Christmas Decorating.......

Just wanted to share my Christmas decorating with you.



Christmas Wishes.......



Little birds on the sideboard........with



Berry garlands.......



Baubles.........

and

Dragonflies............

Hope you and your family are enjoying your Christmas preparations.  I just can't wait for the time off - if I am ready for Christmas day it will be a miracle!  Full time work tends to do that.

Alexandra and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon at a sweet little Christmas show - princesses, pirates and Santa too!  Much fun!  I am so pleased we at least got to do that together.

Audrey fun.........

Friday night was my work Christmas party with the theme of movies.

For weeks I have tried to come up with an idea without spending too much money.

In the end I went as Audrey Hepburn.

I had so much fun........

Lovely meal and dancing fun,  out with my work colleagues.......

9 1/2 work days until the Christmas break - I can't wait for the holidays.

Early In The Garden.........

Penstemon

I drew the very short straw and was the nominated parent to get number two child to his 6 a.m. job start this morning!!  So this means I have been on the go for over two hours already today and it's just 7.30 a.m. on Saturday morning.  The washing is on and I a beginning to contemplate my second coffee of the morning!!

It is quite nice to be in the peaceful early morning alone - before anyone else wakes up.  I have had a little wander in the garden, even though there isn't much to see out there at the moment.

Foxglove

It has also given me some time to play with a very lovely new camera that Cameron purchased while he was away.  All my dreams have come true.  What a lovely camera to experiment with.

Lavendar

We have had some lovely rain again this week, just a little, but enough to make everything look a little happier again.  Oh, to have a few days rain.  I can't remember the last time it rained for even one day.

Seduction

Back to school and back to work went well. Next week sees the beginning of dance lessons, choirs etc., a busy time no doubt. 

I am glad the weekend is here, it seemed such a long week with a Public Holiday on Tuesday.  A trip to the hairdresser this morning and then who knows what the rest of the weekend will bring.  I for one am looking forward to it.

Sunday Picnic.......

With the turf laying out of the way on Friday afternoon we only had work to contend with. With our youngest away on music camp we only had the boys at home, so just a little quieter than usual.

BJ had to work on Sunday as our relief baker was away, so after he had a little nap we set out with Mum and Dad for a picnic and a look at a lovely Open Garden in Warwick.

Our first stop on the way was a picnic lunch at Allora. It is a lovely little town where my Dad grew up. The park we stopped at was just outside the Anglican Church there. I was so pleased that the front door was open as this is the church where my dear Nana and Pop were married in 1940. I have been to that area many times in my lifetime but have never seen the beautiful little church.

The timber inside and the stain glass windows are just beautiful.

Warwick is a lovely city about an hours drive south of where we live. A little while ago I had been over that way and by chance discovered a beautiful quilt shop and B & B. I found out too that they were to be having an open garden weekend.

Glenrose is set on four acres of beautiful gardens. The house is a big old Queenslander that was shifted to the site. The front part of the house contains the quilt shop Glenrose Patchwork. It is just beautiful. The front verandah has tables and chairs and would be an absolutely delightful place to spend the day quilting.

In the grounds there are four beautiful cottages that are run as a B & B. Just beautiful. I hope BJ and I can escape one weekend in the winter and enjoy the little wood burners each cottage has. As much as I love my air con and don't miss the mess of a wood stove, I really do miss a lovely fireplace in winter. Glenrose Cottages are certainly very lovely. This whole garden and associated businesses are certainly a credit to the owners.

My Dad took us on some back roads on the way home, past where my Mum had attended a little school as a child. I enjoyed hearing and seeing where Mum had ridden her pushbike as a child and where the magpies used to swoop her and her brother and sister in the springtime. She pointed out the homes and who had lived in them and where she her sister had been invited to little birthday parties. It also made me feel a little sad when Mitchell's comment was he doesn't know where any of his friends live. What a different world we live in when attending school in the city. I am grateful that I also have had a country childhood and can drive around my district where I grew up and remember where everyone lived!!

With the beautiful rain we have had the Darling Downs is just beautiful. The eastern Downs is mostly rolling hills and at the moment it is looking just picture perfect. What a lovely day we had. I am just so thankful for that one little outing and for the change of scenery and different things to enjoy, even if just for an afternoon.

Just Life......

Another busy week in our household! University and a new part of life for Cameron, a birthday for BJ and school busyness for Mitchell and Alexandra, and of course I just trail around behind all of them keeping it all done and organised!!! Such is life!

University began this week so a new routine there for Cameron. So far so good - I hope he really enjoys his course and makes the most of this opportunity.

We have had a really busy week at the shop with BJ entering his baking into the Toowoomba Royal Show. He placed 36 entries into various catergories and came home with 19 awards - great for business. This meant a really big week for me too, working each day with him to get ahead and then produce the goods for the show. Six of our awards were first places, so that is really great and made the hard work all worthwhile.

Alexandra's school had its fair this weekend and this included an aquathon which she participated in with a friend. Alexandra did the 200m swim part and her friend the 800m running.

The fair was a lovely day out. Nice stalls and a lovely atmosphere. I got some lovely plants for the garden and some beautiful rose buds.

Now I hope a quite afternoon today to get prepared for another week ahead - so looking forward to the Easter weekend!

The Vege Patch Complete......

The sun is out again today but more rain forecast. Good for us but making it hard to get any harvesting done at my parents property.

We have finished off the main part of making the vege patch. I planted a lavendar hedge that will hopefully grow well and finish off the edge of the area. I love the pebbles too. The plants are looking lovely today with the recent rain washing the dust away again. It won't stay that way for long as the block next door to us is being levelled for a house to be built - not looking forward to close neighbours on both sides!!

The photinia are growing beautifully at the moment too. I love their lovely red leaves as they grow. Hopefully not too many years until I have a hedge that I can't see through!! I wish we lived on a bigger block!

In my teacup at the moment I have portulaca growing - their bright flowers are lovely on the terrace.

Moo... & A Little Project

I know I am a little behind the times here at Eleanor and Ruby, but I have just received my Moo cards in the mailbox today. It seems like ages since they were being talked about around the place in all those beautiful blogs!

They are really just very cute. I have my address and blog details on the back and I have a plan ticking away with what I will do with them!

But first this business deal has to be sealed and then I hope a little more freedom will be mine. I just need to be able to express myself in more of a creative way than what has been possible during the last eight years, so hoping that 2008 will be so different for me.

I have been meaning to share this "Stitching Pail" with you now for what seems ages. I just keep forgetting to take the pics.

It is a Crabapple Hill pattern and was fun to make. I think I bought the metal bucket at a hardware store and it was a perfect measurement for the pattern. It's always a worry whether you can find the right sized containers for these type of liner patterns without making too many alterations.

It has two layers of pockets inside and I have made these to fit my sewing items like the ruler, rotary cutter, tin of pins, pencils, measuring tape, pattern etc. and of course a nice big area in the centre for the project to be carried in.

Sadly, with my lack of social interaction during the last year particularly, my little sewing pail has only been out once. I hope this all changes dramatically soon!

Well off to the sewing room - yea! I am about to start getting some stitching together to take with me to the beach - along of course with the dreaded business details too!! But hopefully the stitching and reading time will prevail!!

Cupcakes Anyone........

Just another little bit of photo fun this morning. I love my tiered cupcake stand and thought I would have a little bit of flower fun with it today. I bought the little cupcake containers and instead of baking in them I gathered some little flowers from the garden and filled them up.

I guess I had better get into the rest of my day now , of course with the change of season the childrens' clothing all needs attending to so while I have a free few spare minutes I had better get to it.

I hope you enjoyed the cupcakes.........