Mopping Up...

 

hello...

and thank you for your kind & supportive comments

on our fire event last sunday.

 

 

the shaking has ceased

my equilibrium has returned.

after some thought

my husband seems to think that

due to the temperature readings the firies took...

that the self cleaning mode

has somehow clicked in by itself.

 

apparently this self cleaning mode

brings the plates on the insides of the oven

up to 800 degrees celsius

where they burn off any food or oil in the oven

and then when the oven is cool

you just sweep up the ashes.

 

i think

that because there had been a more substantial spill

on the floor of the oven,

that it caused flames to ignite with that extreme temperature.

 

well there is nothing but a little ash now

on the bottom of the oven.

we still need to have an electrician out to have a look

and maybe an insurance assessor.

 

 

 

 

....but the dogs have had a few delicious dinners

off the leg of lamb now...

and today kara finished off the last bone...

she's lying down

with a very rounded tummy

here now...hehe!

 

 now back to knitting,

preparing bible studies,

organising myself for mainly music

&

other normal weekly events...

 

 

i hope your week is rolling along smoothly!

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 





Bright 'n Early...

 

a cheery good morning to all this friday!

 

i am up bright and early this morning,

i'm mr t's back up alarm clock.

this is his uni day

&

he has to be up before six as it is about an hour's drive away.

 

 

already the sun is shining and sparkling

through the net curtains next to me...

 

 

 

the town is just waking up....

 

 

 

 

kara has been out sniffing around, morning business you know...the doggy kind...

 

 

 

so why am i taking photos

this early?

 

i want to show you the window covering i made yesterday morning

to keep the morning sun out of ms s's computer area in the front room...

before the sun gets to it and it just becomes a dark blob with bright edges...hehe!

 

 

i bought this fabric on sale last year...a yard of each for about five dollars a piece

&

a simple rod, about five as well...plus ends, another two dollars fifty,

so all in all a window covering for under twenty dollars...

i think that's pretty good.

 

yep...we're keeping it real here this morning...

no styling, just candid camera.

i'm inordinately pleased with my efforts

 'cos it beats the old blue sheet that's been hanging here for a while!



 

now i'm off to make that orange juice i need

to make my insides zing

before i have a little look around to see what you guys have been up to...

 

enjoy your weekends...

wishing you sunshine and butterflies,

roses and cuddles!

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

 

 



The Thing About Blogging Is..

i was thinking this morning..in the wee hours of around 4 a.m...

that one of the greatest things about blogging is

that to the drama queens among us...it's a stage,

to the writers among us...it's a fresh new page

&

to the artists among us..it's a blank wall

in our own private exhibition!

the thing that some don't realise

is that it's also an insight to our heart,

here we wear it on our sleeve in every post,

even when we try and cover it up.

a tribute to another beautiful sunny morning...kara on her bed in the sunshine.

the bible says to 'guard your heart...

because out of it flow the issues of life',

passion or poison

gratitude or greed

forgiveness or revenge...

i must say that i love most of what i read

and appreciate the kind and generous hearted people i've met here.

i love the way you open up your hearts regularly

&

let your love flow out into cyberspace

to be balm to the lonely and needy

...and me...thank you!

don't you just love fresh clean sheets?

when i changed the linen yesterday

i took this photo of the pillowcase i made a couple of months back.

i've made quite a few for my linen cupboard lately

&

some for others as well.

this fabric didn't really appeal to me when i first made it up

so i couldn't give it away...

but it's grown on me

and is a part of my

shake-off-those-winter-webs-'cos-spring-is-'round-the-corner campaign

happening at my house this week.

lots o' love

naturally Carol xox



Worth a Thousand Words...

doggy grins!

mr m is home for the weekend

we're all happy!

naturally Carol xox

Just Grateful!

good afternoon...

here's the other bit of the dog

whose tail was on the couch yesterday....

this is mr max

for those that haven't met him yet.

he is normally placid

but if he's hungry

the other dog's had better watch out...

he reacts a bit like all the males i know when they're hungry..hehe!

he is quite possessive as well

which i think normally gets called loyal in dog circles.

he is now peacefully lying at my feet as i type...

ellie and kara are off doing other things.

today i am grateful for...

the company of my little pack of dogs,

'cos when the others are involved in their own stuff

these three are always by my side

no matter what.

today

the grateful links are up at

lioness lady

see you soon...

naturally Carol xox

I Want to Play Too!



good morning!

i was taking the washing down the stairs

and spotted kara just above me...

hanging out mr p's bedroom window.

