The grass is greener...thats why I want to be there! :)

Do you believe that someone can be born in the wrong place?  Can someone really have a connection to another place without being born there or even having lived there?
I am almost obsessed with moving to the UK. I'm driving my husband mad.
When I say moving, I mean staying a year and then deciding what it's like, renting our house here so we dont throw away our future in one flight of fancy. 
We visited the UK in 2002 for 4 months, we went over just before Christmas so I did exprerience bad weather, low light, dark dark nights and bronchitis caused by bad Birmingham air and dampness and still it didnt put me off the idea of living there.  Everything about England appealed to me, the history, the beauty, the towns, villages and cities, the people, the laneways, cobbled streets, moors, dales, fens, broads...*sigh* I am obessesed I know. I even listen to UK radio, watch UKTV, download UK shows, books, plays...My Dad was Scottish so that fueled my first magical images of Scotland, and my Mum was a lover of British literature, history and Royalty, was that where it all started?
Anyway, my poor husband who loves his job here, earns a great wage, has a real love of his own country that I lack, said he may give it a go if I can prove to him that we wouldnt lose everything or be much worse off!   So Im now scouring job sites, immigration sites, real estate etc trying to see if this could work.
I should mention I have many relatives in England and Scotland who I'd love to know better, BUT I also have my best friend and cousin here in Australia and basically she is the one doubt I have about moving...I would miss her soo much!! 
BUT should I do it?  am I living in a dream world, grass is greener etc...I like Australia but I simply hate the  heat, I dread Summer,  the depressingness of the parched earth, straw coloured grass and red earth, the  sport culture, bad educational standards compared to Europe...the isolation!  People by the score move out here for the very things I dont like ;)  As I sit here in 38 degree heat...I just want to leave :(   Maybe it's me, Im in a rut, I feel like something inside me is squeezed shut and cant be released here...

Merry Christmas

I have 4 children sitting around the table tonight..my two boys, and the two girls from across the road.  The excitement is palpable and makes me happy!  Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with no stress!! :)

Handmade Handbags!

My new bag!

 I love it when spontaneous things happen and you end up having a lovely moment with friends :)   I was standing outside my house tonight, talking to my husband about where to put the Christmas lights, when one of the ladies down the street pulled up in her car and said "Come and look at some handmade handbags!" Well the words handmade and handbag both caught my attention, so we picked up another lady across the road and ended up a few streets away in a really creative ladies house and surrounded by bags!!  You should have heard the three of us trying to decide which one to chose...I think we all changed our mind many times.
So if you'd like to have a look at some really nice stuff made by a nice lady in her house....please go here!!!
Victoria Goodridge  (--- even her name is nice!

Rima Staines

Since reading about a wonderful handmade clock on my cousin's blog I have become transfixed by the life and works of Rima Staines. Rima and her husband live a nomadic life, travelling in a wooden van around the UK, what a lovely life :)
She is so brilliantly creative and clever, her blog is fascinating.  If you feel like a good read visit
The Hermitage :)
Here is a beautiful blackberry wedding necklace she made for a bride!  Covet covet.....

Living on Slim, Blonde Street!

I really really really want to lose weight...really really!   Ive now got to the point where I am now bigger than I have ever been, and with that comes depression, embarrassment and the wanting to lock myself away feeling!

I went to a lovely Melbourne Cup Day BBQ on Tuesday. It was at a neighbours house. I seem to live in a street predominated by slim blonde woman!! egads!  Where's the fat, dumpy, mousy haired Street??   Anyway these woman are very nice, and also very pretty, and also rich enough to wear different clothes every time I see them, unlike me in my same old hugey size clothes! (yes Im whinging ;))

I'd already been dieting for a week at this point, so I tried to resist the scrumptious cakes, dips and fried stuff! I felt annoyed but strong. Last night I weighed myself and I'd lost two kilos...hip hip hooray! I treated myself to 2 chocolate gold coins I found in the back of the fridge.  I want to be slim, brown haired girl in slim blonde hair Street, I hope I can keep it up ;)

2 kilos down........lots to go! (I feel embarrassed to admit this but to get to my ideal weight I need to lose one 11 yr old and one 4 yr old...my children combined!)  *sigh*

Days when you feel like a pin cushion :)

picture by the wonderful Nicoletta Ceccoli

Do you ever feel like this little butterfly girl on a wheel, being stuck with pins......

