My love of all things colourful

Have you got a relation that you never got to meet that you would love to have met?  The one I would have liked to have met is my Great Grandmother Gladys Mae (Holden) Nash.  By all accounts from the stories I heard over the years she was a bit of a laugh, and like me LOVED COLOURFUL THINGS!  So that must be where I get it from.

Gladys was born on the 18th of January 1888. This is her with her parents Louis and Kate.

Kate (in the wheelchair) and Louis (crouched next to her) with a bumper crop of Apricots from their Orchard in Waiomu, Thames, NZ. They lived in Te Aroha because of the thermal springs which were therapeutic for Kate.  I am not sure but Gladys is quite likely to be one of the young ladies in the photo.

Previously they owned a  farm in Feilding on a farm called Ridgelands.  Louis imported the 1st Poll Angus bull in New Zealand, seen above.

Gladys married Ernest Octavius Nash on the 16th of June 1909 in Te Aroha. Ernest is the gentleman to the left of her behind her mother. Gladys's sisters were her two bridesmaids. Her grandfather William is the man second from the left and her grandmother Jane is the woman in black on the far right.  

I love this photo as it has my great grandparents, great great grandparents, and my great great great grandparents in it!!

Ernest and Gladys had three daughters and then my grandfather William Ernest Nicholas Nash, known to us as Grandpa Bill (my mothers father).  This photo shows two of his sisters with his parents.

Gladys passed away in 1957 five years before I was born.  She was a dab hand at needle work and I have a box of her old embroidery cottons in all my favourite bright colours.

So yes, if I could meet an old relative it would be Gladys.

I think she would have approved of my cobalt blue and more than likely would have loved my bunch of girls and all their antics they get up to.

Hi Gladys, bet she would have enjoyed swinging and nattering in my garden on a warm summers day.  She was an ample sized woman, another thing I have in common with her, apparently I am classed as a big girl, a larger lady, curvy, XL which I am pretty sure stands for extra luscious!!

I have plenty of pockets!!

There has been a bit of shopping this week as I stumbled upon a pop up shop full of glorious colourful things yesterday!! I don't often buy brand new but when a SALE RACK is conveniently parked at the door of a shop and it is bursting with COLOUR, like a moth to light I was drawn to it in some mystical way.  Maybe it was Gladys guiding me?

Somehow I bought both these divinely colourful things.

Is this not why I work?

Oooops!!!  I found this dress today, and somehow it came home with me.  I think I am ready for SUMMER now.

When I had my hysterectomy 10 years ago my doctor said "your metabolism could speed up or slow down".  I actually think it was removed with all those girly bits that were no longer any good. So I have CURVES, pretty sure there are worse things in life I could have.

Today was lovely but started off cool so I was striping of the layers as the day went on.  Layers of second hand lovelies!!  I am having a bit of a love affair with cobalt blue and aqua at the moment.

In Vinnies today I scored an entire paper mache' Nativity set at 20 cents per piece.  I am not remotely religious but I quite like Nativity sets, so I finally have one.  Santa was also only 20 cents and the books were all $1 each.  My Summer reading supply is looking good.

These three were very pleased when I finally got home today and sat still long enough for them all to join me.

When did the world become obsessed with SKINNY?

Not me, I'm not obsessed with anything that isn't colourful and happy.

The weekend is about to start in four minutes, and I should go to bed!  Have a brilliantly happy relaxing fun filled, smile worthy weekend.

 

 

Adults are just big kids at the end of the day

I gave a friend a wall plaque for her birthday a few weekends back when she turned 50, it said "Growing old in mandatory but growing up is optional". I have never had a problem with getting older, (apart from the break down of the body that starts to happen) probably because I still enjoy the simple things in life that I did when I was young.  Remember the bubbles?

You all know how much I enjoy my garden, and with the glorious weather on offer over the weekend, the garden swing got put to good use.  Who didn't enjoy flying high on a swing when they were a child, leaning back so your hair touched the ground and your feet headed to the sky? These days I prefer gentle to the high as I can get it!!

 So I decided to take you for a SWING!

Of course I was joined by Oscar on the swing, and the girls near my feet.  Sunday was a perfect day for relaxing outside in the shade of the Idesia tree.

On Monday I did a spot of visiting while out and about and also wearing a lot of SPOTS.  I also discovered my climbing rose is out of control and climbing a tree but flowering it's little rosie bottom off!

I took a drive out to Dawns as she said Bernie was ready to be picked up. He is looking pretty good to.

Isn't he great?

Bernard the ex Car Salesman down on his luck but still holding his head high and currently looking for a new job.

Striped leaning houses, Floral large vase (sold), Gorgeous Bird Bath (an order) and macrame hanging fish.

 

She had just unloaded the kiln and these delightful hearts were some of the new kids on the block for her gallery.

Millie on the left and her father Webb were happily snoozing on the floor of the studio snoring away. These two dogs are full of personality and fun.

I picked flowers for our lounge and the fragrance from the Sweet Peas is divine.  I pick flowers once a week for my office at work, this week I took Sweet Peas and climbing Roses.

I nearly got rid of these shoes, but I am glad I didn't because they were perfect with the top I wore today.  Orange and Pink all the way!!

Even when Poppies have finished flowering they still look beautiful, now all I need to do is save the seed head until next year.

I sat in one of the big blue chairs and joined the plants to eat my lunch today, last nights left overs, fish and salad.

I also discovered a Rose growing in the part of our garden I call the 'ramble' as it is down the side of our house and slightly overgrown.

No wonder the grass doesn't grow in this part of the lawn with the dust bathing that is going on.

