a heavy week, bring on a new one

Greetings all,

Gosh that was a heavy week, something major happened (good, bad, exhausting, fantastic) every single day, i'm glad it's done & dusted, as this week is going to be spectacular, for no other reason than it's a new one filled with promise.

Today is Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, celebrating the end of World War I.  This is an image of allied soldiers, taken in France on 11.11.1918 (in the Australian War Memorial.)  I hope they knew we'd be remembering & appreciating their efforts & incredible sacrifices with our hearts, minds & souls, forever!!

 I made a mobile for our bedroom this week, yes i'm 37 but i had these ceramic clouds to use, somehow.  Then i was day dreaming, looking at some Christmas decorations on my desk . . . rain drops . . . the penny dropped & da dah, i created some rain clouds.  They fit in perfectly with my metal sign on the wall.  The mobile was near impossible to photograph but the way the shadows landed created an interesting effect.

 Now all our hens are laying, we have an abundance of eggs each day, which is fantastic, so we're making ice-cream & baking up a storm, like tonight i made lemon meringue pies, six individual ones.  Plus we have some cartons to share with my husband's soldiers.  

 I've finally deleted all the images off my phone & filed them on my desk top.  This was one of the last from Floriade, pretty non??  I'm slowly working my way around the iPhone, all the functions, it's fabulous.  I also sorted out my InBox, felt like all the weight in the world was lifted off my shoulders.   

 I put a dent in the Christmas shopping last week, felt like i hadn't been to my favourite stores in ages.  I couldn't resist this neon pink tree, nice contrast against the afternoon sky on Friday. 

Wishing you all lovely weeks filled with wonderful opportunities & happiness.  I have a few giveaways live (listed on the right) & more launching soon.  Follow & stay tuned, good luck, love Posie

did somebody say 'tulips'??

Greetings all,

Yesterday i trotted off to Floriade with a picnic, some girlfriends & our iPhones.  

 Oh the tulips, over a million of them . . .  

 in every colour imaginable.  

 How fantastic is the iPhone 5 camera & i thought i was wobbling it!!

 Of course in bright sunlight - i couldn't see a thing i was aiming the screen at. 

 So a lovely surprise to this bounty of colour downloaded tonight.  

 There were displays & patterns of colours . . .

& tulips planted at different times for a layered effect.  

 Practising taking photos of flowers with light behind them, i.e. shooting into the sun.

We approached this frame with excitement, however, the plain black . . . underwhelming.  Imagine if it was an ornate frame, reclaimed vintage or even a plastic moulded faux ornate vintage looking frame . . . oh well, the tulips stole the show for me.  Love Posie

snap it 'colourful'

Greetings all,

Oh yay, Faith Hope & a Whole Lotta Love's Snap It this week is colourful, do i hear a hallelujah.  I adore, love, breathe & live colour.  I snapped these flowers at the first day of Floriade in glorious sunshine.

 Weekends = freshly squeezed orange juice from the bounty of oranges my husband brings home (caveman style, sack over shoulder, beating chest "want juice") from the Farmer's Market.  The rich pulp is so sweet & delicious this time of year, i made ice blocks for the children after our Saturday in the sun.   

 Thank goodness i make hay while the sun shines (literally - hay mulch from the chicken coop has been spread on the garden) as i got hail on the school run.  Look at it hitting the centre sun roof.  My husband even rang to see if i had thrown myself over the top of our new car to protect it??  Um, no, i stayed inside with a magazine & heated seat thanks!!

 This darling girl, my treasured middle daughter, has just spent two days home with her mama - she has a really sore shoulder, she can't play sports & is completely deflated.  We've had such a nice quiet time together, she never asks for days off or gets sick . . . we've done sushi, a movie & Lego . . . that is my children's trifecta of mama love!!  

Loving the colour of Spring . . . fashion, flowers, food . . . just makes you feel happy.  I wish i could rock coloured jeans, like i did back in year 8.  My girls have pink, lemon & lime, mixed with pastels, sequins & primary colours, it all works so well, on them.  

