Downhill

Today started well. James and Eleanor had their swimming lessons and both earned milestone certificates; Eleanor for climbing out with little assistance (just a knee) and James for a solo swim with floaties (you should have seen him power towards me at the end of his lane as I held the vaseline to put on his ear where he's getting eczema from the pool water, and which we couldn't find before he started his class!).

On the way home we stopped at Riverlea Quilts, my closest and favourite LQS, where they were expecting me, to pick up a copy of Australian Quilters' Companion 37, which included Evening Indulgence, which I made a year ago:

Here's the quilt, click for a closer look (I think they washed-out the colours a little):

And look at this post for some detail shots.

Mummy came home with us and looked after James and Eleanor (an easy task - they both slept!) while I went and had my hair done. Here's a completely unposed photo (!) showing my shorter hair (Susie lopped about 5in off, it'll be so much easier to manage) and new colour (darker than for summer, and not so red as previous winters - I'd been having an almost burgundy tone) and my new machine!

While James and Eleanor watched Playschool, I got us ready to out for afternoon tea (magazine at the ready, having already flaunted it at the hairdresser!). Out to the car, and as I was buckling James in, gastro hit. Oh. Back inside. Cancel afternoon tea. Spend the afternoon cleaning up and soothing a sick 3-year-old and a sooky (teething?) almost 2-year-old. Oh, well. Fortunately James is a very good patient, and is now in bed asleep on an empty and fortunately inactive tummy.

Oh, and on the topic of downhill, we've booked out skiing holiday at Falls Creek for August. We'll be staying at Gebi's, it's the perfect location, and our family has been using their ski hire and/or servicing for about 30 years! James is already practicing on lengths of cardboard, and spreading 'snow' around the house in anticipation.