LAYERS OF MEMORY

Twas the month after Christmas

2012-01-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!!

Will its not quite a month after christmas yet, and i have a feeling there will be a number of people who are hoping that 2012 goes a bit more slowly than the year before.
I came across this little verse and thought i would share it with you as i am sure like me there are others who can relate.......

Twas the month after Christmas
and all through the house
nothing would fit me
not even a blouse
The cookies I'd nibbled
The chocolate I'd taste
and the holiday parties
had gone to my waist

When i got on the scales
There arose such a number!
When i walked to the store
less a walk than a lumber
I'd remember the marvellous
meals I'd prepared
The gravies and sauces
and beef nicely rared
The wine and the rum balls,
the bread and the cheese
and the way I'd never said
"no thank you, please"

As i dressed myself
in my husbands old shirt
and prepared once again
to do battle with dirt
i said to myself, as I only can
"you can't spend a summer
disguised as a man!"
So away with the last
of the sour cream dip
Get rid of the fruit cake
the cracker and chip
Every last bit
of food that i like
must be banished till
all the additional ounces
have vanished.

I won't have a cookie
not even a lick
I'll want only to chew on
a long celery stick
I won't have hot biscuits
or corn bread or pie
I'll munch on a carrot
and quietly cry
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome
and life is a bore
But isn't that what
January is for?
Unable to giggle
No longer a riot
Happy New Year to all
and to all a good diet

Spoilt for a time

2011-10-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

It was a sad day indeed when news reached us that the ship called the Rena.... shown above had run aground on a reef out from our beautiful beach at the mount.........great big globs of oil where spilling onto our beach, killing our wildlife and our sealife........hard to believe that it could happen here......we have watched with sadness each day seeing it spread further without anyone rushing to do anything or so it seemed to all of us who watched anxiously and who though willing to go the beaches ourselves to help were told we were not allowed.......but come they did from near and far wanting to help because that is what we nzers do.......this beautiful beach line could not be tainted by this oil, too many of us have so many wonderful memories of times spent here....and with our summer around the corner we wanted to be able to again enjoy this very beach.....the clean up has started, the oil starting to be pumped from the helpless ship which has large cracks in the side......yes some containers have slipped into the water and ended up on the beach again spilling its mess......we are all holding our breath hoping that this will soon end..

flowers for now and other random things

2011-05-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get cravings for things? i am not talking food here but things that were around that you actually miss now and wish you still had........as for me i often get cravings for flowers, the house just doesn't look or feel the same unless there are some fresh flowers somewhere......

What i have been missing lately is the hand written letter.......you know the slow kind that ends up in your letterbox......it may have taken several days or even a week or more to get here but when you pick it up out of that box and recognize the handwriting there is a kinda thrill that goes through you!! now don't get me wrong i love the internet and how you can write something to someone you care about and instantly there is a reply i really like that but sometimes i still do crave that hand written letter..... i wonder how many of you even still possess one today that was handwritten......when i see the beautiful script of very old letters i can't help but feel something special inside......i wish i had some of those......and i love writing and even i must admit i hardly ever hand write a letter today ..... in fact years ago when i was in primary school i won the handwriting cup.....i was sad that, that particular year they decided as well as getting the big cup with your name engraved on it they had decided to stop giving the little cup that was yours alone to keep.....i still think of that to this day and wish i had that little cup to cherish.....
I think i must have some of my grandfather in me as my mum tells me he used to be a script writer and had beautiful handwriting and was called upon many a time to write a letter for someone who could not read or write.....it would be amazing to have a piece of his writing now but sadly i don't think anyone in the family has.....probably because it wasn't important to do that in those days.....

I didn't end up buying some flowers as with all this warm weather we are having my iceberg roses decided to start flowering again just so i could get a huge bunch to have to admire.......and on mothers day my two daughters brought me some beautiful flowers from my favourite florist.....in another life i would have loved to be a florist imagine being surrounded by beauty every day......

Now if you spied those two little clocks in the back ground you might be surprised to know that the one in the back is actually an old x-ray timer.......thats what it is ....i have had it for years tucked away and decided to bring it out to keep my Little Ben clock company.......now don't ask me how that x-ray timer was actually used it sure does make you wonder thought doesn't it......if anyone knows anything about them please be sure to let me know.....

Lastly i want to give credit to all you bloggers out there that post each and every day with beautifully written words and pictures i don't know how you do it and live your life as well......for me time just seems to be speeding up more each day and i wonder how i actually get anything done!!!

I meant to do my work today but a brown bird sang in the apple tree and a butterfly flitted across the field and all the leaves were calling me and the wind went sighing over the land tossing the grasses to and fro and a rainbow held out its shinning hand so what could i do but laugh and go......
Richard Le Gallienne

Reflections

2011-02-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Looking at these photos you would think they are some mistake that two pictures have overlapped but in actual fact these where taken as reflections into glass in my lounge room.....i loved how you got alot of images within the one frame if you looked closely enough and life is a bit like that don't you think ....so much of our everyday life is about repetition that we forget to take the time to look beyond it, to us we only take in what is around us but there is beauty out there for us all, not hidden just waiting for us to lift our eyes and see......

The value of life does not depend on the place we occupy, it depends upon the way we occupy the place.

Sometimes we expect beauty and wonder to be larger than life and easy to find, we look out and we look up but the real mysteries of nature and beauty that leave us in awe are the tiny treasures when we look down..

Above all watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it......

Many people speak of dreams as fanciful things like fairies and charmed rings and lands of enchantment, others only believe in faraway dreams such as stars or sea castles with elf like inhabitants.
There are day dreamers and night dreamers who dream up make believe places. They use much imagination and in that are dream gifted.
But the serious dreamers are those who catch dreams and bring them to life, to show that when they were dreaming they meant it.......

A New Year

2011-01-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

and what do i want for you in the New Year
peace of mind
the joy of living and seeing
the medicine of laughter
the key to lock out fear
and to walk through the days of life
never alone.....

