Eye Spy - a gadget

I'm playing along with Cindy's weekly eye spy and this week's theme is gadgets. Now I try to keep gadgets to a minimum in the house. No avocado slicers for me. I like things as basic as possible thank you. But this one gets a good work out. It's my ice cream scoop. I use the large one to scoop cupcake batter into their cases and the small one to dollop the frosting. You get perfectly even cupcakes and it is super fast. You can use it for muffins too. And, lately I've also been using them for tiny person sized portions of dinner. Mashed potato, cous cous, rice. A cute little dome of food doesn't seem so overwhelming and the children are more inclined to taste it. True!

This weekend, my scoops will be earning their keep as we'll be at the Market on Sunday, (I love an eye spy theme that can segue into a sales pitch!). Thanks to Kellie, of the beautiful 74 Lime Lane for this week's theme and Cindy, as ever, for hosting.

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Eye Spy - bed

Bed from junk shop, doona cover from Ikea, pillow case from the oppie.

Much loved Charlotte is from Santa and is dressed by little seedlings.

Thanks to Cindy for posting and Miss Muggins for this week's theme.

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Eye Spy - a favourite corner in my house...

This isn't a corner so much as my hallway. I love the space here. From the filtered light of the front door windows to the clean white walls, it's a calming space to walk through. I've had the sideboard for years, a gift from a friend who no longer wanted it. The little Thonet chair I bought at auction when we lived up the road from here. When Elsa was a wee baby I'd walk her in the pram to auction day for a little bidding.

There are pussy willows in a vase from a neighbour's paddock and our spring display. One day, I'll find the just the right piece to hang on the wall above. No hurry. All in good time.

We're doing a little renovation in here. Well, more of an un-renovation really. Replacing an original feature that was removed who knows how long ago. I've been waiting for the builder since March, and he said he's coming this week. Fingers crossed! Stay tuned for some before and afters.

Thanks to Cindy for hosting and see some more favourite corners right here.

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Eye Spy - my front door...

I'm playing along with Cindy's weekly Eye Spy game and this week's great theme is by Karin.

We don't use the front door much, even guests tend to come to the back door, shooing chickens out of the way as they approach. But I do have a thing for front doors. I love brightly painted old, four panel doors. Saying that, ours looks a bit dull and boring. I'm not overly fond of the colour scheme of our exterior and look forward to painting it one day. That's when we can paint our door something bright, like red, or green or blue. Actually, looking at this photo maybe I'll just do it soon anyway, it's screaming out to be painted, even if it will clash with our putty coloured house. Head over to Cindy's to see some more front doors.

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Eye Spy - inspiration

I get a lot of my inspiration from the cyberworld, and my favourite at the moment is Down___to___earth. Rhonda's almost daily posts on living a simple life are so inspiring. From gardening, baking bread, green cleaning, looking after your chickens to knitting your own dishclothes, I find Rhonda's blog so helpful and she is so generous with sharing information. Her thrifty simple life is something I certainly aspire to. Another great theme from Cindy's Eye Spy...head on over for more inspiration...

Always a great source inspiration are magazines, here is a picture of some mini doughnuts with plum jam we made on the weekend - inspired by the cover this month's V E&T,...they were, in the words of the late, great Joan Campbell, "bloody delicious"....

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Eye Spy - a collection

It's been some time since I played a long, what with life and all, but this week's them by Liesl is a great one. You can headover to Cindy's for some more collections.

Here is a collection of rainy days. This is the rainfall forecast for my district this month. I wish it was a month of Sundays, but no it's a month of rain.

Anyone for tennis on Sunday the 9th?

Lower Derwent 28-day rainfall forecast Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 4 Med 5 High 6 High 7 High 8 Low 9 10 High 11 High 12 High 13 High 14 Med 15 High 16 High 17 High 18 High 19 High 20 High 21 High 22 High 23 High 24 High 25 High 26 High 27 High 28 High 29 High 30 High 31 Med

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Eye Spy - my morning routine

It's breakfast that gets me out of bed every day to start my morning routine. But sadly, not my own.  It's that little guy next to me who wriggles, squirms and speaks, perhaps accompanied by a rude slap on the face, sometimes a sweet whisper, or sometimes a shout, that he is so hungry, his tummy is rumbling and it's time for breakfast.  I feel lucky if my little Hugo alarm goes off after 6am, usually it's the around the 5.30 mark.    After the smalls' breakfast is under way, I have my first coffee of the day.  Then it's usually a chaotic rush to get out the door on time. But after we return from the morning drop off, it's time for my breakfast.  Hugo's off playing and I like to sit amongst the breakfast dishes and linger over a second coffee and perhaps some toast with jam, maybe a boiled egg.  The morning sun shines in and I eat in peace, whilst reading a library book, a recipe, the mail, or perhaps writing a list for the day.  I sit for sometimes three, maybe, four minutes if I'm very lucky.  It's complete and utter blissful me time.   

