Monday, June 27, 2011

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.......

----------000000---------

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






9 comments:

  1. Claire I loved the photos and the tour-along. I learnt something new about Pyengana too! As to the spikey bridge...these are typically built on an isthmus or a narrow necked passage way. The land is usually impassable either side and the only way is across the bridge. The upright jagged rocks were placed to make it impassable along the edge of the bridge by convicts. Heritage barbed wire if you will. That is the usual reason for that type of construction. There is a spikey bridge on the isthmus at Eagle Hawk Neck on the way to Port Arthur (very famous penal colony) and even one across a small gorge just down the road from my place on Hobart Rd heading out of Youngtown/Relbia.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great photos, I love the red lichen on the rocks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Claire, It looks like you had a wonderful time in Tassie from your photos. It is one of the nicest places to visit. I loved Cradle Mountain when I visited over 20 years ago with my brother. I also loved Richmond and as you say it looks so much like England. Just beautiful. I nearly ended up living in Tasmania which is why I moved over to the east side of Australia over 28 years ago. But it wasn't to be and I ended up in Victoria instead and married the love of my life.
    I hope you are feeling more yourself very soon Claire. I always find it takes me a while to get back into the routine after I've been on holidays.
    Take care,
    Anne xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Since I`ll never,ever get anywhere near Tasmania, thanks so much, Claire for sharing those fabulous holiday snaps. It looks a lot like Scotland too!Have a great week. x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello and welcome back to blogland! It looks like you had an amazing time - that afternoon by the fire with your crochet in the cafe sounds perfect to me. And those old quilts...sigh...
    Emily x

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a lovely wander around with you,looks like you went to some great places - how I wish! Hope you settle back in again, isn't that always the same when you've been away and had a good time!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've just read through your last couple of posts. It sounds like you had a great time meandering through Tasmania and stopping at cozy little places here and there.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, what beautiful holiday pics! It's hard to think of it being winter down there when it's so hot up here! Love the pic of you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. A lovely journey you have taken us on - I love your stitching at the top!

    Pomona x

    ReplyDelete

Life's busy isn't it?......thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
I love hearing from you and will reply via email unless you are set up as a
'no reply blog'
in which case I will reply here on the comments page...♥

Thankyou xx