The Silly Season is in full swing.

Always at this time of the year there are numerous work/Christmas parties and dos on.  One such event is held at our local Horse Racing Club where peeps throw on there glad rags, look fabulous and head off for a day in the sun with a punt or two on the nags.  TOF and I got all gussied up one year for one of these race days and it rained the entire time, not that it dampened any festivities!!  Yesterday Jak and his mates had a pre drink in our garden before heading off to said Races, which is a gentle wander down the road from where we live.

We have played host to many a young persons get together over the years in our garden and totally enjoy having these young ones around.  As the above picture says, I can totally endorse doing this.  When I was growing up our family home had an open door policy to our friends and it was great.  I would rather be the one that has everyone around here and know they are all safe than not know and worry.  Not that I have worried about the lads for a long time.  Luckily both chose really good friends, the sort of friends you can invite home!!  I suppose that with TOF and I have pretty relaxed attitudes to life has made it a lot easier too.  Anyone is welcome here, there are only two rules, 'Don't wake us up' and 'clean up your mess'.

And who wouldn't want to know this bunch of lads?  All doing well in life all following their own path.  Four are at University and Two are apprentice builders.  Bloody good catch for any young lady.  Just saying!

I provided some nibbles while they all par took in some quiet beverages, I took some photos and then they headed off out the gate to the Racing Club.

 

Bye

have

fun!!

Not too much of a mess!!

So while they were all down at the Races TOF and I potted about in the garden and generally were on cruise control.  Pretty much the norm for us on a weekend.  The day rolled by and before we knew it the troops were back, slightly worse for wear but full of the joys and love of life!!

It is times like this that I wish I was a twenty year old again.  No big worries, life was all about having a good time, and a good time was always had.  No mortgage or nasty grown up bills, just a fabulous disposable income to be disposed every weekend at will.

Off course the pets found their way down the garden path

to join in as best as they could.

They hate to be left out of anything!!

I loaded this motley crew into one of the lads vans and drove them all to a party.  It was one of the noisiest and funniest drives I have been on for a while.  I used to deliver Max and his mates to destinations all round town so it only seems right to be doing it all again.  I would also prefer to drive them than them drive when they have all been drinking.

Again, because I am a mother and I am sure any mother would do the same.  Off course there was an early morning phone call for the pick up.

Which I did for the same reason above

and it was raining,

and I was still awake as

I was watching the movie

Atonement.

When I am to old and doddery

and bordering on dangerous as a driver

my Taxi service will halt

BUT

I aught to have a hell of a huge list

of drivers to call on

as I am 'paying it forward'

driving them all

now!!

Now for something completely different.

Remember these gorgeous hand crafted delights made for me by my darling friend Louise, well she has just finished a new line of delightful mice.  I have fallen in love with the lot of them, these mice I would be happy to have in my home, not the sort I caught earlier on in the year!!

CUTE or WHAT?

Louise said it was alright for me to borrow and share her photos on my blog, because I said they were so Blog worthy.  This bunch of Merry Mice were making their way to a Market this afternoon in Auckland to be sold and at $45 each I am pretty sure they will all find a very nice new home.  Not that where they come from isn't nice!!

 Look at that tiny little hand knitted hoody.

 Hatch is Louise's label.

 Love the stripy hat!!

I mean to say,

could they get any cuter??

I love that I have super creative friends and I am only too pleased to promote any of their fabulous creations with the rest of the world.  

It is what you do isn't it?

 

It is all has to come to an end.

My job for one, only three more days of work next week and I will be unemployed.  But there is a lot to do before I sign off from that job, like going out for dinner with them all, and of course tidying up all the worky things before I say my last farewell!!  

It's been FUN!

They are gonna miss this face!!

They are still in denial and waiting for that

last minute change of mind

from there returning office gal.

(my fingers are crossed)

2014

Something else that is coming to an end

in a matter of weeks!!

But there is still a lot to pack into those weeks.

Like catching up with Dawn today to take photos of her work to for a prospective Gallery that is interested in selling her creations.

