Visit to Ripley

 A tourist streak of parkruns has been happening and it was suggested to take up one at Ripley, near Ipswich.

All well and good but then there is the logistics. I am not an early bird buy yes I will go. Alarm set for 4am. We were picking up Sheridan at 5.30am, leaving home at 4.40 as no way am I leaving without my morning coffee and no, I do not take it with me, so 4am wake up, shower dress, coffee.

We were rather early everywhere but that's okay. The park run off behind the shopping centre.

Sporting metal figures were dotted around the other side of the shopping centre where Lucy and I walked.

I checked my phone for caches and yep, one within 60 metres, it was on one of the metal figures, bonus.

A standing pig outside the butchers.

My breakfast. Then I had a meal replacement for lunch. Loved the glass jugs that they were served in.

Sewing.

 I bought a new sewing pattern for 7 to 10 year old from a charity shop. It looked easy and only had a zip at the back.

Many of the ladies sew for little kids 2-5 and while they look cute I figure the bigger kids need clothes too.

I opened the packet of the pattern and to my surprise, it had never been used. 

To date I have made eight of the size ten. It's actually a top with a skirt and there is also a pattern for pants.

This was some of the fortnight's sewing.

I had this satin fabric so I made the  skirt and pants with pockets from a coppers shirt.

Some ribbon that I had

I used the button placket down the front for the uniform part and also used 

Latest blanket

 We learnt a new stitch at crochet, we only do a small swathe of about 30 stitches. I thought it would make an interesting blanket. 

I usually like to build z square from the middle therefore I don't need to continuously count stitches. I did chains to measure 44 inches.

I bought the wool for another project which I didn't start as we were going to just four weeks after the first two weeks. The project was a term thing through our crochet group getting a section each week.

This was an easy stitch but required carrying the wool across which became quite tangled towards the end.

I ended up just doing stripes to finish it and it measured 45 inches by 45 inches, I had a little left of the yellow and light green at the end.

Tannum Sands

 Was were we stayed. We went to get the handover of the Cub Club files and computer. Warren and I are going to run the club for a couple of years. The out going administrator has been doing it for ten years and wanted a break.

Warren took the opportunity to do the Tannim Sands park run as well. The camper was fine overnight but it really heated up during the day.

As Warren was pretty tired when we arrived, I suggested we break the journey homel and do a couple of nights at Maryborough. Nice place and there were some caches there that we could find. We rang to book only to ve told they weren't taking any booking due to the cyclone that was about 400kms out to sea. It was expected to come inland by Tuesday. 

We headed for home on the Sunday.

 

Peacocks and peahens were walking through the camp.

The start of the parkrun.

We paid a few dollars extra to get an unsuited.

Our first night, there was a wood fired pizza guy on-site $15 saved me cooking and we took Lucy for a walk along the foreshore. Trouble was, there were a few mossies around.

Gin Gin

 Heading north, we were discussing a great place that we had stopped before. At first we thought it may be Childers but no the big bakery was not there.

Onwards we continued, fifty kilometres later and we had found it, it was Gin Gin.

No idea why it is called this but it is a fantastic place to take a break if travelling. 

There is caravan parking in the centre of the highway, a wide park between the parks with two toilet blocks along it, one north and one south and an information office in between. A fenced kids playground and all under large shady trees. Across the road is a large bakery and across the other way is a coffee cafe with food like avo on toast, toasted sandwiches with seating outside.

Plenty of seating in the middle of the road as well.

All in all, a very pleasant place to spend some time out of the car.

Bakery is the back of the car to the left.

Woodford

 Country market day was Sunday at Woodford. We saw the flags out advertising along the street when we drove through to go to Kilcoy.

Could be a nice day out we thought, plus we know there is a good coffee cafe there.

It started at 7.30, huh, no way were we going to get there then but we did leave home about 8.30.

The town boasts a main throughfare plus a side street on each side, making it easy to get to the shop and park. One side has lovely big shade trees and it was under the trees that the market was held.

We parked up and walked across the road to the market, there is a walk way plus further down a set of lights. 

We walked through, I was hoping for vegetables but there were none. Coffee called, it was my turn to buy and carry. Lots of buns, cream cakes etc but nothing really that was suitable for me. I bought Warren a danish and an iced coffe and I had a diet coke.

The day before we visited a bakery for breakfast and he bought me a pastie which I had some of the insides of, it was a ham tomato and cheese pastie. I think my days of bakery food is over but I didnt even miss it. My coje zero was enough.

Warren bought a homemade steering wheel cover.

Wattle flowers on the edges of the seats.

Metal seats under the trees with a wood lopping scene and spirit of Woodford across it.

Kilcoy visit

 Warren is on a bit of a tourist run with parkrun. He needed a Y for the alfabet so decided that we would go to Kilcoy which is approx 45 minutes away.

Even though its Kilcoy the parkrun is called Yowie.

We had alarms set for 5am as we like to allow extra time just in case.

We were the first people there after the volunteers. Lucy and I set off for a walk around the lake then we walked down the main street and back again. Not very exciting as nothing was open.

We decided not to have our photos taken with the Yowie.

Warren got on the top step of the podium and sixteenth over all. He was miffed

that he was beaten by two people older than him, they were in the next age group.