Sunday, May 12, 2019

Catching Up .............. Post # 1

Greetings dear friends & readers

I have been missing from blogland for over two weeks ... the words & the photos just go around & around in my head & I've been unable to find the time to write anything down.
So I have decided to do another series of Catch Up Posts this coming week, probably three of them 😊

Today is Mother's Day here in New Zealand ... I want to wish all the Mother's out there, be it two or four legged ones, 
A Very Wonderful Day  πŸ’—
(If you manage to stay with me til the end of this post you will see the "very kind & generous gift" that Miss Pippi presented me with this morning)


Quite sometime ago I entered a wee Giveaway over on Raewyn's blog
There were two draws, one for a book & one for some thread -  & I was lucky enough to win the book.

I had quite forgotten about it as Raewyn informed me it had to come all the way from the States - so it was such a wonderful surprise to receive it in the post last week.
Thanks so much Raewyn for the opportunity to enter your generous Giveaway.


In my last Post I wrote about the Winter Wreath Workshop my friend Sally was holding at this amazing Venue *here*.
Last weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to go with my friends Sally & Jane to visit the Venue, while Sally did some prep for her upcoming Workshop

We were lucky enough to be given a tour of the house & the gardens & I rather promptly fell in love with all of it.
Although I think I took about 50 photos, I have just shared a very few with you here
The formal dining room where Sally was to host her workshop



                                            The photo to the right is the scullery


Some of the outdoor areas

The statue is called Guardian of the Garden.  The far right photo is some old pet gravestones in the garden.
We also had a bit of a Girl's Day Out shopping but I will share my purchases with you in another Post.


Last week I stood in my kitchen & made lemon dusters.
This is a recipe from my book The Natural Home by Wendyl Nissen
I had some old cloth nappies which I had purchased from the Op Shop - these make perfect dusters.

Lemon Dusters are simply equal quantities of water & white vinegar + lemon essential Oil,
Soak the dusters in this mixture then squeeze out, roll up into lengths, then roll into a ball - they look a bit like cinnamon scrolls!
I like to put pieces of lemon peel in with them - the fragrance when you take them out of the Jar is just wonderful!
Now that we have started having winter fires, the dust is incredible & these are ideal for giving the mantel a quick wipe over.

Silver Trays that had rust or imperfections in them that wouldn't polish out
I have been painting/upcycling some more projects for the St John's Op Shop - these were done using the 
grey chalkpaint - Quarter Absolute

I really enjoyed doing this corner shelf above but .  .  .  .  

Chalkpaint Voodoo Molly Vintage - Colour Sandstone
.  .  .  .   I did Not enjoy doing the rattan tray above - it took so many coats to get a decent coverage.


Yesterday was my youngest son's birthday - I got up early & made him a chocolate cake as I was going for 
morning tea.
I stopped on my way there & bought a box of smarties to decorate it.
 I cannot believe my son is 34!   Where did those years go to I wonder??!! 


I posted on Instagram last week, how when The Mr comes in from the farm each night, he stands in front of the fire 
& takes his smelly/dirty socks off & tosses them on the mat.
Miss Pippi makes a beeline for them & then spends the rest of the evening rolling around in them & sleeping.
There's just no accounting for taste in some folk πŸ˜‰

And speaking of Her Royal Highness ... here is the Mother's Day gift she so kindly left me this morning under my gardening shoe!
Still alive & moving I might add! πŸ˜–

Thanks So Much for staying with me through this lengthy post dear friends,
I hope the coming week is good & kind to you all,
I shall be back soon with my second Catch Up Post,
With much love & friendship to you All,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0




15 comments:

  1. Amazing! Absolutely! Amazing..HeHe! Miss Pippi...
    She's a diamond! Bless! Yes! Cats do love smelly
    socks, my cats never bothered, l was born with
    'non' smelling feet..strange l know! But true! :).

    And..the house looks very nice to..especially the
    outside, love those steps leading up to it...
    though might be a bit difficult to climb, after coming
    home from the pub..! :).

    It's early over here, and on my first lemon tea, and
    on my first read of your post Julie, l thought that
    the lemon dusters were a sort of cake/tart...! :).
    That you'd finished up putting in the oven...NO! NO!
    I got it ALL wrong..HeHe! :o).
    Strangely enough l was dusting only yesterday, down
    the hall and up the stairs...
    (woman's work is never done)....

