A flood, a fire, and so much more

It's been quite a few months since I've posted anything here, and I've even had a couple of people ask if I wasn't blogging anymore. That's certainly not my intention... it's just been one of those years for me. I'm hoping that things will calm down soon, and life will be back to normal and I'll be posting more regularly again!

Alex and Sofia, growing up fast

We had a fire in our backyard thanks to a fault in the power lines

I knew a lot of people who had a tough 2016, but mine wasn't too bad. Then others who couldn't wait for 2017 to be over. Again, my 2017 wasn't too bad. But 2018 has certainly thrown unexpected challenges and emotional roller-coasters. An electrical fault with electricity lines above our backyard caused a small fire in our yard a couple of months ago. Also, in May there was flooding in Hobart which caused significant damage to a unit I own there, which has meant much project management, and many hard renovating hours put in by my family (particularly my mum and dad) and some flights down there for Al and myself.

Renovations at my unit following flooding in May 2018

Then, while at the property one day, my mum fell and broke her leg... then later that evening someone crashed into her car and wrote it off. Thankfully, we've worked together and are coming out the other side... my property is looking amazing, mum's recovery is coming along, and Al and I helped her get a nice shiny new car!

My parents did so much to help with my unit...
my Dad in particular spent countless hours working at the unit!

I've learnt so much renovating my unit. From the big things, like just how valuable my family and friends are; to the little things like how to use a power-drill and how to install blinds! It's been a massive journey and I'm so thankful to everyone who has helped :)

Mum's new car!

This year has also seen the loss of a couple of loved family members, and there have also been some broken hearts. Somewhere along the way, with everything that has been happening, I put down my needle and thread and haven't yet found my mojo to pick it back up yet.

My aunt (on the right) sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year.
This photo, of myself with my cousin, grandma and aunt was taken when I last visited Chile in 2009.

So hopefully more posts soon, sharing some new adventures and even maybe some stitching!

Until next time x

Hail yeah... the bike I bought in the US

Over the last six months I've been pushing my mountain biking skills to the next level... I've been racing some more, participated in a couple of skills courses, and worked with Al to conquer sections I never thought I'd be able to do. I also upgraded my bike late last year, which has definitely helped my progress!!

Trying new things at Thredbo, NSW

In the lead up to our US trip, Al started talking about getting a new bike and was exploring the possibility of getting one while we were in the US, where they are more readily available. One day, just out of curiosity, I searched for my dream bike... and found one, in my size, at an amazing price. It was too good to pass up! The bike was waiting for us at Al's friend's house when we arrived in the US... and we soon began the task of pulling it completely apart to be able to cart around (especially after dropping off the rental car at the end of the trip) and bring it home to Australia. 

My Liv Hail, at our local trails in Canberra

Al helped me build the bike back up when we got home... oh ok, so perhaps I actually passed him a few tools in attempt to help him build up my new bike! 

Not the best pic, but one of the only I had of my awesome bike mechanic building my new bike!

As we built it back together, we had a chance to really inspect my dream bike which turns out to be even better than I realised—everything about this bike it top-of-the-range and of amazing quality. It didn't take much to tune it to perfection (thanks to Al's bike-mechanic skills), and I simply love it!

Racing with RockyTrail at Stromlo, ACT

Al also got himself a new bike last year (but back here in Australia), so together we've been hitting up the trails as often as we could—mainly at our local trails at Stromlo or a little further a field at Thredbo, but we also squeezed in a trip to Derby, Tasmania, around my birthday. This was our second time to Derby and it was even better than we remembered. We allowed three days this time, which was all we could manage between family and work commitments, and it was just enough to enjoy what Derby has to offer (although we wouldn't have said no to more time there!). 

Al and I at Derby, Tasmania

Al also loves his new bike! Riding his Santa Cruz Nomad at Derby, Tas.

We've been talking about exploring some more trails both in our local area and further afield now that my skills are pushing to the next level. A dream would be to get across to Canada and ride at Whistler... maybe in a couple of years! 

Not much to improve on my bike, but Al upgraded my chain ring the other day... I love the colour!

Until next time x

To market, to market... Market Folk is finished!

As we enter another cold Canberra winter, I thought it was time to finally finish a quilt I started for Sofia some time ago. And now, I'm happy to report that my version of Market Folk by Cinderberry Stitches is finished!

My finished Market Folk quilt (design by Cinderberry Stitches)

I personalised the centre block

I didn't think it had been sitting in my unfinished pile for that long... until I started looking back through my blog posts to realise I've had it ready to be quilted since October 2016. Oops! Part of the issue was that I couldn't decide whether to machine or hand quilt it—and apparently it took me over 12 months to decide!

