Chelsea Blue Whispers

I'm back...can you believe it?

2012-01-24T14:11:00.000+10:00

So as promised, I have returned this

very day...as said... to show you all the freshly made over light fitting.

I hadn't planned on adding the ribbons but when I attached the cutlery, it looked a little naked.

It just needed to be softened.

I really like the thick, ribbed glass of the actual shade.

One day, I might add some rosy charms in white tones to make it very special but not for now

as I have had trouble keeping enough in the shop to sell.

Which reminds me!

Enough playing. Perhaps some soldering is in order.

Smiles,

Angela.

Today

2012-01-24T08:39:00.000+10:00

Today I'm in my studio with some of the things I love.

It's a foggy, rainy day so I think it's the place to be today.

My dad buys up old furniture to knock apart to use the timber and sometimes he finds really cool things like this old Italian label. Too nice to throw away, I found a spot for it.

One of the things I'm going to do today is to makeover this budget light fitting.

The glass shade is actually very lovely....sort of like the glass shades in the Nordic style. I'm sure with a lick of white paint and some old cutlery I'll be able to make it into something a little more special. If all goes according to plan I'll be back later with a photo....wish me luck : )

Home

2012-01-16T11:04:00.000+10:00

I have been enjoying my home of late. Just a few things I heart at the moment.

Details....

The Christmas Stocking

2011-11-27T15:31:00.006+10:00

I spend so much time making things for everyone else, that I tend to forget about me!

Don't get me wrong, I love creating things for everyone.

I love to see and hear how much they are appreciated.

Just forget about me....that's all. "Me" meaning myself AND my family.

It's especially important around Christmas time to show my family a bit of love and decorate the house beautifully for them too. I was always big on that but as life has been somewhat busier lately it is easy to lose focus on the family....the most important people.

I still spend a lot of time with them but my head is often in a computer or other.

Anyway, had fun making this stocking in the studio today....well, it IS Sunday.

Hope you are all having a good one.

Bye,

Angela

Having fun!

2011-11-13T22:53:00.000+10:00

Playing with soaps, muslin, coffee dyed ribbon, mother of pearl buttons and old paper in a

freshly painted studio (thanks Dad ).....a perfect way to spend a Sunday.

Tomorrow will be a day spent on making charms. The orders are growing so it's time for this girl to get into action....not long till Christmas now and I don't want to disappoint anyone.

Sunday in the Studio

2011-11-06T11:32:00.001+10:00

Where did that week go?

I missed last Sunday in the studio as I needed to work at the shop. But, after a VERY wonderful few days in the shop talking to the most lovely people and feeling very much appreciated : ), I'm back here today creating some more Christmas keepsakes. I hope to have these in store in the next couple of weeks....that is if I can pull together an idea I have for a new design for a Christmas tree. It will be a little hard to display my new things without it so wish me luck.....

happy days...

Angela.

Flowers, flowers and more flowers.

2011-10-29T22:16:00.000+10:00

This is how my day started...

gathering flowers into pretty posies. Twelve in total.

Bouquets for a friends' daughter's 21st.

What a lovely way to start a day : )

Vintage Paper Keepsakes created in...my new studio!!!!!

2011-10-23T16:06:00.000+10:00

I love Sundays.....a day when I get to do what I like : )

I have spent most of the day in my new studio room creating, among other things, vintage paper keepsakes. These go beautifully under cloches. I have had an order for these for a while now so it is SO good to get them done. In my new studio I have a very lovely large trestle table that John has just finished making me so I can spread everything out and create like a mad man!

My roses have been flowering beautifully this season and I have decided that they are a must in the studio...in the right colours and tones of course. This is the very beautiful, girlie looking, soft pink Souvenir de la Malmaison 1843. It has a pure rose scent.

I have been very inspired by this exquisite book that I received in the mail this week. "Timeless Shabby" by Sonja Bannick and Stefanie Rathjens is in German but none the less a wonderful book of inspiration and very worthwhile having. I have an extra one for $50 if anyone would like one and I will be ordering more if anyone would like to preorder on my shop blog.

Now I'm off to put some washing on the line that should have been done ages ago. Oh well, you have to create when you get the urge...things go better that way. Stay tuned for some studio photos and some much awaited wedding photos.

Have a good week!

Smiles,

Down time...

2011-10-05T14:10:00.000+10:00

The busier life gets, the more I feel like some time to play with flowers and to do a little creating.

I do create things all the time but there comes a point where I need to stop and create something for me. Something that I have had in my mind for ages and, in the midst of all the chaos and creating for the shop,

haven't been able to get to. So, that's just what I have been doing.

In the process.....I have discovered something. I have often created in the past with how something should be from what I see in my head instead of really looking at what I am working with. It was like this with my flower arrangements and now, suddenly, I am discovering that combining flowers is a lot like doing a painting. It's not what flowers you put in the bouquet, it's which ones you don't use. Sticking to a pallet of similar hues and gentle colours. I have to admit that I came to this conclusion after a great deal of studying the very exquisite bouquets within the beautiful pages of Jeanne d'Arc Living.

I'm afraid the light in the room wasn't good enough to capture the sheer beauty of this bouquet with it's vintage yellow pinks and creams. Perhaps I will try again tomorrow...

Fabric flowers for a special occasion....that's approaching VERY fast!

2011-08-17T20:12:00.000+10:00

I can't believe it! It's just over three weeks until Isaac and Chiara's wedding!

I have at last started making some flowers out of organza, muslin and tulle.

I had never tried this before but it sure was very enjoyable...especially seeing as there was a candle and melting fabric involved. I had a lovely day doing them. It was a beautiful sunny day so I took everything I needed outside to my little table and chairs in the garden in the sun and cut, burnt, assembled and stitched.

The little centres are glass beads in cream and dark grey.

I must make some more over the coming days as I'm sure I'll have other things on my mind in the last week before the wedding!

Playing with Paper

2011-08-07T14:55:00.000+10:00

And so continues my obsession with old book pages...

I am SUPPOSE to be making book page wreaths but instead I started to experiment a little more with other possible uses. I know it's been done before but the old books and image selection allow for individuality.

The little cut out butterflies will be added to some little paper creations for under cloches similar to the one I did the other day. I now have two of those on order : ) (NOTE to self: must get my wreaths done first!) Wish me luck...

The Vintage Suitcase

2011-08-06T20:01:00.000+10:00

Here is the leather suitcase that I did a makeover on for a shop display.

I gave it a bit of a polish and painted the inside chalk USA.

Then I coffee dyed some muslin for draping in it to soften the look, added a couple of handmade fabric flowers and a little paper flower made from torn book pages.

This is where you will find some silver-plated, vintage cutlery and the travel charms that I have on the shop blog.

I have also included some antique mother of pearl buttons.

Amazing what you can do with an old suitcase!

A couple of projects...

2011-08-04T21:32:00.000+10:00

With the weather warming up and feeling a little "springy" I am feeling MOTIVATED again! That means that I will start to create again. There is something so thrilling to wake in the dark and hear the birds singing. They know when the day is going to be beautiful way before the first sunbeam has touched the sky. I'm not sure how and if I live to be 100 I'm not sure if I'll even know then. BUT all I know is that they are the best weather forecasters around. Anyhow, it reminds me of Spring and that means longer days and endless possibilities.

I have been meaning to make a little decoration out of vintage book paper.....something that I'm OBSESSED with at the moment.....to place under a cloche and, TA-DAHHH....I actually got around to it. Everything is torn....it never feels right to cut the pages with scissors...it takes away from the time worn quality that makes them SO appealing.

And now, I have another project on the go that is nearing completion. Stay tuned and I'll post some photos soon.
Bye til next time,

Angela : )

Glimpses of Glass

2011-07-27T20:09:00.000+10:00

There is definitely something magical about glass.

I love pale blue glass.

And I love glass that has that pale green tinge full of imperfection.

BEAUTIFUL!

Winter flowers...

2011-06-18T22:32:00.000+10:00

How strange to greet, this frosty morn,

In graceful counterfeit of flower,

These children of the meadows,born

Of sunshine and of showers!

So glad to have flowers to pick as winter takes its grip on us.

Looks like we're in for a cold one!

Anniversary!

2011-05-17T20:05:00.000+10:00

John and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary yesterday.

We had a lovely day out and John gave me this very beautiful vintage clock...

Oh he knows me so well : ) Love, love, love him so much...

I think I'm in for another busy week but boy I'm having fun playing shop. I just can't work out how on earth the days go so fast. I guess it's partly due to the shorter "close to winter" days.

Au revoir,

2011-04-18T15:18:00.000+10:00

L*O*V*E

these Jeanne D'arc pillow covers. They are the most beautiful linen and feel divine with a feather insert. I'm trying to add more texture and comfort in the living area and these are just perfect.

Change...

2011-04-15T20:15:00.000+10:00

My mind is working overtime...

changes are afoot....

Living Room

2011-04-12T13:23:00.001+10:00

Some living area photos as promised :)

It is only a small area but we somehow manage with the five of us. Luckily we are a close knit family. Hey maybe that's because we live in a small house! I still need to finish painting and the very nasty yellow vinyl needs replacing as do the light fittings but it's a start.

Because I'm a nature girl at heart I have been trying to include elements such as plants, botanicals and natural linens and things. These very beautiful egg book plates just arrived from the US yesterday and I can't wait to get them on the wall.

After being very inspired by a wonderful company called Twig who create the most extraordinary moss terrariums, I rushed outside and found the nicest moss to fill a container. I have always had a love of moss....for some reason...not quite sure. Now I need to get a cloche that fits so my chest coffee table doesn't keep getting moldy.

I must say that over the last couple of months that I have had a very bad addiction to blogland. I can't seem to stop looking at pictures of living rooms...I'm sure John is getting a little jealous of the computer! It does help cement in my head though the sort of look that I like. I thought that it would be mostly a lighter shade of pale but as it turns out, I have been having a love affair with earthy browns on white with a dash of colour added in. And textures...and....would you believe it....boats? It may also have something to do with watching "Message in a Bottle" for the very first time. Can you believe that! FIRST TIME EVER! Why did I not know this movie was a visual feast?! Such beautiful shots. No one told me what I was missing out on. Sad ending though :(

I have made a little canvas and muslin curtain to divide off my little work area. I love the feel at night when the little lamp is on shining behind the muslin and we are all in the lounge talking or watching our favourite shows....all safe and sound and content. I never knew that one little curtain could change the mood of a room so much...feels quite romantic. I tossed up whether to make it out of muslin or not but it is so perfect for that spot. It divides but doesn't block the light and gives a light airiness that can't be achieved with any other fabric.

These beautiful Redoute prints belonged to my very dear Aunty whom I lost Dec 2009. My very generous dad made the frames for them...he always does such quick and neat work. You can't see here but there are eight on the wall in total. I just love them.

I have really been enjoying myself redoing this room...something that I have been thinking about for quite some time and have realized that life's short and there's no use just sitting around thinking about it. The time to do things is now. I love the line in one of the Waifs songs..."Now is the time that will not come again". So true.

Let's make all days count. They are such beautiful days here at the moment:)

Smiles,

The Curtains Are Up!

2011-03-16T09:39:00.001+10:00

Hello everyone. As promised I have an update on my bedroom makeover.

John finished blacksmithing the curtain rods and brackets this past week so now the Jaenne d'Arc curtains are up! Very exciting! They are made from such beautiful linen and fall so nicely.

I also put my little work desk that John made me a couple of years ago, bedside the bed and added a mirror and some other pretties. Now I'm trying to track down just the right stool or chair to go beneath it.