Thanks to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and Angie for this week's great theme. 

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Eye Spy - green

There I was today, snapping away in the garden at the green for today's Eye Spy theme.  But I noticed something red. Raspberries?  On the canes?  I thought they had well and truly finished and had even taken the netting off. Seems the birds have all flown away for the winter because the canes were dripping with fruit.  Gosh I was excited::what a bonus!

Anyway, I realise they are red not green, but there is green grass, I'm wearing a green cardi, and obviously I am green (in the novice sense not the in the thumb way) when it comes to gardening. Plenty of green in that.

Thanks to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and Trashalou for this weeks great green theme, without I wouldn't have found this lovely surprise!

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Eye Spy - a new favourite blog

I've known of Molly's blog for sometime, but lets face it, there's simply not enough hours in the day to read every gorgeous blog you stumble across, so I hadn't really visited much.  But I've just finished reading A Homemade Life, and well now I'm going to make time for Molly.  I love her blog.  I love her writing and I love her recipes.  Her writing is so warm and honest, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, always captivating. You know when you finish reading a book that you've really enjoyed, that feeling of sadness you have that it's over :: you want more but there isn't any?  I'm so glad that's not the case here and I can keep reading Orangette.  I can find out what Molly and Brandon are up to, or more importantly, what they are cooking whilst admiring the lovely photos Molly takes using polaroids. And she does love to talk about cake.  Which is just as well, because I love to read about cake.  And eat it.  It's perfect.

And if you can get your hands on a copy of the book do, it's well worth suffering the miserable exchange rate for.  This cake was a recipe from the book I had to try, super easy and super delicious a French Style Yoghurt Cake, we ate it for breakfast on the weekend. Delicious.

Check out some more new bloggy discoveries over at Cindy's and thanks to Jhoanna for this week's great theme.

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Eye Spy - a work in progress

Despite being my choice of theme for this week's Eye Spy meme it was difficult to chose what Work in Progress to post.  My house? Seen it already.  My knitting project? Gawd no! .... I guess it has to be my garden.  

It's certainly a work in progress. And a slow one at that.  I sometimes get so impatient at how long things take.  Not in so much as how long the trees take to grow, but waiting for things to take shape.  Waiting for the time and money for landscaping, stump grinding, laying paving, building retaining walls and raised beds.  I have a vision and it's frustrating when it's not realised straight away. 

But this week, I was so inspired by the ABC series Around the Word in 80 Gardens.  Have you seen it?  It's been so lovely to see my garden idol Monty Don on the telly.  Do you know him? You should.  He's just as gorgeous on screen as he is in print.  These two books of his are my gardening bibles.  So inspiring with beautiful prose and pics of Monty striding around his gorgeous garden, in all his hand knitted sweater and gumboot glory, brandishing armfuls of rhubarb...sigh.

But I digress dear reader, the point of mentioning Monty was that this week he visited Dame Elisabeth Murdoch's garden at Cruden Farm. An incredible garden which has taken some 70 odd years to create.

That's when my gardening epiphany struck.  Creating a garden, not matter how small, is a lifetime's work.  And then some.  It will never be finished. The joy is in the actual doing. A garden is a living, breathing, changing beast and will by it's very nature, forever be a work in progress.   And therein dear reader, lies its appeal. 

Thanks to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and for asking me to pick this weeks theme.

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WIP - eek! And this week's theme...

Work in progress.  So far so good.  

Which gives me an idea for this week's Eye Spy theme...A Work In Progress.  Don't forget to head over to Cindy's and add your name so we can see a WIP at your place. 

(....please, please, please Mr Skylight guy, wont you break that ugly light fitting while you're up there....)

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9 comments eye spy, home, me, renovation

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Eye Spy - a magic elixir

I'm playing along with Cindy's Eye Spy game, now with new improved Mr Linky,  and this week's theme from Amy Badskirt is a good one. 

Here is a favourite magic elixir in our house :: garden soup. Here's the recipe:

From your garden, pick the finest selection of dirt, sticks, grass and flowers to taste.

Add water and stir.

Taste for seasoning and serve! Hours of messy good fun. 

Thanks to Amy for this week's theme and to Cindy for hosting. 

