Brisbane City - Part 1

At the end of the school holidays, just before Miss R's appendix decided to play up, I was able to have a few wonderful days away.  No husband, no kids, just me doing whatever I wanted, when I wanted.  That included eating when I wanted without having to worry about everyone else.

It was such a rare opportunity to have 3 nights away that I jumped at the chance.  I prefer quiet places to the hustle and bustle of towns and cities but this time I decided that I really wanted to explore Brisbane, our state's capital city.

I've only been there a few times in the past decade or more.  A couple to visit the court house in support of my brother when he was going through his divorce, and once on Master M's 7th birthday when we went to the museum.

I didn't need to drive as the train took me right where I needed to go and I could spend just over an hour crocheting and looking at the changing landscape out the window.  No traffic worries for me, or trying to work out which lane I needed to be in, or paying frightening parking fees for the few days I was there.

I decided to stay at one of the hotels at South Bank for my stay.  I knew that I would spend most of my time in this very popular area with its parklands, pools, cafes, restaurants, museum, art gallery  and entertainment venues.  It's also a short walk across the bridge to the city centre.

After I checked in and did a little happy dance knowing that I had a lovely hotel room all to myself, I headed out and explored South Bank to see what had changed over the years.

South Bank itself is 17 hectares of parklands right on the Brisbane River and is in the heart of the city.  It was developed on the old Expo '88 site and has been one of the best developments the city council has made over the years.

I love the walkway which meanders throughout the middle of the area, covered in beautiful bougainvillea.  There were also red lanterns strung along the whole walkway as well as along the river front but all became clear as to why they were there soon enough.

It was actually Easter Sunday afternoon when I arrived and the place was packed.  There were so many families having picnics and barbeques in the park areas and the cafes, restaurants and pubs were all really busy.

By far one of the most popular areas at South Bank are the pools.  They are free public pools (with life guards) in the heart of the area.  In summer they're really popular and even though it's been cooling down lately, there were still plenty of people enjoying a dip on a long weekend.

Now the naming of South Bank is pretty obvious as it's on the south side of the Brisbane River which winds its way throughout the heart of city.  The river itself is popular and I'll write a post about that another time but the views of the city centre with it's mix of old and new buildings all in a jumble together is quite nice.

Ferries and City Cats make their way up and down river all day and there were also a couple of party boats late on a Sunday afternoon, slowly making their way down river with their music pumping out loudly for all to hear and the passengers obviously having a great time.

I continued wandering along the path by the river, taking in the sights and sounds...

...and searching for somewhere a little quieter.  Luckily they also have a rainforest walk in the middle of the area for you to escape to for a few moments of quiet if needed.

The Nepalese temple which was built for Expo '88, is still very much a feature of South Bank and provides a beautiful, quiet haven in the middle of the parklands.

The carvings in the temple are exquisite and it really is a lovely spot to spend some time.

I didn't go on the Brisbane Eye but decided to leave that for another trip when I bring the kids down.  I'm sure they will love it so I'm making some plans for one of the forthcoming school holidays to visit and explore for a day or two.  The train trip to get to Brisbane will be a highlight in itself for them.

For Part 2 I'll show you the city from the river since I hopped on a City Cat one afternoon and spent a wonderful couple of hours seeing the city from a different perspective.

I didn't spend my whole time out and about and being busy either.  It was a getaway intended for me to recharge the batteries and I was lucky my hotel was right in the heart of the area so I could pop back in to crochet, read or just nap if needed.  Yes I actually did that and couldn't believe that I had a nap one day.  I very rarely nap and it seemed so indulgent and wonderful to snooze on a bed, during the day for an hour without anyone waking me up because they can't find something or they're hungry or they're fighting and I need to referee or...…………….(you get the picture).

I also ate.  A lot.  There are some pretty incredible restaurants in the area and I really did indulge.  You can eat your way around the world just going to the restaurants in one street.

  Oh and the tapas (proper Spanish tapas, not the slider sort) were amazing.  I ate there a couple of times because it was so good and I have no idea when I'll be back again.  I also refuse to get on the scales to see how much weight I put on in those few days.  It was worth it though!

Awesome tapas and sangria, less than 100 metres from my hotel :)

Have a wonderful week everyone.

xx Susan

Anzasc Day 2019

Anzac Day 2019 was a very different day to what we have observed in the past.

Since Miss R was 6 years old we have gone to our local march and service each year as she has insisted on participating with her school.

She's worn her great grandfather's service medals proudly over the years and this year had every intention of doing the same.

Life can throw you a bit of a loop though so instead of being upset about not following a tradition, we've embraced the change.  Then again, we didn't have much choice in the matter!

This Anzac Day, Miss R was in a hospital bed being prepped for surgery.

We heard an Anzac Day ceremony and the last post being played on a radio down at the nurses station so we, and the other family in the room were silent and observed and reflected on what it meant for us in those moments.

If your child is in pain while the last post is being played, it's okay to help them.  It doesn't mean that you're not showing respect.

Also, just before midnight on Anzac Day my wonderful great uncle passed away.  He was my Mum's uncle and we spent many years travelling north to his home in Lucinda which was right on the beach.  

I think I was 7 years old the first time we visited and we headed north nearly every June school holidays after that.  You will be missed Uncle Ed and thank you for the many wonderful memories that I have of our time with you over the years.

Miss R is home now but has left her pesky appendix at the hospital.  She is sore and miserable but is on the mend.  I'm also not a great nurse so I'm happy that lovely hubby is still home to help in these first few days.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

xx Susan

Baby blanket

Hello my friends.

This is a quick post to show you the baby blanket I finished last week.  I've had a pretty amazing start to the week and have even had the chance to have a few days away completely on my own which has been incredible.

