Hunting and gathering

The life of a teenager and a small dog is obviously one of great stress and hard work only to be cured with plenty of rest and relaxation.  Oscar was quite put out that I had gone into wake the teenager up, both ignored me so I buggered off outside to carry on with my day.  I remember how much I enjoyed the end of the year holidays, 6 glorious weeks of NOTHING!!! Well not nothing, anything I dam well pleased really,  and all during summer.  We had a beach house so my family would pack up and head over to the coast for the entire time.  There are some stories to tell from those years I can assure you but I want you all to remain with the impression that I was and still am a good saintly person!!  Now where did I leave my halo and wings??

Before I share today I need to share yesterday.  Only seems fare!!  TOF gave me permission (yesterday) to pick the strawberries that were deemed ready.  We have the birds sorted with netting but bugs are having a fabulous time making holes in some of TOFs Strawbs.  I managed to rescue a few and there is quite the crop still ripening.  The raspberries are in abundance but like last year I need to pick in the morning before all the birds help themselves to a mid morning snack.  So it is pick and freeze with them.

I have been dead heading the flowers and collecting the seeds, putting them into paper bags and now they are safely being stored in this cane basket.  I think it was part of a picnic set where cups would have lived but it is perfect for my seed storage.  I also managed to pull a few plants out that have finished and plant this selection of goodies in the empty spots.  Sweet Williams, Portulaca's, Asters, Delphiniums, Petunias, and the ones at the back of the photo that I cannot for the life of me remember what they are called.  But the colour will continue in my back yard!!!

These are the things I found on Monday, which wasn't yesterday or today but Monday.  I am working Friday instead of Monday this week and also Saturday as the lady I work for is going away for a long weekend. Follow??

The basket I think is actually a pet carrier but it makes for a pretty good picnic basket so my old one will be re donated now.  The pots with holes in are a new fascination of mine.  I have about 6 so far and they will all have citronella candles in them and will be placed outside at night around the garden when we are out side dining!  How posh does that sound.  The fabric is a cotton bed throw with limey green fringing on it.  Perfect for my swing chair, and the tray is for my friend Dawn.  Now onto today, "SuesDay", at long last we had one and it was pretty much as I expected it would be, "Frickin Great"!!!

Dressed from top to toe and even the under wear in black and white.  Even dragged out my "Moo" bag.  I thought Sues dog Max had left hair behind in her car but apparently Moo had a slight malt.  Sorry Maxy dog x x x x  ♥!!

No time before we headed out for a group photo as Sue was fizzing at the bung to get out and amongst the shops.  We took in a good quota of our favourites and had a healthy lunch of a Greek Salad each because we are so virtuous!!

Going clockwise we have, sweet little lace layered jacket that Ms W found, brooch and a pendant, numerous patterns for 20c each, retro contact, another candle holder, groovy as floral shower curtain with flower curtain hooks (brand new) spotty pants, Italian sandals and a summer read, small round cushions for the white wrought iron chairs in my garden, and last but by no means least this fabulous plant a "Hippiastrum" which I shall be giving to my mother for Christmas.  The flowers are huge as in size of a saucer huge, which is huge for a flower!!  Quick toat of my spending and the lot came in at $45 which isn't a bad effort.  We had a good old catch up not that we haven't been catching up via phone etc, but so much more fun face to face.  One thing we noticed is all the daft drivers out and about, apparently something big is happening like Xmas!!!  It will be even worse next week as most kids will be finished school so there will be more cars of daft drivers with stressed out parents in them. (Sincere apologies to any stressed out mother with small children who will be driving next week, I will not toot at you I will feel your pain!)

I think we may squeeze in one more SuesDay before the end of the world and Xmas but we will leave earlier to go to JC so we can find a park aye Sue??!!

All in all today, well actually my week so far has been pretty productive with my hunting and gathering.  Be it in my garden of about the op shops, TOF must be so proud of me!!  Sure he is, just like I am when he comes home with Fish!!!

♥♥♥♥♥ 

and on the 11th day the tree got decorated

Back in the early days before kids TOF and I had a real tree in a huge pot that we would bring inside each December and decorate.  One year we even had a Barbie doll wearing nothing but tinsel at the top trying to impersonate a fairy.  Eventually the tree got too big so we planted it outside and it is one huge mother fluffer of a tree now.  Well that was all at least 20 years ago.  TOF then purchased me a tree that he thought looked as close to real as possible.  We spent many a year with it covered in hand crafted stuff lovingly made by the boys when at kindy and primary school.  Lots of macaroni and glitter glued onto card board.  Now that the lads are well passed that part of their creative Xmas decorating I get to lather the tree with all my whimsical things I have collected over the years, made or had made or gifted to me by friends.  Normally I dust off my tree on the 1st day of December but somehow it has taken me 11 days into the month to find my Xmas spirit.  I was only going to put my jandal lights on but TOF insisted in slapping the other two strings on as well.  So it is up in all its glory and will be there until early January I suspect.

