to the conclusion that the quilt needed some more stitchery which I did - a cute little row of children waiting for a little girl on a swing. Then I realised apart from in the pattern of the fabric there were no flowers on the quilt so I added the foundation pieced tulips. The checkerboard strips were added to stop the row from being really white and bare and also helped make up the 30 inches I needed to stitch! This is the result:


I am really happy with the result and balance in the quilt and hope that Karen loves it as much as I do!

Bev's Row by Row

I have finally completed the row I had to do for Bev's quilt in plenty of time to swap them over at Anne's place tomorrow night! Nothing like leaving it till the last gasp! I am very happy with what I have done. My row is the butterflies under the hearts at the top.

I only have Karen's row left to do and then I have done all I need to do. I can't wait til
September when I get my own completed quilt top back!

This is the second last Row By Row quilt I have to work on. This one is Bev's from Grass Valley. I will post a picture of my row when it is done. I am doing some more butterflies. My dearest friend and quilt designer Gillian has allowed me to use her "butterfly ballet" pattern for this quilt.










I will shamelessly plug her website here. Go to http://www.deezignerquilts.com/index.htm
Gillian has such a great and refreshing approach to quilts. Yes. I do admit I am shamelessly biased about this!

May 31st - the day from Hell!

started off okay but went pear shaped when Jeff failed to arrive home from his bike ride after work. After a few worried calls to his mobile, I set out to look for him at about 810pm with strict instructions to Mick to call me if he heard from dad or dad came home.

At about 8.30 I got a message from Mick that Dad had rung and he was okay and in the hospital!! Two things were wrong with that sentence. Jeff and hospitals just don't happen. I headed straight for the hospital.

It turns out that Jeff had a freak accident with his bike just outside the gates of Muresk Agricultural College. A lady coming from the college found him unconscious on the side of the road and called an ambulance. He suffered a cut to the forehead where his riding glasses broke and a broken collar bone and concussion. He was very lucky. He looked like he had done ten rounds with Danny Green! He has very little memory of the accident. It turns out that his left handle bar snapped off at the gooseneck on the bike. He remembers falling and hearing the ambulance men talking but nothing of the ride to the hospital or even being put in the ambulance. He doesn't remember me being there until he was admitted onto the ward. His biggest worry was that he couldn't remember who undressed him. It was me!

It is over a week since the accident now and the stitches in his eyebrow were removed yesterday and the bruises are fading. His arm is still in a sling and will be for a few more weeks yet. I have one very frustrated husband who desparately wants to get back on his bike! The doctor told him he could ride his stationary bike after this weekend and could try to ride his road bike again in a fortnights time. I don't think it will be happening quite so soon!

The upside from all this is because he is so bored he is cooking dinner most nights with some help from me and the kids!

Quiltwest 2006

Wow! I can't believe it has been a month since I updated my blog already. Lots has happened since then. I got to spend a wonderful day with my sister Lee and my niece Amy at the Quiltshow held at the Perth Convention Centre at the end of May. We had a wonderful time checking out the vendors. We spent a lot of time looking at beads as Amy is into making jewellery at the moment. Amy's 14th birthday was last Monday so I took the opportunity to actually GIVE her her birthday present. I found this really funky purple handbag which I just couldn't leave in the shop. Amy loved it!

We met up with quite a few of my friends while there and had afternoon tea with them all. It was great fun. There was lots of show and tell of what goodies we had bought from the stalls. I was really quite restrained. I bought a large roll of freezer paper for my applique and some needles and a couple of buttons for an over seas friend. That is all I can tell you about the buttons as I haven't sent them to her yet and she doesn't know I have them! :)

There was so much to see at the show and we actually ran out of time! We were two thirds of the way around the quilt exhibition when the announcement came that the show was closing for the day! We whipped around the rest and had a good look at the beautiful Japanese quilts which were there.

We caught the train back to Lee's house and her hubby Mark came and picked us up from the train station. We had a yummy dinner of Red Rooster as Amy was invited to sleep over a friend's house and needed to be there not long after we got home. It was a fabulous day and I headed home when Lee took Amy to her friend's.

I can't wait to do it again soon!!!

Kerry and Matt May 4

Matt took Kerry down to Perth to meet my Dad and step mum Pat on Sunday and then took her down to Fremantle to have a look around. This picture was taken at the Round House in Fremantle (which was the first prison in WA) over looking Fremantle Yacht Club.

Kerry is settling in well and loving WA despite not being particularly fond of Northam! :) Northam is a bit too quiet for the city girl from Portsmouth England!
On thursday they both had the day off so Matt took Kerry for another drive to a local picnic spot called Lake Leschnaultia which is only about a half hour drive from here and very pretty. She is glad to be getting out and seeing a bit more.

