Million Dollar Day

It might be a humble cheese sandwich for lunch but with a lovely china cup and saucer a pot of tea, a favourite magazine and a beautiful view I feel like a millionaire.

Shame about the bank account, hehe..............

Weeding, chasing chooks out of the vegie garden and pruning roses is the perfect way to spend a sunny Winter's day.

There was a doozy of a frost this morning, but you can guarantee a gorgeous, sunny day will follow.

Out in the sun, it was T shirt weather but the cool breeze reminded you that there's still a few more weeks of Winter to go.

Sitting out in the sunshine getting my daily dose of vitamin D the only sounds I could here were

Sheep bleating

Crows cawing in the distance

Magpies arguing over something

A Blue Wren unhappy to share his territory with me

Frogs croaking down at the dam

The creak of the clothesline turning slowly in the breeze

The wind sighing in the trees

Ibises 'honking' away, I thought some geese had decided to come and visit.

The hum of a distant car

It was pretty near perfect except you weren't there to share it with me.

I would've pulled up another chair, grabbed another china cup and saucer and if I knew you were coming I would've whipped up a batch of scones.............

Now I have to eat a HOOUGE slice of humble pie here and publicly apologise to my 'girls' who I have been complaining bitterly about. Saying that no one was laying any eggs and I have had to buy eggs from the supermarket for the first time in oh, nine years!!

On Monday, I decided to go out and pick some Jonquils and............

There behind the Jonquils was a lovely nest full of beautiful eggs.

Berthilda ( I know, how on earth did I come up with the name?!!) had been escaping from the chook run and making her way over to this secluded spot to lay.

Bertie hatched last December and I had been eagerly awaiting her first egg.

There are 9 in total all nice and fresh ( I checked). Now I have somewhat of an excess of eggs, so it's been egg sandwiches for the last day or two.........

So to Molly who commented a couple of posts ago about the girls obliging me with a freshly laid egg in the front garden...........I got more than I hoped for Molly.

Last but not least a rare picture of our Tigger and his 'friend' Mrs Kafups sitting and staring at their tucker bowl, because obviously the longer you stare at it the more chance there is of food suddenly appearing...........

--------OOOOO--------

I'm pretty sure there will be another million dollar day tomorrow, so I will once again don the gardening gear and get a bit more weeding, pruning and chook chasing done.

I hope whatever the day brings, it's a good one for you too.

Thanks for stopping by and if you have a moment I would love to hear from you.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

Birth Announcement......Spring Baby Has Arrived

Hello and welcome to the weekend.

How's your Saturday going?

It's been a beautiful, sunshiny day here and not too chilly.

I love Saturdays where I get to do a little bit of creating as well as the boring houseworky stuff.

Yes, we have more 'Babies' on the way here in the Sweet Birdy Love household.

My Moonbeam Babies lit the fuse and the ideas seem to be endless........

So, inspired by the mild days we've had this week, I have been playing to day.

I finally cut into the beautiful woollen blanket I picked up recently from the op shop.

Some hand stitching with embroidery wool, mix it up with some free motion machine embroidery...........

Add some leaves, French knots and we're almost done.....except for t'other side.

I need to find a suitable saying to embroider on the back.

I'm thinking something Springlike but as yet haven't found anything that I'm happy with, so I have put on my uber cool thinking cap but it's not helping much..........yet.

Anyway, here is the front of my new Baby..........Spring Baby.

I think I have started something, so be warned there will no doubt be more babies on the way..........

(No. 1 needn't panic, he'll always be the one and only, hehehe)

Whilst creating I have been listening to the dulcet tones of Mr. Neil Young.

When the boys are away this is one of my DVD's of choice.

I just love it and can listen to it over and over again......in fact I have done that.

It wasn't until the last couple of years that I have become quite a fan of Neil's music.

I remember seeing him back in the 80's when he had long hair and lost himself in rocky guitar solos that left me cold............

But, since discovering this album back in 2007 and buying the DVD in the last year or two, my mind has been changed. In fact I took Richard to see Neil in concert in Melbourne about 2 or 3 years ago . I think it was February and it was stinking hot, we had 3 days in Melbourne where it was about 43 deg. each day, blah.

We queued for a couple of hours at the Sydney Myer Music bowl standing in the hot afternoon sun, waiting for the gates to open. We didn't have tickets for seats, just the grassed area behind the seats..........

It was nice to be able to broaden No. 1's musical tastes and introduce him to some wonderful music.

It was a great concert.

More often than not No. 1 is introducing hubby and myself to new stuff and you know what?

It's alot of fun.

Our musical tastes on the whole are thankfully, fairly similar!!

Along with creating and listening to music there has been time for the odd cuppa or two in my new mug..............

What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I hope you've all had a great day whatever you've been up to.

