Two visitors - one welcome and one not so much

A few weeks ago we got a visit from a possum who often 'stays overnight' in our garage. Over the years she has brought her babies for us to see and that has filled us with much happiness and delight. We get visits from brush turkeys, green frogs, lorikeets, kookaburras and sometimes galahs and sulphur crested cockatoos - all are welcome. A not so welcome visitor came last week ......

a red-bellied black snake. A bite from one of these snakes is not usually fatal thank goodness but it was quite a shock to see it in a corner of our garage. A (very) quick call to the snake catcher and she was caught and released in a bushland area where we hope she will live a happy life away from people.

a bit of this a bit of that

Here we are Grandad and Nanna in a drawing by our much loved grandson A. It is such a treasured drawing and it brings us such great joy.

I am taking part in the one and only Mary Ann Moss's sketchbookery class. This is my first attempt and I am so thrilled with it. It is such a wonderful class and I am learning so much especially just to have fun and not give up.

A visit to the Chung Tian Temple was such a delight. The gardens were serene, peaceful and beautiful. It was such a wonderful place to take some photos.

Spending time appliqueing is truly a joy for me. I seem to have been so busy doing other things that I have forgotten how much I enjoy spending time with a needle and thread in my hand.

Finally the joy of colour in our home. These two gorgeous chairs were once white and unloved. A couple of cans of spray paint and viola instant love and happiness.

Do I miss going to work?

I retired at the end of 2013 and I am loving it. I was asked by someone I knew if I didn't miss going to work. I think my photo says it all. The photo was taken while on holidays at Kirra Beach on the Gold Coast. I am enjoying my life filled with family and friends. I have been attempting some painting and having a ball.

 I have been growing cucumbers - they are delicious and been out and about with my DSLR camera.

  

I am truly grateful for each day. 

Having some CANON fun

I have been having a great time lately with my Canon camera. I usually take my photos with my Sony cyber-shot but I have been trying lately to use my DSLR more. I must admit that I am loving using it.

I love these red chillies......

and our gorgeous tibouchina......

A trip to SEA WORLD

We bought one year passes to SEA WORLD (Gold Coast, Queensland) this year. This is our third visit and we always have so much fun. The best thing for us is to see it through our grandsons' eyes - the anticipation, the joy, the excitement and the fun, fun, fun. Our first stop is always......

One of our stops is always to see the recovering pelicans who have been injured by fish hooks, etc. They are so DELIGHTful......

For me the best part is our visit to see the sharks, rays and fish. This time we spent most of our time looking at the reef section. The colours of the fish were breathtaking and we could have watched this amazing display all day......

 

The little fairy penguins, as always,  made us smile......

Nanna and Grandad can't wait for our next visit to this amazing and spectacular place :)

My word for 2013 is DELIGHT

This year I am taking part in Ali Edward's One Little Word. There was really only one word for me for 2013.
Having three adorable grandsons I feel DELIGHT is my word. 
I hope to find DELIGHT in the ordinary and mundane, in the extraordinary, in my successes and my failures, and in my everyday life. I feel happy just thinking about my word - it's DELIGHTful.

Holly Jolly Sandcastle

This amazing, fantastic and delightful sand sculpture is part of the Sugarplums and Possum Chums - A South Bank Christmas [Brisbane]. It doesn't officially open until the 13th but to be able to peep through the fence was a truly magical experience.

When we saw the sculpture it was still a work in progress - the baby wombat has yet to be finished.

This is the back of the sculpture - around the side on the left is an emu (you can see his head in the previous photos) and on the right is Rudolph with a red nose.

I am sure this truly magical sculpture will bring delight and joy to everyone who sees it.

Love my macro lens

I have always wanted a macro lens and I finally decided that the time had come. I bought a Canon EFS 60mm f/2.8 macro lens and I absolutely love it. I am still not very confident but I like the results so far. I can't wait to take some portrait shots of our darling grandsons. I am looking forward next year to taking lots of photography classes.
I have taken part in some wonderful and inspiring online classes lately - the divine Hannah Marcotti classes are such a joy.
My camera muse is calling so...........until next time!

Nanna has a new toy

I have watched my grandson, Ashton, have a great time on his iPad and I decided that I would really like to have one. My daughter, grandsons and I went off to the Apple store with the intention of buying a black frame and blue cover. As soon as we saw the white one it was love at first sight and the pink cover just had to come home with me. I love love love my iPad and I know I will have so much fun with it. If I need help I can always get my grandson to help me.
I love digital scrapbooking and I just had to have the stencil of the lips on my photo. They are from a kit by Holliewood Studios at one of my favourite online shops Deviant Scrap.

Kooroomba Vineyards and Lavender Farm

We visited the Kooroomba Vineyards and Lavender Farm near Boonah, Queensland. What a wonderful time we had. The lavender was in bloom and just beautiful. The food was divine and the lavender icecream was absolutely delicious. A visit to the shop was a must and I came home with some lovely lavender soap and two French lavender plants. It was wonderful to visit such a beautiful place with my gorgeous grandsons (and their Mummy and Daddy). A day not to be forgotten.

