Anzac Day

"At the rising of the sun...lest we forget"
Today is Anzac day & for the first time in forever I've actually watched (on TV) the dawn service. I'm a pacifist, so war to me is abhorrent. My Dad is a Vietnam Vet, my Grandfathers & Granduncles fought in WW2 & my great Grandfathers & Uncles fought in WW1 etc, etc...I live in a community that includes one of the most significant Air Force bases in Australia; the very base that my Dad ended up being in a squadren
 back in 1968. I'm not proud to remember the fact that they 'had' to go to war but I admire them & I'm proud of what they had to do! Do you understand' the difference??

Back left is my great Uncle Jimmy.
He died in WW2 after only a few
days on the front. The rear right is my
 Mum's Dad...he was in the Navy &
ended up in Darwin, defending  Aus
against the Japanese.

My great Uncle Jim (another one).
He served in Papua New Guinea.

This is my Dad heading off to Vietnam in 1968. The little one of course is me, and my Mum is looking distressed but being brave & trying to hide it. I didn't see my Dad for nearly a year, so I didn't know who he was when he came back. I tried to explain this to Mousie but I don't think she really understood (that's alright though). In later years he talked a bit about what it was like to be fighting in a war that really was none of our business. He said that when they flew home they were spit upon & booed. Because he was in the Air Force he had no choice but to go to war & then there were the poor buggers that were called up under conscription. Only 2 years ago he was finally awarded with his medals: Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm- Unit Citation & United States Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (with combat V Device). It's a big difference between how the old veterans were/are treated & the new guys in Afganistan etc.
Anyways...in my 15 years doing family history research I've found many war heroes in my family tree but the pics I've included were ones I already had on the computer, so even though war makes me sick...I salute you all and to those no longer with us...may you all Rest In Peace!

Collecting...bargains galore!

I'm back to the land of blog, after a bit of a break due to Mousie's birthday (day before Good Friday), Easter & school holidays...plus an extra week of me getting extremely side tracked researching a close friends' family tree which turned out to be more interesting than I expected (hi Lise!). So I've been absent from blogging, reading blogs & even sewing *gasp* as I thought I'd concentrate on being just Mum for the holidays. It didn't stop us from bargain hunting though as Mousie loves op-shops/garage sales/markets etc as much as the rest of us!..LOL!
Here is some of what we found...

My first aqua Pyrex! We went to the local markets yesterday & I found this at the first stall we saw. I had to refrain from laughing hysterically or doing a little victory dance when the lady said it was...wait for it...$1...hahahahahaha (sorry, getting hysterical again). It's in near perfect condition, just a couple of little scratches in the picture.

We loooove books...$1 each...

Mr Strong cushion to add to my Mr Men/Little Miss collection.

A girl can never have too many craft mags...
specially at $1 a piece ;-)

Mousie sized puzzles $2 each. (We love puzzles & games!)

Been searching for a decent backgammon set for years!
Near perfect condition & an extra book was inside the
case...$6. Mousie is excited about learning the game...
good for maths & logic!

Display case (nice solid wood) to house my Avon perfume
bottle collection...funnily enough perfume irritates me but
I love the old bottles...lol.

Beautiful original Kingfisher watercolour...nicely framed.

Combining 2 loves of mine...old maps & vintage tablecloths.
I'm going to add some dowel & thin rope & turn it into a wall hanging.

Another lovely vintage tablecloth.

A cute quilt cover for Mousie's bed to match
the 'bee' pillow case we found about 5 years
ago in an op-shop about an hours drive away!
(The quilt cover was in a local op-shop)

Fabrics to re purpose.

As new clip-on lamp. In Mousie's room at
the moment but I'll borrow it for night sewing
$3.

I did have a few more things but the photos turned out pretty crappy...oh well, must go & do some housework anyway...right the chaos of the weekend! Then I can get stuck into some sewing before school finishes...yay to getting the creative juices flowing...xxx