I love spring and the flowers it brings

Spring has to be my favourite time of the year. The weather is warm but not too hot and everything is still green before the summer comes and dries the grass again.

I love being out in my garden. It's only small but I find pottering around and pulling out weeds really relaxing.

Yesterday I potted up some vegetables for summer. I planted a pot of mixed lettuces, cucumber, pumpkin, beetroot, rolly polly carrots and a couple of tomato plants. Last year it was nice to be able to go out side and pick fresh lettuce so hopefully this year the plants will grow well and I'll have a lots of vegetables to pick from.

My little potted veggie patch

Some of my favourite flowers in my garden.

Current projects on the go and another one waiting in the wings

Sitting down tonight I was thinking what I would do. I have so many craft projects on the go at the moment that is hard to know which one to work on.

At the moment I'm working on Jake, Hannah and Sarah's quilts, 'pirate' curtains for Jake, a knitted vest for Lachlan, doggy sun hats to sell and a stitchery for a friend . This list is not including all the other 'unfinished projects' sitting in baskets waiting to be finished some time.

I am quilting circles on Jake's quilt. It takes me most of one evening to quilt just one circle so I think it's going to take me a while to do the whole quilt.

Jake's quilt

The top of Hannah's quilt is nearly finished. I just have the final binding to sew on and then I can do the batting and backing so that it's ready to quilt.

Hannah's quilt

I've been sewing the blocks for Sarah's quilt and have finished about half of them.

Sarah's quilt

The back of Lachlan's vest is finished and I've knitted the band and a bit of the front.

Lachlan's vest

I've been working on a stitchery for a friend as a thank you present for her. I am hoping to have it finished by next Sunday so that I can give it to her then.

a stitchery for Nance

Tonight I finished curtains for Jake's bedroom. I'm pleased with how they turned out and hope that they are the right length for the window.

Jake's 'pirate' curtains

I've also been asked to sew as many doggy sun hats for the lady who cuts Charlie's hair. I get $10 per hat so am planning to put the money towards a quilt that I would like to make sometime for myself.

Charlie trying on a pink hat

Last week I went with Melanie to Gail B's patchwork shop and saw a quilt that I really loved. I decided that I would make this quilt for Olivia.



With all these projects on the go I certainly don't have time to get bored.

An update on my eyes

Last week I saw the eye specialists again. The field tests showed that I have lost more peripheral vision in both eyes however the results may have been compromised because the technician kept adjusting the machine during the tests.

I also had another electrical test to check the optic nerve which again showed that the optic nerve is not damaged.

I've been told by the specialist that it is unlikely that I will ever know what is causing my peripheral vision loss and that whatever it is there is no cure or treatment and I wont get the sight that I have already lost back. The doctor has also said that it is unlikely that I will loose all my sight but just how much I will loose is unknown.

Having regular tests, waiting months for appointments and still not having a definite diagnosis has been pretty stressful. After speaking to the specialist we have decided not to do any more tests for now. I will have the field tests repeated in six months time and if there is a further loss of peripheral vision then further tests will be conducted.

For now I am relieved and pleased to have a break from tests on my eyes for the time being. It is hard not knowing what the future holds with regard to my sight and it would be good to have a diagnosis and prognosis but for now it will be nice not to have to be thinking about what the next lot of field tests will show.

A vest for Lachlan

About 27 years ago I knitted a Fair Isle vest for my nephew Jonathon. The pattern was in a book called 'The Australian Wool corporation Traditional Knitting with Wool'.

A few months ago I found the book in my pile of knitting patterns so decided that it would be nice to knit the same vest for Lachlan, Jonathon's son.


It's been fun knitting the vest especially knowing that I knitted this same pattern 27 years ago.

I'm knitting a size 4 so the vest is a bit big for Lachlan now so hopefully he'll get some ear out of it next winter.

Last week Jonathon, Melanie and Lachlan were in Melbourne for a visit. It was lovely spending some time with them on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. I can't believe how much Lachlan has grown and how talkative he is.

My 30 year High School Reunion

East Doncaster High School 30 year Reunion

Form 1B 1974

On the 10th October I attended my first ever school reunion - East Doncaster High School 30 year school reunion. It was great to meet up with people I went to school with and to see my best friend, Sally from high school again after 33 years.

I went to three high schools with East Doncaster High School (EDHS) being the first one in 1974.
In 1976 my family moved to Costerfield when I was in Form 3 and I went to Flora Hill High school in Bendigo and then in 1978, form 5 I moved to Koonung High School when my parents separated. Instead of completing for 6 I did TOP (Tertiary Orientation Program) which was an equivalent qualification at the time at Swinburne TAFE. I still have my name registered on the 'Friends Reunited' website so it will be interesting to see if these schools hold a reunion at some stage in the future. Even though I attended 3 different high schools most of my memories from my high school years are ones I have from EDHS.

Over the years I have often thought about Sally. I hadn't had any contact with her since I left EDHS in 1976 and had no way of contacting her. A few years ago I registered my name and details of a website called 'Friends Reunited' in the hope that one day I may be able to contact her again. I was surprised and excited in June to receive an email asking if I would be interested in attending a school reunion in October.

I really enjoyed the reunion and catching up with different people. I was a bit nervous beforehand wondering if everyone was going to get drunk and wondering if I would know anyone and if anyone would remember me however everyone was really friendly and no one drank too much.

One of the things that really stood out to me was how people seemed to be genuinely interested and cared about each other. I wonder if this comes partly from being the first students to start classes at the school, giving us a special bond of being the first students to attend the school. Also, with most of the students having gone to East Doncaster primary school everyone already knew a lot of the other students.

Whatever the reason I really enjoyed the night catching up with people that I hadn't seen for over 30 years.

This is me in form 1.....

and me now....



Form 1 art and craft projects




There is nothing like a reunion to make you think about your life, where you lived at the time, what life was like, who your friends were, what you were like at school and what others thought about you. It also made me think how little we really knew about each other and what our lives were like away from school.

With these thoughts prior to the reunion I wondered if many people would remember me and if they did what their memories would be. I was always very quite at school, one of the 'daggy kids' so I was really surprised at how many people did remember me and that I was remembered as being a nice girl who was always happy to help.

Prior to the night of the reunion I was able to 'met' a few people on Facebook and am now enjoying the continued on-line contact with different people. I am also looking forward to more regular contact with my school friends