Merry Christmas!

wishing you all a...

blessed & merry

christmas!

whether you pop in occasionally or often...

thank you!

i haven't got my own computer back yet,

won't have it replaced or fixed until the end of january

after i get back from no. 1 son's wedding in taiwan,

so 

i wish you all a very merry christmas

from the bottom of my heart!

i will pop in and cruise around the blogosphere when i can this week

and may comment at random...

but am signing out here for a month...

i love your friendship

so i'll be around 

and see you back here

in the new year!

happy new year...

naturally Carol xox

Borrowed Time!

good morning!

it feels so good to be able to say that

&

to know that at least in this session

the computer won't crash

'cos i'm on my daughter in law's one as a guest..hehe

well guess where i've popped up this morning...

here i am on kamana's blog'

answering a few questions.

it's the first time i've done an interview for someone else

so now i've done it for kamana

i think i may approach a few of you

in the new year...

if you wouldn't mind!

kamana is an inspirational poet and photographer

&

these often feature the tropical paradise

she lives in...

so do pop in and get to know her

and be inspired by her art!

{the photo above is of noosa, qld..taken on a weekend away a few months ago..'cos none of my photos are available to  me on this computer and i can't download any either.}

afternoon edit:

i've just enjoyed lunch out with mr m,
we don't get to lunch together very often,
especially to lunch out
and munch on open grilled turkish sandwiches
and the best cappucinos in town!

i hope you've enjoyed a meal lately with someone special too...

naturally Carol xox

Chilli for Dinner...

good evening!

due to my computer growing a mind of it's own

&

being extremely non-conformist

i've been relegated to noncomputerlike tasks

for the last few days...

sorry.

one of those glitches

includes not being able to upload many photos

so dinner was the picture of the moment tonight.

i'm thinking,

at least it was a delicious

chilli con carne

with a few bits of salad,

put together by mr m

&

i got to enjoy a night off!

cucumber is actually delicious with chilli..who knew?

the chilli was left over from last night...

but i don't mind having it twice

'cos it's always even better the second day

...don't you find?

we have a fair bit on our plates at the moment...

we're trying to get things together for our trip to taiwan

in only two and a bit weeks,

&

there are some family matters to sort throught as well...

having kids, there is never a dull moment.

well, i'm back again

after another 'crash dump' and restart...

frustrating!

i wanted to take a couple of pics

of some little bits of sewing

but ran out of daylight

so hopefully...computer withstanding...

i'll get it together tomorrow.

meanwhile

have a lovely day or evening!

naturally Carol xox

Hot Fresh Scones!

good evening!

today was fun.

i got an order for a cushion

so packaged it up prettily and included a little extra heart

'cos it's Christmas.

then a friend called

and i went out to chatz cafe for a

'see you later' send off as another friend is leaving here

to go to bundaberg...a couple of hours up the road.

she wants to swim in the sea

and be reunited with her eldest daughter.

good on her!

so after having a delicious salmon portion

baked in pastry with a creamy dreamy dill sauce

accompanied by

roast veges

with dessert being a muggacino

with extra froth...

i decided that a simple dinner

of a couple of freshly baked scones

would do the job.

these quick scones

are made from a recipe off a flour packet

&

i make them much more than the traditional recipe now.

all you need is

3 cups of self raising flour

and

2/3 cup of icing sugar

to which you add

300 mls of pouring cream

and

100 mls of water.

stir quickly until in a lump,

put on a floured surface,

knead a couple of times to bring the mixture together.

pat out into a flattened lump..about 2 cms high,

carve up into even pieces

and put into an oven, 180 degrees centigrade.

{scone recipes always say a hot oven..220 degrees..i never do}

bake for exactly 12 minutes...

{this recipe said 15 mins or more..i always cook scones for exactly 12 mins and they turn out perfectly every time}

this is how they turned out...

and this is how they looked

on the plate...

they were nice and light

&

delicious.

more rustic than fancy!

what wonders do you intend to bake over the weekend?

or not?

naturally Carol xox

 

Christmas Hearts!

it's nearly bed time here...

i had a slow start to the day,

you know how it is

when it's a little cold

and sleep is interrupted,

then in the morning

it's just hard to get started.

then this afternoon

i went out for coffee with a friend, crystal,

it was a bit warmer

and the coffee perked me up.

then in the early evening mr m and i did a bit of grocery shopping.

of course it is getting late now,

but after my slow start

i'm fully awake now and don't need to sleep!

still...

in a few minutes

i will drag this body to bed

so that tomorrow

i am not even more perversely affected

and end up staying up all night????

i recently thought

that instead of sending my local friends cards,

i would make hearts for them...

christmassy ones

that they could hang on their trees

or their door handles

or on their walls...

what ever.

these are quick and easy to make...

several can be made in a couple of hours

and are lots of fun too.

fussy cut the fronts...

you don't have to be as precise with the backs...

