Got a Minute?...........

Hello lovely people and welcome..........

A little bit of what I have been up to this past week.

In preparation for my first 2 markets of 2012 which are being held in Bright next Saturday and in Yackandandah on Sunday morning, I have been stitching away.

I needed a good break from markets and from making the usual things to recharge the creative batteries.

Now, I think I'm ready to jump back in.....

Of course leading up to Winter, I wanted to make some Hottie Huggies.

Finding unloved blankets at the op shop bringing them home and giving them new life in a different form has been alot of fun.

I have a little stack of them just waiting to be stitched, but this little vintage caravan is the latest offering........

"Wherever I park my van, that's my home"

You can't see inside the door, but let me tell you in this little 'home on wheels' there are crocheted blankets, a handmade cushion or two, red and white polka dot mugs for a nice hot cuppa.

Lots of crafty mags, a bag of beautiful, bright yarn and a crochet hook, plus lots more wonderful things...

Oh well,a girl can dream can't she?.........

A couple of weeks ago, I thought I would have a go at making an Owl softie.....

I'm quite happy with the outcome, but have tweaked the pattern a little and changed the wings (sorry no pics).

Much happier now and hopefully, some owls will be flying off to new homes over the coming weekend.

I discovered this floral fabric at Spotters recently and at $4.00 a metre, I couldn't go past it. I do love pink and red together.

The hearts are filled with polyfill and homegrown Lavender.

The little hangy thingy was once used for cutlery. Give it a coat of cherry red paint and it's ready for it's new role.....

♥♥♥♥♥

The sewing continues this week, finishing off the Hottie Huggers, stuffing and stitching, hooking a little bunting goodness and maybe some more hearts...........

Sunday afternoon, driving home from the last gig, we pulled off the road so I could take a few pics.

I looooove seeing rows of mail boxes on the road side......this would have to be the most I have spotted.

Love the shadows created.

I do think they need to be a little brighter, perhaps a splash of red, yellow or blue paint !!

20 in total.

There's something about them all lined up waiting expectantly that really appeals to me.........

The Delatite River at Mirimbah Park, at the foot of Mt. Buller a beautiful spot to hold 'Picnic in the Park'.........

There were 100's of people some of them mud splattered and lycra clad having competed in a mountain bike event.

It was great to see large groups of people with their picnic tables set up with gourmet goodies, all relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather and stunning surrounds.

Food and wine stalls catered for others and the lineup for the icecream stall snaked around the grounds.

I was tempted, but we decided to head back to Mansfield for some refreshments when he was finished.

Best decision as we found an icecream shop in the main street, no queues and yummy icecream too.

I had forgotten that Monday was Labour Day hol and hubby would have the day off .

My plans were to sew, sew, sew, but I quickly changed tack and we headed out to Ceccanti Winery for lunch.

A small family run winery situated in the Kiewa Valley, not too far from Mt. Beauty.

It's off the beaten track, you have to drive up towards the hills along the dirt road, winding your way among the gum trees.

We sat outside so we could admire the view and watched a pair of eagles soaring on the thermals........

We admired the food, before we devoured it, hehe.......

Fettuccine Carbonara, absolutely delicious. In fact we all chose it as a main.

Hubby started with the Antipasta platter but No. 1 and I decided to save room for sweets.

I had the most beautiful ricotta cheesecake, lovely and light and still warm from the oven. No. 1 ordered the chocolate tart, mmmmm.

Surprisingly we only needed soup for tea!!

My only gripe would be, as we are not drinkers and yes, I realise that being a winery they want to make their money from the sale of wine.........the only drinks we could get were lemonade and there was one diet coke left!!

Bit of an afterthought........alot of wineries now do food, hopefully they are catering for the non drinker who would like also like to enjoy good food!!

A tasty finish to a busy but enjoyable weekend and there was still time for some sewing when I got home......

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It's back to the usual routine today, the weather is still holding out in fact I think we are heading towards 30deg. today before some rain later in the week.

Next week, will be spent outside in the garden, the Zinnias are still holding their own, the trees continue to colour up. The mornings are cool and dewy and there's another blanket on the bed at night.

I hope wherever you are, you are enjoying the change of season.........

Whether it be slowing down and moving into Autumn or gearing up for the delights of Spring.

Take care and thankyou for popping by for a visit,

♡♥ Claire ♥♡

Monday, Monday...............

Now don't be fooled by his sweet demeanour.

You know the old saying:-

It's not the size of the dog in the fight ,

It's the size of the fight in the dog.

Wee Jock may be a cutie but he's a canny wee Scot (Westie actually!)

He's been inspired by Pene over at Scrap my Midlife Crises. She has some cute little Westies made using a die cutter and I couldn't resist making some using the tartan sent to me by Anne at Nana Go Go

Apart from 'playing' there's also been some time out with hubby and No.1 son.

It doesn't happen very often these days as they are often away on weekends travelling to music gigs.

So when it does happen, it's very special and time to be relished.

I decided we should head up the Kiewa Valley and have lunch at Ceccanti Winery.

Off the beaten track Ceccanti is a small family run winery.

They serve Tuscan food and we sat at an outside table enjoying the balmy weather and lovely breeze.

Above is the view from where we were sitting.

Peaceful and relaxing.

Time to be savoured.

Cheers, pure rain water...........

We're teatotallers.

But we enjoy good food and this antipasti platter was as delicious as it looked.

Made for two but shared by three it didn't leave quite enough room for the next course...........

Ok, so now you can put a face to the writer of these ramblings.

It's me on the right .........

Spaghetti Carbonara, like no other.

No 1 and I couldn't resist a bowl of pasta while hubby had a warm chicken salad.

The pasta was unbelievably delicious.

Not at all creamy as I would have expected and not sure what the meat was, prosciutto or parma ham!

It was the best Carbonara I have ever had.

Unfortunately, it was just a little on the large size.

No 1 just managed to finish his and then promptly announced he was sinking into a "Carbonara Coma"

You know that feeling you get just after you have lunch and all you want to do is have a siesta......

Hubby finished off the last few mouthfuls of my meal.

Sadly, the dessert menu which we always read before the mains, (don't you?) wasn't needed.

After looking at the photo of hubby and myself perhaps it's just as well........

Although after lunch we headed up the valley to Mt. Beauty where we had a lovely coffee at the bakery and couldn't resist sharing a Vanilla Slice.

The perfect sweet treat to finish off a lovely outing.

Well, it's back to the usual routine tomorrow with work.

I'm not going to complain at having to be up at 5.15am

I'm going to be thankful and count my many blessings.

Life goes on despite the devastation taking place across the other side of the world.

It's hard to comprehend and take it all in.

Thankyou for taking time to stop and read my ramblings and for leaving a comment.

Till next time, take care of yourselves and those you love,

Claire X