88

Come with me down a winding road from Daylesford, to my mum's house in Hepburn. 

You may remember she bought an old church last year & she has been spending many happy hours fixing it up & giving it a new life.

Mum is a great home maker,  she is one of those people who can create a beautiful, original space where you feel immediately comfortable.

 She has filled her new little home with so much colour & life,

and everywhere you look there is something sweet or interesting. I love going to Mum's as amongst the colour & busyness there is order & calm. Not like our house!

Have a peek into this little guest room. When we first looked at the church the pastor was using this as his bedroom. It was musty & dusty and not very nice. Now it is such a lovely room, to and great for sleepovers!

This painting my Dad did in the 60's hangs in Mum's bedroom. It depicts our home in the Dandenongs, our goats, trees & bits & pieces of our life then. I like the colours & mood of this painting, and the way it takes me
back to another time

This old toilet block has been transformed into a great shed, can you see the yellow rose growing over the top?

I gave it to mum last year on her birthday, it has grown so much! I wish my roses were this lush & healthy!

The garden was originally just lawn with a few good trees & some sad looking bushes.

 But now it has so much colour & so many different plants.

I love all the cuving path ways that lead you around the building in circle.

Did I mention that this little church began life as a school house and was

moved by horse & cart to where it is today?

Amazing! I like to think of all the students that studied here,

once upon a time.

So there you go. Did you enjoy the tour?

I'm off into my own garden now to finish off planting my seedlings.

How much fun is the garden lately? I'm loving it. 

I'm hoping to buy a couple of silkie's or bantams tomorrow at the Farmers Market and set them up in

the garden outside my kitchen window. That's if I can persuade Mark to get

the (heavy) old dog kennel, to use as a chook house, from way down in the back of the garden to up the front. Hmmm..

Oh! Before I forget, if you are in Daylesford tomorrow do pop into the Makers Market and say hi to this gorgeous girl. Phillippa is a super talented, super wonderful friend who will be there selling her amazing fabric & other bits. Look out for Fippa & say hello! Another ace mate who will be there is Tania from Myrtle & Eunice..yay!

Bye for now lovelies,

xo

It's a Tuesday kind of day...

It's nice to be at home today. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do. So there will be a bit of gardening and some school work and hopefully a bit of mooching around. Look at the baby quince, so sweet & furry.

The quince tree is one of my favourite trees in our garden. It's shape, the lovely leaves, the way it makes a little shady cubby with it's low branches...and of course the quince itself. Last year I made quince jelly for the first time, yum.

With all the humid weather last week and then the rain our vegie patch is really rocking along. Most of the seedlings survived the first hot week and we now have a nice variety of happy little plants. Eggplant, tomato, carrots, lettuce, capsicum, zucchini, corn, watermelon, cucumber, basil..I think that's it!

I'm just having a look through my bag of goodies from the market. I did also get a lovely doll from Jodie but I seem to have hidden it so well that now I can't find it! I do this every year with Christmas presents. One year I hid something, forgot all about it and then found it for the next Christmas!

I am sitting a little uncomfortably this morning...I seem to have an insect/spider bite in an awkward spot! I'm hoping it's not a white tail spider bite as there have been a few of those around lately. They like to hide in bedding or clothing so it's good to always shake out anything before you put it on. This reminds me of my series of spider stories. WARNING: Spider Bite Stories coming up...not for the faint hearted.




Spider Story One: A few years ago I had just had my hair cut and was hopping back in the car with two of the five kids. Earlier in the week I had seen a VERY LARGE huntsman spider lurking near the windscreen so I knew he was around but had momentarily forgotton. As I opened the door of the car there he was (unseen by me), nestled just on the inside of the door. Where did I put my hand??? Yep, right in his face. Let me tell you that huntsman spiders DO BITE. Yes, they do. I think the screaming of "Oh F.....!!!" was heard all the way to Brighton Beach. Thanks goodness for the lovely and supportive tradesman who came running over & chased the spider away. All the way home I swore and screamed. My kids sat there with their mouths in little 'o's. Later on I had a better look at the bite and there were two little fangs stuck in my finger. Oh my goodness.... good thing they aren't poisonous!

Now I was going to tell you part two and three but one spider story is enough for today!! Have you had a spider incident? Or two..or three? Go on, freak me out.

I'm off outside now, to feed the animals, stare up at the blue sky, hang some washing, inspect the garlic, keep Max out of the chook pen (yes, that is a big roll you swiped, Max) and generally have a relaxing day. Actually, maybe I'll just put the kettle on first...

Hope you are having a happy day, see you soon xo

Happy day

...Yesterday was such a great day

... seeing a wonderful group of creative people coming together in the fabulous Daylesford Town Hall to put on what was definitely the best Daylesford Makers Market yet.

We welcomed new stall holders like the very lovely Rachel from Pictures Eat People, and clever Ziggy (who made these amazing peg dolls above) Kelly & Kate from Dear Prudence, the very talented Laura from pink snowflakes, Manda, Kootoyoo, Ceci Bean, Mim Whimsy from Castlemaine...it's hard to list everyone but I was so impressed with the quality of the stalls. All so individual and inspiring. I love these crowns by Amanda from Wildflower Soul.

The crew from Thaw were there and it was also great to see Geoffrey, George, Milla and their new baby Ella. And of course it was good to be with lovely Kate and Steph, two wonderful local women who I am so proud & lucky to have as friends. Steph, you did an amazing job setting up & organising the market, the feedback from stall holders and customers was fantastic.