    And..of course you have Mothers Day over there to~day,
    as do the US of A...ours was on the 31st March gone..!
    So..Very many..many Happy Mothers Day to ALL the Mums
    out there..Make sure your ALL spoilt rotten..! Bless!x

    Well..must get on..time for a second lemon tea..sun was
    up and glowing at six this morning..so it's gonna be a
    nice day...Love It...!!! :o).
    Oh! Julie! Hope you don't mind but the photo at the bottom
    is going straight into my pussy~cat folder...Love It! :).
    😺 🐾🐾 😺 🐾🐾 😺 🐾🐾 😺 🐾🐾 😺 🐾🐾 😺 🐾🐾

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  2. Happy Mothers Day Julie. I got the same gift for Valentines day - delivered on my bed at 2am. what good kids they are.

    Julie and Poppy Q

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  3. I alway enjoy your posts. Today's was especially nice as my husband and I stayed at The Monastery last November on an extended visit to NZ. Your pictures brought back happy memories of the place and the lovely host. It's great to see events taking place there.

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  4. Hi Julie, oh wow what a beautiful place, put that on the bucket list of places to stay. The book looks interesting, lucky you Julie. Love your painted projects, do those dusting cloths pick up dog hair by any chance lol. Miss pippi loves you thats for sure, and the mister by the looks.πŸ˜† My hubby's birthday is the 11th, have to share mothers day next year with him, hope you had a lovely mothers day to Julie. Chris xoxoxo

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  5. Congratulations on the book win, it looks interesting. Is that the old house you were at the day I phoned you from the supermarket? Gosh is a beautiful place. Nice to see more pretty creations by you. Not so sure about the cats, strange creatures aren't they? Simon bought a bird in this morning to 'gift' to me....little sod! Our babies grow up quick don't they?

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  6. beautiful creations as always!
    ahhh Pipis' kind of catnip ROFL! my little Miss Poppet likes my old slippers, can't get enough just about dislocates my ankles with her rubbing lol
    thoroughly enjoyable read, looking forward to the next catch up
    thanx for sharing

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your lovely comment Selina. They sure are characters, our four legged friends!! They make me smile & drive me bonkers all at once sometimes!!

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  7. I am not too sure about Miss Pippi's tendency to roll around in your husband's dirty socks. The fragrance of those lemon dusting cloths sound delicious. I too have a problem with dust in Winter....it seems to be everywhere.....and cobwebs! How fabulous to win that book; page after page of fabulous projects. Love the venue you visited. So many gorgeous architectural details to be seen everywhere. Hope you enjoyed a beautiful Mother's Day, lovely Julie♥

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  8. What a good laugh I had seeing Miss Pippi sleeping on your hubby's socks and the lovely gift she brought to you for Mother's Day. I just love the antics of cats! You are such a talented lady and I love seeing all your makes and reading what you have been up to. We are in spring here in the States and today is a wonderful, low humidity, sunny day.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your lovely comment Beverly. Yes she is a real character my Miss Pippi. She brings me "gifts" like that often (unfortunately). You are so lucky - spring is my absolute favourite season of them all. Have a lovely week Beverly. xx

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  9. Hi Julie congrats on your lovely win,it looks like a lovely book,enjoy.
    Wow what a beautiful place for a workshop,such a beautiful building.
    Love seeing your before's and after's with your projects,you always do such beautiful work and so glad you had a lovely Mother's day my friend xx

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  10. What an incredibly beautiful venue! Love seeing your photos of the house and grounds.
    I have never heard of those lemon dusters before. Very clever.
    Miss Pippi's antics are quite entertaining. I am glad the gift she brought you is something no one thought to give me for Mother's Day! :)

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  11. The days just whizz on by don't they? AS soon as I think I am caught up I get behind again!! The Monastery is an amazing looking place - and what an interesting history it has. Your lemon dusters sound wonderful - I'm sure they would inspire me to dust a little more frequently! It's good to see the book at your place - it had quite the roundabout trip to get to you!! Sweet little Miss Pippi sure knows how to touch her mother's heart :-)

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  12. There is nothing like a smelly sock! Animals do make one smile, bless them. I couldn't get the front door open the other day, turned out there had been a dead squirrel on the door mat, the "present" got wedged under the door! Pam in Norway

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