Back from holidays

I'm home from a wonderful, relaxing holiday in Queensland *sigh*. I was full of energy first day back, yesterday I hit the post-holiday low and then today I'm feeling a bit more 'normal' LOL!

We drove north west (instead of north east) and went to visit family in Bollon (west of St. George) in Qld. They live on a magnificent property "Woolerina" where they run sheep, cattle and horses. Last time we visited it was dry and dusty no matter where you looked, this time it was green! We're farmers and graziers but their operation is at a whole new level. Typical outback living and we all enjoyed our short stay immensely. The children can't wait to return.


We then turned east and eventually north-east and made our way to Woodgate and the beach.

There was lots of time for all of us to read, time to play games with the kids and daily walks along the beach. I saw dolphins which was a real thrill, hubby and son saw sea turtles and the twins are cross they didn't manage to see either!


I even managed some exercise - a bit of a shock to the body I'm sure! I was up every day around 5am and off for a jog. The warmer weather (but not hot) made it easy to commit to doing this daily!

The kangaroos were often entertaining too - if you haven't heard me talk of Woodgate before it's a rare town, situated between the beach and national park and there are kangaroos everywhere - on the streets, in the yards nibbling the lawns, on the beach in the mornings. Usually they just look cute (or in the case of the big males, rather intimidating) but these pair were having a fight in between our house and the neighbours...


The weather was consistently warm - even on the one day it rained it was still warm (very bizarre having come essentially from winter here on the farm) and the clothing layers reduced to one light one.


I even got to go shopping in a big town - with lots of shops yippee! - weekly. Such a rarity for me.

The weather a couple of hours drive south of us was atrocious with falls of 200mm in 24 hours. This was our destination on the return journey as my brother in law was getting married. The day of the wedding was gale force winds and rain, so the wedding moved indoors and the pool party became a normal party watching the rain sheet down!

So, I'm back in the saddle now, as they say, and have to wait patiently for another year till we can get away again.

I have a show (eek), this weekend, at the "Mayfield" open garden at Birriwa - a fundraiser for CanTeen. Lots of people say they're coming so it may be a very busy day - the gardens are supposed to be gorgeous and cover 3 acres, so it will be lovely to see!

Till next :)
Annette

Back from vacation

Well, I am relaxed, recharged and raring to go!!! What a wonderful holiday we had ... the weather was gorgeous, lovely warm sunshine and a couple of days light rain (but not cold) in the middle of our holiday to relieve that monotonous sunshine ;) The children had a wonderful time and spent their time darting between the house, the beach, the house, the playground, the house, the beach.... you get the idea, I'm sure!

I was also very productive and managed to make lots of beautiful jewellery inspired by the beach, the rather tropical feel and the warm, lazy days. Even though I spent some days 'working', being able to do so in comfort and still hearing the waves crash on the beach was very special.



It was marvellous to see our house again (once a year really isn't enough) and even though we have been there a few years running now, the number of kangaroos that hop around your yard, the street and even the beach is a bit amazing. We had a rather large male almost come into our garage and you can routinely get within a foot or so of them before they shy away. Of course, getting that close isn't really recommended as they are wild creatures, so its better to sit back and just watch! Although I had heard of them being on the beach, this was the first time I had seen it as this picture shows a couple of them that had been nibbling the grass on the dune in front of the beach! I can't understand why they don't promote Woodgate Beach a little more to our overseas guests who would love to see the 'roos hopping around the little town.

I am just about to start my spring show season - nothing like jumping right back into the thick of it! This weekend (13-14 September) I am off to Quirindi Show on both Saturday and Sunday and will be located in Pavillion 2, so if you are planning on attending the show, please drop by and say hello! The following weekend (20-21 Sept) is Merriwa Show and I get to catch up with all my lovely clients from that district. Luckily there are school holidays in between those two and my next 2 day event at the Coolah Spring Garden Festival on 18-19 October.

I was working on my website just before going on holidays and fingers crossed I may even get to work on it a little next week as well. I can't wait to unveil it all to you and am still so thrilled to have found the wonderful Emma of Morris Bear who created it for me. As I mentioned before I have looked and looked and looked for web designers and really had trouble finding anyone that could do what I was after at an affordable price! Well, I was pretty chuffed to see that there is another Aussie woman doing web design templates (not specifically e-commerce) at very reasonable prices - Jenni Markham Designs. She also creates the cutest stationery! Well worth a look if you are in the market for something like this.



The piece I've picked for today's pic is beautiful teal coloured, highly faceted jade (treated of course) which is incredibly sparkly. Would you believe the lovely sterling balls in between actually calm the sparkle down to a managable level? It's summery, shiny and sparkly - everything you need to wear against your skin or summer fashions.

It's great to be back although I'm still a bit behind on responding to comments... but I'll get there!!!

Cheers!