&

add a couple of vintage buttons to the centre,

they will disguise where the ribbon goes into the heart

where sometimes there will be

a little pucker

where the ribbon doesn't sit quite straight.

using zig zag stitching

around the outside of the heart

just gives it a bit of a tweaky look

&

finishes the edges nicely.

i've attempted a couple of mug rugs too

but i'm a bit of a novice

when it comes to the borders

&

i'm not entirely happy with the ones i've completed so far.

practice makes perfect

so they say...

if kootoyoo will have me

i'm joining in,

so come 'n see

what others are doing

and have a lovely day!

naturally Carol xox

The Fern Grows!

hi there...

i've turned the christmas tree lights on this morning

for a bit of sparkle arkle

'cos it's kinda dark inside

with all the rain and gloomy weather outside.

i took this pic

to show you how much those little ferny fronds

have grown in a couple of weeks...



this fern is amazing.

it grows on the stump of an old mango tree

that we had to cut down to make way for a driveway

just after we moved into this house.

on one side of the stump is the fern

and on the other side is a flourishing staghorn..

they both just live off the decaying stump

which is sitting underneath the poinciana tree in the front yard.

this is what the fern looked like

just a few weeks prior to these new photos...

with the winter

and probably a lack of water

they had died right down

and in the pic above had just begun to sprout new growth.

those young fronds are just unfurling.

you can even see a little of the staghorn in amongst them.

i was only thinking this morning

that nature is just full of the miraculous...

and i think seeds are one of them.

what do you consider

as a miracle of nature?

mr t is off to get mr m from brisbane,

he's coming home for a while...

kara is outside at the moment,

unaware of the surprise that awaits her doggy psyche.

she'll be wagging her tail with delight

later today.



by the way...

now we are having problems

with the internet connection

and can't seem to access certain blogsites...

maybe it's the weather???

hopefully it will right itself.

i've got a little christmas crafting to share tomorrow,

nothing very earth shaking

but hopefully i can access my editing stuff

and trim a few dead corners off the photos!

another cosy day...

perfect for a bit of sewing!

i hope your day is perfect for doing what you want to too.

naturally Carol xox

Finding My Feet...

good morning!

last week's postings

came to an abrupt end

with the arrival of a box of computer parts from my son in taiwan.

mr s sent a whole heap of computer bits

which were intended for this computer and others in the household.

of course,

as soon as possible this computer was dismantled,

new hard drives and programmes were installed

and a whole host of other features were put in and taken out.

i feel i am no longer in familiar territory

and will have to relearn my way around here!

i can't find my photo editor...

so this pic of a poinciana that lives just across from me,

is totally unedited...

isn't this tree spectacular?

all over the city there are splashes of bright red

from these gorgeous poincianas,

most of them planted years and years ago.

some, like this one, take up the whole front or back yard.

as you can see

a misty rain has settled here

and temperatures are cool and wonderful,

very refreshing.

when i wrote last,

i had just applied for my passport

and mr p had just applied for his.

all of them have come back, mr w's, mine and mr p's...

i just have to find out how to retrieve my emails

and print out the e-tickets now!

i have no idea where they've got to...

so please excuse me while i go and look.

have a wonderful tuesday,

it's just the type of day here to visit blogs,

find my emails and go and get a dvd on dollar tuesday!

naturally Carol xox

ps..i've missed you all and can't wait to poke my nose in and find out what you've all been up to!

Tree Candles...

good evening!

before i pop into bed

just thought i'd write this.

today has been a busy day

getting all mr p's stuff together for his passport application

&

i spent way to much time in waiting for him

in a hot car with the sun streaming in

&

my patience being sorely tested.

the first application was rejected

as i hadn't realised my printer had shaved a tiny bit off the bottom of every page

of the application...

so after going to mr p's workplace to get the boss to sign and verify the photo

we had to revisit him to get the page filled in and signed all over again.

then the post office rang to say mr p's boss hadn't filled in the back of the photo correctly,

so we had to pay him a third visit,

then go back to the post office another time as well

to drop it in.

finally at about 4.30 pm

the application was ready and accepted.

thank God we live in a small town

and our house is only just up the road from the main street

so our running around was not much in kilometres

only in the time it still took

to get things right.

