This will be my last post from Melbourne. Tomorrow morning I fly to Los Angeles, then on to Seattle and Anchorage. Time and distance are strange. I leave Melbourne at 10:10 AM and land at LAX at 7:20 AM on the same day. I'm gong to get back that day I lost on the way over and it's too bad that I'll be spending it traveling.

Several of the ladies in my classes brought treats for class. Here is Carol's date cake. Notice the rotary cutter… we didn't actually use it to cut the cake.

Fi (owner of that great pincushion in my last post) gave me one of her handmade pins. I will wear it with pleasure! You can find Fi's web store here and her blog here.

I can't believe how tiny the hexes are…

I shopped in Melbourne. To be honest, maybe more than I should have BUT I shopped for things that you can only find here. Like these resin bracelets from Dinosaur Designs…

I have a very small wrist that usually looks stupid in a bangle. These are the first bangles that I have ever worn that fit me. The shapes vary and I love them. The only US outlet in in NYC, a place I rarely get to.

I walked this morning and saw some new flowers like this fuzzy red one:

And I found a gum tree (better known as a eucalyptus in the US) in flower:

Many of the houses here have fences around the front yard. Some tall, others not. Most are interesting to look at. Here's a view down the street where I've been staying. I was surprised to learn that the trees planted nearest the street are planted by the city and don't belong to the home owners. In fact, the city chooses the type of trees that are planted there. They often plant the same type of tree down the street. I'm having trouble imagining US homeowners going for this idea.

I particularly liked this gate – and the fence that surrounded it. I like galvanized metal, the large timbers in the fence, and the river rocks below the gate. (Steve, if you are reading this help me remember this idea for the next time we have to build a gate.)

I went to a boutique grocery store – with mood lighting! The veggies were beautiful…

Here's a detail of turnips which really do look good enough to eat…

Gayle, my hostess, feeds the magpies at her house every morning. These are smart, interesting, graphic birds that I've seen everywhere I've been. I got this shot:

The photo below goes with the black and white magpies. There is a lot of wrought iron in Australia. I took this photo near our hotel in Melbourne. The shift from black to white trim in these… what are they? town houses, condos, apartments, houses? Whatever, it's nice to look at.

I've been thinking today about what I will miss the most once I'm back home…

• Australians. They remind of the people I like best at home – warm, friendly, interesting.
• I'll miss the look of Australia. There is a thread of good design that runs through this country. Even the traffic signs are stylish.
• The public art. It's everywhere.
• The food. It's hard to find bad food here.
• The bakeries! Oh my, I wish we had even one bakery with bread and cookies and cakes in Sherman that compared with those here. It's probably good for my waistline that there isn't one but I sure do wish there was.
• Footie – also known as Australian Rules Football. I'm a Cowboys fan and very much enjoy 'gridiron' football but footie is a great game and I'd certainly watch it if it were in the US. I have to admit that it makes our football look slow and sort of boring – and I really, really hate to write that.

Next up, Alaska!