I ended up hand-quilting it, and once I got started (with a good movie on in the background) I was surprised how quickly it came along.

Being quite a little quilt, it didn't take long to then sew down the binding. In time I'd like to do a label for it, but for now it's headed straight for my baby girl's bed ready to keep her warm on these cold nights we've been having!

Sofia loves her new quilt!

Until next time x

So what's news?

So what have I been up to since we got back from the US? Well, we got back to Australia on 11 November, and were quickly thrown into all the end-of-year events. Before we knew it, we were on a plane again, this time with all four of our kids and bound for Brisbane to spend Christmas with Al's family.

Our (blended) family 

And now, I can't believe we're already past Easter and ANZAC Day, and about to start the second school term of the year. Sofia finished up at childcare last year and has started pre-school, and young Alex is now in Year 2, and turned 7 last month. The year is flying past, and the kids are growing quickly.

First day of school, 2018

Despite not doing a single stitch through our entire trip to the US, 2018 has seen me get my mojo back... so I have so much to share in this space. For Christmas I made my Mum a little zipper bag designed by Anni Downs, and I've made Sofia a library bag for school as well as starting work on a nap-mat for Sofia (similar to the one I made for Alex last year). Alex has asked when I'll make something else for him, but I'm just not sure what I can make... any suggestions?!

Anni Downs makeup bag

Sofia's library bag, my own design

And that's just scratching the surface... There's so much more stitching to share (including finished projects!) and I'm also keen to blog about my mountain bike adventures since returning from the US. There's just too much for one blog post!!

What have you been up to in the first quarter of 2018?

Until next time x

US trip: Homestretch to New York, New York

From Hershey we headed to the town of Princeton (via a place called Allentown where we stopped in at an interesting little car museum—America on Wheels). Being in this part of the US, we couldn't resist visiting one of their old Ivy League universities which we had heard so much about over the years. And the campus of Princeton University certainly didn't disappoint. It was amazing just walking around the grounds of this prestigious university and seeing this incredible institution.

We stayed overnight nearby at Trenton, and early the next day we returned the rental car as we would catch the train to New York rather than tackle the challenge of driving into Manhattan! Driving across the US had seen us clock up 4,155 miles (or 6,648 kms) in our trusty rented Subaru Forrester.

Manhattan, New York

 While our road trip was at an end, we still had a few days left of our holiday. Our plans had been to leave the "best" for last... New York City, where all the movies tell us dreams are made. During our holiday we had tried to keep costs down on accommodation so we could splash out on a nice place in New York, and had researched to ensure our final night in the US would be at a nice restaurant. But, if I'm brutally honest, after experiencing New York, I think my dreams and best memories of the trip were made elsewhere... at the beginning when we drove through the Santa Cruz mountains, or being at Red Bull Rampage, or mountain biking in Moab, or even laughing our way through the corn-fields in the mid-west! Unfortunately, there were quite a few things that left us with a sour taste about New York... we had issues with our hotel room (which thankfully was finally resolved), and our last night's meal was far from the best we had (although possibly one of the most expensive).

With that said, it was still so good to have been able to experience New York and visit its famous land marks. To see the Lady of Liberty up close, and actually go to the top of the Empire State Building have been things I've wanted to do for a very long time and I'm so glad I've had that opportunity. We both felt sombre at the memorial site of 9/11, and despite all our knowledge on the tragic events, were still enormously impacted by the size of the memorial fountains. And then of course, I can't deny the excitement I felt just walking through Central Park, or going to an actual show on Broadway (we saw Chicago!).

9/11 Memorial with One World Tower behind

Central Park (and the Plaza)

At the top of the Empire State Building!

Our trip across the United States was all up an incredible experience. My amazing man was once again brilliant behind the wheel, getting us safely from one coast of America to the other. We have some wonderful memories and a bucket-load of photos (which we somehow narrowed down to choose just 10 to frame and put on our wall at home!). Now to decide where to visit next...

Map of our 2017 adventure across the United States

Until next time x

US trip: Chicago to Hershey

My writing about this trip seems to be dragging on... partly due to having a busy routine with work and the kids, and partly due to my sheer slackness (ok, ok... mainly due to my slackness!). I will push on but try and finish up this series fairly quickly :)

So last time I wrote, we had made it to Rockford and had caught up with my family for dinner. Before leaving Rockford the next day, we stopped in to tour my uncle's jewellery store, where another of my uncles also works. It was great to catch up with family who I hadn't seen since I was a little girl!

