Missing my crafting...

One of the down sides of moving has been that I have had to pack away my crafting supplies. I may have to find some small project to work on to fulfill my creative urges which are making my hands itch terribly!

Once we get our house organised I will have my own creative space and I can't wait! It will be bliss to be able to keep things out on my own desk and leave projects in progress sitting till I next get time to sit and work on them. It will likely be some months before this happens, maybe even next year but I am having fun dreaming about the possibilities.

Last year I spent the first few months of the year making cards, most of which ended up being sent to friends and other loved ones. Today whilst looking through my picture files I found some photos of my cards and thought I would share some of them here. Feel free to use them for inspiration in your own creative endeavours.
wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

Mr Nobody lives here....

I've had a VERY busy week this week with lovely visitors (FUN), appointments to keep (NOT FUN) and lots of things that needed attention. I have been very frustrated this week as' Mr Nobody' seems to have run off with the battery charger for my camera.' Mr Nobody' seems to visit us all at times but this week he is living here!
Having recently combined two households into one the possibilities for' Mr Nobody' to play hide and seek with various items has increased tenfold!

We KNOW my battery charger is here somewhere but it hasn't been used for some months and seems to have vanished into thin air. The result for me is that I cannot take photos to share on my blog. (or anywhere else)
Thus one very grumpy mum lives here this week along with 'Mr Nobody'.  In frustration I even considered purchasing a new one, but decided it was a bit expensive to do so when we know the other one is here somewhere and will likely turn up at some future date.

It's such a shame too as I had a lovely week of treasure hunting at my local op shops this week and brought home some lovely vintage items. I promise to share pics just as soon as the camera charger turns up! If it doesn't turn up soon I may well recklessly blow the budget on that new charger and call it a mental health necessity! I don't suppose anyone out there would consider inviting 'Mr Nobody' to visit them for a while?
wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

P.S. A warm welcome to my new bloggie friends who are following my blog! Yay I am delighted :)
**Here are a couple of old photos of old op shop or ebay finds for you to enjoy for now

I adore owls, I have had these little fellows for a while now. They are in terrible need of a wash!

A recent op shop buy, my lovely vintage piecrust mirror, complete with hanging chain. I actually got two on the day for a mere $30! I have not yet decided where it will hang. It also needs a good clean.

My newer readers may not know I am a bit of a Christmas nut. This cute little fellow had to come home with me a couple of years ago.

Quotes for Autumn....

I have collected quotes for many years. Here are some of my favourites for this earthy and wonderful time of year. Of  course Australia being in the Southern hemisphere our seasons fall in different months to our friends in the North.
wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

"October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The chestnuts, oaks and maples
and leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet,
and everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band."
George Cooper "October's Party"

"Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive Autumns!"
George Eliot

"Winter is an etching, Spring a watercolour, Summer an oil painting and Autumn a mosiac of them all."
Stanley Horowitz

***photo courtesy of:
http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=10395&picture=fall-leaves

Our garden's autumn offerings...

Whilst we may not get the pleasure of trees with everchanging leaf colour in the Autumn I recently took a few photos in the garden and for lack of blogging inspiration this week will share them here with you all.
wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

**all photos my own
Little green apples

grevillea

I'm excited...

We almost have a new roof on our home today! The old asbestos roof has been safely removed and the roofer has put on the new colourbond roofing. They will be back tomorrow to finish off the capping and a few small bits and pieces. It looks fabulous!

I would have loved a nice red roof or perhaps green but after spending months looking down the hill at our neighbour's lovely slate grey roof covered in masses of bird droppings we decided to go for one of the lighter colours. It's a difficult colour to describe. The sample looked a misty grey but on the roof I think it looks more like a fawn or very pale beige. Sort of mushroomy!

I also had romantic thoughts of lying under our lovely new roof listening to the rain fall but alas that simple pleasure is all but negated by the sensibility of having excellent insulation!
I wonder what the resident possums will think of our new roof?

The new roof is just the beginning of our planned building works for the house. Having moved in with my partner recently with my two teenage children we decided the house really needed some extra rooms. Shortly to come will be a new wing with extra bedrooms, including a fabulous new master bedroom and ensuite. I shall have my first walk in robe ever! A second extension will see our living room double in size. I can't wait to see it all done. I'm just hoping the builders get on with it before Winter arrives. We had hoped to have it all done by now but of course the building trades all take holidays over the Christmas/New Year period so we have had a long wait to get things started.

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

** Photo from Department of Environment and Resources Management
I hope they will forgive me for using their photograph here. Unfortunately no credit was given on their webpage for the actual owner of the photo.
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/wildlife-ecosystems/wildlife/living_with_wildlife/brushtail_possums.html

Searching for sunshine....

In the spirit of trying to chase my blues away and inspired by my wonderful and positive friend Linda I am going to post a list of things that I am truly grateful for right now. The sunsine in my shadows....I know it's there just waiting to shine again.

1. Linda, my precious friend, you will never understand perhaps how much you inspire me to be a better person.
2. My beloved Peter who loves me unconditionally even on my cloudy days!
3. The sun that shines outside my window just now, reminding me that it is always shining even when I cannot feel its warmth.
4. The safety of my children's father and his new family. (they are in Japan but thankfully safe from the massive destruction of Friday's earthquake & ensuing tsunami)
5. Kate and Sam my darling babies who remind me daily how precious life itself truly is.
6. Simply the ability to live and breathe in a relatively free country.So many around the world do not have this basic human right.

Wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

**photo courtesy of:
http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=8747&picture=sun-and-clouds

Sometimes the sun just don't shine....

Just a

BLUE

day

Fresh Food farce

I saw something that tickled my funny bone this morning when I was taking my son to school. I'm not sure if I have a weird sense of humour. Outside our local safeway supermarket there was a big outside merchandise display along with two open gazebo type tents proclaiming loudly in bright print "Fresh Food kids".
The goods on display consisted mainly of various soft drinks and a variety of flavoured potato chips.
To be fair there was also bread and hot cross buns but by far the fizzy drinks and chips outnumbered the rest of the goodies on display. Now to my mind 'fresh food' brings forth images of fruits and vegetables not processed, prepackaged goods of the sugary or fatty kind. Ironic isn't it when we have the highest rates ever of obesity in children that one of our largest supermarket chains is promoting potato chips and carbonated soft drinks as 'fresh food' for kids.
wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen