Gnomes!!!

Those *b*&%" Gnomes have been playing on the computer while I've been out.

They say they quit out of my account and managed to set up their own email and blog, but they have been leaving messages around the place with my photo. I even found my name changed on my blog!!!

I knew there was a reason why I didn't want gnomes at my house!

Goodness knows what else they've done. Apologies if anybody has had confusing messages on their blogs.

If you want to tell them off, do so here!

Wordless Wednesday

HEALTH WARNING!

DO NOT SWALLOW BUBBLE GUM!

Received this from a friend. Just had to share it!

Musical Monday

"Dreamcatcher: the best of Secret Garden" Universal Music Noway 2003/Australia 2004

includes Nocturne; Dreamcatcher; Passacaglia; Illumination; Windancer; etc

This is a beautiful CD. It has nothing to do with the musical of the same name. Secret Garden is Fionnuala Sherry and Rolf Lovland.

The music is haunting and hypnotic. It carries you away to wherever you desire. The words are beautifully sung and weave magic around you.

This is one of my favourite CDs and gets played frequently in our house.

Visit Secret Garden

Scatterday!

Today's Scatterday is brought to you by the umber letter U, and the categories: Street, Cartoon Characters, and, Things People Pay a Lot of Money For.

The idea for this uno photo was unbelievably easy in planning. Urging someone to help me with it was, understandably, the understatement of the year!

At underntime today, DH and I set out for Union Street, Wallsend, undaunted, to undertake our uncertain mission.
We had been tipped off that underhand activities were underfoot in this urban street.
We were unafraid!
We reached the bottom of the street, and looking uphill, we spied this!





Two of the umpteen Underpants Gnomes (cartoon characters from South Park), underneath an umbrella, totally unabashed at being caught stealing someone's undergarments! People pay a lot of money for their undies, particularly satin and lace ones. The Underpants Gnomes were hoping to go undetected. Their plan is 1. Steal underpants,2....,3. Make money.

Well, they are no longer unseen. Many cars drove by with uncomprehending people staring out the windows. Fortunately for the Gnomes, no-one stopped to ask them (or us) to explain this unaccountable scenario!

Postie's been!

Wow, did I get some good mail today!

First of all, an ATC from Sylvia, arrived. Sylvia is my swap partner in the SCQATC swap #2.
She has called her ATC Bingi Trees. Isn't it beautiful? It's hard to see here, but she has sewn lovely lines of stitching and machine embroidery and added tiny green beads.
I hope she likes the one I am sending her.
That makes 3 ATCs I own now. My first one was from Erica and my other one is one of Linda's pink and red ones.
I believe Erica has 200 ATCs, so I have a long way to go!

As well, the latest edition of Australian Country Craft and Decorating arrived. Every time it arrives, it reminds me that I won an embellishing machine off them, so I'm doubly happy!
This month's issue has a lovely quilt project from Ruth Buchanan, called Song of the Birds.
I love how Ruth puts together fabrics that I would never have thought of combining, and yet, they always work. Her quilts are so fresh and modern.

Then, a parcel arrived from the US with:

*2 backordered issues of Quilting Arts. These were ordered because they contained articles which I felt could assist me with my exploration into fibre art.


*A copy of Quilting Arts: Gifts, a holiday issue.

* a book entitled Hot Textiles: inspiration and techniques with heat tools, by Kim Thittichai. I've only had a quick perusal, but it looks good value. She covers all sorts of stuff, with explanations and exercises.

*and these little lovelies...2 packets of Oliver Twists experimental packs, containing abaca tissue, silk throwster waste, silk carrier rods, cotton and rayon threads and a coil of coloured wire. I chose the Sunset pack and the Violet pack. Can't wait to try stuff with them!

Wordless Wednesday

Musical Monday

Shirley Bassey: "Never Never Never"; United Artists Records, 1973

Songs list: Never, Never, Never; Baby I'm-A Want You*; Someone Who Cares; The Old-Fashioned Way; I Won't last a Day Without You; Somehow; There's No Such Thing As Love; Killing Me Softly With His Song*; Going, Going, Gone; No Regrets; Together; Make The World a Little Younger.
* My favourites

(Dame) Shirley Bassey was born in Cardiff, Wales on January 8th 1937. She is probably best known for her James Bond theme songs: Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever. She also recorded Moonraker, but that one isn't as well known. She is the only singer to have recorded more than one James Bond theme song.

I bought this album with Birthday money in 1973. I loved her rich melodic voice and thought it was so sexy, I tried lowering my voice to match.
The album is moody, sexy and poignant, and the theme is love and disappointment in love. Perfect for someone in their late teens, in that era!

