A month disappeared, just like that!

Hello friends, I know it's been a while since I checked in. I promise I have a really good reason. I've been off on holidays again, it's naughty that I didn't tell you all about it, but there are folks that say it's not a great idea to advertise when you're not going to be around. So I took that advice, even though my boys were still at home, you just never know who's reading along - best to play it safe.

Anyway, that out of the way, I'll fill you in. I went on yet another cruise - how lucky am I? This time it was like a girls trip with my Dad along as chaperone. My Mum, myself, Amy, Mary and Dad spent a night in Brisbane before cruising for 17 nights to Hawaii, then some time in Hawaii before flying back to Sydney and then home. We were away for just over three weeks, and we had a wonderful time.

Our chariot for the journey. We had adjoining balcony cabins, which was just wonderful.

I always love the art and sculptures on board, this piece was just mesmerising. We saw it every day when we walked by to have breakfast in the 270 lounge.

Our first island visit was Papeete in Tahiti, we spent a little time shopping, and then we caught a local cab looking for a nice beach and were recommended to Parc Vaira'i. This was a revelation, not busy at all (places can be super busy when a cruise ship comes in) and we had a lovely time in the warm water.

Our next stop for two days was Moorea in Tahiti:

Here we tendered ashore, and organised a tour with Captain Taina - on the way to a private island and beach we swam with stingrays and sharks. It was an amazing experience. I will confess that while I was the second person from our boat into the water, when those stingrays came near me, I was out of there! I don't mind admitting I was first back in the boat! Amy did so much better than me, she's so brave, and even came back for another go the second day we were in Moorea. 

Back again at sea, our next stop was in Kona Hawaii where I managed to find a quilt store:

I was fascinated to find they had a fabric cutting machine. I'd never seen such a thing before!

The store is called Quilt Passions, I did a little shopping with a local theme. I haven't remembered to take pictures of my purchases, so I'll save that for next time.

Our final stop on the cruise was in Honolulu Hawaii, where we spent time shopping and being tourists. Though I've been to the USA many times, I've never been to Hawaii, and I loved it! I'll share some more pictures next week, I haven't downloaded very many from the cloud yet, and even though we've been home for a week now, I just don't seem to be able to get back into normal life yet!

After we got home from the big trip, I had another exciting thing waiting for me. On Friday we went and picked up a new member for our family:

Meet little Rowley! He's a Rough Collie (like Lassie but our sweet baby is a tri-colour). In this picture he's 11 weeks old on the day we collected him.

This pic is from just a couple of days ago - he's starting to settle in. He's such a sweet boy! For the first couple of days he was so nervous and trembly, but now he's doing zoomies in the yard, running off with shoes when I'm not looking and generally stealing our hearts!

I'm having to remember to keep our bedroom and the sewing room doors shut, not sure what he's capable of as a little puppy with baby shark teeth! This is going to be a fun adventure as he grows - I'm sure you'll be seeing more of him!

So, I've filled you in on the last month - I promise to share some more photos next week - there are so many! Hopefully I will find some sewing mojo and have some stitching to share with you also - chatter soon! xox