wedding /My Family

The wedding went beautifully

I don't thik I have ever seen Lorraine so happy

Jim is devoted to her

She handled the day well but is very tired today

Peters little prcedure didn't happen last week It is now scheduled for Tuesday so we are (hopefully ) off to Melbourne tomorrow

I will put up more photos when we get back

Wedding Day

Well the big day has arrived And what a perfect day it is The sun is shining

Last night we decorated the venue

Im off to have my hair done

More photos tomorrow

It Never Rains but it Pours

I see this is my 100th post and I,m afraid its going to pass without any celebrations
I have really enjoyed creating and writing this blog and I have made so many wonderful new friends
Lorraine is still battling along
Wedding preparations are up to date and now Hubby has thrown a spanner in the works
He has been having some chest pain and last week had to go to Melbourne for a stress test which showed up some blockages
Now he has to go back to Melbourne tomorrow for an angiogram on Thursday and overnight hospital stay
Hopefully home Friday and fit for the wedding Saturday
I tell you those two will be the death of me

Treasures

My hubby just loves to go to Garage Sales Auctions Clearing Sales Trash and Treasure
You know the sort of thing I mean One mans trash is another mans treasure
He often finds "treasures', for instance the lawn mower I have been using for a number of years, he bought at a farm Clearing sale for $2.00
He bought it home,spent a couple of days working on it and it now works a treat
I don't usually let him go to these things without me because I never know what he will bring home( and sometimes I even find some goodies myself)
Last Sunday I was busy so he took our two grandsons to an auction
He brought Anthony a printer which is not compatible with his laptop and some huge speakers His Mum was very impressed NOT
But look what he came home with for me
An antique pool table, a new TV cabinet (which is actually very nice except our video and DVD wont fit in the spaces so they are perched on top
And lastly all these lovely indian statues for my garden
The bottom picture shows my cowboy and indian that are there already
Now they will have company The indians can have a powwow
Actually I do like them and Im sure will look very nice when I get them sorted

update on Lorraines health

Well the rain has gone but I haven't been in the garden much
Spending a lot of time with Lorraine and I had the grandchildren for the weekend Put them to work
Brendan mowed the lawn for me
Mowed lawns make the place look so neat even if the weeds are growing higher than the plants
Lorraine finished two weeks of radiation last Monday and since then has been having trouble with her vision They have put it down to either the drug she is taking or a side effect to the radiation
We are hoping she will be able to see in time for her wedding which is approaching quickly
She will be starting some oral chemo in a couple of weeks They told her they can't start it to soon after the radiation as it could lead to dimentia, but they weren't to sure how long to wait
Well I'm off to do a bit of sewing before bed
Thanks again for all your support It means a lot

Visit to Cruden farm

Last week I was lucky enough to go on a bus trip to see the beautiful gardens of Dame Elizabeth Murdoch
Came home all inspired
Now if this rain would only stop I could get outside and make mine as lovely (you think?)
Not even getting much done in the sewing department
Had to do the tax today That would have to be my least favourite job in the whole world
Jim and Lynda have taken Lorraine for treatment the last two days Still very unwell Off balance and thick head
She is happy that the headaches have eased a little though
How she is going to get through this wedding I do not know

Gifts

I just cannot believe how lovely the people out there in Blogland are

The love and support that has been shown to me in the last week has been truly overwhelming

Thankyou so much

Yesterday I received a surprise package in the mail from Lyn at Bluebird Quilts Just a little gift to say she was thinking of us at this terrible time and to show her support

I received two gorgeous pieces of material and a cutesy angel dolly peg

But not only that , the lovely lady sent the most beautiful brooch with the hope Lorraine will wear it on her special day

She certainly will

Lyns beautiful gifts made us both cry Thankyou so much Lyn

We are so grateful to you all

ADVENT CALENDAR

My last two posts have been a bit depressing so thought I would show you what I have made today

Jim took Lorraine for her Radiation treatment today and I will take her tomorrow

Thankyou

A big thankyou to all my blogging friends for your love and support Oh and the hugs
It hasn,t been the best week Scans MRIS and Doctors visits with my Darling Daughter
When Jim is at work I spend as much time as I can with her and at the moment she can't drive so between Jim and myself and our dear younger daughter we are driving her wherever she needs to go
She didn't get the best news I'm afraid
Cancer is definately in the miningy (excuse spelling) From my understanding the fluid beween the brain and the skull Thankfully not in the brain or the bone ,but is causing pressure on the brain, hence the unbalance and episodes of paralysis down one side
The Docs are hopeful that two weeks of daily radiation to the whole brain and a couple of extra treatments to the area where the cancer is will help
They said that about the time of her wedding her hair will be falling out and she will be extremely tired and lethargic
Was horrified that after the scan Friday of last week on the Monday Lorraine and Lynda were in the shop trying on outfits for the wedding when her oncoligist rang on her mobile to say she had a brain tumour
Where has the compassion in the Medical profession gone?
She had more scans on Tuesday to see if the cancer in the breast and lung were stable No results there as yet
We are all feeling a bit low at the moment
If I havent replied to you all in person Please forgive me