Row by Row update - Quilt Number 5

While I was in Meckering at the retreat, I tossed around ideas for the next row by row I had to do and have finished by Tuesday May 16. I found the most fabulous printed flowers in one of the bargin bins at the Cottage and decided to use those. With Rossy's help, we arranged them around the saying and then Rossy drew all the tendrils for me to embroider. I finished the row last night and am really happy with the results! I hope Shirley will like it!

I only have two more rows to complete! Shirley's quilt is a couple of rows behind as she came into the project a bit later but another lady has pulled out so we will all still get our finished tops back when we go to Fairbridge in September.

Collingully Retreat May 5 - 7, 2006

What a wonderful weekend! On Friday 2 May I headed up to Meckering for a patchwork retreat with my quilting friends from Northam. Eleven of us moved into Collingully Patchwork barn for the weekend and had a wonderful time. We had all weekend to just sew and chat and eat! And we did all three with gusto! We laughed a lot! Some achieved a lot, and some just enjoyed the atmosphere but by Sunday afternoon when it was time to pack up and go home, none of us wanted to!

One lady (that is Bev at the ironing board in the pictures) was so relaxed and felt so at home that she was still in her pajamas at 3pm! She then made the decision that as she only lived 10 minutes down the road, she would go home in them! It was just priceless.

Lynne the quiltshop owner runs these weekend retreats all the time and you have the option to have a class or two as well but we all just take along our UFOs and work on those. It doesn't matter if you forget anything either as you are in the middle of the shop and everything is at your finger tips. All meals are provided along with morning and afternoon teas and all are to die for!

The other surprise was one of our friends who left town a few years ago came along for the weekend. It was fantastic to catch up with Ruth, who was the first person I met when I moved to Northam 15 years ago!

Ruth brought along a little baby quilt and a christmas quilt (on the hoop in the background) to finish quilting and she ended up getting both quilts finished right down to the binding!

Over the weekend there were three quilts in total completed and a doll made named Annie which was stitched by Wendy. The picture is of our Anne holding the doll Annie who also has a cat and and a cow to look after.

While I didn't finish anything, I made some progress on a bears paw quilt and my diamond table runner and got led astray by Rossy who insisted I needed to make a stitchery quilt! This was helped by the fact that Jeff gave me a $250 gift voucher for the shop for Christmas and Rossy decided I needed to buy a complete project. So now I have some beautiful fabrics, a pattern and some pellum ready to make this very pretty stitchery quilt!

In all it was a fabulous weekend and as I drove home, I was planning what to make for dinner. I still hadn't decided when I got home and as I walked in the door Jeff was grating cheese over a huge dish of lasgne! The Perfect Ending to the Perfect Weekend!!

I can't wait to go back at the end of June with another group of friends!

It's been a while!!

I didn't realise that it was almost a month since I last posted but I guess between work and family commitments and fighting Matt for computer time, it has been a while!

Since last posting, I have finished another row by row quilt and rec'd another one, helped Kerry settle in on her arrival to Australia from England and had a rushed trip to Melbourne to catch up with family visiting from Rhode Island USA, so I guess I have an excuse!

This is an almost complete family photo of the Usher clan. The only ones missing are Matt and Mick and Calum who had an important soccer match that day plus John's wife Dianne who took the photo! The back row from L to R is Val's husband Gordon, Jeff, Me, Jeff's brother David,Jeff's Dad John, Brother in Law Tom (married to Jen). Middle row is Jeff's Mum Val, Jeff's sister Jen and Sister in Law Donna (David's wife). In the front are Sam (10) and Molly (7). They are the cutest kids on earth I think!
This is Jeff and David!















And Jen and Donna!










We had a great weekend in Melbourne. I got to spend all day Saturday with my sister Debbie and her husband Roy and their other friends from Perth who were also visiting. Deb, Bev and I shopped til we dropped and had a wonderful time. I left them in the city at 5pm as Bev had to get back to Albert Park because they were going to see the Lion King. I went and collected Jeff from the hotel. He had spent the day perusing bike shops! We then caught the tram to Deb and Roy's in Albert Park where they took us to a great little restuarant for dinner called Asiana.

Sunday was spent with Jeff's family at Glen Waverley to celebrate his mum's 73rd birthday. We discovered later that it was Val's very first birthday party. It was a great day! We finally met David's family for the first time though still didn't get to meet Jenni's son Calum. It will happen oneday! He had an important soccer game to play and we did find out later in the day that his team won!

This is the last row I completed in the row by row challenge. I added the bottom row to this one for Robynne. I really hope she likes it! Now I have a row to do for Shirley and then I only have two more to do!

Row by Row update

The row by row challenge is coming along with the third swap happening on Tuesday night. I has been working on Pam's quilt which I hand appliqued orange and blue butterflies from Linda Poole's book Bended Bias. They were a huge success. All the girls who saw them loved them - no - Pam won't see them until September!