With my uncle, Luis, in his shop Zavius Jewelers

 From Rockford to Chicago the traffic quickly started to build up, and we couldn't believe the speeds people were doing. Driving at the speed limit was apparently dangerous as it meant holding people up and being a nuisance! We went from being in shock and concerned we had missed something to laughter. And before we knew it, we were coming to a halt as traffic slowed to a stand-still... we had made it to the CBD and rapidly became aware of the chaos that is Chicago traffic and how much they loved using car horns. Once we found parking and checked into our accommodation, we opted for a hop on/hop off bus tour to see the city, although as it had started to rain we took the best photos we could from inside the bus! (The next morning however we did manage to get a good view of the city from the 360 degree Chicago Observation Deck, where we also did the 'TILT!' experience—so good!)

View from 360 degree Chicago Observation Deck

In the evening we sought out an Italian restaurant and tried a famous Chicago deep-dish pizza. This ended up being one of the best meals we had on our trip to the US... the wine was excellent, the company was the best (ok, I'm somewhat biased!), and the pizza was amazing.

Deep dish pizza for dinner in Chicago

From Chicago we were en-route to Hershey, Pennsylvania, via Columbus, Ohio (and meaning we also completely crossed the state of Indiana). We stayed overnight in Dublin, on the outskirts of Columbus, to break the journey. These couple of days were pretty much just getting to our next destination, however we did stop at some small towns such as Bedford, PA, where I found a beautiful little quilt shop I just had to stop at... and of course I couldn't leave without some fat-quarters and a new book (which ironically turned out on closer inspection to be by an Australian designer!).

Quilt shop in Bedford... sadly I can't remember the name :(

Finally we made it to Hershey, where we had tickets to see comedian Gabriel Iglesias (aka Fluffy)—one of Al's favourites. It was a great night where we got to relax and have a good laugh. We were asked to put cameras away so no pics from that night, but I'd recommend looking him up on YouTube! And of course, the next morning, we couldn't leave Hershey without touring through the Hershey Chocolate Factory :)

We made our own chocolate bars!

My last instalment on the trip next time!

US trip: Aspen and 'the middle bit'

From Moab we continued to drive east... our next overnight accommodation was booked at Denver, Colorado. We had decided to do the drive via Aspen and we couldn't have picked a better time of year to do so! And what a contrast in scenery in just one day...

From hot Utah with it's orange and red hues, we couldn't believe how quickly we started to see snow dusted mountains appearing in the distance. We were amazed but also excited to be entering yet another picturesque part of the world which we had both heard so much about. Once we arrived at Aspen (and after Al purchased a ski helmet to bring back with us!) we discovered that we could drive all the way to Maroon Bells... a road that apparently during the summer is so busy they stop cars from driving up and you need to ride a shuttle to get there, and in the winter the snow prevents vehicles. We were there in the few weeks per year that they let cars through!

Maroon Bells, Aspen, Colorado

We spent awhile walking around Maroon Bells and taking in the beauty of mountains and region in general. There was something magical... and after some adrenalin-pumped days, the calmness of the waterfalls and backdrop just made us want to stop, relax, and take in our captivating surrounds.

Time was quickly ticking past so we soon headed back into Aspen proper for a quick walk around the John Denver Memorial Garden before we continued on our journey.

John Denver Memorial Garden

From Aspen we went via Independence Pass which would take us via Twin Lakes to get to Denver. We had been warned that the road was incredibly narrow in parts across the Pass, but Al did an amazing job driving us safely through the area and in the end it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. It started to snow as we drove through, and the mist and fog meant that the view of Twin Lakes wasn't much like the pictures we had seen when researching the trip!

Independence Pass

We arrived into Denver and our accommodation after dark and quickly crashed. We had a lot of ground to cover the next day... we were pretty much half way through our holiday, but not yet half way across the country!

And make up some ground we did. This drive was the same as that done by Lloyd and Harry in Dumb and Dumber when they drove "a sixth across the country in the wrong direction." So naturally, during this part of the drive (where there's not exactly much to see or do) we quoted memorable lines from the movie... like "what's the most annoying noise in the world?!". This day would be our longest drive—8 hours worth—to get to Omaha, Nebraska. And we saw a lot of very flat landscapes filled with corn. A lot of corn. And just in case we'd missed it, more corn.

From Omaha we set the GPS for Rockford (which meant crossing Iowa), and not much changed with the scenery... except that we started getting more hills as we approached Illinois. We got to the point that we were researching corn—did you know there are three types? The weather was also getting colder and colder (and much colder than we had expected for autumn) so by the time we got to Iowa, we decided made a quick stop to get some warmer clothing. We got into Rockford quite late but in time to have dinner with my uncle and his family... was so good to catch up with my cousin Sunshine—it had only been 20 years since we had last seen each other!

My cousin, Sunshine, and I

More on the trip next time x