She has been using a huge Kiln at the Pottery Society to cook her clay as hers is in storage at the minute.  So we met at the Society to do the wee photo shoot.  With that done and dusted, it was all packed into her car and we were joined by her daughter and a friend.  The four of us decided to do lunch, as you do when you are not working!!

The mind boggles at what 'Men do' in this Shed!!

We feasted on healthy Salads!!

With things like crumbed Brie deep fried

and washed it done with a bit of booze.

Well it is that time of the year.

I came home to weary pets,

like us humans they find

this time of the year

utterly exhausting.

I say

'Let sleeping dogs lie'

even if they are doing it in

MY CHAIR!!!

 Time to just enjoy the garden.

 Wakey wakey Oscar,

check out those Petunias!

 Also time to Photo bomb the Garden!!

 The Garden is exploding with colour!

 'Who let the chooks out?

Cluck, cluck'

(sung to who let the dogs out of course!)

Ada has a limp,

she too may be near the end.

 Girls getting on it at the Chicken Bar.

 Promising signs of things to come.

 Feeling a lot of Blue.

My little slice of paradise.

 Crops will need to be harvested.

 Nothing loves you more than a DOG!!

A big black dog.

Enjoy the garden little bird

and do invite all your friends.

Sit back and peacefully wait for the end.

Like f#*k!!!

I have two dinners next week to go to.

It is time to get your glad rags on and go out!!!

Summer is HERE so we must get out

and enjoy it!!

As one year ends the next one begins, as one job ends another is found.  Things have to end sooner or later so we can have new beginnings!!!

I may well have all the Doilies

I stayed home today to tick off all the small jobs I had on a list.  I actually managed to do all but one thing so I am pretty pleased with myself.  Some major cleaning and sorting took place, a boot full of stuff got delivered to Habitat and I even IRONED!!!!!!!!!!!

All my lovely old doilies and table clothes were washed ages ago and have been sitting waiting patiently for me to iron them.  Me and my iron don't get on so I hardly ever get together with it.  But I did today and all has been ironed, folded and neatly stacked in this cane case. I love old linen and obviously haven't been able to walk past any of it for sale at the oppies.

I DO NOT NEED ANY MORE!!

Someone was incredibly busy all day.

What a life!!

 A tin of gorgeous old buttons arrived in the post.

I remember as a small girl playing with my mothers tin of buttons, funny how something so simple gave endless pleasure, lining them all up or making flowers or patterns with them. When I worked in the shop a lady used to buy buttons for children she worked with to use as therapy.

Perfect weather today for filling the line with washing

and for appreciating the beauty in the garden.

Lily, Ada, and Aggie are my three original chickens and starting to show their age.  Pretty sure none of them are laying any more, they seem to have slipped gently into retirement.  Speaking of laying I thought my entire flock was on a Stop-laying gig.  Then I discovered this....

A tidy pile of eggs under my big Idesia Tree.

Not knowing how long they had been there for, but suspecting only for a few days I thought I should find out if they were still good to go or not.

 

Before Uncle Google I would have phoned my Grandmother!!

Simple float/sink test and the entire pile turned out to be good.  I think the girls are laying in the garden because Ms Stroppy Pants or Mrs Wickam to you is still on Cluck patrol and has Oprah and Aretha Clucking with her so the nesting box is a trifecta of Cluckyness, and they are Stroppy birds together.  I should video them so you can see what I mean.

The Strawberries are amping!!
I seem to be picking a big bowl of them everyday.

I have decided to start hanging my own art around the house.  My painting in the middle has been on the lounge wall for ages, but I have added a couple of canvases from photos I have taken.  Getting Canvases made online these days is pretty reasonable and if I wait for a special I can get a few at a time.

These three got added to the Tree today,

a few of this years new to the tree decorations.

Eggs + Strawberries = Pavlova!!

I made two small ones so that 1 and 1/2 can go to work tomorrow and TOF gets the other 1/2 left.  When you have plenty of eggs and strawberries what else would you do.