The Santa boots I made when Max was a baby, and I even had a spare made, un-named of course in case we were lucky enough to have another baby, which we did a couple of years later.  These still have to be put out each year on TOFs insistence and he does the filling of the boots.  Now booze goes in them and bloke magazines instead of Orange Juice, chips and K-zone mags for the boys.  Here are lots and lots of photos of some of the decorations I have.

So that is that job done and it feels good.  We do a low key sort of Xmas, nice and cruisy with a big old cooked breakfast mid morning, no lunch and  a hot meal at night with an open door policy round here so we never really know who or how many will be here. But there is always a leg of lamb, home grown fresh new spuds, salads and hot veges, followed by a Pavlova made by me.  Last year we took a drive out to Raglan so if the weather is kind we will more than likely do that again.

But all that is days away so in the mean time a well overdue SuesDay is to take place tomorrow.  Sue has a day pass from decorating, so look out op shops!!!!

♥ Goodnight ♥

Who goes and gets themself a cold this time of the year??

ME!!!  Woke up this morning with the full on runny nose, and a dry mouth from breathing through it all night.  I decided against going to lunch with the Irish as I sound like a pig when I eat at the moment because my nose keeps blocking up, then unblocking and running.  So I stuffed tissues up my nostrils like snot tampons today as I was getting sick of it dribbling.

This morning while hanging out the washing in the glorious sunshine I noticed that some newbies have appeared in my garden.

My Bird of Paradise is flowering and so are my Gladiolas.  More vibrant colour out the back.

So many bees were buzzing their butts of in the garden blissfully unaware of the photographer that was stalking them.

Even my Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow shrub is looking fine.

After doing my domestics I decided I should tackle a few of my projects I had sitting about.  So with the music channel on the TV in surround sound I set to on the lounge floor armed with oil cloth and my staple gun.

Very pleased with how the octagonal stool and the coffee table turned out.

Finally hung the fly curtain in the chicken coup and the girls weren't to impressed.  But being food driven they were coaxed in through it with a snack!!

I rediscovered my two storied bird house that my dad made me years ago.  So it has been plopped up in one of my big trees.  Seen as I was on such a roll I set to and made my scarecrow!!

The cross is made out of branches from one of my trees, the clothes were op shopped and totaled $6-50 including the straw hat.  Small sack was $3 and I only used 1/2, and the pea straw I got off my niece.  TOF made the wooden box I have it standing in so I am going to add more soil and grow flowers underneath.

I may even make a small one for TOFs vege garden, but a bloke one!!

This morning Sheba was madly running around the back yard searching for her favourite old ball.  Unbeknown to me TOF had put it in the rubbish bin.  He reckoned it was well past being a toy but I told him it was her "Favourite".  A bit like a couple of his T-shirts that I want to bin as they actually are past being T-shirts and are more like rags.  Long story short, Sheba got her ball back.  One happy dog was she with her special chewed up has been ball.

It was so nice to have sunshine that I will admit to sitting in it doing diddle squat for part of my afternoon.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!!

♥

Full on Friday

So yesterday was my lovely niece Jade's 30th birthday.  I am having a photo canvas of her boys made for her but it won't be ready until next week.  Being a milestone birthday I decided to go to Zinnias and see what I could find as an on the day gift.  I totally love this shop and never walk out of there empty handed, hence why I do not go that often.

I got Jade the Chocolate and the heart shaped lip gloss.

But the hilarious tin below is for my eldest son and I am going to put loose change in it.

Zinnias is by far the place to go if you are looking for a fun present that will not cost you the earth, not cheap, but not over the top.

I stopped to fill the car up with petrol as Jade lives out of town and I would so hate to run out of gas, especially as yesterday was WET!!!  Grabbed a bunch of orange lilies and off I went.  She has a few acres, not sure how many but enough to have a couple of paddocks, run some sheep, plant an orchard and have chickens.  I rather like it out there, so peaceful!

Arlo (3) has a wee friend called Lacey who he calls "my Lacey", so cute, and they go to kindy together.

Small dog is Lonnie a pure bred sweetie (Jack Russell) that Jade will let have a few litters as she is such a lovely natures young girl.

Her sheep are some flash breed?  One is still pregnant and one has a lamb. The bog standard sheep is a pet called Ursula that Jade bottle fed last year.

The orchard has plenty of promising crops growing and the chickens are babies that are new as her old ones went of the lay so they have moved to her Grandmother-in-law's farm.  Fantastic life for the boys, with so much room to run around in.  School is just a 2 minute drive down the road so quite perfect.

