Last Chance Monday

I know it says Sunday in Blogland but over here in Oz it's Monday and the last one before our big Gala Day at the weekend. That's when we will give away all our toys. There will be others working through the week but I won't be able to attend. Today I painted lots of blue paint on lots of aeroplane wings - not an exciting job but we've got to get them all finished today so that they can be assembled in time. (it's all go in the paint shed with everyone getting in everyone else's way). I grabbed one of the 20 little beds for a photo, with one of the little crochet covers that have been donated to us. I'm never going to win any prizes for my photography. The legs aren't crooked and there is no white paint on the bed, that's flash glare. And here's another picture of the little trains that we do. They're a lovely tough toy and will take a fair bit of punishment before they have to come back for repairs. That's what's so good about wooden toys - they can be mended when they're played with a little too enthusiastically.
Must go now. I hope you have had a good weekend.
Bye for now until next time.

How I Spent Today

These are some of the 24 old-fashioned hobby horses that Stuart, at the woodworkers club, has made to be given away in two weeks time. Since my painting job in the paint shed is finished I gave Stuart a hand to tack the horses bridles in place and glue their eyes on. Santa's Little Helpers, are putting all their effort into finishing up the toys we have been working on through the year and excitement is mounting as we scurry about making sure that nothing is forgotten. For me today was fun. I hope you enjoyed your day.
Bye for now until next time.

Ready & waiting.

I thought you might like to see the lovely, traditional rocking-horse that was made by one of the woodworkers. Bill makes one of these beauties every year as first prize in our annual fundraising effort. I think this is the 12th one he has made. It is about the size of a small Shetland pony and will take the weight of a fully grown man. This year, due to ill health in the family, Bill needed some help getting the horse finished so Bob stepped in to give him a hand.
Bill is always generous with his knowledge and will happily teach other members of the club how to make a horse like this, concequently he has a number of pupils (several of them women) who turn out their own rocking-horses. I did think I might join his group but the materials to make the horse are expensive (those stirrups and the saddle are real) so I didn't indulge myself.
I'm thankful for nice people like Bill and Bob.
Just finishing up jobs to do in the toy workshop now. We'll be giving them away to our favourite charities in 3 weeks time.
I hope your week-end will turn out to be a good one.
Bye for now until next time.

That time of year again

I can't believe I'm making our Christmas cake again. Here it is, all ready to go into the oven. It's no secret that I'm lazy and would happily buy one of the cakes put out by the Lions charity but our grandson is allergic to nuts and so I like to know exactly what goes into anything that he is going to eat - and he loves this cake. The beating and blending is better than a work-out at the gym, now I need a sit down and a cup of tea.
One of my favourite plants is in flower again. It's an annual that self-sows every year. I have no idea where it came from originally and no idea what it is. Can anyone out there tell me? The flower is about the size of a delphinium, and I thought that was what it is but the leaf is different. Here is where someone tells me that it is highly illegal and I'd better pull it out before I am visited by the drug squad. I hope not because I like it and it will go on flowering for the whole Summer. And before anyone asks, yes, I am still crocheting & knitting - slower these days because of this wretched thumb but I'm getting there.
Timer for the cake has just gone off so I'd better go and turn the oven down for another hour-and-a-half.
Bye for now, until next time.

Miscalculation.

A friend gave me two large balls of this strong green coloured yarn. Although the colour is a little bright for baby wear I thought it would make a nice blanket and teamed it with the paler mint shade. Oops! I thought I had enough of the paler shade but discovered my mistake when I reached this point. Disaster!! What to do now? I really don't want to pull the work out so I hunted about in the shops for some more of the pale green. Fortunately it's a popular shade at present so I was able to find a very close match and if I arrange the squares symetrically I think I can get away with it. Note to self: Make absolute certain you have enough of a colour before jumping in at the deep end. I thought I'd learned that by now - obviously not.
All that said, I'm not even sure that I like the uniform colour - it is a bit bright. I will get on and finish the blanket though as it's nice and cheerful and may suit someone with a different taste from mine. Slow going unfortunately as my grumbly arthritic thumb is making things difficult. I'm thinking of trotting out the knitting machine that I haven't used for years.
Dear old Penny the border collie has gone home again after a one week stay with us. Her lovely coat collects all sorts of weird and wonderful bits & pieces which she happily sheds when she comes inside, so I must say bye for now and get the vaccuum cleaner working.