Patra's Other Place

I started out with Patra's Place, primarily dedicated to my linen collection and stitching projects. But I kept getting side-tracked, so I decided to create Patra's Other Place for anything not related to embroidery topics. So you now have a choice. If you are interested in me, read this. If you only want to see my linen and stitching, visit Patra's (original) Place! (Please note that by clicking on any of the photos, they will be enlarged to fill your computer screen.)

My Photo
Name:
Location: Melbourne, Vic., Australia

I was married to Ken for 43 years, but he died in October 2022. So I am now alone with two cats, eight hens, and a few finches and parrots in one aviary.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tutankhamun Exhibition




This exhibition has been on show in Melbourne for months, but is finishing up in December, so we booked in to see it before we missed it like we missed the Titanic and Pompeii exhibitions. It was an expensive day all up with entry tickets, short movie, parking, lunch, and souvenirs ($173) but as Ken said, it was our only chance to see any of this, as we'll never get to Egypt. It took us about two hours to wander around and look at everything. If I'd been on my own, it would have only taken me about half an hour, as I'm one of those people who looks at the exhibit, reads the label,looks at it again, and goes to the next one. Ken likes to linger on each exhibit, examining them all closely!
So we bought a few souvenirs...
A little book for $5 giving brief details of the exhibits with some photos. There were many other books available, large and expensive, but this was enough. Printed in the USA.
A miniature Tut Mummy (made in Egypt)$5.95. Some kind of bottle stopper we think, because the top bit comes off and is about the right size for a wine bottle. But we won't be using it for that. It is sitting on our mantelpiece at the moment.
A pewter pendant Sphinx, made in Egypt ($8).
Teeshirt for Ken, made in Honduras.

The amount of souvenirs at shows like this is mind blowing. We were disappointed to see so much of it was made in China, so that's why I chose the two items above that according to the labels, are actually Egyptian!

More cute chicken photos.

How to have a drink of water while standing in it!

Mum hen showing chicks how to forage for food.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Newly hatched chickens!

Two of our hens were clucky, so we 'borrowed' some fertile eggs from a friend who breeds hens and roosters for shows, and put them under our broody girls. Lo and behold, this morning we discovered three fluffy chickens peeking out from under their Mum's wings!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Waverly Antique Bazaar

Cath, one of my blogger buddies, wrote a post on her blog about the newly opened Waverly Antique Bazaar.. I asked if she would like to meet up with me there one day, and we decided today was the day. I invited Lyndel to join us, and the three of us (all dedicated opshoppers) had a great time wandering around. The prices are dearer than opshops, but much cheaper than what you would normally expect to find in antique shops. It is really more of a collectables bazaar, and definitely worth a visit.
Here are some of the photos I took.
Lyndel looking through dress patterns.
Vintage quilt, about $85.
Looking down to one end of the warehouse.
Unusual bras!!!
Junk or treasure?
Unique handcarved chair.
Mini jukebox.
Another view of the warehouse.
Cath rummaging through bricabrac.
I couldn't resist these cute chooky salt and pepper sets, especially as each pair cost less than $8!
I also bought some linens and two books - a paperback for 50c, and a book on vintage motorcycle ($10) for Ken (had to justify my own spending - lol!)
If you want to see the linens, I've posted them on my other blog.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Two weeks later....

If any of my readers here read my stitching blog, you will know why I haven't had time to scratch myself, let alone post anything on this blog. Apart from my craft work, there isn't much to write about really. I've entered some of my patchwork in the two homecraft shows this side of Melbourne, and I'm doing some preparatory work on an exhibition of my linen collection next year.

Ken's Mum is keeping as well as can be expected at her great age. We took her out on Sunday afternoon for a drive past the houses where she lived as a child. One is still there, but the other has long gone, demolished to make way for a group of units. Still, she recognised the area and many of the surrounding homes that were there when she lived in the area. She and Ken happily reminisced in the front seat as they drove through the streets so familiar to them, while I dozed in the back seat. It was a lovely day for them, although MIL didn't remember any of it an hour later, when Ken's sister talked to her on the phone. MIL knew she'd been out somewhere with us, but couldn't remember where. Doesn't matter. She enjoyed the moment, that is the main thing.

A collective sigh of relief went around our neighbourhood last week when the Neighbours From Hell moved out. The young couple over the road told me they had a quiet drink to celebrate! The new neighbours moved in a day later, and are so much nicer. I know it's early days yet, but I peeped over the fence to say hello, and was greeted with smiles and immediate introductions to husband and wife, three small boys (POLITE would you believe!), and two gorgeous doggies. No cats, but by the look of the cages they might also have rabbits or guinea pigs. Not that we mind - we're animal lovers of all kinds! They were pleased to learn that we have chooks, and said they want to get some too eventually. Plans for a vegie garden are in progress, and within two days they had ripped out all the ivy in the front yard, with the help of an earth moving machine of some kind! The previous neighbour had made a half hearted attempt to poison the ivy, but it grew back in no time, and we were fighting a losing battle to keep it from encroaching into our yard. Ken hasn't met them yet, but when I told him the man of the house has a Mustang that is his pride and joy, Ken's eyes lit up in anticipation of having a bloke next door to talk cars and bikes with! There haven't been any men in the surrounding houses for years - all divorced women with kids.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Quiz about me

I haven't done one of these quiz things for ages, but when I saw this one on Fee's blog, it seemed like a harmless bit of fun. If you want to have a go, why not copy and save it, do your own answers, post it to your blog, and leave a comment here so I can go and read it!

a. age : 63

b. bed size : Queen

c. chore that you hate : vaccuming….hurts my back.

d. dogs. Not now. Just two cats.

e. eating - in or out. Prefer to cook my own meals.

f. favorite color : all shades of aqua, teal and turquoise.

g. gold or silver : Gold

h. height : 5 Foot 2 Inches

i. instruments you play . Used to play the piano.

j. job title : wife, friend, lover.

k. kids : What kids? None!

l. live : The world's most livable city.

m. mother’s name : Joyce

n. nicknames : Kitty (hubby's nickname for me)

o. overnight hospital stays : eye operation, ovarian cyst removal.

p. pet peeves : drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

q. quote from a movie : Come up and see me some time (Mae West)

r. right or left handed : Right

s. siblings : two brothers, eight and ten years older.

t. time you wake up : depends what day it is!

u. underwear : Basics from Target!

v. vegetable you hate : eggplant.

w. what makes you run late : last minute need to go to the loo.

x. x-rays you’ve had : neck, spine, hands, feet, ovaries.

y. yummy food that you make : buttermilk pancakes

z. zoo animal : The big cats.

adopt your own virtual pet!