Driving home I stopped to take a photo of this sign I had passed on my way to Jade's place.  It amused me so much that it was worthy of a photo!!

Yes that is a toilet seat advertising POO!!  Of the Pony variety!!

TOF being Irish grows spuds, and I mean a couple of crops.  He dug a row last night so we have beautiful new spuds with our dinner last night.

Now that the planets are all aligning in the sky and rumor has it our world is going to change, I am grateful that we have a vegetable garden.  I do not subscribe to the end of the world but I do believe we will have changes coming.  Just look at our weather this year and the natural disasters that have been happening.  I watched an interesting program on old Nostradamus and the Mayans last night and was quite blown away with the knowledge these ancients had.  To think I had to take history in my final year at school and thought it was a pile of crap and never went to  class, I missed so much interesting stuff.  I spent my time n the Art room instead blissfully unaware of some amazing things.  Thank goodness for Sky TV.

Well I am off now to enjoy what is left of his afternoon and make he most of e sunshine.  Off to Auckland tomorrow to have an early Christmas lunch with the  Irish, TOFs lot.

♥♥♥

Rain drops keep fallin' on my head........

...and the garden is ever grateful.

All my box gardens are just amping at the moment with all the rain and the warmness.  While we humans are well over the rain and the humidity, the plants are shouting "MORE"!!!!

My wild flowers have gone feral and are starting their take over bid on the beetroot and the other vegetables next to them.

TOFs strawberries are plentiful and ever so sweet. Under 24hr guard!

My flower garden is doing its bit to add colour to the back yard and the beetroot living happily amongst them is thriving.

My salad garden just keeps on producing.  The fennel is lovely and the girls are enjoying getting their fix of silver beet every other day.

While collecting the eggs this morning I managed to get a good handful of juicy Raspberries before the birds saw them.  There is a massive crop so I won't mind sharing the odd one with the birds.

Some of the flowers in my wild flower garden are gorgeous, like this delightful one.  Have no idea what it is but it is stunning.

One of TOFs many Strawberries just waiting to be picked and devoured.  He reckons he has counted them all, which wouldn't surprise me, but I'm not scared of him, he is all talk!!!  He left his lunch behind this morning so like the good little wifey that I am, I delivered it to him at his new job.  I visited a couple of shops while in the area but have nothing, nada, zip, zero, zilch to show you.

My garden is bloomin' gorgeous right now!!!  Pretty pleased to see that next years sweet peas are showing (seed pods).  The poppies just keep on flowering and the last lot are smaller.  The cornflowers and carnations are heavenly.  And as for my sweet peas, well what can I say??  My Zinnias are just starting to flower now too!!

I went and visited an old friend of mine today and her beautiful little grandson.  She looks after him 3 days a week while his mum works.  He is just over 1 and very cute.  He has a little brother on the way middle of next year.  My friends other daughter is having her first baby, a girl, with in a week of her sister.

Speaking of babies, my niece is having her 3rd baby mid next year as well.  Another boy for her.

Funny how all the young mums find out what they are having these days.  Now I am gonna sound old, ready?

"Back in my day....."

I never wanted to know what I was having as I always thought there weren't too many surprises in life so finding out everything about your baby on the day they were born was such excitement.  But things have changed, and that's how life should be.  Always changing.  When my boys get into the breeding game I am hoping they will have girls, just for me!!!! I wouldn't have minded a daughter but realise now there would of been some hell fights when they grew up!!  Don't think TOF would have coped as he finds the lack of clothes the young girls wear pretty daunting!!  I love my boys and that is what counts, hopefully they will end up with girls that "get" me, or I'm in trouble!!!  Who ever they pick I will be on my best behavior if I have to be and will go out of my way to get on.

♥ FaMiLy ♥

I should be building an Ark

We have had so much rain today that at this rate we may need to find some logs and start rounding up the animals, two by two I think.  I don't mind the rain as it is watering my garden, but I am running out of places to hang washing.  Even tho' it is wet it was still warm, like it is after 10.30pm and still sitting on 19*.  Nothing compared to Christchurch, land of Helga, they hit 30* according to the weather man on the box tonight.  But the rain did not stop my plans for the day.  Couple of Op Shops then off to under glaze my pottery.

Nice selections of goodies gathered today and yesterday.  I have been taking in op shops as I am on my way places.  Best score today would have to be the white painted cane shelves for $3.  Best find from yesterday would have to be the darling container in the photo below, lined in velvet, $3.  The book of poetry from around the world is A3 size and in mint condition.  I love books and have a stash of kids ones amongst my books.  I do like kid books that make me laugh.  I have one on puberty called "Hair grows in funny places" and another one titled "Why do dogs sniff bottoms".  Bring on the grandchildren!!!

None of my pottery to share but this buxom wench I have had on lay by at work.  She is about 23cm tall and her dress is the lid to a pot and her bloomers are the pot.  Far to gorgeous for her own good.