This is my project for the next month in the Row by Row. This one is Robynne's. I am to do the fouth row. Her instructions are "cream background and have fun!". I think I will do hearts and some sort of piecing. The last two have been lots of applique. I am looking forward to doing some piecing!

What a day!

Thursday was the day from hell. It started with a friend's funeral. Ronnie was a work colleague from when I used to drive the Share and Care community bus. Ronnie passed away due to complications from pnuemonia after a long illness. She was 72 but ran around like a 20 year old right up until she got sick. She will be very much missed by the Northam community.

I went back to work after the service and got on with what I had to do.

About 3.30pm I got a phone call from a man named Emilio to inform me that Jeff had had a car accident! He is okay - not a scratch on him apart from a bit of stiffness but the car is a write-off!
He had been in Gingin for a bull sale (we do transit and stud stock insurance cover) and was on his way home. He has been putting in some very long days lately and unfortunately he dozed off! He was doing about 100kms per hour and went off the road at a bend, over a fallen log, moved sideways and the car landed nose down in the dirt. It is very much a wake up call for him to slow down and smell the roses. Needless to say the boys and I are very thankful that he is okay. The car can be replaced (and has been already!!) but Jeff can not be.

I am sorry to the members of my family who will read this here - Jeff wouldn't let me ring anyone about it! I think he is pretty embarrassed about the whole thing. It was impressive to see Matt and Mick lecturing their dad on the dangers of driver fatigue! I really don't think it will happen again. Like I said - we are just thankful he is okay!!

Because we need Jeff's car for the business, the priority was to replace the car. I can do nothing but praise the local car dealer. He sourced and delivered a used 2005 Holden Statesman for us and had it delivered in 4 hours from the request! The car had to come down from Moora about an hour and a half drive from Northam. Probably the easiest deal the salesman has ever done!

Tomorrow we are off to the city to see Billy Connolly live in concert. I booked the tickets for Jeff back in November and then presented them to him after it was all organised. Jeff is a huge fan of Billy and has always wanted to see him live. We are going with Bill and Gillian and we can't wait! I will tell all next week.

A lovely Surprise....

Friday was Jeff's amd my 22nd Wedding Anniversary. As a rule we don't do anything for them. Just a kiss and "Happy Anniversary" in the morning.

Can you imagine my surprise when this beautiful flower arrangement arrived at the office at morning tea time! No card - that told me exactly who they were from. Jeff is very much a 'no frills' kind of guy! I was moved to tears!

This really made my day.

The rest of the day went on as normal. Finished at work, went to the gym, came home and did chores and watched TV with Jeff. We really do not make a fuss!

It has taken a bit of time to get here to update my blog. One - because we are still very busy at work and two - I have to fight for MY computer because Matt is always playing shoot 'em up games on here!! He is pretty good if I want it and gets off for me but in truth, I haven't had any energy to post! And because work has been so busy, not much else has been happening!

I go to the gym every Saturday with my friend Hetty who is a gym instructor. The last few Saturdays I have been helping Hetty train some older ladies who have decided they want to get fit. It is so much fun. The four of them roll up at the gym with full makeup and it has taken a few weeks for them to realise that they don't need to wear 'good' clothes to the gym. They are all in their late 60's and early 70's. We spend a lot of time laughing. They are so good at laughing at themselves but they are also very good at pushing themselves through the workout. H & I have noticed the difference in their movements already. They are starting to loosen up quite a bit, so it shows "You are never too old!" I am really enjoying helping them through their workouts as they are so enthusiastic! They go home and practice their stretches and tummy exercises. I love them!!

Who needs an alarm clock!!

At around 5.30 this morning we woke up to the most phenomonal noise. There were about 1000 white cockatoos feeding on our block next door. It was an amazing sight. These pictures just don't do it justice. My camera is just not good enough. The paddock is 5 1/2 acres and it and the block over the back were covered in cockatoos. They are really noisy but the treat of nature we are given makes up for that. I stood and just looked for quite some time. The kids hate it - you just can't sleep with that sort of noise.

The cockies have just taken off to go and drink from the river which is about 500m away. I can still hear them! On Sunday morning some of them thought our roof was a good resting place and it sounded like an army was walking on the roof. they had also landed in our palm trees. Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of the roof because as soon as they saw me they all took off.

Row By Row Challenge

The top row is my finished on my friend Vicky's row by row quilt. I am really happy with the result. I added the little blue bird because Vicky had put one in her 'Welcome' row. I am hoping that the others working on the quilt will follow suit and each row will have a little blue bird. Vicky's theme is "Country Life".

The funny part is Vicky has used the exact same row I did on the first row quilt she worked on, so I know she will like it! I now have that quilt! Pam's quilt is "Gardening"

I think I might do butterflies using the bended bias method by Linda M Poole. I don't want to do flowers on all the quilts!