Scary stuff

A while ago, I got into my car to drive 'somewhere' and I had only just left the driveway when I suddenly realised that I had no idea where I was going.  For a couple of seconds I was panic-stricken. All I could think about was the book and movie "Still Alice" about an intelligent, vibrant woman who was suffering from early onset Alzheimer's disease.  Was I "Still Di"?  Thank goodness I remembered where I was supposed to be going and it hasn't happened again, but it still terrifies me when I think about it.

A few mornings after that I was on my way to the pool in Claremont for my early morning  swim when I happened to glance at my phone which was on the seat next to me and this is what I saw -

WHAT???  I have never asked Siri to  give me directions to the pool, nor have I entered this activity into my calendar or requested Google maps for directions.  How did 'she'/Google know where I was going.  I swim three mornings a week and I have been monitoring my phone every day since that first morning.  Sure enough, on each of my swimming mornings, when I turn on the car I get a message about how long it is going to take me to get to Claremont and what the traffic situation is.   Not only that, when I get into the car to drive home from the pool, I get this message -

At first I thought, Siri, this is beyond the call of duty but then I remembered that day when I did not know where I was going and I thought that maybe Siri  knew how terrified I was and decided to give me a little nudge so I wouldn't forget where I was supposed to be headed.

Oh this is scary stuff.

Bringing back the pastels

The Christmas tinsel and glitter has been packed away for another year and it's time to bring back the soft pastels I love.

A pretty soy candle (yet to be lit) and three little rosebuds provide just the right karma for an afternoon on the couch downloading my favourite magazines from the library (free - how good is that) and catching up on some feel good reading.

A bump in the road of life's journey

When I made Maeve some time ago, the last thing I expected to use her for was this.

Chemotherapy was not something I had factored into my life at all. But I am now six weeks into my treatment, have lost most of my hair and Maeve has been very useful.  So has my large collection of scarves.

I have thought long and hard about whether or not to continue writing the cut cloth.  At first my heart wasn't in it, but as I came to terms with my diagnosis I decided that I should keep going, if only to put things in perspective.

Sometimes, as bloggers, I think we tend to sugarcoat life and give the impression that everything in our lives is always perfect.  I am sure I have been guilty of this in the past.  Well, my life is not perfect at the moment, but I have the support of a wonderful family and good doctors and together we are going to overcome this bump in the road.

I might not be making regular posts, but will pop in from time to time to update you on my progress and, hopefully, share what has been happening in the sewing room.

Country weekend

A weekend in the country is good for the soul.

But when you add a romantic country wedding to the mix, it is even better.

We gathered at the top of a hill on a warm spring afternoon.

The bride arrived in style.

And the cows came over to the fence for a better look.

Simply beautiful!

Meet the chickens

 
Mandy has some new additions to her family and they are very cute.

Altogether there are nine little chicks, although she won't be keeping them all as Council regulations mean that the roosters will have to be returned to the people who provided the eggs.  I don't want to think about what will happen to them then, but I hope they go to a good home.

The girls have been having a lovely time with them and the chicks seem to be right at home.

They have been making new friends.

And exploring alternative accommodation.

In a few months we hope to be enjoying freshly laid organic eggs.

Winter lights

Perth is a relatively small city, but it is growing quickly and in the 20 or so years we have lived here it has gone from being a very large country town to a busy and much more interesting city.

We can't compete with London's Winter Wonderland or even Sydney's fantastic light shows, but for the next few weeks our city has its own winter light festival and I think it is lovely.

This was my first attempt at night photography, so my apologies that some of these photos are a little blurred.

Winter's afternoon

After my recent week of hibernation, I felt a desperate need to get out into the great outdoors and fill my lungs with fresh air.

I packed my camera and myself into the car and headed out to Perth's beaches, those close to home and those a bit further away. There was fresh air aplenty and I spent a lovely afternoon gulping it in and feeling the wind in my hair.

 

 

The further from home I went, the more rugged the beaches became.

 

I love the combination of pink and green and nature does it so well.

 

As the afternoon faded, the clouds gathered and I headed back for a glass of red wine and a nice warm house.