Are you introducing as much colour into your life as possible this time of year, Southern Hemisphere folks??  We're still waiting for our Araucana chicken to lay her Easter eggs, stay tuned, she's still settling in.  Love Posie

i'm grateful for . . . 'flower festivals & eye candy'

Greetings all,

Spring means one major event in Canberra . . . Floriade, the glorious flower festival.  It's free entry during the week days & i try to go once a week, on my own, with children, meeting a friend . . . it's just so relaxing.

It opened to today & the weather was Spring perfection.  It runs for weeks so the flowers have a chance to bloom & the 'art' changes.  It's magical, right on the edge of Lake Burley Griffin with all sorts of activities, demonstrations, sculptures & a wine bar.

 I love impasto art, i painted like this for the HSC & scored full marks!!

 During the weekdays, school choirs & bands play, you can bring a picnic or wander the flower displays, listening to the music.  Be careful to dodge the tourists with their cameras.

 Jamie Durie fans, here is some eye candy for you - he's designing the gardens around a new 'lifestyle experience' in Canberra.  He was really friendly & as celebrities do, position themselves for photo opportunities - assuming i was going to launch my children at him for a snap - alas no, i had to say "sorry, they just really need the toilet."  This stripper-turned-celebrity-gardening-entrepreneur was unflappable, kindly giving us directions to the nearest demountable toilet block "behind the pine trees" to which my husband said "the children can just go behind the pine trees. we'll say Jamie said it was Ok??"  Laughs were exchanged, i thanked him for being so informative about the amenities & we parted ways.  

 There was a short queue at the Petting Zoo & very friendly staff, with plenty of animals to cuddle.  The children thrilled the handlers naming all the different types of chicken breeds.

 Then we trotted back to the car & off to collect our high schooler from a Volleyball referring course, she qualified & everything.   

Notice the jackets??  Glorious sunshine & 8C at midday, welcome to Spring in Canberra!!

For more Gratefuls, visit Village Voices, love Posie

things i'm loving . . . 'Spring flowers at Floriade'

Greetings all,

Floriade is one of my favourite festivals in Canberra each year - it's close to school, easy to park the car, free to attend & just a beautiful place to wander alone with a camera or with a bunch of children.  We normally go twice a week during the 4 weeks it runs.

 Beautiful.

 Stunning.

 Happy.

 Clever.

 Delicious.

Kind of a no brainer what Things I'm Loving this week, for everyone else's, visit PaisleyJade.  Happy weekends, everyone.  Love Posie

another fateful trip to the Floriade flower festival . . .

Greetings all,
I waited all week to find the least windy afternoon to take the children to Floriade, Canberra's famous month long Spring flower festival.  Please excuse their combination of school uniforms & overcoats + wind swept messy hair.

Mercifully they have signs to explain the flower displays, from ground level - you have to use your imagination.

It's a beautiful setting in the city by the lake with the resident swans.

The white tulips made me think of Rosalind from Grace Designs.

All good things must come to an end, i am terrified by gnomes (& clowns) so my children couldn't wait to show me how many children chose to paint their gnome as a clown in the gnome painting competition.  Shudder.

Out of Africa, Questacon, sandcastles (Old Parliament House) & some sculptures.

Views from the Big Wheel - at $7 per child (gulp) i'm glad the shots they took were so fantastic.

I love the tree at the wine bar & the swan on security who chased us out.  Plus no trip to Commonwealth Park or Lake Burley Griffen is complete without playing at the Castle Park.

Now i've distracted you with the beautiful images of the perfect afternoon out . . . i'll confess my trips to Floriade are always doomed.  Floriade 2008 i managed to lose our small digital camera.  We found it a year later in the pram, success. 

This year i topped that by letting my children run into the maze on our way out of the park . . . like a horror film "four go in, only two come out".  Yes, that's right, i lost my two eldest children in a maze.  So with the friendly hurry up announcement over the PA system "we hope you've enjoyed your day at Floriade, the park is closing in 30 minutes" . . . then a more terse "the park is closing in 5 minutes" of course, i'm was the only person left.  So i waved the security golf buggy down to help find my missing children.  To cut a long story short - crackled walky talky descriptions of my children - tuns out they lack any sense of direction & used the bathroom without telling me.  Success, i had a full set of 4 children by the time i got to the car park . . . after the walk of shame past all the volunteers who no doubt muttered "they looked like trouble when they walked in".
Have great weekends, i'm off to get tracking devices for the children, love Posie