Wednesday, February 14, 2007

We have been having some wild and stormy weather lately, with tropical thunderstorms and torrential rain. This tree on the road outside our house lost branches in the worst of it, blocking the road. It must have been a bit hairy driving around in those conditions, which is why I was entrenched in my sewing room.

When I came upstairs the back porch was full of brimming buckets of water; DS Rhys had discovered water pouring through the verandah ceiling as the gutters overflowed. I'm glad he was upstairs to deal with it, because I didn't have a clue it waws happening. The funniest thing was that the three cats had taken refuge on the kitchen table, absolutely horrified at the deluge of water. They had to be coaxed down, quaking, as if from Noah's Ark. "Water, Mum!' Bobcat told me, trembling. 'Water coming down INSIDE!' He had to have a snack to calm his nerves.

I was sewing this basket block, just to get the measurements and the cutting requirements in place. I'm not going to make a quilt or anything.... I truly am trying to do something with the orphan collection, and today a few ideas came together. Nothing to see as yet, but I know what I want to do now.

It's hard to ignore the Valentine's Day advertising, but I'm doing my best. It's not a tradition here in Australia, and I don't see that we need to feel guilty for not buying stuff and giving cards and making Hallmark even richer.

And the whole school thing where all the kids in the class give every other kid in the class a valentine, well isn't that sort of like a football match where everyone has their own ball? What's the point? (I know, I'm a heartless cynic, you don't need to tell me...)

7 comments:

  1. When I was teaching I always thought Valentine's was an excuse for the kids to demand a party (bring sweets to school) and there was no way out of it. Like you,I am a bitof a cynic when it comes to Valentines.

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  2. I am with both you & Joyce about the Valentines thing.
    But, surprisingly, my English Grandmother had some very nice Valentines cards from her girlhood. I think it used to be something of real meaning in those old days.

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  3. I love the basket block, it looks very antique and moody.It would probably go with a fe of my orphan blocks too.
    Hope your garden got a good water, I'm getting sick of water restrictions here....

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  4. I love the "give him a snack so he'll calm down." My husband and I trade the same Valentine's day card we have for the past 8 years...now that is recycling!

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  5. Hope you had a good Valentine's Day Keryn. I don't generally buy cards or anything, but I guess it is good to wish someone well to commemorate any holiday.
    I thought it was a lovely landscape picture, and thinking how nice it was over there until I read about the rainstorm. Good to stay indoors. Hopefully they will have the branch out of your way soon.

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  6. Hi Keryn, I'm admiring your basket block. I like the darker fabrics with it.

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  7. The fabric choice for the basket and for the pinweel quilt look great. I love antique looking quilts and yours are much to my taste.

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