continuing the theme of garden treasures...

these plants kind of tumbled out of a tree last year

so i just put bits of them back in other places

and this year they've bloomed spectacularly.

i call them tree candles

but i'm sure they have a real name!

this plant flourishes just like spanish moss

on fresh air and sunshine...

no soil, no food.

very easy to grow!

bright pink...vibrant purple...

this girl is out there

wanting to be seen...

she' s no shrinking violet!

tomorrow is another day...

lunch out with the girls,

good fun.

i hope you've got something fun to look forward to as well.

cheers, big ears!

naturally Carol xox

Grand Designs In Miniature...

good afternoon!

there is a promise of a storm

bearing down from the north...

i hope it's not wishful thinking.

i'm not going to check the bom website..

i know that is the first thing mr w would say to do,

but if i'm mistaken

at least i'll have had a few hours of anticipation..haha!

i've had my passport photos taken today

&

contacted a nz friend to get a reference,

she's known me over two years as per requirements..poor girl.

tomorrow i'll post off my application for renewal

by express post

&

i may even have to pay them extra to get it done pronto.

well that's my own silly fault

for leaving it all to the last month...

it was a month yesterday 'til we fly out to taipei

for mr s and miss amy's wedding..woohoo!

that's my news for today,

now i'll show you a few little garden treasures

that are tiny and perfect....

these orchids are tiny,

only about as big as a thumbnail!

if any of you know what they are called,

i'd love to know.

we found them growing here on our jacaranda

when we bought the house.

they've always lived right next to the rusting 'welcome'

that is stuck for good in the fork of the tree.

the tree as grown around it!

the form, the colour distribution...

exquisite.

this shows the orchids at about three times their natural size!

i found these little moss gardens

on the paling fence...

this part of the fence gets barely a ray of sunshine...



i love looking at these micro environments

&

wonder at the number of little plants

which make up these tiny gardens!

i will have to leave them there until the fence rots

'cos i can't bring myself to scrape them off .

isn't it amazing how perfect tiny can be!

perfect can come in small packages...

good to remember at Christmas time..

is the Christmas spirit starting to stir you?

i'm storing away a few nuts...

bit by bit.

naturally Carol xox


p.s..the reason why we were able to take pictures of the bird's nest so easily is that it is only a couple of metres off the ground right on the outer limb of the pecan tree!

The Nest...

good afternoon

on a roasting hot sunday afternoon

in queensland...

i have been awol all week,

a bit of social butterflying with end of year get togethers,

a bit of Christmas sewing,

a bit of wilting under the heat of the day

&

there you have it..

not a word printed for a week!

but

here i am

having found a sweet surprise

in my back garden...

in the pecan tree to be precise.

there she is..mrs leatherhead,

getting very worried that we are a bit too close for comfort.

just after this photo was taken

she flipped out completely and took flight,

leaving her little eggs to our mercy.

here's a peek at her neatly constructed nest

&

two brown eggs.

she often leaves them in the middle of the day

when the air temperature is warm and the breeze gently stirring the leaves around her.

i guess she knows what she is doing

&

i won't have to dob her in to birdie welfare for neglecting her unborn!

this is the bottomside of her nest...

there are even a few little clumps of max's doggy fur

helping to make it warm and cosy.

our nest is very warm today,

if we could think of somewhere cool to fly to

we would!

how is your nest today?

this week i'm going to show you

a few more late spring wonders

that have appeared in our yard this week...

i am in awe of nature at the moment.

naturally Carol xox

Worth a Thousand Words...

doggy grins!

mr m is home for the weekend

we're all happy!

naturally Carol xox

Bunting Swap...Shabby Gorgeous!

good afternoon...

at long last

i'm going to show you the delightfully gorgeous

bunting pieces i got from rach at 'squiggley rainbow'

for the bunting swap.

thanks so much rach..i love them!

i do realise this is everybody else's

'old news'

but they're too sweet to not show you..late or not!

i still haven't decided where they're going to hang

but i went out to lincraft this morning

to get a couple of possible contenders

for the 'stringing up part'...

...large navy ric rac?

or...

...white rope?

what do you think?

i have thought about adding a few extras too,

maybe some selvedge inspired flags?

anyway i'm in no hurry...

i think they'll be hung up after xmas sometime

when i get back from taiwan.

what have you been up to today?

have a good one....

naturally Carol xox

Three Boxes...

of quilts!

hi,

i've had a bloggy break forced upon me in the last week and a bit

by my computer.

it decided to go slow..

then slower

until on tuesday morning,

just when three big boxes arrived

that i desperately wanted to tell you about;

it wouldn't even switch on.

nothing

nought

zero

no fan

just the sound of silence!

then last night

it switched on

but the internet kept returning to the home page!

this morning

mr t did his thing

and got it working for me again...