'i want to play too!' she said.

{she really does think she's talking sometimes,

whenever she wants something

she comes and sits in front of me

and makes noises and moves her mouth

just like she's talking..hehe}

miss b...kara sends her love!

hope you're having a wonderful thursday

and get an opportunity to play today...

naturally Carol xox

Spot!

good afternoon!

no

the weather hasn't improved...

but,

just like my gorgeous friend kim commented...

after

a moment of introspection

it's a good idea

to think some good positives

&

get on with it!

so after getting out of the house today

&

enjoying a delicious kebab for lunch
with mr t for company...

 i came home
&

 decided on a little project just for fun

&

made "spot"!

'spot'

was made from cath kidston's book 'sew!'

{he is otherwise known as the stanley toy}

but

i always wanted a dog called 'spot'..hehe!

i think i was meant to attach the ears after the body was sewn up..

but i didn't

so his ears stood up on end!

so

i had to put a few stitches behind his ears

to make them flat...

he's the only one in the family whose had plastic surgery.

here he is again...

just hanging around the kitchen,

like most dogs.

just pop over to 'kootoyoo'

for other crafty fun!

i hope your thursday turns into fun...

naturally Carol xox

All About Cats & Dogs!

or should i say...dogs & cats

'cos firstly

it's max's birthday!

happy 2nd birthday max puppy!

my friend elizabeth's dog had 6 puppies

2 white ones and 4 black ones.

i didn't want any of them

'cos i already had a little black dog..ellie.

then one night when her puppies were nearly six weeks old,

i had a dream one night.

i dreamed that one little white puppy was mine to look after.

i went over to elizabeth's house and looked at her puppies again.

i wanted max's sister, i thought she was cute

and i had heard females were better at housetraining etc.

but

that very day, max's little sister got sick.

elizabeth took her to the vet.

there was nothing the vet could do...

and very sadly, she died.

max was the only white puppy left.

as you can see from this photo...

he's not photogenic!!! lol

but he's a loyal dog with a beautiful heart...

he's playful and patient,

forgiving and friendly.

he loves his food a bit too much

and the only thing that gets to him

is hunger...

watch out if he's really hungry

he'll snap at ellie and defend every mouthful!

just like all the other men around here...

watch out if they've got hungry bellies!

they growl!

i love max to bits

and have enjoyed him every day since getting him...

despite his messes

and fur and slobber!

my beautiful 2 year old!

the cats will have to wait 'til tomorrow..hehe..

i didn't think i was going to rave quite so much about the dog...lol

naturally Carol xox

Walking Dogs in the Rain!

good morning!

today

i'm a little late for 'grateful saturday'...

so it's 'grateful sunday' around here!

my brother's been staying here

and

yesterday

i'm grateful that he took two dogs on a long walk...

it was funny really...

he was standing in the dining room

rattling a  choker chain on the side board...

and

he didn't realise he was literally inviting them to take a walk

and they were nearly bursting with excitement,

whining and yapping and leaping around...haha!

he consented to walk them

so after a few minutes of trying in vain to keep them still

in order to put their leads on,

they were off out the door...

into the rain!

here they are again

arriving home after taking them downtown.

time to take their leashes off ...

a pair of wet and tired puppies,

ellie on the left

and max on the right,

wild eyed with his tongue hanging out!

not the best doggy portrait they've ever been seen in...

and that wet dog smell!

i'm grateful for a brother

who will take his sister's dogs for a long walk..

exhausting them thoroughly!

a late entry into 'maxabella's grateful saturday'...

enjoy your sunday!

naturally Carol xox

Beach Dreamin'...

good morning to you...
i'm linking up with quiltstory today!

and

i am seriously goin' to have to go beach trippin'!

since

nancy @ a gardner's cottage sent me these georgeous aqua fabrics...

i've been beach dreamin'

or

walking in my imagination through cool rainforests

or

day dreaming under trees of falling leaves!

the fabric used in these is quite fine

so "starfish" is lined with cream cotton

and "waves" has a layer of fleece and then a backing of cotton

then has wavey stitching to hold the layers together...

random waves

if you look closely you will see

a large machine stitched starfish on the front of "starfish"...

buttons on the back...

these two will be joining the others

and given to flood affected people here in queensland...

currently made & collected...