I have just been reading the blog of my lovely cousin, Sue, you can visit her at Discombobula! She happened to have a really horrible exchange with a young guy at the station the other day, one of those moments when you want to run away and cry and not face anyone for a few hours!   It made me think about the deep hurt and shame we cause each other on a daily basis, the throw away lines said in anger, the cutting words spat out when we feel crap about ourselves and want someone else to feel it too, even if it means making you feel worse in the long run.  Why do we do it? 

I sometimes feel mad at the world, I know many people do! maybe all of us at some point or other.  What scares me is becoming more and more bitter as I get older, letting those hurts of the last 40 years eat me up and make me someone I'm not!   I seem to get hurt by the same things now as I did at 10, I thought you were meant to grow a thicker skin as you got older!!

Its made me realise how important blogging can be, to blog and to read other people's.  It can change your mood, getting a nice reply, a confirmation that someone thinks you are ok,  and sometimes reading about other people's lives makes you forget your own nagging troubles or doubts, or maybe realise you have a lot to be thankful for!  I love delving into other people's lives, Im nosey like that :) Yay for blogging!

This week :: Missing my Boy but enjoying the colour!

My garden has gone crazy this week! Spring is here with a vengeance. I'm sure the plants are rejoicing in these perfect conditions, unlike our hot dry summer earlier in the year that just about wiped out gardens everywhere (not to mention what the fires did)
I'm feeling like a bit of a sooky Mum this week, my eldest son Alex has gone on school camp for a week and I really miss him! The house just doesn't feel the same without him and Campbell my 4 yr old boy is following me everywhere...at one moment lost without his big brother and the next relishing his chance to have all the attention :)
I'm sure Alex is having fun, so I will try and be brave ha!
Here are some pics of my crazy garden that needs a good prune!

This is Mr Plod, he has been around for many years, I'm pretty sure my Dad found him for our garden when I was just a kid, anyway I love him!

My Place and Yours : "Bedside"

I love this Meet me at Mike's meme , last week was "on your shelf" this weeks theme has been chosen by Pottymouthmama "Bedside"
Here's mine...

On the Shelf

Pip from Meet Me at Mikes is one of my favourite bloggers! Her latest meme is very cool and is called "My Place and Yours" this week's subject is "..on the shelf" and I do love shelves, I love to see what people cram onto them, books, food, toys, collectables!
If you would like to have a look at some lovely things go here.
Here are a couple of my shelves!

Above this post is a picture of the top of my book case, I like to rotate the books around so I can appreciate all my lovely vintagey book covers. It also reminds me of being a child and going to the school library every week. I used to love to see what books the librarian, Mrs Webb, would put out on display, all the titles and cover illustrations made it hard for me to sit patiently and wait until we were permitted to go and explore! On the left is a lovely old scotty dog with a tartan jacket! He was given to me by my cousin when I was pregnant with my first son, it had been her husband's toy as a child and I was really touched that they passed it along to me. This little dog means even more to me now because my cousin passed away suddenly early this year.



The above picture is in my kitchen, an old set of scales that were my Grandma's are now a perch for a little plaster hen, above that is a spice rack with three old milk bottles that belonged to my parents, and a lovely green spotted bowl made by Grindley of England, found in an op shop! Im trying to decide whether to leave the milk bottles empty or fill them with something colourful!

Moss Graffiti

I love the idea of moss graffiti. Im not a fan of your old everyday spraycan tagging type graffiti, but I do admire some of the more artistic stenciled wall art! BUT even better is something non toxic and living.

I might just make me a moss shake and paint my shed wall...see what happens!

I found this recipe on the wonderful www.storiesfromspace.co.uk

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1 can of beer
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Several clumps garden moss

You will also need a plastic container (with lid),
a blender and a paintbrush
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To begin the recipe, first of all gather together several clumps of moss (moss can usually be found in moist, shady places) and crumble them into a blender. Then add the beer and sugar and blend just long enough to create a smooth, creamy consistency. Now pour the mixture into a plastic container.

Find a suitable damp and shady wall on to which you can apply your moss milkshake. Paint your chosen design onto the wall (either free-hand or using a stencil). If possible try to return to the area over the following weeks to ensure that the mixture is kept moist. Soon the bits of blended moss should begin to re-couperate into a whole rooted plant – maintaining your chosen design before eventually colonising the whole area.

Real Late Starter - Nerina Pallot