Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Two Lovely Visits

Greetings dear friends & readers
Last week a customer asked me the name of my flowering cherry blossom tree ??
Ummm...  "Prunus something something" I informed her
I am sure she rose up a good few inches in height before telling me it was in fact, Prunus Shimidsu Sakura
So there you go  .  .  .  I had the "s" right anyway !!!

This past week I have had two lovely visits . .  .
the first lovely visitor was my fellow blogging friend Wendy from Charlottes Web who came from the city to see me.
We had the loveliest time sharing muffins, tea & chatter & Wendy very generously gifted me this enticing package of goodies below

I have been drooling over the Daphnes Diary magazines when I get a few spare minutes in my day.
Thank You SO much dear Wendy - I always really enjoy our catchups.

The 2nd lovely visit was my weekly trip out to see my wee grandson Alec, who is growing like a little mushroom

I love this photo above where he looks as though he is crawling now, & reading books (which he is not) ... super intelligent that grandson of mine (*wink*) !!!!

I have managed a couple more completions ... I had sold completely out of my dainty lavender bags after the last group, so I put some more together over the weekend

The house smelt delicious & I notice I slept a little better that night     :-)

When my friend Gail delivered her "rubbish for dumping" in my last post, I saw she had some cut out christmas stocking shapes in a bag that she said I could "do something with if I wanted, otherwise to toss them"

Although she had cut the front shapes out, I had to back them, line them & embellish them.  I managed to do this entirely from my stash of fabrics, doileys & trims, which was great.

They are a good generous size, big enough to get gifts into comfortably, but not so big it will involve a small mortgage to fill them.
The Mr pointed out to me they were not in christmas colours ... although I personally love traditional reds & greens, I remember from my years in the Gift Shop, not everyone wants these traditional colours nowadays.

I pulled an orphan stitchery out of my work basket & completed it in an evening.  It is an old Country friends design called Garden Sampler which I stitched onto Sandcastle fabric.

I have made this pattern up before into a Needlecase & always love it.  
I lined the inside with some flannel fabric that I had already.

I had to laugh at my photo below . . .
I had taken the needlecase outside to photograph on my outdoor table as the light was better ... yes thats a little paw appearing in the top left pic
The Jersey bulls were in the house paddock roaring their lungs out, & someone was a teeny bit frightened . . . look at that anxious little face.  Bless him, Staying safe by Mum.

A few posts back - when I was ferreting around under my house looking for firewood - I came across an old preserving pan & dragged it out, along with the watering cans which I painted & planted.
For some reason, when I looked at the pan, I visualised it filled with white petunias.
 I have no idea why I thought this .  .  .  but that is what I did do & now it is flowering away merrily, the picture in my mind has come to fruition
Every time I walk out my kitchen door & look at that funny derelict old pan, it makes me feel cheery.


Rusty old trikes planted with snapdragons for spring are also cheerful.

Well friends, today the house smells delicious as I am dehydrating some homegrown oranges  .  .  .
 .  .  .  my stocks of citrus potpourri are low again so I am making up a fresh batch

& as I work away in the house  .  .  .  one good guess what the other two are doing .  .  . ???
Yep - on the table still !!!
Please note ... new fleece blanket in the basket !!! We are training Mum real good !!!

Thanks so very much for your visit today dear friends,
May the rest of the week bring you things that make you happy & cheery
with much love & friendship,
Julie, Blackie & Pippi
x0x0x0

25 comments:

  1. Hi Julie,wow what lovely gifts you have recieved from Wendy and wow i so love those xmas stockings,i am one who doesnt like the traditional colours and i love the ones you have made,oh i can just imagine how lovely your home is smelling and that big beautiful tree,what a lovely spot to sit,thankyou for sharing Julie xx

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  2. oooooO!! Lots to see,,,Lots to read.....! :).
    Love the photo up top, looks like the garden
    of Eden..The Tree, the bench, and 'no' snake!
    Looks lovely!

    And....Pussy~cat Alex...He looks great, my! my!
    Looks very alert, though they don't miss anything
    at that age! Bless him! Is he pulling pussy~cats
    tails yet...HeHe!

    And Blackie...Learning his alphabet...Bless!x
    Think he's got it 'taped'. :>).
    And finally the basket...Ah! What friendship!
    I think any pussy~cat asleep is the most
    wonderful thing ever...Love it!
    Well..Must get on...Just gone seven over here,
    farmer friend of mine has just delivered 4 brace
    of pheasants. best get on and do them. Did 4 brace
    yesterday...Keep some myself, others go to other
    good homes...! For consumption of course!

    Oh! the Christmas stockings...Reminded me, when l
    was a boy, l used to get one full of prezzies, apples,
    and oranges! HeHe! As l got older, l then wished for
    a stocking with a 'leg' in it...HeHe! But! That's another
    story! Bless!x =(^..^)=

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  3. oh wow you grow your own oranges!!!! I am envious - I bet your house smells fabulous while they are in the dehydrator - I still didn't get round to getting one of those as we don't have the space here and hubby felt we would not use it enough to justify but it is on my list of things to make room for when we move house (we are planning a move in about 2 years from now)... petunias in the pan look delightful. Betty x

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  4. I have a flowering so and so too! I see the furry bosses have everything under control as usual..........good for them! Alec is a honey isn't he and I bet his granny thinks he's the bees knees! Gotta meet up with Wendy one of these days, glad you had a nice time together, two crafty women together attempting to set the world right. More yummy makes, cute needlecase and your supervisor approves. The Petunia's look perfect! I should plant some in the tray of my rusty old bike too!