Till next time, take care and thanks for stopping by to say 'hello' it's always nice to hear from you,

Claire X

Winter Where Are You?

Hello every one, how's your week going ?

Thanks for popping by to see what's happening here in the Sweet Birdy Love Household..............

I'm still working on new designs for singlets.

I've used white thread for a change, instead of the usual black. I'm not sure if I prefer the white, but it's nice to try something different and see what the effect is............

There's a lot of toadstool and owl love going on in Blogland and I just couldn't resist it..........

I've also been reading alot of gardening posts of UK bloggers and the seed was planted, so to speak.

Along with the fact that Spring is sneaking around the place.

Would you believe it was 18deg. here today.

Now what's that all about I ask you?

It's heading back to 12 deg. on Sunday, right where it should be, I mean to say we've got another 5 weeks of Winter to go.

I'm not prepared to pack it in now.

I want more rainy, cold weather, evenings spent sitting by the heater with a cuppa or my crochet. You know what I mean, I'm just not ready to say goodbye to Winter yet..........

Anyway, while I was in town today I stopped by the local nursery and had a mooch about the seedling section.

There were lots of wonderful seedlings to choose from, but, they certainly aren't cheap, so I settled for some seeds and one punnet of plants.

I love Hollyhocks, I've never grown them before, so fingers crossed they do well.

Some giant Sunflowers will be grown in the garden this year and I'm hoping they live up to their name. I'll need to do a round of the paddock with the wheelbarrow and shovel and pick up some manure.......

Any volunteers?

Morning or afternoon tea supplied courtesy of No. 1 son (keep reading)

No. 1 was inspired yesterday to whip up some savoury scones, recipe courtesy of the Beechworth Bakery.

Believe me they taste even nicer than they look, they are just delicious.

He had been on an 8 km ride into town and back, so he had worked hard for them, but I'm not sure if I deserved one!!

Of course being the thoughtful mum that I am I had to try them............I didn't want him to think I didn't like them...

Today ended with a sun shower and a beautiful rainbow.

Changeable Spring weather, Winter is playing hide and seek.

------OOOOO------

I have actually found myself on my knees in the vegie garden this week. The urge to get outside was too strong to resist, so I donned my gardening gear and hat and out I went.

It was lovely, very soon I had taken off the long sleeved shirt and was quite comfortable in my t-shirt............in the middle of July.

I planted some Poppies, Stocks and Parsnips that I had bought recently.

Probably weeks too late, knowing me, but I'm sure they'll grow quite happily.

Well, that's just a snippet of the goings on here at Sweet Birdy Love.

Would love to know what you've all been up to, how you've spent your week.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

P.S. I meant to tell you in the 'market roundup' of last pos,t two of my makes were headed for homes O/S which I was very happy to hear.

My Baa, Baa Black Sheep, baby mobile was heading to South Africa and a Blanket Bunny was off to Dallas, Texas.

I have finally gotten around to sorting out some 'sew in' labels for my handmade items and they will be arriving in the next couple of weeks.

It's Time For A Change

Hello and welcome to a new week I have decided it's time for a change..........

Nothing major, but a comment made by a customer at the market on Saturday got the ideas swirling around in my brain.

I was keen to get home, dig into the bag full of fabric scraps and see what I could come up with.

Above are the first two daisy designs..................what do you think?

I like the blue and red daisy.

Sorry, the pic is a bit dull, but I think you can get the idea.

Driving over to Bright for the market on Saturday morning I was a bit apprehensive about the weather.

It was fine, but quite cloudy and I was worried that the sun would go all coy but the cloud disappeared and the sun did shine.

It was cold, but I always have a mobile wardrobe in the car as I have been caught out on other occasions.

I didn't need most of it, but it's good to be prepared in the cold weather, particularly when it's an outdoor market!!

There were quite a few visitors around as it was the last weekend of the school holidays and

Bright is very close to Mt. Hotham, one of Victoria's ski fields.

I had a good day, made quite a few sales.............Moonbeam babies, got lots of positive feedback and I sold one, but Blanket Bunnies were more popular.

You never can pick it.

When I came home from town this afternoon, I found this lot making themselves at home in the front garden.

No. 1 had let them out of their run for a forage and hadn't been keeping an eye on them.

Don't blame them really, we had close to an inch of rain overnight and there's probably nowhere dry for them to dust bathe.

They actually look like they have settled in to lay an egg or two..........that would be nice!!

The season's first Daffodils.

I planted two garden beds with Daffodils about 3 or 4 years ago.

Somehow, some Jonquils have found their way in and seem to be taking over..............

It's still very pretty, but it would be nice to get a good display of Daffodils, they are always so cheery and bright.

-------OOOOO-------

We had some lovely rain overnight.

Don't you just love lying in bed and listening to it on the roof?

