JaM-Rain and Sunshine

JaM - taking Just a Moment to gather & share the things you have noticed, consumed, created, bought during your week....

On the weekend it was wet cold and miserable but I had a special project to hand sew and the house to myself for two days. So I sat and watched DVD's and stitched. I watched quite a few movies but the two stand outs were 'The Kings Speech' and 'Hugo' Both very different from each other but I loved them both.

I caught up with my amazing Daughter with a long Phone call, ( Though not as long as the ones I have with my friend Chris!!!!)

And this morning there is Sunshine coming through the bedroom window,

On Mt Elliot at the back of the house,

And shining through the bare tree branches.

Have you got a Moment to share or a minute to see what everyone else is sharing?

Sweet Little Things About Me-My Favourite Fruit

This week Lisa asks us what our favourite fruit is and that set me to thinking..........
I go through phases of which is my favourite fruit. At the moment it is Mandarins, at other times it is Pears.  There is nothing like Watermelon on a hot day and yes, Strawberries are on my list as well.  And grapes, can't forget them, peaches, plums and nectarines as well. In the Summer there is nearly always fresh fruit salad in the fridge with as many different fruits in it as possible.
So I really can't pick just one, it depends a lot on the season and what looks nice when I go to the Greengrocers.  Do you have a favourite fruit or are you fickle like me and just move from one to another?

MY Place and Yours-Tins at my Place

Cherie has chosen tins as the theme this week and she asks us to.....

Drag out anything that is tin...

give us a glimpse of thins or something in a tin at your place...

let your imagination run wild...

paint tins, food tins...

So that's what I did......In the kitchen.

 And in the sewing room.

 Use before Sep 6 1945. Has anyone else seen a use by stamp as old as this one?

I assume this is a lid but I have no idea what it was on.

So I seem to have quite a few Tins at my house, another collection I didn't realise that I had. i do have a few more Tins around the place but I thought that this was enough for today. All of them are used for something, except the really rust ones.

Do you have tins at your house? Share them with us here.

In my Garden today.........

This morning I woke to a beautiful day although it is a tad cold .

More photos of the frost at A Feast for Crows

Sweet Little Things About Me-My Favourite Scent

Some scents make you feel at home or remind you of things that have happened in our lives. Your favourite scent can be a perfume you wear everyday or wore on a special occasion, it could be the smell of baking on a cold winter morning or even Coffee in the morning.

Lavender is probably my favourite scent to wear.There are quite a few varieties growing in my garden and most of the drawers in my bedroom have Lavender Bags in them, including one that is over 50 years old and still has the Lavender scent.. 

There are apples cooking on the stove ready for the apple pie we will have after dinner tonight,

and the dash of cinnamon in them fills the kitchen with an amazing and delicious aroma. 

Rain on a Summer Day, fresh cut grass, incense and candles, there are just so many wonderful scents out there that bring back memories or help to create new ones. I think one of the most wonderful scents was that of my babies, there is nothing like it in the world.

Join Lisa, here, this week and tell us what your favourite scents are.

JaM-A little bit of this........

Jam-taking Just a Moment to gather and share the things you have noticed, consumed, created, bought during your week........

A much better week here this week, far more positives than negatives.

Now that most of the leaves are off the trees it is time to start cleaning up the yard. Good progress was made  yesterday with a small part of the yard raked, the Banksia rose that had been damaged in heavy wind  and frost damaged plants have been cut back.

My knitting is progressing.

I've been Op Shopping, looking for special bits and pieces for the Op Shop Swap. I'm glad to say that I found exactly what I was looking for to put in Andrea's parcel and found this very retro tray for me.

My eldest son has come home for a couple of weeks and it is nice to spend some time with him,

I also did a bit of Retail therapy this week cause it always helps when life isn't going to plan and managed to find everything I wanted at 50% off and bargain of the week?.......Two legs of Lamb for $8.99 a kilo. It really doesn't take much to make me happy.

Take a moment to share your week or pop in and see what we have been up to here

My Place and Yours-My Glass

Cherie wants us to share our favourite glass this week.  This is mine, It holds Red or White depending on the mood. What's your favourite glass?

Sweet Little Things About Me - A book I would recommend to everybody

 

Lisa asks us for book recommendations this week and I really couldn't decide on just one so I thought I would just throw some authors out there and let you have a look at what they have to offer you.  I read anything and everything and generally get through quite a few books every week but I do have a preferred genre over everything else. I love Fantasy novels, preferably Dark Fantasy. These Authors create amazing worlds that we are privileged to share for just a little while. We get involved in their lives and adventures and it is very hard to let them go when the story has finished. 

So if you see anything written by any of these authors I think you should take them home with you and go on an adventure into lands that exist only in imagination but  will make wish they were reality.

Charles De Lint      Fiona McIntosh      Clive Barker     Robert Jordan      Margaret Weiss      Robin Hobb

Tracey Hickman     Anne McCaffrey     Phillip Pullman    Raymond E Feist   Marion Zimmer Bradley

Stephen R Donaldson

These are by no means all  of the Authors that I could tell you about, they are just the first 12 that came to mind.  For more great reads visit Sweet Little Pretties here.

MPAY-School Days and JaM

MPAY-School Days

Orbost North State School, Grade 5 (I think) in the early '70's. These are the kids I went to Kinder and started school with. We skipped, played elastics and knuckles and had cubby houses in the Tea Trees along the back fence. The boy in the middle of the front row with his chin on his hand used to faint every week at Assembly when we sang God Save the Queen though I think it was the standing not the Anthem that caused the fainting. We sat together in Room 3 and watched the Moon Landing on a Black and White TV, sang together in the annual Christmas play,learnt the recorder and listened to Enid Blyton's Magic Wishing Chair, the Narnia series and Elyne Mitchell's Books on Fridays in the Library. Little did I know then that I would meet Elyne Mitchell, ride her horses on her property and even have her as a guest at my Wedding, or that the boy in the checked shirt in the back row would marry my cousin. I know where some of them are now and the Teacher, Mr Switzer is now high up in the Education Department doing Administrative work which is a shame because he was a wonderful teacher. Do you remember your days at school? Were they a long time ago or just a little while back? Share your story here.

