Norma's Kaffetastic Kaffetivating Circle Game Quilt

What do you give a friend who is the best kind of friend?  A friend who is always there to prop you up whenever you are feeling down; one who will always bring a smile to your face and have you doubled over from laughing; one who is always there to share a cuppa (even if only via Instagram); one who is not only spiritually encouraging but is always up for a bit of secret squirrel mischief; a fellow lover of Kaffe Fassett fabrics and one who has been drooling over your latest quilt creation... hmmmm a smaller version of the quilt that you are making made in Kaffe Fassett fabrics of course!

My dear friend Norma may live on the other side of the world in Savannah, Georgia (USA); but despite the distance, it feels like she is always here with me thanks to social media.

The last few months since I lost my precious purr-baby Gemma, I have immersed myself into making my Circle Game Quilt (pattern by Jen Kingwell). I initially started to post photos of some of the blocks on the blog earlier in the year however the quilt started to head in a different direction style wise and my earlier blocks no longer fitted with the new scheme.  I had four "spare" blocks and despite telling Norma that I had thrown them out (as if!), I put them aside with her name pinned to them.  Initially I sewed the four blocks together but they didn't feel right, so after discussing options with a mutual friend I decided to make some extra blocks and enlarge it into a lap size quilt for Norma to snuggle under.  

Norma's favourite colour is aqua so I used an aqua wideback fabric for the backing and I hand quilted it using black and grey Perle 8 threads. Before I posted the quilt to Norma, I took it with me on a recent Probus day trip to the Melbourne Docklands - here are some of the photos: 

Our first stop on the tour was at the "Organ Pipes National Park" a national park located in the Central region of Victoria.  Sadly we didn't have time to explore but I did manage a few quick photos near the car park. 

Later that day as we stopped for lunch at "Pier 35 Bar & Grill" in Port Melbourne, as the group sat and chatted I grabbed the quilt and my camera and took a few more photos along the waterfront:

 

Here are some close ups of the front and the back of the quilt which I took when I got back to Bendigo (the lap quilt measured approximately 41"sq):

Front of Quilt

Back of quilt showing the hand quilting.

The quilt was posted in November with some other goodies and after an extended delay by the USPS in New York, it EVENTUALLY arrived at Norma's house a month later.

Just to clarify it was actually a Lap Quilt & not a mini.

Probus Mystery Tour

Back on the 18th of November 2015, my parents invited me to join them and their Probus group on a "Mystery Tour".  We departed Bendigo early morning and headed off on our adventure.  After a brief comfort stop at the Organ Pipes National Park the coach continued down the Calder Highway towards Melbourne.  

Our first major stop was a visit to the Melbourne Star - a giant Ferris wheel in the Waterfront City precinct in the Docklands area of Melbourne.  Melbourne Star is one of only four giant observation wheels in the world and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere. Each of the Melbourne Star's 21 spacious, air-conditioned cabins gives you an unparallelled, 360-degree view of the city.  Once on board you can walk around and take in the views from all angles, while audio commentary gives you a brief introduction to the history and significance of the sights below.

Welcome to Melbourne Star Observation Wheel

Our "flight" commences

My Mum looks like she's praying! =0)

My Dad is behind the camera lens

West Gate Bridge in the background and the shipping container yards of Port Melbourne.

Bolte Bridge

A view of Melbourne's CBD

A view of the Yarra River

A view of one of the other cabins going over the top.

Another river view

Bolte Bridge

Coming in to land

A close up view of the mechanics

Disembarking

Another view of the observation wheel

I don't have many family photos so it was nice to have this photo of my parents & I which was taken by one of Melbourne Star's photographers.

After our 30-minute "flight" we were driven to Port Melbourne where we enjoyed a relaxing lunch at Pier 35 Bar & Grill.  

Pier 35 Bar & Grill is located on the waterfront in Port Melbourne, and features modern Australian cuisine with a variety of fresh seafood and steaks as well as an extensive wine list. The restaurant has cosy and warm surrounds in one of Melbourne's best water front locations. The floor to ceiling windows show off their waterfront location so that every table has a view of Port Melbourne's unique waterways. 

My lunch - a calamari salad - YUM!!!

Mum had a Chicken Parmigiana for lunch.

A rare photo of me outside the restaurant.

On the way back to Bendigo we stopped off at Donnybrook Cheese at Monteleone Restaurant in Donnybrook where we enjoyed a coffee and watched a cheese making demonstration.  

Donnybrook Cheese and Monteleone Restaurant are owned and operated by the Monteleone family who for 5 generations have been making Artisan gourmet cheese. Located at Donnybrook, the restaurant was founded from a simple philosophy that cheese enhances every delicious meal.  The restaurant contains delectable Italian cuisine, specialising in wood fired pizza and fresh rustic dishes found in Southern Italy. The restaurant is attached to the well known Donnybrook Farmhouse Cheese shop. While dining, patrons are free to pop in to the shop and sample their freshly made dairy produce made traditionally with milk from their own heard of cows.  Outside of the restaurant’s trading hours, the cheese shop is open to the public from 9am - 5pm Wednesday to Sunday.

Inside the restaurant

View of the wood fired oven

My coffee made with milk that was fresh from the cow.

Looking inside the cheese fridge in the shop

40+ Probus members fighting to get to the front of the queue to buy cheese

My cheese haul.

We arrived back into Bendigo early evening after a fun filled day with our bellies full of yummy food & a bag full of cheese. 

Do It In Deni! My day out with Probus to Deniliquin.

 

 

I don't usually post articles about travel on here (as that was a previous life when I still had my health & was able to live life), but late last week my elderly parents invited me to join their Probus group on a day trip to Deniliquin.  The deal - if I would be their photographer, I could have a day out of the house including lunch.  Yes, I am so desperately broke I will work for food!

