the last night

Today, three men packed most of our household goods and chattels into about 100 boxes. They did in three and a half hours what would have taken us weeks.

Soon we will go to bed for the last time in the house that has sheltered us for more than 22 years. We saw our daughter grow, start high school, leave school and get married from here. This was where we took shelter after both of our fathers died. Both our grandsons have played in the house and yard, and have swum in the pool, just as their mother did before them. There have been family dinners and barbecues, lots of Christmas and Easter celebrations. We have had many laughs and shed quite a few tears. There has been love and conflict, stress and peace.

What was once a home has become a house, now it’s a shell with boxes inside. (our bedroom, the main bathroom, the garage, the kitchen, the library and the sewing room)

The quilting frame and the piano have been sold; the cat has gone, the baby furniture has gone to a charity that works with people escaping domestic violence. Car loads of things have been given away to the local cancer support “op shop” (thrift store). About 30%-40% of our things, no longer our possessions.

My heart aches, for more reasons than I can share on this blog.

But there is also that glimmer of excitement at the prospect of a new home, a new phase of our lives. It’s time to move on, to put our faith in the One who guides our steps and know that He has great plans for our lives. The best, my friends, is yet to come.

Something Old, Something New – April edition

Well, my friends, it’s been a long time between posts.

I hope you’ll forgive me – moving house is a big job. We have been here for more than twenty-two years and have seen a lot of “mementoes” (aka junk or stuff) leave the building in the past few weeks!

Just thirteen days until moving day so there hasn’t been a lot of crafting going on – honestly, only what I could get done in class! And I’ve missed one of those in the past month too!

My “something old” project, the Country Houses quilt, has remained untouched. Alas, it will be carried over for another month. To be completely honest, I have lost my love for this quilt which was originally destined for our spare bed, then for our bed … but now, I think I’ll just get it done single (twin) size and put it aside as a spare quilt.

The picture shows the quilt as it was – on our queen sized bed and obviously too narrow and too long. I have removed two rows since then but it’s just not working for me…

My “something new” was to continue learning how to do foundation piecing! Do you know, it’s amazing how little gets done in a three hour class?

Here is what I’ve done in four weeks (excuse the photo quality, I had to take it at night, under fluorescent light, using my iPad. I completely forgot about this post – in fact, I have trouble remembering what day it is, let alone the date!)

That’s one and half 8” blocks! Sad, isn’t it? (and I didn’t even take time to press the blocks before taking the photos!)

Since moving is getting in the way of my crafting activities, tiredness is sapping my ability to think, and unpacking boxes seems to be my destiny for some time to come, I will stick to these same two projects for my April goals.

What about you?
How did you go with your March goals?
What do you have planned for April?

Link here with your blog post URL so we can all drop by and see what you’re up to.

shingles are for roofs

But not for backs!

Unfortunately, I have somehow contracted the dreaded virus so please excuse me if I'm not posting for a little while.I don’t feel inclined to do any crafting.

I am, however, keeping myself busy with family history research.

I'll spare you photos of my back!

See you soon!

This is why....

In a previous post, I mentioned two family “issues” which I should have called “situations”.

The first was a good one, resulting in a closer relationship with my husband, a Wonderful Man (WM).

The second one is painful… heart-breakingly so  – well, at least for WM and I.

DD and SIL have decided to move 585km (365 miles) away to a small town on the NSW mid-north coast.

SIL has quit his job in Sydney because of high stress levels. He has accepted a job working in his family business as an office administrator and part-time receptionist.

They will rent in their new town and will put their current home on the rental market so that they will always have a foothold in the Sydney real estate market. They are currently packing and will be gone before the end of March.

This news is sudden and, although not entirely unexpected, leaves WM and I bereft. DD is our only child and her sons -- the joy of our lives -- are our only grandchildren.

We cannot follow; WM has a job here and at his age, finding another is unlikely.

If you are a praying person, we would appreciate your prayers, especially for DD who has always been close (physically and emotionally) to her parents.

In preparation for the move, we have been child-minding and/or helping them to get their house ready for the rental market. We are both sad and tired. Is it any wonder I haven’t been crafting or blogging?

And if you're wondering how I cope, I lose myself in the alternate reality of reading fiction!