Australia. Finally!

I have been so busy since returning from Australia in February that I have had no time to devote to life other than the business let alone the blog but now I am dedicating some time to catching up.

I am eternally grateful to my friends Lee & Brian for allowing me to crash in their spare room for the whole time I was in Oz. It can't be easy having people lob in like that but they accommodated me with such grace & open warm hospitality & I am very thankful. It is always so lovely to catch up with Lee & the family. Their granddaughter Isabella is so grown up since I saw her last year. This year she is walking & beginning to chatter away. It is lovely to watch her grow.

OK, on with the pictures.

I had to have a stopover in Singapore before hitting Oz & was so surprised to see how much it reminded me of Las Vegas. People driving between massive buildings that are part shopping mall, part casino, part hotel. I know I only had one day & even though it is somewhere that has always been on my travel list, I have to say I was not that impressed.

I will need to go back again & have a bit more time I think before I pass total judgement.

Anyhoo, steaming hot outside, freezing cold (to the point of getting an icy type headache) inside & torrential rain. I think it suffered from my being anxious to get to Sydney but having to cool my heels. That is the trouble with booking tickets a year in advance, it's almost impossible to change if needed.

Doesn't everyone have an indoor river??

 Managed to catch a great exhibition, Art of the Brick, by Nathan Sawaya. I loved this exhibition. A. I love Lego. B. This was amazing, simple & profound all at the same time.

His (and mine) biggest fear is losing his hands. I think many crafters could relate.

 They had this really cool interactive Ipad on the wall, take your picture & then be Lego-ised.

Here is me. You need to get back from the screen for a better view but this was really fun.

This was one of my other favourite things in the exhibition. You know how walking on a few random pieces of Lego can hurt like a MOFO. Well it turns out that if you put loads of them together they make the best foot massage platform! Can't wait to dig out some old Lego & make my own massage mat. Yes I did take my shoes off & try it. It also reminds me of a modern scrap quilt in solids LOL.

Weirdly, for such an indoor place, the only way to get to the art gallery was across an open area. It had this amazing lily pond, so pretty. It was also raining so hard that the water was hitting the hard surface & splashing back up several feet. I ended up wandering around the exhibition with a wet bottom under my dress. Hysterical!!

Anyhoo, on to Oz. Funnily enough I did not take a load of pictures in Oz but I did have some lovely catch ups with very important people in my life.

Another Isabella, my bestie's daughter, plonked down next to these doggies after ice cream.

Here is me doing my best Ethel Merman imitation. It was so lovely to be in the warm sea on a lovely sunny day. My friend Tom was taking the photos. We had a tasty lunch & a good catch up in Bronte.

I rarely put up photos of myself on this blog but this is one of me with my 84 year old Mum.

Spent some quality time with my eldest sister & her daughter & her family. It really is amazing to watch kids grow & it seems very strange dropping in after a year away.

I returned to the UK in early March & went to work with the truck the very next day! Who said jet lag?? I have been working seven days a week ever since. If I am not out with the truck I have been on the computer doing stuff or on the phone trying to organise events etc.

I have done two events so far, one a mini event by myself, for the unveiling of some sculptures & one a Bank Holiday market with the Prince & friend JB helping out. I will post about that seperatley.

I have several more events planned for the Summer & continue to build the business during the week. Slowly but surely I think it is getting to where I would like it but time will tell. I am now trying to claw some personal time out of my day as I have been eating sleeping & breathing nothing but the business for some months now. I really have to catch up on my bee blocks. Started yesterday & am nearly there.

Loving what I do.

Lush x