 See who else is playing this week over here.

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Eye Spy - a new development

A big new development. My little lion cub getting his own big bed and moving out of his baby one. He's so proud and sleeping all through the night at last.  My little lion cub will be three this month, sniff. Lots of new developments to come...

Part of my reluctance to take this leap earlier is because I love this cot. It's a simple vintage piece that has watched over the sweet dreams of many little ones in our extended family. As Hugo was the last in the line, I'm not sure what to do with it now....

Thanks to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and to A little bird told me for this week's theme.

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11 comments cute, eye spy, game, hugo

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Eye spy - something beautiful in my garden

What a great theme for Cindy's game this week from Beyond Pink and Blue.  There are so many lovely things in the garden right now, but I can't go past my girls. I think chooks really make any garden beautiful.  Remember Jasmine and Mary Jane? Haven't they grown into gorgeous hens?  

And speaking of growing up, here are the other babes, who make their second appearance in Eye Spy.  Poulette and Polly.  Ten week old frizzles, aren't they darling?  

Oh dear, you will let me know if  I'm turning into a crazy old chook lady won't you?

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3 comments chooks, cute, eye spy, game

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Eye Spy - my favourite colour

I love all colours, especially red, grey, blue and green.  And yellow.  But my best friend is white. White makes every other colour look great.  It's clean it's fresh, it's soothing, it's peaceful and friendly too.  And here is our hallway, finally finished this week in all its glorious white.

When we first saw our place, the agent delighted in telling us about how the previous owner had meticulously sanded back the doors and all the architraves in the hallway by hand.  Then stained the woodwork, in a very formal local court kind a way, mahogany. Such a selling point in his eyes, but I remember thinking, I'll have this hallway painted faster than you can say Antique White USA.  Well, not quite.  It took two years.   Then the walls were painted, ahem, Minced Onion.  I found the paint tin in the shed. Hmmmmm. Minced Onion. It is not my favourite colour.

Now it's finished I love walking through and breathing in the pure, fresh, shiny white.  A clean palette. I think about all the decorating possibilities.  A still life here, a vignette there.  But I'll take my time before adding anything just yet and enjoy the white clutter free ambiance, which is nowhere else in the house. 

And for now it makes a fantastic wheelybug raceway.

Thank you to Superwoman Cindy for hosting Eye Spy, and thanks to Amity ville Boronia for this week's theme.   

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Eye spy something that makes me happy...

It sure is hard to narrow down one thing for this week's eye spy game. I could be hours uploading photos. There are so many things in this world that make me happy, cake, my garden, chooks, my piano, my camera. But nothing beats my family. They make me truly happy. Especially on Sundays. When we can lie on the bed and wrestle or read books.

Today an old favourite Tin Tin and a cook book. To decide what to have for dinner. Together. We only get to do that on Sundays. Makes me very happy.

Thank you to Cindy for hosting Eye Spy and to Iris and Lily for a great theme.

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Eye spy a small object....

This week's Eye Spy theme from the Crafty Librarian is a small object - but mine isn't really an object, it's a small thing. Peeps. We're chick sitting for friends and they are rather adorable. They do have small accessories though, tiny water container, small dish full of budgie bird seed to eat. And 1/2 a weetbix and milk for breakfast and dinner. They are so cute. Not sure if we'll be able give them back! Peep Peep!

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10 comments chooks, cute, eye spy, game

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Eye Spy something beginning with J...

This week's fantastic theme from Lauren is easy peasy, because we've been busy with Jars and Jam. Here is my Jam Empire. Nine jars of blackcurrant from the garden, four big jars of apricot and several jars of raspberry jam. I've also been collected preserving Jars, and we picked up this Jazzy orange preserving pan this week for $10! I hope to get cracking on the peaches this week. Thank you Cindy for hosting such a fun game and thanks to Lauren for the old school theme.

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Eye Spy a bit of bling

Sunday means it's time to play Cindy's fun Eye Spy game with a great theme from Hoppo Bumpo - a bit of bling. I had to scour, believe you me. I don't have much bling. And my husband vacuums up any kiddie bling the minute he sees it. In fact I only have my wedding bling which was made by this clever lady. But my photos really wouldn't do it justice.

But there is a lovely Christmas tree in the corner, with a spot or two of bling. Lot's of red shiny baubles. But I actually took the photo of this treasured heirloom decoration instead, one of a handful we inheritated from my mother in law. Their sequins are slightly faded now, but they are so sweet, they're still bling in my eyes.

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9 comments celebrations, eye spy, game

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