January......

The year is buzzing by already.  Here we are and half of January has disappeared.  Our short holiday at the beach seems forever ago already.  My work place was closed between Christmas and New Year so we were fortunate that our booking at the beach was for the right time. 

It was lovely to be away and able to walk on the sand and go for swims.  The weather was quite good and made for very enjoyable beach time.  BJ's new boat came along too, so he and Mitchell enjoyed the afternoons on the river.  I just read and achieved a very small amount of stitching.

Cameron is still on his wonderful trip.  This time next week though he will be home and somehow getting back into the swing of going to work.  I'm sure he will find it very difficult to settle back into the routine for awhile.  He spent Christmas and New Year in New York and had the most wonderful time.  Between those times he headed up to Boston only to find the most horrendous weather, so he used that time to sleep, he said is was -20 degrees and that it hurt to be outside even.

After all of the thrill of New York he headed down to Miami only to become very sick while he was there.  Now just a question to someone from the USA way - is it normal to pay $400.00 to see a Doctor.  Well, that's what he paid. (Maybe it was a special price for an Aussie tourist)  Plus $190.00 for an injection, plus $60.00 for his prescription and $40.00 in taxi fares to get there and back.  If that is normal for the States, then I would hope to never get sick if we lived there!!!  When you convert all of that the poor kid paid almost $800.00 of his holiday money to try and get better to continue his trip.  Thankfully, he has travel insurance, but it is an awful amount of money to come up with at 19 years old backpacking your way around the globe.

So now my boy is in London and about to catch the train to Paris for two days.  I am so jealous.  He has had the most wonderful trip and met some lovely and interesting people along the way in the hostels.  I will be though, so pleased to see him come through those doors at the airport early next Sunday morning.

So, if you are still with me with the long and rambling post, please remember that this is my journal of life which I get printed into book form each year, so I can document life as it is.

After the long and hot, dry summer we have been encountering, the garden has been reduced to a drought stricken mess.  Thankfully we had a small amount of rain whilst we were away, so we did come home to a lovely green yard to say the least.  It always amazes me how quickly it all bounces back, unless of course it is already dead, like some things were in our yard.  So in small bursts, late in the afternoons when it has cooled little, bit by bit we have tackled the mess and finally tonight it is looking quite lovely, even though there are now some large spaces which need some plants.  I really want to get some more things in, but I am so unsure whether to do so or not because of our water situation.  BJ took a very large load to the dump this afternoon including at least two large dead shrubs.

Over the weekend I also had some time to start a little project that had begun back on the week we had at the beach.  So, instead of cleaning this mess that is my sewing room (and some other messes similar to this one in other locations)

I began work on putting together this lovely little "market bag" which appeared in the Homespun magazine just a little while ago.

I am making it  using the beautiful Rouenneries fabric from French General.  I am really looking forward to completing this lovely project.  I am especially loving the lovely leather handles I am using for it.

The next week will see me getting the children organised to go back to school.  Nine weeks is an awful long time to be on holidays, especially when both your Mum & Dad are working full time.  Thank goodness for Grandma and Grandad.  I think they will be glad to get back into it all.