Bathurst blog meet post 4 - Swaps and foil packages.............

Swaps are always fun........

As  is tradition we have a "make it, fake it or bake it" swap...........

here are all the swap parcels..........

This is what I got in the swap............from the gorgeous Dory

She mixed  "make it" with "fake it"......

the big chocolate bar got lost on my way home........

thanks so much Dory I love it...........

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Kate got my swap parcels............you can see some of the swap goodies here and right towards the end my parcel that Kate got to open.............her "brilliant idea" for everyone to open one at a time ended up killing her as she was LAST...........lol............

Thanks to some angels we had some dodgy looking foil parcels...........(only thing we could find to wrap things in in the kitchen)

we got tickets for all kinds of good and bad reasons...........it was lots of fun........and slowly we drew out tickets over the weekend.........

Lucky the parcels contained good "addiction" stuff not bad stuff..........

I won 2 foil packages.......thanks angels you know who you are........

we will be continuing the secret foil packages next year too.......yippee.....

Catch you later

Chookyblue

Bathurst blog meet post 3 - finishes.............

I missed some but ere are some of the finishes on the weekend........

Julie's hearts...........

Fiona's christmas swag.........

Heather's runner

Anita's shaggy quilt..........

Catch you later

Chookyblue

Bathurst Blog meet post 2 - snaps...........

I just want to rewind.............loved my time with these gorgeous girls..........

enjoy the snaps..........

so many different types of craft happening everyone was interested to see what everyone else was doing...........

yes Kate did need to people giving her moral support while ironing..........lol

busy busy.........

yes wine o'cock was early............

Catch you later..........

Chookyblue..........

Bathurst Blog meet post 1 - Shopping...........

Some beautiful liberty found at Bathurst Fabric and Trim

Here we go...............post 1 of 6...........enjoy
Georgina is going to make a skirt or dress from this......

All visits to Bathurst include a trip to The Home Patch....sadly Anni was at Quilt Market

but we managed to run amuck in the shop........

OMG should I buy this.......

lots of chatter..........

love this one behind the counter......it's on my "to do" list now.........

I always stick my head into the back room if there is a class........

OMG.....there was a Lynn Alchin class going on out in the back room....I have struck this class once before when calling in.........Oh wished I got some pics of what the girls are working on..........they shared what they were doing with me...........OMG some gorgeous quilts.......I don't think any of them would be reading my blog but I tell you I left that room so inspired..........I think next year I might try and get to one of these classes.......I gave Lynne my email so hopefully she will email me pics of some of her patterns...........I got to see the beautiful quilt she is teaching at Quiltsmith summer classes..........I loved it when I saw it on the Quiltsmith blog........Lynne showed me how she put it together.........nothing like I thought it would be......Oh I wished Sydney was closer.......

ok lots more to come.........

Catch you later

Chookyblue

100 plus aggies.............

Not the best pics as it was late in the afternoon but this week in between everything else i have managed to plant about 100 agapanthus maybe more.......thankfully I was given some.......2 sizes.......lots of medium size and the standard large ones...........here are pics of a few spots I planted them

This poor bed has at times been edged with white roses which I have lost several times with droughts and the bed has been in disrepair for quite some time.............I decided I could plant heaps in here............while I have loved the roses I don't think I could take losing them all AGAIN.........there is one sad rose left..........

\

edged this garden bed too..........

sorry for the blurry pic.........

Many years ago there was a fund raiser in town and they got a truck load of aggies from the mountains.............they came by the tonne...........I got a tonne.......mostly aggies not much dirt there was hundreds and hundreds............this drought I have lost quite a few.........i used to have them all around this tree but slowly they have died...........I am trying again as they really are pretty tuff and worth replanting............hopefully they will settle in before we get too much HEAT again...........

I LOVE aggies......I have them everywhere....

once when sorting and dividing I potted up 2 aggies/big pot and sold them $10/pot....(at the time $15/pot with 1 aggie at the nursery).......we made about $600 just on the aggies for school..........so you can only imagine what these would have cost me to buy these.......actually I would never buy aggies as you can always find someone who wants to split some up and can get a few here an there............

dinner last night...spaghetti bol.........my delicious recipe here.......

preparing some Bathurst posts...........so look out......

Catch you later

Chookyblue

frazzled...........

I feel just like my plant...........see those ZAPPED burnt leaves....

thats what happens when it's 45degC  (113F)..........while I wasn't here on the weekend I am still trying to catch up on watering, pulling out dead plants etc

Did some cattlework today.........

Found the camera but really I feel pretty crap right now so don't feel like writing cheery posts about the a wonderful weekend.........

which I seriously wished I could rewind back to and escape this crap......

