Launceston 2013

A Fun Time Away With Hubby.

I was one very blessed woman just recently; Hubby surprised me with a weekend trip to Launceston in Tasmania for our 22^nd wedding anniversary.

He is a romantic at heart (well he tries); he had plenty of input from loads of my girlfriends and his mates as well so how could he go wrong.

We flew into Launceston on Friday lunchtime and picked up our hire car.

Audi A1

Then off to the city of Launceston we went.

Checked into Alice’s Cottages, the Camelot cottage was waiting for us.

Dining/ Lounge looking into the bedroom

Fire Place

Bedroom Canopy Bed

Spa Love the Mural

Ceiling above canopy, note the crown

Lounge

We had fun exploring the local scenery and shops; we had some really nice Dickens Cider with our fresh Italian pizza for our first meal in our cottage.

We went for a drive to the Cataract Gorge and enjoyed the beauty of it all.

We rode the chairlift to the other side and enjoyed morning tea at the café with the local wildlife.

We took a drive out to the wine region and went to a lovely winery called Pipers Brook and Janz

Came home for a nap and spa and then we were going out for Dinner but ended up staying in as I didn’t feel so well (sadly) we enjoyed a very beautiful Indian meal from a local restaurant and just enjoyed each others company and the peace and quiet.

On the Sunday we were flying out in the afternoon so we went had a drive through the areas of Launceston we had not seen yet, the architecture was divine.

We went off to Evandale to the local markets where I was very sad to say I wanted to buy everything but could only fit so much in my luggage…I found a few little trinkets for my children as gifts and a couple of things for us, including Hubby’s new hat.

We had a late lunch and returned the car to the airport as we awaited our flight home.

The one thing I noticed most about Launceston was the quietness and lack of people, even in the city center on a Friday afternoon there didn’t seem to be many people around…I thought they had all been abducted by aliens (jokes). I guess it is just a sleepy kind of country town after all.

Sewing starts up again this week so I am excited to get back to Khristina’s for some fun together.

Hope you all have been sewing up a storm.

Happy Stitching

Amanda

Two More Pretties...

Oops…

I missed blogging yesterday but didn’t miss taking my picture…

Here is a beautiful cup that my darling friend Merilyn gave me for Christmas 2012…I love it and use it all day for every cup of coffee or tea I drink…it is nice and big.

I have a beautiful tea set that I found in a little country town, however I only managed to get 2 cups and saucer sets with it…so my dear friend Judy gave me another pair for my birthday last year (2012)…I love the set.

I hope you are enjoying your new year…I hope you are using your pretty cups too.

Happy stitching and living

Amanda

A Sad Tale...

Aetius

On November 24^th 2012 we lost a very dear family member, our cat Aetius (pronounced I shus). He was very much loved by all and sadly was knocked by a car when he very sneakily got out a window early in the evening after he was supposed to be locked in for the night.

My Son who has aspergers was so very attached to Aetius and it hit him really badly when he was killed. I have to say one of the hardest things I have had to do as a Mum is tell our son that Aetius was killed.

Asperger’s kids can often form attachments to animals much more deeply than to some humans, he was like that with our cat.

Here with my daughter

After a month and a bit since the loss our son will still get teary if he sees something that belonged to Aetius or something he used to play with. This has in itself been difficult at times because he kind of just goes right back to the grief of his loss and it takes a little bit to distract him from it.

Dress Ups

In the early days of losing Aetius we were all a little shell-shocked but realized that we had to continue on in our everyday lives and just be happy to have had such a sweet cat as a companion to us all. The biggest challenge was to help our son get past this stage and move onto feeling a peace about it and thankfulness for having had the chance to love our cat the way we did.

We don’t always succeed in this and everyday is a new challenge but it is getting better.

As a part of the grieving for my son and myself I wrote a little ode to help us remember the good times.

 

Ode to Aetius

My little fatty boom bah how I miss thee, let me count the ways…

I miss the tinkling of your  bell that reminded me you were never far away.

I miss your meow at the gate because someone had closed  it  and locked you out.

I miss walking around the garage and finding you sunning yourself on the patio chairs.

And how you would look at me and then roll around on the chair as if to say “come scratch my tummy please”.

I miss seeing you on the roof in the early hours of a spring morning looking for the heat of the sun.

I miss sitting at the computer in winter and you jumping up to sit on my chest and snuggle into my pink fluffy dressing gown.

I miss you waking me at  four in the morning for your breakfast and to be let out.

I miss how happy you made Elijah.

I miss you sitting with me as I sewed, and then stealing my chair when I got up to iron something.

I miss you sitting out the back on YOUR chair for most of the day, just loving the peace and quiet.

I miss you rolling in the dirt like a dog, and playing chasey with me around the yard.

I miss you running around the outside of the trampoline as we played chasey.

I miss in winter how you would give me that look, the one that said “I am cold it’s time for bed”.

I miss you snuggling between daddy and I in winter and your little snores.

I miss your traps you would often set 4 me, how you reeled me in by acting like you wanted a tummy rub but then sprang on me and had a rough house time.

I miss how you tried to push Nana out of the bed when she dared to sleep in YOUR room, and how you snuggled her every night she was here.

There are so many things I miss…but most of all I miss YOU.