As for my pottery I spent the day decorating with glaze so it is all ready for the next stage.  No rush as it is all for me so no dead line there.

I went to my mothers place while she was out yesterday and took photos of her patchwork that she has made and is on the walls all over her house.  I have made the photos into a calender for her for Christmas.  Always hard to know what to give her as she has everything so this may just be a winner.  I have done it through Vista as I made one for me using the photos I took at the Hamilton Gardens.  May make one for Dawn yet with all her pottery in it.  Really easy to do and so personal.

This black bird is a regular in my back yard.  Cheeky bugger uses the bird bath as a loo!!  I think it has a nest in my old garden arch be cause it is hanging about it.

Wee Oscar was doing a spot of day dreaming the other day.  Love to know what is going on in his little mind some days.

One of my girls just chilling amongst the mulch in the sun.  These were taken on Monday afternoon I think. Could be wrong tho' but it wasn't today I do know that much!!

This gorgeous wee owl arrived in my mail box today from my darling friend the super talented fabric artist, Louise who I fondly refer to as Lou-lou-belle.

I shall have to drag my Chrissy tree out now and set to with my quirky decorating.  Not the most traditional decorating takes place but it is all pretty funky and has alot of hand made things that go on it each year. Like my Christmas lights are jandals!!

Now some great news.  Jak has left school and starting his Building apprenticeship on January 7th 2013, with my gorgeous nieces husband, a very talented builder.  

NO MORE BLOODY SCHOOL FEES!!!!!!!

Hope you are all surviving the week and looking forward to the  weekend like me.

♥ Rain you can stop now ♥

Right, where were we again??

It is true that the older you get, the quicker the time flies by!!  Sometimes it feels like the weekend didn't happen it goes so fast.  But by Monday I am starting to remember what I did do on Saturday!!!

I took my gorgeous mouse (made by my clever friend Lou-Lou-Belle) out to get up close and personal with the pottery.  She did her own photo shoot actually and quite frankly Ms Mouse rather liked all the attention!!

After her time in the lime light, I got on with tidying up my bits I had made the day before and constructing the plate to go under the bowl.  Totally buzzing I ended up making a vase.  This sounds all so hum hum I am sure but when it is all tarted up with glorious colour and cooked I will blow your mind with my dabble in pottery.  I am stoked with what it is like so far, and there is a good chance I will be back in the studio completing my projects this week.  Woo Hooooooo!!!!!

TOF went all cave man on Saturday and hit the high sees hunting for food to feed the family!!!  On the water at 8am and back in by 11am with the quota of scrumdiddle fish.  This one was about 4.8kg and was delicious it was with a salad from the garden.   I took a smoked fish down to the son and his flat mates on Sunday afternoon and we have had a couple of seriously nice meals.  I could eat fish every second day I could.

Speaking of TOF he got offered a job the other week and started it today.  Looking more permanent than the last few so things could be looking up.  Crikey I may not have to find work at this rate.  Good news also is that Jak is taking up a building apprenticeship starting January 7 next year.  So no more school fees!!!  After the crappy year we have endured this year with work etc all of us are looking forward to 2013.  Onwards and upwards!!!

Saturday was a beautiful day, so much that I put up all the brollies for a look see at the backyard.  Looking good I think.  We have a table for two, table for four, and a family table.  Time for a small dinner party???

I let the girlies out and they were helping themselves to Raspberries, but we won't tell TOF.  Eggs should taste fruity this week!!

I keep picking the sweet peas and it is encouraging more to bloom.  I have a huge vase of them in the lounge.  I normal burn Vanilla candles but no need with these flowers in the house.

Monday kicked in this morning!!  Today I ventured off to work wearing an apron dress that crosses over at the back over another dress.  Hard to describe and actually rather tricky to photograph.  But it has these 3D fabric flower things on it and pockets and its dam comfy.  Got it at the Salvo last week, and have a pattern similar so I may well whip another one up.

The wooden thing is a slanted foot stool and perfect for under the desk where the computer is to rest my tootsies on while computing. A bargin $3 from the Salvo.  Quite exciting this afternoon, when I got home my calenders I had made on Vista had arrived.  I  used photos from when me and Sue W went to the Hamilton Gardens.  I even have all the family occasions printed on it. $9-99 for one and for another $6 I could get a second one.  One for the kitchen and one for the loo.  Super cool fun to do, tempting to whip up more for gifts, but far too late for Xmas, maybe just gifts because I can sort of gifts then.  Speaking of Xmas, I normally put my tree up on the first.  Didn't happen!!  Maybe during the week.  I am not a huge fan of Xmas but I do like my tree.

Enjoy your week won't you and I will catch up again later on.

♥♥♥♥♥