CROCS

Our darling grandson, Ashton, now has a pair of Crocs just like his nanna. He wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a photo of him wearing them (hopefully later). I just love my Crocs and I even wear them to work - they are so comfortable and I am so thrilled that Ashton and I can have fun, fun, fun in our Crocs.

Our new grandson

We are so happy to welcome our new grandson Harrison - he is just so gorgeous. His big brother Ashton is thrilled to have a little brother. Mummy and Daddy are in seventh heaven (as are Nanna and Grandad and Uncle Richard and Aunty Ann in NY). How blessed we feel to have two wonderful, amazing and adorable grandsons and now we can have double hugs and cuddles.
                                ASHTON AND HARRISON - WE LOVE YOU HEAPS.

Festival of Sails

Festival of Sails is a local festival run in conjunction with the Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race. It is held at Redcliffe's Sutton Beach on Good Friday. It was amazing - lots of people having a great time, lots of yummy food, live entertainment and beautiful Queensland weather.

 The view of the yachts was amazing and breathtaking. A perfect day. I did wonder though "where were all the seagulls?" and I found them .....

My favourite photo from our wonderful day was a photo of our grandson with his Daddy having a dip in the water. He had so much fun and for his Grandad and I this was the highlight of our day together.

Granny squares and Ripples

 

Crochet has always been such a joy for me. I have been hooking some ripple blankets and now I have reawakened my love of granny squares by making BIG granny squares. I am having such fun. I love all the magical colours and everytime I look at them I just have to smile. One of my grannies is for our grandson Ashton and the other is for his little brother who is due at the beginning of May. Joy, Joy, Joy.

A Beautiful Start to My Day

This beautiful butterfly came for a visit this morning. What grace and beauty to start my day. I haven't blogged over the last year but now I am only working part time I have time to enjoy myself and do all the things I never seemed to have the time for. I feel free and happy - I can go for a morning walk, learn more about my camera, see my darling grandson during the week, play, have fun and start a journal. What pleasures await me...tra la la la la.

Our gorgeous grandson

I can't believe that it has been six months since my last post. I have been busy seeing our wonderful grandson, Ashton, and his mummy and daddy , doing some online classes and even working on the weekend. I have promised myself this year that I will keep up my blog. I think though when you see the gorgeous photo above of our grandson Ashton, with his mummy taken a few months ago you will know why I haven't had that much time for blogging. He is just so happy, cute and adorable and his grandad and I love him so much.
I have just finished a wall hanging for his bedroom - the centre block from Noah and Friends. I realised that I was never going to finish the whole quilt while I was working full time. I will post a photo in my next post.

Happy Days

Our darling grandson is growing so quickly. Here he is at 10 weeks old looking just adorable in his very cute hat.
As it is getting colder it is a great time to start one of my many cross stitch projects. I am so enjoying stitching 'Little House Neighborhood' by Little House Needleworks. I got the beautiful Sajou scissors for my birthday and they are just a delight to use.

 I have been busy feeding my book addition. Here are a few of the books I have bought over the last months.
I have always admired Jude Hill of Spirit Cloth and I am so excited that I am starting her Spirit Cloth workshop this week. I know I am going to be inspired and challenged and I just can't wait to start the journey.

Our darling grandson

Here is our grandson, Ashton Stephen, not long after he was born. He has brought such joy to us all and I don't think we have stopped smiling since his birth. He is a very happy and contented baby and he likes lots of cuddles from his Nanna who absolutely adores him. Grandad has been very busy buying lots of Thomas the Tank Engine trains for when Ashton is a little bigger.
We are so thrilled that we now can be called Nanna and Grandad and as we look at Ashton we think of all the wonderful times ahead and I know the first time I hear him call me Nanna will be one of the most happiest times of my life.
WE LOVE YOU ASHTON. Lots and lots of love, Nanna and Grandad

Sparky's Owlet

I saw the most gorgeous owls on Craft Schmaft's blog made with socks. They are just gorgeous and I wanted to make one before our Grandson is born. I bought the kit for Cloudy the mini owl and I sat this morning and had a wonderful time making him. I just love him and I hope Sparky (the name we call our grandson before he is born) likes his little owlet. It was made with lots of love by Nanna.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I had a lovely day yesterday spending time with our daughter, Justine, baby clothes shopping. Oh what a joy it is to spend time looking (and buying) baby things. We just can't wait till March to see our already much loved grandson.
I did manage to stay awake till midnight last night so that I could send Happy Aussie New Year wishes to our son, Richard and his girlfriend Ann, in New York.
Being on holidays I have had a great time reading and watching the books and DVDs I got for Christmas. I love cooking books and here are two of them: Food Safari and The Thrifty Kitchen.
My favourite cooking book that I got is Monica Trapaga's 'She's Leaving Home'. I just loved this book, the drawings were wonderful and quirky and the recipes fabulous and I especially enjoyed reading about Monica's family.
I also got some DVD's and I have been enjoying myself watching the gorgeous Alex O'Loughlin in Moonlight and Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote.