The Mamma of all Teapots.

I can't remember if I picked this up at a garage sale or else where but I do remember my heart going all a-flutter as soon as I saw this grand old dame.

She's a little the worse for wear, although much shinier in real life but she still has all the curves in the right places.

And very heavy like any good Mamma should be.

On another note, I thought I would share this link with you. 

Just click on the picture to download a button that clearly lets your readers know if you are happy or not for them to pin from your site.

My creative space

Why, o why do some projects fly along and others take forever, even when they shouldn't?

Could it be because they are forced out of us instead of flowing?

Spending time while waiting

I'm not much good at standing still. 

Lying down and waiting or sitting and waiting but definitely not standing and waiting. 

I can get extremely tired just standing around even in shops so generally I like to keep walking until everyone else is finished with what they need to do.

So when we were stuck in a ranger's dusty front yard, waiting for the courtesy bus to pick us up and take us down to Jenolan Caves I decided to keep busy by taking pot shots of my surroundings.

Up close ones that is.

Little details of the beauty around me.

More on the laundry "at my house".

More doings in the laundry.
I took the white paint out again and threw it at some basketsfrom the laundry shelf, then mixed some with a little yellow and whipped it across the bit near the top of the wall (right up the top right hand corner of the photo) where a board had been taken off in the previous operation.
I am thinking of stencilling over that with some white paint when I can remember where the stencils have been sent.
Then pinched some brackets from my next project and used them to hold up this hefty plate that comes in handy for all sorts of things, such as fruit platters and cutting out circular cushions.
Thanks Lana!!
The brackets were a bit ugly so I thought I would disguise the them with some white painted (what else?!!) wooden cutouts from the craft box when I discovered the wee clothes pegs so of course I had to make a little cothes line.

more 'at my house' peeps over here

Enjoying my neighbours flowers

Gardens aon the mid-north coast are not as colouful as the are in colder climates so I take the opportunity to enjoy every flower I can.

Both of these are in my neighbours yard but hang over my side and bring a little colour with them.

Pink frangipanis

I am coming along nicely with the IKEA bag but as I can't show you any photos I have decide to send you some frangipanis.

I also wanted to share some words of wisdom from the flylady with you:

YOU HAVE TO GET UP FROM YOUR SEATED POSITION AND ACTUALLY THROW SOMETHING AWAY, PUT SOMETHING AWAY AND GIVE SOMETHING AWAY! GET IT OUT OF YOUR HOME! SO YOU NEVER HAVE TO MESS WITH IT AGAIN. I PROMISE YOU WILL NOT MISS IT! YOU CAN'T ORGANIZE CLUTTER; YOU CAN ONLY GET RID OF IT!
(Yes she was shouting, trying to get her message across )

Obviously this lady does NOT sew or else how could she say that?!!

My frangipanis!

Frangipanis have been my favourite flower since I was a child living in Papua New Guinea - a long time before they became the fashionable flower that they are at the moment. Since those long ago days I have never been able to have a plant of my own because I have always live in the cooler southern parts of Australia where they never seem to progress past two sticks. Last year a kind friend gave me a cutting with instructions not to stick it into the ground until the cut end was completely dry and hardened. Apparently they rot if planted whilst still moist. Also, once planted they should not be moved - they are a bit fussy that way. Well I did what I was told but did the dogs? Of course not. After repotting the stick twice I decided to plant it outside the chicken wire fence on our rental property. Did it stay there? No. Little paws and teeth can even reach that far.

So my poor stick was pulled out regularily and mauled on it's growing end and then when it was finally taking off I moved. Proud of the couple of leaves it had finally acquired I potted it up and moved it too. I again thought it had died during the winter yet it is still here with us and I am now the proud owner of these glorious flowers.

Enjoy!!

Geraniums and a little visitor

I love my geraniums. They are such happy plants and will grow anywhere that I put them which is great for me because I then feel like a successful gardener.


And they come in such a great variety of colours, petals and leaves. These are just two of all the varieties growing on our balconies.

A friend has gone away and entrusted us with her beautiful cat. I am a bit worried that Polo will return to his home which is only a few blocks away so he is being kept inside for a few days. He is not keen on this idea and keeps trying to get out through the windows.

I even found him in the laundry sink.

Normally he lives with an older lady and her wee dog called Marco - thus the ladies pets are Marco Polo!

What a gorgeous, hugable little face!

A lazy week

It's been a quiet week for me, mostly just resting and trying to recover my energy. On the weekend I was able to help clean a flat for some elderly friends who were finally moving away to be with close family. We are very sad to see them go but they will feel so much happier being with their loved ones. Some people can accept help from anyone but others only feel comfortable to expose their needs within the family. Even if their code is different to ours we need to respect it because otherwise they can't feel whole. So it was with this dear couple. At this last moment they actually let a few friends come in help and I am glad because it also allowed us to show our love to them. Before he became very sick the husband had been an avid gardener. The surrounding yard was chock-a-block full of potted plants. I was very happy to be given two lovely, large geraniums - one pink, the other white. I love geraniums because they are so hardy. I wish I was more water conscious but the actual fact is that I just forget to water my pots so I really need plants that can survive with minimum care and that is just what geraniums are.

Another friend who also moved last night loaded me down with lots of things including bags of teenage clothing - some still with tags on. I was able to share a lot of things with other friends. I went to bed one night feeling over the moon because I had seen the look on a teens face as she went through the bags and found lots of treasures.One beautiful item I received was this tureen which i am actually thinking of using to on my dressing table.(I'll show you a picture of that if I ever get it sorted.) It is shown here with todays purchases from the craft shop.

I will leave you with cheerful face left over from our chinese fried rice, only because the dogs aren't enamoured of rice.

Cheerio!

First Ever Blog

Well, I am finally going to give it a go!

Writing for the public (you, my dear readers) seems scary but I guess it shouldn't be. It's not really any different to writing to my friends (which, of course, I don't do very often so that is probably why it seems scary).

I really wanted to show you some pictures of my new home and the process of it's becoming a place to relax in but the computer threw a tantrum about the new USB photo thingy and as I haven't a clue about these new contraptions I will have to wait until my daughters return from their sojourn in Melbourne.

So instead I have decided to share some of my old attempts at up close photos. Enjoy! I took these a couple of years ago when I still lived in Victoria so they are quite different to many of the plants that grow really well here on the New South Wales Coast (I think).

Sorry about the mess but I promise to work it out one day. The ducks are sleeping and the frogs are croaking and thunking so I guess I had better call it quits for today. See you next time.