You've Got Mail!



As a small child one of my most vivid memories was hearing the sound of the Postman's whistle at our front gate.  The shrill bleep of the "whistle" was an indication that he had a large parcel or an item that wouldn't fit into our letterbox.   I remember how I would skip down the front steps with eager anticipation to see just what special surprise the Postman had for us.  Christmas time was especially exciting as we always received the most wonderful parcels from my Grandmother who lived all the way away in Sydney.  My Nan's parcels were a sight to behold - securely wrapped in thick brown paper and tied with string in the most intricate of knots.    The front of the parcel would be emblazoned with the words "Not to be Opened Until 25th December!" in the most beautiful backward sloping handwriting.  My poor mother!  My brothers and I would beg her (as only kids can) to let us open the parcel straight away.  It didn't matter how much we whinged and whined - she never gave in.   "Patience is a virtue!" she would say.

Still to this day I get so excited to receive parcels in the mail.   The anticipation and wonder;  the wrestling with the sticky tape;  the tearing of the plastic wrapping and then finally,  the oohing and ahhing when the contents are finally revealed!   It gets me every time. 

Here in the Valley we don't have a regular mail service. (Something to do with distance from our closest town).   So instead we have a mail box at our local Post Office which we manage to clear 2 or 3 times a week.     

So imagine my excitement late last Friday when I turned the key on my little black post office box to find not one.... but two bright blue cards in my mail box telling me that I had TWO parcels to collect!  It was like the Postman's "whistle" all over again.

And then my world came crashing down .........


Oh No - the Post Office was closed - I would have to wait till Monday.  "Patience is a virtue" I could hear my mother say!

So all weekend these little blue slips tortured me!    Monday morning (bright and early) found me standing at the little "out of hours" window of the Post Office eagerly handing over my blue cards and in return these were the wonderful surprises that greeted me.

Firstly, the beautiful vintage eiderdown I was lucky enough to win in the competition the ever so generous and incredibly stylish Mel from Stripes by the Seaside recently had to find a name for her beautiful new blog.
It has been a lifelong dream of mine to own a vintage eiderdown.  This gorgeous paisley parcel of fluffy down is even more wonderful than I could have imagined.  Thank you once again Mel for your incredible gift.  I will treasure it forever.

Second surprise was this lovely little printed piece of customised art which I purchased from the incredibly talented Janette from My Sweet Prints.  A gift for a work colleague who is getting married this weekend.

My dinky little photograph does not do justice to Janette's beautiful work however the background is the most beautiful and meaningful verse/s about Love forever more.  I know Roland and Rita will love it as much as I do.   Janette's  Etsy store is filled with so many amazing pieces.  I can't wait to pick out something for myself...... and you know what that means. 



Yah...... another parcel for me in the mail!!

Black Sapote Cheese Cake

Who would have thought that something as unattractive as this.........

Could turn into something as DELICIOUS as this!



The "secret ingredient"  is Black Sapote.   Black Sapote (or Black Pudding fruit) is a member of the persimmon family is native to Mexico however it absolutely thrives in our tropical climate.  The fruit is about the size of a very large apple and tomato-shaped and has a bright green and shiny skin when unripe. When it ripens, the skin turns dark brown and the flesh black.    

We managed to pick up some black sapotes at the markets on Saturday and decided to see if we could transform them into a cheesecake.   THE RESULT........ an overwhelming "thumbs up" from the entire family!   Sooo delicious.   If you manage to come across any Black Sapotes in your travels - why not give this recipe a try.

Ingredients :

Base

1 packet Marie biscuits, crushed

125g melted butter

Filling

3 ripe Black Sapote

1 X 250g packet cream cheese

3/4 cup caster sugar

3 teaspoons gelatine

3/4 cup boiling water

1 x 175ml tin evaporated milk

1/4 cup Kahlua liqueur

  

Method :

1.  Mix biscuit crumbs and butter;

2.  Line the base and sides of a large cheesecake pan with crumb mixture.  Refrigerate until set;

3.  Combine gelatine and boiling water and mix well.  Place in fridge;

4.  Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add flesh from Black Sapote, Kahlua and dissolved gelatine mixture.   Mix well;

5.  In a clean bowl, beat milk until thick.  Add cream cheese mixture and combine well;

6.  Pour mixture into biscuit base and place in fridge to set.

7.  When firm, gently top with a little bouquet of orchids.

(If you can't manage to find any Black Sapote - why not substitute some melted dark chocolate)

A Stroll Around the Garden

With the sun popping out briefly today it was a good opportunity to go for a bit of stroll around the garden and see how everything is going after all the rain we have had.  