It's a bit too damp to be working outside ,so the next day or two I will be sitting at my machine whipping up some new designs.

Much as I love Winter, Spring is making it's presence felt in more ways than one and now it's creeping into my crafting.

Thanks for popping by to say hello always nice to hear from you, hope you all had a good weekend and there's a good week to follow.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

Catch a Falling Star and Put It In Your Pocket

Hi there and thanks for dropping by.......

I'd like to introduce you to my latest Softies...."Moonbeam Babies"

I have been wanting to make another softie for quite awhile, but wanted to keep it simple.

For the front I used some lovely woollen fabric that Sandra sent to me earlier in the year and used pale blue polka dot cotton fabric for the back.

I'm rationing the woollen fabric as it's so lovely..............

(I still have to stitch a couple of 'bottoms' up, thus the slightly lopsided look !)

When I made the first Moonbeam Baby, I was just thinking the face was more like a sleeping child till No. 1 said how much he like the Moon...........bingo and thus Moonbeam Babies were born.

The trees are made from recycled woollen jumpers with felt trunks.

I machine stitched "Wish Upon A Star" and handstitched some stars using metallic silver thread...............

They give it a nice sparkly touch.

A quick visit to the Op shop yesterday yielded a fabulous woollen blanket.

It's pure wool made in Australia (yay) by Onkaparinga, good quality stuff.

I remember my sister decked out her room in purple when she started working full time and bought one of these very blankets, along with a purple beanbag and purple chenille bedspread!!

She also had a Starsky and Hutch Jacket...........

We're talking quite a few years ago folks......

Anyway, back to the blanket.

I will use it for some more Moonbeam Babies and as there's plenty of blanket I won't have to ration it.....

I can't believe it, not one but two wonderful o/s parcels have made it into my letter box this week.

The second was a giveaway I won over at Tweed Delights.

Alison sent me one of her gorgeous egg cosies and also added some lovely hand embroidered buttons, a bookmark (already in use) and a swatch of some Harris Tweed in beautiful blue and green.

All beautifully made and much appreciated, thanks Alison.

If you haven't paid her a visit yet, click on the link and have a look at all her wonderful makes and read about life in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

After many months of saying 'we must catch up' I finally had morning tea with Lindy, a lovely friend and neighbour.

She's a great cook and whipped up a delicious orange and poppyseed cake for the occasion and presented me with a beautiful birthday pressie.

This little birdy ornament is one I have admired in a local gift shop, so imagine my surprise when I opened it.........

She knows me very well.

I'm starting to amass quite a flock of varied birdy ornaments and each of them has a special memory of the person who gave it to me or the occasion on which I bought it.

My first was given to me by my mum when I was 21.

The Weeping Cherry outside Lindy's front door, was putting on a magnificent display.

I just had to take a pic to show you all

It's like a waterfall of delicate, blossom .........a hint of things to come.

After a pea soup fog this morning it has turned into a beautiful, sunny day. So I better get the freshly laundered blanket on the line so it can start drying and finish sewing up some 'nether regions'

I have a market in Bright on Saturday and it's out doors, brrrr.....

Am I crazy or what? No, please don't bother to answer, I know what you'll all say.

Hope your week is going well, thanks for popping by and don't forget to

"Catch a falling star

and put it in your pocket

never let it fade away.

Catch a falling star

and put it in your pocket

save it for a rainy day"

sung by Perry Como

Till next time, take care.....

Claire X

Sweet Birdy Happenings

Hello there and welcome to a new week.

After a cold, grey and damp weekend, filled with homemade soup, date scones and plenty of time relaxing we are now into a new week.

The sun was shining this morning, woohoo..........

Isn't it amazing what a difference it makes to your mood?

Unfortunately it was being coy and hid behind some old, grey clouds, peeping out occasionally. There's been a keen breeze at times, which has been good for helping to dry a load of washing.

My week has gotten off to a wonderful start with the above parcel arriving in my letter box.

Just look at all those stamps, customs note and drawing to the left of my address.............

I knew immediately who had sent it.............can you guess, before you read on ?

This is the beautiful birthday mug I ordered from Julie Whitmore.

It was a very special treat to myself and it is absolutely gorgeous as is all Julie's work.

I had asked Julie if she could paint a Red Robin on the front and .............

A nest with blue eggs on the back.

Julie also added lovely green polka dots on the handle with a sweet pink forget-me-not next to it. Speaking of handles it's a good size, you can fit a couple of fingers in it and hold the mug firmly.

And when you've had your final sip, sitting in the bottom of the cup is.............

A sweet little ladybird.

I'm onto my second cuppa already and I just love it.

Enclosed in the box were a couple of prints Julie had blogged about recently. I had admired the chicken in particular and as the prints arrived the day she was posting my parcel ,she very thoughtfully popped a couple in as well.

