Happy Christmas Day.

I took a few pics on my iphone of our Christmas lunch table today....not quite finished but almost there.

 My daughter folded the napkins into Christmas trees.

Enjoy your Christmas everyone:-))


Til next time

Bron.

A Week To Go...and counting down.

My last post before Christmas....though l hope to post a couple of the table on the actual day. l'm a little excited about decorating the garden room where we set up for lunch, since the room had a white makeover earlier this year (see here)...and is no longer red (bricks) and green (ceiling), even though they were the traditional Christmas colours.....they're sooo not MINE:-)....anyhoo, this year all will be light and white.
Lunch is usually here at our place with the family, Mum, Sis, Bro, S-IL and all the "tin lids" (kids), though when l say kids....l'm  talking bigger than the parents BIG:-)....We're hopeful Mum will still be well enough to come and enjoy the day....she's certainly frailer than she was a few months ago.
Each family contributes part of Christmas lunch....which is fantastic as it takes the pressure off my rather limited culinary skills:-)
No pics of my own this post so have posted a few of my favourite Christmas pics from Rachel Ashwell and Nina Hartmann hopefully you'll enjoy them too.

Struth.... it's hard to even look at this fire when we're sweltering here in Oz in 39 degree heat today. l'm writing this in shorts, singlet and bare feet with a glass of chilled soda water....NOT pretty...., but just trying to keep cool:-)

Some things you can only dream about.....vintage PINK santas, and not just one, but FOUR.....

OK....l found just one little pic..... close up of our tree this year.

Wishing you all a safe, loving and joyful Christmas Season.



Til Next Time,

Bron.

Peonies and Projects.

Happy December Weekend.

December....official beginning of the hectic, silly season... 34 degree heat this weekend is not helping preparations, though l did pull out the Christmas tree on the 1st and set it up, you can see how it looks a bit further down the post. l bought new lights this year, ones with silver cord which match the white tree a lot better than the green cord l've been trying to hide for years haha!.....My daughter and her fiancé will arrive home in less than a fortnight for a couple of weeks, so l'm trying to shop, clean and organise before she gets here so we can spend our time doing pretty much whatever we're up for on the day.... if l'd really thought about it l would have ordered all my presents online and had them sent to the door like the kids have done.......oh well there's always next year:-)

November is the time for peonies here in Oz....and the flower seller at the market had some beautiful
blooms going out for almost nix......only problem was they were almost finished so photos had to be taken within a day or two.....l think l shot them just in time:-)

l've also been experimenting making drippy candles......l'd like to try again since l was learning on the fly.....how l made them was to make a plaster slurry and drip it over each candle....when it had set, l coated the entire thing in melted wax...Then more melted wax was dripped over the candles, making sure it also ran down onto the bottle.
l also used the leftover slurry to plaster and stiffen this lace bag l had pre-sewn.

My very pale Christmas tree this year.

l found a pretty childs merry go round at the opshop for a dollar....it wasn't working at that price which didn't matter as l was only interested in the little wooden carved horses....l figured they'd make lovely tree decorations. l wound pink wrapping ribbon around each pole and made a tiny tulle wreath for each pony...then l saw Rachel Ashwell was selling little unicorn decorations, so why not add a papier mache horn to each one.....

Ponies before

Wishing you all a calm and relaxing weekend....thanks so much for stopping by,

Til next time,

Bron.

Late Spring Sunshine.

We had some lovely weather last week and l spent some time working in the garden so you might notice the cypress topiaries outside the dining room have been trimmed up. When they were first planted (and small) l used a pair of scissors to keep them in shape, but as they grew bigger it started taking forever...not to mention the blisters, so l bought a hedge trimmer which is way quicker and a lot less painful:-))
The old timber fence is usually covered in ivy and the lion heads gaze regally out from it's lush greenery.....but not this year. l asked hubby if he could poison the weeds along the fence as it's hard to mow right up close....however l think he got a bit carried away......geez....ONE JOB!!....just as well that old ivy's tough....it's starting to shoot again.

I picked some Pierre de Ronsard roses from the garden....one of my favourite roses.

  

 

 

 

 

 

You might remember me saying a couple of posts ago that Mum was back in chemotherapy....anyway she's  had two cycles and then scans before her last oncology appointment....sadly her tumours are no longer responding to the chemo.....her oncologist has another option however she is refusing further treatment and l guess we need to respect that, even if it means her future with us is now limited.....for the moment she remains independent.... and is positive and accepting of the way things are, she really is an amazing woman....  

