Hosting the Craft Group Ladies & Other Things . . . . . .

Greetings lovely friends & readers

 I picked my first Jug of Lilacs last weekend - their fragrance filled the house & made me so happy  💜.  My tree is not prolific & I generally only get 2 pickings a year but I do enjoy them so much.

It was my turn to host the craft group ladies last Monday.  Gail had rescued this large box of glasses (some of them crystal) from the Op-shop where she works.  They were due to be binned but she thought we could make candles in them.  I provided the soy wax & the wicks but the ladies provided their own fragrance oil & some of them chose to place small decorations in the tops just before they set.  

My photography was poor that day but here they are still setting properly & the wicks needed trimming down.  The fragrances were mainly rose & lavender - just soft & gentle.

I decided to make a white chocolate cheesecake for our morning tea.  We'd discussed this when we were together in Melbourne & we'd eaten cheesecake at a cafe.  * here * is the recipe I used (but I used round wine biscuits instead of gingernuts for the base).  It was absolutely decadent & lovely.  

I also made a raspberry coulis to pour over the top which turned out just perfect - * here * is the recipe I used for that.  Adding the lemon juice to the raspberries just gives it that "bite"  - honestly this was so delicious.  

Before the ladies came I gave my outdoor chairs a good scrub, washed the cushions & did some sewing repair work on them.  I also washed the wall of my house where I like to sit the chairs.  The days are getting nicer now & I enjoy sitting out there with a cuppa.

Fast forward 24 hours later & you can see how well that's working out for me friends .  .  .  .  .  .    😖

The wool blanket stockings that I made back in * this post * have all been filled with festive choccies, a candy-cane, a balloon & blowing bubbles.  

For the larger sized Adult ones I made matching wool blanket lavender hearts, a knitted washcloth & soap, a choccy Santa & a candy-cane.  These have all been delivered to the charity that I donate them to.  

I purchased this solar water feature from Temu several weeks ago.  I had this rustic looking pot I wanted to float it in but the pot had a hole in the base.  I managed to fill it with a large blob of ready-mix concrete & it set well.  

It has different nozzles to get differing effects but if I put the larger nozzle on the water goes up & outside the perimeter of the bowl so for now I've just got it on the smallest setting. I love having moving water in my garden areas.

The Mr came in quickly yesterday at noon & changed his t-shirt for a clean one, accidentally leaving his drawer open.  Madam Pip was out in the garden but I swear she can hear the-sound-of-a-drawer-being-left-open from a great distance as she wasted no time at all sneaking in & tucking herself away in it !!! 

Yesterday I mowed around the house by hand & youngest son mowed the big lawn on the ride-on.  I noticed how pretty the Shimidsu Sakura was looking in full bloom - the winds will come soon & scatter the petals everywhere & it will look like confetti.

I saw this verse on Instagram - just loved it & wanted to share it  💙

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead dear friends,

Thank you as always, for your ever-welcome visits here today,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,