Christmas round up.

Well, how did your Christmas go?

Santa and my family were very good to me.

 My DD arranged for this beautiful hamper to be delivered. Belle thought the ribbons might be fun, But they survived intact, which is more than I can say for the current state of the contents.

Yummy.

 There was quite a large pile of gifts bearing my name.

Among them were some wonderfully hand crafted items and one or two inspirational items.

 I'll need to find just the right space to put the dragonfly on the wall.

And his friend, the butterfly will go in my sewing room  think.

 I exchanged hand made ornaments with several people this year.

 Some of them make me wish I'd had a little more Christmas spirit and managed to produce more than knitted stockings. Janice sent the beautiful blue fabric ball above.

My Sil Lee made two ornaments!

 A pretty snowflake and a crochet angel.

 My penpal Maxine sent a cute wee yoyo Christmas tree.

Debbie also made two ornaments.

 A tea light snowman and a lovely letter L.

Which has given me an idea for next year.

I spent a little time yesterday browsing pintrest, looking for inspiration for next years ornament swaps. Maybe if I apply myself now........

*

Hope you all had a great Christmas.

Happy new year.

May 2016 bring nothing but good times.

It's beginning to look,

A lot like Christmas.

Even the weather feels right this year!

Overcast, cool and maybe a bit damp. Not at all like last year, very like the UK!

Anyhoo, my trees and decorations are up and gifts are wrapped and nestled below the trees.

Belle is being very good, though the latest additions have string and ribbons!

That may prove to be a little too tempting for her.

Meanwhile, she is blissfully playing with the packaging.

 Just like kids, it would seem that cats prefer the paper and boxes to the contents!

 She has hours of fun.

 Even my nails are looking seasonal. 

Today I plan to put the almond paste onto the cake and make mince pies.

Yum.

Just in case I don't get back to you before the big day....

Merry Christmas everyone.

I wish you a safe, healthy and happy time.

May 2016 be the best year yet.

xx

Slow Sunday.

So what do you do, on one of 'those' Sundays?

You know the kind, where there are four seasons in one day.

When we awoke this morning, the sun had already heated the green house to way over 30 C.

But the cloud cover soon drifted over and by mid morning it was obvious this wasn't a gardening day.
Pretty soon the sky was threateningly dark.

Rumbles of thunder could be heard.

Then the rain came, first blown from the east, then from the west. And then straight down.

First it rained, and then it poured, and then there were giant hail stones. Then it poured again.

And then the sun returned.
And so did the rain.
Then the sun.
Then the rain!

So, what does one do on those days?

Cross stitch of course.

Oh, my goodness, what a difference a wet weekend can make.

Look at the picture in the previous post for comparison. 

I even caught myself dreaming about what I might stitch next!

LOL, a bit early for that I think.

But it was nice to spend some serious time crafting.

*

I've had a think about things since my previous post and realised that the rhythm of my life has changed. A lot. 

Although I do still work shifts, they are very different from the 08.00 - 15.00 and 15,00 - 22.00 that I used to work. Waking at 04.30 am  and leaving the house at 5.00 is draining. Getting home before 14.00 sounds great, like I should have plenty of time to craft and sew, but in truth, I'm usually too tired. I can potter about and do housework, but the moment I try to slow down a little, maybe settle in my chair to sew, I fall asleep! I've tried to get into the sewing room too, but inevitably end up making a mistake. Unpicking, (sigh) is ok I suppose, but measuring and cutting errors........

I can and do go in there on days off work, but progress has slowed, to a stop!

Maybe it's that one at a timer streak I have. Perhaps once Sleepy is finished I'll get back into my wee room and finish a project in there!

Or maybe I won't!!

*It's a day off work again today.

My sewing room is not calling to me, but sleepy is.

So I shall potter about, do a few chores. Then sew for a while.

Before I potter and do some more chores.

Then sew for a while.

Bad Blogger!

Oh, my goodness, it has been such a long time since my last post.

I have done very little of anything crafty!

Tony and I spend a huge amount of our time in our garden now. The lawn has been stripped and replaced. It currently looks like moldy earth, hopefully it will continue to grow and by Christmas we will have a lawn again. 

In the green house the tomatoes, capsicum and chilli peppers are doing well. We didn't get any irrigation sorted out yet, so I'm out there morning and evening with the watering can.

 The veg gardens are amazing!

I can't keep up with the spinach and silverbeets. I've frozen loads and even given some away.

My second crop of brocolli is coming along nicely as is everything else.

I planted seeds saved from squash given to me by my father in law. They are going along great too.

 And of course I'm still discovering new plants on the property. We have done a whole year here now, but our efforts to tidy up have revealed new treasures and allowed other plants to thrive. 

Including the weeds!

*

Crafty wise, as I said I have done very little. I had planned to make some gifts, but simply don't have the energy. I did manage to get some cute ornaments made and an hour here and there to stitch on sleepy.

Progress is slow.