Love from Australia, Beauty from Kuwait

Yesterday was a fine, fun gathering of friends and stitching that was very soothing to the spirit. Our wonderful hostess had a "virtue friendly" salad, sushi, and fruit. I am not adventurous when it comes to sushi, but these were delicious. Alas, I am too ignorant to tell you how they were made, but I loved everything, including the wasabi. I managed not to have any of the beautiful desserts or lovely croissants. Whew!

My sweet friend and SIL Diane sent me a package all the way from Australia. I almost had a heart attack when I saw how much she paid to mail it. I got one of her signature hand made cards, and she used a silly photo of us together in New Zealand, taken last year. I was also gifted with fabric, a cute koala, and some fabulously good smelling things.

We both like to learn about flowers and plants when we travel, and we spent some time touring wonderful gardens and taking photos together. Our husbands were remarkably indulgent about this, getting impatient only when we kept making them stop for roadside botanical pictures. We were utterly enchanted by someone's yard full of pink ladies and snapped endless photos of it. In hindsight, I think we were lucky not to be arrested. Remembering this, it was especially appropriate for Diane to send me flower splashed fabric, as well as a tea towel with pictures and names of Australian wildflowers on it. So, to some it might be tourist kitsch, but I am delighted with each and every bit. Brilliant!

I really hope everyone has been over to Jenny Bowker's blog recently enough to see the photos of the Kuwait Quilt show. It's the June 4th entry, so scroll down a bit (it's there, keep scrolling. ) I find each and every entry facinating, things about suqs and farms and diplomatic parties. It seems almost like a novel. The quilts left me breathless, though, so go see them. She did a great job presenting them . Click on each to see a larger picture.