Temperate blanket

 This intrigued me and I had seen a few of them but I didn't really like what I saw so I created my own.

Basically a temperate blanket is crocheting one row each day of the year to correspond with that days temp. Therefore it would be 365 rows with many different shades.

Too hard basket for me so I choose six colours and did a granny square for each day.

Blue 15 to 19, green 20 to 24, yellow 25 to 29 and red for 30 plus. A final row of grey around each one. 

I set it out like a calendar with Monday being the first day, if Wednesday was the first day of the month, then it was a solid grey and maroon was a filler at the end of the month.

It was to be Jan and Feb with Mar and Apr under it, then I realised how big it would end up. Warren has six months and I will have the second six months on a smaller scale.

Blankets

 While on holidays, I completed four crochet blankets, had some stitching to do once we got home as it's far easier to stitch them together on a large table.

As we don't drive as far as we used to in a day and we stop often, Warren likes to drive and pretty much does it all so I crochet while he drives. There is a fourth one, all in blue that I started on the second last day and finished at the weekend, I didn't take a photo of that one before I packed it up with the others for delivery.

Newcastle/Stockton beach

 Hate driving through Sydney so we usually drive through NSW west of Sydney. However we wanted to catch up with old friends who live in Newcastle, north of Sydney. Actually it is more north than we thought but anyway we went from Tooraweenah directly East to Stockton. 

Our friends had picked a pub to meet up for dinner which was only a km from our caravan park. We were going to walk then realised it would be dark coming home so we did drive just as well as there were road works and detours. We were early but so were they. They had caught a bus and then a ferry! What!

Yep, just goes to show that we don't know as much about our country as we thought. Yes, Stockton is on a spur and there is a ferry across to the "mainland". Had a great night, it was trivia night so did that as well, we were terrible at it, came last in both sections even after being given 10 extra points for being Queenslanders.

As we had not been to Newcastle before, W and B insisted in showing us around. We walked to the ferry after lunch the following day, they met us and we did the tour, Walker style. Hot chocolate before returning via ferry. Think we walked about twelve ks. The next day we drove to W and B's for a bbq to meet up with their daughter, her husband and baby, ten month old Harry.

Oh dear, we realised that we saw them last when they visit us, fifteen years ago, Amy was about to enter uni. Far too long between visits, however our visits were just like we saw them a month before. We have all said that we won't leave it for another fifteen years.

Tooraweenah

 First visit in over three years. We have caches there and like to check on any of our owned caches once a year. I had packed supplies to do this, only one was missing Miss Frilly Knickers. A small teddy bear with, you guessed it frilly knickers glued to a mint tin. She had been placed in a type of cave in the rock on the side of the road. Had been found a month ago, we think that frilly knickers hadn't been put back securely and maybe an animal had taken it. Any way we replaced in with an ordinary container. Finders had added or replaced logs on some of the others. Very pleased to see that.

It was Warren's birthday, the day we were there so I took him to the pub for lunch. There is a pub, a post office, garage and caravan park.

Wedges with bacon cheese sweet chilli and topped sour cream. Yum, we shared and couldn't finish the bowl!

Scenes from Tooraweenah sunny day.

Wellington

 Famous for its caves. We have stayed at the caves caravan park a few times but decided to stay at the Riverside cp this time instead. 

Settling up the camper we heard a loud bang, it was one of the gas structs it had snapped at the bolt.

Goats grazing along the river at the back of our camp site.

We got it over and set up then Warren took it off.

This is the other side one which is intact. No joy in Wellington to get any but could get a pair in Dubbo, 45 KMs away and on our way the next morning.

Too easy, of course, could not get the bolts that attach the struct to the trailer, apparently they are a special from Cub, maker of the camper trailer. We have now ordered a set from there. 

Packing and unpacking needs to be done a little differently, the broken side needs to be "braked" when coming down so that it doesnt collapse too quickly but so far we have done it twice and only need two more before we are home.

Metro in Canberra

 Three years ago a light rail opened in Canberra, north of the city. At the moment it only runs from the northern suburbs into Civic, (CBD).

I like trains and trams so we drove to the end of the line, not that far from where we were staying, parked and bought a ticket. All day cost us $9.

Wow, quiet and fast. Fourteen stops and it runs every fifteen minutes, would have been great when I was working as there was a stop seven minutes walk, would have saved me a few parking tickets. Opposite my office building was parking for four hours, always the intention to move the car at lunch, sometimes it happened, sometimes it didn't, sometimes I got a ticket, probably one a fortnight.

We went all the way to Civic, checked out my old building which is now a restaurant, two in fact, one Chinese and one Malay, we went to the Malay as the first one was full, no tables to be had.

We lunched and then caught the next one back as it was too cold to be out for long.

Warren was impressed by the fact that the tram had right of way, did not have to stop at any lights. Plans and construction are in place to extend it to the south. The sooner the better I think.

Black swans

 Great photo of black swans that are on Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.

Not my photo but a friends who did a good job which is why I am using it.