A Bit About This & That!

 

hi!

how are you?

 

today i feel the need to just chat a bit...

 

 

 

life is full of little opportunities,

like the time the sun was just shining perfectly

on this tiny spiderweb

&

despite its broken unevenness

it made a moment beautiful.

 

of course not all moments are beautiful are they?

 

mr m has had a heart infection over the past few weeks

fortunately after many tests

the most recent tell us he's on the mend

and his heart size is back to normal...

 

then mr m's dog became very unwell...

it turned out that she had a two cancers in her uterus.

a week and a half ago

she had a hysterectomy and the vet took out the aggressive cancer...

the size of a baseball!

she's on the mend

&

bouncing about like it never happened!

 

 

 

ms b is transforming our garden

she's truly a green thumbed girl

like her auntie jill and both grandmas.

she's planted this pot of sweet Williams

&

tool boxes full of pansies and renunculas

to bloom in spring.

lavender and mondo grass to withstand the summer heat

&

fuschias, hibiscus and frangipanis

now grace our garden as well.

what a treasure a good gardener is!

 

our tiny kai is now 3 months old!

it has sped by and he's growing up

faster than a weed...hehe!

check out this bright baby boy...

 

he's the apple of his grandma's eye.

 

how are things at your house?

we have plenty to be grateful for.

 

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 



P.S...Blanket Update!

good afternoon!

 

i have just taken some more pics

of baby bean's blanket in progress.

i couldn't resist showing them to you

while they're fresh...

 

 

we love little 'bean already

so i just wanted him to know it.

 

 

four rows down,

fifty eight to go...

silver grey is the last stripe to finish.

 

 

give me a bit more knitting time

&

i'll post the results.

 

 

take care...see ya!

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

pps...two posts in one day...unbelievable!

 



 

 

 



For Her...

 

hi there

i've just come home from 'for her'

&

i'm buzzing...too awake to go to bed yet...even though i should,

i've got to be up and out of the house by a quarter past eight tomorrow morning!
 

 

 

 

it has been a stunning night.

the speaker was alison buttenshaw from newcastle,

she spoke about her experiences

and about forgiveness.

 

 

 

her father was killed by her brother

when she was only ten.

she saw a lot and had a lot to forgive.
 

she has written a book called 'out of the shadows'
which describes her journey from pain to freedom and healing.
 

 

 

 

it wasn't until she was preparing for her wedding

that she realised more deeply what she had lost,

not having a dad to walk her down the aisle among other things.

 

she chose to forgive her brother

despite the destruction that had happened to her family.

 

she finally found the courage to forgive

and found peace.

 

 

 

she talked about the damage that harbouring bitterness causes...

she quoted someone who said...

unforgiveness is like drinking poison

and hoping the other person dies.

 

very strong words.

 

 

 

afterwards there was time to talk,

eat cake and drink tea

at tables that were lit with candles and strewn with pretty stones

and glass jars with lights and baby parasols and tied with ribbons.

 

we even got to take home a party favour!

 

 

aren't the hearts scrumptious?

they'd look great done up in christmas colours...

little ones for the christmas tree

or to dangle on presents.

 

 

enjoy your sunday...

 

naturally Carol xox

 



Christmas Hearts!

it's nearly bed time here...

i had a slow start to the day,

you know how it is

when it's a little cold

and sleep is interrupted,

then in the morning

it's just hard to get started.

then this afternoon

i went out for coffee with a friend, crystal,

it was a bit warmer

and the coffee perked me up.

then in the early evening mr m and i did a bit of grocery shopping.

of course it is getting late now,

but after my slow start

i'm fully awake now and don't need to sleep!

still...

in a few minutes

i will drag this body to bed

so that tomorrow

i am not even more perversely affected

and end up staying up all night????

i recently thought

that instead of sending my local friends cards,

i would make hearts for them...

christmassy ones

that they could hang on their trees

or their door handles

or on their walls...

what ever.

these are quick and easy to make...

several can be made in a couple of hours

and are lots of fun too.

fussy cut the fronts...

you don't have to be as precise with the backs...

&

add a couple of vintage buttons to the centre,

they will disguise where the ribbon goes into the heart

where sometimes there will be

a little pucker

where the ribbon doesn't sit quite straight.

using zig zag stitching

around the outside of the heart

just gives it a bit of a tweaky look

&

finishes the edges nicely.

i've attempted a couple of mug rugs too

but i'm a bit of a novice

when it comes to the borders

&

i'm not entirely happy with the ones i've completed so far.

practice makes perfect

so they say...

if kootoyoo will have me

i'm joining in,

so come 'n see

what others are doing

and have a lovely day!

naturally Carol xox

On Friday, With Love...

hi!

i'm sending a bunch of friday love your way today...

just in case

you need some loving

to get you through today...

love and hugs

to all of you...

take as much as you need!

smiles are free

and laughter too

to get you through

the last day of the week.

whether your day is sunny

with joy, peace and love...

or rainy

with tears

or pain

or fear...

i just want to extend a bit of loving

and a special big hug..

to you

from me : )

today!

naturally Carol xox

Big Wednesday Love!

hi!

what's wednesday's big love?

i'm thinking nautical...

blue skies shining on me

blue skies do i see...

blue oceans..i'm yearning.

{a set of five fifties inspired postcards came in the mail this morning...

i'm lovin' them too..lots of blue skies on this one!}

definitely a bit of summer love going on here this wednesday!

are you embracing the nautical this summer?

do you boat, fish, swim or just love that sparkling sea from the safety and comfort of the sand?

it's all good.

have a great sparkling sunshiney wednesday...

naturally Carol xox

wishing this post was written on a beach somewhere!

What's Not to Love on a Tuesday?

hi!

this week i am right into sewing a few little selvedge inspired hearts,

so i'm doing a bit of loving this week as well...



tuesday love looks like this....

