Bird of Paradise

When we first moved to this property about 11 years ago, it was just a bare paddock

We have worked hard to establish a nice garden, perhaps in hind sight a little to big, but any way thats the way it went

About a year after we came I planted a Bird of Paradise It grew slowly and didnt really do anything

Last Monday it was Lorraine's birthday and guess what ?

My bird flowered on that day

I have managed to finish a couple of Christmas projects Just have to add numbers to the Advent calendar Iam going to paint them on

The bon bon was fiddly to make, but worth the effort I will fill it with sweets for a Christmas present

So Thoughtfull

Next Monday would have been my Darling daughters birthday

In the mail this week I received the most thoughtful gift from my dear friend Chris (no blog)

She remembered it would have been her birthday so sent a little gift to let us know she was thinking of us

I first met Chris in !1962 when we both started high school and we have been friends ever since

We live far apart but still manage to maintain the friendship

Thank you dear Chris

Your gift means so much

UNWELCOME VISITOR

While cleaning the cobwebs in the carport, right at my backdoor look who I found curled up in the rafters

A very unwelcome visitor so close to the house

Now I am concerned as to where are his brothers and sisters and his Mum and Dad are hiding

A couple more "Lorraine's Flowers"

And been busy in the garden

This N That

My spring garden is showing lot's of colour

I thought I had lost this clematis It was just a little brown twig' then lo and behold ' these gorgeous flowers appeared

Today it has been blowing a gale. I hope I still have some flowers left

I made a couple of cards

And finished another Charity quilt

Friday night I attented my nephews Debut ball I think these days it is called a Presentation ball A fun night

I have lots of photos and He wants me to Scrapbook it for him

It is always nice to have a special project to work on

SILLY ME

Carole at Blogspot Serenditity and Roses was my partner in Khris' FRIENDS Swap

She has received the gifts I sent her Silly me forgot to take photos of the gifts I sent and The photo she has put on her Blog show very little of what I sent

I sent F .. four fat quarters

R... A runner made with lovely Moda fabric... sewn by me

I... Items for her Cristmas table .. four place mats... sewn by me

E.... Embroidery cotton and Edible ... A block of Cadbury chocolate

N... Notebook I made with her name on it and a nailfile

D.. Decorative candle holder

S... Stationary folder .. sewn by me... complete with notelets Pad and pen and envelopes

I will make sure I take a photo next time

My Waratah is in full bloom at the moment I love the vivid red

FRIENDS SWAP GIFTS 2011

I received my lovely FRIENDS swap gifts from Carole

Love each and every gift

F..... four fat 1/8ths

R...... rose bag beautifully embriodered by Carole

I....... Inspiration plaque Faith

E....... Now I had a bit of trouble with this one Embroidery thread Buttons Ric Rac Ribbon

N...... Needle case Again cross stitched by Carole

D..... Diary Funnily enough I nearly sent Carole a diary for D but changed my mind

S...... Spoons and Strawberry wafers We will enjoy those with a cuppa

Thankyou Carole for being a great swap partner and special Thanks to Khris for all her work organizing this swap

What I did with my special birthday button

Vickie sent me the lovliest button for my birthday

Wanted to do something special with it

Over the years I have saved lots of cards given to me by my two daughters

They have just been kept in a plastic bag in the drawer

They are even more precious to me now, so I made this " envelope" to keep them in

Can You read what Lorraine wrote in the big card ,many years ago

Isn't that just so special?

Now I need some help Please!!!!

I have been unable to leave comments on some Blogs But seem to have over come that by signing in and out each time

Thanks Girls

Now I find that the pictures of all Followers have disapeared and even when I visit Blogs there are no pictures there,

so I can't follow any new Blogs Can any one help me with this

Thanks

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS FINALLY FINISHED AND ANOTHER CHARITY QUILT

Well my birthday is over now that I have received this lovely gift from Terry

It was long time in the mail and we were worried it had gone AWOL but here it is

The lovliest wool pin cushion

Thankyou Terry

And a piece of fabric that I will certainly put to good use

Have also finished another Charity quilt

A friend gave me the fabric for this one Left over from a quilt I helped her piece

Hopefully soon the quilts will be delivered to the lady who distributes them to the sick kids

My Christmas Album

I started making my little Christmas album with the beautiful things sent to me by Teresa

The button was a gift from Teresa also , some time ago.

Iam having a little trouble getting the photos in

They are not the best photo's and also very emotional as a few days later my Darling girl left us.

My daffodills have been lovely this year

Have lots in various parts of the garden

The wind today has played havoc with them

Stayed inside and did a bit of sewing

Too cold to go outside

Another one done

I finished another "Lorraine's Flowers " table runner

This one was for my Dear neice Jessica in the colours she chose

She was so happy with it

Iam making another one in greens for Lorraine's step daughter in law for her birthday next Monday

Giveaway Winner

AND THE WINNER IS.......................

Fiona of Drgon Fly Crafts

Please send me your address Fiona

My birthday celebrations continued yesterday

Hubby hates when I have a birthday Says the going out goes on for days

Yesterday my Walking Group { you know the group The one where we don't walk any more ,just go out to celebrate birthdays} took me out for afternoon tea

Once again I was very spoilt

More cards and gifts

I think the party is over now for another year

My Birthday

I had a lovely day yesterday for my birthday

Went to see my Mum and my sister visited as well

She gave me these trendy rubber boots

After years of wearing black ones on the farm she thought it would be nice for me to have some pretty ones

Cute

She also gave me a new dressing gown

Lynda and the grandchildren came over last night and brought the meal with them

I was very spoilt

My friend Teresa from All Things Vintage wanted to take me out for lunch so as distance separates us we had a cuppa at 10.oclock this morning

It was lovely

Early birthday gift

Today when I walked to get my mail I couldnt believe the beautiful gift I received from my dear friend Vickie from Vickies Crafting

Iam really sorry I dont know how to do the linky thing

Maybe one day I will learn

Any way my gift was so beautifully wrapped in some gorgeous material and the most divine button

It was almost to lovely to open

Well ALMOST

I opened it to find two lovely little hanging plaques

Thankyou Vickie

Oh I love Bloggers

Today was such a lovely day I managed to get some gardening done

An Old hobby

Just thought I would show you my prize winning vase

I did ceramics many moons ago and this was a piece I was really proud of

It won best in show at a CWA exhibition

I was very proud

More Problems

Aparently some people arent getting the feed that I have posted
Please let me know if you get this one Terry

Some lovely mail

I have had some lovely mail the last few days

A couple of days ago I recieved this lovely little bunch of goodies from Teresa over at All Things Vintage

Some scrapbooking supplies to make a little Christmas album

Teresa made one recently and I really liked it

Just have a few thing to finish then I can start mine

Then today I recieved an early birthday present from my good friend Lyn from Bluebird Quilts

Just love this very clever pincushion

Lyn is doing it tough at the moment and I can't believe she still took the time to think of me

Thankyou both

I love both my gifts

Another Charity Quilt Done

Just a quick post to show you the new Quilt I have just finished

I dont think any one is reading my Blog!!!!!!!!

Gardening

The rain seems to have stopped for the moment so I have been doing a bit of work in the garden

Hubbys nephew has a tree trimming business and the other morning we woke to a truck coming up our driveway

He dumped me a load of chips so I have been busily getting them spread

I have made another Charity Quilt featuring Harry Potter, which I will show soon and still making my versions of "Lorraine's Flowers" for loved ones

Not much else happening in my life

Please leave a comment to enter my August giveaway

Very entries to date

It would be nice to see a few more at least