Life is a pretty precious and wonderful thing, you can't sit down and let it lap around you. You have to plunge into it, you have to dive through it and you can't save it, you can't store it up, you can't horde it in a vault. You have to taste it, you have to use it. The more you use the more you have, that is the miracle of it.
(Kylie Samuel Crichton)

christmas table

2011-01-02T14:49:00.001-08:00

We had spent christmas the week before with our daughters because this year they were going to be spending their christmas with their partners families so we had a very small gathering at our table on christmas day.........just four of us and it felt strange not having the rest of the family there......

I want to thank each and every one of you who take the time to keep a blog because i know what goes into it and all those bloggers who have inspired me to look at life differently and to see the beauty in everything......i have always been a detail person and I have loved how you have all created such wonderful visions for all of us who visit to admire and we learn and grow from those beautiful images and words......

When my girls were very little i always decorated the whole of my house having been inspired by the stories i had read of Tasha Tudor who used to float birthday cakes down the stream to the banks where her children were celebrating their birthdays and how she had such a thing as a small post box where her children could post fairy notes and she used to be the person in secret who answered it....she created small catalogues of clothes that the children could order from for their favourite toy and at night when they were asleep she would make the clothes and post them in their boxes.....i thought what wonderful childhood memories her children would have and wanted to created some kind of magic for my children......so at christmas i always decorated the whole house and each daughter had a special tree in their room along with ornaments that were theirs......tables were always set with detail and interesting arrangements........one year we set the tables up outside under our huge oak tree complete with hanging ornaments, fairy lights and even a real christmas tree with presents underneath and of course christmas music........memories are made and last a lifetime and this is what christmas to me is all about creating a bit of magic!!!

s

keeping Christmas simple

2010-12-06T20:17:00.001-08:00

It has been interesting to note that alot of you are keeping this christmas decorating to something simple and sometimes less is more......i wonder if its because life at this time of year gets so busy that we want some control and peace in our own homes and this simplicity at this overwhelming time of year is what does it for us..

What are the values regarding the christmas season.......Peace, sharing, giving, relaxation, parties, beautiful gifts given and received and a warm and welcoming home.......

Christmas is the season of ........ some of us will be marking the birth of Jesus, some will be giving thanks for the true gifts of Christmas as beautifully told in the Christmas Story.......

Unconditional love, selflessness, trust, faith, forgiveness, wholeness, second chances, comfort, joy, peace, reassurance, rejoicing, generosity, compassion, charity, wonder, acceptance and courage.
Lets experience Christmas not as a deadline but as a season , one of friendship, family, gratitude and giving, reflecting and learning, celebrating and rejoicing, slowing down and mostly LOVE.......

Wherever you are in the world I wish you a season of surprises that will delight you, laughter that is shared, happiness that grows and memories to keep..........
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM NEW ZEALAND.........

Cabbages and Roses Giveaway

2010-11-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

If you don't know about these fabrics then you are truly missing out on something beautiful and timeless......there is an amazing giveaway of these fabrics on the following four blogs.....please check it out and take time to view these blogs as they are very inspiration and worth a stop by......

http://mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com

www.dreamywhites.blogspot.com

http://frenchlarkshpur.blogspot.com

http://lobsterand swan.blogspot.com

Darkness and light

2010-11-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

From darkness comes light which forms beautiful shadows and dances off trees forever shining its beauty.....time has a way of slipping by without even noticing it has gone.......and this oak tree shown here so bare is now a thing of wonder again because nature now it is spring tells the tree it is time to come to leaf and it has had the first leaves that were a vivid lime green........they have grown more each day silently until they have turned dark green and flutter in the breeze and sing wind songs to me........

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows, there is the root of the root and the bud of the bud, and the sky of the sky of a tree called life, which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide, and this is the wonder thats keeping the stars apart. I carry your heart, i carry it in my heart........ee cumings

White flowers

2010-08-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes i just have to have flowers in the house and my favourite are the white ones as i love the contrast between the white and the green.......i brought these beautiful flowers called stock because not only do they look good but they smell divine!!

I also like that they keep growing once put in water and that the buds continue to open out so the perfume is even stronger....

To me walking into a room with flowers gives you a real lift, like the room is instantly brighter and it affects your mood whenever you see them.....there is something so special about flowers and in another life i think i would have been a florist ..... to be surrounded by that beauty everyday and being able to give it away to someone must be very special indeed......

A winters Day

2010-07-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

Its funny how when you wake up in the morning and throw back the curtains and look at the day how it can influence how you feel, when i saw this misty fog staring right back at me i thought oh no!! we have to travel in that!......i hate the fog........but as we rounded the corner of our street i was struck by the beauty of this tree and had to stop to take a photo because in the midst of the fog was this lovely yellow and yellow means sun doesn't it?

As we continued our travels along the road we take many times now to get to the mount and to this day which was to celebrate our youngest grandsons first birthday i couldn't help but start to smile at the way the light was beginning to welcome us on our journey.....the mist rode along the top of the mountains as we too travelled on our way and the sun shone down on us casting the most amazing shadows and instantly I started to feel good about this day unfolding.....life is like that isn't it always full of surprises and we never know what is around the corner.......

I am not afraid of tomorrow
For I have seen yesterday
And I love today

Life is precious so live each day.....

2010-06-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

(sorry do not know where this image came from)

Sometimes we get to the end of the week and wonder where it has gone and what we have done with it.....sometimes we just have to take the time to actually live each day and enjoy it and even remember it......i wanted to share with you this poem written by a young girl in hospital with terminal cancer......

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched children on a merry go round?
or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterflys erratic flight?
or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask "how are you" do you hear the reply?
When the day is done do you lie in your bed?
with the next hundred chores running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

Ever told your child "we'll do it tomorrow"
and in your haste not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die
cause you never had time to call and say "hi"?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

When you run so fast to get somewhere
you miss half the fun of getting there
When you worry and hurry through your day
it is like an unopened gift......thrown away
Life is not a race do take it slower
Hear the music!
Before the song is over!

The Hamilton Gardens

2010-05-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

From long hedged walk ways you reach the centre and come across these 'guards' off this area is different gardens including the English garden, the Amercian garden and the Japanese garden......all spectacular.......