{he said one of the reasons for a 'go slow'

was that mr m had recorded a whole nights worth of moto gp..motorbike racing

at philip island!...40 gb worth!}

here are the boxes that arrived last tuesday...

i stacked them up in the front room to photograph

&

poor kara freaked out...

at first she wouldn't go past them

then with some encouragement

she raced past them and leapt on my lap...eeek!

she's not a small dog!

after the photoshoot

i took one box off and she was fine..haha

what was in the boxes?

quilts for queensland

from the delightful corrie...'retromummy'

from sydney

who has been working all year

...since the january floods...

to coordinate a quilt drive

for the flood affected people of queensland.

these quilts

will actually travel back down to brisbane

in a week and a half

to be taken further to ipswich,

where there are 1700 people

still living in conditions which were flood affected!

the organisation 'habitat for humanity'

will distribute these quilts to people who

could do with cheering up

and who need them...

there are all kinds..

for babies,

boys and  girls,

teenagers

and

adults.

a big thank you

on behalf of queenslanders

for all the creative effort

that has gone into making these special quilts

by people all around australia!

i know they will be admired and treasured...

and used.

all being well

with the computer,

see ya later...

naturally Carol xox

ps...sorry to read that elodie is sick, corrie..i hope she is recovering fast. it is so worrying when babies are ill, especially for their parents.

On Friday, With Love...

hi!

i'm sending a bunch of friday love your way today...

just in case

you need some loving

to get you through today...

love and hugs

to all of you...

take as much as you need!

smiles are free

and laughter too

to get you through

the last day of the week.

whether your day is sunny

with joy, peace and love...

or rainy

with tears

or pain

or fear...

i just want to extend a bit of loving

and a special big hug..

to you

from me : )

today!

naturally Carol xox

Thursday's Creative Love...

hi!

it's late afternoon and i've just turned the computer on.

today has been a day of unexpected events...

but theres a whole serving of love in this thursday as well.

mr t woke up this morning with an enormously severe back pain

that occurrs sporadically and without warning...

he was suffering yesterday

but it was unbearable this morning.

this called for a trip to emergency at the local hospital

so off we went.

safely delivered there with his wife to take care of him

i was able to respond to an invitation for lunch at chatz

which was a lot of fun...

lots of chatting and laughter.

when i got home mr t needed a 'script filled

so off we went again.

mr m also needed a little of his mum's support today...

but isn't that all in a day's duty for a mum?

it's all good now.

i thought we needed an double portion of love

in the family today...

so two hearts are better than one!

despite all of this,

this morning there was a couple of hours of time

for creativity...



i've never tried a 'disappearing nine patch' before..

but had a bit of a go with

a 'hullabaloo' charm pack by urban chiks at moda

and a few kona solid squares as well.

i don't know what else i'll add

but for the moment

these will do...

for more creative spaces...

join kootoyoo here!

there is still more to look forward to...

i think thursday is my favourite tv night at the moment.

7two has 'two thousand acres of sky'

which i'm revisiting 'cos i enjoyed the mini series so much

first time around...

and 'distant shores' which is another 'tree change' type adventure.

i'm really enjoying this too.

i'm off to jog around the blogs

so i may see you somewhere near!

stay happy this thursday...

naturally Carol xox

Big Wednesday Love!

hi!

what's wednesday's big love?

i'm thinking nautical...

blue skies shining on me

blue skies do i see...

blue oceans..i'm yearning.

{a set of five fifties inspired postcards came in the mail this morning...

i'm lovin' them too..lots of blue skies on this one!}

definitely a bit of summer love going on here this wednesday!

are you embracing the nautical this summer?

do you boat, fish, swim or just love that sparkling sea from the safety and comfort of the sand?

it's all good.

have a great sparkling sunshiney wednesday...

naturally Carol xox

wishing this post was written on a beach somewhere!

What's Not to Love on a Tuesday?

hi!

this week i am right into sewing a few little selvedge inspired hearts,

so i'm doing a bit of loving this week as well...



tuesday love looks like this....

...there are always double point cappucinos at gj's and new movie releases at blockbuster!

