A wonderful day & a book giveaway!

You may know a little about my mum, she is the superstar that knits my Blanket Bunnies beautiful, colourful cardigans. And you probably already know that she is a great inspiration to me. She is also an amazing gardener & intrepid traveller. She volunteers at our local Information Centre and has recently joined a choir & bookclub. She supports and is involved with many arts organisations, such as McClelland Gallery & is an avid fan of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, amongst other things!

Yesterday she also became a Doctor of Letters for the work she did on her amazing book, "Artists Tapestries". As the founding director of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop she lived and breathed the world of tapestry for almost thirty years. All that she absorbed during that time, and much more has been captured in her book which took ten years to come together. Mum has achieved much in her life and this book really is her masterpiece.


I was so happy & proud to be there yesterday, to see her in her gorgeous gown and hat, the colours seemed custom made for her! Her glasses even matched, red & purple.



Mum was glowing and her eyes were shining. It must be a pretty amazing feeling, all the years of work and dedication being acknowledged and celebrated. After cups of tea we headed over to Collingwood where Stuart Purves & his lovely partner, Kerry, were hosting a special dinner in her houour.



Before we headed upstairs I had a sneaky peek at the inside fish pond, the swirling golden fish swam round & round, beneath the sculpture reflectioned in the glass above.

Stuart, who is an old & dear friend of Sue's, made a speech about their friendship, the book and Emeritus Professor Margaret Manion's great support of Mum as her academic supervisor. Margaret really encouraged her to make this book happen and has been there to help all through the writing process.

John Hopkins who is another great friend was also there to share in the celebration, as was Mum's cousin Tracy & Graeme Drendel & Wendy. I discovered that Graeme & Wendy have a house in Trentham, such a pretty local town.

I also had a good chat to John. He is a lovely man, very warm and funny. We all admired his Liberty print tie,apparantly after Charlotte & I left he gave everyone a lesson in conducting, I'm sorry we missed that!

So, you can see, it was a special, special day. In Stuart's speech he spoke about friendship and love. To me these two things are what makes the world go round. It's so important to celebrate, to take the time to talk about and share occasions like this. On the long drive home I thought about the speeches, the dinner and the day. What my mum has achieved in her life so far is so much more than awards and presentations, what she has brought to us all is her great love of life. She really brings colour and adventure into everything she does, she engages us all with her energy and vision, her zest & brightness. She is a doer, she is always thinking and creating, buzzing & living. And while doing all this her love & generosity & caring nature is always there. I couldn't be prouder of my mum, she is simply the best.



I'm so happy to be giving away a signed copy of "Artists Tapestries" to one of you lovely readers. Just leave me a comment telling me your favourite colour & I will pick out a name later in the week.
Hope you re having a happy weekend, see you soon xo

Road trip

Yesterday we drove through fields of green,

and paddocks of gold.

A day off school meant Bill went to work with Mark & the girls & I had a day out. The first official road trip for the newly formed, Op Shop Girls Club. The sky was blue above as we cruised through tiny towns with their little clusters of farmhouses, letterboxes and palm trees. Little towns with pretty names like Daisy Hill & Ascot and bigger, bolder towns like Ballarat, Clunes & Maryborough.

The op shops were plentiful and full of wonderful treasures. We picked carefully so as not to be greedy. We don't really need more things, it was just a fun way to pass the day.

We snacked in the car, sang to Madonna & Blondie & watched the weather & the landscape changing.

I think I needed a day full of sky.

A day away from hospital visits (me with asthma, Lucy too).

Some time to move through different colours, different air.

We drove down unfamiliar roads, admired old buildings, winding our way back home.

The sky turn from blue to grey to black.

It rained, it hailed and then the sun came out again.

All too soon we were back where we started.

More driving tomorrow, I am off to tend to the garlic.

Hope there's lots of & colour in your weekend, see you soon xo

Colour in my day

Yesterday I went to the service for my friend in Melbourne and although it was sad it was also great to celebrate Janet's life. It was hard but good. Janet's house was full of her ceramics and amazing photo's of her were projected against a wall. It was very much like she was there. Well she was actually, her coffin rested on the dining room table, covered in wattle and surrounded by those who loved her. Her son's and daughters spoke about her life and afterwards we all drank expensive champagne as she would have wished. Today has had a different pace and it's been sunshine all day which has brightened up my world.

This morning Rosie and I dashed over to Castlemaine, now there's a fantastic town, and found a sweet little tea set for her friend Isabella's birthday. We also found this colourful windspinner & Rosie cut quite a figure running up the footpaths of Castlemaine, in full ballerina regalia, holding it high for the wind to blow. Then we wandered around the corner to the most amazing shop I've seen for a while...Absinthe.

It is full of gorgeous things...my head was in a whirl. I love this tin heart that is now hanging on our door.

And here is me sporting the most beautiful scarf in the world, which I just couldn't resist. I love the way a scarf can add so much to what you are wearing and how you are feeling.