Our bedroom (like our cottage) is rather on the small side so it's always a toss up as to how to have enough storage without having it too crowded. I wasn't sure about putting the desk bedside the bed but I thought that if I went for cozy then I would love it....and I do! Now there is a his and hers desk in our room.

I have also put up a lovely set of hooks from Ikea to hang my bags and scarves and things from. This is the detail of the beautiful coated linen, Jeanne d' Arc Living bag that I treated myself to. I was just so smitten with them when they arrived in our shop that I couldn't help myself. Linen and script...who could ask for anything more:)

Now I have the decorating bug again I can't seem to stop. I have started on the living room now so I'll have some images of that soon.

A happy week to everyone,

Angela.

Wonderful News and a Bedroom Makeover

2011-03-02T15:36:00.002+10:00

Wow it's been so long since I have blogged that I have had to relearn some things!

WONDERFUL NEWS!!!

My very dear son Isaac got engaged in December to the very lovely Chiara! Exciting times!

We are so proud of him and so pleased for them. It is so obvious when they are together, how very much they are in love. I just love to see them so happy!

Just wanted to share some photos of the start of our bedroom makeover.

It is the first time in years that I have loved my bedroom. I can't believe that I have waited so long to make it a cosier sanctuary....somewhere that I love to go to at the end of the day.

It all started with a new bed. I never realized just how bad our bed was until I got the new one. It is beautiful!

Just an ensemble but a plush pillow top one...it's like sleeping on a cloud. Apparently that's what I needed to cure my ever aching hip....it's like a miracle!

I have been using some of the lovely old bottles in the decorating as they always look so beautiful with fresh flowers from the garden.

So, there's still a way to go including putting up the very beautiful, white linen, Jeanne d'arc Living curtains. I'm just waiting for John to finish blacksmithing some rods and brackets.

Now I best go and save some washing from a thunderstorm that's looming....I will put up some more photos as I get things done.

Smiles,

Angela.

Little Creatures

2010-10-10T18:51:00.003+10:00

The butterfly counts not months but moments and has time enough.

Okay, as you know, I sort of have a fascination with insects.

You can just imagine my delight when I found these
lovely fellows at the Melbourne Museum.  

AND, look what was hanging out on my grey plectranthus near the lichen covered almond tree. I could swear that he is from another planet. Okay, a slight exaggeration...it's a leaf/ stick insect trying very hard (and successfully) to imitate lichen on the bark of a tree. SO cool!

INSPIRATION

2010-09-19T17:53:00.000+10:00

Erica's final major artworks for year 12- I LOVE them!

We've had a lovely spring makeover in the shop this week. I love the garden feel!

Typewriter necklaces and french olive oil soap.

Our beautiful new cushions from Poland on my old miner's couch that I hold very dear to me. It was my dear Aunty Frances'who I lost last December.

Beautiful blue hydrangeas- they make my heart sing!

I have had so much fun this week. There are so many things that surround us that can make us smile. So many reasons to smile...so many things to appreciate. I love Erica's recent artwork...it makes me smile...not just because of the finished creation but the very thought that my little girl has grown up into a beautiful young lady who can put her mind to anything and achieve so many amazing things. I think she probably has my stubborn streak. She is nearing the end of her school years and she could not have done better. I can't wait until she can relax for a while before she starts uni and give her pretty little head a rest.

Another reason to smile...

Cathy's and my lovely shop. I think I need to pinch myself sometimes. There is so much beauty around us that I sometimes can't believe how fortunate I am. And what a great friend I have in that girl!! I love the giggling days that we spend in the shop.

Spring always makes me feel grateful,

Angela.

Spring is here!

2010-09-13T14:07:00.004+10:00

Spring is definitely here!

We've had lovely rain and the plants are putting on a fabulous display this year. If only I had more time to enjoy it. Oh well, I'm having fun playing shops and creating charms so I'm a happy girl anyway. Busy, busy. Just popped in briefly and will stay longer next time I'm around.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Smiles,

Everything is Rosy

2010-05-25T21:14:00.002+10:00

With the end of Autumn comes the most beautiful roses in the garden. They are larger and have a depth of colour that they don't get in any other season.
This has been a very big past couple of weeks for us here at Chelsea Blue with our anniversary Sunday before last...23 years and counting...and Erica and Sam's 17th and 15th birthdays this week...including a birthday party for Erica last Saturday.
Now on the eve of Erica's birthday, I am feeling very excited about the new Country Style that should be in shops tomorrow as Cathy and I and our little shop are in it!!!!! I have had a sneak peek but I can't wait to have my very own copy in my hot little hands.
All going to plan, I will post some photos tomorrow.
Smiles,

It's About Time!

2010-05-04T08:58:00.006+10:00

Please forgive me for being gone SO long.

I have been rather busy with one thing or another.

These are some of the mother's day charms that Cathy and I have been working on and boy have they been popular in the shop.

Although having the shop has made life a little busier, it has been so much fun. There's something so very easy about working with your best friend creating things. I have found that having to man the shop just feels like a lovely day out especially if it's with Cathy, Erica and Kirstie.

We have some very lovely customers and it is always a pleasure to custom make charms that are unique and have meaning to that person.

I have been browsing on eBay again and found these very old, enamel clock faces.....that I couldn't resist.

The garden has been very beautiful with flowers starting to bloom everywhere.

Unfortunately, just as I was starting to do a lot more gardening, I have developed an annoying case of carpal tunnel- NO MORE gardening for me for a while.
I read the information sheet that the doctor gave me- "Most common in middle-aged and pregnant women"- it said! Oh DEAR! I guess that means I'm middle-aged because I'm definitely NOT pregnant!

A happy week to everyone. Take care,
Angela.

New Finds in the New Year

2010-01-13T09:11:00.002+10:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Don't you love eBay? I have had a lot of luck lately finding the most wonderful old things on eBay. AND the prices have been right. It is very hard to find some of the older things like clocks, typewriters and signs in our local area so it is so nice to have something like eBay to source them. In fact, I think I have become a bit of an addict. I just have to see what's up for grabs most days.
This dear little early 1900's Jack o'Lantern clock arrived on my door step yesterday. I have always had an obsession with clocks and I find it incredible that something as old as this is still working! It goes so nicely with the Big Ben Westclox that I purchased a couple of months back. They are happily ticking away side by side on my desk as I write. I love that sound.

I am also on the prowl for black and white signs....words and numbers....I can't get enough of them. This sign is actually out of the old Blackall Library. I love when I know where they came from. It makes them even more special.
Excuse me now while I see what's on eBay this morning!
Have a happy day,
smiles,

Happy Christmas

2009-12-24T17:34:00.004+10:00

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

TO YOU!

Have a lovely time with your families...

they are so precious.

And all the best for the coming year. How wonderful- a new year to do all the things that we always dreamt of doing,

Shop Scenes...

2009-12-21T07:05:00.003+10:00

Hello at last! Now that it is almost Christmas I thought that I had better show everyone what I've been up to. ( I apologise for the not so clear photos as the light was a little strange.)

Well here it is... Cathy and my wonderful shop! We have had so much fun bringing it together.

We have had a lot of very positive responses from all the lovely people that have passed through our doors this past couple of weeks.

Between my ebay finds, Cathy's lovely old, white furniture (which has left Cathy's house a little bare) and careful selection of shop stock we are both very pleased with the look. Well actually we LOVE it and wouldn't mind living there! We even had thoughts of putting mattresses on the floor and projecting movies onto those very nice, large, white walls and having a girls only movie night!

Now I must concentrate on doing some Christmas things. I have only ventured into the Christmas crazed crowds once so far but I did manage to find a few gifts....many more to go though. We at least have a decorated Christmas tree which is most important as we've got to have somewhere to put all those presents!
I will hit the shops again today and tomorrow I will have to get some Christmas cooking done. In theory that is!

Hope Christmas preparations are going well for everyone else. Take care,

2009-11-07T21:21:00.002+10:00

Hello everyone! Such a long time since we've had a chat!
I have been spending an awful lot of time at my little desk making charms in readiness for the shop opening which is now just around the corner. Only a couple of weeks!
It's funny though, the more charms I make , the more I want to make. It is such an enjoyable thing to do. Just as I'm finishing one group of charms I'm already thinking of what ideas that I can come up with for the next.

I haven't been just working though. I have been enjoying the garden immensely. After all it is Spring (all be it the last month). I am so pleased with the garden this year as I managed to get more flowers to grow. Such an arduous task when there hasn't been much rain. I think we have had 90mm in the last 6 months!!! Horrifying! I must have carted thousands of watering can loads of water over these past 6 months to get the flowers to grow and survive.

It is a labour of love. Just to see foxgloves, cornflowers, poppies and hollyhocks flowering is so worth it.

I have also strategically positioned a couple of bird baths where I can see them from my rocking chair when I'm sitting on the verandah. It has been such a joy to see the large variety and number of birds that frequent them. As the surrounding bush gets extremely dry I'm afraid my meagre little birdbaths are the main water supply for many birds. Even the shy emerald doves have paid me a visit. It is so nice to know that I am helping the wild birds through this dry time.

A happy week to everyone.
Smiles,

2009-09-27T22:04:00.002+10:00

I'm ba-aaaack! Sorry I've been missing in action so long. I sort of had some forced time off. You know the story.....the nasty ol' flu creeps up on you when you least expect it and the next thing you know it's two or three weeks later. Yuk! What a horrible flu! I'm all better now though. At least I was well enough to venture out for the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers last weekend.
The flowers in the parks were so beautiful.

I just love to see so many families out and about soaking up the beauty around them. It felt like being in one of the famous European gardens....not that I've been....sigh.....one day...

Tomorrow we are off for a few days camping down at the coast. It will be a nice break before the shop opening (not long now) but I will miss my garden. It was nice sitting in my pink rocking chair in the garden when I was getting over the flu. My primulas flowered really well this year.

A happy week to everyone,

Spring is upon us...

2009-08-21T10:57:00.006+10:00

My garden is already starting to feel very "Springy". This beautiful old tea rose has not stopped flowering all year, even in winter.

The jasmine is covered in buds. I can't wait for its beautiful smell. Nothing says Spring around here more than this heavenly perfume on a warm Spring day.

Colourful nemesias are flowering.....

the shrike thrush with its pretty song.....

and the butterflies with their incredible colours are starting to arrive.

Flowers, birds and butterflies! It is little wonder that we love Spring.

Now all we need is rain to add a little touch of magic.

A happy weekend to everyone

and thanks so much for the lovely comments.

It is so nice to hear from each and every one of you,

Angela.

Ideas

2009-08-05T13:13:00.004+10:00

At last I have time to post!

Well the last couple of weeks have been full indeed.

Cathy and I have been trying to come up with some more ideas for the shop. Things that are different and things that you can't go past. So here's a little sneak peek. These are just the starting point for some of our ideas so you will just have to come to the shop when it opens to see the finished product!

The possibilities are endless. So many ideas, so little time.

The other exciting thing to happen is that my dear son Isaac turned 18 on the 28th of July.

How exciting is that and how old am I?! Isaac is now officially a man....but he'll always be my little boy. Much to his disgust I would imagine. Seems so strange. It doesn't feel THAT long ago that I was 18. I guess it is though.

The afternoon that I made his cake made for an exciting one. It was like a scene out of Masterchef! I only had one and a half hours to make this triple layer, chocolate, coffee cream filled cake complete with chocolate meringues and chocolate coated strawberries. (A combination of several recipes, just to make life hard.) And I did it. The timing was crucial as I had to get the cakes in and out of the oven before I could put the meringues in for the hour they needed and yippee it all went according to plan. What a buzz! I'm sure that I'm meant to work in a restaurant or something. There is nothing better than the adrenaline rush of time pressures and everything coming together at the right time. Oh....now you've all seen another side to me. I always did say that I worked better under pressure. Yes I admit it, I'm one of THOSE people that leave everything to the last minute!

