Firetruck dog!

Hello again! My trip to Melbourne was great. It was lovely to see my family and friends. Mum, Julie and I had dinner at a lovely restaurant on Thursday night and I got some great presents! I spent Friday with my gorgeous friend Sally and her divine little baby girl. Dinner with my other super stylish friend Kate. Saturday Julie and I did a little shopping. Then the big trek home.

We are getting organised and packing for our trip north. I am slowly emptying the bedroom so the floor man has full access. The wardrobe moved out yesterday. Today it's the chest of drawers. Ew, so much dust behind and under the furniture.

We need to drench the sheep sometime before we leave and Lyndon has been watering the trees so they will be fully soaked. As you can see from the photo Little Man loves to go along and help!

Another treasure

Here's another treasure from the barn. It's made from some sort of metal, tin maybe, and is quite delicate. What a lovely little fishing scene!

I had a day full of bits and pieces today. Trying to get too many different things done which can be quite frustrating. We are having our floors polished while we are away over Easter so I have to clear all the furniture and rugs away. A bit of a bother but it will be worth it!

I am heading off to Melbourne tomorrow for a few days to catch up with family and friends.

Best wishes, C xx

Happiness is....

Hello everyone, hope you are having a great day.

Another day in paradise here! I have been doing housework which I quite enjoy because the house always looks so clean and tidy afterwards. I must admit though I don't like cleaning the shower or toilet! I was dusting today and thought you might like to see a photo of a little arrangement in my bedroom. I have five Kokeshi dolls. I think they are so gorgeous!

I am off into town soon to catch up with my client (I designed some business cards for her) and visit a friend for a chat. See you again soon. C xx

Happy Birthday!

It's my birthday today! Yay, I love birthdays. Today has just been a normal day but it's still nice all the same. Lyndon and I are off to a restaurant for dinner which will be a lovely change. One of the problems of living where we are is that if you don't feel like cooking dinner you can't just ring and get take-away! On nights like that I make something really simple like bacon & eggs or baked beans on toast.

The scan above is of a postcard I found amongst the barn treasures. It is dated 1914 and is addressed to Lyndon's great uncle. Very pretty!

Money for Jam

Another beautiful autumn day here today. I am not sure which season I like best. They all have their good points. I must admit I love winter when it's cold and pouring with rain and I am snuggled up inside under a blanket watching a movie. Spring blossoms are pretty hard to go past too. Nature is amazing!

A friend gave me a huge bag of apples the other day and after stewing a pot full I thought what am I going to do with the rest? Then today I was flicking through a cookbook from the Australian Women's Weekly called "Jams and Jellies" and I found a Rhubarb & Apple Jam recipe! Not your normal jam ingredients I agree but since I have rhubarb growing in my vegie garden and this (still huge) bag of apples I thought why not give it a try. You can see the results above. The labels are from The Scrapbook Establishment and the ribbons I attached with double sided tape. I have quite a stash of beautiful ribbons for all occasions and uses. Wrapping and giving presents is one of life's joys!

Rural mail box

Our poor old letterbox has seen better days. Lyndon put it together many years ago. Luckily our mail does not get delivered here as we have a box at the local Post Office where we collect our mail. Occasionally it is used if someone needs to drop something off. I had visions of painting it a beautiful rich red. Lyndon wants to paint it khaki with a big white star (he's into military stuff) which would probably be quite fun!

Farm fresh eggs

Two eggs today. I love keeping chooks. They come running over for the kitchen scraps when I call them. We only have three but plan to get a few more. There's something very good about collecting eggs. It's like the satisfaction of picking your own home grown fruit and vegetables. This summer I made plum jam and many many jars of tomato pickles! Cold roast lamb and tomato pickle sandwiches are a favourite of Lyndon's. Actually our freezer is running low on lamb so it will soon be time to call the butcher. There's nothing like a home grown lamb roast, or shanks in the slow cooker, or chops on the BBQ.

Reading material

I am a magazine fiend! I love fashion and home decorating magazines the most. This impressive stack is every issue of Notebook: magazine which is one of my absolute favourites. It has such a great variety of content and I am always inspired after reading it. We are renovating our lounge room at the moment and are getting a huge floor to ceiling unit built which will be fabulous for displaying my collections.