Just look at this beautiful Pink Cassia and its masses of pink flowers.  You can't see it too well here, but in the background is the Pyramid mountain which I have been climbing recently  (have made it to the 3/4 mark so far!)  The Pyramid is a similar shape to Mt Fuji in Japan and the pink cassia almost looks like a Cherry Blossom tree - don't you think?  Okay - you probably DO need a  bit of imagination!

These gazmanias look so happy.   They are such a cheerful flower and really come to life in the full sun.  The little birdhouse window box I painted is a perfect new home for them and they are doing quite nicely.

My front garden is looking like a bit of a jungle!   The magnificent colours of the cordylines and crotons really pop in a sea of green. I have spent a good part of this morning pruning and cutting back all those ferns in the background.  No dainty secateurs for me - I had to use the chainsaw!

Look at these cute little bromeliads climbing up my Royal palm.  I wonder if they will make it all the way to the top?

 

A gorgeous orchid coming to the end of its bloom.  Look - there's Vinnie and Chloe's little house in the background.  Vinnie and Chloe are our Pink Galahs and that is the little aviary I built them.  In actual fact it is a HUGE aviary.  We call it the "Galah Hilton".

Another happy plant - this time Nodding Violet.   It never seems to stop flowering.  I think I have found the perfect spot for it under the pergola.

What did I say about jungle!   There is actually an expanse of lawn down there - although you wouldn't know it from this photo.

Here are Vinnie and Chloe - they've come to see what I'm up to.  "Hello Vinnie - smile for the camera!"

"I see you too........"

Alocasias, cordylines, crotons, bromeliads..........a real proliferation of colour.   I never grow tired of pottering around in the garden.  There is always something to do and something to see.  It is my sanctuary and the place I go to for serious thinking and decision making.  I have made some of my best decisions whilst shovelling mulch in the garden!
   

Thank you for joining me on my little stroll through the garden.  Time to pull the gardening gloves back on and head back to the jungle.    Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Gotta Love the Irish

Yah for Me!

This is exactly how I felt when the lovely Mel from Stripes by the Seaside informed me that I was the winner of her recent "Name my New Blog" competition.   I TRULY am one of those people who has never won anything in my entire life!  I am just SO thrilled.

I have been following Mel and her journey from her beautiful country Queenslander to her new (adorable and stripey) beach cottage for quite a while now.  Through the magic of blogland I have experienced all the emotions she and her family have felt in making the difficult decision to leave a very much loved family home and make a new life at the beach.  It has been a real roller coaster for us (her blog followers!) so I can only imagine what it has has been like for Mel and her family.  Throughout this whole journey what has absolutely shone through for me is her amazing talent/flair in creating a beautiful, comfortable sanctuary her family;   her vision and undeniable style;  and her genuineness of spirit.  She has been such an inspiration in so many ways.

As it turned out - Mel ended up finding her blog name herself or in her words "it found me!"  I just happened to be the lucky name drawn out of a hat.  I have chosen my prize (Yes - I had a choice!!) and I have selected a beautiful vintage eiderdown from her collection.  I have assured Mel that it is coming to a very good home.  I will love and treasure it forever more (and will even post photos of it on my blog from time to time so she can see how it is going).   Even though I can't wait to snuggle up under my beautiful new eiderdown - I can't help but wonder about the practicality of an eiderdown in the Tropics?  But hey, how good is it going to look at the foot of my bed.......  So, thank you once again Mel.  You've made my day year!

Longing for a Farmhouse Bench

Photo courtesy of Country Living Magazine

For as long as I can remember I have wanted a farmhouse bench - just like these beautiful ones here from Country Living magazine.   For years I have looked high and low just hoping one day to stumble across a lovely little bench hidden away somewhere - maybe in the back of  a second hand shop or  even on the side of the road ready for Council pickup.  I didn't really care what condition it was in - in fact the more battered the better.  However long and hard as I looked - it would seem that my dream of owning a farmhouse bench was never going to eventuate. 

Photo courtesy of Country Living Magazine

It took me a long time to come terms with the fact that there was not One Single Farmhouse Bench in Far North Queensland.  I came to the conclusion that the pioneers who settled in this part of Australia  didn't need creature comforts like wooden benches to sit on.  Maybe they were just happy to pull up an old kerosene tin or sit on a tree stump.   Or perhaps those that were made had been snapped up long ago by others like me with a serious farmhouse bench obsession or (heaven forbid!) broken up and used for firewood.
So imagine my excitement when the lovely Tina at Rubies Place did a little posting about her Farmhouse Bench obsession and included a link to the amazing Ana White at Knock Off Wood on how to go about making one.  A kindred spirit and better still ~ a kindred spirit WITH PLANS and INSTRUCTIONS!   I pondered over the diagrams for a couple of days.  It looked easy enough and really ~ could it be any more difficult than the Pirate lego ship I built for Adam back in 1987?  I think not.
So with materials list in hand and cordless drill on charge I headed off to my local Bunnings store where I picked up all the materials needed for the project for just $25 and set about the task of making my own farmhouse bench.  



I  measured (and measured again!).  Drilled and counter sank.  Screwed and glued.



A jigsaw is the only way to go!

I wasn't even daunted when a wayward handsaw decided to do its own thing and resulted in a nasty gash to my hand.  I REFUSED to give up!  I was like a woman possessed ~ I had been waiting 34 years for a farmhouse bench.  Nothing was going to stop me now.  

My tools of trade

"What do you mean you want me to get off this comfy little bench?"

Look how well those screws are lined up!  Even Dolly P was impressed. On went a base coat of blue and then I took to it with the hammer - bashing and scraping - drilling little worm holes with the cordless drill. I must admit - it did seem a rather bizarre thing to do. However all part of the Ana's faux distressing technique. Next came the top coat - red (of course!) and a bit of a rub back with sandpaper to the blue base. 




A base coat of blue



Finally it was finished!



"What does a cat have to do to get a bit of sleep around this place?"



So - here it is.  My cute little red farmhouse bench now sits proudly at the foot of my bed.  I am just SO happy with the way it turned out and think it sets off my room quite nicely.   I dare say it will probably end up becoming a bit of a dumping ground for discarded clothes and shoes - but hey, I don't really care.  I have FINALLY got my bench and I couldn't be happier.   





OK - "So you want me to be in this picture?"





"Do you think I could make it on the cover of Country Style magazine?"



 I have also developed a serious "building" bug and am already checking out Ana's site for other projects I can tackle ~ Armoires.....farmhouse tables.......chairs...... the possibilities are endless.  Thank you once again to all those fabulous bloggers who are a constant source of inspiration and are a true reflection of that old adage - "There is NOTHING that a woman can't do!"

More Holiday Projects

 

Inspired by the ever inspiring Miss Tina from Rubies Place I decided to dust the cobwebs off my sewing machine and have a go at making a couple of pillow shams for my newly decorated bedroom.  There is something strangely satisfying about creating a useful, practical item from a length of fabric.   It was also a good opportunity to sort through my fabric stash!   I would love to have an organised sewing room.  A lovely little cupboard like this one here where I could sort all my fabrics into their various colour tonings and another shelf for all my threads and ribbons.  How wonderful it would be to swing open the doors and have everything there ready to go.  Such a shame you (and your gorgeous little pink wardrobe) live 1400kms away Sandy!    Alas, my fabric storage consists of a number of Coles Eco shopping bags in the bottom of a wardrobe!   Hardly inspiration for spontaneous creativity.

For me sewing is a bit like painting.  I just get so caught up in what I'm doing that the hours simply fly by.  This is why I love being home on holidays - no time restrictions and no feeling guilty about other (more important) jobs I should be doing.  It was also lovely to be able to snuggle into my favourite chair with just my fabric and needle and thread, listen to the sounds of the rain pit patting on the roof and completely lose myself in double hemming stitch.   I've always loved hand stitching and embroidery and am fascinated at the amazing range of patterns which can be created with such simple tools. 

The little ruffle just finishes it off!