Free Sunshine!

good morning sunshine!

{that's you!}

yesterday 'lovestitch'

bestowed upon me a

sunshine award...thankyou!

{by the way..'lovestitch' has a fabulous crochet blog..

she is extremely talented}

i have decided to break the rules

'cos i want you to take this award

if you feel you have a sunshiney blog!

just comment below that you are taking it if you feel you want it..

and the first 10 people to take it and comment can have it.

if you don't want to take the award

feel free to comment anyway.

i have decided to pass it on this way

'cos quite a few don't like awards

and quite a few get all the awards

and some people who should have one never get one

and

i often forget people who i should award

'cos they deserve it.

so be honest.

if you want it

and feel that your blog is somewhat sunshiney

and inspirational

take it..it's free to the first ten who want it!

a few things i love...

warm sunshine

georgeous flowers

gentle rain

smiles

dogs

my family & friends

God

very frothy cappuccinos

banana bread

kind strangers

i mean it ..be bold and take it...you deserve it!

take your own destiny into your hands this friday...

and have a fabulous weekend too.

naturally Carol xox

ps...you know..in life there is no room for false modesty...when something is offered, and many things are offered freely in this life..don't stand back..but grab them with both hands and make them your own..just don't forget to pass the blessings on..because it is true..freely you receive so freely give!

Almost Orla...

hi there!

it always amazes me that

you can go for days and months

with very little change in your life

then...

one day

and there it is

a significant day of change.

today is a significant day in this household.

sharrie got a visa so she can work and get medical attention in australia.

i contacted my first born's in laws to be..and arranged a date to meet them with mr w.

and there are a couple of less significant events

just making themselves known today

and yet have to work themselves out.

change upon change

life works it's changes in and around us.

 it has been time for a little bit of creativity as well..

two cushions.

i have nicknamed these

as my 'almost orla's'

'cos this fabric is a variation on

orla kiely's signature leafy vine type design.

this is the back of the 45cm cushion..

{the larger cushion}

and

this is the back of the smaller cushion

{40 cm or 16"}

i got an award too, today...

i'll tell you about it tomorrow and

pass it on.

i'm joining up with some creative friends

at 'our creative spaces'...

on this conspicuous thursday!

naturally Carol xox

p.s..these two are in my 'madeit' shop too!

Chatting About Chatz...

good morning!

the other day...sunday to be precise,

before cadel evans won the tour de france

and mixed up my blogging intentions for yesterday,

i told you i was going to show you more of my pics

i took of chatz cafe.

bright and early on tuesdays

i get along to an early morning prayer meeting

which just sets the day off right.

 this is where i was at 9.30 am

this morning

drinking the first coffee of the day

and

enjoying a vanilla slice for brekky..mmm!

table no 24

peacefully and quietly

the day begins...

table 23...

the cafe is open to everybody on weekdays

and on sundays

it's open after each service...

a peaceful place to enjoy a chat & a cuppa!

there are three cafes in town

that i like the best...

chatz has the best views

has the best magazines to browse through

with great cappucinos...

made by marie, michael and kim...

'emelia's' in town

has delicious cappucinos too..organic and fairtrade...

in little coffee cups,

made by giovanni...

and amazing italian hot chocolates

and paninis for lunch...

&

'gloria jeans'

at the shopping centre

has cappucinos with extra froth...

made by andy...

and thick slices of warm banana bread that are divine.

do you have a favourite cafe or three

in your neck of the woods?

mmm...now which one shall i go to tomorrow?

...i'm just supporting my local businesses you know..hehe!

tuesdays..any days..a good day for a visit to your favourite cafe...

naturally Carol xox

Sunshiney Yellow Happiness All The Way!

good afternoon..

i just had to pop this one in the post...

yay!

cadel evans

won

 the 'tour de france'

 2011

a winning smile...

thumbs up for the winning ride...

all that sunshiney yellow happiness

for the winner!

congratulations cadel!

&

thanks to cate @ 'keep cate busy' for

her inspiring use of the term 'sunshiney yellow'

on her blogpost yesterday...

i really do think that happiness

is always

'sunshiney yellow'!

wishing you all a 'sunshiney yellow' day of happiness today!

naturally Carol xox

Grateful for...

ownership!

hi...

let me explain myself,

{after i lock kara up for being loud and barking madly in the back yard!}

well, that's done.

so...

this morning, being sunday and all

i went to church.

i normally go to the early {8.30 am} service,

just 'cos i love being up early in the morning

and it's so pretty there.

well it's so pretty there that i've wanted to take some pics for a while,

just to show you all the beautiful country views...

a view of the dam from chatz cafe at 8.20am this morning...

the mist in the trees just above the dam...

the cafe is built on to the side of the church hall,

which is right next to the school.

