2 Days to go

Finally some clothes to go in the suitcase

Check out those Tim Tam biscuits

This is the first suitcase

That is 20kgs (44lbs) worth of stuff on the bed ready to be packed, I am allowed 23kgs (50lbs) per suitcase and I'm allowed 2 suitcases. Oh there aren't any clothes there because they are being washed lol. It's getting absolutely exciting now that it is only 8 days (today) until I leave. I am not looking forward to the 5 hour wait at Sydney airport for my connection to San Francisco nor the long 14 h our flight as well as the 2 plus hours after that and I don't remember going through San Francisco so I have no idea if I have to sprint a long way to my connecting flight like I have to in Los Angeles on my way back. There should be special dispensation for long haul travellers to not have to trek that far and lug 2 heavy suitcases while trying to stay awake and not keel over.

I don't have a packing list,I am just trying to remember everything, I would lose the list if I made one LOL.

I've spent the last two weeks sick with a cold, dizzy and pissed off LOL. This could not have come at a worse time, just before my holiday, I guess its better to be sick before the holidays and hope I get rid of it instead of while I am on holidays.

ok my computer went on the blink when I wrote this 5 days prior to my departure and it just came back on 2 days I am about to leave so I'd better release this page before I get locked out again.

I am sooo excited now that my dream and realisation from June 2007 when my friend Jackie Kalchert told me she is taking me on a cruise with Tim Holtz and crafting 5 classes with him, is about to come true.

I'm not looking forward to the flights though. I think I will be spending a whole day awake, who sleeps on those planes nowadays, I know I certainly can't, they seemed to have squished those seats so close together that you can't even rest your head on your knees for a safety landing that they teach you about.

I think I will enjoy the 5 hours layover in Sydney before I board the flight to San Francisco and that dreaded 15 hours. I have not been to Sydney airport international since they upgraded it many moons ago so I'll be doing a lot of window shopping.

I hope my aunt remembers to pick me up at Seattle. Last time I was in the US was 5 years ago, was forced to go LOL but it was the greatest trip because I stayed 2.5 months and thats where I met Jackie, my now bestest online crafting friend. I also can't wait to meet her children and their families.

There are so many things I will be doing that I've been hanging out for, first on May 2-5th I go to a stamp camp at Issaquah organised by Penny Wise Arts group and that will be a blast because I've know these gals online for almost 3-4 years and now I get to meet them for real. (I've never been on a stamp camp and I've never been on a cruise before).

Can't wait to meet all the cruisers that we have finally hooked up with that are flying in. I'd be interested to see who has flown the fartherst to get on this cruise, I'm hoping someone from Antartica will be coming hee hee.

11 more days to go

Well excitement all around for me. As my countdown shows its 11 days and some change. Off on this exciting trip of a lifetime and it's all thanks to my wonderful online friend Jackie Kalchert.

I commissioned a friend to make an Australian quilt for her, it had Australian animals and flora on it, I mailed it to her because I couldnt possibly fit it into my already bulging suitcases. It's a little bigger than a knee rug. WOW that looks bigger than a knee rug.

This week she mailed a card she had made out of a picture of the quilt, how sweet she is

She's very thoughtful like that and that's why I love her, just wish we could live closer, I can't wait to spend time with her at her home and craft and laugh and drink lots of tea, together with our friends Aida and Bridget (the other one) Danson.

Well I counter surprised her and contacted her children and asked if they would fund a trip for her to come back with me and they gave her that as her birthday present so she is packing her bags and leaving with me in June to return to Australia and visit for the first time. That will be the best 22 hour plane trip I will thoroughly enjoy, unfortunately she will be flying back to Canberra before me and leave me at Sydney airport on the journey back as she could not get a seat on my plane. Oh well she will just have to chat up the Aussie police and security guys at the airport while she waits for me. So I'm organising a luncheon back in Sydney for her on June 15th at Cafe 88, Parramatta Leagues Club. See you there!!!

I've had a look around the cruise liner Norwegian Pearl on http://www.ncl.com/ to see what we are in for and it's an amazing ship, not only is it a new ship but a colourful one at that, matching my personality LOL. Well I am not new anymore but I feel new each day I wake up and thank God for all the rich blessings in my life. It wouldn't worry me if the ship was docked at the harbour all 7 days and didn't go anywhere, I would be just as happy to be on it.

Of course we have Tim Holtz teaching us 5 classes and he sent us a 2 page letter telling us all what we are in for, of course he has kept some secrets. Checkout his website with the lin kto the right and see the 10,000+ papers and stuff he has for us on the cruise.

Speaking of Tim Holtz, I have something funny to tell, in June last year when I found out I was going on this cruise I made an envelope to put anything I wanted in there including money I could put away, well the other day hubby left his wallet in the car which I took to work and he needed money so I told him to go into the place I hid this envelope and take out what he wanted, well as you can see from the envelope Tim Holtz picture is on it and he asked me who this guy was that I was meeting on the cruise, I told him Tim Holtz is every crafters boyfriend LOL.

Sydney Lunch April 12

Last weekend I had a glorious time when I drove up to Sydney (3+ hours drive from Canberra), start of the school holidays so we went to pick my daughter up but it coincided with a luncheon that was organised via an online crafting group so I was able to go, had to scramble to get 50 ATCs done to swap in 2 weeks but it was good. I seem to be in my element creating something of some quality in a short time. I wonder if that is because I did not do any crafting for 5 months when we moved to Canberra last August.

I had known a lot of these ladies online for the last 5 years but had never met most of them so it was quite overwhelming to see them all in once place and put faces to names. I also got warm fuzzys from a few and it's quite funny how you click with them at a first meeting, I won't mentiion names as it might make the others feel left out LOL.

This photo was of all the Stamphappy and Boomerang Swap group combined, all 48 of us including one baby Matilda.


This photo is of the Boomerang group only, I am standing to the right with my elbow coming out of someones ear LOL. Ooh there's a cute little girl there as well.

Martina Hart, Chris Bennette, Me and Evelyn Poole (sitting)

Jessie Scherf and Ruth Spitzer

It was a wonderful day, there was lots of noise and excitement, people recognising others and others meeting people for the first time. We did a mini make and take of a little Asian doll and I managed to make her hair stand on end instead of giving her pigtails.

The food was good, with a few choices of culinary delight, I had a lasagne but didnt manage to finish it, I was talking too much LOL, everyone was up to dessert and I was still poking at my lasagne and hubby stole my chips, oh well better on his hips than mine.

NEXT LUNCHEON IS ON JUNE 15TH SUNDAY 12 NOON AT

CAFE 88

PARRAMATTA LEAGUES CLUB

O'CONNELL ST

PARRAMATTA

email me if you'd like to attend sunshine2170_2000@yahoo.com.au

Some brought show and tell to share and boy was there ever eyecandy to drool at, the artwork was amazing. Jigsaw puzzles, whale books, personal books and many more. I forgot to pack my show and tell.

So it's onto the next exciting chapter of my life.............my first ever cruise and stamp camp in Seattle USA...........read on...