Below is the rose garden a beautiful open space filled with beds of all kinds of roses.....in summer the aroma is amazing.....in the distance is the gazebo and it is under this that my daughter got married with the guests all standing on the lawn below........all her wedding photos were taken around the different areas of the gardens that they chose ........as you can imagine the backdrops in the wedding photos are striking.

Below was where the reception was held overlooking a beautiful pond and out to trees beyond..... this is the restaurant and beside it is a cafe.......these are open to the public each day.......

The gazebo.....in behind is the walkway and the opening where she came through to her future husband, their guests were all standing below the steps out front......a truly beautiful spot to get married.....

There are two entrances into the gardens and the feature at one is this beautiful cloth hanging......all made out of stone.....it is an amazing piece and i would say very well photographed by many....

.......there is also a pond with ducks......amazing open areas of lovely trees........cafe and restaurant.......kitchen garden..........it is well worth a visit to these beautiful gardens you could easily spend a day .... take a picnic to have in grounds of your choice..... and if you are wanting more information check out this website.....
www.hamiltongardens.co.nz

when you go down to the beach .......

2010-05-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

For some of us it is even too cold to imagine spending time on the beach but for others it is time to do just that......for all those beach loving people who like me when walking along its shores are impelled to pick up a shell or two or three.........okay maybe a wet, sandy pocket full.....and then come home and wonder what shall i do with them.....here is the answer
I came across these instructions and thought i would share them with you all so that you could bring a bit of beach life to your place.......

All these images and instructions are taken from the website of NZ House and Garden.......from the section called Home Life.....this is a gorgeous magazine that comes out each month showing some of New Zealands beautiful homes and gardens......and i will be doing a giveaway of one of these magazines next month so watch this space...

When poet John Masefield wrote, "I must go down to the seas again, the lonely sea and the sky," his wandering spirit yearned for a life on the ocean waves and completely overlooked the joy to be found on the sandy shores.
Collecting shells is one of lifes purest pleasures and going on shell hunts at the beach is a childhood pursuit that has brought happiness to generation after generation. But where once you may have washed your haul of beach bits in a bucket of sea water then transferred them to a glass container, usually destined for display in the bathroom, there are many more elegant ways to use these gifts from the sea, the decorative possibilities of the humble shell are endless, and now we are going to make sand candles...

You will need: Sand, a child sized bucketful will do, shells, 500g wax pellets (for a candle 9cm in diameter x 10cm high, available from spotlight here in nz) 20cm wick, metal wick holder, twigs.

1. Wash and dry a used tin and squeeze the top to make a spout. Fill it about three quarters full with wax pellets and put it in an old pot. Pour hot water in the pot and heat it on a very low heat. Keep an eye on the wax until it has melted. Keep it warm in the water. (shown above)

2. Make a hole in the sand (use a glass or bottle if you like) Press shells into the sides of the hole quite firmly (if you wish to see the face of the shell, push the shells into the sand face first). Tie a knot in the wick and thread it through the metal wick holder. Tie the other end around a straight twig or kebab stick. Balance the stick with the wick on two forked twigs. Centre it over the middle of the hole and make sure the wick touches the bottom.... (above)

3. Slowly pour the wax into the hole, right to the top. Adjust the wick if necessary. (Above)

4. Wait at least an hour for the wax to cool and harden. When the wax is hard, pull the candle gently from the sand, loosening the sides first. Dust off any excess sand with a soft paintbrush.
Safety note:Wax is highly flammable. If it catches alight, smother it with the lid of a pot or a wet towel - not water. Sugar, baking soda or a chemical extinguisher may also be used.

I hope you enjoy making these candles, there many more ways to use shells just by using your imagination.......Frame them, make a necklace, attach to edges of cords for curtains, jug or sugar bowl covers can have a circle of shells and they make charming votive candle holders......and if like my daughters the shells with the hollow centre became very fashionable rings!!!

Mothers

2010-05-10T23:17:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful mothers day and received a beautiful bunch of flowers from someone who lights up their life...... ( i do not know this child but love the look on her face, her joy in giving)
Being a mother myself has been one of the most amazing things i have ever done.......i loved watching my girls grow up into the wonderful young adults they are today...... because of how they were raised they are now passing those values onto their own children......
I felt honoured when the friends of my girls who have now become parents themselves have asked my husband and i how we raised our girls because they want to be able to do it the same for their own kids.....and someone who said they saw us playing with our children and heard the joy and the laughter decided that was how he was going to be with his own children......now don't get me wrong it wasn't all perfect.....but i can honestly say with my hand on my heart it was pretty close to it!!!!

When our girls lived at home we always had their friends around and i suppose if i had to list one thing that made them who they are today i would say it is because of this......we invited their friends to our home.....often feed them, gave them a bed, often we would take large groups out and take them places and always treated them like they were important and what they had to say was important..... my husband is like a big kid himself so they always had a good time and plenty of laughs because he also helped make it fun.....
One of the boyfriends used to regularly cook us sunday night dinner he had his special dish which we loved and encouraged him.....when his parents asked him why he didn't cook for them he said you just don't praise and say how good it is the way they do........

On a recent mothers day i wrote to my daughters each a letter telling them how much it meant to me to be their mother and i gave each of them a gift voucher for beauty treatment so they could pamper themselves.....
Ever since they were born i kept a notebook of how i felt and what we did and how they did funny little things that made me smile.......they are 30 and 32 now!!!........it is all still on bits of paper and one day i hope to write it all out for them so they can share it with their own children...

Blogging i think has brought all us mothers together because we get each other!!! we know what its like to have our children to nurture them and teach them values and most importantly love them.....we have all come together no matter what age, where we live or what we do because when it all boils down to it it is that one word that connects us all so we understand each other like no one else can......

The hardest part for me as a mother was once they left home......my youngest actually before my eldest.....i cried many tears that day and the phone bill was quite large but in the end i trusted her to do what was right and knew that i had to let go sometime......
I sobbed all the way to my eldest daughters new flat when she moved out and managed to wipe away the tears and put a smile on my face when we arrived.....i was lucky that they were both close so did get to visit.....i don't know how mothers cope when their children move away to somewhere , a town a city a country where they can't visit often......as you may have guessed we are a very close family and i am proud to say my daughters are my friends as well as me being their mother......

