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

our trip to Australia Zoo

Greetings all,
When we went to Queensland at Easter we went to Australia Zoo.  My last big road trip was 6 years ago, when we were living in Sydney & i drove my 4 babies to visit handsome soldier, who was on course in Brisbane (see how repetitive my life is??)  That fateful trip to the newly opened Austarlia Zoo saw one of our twins climb INTO a crocodile pen (OMG!!)  My husband found her, in the empty pen & she had climbed between seats from the viewing platform & her Nikes were covered in green crocodile slime.  This child is going to age me like no other, total heart attack situation.  I guess, being born in Darwin & all, she's at one with the crocodile species??  Anyway, this time, she could read the signs . . .  

 signs like this only seem to attract my children, trouble finds them!!

 We saw Dingoes (did you know about 4% are black??) . . .

 posing on the giant Crocodile - why can't i ever get 4 children in the one 'memory' shot . . .

 a sweet sleeping Tasmanian Devil . . .

 scary Cassowary, i would not wish to meet one in the wild, they have big caveman-axe-shaped bones on top of their heads, which are always dented - proving they will head bang anything, sorry it's a bad photo of these prehistoric looking birds . . .

 we took this shot for our puppy, also named Khan . . .

 Iguanas, if they are your thing, they are not mine . . .

 our 4 went down this giant inflatable slide over & over . . .

 my husband's dislikes Camels, too many desert war zones . . . i kind of like them, they're so bizarre & almost girlie pretty, like giraffes.

 There was a school holiday class going on - they were with the Echidnas . . .

 Bear Cats, something i didn't know existed, they are like one of those made up animals . . .

 ah, my husband, doing his bit for friendly Australian tourism & PR, especially when pretty young Americans are involved!!

 Then onto the Crocosseum, where the Irwins hosted the show . . . they're ok in small doses & this is their habitat, but i could have done without their attempt at impromptu comedy - even our children were rolling their eyes at Bindi & Bob!! 

 Re-thinking the decision to sit in the front row, way too close to the snake handlers??!!

 All the animal handlers were very attractive . . .

 The elephants made a grand entrance . . .

 then it was time to head back to the carpark, via the Animal Hospital . . .

 well worth the $2 per head entry . . .

 it's an amazing set up & we got to see the koala ward, through the glass, along with the operating theatre - they were working on a koala who had been hit by a car.

There you have it, a great day out, no children in crocodile pens this time & we spent the afternoon at the beach, it was fantastic.  If you are ever in the Brisbane/ SunShine Coast region, Australia Zoo is a must & guess what, military get in free (which meant i got in with one family pass for the rest of us - about $200).  For a dedicated post on koalas, kangaroos & the fabulous petting zoo . . . go here. 
If you want to see serious crocodiles & crocodile feeding - go straight to the Northern Territory, Crocodylus Park in Berrimah & the famous Adelaide River Jumping Crocodile Tours - they are FULL ON.  Love Posie.
. . . last few days for my paper packaging giveaway . . .

things i'm loving & i'm grateful for 'our cute & fluffy family Easter'

Greetings all,
Combining this week's 'Things I'm Loving' with Paisley Jade & 'I'm Grateful For' with Maxabella Loves this week to bring you a long week double post of Australian family Easter cuteness.  I love it when my husband is around, we do so many fun family things. 

 Full marks for cuteness with this family.

 Ok so they sleep like 22/24 hours . . .

 but this koala was super active, climbing, jumping & stretching.

 Oh who doesn't love a great petting zoo??  Don't be fooled by the high schooler's facial expression, she is not loving her smile or photo being taken at the moment.  It's a faze.

 I really like goats, not sure why, everyone complains about them but surely if they are in proper fencing & entertained, they'll be great on the farm.

 This animal lover of course wanted to take them all home with us.

 Animals bring out the best in children, don't you think??

 Wallabies . . .

 a huge reason why i want a farm, space, animals & a simple family life in the country . . . it's based around the fact we'll have 4 teenagers very soon.  They can go & complain, cry & let out all their tension in their own space with the animals at the end of each day.

 These were very chilled wallabies & kangaroos.

 Best of all, we have handsome soldier with us.

 So wishing you all a great slide into Easter from my family to yours.

Relax & enjoy your long weekend!!  Love Posie

don't diss the little local market events

Greetings all,
So you might do big markets which are proven, tried & tested success, but don't diss the little local market events too.  They are usually inexpensive to have a stall or it's a free stall + donation to a raffle.  You have nothing to lose, other than time & energy to set up & stand by your stall. The atmosphere is fun & festive, take your children along, you'll meet new people from your local community who can discover you & they're normally short events. 

This is the MOCCA (Manuka Child Care) Spring Fair i did on Saturday, i know, a market just hours before my handsome soldier flew in??!!  It was a good distraction.  I just set up a very small, easy stall with an umbrella & took lots of my on line shop products which i can't take to genuine handmade only markets. 

My little rule is that you should have $ sales of 10 x your stall fee as a starting point.  I took my 2 youngest as i knew they'd love the petting zoo but boy, with a cake stall, hot chocolate, zoo, games, activities, face painting, BBQ - i ended up spending over $60 + a Dumpling Dynasty Bunny Kit to keep someone happy, NOT something i normally do at any maket but this was a fundraiser & i was a bit giddy with the excitment of my husband coming home that afternoon. 

A little sneaky - when you're not sure of your allocated space or position at a market & don't want to take extra tables . . . using large baskets are a handy 'next to stall' cheaters way to spread your wares.  These giant baskets are the largest of 2 sets of 4 baskets at $50 each set, from Lincraft in August.  Perfect for my fabric sale, otherwise, they look amazing filled with small cushions or eventually in my dream home filled with logs for a fire - i'm a tax deductible planner & a dreamer you see!! 

The always lovely Tania McCartney did a book reading too, my 3rd daughter took some shots - there are also 25 images of the petting zoo, i contained her enthusiasm to just one on the blog!! 

So if you can fit in the little events too - do them!!  Thanks Jenny at MOCCA who organised this event, it was delightul.  They are also a fantastic way to do PR for your website, Shop, other larger markets you do where you'll set up a larger (proper) set up. 
While you're reading this i'm on the road doing hand sewing on our way to Nanna's funeral in Sydney.  I hope the 'delay' post worked, sounded simple enough to use.  Have lovely weekends everyone.  Love Posie