Saturday 17 March 2018

A great place to live

On The Home Maker's Forum we are currently having a tea towel swap which can be either a souvenir/purchased towel or one we make ourselves. As I have never sewn one and have lost my sewing mojo at present, I opted for the souvenir tea towel. Lots of tea towels these days are not absorbent and it is difficult to find a good quality one so I thought I would drop into the Toowoomba Visitor Information Centre which is very conveniently situated beside the busy Warrego Highway on the way into town and see if they had any for sale. I must admit that I had never been there before and was pleasantly surprised by not only the usual brochures for tourists but by the handicrafts on sale which have been produced by local artisans.


In 1931 the Council decided to name the violet as one of Toowoomba's official emblems. According to this link the Toowoomba Violet - Viola Odorata 'Princess of Wales' is commonly known as the 'Sweet Violet'.

 

So there were a number of items on sale which featured the Toowoomba Violet.  





Then there are the bottles of Toowoomba Mountain Air....no joke...and if you think I am pulling your leg then...




...have a read of this. Sorry the photo is a bit blurry but it is really funny!






Indigenous art is also featured.




If you happen to be a visitor and would like to go on a tour of our city you can hop onto one of these buses and look at the sights without having to worry about the traffic. I always wondered what these buses were used for as I often see them around town.




You can't miss the information centre as you come into town along James Street as there is a windmill outside ...




...with an interesting plaque underneath. 




Just drive into the car park and have a rest. You can go into the information centre for brochures etc....



...and then the children can stretch their legs for a while and enjoy the playground and there is even a barbeque there if you want to have a barby.



There are plenty of photo opportunities...



...and important notices to read if you plan on staying in our city :-)

I really enjoyed my visit and it is good to know what is available there as I have always wondered.



Yesterday I caught up with Suanne from Green Dandelion as she is at the Grand Central Indoor Markets from Friday to Sunday. I took a photo of her Beeswax Wrap Kits as she sells the beeswax, resin and coconut oil mixture plus a brush, applicator and fabric as well. She doesn't have an online store at this stage but if anyone reading this is interested in the beeswax mixture she said to just send her an email suanne@greendandelion.com.au She sells lots of great products so check them out.




Seeing as I was out and about this morning I popped into the Toowoomba Backyard Gardeners and Produce Market which is held on the third Saturday of the month. I was looking for any succulents that we don't already have in the garden and came home with a little one called 'Chinese Dunce's Cap'. I know I am going to forget the name so I can refer back to this post when/if that time comes. LOL! I also saw some very solid looking bird baths which have tops made from pressed concrete with a sandstone base and were made by Tracey Wegner from Cabarlah. She also makes concrete pots. Amazing work and I must say I have never seen anything like it before. She doesn't have a website unfortunately. 

On the way home I was thinking what a great place it is to live but I guess most people think that about where their home is.  




17 comments:

  1. Chel, how lucky you are to breath amazing Toowoomba air without having to pay for it. LOL
    Did you find tea towels there?

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    1. Yes Nil, I found a nice one. Some were really stiff and I wasn't sure they would soften eventually so I bought a cotton one. Nice crisp air here! LOL!

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  2. I think it's great when you love where you live. I feel that way about where I live too. Those birdbaths looks amazing, I love the mosaic inside. I have tagged a birdbath project I found in an old magazine where you use an old terracotta pot (you mosaic the pot's saucer and then sit it on top of the upturned pot which acts as the base). I have a couple of old tiles from our bathroom flooring just sitting under the house to use. Meg:)

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    1. Meg, I look forward to seeing what you make. I have two pavers waiting for me to do mosaic work on them. I just need to tackle the job and get it done.

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    2. Oh yes, I'd like to see that too! :)

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  3. I like Toowoomba for some of the modern conveniences of a city, but with a desire to preserve the rural roots, of artisans. I actually used to live near the Information Centre, just a block up, on the corner of Curzon and Mackenzie streets. The house is still there. It survived the land development of the school, where both our neighbouring houses (on either side) got demolished.

    It was great growing up in Toowoomba (as a teen) because all I needed was my mountain bike, a backpack, helmet, and I could pretty much ride anywhere! I'd regularly pass the information centre, on the way to town. Coming down James street (long, steep hill) was fun! Going back up, was not so fun. ;)

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    1. I didn't grow up here but my children did and I am sure they enjoyed that. However, a lot of young people seem to find the place boring. I can't imagine why as there always seems to be a lot on for them to be involved in. Much more than there was in the town I grew up in but we were never bored.

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  4. one day i might visit that town, have only ever been through it going somewhere else
    had a good giggle at the Toowoomba mountain air too!
    great post
    thanx for sharing

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    1. Selina, you really will have to stop the next time you are here. Go for a drive up to Picnic Point as there is a beautiful view from there of the valley below.

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  5. I love visiting Toowoomba. It's usually so much cooler than here on the coast. I love going for a drive out towards Cabalah and looking out over the range. The view is constantly changing with all the building that is going on. You do live in a very beautiful part of the world.

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    1. Jane, yes it is much cooler and less humid than the coast although we seem to have had our fair share of humidity this past summer. It is certainly a hub of activity at the moment.

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  6. My husband grew up in Toowoomba and as his sister lives there we visit fairly frequently and I always find so much to offer there, including the lovely fresh air LOL. It's great to be so happy where you live.

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    1. Pauline, next time you are in town we will have to have a cuppa together.

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  7. You inspire me to add Toowoomba to our list of places to visit during our May road trip Chel. If we have time, we'll be there to get some of that air so that maybe I can play football at last. ;-)

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    1. Sally, you really must visit our beautiful city. The fresh mountain air is amazing. So amazing it should be bottled. LOL! Perhaps we can catch up if you visit.

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  8. What fun I feel like I took a little 'road trip'! We have places here that sell canned air, and dehydrated water! ;) It is always fun to see stuff in your own back yard.

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    1. I hope you enjoyed your road trip, Kathy. Not sure if we have any dehydrated water here. Ha ha!

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