Getting Back Into the Groove

Well, it's back home and time to get reacquainted with my sewing machine.

I've had a break of ten days and whilst I had some 'slow stitching' and crochet projects to keep me going I still missed my Janome.........

So I have whipped up a little brooch that has been an idea for quite some time and am working on another softie.

I learnt to sew on a machine like this.

I was ten years old and during the Summer holidays I made myself a dress..........

Fancy name for a rectangular piece of green and white gingham with some shirring across the top and two shoulder straps. Still, I thought I had done a great job and even wore it out in public.......

Mum did have an electric machine but it was the treadle machine for me until I became more adept at sewing.

Thought I would share just a few pics from our hols in Tassie.

Don't worry, it won't be like one of Uncle Arthur's slide nights.........

Our first day took us to Stanley on the North West coast. A lovely little town, which is very quiet through the Winter months but gets a lot of visitors during the warmer weather.

For some reason it felt like being back in New Zealand. Was it the 'feel' of the place, the houses, Pine trees, not quite sure but I had to keep reminding myself it was Tasmania.

This is a view of "The Nut' a huge lump of rock jutting out into the ocean.

You can walk up it, which hubby chose to do, but as I was waiting for some wonderful little shops to open , I decided I would follow him later so I..........

Took the chair lift................

I had a great view heading down.

The track up is quite steep so I'm glad I didn't overdo it on the first day........

Day 2 took us through Cradle Mountain National Park on our way to Hobart.

We watched the outside temp. gauge in the car fall to, hmmmm, very cold.

We decided to stop and enjoy the scenery, throw a snowball or two and have a warming cup of soup.............

It was very chilly but, invigorating...........

The beanie I'm wearing was a pressie from the boys, not quite sure what for but anyway.

I always thought it made my head look very round like a basketball...........so I put a woollen flower and couple of leaves on it just to add a bit of interest and detract from the shape.

Somehow, I think it still looks like a basketball but one with a flower and leaves on it, hmmmm

BUT, it was warm and that was all that mattered at the time.

In Hobart we scored a great accommodation deal through "Wotif' on one of their mystery deals.

We stayed directly across the road from the harbour and the view from the 3rd floor foyer at night was quite spectacular.

And just as interesting in daylight hours.

Saturday, was time to visit Salamanca market.

It was threatening rain, but it thankfully held off.

The market stalls disappear into the background and round the corner, so if you intend to visit,

make sure you have heaps of time to browse.

Allow yourself even more time in the warmer weather.

Apparently this was a 'quiet' day.

If you click on the pic, you will see that it really doesn't look all that quiet, so I 'm not sure I would fancy fighting my way through the hordes in Summer........

If you have time, drop into the Machine Laundry Cafe, which is in Salamanca Square. (behind the Salamanca facade) they do a great breakfast in an interesting spot.

Thanks Tanya for the recommendation

We continue our trip out of Hobart over to Richmond, wending our way to the East Coast.

This is the oldest bridge in the country, built in 1823.

Still standing today, they certainly built things to last.

Take away the gum trees and I could imagine I was England.........

We even managed some sunshine, which made all the difference.

Heading towards Swansea on the East Coast we came across 'Spikey Bridge' built by convicts in 1843.

They blurb on the info board couldn't enlighten us as to why they decided to place rocks vertically along the edges of the bridge, although there was the suggestion it was designed to stop cattle falling over the edge........

Out of Bicheno on the East Coast there some of the rocks have a red lichen growing on them giving them a wonderful rusty appearance.

A bit of sunshine would make this pic look completely different, but I love the splash of colour amongst the grey.

Before our arrival in Launceston we 'stumbled' across the Pyengana Cheese Factory and Cafe.

It was a wet day, driving through the hills and we had wound up behind a car towing a van, so it was going to be a slow trip.

A last second decision to turn off the road and head to the cheese factory proved to be another little gem in our holiday.

Above is the view from the cafe.

I could've sat there all afternoon looking out at the rain...........instead..........

I sat by the open fire on the leather couch. I had my crochet and some drawing bits and pieces to keep me entertained as we waited for lunch.

Hubby had cheese and cauliflower soup and I had cheese and chive scones with aged cheddar on the side and a coffee.

It was wonderfully warm and cosy, the staff very informative and friendly and the atmosphere 'just perfick'...........

A little bit of info about their dairy herd as I found this very interesting:-

They have 260 milking cows, though 60 were in calf at the time of our visit.

The cows are milked by 'robots' and the cows can head up to the dairy to be milked anytime they like.

So they may get milked 4 to 5 times a day and between 1am and 4am the cows are usually asleep.

The robot attaches the machine to the udder and milks until all quarters are empty.

Not like the older style milking machine which stops when one quarter empties.

The equipment can also tell the amount of butterfat in the milk, the quantity of milk and knows which cow is which by the shape of their udder.

Amazing hey?

All I can say is, lucky farmer not having to get up at 4.30am to get ready for milking.......

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So that was just a quick look at some holiday snaps, next post I will tell you about my bloggy catchup............

It really was a lovely trip and we came home feeling very relaxed.

Tassie is a beautiful state, with lots to see and do, but it's nice to back in my own bed. I think Tigger even missed me..........

I still have a week of hols to go which is nice but today I felt 'out of sorts' not too sure why.

Maybe it was being home on my own after spending 24/7 with hubby for ten days.

Hopefully, I will get back into my groove soon.

Hope you have all slipped into the groove of a new week and it's off to a good start.

Thanks for popping by to say 'hi' and welcome to all new followers, don't forget to have a bag of breadcrumbs with you when you visit..........

Till next time, take care ,

Claire X