the house in bloom

Took the opportunity to capture some images around the house today.

I look forward to when these white blooms appear at this time every year just outside our lounge room window. They are absolutely divine and smell wonderful. 

plum blossom

A laundry freshen up

before

and after!

Quite satisfied with my effort to freshen up the laundry.

Two and a half metres of a navy striped cotton poplin and I was underway , drafting up some new patterns for lined laundry bags and a coordinating ironing table cover. My intention was to give the space a fresh nautical feel ......I was thinking the laundry cabin of a sailing ship headed for far off shores.

Looking at the photos the wall behind looks a little plain. I wonder if I should add something or leave as is.

And of course , a rustic block of hand crafted soap is always a pleasure to behold,
sitting on the windowsill in this area of the house. My soaps are available for purchase over at Etsy.

japanese quince

Always looks beautiful in bloom and wonderful in the house.

Art in the house (and other pastimes)

Art , here there and everywhere...

Found some odd scraps of cream colored linen and calico amongst my fabric remnants and stitched a up a new cushion cover. The insert is made from reused cushion filling and an old sheet used to make the insert cover. At our place , nothing goes to waste. 

There are some picture books that I as a parent , can't bare to separate from as I have a great admiration for many book illustrators of which are too numerous to mention. I pull them out now and then from the book shelves as takes my whimsy. This particular book is one of my favorites - the art throughout is exquisite. 

Antique floral art display

I have an old book called  Flowers In Art, which has some rather nice plates of old illustrations from the turn of the last century. An old timber frame gets a lick of pale green paint to display the ever changing pages. 

Vegan Chocolate Cake Baking

Usually on a Sunday, I bake up a special treat for the family, so yesterday was the day to create the very decadent chocolate cake featured in the book 'Vegan Baker' by Dunja Gulin. I've made many variants of the vegan chocolate cake and this one stands up amongst the best.  It is absolutely delicious ,  moist and not overly sweet. It's so very promising to see so many wonderful vegan cookbooks being published. Veganism is definitely on the rise. I couldn't resist composing a collage of chocolately goodness today.....

The kitchen dresser rejuvenated

I had a long hard think, whether I should take the plunge and give my dresser a freshen up with white paint, so eventually , I decided to head down to the corner paint shop .  I last painted our trusty dresser some 14 years ago, but , felt it needed a bright lift as it was looking rather heavy and dark , together with our dining setting. A lift in color mood was needed. 

The new coat of paint has brightened up the dining room no end, and  it looks just right with my blue and white enamel ware and ceramics too. I decided to leave the bottom shelf free of paint to provide a relief from the all-white scheme, and to coordinate with the rest of my setting. I have distressed the surface here and there, and I will probably distress it a little further as time goes on....

Collections of flotsam of jetsam , driftwood, sea glass, a starfish and glass float reinforce the nautical mood.

I'm quite happy I 'took the plunge and dove in'.

Washing on the rigging

A little ingenuity, and I feel like i'm on board whenever I hang out the washing......

The student's field trip

Photo courtesy Australian Traveller

My seventeen year old son left bright and early today, on a bus trip to Phillip Island, a mere 90 minutes from Melbourne. There he will be studying the processes and characteristics of the coastal environments and changes in landscape. What a lucky kid he is - I wish mum's could come along too!  Until the very unlikely event that we may acquire a hybrid car ,  the next best thing is google earth, or a web cam for me I'm afraid.

Hoping he'll bring back a beach side souvenir or two.

Knitting with love.

Am looking forward to the cooler months. It is starting to feel a little more like autumn now and we have had some cooler weather of the past week. So much so, that I even felt like pulling our my knitting needles and taking up a bit of knitting once more. I'm really liking  cable knit patterns of late, just simply because the non fussy and down to earth connotations implied by the basic cable appeal to me. I came across a couple of nice handmade knitted jumpers in the cabins of the Pollywoodside, and admiring the homespun quality and craftsmanship took a few photos as reference. The vest above is one of my own hand knitted vests that I made last year knitted in a very soft grey woollen yarn found most cheaply at a second hand shop. Such a large bag full of balls of yarn! I was also able to make a beanie and gloves for my son, and I still have more left over for this year! I think some robust, hard wearing socks will be next on the agenda. 

Andrea

Optimism is the true moral courage

....a quote by Ernest Shackleton, and my a portrait of the great explorer on a postcard.

Thank heavens the heat has finally subsided and once again, life can move on.

I only wonder how the old and sick manage to cope in such conditions , as many are without adequate cooling in their homes. I know for a fact  that it's not  unusual for the elderly to head down to the local shopping center for relief during such times. 

The more knowledgeable  you become about climate change, the more hopeless it can seem......these words by Ernest Shackleton, of course remain at the heart, else we may as well just give up the fight. Optimism to me, means actively living in a way that serves that purpose, and not blind faith that everything will turn out right no matter our lifestyles. There's a big difference between the two ideals.

 I leave this post today with a coupla pics of my paper mache art.

Andrea

far too hot, for too long

early morning clouds

hand colored preserving jar

in keeping with the sea themed interior

so hot here

this heat wave is un-natural

and we have been bombarded with heat waves this summer

if only
modern society would
take this predicament
more seriously

when i get tired of society
i look to people of the past and the present
to find solace and comfort
in art is one such way i find respite

a recent drawing of Henry David Thoreau
juxtaposed over  my cloud study
and a quote -
'Thank God men cannot fly,
and lay waste the sky,
as well as the earth.'