Friday, July 17, 2020

Trip to Mum's ..................................... (Part 2)

Greetings dear friends & readers

Thank You all So Much for your very kind birthday wishes in my last post.
The day immediately after my Birthday I travelled down to Mum's - I had not been down since January due to the nationwide Lockdown.

Mount Taranaki was wearing her winter coat & it was certainly chilly down there but also fresh & crisp - different to
 the damp air we get here in the Waikato.


The 5 days at Mum's went by in the blink of an eye & was extremely busy with lots packed into it.
Two of Mum's brothers travelled over for lunch & to catch up with her.  We had Dr's appointments & Lab tests to attend. I took Mum to The Possum Factory at Stratford to buy new slippers. We had all the carpets in her house shampooed.   I cleaned out some cupboards & stocked up on groceries as well as doing several crock pot meals to freeze for her.  I got to visit No Op Shops but there was a special appointment that I had on the Saturday that I was really looking forward to.


I begun following The Joy Within on Facebook & Instagram awhile ago & just LoVe what she creates.
When I read that Joy had opened a "She Shed" on her property to sell her goods from I knew I wanted to visit. 
We had corresponded & Joy had ordered some candles from me so it worked out perfectly to deliver them & visit Joy's store.

As well as selling many upcycled items that Joy has painted & embellished, she also sells the paints, transfers & stencils to do your own repurposing.
Alongside this she runs Workshops from the classroom attached to the Store.

We spent a lovely hour chatting,  sharing ideas & drooling over all her beautiful creations.

I purchased some transfers, some tags, a pot of chalk paint & a set of Tiny Homes for myself 😊


Long time readers of my blog will know I get to visit my talented & very creative friend Claire on the odd occasion when I am down at Mum's.   (Incidently Claire & Joy are Sister-in-laws)
Claire had messaged me & said to "pop out for a quick cuppa if you have an hour free"  ... I was so looking forward 
to catching up with her again.
Little did I know she had secretly organised to hold her monthly craft group meeting while I was there ... as I know the other girls it was such a wonderful catch up again & has been 6 years since I last saw them !!

We had a divine afternoon tea (forgot to take any pics unfortunately as was so busy eating) ... & the girls even gave me gorgeous surprise birthday gifts πŸ’•


Claire had made me a bird tree & a matching bird house - she had constructed the tree herself, painted & decoupaged it & then made 6 Tilda birds to hang from the "branches".
I was So spoilt ....  & quite speechless. It was honestly the loveliest afternoon, but all too soon our visit was up & 
it was time for me to head back to Mum's.


I have often posted photos of Claires stunning home over my blogging years - I just adore it so.
I think what I love the most is how she has filled it with her vintage & handcrafted treasures & made it just so special.
I think Claire would do this even if she lived in a hay barn !!!
She just has the unique knack of putting things together that make my heart beat a little bit faster.


The quilt on the right is a recent completion .... vintage linens & Liberty squares ... Just stunning!!!
She always has new projects & quilts completed to show me & I try really, really hard ... but I can never quite manage to get them into my car without her noticing πŸ˜‰


You can click on the pics to enlarge them if you wish.

Claire has been doing a mini quilt a month, all with a different theme - Love, love them all !!!  πŸ’—
The top left one is dedicated to her brother Chris,  who was tragically killed in a car accident in February.


A corner of her kitchen bench above left


The dresser above was dark brown & Claire has recently chalk painted it. 

When I got home again I put together this little vignette with some of my gifts.
Leeanne had made the mini quilt from leftover blocks when she made me the 16 patch quilt in my last post - it fits
 just perfectly on my spindle leg table.

Whenever I go away Miss Pippi frets & hardly eats & spends most of her time tucked right down on my side of the bed.
This was one of the pics The Mr sent through to my phone.

Have a wonderful weekend dear friends !!
Thanks as always, for your visits here today - be kind to yourselves & to each other.
With much love & friendship to you all,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0



25 comments:

  1. Beautiful eye candy in this post.

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  2. ooooO! Lovely! Part two..
    The photo of your Mum with her two brothers
    looks lovely Julie, and your Mum is looking
    very well indeed..sounds as if you ALL had
    a great time..and a couple of surprises on
    your behalf sounds great! :).

    And..love ALL the gifts you received, all
    quite lovely and unique..that's what's make
    them so special..!
    AND..I do love that dresser that Claire,
    has restored, that looks a bit special does
    that..Very nice!

    Ah! Poor Miss Pippi..she sure does miss you..
    And..l expect she misses helping you with
    your sewing etc..you ought to leave her
    something to do..HeHe! Bless!x

    Best get on..just gone seven over here,
    another hot day, hot weekend forecast..
    Getting out more often, as Lockdown has
    been lift, still always wear a mask though,
    my daughter made me a couple a while back,
    pink of course..! :).