{just in case i'm short on other stuff to do}

...better late than never this morning, prayer started at the same time as i got out of bed this morning,

but got there at 7.30 and still had a great time

...8.00 am cappucino with friends at chatz cafe woke me up properly

...another cuppa, bacon, eggs and tomato at chatz for brekky with a chapter of the book

i'm currently reading at around 10.00 am

...get home and change and go out with a broom to work up a sweat sweeping away the floral carpet

that the jacarandas have left on my front paths and driveway

{they turn into slime if the rain comes}

...peace & quiet for a couple of hours now, so i can blog etc while the rest have gone shopping, yay!

...tuesday night bible college, loving it, only 2 more weeks to go though and then have finished my

two year course

i wonder which horse 'll win the melbourne cup today...must watch

are you in melbourne cup mode today?

hope you win the sweepstakes...

naturally Carol xox

I'm Loving Monday 'Cos....

hi!

....the new blade on my rotary cutter is gliding through the fabric as though it were butter

...i'm hearing the hum of my sewing machine again

...i'm looking at the bountiful boughs of jacaranda blooms outside the window

...twentysomething mr p did the vacuuming voluntarily this morning with not even

a whisper from me!

...the breeze is cool and the smell of rain is fresh and invigorating

...the dogs are settled, the humans too, it's a peaceful monday.

some days it just feels good to be alive!

naturally Carol xox

p.s...my thoughts go out to our aussie soldiers and their families today....

The Early Bird!

good morning!

this morning

i'm grateful that

'kara' woke me up with her barking...

{people were parking in her street}

so i had to get up early

&

they are having their spring fair

at the church across the road...

so i had to get dressed and go

to the fair

early...

and as they say

'the early bird catches the worm'!

well today

i was that early bird....

here are my worms..hehe!

4 x 'johnson of australia' pale green luncheon plates @ 50c ea

{they only wanted $1 for the 4, but that was too cheap}

2 x lemons @ 20c ea

1 x brand new, in the packet still, ham bag @ 50c

4 x butterfly cakes for morning tea  @ $1.50

1 x sausage from the sausage sizzle (brekky) @ $2.00

{eaten already!}

then i remembered that lincraft has a 30% off sale for three days

beginning today.

well this early bird scored again...

more worms...

2 reels of thread 250m..a good brand

2 blades for my rotary cutter

1 new rotary cutting board

&

paid the princely sum of $22.00

for the lot

{30% off + a $10 discount voucher i had waiting for such an occasion!}

and i was home before 10.00 am

hows that?

hoping you find great bargains yourself this weekend...

&

check out 'maxabella's' place for more grateful ppls!

naturally Carol xox

Where Do You Get It?

hello, this showery friday evening!

it's lovely to be warm and cosy,

huddled over my computer,

tucked away

in a quiet corner

of my old queensland house.

these were some of the first cushions i ever made.

they were made from a pack of charm squares

'fandango' by kate spain for moda.

a few of you commented and asked me

where i get my fabrics from,

as you have said you like them.

{thanks for the compliment!}

mostly,

i buy from 'hawthorne threads'....

http://www.hawthornethreads.com/

&

my second choice is

the fat quarter shop....

http://www.fatquartershop.com/

i buy from these shops online

'cos the price is right

and

they have great fabrics...

a myriad of choices

and

if you buy 5 yards at a time

the postage is $12.50...american dollars...

which only adds on a couple of dollars a yard to each fabric.

not all online shops post overseas

but these two do...

and their service is excellent.

when i first bought fabric online

there was a company that i first bought from

whose prices were very low...

but

every now and then

they would short cut the fabric

and

send me pieces that were

several inches short of a yard!

{even after drawing their attention to this fact

they didn't admit to doing it either!}

i hope you have time to spend a few hours this weekend

just browsing and dreaming....

have a great weekend!

naturally Carol xox



Cherry Cherry!

hi to you, this cool queensland afternoon...

with stormy clouds hovering and the ground wet still from the night rain!

after making jeni's little drawstring bag last week,

i really wanted to make another one

'cos they're just so cute,

easy to make

&

useful.

i have made a layered frilly apron out of this fabric

and found some leftovers

so thought a bag would be just the thing...

this time i made the drawstrings out of fabric

as per the pattern

&

thought a lining of red and white polka dots

would look the bees knees...

thanks jeni!

the link above will take you to jeni's lined drawstring bag tutorial...

&

while you're there check out her other makes,

she is phenomenal.

i'm joining up with 'ourcreativespaces' today too...

thanks kootoyoo.

see you 'round...like a red rubber ball..hehe!

naturally Carol xox

p.s...did you know that the 2012 colour of the year is about this colour?