When my daughter left with her partner on her overseas trips and to live sometime in those countries will that was when it hit home just how far away she would be......oh those times were very, very hard but they returned safe and sound.......i wrote her this poem to send her on her way....

Tripping
Another trip was looming
But my heart did not understand
It wanted to keep you here
safe and sound
And not have you go off
To other lands

The places were so far away
And so different than before
Cultures, money issues and even
what was law
I know its hard, i should let you go
But a mothers bond is strong
I do want to see you learn and grow
Of the life you want to know

Your silent calls i have always heard
I know when you are about
It comes to me in a whisper
Then we both pick up the phone and shout
How did you know i was thinking of you
Me too is what we would say

There is a bond that connects us
It started long ago
When inside me i would talk to you
My face all proud and aglow
I talked of my dreams for you
And wanted you to know
That wherever life took you
With you, my love would go

I will wave you off with happy smiles
The tears inside i will hide
I will count the days for your safe return
To give me peace of mind
My thoughts will watch over you
My love will surround you tight
I will walk quietly beside you
Until you come home
and everything is alright

The Rain Has Come

2010-05-02T22:48:00.001-07:00

It has finally rained here in my little corner of the world, good hearty rain that is gobbled up quickly by the dry earth so it doesn't have time to run to the edges, and already i can see a difference, the tired dry plants have lifted their faces high again with renewed life waiting patiently now for the new rain, sure that it will come and come it has...

Now when the sun comes it is not so harsh having finally realized the damage it is doing to nature, asking forgiveness of plant life and only shining in places where it is truly needed and only for a certain length of time now well aware that it doesn't need to be so fierce, it disappears more quickly from our view and the clouds come to give them some shade, the birds sing and the cicadas sing the loudest just to let the world know everything is alright now.....

History Of The Old Church (also see previous entry)

2010-04-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

On 28 February 1858 Father Euloge Reignier a french missionary priest came to live at the Meeanee propety he had purchased for the Society of Mary in 1856. He was accompanied by two brothers of the Society of Mary who shared his missionary work, Brothers Basil and John. They brought their house with them from Pakowhai and quickly assembled it on the property. This house became their accommodation and was used as the first church.

Their congregation grew , they needed a church so in November 1862 tenders were called for the erection of a church adjoining the residence of Rev E. Reignier. December 1863 Bishop Philip Viard from Wellington blessed and opened the church of St Mary of the Assumption at Meeanee. The cost was 348 pounds and it measured 36ft by 15ft. Despite frequent flooding of the nearby Tutaekuri River the mission prospered as the Brothers managed their farm of 326 acres as well as assisting Friar Reignier with their missionary duties.

Suzanne Aubert a french woman who wanted to do missionary work with the Maori people arrived in Meeanee in 1871. She played the church harmonium, trained the choir, decorated the church and became well known in the area for her nursing skills and later was the founder of the Order of the Sisters of Our Lady of compassion. She worked at Meeanee until 1883. There are books written about her and the work she did.

A large boarding and day school was built on the side of the church in`1872. In October 1874 the church was enlarged cutting it in two and a transpet placed between. The entrance was moved around to the east of the new section it cost 626 pounds.

A large new residence for the priests and brothers was built in 1880 which was later converted to become a seminary for the training of priests and because of repeated floods was moved the the Greenmeadows hill in 1910 where it still functions today as the Mission Estate Winery.

In 1892 it was enlarged again lengthened to 75ft by 46ft. The old sanctuary became the vestry and the nave was enlarged to 50ft by 37ft and 30ft high. It was divided from the aisles by pillars of rimu with arches filled with ornamental traceries. The gallery for the choir was completely new, the building was over six times larger than the former church.

There were attractive gardens, grape vines, crops, fruit trees and farm land. The Seminary had 23 students. There was a swimming pool, an observatory, a flourishing school, a new brothers house, and the church raised by 21 inches on new piles to escape the flood waters.

In 1910 the leaders of the Society decided to shift the entire complex to Greenmeadows, only the church and schools were left, many locals and priests were unhappy.
It continued as a much loved parish for many years with a new villa style 10 roomed presbytery being added as accommodation for the priests in 1913. The school ruined by years of flood waters was demolished and a new school opened in Guppy road in 1926.

In 1970 it was becoming too small for the growing population a new church built in Osier Road opened in 1972. The church was reconsecrated in 1972 eventually it was sold to a group of Napier businessmen who in turn sold it to its present owner who converted it to a restaurant and wedding venue, the former presbytery converted to boutique accommodation.
Many people have lived, worshipped, celebrated and worked on this unique property.

The Old Church

2010-04-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

The Old Church in the Hawkes Bay has been converted into an amazing restaurant that i have been to a couple of times and the food is just as good as the setting. The menu is printed on vellum with a great selection of food to tempt you...

You enter into the grounds down a long tree lined driveway i imagine that these trees are many years old they are very stately and very beautiful.

The entrance to the church just to the left of the picture you can see an old house which i believe was where the priests or brothers i think they were know as lived........it has now been converted into a very upmarket B&B

The wonderful old door at the entrance..... i am sure many people have stepped through this door both in its life as a church and as a restaurant.

What greets you once you step inside.....it is very elegant with lots of gilded gold, beautiful ornate mirrors and a cabinet which tells the history of the church...

There are tables and chairs of different sizes and proportions......sitting at these large backed chairs is a feeling i imagine a bit like Alice in Wonderland when she fell through the rabbit hole and arrived in this strange new world!

In the centre is the most amazing chandelier i have ever seen in my life, its size is so enormous and i am sure they would have had some sort of crane just to lift it into place... standing underneath it and looking up through it is breathtaking!

Another view showing the interior you will see if you look closely that not only are there high backed chairs but also red velvet ones as well..... personally i like the high backed one because they give you a sense of wonderment....