    Happy Friday..And..l think l'll be taking
    the advice of the pussy~cat at the bottom
    there..Bless! Part 3 next then...???
    πŸ’› 🌱 🌸 🌱 πŸ’œ πŸ’› 🌱 🌸 🌱 πŸ’œ πŸ’›

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  3. Happy Belated Birthday wishes to you Julie. Glad you had a nice visit with your Mum.Sounds like you were very industrious while you were there. I get told off for even picking up the vacuum cleaner at my Mother's these days so have to let myself into her house while she's out to do any cleaning! I love that your darling kitty is so devoted to you. That pic of her in your bed is so sweet. Lovely haul you brought back from your travels. My kitchen worktops never look so interesting! Have a good weekend too, Julie. Keep warm and snug.xxx

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  4. What a very busy time you had! How did you fit it all in lol. Lovely to spend time with your Mum - I do miss mine - catching up with friends and visiting the she shed. Such beautiful things to look at and gifts to bring home. xx

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  5. You certainly did fit in a lot while you were away. What a gorgeous shop and what a treat to visit. Love Claires home with all those treasures so beautifully arranged. How lovely to be in time for a stitching day and be gifted some beautiful presents xx

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  6. Hi Julie oh how exciting for you what a wonderful surprise for you and it's lovely to see that your birthday is still going,I love the gifts you have received . Also it was lovely that you got to spend time with your mum ,take care my friend xx

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  7. Oh my! So many lovelies! I love that dresser all painted white and filled with quilts and other beauties! :-) And then there's that lacey birdhouse in the pic next to the mini quilt....ahhhhh....yes, I would LOVE to visit often!!! Happy Birthday to your Mum!

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  8. I SO love your blog entries. They brighten my day! We are so tired of virus news. It is heavenly to read about and admire pretty things. Thank you Julie.....and a belated Happy Birthday from Texas!

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    1. Gosh Carol - thank You so much! Your kind comment really made my day. Yes the news has been so daunting so far this year & it can get you down. I am pleased you found some eye candy here on my blog today - I shall keep trying to post these kind of entries. xx

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  9. What a marvelous trip! Family and friends! It was a lovely change of scenery for you and you certainly helped
    your Mum with cleaning, shopping and cooking. Such a long time between visits, must be difficult sometimes.
    And there is Pippi just waiting and hoping her mum will show up soon. How lonely she must have felt. Your
    gifts are a delight to see. And your new friend with the she-shed-shop, inventive and fun.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your lovely kind comment Lynn. Yes the time was busy at Mums but I did not quite achieve all that I had hoped to. It was really lovely to spend a couple of hours catching up with my friends after so long too. Have a great weekend Lynn & Precious xx

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  10. How sweet to be able to go and do for mom. I loved my trips to Montana to help my mom. All your and your friends creations are so wonderful, such talent I am envious.

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    1. Thanks so much Kim. I too am envious of my talented clever friends & wish they lived closer to me so I could pinch their creations & their ideas !!!

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  11. I'm sorry to be late wishing you a Happy Birthday but, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sounds like it was very special! So many beautiful things. How sweet that you go help you mom. I'm sure she appreciates you very much. Your posts are always beautiful and they make me want to get baack in my sewing room and create something. :) I simply haven't been in the mood lately. Thank you!

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  12. How lovely to have had that tiem with friends to celebrate.... and get some much needed things done at your Mums.... lots of beautiful things to see. I stayed near by Mt Taranaki when I visited NZ long long ago... stunning mountain

    Hugz

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  13. Wonderful post Julie, good to see your Mum is well and that you got the necessary tests done. Wonderful surprise for your birthday and so many beautiful, just you, presents. I can imagine you smiling all afternoon!! Claire's house looks amazing, her quilts are stunning, the cabinet she painted looks amazing, she is another clever woman like you. Miss Pippi will be very happy to mhave you back home again 🐈. Your photo of the mountain is stunning. Have a great weekend.

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  14. Sounds like you had a wonderful visit and what a lovely surprise to get to visit with old friends! Claire is certainly a talented lady.

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  15. More wonderful birthday celebrations with your family and friends, Julie. It is lovely you were able to visit with your mum and see to the things that needed to be done and enjoy your time with her. Oh my, I love that armoire of Claire's. If I was to visit her I would have to anaesthetise her so I could run off with this fabulous 'storer of all things pretty'! How sweet that your Miss Pippi frets for you when you are away. She is such a sweet kitty.

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  16. That is a gorgeous shot of the snowy mountain, and a sweet photo of your mum and brothers.
    Sounds like you had a wonderful time with Joy, Claire and friends. I'm glad they spoiled you! Such lovely gifts--and Leeanne's little quilt immediately caught my eye. I also loved the mini Claire had made to honor her brother.

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  17. Another lovely post with such pretty things. That was sneaky and sweet of Claire to organise the wee catch up. I'm sure if those girls went to your house they would be trying to smuggle your beautiful displays into their cars too! Cool seeing the mountain all white and wintery.

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  18. Gosh! Where do I look first? Your post is full of so many beautiful things and that dresser full to the brim with goodies....fabulous goodies. I can imagine all the ohhs and ahhs that were heard!! More lovely quilts too....impressive!! My what a time you have had and also more birthday gifts. I particularly like the clothes pegs :-) Poor Miss Pippi...she misses you so! Very impressed with the snow capped mountain;fabulous photo. Incidentally my nieces and nephews live in Nelson and Christchurch. Lovely post...thanks for sharing Amanda x

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  19. My house always looks lovely in your photos and even I have to look twice because sometimes I don’t “see” my treasures anymore!
    Thank you for making me appreciate what I have and I still think you should move closer, like next door?!
    Who pines more for you ? Hubby or kitty?!
    It was so nice to see you and surprise you with more friends!

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  20. What gorgeous gifts you received Julie, yes Claire's place is just lovely. I always love looking at what Joy does to with her up cycling on Instagram to, talented ladies. Love the tea cup and saucers, funny I don't drink tea, but just adore tea cups. Have a great week Julie. Chris xoxoxo

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  21. Always great to have family to look at. I found a few old photos of my mom and dad the other day. Fantastic gifts too! Hugs, RO

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