...there are always double point cappucinos at gj's and new movie releases at blockbuster!

{just in case i'm short on other stuff to do}

...better late than never this morning, prayer started at the same time as i got out of bed this morning,

but got there at 7.30 and still had a great time

...8.00 am cappucino with friends at chatz cafe woke me up properly

...another cuppa, bacon, eggs and tomato at chatz for brekky with a chapter of the book

i'm currently reading at around 10.00 am

...get home and change and go out with a broom to work up a sweat sweeping away the floral carpet

that the jacarandas have left on my front paths and driveway

{they turn into slime if the rain comes}

...peace & quiet for a couple of hours now, so i can blog etc while the rest have gone shopping, yay!

...tuesday night bible college, loving it, only 2 more weeks to go though and then have finished my

two year course

i wonder which horse 'll win the melbourne cup today...must watch

are you in melbourne cup mode today?

hope you win the sweepstakes...

naturally Carol xox

I'm Loving Monday 'Cos....

hi!

....the new blade on my rotary cutter is gliding through the fabric as though it were butter

...i'm hearing the hum of my sewing machine again

...i'm looking at the bountiful boughs of jacaranda blooms outside the window

...twentysomething mr p did the vacuuming voluntarily this morning with not even

a whisper from me!

...the breeze is cool and the smell of rain is fresh and invigorating

...the dogs are settled, the humans too, it's a peaceful monday.

some days it just feels good to be alive!

naturally Carol xox

p.s...my thoughts go out to our aussie soldiers and their families today....

Greetings from Greece!

good morning!

happy valentine's day

and

happy friends day

 

teje from 'nero's post and patch'

sent me some beautifully made cushions

from chania in greece...

i pinched this photo from her blog

so you can see what a beautiful place

 she comes from.

here is her lovely work...'on the black couch',

i've called this one 'summer patch'

because it reminds me of summer days..

long drinks, sand, sea and shady green trees.

this one i've called 'purple patch'...

subdued colours..moody with subtle stitched vines

and floral flashes of colour...georgeous!

and this one i've called 'golden harvest'

rows of wheaten gold with a little lilac blue leaf...

neatly top stitched...

 and buttoned up at the back.

this is my favourite!

these will be a great blessing to the flood affected families who receive them;

thank you teje!!

she also popped in a present for me...yay!

teje is very artistic and makes amazing woollen felt pictures

i am using this to wrap up a vase...

the felt is so light and warm...

and  the colours she has chosen will enhance any flowers i put in there...

in front is the glass koru my brother gave us for christmas,

isn't the shape beautiful?

love comes in many guises...

friendship and kindness among them.

lovers and friends...

i'm hoping you have both

and are feeling very loved today...

naturally Carol xox

xx  xx

xxx xxx

xxxx

xx

x

River's Down...Cleaning Up!

thirty six big semi trailers...

{mr w was counting!}

in a row,

went by on the road

out the front of our place

this morning at about 10.30 a.m.

that meant the river was going down fast

and the clean up was underway!

the highway patrol escorted them through...

they were on their way to take supplies up north.

there is still a bit of water around,

but it's on its way down.

the floodline...

no longer in the middle of a lake of water.

the water was up to the signage at roofline two days ago!

cleaning up the park...

sweeping away the silt...

the rose garden was flooded too.

silt is all that is left in the swimming pool.

high and dry...a couple of ibis go walking by.

brisbane, toowoomba, rockhampton,

the lockyer valley, grantham

and other regional centres

are still suffering

and the water is still high in these places.

goondiwindi is expecting flooding tonight...

preparing the best they can.

we are thinking and praying for you all.

there is so much grief..

so many tears...

such heart wrenching sadness.

i hope you feel our hearts break over you...

with love.

naturally Carol xox

a big 'hi' and 'get well soon' to my dad...



Christmas Hearts!

good afternoon!

yesterday mr m purchased a length of dowel

about a metre long...

he chopped it in half and drilled a hole in both ends.

i was very pleased and grateful!

a couple of weeks ago now

i posted an unfinished project...

today it is finished

and hung on the wall.

to me the words on it are the essence of Christmas...

the reason and the spirit

of the Christmas season...

sorry the close ups are a little crooked

the edges are left raw

with the top fabric layer cut with pinking shears,

the second layer is polar fleece in snowy white,

the third and backing layer is red felt

which i extended to sccure and hide the dowel.

the hanging thread is a doubled length of gold thread.

the tiny french-knotted golden seeds

are my take of the advent calendar.

there are 24 'seeds' in the top left corner

and one less every square from left to right,

only one in the last square...

my handcrafted corner

for this Christmas...

take one packet of charm squares!...

hoping your journey through the days

to Christmas will be increasingly joyful...

naturally Carol xox

'for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son

that whoever believes in Him shall not die

but have eternal life'...

 

{from the bible...chapter 3...verse 16}

Unfinished Creative Business...

good morning

i have some unfinished business

i'd like to share with you!

when i started

this was going to be

another cushion.

like this...

'well, what's wrong with that?'

i hear you say.

i was thinking...

why hide all that delicious fabric

behind someones back?

i wanted to look at it...

a lot!

so i added some more charm squares

to this one

all its Christmassy goodness

got me thinking again...

red felt hearts,

silver and gold thread,

words,

birds,

golden seeds to count the days...

i finished two more hearts this morning,

nine more to go!

i wanted to express

the heart and soul of Christmas

for me.

this is my unfinished business...

i'm figuring it out as i go!

the heavens have opened,

dance between the raindrops and

come to 'kootoyoo's creative space'

with me!

naturally Carol xox

ps...if you want to see beautiful snowy photos from the u.k. check out 'curlew country's... simple december pleasures... on the right...