 

Where is Deniliquin?  Deniliquin, known locally as "Deni",  is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales close to the border with Victoria (Australia). Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina and Cobb Highway approximately 725 kilometres south west of the state capital, Sydney and 285 kilometres north of Melbourne, and is 171 kilometres NE of Bendigo (see map - Bendigo is the blue dot).

Deniliquin has much to offer, whether you are into utes (for which they are famous for), history, sport, bushwalking, camping, fishing, bird watching or learning about life in rural Australia.  Deniliquin enjoys a warm climate with more sunshine hours each year than the Gold Coast.  Summer temperatures average 31.8C, spring & autumn average 23.7C and winter is a mild 15.4C

We left very early in the morning and had a brief toilet stop at Echuca on the way north.  We arrived at Deniliquin late morning.

Our first stop was at the Visitor Centre & Peppin Heritage Centre.  Originally the Deniliquin Public School, it was renamed the Peppin Heritage Centre in honour of the Peppin family and the influence they had on the founding of the Australian Merino industry.  The centre's museum includes a history of the Peppin Merino, an original ram shed, the Wanganella Gaol, the Struggle for Water exhibition and the latest permanent exhibition titled "Squatters, Surveyors and Selectors - Settlement along the Edward", which covers the history of stations along the Edward River.

"TransmUTE" - this FB Holden Ute was transformed into a work of art by the local community and was unveiled in 2008.  It celebrates Deniliquin's famous Ute Muster.  The mosaic sculpture design depicts the local landscape, agriculture, river, sunset, sky and much more.

TransmUTE

The "SHOD" - this giant half of a bullock shoe was erected in 2009 as a tribute to the pioneer bullockies. 

Me in camouflage with a local art exhibition inside the Visitor Centre. 
I chose the right skirt to wear that day! LOL

A Peppin Merino Ram - he looks a bit stuffed to me!

Peppin Heritage Centre

Peppin Heritage Centre

Following our visit we were taken on a leisurely coach tour around the township with a couple of local guides. 

View of the Edward River

View of the Edward River

The "Ute on the Pole" - in 1999, Deniliquin held the inaugural "Play on the Plains" Festival and a part of the festival was to attract as many utes as possible.  A Guinness World Record was set with 2839 utes turning up!  In 2010, 10152 utes were counted! The iconic WB Holden Ute complete with engine, bulbar, stickers and aerials was erected in 2000 and confirms that Deniliquin is the Ute Capital of the World.  It is situated in Charlotte Street, on the edge of the Edward River and beside the National Bridge.

A close up of the "Ute on a Pole"

Here's me showing off my fantastic parking skills!

The Deniliquin Ute Muster Site is approximately 2kms from town on the Conargo Road.  The gates are a must see!  The festival has been held on this site since 2002 and as the event has grown so has the infrastructure which can be seen.   The Festival also features the Guinness Book of Records Blue Singlet Count, which now stands at 3500, and the Australian National Circle Work Championships.  The event features two days jam packed with entertainment - live music concerts, trade sites, sports driving area, bull rides, bogan spotting, and a host of other entertainment for the whole family on the NSW Labour Day Weekend in October.  For further information visit: www.deniutemuster.com.au

  Lunch was at the Globe Hotel (grilled fish and salad for me).

 

Our lunch venue - The Globe Hotel

 

Grilled Barramundi and salad for me.

 

Our group spread over 4 or 5 tables.

Following lunch was an afternoon visit to the local Historical Society Museum including  hosted afternoon tea.  Located at the end of Macauley Street, the former Police Inspector's Residence has been fully restored and has a fantastic display of life in Deniliquin, from the early days to the present, as well as extensive historical records.  The highlight for me was the small collection of antique irons and sewing machines and the beautiful rose garden.

Deniliquin Historical Society

Vintage EMU Sewing machine & table

 

Vintage SINGER Sewing machine & table

 

Hand powered SINGER Sewing Machine

 

Heritage Society's Rose Garden

 

Heritage Society's Rose Garden

 

Heritage Society's Rose Garden

 

Afternoon tea at the Heritage Society

 

An Iced Vovo biscuit!  I haven't seen one of those for years.  Shame it wasn't gluten-free!

 

I *HAD* to include this photo.  These are my parents - fondly referred to as Dad and Mum.  In typical fashion Dad is reaching for more cake whilst Mum looks on with a look of disdain on her face. Bwahahahahahaha
"Disdain" - the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or respect.

 

I was going to make a joke about "Probus members all being retired dentists so that I can't show you their faces"; but I know a lot of people outside of Australia would not have seen that TV ad and would not "get" the joke.  Anyway, here's a group shot during the end of day speeches. I was meandering around the museum whilst they were eating cake hence I was caught off guard and at the back of the room.

On the drive back to Bendigo, my mother entertained us by reading "Sam The Lamb" - a cute kiddies colouring-in book about the Australian Wool Industry.  You can download your own copy of this cute little book via the SAM THE LAMB website. 

Barbara reads "Sam the Lamb"

 

Wool may be used to knit and crochet!

 

Traffic jam!

 

Cows on the loose

 

Welcome back to Victoria!  We crossed the state border from Moama to Echuca.

 

Turn right to Bendigo...

 

After Dad insisted on showing our coach driver a "short cut" back to Bendigo, we eventually arrived back into town early evening.  A very exhausting day for me but I was so grateful to escape the confines of my house & of Bendigo, even if only for a day.

 

Many thanks to the Strathdale Probus Group and Deniliquin Tourism.  Information sourced from Deniliquin Tourism & Deniliquin Visitor Information Centre. http://www.denitourism.com.au/

 

"Do it in Deni" on the Edward River.