More on that another time as even though I've got so much to show and tell you about those few days, it was cut short a little when I got a call from my husband to say that he was off to hospital with Miss R.

She's okay for now but Dad's doing the shift with her tonight so I thought I would pop in, say hello and show you the blanket.

The pattern is called Radiating Dragonflies Throw which is a free pattern from here.

These were a couple of snaps I took before I headed off on my little jaunt.  I'm loving it and am very happy it's finished well before the due date.

I hope you are all having a good week and I'll pop back in when I get the chance although I'm not sure when that will be at this stage.

xx Susan

Random school holiday moments

I can't believe that we're three quarters of the way through the school holidays already.  I'm LOVING not having to make lunches every day or try and get the kids out of bed, ready and off to school on time.  For me, that's a holiday in itself.

It's been a bit of a funny old break though as there were plans made but they really didn't involve me so I've just been plodding along.

There has been crochet of course, although I'm not getting as much done as I had intended.  That's okay as I'm doing what I can, when I can and it's all working out beautifully.

Miss R had her Equine Therapy session the other day which she loves and we find them so beneficial at helping her with her emotions.  She's always had an affinity with animals and when we first heard about Equine Therapy something just clicked and we knew it would be perfect for her.

No sitting in a room talking to someone and playing games etc for our girl.  She's out in a muddy paddock, wearing her gum boots and loving it.

I also get to spend a quiet hour working on some crochet so it's a win - win situation for us all.

Afterwards we went out to lunch and enjoyed spending some time together which is always a pleasure.

Lovely hubby has taken some time off these holidays although I can't say that we've seen him much at all.

Hubby, Master M and Patch the dog headed about 600 kilometres away to a cattle property in western Queensland.  That meant just Miss R and I for a few days and it was so quiet in the house.

Master M only lasted a few days and ended up coming home with my brother and his boys (so did Patch) so our plans for the second week of the school holidays have changed slightly now that it's not just us girls.  Hubby is still out there and we honestly have no idea when he'll be back (very limited phone service), so the kids and I are just loafing about like we often do during our breaks.  

While Miss R and I were on our own we painted our nails with glow in the dark nail polish we bought when we were out and about the other day.

I really tried to take a photo of my glowing nails in the dark but they just didn't turn out.  I can tell you this stuff works though and is actually a bit creepy when you wake up in the night and realise your nails are glowing.  (I used the watermelon coloured one although they all glow white).

Where was this stuff when I used to go to school discos in the 80's!

...and that my friends, pretty well sums up our holidays so far.  Not much has been happening at all and we are enjoying it.

I hope you're all enjoying your week too.

xx Susan

Latest makes

It's school holidays here for the next couple of weeks and we are enjoying a pretty laid back start to the break after what seemed like a long school term.

There has been a bit too much screen time already but we've tried to balance that with a couple of outings too.  A trip to Brisbane airport was a highlight as we had to drop a family member off there the other day.  I have to admit that it did make me a little jealous as I have itchy feet with the travelling that family members seem to be doing lately.

Rather than jetting off somewhere, I've immersed myself in my happy place and have been working on a few projects.

I'm part way through making a baby blanket for a gift.  We know that the couple are having a boy and I wanted to do something a bit different and incorporate dragonflies into it.

I'm really enjoying making this and got the pattern from here if anyone's wishing to make it.  It's called the Radiating Dragonflies Throw and there's a pdf pattern available to buy or it's also free on the designers website (link available from the pattern page).

The pattern changes colour for each round of dragonflies but I wanted to keep the whole blanket blue and then change to white or cream for the border.  I'll definitely show you the finished product in a few weeks time.

Some friends were visiting my sister the weekend of her birthday and their son and Master M got on really well.  Master M happened to take one of his scarves over there one morning when we visited which was promptly utilised for a ninja headband, a pirate sash and a multitude of other things in their play.  

The other Master M (my boy's friend), asked me if I could make him a scarf so I searched through my stash and found a whole heap of tiny balls leftover from the kids blankets.

There was just the right amount to make a child's scarf which I made using half treble crochet stich (UK terms) through the back loop which gave it a rib like texture.  Perfect for a little boy to play ninja's or pirates.

All that's needed now is to package it up and post it to him.

I also can't have a slight obsession with making shawls without having one on the go either.  I'm loving how this one is turning out.

I've also only just noticed the colour scheme of these different projects.  Anyone would think that I like blue!!  :)

Enjoy your week everyone.

xx Susan

Fifty

My beautiful sister turned 50 last week and we celebrated by having dinner in Caloundra with family and friends.

You may remember that we had an earlier celebration in August last year while Elizabeth was visiting from England.  That was a great day too but we were finally able to celebrate on the exact day.

We can't forget the other two birthday girls.  Donna and Robyn are two of my sister's besties and the three of them have a birthday on the 28th, 29th and 30th so it's a few days of celebrations.

It was wonderful catching up with friends like the gorgeous Jodi who has been a friend for nearly as long as I can remember.  She lived near us growing up and was always a fixture at our house and has basically been part of our family.

The lovely Heilala was there too and it's always wonderful to catch up with this gorgeous woman.  We were in the same class all through school and I love that we have so many long standing friendships.

So Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister and best friend.  I hope you had a wonderful night.

Oh and Miss R was just ecstatic that they had lambs brains on the menu.  She and her Nanna just LOVE them.

I'll leave you with a sneak peek at one of the gifts I gave my sister.  You may remember me mentioning a secret project that I've been working on since Christmas.

Well I designed and made a shawlette/scarf for my sister in memory of both our Grandmothers who loved to crochet as well.  I'll write more about this in a future post but I can finally show you the finished item.

xx Susie