So lovely too to meet some gorgeous crafters and bloggers including the very clever Jodie, thanks so much for my keyring (and puff) Jodie, I love it!! Your stall was so amazing, if any of your effalants need to be re housed for ANY REASON whatsoever, please call. And to all the bloggers out there who came along and said hi, thanks so much,, it was lovely to meet you all. Julie, the suffolk puff idea was a real winner!

Great to see Cam aka Curlypops and her sister, lovely chatting to you Cam! Hope we see you again up this way, soon ok??

Charlotte and I had alot of fun at the Dandelion stall, she was such a great help and the best company, thanks so much Char! Who else would run home and get my camera charger for me?

I was so happy too that my nearly all my bunnies (except one) went off to new, loving homes. It is so satisfying when people enjoy what I make, and I loved meeting all the children who popped by too. I got to meet dear little Alice who is the daughter of Sarah, a new friend from my course, thanks for coming along, Sarah. And a special hello to Celeste who has four beautiful sweeties and a lovely blog which I have just discovered.

Talking of sweeties Annissa from Lillypilly was there and it's always lovely to catch up with this beautiful local. Her stall looked gorgeous too and we always have a good old chat and laugh. Hope that glass of wine went down well tonight Annissa, mine sure did!

There were many highlights yesterday, one of which was seeing my dear nieces, Zoe (above) & Gemma (below right). I don't get to see them as much as I would like so it was very special to me that they came along. Boy am I going to miss them when they move to Tassie.

So you can see from all my photo's what a happy day it was. It just goes to show what can happen when people come together, bringing their creativity, sense of fun, colour, some laughs, love and the sense of community that comes from living in this wonderful part of the world. Thanks so much everyone for making it such a great day xo

Friday thoughts

It's been a week of extremes - ups and down and round and rounds. Rain, fog, sun, wind, thunder and blue skies. Phew! I'm obsessed with these wonderful hay bales that sit like butter pats in the fields and paddocks. Their shape is so pleasing, individually and together. They remind me in a way of people, happy and complete on their own but also comfortable & secure enough to sit with their friends, companionably in the quiet of a hot day.

I used to think it was hard to make new friends but it's the work that you put in with them, the care & shared love, fun and respect that makes good friends, not how long you have known each other. All friends, old & new can bring so much joy and happiness into your life.

Driving past the hay bales on the way to Castlemaine (or Mastlecaine as Rosie calls it) I was thinking about life and friends and family. I find the landscape really soothing which for me is one of the best things about country life. It was a good morning, we had some fun and a cup of tea and managed to squeeze in a couple of oppies too. Found some gorgeous chenille blankets and a clock for Rosie.

That night we came to this lovely old building, (which someone told me was once a school in
Glenlyon and brought on a truck to Daylesford,) for a special event.

After being in Girl Guides for almost two years it was time for Lucy to make her Guide promise. She was extremely nervous and I am so proud of her for being brave and finding the strength to get up there in front of everyone to become an official Girl Guide!! How exciting.

I love the way Guides encourages girls to be adventurers, to try something new, to be brave and take responsibility, to care for others and try and do good every day. Aren't these good ideals for us all? The guide leader talked about the sister guides all over the world. This made me think of my blog sisters out there who I have never met but who I love to hear from, and about.These friendships from far away and nearby have really opened up & enhanced my world.

The rain has come down and with it the sweet smell of spring, finally. The days are muted and warm and quiet. I feel like the madness of earlier in the week has subsided and even though the market is tomorrow and I could be feeling overwhelmed and under prepared I am instead quite calm and excited to see all the lovely people and colour.

So looking forward to catching up with new and old mates tomorrow, it's sure to be a memorable and lovely day. See you there sweeties xo

My Creative Space

Did you wake up in the night to pouring rain and thunder? We did. Boy has there been alot of rain. My vegies will be so happy and the chooks will too, poking and scratching for snails and worms..fun!! But I won't be in the garden much today, more likely sitting above sewing a little, checking my lists, foofing around trying to get organised.

The rain has softened the day, and a week that has had it's tricky moments. Thank you lovely friends for all your supportive comments re 'The Cut'. It's all fine now and I'm also feeling alot better health wise. I really apppreciate your kind and funny comments, it made me feel so much better! it's amazing how many people had 'home haircut' stories. I heard a few about kids who cut other kids hair, at least that hasn't happened yet!!

Today it's about last minute jobs. With the market in two days I still have a few little things to finish such as getting bags and tags ready. I'm loving thiese cheesy wedding cake bags that cost 50c at the opshop.

With a bit of origami paper (also from the oppie!) they look much better and are perfect for hair clips and brooches. You can probably pick up similar bags at Spotlight and they can be covered with anything really, vintage book illustrations, your own drawings/images. A nice simple, cheap idea.

Do you like these blue overalls? They belong to a dear little fellow, who Lucy has called Archie, who will be appearing at the market on Saturday.

Along with a few of his sister friends.

And some birdies.

There are still a couple of skirts that need ric rac...and some bunny mouths to sew on. It's been a busy week here as I had school work to hand in & Mark has reports to do so I haven't had much time to get things ready. But it's all coming together now and I am so looking forward to this Saturday!! The word on the street is that this Daylesford Makers Market will be the best one yet with lots of lovely stalls and wonderful things to buy. Look out for the Lark stall which is always fantastic and lots of other clever locals such as Kate & some lovely Melbourne blow ins. Can't wait to see you, don't be shy, come and say hi to me, and Charlotte! Before I go a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to lovely Steph from Doily. Look for Steph on Saturday and give her a big happy birthday yourself!! For more creative spaces pop over here xo