I still like her voice, and I enjoyed listening to this album again, after all these years. Definitely one to put on when relaxing in a bubble bath with a glass of vino.

Scatterday!

This week's Scatterday is brought to you by the elastic letter E and the categories: White, Plant World, and Terrifying Things.

My first thought was to try and get a photo of a white ethereal, ectoplasmic, eidolon, or even an energumen, hanging from an elm, but that did not evolve.
My next thought was for an elemental subject: white electrons from an electric storm over the Eucalypts, but for once, no electrical storm!
No earthquake, no electric chair, no terrifying, white-faced enemy, eager to ensnare and enfetter me!

What was I to do?

I was eager to exert myself to encounter that single E photo.

Then Eureka! After much excogitation, this eclectic exhibit evolved:



On the exterior of an elongated, white envelope, I have executed in pen, an enormously enlarged epideictical image of the exotic Ebolavirus, copied from a photo of the virus as seen under an electron micrograph.
(It might not look terrifying here, but if Wikipedia is any endeixis, it will provide elucidation. No exaggeration, you would be terrified if Ebola suddenly became epidemic in your home environment!)

Forget about your plant derived Eucalyptus oil and other plant essential oil cures, forget about elecampagne and elderberry wine, and even forget about Erythromycin emulsion or tablets. They're not enough to stop it attacking the endothelial cells.


I have just read Cinzia's Scatterday post. It's a real hoot! You have to scroll down a bit, she posted early.

Pay It Forward

I have wanted to join in on a Pay It Forward for a while, but didn't have enough confidence in the quality of my work. This year, I know it's going to improve so...
I just had to join the fun when Lissa started one on her blog.
I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange.
I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you won't receive it tomorrow or next week, or probably even this month, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise!
The only thing you have to do in return is 'Pay it Forward' by making the same promise on your blog.

Please leave an email address so I can contact you about your snail mail addy.

Wordless Wednesday

Musical Monday

For his Birthday last December, I bought DH a turntable that could plug into the computer, so he could convert the old vinyl records (and some very old bakelite ones!) into CDs.

This has meant dragging out the record collection, and it has given me an idea.
I have decided to choose an album or CD from our music collection to share with you, each Monday.

There will be ones that I love, ones I can't believe I bought, ones given to us, and some inherited from the previous generation. This may (or may not) bring back memories for some of you. It might even give you a laugh, occasionally!

So here's my first choice.

"Quatro" by Suzi Quatro! [1974 E.M.I.]

with Dave Neal - drums, Alistair McKenzie - keyboards, and Len Tuckey - lead guitar.

Boy was she a dynamo. All of 5 feet +a couple of inches, petite figure, sweet face. But energy to burn and a gutsy hard rock voice! She also played (plays) bass.

In the early 70s, I loved her! Being only 5 foot nothing myself, and having a petite figure back then, I thought she was the most wonderful female alive. Her leather, skin tight outfits were to die for!

Songs on this album include "The Wild One" (probably my favourite); "Klondyke Kate"; "Devil Gate Drive" (who from that era doesn't remember that one!); "Hit the Road Jack" and "Keep A-Knockin".

I'll keep this one, for posterity, but these days, it's probably a bit heavy for me, to play the whole album at once.

I heard her interviewed a couple of years ago, and she was still out there touring with her band.

Scatterday!

I am very late this week. I could use the excuse that I had trouble finding the computer vacant, but the truth is, I vacillated so much between 2 ideas, that I didn't get either done!

When put to the vote with the family, they came out equal, so here you are!

This week's Scatterday is brought to you by the violet letter V, and the categories Car parts, Office items, and In the kitchen.

Scatterday 1:

Visual Display units:

in the office, we have the computer monitor, otherwise known as the Visual Display Unit (VDU),

in the kitchen, we have the visual display on the microwave, which is about to cook a veal and vegetable casserole,

and the car has a visual display where one can verify the velocity at which one is travelling and also the vital volume of fuel in the tank.

Scatterday 2: When it came to one photo, I thought the letter V would be victorious. I vaguely tried to work out how to get various car parts (like vents and V8 engines) into the kitchen, but eventually, I felt vanquished. Until....

In the kitchen, my recipes are kept in a vertical file (which was no longer needed in the office, and notice the first file is verdant), and, Oh look!, DH has been tinkering with the car and has left a V belt , a set of vernier gauges and a vitreous china spark plug on the cupboard top, (along with the vegemite he had for breakfast!).

Now wasn't that visibly valiant of him!