Roller Coaster

Since our daughter was diagnosed with metasatic breast cancer on Valentines Day 2006 Our life has been like a roller coaster Down then up a little way then way down again
When she came home from her trip she looked and seemed so well
Aparently she had a funny turn while away and told noone because she knew Jim would make her come home
She has had a headache for the past three weeks and was told by her GP to go home and take aspirin
Finally they are taking notice of her and have now discovered there is a tumour on the brain
Today I took her for an MRI and tomorrow I will go with her and Jim to the Cancer hospital in Melbourne
Hopefully they will have some results and she will be told it is benign
Life is so hard sometimes Please include us in your prayers
Iam having a little trouble dealing with this news at present
She wont let us tell anyone until she knows for sure what she is facing ,so I have noone to talk to about it
Sorry this is such a depressing post but its the way I feel at the moment

Sewing Machine Mat

Inspired by Jenny at Elefanz I decided to make myself a mat for my sewing machine

I had this pretty material that I didn,t really want to cut up

It has been so wild wet and windy here these past few days it has really only been good for indoor activities and sewing is the go

Jersey Boys

Yesterday I had the lovliest day
Went on a bus trip with a group of friends, to the city to see the Jersy Boys on stage I thoroughly enjoyed the show and music
So much conflict between the boys its hard to imagine when you hear their music
It was lovely to just sit back and be dropped at the theatre door and picked up at the end of the show
No parking worries No stress

A SMALL FINISH

I have had a very small finish this week Decided to make myself a cover for a loose leaf folder I keep patterns in
I was so pleased with it and thought how nice it was until I put it on to the folder and realised I had made what I wanted for the back wrong way round Only I could manage that
I wasn't about to unpick it so appliqued another rose onto the front and now both covers have decoration , so I'm not TOO TOO unhappy with it
Just thought I,d show you a not so good photo of my favourite quilt "Home Among the Gum Trees"
I made this one about three years ago All hand appliqued and machine quilted by me Iam quite proud of this one
I have two grandchildren with me for the school holidays while their Mum works
I do enjoy having them
Weather is not so nice today

Life is quiet

I havent posted in a while, simply because there has not been much of interest happening in my life
Don,t get me wrong I like it that way If nothing is happening it means all is well and Lorraine,s health is ok so that makes me happy
I haven't had many finishes either Have been doing some hand applique on my log cabin quilt which is one of my long term projects
With the lovely spring weather we are having I have been busy in the garden
Only exciting thing that has happened is that Lorraine and her long time partner have set a wedding date 7th of November which will be her 40th birthday It will come around quickly and things are falling into place nicely... re. plans for the big day

Photo I hope

Finally managed to get a photo up

As I've said on many occasions I'm not real good at this computer stuff and when things change .........well

Anyway looks like I might have it worked out again

Thought I'd show you a couple of little projects I have been making

Fathers Day in Australia today The girls came over to see hubby for a little while and sat and watched the footy with him It is a cool day here but at least no wind or rain

Ant's Poem

CANCER
Cancer is evil
Aunty fighting for her life
Chemotherapy
Feelings crushed as hair falls out
Two months off to live her life

This poem was written by my 12 year old Grandson
It was an entry in a school competition run by a

neighbouring school
Over 400 poems were entered from about 6 schools

around the district and Anthonys poem was the winning entry

He got a $50.00 prize

I have been trying to put up some photos for the last hour Things are different on my computer since it came back from repairs

I shall keep trying

WELL I'M BACK

Did any one even know I was missing?
Had some computer trouble Got a virus or something so have been without it for the past couple of weeks
Thats not the worst of it though Was also without my sewing machine Oh the pain of it all Hubby thought it was good Sat and watched the idiot box with him while I hand stitched
Can't show you what I've done though Haven't had time to reinstall the printer
Any way both are home now and both working well
I have been trying to catch up with everyones blogs so you will all hear from me in due course
We have had so much rain Water lieing every where and it is realy cold Hard to believe our winter is supposed to be over

Gabi's Scrap Quilt Done

Last night I finished the scrap quilt for my cousins daughter It has many flaws but I'm sure Gabi will love it and treasure it all the more because it was made from her late Grandmothers scraps
I am fairly happy with the way it turned out, all things considered
The boys played their last game of football for the season today and both lost It was freezing Can,t say I,m sorry it's over. Danielle came home with me
She is working on a very large project for school and she has chosen to do it on quilting so we spent the afternoon researching the history and she has just made four pinwheel blocks to be used as samples
One she will leave as patchwork, the next one she has basted, the third we will quilt(very simply) and the last we will finish
The project doesn't have to be finished until November then they have a night for interested people to view the finished projects
The students chose what ever topic they want
I think Anthony is doing his on weapons
Last year he did it on Nitro Trucks This is Danielle's first I think her mother chose the topic so I can help
In this project parental help is encouraged

Paper Bag Swap Parcel Has Arrived

My paper bag swap parcel came in the mail today All the way from Texas I received some lovely gifts as well as the beautiful wall hanging

She also sent me some American quilting magazines a Texas keyring A Texas cookbook and some gorgeous material with which I have to make something nice for myself to remind me of her

Thankyou Barbara

Go visit her and say Hi

She has a photo of a quilt someone made for their car I love it

Her blog is http://panhandlesuesquiltingspot.blogspot.com/

I'm sure she would love you to drop by

Quilt Blocks

Managed a bit of sewing today Made a new chair pad for the dining room chair because the other one was worn out
My cousin came to visit last Christmas and her 11 year old asked me if I'd make her a quilt using her late Grandmothers material
The material was posted to me and not a peice of cotton material in sight So today I made a start and did these two blocks Some applique will go on the centre square
It's a little difficult because all the material is different weights
Hopefully I can make something reasonable from what I have been given to work with