JaM

The past week has been full of Negatives from  a flat battery in the car,  the spoiler being 'accidently' broken off my car, unexpected bills, sick pets and other stuff that is just too negative to talk about. No creating in the sewing room or baking in the kitchen, no gardening because massive winds have made the cleaning up overwhelming to say the least.There have been a couple of positives but they are totally smothered by Negative stuff. I think the grinding cold weather and the daily fog has put me in such a mood that I am not attracting good things at the moment.
So I am going to talk about Carpet Bowls which I play every Monday night over Winter. So far this year we have had two drawn matches. been forfeited to, lost two and won two. Nothing like a little variety is there? Monday night was the highlight with beating one of the top teams and beating them quite well!
No one plays to win Sheep Stations, it is just a nice Social Night with ages from 10 to late 80's.
A couple of us were talking the other night and we realised that we are probably one of the most successful sports in our tiny little town. We make a profit every year, have a very healthy investment account, we never have to Fund raise and Playing fees and Registration haven't gone up for years. Over the past few years we have even increased the number of Teams that we have. Anyone can play no matter what age or level of fitness.
I love that people of so many different ages can get together socially and get on so well, it is good for the young ones to spend time with older people and good for the oldest among us to spend a little time with young people.
So any Monday night over Winter if you find yourself with a little time, call in and say Hello but be prepared to be pulled into a game cause there is usually someone looking for a player.
For more JaM visit Jody here.

'Tis very cold!!!!

A typical Winter day where I live is like this. There was a frost as well and I don't want to know how cold it is out there, the forecast was for -4.

The first time I saw Cato here, I thought she was waiting to be let out the back door, but no.........it is warm next to the stove. The tiles on the hob are warm and she will happily sit here all day. So at this moment Cato is next to the stove, Rev is asleep on the couch and Fred is sleeping on Rev's chair in the lounge room. Machicho has gone and crawled back into my bed. My pets aren't spoilt...much!

Feeding the baby

As a neighbour we are called on to help out when we can and are happy to do it.  This morning my neighbour rang to see if I could slip over to her house and feed the baby because she was away and wouldn't get home until late. 

Someone was very happy to see me

And made very short work of their bottle.

It was hard to walk away from that forlorn little face.

Sweet Little Things About Me - My favourite things about Winter

I'm joining in with Lisa's Meme this week-Sweet Little Things about me. This week the theme is 'My favourite things about Winter.'  There isn't a lot that could be called good about Winters where I live. It is usually endless days of fog and freezing temperatures.  But there are small pleasures that you can only treat yourself to in the Winter. We learn to welcome and appreciate a beautiful sunny day like today. I can light the stove in the kitchen and have endless hot water, a kettle that is always ready for tea and coffee, slow cooked casseroles and soups and Roasts in the oven. Scones for afternoon tea. Opening the oven door and standing in the warmth is a simple and sometimes necessary pleasure.

Pulling a Quilt out and snuggling up with the dog and a good book on a wet and miserable afternoon.

Nanna naps.

 Coats and Scarves 

Do you have favourite things about Winter where you are. Join in here and tell us or visit and see what everyone's favourite things about Winter are.

JaM-Creating and Learning

            Once again it is time to join Jody and take a minute to share what I have been doing.

                                                 

After too long I managed to get up to the sewing room and start making a few things for the website.  I have lots of new vintage doily's to play with thanks to a generous friend.

                                            

There was  a little bit of wandering around outside in the fog taking photos and a little pet photography as well.

                                  

Frantic practicing on the keyboard trying to get my WPM up to an acceptable level for my course, which isn't hard until they tell you that you have to be 98% correct!

And the highlight of the week??? A Tupperware party, something I have managed to avoid for 20 or 30 years but I couldn't let my Sister In Law down. I came away without ordering anything, a useless gadget in my pocket and total disbelief at the price of it.

Why don't you take a moment and share something with us or wander over to Jody's to see who has joined in this week.

MPAY-Your Pets

This week MPAY is all about the family pets. Readers of my Blog are quite familiar with the furry children in my house as they appear quite often. Fred, Cato, Machicho and  of course Rev pop there heads in here whether I want them to or not. 

 So this week I am sharing some of my other pets that don't appear very often and live in this mess.

 Meet the Rats if you haven't run across them in here before. I inherited them from my youngest son Beau when he left home.  He did name them at one stage but I can't remember what the names were.

 They are a much maligned creature for good reason when they live in your ceiling or shed but as a pet they are affectionate, interesting and funny. It took me a little while to warm to rats as pets but once I had (been forced) to hold one, I was lost!

They have the cutest little feet that they use just like hands. Twitchy little noses and whiskers and are curious about everything. They spend hours dragging all the nice clean newspaper I put on the bottom of their cage , up into the basket to make an elaborate and warm nest.

The other animals love them to bits but I think that has more to do with lunch than a genuine wish to make friends. The rats have no fear at all and will stick their noses through the cage when the cats come calling on them. Just look at those cute little noses!!!!!!!

Of course my little girl was at my feet while the Rats had their pictures took. Look at that sweet face........she would eat those rats in a minute if she could get hold of them!
Please join Cherie and  MPAY this week and share your pets with us.