Super Sleuth Surprises.....

Hello girls, thanks for popping by for a visit.....

I want to tell you about a wonderful surprise that was waiting for me when I arrived home last Friday

I knew there was  a 'little something' winging it's way to my letter box.....

Have you ever had one of those moments when you are so completely overwhelmed by someones generosity that you are speechless?

Well, that's how I felt as I opened up the parcel.

I was gobsmacked and the tears started welling up I can tell you.

The wonderfully talented and generous Karen over at

Mimilove Forever

has been putting her super sleuth skills to work and

keeping a secret dossier on me, hehe......

Check this out girls......

Yep, it's No.1 and our Tigger having a cuddle.....

How gorgeous is that?

The detail is amazing.....

Alot of hours have gone into this artwork.

Along with the actual painting, Karen has  personalised this portrait with embroidery and song lyrics.....

Beautiful, bright Zinnias on the left  a 'No. 1 ribbon' and a rooster and chickens.....

Song lyrics from the Doobies, she knows I love them....

"thanks for the joy that you're giving me

I want you to know I believe in your song 

Rhythm,rhyme and harmony

You've helped me along making me strong, 

Oh, give me the beat boys to soothe my soul, 

I wanna get lost in your rock and roll

and drift away"

Very appropriate....
Now I'm not sure when I posted the photo of Rich and Tig, but the likeness is amazing and apparently Karen has had this little project bubbling away in the background for some time.

I already own some of Karen's artwork....

Here's one gorgeous English Robin

along with Batman

And a lovable Gnome

 whose sentiments I will happily agree with..

"Be it ever so humble there's no place like home...."

This painting is now framed and hanging on the wall, where we can all admire it ....

Rich is just thrilled with it and Mr. SBL is pretty impressed too.

Karen and I stuck up a friendship through our blogs and she has been very supportive of Rich and his music. Over the past couple of years we have emailed, keeping up to date with what life has been dealing out.

 Without going into detail Karen has had alot 'on her plate' throughout this time and the strength she has shown has been amazing......

Still shaking my head in wonderment at her generosity and how blogging can bring you into contact with so many great people, that you would never 'meet' otherwise.

So Karen,

 THANKYOU

 THANKYOU 

 THANKYOU

If you haven't visited  her blog before girls, take the link

and pop over for a visit and while you're there check out her etsy shop it's choc full of her fab makes.

As well as being talented with a paintbrush and needle and thread, she has a wicked sense of humour which will have you in stitches!!

This surprise has made my home coming all the more enjoyable and I'm looking forward to what the rest of the week has in store.....

Claire X

at home 

Goodbye.....

Hello Adventurers are you still hanging in there?

 This is THE last post from NYC.

My bag is packed and full to almost overflowing. I have my ticket at the ready and in 24hrs time I will be winging my way home to Oz.....wish I could just click my heels three times and be there!!

I discovered a modern day Dorothy out and about in her red shoes at a weekend market.

I fear clicking her non existent heels together might cause an ankle injury at the very least.......

This morning I was up and out the door bright and early and determined to enjoy my last full day wandering around Greenwich Village. Taking note of the detail......colour, texture, pattern.

I was just going to snap away and enjoy the beautiful sunny morning.

Coffee was the required fuel along with an almond croissant, hehe...

and I found a cafe that makes it almost as good as the coffee I enjoy back home....

A good start don't you think?

If you're going to have a fence why not have a fancy one....

Shadow, shape and colour

Proof girls....this is the city that never sleeps.

But you all knew that didn't you?

A lovely spot to sit and watch the world go by

Yeeees....

How could you not fall in love with one of these gorgeous

little fluff balls?....

Mind you the notice on the window advertising a Pug for sale might put you off at $1500.00!!

If you think all the interest is at street level..... then you are missing out.

Wait till you see what I spied a little further on!!

Thankfully, not still in use....at least not here.

Sometimes I wonder why we refer to the 'good old days' when

housework was so laborious....

Adam and Eve had it right...fig leaves.

Spill your soup on them, just throw them away and grab another off the tree, no ironing or washing!

Stopped off at a local thrift shop to see if I could spy any treasures.

The only one I found was already taken, boohoo....

The real deal..

Decorated doorsteps for Fall or otherwise.

A pot plant and a bit of TLC make all the difference.

I think someone was having a sale on these 'mums'..

Now this doorstep looked stunning and it's no more than 4 pots of mums? and 2 pumpkins, but the colours!!

 WOW...

 It's all in the detail!

Initially I took this pic because of the orange Vespa but when I uploaded them it seemed quite an amusing little scene......

In my mind it goes like this.

"Hmm, should I park next to the Big Boys?" she asks herself

Maybe she was feeling a little intimidated...

