Saturday, October 13, 2012

A little bit about me . . .

Hello there friends & readers,
 
Today it is pouring with rain here, we have just had a 2 hour power cut & I am sure the rain is coming down sideways! !
I looked out the lounge window & this is the poor cows in the house paddock, trying to bunch up to get some shelter! !
 
And further along, past the clothes-line. . . 
 
I commented to "the Mr" that I felt so sorry for them.
"Oh" he said "shall I phone the farmer & tell him not to put the cows in the house paddock when the weathers bad as you find it distressing??" ! ! !
"Oh - could you "  I asked
I cant print what his reply was ! ! ! :-(     

I saw the fat fluffy looking thru the glass doors at me - resembling a (rather large) drowned rat . . .
I took pity on him & let him in . . . 
 
 
 
After my last couple of posts I have had a few emails with readers asking me "what is it that you actually DO at Threadbear Cottage??"
So I apologise for being rather "vague" & wanted to explain a little bit about what I do here & how I got started.
(I promise to try to give you the "short version")
 
In 2006 I fell out of a hammock down by our pond & broke my neck.
I fractured C2 - commonly known as the "hangmans fracture".
The bone took a long, long time to mend - 18 months in fact.
During that time Graham (the Mr) & my youngest son, Kane, decided to build me this rustic little cottage which was intended to be a sewing room for me.
 
 
It was through the encouragement of my creative friends that a little craft cottage "evolved" from this.
It had long been a dream of mine to have a little "shop" at our property here.
To say this was built from scraps would be an understatement.
We had a budget of $0 ! !
It was built from "scrap"
wood that was exchanged for some work the Mr had done for a man who milled timber.
The windows were out of an old shed of ours.
When I set the inside up, I used furniture from my house.
And so, . . .  Threadbear Cottage was born :-)
 
 
I should add at this point . . . 
while I had something else to think (worry) about - rather than my neck, the bone began to mend at last :-)
This was (thankfully), right at the point the specialist was going to take bone from my hip to fuse the break.
Amazing what a bit of "diversion" can do.   
And so I kind of developed the garden around the cottage as you have to cross our property to get to the cottage itself.
My garden is - & always will be - a work in progress.
It continues to grow (like Topsy) . . .
 
The tree in the background was where the hammock was hung
  
 Though I do love to share it with people.
I feel that gardens should be "shared"
Not hidden away just for you to enjoy.
 
My Paulonia tree in bloom - taken from the deck 
   I took the above photo yesterday as I never get to snap this tree in flower.
Then I finished mowing the lawns & took the next picture 1 hour later. . .
Can you believe, I have (stupidly) raked all these flowers up when I have a group coming !!?? (you dont have to comment on this!! I can HEAR you)
 
Anyway, I open the cottage for customers who are passing by but I also have groups come - buses, garden clubs, ladies groups who sometimes have their meetings in the garden & I have had the odd vintage car or classic car club going through on a "run".
They come & (sometimes) shop & often bring their lunch or morning or afternoon teas & have here.
We had some friends use it once for their wedding :-)
I love people to use the area.
Though I must admit here a little secret. . . 
we have had a few disasters ! !
Mostly weather related, & the odd naughty child :-(
I have had a few vehicles break down but by far the worst thing that happens is when . . . 
people bring naughty dogs ! ! (yep they actually do!!)
And of course you can imagine Mr Fat Fluffy when this happens. . .
 
 
Anyway, this was supposed to be a "short version"(sorry)
I have my handcrafts for sale plus I have several friends work also
I have my friends soap & skincare range that I posted about back in March.
I have my mums knitting (gollies & baby knitting)
Hello, here we all are in our babys bath :-)
 
 I have a friends jams & chutneys,
my friend Donnas felting work,
my friends home-made cards, 
 
These are old pics - taken a couple of years ago
    I have my friends Mums beautiful fine mosaic work.
The above are just a few older shots as my camera is not behaving itself at the moment.
 
The reason I began my blog (apart from the fact that I am a little "obsessed" with reading blogs), is to keep some sort of journal of the happenings here at the cottage & also some record of the things I make as I often forget to photograph them.
I was hesitant in the beginning to reveal too much as I didnt want folk to think I was kind of saying 
"look at me & all that I do"
However, it was the very kind Betty from here
that pointed out to me "it is more about sharing of things with fellow bloggers, ideas, tips etc - kind of come & join me for a chat"
rather than "look at me"  - so thankyou Betty for making me realise
& look at it this way instead.
 
I hope you have enjoyed your little "tour" of the cottage folks - thanks so much for listening to my ramblings.(I have sure jumped around a bit this post - sorry)
 
The only crafty thing I have achieved this past week is to fill these lovely little wire baskets I came across in the back of my cupboard:
 
Small, medium & large
          I thought they would look lovely with my citrus potpourri in them so filled them to the brim . . . 
 
Orange & Clove scent - delicious
 
 
And finally, a little Op Shop find last week
a lovely little powder bowl for the princely sum of $2.00
 
 
Wishing you all a lovely weekend folks - wishing you sunshine & flowers wherever you are . . . 

  
Thanks again for stopping by
Love Julie & Mr Wolf  x o x o
You are all very special to My Mum   X x x
           

5 comments:

  1. Just took ages one finger typing a post with my good hand - blogger lost it i think. Lovely 'join me for a chat' post. Your shop looks fun - I would love somewhere like it to paint and maybe invite clever people to teach crafts - then bloggers to join in - no room here - maybe a tree house. You and your friends have very pretty things on sale. The cows look like they were having a nice time people watching. I like your little powder pot Betty

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  2. Thank you for that lovely post Julie, I felt that I was there while you were talking to me.The weather has been atrocious hasn't it but I'm sure there will be some really good stuff coming soon.(no harm in hoping!)Truth be known Mr. Wolf might just like this weather, it means he will get inside.Luv Shirley

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  3. Hi Julie, always a pleasure to read your post. Your cottage displays look great. It's hard to believe how much the cottage has changed and grown over the years. The potpourri looks lovely. Bet it smells divine! I can totally sympathize about the Cows trying to find shelter from the wind & rain......

    Take Care
    Sandy.

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  4. This was lovely to read! What a fabulous cottage. Please may I have directions on how to visit?

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  5. What a beautiful story and a beautiful cottage. I would love to visit too so Leeanne sounds like a road trip one day ... but wonder where too.

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