43 hand made cushions

hip hip hooray!

thank you everyone!!

now kara just wants to say hello...

so..a big 'hi' from kara...

enjoy a terrrific tuesday,

i'm just going to make sense of a few more statistics..

i should finish collating one of the surveys today...

one more to go!

naturally Carol xox

The Grey Room...Painted!

how are you all?

this afternoon the sky outside looks

as grey as the room

we've mr w and mr m have been painting!

remember the room

before?...

all scraped back!

mr w applying the undercoat...

we wanted to keep the grey as light as possible,

no existing colour bleeding through.

on with the grey...complex grey..half strength

{by berger}

complex grey is a grey which like its name states..

has many colours in it,

not just a whitened black!

two coats later...

mr w has moved in

and finally this morning

i took these pictures...

and he brought up his favourite bed lamp upstairs

for the occasion

{and made the bed for me!}

it is slowly being organised...

but then again rome wasn't built in a day.

kara loves the bedroom too!

by half past eight every night she's snoozing in it...

here..

she is wondering why

we wouldn't let her off the bed...

{'cos we wanted to take her picture}

she was happily sitting there...

and before we could take her pic

she leapt off onto the floor.

 she was ordered back on the bed

but it just confused her!

she is eager to please though...he!he!

well i won't win 'the decorator of the month' award

with these pics

but what do you expect

from a boys' room in occupation...

i should have taken photos when it was first set up!

but...

i didn't even think about it then.

i hope you're having a grey't day...

well, sunnier actually!

naturally Carol xox

ps...i have sewn another apron..but will show you on monday...hopefully!...think meadowsweet!!

Patches

hi there!

i've spent the last few hours

sewing up those curtains...

i'll show you tomorrow,

'cos today

i've got a true story of heroism for you...

mr m is not such a 'bad santa'

{see yesterday!}

but to a little dog like this one

and his family...

he's a hero!

on sunday morning

mr w had to move his ute out of the driveway

so mr p could get his out to go to church.

when mr w parked on the side of the road...

a little white and tan jack russell terrier

was hobbling up the hill and parked himself under the ute.

about 10 minutes later

mr w was taking the ute out

so the dog moved from under the ute to under my car

which was sitting under a big jacaranda tree.

it was mr m {formerly known as 'bad santa'}

who said, mum, i'll put him in the front yard...

{to be safe, 'cos we live on a very busy road}

and you ring the rspca.

{i tell you, there's a compassionate, dog-lovin' heart in the guy!}

the rspca said 'can you bring him in?'

i said 'in a while, not immediately',

'o.k.' they said...

about an hour later...

the rspca called us

and said there was a man that had rung..

looking for a dog like we had described.

happy ending...

the man came around.

the dog wagged his little tired tail in recognition...

the man was overjoyed.

the little dog's name was 'patches'...

he'd run from miles away

when the fireworks began on new year's eve...

and had walked alone for two days,

with no food {the man said he'd lost a lot of weight}...

and a little sore leg.

{he had no collar on him

'cos his master had given him a bath earlier that day.}

the man used to live in a street nearby

a few years ago.

'patches' was probably thinking

he was heading home!

we watched and waved as the man and his little terrier

got in their small red car and drove off home...

i love happy endings!

naturally Carol xox

p.s...seems that 'bad santa' outfit was just a cover up for mr m's 'super hero' garb!

pps..miss b spent a wonderful 3 days at niagra falls over new year going to fancy restaurants, watching fireworks and new year's concerts! she's lovin' canada...and mr g!

I'm Still Standing...On One Leg!

nearly two,

this week ~

i'm grateful ...

for legs

i would most of all

love elegant legs

or even cute ones!

elegant or cute they're not.

but i am grateful for them...

two weeks ago

my right knee wouldn't let me stand up.

it has slowly been improving

and i can hobble now

and i am grateful for that!

how wonderful legs are;

walking,

running,

jumping,

moving

legs.

use your legs and see the world

outside your lounge room...

and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving ~

no matter what they look like.

naturally Carol  xox

ps...come over to 'maxabella loves' {button on the right hand side} and find more grateful people...
pps...rewind party at 'life in a pink fibro ' ...see button on side..

