Start saving those champagne wires for next year people J

Who would have imagined you could make a Christmas wreath out of champagne leftovers...my good friend Chris, that's who!

Goodness knows how many bottles of champagne had to be drunk sacrificed to make this little beauty. I'm pleased to say that I may have contributed once in a while throughout the past year. I like to be helpful J Here it is hanging on the mirror.

Chris said she went minimal with the decorating this year (like me!)...but she certainly knows how to fling a few baubles in a bowl!

Chris and Terry are going to let me photograph their beautiful townhouse over the holidays so that I can show you on the blog...here's a sneak peek...

...you won't be disappointed!

all images: a tranquil townhouse

I spent yesterday with a group of lovely friends on an Open Garden Scheme tour of Jackie French's garden...

For those who don't know, are too young to know, forget they ever knew, never knew...

Jackie French is a well known and award winning author, columnist, speaker, presenter. She's been on the tv and on radio...she writes and talks about a lot of things, especially the bush and fruit trees...and historical fiction and non-fiction, children's stories, gardening...she's pretty extraordinary.

Jackie's home in the beautiful Araluen Valley near Braidwood NSW was open over the weekend and she was the hostess. So generous with her time and clearly an expert with a vast knowledge honed by an inquiring mind...

 

I lost count of the hundreds of trees, shrubs, plants that she and her husband Bryan care for. You can read a lot more about it on her website as well as about the 140 books she's written...yes 140!  It was a fascinating talk, most of which went right over my non-horticultural head, but wow, what a lovely place to spend a few sunny Sunday hours.

Of course I had to buy a book :-) 

This is part of the foreword ...
"Once upon a time I bought some land. I wanted to build a house, an orchard, a world of peace and plenty..."
Can't wait to read it.

Bless.

I feel this is somewhat of a fraudulent 'my creative space' this week as it involves nothing more than a bit of glue...but sorry, it's all I've got!
When I was helping my friend Susan move out of her rented townhouse so that she could go and babysit another friend's home while they were having the annual five month stint at their other place in the south of France...phew, did you get all that? Good. How jealous are you? Me? I'm an unattractive shade of green...

Anyway, while the chandelier fairy and I were helping clean and pack (and to be completely fair, a lot of it had already been done), I accidentally broke one of Susan's teacups...

She was very good about it (and quite right since I'd just cleaned the bathroom for her!)...I know you're reading Susan, and I know you know I'm joking :)

So I took it home and fixed it (but not brilliantly as you can see!) and I'm using it to hold the garlic...ok, so not hugely creative, especially seeing I stole the whole 'garlic in a teacup' idea from the first born's house, but...

...at least it's useful again. Gotta love that. From dim-witted clumsiness to garlic holder. Even a chilli repository from time to time. And cheap...really cheap. Friendship still intact as well :)
For a much more interesting post, you can read about my friend Susan's sea change and see her house by the coast here...and then go and see a whole lot of creative spaces here. There'll be more than glue involved I'm sure!
all photos by me

I have a confession. I did (and please excuse my French) stuff-all this weekend. Things I should have been doing, didn't get done. I stayed in my pyjamas until after lunch on Saturday and Sunday. 

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I didn't put my washing away, much less touch an iron.

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I really didn't think much about blogging...which I'm trying to tell myself is a good thing...only every now and then...of course ;)

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I didn't go and play volleyball as I promised myself I would.

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I didn't do the financial paperwork that I really must do, and I didn't start an assignment that absolutely needs to be started.

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I did the barest amount of grocery shopping that I could get away with. And I didn't do a whole lot of other things that I won't bore you with.
But here's what I did do. I enjoyed the solitude of having the house to myself. The 22 year old was in Sydney for the weekend helping the first born move out of an apartment she shared with a very odd French man and into a house with four other women...in 40 degree plus heat...poor loves.

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I thought about my upcoming trip to New York (thank you so much for the suggestions...please keep them coming). 
I read. I read lots. I watched old movies. I did a bit more to the Ballets Russes painting. Biting off more than I can chew comes to mind when I look at this...many, many more hours required until it's decent...but I will persevere thanks to some lovely encouragement from my blogging/facebook friends!

I went out for dinner with my man on Friday...we had fabulous salt and pepper squid. I made a nice dinner at home for us on Saturday. I went out for dinner at my lovely friends Chris and Terry's on Sunday...I'll photograph their house one day...you'll love it. So, I guess, in effect what I did was stop...and in a life full of constantly doing stuff...enjoy, for the moment, being a sloth. Like the vampire slayer does every single day of her life! 

