Good question, where did August go?
Late July I had a phone call from son Rhys; would I be willing to go to Brisbane and look after Theo when Naomi and he had to head to hospital for the birth of their baby girl? Of course, I would have to go earlier, so Theo felt comfortable being left with a long-distance Nan, and in case the baby came earlier than predicted. Which led to me flying up on August 2nd, laden with gifts and quilts for the family. It's been two years since I flew, in the middle of Covid restrictions, and that was not a pleasant experience. However, this wasn't too bad, I wore my mask the whole time, and took advantage of wheelchair and people mover services so I wasn't really stressed. Naomi and Theo met me at the airport, and we all had a ride to the baggage pickup.
He was pretty overwhelmed, lol.
The baby was due on the 22nd, but early on the morning of the 13th she decided it was the right time to make her entrance. They left before dawn for the hospital, and Charlotte Grace arrived just fifty minutes after they got there, so quick. They came home just 6 hours later, and Theo was very impressed by his brand new sister.
She wasn't really interested in the toys he was showing her, but he was fascinated by her.
A week later Seonaid flew up to meet Naomi and Charli, and we had a lovely family getogether. That hasn't happened since 2018; it would have been nice to have the other 3 grandchilden too, but that would have been too expensive. Maybe one day we can make it happen.
Last time I was in Brisbane I bought Naomi a couple of pattern books for children's clothing, and set her machine up to sew nicely. Now she makes all Theo's clothes, some of her own, and is working on a wardrobe for Charli. Most of her fabric is Australian animals and flowers, and the clothes are just beautiful. When I arrived there were piles of fabric everywhere, as Naomi was deciding what fabric to use for her chosen patterns. I did feel a pang for Rhys; he was surrounded by fabric as he grew up, and now he's still surrounded by fabric. He's very supportive though, he knows its a mental health thing for us.
Seonaid and I flew back uneventfully, and then it was pandemonium moving Seonaid and family into a new home. It's smalller, which is bad, but in a much closer location to school and kindy, which is good. There was no time for serious downsizing, so it all got moved, and Seonaid will work through the stuff stored in the garage, selling and donating. I'm just grateful they have a home, the rental market in Adelaide is appalling.
So now I'm finally back home, and trying to catch up on 6 weeks of customer quilting that was put on hold while my family came first. I'm ploughing through them, and hopefully after the next week I can take a breather and assess the sewing room situation. I can't even remember what I was up to before I dropped everything and left. It will take a while to sort it all out, but I'll get back to it soon.