Then some guy on his scooter stops, maybe he's a friend.

"It's OK, at least your scooter's got an engine..."

"If anyone should be feeling intimidated it's me"

(Ok, ok, after the Pirate jokes, what do you expect? Im not a standup comedian)

More Fall decorating....

Well, what would you hang on the  balcony wall of your 3rd floor 2 storey apartment?

Must have been fun looking for somewhere to live.

 Forget the 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms or whatever.

I just need enough space to hang my skull and antler collection.....

So finally, we bid farewell to New York.

The big, busy, bustling, noisy city that has been 

'home' since the start of the month.

It's been fun, interesting, amusing, exciting.

I've been home sick and overwhelmed at times, but I hung in there and now the adventure is drawing to a close.

I want you all to know that sharing it with you and reading all your wonderful comments really, seriously, helped me get over those times when I wanted to pack my bag and head home.

So, a

 BIG THANKYOU 

to all of you for being there with me and for me, whether you knew it or not......

Goodbye New York

It's time to head home to a small, country town, wide open spaces peace and quiet.

Thankyou  so much to Mr.SBL who suggested I take this trip with No. 1. This has been a wonderful opportunity and I'm so glad I came. 

He stayed home and looked after the chooks and worked on his relationship with Tigger!!......

I thought Rich was quite capable of doing this on his own and he most certainly is, having been here before. 

But it didn't take long for us to realise that it would've been a very lonely month for him and that would've made the whole thing a lot harder.

We've enjoyed time together, exploring and discovering this city.

 It's great to know that I wasn't just 'tagging along' but sharing the adventure with him too.

Thanks girls for your company and your comments, it's time for bed we have  BIG day ahead of us.

 Goodnight,

Claire

XX

NYC

P.S. 11pm Rich has just decided to go out and get some pizza.
Why?
 Because it's his last night in New York and because the pizza shop is literally across the road and because he can!!

OK...

Argh Me Hearties........

Hi there ladies, I hope you've all had a great week and have some R & R lined up for the weekend or are already enjoying your weekend.

I'll end the week here with a mixed post and a giveaway winner.

I enjoyed wandering around Union Square's Farmers Market on Wednesday......

These Orchids are so delicate and if you look closely you can 

see some little green 'creatures' on the stems and bamboo supports.......

Little plastic Dragonflies, to hold the stem to the support....great idea.

Vibrant Gerberas.....

I  have never grown them, have you?

Love this colourful bike, great way to get around but I'm not sure about the comfort level of the leather saddle!!

Did you know it was 'Talk Like a Pirate Day' on Wednesday?

'Aye me hearties it were'....did you miss it?

I just had to go inside as tell my one and only Pirate joke.

Do you want to hear it?

Oh, all right then, I'll keep it to myself!!

Walking 'home' today I found this gallery in Soho with a Rob Ryan exhibition on.........yippee...

Are you familiar with his work? 

These are all cut out of acid free paper/card by hand.

Obviously the photo doesn't do justice to his work. It must be painstakingly slow but it's so effective.

It was great to see all the detail close up.

The gallery owner told me they take anywhere from 1 to 200 hours....

If you'd like to see more of his work he has a blog here.

Before I left Australia I was reading a New York blog and the blogger was talking about all the water tanks on top of buildings

Can't help but notice them now....

Bit like all the chimney pots in England, didn't pay much attention until someone pointed them out to me!!

Got to say the water here tastes great too.

Sunset pics taken from the rooftop garden during the week

I  finished off the sewing needle book and added a

feather on the back.

I enjoyed making it so much that I started another.....

I couldn't resist putting a squirrel on it.

(Bit different from 'put a bird on it'!!)

I added a ribbon tie to this one and just need to sew in the lining and voila....

Obvious choice for the back wasn't it?

Ok, girls here we go write the names out put them all in a 

suitable bag, hehe.....

Give them a good shake around and ask No.1 to draw out a name or two!!

Yes, I decided to have two winners.

Would love to send you all a little something for joining me on my adventure, a huuuuuuge 

'THANK YOU'

♥♥♥

 will have to suffice..

The winners are

1.Mrs Micawber 

&

2.Little Blue Mouse

I'll be in touch shortly girls......

If you haven't read their blogs yet, pop over and introduce yourselves....

An update on how No.1 is going with his recording.

All the tracks are down and they have been mixing the recordings this past week.

He's enjoying being back in the studio and the creative process.

He even played some banjo on a couple of the tracks which surprised me as guitar is really his instrument

I have to admit I am a banjo lover from waaaaay back.

If you would like to listen to what he does here's a link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mby-I2-2fcM 

This was recorded in January this year.....

