And the winner is..!

Our school fete! Don't you just love a fete? I do. We've just had ours and it was fantastic!

It's such a fun community event and we were so lucky to have such a sunshiny day too. I had fun with Tracey at the second hand clothes stall. It's a good feeling to be recycling lovely clothes and other bits while also raising money for our little school.

The other stalls were fantastic, I loved the plants and books, the fairy floss and of course the cake stall. Yum! It's such a busy time of year isn't' it? Fetes, festivals, concerts..wow. What are you busy with lately?

Talking of winners, thanks so much to everyone who entered my Instacanvas giveaway..I'm thrilled to announce that Carol of Perennial is the winner! If you are an Instagrammer you should pop by and say hi,  I know you'll love getting a glimpse into Carol's world. Congratulations Carol! Send me your email and I'll give you the details on how to receive  your very own Instagram photo, beautifully printed and framed by Instacanvas.

I'm off now to water in my new little seedlings..it's been a huge day in the garden. Are you planting too? Have fun lovelies, see you soon xo

Little House

When we first saw our house in Daylesford, almost nine years ago, we loved it for it's charm and sense of history. It's beautiful garden was also hugely appealing and of course we loved the town. We still love all those things and I guess as the years have gone by we have become a part of it all too. Our own family history is now woven into this beautiful place that we live in. Our own kids will have memories of the little town where they grew up and the yellow house where we live. I hope they remember the sunny afternoons in our garden, running under the hose and having dinner under the apple trees.

Talking of little houses..this little timber building was originally an outhouse of sorts, sometimes an extra bedroom, a bungalow and maybe even a laundry. It would have been built around the same time as the main house, about the turn of the century or a little later.

As we are starting some renovations soon we had to decide what to do with Little House as it was in the wrong spot and stopping us from opening up the back of the house. It would have been simple and easy to demolish it but that wasn't high on my list of options. I really love it and wanted to keep it if possible. So we talked to Col who said he could move it with his crane, woo hoo!

You can see above where it stood and the new stumps/supports that it would be moved on to.

This is Col :)

This is Col's crane! Oh how I wish I had been at home the day it was moved..but I had to go to work which I wasn't at all happy about. Luckily Tom took some ace shots of the house being craned into position.

And getting kind of stuck on the top of the garage....

My neighbour, Alison, came home and walked out her back door to see the little house flying through the sky.

Twisting, turning..spinning!

And as she pointed out later, all the while a jar of paint brushes stood happily in the little window sill!            You can just see it if you look hard.

Careful!

Col and the guys did a great job. Wow. I can't believe it really happened. Little House is now happily sitting in it's new spot in the garden, nestled up against the garage.  Today Tom took the front off it to fix some of the bits that were broken in the move, and to make a new, longer window. Then we will be able to see through it from our new kitchen, and out the other window into the garden. The kids are keen to make it a club house but we'll see. I'm just happy that it's still part of the picture, and that it will continue to be treasured and loved.

I wonder what the Steinhauser's would think about what we have done? They were the family who built our main house and it's little sister house. They owned a cordial factory around the corner from where we live. The very first week we moved here a group of  Stteinhauser descendants came by for a visit. One of them told me that he used to sleep in Little House, in a double bed. It took up most of the room so he would have had to practically jump through the door and onto it!
Funny. I wish I could remember all the amazing stories they told us, there were so many and it was a long time ago now.

Do you know the history of your house? I am so fascinated with the stories of our town, and this area. There are endless interesting tales to be told and so many interesting people.  As I always say, everyone has a story.

Which reminds me, in a  roundabout way, this weekend is a special one. The Daylesford/Hepburn region are celebrating our Swiss Italian culture and heritage with the wonderful Swiss Italia Festa! There are lots of great things on to see and do, you should check out their site here. Also our own school fete is happening on Sunday 4th November, and it's going to be so fantastic!! If you have kids and you live locally you really should come along, there will be lots of kid friendly activities, yummy cakes, the spinning wheel and heaps more. Books, clothes, craft, food..fun! It's on at St Michaels School, Smith St, Daylesford from 9 - 3. I'll be helping to run the second hand clothes stall, come and say hi :)

It's such a busy time of year isn't it? Have you got lots of things on too? 

Hope you are getting some sunshine wherever you are,

see you soon lovelies xo

ps: if you haven't entered my giveaway it's not too late! Click here for details xo

Crazy Daisy & the Teen Dolls

I know I go on about my chooks alot but have I ever mentioned our dogs, Max & Daisy? Max (full name Maxwell Holiday-Man) is a handsome black cockerspaniel & Daisy (Daisy Maisy Bates) is a spoodle (poodle/cocker cross). Max is pretty laid back, except if someone puts their hand over the fence to say hello, and then he becomes a real tough guy. Not to mention the way he treats the postie.. that's another story. (If you are reading this Mr Postie, I am really sorry about Max's behaviour.) Anyway, Daisy is a lovable little rascal who just wants to be with the family THE WHOLE TIME. Yes, she loves Max but she wants to be with people too. The problem with this is that I like to have the chooks out in the garden and Daisy wants to GET THEM! And she has. We lost one chook to her clutches a while ago and now she has a real taste for it. Hmmm. So obviously they need to be kept seperate but this is difficult with many doors and small children randomly opening them. I try to let the chookies out in the afternoon and let Daisy and Max play out the back in the morning and this mainly works. Yesterday, however, the Grunge Princess (3), left the door open and the next thing I heard poor Rocky (our lovely black Plymouth Rock chook) squawking and yelling (is that possible?). I ran out to find Daisy had Rocky bailed up in the hedge with feathers flying. Alison, my neighbour, came to help and we managed to rescue poor Rocky and she seemed unharmed. Phew! That naughty Daisy got a stern talking to. I really needed a cuppa and a good lie down after that. Ahh.. pets.

As I may have mentioned we recently had our school fete and whilst helping sort the books out I came across these fantastic doll's clothes pattern books. I love the dreamy look from the girl holding the doll. Ahh...teen dolls!!

I want this beach outfit. Check out the hat! It's a bit Ned Kelly. And mesh works so well in the sun, doesn't it?

This book features the winning designs from a competition run by New Idea. Inside it features photo's and details of all the winners. Gorgeous.

Anyway, I better tootle off. It's time to pack up the blog for now and get on with the day. I have no kids at home today so I need to sew, sew, sew in preparation for the upcoming Maker's Market. The bunnies are coming along well and I hope to post some photos of them soon. Am having a camera crisis as GP broke mine, I could use Char's camera but can't find the charger and I did borrow my Mum's camera but seem to have misplaced it. Oops.

I do have my eye on a replacement camera for myself but am saving up and the piggy bank isn't full yet. x

ps. the chicken pops (as they are now known in these parts) were confirmed on Monday and the patient has now recovered. Yay!

Frazzled Friday

Well it's Friday and I'm feeling a little frazzled. Why you may ask? It just seems there's alot on lately and I'm getting woken up a little too early by the Grunge Princess. Today is Hunchie's birthday, hooray! So the plan is to go out tonight for din dins and Charlotte (16) will mind the other four. She has to be picked up from the train at 5.00. The kids and Hunch are planning to go Trick or Treating so there is costumes to be worked out and much excitement to be had. ( Its nice having an american born dad who also gets excited!) Meanwhile we have the school fete on this Sunday and so this morning I have been at school sorting books and looking through the Trash & Treasure in preparation. Yes, there's more. Dinner for the kids has to be worked out, the dogs need a run, the chooks have to be fed and let out for their daily roam. The house looks a bit trashed, dishes aren't done...should I go on??????????????
Yes, I've left the best till last. While dropping of Sunday & GP at creche this morning I noticed a lot of bites on Sundays face and arms. Thinking they might be mozzie bites I didn't worry and went on my way but as the morning wore on I started to think.... CHICKEN POX!! I remember Charlotte had them, 12 years ago, but I can't really remember what they look like. Hmmmm. Oh well, what can I do?




So there you have it. I think I might just leave the housework and sit and sew. Bunnies need stuffing (sounds a bit scary), tiny dresses need ric rac and I'm still working on a pile of library bags. I'm getting things together for the upcoming Maker's Market here in our lovely town. Should be fantastic!

My boy Bill in the quince tree. Bill is trying really hard to remember to use good manners lately and it's been a bit of a struggle. He is generally pretty good but forgets easily and speaks before he thinks. Is this a boy thing maybe? Hate to be gender specific but the girls haven't had the same issue. Anyway, he's trying and that's the main thing. I guess we need to be patient and remember that some things take longer than others.

Wonder what he is going to wear for Trick or Treating tonight?

Beautiful Rosabella (GP) relaxing after a tiring flower picking session. ( Is that a chickens bum lurking in the background?)

Kids really have trouble with the whole 'birthday' doesn't always always mean 'party' concept, don't they and who can blame them? Poor Rosie really cried this morning when although it's Daddy's birthday she still had to go to creche (Kidna's). "But I want to go to Daddy's party!!!"

A photo of the garage that we have recently cleared out & fixed up. The kids have been enjoying playing in here and hopefully it will become a good place to hang out in winter.

Bye for now x

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