A happy day to everyone,

A Weekend Like Spring

2009-07-13T08:27:00.004+10:00

What a beautiful weekend we have just had. The weather was very much like a perfect Spring day. Just when I was feeling so worn out from all the cold that we have been having Spring came knocking at the door. I think there should be more of those days.

I was planning on making a lot of charms but you don't let beautiful days like those go to waste so I spent most of both days in the garden and only managed to get a few charms made.
In the evening I tried my hand at ebay to see what treasures could be found and I was fortunate enough to find this old, black and white wooden rule. I was so pleased as they are not easy to find here in Australia and I really wanted one for measuring things in the shop....and it HAS to fit into the overall colour scheme of course:) I also bought 500 sterling silver jump rings for a bargain for all the charms I need to make and a sterling silver ball chain necklace for a steal. What a buzz it is bidding on ebay!

:)SMILES,

The Beauty That Surrounds Us

2009-06-18T22:38:00.004+10:00

The more I look around me.....

the more beauty I find.

There are so many lovely things to behold if we stop to take the time.

Sometimes we take the lovely things we have for granted.

See the beautiful treasures that I found at my home.

What do you see?

Smiles,

A New Week

2009-06-15T11:25:00.004+10:00

Here's to a new week!

After a few challenging weeks (raising teenagers, need I say more?), I'm in need of some prettiness.

These are some of the charms that I have been making. These always make me happy.

Now all they need is the solder.

I found a little fairy sleeping in my fern......

......and some beautiful Duchess de Brabant roses to put in my little white jug that I found at the market. Roses always give me a sense of well-being.

Did you see Cathy and my new shoppe blog?......the beginning to our new adventure of opening a shop. It is going to be an exciting and challenging (in a good way) journey.....

Wishing everyone a pretty week too,

Old Postcards

2009-05-27T19:07:00.003+10:00

When John and I were out and about on our anniversary "date", I was fortunate to find these lovely old postcards in one of the antique shops we looked in.
Many a time have I rifled through the box of old postcards on the shop counter but I'm often disappointed as we just don't seem to be able to get many of these sort. More of the garish sort, which I'm sure someone would love but not me.

I had sort of given up looking in the box on other occasions but I think my sixth sense was beckoning to give them just one more look.

Sure glad I listened!

Happy days,

Last Week

2009-05-24T21:07:00.003+10:00

The autumn leaves are really beautiful now and with the lovely rain this past week, they have been falling from the trees in colourful showers.
I just had to show you the pretty roses John gave me on our anniversary.....
a delicate shade of orange sorbet.

The stocks that I planted out a few weeks ago are really getting a grow on and I can't wait to smell their spicy scent. There is no other smell like it....I love it!

Happy days,

Out in the Garden

2009-05-15T07:19:00.014+10:00

What glorious weather we have been having. I love autumn!

I have been out in the garden.....in between running Isaac around and helping Cathy with charms,etc.......planting, watering and pruning. It is the first year in a long time that we have had enough rain to be confident enough to plant flowers for spring.

Now all I have to do is to plant some grape hyacinths in this pretty bowl.

Tomorrow is our 22nd wedding anniversary so we off for an outing today and a lovely lunch.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T19:28:00.003+10:00

A happy mother's day to each and every mum out there and especially to my dear mum who means so much to me. She is such a special person that I don't know where to start.

She is kind, considerate, loving, always there for me (and everyone else for that matter).

She's an entertainer.....quick with a joke or a funny remark....she's a poet and a romantic.

She's a writer, an artist, a loving grandma and wonderful gardener.

A marvellous cook (mum's always whipping up a meal, a slice, a cake or a conserve with little fuss),a friend, a devoted mum and wife and SO MUCH MORE. She's my mum and I wouldn't trade her for anything or anyone.

Love you Mum.

10 Things About Me You May Not Know

2009-04-11T17:25:00.003+10:00

An award has come my way from Sabrina at My Cottage Dream

so now I must let you all in on a few of my secrets.....things that I may not have told you.

1. I am a science nut. As a small child I read a lot of science books and could tell you important things like the life cycle of a fern or plate tectonics or even the habits of a cricket. This is something that I never grew out of and I still am fascinated by anything science related. Needless to say I also did science at uni, became a laboratory technician and ended up working in a seed testing laboratory.
2. I like things to be balanced or lined up. There is nothing worse than going into John's workshop and finding the saw bench running ALMOST parallel to the wall. I could handle 45 degrees BUT ALMOST parallel......EW! Silly I know but none the less annoying.

3. I cry when I hear a beautiful song or see the glory that nature has to offer. Not sad crying but sheer astonishment or amazement at the beauty portrayed by a few words in a song or a beautiful bird.

4. I grew up with three brothers so will have a go at most things, not to be outdone by any boy!

5. I live in a little cottage in a large garden and don't wish for anything bigger.

6. I have been in the Australian Open Garden Scheme several years and enjoyed meeting other keen gardeners immensely. Gardeners truly are a lovely bunch of people and there is certainly no generation gap.

7. I have never been able to grow my nails. They are way too weak and the garden doesn't agree with them.

8. I start a new project before I finish the last one (much to my disgust).

9. I hate killing insects and am a bit of a greenie. I'd rather relocate a spider than kill it.

10. The thing that I'm most scared of is giant stick insects. I can handle spiders and snakes but please don't let that stick insect touch me

Now you know a few of my secrets...shhh...don't tell anyone.

I would love to pass this award on but I'm afraid most people I know are a little award shy so if you would like to play, you could just tell us ten things about yourself. That's always fun.

Take care, Angela.

A Show Full of Colour and Pretty Flowers

2009-03-31T14:15:00.005+10:00

First of all, I must apologize for the large number of photos in this post. It has been quite some time since my last post and I couldn't decide on which photos to post so...
I had some much needed verandah time on the weekend and decided that it could be somewhat prettier than I had had it lately.

There was such a lovely photo of a pretty patio on the last and might I add, VERY LAST, Country Home magazine that made me take a long hard look at my verandah. We do spend a lot of time out there but of late I had let it go somewhat....much to my shame. It is kept fairly tidy but it had no spark, nothing THAT inviting. Now I have a little nook with pretty flowers where John and I sit for our much loved cappuccino time.

I also needed some soothing colours after all the bright colour of the show.

Here is just a sample of the myriad of colour....

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Don't you just love the old "fashionedness"of the displays in the pavilions. It hasn't changed since I was a kid.

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And there are always the lovely farm animals.

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Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I'm afraid I have been run ragged of late.You see my eldest son, Isaac, has started university and so, one or two times each day we are making the 35 minute journey to the other side of town as he is still on his learner's licence so I have to go with him and do a lot of waiting around....very wearing! He is now up to 91 hours of the 100 hours he has to do before he can go for his provisional licence THEN I won't have to go with him and life can return to normal. What will I do with all that time that I will be getting back?! Start a shop of course! I'm sure you've all heard through my dear friend Cathy's blog that we are going partners in a shop. I am so looking forward to this journey with her. We have the same ideas and the same sort of temperaments so I think it will be wonderful....can't wait.

Happy times, Angela.

Change...

2009-03-03T13:58:00.006+10:00

It was time for a change again! I have just painted my little PINK desk WHITE and am very happy with it. I am also in the process of painting my end wall white. In the process you might ask???? Yes, I did the first coat and ran out of paint!!!! Silly me. I had one of those days that I hadn't done anything much then.....PING.....NEEDED to paint my wall. An hour and a half later, I had washed it down, moved the furniture and applied one coat of paint. Do you have those days when you feel like if you don't do something for yourself the sun will go down and the day will be lost and it would have been just ANOTHER day of housework?

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It was actually the same thing that happened with my desk. A bit of a rush job because I was SUPPOSED to be getting ready to go out somewhere but hey, it turned out well any way.

Now I really need to mend my chair or find another. There have been far too many bottoms on this one. Unless, of course, Goldilocks, was here while we were out!

Not SO Traditional

2009-02-16T15:17:00.004+10:00

How do you know when your VALENTINE knows you?

He gives you PRAWNS instead of chocolates of course!

Don't get me wrong, I do love chocolates, but of late, well, the prawns are a whisker ahead.

Can't seem to get enough of them. AHHHH, true love!

Beautiful roses as well....how spoilt am I?

Beating the Heat!

2009-02-09T13:41:00.002+10:00

It is HOT! Not as hot as down south but hot enough to drive me outside of our little hotbox and into the garden. I have noticed over the years that the best spot in the garden on a hot day is to find the place where the blowflies and King Parrots are chilling out and this is the coolest place to sit. Don't worry, the blowflies leave you alone as they are too hot and bothered to move from their cool leaves on which they sit.

There is only one thing I feel like drinking when it's hot and that I'm afraid to say, is icy cool, coola cordial.REFRESHING! Makes me feel like a kid again.It just hits the spot.
It so lovely out under the trees. I have a few bird baths in the area and so there is the constant twittering of a variety of little and medium sized birds. Even the Eastern Yellow Robin came to visit today. I can also hear something that probably isn't quite as appealing as the dear little birds.....something slithering. As the dogs try to sleep the heat off, they keep an ear tilted in that direction.
Is there a favourite spot of yours to sit and create, sew, read, ponder....
A happy week to everyone and thankyou for your very lovely comments, they are much appreciated and enjoyed,
Angela

A Fresh Coat of Paint

2009-01-20T14:25:00.004+10:00

A change IS as good as a holiday. The healing powers of a fresh coat of paint never ceases to amaze me. We (John, Erica and I) have spent the last week painting Sam and Erica's bedrooms. It feels so much better. Erica went for an all white theme and Sam decided on green. He was actually wanting BLACK (would you believe it!) but I assured him that it was my house too and I could not....under ANY circumstances....come at that-YUK!

The painting was going alright by day four after having to replace windowsills and trim that had been made out of very unsuitable MDF but was much harder than I had anticipated. I think the dry heat didn't help. To cut a long story short, Dad who's a painter by trade and a very fast and efficient one at that, came to the rescue- yet again. In one day (a short one at that) he had transformed our meagre attempts into a masterpiece. SO QUICK! He not only did the final coat on Erica's room but did all the rolling in Sam's room and he redid all the trims and the cupboard doors. Yey!

So, just wanted to say,

Thanks Dad, we really appreciate you and what you have done for us.

Flowers and Paper

2009-01-16T21:57:00.004+10:00

After Christmas when everything has settled down is always a nice time to reflect on the things that I enjoy and things that make me happy in the house.

I had fun making a pretty display out of some of my garden flowers. I love the textures of the flowers and the old paper. I often hesitate when picking flowers for the house at this time of year when it is so hot as they don't last as long as I would like in a vase. They seem to endure the heat better left out in the garden. But, I do like to see their happy smiley faces indoors ,so.....

2009-01-05T08:51:00.002+10:00

Happy New Year

I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to this new year. We had a very nice Christmas with family at our home this year. The weather was very kind....not too hot. I'm afraid that I didn't get many photos as I was a little busy and I forgot to buy an SD card for my daughter's new camera. So of course, my SD card went "missing"!

We are just home from a lovely few days over at the coast. It's always fun to spend some time in the sea but I do like being home as well. It seems with the lead up to Christmas and all that, I haven't been home enough of late.

What does the New Year have in store for you? A new home, a new business venture, a new pet, new year resolutions that may not be kept....? I'm the sort of person that doesn't make new year resolutions. One day at a time is my motto. Life seems pretty good to me so I think I'll just keep going as I am and wait for what might just be around the next corner. I think each day should be enjoyed for what it is and we should make each day count. This might be as simple as relaxing in the beauty of it or perhaps madly working away to create something that we had always imagined. This to me is how dreams come true. I seem to have a lot of dreams coming true lately. That's always good!

