Into Gear for the New Year

I like feeling prepared for each New Year. So it's about this time that I go out of my way to find things to get me organised - I find myself poring over the shelving sections of IKEA catalogues, reading the junkmail from the hardware store, and I take myself out for a day of diary shopping.

My diary is with me for 365 days of the year, and everything I do is recorded. So it goes without saying that it must be a beautiful specimen that I will enjoy every time I open it.

2008 had me with a Royal Horticultural Society week-to-a-page:

Which as I am a gardening loon was very approriate. This year, I'm thinking sleek, red, fabric cover. Possibly one from Kikki K, or a moleskine:

Even just browsing is exciting!

Almost here!

Well, tis the season and all that, so I thought I would share my Christmas tree with you. I love Christmas and all the things that come with it - lights in windows, trees groaning with decorations, "Santa Stop Here" signs on front lawns. Here is my tree with a modest amount of pressies under at the moment (more to be wrapped as we speak). Last night the man and I went on a little excursion to check out the streets known for their amazing displays of Christmas lights and cheer. How they find the powerpoints is beyond me, but my goodness there was a lot of light and colour going on! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davidson,_New_South_Wales - scroll down to "Culture" to read more about it!

Here are some of my favourite decorations. The green angel on the left is from Ireland; the blue wooden scene from Germany; and the Buckingham palace crown is from, that's right, England!

Snowpeas and Snapdragons

I have been out in the garden a bit today, getting my hands dirty fixing up the area that had been abandoned by the previous tenants here. A lovely jasmine had collapsed on it's trellis, which has been tied back up; and I have planted some snow-pea seedlings along a wall near our back door. Hopefully they will reach their little tendrils skywards and produce some yummy crisp peas for my stirfries in 2009. Snapdragons have once again found their way into my garden - I think it's the irresistable urge to pinch in the flowers to make them "snap", from when I was a little girl. I have also done some sewing of a different sort - tomatilloes (green tomatoes) and dill seeds, which will hopefully produce some yummy goodness in the weeks to come.

10 Things to Do on a Rainy Grey Day

1. Make Christmas gift tags. (I made these with a wooden stamp I bought in India.)

2. Bake chocolate chip cookies.

3. Do some sewing. (Iwent a little bananas)

4. Put your pot plants out in the rain for a drink.

5. Look through old photo albums.

6. Partake in some online retail therapy. (This mexican oilcloth address book from lmoss was too good to resist)

7. Gaze out the window at the rain.

8. Do some more sewing. (I got inspired by the Dust Team with more fruity ideas)

9. Eat a warm, wholesome soup for lunch.

10. Update your blog!

My flowers like it better in Sydney

So, in Melbourne I decided to grow foxgloves, seathrift and various other cottage plants. They were lovely, healthy and green but nothing resembling a bloom. Then I moved to Sydney and within a week - hey presto! Flowers on my foxglove and my seathrift (I would post a photo of them too, only a rogue bird was hungry and pecked them off! Grrr).

I couldn't be more pleased and look forward to a garden full of blooms!

In other news, I have been busy sewing some custom orders for buyers, setting up my studio space (will post pictures inthe next few days - it's GREAT!) and buying Christmas presents for my nearest and dearest.

The christmas tree is up, the sewing machine out, and the flowers blooming. The start of a wonderful summer!