Aren't they sweet, I love the owl with it's very stylish acorn top beret and oak leaf.

Don't forget you can click on the pics to enlarge and see more detail.

If you haven't yet discovered Julie's world of whimsical characters and wonderful creations click on the link above.

Being a broochy kinda gal and being Winter which is the best time for brooches, I picked up another to add to my growing collection.

This gorgeous fella is made by Dick and Dora and I found him when we were on holidays in Tassie recently.

It was a tough decision as there was also a rather handsome looking rooster alongside.

It was almost a case of toss a coin to see which one came home with me, but in the end the Robin obviously won.

I must be in a brooch frame of mind at the moment as I sat down on Saturday afternoon and did some hand embroidery or 'slow stitching' as I like to call it.

I've always loved birds nests and eggs, sorry about the blurry pic, somehow my wee camera doesn't like taking closeups.

Not perfect, but I will iron out the bumps in the next one.

When I was young and dad was mowing the nature strip, I would get some of the grass clippings and make a nest on the ground, next to the fence hoping that some homeless bird would find it and decide to call it home..........

Today's creative endeavours are a WIP, so a sneak peek.

So far, so good, pop back later in the week to see what it is..........

Saturday afternoon visitors, they must've heard that I had made date scones or maybe they were practicing the 'chicken dance'..........

I hope you've all had a good weekend and got to enjoy some time doing the things which make you happy.

It's time to start thinking about tea/dinner, better get the washing off the line first, but maybe there's time for one more cuppa..........

Thanks all for dropping by to say 'hi', it's always lovely to hear from you,

Till next time, take care,

Claire X

What's Making Me Happy?..............

I'm happy because I have finally finished this tea cosie/cozy/cosy !!

It's for a dear friend and was ordered some time ago.

Every time we caught up for coffee, I secretly hoped she wouldn't ask how it was going.........

Well, now it's done, hooray. I hope she likes it...........

I added a little more detail to the cups and teapot........

I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Now to the other 3 cosies on the list of UFO's...........

A few posts ago, I showed you how I made my Autumn Leaf Wreath.

Quite a few leaves were left over, so I decided to do a little more decorating with them.

I was hoping to create a 'windblown' effect............

We had friends visiting from Queensland on Wednesday night.

They commented on how lovely the leaves were.

For O/S readers, Queensland doesn't really have the 4 distinct seasons like we do here in Victoria.

They miss out on the beautiful Autumn colour and Spring bulbs, but then they don't get frosty mornings and cold weather like we do here and they can grow Mangoes and Avocados in their backyards.............How good would that be?

When I lived in Queensland I really missed the seasons, I was so happy to move back here and enjoy all those wonderful seasonal differences.

I'm happy because this beautiful Sasanqua Camellia has finally flowered for the first time.

It's been in the ground for oh, 3 years, but due to the drought, has struggled and looked very sad.

Last Summer all the rain we received kick started a growth spurt and now we have lovely delicate flowers.

No words needed for the above pic..........

Cheery Jonquils brightening up the kitchen.......... heady perfume, I just love them.

I planted half a dozen Jonquil bulbs when I lived in Queensland, hoping against hope that they would grow and flower.............one actually did and that one flower perfumed the whole house.

As soon as you opened the front door you could smell the perfume.

It was at the time when we were selling our house and moving back to Victoria.

Certainly beat the good old percolated coffee aroma as a house selling tip........

Last but not least this DVD just happened to fall out of it's rack at the supermarket and land in my trolley..............really? Of course..........not!!

I saw this wonderful film at the cinema and loved every second of it.

If you haven't seen it, beg borrow or hire a copy, it's worth it.

Meryl Streep is brilliant as Julia Child along side Amy Adams who plays fledgling writer Julie Powell and Stanley Tucci is wonderful as Meryl's husband.

----------000000-----------

Things here in the Sweet Birdy Love household have been a little on the quiet side this week. Not alot of crafting going, still getting back into the swing of things.

No. 1 has been away in Melbourne visiting friends and doing some recording with them.

But he's home now and things are no longer quiet..............he bought a new amp.............

Don't get me wrong.......I'm more than happy to have him home, nothing like one of his hugs, he rests his chin on the top of my head.

Wasn't it just yesterday, when he was cradled in my arms?

I started back at work, after 3 weeks holidays...........I survived and didn't need retraining !!

Feet were a little sore after standing up all day, it was nice to get home, kick my shoes off and let out a sigh of relief.......

It's also been quite cold, well, cold for this neck of the woods, so time on the couch in front of the heater with a crochet project has been a must.

Reading your blog posts makes me happy too, seeing what you're all up to in different parts of the globe.

So thanks for popping by mine and if you have time to say 'hi', I always love to hear from you.

Till next time, take care,

Claire X