When I was younger ( not that I'm old now, but you know what I mean), I was constantly on the go. Having a young family and a new place to make into a home does tend to do that to you. These days I find that stopping and relaxing and enjoying the quiet moments in life has become just as important as the busy, "achieving things" times. Watching the birds, watching a movie with the children, wandering around my garden enjoying the fragrances that hang in the air at dusk....these are the things that I look forward to.

What things are you looking forward to?

Graduation- Where Did Those Twelve Years Go?

2008-11-23T15:16:00.005+10:00

I finally realize what Mum was talking about when she said, "Enjoy the children while they're little as they don't stay that way for long".Here is a photo of my dear little Isaac when he was at kindergarten. How on earth could he be old enough to have just finished twelve years of school? But that, he has.

Last Wednesday night was formal night for Isaac. The lead up was quite exciting- buying Isaac's first suit, arranging flowers and a cool car, choosing just the right shoes. He was quite certain that he wanted to get everything just right for his lovely girlfriend and date, Chiara.

Photo: Toowoomba Chronicle

Chiara looked very beautiful in her exquisite dress and her hair was
amazing. They looked so nice together.

Such a happy and fun occasion. There were so many pretty girls in beautiful dresses, dashing young men in stylish suits and flash cars. It almost felt like Hollywood.

Then on Friday, Isaac had his graduation ceremony. He has done remarkably well at school with surprisingly little effort and is going on to do an IT degree.

We are so very proud of him as he is also a very caring, affectionate and responsible young man who has an incredible imagination that keeps life interesting. As a little boy he was very well spoken from a very early age and would go out of his way to speak to anyone who had an ear to hear. I use to have to allow more time whilst out shopping as Isaac would often spend a lot of time talking to elderly gentlemen. Everyone who new him said he was an old soul. His doctor thought that he would end up in politics. As he has gotten older though he has become more reserved and isn't the chatterbox he once was.

Congratulations on your graduation Isaac, you have done so well!Love to you and may your future bring you all the happiness you deserve, Mum and Dad.

I Did It!

2008-11-04T15:52:00.004+10:00

You may recall a couple of posts ago my hesitation at chopping off these beautiful artichoke buds to eat. Well....I did it! I did however leave the largest, most juiciest bud to flower. I just HAD to.

Now I am looking forward to cooking these up in some garlic butter and serving with some feta and spinach pie.

I'll let you all know how it goes. I've only cooked artichokes once before and they were delicious, so here's hoping! *Bon apetite*

Shabby Find

2008-10-27T08:49:00.005+10:00

Wandered over to our local markets yesterday and found this wonderfully pink, shabby, cane rocking chair. The stall that I bought it from (should have a picture!) is full of all manner of shabby things in the prettiest colours. Beautiful old tablecloths, china and pieces of furniture. I could honestly say that I love everything she sells.

I spotted the rocking chair from afar and was immediately drawn to it. I didn't have to think twice when John said, "Do you want to get it?" YEY!

It is going to live on our little back, shady deck but we are in the process of painting it so I thought it would be lovely to sit in up in the top garden....AND it sure was!

Garden Sanctuary

2008-10-23T15:50:00.009+10:00

Garden Sanctuary
You who walk,

Maybe with troubled thoughts,

Come, enter here and rest;

And may the sweet serenity of growing things,

And the heavenly,peace

Be mirrored in they soul.

-Doxis M. Palmer

There are certain times of the day when the garden takes on a SOUL of it's own. You know what I mean? A quiet calm comes over it. A stillness. Even when there is a gentle breeze. It's usually in the late hours of the day or the first few hours when the sun has been up just a little while and before the sun's rays are getting a little too hot just before midday.

It's these times that I love most in the garden. Only too happy to take the long way around back to the house after getting my first load of washing on the line for the day.

Sometimes it's good for the soul to take the long way.

Good Rain and Gardens

2008-10-13T11:48:00.003+10:00

I'm sure that everyone knows by now that once spring comes AND we have had some good rain, I can't help but post about the garden.
Everything is starting to flourish now. We had just started to get very dry here and I was starting to get a little sad about my poor plants trying to push out their new spring growth with no moisture to support it. Some years the new growth has been scorched off....VERY SAD!
It seems by these photos that I only grow pink flowers but you can be sure that I have a garden full of every imaginable colour.
Down in the picking garden, the globe artichokes are starting to look very architectural with their deeply cut large grey leaves. It so exciting when they start to bud but I must confess that I find it very hard to pick the main bud to eat as the flowers are so miraculous. A giant purple thistle!

They do taste good though done in garlic butter. Oh the dilemma!

Yesterday I finally managed to mulch the vegetables to keep that lovely rain in the ground for a little longer. It really makes a difference especially when the temperature starts to soar.

The young bean plants are getting a real grow on now and the herbs are looking nice and fresh.

Back to the garden for me. Have a happy week, A.

School Holidays

2008-10-01T08:48:00.003+10:00

We have been enjoying school holidays the past one and a half weeks. Late nights, catching up with family, sleepovers and the odd outing. AND best of all, NO SCHOOL LUNCHES to make. I don't know why I dislike it SO much but I do. Could be something to do with the fact that I often skip lunch so having to make everyone else's....yuk. Sounds rather pathetic really.

We had a bit of a snow storm, or should I say, blossom storm on the back deck one evening. It was such a pretty sight. There was a mean wind during the night and we awoke to snow and mist swirling about the garden in a very magical way. The sun was starting to come up so all the water droplet lined spider webs were like jewelled nets throughout the garden....PRETTY!

We had mum and dad's new little dog, Ellie, stay with us for the first week . She's such a cute little thing but obviously felt very guilty about sleeping in one of my little gardens. She's also a little camera shy which didn't help. I had such a hard time getting a photo of her. I managed to get the meter box painted with the chalkboard paint. Unfortunately the day was hot and windy so the paint was drying too fast and now there are a few blotchy bits in it. Oh well, it will do. Next time I think I'll wait for a better day. Live and learn.
Happy days, Angela.

AAAHHHH Spring!

2008-09-11T21:07:00.003+10:00

Well spring has arrived so Poppy and I have been enjoying as much time outside as we can. Fortunately, this has amounted to quite a bit of time as I have mostly been at home this week and the days are now longer. So much better than in winter.

This is a little screeny sort of thing that I made (with John's help) to hide some of the workings below the electricity meter- never a very pretty place. I'm actually considering painting the actual front of the meter box in chalkboard paint so I can write some more of my favourite quotes on it as it is in the area of my new loveseat. What do you think?

I will gradually add more things to the screen as appropriate and I'm sure that it will soon be just right.

Happy Spring and Autumn, Angela.

Spending Time in Boxes

2008-08-25T08:09:00.005+10:00

Isn't it nice to have one of those weekends when nothing is planned and you just let it unfold and take it as it comes? Sometimes I think that we are making our lives far too busy and tend to miss these sorts of times. It seems so very easy to clutter lives without even trying and to nurture a feeling of, "I MUST be doing something." I often feel that too many things are planned for children and then their lives are totally consumed by it. We have tried so very hard not to clutter our lives too much. Kids need to be able to spend time playing, lying on blanket under a tree, sitting staring into space....they need alone time. They need to be able to spend time in a box if they want to for no good reason at all other than it's fun. Sam did just that for a couple of hours this weekend. Oh he wasn't just completely idle in the box. He was hand fed cereal, consumed a small bottle of milk and had a much needed sing-a long to his favourite requests that his very patient mother played on the computer.

The hole in the box that I had to feed him through was not this big- I WISH! It was about the size of a letter box slot! This was just before he had exploded out of the box like the incredible hulk!

The best thing about this box as far as I was concerned is that it had an iron love seat in it. On dusk about a week ago, I opened the back door only to find a sheepish looking John with a very large box. He was about to hide it when I caught him in the act. What a nice surprise!

Now I have something else to play with in the garden.
I've always wanted a loveseat.
I have decided to have a "love"theme in this area of the garden and I found this wonderful idea on another blog....if only I could remember where I was at the time. They had painted a terracotta pot with chalkboard paint and written the name of the plant on it. I have used mine to write a verse from Shakespeare's' "Romeo and Juliet",

Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!

For I ne're saw true beauty till this night.

A happy week to everyone, Angela.

Who are the People in Your Neighbourhood?

2008-08-18T08:14:00.011+10:00

My lovely neighbour Sonja stopped by the other day with this beautiful bunch of roses for me in appreciation for taking care of one of her little ones (she has five) for a couple of hours. How nice is that?!

Our neighbours are some of the nicest and most interesting people that you will ever come across. We all get on like a house on fire. You know, one of those neighbourhoods where it's not unusual to get a phone call asking for a cup of sugar, or "do you have sage growing in your garden?"and the occasional, "I think I just saw your little Timmy (our Shetland) in Jay-Jays paddock....is he supposed to be there?".

I think because we are all on five acre lots out of town we all seem to be "doing" people who have come to the same conclusions about how life should be....raising a family on the edge of the bush with plenty of space to do things for kids and adults alike.

There's a fitter and turner and an engineer who are forever inventing and actually making whatever they dream up and want to have a go at. They are very successful at what they do. There's a physiotherapist, a retired English professor (I had better spell that correctly) and a retired panel beater who does up old cars and racing cars and is so fastidious that you could eat off his shed floor.....if you wanted to that is.
Then there are the gardeners. Almost everyone along our end of the street love gardening on a grand scale and so were drawn to the size of our blocks. The soil is friable and volcanic and the climate is quite mild. We often get more rain along this range than places just 10 kilometres either side of us. AND we get fog which also helps to keep the place wetter.

It's a quiet road where families meet up for barbeques or tennis and bike riding on the road. A place where happy memories are made. And its name? What else but....HAPPY VALLEY ROAD.

Market Days

2008-08-11T14:50:00.005+10:00

Look at these beautiful pinks John bought for me at the Sunday market! Despite the day being rather cold, we ventured out quite early (while the kids were still in bed I might add) for a leisurely walk around the markets. Because of the wealth of fresh fruit and vegetables the place is just buzzing with people even from early in the day. It's also good for old wares/junk and plants. In fact, I think I've probably bought most of my plants at the market. Many of which are sold by little old ladies and gentlemen. These are the sorts of old-fashioned plants that you can't even find in nurseries.

John found for himself an old chair just right for at his little desk. It's an ex-government one and has a rusty old plaque on the back proudly boasting the fact.

Lastly, a quick snap of the oh-so-wonderful little laptop that I now have that has made blogging and life so much easier.

I also love to move furniture around and always did even as a little girl. It can take a lot of mental gymnastics to come up with a satisfactory change when room is limited and there's an unmovable fireplace in the way. So this is where my desk ended up and I hope one day soon to have an inspiration board on the wall above it as it is somewhat bare at the moment.

Bye for now, Angela.

Out in the Garden Again!

2008-08-05T08:31:00.005+10:00

It's such a beautiful day once again that I feel I must go out in the garden.

A quick dash around the house first so that all is well when I do finally wander wearily back inside.

Every winter/spring I look forward to the arrival of polyanthus in the nurseries. They are such pretty, "happy"flowers and remind me that spring is soon to be upon us.

This year, I had this lovely little glasshouse ( a gift ) to keep my polyanthus happy. I think it may have helped when we had sleet last week. Sleet is not something that we usually have in this part of the world. Boy was it COLD!

Good Times

2008-07-24T07:56:00.004+10:00

Yes, I am still here!