Too much going on........to much to do..........too many worries I just can't focus on anything.........

Don't comment on this post cause I just can't deal with another email either......

The upside is our temps are about 34C for the next week...........

they have forecast rain but since they can't forecast anything right that won't happen.....I have a bet with the cattle agent.........he was being optimistic today backing it to rain..........it won't happen and I will win..........we'll see what the week brings...........

Catch you later

Chookyblue

a poem...........

home finally.............totally SMASHED.......too many late nights............i'll have some pics and news to report tomorrow when I drag myself out of bed..........i've been driving all day and needed lots of stops and a few jobs along the way.........

just to keep you going here's a poem Kerrie has written about our weekend.............

we've had such a good time we have rebooked for 2015 and already have a waiting list...........

.........take care til next time.....Chookyblue.........

Friday night dinner.....

Having a great time...........so sad to leave these girls today...........

Dinner Friday night

more pics some on my phone some on my camera..............more during the week...........

We've rebooked for 2015 and I think we are FULL already............

All having a wonderful time........

A common thread of craft and blogging drawing us together............AMAZING

Chookyblue

Sssshhhh......

I've just snuck down and got a cuppa but everyone is sound asleep.......stitching in bed til someone else wakes up.... We know it won't be Jewells.........

I have beautiful blog friends........ Can't wait till we see the other girls at lunch too....... 

Catch you later 

Chookyblue

sh!t happens..............

Its like the roller coaster is cruising out of control once again..............

I can't get any thing done as I keep having farm distractions/jobs/worries..............

today was a water run and cutting some feed for the cows at another property...........

So many decisions need to be made right now............

as you can see we have heaps of feed.........

even all the shrubby bushes are stripped by the cows............

 

the cows are about to drop calves and it is too hard to feed them on this property so they will have to be moved ASAP where it is easier to feed them and as these are the younger ones we will get rid of some of the older ones to make room...........

look very close under the tree I spotted the tiniest calf I have seen for a long time.........Mr Chooky thinks it may be premy too...........

Seeing if we could get it to stand up..........it is so skinny and tiny not sure how it will go but we left it with mum who came back to it and it had moved before we left............so good luck baby............

My blue chaste tree is flowering beautifully........a nice distraction from hell............

anyone want to buy some weaners..............not sure how you would go in town but we can't buy food for these boys so they will have to go in the hope we can hang onto our girls this time..........remember last year we had to sell the lot..................

Some herefords (red and white) like above and some angus like below............

beautiful babies but sh!tty decisions need to be made.............normally we would sell them in 12 months time..........heaps bigger........lots more money..............

I really hope we are not heading down the same path as last summer but it sure looks like it............

Oh and the heat...........40 tomorrow, 42 Sat, 43 Sun...........

Lucky I am escaping this dirt bowl and seeing the blog girls.........

Have a great weekend.....hope you find a cool spot to hang out in.............

Catch you later

Chookyblue

SSCS sleigh loading time...........

yep Santa and his sleigh are cruising around picking up all the Secret Santa Christmas Swap parcels.............OMG the excitement is building................

not long til Christmas now........

.........take care til next time.....Chookyblue.........

lamb marking.............

with the heat of yesterday (43C) lamb marking got put off until today................

the wind and dust yesterday was terrible..........

(below mustering yesterday)

today we did get a change.........much cooler............its the best job when it is done............

I hate it...........my job is not tooooo bad............

with 4 people it flows well...........

my job is vaccine needle and ear marking..............I have "picked up" at other times...........to old for that rubbish now or better still I saw sense and got myself out of that job.......I used boy wonders big mucsles this time................

anyway busy week ahead..............

huge excitement as the Bathurst blog meet is next weekend......

Catch you later

Chookyblue

Hatched and Patched love.....

With a recent quick visit to The Home Patch I got to see Anni's new quilt.....To be released next weekend at Australian Quilt Market in Melbourne - Anni let me take a photo of the quilt to share with you...here it is......

Woops sorry that's right it is a secret til launched at Melbourne.......But let me tell you i got to see the whole thing and you are going to love it......
The pattern will be released when Anni has it done......good things come to those who wait.......
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Nothing else to report except the heat is extreme..... Supposed to be 43 (109F) today...omg I may melt...... Lamb making tomorrow.... Thankfully then it is supposed to be 32.......
Have a great weekend
Chookyblue.....

epp playing............

i've been playing with Victoria Park.............

the transformation..............

one little fussy cut looks amazing with 5 more friends..........

Oh and I have started posting on Snappy Friends again...........

it's been about 18 months since I posted over there.....but it is nice to be back........

the beauty in a weed......

Catch you later

Chookyblue