Gardening

Everyone says they love the smell of freshly mown grass, but I love the look of a freshly mown lawn better! It looks so neat and tidy and clean and inviting. All this rain has really made the grass (and weeds!) grow. We have such a big lawn it's a major mowing job, but it's worth it. Here are a couple of garden shots for you. I have no idea what the plant in the white pot is but every year it dies off and grows again later with lots of pretty pink flowers.

I am feeling a little down today....had a bit of a run in with a "friend". What is a true friend? What should you get out of a great friendship and what should you be expected to give? All I know is that everytime I see this friend I come away feeling empty. Anyway, enough of that. Maybe some baking will cheer me up! Cheerio for now.

Basil

Meet Basil! He's about 6 months old and is a ball of fun and energy. He loves catching mice and rabbits and whatever else he can chase. Riding on the back of the motorbike is also a favourite past time, yapping at the sheep and pulling on Lyndon's overalls! It's very funny to watch. Unfortunately the dog we had before Basil (also named Basil!) encountered a snake and they both lost the fight. It was very sad but a fact of life in the country.

I've been finding some great blogs lately (thanks to Decor8) and got a great recipe, Chocolate Caramel Cookies, from All Things Lovely that I can't wait to try. Just have to pop into town and buy one of the ingredients and I'll be right to go. Yum!

Hidden treasures

Look what I found in the barn! Are'nt they fun. They were stashed in a box of stuff from the great-grandparents house. There were a lots of treasures in the barn actually. A gorgeous Royal Doulton tea/coffee set amongst others! Can't believe they have been hidden in the barn for 20 years. That was BC (before Clare!).
Have to go and help my man with his Jeep. He's replaced some parts in the front end and needs me to help with a wheel alignment or something! We're off on a trip north for 3 weeks at the end of the month and are taking both Jeeps with us. Should be fun! Will write more again soon.
CGC.

Home decorating

Morning!
I love rearranging the furniture and decor in my home. This little setting is in my kitchen so when I am standing at the bench cooking I can look over and see my lovely orchid and vibrant Marja-Leena print. We had quite a bit of rain overnight and now the sun is occasionally breaking through the clouds. There is a little market on in town today so I might have a wander and see if I can find any bargains or treasures.
Bye for now,
CGC.

Lovely Sunday

Hello again.
Our beautiful crepe mytle is covered in flowers and bees! Makes a lovely pink carpet on the footpath. We have had a nice bit of rain over the last couple of days. The weather is always part of country conversation. We only have about 200 sheep (most of the farmers around here have about 2000!) and the rain brings on the grass so we don't have to feed them hay every second day.
I think I might make Anzac biscuits today. Always needs nibbles on hand for the visitors that pop in for a cuppa! Also time I made another Dandelion Design paper artwork. Then there's always the household chores to do.
Cheerio for now,
CGC.

My first Blog!

Hello! Is'nt technology amazing?! I am sure this stuff is quite mundane to some people but I find it great. Since starting my etsy and madeit websites I have been reading other sellers profiles and notice most of them have a blog so thought I had better try one myself.

Check out my stuff at onedandeliondesign.etsy.com and madeit.com.au/dandeliondesign.

I live in an old farmhouse on a 750acre farm in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The little town is approx 4 kms from our house and has a population of about 300 people. It has a little supermarket, a milk bar, a pub, a hardware shop, a post office, a tyre shop, a machinery shop and a rural supplies store. Our nearest "major" town is 50kms north and we are approx 250kms from the thriving city of Melbourne.

I used to live in an inner city suburb of Melbourne and moved here about 6 years ago...I followed my heart and here I am. At first it was pretty hard to adjust to but now I love it! Country people are so different to city people. Everyone knows nearly everyone here, which is good and bad. If you have to go into town and are feeling a little cranky you can't just withdraw and ignore everyone like you can in the city, you have to be nice and friendly because you know everyone and they know you!

People are always dropping in to our place too. They just turn up! It amazes me. Hardly anyone rings first to check if you are home or if you are decent or dressed or happy to have visitors! There goes my nude sunbathing and hanging out in my PJ's all day! I suppose I could pretend I was'nt home and not answer the door but that's not the country way.

My other half is an amazing man. He does all sorts of things but mainly welding, mechanical repairs, fabrication, engineering and servicing. A lot of farmers in the district rely on his skills. He has the most amazing work ethic and standards. I am very proud of him. We are getting married in May! Aww!

Well, I could keep going for ages but I had better go a do some chores. I will write more later.

CGC.