Another view of that glorious chandelier... it is hard to see just how enormous it really is... anyone visiting the Hawkes Bay should take the time to go to this restaurant.... as well as dining inside there is also a conservatory, which you will be able to see off to the side in the first photo and on summer days an outside area with table chairs and umbrellas......your visit if you will excuse the pun will be heavenly!!!

autumn has arrived

2010-04-20T21:19:00.001-07:00

We were lucky to go and stay at my favourite place again at the weekend and autumn was so evident here with the beautiful array of coloured carpets of leaves that greeted us.....The colours were amazing....rich golds, reds and browns...

The light filtering through the trees was magical.....there was a quiet calm all around this place.....not a whisper to be heard but the occasional falling leaves let out a gentle swish as they passed you by....

There were so many wonderful spots to take photos through the trees looking back at the buildings beyond forming natures frames....

I tell you these photos have been untouched, no colour added no brightness just nature in its true form.....the beauty for you to see and to touch....

These pin oak branches were nearly bare .... walking under them and through the leaves they let out a loud crunch .....i felt like kicking them high to watch them float then tumble back down to the earth again..

Sitting on the moss covered seats looking back across the lake at the house is one of our favourite spots....here you truly feel the peace that surrounds you ....the calm is reflected in the waters edge but hiding in amongst these leaves are ducks and i gathered quite a few of their beautiful shed feathers to put in my journals...

These two pictures would have to be my favourite....i love the look of the leaves against the building and the furniture......coming away from this place at the weekend where you feel like you have been for days .....you feel refreshed and ready to take on the world again......i will be sad when i can no longer visit but i do treasure the moments i have there and my photos will continually take me on those journeys of discovery and wonder of this amazing place.....

Being Creative

2010-04-15T01:05:00.000-07:00

For as long as i can remember i have always been busy with my hands.....whether it was making my own clothes, knitting, crocheting or cross stitch there was something wonderful about looking at something that you had created that wasn't like anyone elses........For the last few years after being inspired when a neighbour gave me a Somerset Studio magazine and being in awe of the fantastic work i decided there and then that this was going to be my new obsession...... i put down my embroidery needle and took up scissors and glue and paper instead...... I joined in some book round robins and this is a page (above) that i did in someones book from England.....their theme was Paris....

Recently i did a little book using my favourite items from the Collections range.....i am really into vintage and this was one of the pages above that i did.....

A very small accordian book i did.....i love working with things that are small as it is a challenge to get it looking just right.....I am lucky to work in a scrapbooking paperart shop....did i say work .....actually its more like fun everyday being creative.....

A slightly bigger accordian book......these are preprinted photos but of course as i tell everyone you can use your own family photos as well.....but not the originals!!! take copies and use them and then give to a family member as a gift......these little books don't just have to be done in the vintage style either you can use brights and use fun pictures of your own children......nothing is hard when you know how.....and what a thrill to receive one of these little booklets as a gift......

This is a collection of atcs which stand for artist trading cards usually they are made to do as swaps and i have hosted swaps with people in England, Australia, USA, Denmark and of course New Zealand....these are todays version of the bubble gum cards that kids used to swap....they are the size of a playing card and are a challenge to do artwork on them....there are now swaps with inches which are an inch square.....i think when you are creative you are always challenging yourself to do better and to come up with new ideas......i love to create and am at present doing an altered book on my new grand daughter.......

Art is a microscope which the artist fixes on the secrets of his soul and shows to other people these secrets which are common to all........Leo Tolstoy

Be aware of wonder, live a balanced life, learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some....(unknown)

Kindness and Love

2010-04-09T21:38:00.001-07:00

Recently i came across this little article in a local paper.......it did not say who it was written by ..... but being a lover of words i thought what it had to say was so very true...

Remember there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.

Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.

He who feels no compassion will become insane.

What do we live for if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?

Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestation of strength and resolutions.

One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind.

Constant kindness can accomplish much, as the sun melts, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.

How delightful is the company of generous people, who overlook trifles and keep their minds instinctively fixed on whatever is good and positive in the world around them.

How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.

Don't wait for a funeral to pay a compliment. You may not make it in time.

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.

Wise words indeed, often we think kindly of someone or something they have done but we never actually tell them........remember my first post about what i wanted this blog to bring to people......it read......they may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel and this is what kindness does to people ......ripples travel the world....... be kind to someone today and never look for what we can receive when we help someone, because we receive by the gift in our soul of how we feel when we give and that is something we want to keep and by coincidence that is what we just gave away...

The Land of The Long White Cloud

2010-04-08T03:36:00.000-07:00

The cloud were amazing as we travelled back from our favourite place the mount at easter weekend......big thick fluffy clouds that looked like huge balls of cotton wool were everywhere it almost felt like you could reach out and touch them.......
One of my favourite pastimes as a child was laying back in the long cool green grass gazing up at clouds and looking for pictures in them.....often you would see faces and shapes, sometimes they would sweep past you and other times they just sat there......i often wonder if i was on top of the clouds and jumped in would i sink to the bottom or spring to the top....
New Zealand is known as The Land of The Long White cloud and on this day i could see why......there was many of those white clouds amongst the blue of the sky and even some dark ones forming in there too.....aren;t the shapes fascinating.....take time out oneday and lay in the grass and gaze up and see what you can find.....

Above all watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don;t believe in magic will never find it.....(unknown)

Home to me

2010-03-26T19:53:00.001-07:00

Home to me is somewhere i can relax and read a book.......i love books and magazines about interiors, gardens and homes......

I love flowers in the home, nothing gives me greater joy than to pick a bunch of fresh flowers out of my garden and bring them inside....they instantly brighten a room, as we come into autumn the hydrangeas are changing colours and i love them like this....the ones above are originally white and this is the colour they change to.....white is my favourite colour in flowers....

These blue hydrangeas also started out as white and now they are blue........isn't nature amazing!!

Collections on my desk.....where do i write may you ask welllll actually i have another desk as well.......i love surrounding myself with unusual objects and things i am attracted to.....i love glass cloches and this one in front has a smaller one inside and inside this one is a birds nest.....

I have collected old china for a number of years in fact this is the first thing i ever started with and i love to put old plates on the wall....

I love birds nests and have a whole collection of them......this one here is made out of branches of an old silver birch tree .... i love the rawness of it.....and the egg i am not sure if that is real.....

I love reflections through mirrors......if you look closely you will see the blue hydrangeas in the mirror.

On the bed is pillows made from old lace and antique lace....some i made myself and some i brought......this is the girlie side of me!!

These two fellows are telling each other a secret.......these bears have been handmade by a bear artist.....i love their size and the way you can get them to show expression.....

My dressing table showing another view of the bed .....there is those reflections in the mirror again.......this is an old oak wing mirrored dressing table and when i brought it the stain was almost black....i stripped it down in our lounge during the evenings because we didn;t have a garage you can imagine my horror when i came in the lounge the next morning and saw all the dust that had settled everywhere!!! we live and we learn!!

My daughters rocking chair......she is now a young adult with a daughter of her own and will soon take this chair to have in her daughters room.....if you look closely you will see on the seat scratches....to me this is history because when she was little she had to actually climb up onto the chair to get on and these scratches are from her shoes, her as a young child is brought all back to me in flashes when i look upon this chair......some would look at this and want to sand it down but to me that is the memories of her life......

The dining room with the baltic pine dresser which has my collection of old and new china and interesting bits and pieces....beside it is a fruit picking ladder made by the husband of my friend whose house i showed you in the beginning.....he made all sorts of furniture and sold it......he was a very clever man.....and is sadly missed by many ...... for his talent and for the wonderful person he was.....

Another view and again those hydrangeas this time they have faded out to white with a hint of green in them......if you leave them in the water until the water is gone they will actually dry and you can use them as dried flowers.....

Yes i collected old baskets and have them above my cabinets in the kitchen....

My newly covered wing chair with a slipcover.....i am so pleased how this turned out.....behind it is a old school cupboard which would have been used in a class room to hold the school books, it even has a number on it written in white paint...... it is one of my favourite pieces of furniture....

Here is an extract by Alexandra Stoddard from her book called Creating a Beautiful Home.....
Perfection halts the creative process. It is the enemy of spontaneity and serendipity, surely two of the most glorious gifts of life.
There is too much emphasis on nit picking neatness on creating rooms that are nothing more than still lifes, but where is the living taking place?
We may celebrate the daily moments of life when we throw an extra log on a roaring fire, light a scented candle, open a window, move a chair over to the light and sip a glass of chardonnay, prepare a snack, read the paper, or write a letter with a fountain pen, but the soot, the scratches, the crumbs, the ring on the table the mess on the floor, the ink on the chintz, the wrinkles, the work these are all part of the romance of everyday living.

Perfection on the other hand, chills the mystery and leaves us frozen in space. Perfectionists miss it all, i consider myself someone who likes things done right, but a broken glass or a scratch doesn't send me into depression.
A bed can be a beautiful still life when not in use but pillowcases do get wrinkled and yes ripped, my old pine writing desk has several ink stains on the surface, some from my own pens, without these my desk wouldn't have a soul.
It is in fact the untidiness and the clutter of our cozy messes that we make our presence felt and that after all is what homes are all about...

My Heart

2010-03-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today my heart is heavy and i feel like i need to build a sling for it made out of rope, there are small cracks and chips around the edge which is a sign of pain and suffering it has received, some cracks are deep some are tiny but they show i have lived a life, tiny bits unseen to the naked eye break off all the time and sometimes i want to put an iron cage around it but i think this would make it cold.

I store special things to me away inside its shelves, sometimes i want to open it wide to show all the good things stored inside but i am worried they will be afraid of the red instead of the joy within. I am afraid of being so open to everyone so feel safer knowing it is closed, that way i can show bits of it when i want to. I need to keep it safe and treat it well so cracks do not appear often, I nurture it with loving thoughts and actions.

If it were to break open all the good would come out and the bad would scurry in, some cracks have come close but in time they have healed.

Family have the greatest storage area, it radiates and pumps my heart with strength and love and courage and joy and fulfilment and happiness. Hurt, pain and anger are locked away in a steel box with padlocks and chains.

Today it is heavy, but it aches for people known and unknown, strange that, that it has the power to feel for things outside its control but that shows its compassion, I am hoping tomorrow it will feel lighter and joy will enter once again, it will feel smooth to the touch and glisten with love.....

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words........unknown

The Love of White, A Bit of Pink and a Thank You

2010-03-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

There is something to be said about having a friend that you can share your ideas with, who gets what you are thinking, who you can laugh with and who makes great food, shes a chef ....... and shares your name which can be confusing when someone calls out wendy....... my friend loves white and loves pink..... she had this beautiful cake made by a chef friend for her daughters 18th birthday....... looks too good to cut into i thought....

She has great vision and has rescued this house and made it into something truly beautiful, the above picture was before she worked some magic and made this area outside her bedroom somewhere you would want to enjoy early morning coffee in the sunshine....

And this is how it turned out an amazing difference don;t you think.... that brick planter at the end is on both sides and contains herbs which she uses in her cooking....

This was originally a wall with a window but Wendy saw the potential of adding fold back doors and a terrace where many a good time has been spent....its a great spot for looking back into the garden.....

and of course the indoor outdoor flow from the kitchen to this spot is just what was needed......us kiwis love our outdoor living....

The Shabby Chic lounge which for a little while had the dining table in while the kitchen was being done..... lovely pink floral and velvet cushions and a lounge suite that you sink into and instantly feel at home.....i think this is what i love best about Wendys house is that it is in fact a home and one you can relax in and enjoy...

The new kitchen complete with the table and bench, i love the mix of old and new, the white washed floorboards, the chandelier....

Another view of the kitchen, i love the use of the butlers sink and her collection of wooden ware above the pantry, the floating pink flowers in the vase on the table......

A view from the front of the house....where Wendy has grown a lavender hedge and planted old fashioned roses......in pink and white of course!!

The unsuite and laundry newly renovated in a small space that was once a very tiny, unattractive laundry area........again a smaller butlers sink and wire ware which is also loved...

Where you really want to spend your time in the sun......a great spot which before the addition of doors and the terrace was wasted...

The main bathroom which includes a claw foot bath and a shower not shown in this picture and again those butlers sinks....

A collection of chintz china and other bits and pieces... wendy has many gorgeous pieces of pink and white and blue and white china....

The front of the house and a really sunny spot in the mornings......doors that open off the lounge and if its too windy you can sit in the snug at the end.....
I have known wendy for well over 10 years now, we have seen each others children grow up and have always shared our love of decorating, magazines, gardens and much more.....now she lives about four hours from us but we do get to see her often because she lives where we visit my mother in law......it is always special to be able to spend time with her......

I would also like to take this opportunity when talking about white houses to give a big thank you to Maria of Dreamy Whites who has helped me enormously in getting this blog started.....i have a lot yet to learn but without her help i would not be able to be where i am ....... please visit her blog it is truly inspiration and delightful to read and look at....... Dreamywhites.blogspot.com

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.........Unknown

The Love of a Garden

2010-03-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

The days sun has gone down and with a quiet calmness amongst the cool of the afternoon i have been planting my pots with violas, snapdragons and parsley, the brick garden has received stock and petunias in my favourite colour of white as i love the lush look of white against the cool greens.

Autumn will soon be upon us and the leaves will start to fall with all their colours of reds and browns and golds......no white to be seen until the spring flowers appear once again....

How good it feels to have dirt under my nails and to see once that was empty full and alive again, the house beckons, dust has settled yet again, there is a book i need to finish reading, ironing to be done and tea to get ready, but still i am in the garden.

Even though the quietness of the house has affected me lately and i have felt a bit lonely, amongst the garden, the plants, the birds and the soil, the quietness is music to my ears as i lose myself completely in the task at hand, starting something new!

It is indeed the journey to get there that is all consuming and exciting and not necessarily the end result, although i do look upon that with a sense of wonder and achievement.

Not forgetting nature also needs to be looked after i have fulled the dry bird bath with water, my ever present sparrow scurries away just out of sight, everyday i see it amongst the garden sorting through the soil for a fat worm, sorting and sifting for that hidden treasure...

How i love the bird life the trees bring, how grateful i am for them and i feel guilty having to put snail bait amongst my new gems, and i hope i am forgiven for not wanting my plants to be food for another...

Tomorrow i will throw bread to the birds to make up for my sins.....Tomorrow i wonder what it will bring to soothe my soul and awaken my senses...

Maybe the sun will come out so the plants will lift their heads to feel its warmth ......... the wind may toss them to and thro, perhaps it will rain and they will drink it up even before it hits the ground....

There just might be a surprise that pops up!!! The garden is an ever changing thing of beauty and it is here that I find the peace I seek....

Mail art and Story Telling

2010-03-09T00:21:00.000-08:00

I have always loved writing letters from a very young age, at one stage i was writing to over 100 penpals.....i loved that connection with people and loved the writing as much as the receiving.......as much as i love the instant reply the internet allows now there is still something special about going to the letterbox and instantly seeing someones handwriting that you recognize and the anticipation as you bring it on inside, make a coffee or tea and sit with letter in hand and read the words......the joy of a handwritten letter is the fact that you can sit down and read it anywhere, you can actually hold it in your hands, hear the paper rattle as you look at each page....sometimes it has a wonderful aroma about it.....sometimes little bits of glitter and stars may fall upon my lap.......or a dried leaf......or a business card of a must see new place.....

For several years now a friend and i have written nearly every week and we have always collaged our envelopes as per the pictures i show you.....it is always signed by The ....... Envelope Company...usually something to do with the picture on the front....the back of the letters are always collaged as well..

At one stage my husband worked in our local post office and they always got excited when one of the letters came through and would stop to have a look, we have had these letters delivered to us with messages attached from the postie telling us how receiving one of these letters in the mail room had really made their day.......my friend even in the end wrote messages on the envelopes for the posties as we knew some of them by name.....

My friends husband who built that beautiful house i showed you some time ago was a commercial artist and sometimes he sent me very ornate envelopes as the one above.......sometimes we had stories going to a theme where he would be a cowboy in jail and asked me to send a file so he could get out.....of course i made a cardboard cutout of a cake and inserted a nail file!!!........we had so much fun with our mail ..........on a trip to England he sent me a letter which was supposedly from the Queens palace and he was staying there........i wrote back in very primitive handwriting as the very poor caretaker of his estate and told him all that was going on in my child like writing.......sadly he has passed away but i treasure those envelopes and mail from him because to me they are works of art......the postie even writing that she wished she got mail like that.......much better than bills any day!!

My friend and i continue to write and yes we still do the envelopes.... it has been many years now and we feel that even if we didn't address the envelopes they would find their way to us.....i have now started writing to another lady who is housebound and she tells me that i bring the world to her door because i include in the envelope articles from all sorts of things, brochures, jokes, quotes, positive words and poems i have written for her......remember my first entry when i said they may forget what you said but they won;t forget how you made them feel......and if i can brighten someones day by finding one of these mail art letters in their mail box then it makes me feel very good indeed....

But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions think.....
Lord Byron, Don Juan 1819

Words of Wisdom

2010-03-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

Today i am going to leave you a poem written by Veronica Shoffstall which was written in 1971, a time when so much was changing for woman but its words are still relevant today to us all........

After a while you learn the subtle difference
between holding a hand and chaining a soul
And you learn that love doesn't always mean security
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises
And you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child
And you learn to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid flight
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers
And you learn that you really can endure
that you really are strong
And you really do have worth
And you learn and you learn
With each goodbye you learn.....

Life is a Journey

2010-03-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

Life seems to be moving too fast these days and i feel like i want to get off just so i can enjoy every second, every minute, every hour..... i can see the light of a new day but sometimes it passes me by without my even realizing it has gone until the colours of the night creep in..

I stop and look back sometimes and the road fades away to nothing.....sometimes I feel like i have missed huge chunks of time and promise myself that on this new day i will experience it all and live in the moment.
I think about the people who have passed through my fingers, some have reached up and touched my heart and remained there, and some have continued on their own journeys down life's path.......i think about all that has passed in my life and wished that each memory was as clear as the ones i have today......

Sometimes i look forward but there is a curve in the road and that is as it should be as i don't always want to know what's around the corner........there is a quote i like....if you want to go places you must either get behind and push or go in front and pull, if you stand to the side you won't go anywhere......

But for today i think i just want to stand at the side listening to the cicadas singing their songs, i want to hear the wind rustling through the oak tree and hear its own wind songs, i want to pick roses to put in a vase and bring inside so i can smell their perfume as the gentle breezes waft around them.....and i want to watch the petals fall onto the table to make their beautiful pattern of shape and colour.....i want to feel the sun on my face and the wind in my hair, i want a hug from a small child and a smile from a stranger......i want to live this day.....

And yes tomorrow i will continue on my life's journey i don't know what is ahead of me but i am going to try and take it slowly and see what comes my way and live it all.....

2010-03-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

Memories of Childhood

2010-03-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

This is my most favourite beach of all time probably because of the wonderful memories i have of a childhood spent here in the holidays staying at my grandfathers house.
The secret tree hut hidden away where make believe games seemed real, where sliding down the hill on a piece of cardboard was an adventure and thrilling all at the same time.....the fact that the ocean and the harbour (above) were so close to each other that you got to enjoy both, made this place unique to other beaches i have been to.......whether you wanted the thrill of the ocean waves or the calm of the harbour......they were there for you to enjoy....

Alot has changed since those visits as a children now thousands flock to this beach over summer, cars travel at a crawling pace and brown bodies are everywhere to be seen, there are now high risers where there used to be beach cottages but having seen all these changes i can;t help but feel a special joy when i finally arrive here...

The memories are with me to pull out and relive and smile at so that the magic of childhood is still felt today.......wouldn't you want to be here, blue skies, blue water and clean soft sand that falls between your toes like silk!!!

This place is called Mount Maunganui or The Mount as it is referred to because of the mountain you see in this picture and there is some of the high rise apartments in the distance.....there is much maori folklore about this mountain.....

If you climb to the top of The Mount which you can do if you have the energy! it is well worth it just for the view.....here you can see the ocean and the harbour......for those that want something a bit easier paced you can walk around the mount and the views are just as spectacular.......
i am lucky to be able to visit this place often as it is only an hour and a half from where i live and my two daughters, husband and partner and three grandchildren live here as well.......as some of you will know there have been two tsunami warnings in nz and because of this this place has been on alert which is a bit scary for a mother who has family there....and as you can see it wouldn't take much for a wave to sweep over all.........but deep in my heart is those memories that i have and are still creating so my happiness still grows......

Being new to blogging i have been told that i should have a name under any quotes, peoms that are not my own.....so please note the quotes in the last post are not mine and i am sorry but i do not have a record of whose they are except for the last one i will be sure to note the names in future and give credit where credit is due......any poems or quotes of my own will have my own name listed under them as well........

Keeper of Trees

2010-03-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

This is the wonderful Oak tree that is in the back of our garden.....i love its ever changing beauty through the seasons and the bird life it brings to my garden.... not all our neighbours have a love of trees as i do and would really like to see it gone .....

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.
Some see nature all ridicule and deformity and some scare see nature at all.
But to the eyes of the man of imagination nature is imagination itself.......

Looking up into the tree you can see all its beauty, when the branches are bare of leaves it frames the sky and feels like it is reaching up forever..

When the oak is felled the whole forest echoes with its fall but a hundred acorns are sown in silence by an unnoticed breeze....

in the depths of winter i still see it beauty and grace.......

Oak trees come out of acorns, no matter how unlikely that seems. An acorn is just a trees way back into the ground for another try, another trip through one life to another......

The textures and colours are amazing

I cherish trees because of their natural correspondence with the greener, more mysterious processes of mind, and because they seem to me the best, most revealing messengers to us from all nature, the nearest its heart........................................ John Fowles

The Out and the In

2010-02-19T18:08:00.001-08:00

Breakfast....what a spot

The view is breathtaking and you feel like you are a million miles from anywhere....

The french room where i stay complete with sleigh beds, lavender, shutters, french colours and a amazing view to the forest beyond

The Stable at the end of the garage.....

these are the garages and what you see when you round the corner of the driveway, the larger of the buildings is what you thought was the house when you got a peek coming up the drive.....just arriving to view all this sets the mood for what is to come.....

Houses

2010-02-17T19:09:00.000-08:00

Ever since i was a young child i have always been interested in houses both inside and out, i remember visiting my aunties old rambling house and being fascinated by it..... when it was pulled down to build something new i walked around and just didn't get it, the old house contained within its walls memories of all

that had passed, it had a mystery about it which i liked.....
I was lucky enough to have a mother who let me decorate my own room how i wanted, it was small but i was forever changing it around and changing its look..... from tin foil on the walls, to huge posters, to stringing straws for the door coming in.....
When i moved to the big city i was fascinated by all the variety of homes there, so much so that my girls would point them out and say to me there's a nice house mum .... my husband reackons i am the only person who during a movie or tv programme i will say hey look at that ...... whatever it was i had seen .... i am a details person....

The photo above is of a friends house that i get to stay in......i meet this lady when another friend invited me along on this house tour, i knew the house because it had been featured in a magazine and i was excited to be going..... you come to this house from an old country road, through a weathered old gate, you travel slowly down a drive overflowing with native trees, until you reach a clearing with its pond and old willow.......you catch a glimpse of what you think is the house and become excited!! but around the bend you see this little cottage peeping out amongst the trees, hidden so you don;t get a hint about what is to come.....and let me tell you it is full of surprises and about three hours later we had finished our tour....because as you can see from the photo above it is a big house!! to your right is what you see when you come up the drive..... keeps you guessing on what is to come doesn't it..... and did i tell you this is a new house! and was built by the owner..... stay with me and tomorrow i will take you inside.....you won;t believe it.......

Inspiration

2010-02-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

I have been inspired by many other blogs i have visited and i have been amazed at how they have changed how i view the world......there is a saying by Mother Teresa that i think sums up what i would like my blog to bring to you the reader.........they may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel, kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are endless.......