Amanda Stevens 2012

Enjoy your family and your fur babies…

Amanda

Today's Special Cup

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How Beautiful…

My cup for today was given to me just last month in a Christmas swap from my sweet friend Diana from our C.R.A.F.T group…

As I discovered this morning it was actually not the same as the one I got from my cousin Cherie, I was mistaken.

I hope you have been enjoying my Pretties…I know I certainly have.

Happy Stitching and Living

Amanda

Joy

Beautiful Cup

I have a really beautiful cup to use today, I bought this one for myself around 2005, it is an antique and  I just fell in love with it…

It is supposed to be circ. 1667 but I am still investigating that.

Sometimes it is nice to buy yourself little treats, well this one won’t put calories on that’s for sure…

Surprise

Yesterday I mentioned I would have a special surprise to share with you all…well here it is.

This is a 1932 Singer treadle machine that my Mum and Dad bought for me many years ago, I sold it for a small amount to a friend when we sold our house and could not take it with us, on the proviso she sell it back to me in the future…well the future has arrived, and so has my machine.

I will be taking the time to clean her up and get her working properly so that I can actually use her for special projects…

Did I mention that many years ago I learned to sew on a treadle machine, no I am not that bloomin’ old but I happened to have one back when I was a teen and taught myself to sew…Mum continued to teach me over the years and for that I am truly thankful.

There is something special about an old treadle, perhaps it is just that way for me, I love History and nostalgia…

Well I wonder what kind of things you love, do you have something that you like to collect or an era you just adore?? I would love to hear your thoughts and hear what you like…

Happy Stitching and Living

Amanda

Beautiful Cup for Today

Nice Mornig Cuppa

Well I have a very special cup to use today, it was given to me by my C.R.A.F.T. group Sister Lynda in a Christmas swap in 2011…

We met up at Mt. Coot-tha in Brisbane for lunch and a chat to exchange our swap gifts, we had a lovely time.

A little later today I will be popping up a new post about something that is being delivered today, I can’t wait… but you will have to wait and see what it is…you won’t be disappointed.

Happy Stitching and Living

Amanda

Filling In The Gaps #2

Gap # 2

Filling in the Gaps of  what I managed to do over the last few months is not always easy to remember what I did…

I started working on Christmas gifts for my dear ladies in our Young Adults home group really early, I still don’t know how I managed to get them done.

Jacinta

 

Never mind the black spot in the middle, it is a flaw in my camera phone sadly

Karina

 

Rebekah

Emily

Mikaela

 

I made each lady something to use in their home in their favorite colours…the photo’s don’t truly do them justice.

Hubby worked on the gifts for the guys (did I mention it was a young married’s group)…what a bunch of amazing young married couples we do life with…

Well I will fill in some more gaps soon, this typing is tiring me out already…

Happy Stitching and Living

Amanda

Tea Anyone...

Cup of Tea

Today I am using a cup that my very lovely Cousin Cherie gave me for my 40^th birthday nearly 7 years ago…

She has very good taste and I have always loved this cup, today for the first time I am having my morning cup of tea in it.

I received a cup exactly the same in December 2012 from a dear friend Diana of Seaside Craftin’ for a friends Christmas swap…Imagine my surprise when I realized the cups were the same, the only difference is the colour of ribbon on the box they came in…     

How blessed am I to have such wonderful friends and family. So now I use both cups (in their boxes) as book ends to hold up my Jane Austen books…

Well it is the 3^rd of January here already and regardless of what may be, I choose to be hopeful and positive and live for today…I just pray God gives me the strength to continue on with the work I must do.

Happy Stitching and enjoy Life

Amanda

Filling In The Gaps #1

Friend Christmas swap 2012

I have not had a chance to post a picture of the amazing gifts given to me by my dear friend Diana from Seaside Craftin’…

I was truly blessed by her amazing talents…

I sent her a few little things that I thought she would like…

Borrowed Diana's photo

We have had so much fun doing our swaps over the last few years and I feel truly blessed to know this amazing bunch of ladies in our CRAFT group.

Hugs

Amanda

2013 Already

Happy New Year…&  A Bit of Fun.

Well I have been sick for a while and not really had the inclination to blog or sew or do much at all really…

So here I am in the new year, feeling a bit better and ready for some fun…

Over the years I have been given a few beautiful cups as gifts by friends and family (they know I love them) and they have sat on a shelf gathering dust because I didn’t want to risk breaking them or chipping them.

After being so sick I have come to realize that I will die one day and perhaps regret not using those beautiful gifts…

This reminds me a lot of the beautiful gifts and talents we have been given by God, and that perhaps we can tend to not use them because we think we are not good enough at something or that perhaps there is always someone better out there…

Ladies I would say to you to go ahead and use those talents that you have been given, to bring love and joy, peace and inspiration into the lives of those around you…We can all think we are not good enough but the Truth is we don’t have to be, because we already are, what you have is enough…just use it.

God has given you amazing gifts, but the greatest was His son, as we have just celebrated Christmas we are reminded of this…

Here is the fun…

I will try each day to post a picture of one of my beautiful cups being used, and write the name of the person who gave it to me and the year (if I can remember)…

So for today it is this one

I got this beautiful at retreat last year (2012) from Khristina, I won it in the steal-a-gift game and was totally enamoured by it.

Perhaps you have something that you are letting gather dust in fear of breaking it…I would say it is too late once you are gone to change the things you wish you had used, or said to a loved one or done…

Be bold and courageous and try to live now…

Happy living

Amanda