this row of trees is on the side of the playing fields

next to the dam...

i just love a good row of trees

&

this is a good row of trees!

after i took the photos of the trees and the dam

i took this walking up the hill to the cafe again.

the rest of the cafe pics i'll show you tomorrow.

now you're probably wondering why i said i was grateful for 'ownership'.

when i first got to church

before the photo taking,

i thought i'd better ask permission

so i sought out pastor george

to ask him.

when i asked him

he said

'carol, you belong here..

so it's your church,

you don't have to ask!'

i said i kinda knew that

but wanted to make sure it was ok...

but you know

it's a good feeling to belong

and to be accepted

and be secure with a group of people.

have you a group of people

around that believe what you believe

and make you feel warm and secure

and looked after and comfortable...

in a place you all 'own' together

and are responsible for the well being of each other?

i really, really hope so!

i'm going to show you more of the cafe tomorrow

'cos it's where i love to have coffee

especially on tuesdays after the early morning prayer meeting

when it's even earlier than today

and the frost still sparkles like a million diamonds

on the oval outside

and the mist is still in the trees and in the distant hills.

i just want to say...

my heart goes out to the norwegian people today

 

over the tragedy of so many lives lost yesterday.

we grieve with you.

naturally Carol xox

 

i'm linking up with  'babymac's' today.

Retro Genius...

hi...

i have just spent pretty much

the last 24 hours

catching up with the world

of

'madmen'...

season 4 this time!

the world

has probably seen this

but

isn't it great

that it doesn't matter if everybody else has seen something..

it's your pleasure

if you're the one seeing something for the first time!

here are just a few images

that for me

were just so sixties...

'peggy'

...iconic '60s hat and coat

...and hairdo

'betty'

a summertime look...

love the white sunnies,

sleeveless blouse with collar

and that car.

'don'

...the venitian blinds..windows full of them

...black telephones..no mobiles

...skinny ties, white shirts and dark suits

...short back and sides haircuts

in his manhattan office.

'don'

...outside in the summertime

...check out the pram!

don, joan & roger

...little red dress

...big red hair

...plenty of iceberg lettuce

'don & megan'

...he's engaged

for how long?

i just loved watching episode after episode,

thirteen in all

one after another

getting truly immersed in the lives of these

manhatten advertising people

&

their fashions...

homes

&

offices.

i feel as though i've been visiting a different place,

on holiday for the last day!

i hope your weekend is like a mini holiday for you...

it does you a world of good

to getaway.

i loved manhatten in the sixties..

just for a visit mind you!

naturally Carol xox



Modern Retro...

good afternoon!

i'm joining up at

'our creative spaces'

with a modern retro cushion i've made today...

in my creative space.

olive, lime, burnt orange, crimson, white and pale grey...

exploding like fireworks on the pale aqua background!

white bobbles...

a black grossgrain tag with embroidered daisies...

as i learned recently

'daisy' means 'eye of the day'!



white buttons on red...

the back.

i love the geometry of this cushion

with it's explosive mix of colour

and crisp symmetrical form...

ordered and chaotic.

i'm looking forward to row upon row of handmade creative goodness

now as i go and wend my way through

everybody's creative spaces.

i've got 'madmen series 4' waiting for my undivided attention later,

fellow bloggers to enjoy now

and  i soaked in a few rays while having a cuppa with a friend earlier

on this truly terrific thursday!

i hope you're doing something truly terrific today too...

naturally Carol xox


ps...available in my 'madeit' store..button right hand side...

A Windy Wednesday...

hi!

today has been windy and cold.

{golden jacaranda leaves}

the morning tea

i was supposed to go to today

 was postponed 'til tomorrow

so today

became movie day.

{yesterday was $1 movie rental day!}

{wires, jacaranda and blue sky}

my favourite movie, out of three,

was 'sarah's key'.

a story set in france in 1942

and a modern investigative journalist

who finds out the story

behind her husbands family apartment

in paris.

{max}

if you enjoy history

and a mystery

you'll love it.

{ellie..just a black shadow}

the language alternates between spoken french and english..

subtitles appear when the french is spoken.

{the street where i live}

just a lovely, slow, cosy, winter wednesday!

{spanish moss}

i just nipped out on the front steps

with the camera

to give you a glimpse of my world today.

naturally Carol xox

A Summer Swinging Quartet!

good afternoon...

i thought i was going to have a quiet restful day yesterday

but how wrong can you be!

unexpectedly

a family came over after church

with two little babies,

one their own...

master j was nine months old

and

miss j was borrowed

and nearly a year old.

in a house full of adults

the dogs freaked out

and had to be hidden..