Just in case you were missing old Tex, he is still doing what he does best, sleeping!!!  I gave him a poke to make sure he was still with us.

So he moved  position.

This afternoon I had a physio appointment so after that I stopped in at Vinnies in the suburb of Chartwell.  I came home with these super comfortable slip on sandles and 3 square picture frames for some cards I want to frame.

I bought this adult colouring in book a while back and decided to have a play this afternoon.  I have some really lovely German colouring pencils, some Jovi crayons, and some wicked coloured Sharpies that Goodie sent me.  I can see why people are doing this, I mean to say who doesn't enjoy colouring in when kids are around?

So True!!

Your challenge this week is to do something you did as a child, your will have a ball believe me.  Blow bubbles, have a swing, colour in!  Remember, we get older but we can still have fun, and the simple stuff is the best.

There will be sunshine after the rain, and there was!

So the garden had a huge and greatly appreciated drink the other day via some decent rain. Now that big beautiful glorious ball of yellow is back in our sky.  On days like the last two we have just had I am so glad I only work part time and get to enjoy something other than working.

Armed with a poesy of flowers from my garden I headed  out on Thursday with a list of things to do.  First was visiting my friend and owner of RTBS, the shop I used to work in.  The flowers were for her and she loved them.  I walked out of there with $70 cash from things she has sold for me.  I take most of my old clothes, shoes, and bits and bobs into her to on sell for me so I have a nice little earner going on there to top up my part time work pay packet.

I think Orange was my new black that day! My head is too big for my headband so it ended up around my neck like a scarf for a while.  My love affair with all things spots and stripes came out to play and I quite like the zing of orange to brighten up the entire outfit, which was all second hand or bargain rack.

We have a big Hospice store in Frankton and they open the warehouse out the back on Thursday to the public.  This was my second visit and I think it will be a regular thing for me. Heaps of people seem to turn up all hunting for a good score.  Above the shelves high up, there is this wicked Alice in Wonderland display.  There are others to see but you have to remember to look up!  These photos were taken on my phone without a flash so I was noticed taking them.

This little blast from my past, as in when I was about 4, was for sale. I  have one that I got last year so I didn't need another one but I do hope someone took it home.  Loving the floral.

After another visit to another friend and a trip out to the Warehouse, (where everyone gets a bargain), I came home.  I faffed and frolicked in the garden as the day was a stunner. I constructed a couple of box shelves that I had bought and only put one bit on back to front!  FYI, DIY probably isn't my thing!!  I even read the instructions and still managed to cock it up. Not a biggy though so not bothered.

I think I will stick to my faffing and frolicking!

Last weekend I sold our dining room table and chairs.  It was a round table that extended into an oval, with six chairs.  With it being only me and TOF now we don't need such a big thing so I decided to flick it off.  Last night TOF and I drove out to Cambridge to pick up the little rectangle table with 4 chairs in the photo above.  I am stoked with it, and we now have more room in our dining room.  I  hung the metal cloud shelf that I found in K Mart, talk about cute!

Did you notice the Gerbera plants on the table?

Well they were only 3 plants for $10 at the Warehouse.  They can stay indoors while they are flowering because they are so YUM!!!

With another beautiful day on the go today the dogs and I drove out to Webberville to visit Sue.  She has been busy weeding and gardening and it is looking pretty dam fine.

Little Max was showing off his equestrian skills jumping over the box hedging and believe me, Sheba was mighty impressed.

 The girls were all sunning themselves.

 Sheba and Oscar had a ball playing with Max out in the country.

Such a lovely day to wander around Sue's garden,  with the 3 dogs in tow.  It was so hot that we retreated indoors to comfy chairs and refreshments, with some good banter of course.

Flowering Comfrey and those sheep.

Next time I visit they will be gone, except for two lambs as they have been sold.  Bye girls and babies, it's been fun!

On my drive home I saw sunbathing cows, coz that's what they do out in Karakariki, they sunbath on the good days!!  They were all looking quite chilled out and content laying on the grass in the sun.

Then I spotted this delightfully tiny horse in a paddock dotted in yellow flowers, thinking buttercups.  Something about small animals that gets me every time. How I would love one of them in the garden.  

Back home we returned for some lunch and then outside to check in on the girls and the garden.  My ladder now has a little red chair on it, one of Dawns seconds.  I wonder who will sit on it?

The peach tree is laden with fruit but I had to search for the plums camouflaged among the leaves.  I cannot wait to eat them!

Maybelle and Florence are on the cluck and spending most of their time sitting on the other girls eggs. 

 

 The lettuces are growing well, soon they will be salads!

I found the Buddha at the SPCA op shop today and at $5 it was so coming home with me.  Not some flimsy plastic thing, but solid and heavy.  He is residing on the deck with my other stone sculpture.

I grabbed an old blanket and lay it down on the lawn.  It was so nice to lay in the sunshine under the trees on the grass with the girls all wandering about doing their thing.

Everyone joined in with the chilling on the blanket time.

Oh how I love this time of the year and not having to go to work everyday! I would hate to be stuck inside on such a nice day.

What do you think of my 'thumbs up' shaped strawberry?

I am picking and eating them every day now.  What doesn't get eaten I am freezing so I can make jam and add to crumble later on.

While out at Sues today she got some old photo albums out for me to look at, such classic old shots.  So I dug out a couple of mine and found this old photo to share.

Me and TOF pre kids when we still were going out partying, and dressing up!  From memory this was a 'P' party, hence the Preist and the Prostitute look going on.

**Have a jolly good weekend**