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and for your lovely comments....l hope you're enjoying yourself whatever you're up too:-)

 

Til next time,

 

Bron.

A Few Pics To Share.

The Robinia tree in our backyard has flowers very similar to wisteria but are pink instead of mauve.
They also smell amazing.....l brought some inside and plonked them on the underside of the crates in the sideboard and took a few pics to share with you.

 

Bits from a necklace l'm (slowly) making.

 

 

 

 

l had a go at macramé which l haven't done since l was at school... many, (ok MANY) moons ago....l used tulle cut into strips which was tricksier than you'd think to use. Anyway it turned out ok l guess, the vintage decorations improved the overall look of it l think. 

 

 Not too much writing today but hope you enjoy the post just the same:-) Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.

Til next time.

Bron.

 

Happy Weekend.

A couple of Saturday's ago l was heading out to the Mill to stock up my stall, it was late in the morning and l was in no hurry, just cruising along in my truck listening to my awesome (crap... says son and hubby) music, when l saw some balloons and a garage sale sign. Well what's the harm in stopping thinks me..... might as well have a peek....and can you believe what l found.......after YEARS of searching.... a pair of Florentine tables. The third one's missing.... but to even find two...Happy day my friends:-) Paid the princely sum of $25.00 for both...What good are they says hubby when they came home, but he was the first one to use one, to eat his fish and chips off in front of the telly, haha....



 



As you can see they're well shabby....but in the words of KC and the sunshine's.... that's the way a huh a huh....l like it... a huh a huh:-)
 Also found at the market was this 1930's satin boudoir bedspread, a bit of Hollywood style glam, already gone to be sold....it really IS so tough getting rid of all the pretties l find....but it's also good knowing someone else will get to enjoy them as well.

 

l've been digging out all those tapestries I've had stashed away for years and am turning them into cushions....customers seem to like them and it's great to see them re-invented.


l've also been out to my Sister's place......she has oodles of lilac bushes so she loaded me up with blooms on my way out and cut some shabby roses to go with them...... Well that warranted a wee photo shoot didn't it:-)

  

Did you notice the pink rooster and hen there on the right...... made from strands of plastic woven together, don't know why l love such kitschy stuff....but l was powerless to resist haha!!!



 

Just wanted to say thanks too for your lovely comments, l loved that you say it's ok to just post pretty pictures without writing too much.....and also for encouraging Mum through her chemotherapy. l passed on the messages to her and she was astounded (and pleased) that people so far away care what happens to her and says thanks so much, any way it must have helped because her pain is much less and she's feeling more positive about the future.


Have an awesome weekend whatever you're up to,

Til next time,

Bron.

It's The Simple Things.

The new Romantic Country magazine arrived in the letter (bill) box today.....since it's my favourite magazine ever and with only four copies a year, it's a bit of a big deal when it get's here. l made a cup of green tea (yep, that's right ladies- livin' on the edge:-) and sat in the papasan in the garden room where the light's better (easier on the old lady eyes :-)and had a squiz through.....it mightn't sound like much, but all those pages of pretty made me core happy:-)
A few days ago Mum celebrated her 77th birthday, she asked that we not make too much hooha (which we're inclined to do) so we all  just went out for afternoon tea, (which was delish by the way:-)....She's been hugely brave in choosing to go back into chemotherapy and this week despite having to sit in hospital for the best part of three days she's holding up really well, so hopefully we'll be celebrating a few more Birthday's yet:-)


l know l'm late getting this post up..... the photos were taken about 2 weeks ago so l should have posted sooner, and l would have.....but it's such a struggle for me to figure out what to write about...and l don't want to just post pictures since to me a blog should have a bit of a story, (otherwise we'd just use pinterest or instagram) but blog stories don't just pop into my head....Geez if ONLY!!



On the other hand......having a chance to fluff  and create some pretty pics is pure bliss and for the most part comes together without too much effort or forethought. All l really need to find is an inspiration piece or idea.... so often flowers work, though for these pics it was the vintage floral pillowcases that sparked the process.



 

  

 



  

  

 

 

This is a photo of Mum and me on her Birthday a few days ago. 

 

Anyway it's so lovely of you to stop by my blog, thank you....have a lovely rest of your week.

Til next time,

Bron.