'cos after they freaked

the kids did too!

we fed and entertained them

with bowls of cereal..porridge for one, weetbix for the other..

then the best baby toys were brought out..

a pink whisk, a little plastic drainer basket, a scraper

&

a plastic tape measure.

it doesn't take long to forget

how tiring babies make you

when yours have all grown up...

today i'm in recovery.

kudos to all mums and grandmas out there!

i've just managed to squeeze in a bit of sewing

and complete the quartet of summery swinging cushions...

this time i've made them all the same size

so they can sit in a row and look neat.

i have made sure

that none of them are like the other set of three

i made from this fabric..

so they are still totally unique.

'rosey'

the newest one...

sitting fresh and pretty

with her white buttoned

and red contrasting back.

if you're at home with your babies today

i take my proverbial hat off to you...

i've rediscovered

that it's hard yakka!

naturally Carol xox


ps..all available in my 'madeit' store..button link top right hand side of this page!

Showing My Gratitude For...

other people's inspiring ideas!

good morning.

these were this morning's efforts so far!

i was inspired by tania
@
 http://www.myrtleandeunice.com/2011/07/pom-pombing-aka-pom-pom-bombing.html

who pom bombed her bare winter tree

in her front yard

with colourful pompoms...

superb!

a couple of months ago

i was truly inspired by dorien's home town

{ dorien@ just do}

whose knitters made

little caps and scarves for their town bridge...

wrapping up all the little posts on the bridge

so they wouldn't get cold..hehe..

dorien also makes the best bicycle skirts..
they have to be seen to be believed!

superb!

just now

i was reading lisbeth's blog
{lisbeth @ lisbethsinlilleverden}

&

she told me how she

has put a vintage typewriter on a little table

with pretty paper in it

&

all her visitors

write her pretty little notes...

which she will keep in

a pretty folder

forever!

superb!

don't you get encouraged

&

inspired

by other bloggers?

i do

&

i am grateful

for

you!

wanna be inspired by other bloggers today?

get over to 'maxabella's gratitude party!'

see you there!

naturally Carol xox

Little Leafy Wreaths!

good morning...

on this stormy winter's morning.

actually i just love moody weather

when the skies are grey and rain is pending

and the wind is starting to whip up

and even the birds stop chirping!

so dramatic.

the days i find hard to get through

are the ones that i call 'white days'...

still and foggy

silent and cold.

you know what else i hate?

finding out that the finale of the season of

'desperate housewives'

was put on tv an hour earlier..

it normally starts at 9.30 pm..which

i dutifully turned to

and found to my distress

that i

was the 'desperate housewife' who was an hour late!!!

and it was very nearly all over

&

i only caught the last ten minutes.

now i'm going to have to spend another hour i haven't put aside

and watch it knowing the ending...grrrrrrowl!

on a lighter note...

another 'england swings' got constructed yesterday,

featuring little leafy wreaths....

bobbles

&

polka dots!

&

red buttons...

is that too much??

one more to go!

have a crazy good weekend...

i hope you catch your favourite tv shows!

what tv shows can't you do without?

{in other words are you a bit desperate like me..or not as the case may be!}

naturally Carol xox

p.s..these three are available on www.madeit.com.au/NaturallyCarol

My Creative Space...

good morning!

while you're munching on your morning tea...

or maybe catching a late night snack,

just thought i'd brighten up your day

with a little more of 'england swings'...

i have no more of these two fabrics..

so their won't be any more..at least for a while,

that's the beauty of handmade...

no two are exactly the same.

but i do have a couple more to go

in this series!

last night

we got back to basics.

it seems like ages

since we had snags and steamed veges

{sausages..beef, pork and plum = snags}

{mashed pumpkin with steamed zucchini, carrots & broccoli = veges}

then i made

homemade custard

+

stewed apples

=

for dessert

i deliberately made extra apples

so i could have them with my porridge this morning..mmm!

that chased those winter blues away!

i'm linkin' up with 'kootoyoo'

at 'our creative spaces'

why don't you come along

and see what everybody's been up too?

p.s...what did you have for dinner last night?

naturally Carol xox

Caz..I Haven't Counted My Cushions!

hi there!

i'm putting together another set of 'england swings'..

i'll be busy with these for the next few days.

this one's bigger this time

&

has white bobbles!

hopefully

i'll show you more tomorrow...

until then

it's a good day

for jelly bellys!

my favorite jelly belly
is
coconut + pineapple = pinacolada
&
i love
black
{licorice}

what are your favourites?

what don't you like?
{the dark green ones
whatever they are???}

hoping you warming up this wednesday!

naturally Carol xox

p.s..dear Caz..i still can't get through to comment on your blog..that one time i think i tricked the system..it was a fluke! i haven't counted my cushions but it is an interesting thought and i think i will..just not today.