 Now I just need to work out how to do that without feeling guilty. Any hints?

There was a dinner party here on Saturday night...boy they're a lot of work aren't they! 'Twas fun though :)

This is the dining part of my living room...the tiniest kitchen in the southern hemisphere is where I took this photo from...it drives me batty but I have a cunning plan for some extra storage...once I find a carpenter. I've edited out all the ugly bits...the wall colour, the brown woodwork, the dodgy, boxy fireplace...that will all be gone come 17 December...can't wait!

And because cooking for a dinner party takes so much time and effort I thought I'd get some bloggy mileage out of it! The makings of the marinade for the baked lemon grass and chilli chicken (I used chicken thigh fillets with the skin on...they were delicious). Do you grate your garlic...I never crush...I'm a bit like Nigella that way...but only in that way. More's the pity.

I used recipes from my Annabel Langbein cookbook [The Free Range Cook] that I won at Amanda's blog for the mains and dessert (thank you Amanda...I love this book to bits).  And look, my blueberry cake is just like the one in the book!! I don't think Annabel is quite as messy as me though.

The lovely teatowel is from Thea and Sami...
Richard made the entree...delicious deep fried prawn wonton dumplings with dipping sauce...but because he made them at his place I have no photos...but they looked a bit like this...

There was no way I was going to take photos once people were at my house...they already think my blogging is a bit odd :)
These little potato stacks are from a copy of MindFood...a fabulous NZ magazine...such clever people those kiwis. Mine didn't look quite as good as the photo, but they were very tasty.

The table setting was very simple...bamboo runner and table mats..but the good china and crystal got a run. Actually I use those glasses all the time. The entrée plates are very old Royal Albert, given to me by my friend Chris. Loving my new dining chairs too...and they passed their first dinner party test with flying colours!

The flowers were also very simple...mostly from the garden and some leftovers from work! Small vases, a soy sauce bottle and a water bottle...I would never have done this before blogging began...but I'll certainly be doing it again!

So there you go...it could only have been nicer if you'd been there :)

I hope the week ahead is good to you...I'm going to enjoy looking at the flowers on my dining table...because I sure won't be going outside much...rain forecast all week...sigh.

I went to a funeral yesterday. The remembrance of a really, truly, lovely woman who, at 61, died far too early.  As Remembrance Day was being observed in places around the globe, we remembered Rose.

My friend Jo and I went to see Rose in the hospice last Saturday, in the morning. The cancer had spread to her brain... but she knew us, she smiled when we walked in, she laughed at our lame jokes, and she held our hands when we left. And she died...with her family surrounding her... just six hours later. 

I have been deeply saddened by this death. Rose and I didn't call each other on the phone or go and have coffee together, but we occasionally facebooked...as you do! My interactions with her happened mostly at family occasions, as I'm lucky enough to be included in this large clan's celebrations...and sadnesses. This I consider a huge privilege and an extraordinary gift.

Through these occasions, and a few weekends away at a wonderful place called Green Cape, and the times before she got ill when she'd come along to our book club which she helped form during a bush walk not far outside Canberra, I came to know Rose. 

When I was thinking about her in the days after her death I wondered how I would describe her. And the word, among many that came to mind was this...gentle. Rose was gentle. There aren't many people in the world I know that can claim that title. When you went somewhere and found that Rose was there too, you thought "oooh good, Rose is here". She was a delight to be around. Quietly and unexpectedly wicked, calm, caring...just plain nice. And I have enormous affection and respect for nice.

There's no point is there, in ranting or railing against this senseless loss of a lovely life. To a disease that continues to take people of all ages. To ask why. Because there is no answer. All we can do is accept...once the fighting's done. That's what Rose did with incredible grace. And donate to find a cure.  And live our own best lives...she did that too. 

My friend Chris and I have been doing a little collaborating...a bit of plotting, planning and putting together. We've sourced some very large Brazilian coffee sacks, and along with a cunning plan...we have made the first of what we hope will be lots of these...

I like to think of them being flung over your shoulder and waltzed off to the local farmers' market...we have one just down the lane and over the road on a Sunday...

I guess you could use them for other things as well...a beach bag maybe, or for collecting firewood, but the vision was for veggies of all kinds nestling contentedly in the calico lining. Dead set romantic notion don't you think! Ignore the vampire slayer hogging the camera.

It's a bit hard to get a good photo with the plastic outer...designed to stop the jute coming off all over your good market clobber...

...or mad cats wanting to sit on it! 

No vampire slayers over at Kootoyoo.