Each week I think things will quiet down but each week brings new challenges lately. Our boy Bill has been on crutches for a few days with a sore leg. It's all been a bit mysterious and he has had an x-ray and been to the doctors twice. It has been very painful and I have been quite worried. Tonight, though, he says it feels alot better so hopefully he is on the mend. Lucy has gone away on her first school camp and Mark has gone along for the first two days. So I'm home with only three! Rosie & I went to Isabella's Princess Party today where the 'real Snow White" appeared. Can you imagine the excitement?

Lots of colour at the party and then more after school today as Sunday worked on her godseyes...

She is taking them to school tomorrow for Show & Tell. Do you remember making godseye's when you were little. If you are a child of the seventies I'm sure you will!

Anyway, enough about me, how's your day going? Come on over...I've just put the kettle on! Lets sit down in a sunny spot, on the verandah and have a cuppa...tell me what's been happening with you lately.....xo

Tuesday

The last week has had it's moments. A difficult family issue popped up and although I think it is resolved it left me feeling pretty drained. People/family/relationship stuff is so complex isn't it? So this morning after contemplating a messy kitchen, washing to be done & other exciting chores I chose instead to meander down to Hepburn Springs to see my mum. Possibly angling for a little TLC and a cuppa I was lucky to find both. Her new house/church/abode is looking wonderful and is becoming more & more like 'her place' every day. Lucy put these pretty pieces of glass along the window.

You may have noticed that Sue has a lot of colour in her life. Do you like the beautiful blanket she knitted?

Lots of little things that catch my eye in her new space.

Funny owl creatures brought back from Santa Fe.

More creatures...

Mum.

Back at home I continued on with the decluttering/remodelling of our little sitting room. It's looking so much better and lighter! It helped that today was so sunny, it was almost spring like. The dogs kindly kept me company.


This is Max, he is a deep thinker. Especially when it comes to menu options. He is a big old lover boy and he is making the most of some quality couch time. (Note new couch! Yes it arrived, & thankyou Michelle for carting away the old one. Not a fun job. But as ugly and smelly as the old couch was it did see us through alot of meaningful moments. Four new babies were fed and cuddled on that couch (were some of them made on it....possibly?) Anyway lots of happy family times involve that old couch so I really was kind of fond of it. Not fond enough, though, to hang on to it. One too many 'accidents' rendered it majorly stinky, and wonky, courtesy of a half eaten cushion (thanks to Jessie the dog, may she rest in peace).

Daisy & Max having a love fest. Oh those loving eyes. The dogs have been so good lately. Now that they are in the back yard, not the front, alot of the problems we were having have ceased. Daisy isn't running away anymore and Max is no longer terrorising the poor postie. Both dogs are having regular walkies, are sporting glamourous new haircuts & their self esteem is at an all time high! Wow!

You can probably tell, I love my pets! They are a big part of our family. They are so sweet natured & they give us a lot of love. Their unconditional love is so soothing & good for us all and their love for each other is pretty special too. Hope you & yours are having a lovely week xoxo

Still thinking..... headache tablets? Rat poison? Vintage apple core? Underpants? The world is my oyster...

Colourful days..

Today as I was tootling around the countryside I almost had several accidents as I gazed out the window at all the beautiful trees. The colours of autumn are so strong and gorgeous. This tree was just glowing!

Check out this mossy growth ...what an amazing colour.

As for this tree...it is absolutely hypnotic. I could stare into these colours forever.

I also popped down to nearby Hepburn Springs where my mum was having a look at her new little church. Her brother, David, who is a builder, came up to have a look too as he is starting work on it next week. It is such a gorgeous building and has had quite an interesting history. It started out as a school in the bush at Yandoit and was then moved to it's present location where it became a Baptist church. A local historian told mum that many of her ancestors where educated in the building and she also has photos of it being moved. Wow, I love old photos and can't wait to see them.

Can you imagine all the different people that have spent time in this building? School days, weddings, funerals, celebrations. All the people, all the lives. It has a lovely feel to it and I think Mum will enjoy some great times here too.

There seems to have been a bit of a churchy theme to my week. On Wednesday night I set off with Tracey to Ballan where we had a dinner with other Catholic School Board members from the Ballarat region. The pub where it was held was a real time capsule from Australia's past - lots of photo's from the 70's on the walls and a bar lined with characters out of another era. When Monique asked the barman for a cup of black tea he almost fell over with shock!!

Tomorrow is Book Town in Clunes which should be fantastic. Can't wait to check out all those lovely books, it's really worth a visit. To finish of the churchy theme Mark & I are off to a friend's birthday party at the Convent Gallery's Altar Bar on the weekend. It will be good to get out and have some fun and a glass or two of something bubbly. It's been a bit of a tiring week with not enough sleep and too many mice!! Hope you have a great weekend, x