An Angel, A Hummingbird, & An Elephant

Greetings dear friends & readers,

A couple of days ago marked exactly One Year since Miss Pippi Longstocking came into our home & our lives

To celebrate the day, she decided to bring a mouse inside & promptly let it go.

This simple action very nearly sent me completely over the edge into insanity !!*!!
But alas dear friends  . . .   here I remain .  .  .
teetering on the brink !!!***

Pippi - who spends a large part of her day in her basket . . . supervising & over seeing the household !!!

I must admit she has bought such joy into all our lives, including dear old Blackie . . .

Since she danced her merry way into our hearts, The Mr & I have laughed so much at her endless antics.

But I must confess there are times too, when I wonder if perhaps I have fallen through some sort of parallel universe & am living someone elses life ??

One whose entire day revolves around a small, rather crazy, furry ginger being !!*??

We do love you Pippi Longstocking.

Although we live in the country, my closest little township is Kihikihi (whose name in Maori means Cicada)

We have lived near this tiny township for nearly 20 years now & witnessed shops come & go, & lots of changes.

For several months now as I pass through, I have noticed this cute little brick building getting a bit of care & attention.

This building was an originally old Butchers shop but had sat empty for many years.

It finally opened a couple of weeks ago so my dear friend Carolyn (who is up from the South Island) & I, met up for coffee & a looksy
 Oh My - what a pleasurable experience.
Nita - the Owner of The Hummingbird - chatted away to us both & allowed me to take lots of photos.

I have tried to make up some collages to give you somewhat of an idea of the beautiful interior of this quaint little shop

I love how Nita has retained the old wooden shelf block in the window that the Butcher used to display all his cuts of meat upon

The shop is stocked with a truly gorgeous eclectic mix including fresh flowers, plants, vintage wares, fresh artisan breads, homewares & giftware .... as well as fresh coffee, teas, cakes & Protein balls

The wee dog in the photo above right is Alice who has her own special bed & presides over the daily comings & goings ... she was just delightful

There are two courtyards, one is stocked with beautiful plants, grown by Nita & sold either on their own, or in the arty array of containers they are displayed in ... I loved this outdoor area with small vignettes of seating away from the crowds.

Though I forgot to take a photo, Carolyn & I sat out here - tucked away in a corner - & enjoyed coffee & hummingbird cake.
What a delightful way to spend time with such a lovely friend in beautiful & inspiring surroundings.
If you click on this link here & scroll down to page 6 you can read a lovely article in our local newspaper about The Hummingbird

And of course, some purchases came away with me .  .  .

They sell delicious artisan breads so I bought a loaf of fresh Olive & Rosemary bread for The Mr & I to enjoy

I loved the verse on this wee cushion - I plan to stuff a big wad of lavender in amongst the filling - & how could I resist this little battered suitcase ??

I am hopeful that The Hummingbird marks the beginning of good things for my little township of Kihikihi & that more little boutique style shops open up here.
It is certainly a credit to Nita & I wish her all the very best ... I know for sure I shall be popping back to visit often.

When the builders were banging & clanging endlessly for all those weeks, I would often take my Tilda books down by the pond to have a glance through, to inspire me, & try to lose myself for awhile.

In this lovely book Tilda's Studio, the elephant really appealed to me & I bookmarked the page.

When I was packing away some summer clothes recently, I came across this linen blouse - purchased many years ago in Australia, worn lots, but not for several summers now.
I decided to cut it up to make my elephant.

I was really happy with my completed linen elephant .... it is to be a gift for my grandson Alec, who turns 1 year old next month,

I am hoping Alec likes his elephant made by Granny Julie.
I was especially delighted that I didn't have to purchase anything to complete it .... everything was already in my stash, or like the shirt fabric, was preloved.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend dear readers, & that the coming week is good to you all.
Thank You So Very Much for your visits today ....hope to see you back again.
with much love & friendship,
Julie x0x0x0x

To Mums & Back Again ...................

Greetings dear friends & readers

I had a good trip to Mums although my visits are never long enough now to achieve all that I would hope to.

Mums beautiful cat - formerly Marley, now named Bubby - has been with her just over a year now.

They have a bit of a love/hate relationship to tell the truth ... but Bubby is good company for Mum.

I just adore her & could easily have sneaked to into my car when I left.

Mum turned 87 while I was there & I cooked a family dinner for all of us.

To be honest, whenever I leave Mums I usually spend the 4 hour trip home worrying & fretting over her & wishing I lived closer.

I often feel quite anxious ....   so I was lucky enough to be able to call to see my lovely friend Claire on my way home.

Claires gorgeous home has featured often in my blog & a visit with her is always such a tonic & a "pick-me-up" 

 We chatted, ate slices & drank coffee & suddenly .... well over 2 hours had gone by !!!!

I clicked away & put together a few little collages of Claires home to share with you

Her Mum crocheted her the beautiful ripple blanket above on Claires spare bed

Besides being just "one of lifes nice people" Claire is especially kind & generous & always happy to show me her new creations & share her inspiration

This is one of the things I love about visiting her as - on my drive home, instead of worrying & fretting over Mum for 4 hours, my mind spins with all sorts of creative pursuits & things I would wish to make !!!!!

In her spare room, Claire pulled out a big old vintage suitcase & begun showing me some christmas makes she had completed last holiday season

Her beautiful Easter Table .  .  .

I tried really hard to sneak this next little vignette into my car ... but alas I was not successful

Claires new vintage table in her lounge room

And lastly, Claire had just made her bed up with quilts & cushions in warmer tonings ready for the cooler months ahead .... just stunning

 I hope you enjoyed your little peek into my friends gorgeous home.

Mum informed me quite bluntly upon my arrival, she was NOT sitting waiting while I "trawled endlessly around the Op Shops" this visit !!!

Who ?????   Moir ?????

But while Mum was having her hair done on her birthday, I managed to have a quick squizzy around 3 of them.

These little treasures below were rather quickly hidden in the car 

We went to the Garden Centre to buy vege plants so I could plant Mums raised garden up for winter.
While there she secretly bought me this cute little planter as a "thank you" for all my work .  .  .

Since my arrival home I have planted the pots with Mint & Parsley.

I am most happy to report that as I type this .... the Plasterer is currently beginning our lounge room plastering
Oh yes ...... at long, long, looonnnng last !!!!!!!

I was also happy to see that Madam Pippi was checking he did bring all the correct tools he might need in his wagon !!!!

However, there are two things I am not quite so happy to report upon my return home .  .  .

(1) The cat baskets on the table appear to have multiplied & now the little sods have one each !!!!!!!!

(2) The Mr appears to have broken his leg the very day I returned home !!!!

Knocked over by a cow who then stood on him no less !!!
Right in the middle of autumn calving !!!!
Oh the absolute joys of it all !!!!
I shall get around to visiting you all at your blogs as soon as I manage to stop grinding my teeth !!!

Have a wonderful weekend dear readers ... thanks so very much for your visits today
with much love & friendship,
Julie & the (spoilt) furry ones
x0x0x0x