I'm sorry for neglecting everyone but I do have a good excuse.

My dear John has been on 4 months long service leave and it has thus far been quite a wet winter. Needless to say, I have been enjoying John's company maybe a little too much at the expense of time spent with my friends and I have also been in the garden most days.

Oh but what fun I have been having!

I'm afraid that I have been reading everyone's blogs but in my haste have not been commenting. So brace yourselves....any day now I will, in theory, have a lovely chat to everyone. Something that I have missed.

This weekend my oldest son Isaac will be turning 17 so I think I'm in for a busy, but fun, one. I always look forward to spoiling the kids on their birthdays and often do things that you would probably normally do for a much younger child. When I was putting some party things through the checkout recently for Sam and Erica's 13th and 15th birthdays, the checkout boy said, "A party this week hey? Let me guess....is it for a 7 and 9 year old?!"Oh well they don't seem to get embarrassed about it and they're only kids for such a short time.

Speaking of Isaac's birthday, I'd best be off and hit the shops.

Happiness to you, Angela.

First Day of Winter

2008-06-01T16:50:00.007+10:00

Winter has arrived....

what can I say.

A little glasshouse decorating in celebration of a new season.

He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that

it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.

Oscar Wilde, The Selfish Giant.

A Beautiful Mother's Day- oh so Spoilt!

2008-05-13T15:28:00.010+10:00

I cannot describe Mother's Day as anything other than beautiful. I was lucky enough to have both of my mums- mine and John's mum- at our place for mother's day. The weather was glorious...you know, the sort that makes you feel like crying with sheer joy and delight. It always makes me feel nostalgic. Reminding me of the times as a child when I would just stand and marvel at how wonderful everything was, and still is, that God has created. Skies of deepest blue...my words could never do it justice but I am sure you know what I mean.

A very beautiful bunch of red roses appeared on my bed at the crack of dawn. John is always too excited to wait until there is enough light to actually see them. So sweet!

My very thoughtful and clever Erica made me a lovely mother's day breakfast of pancakes, jam and cream. Delicious! And, I was given some more very nice gifts from all of the kids.

There is such a soft light in the garden at the moment. The light that arrives with Autumn and disappears about the first month of spring. It seems to bring out the colour in everything and makes all the textures stand out more. There's something so very nice about rusty metal, especially if it is on white.

I have a love/hate relationship with terracota. Sometimes I find the strong orangey, earthy tones a little too much but I think once it has aged and become mottled with green and white it is much nicer. I sometimes paint some white on the pots to speed up the process.
A splendid week to everyone and don't forget to stop and soak up all the beauty around you, Angela.

A New Lease of Life

2008-05-07T14:52:00.005+10:00

There's no better time than Autumn to do some of those much needed changes in the garden.

I must confess that I have let a lot of areas of my garden slip a little as the years have gone by. What started as grand plans that did eventually come to fruition with a lot of backbreaking hard work has ended in perhaps a little neglect and at times a lot of mess. As the trees have matured and I have matured the garden is in need of some TLC. Plants that were once in full sun are now in shade, leaves continually drop, grass wears out in the shade and voila, MESS!

Please don't get me wrong...I do love gardening and I think that this is all part of the natural evolution of the garden. It is also a good excuse for change. Something that I have always been very fond of.

So, with snippers and shovel in hand this past couple of weeks I have been addressing the gardens in the main entrance area.

Under the ever present watchful eye of my dear little Poppy, I took out a very large vine (with John's help of course{he's on long service leave}) that was obscuring the main thorough fare.

We redid the paving that was somewhat higgledy piggledy from the vine's roots.

I decided that I would only plant well behaved plants in the two gardens closest to the verandah.

Ones that can be clipped and ones that aren't straggly.

I have filled the garden with white pansies until I can get all the clippable plants.

On the other side of the path I had to take out a lot of soil to get the height right.

I think I would rather a more gentle colour for the waterfeature...say, white or tin.... but it's ever so hard to find here and I already had this pot.
Hopefully I will find some more plants tomorrow and the make over will be complete.
Happiness to you all, Angela.

Computers!

2008-04-15T14:53:00.005+10:00

What would we do without computers?
I am afraid that I have been absent due to computer problems. It still isn't fixed but I have now sorted myself out with programs and things so I can use my son's computer and finally get to post. I think I am just lucky that my son has a computer. A working one at that!
I'm sure many of you thought that my 41st birthday resolution was to never blog again.

Right. Now to business.
Thankyou so much everybody for all the lovely birthday wishes. It really made my birthday special to hear from everybody including some "new" bloggers as well.

What have I been up to?
I found this dear ol' turkey in our garden one lovely Autumn day just after we'd had a much appreciated drop of rain. I had heard him gobbling over yonder for a couple of months but I guess he had decided to see what the wide world had to offer. He found his way to our chook pen where he was very keen to join our feathered family. Unfortunately when I tried to introduce him to the chooks, geese and duck,he felt the need to assert himself so he was quickly tossed out of the pen. I'm sad to say that this was his demise as when we were away for a couple of days something saw fit to make a meal of him....poor fellow. We never did find out who owned him. We were preparing to do a letter drop when we returned from the coast but I don't think anyone would have wanted him back in that condition!

I had fun making this charm for my friend Barbara to give to our friend Leisa over at Eleanor and Ruby.

I have to tell you though that I did burn one in the process. Rushing. No matter how many times I do it I will never learn. Creativity shouldn't be rushed. If you can't give it the time it needs, don't bother. Things will go much smoother if you're in the mood.
Ah it's good to be back. Stay happy, Angela.

Guess What Tomorrow Is?

2008-03-03T15:31:00.005+10:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

So much for turning forty. One blink and I'm already 41.

To some, like my kids, I'm old. To others, I'm young. A mere perspective thing really. I remember when I was 15, having a friend who was 30...it seemed so old at the time. Now 30 seems young. For me though...well...I'm still just a girl at heart.

I once heard a man of eighty asked what was it like to be old. He said that it was a privilege to be old as not everybody got the opportunity. I like that. Very well put.

It doesn't seem that long ago that my Mum and Dad were in their forties and now it's me. I like what comes with this age though. I am much more outgoing and confident. I can have a go at most things and succeed without much song and dance. You see, I was so painfully shy when I was growing up and this seemed to hinder me in so many ways.

I feel so alive at the moment. The days are glorious. The sound of bird song fills the garden and the fluttering butterflies paint a very rosy picture indeed. No need for rose coloured glasses at this time of year!

What a beautiful time of year to have a birthday! Lucky me!

A Good Read...

2008-02-11T15:43:00.000+10:00

Sorry, I seem to have dropped off the radar for quite some time now. I'm not sure why exactly other than the fact that sitting down blogging seemed to be something that I just couldn't get around to...what with the taking photos, resizing, writing, rewriting and more rewriting and then some self doubt to go with. You know what I mean. Just as soon as you post it you think, "I hope that didn't seem too silly!" I'm sure that everybody must get this from time to time. Anyway, I hope to be a regular again now I feel like I've gotten back into the swing of things.

I have been enjoying this regular rain we are getting just as much as my vegetables.

I have only done a little bit of painting for my charms and hopefully, all things going as planned, I will get stuck into charm making any day now....I'm not very good at ignoring all the other loves I have and tend to get side tracked quite easily.

Cooking is one of my favourite things to do at the moment. I think because the weather has been so beautiful and cool- barely a day has gone over 30 degrees which is really good for summer- turning the oven on at any time of day has been possible as the house doesn't get too hot (no airconditoning).

My good friend Cathy gave me this beautiful book for Christmas and I have really enjoyed reading it. Oh, and looking at all the pretty pictures. I'm afraid I cut the authors name off the bottom of the picture accidently. It is written by Bronnie Masefau and the photography is by Frank Hurrell.
Such pretty pictures to make your mouth water and to get everyone very inspired to create a warm and welcoming home.
Another lovely read has been "Rosehips and Crabapples" by Susan Irvine. This little treasure was given to me by my mother who also appreciates beautiful books of every description.
This is Susan's diary of the restoration of Forest Hall and its gardens in the Tasmanian countryside.
I am enjoying every minute of it.

A happy week to everyone, Angela.

A Big Hello and Happy New Year to Everyone!

2008-01-04T19:25:00.000+10:00

What a lovely relaxed Christmas we had this year.
I did get my cooking done and I did manage to make my first plum pudding ever. I think I had never made one before as I use to find them a little too rich. Now that I'm older though I find them quite delicious with a good dose of custard and maybe a dollop of cream...yum!
I love making the Christmas cake and giving it a nut topping that is glazed with warm apricot jam. The cake sure didn't last long! We all enjoyed unwrapping our gifts including Poppy who was so delighted with her new squeaky ball, she didn't put it down all day.
I'm afraid that I have been in a very relaxed mode since the end of Christmas and so I have been neglecting all my blog friends way too much. The computer being in constant use by other house members and the slowness that seems to come with children playing internet games doesn't help either.

Anyway, I just stopped by to wish everyone a happy and creative New Year.

It has been so wonderful to "meet" each and every one of you and I have enjoyed reading your blogs so much. I can't wait to see what marvellous things you all get up to in 2008.

What have I been up to....you may ask?

2007-12-19T22:03:00.000+10:00

How time flies! In a matter of a couple of very short weeks the kids finished school (all on different days), there was a year seven graduation, a review performance and so many more engagements that I care not to think about them for fear of feeling exhausted all over again!

And all the while the rain fell and the grass grew. It seems(not seems...I really have been) mowing grass twice a week to keep up with it. Please believe me when I tell you that I am not complaining however as it is so nice to have green lush grass to mow.

The garden has been a seething mass of life as it has been warm and humid. There is so much life everywhere. It has been so wonderful to see the number of butterflies this summer. Sometimes I just sit and watch them as they flutter all about in that ever so magical way they have about them. It's not only me that has noticed and appreciated them but also my Sam. He just this very day said, "Mum. Aren't the butterflies nice? They're magical like in a storybook or something."

Somehow Christmas has appeared on the horizon, that is not so distant now, as fast as a bare-footed person on a bed of hot coals! I have slowly been putting a few things up with much encouragement from the kids. I am really looking forward to doing Christmas dinner for the family, including John's Mum . We often have it elsewhere and so I don't get to be host much. I have a wealth of recipes rattling around in my head and when the time comes (usually the last minute) I will decide what to do and hopefully everything will come together.Basically, I just like to stock up well on everything and make the decision as the mood takes me.
Over the next couple of days I will be doing my mad last minute rush for gifts, some cooking and some more decorating. I hope everyone has a very Happy Christmas full of family, friends and happy memories.

A Beautiful Afternoon.

2007-11-21T14:02:00.000+10:00

The weather has been so kind to us of late. A very delightful 20-25 degrees and rain every week. The garden is growing like mad and if I'm not careful to keep up with maintenance, it might just engulf everything in its path! Oh what a joy to be gardening in a garden that is growing and thriving for once after such terrible drought conditions.

There is so much beauty in the late hours of the afternoon that I can't stop taking photos. There is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful for this beautiful place that we call home. Of course, it's much easier to feel like this when everything is green and the temperature is near to perfect. Having said that, even when the climate is being a little cruel, it's still a nice place to be. My cute little shetland, Timmy, is always very curious when I'm getting around with my camera. I think this time though, given the time of day, he was hoping for a carrot. He's quite a spoilt boy! I'm often undecided whether I'm being kind to feed him his daily carrot or whether I'm killing him with kindness.....given his rather large stomach! Late Sunday afternoon with chainsaw in hand, John chopped down four of the five scrabbly old wattles that we had left there for shade until some of the more desirable trees we had planted had grown. It felt like some sort of cleansing. SO good to be rid of their very ugly appearance. The whole area looks so much better.

