Splashes of Colour

 November 14 and 15

I was the only Gaiter Girl able to walk this week.The heat has returned, so I set off early on my favourite local walk. We have had some rain over the past week, but the ground is still looking parched, so it was lovely to find splashes of colour.

A magnificent dancing lady orchid.

The pink of a newly flowering frangipani.

The bright yellow of this daisy, against the pinky, white gaura.

The stunning purple Christmas bauble shaped, bouganvillia.

The delicate purple of the lingering blossom of the jacaranda.

A lone agapanthus lily.

Yesterday the Hungry Hikers took a city meander of 10 kilometres. There was more than a splash of colour in the Roma Street Gardens.

And my favourite, this triumphant red! At first I thought it was a stunning poinsettia, but soon realised it was vine on a spiral support. Alas, it remains unnamed.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my previous post for my crochet cow. It was suggested I make more or take on other projects. Alas, I always seem to be time poor. I need to retire from retirement, to have time to take on more projects without the stress of constantly making mistakes.

Below are the fruits of my laboured efforts this year.

For Nora

Three bears for three nieces.

Holding your hand from afar, for friends with cancer.

A dear friend was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just prior to our going to PEI.

Sara, I think this turtle and babies, might be what your friend has made. I've made it for a friend's new Grandchild.

And finally my cute cow of a cow!

And being creative in the garden. I must comment however, that I love to make, but I am not creative. The ideas all come from various sources.

I would love to read your comment.

Finishing the Cow

 Sunday 5 November to Friday 10 - Broadwater Caravan Park, Southport.

It was well overdue for the van to have an outing. My husband wasn't able to join me, as he has to stay out of the sun because of skin cancer treatment. He was happy, however, to help me set up at the Broadwater Caravan Park at the Gold Coast and catch the train home. The forecast was for a thunderstorm in the afternoon. Arrival time at the park was 11 am. We were all set to go at 9, so relaxed with a cuppa for half an hour. 

In that time, however, a  storm arrived, dumping a wonderful 14 mm. We watched the radar until the front was headed well east. It became slow moving and most of our journey was in heavy rain. We arrived at 11, but no way were we going to enter the park. We found a spot to pull in and waited for the rain to ease.

It eased but never stopped. We weren't complaining. This rain was so very welcome and has doused bushfires over a wide region.

6pm - perfect weather for finishing the cow!

Along the waterfront of the caravan park - south.

North

Monday 6am - a brighter start to the week.

The park residents that I could hear quacking during the night.

Tuesday 5am

The first of so many of our beautiful black swans.

Later in the day.

The story of the cow. 

My friend Joc loves cows. Her birthday was the 8 October. On the 5th I happened upon a crochet cow and decided that would be the perfect gift and I could make it in a short time frame. Ha, ha! I feel as if I have undone every row, 10 times. The Hungry Hikers are visiting here to walk on Wednesday / tomorrow.  I want her finished. Most of my time here has been spent in that endeavour, with no distractions other than my morning and afternoon walks.

It is now Wednesday morning. I am pleased to report she was completed at 9 pm last night. Right up until her ears were attached, I thought she was going to look a disaster. Now my 'cow of a cow' is a happy cow!

I was regularly sending images of how far I was getting, before having to pull out, to my friend Pam, so you can see some of the issues.

I just couldn't get the nose to have the correct number of stitches. My friend Penny came to the rescue twice. First with a test run, after I sent the pattern to her. The pattern had a mistake in the 3rd row.

Yours truely still couldn't get it to sit correctly, so Penny offered to do it for me. Top R.

Penny got it back to me a couple of days before my coming down here, but I had had no time to do further work with it.  I had to laugh, as the drama of this cow, continued. Penny is left handed, so all her effort was for nought! Back to the drawing board, so to speak for me.  A good hour passed before success, but it really was a total fluke. Bottom image.

Now, I don't want to give her away.

I would love to read your comment.