MY NEW VINTAGE TOY

I am the very proud owner of a Bernina 730 Record sewing machine, circa early 1960s. My old machine (which is actually only 20 years old) was tired and a bit broken and sewing on it was not a pleasant experience. So hubby took me shopping and we found this refurbished little gem.

30lbs (for metric people: that's heavy!) of brilliant Swiss engineering!

It's a dream to sew with. The motor purrs and the stitches are neat and straight. I pieced a wall-hanging the other day and I was reminded how much I love to sew! I have quite a few projects waiting for me to complete and my creative juices are dreaming up more by the hour! I'll post pictures as I complete them.

Two of my fellow Mad Scribblers (my critique group) also have newly acquired vintage machines. We may have to create a sub-group and call ourselves the Mad Vintage Sewers!

It's even got an attachment for spare bobbins and cotton reels and three pull out drawers for the large assortment of feet.

Do you sew and what do you sew on? I'd love to hear about your favourite, or not so favourite, machines.

A quick writing update: Amelia's muscles have atrophied (see earlier post here), but I'm licking those short stories in to shape.

MORE GUESTS!

I haven't been around for a wee bit. Life is going through a busy patch and, most importantly, I've been putting in some good writing hours.

A couple of posts ago I told you about our visiting hens and rooster. Well, here's an update on our unusual guests.

Yesterday, two little lambs slept on our back lawn for the whole afternoon whilst 'mummy' mowed our grass. She left a lovely supply of fertilizer too!

Never a dull moment around here.

MAGNOLIA PARADISE

I've had a very laid back weekend and one of the highlights was a wander through Dunedin's Botanic Gardens with hubby.

Even a writer has to admit that some pictures paint a thousand words. So I'll let my camera take over the rest of this post.

And of course it wasn't just the magnolias putting on a brilliant display.

UNUSUAL GUESTS

Another week comes to an end, yet another with a sick child. This time it was the turn of my daughter. There is a persistent little virus running rife in our city and I hope it packs it's bags soon. It has long outstayed its welcome.

There have, however, been more welcome visitors to this household. For the past few mornings two roosters and a hen have chosen our back fence to crow from and spent the days pecking at our lawn. They come from the farm behind us and turn up every now and then. I do think the hen should lay us and egg or two, but we've had no luck so far.

Here's some snaps from through the window. They're very shy, fluttering and scurrying away if we approach them.

Yesterday I came across another visitor. I picked up a pile of washing to put in the laundry basket and out popped a lizard. I have to admit to a yelp and a quick exit from the bathroom. Lizards aren't generally found inside! In fact I don't think I've seen one since I was a kid.

Here's a photo I found on the web. It's almost identical to the one who came calling. It's an Otago striped skink. The little fellow was about 6 inches long.  He is now safely outside where all good lizards belong!

Now I wonder what's in store for me next week?

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY WRITING WORLD

Between my own bouts of 'flu and the families ills and chills I've been making slow headway through various projects.

I'm wanting to e-publish a collection of my historical short stories and I've gathered together seven stories so far. Most of them have needed tweaking, rearranging and in some cases extending. They were all written for competitions with word limits so I'm enjoying the freedom of having that restraint removed.

Some were written a couple of years ago and it's good to see that my writing has improved since then, even though that means more work in rewriting. But it's not just the writing I'm looking at. The story I'm working on at the moment, for example, needed some words and historical facts checked.

The Shacklock orion coal range. 

Set in the time of our one and only bush-ranger - Henry Garrett - it features what is probably his most famous misdemeanor. The robbery of 15 men at the foot of the Maungatua mountains, with unloaded pistols. He was a gentleman you see! Checking a few facts I realised that although the sticking-up took place in 1861, I had eluded to Shacklock's wonderful new coal ranges which  were not produced until 1873!  Here's a photo of one. I would simply love to have one in my own kitchen.











And somehow those majestic horses with the feathered feet became Drysdales. I've now renamed them correctly as Clydesdales.

I'm halfway through this project and have decided to put off the whole technical task of formatting and horrible tax things until I'm finished. By then it should be summer and hubby will be on holiday with a little more time to advise me. Hubbies are very useful, aren't they?

On the novel writing front, I've left poor Amelia standing in the doorway of the Crown Hotel's dining room, staring at Mr Theodore Brennan. Poor girl has been there for a week or two - I hope her muscles haven't atrophied. I'm having trouble with her. I just can't seem to bring out her best side and stifle her rather selfish behaviour. She really is a lovely girl and deserves much better treatment from me.

I think I need to leave her there and jump forward in the story. Write lots of scenes where you can't help but like her and feel a little sorry for her predicaments. Hopefully I'll then be able to go back and salvage the mess I've left her in.

And on a final note: NaNoWriMo is fast approaching and I think I'm going to give it another go this year. More on that later.

Enjoy the weekend!