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  5. Love your flowering something tree...very pretty!!! Love what you have done with the chrstmas stockings...I bet the lavender bags smell wonderful, no surprise you slept well that night!! Had to giggle at the cats sleeping in the basket..they have their Mum well trained don't they!!

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  6. The Cherry Blossom tree is so beautiful. The house I grew up in had one growing on the front lawn, and its branches would gently tap at my bedroom window in the breeze. It stopped flowering for two years in a row, and the evil local council came and chopped it down.

    What a gorgeous package from Charlotte's Web. My mother has subscribed to Daphne's Diary, and it's crammed full of ideas. I love it :)

    Alex is completely adorable, and what a clever little boy ;)

    I love the stockings with doilies on them, this seems more traditional to me than reds and greens ♥

    Those home-grown oranges, wow! I can't wait to see your dried pot-pourri.

    Blackie and Pippi look so happy there, in that basket. I wish my girls would cuddle together, but Cobweb lashes out at Nala whenever she gets too close.

    Enjoy the rest of your week ♥

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comment Yvonne. That cherry tree is beautiful but it has lost its flowers now that we have our strong winds back again. Daphnes Diary is such a great magazine - there is so much in it to absorb. To be honest, I am not too sure that Blackie loves Pippy getting in the basket as much as he tolerates her. She just climbs in & plonks herself on his head sometimes, little madam that she is. Have a great week too Yvonne x x x

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  7. Ah Julie what can I say? That grandson of yours is just too gorgeous for words. He has such a cheeky grin! Just adorable!
    Hugs Sue from Cyprus xx

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    1. Hello Sue, yes he is pretty gorgeous isnt he?? I just adore visiting with him & look forward to when he is a little older & recognises me when I go there. He has a lovely little personality developing. Thanks Sue x x x

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  8. Your Prunus Something Something has started my day with a laugh....I am on the train and laughed out load and everyone just looked at me a little weird - thanks for the morning cheer. Gee you have a great eye for making and creating beauty.

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    1. Oh your comment did make ME laugh Phil as I could just picture it. I was going to tell the customer that the tree was Prunus Satsuma something .... but then I remembered that I think that is an orange or a tangerine ??!!!

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  9. All so beautiful and with some giggles. Alex, you are adorable. Hugs

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  10. Gorgeous tree, whatever it's botanical name!! Oh your sweet Alex is growing so quickly, he is so very sweet. Of course he is intelligent; he takes after his clever grandmother. More pretty makes. A home filled with the fragrance of lavender is always wonderful. Those stockings are oozing with prettiness. I love your blooming petunias and those plant-filled trikes are fun. Aren't you a lucky gal receiving all those pretties from Wendy. How lovely it would be to share a cuppa with you in that 'kitchen-filled-with-charm' of yours. I see Pippi and Blackie haven't moved at all. I am convinced they are the luckiest cats in the whole, wide world. =)

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  11. Lovely to see your spring time in full bloom but... hard as I try I can't imagine Christmas in the summer! Alec looks adorable. Hope you get time to enjoy that bench. xx

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    1. Hello E,E, No I agree, its hard to imagine Christmas in mid summer. We tend to have alot of barbeques here now. Would love - just once - to experience a white christmas .... who knows, one day perhaps. x x x

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  12. Your posts are always so interesting and full, Julie... although I must admit to drooling once I got to the photo of Alec and the rest of the post went by in a blur. I did re-read though - I think your petunias look fantastic in the basin - very inspired :-) and all your other bits and pieces - a very non descript name for fabulous makes - are gorgeous. And I've had a great back read on the posts I'd missed too - wow!!

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  13. Hello Julie
    I have just been forwarded the link to your blog from Willie Wine. I popped in to have a peek while sipping a cup of tea before leaving for work. I am so glad I did ...fascinating posts and I was so enthralled with all your makes and how you recycled a variety of things.
    Ah! Grandchildren aren't they just something!! The photo of your grandson is of course gorgeous!!!
    I'm a follower now and plan to pop back in again later today and enjoy another read.

    Greetings from Spain :-)

    Amanda

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  14. Alex is gorgeous, in fact it is quite possible that he is the most gorgeous baby ever!!

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  15. Oh my!!! I remember having one of those bikes when I was a kid!!! Brings
    back some fun memories seeing those. Have those two helpers moved since
    the last post you did? lol
    Cheers, Anita.

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  16. Oh dear, I have missed 2 of your blog posts. I have got a new surface but all of my blogs have gone due to my resetting the other one which has now gone to dear hubby. So I have had to try and remember it all. But the ones on RSS feed like yours I still can't get. Argh....working on it....
    Love those kitties of yours! The bikes look great all planted up and your grandson is gorgeous!

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  17. So much to love in this post Julie, the needlecase, the petunias (mine is flowering too!), such a cute little Alec, and your pussies are so cute too! Thanks for having me to visit, such a nice way to spend a morning, hugs Wendy xx

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