More Roma living.....

Yesterday, we did some more roaming around Roma - there are some lovely old buildings.

Then, I couldn't resist, I just had to go visit the Ace Drapery again... oh my goodness, the treasures of quilting fabric inside plus nearly every other crafty thing that you could possibly need.

I really loved these two fabbies but I did resist temptation - not sure how, but I did!

Then it was off to dinner at the Irish pub in town, where I had the most succulent lamb shanks.

After dinner, I gave my DDIL her first cross stitch lesson.

She started to pick it up but not as quickly as the knitting!  However, after a while, we all decided to watch a movie on Netflix - Chef - a sweet, easy watch. 

 So, she switched back to her knitting and is now a third of the way through the scarf!  I think that, for the moment, she is liking knitting more than cross stitch but that may change with some more cross stitch practice.

Today, I accompanied my DDIL to one of her  piano student's homes (on a farm, with chickens, ducks and peacocks).

Where, of course, I found the most adorable cats yet, on my trip - three rag doll cats.  Oh, so beautiful!

... and one of them was a Mama Cat, she had four absolutely gorgeous kittens a few week's back.

 On the stitching front, I have Finish #2 for my Road Trip stitching.  Not overly thrilled with how it has turned out - not the design's fault but mine!  I made an error somewhere near the start, didn't pick it up until it was way too late, so had to ditch the idea of a border and create this snow "hill" instead - now it is a bit of an odd shape - may have to make it a bell-shaped ornie, I think, when I Finish Finish it.

Then, it was on to Start #3.  This is another PS design, The train from PS Book #69, Prairie Village I.  This will be a baby gift for the upcoming family friend's son's baby for whom I made the baby blanket and softies - you can read about them in this post.

 I am hopeful of having this piece near completion by the time we get home late Friday afternoon, as it involves fairly large blocks of single colours.

Anyway, that's me signing off from Roma in Outback Queensland.

hugs, 

Mineral Spa in Mitchell....

Today, TraderVic, DDIL and I headed further up the Warrego Highway to the mineral spa at Mitchell, about 50 mins drive away.

But first we had to check out the town a bit, see where DDIL works at a cafe (one of her three jobs) and try some of her delicious Raspberry and Coconut Bread with Vanilla Butter.

Then it was off to Target Country to buy some bathers to wear at the hot springs and I snapped a few pics as we ran our errands.

This is a brand new pub being opened in Roma next week, the Royal (I think that the original hotel burnt down early last year).  It is a very modern building but with a nod to 19th century architecture.

Then, I found the WWI memorial avenue - not Oak or Elm trees as down in Victoria but Bottle trees.  After WWI, the losses of young men at Gallipoli and the Western Front were so great, that no community across Australia was untouched.  Most, if not all towns have some sort of war memorial and/or Avenue of Honour.

This old church was dated 1872 ...

So, errands run, bathers bought and photos taken, it was off to take the waters at Mitchell.

Of course, I sat in the back and stitched and watched the scenery.  This is where I was up to at the start of the trip.

When we reached Mitchell....

... and my progress on the trip back to Roma.

The scenery along the road - not a lot to see, really.

Of course, as soon as we reached the Spa, I found a furry friend....

The lovely, relaxing spa pool....

Look, another furry friend of a different variety.  His master was having a swim inside - he wanted to join in so badly!

Some details about where the spring water originates from.

After our hot spring spa, we went to the Mitchell Bakery for a delicious lunch and I took some more pics of some quintessential Aussie sights....

On the road back to Roma....

In the late afternoon, I accompanied DDIL to her second "job", playing piano for the local ballet school.  In lieu of pay, she takes ballet classes, I did take some videos of her dancing but, unfortunately, Blogger does not seem to want to upload them!  However, I can tell you that she did very well, considering she has only been learning for five weeks!

Altogether, we were at the ballet school for about three hours, what with the dancing lesson and then she was accompanying the Major ballet exam practice class.  Oh boy, was it interesting - there was drama galore to be had - beautiful dancing, prima donnas, tears, a showdown between an angry mother and the ballet teacher - it was like being in a ballet movie!  

Then it was home for a delicious dinner of Moroccan lamb with couscous, cooked by DS1 and then I taught DDIL to knit.  (There is a most marvellous drapery shop here, where we bought the wool - I am going back tomorrow to have a browse, I think).  She is such a clever girl, she picked it up in no time and is well on her way to completing her first ever scarf!

So, that was Day 2 in Roma.  I hope that you enjoyed it.  Stay tuned for more outback life tomorrow.

hugs, 

An oasis in the desert?

This first morning in Roma, I woke up to beautiful blue skies (unlike grey, wintry Melbourne) and some plump chested birds on a wire.

Just to give you a sense of how far we have travelled.  Melbourne is way down south and Roma is where the red dot is - over 2000km, but only a fraction of our vast continent!

As I was up early with the birds, I stitched some more on my ornie, my little red figure is taking shape.

Once everyone was up and at 'em, we went to a Bush Nursery, Moorelands Bush Nursery (about 30 mins drive away) for a late breakfast.  It was like an oasis in the desert.  Lovely plants, quirky tin animals and delicious, inexpensive food.

My gorgeous DIL.

Then later in the afternoon, we went for a walk around the Railway Dam - so pretty!

Some more progress on my Christmas Ornie in the evening, now there is a little doggie, whilst we played some board games (Sushi GoGo and Munchkin Zombies - don't ask! lol!) and later watched The Shining (still scary after all of these years!)

... and then this morning I woke to this beautiful sunrise and to the laughter of a Kookaburra!

Okay, off on more adventures - talk to you all tomorrow.