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