Puppy Dog Tales...

this is a true story.

yesterday, we established that

max

can be a bit of a bully in our household

as ellie can testify...

ellie and max were both given a bone

for morning tea.

they both took their bones downstairs

and max settled with his under the outside table,

while ellie snuck hers around the corner.

max noticed where ellie was and being jealous

stole her bone from right under her nose!

ellie came right upstairs and told on him

as all sisters would.

i gave ellie another bone

and let her stay on the porch

at the top of the stairs to chew on it.

that bully!

he wanted to steal that bone too!

but i came between them both,

as a mother should,

i wagged my finger at him,

and said "max, no!"

in my deepest, growliest voice.

well, the funniest thing happened.

he went down the stairs again,

picked up ellie's first bone with his teeth

and

took it back to the place he stole it from!

it was as if to say,

"i am behaving now,

so can i have another one too!"

we had to forgive him

for his bully-boy tactics

and his greedy ways.

ellie didn't let him get away with it though.

she went down to get the first bone

and max wanted it again.

they ended up in a little dog-fight.

ellie won.

max was on his back in submission

and ellie's little paw

just rested gentlly on his chest.

then off they trotted

to their respective corners

with their own bones.

well...

everybody thinks their own pets are cute,

thanks for indulging me.

i have some blue cherry fabric

that i think i will turn into another apron.

enjoy your weekend...see ya monday,

naturally Carol xox

ps...had an order in with retromummy for some fabric, last week, before her little elodie arrived.

'cos there was a small delay she enclosed a piece of owly fabric for me too.  how good is that?

unexpected kindness....that's tops!

Introducing...

our dogs.

a couple of years ago

i was rattling around in this old house

with no other humans.

the kids had left home

and mr w. was working away.

the only other living soul

was sweet 'ellie'...

she is a spaniel rottweiler cross!

most people think she looks like a mini labrador.

she is very hard to photograph

'cos she is so black she just looks like a shadow

in most pictures...

she is loyal and quiet natured,

a content to curl up at your feet

kinda dog.

 but she does like a bit of a whinge now and then,

just to keep it real.

then...

and my friend's dog lucy had puppies.

i wasn't going to get one.

one night i dreamed

about a white puppy.

one white puppy, a little girl, died.

the little white boy puppy was left.

this was 'max'...

he's a rogue and sideswipes anything or body in his way,

he's greedy too,

and affectionate and easy going,

a good natured type o' dog.

his nose got long and his legs stayed short,

he grew long curly hair and a multitude of spots.

he always attempts to grin with his teeth showing

and looks a bit creepy...hehehehe...

he's a spaniel and border collie cross.

and this is 'kara'..

we think she may be an american staffy,

but her label at the pet shop was "cattle dog"!

she settled in here with son no.3

so strictly speaking she's only on loan...

i wish i had a picture of her smile

'cos it lights up her face

and makes big wrinkles around her mouth.

i call her our grinning assassin!

she's a love you or hate you dog...

absolutely fawns over the peeps she loves

and growls and nips the heels of those she don't.

she's part of the family all the same.

grouches are welcome here too!

just as well

'cos sometimes that's me.

do you have

grouches, bullies and whingers

at your house sometimes too?

{and kids that come back like boomerangs?

but we really don't mind....}

naturally Carol  xox

Lost Dog Finds Good Home...

Once upon a time...

(a few weeks ago)

i found this georgeous fellow

going very cheaply...

sitting in a basket,

at the home for lost dogs and other homeless sweethearts.

(st vinnies)

i paid for him and took him home,

not knowing where i would keep him

at the time.

some time went past,

until my gaze alit on an old cane chair

in desperate need of new attire.

i sewed a little cover for her seat.

she looked much better sitting there

but something was missing

to make her complete.

a few days later...

the old dog leapt sprightly to his feet

and landed neatly on the seat.

i was delighted to find him a home,

then remembered a bunch of

lovely fresh daisies

(that Miss B had discarded)

and thought they may 

find that chair comfortable too.

the dog, the chair and the daisies

all live in my sunny front room (that

used to be a porch) and cheerily

greet the visitors who come

knocking at my door.

'til tomorrow...

naturally Carol  xox