Oh all right here's the joke...

In best pirate voice.

Q.Why are pirates, pirates?

A.Because they arrrrrrrrr!!

and because that was so bad here's another....

Q. What do pirates get when they grow old?

A. Arrrrrrrthritis!!

No apologies, cos you really wanted to know, didn't you?

Fab weekend to you all.

Thanks for popping by and welcome to new followers and commenters.

Claire 

NYC

✩✩✩

Tuesday's Travels

Hello girls anyone for a slice of cake?

For the crafty at heart, how about this beauty for your next celebration?

What a wonderful window display and if you hadn't guessed already it's the window display for a 'trim' shop.

Trims as in ribbons, buttons, rhinestones, braids, bits n bobs, this n that, you name it they've got it.

M & J Trimmings is one huge shop, beautifully laid out, room to move around easily and friendly, helpful staff.

Girls, I uploaded the pics extra large so you could get an idea of how big this place is and the amount of stock they have.  

If they haven't got what you want, then I don't think anyone has.

I visited quite a few fabric/trim shops in the Fashion District and this is by far the best.

Certainly beats Spotlight, hehe....

Another creative window display....

Remind you of a certain children's book?....

Now I can assure you I wasn't paid to advertise this shop, but if

they would like to send me a 'goody bag' of trims as a thankyou, I certainly wouldn't turn it down!!

Maybe Edward could get a job at M & J Trimmings....

Weekend venturing saw us down at Battery Park, heading towards the Staten Island Ferry terminal.

 I discovered the Urban Park Conservancy and my heart skipped a little beat or two.

A vegie garden....

an oasis of greenery in amongst the asphalt and bricks of the city.

Lots of vegies and flowers, balm for the gardeners soul....

Of course I discovered some Zinnias, beautiful in their faded glory....

Love the bean trellis...there'll be one like this in my vegie garden this Summer.

Rows of Rainbow Chard and Marigolds.

I can't tell you how happy this garden made me feel......

I could've stayed there all afternoon and explored the pathways through the garden

There were lovely purple/white eggplants growing, Kale, Tomatoes, Capsicums, you name it, it was most probably growing there.

Click on the link and read all about it, they'll do a better job explaining what it's all about.

A little gem if ever there was one.....

Another stylish scooter, parked on the street.

This is for Mr. Micawber......thumbs up or not?

More time  spent in Washington Square Park on the weekend.

Just as well it's a large park as there are so many buskers.....

The 'Piano Man' was back and he had a very attentive little, old lady .

Wasn't sure if she was really interested in his piano playing or needed somewhere to 'prop' and have a rest!!

The busker is the one in the silver suit, the other guy was trying to get in on the act!!

He certainlydidnt' endear himself to the buskers in the park.

Time for 'walkies' about a dozen dog's all up, spotted on my way to the Guggenheim.

Pretty sure the red back pack is full of doggy treats, hehe....

Looks like the dog far right is sitting up nice and straight waiting for one of those treats!!

So being a grey, gloomy and somewhat damp day today, it was a good day for inside adventures, so the Guggenheim it was.

"It's a big white building and you can't miss it" were the directions from a doorman a block away.

 He was right you can't miss it and the queue of people........oh boy. But it was a fast moving queue and out came the brollies when the rain came down.

Part of the Museum was closed due to the installation of an upcoming exhibition, but that was OK.

 Still got to see lots of great ART, ART, ART!!

van Gogh, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, Picasso and so the list goes.....thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

No photography allowed, sorry girls.

I love watching the pigeons in the parks and seeing all the different colours.

 So, last night I stitched up a sewing needle book using some wool mix felt I bought.

Along with a 'little something' I picked up at Anthropologie it will be a 'thankyou' gift to one of you adventurers who have kept me company on this exciting journey.

I will draw the giveaway at the end of the week, so all commenters names will go into the draw.

Hmmm, better start writing the names out now I think!

So here we are Tuesday, the last full week in NYC.

You can probably guess what I want to say next....something to do with time!!

When we first arrived I wondered how I would last the distance.

It's such a busy, bustling, noisy, vibrant city, so different from home. 

But I laced my shoes in a double bow, pinned on my adventurers badge and plunged into the hurly, burly and I have survived....

I have  a sneaking suspicion that when we hop on that plane next week. The one with the big, red Kangaroo on the tail and we head for home, that I will be a little bit sad to leave New York. 

But I know there will be a little bit of Sweet Birdy Love that will stay here forever in NYC.

Yes, it will be a woolly heart or two or three or more

 hanging in MOMA and the Guggenheim and in various parks and on Subway trains but none the less a little bit of me........

Thanks for visiting girls and also for your wonderful comments.

Claire X 

NYC