This is some of the pile of branches we cut. We are slowly working through the pile with secateurs and saws making smaller piles of usable fire wood, mulch and a mass of medium sized sticks to help with water control near the dam (which is usually empty and leaks badly). It feels like our little quest for the environment to be using this very valuable biomass and not just adding to the greenhouse gases by burning it all.

An enjoyable week's end to everyone......Angela.

Busy Days

2007-11-13T09:22:00.000+10:00

Yes, once again I have been neglecting my blog and playing far too long in the garden. We have had the most rain we've had in years and so everything is growing so well it is just too hard to resist spending time there.

What a busy couple of weeks I have had. Sunday before last (while we had three other boys staying over) my son had to have emergency surgery for something that came totally out of the blue but all is well with him now. He didn't mind having the week off school despite the fact that exams are just around the corner- that boy is way too laid back if you ask me! It never seems to do him any harm though.

I had a busy week mostly gardening and I managed to make this charm for my cousin's daughter for her birthday. I have decided to put vintage paper on the backs of some of my charms as the paintings although small, are quite time consuming to do.

One of the things I love about making charms is making the little box to package them in.

I start with a paper mache box, collage it with papers new and old and then bees wax it. Sometimes I scan the original painting that is on the charm and print that off to use, that way I know the box will match the charm.

This past Sunday I think we had 17 visitors over the course of the day. It was wonderful to catch up with some of my many cousins and family. For this week I plan on getting some more charms done and I will hopefully have some to show everyone soon.

Missed Opportunities

2007-10-26T09:46:00.000+10:00

Opportunities are constantly throwing themselves at me and I don't know what it is but I think I feel like if I go with it that it will consume too much of my life and I won't be able to do ALL the things I want to. Take for instance a couple of days ago. I went to an art gallery with my mum and two of my aunties to see an exhibition of very good paintings done by local artists...some of which were superb. Anyway, while I was there one of the ladies that volunteers at the gallery noticed the charm that I had made that I was wearing. The gallery has a gift shop and she was very keen for me to make some to sell in the shop. At first I'm very delighted that she would think they are good enough to sell in there and kind enough to offer. Then, the same old thing that always happens when I go home-I start to have self doubt and talk myself out of it. Normally I'm not like this as I'm a firm believer in the old saying..."if you don't open the door, you'll never know what is behind it". This has happened on several occassions but now, all of a sudden, I think I am up for the challenge. To really make a go of it and to see what I can do. I have had offers from a couple of outlets to sell my charms so I think I will decide on themes that are unique to each shop. Because my charms contain miniature water colours I think that I will make batches of them and offer these for sale, that way I'm not hurredly trying to fill last minute orders. I have to be in the mood to paint so rush orders just wouldn't do.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I would really appreciate if you would leave me a comment. Happy days to everyone until next time. I think I will make a coffee and relax for awhile in one of my favourite parts of the garden...where the smell of honeysuckle scents the air.

Stop! Cleaning in Progress!

2007-10-16T11:16:00.000+10:00

Cleaning cupboards....need I say more. What a job. Not much fun while you're doing it but very rewarding when the job is done. The one I'm doing today is one that I haven't ventured into for quite some time for fear of everything falling on me! Lots of fabric remnants, clothes that need a new home and bits and pieces that MIGHT come in handy one day. What to do with it? I think it is time to be brutal and to make the hard decisions.

I must say that tidy cupboards is definitely not one of my strong points. Once upon a time when the kids were little and we hadn't accumulated SO much stuff, I did have clean cupboards. I think the main problem is that we have grown out of our cupboard space. No matter how much I get rid of, there always seems to be an abundant supply of things to take its place.

My cupboards are home to a rather alarming number of unfinished projects....some from years ago. This fabric painting/stitchery was to be the middle block of a quilt that I was making when I was pregnant with Isaac. I am ashamed to say that Isaac is now 16 and there is no finished quilt in sight. I'm sure it would have turned out to be a very lovely quilt!

I've also found that as I get into more and more baking and cooking the number of ingredients I need doesn't actually fit into my pantry in any organized manner. Every time I clean it and think I will keep it good, I get into a mad cooking frenzy and well, that's the end of it. Lucky to last a week!

Anyway, I must keep going on this cupboard cleaning or I will run out of day.
Yes, yes, I know these photos are of my garden but I think it's a much nicer place to be than staring at the inside of a cupboard.....don't you?

Warm Days and Visitors

2007-10-08T08:06:00.000+10:00

I had a really good time at the beach...both the air temperature and the sea temperature were just right. It was a nice little break from the normal routine. I went to a market at the marina that sold mostly jewellery, soaps, lotions and potions with a few home wares thrown in for good measure. Not an old thing in sight so needless to say, the only thing I bought was a selection of soaps for my good neighbour for looking after our animals while we were away. It all looked very colourful with the cute little tents each stall owner had. Since being back the days have been very warm ( around 30c) and you know what that means....SNAKES and GOANNAS.

Early one morning I noticed that the wild birds weren't using the bird feeder and were kicking up quite a ruckus. I stepped out onto the verandah to find a large carpet snake making its way through the bamboo right at eye level. Then, horror of horrors, it made its way onto the barbecue on the verandah. Judging by the large lump in its stomach, I think it may have already eaten a large bird or something similar! These snakes usually eat a couple of our chooks over the summer which is a bit sad but it stops the number of chooks building up too much. The blood curdling screech of the chook being crushed is definitely not one of the best noises to hear in the middle of the night though!

Every year without fail as the weather warms up this goanna makes its way from the bush to our place. I think he comes up for some water and eggs. I can hear him coming as the birds in the bush sound alarm signals as he crosses their paths. If I go near him he usually runs up the closest tree where he is very good at camouflaging himself.

On a brighter note, I thought I would leave a couple of flower photos from my garden.

I love all the different sorts of iris'.

It has been such a good spring this year as far as the number and quality of flowers. There has been so many insects.

My Cubby House

2007-09-26T09:03:00.000+10:00

I thought I had better touch base before we go away for a few days to the beach....I'm really looking forward to it as it has been quite some time since I have felt the sand between my toes.
The wisteria has been looking a picture in the garden. It is such a lovely shade of mauve and the beautiful blue of the spring day just sets it off.

Down in my garden there is a little play house....Lavender Cottage. It is very special to me as my Dad made this for me in 1974 when I was seven. I remember feeling so lucky and feeling like it was like a dream to have something so wonderful being built just for me. I have no sisters and three brothers so I guess Dad and Mum thought it would be nice to have a girly cubby house to play in....and that I did for hours on end. When I shut the door I was in my own little world and my dolls of course would turn into real babies. Sometimes Mum thought that I was lost in the bush or something because I was quietly playing in my cubby for so long.

When we moved away from the town in 1977, we left it at my cousins place to use. To cut a long story short, we eventually were given the opportunity to have it back again for my own children and after a couple of moves, here it sits (for thirteen years now). It's been painted several different colour combinations over that time and I finally named it a couple of years ago. Lavender Cottage because I love lavender so much and it is surrounded by lavender. It has been so nice to see my only daughter, Erica, also grow up with it and maybe one day she will have a little girl to play in it too.

It was always so much fun to do it up for open garden days. A cute little hutch with a vase of flowers, a little table with more flowers and a tea set, pretty little curtains, a little bed with pretty covers and big colourful butterflies all over the outside were a few of the girly touches. One year Mum and I could hear giggling and squeals of delight as we walked by. Ducking our heads around the door to watch the little girls having fun we were taken aback and some what amused to find that the little girls were in fact grown up little girls....Grandmas! It's always hard to resist a good tea party!

It is currently stacked to the brim with toys that we are not quite ready to find new homes for. One day I think we will line the walls with book shelves and have it as a little garden library with a comfy reading chair in it.....ONE DAY. Before I go I'd just like to leave a couple of leaf photos for my good friend Aina at Modern Country. I know how much you like them Aina and thought you would especially like the "heart leaf" ( Cercis "Forest Pansy"). I hope the week ahead and weekend will be a good one for everybody....mine will...I'll be AT THE BEACH!

A New Book...

2007-09-13T12:53:00.000+10:00

Pull up a chair and I'll tell you about this ever so lovely recipe book that my very generous and thoughtful friend Cathy gave me earlier this week. ( A treat for looking after Cathy's cute little goat Barbara while she is away enjoying the sun and surf.)

"At Home with Magnolia" by Alyssa Torey is a beautifully presented cook book packed full of delicious recipes that are simple to prepare and full of fresh ingredients....just what I like.

She has included pretty pictures throughout the book, not only of the food she has cooked but also of her lovely home and garden.

I can't wait to try some of the recipes!

I've been busily working away in the garden again this week and I guess, this is where I will spend most of my time creating. Oh it's been so good since it has rained to watch plants grow and flower instead of watching them deteriorate as the drought worsened.

I found this old tub at a secondhand shop recently and planted it up with Lavender "Kew Red" and English Lavender. I painted the lattice behind it and planted some sweetpeas and blue rescue. I think it will be lovely when it all grows and it will add a bit of zing to an area of the garden that has been in desperate need of a makeover.

Every year I look forward to this very hardy species tulip coming up....Tulipa saxatalis. It's from the Middle East I believe and so it can take a lot more heat and dry than the normal species. It also spreads under the ground and so the clump is slowly getting bigger. I don't ever water or feed it and up it comes every year without fail...THAT is my kind of plant!

Nature's Artwork...

2007-09-04T11:46:00.000+10:00

There are remnants in our garden of the ancient forest that once covered this area. Huge stumps of trees that once towered overhead. I feel very privileged to be the custodian of these beautiful pieces of nature's art. I love the texture of their weathered surface.
Within the crags of this beautiful stump there is new life springing forth.

There is a myriad of life in and and around the stump...insects, lizards, the odd snake and possums. And, I am quite certain that if one was to be very quiet and wait for a while the odd fairy might be seen. (Or should I say, a fairy or two, not an "odd" fairy as such.) When my oldest son Isaac was a little fellow, he would check the stump regularly for fairies. Then one day...no he didn't find one...but a spider had spun a shiny silvery web just outside the "fairy door"entrance. As the sun shone on it, it was bejewelled in a rainbow of water droplets....a sure sign of fairy dust...or so it seemed to anyone with a modicum of imagination.I also love the texture of the bark on the gum tree next to the old stump. Its girth has almost doubled since we have lived here and, if I have anything to do with it, will hopefully grow very old and become an ancient tree itself.

For now it is loved for its sculptural form, its shade and habitat and its branch that is just perfect for a swing!

Enjoying Life!

2007-09-03T13:55:00.000+10:00

What can I say? The bees are buzzing....

the flowers are blooming....

the weather's been beautiful and

there are birds everywhere!

Including in my lounge room! When silly season comes around (spring) and the birds are in hot pursuit of each other, we have a constant supply of birds flying full pelt into closed windows. Needless to say, it doesn't really agree with them and they spend the next few hours

in a state of stupor! For a fortunate few, we hear the bang and run to the rescue. There is a bright side to this tale of woe and that is that we get to get up very close and personal with them. It never ceases to amaze me just how tiny and light some of them are...you can't even feel them in your hands.

To anyone who has been feeling a little sad of late...I hope the bluebird of happiness is on it's way.

And to anyone in blogland who has been feeling not-so-well...I hope you are on the mend.

Happy days to all...

Two Awards!

