In the picture

I have been having (free) fun here making mosaics and adding polaroid borders to pics. Some favourite pics from 2008. Have a great New Year!

Thankyou for dropping by and for the generous, thoughtful and wide grin worthy comments in 2008. Here's to another year of being, dazzled, inspired, of hearing about the light and the shade, and of being reminded of the joy in the smaller details in 2009.

Happy birthday

To Me!

My mum says it could have been worse and I could have arrived on Christmas eve. There are some up sides to being born on boxing day. For instance, I never had to go to school on my birthday, I haven't yet had to work on my birthday and boxing day is usually quiet and relaxed and there is no pressure to plan too much which suits me nicely. In the afternoon while the chidren were playing I slipped away into my neighbours garden (whose front garden is mainly filled with veggies) to take pictures of his carrot flowers. They look very much like Queen Anne's lace aka carrot weed but are much sturdier. I have fallen in love with them and hope they last for a bit longer so that I can take more studies of them.

Hello Christmas

Christmas is only but now. A dearly loved song that always reminds me of the closing of another year. Merry Christmas x.

Shake what you bake

Things have accelerated a bit since my last post. You see I have made a to do list and it seems that the list is in two columns. Like all good list makers I have prioritised my tasks and these cookies were about third down. I am thinking that by Tuesday this flurry will have passed and I can relax and enjoy the fruits of mine and others labours (I have listed this too).

Winding Down

After many busy weeks there are signs that some slow weeks will soon be ours.

My eldest daughter on her last day at school came home with these lovely crochet friendship ankle bands. Today we started making these leaf decorations for our Christmas tree. Have a great week:)

Summertime

The days have been mostly mild. Gentle rain fell early this morning. It covered the dry earth like a worn sheet, not enough to penetrate beneath the top soil but just enough to make the garden look nice and shiny for a small while. While summer has not yet shown it's strength the garden has well and truly transitioned from spring. Old favourites of figs, hydrangea, oleander and pink hibiscus are showing their pretty heads. The hydrangea are so beautiful and are always welcome inside.

Dress Up

I recently came across a news clipping of this beautiful dress made from traditional Chinese porcelain by Beijing artist Li Xiaofeng. From what I have read many of his dresses have been worn by models - imagine the chill, the weight and the sound of those layers of china rubbing together - breathtaking and incredible.

This day today

A pinch and a punch for the first day of the last month and a big day out visiting and walking. Then home again and a perfect pic of this little one. One little baby bird is growing fast, and without hungry siblings to compete with, is nice and plump.

What Goes On

There is a large and lovely window in our lounge room. It faces north and warm afternoon light floods through it. When inside our tabby cat spends most of his time by this window. He enjoys being curled up or stretched out on the hard surface of the cupboard, taking turns watching what goes on inside and out.

First Meme

The lovely Umbrellabella tagged me for this wee meme 6 quirky boring things about me.

1. I have a weakness for Sayo biscuits with butter and Vegemite (very The Sullivan's) - more boring than quirky.

2. I will only eat noodles with chopsticks and on those few occasions when I have had to introduce a fork (out of politeness to my host) it has just felt very wrong.

3. I try not to step on cracks - this makes my partner laugh as our house is surrounded by crazy path.

4. I really love Diane Keaton in Annie Hall and singing this - she is so quirky and endearing.

5. I am a little scared of balloons. I put this down to a vigorous balloon popping game at Brownies.6. I confess, I also have an unnatural weakness for these orange finger warmers. It is now my turn to tag. How about Hazy Jane, The Nutrients of Life, Skanky Jane, Chrissy Forman, Huch by Joelie, Looptiy Loo.

Away

So good to get away, even for a night or two. Two pics from our camping holiday down in the beautiful South. There was much gazing into the distance and over yonder hills - just what we city dwellers needed x.

Nest is Best

We have been waiting patiently all week for the four little speckled blue eggs to hatch, only one more little egg to wait for now. The nest is in a low bush outside our dining room doors. Our streetwise tabby knows just what's in the nest and there has been all sorts of fun and games keeping him safely inside and then catching him when he escapes. More pics to come:)

More Beautiful Weeds

Some of the pretty weeds and grasses I found the other day. As I was taking the pics I remembered a chapter I had read some time ago from Patrice Newell's book Ten Thousand Acres. She wrote about her aging mother who would wander the flowerless dry paddocks picking grasses to make into arrangements. Ahhh, we are never alone in our interests. What we find beauty in is also shared by so many others. That's one of the really nice things about blogging, the show and share aspect that the medium allows. I have a few more pretty examples of weeds and grasses. Just enough for another post.

Beautiful weeds

There is a vacant block of land near our home. A beautiful 1920's red brick bungalow once stood there but it was demolished a couple of years ago to make way for a group of units. Two years on and the block is still empty and wild grasses and weeds have settled in where the roses and geranium bushes once grew. Last evening while on a walk with my older daughter we decided to explore the block, to check for any treasure left behind like maybe an old matchbox car, a piece of pretty jade green ceramic bathroom tile or a marble or two - the usual stuff. Nothing at all had been left behind as evidence of the people that had lived there over the last 80 years or so. We started to take notice of the many different types of weeds and grasses and how they looked in the dimming light. They were interesting and some of them were very pretty. Today I went back and took cuttings (not to plant). Over the next couple of posts I will include many of them. The last pic looks like something from the ocean.

Thrifted

I don't add to the Thrifted Tuesday group pool as often as I would like to, happily I did manage to upload some thrifted finds today:)

Girl about the house

The week that was....

good intentions of a clean house go awry

A sick little girl makes a stellar recovery

Four little black bird eggs are laid and thoughts of a new sewing project begin when the dust is wiped from my old machine.

x.

And then there were three

She has laid one egg a day.

Tender

My little one has been sick with a tummy bug. I always feel quieter and more sensitive to what is around me when my children are sick. Thankfully she is now on the mend and should be able to eat her first evening meal in three days with us. A new blackbird nest in a low bush just outside our dining room glass doors has provided me with some sweet diversion. Yesterday one egg was laid and today another.