A Bit of This & That....

I am finally getting my pergola put up at home this week. It's not finished yet but I thought I would share some progress photos.  I am home tomorrow so it can hopefully be finished off.

I have had it built around my flowering Cherry tree, I was a bit worried it wouldn't look any good but I am happy with....better than I thought it would look.  Once it is finished all I have to do is paint it.....yeah great!

While I was home I got stuck into painting and distressing an old cupboard that was in the shed, which I want to put in one of the bedrooms for some extra storage.

It's my first attempt at distressing furniture, not sure if I am happy with it, but it will do. I have to get the handles and then it will be finished.

I also baked some M&M cookies.

Bailey was curled up on the lounge in the sun....what a life...spoilt dog!!

 

                                                                                                                           

The daffodils are all out around my old fence.

That's it for now...I will post the finished pergola and cupboard photos once they are painted and the handles are on.

Enjoy your day!

xx

A Great Day Out...

I mentioned in my last post that I was having a day at Rick Rutherford's for his Yulefest celebrations.  Well, last Saturday my good friend Chris and I decided we would make a day of it and so off we went and visited our usual antique shops on the way up the mountains.  It was a great day with morning tea, snacks at Rick's and then a yummy dinner on the way home...what a big day but very enjoyable with a lot of laughs and chatting!!

My first purchase was this great old Shaving Jar...I will have to find some old combs to put in it.

Then it was off to buy some christmas decorations.  I bought these cute bowl ornies with snowmen painted inside, in 3 different sizes.  I bought some more ornies but will show you with my decorating at christmas time.  We had a great time at Rick's, he always makes us feel welcome.

(this is only some of the decorations...aren't they cute!)

I also bought this lovely wee willy candle holder with flicker candle, I have a couple of these in different sizes...I just love them...they look great turned on at night.

I didn't buy this candle holder, but I thought I would show you anyway, my partner made this out of an old rabbit trap (mind you it was my idea), so I have 2 of these on the wall in the lounge room with flicker candles and they too look great.

I also bought these lovely little button boots from Chris' website (www.littlehouseprimitives.com - well worth a look), they look great sitting on my old dressing table in my bedroom. Next to them is the hook that you use to do the buttons up.

During the week I finally put up my old hoe on the wall in the lounge room.  I think it needs some things to hang off it....looks like there might be another day out coming soon!!!

My daffodils have started to flower in the back garden.  They look really good next to the old fence I put up.  I can't wait until spring, I have started planting out a lot of foxglove, stock, hollyhock and delphinium seedlings, so come spring I should have a lot of flowers and colour in the front and back gardens this year...can't wait!

Well, that was another great day out, thanks Chris....we will have to start planning the next one!!

Enjoy your day!

xx

Rain, Rain Go Away....

Well, I can tell you I am over this rain that we have had the last 5 days.  I haven't been able to do anything outside.  It has been cold and just plain yucky!

At least someone has been keeping warm in all this weather

(So very spoilt!!!)

I cooked some choc chip cookies for a friend's 2 little boys, they thought it was great that they got these as a gift!

In between the showers and downpours of rain I managed to go and check on my vegies. So with gumboots on the feet outside I went.

My mini brocolli is slowly growing they have a very small head, in the left photo, behind the parsley which is growing mad.  The peas are growing slowly too, I found a flower on them.  I don't get much sun in the backyard in winter so I'm not sure how my winter vegies will go, its the first time I have planted in winter....oh well...can only hope!

Over the weekend I decided to go for a drive up the mountains to Lawson to pick up some of the lovely braided rugs from Rick Rutherford's Country Store.

I ended up getting a runner for my dining table and a rug for the front door. I think the one for the front door is too small so I have decided to get the bigger size when I go back to the lovely store in July for the Yulefest that Rick's has with all new xmas decorations. These days are great I went to the one last xmas and I can tell you I spent a few dollars on new xmas decorations. He gets the decorations from the USA and its what you don't see here in the stores and they are the country look decorations and I can tell you that my xmas tree last year looked fantastic (even if I do say so myself). I can't wait.

Even Bailey was bored over the weekend with all of this rain, he played a lot with his "Pooh Bear".

It looks like the rain has stopped for a while, hopefully for a long time.

Enjoy your day!

xx



In the Garden & What's Cooking

The leaves are falling from the trees in the backyard, they are such a pretty colour.  The only pain is the raking of the leaves, but it only happens once a year and it is good therapy!!

(photo taken after leaves raked)

The first of my bulbs have started to flower and many more springing up ready to give a good show.

I planted peas, spinach and broccoli over the weekend and as soon as I had turned my back Bailey thought it was a nice sunny spot to lay on them in the sun (I didn't get a photo as I yelled at him and he quickly jumped off), dogs, who needs them (me of course).

Last week I bought myself a Slow Cooker and what a bargain it was, $30 from Aldi for a 6.5 ltr.  So it was a weekend for cooking.  Saturday I cooked Beef & Vegie Casserole for my Dad to have in his freezer and Sunday I cooked Chicken & Vegie Casserole for us. 

  

I also cooked a yummy Crunchy Top Apple Cake (from Heidi at Primitive Ole Frugal Mumma blog -  thanks Heidi). It was easy to make and tasted so good!

I can see more cooking days ahead with the weather starting to cool down.

Enjoy your day!