2007-08-21T12:44:00.000+10:00

Two very lovely people over the past couple of weeks have nominated me for two different awards and I feel very honoured indeed. Thanks so much Cathy and Jeanette for the very kind compliments you have given me. I'd like to say,"right back at you". I love to read both of your blogs.
I thought I would give you a bunch of flowers for your kindness- sorry they're not the real thing!
My good friend Cathy has a wonderful design business and creates the most beautiful things including charms, journals and old linen bags all with a french old worlde feel. I would like to nominate Jeanette for the NICE MATTERS AWARD. Jeanette is my new friend from Sweden. She also is a very creative person and makes the most wonderful things using a combination of felting and quilting. You can just imagine how delighted I was when Jeanette recently told me she had made me this beautiful little quilt. I was so excited, I couldn't stop smiling. To think somebody that I had never met in person would do something so nice for me! Such a thoughtful friend, thankyou. Jeanette is in the process of doing up an old farmhouse and is doing the best job of it. It is a pleasure to be sharing in her journey. Now I must nominate some other blogging friends for the NICE MATTERS AWARD, so here goes...
Eleanor and Ruby- Leisa is a wonderful mother and homemaker. Her blog has beautiful photos of her new garden and thrift shop finds and is always a pleasure to read.

Rosy Inspiration is full of roses, pretty things and delicious cooking. A girl after my own heart.

It's nice to see how life is going on the "other" side of Australia.

and last but not least,

Nature, Art and Home- Andrea is a very special person who loves nature and shows great concern for the world in which we live. She is a wonderful artist who not only draws the most amazing caricatures but can draw life-like drawings of natures bounty. Real talent.

Spring is in the Air

2007-08-15T08:22:00.000+10:00

There is the enticing feel of spring in the air. You know the feeling...you can't get enough of it. The irresistible urge to garden and clean. There are flowers appearing, complete with their wonderful smells. Life feels a pleasure to be part of. Well, it has started at my place. For me it always starts with cleaning and rearranging. My hutch was the first victim...a little change in the arrangement and lots of dusting.

Fresh "start of spring" flowers in my new enamel jug

and in an old wall vase I bought at the swap meet.

I couldn't resist these cushions on a recent shopping trip as they matched my lounge room perfectly. Something fresh and new. I was planning on making some but I can still do that as you can never have enough of them.
Spring is such a rewarding time to potter in the garden doing some planting. With the warmer weather, everything just wants to grow. I have been madly planting up new containers to place on outside tables. This table is one of the projects I have been doing. We bought it at a very reasonable price years ago but it was green and I never really did like it. So now in my mad white phase it too has had a lick of white paint. I am still in the process of painting the chairs. It is very hard to settle down to one task at the moment as the garden is always beckoning me.

Speaking of which...I must dash, the garden is calling. Happiness to all my blogging friends till next time.

Forgotten Art...

2007-08-01T12:06:00.000+10:00

Isn't it funny how when you are working on a piece of artwork that is all you can think about and then once it's done and hung you start to forget that you made it? I tend to do that all the time so I thought I would show everyone a few pieces I made last year...sort of a "I remember you're there" and "you're still making my home a prettier place to live".I can't resist going through the old postcards whenever I am in antique shops...it's kind of like finding hidden treasure. Sometimes they are just ghastly but sometimes one just hits the spot. I find the ones that I'm most attracted to tend to have beautiful verses and pretty pictures. The backs are important also. Although I still feel a bit naughty reading someone else's letter, it does give you a glimpse into a bygone era.I'm never quite sure what to do with them. I thought these two were too pretty not to put them on the wall so I mounted them on some lovely paper to match my lounge room and added a little touch of fabric to soften them.
I wanted to give this one a feeling of being on stage as the couple look so dramatic.
This is a little canvas that I painted and collaged then bees waxed. I love to use old music as the words are often a good starting point for the imagination to create. This piece tends to be a travelling one and turns up all over my home. The colours lend it a peaceful quality. Just as my plants are "the sisterhood of the travelling plants" so too are my paintings!

Strawberries, Roses and Birthday Celebrations...

2007-07-30T09:04:00.000+10:00

Yet another birthday celebration on the weekend. My oldest son Isaac turned 16. Time to start looking at getting his learner's permit! Could he really be that old already? It doesn't seem that long ago he was just a very cute two year old. He was the funniest little fellow, always stopping people in the street for a chat...he seemed to have an affinity for elderly people. On many occasions he was described as having an old soul. The doctor thought that Isaac might be a politician or the like as he certainly had the gift of conversing.You wouldn't know now that he had been such a chatterbox as he's quite reserved and quiet.
I baked a Victorian mocha sponge for his birthday cake....filled it with raspberry jam and cream...topped it with strawberries and cream.

Despite the cold weather we have been having some of my old tea roses are still in full bloom

and are looking quite the picture. I picked a lovely bunch of Archiduke Joseph to fill a new enamel jug I had bought on Friday. There is always a lot of debate as to whether Archiduke is a different rose to Monsieur Tillier but I believe they are different roses because I grow both and the flowers take on different colours under the same weather conditions. They are both very beautiful and very easy to grow.

Not Much Happening

2007-07-24T10:00:00.000+10:00

Hello everyone, I'm back at last. No projects to show yet as the household has been a little sick but we're on the mend. Today was the day that I was going to be all motivated and get on with some of my projects as it was supposedly going to be sunny with a top of seventeen degrees celsius...horror of horrors, it's cold and foggy so perhaps another day.

Here are the first bulbs that I planted starting to flower. I still can't believe such beautiful flowers can come from such nondescript "packages".

We always have many hungry mouths to feed at our place. During winter I try to keep enough seed up to the birds to keep them happy. I think they have enough to put up with with the cold so they shouldn't have to go hungry as well. I'm sure they would feel much warmer with full little tummies. I have also been known, on occasion, to put warm water in their bird baths....I can't stand the thought of the bird's tiny little legs getting so cold. I have a direct view of their morning bathing rituals from my kitchen window and so it makes me feel warmer as well to know their water is warm.

The little glasshouse that we made is coming along fine. The plants inside seem happy enough. It now has it's little bracket from which I will hang it's name...something else fun to make.

John cut out the tin for along the top and I'm in the process of painting it. The little candelabra works well and throws some lovely light in the evening outside my daughters bedroom window.

A Lovely Scene

2007-07-10T12:30:00.000+10:00

I had been wanting to take a photo of this quaint little building for so long now and at last I had my camera with me. I was in the right place at the right time as the day was drawing to a close; the colours were so soft and there was a full moon already rising. To top it all off the grass was green and in the west there was a beautiful sunset. I wasn't able to get a good shot of the sunset as the light contrast was too much for my camera. The cows were really mooing at us in expectation of a feed I think. It sounded so nice as it was very quiet except for the moos. I managed to plant up some more hyacinths- blue ones this time...the others are pink. I had only bought three so I decided to use the other three tins for camellia flowers. The single Camellia sasanqua are so delicate....a nice contrast to the tin I think.

I have a few projects on the go at the moment so I will get back to them and hopefully have some photos to show everyone soon.There's definitely more time to work on projects now the kids are back at school.

Which Room?

2007-07-04T10:25:00.000+10:00

Is it just me or does everybody have the same problem? Whenever I manage to finally get some plants growing well in pots I'm always left with the dilemma as to where to place them. I want them every where...in the lounge room, the bedroom, the laundry shelf, outside on the little ladder, on the kitchen table....
So, at the moment they have been travelling around the home. I'm always torn between the best position for them and the position where they'll look the best and where I see them the most. I thought I had found a remedy- just have more, but I still have favourites...these are the ones I want everywhere.
I did a very quick spot of sewing the other evening....one of those sewing sessions that I just needed to do some and I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to sew. I think I needed to get it out of my system. Looking at all the beautiful blogs makes it almost impossible not to create something. I already had the piece of linen blend with the apple stamp from when I had made Mum a table cloth. I had stamped the whole cloth with apples and pears and their leaves. I must sew one for myself. The stamping is so easy- you cut the pear or apple in half, load it with paint, stamp and then paint in the stem and seeds if they didn't show up.

It's Days Like These...

2007-06-26T11:58:00.000+10:00

What a beautiful day Sunday was. It was one of those days that is so nice you feel you could do anything but you end up just sitting and enjoying it. Too good to be ignored. I went to the market just up the road from us and found a few pretty things. I had a general feeling of well being as I left...in my bags I had a pretty, old plate, a couple of old table cloths, a bunch of very green silverbeet, some very large passionfruits, a bunch of flowers and, to top it all off, a budgie. (Actually it was in a box not a bag.) We had recently been asked by one of our neighbours if we would care for their mother's budgie as she had had a stroke and could no longer look after it. Usually I don't agree with birds in cages but I thought we could make an exception just to help out. The little budgie was in need of a mate and I must say she is mach happier now she has a friend. Their names- Maisey and Lacey.

Our Home

2007-06-19T10:59:00.001+10:00

Thirteen years ago, John and I purchased a beautiful block of land twenty minutes drive north of Toowoomba. I think we actually told the real estate fellow that if we could get this block of land it would be like living in paradise. At the time we had been living on the black soil plains of the Darling Downs where the weather always seemed harsh. In summer we would watch the rain clouds sweep past us and sit on Toowoomba where it was always several degrees cooler. In winter it was another sad story to be told. We constantly got much more severe frosts and we had none of the wet foggy weather that we loved so much. I would leave home for work and the sun was shining and my little car would pull itself up the range to a find a foggy and wet Toowoomba. Oh so sad when I am a keen gardener.

To cut a long story short, we did get our block of land on the escarpment, went through a lot of worry and trouble getting our 10 square transportable home accepted by council and now we are enjoying our peace of paradise just how we had visualized.

Our little blue house sits on five acres, about one and half of which is under garden. We started with a bare block that had a couple of larger trees on it so it was a very clean slate to start with indeed. With the new garden in mind, I think I had collected about fifty potted plants (before we moved in) ready to start as soon as I could. Thirteen years on you can hardly see the house from the road. By our,I think, sixth or seventh year here we were part of the ABC Open Garden Scheme- we needed a name for our place.Our house was blue...around that time I was fossicking around at a market and there it was.....a plate the exact blue of our house called Chelsea Blue. That was a sign I'm sure. Not only did the blue match but Chelsea in England is where my very dear Grandad Brown had grown up- how fitting.
We fill our home with things we love.....
our dear little dogs Poppy and Susie.....
and with kids. We love having sleepovers. No matter how small the house is kids

can bunk down anywhere...the more the merrier. There is nothing nicer than to hear a bunch

of kids having fun. With their inane conversations and silly giggles you can't help but smile.

Charming Book

2007-06-14T08:59:00.000+10:00

Finally finished another charm yesterday for a friend of mine.

I really like the combination of a fresh little watercolour with the old paper from sheet music.

Have you seen this book around? "Home. Living life beautifully", by Sandra Kaminski. It is absolutely gorgeous. Such beautiful photos by Rachael Hale.

I have borrowed it for a little while from my friend and won't like handing it back when the time comes. I think I will have to find one for myself.
Pink and green are not the only colour schemes in the book but I couldn't help but show you these photos!

I am now more inspired to grow as many flowers as I can and fill the house with them.

A Little Sewing and Blacksmithing

2007-06-12T10:20:00.000+10:00

Just a quick post today as we have had another big weekend and I have many jobs to catch up on. I had John's 40th birthday lunch on Saturday. In all I think there were about 20 of us so it was quite a crowd to cater for. It was well worth the effort as it was really nice to see everyone.

One of the good things to come out of the get together was that it made me get the director's chair covers made. With that many people you need all the seats you can get. I was going to use material I had painted but I just couldn't resist using this beautiful rose material. I just love roses too much. I want to put them on everything! The other material won't go to waste because I will use it for cushion covers. I did do a silly thing though.... I didn't line two of the four seat covers and, you guessed it, they ripped! Not to worry, I wasn't totally happy with them as the material wasn't the rose material. I had an inkling it might happen; luckily no one hurt their posterior on the way through!

As it had been my 40th not long ago my brother in law gave me this lovely sign. The colours perfectly match a french look clock that I already have on the wall. They will look very good together.
The best thing about the cold weather we have been experiencing is that it tempts John to turn his hand to some more blacksmithing. It gets nice and cosy in his shed with a smithy's fire going. So much so, my eldest son even turned up there to do a little of his own.

This time John made this little candelabra for my new glasshouse. It is amazing to watch a few rods of steel turn into something so good. I think it was the first time he had tried the "knotting" on the top. He cut the little candle holders out of tin so it is entirely hand made. Can't wait to hang it!

A Foggy Start....

2007-06-06T09:58:00.000+10:00

What a beautiful foggy start to the day. The sound of rain on the roof has been rather scarce of late so it was most welcome. I know I keep going on about the rain but a wet world is a much better world in my books.
This little building is my youngest son's cubby that John made him when he was only five. We thought that if we made a cute cubby then we could use it as a nice little garden shed when Sam no longer uses it. There is a secret trapdoor in the floor that is very useful when trying to escape the clutches of someone in hot pursuit. Within it's four walls are all the things that a boys' cubby should have....spiders, old bottles, shells, rocks, a cactus and succulent collection, the occasional possum, an old gypsy caravan heater/stovelet....and the list goes on. At one stage, after having grown up in the garden, Sam was a very keen gardener. Most of the plants around his cubby were planted by his little hands and carefully watched for any signs of growth.

From a very young age he new many botanical names like; Solanum wenlandii and Dimortheca. Wonderful words to hear coming out of the mouth of a three year old. I remember one open garden day a little old lady coming up to me saying," I was wondering what the beautiful purple-flowered plant was around there and your little boy assured me it was a Solanum wenlandii. Is he right?" Well, who said the young can't teach the elderly anything?

Cold foggy weather calls for warm cake and a cup of tea. What better than my Grandma Derksen's dutch honey cake. Always a favourite of anyone who tries it. Just add a light spread of butter and enjoy...

Glasshouse decorating for a beginner...

2007-06-04T08:54:00.000+10:00

Flowers with happy faces ready to face a winter's day.....

After visiting the very lovely Cherryhill Cottage blogspot, I just had to have a go at making one of the old windows glasshouses. It is not quite finished but I thought I would show you all so you can appreciate the finished product when it is done- and decorated.The day I went to the antiques and collectibles swapmeet was not a very fruitful one but on the way home I managed to find some old windows, at a very reasonable price, for this project. I had picked up a beautiful, pale green, antique glass knob that was just the shot for the glasshouse door. There was also a-wait for it- GRAVE MARKER- that I was rather fascinated by. The lady I bought it off thought it was a weird thing to want to buy. Hey! She was the one selling it. To me it was just a nice piece of old metal with numbers on it. Anyway,I can't go passed something a little different to the ordinary.

As a joint effort, John and I sanded, painted and nailed and voila- a little glasshouse .
I will probably pot some more pretty plants to go in it. John has already turned a large wooden candlestick to add some height to the arrangement on the inside.

Happy day to you all...

At My Little Desk

2007-05-29T08:21:00.000+10:00

This is my little desk that John made me. It is here that I do most of my painting and charm making. I needed somewhere that I could tend to the washing, cooking and other daily duties that was close to it all but out of the way. I use to do it all on the kitchen table but that isn't very practical as you can't just up and leave it. I still need to sew and paint large pictures at the table but it is really good to have the desk for all my fiddly work. We also attached a little old vice to the desk for holding the charms while they are being soldered.

The little mat on which the desk is sitting is a floorcloth that I painted a couple of years ago. Most people are horrified to see me using a "painting" as a mat but it is made to stand up to wear and tear. Floorcloths were the precursors to lino and were made out of old sails. Mine of course, is not but is the next best thing I could find- a heavy painters drop sheet. There are plenty of instructions on how to make one on the web so the hardest thing was the design. What I like about them is that you can get a design or certain look that you can't get in mass produced floorcoverings. Very unique!

I paint both miniature and large paintings. These pictures in the charms are tiny original watercolours. They are quite quick to paint but require a lot of concentration. I can ruin a whole painting with one wrong brushstroke....intense. On the other hand the larger acrylic paintings I do are very liberating as you can apply paint quite wildly. Very enjoyable. I mostly paint because I would like a particular look somewhere. So instead of buying a painting or wall hanging, I have a go myself.

I have also tried my hand at some fabric painting. Some days I just get the urge to do a painting so with brush in hand, on this day, I decided to paint some fabric for deck chair covers. I always feel much better when I have gotten the painting bug out of my system. It always seems to happen most in Autumn- I think because of the beautiful weather.

All I know is there is nothing quite like the feeling you get when you create something with your own hands.

Let Them Have Cake AND eat It!

2007-05-27T19:48:00.000+10:00

It is now Monday morning after quite a big weekend. Every year I say that I'm not going to go to as much trouble but every year I do. I always feel that they are only kids once so why not give them something to think fondly of when they're all grown up. My daughter, Erica and son, Sam were born within one day of each other so we always have a double birthday celebration. Girls' birthday colours at one table and boys' things at the other.This year they turned 14 and 12. It is always so much fun to have a crowd of boys and girls together as it makes "chasing" games that much more
exciting. We always have as many as can sleep over and in a small house this is quite an undertaking. Fortunately, the boys are usually only too willing to sleep in the tent down towards the bush.

Two birthdays, two cakes. This year they both had mud cakes. A new recipe I hadn't tried before but I must say, they were delicious. A block of chocolate in each- WICKED!

Chocolate Mud Cake

200g chocolate{100g dark,100g milk chocolate}

200g butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup hot water

2 Tbsp instant coffee

1 cup plain flour

3/4 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup cocoa

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 160c. Grease and line a 24cm springform pan.

2. Place first five ingredients in pan, stir over low heat until sugar

has dissolved and mixture is smooth, cool.

3. Fold in sifted flours,cocoa and eggs.

Pour mixture into prepared pan.

4. Bake for 1 hour until cooked, cool completely in pan before turning out.

If desired, dust with cocoa and serve with whipped cream and strawberries.

Oh I almost forgot! HAPPY 44TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY MUM AND DAD.

And down came the rain.....

2007-05-21T16:16:00.000+10:00

At last we have had a spot of rain. Not that much but at least on this day

there was no evaporation and everything is looking "washed".

Rain drops on bare Autumn branches.......

raindrops on rose buds.....

...on Mother's Day flowers.....

....... and little jewels on spider webs.

Sometimes it feels like it will never rain again. Then out of the blue, when you least expect it, down it comes. I believe the weather forecast for yesterday was: FINE with LIGHT RAIN. One would wonder how it could be fine if there is light rain! Does it mean that it will be fine unless it is raining and if that is the case, maybe we could all be weather forecasters? I think that is what is known as hedging your bets.

Autumn weather...just beautiful...

2007-05-17T11:26:00.001+10:00

"Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempest and is never shaken...."

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

.....how true! My husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary yesterday. It was a beautiful day! We went out to lunch and spent the day just enjoying each other's company. Without me knowing, he had arranged to have the day off work so that was a real treat. There is an antique and collectibles swap meet on in Toowoomba this weekend so we both decided this would be our anniversary present to each other so lets hope there will be wonderful treasures to find. John loves to collect old tools and is building quite a collection. He only buys the ones he will use which is quite a lot as he does copious amounts of woodwork and a little blacksmithing as well.

As I walk around the garden at this time of year, I am reminded of how kind Autumn is. The plants look so much happier despite the lack of rain. The sun is gentle and the plants take on the appearance of being grown in a greenhouse- God's greenhouse. The colours are more vibrant and you can almost see the smiles on the flower's faces. Consequently, this is usually the time of year I feel invincible and pot up plants exclaiming all the while that I WILL keep them all thriving even during the extreme summer heat.

I tend to start little projects like this old ladder...and actually get them done in the same afternoon as I bought it. What a find. I was just saying to John that I wanted to get an old ladder to put my potplants on to add a little oomph beside the house and what should we find in a thrift shop a couple of days later but just the one! And it was even the right price. I will have fun adding to it in the weeks that follow.

Window Shelf

2007-05-14T13:17:00.000+10:00

This is what I have made over the Mother's Day weekend.The old window had spent many years under the house just waiting to become something. I have been trying to make the verandah more like a little room of the house and so I 've been excitedly making, painting, collecting and planting all manner of things to place in my new "little room". The director's chairs are still waiting for their new covers and I still need to make some nice cushions.

Whenever I make something, I always end up adding more colour than I intended to. I have decided that I just like combining colours to make pretty effects. I can honestly say that colour makes me feel happy. It doesn't have to be pastels or any particular shade of a colour- I just like to see any colours that are co-ordinating. In fact, it's also refreshing to see colours that are slightly jarring. Colour has so much impact on me that when I'm hanging out the "darks" load of washing, I feel awful! There's nothing better than a line full of pretty co-ordinating colours. Needless to say, in our house you will find lots of colour. I don't care for fashions. If it makes me feel good then I will use whatever colour I desire!

Cupcakes!

2007-05-10T19:14:00.000+10:00

Don't you just love cupcakes...They're so simple, quick to mix up and look so pretty even without going to much bother. I have so many different recipes for them but usually use the tried and proven one unless I'm in the mood for something a little different- like black-bottom cupcakes or chai cupcakes. My Grandma Brown's recipe is probably the one that has received the most comments about their moistness. It is always lovely to make something that you know your Grandma has made many times before you.

Chelsea Blue Whispers

I'm back...can you believe it?

Today

Home

The Christmas Stocking

Having fun!

Sunday in the Studio

Flowers, flowers and more flowers.

Vintage Paper Keepsakes created in...my new studio!!!!!

Down time...

Fabric flowers for a special occasion....that's approaching VERY fast!

Playing with Paper

The Vintage Suitcase

A couple of projects...

Glimpses of Glass

Winter flowers...

Anniversary!

Change...

Living Room

The Curtains Are Up!

Wonderful News and a Bedroom Makeover

Little Creatures

INSPIRATION

Spring is here!

Everything is Rosy

It's About Time!

New Finds in the New Year

*Happy Christmas*

Shop Scenes...

Spring is upon us...

Ideas

A Weekend Like Spring

The Beauty That Surrounds Us

A New Week

Old Postcards

Last Week

Out in the Garden

Mother's Day

10 Things About Me You May Not Know

A Show Full of Colour and Pretty Flowers

Change...

Not SO Traditional

Beating the Heat!

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Flowers and Paper

Graduation- Where Did Those Twelve Years Go?

I Did It!

Shabby Find

Garden Sanctuary

Good Rain and Gardens

School Holidays

AAAHHHH Spring!

Spending Time in Boxes

Who are the People in Your Neighbourhood?

Market Days

Out in the Garden Again!

Good Times

First Day of Winter

A Beautiful Mother's Day- oh so Spoilt!

A New Lease of Life

Computers!

Guess What Tomorrow Is?

A Good Read...

A Big Hello and Happy New Year to Everyone!

What have I been up to....you may ask?

A Beautiful Afternoon.

Busy Days

Missed Opportunities

Stop! Cleaning in Progress!

Warm Days and Visitors

My Cubby House

A New Book...

Nature's Artwork...

Enjoying Life!

Two Awards!

Spring is in the Air

Forgotten Art...

Strawberries, Roses and Birthday Celebrations...

Not Much Happening

A Lovely Scene

Happy Christmas