Floral Friday ~ "Flowers in the Garden"

It is Fall now over here in Canada so the garden flowers that were in abundance only a matter of weeks ago have all but disappeared.  What is in abundance, though, and is on just about everybody's porch here is the "Fall Mum" - a huge potted mass of gorgeous, bright yellow flowers.  Summer may be gone but these beauties scream "sunshine" and are the perfect welcome to have on your doorstep.

And here's a little peak at some "Fall Mums" sitting very pretty amongst the Fall decorating on my MIL's porch.  As you can see, she's a bit more experienced than me at this seasonal decorating caper.

Happy Floral Friday everyone, and be sure to check out the other wonderful blogs in this blog hop.

Floral Fridays is a monthly photography project with different themes each month. This series is about fun and taking time out to smell the flowers. To play along, please email Trishie for next month's theme.

A Lemonade Stand

My son has wanted to have a Lemonade Stand for a very long time now. For one reason or another (and one excuse or another - from me!) it has never happened.  Now that we are in Canada and living in the absolute perfect location to hold a little stand, there really was no excuse - and I have to admit, having a stand has always looked like a bit of fun. 

We decided to set up on the walking/cycling trail behind our cottage - it was a long weekend so we knew it would be busy with cyclists and walkers out enjoying the sunshine and their time off.  We didn't spend hours preparing a flash stand, or use freshly squeezed lemons and home-made lemonade, because it was about the kids, their experience and just having fun, rather than about me and my pedantic ways!  We went very basic and bought frozen lemonade which, when water is added, makes well over a litre - and it actually tasted very good and got lots of "Mmmmm, is this home-made?" and "Did you squeeze your own lemons?" comments.  Plus we were pretty sure all the cyclists would want would be icy cold lemonade to quench their thirst. We successfully fooled them.

It was a beautiful morning.  My son had a blast and manned the stand all morning with only one toilet break.  We met some lovely people too.  And guess how much he made?  $25!  Well, $22.50 when you take out his expenses of two cans of $1.25 lemonade (the flowers were from the trail, the lemons were just props and everything else was gathered from here).  I didn't have the heart to tell him my hourly rate ...

Now guess what he wants to do next weekend?

Floral Friday : In a Vase

Well, we arrived safely in Canada and have been here for just under two weeks.  It is so beautiful at this time of the year (we normally come in Winter so it's a lovely change for us), everything is so lush and green and pretty flowers are everywhere - both in gardens and growing wildly.  I've never seen so many vivid colours and pretty flowers in such abundance.  Coming from an Australian coastal environment, it's a refreshing change for us and a bit of a novelty.  I can't stop taking photos of flowers - my husband thinks I've become quite the botanist!

We are also very lucky to have a great walking trail behind our cottage.  It is heaven.  Both for walking, cycling and for looking at pretty wild flowers.  I was going to go and pick a whole bunch of different flowers and arrange them in a vase for this month's Floral Friday "In a Vase" theme but I will save those for another day.  This month's hero has to be my Mother-in-Law's hydrangeas.  They are the most impressive hydrangeas I've ever seen and are huge, perfectly formed and so healthy.  I have no idea of the variety but I know they are the nicest and biggest ones I've ever seen.  I couldn't resist showing them off.  

What do you think? Have you ever seen such heavenly hydrangeas?

There are quite a few other bloggers joining Under Lock & Key's Floral Friday challenge so please do take a moment to check out the links below to see what the other lovely bloggers in this series have to say about their floral arrangements.

Floral Fridays is a monthly photography project with different themes each month. This series is about fun and taking time out to smell the flowers. To play along, please email Trishie for next month's theme.

Goodbye Gift : Pen-Pal Sets (with printable)

Eeeek!  It's only a matter of a very small number of weeks now until we leave for our 6-month stint in Canada.  I'm a bit weird but I'm not into the whole "countdown" thing - I prefer to pretend I'm not sure when we're leaving and then be all like "oh, look, today's the day we're leaving for Canada!".  I know it's strange but I function better that way.  One thing I haven't been able to pretend about is my son's very last week of Year 1.  He will never again be in Year 1 in Australia.  He will be saying goodbye to his teacher and his friends today and although he is very, very excited about going to live in Canada, he doesn't particularly want to leave his friends or his teacher, or go to a new school.  He has only ever known the one school and has been going there since 3 year old Kindy - it's a big, big change for him.  He says things like, "But they won't know my name over there", "They won't know what to call me", "They won't play football, will they?".  So I thought to help him feel a bit more connected and to have a little bit of home with him in Canada, I would make up some Pen-pal sets for each of his classmates as Goodbye Gifts.  Even if only one of his friends writes, it will make a difference and be exciting and special for him.

They were simple to make up.  In each pack I put 3 blank cards (2 plain white, 1 patterned) and envelopes, 2 sticker sheets, an eraser and a pencil.  I packaged it all in a clear envelope with some string and attached a "See you later Alligator" tag with our Canadian address on the back (I didn' t think it was a good idea to publicise our address on the www so I have blocked it out in the pic - just in case you think I had a bit of a slip with my graphic design skills!).  I was pretty happy with the way the tag turned out so I did a blank version, which you can download here if you want to make up your own pen-pal sets ... and at the same time encourage old-fashioned communication between your kids!

So, that's me - done - for now, from Australia.  The next time I post I will be sitting in a lake-side cottage in an itty-bitty town in Ontario spending time with my Canadian family and trying very hard not to overindulge on Tim Horton donuts and bagels.  But then again I am on holiday ...

Doll Carrier

I started this Oliver + S doll carrier a couple of weeks ago at my "Sew Martha Sew" sewing night that I hold with a group of fellow "Martha's", and I finally got it finished this weekend.  The pattern is from the Oliver + S book "Little Things to Sew", which I bought recently.  The doll carrier (or bear carrier as it is called in the book) was the reason I bought the book, having seen it many times on various blogs around town, but now that I have it I want to make everything in it - which happens frequently to me. Everything in the book is super cute and each pattern is rated using a one-to-four scissor system - one scissor being Beginner, two scissors Advanced Beginner etc so you know before you start what level you need to be before you attempt a project. The doll carrier is rated 2 scissors, and apart from stumbling at the very first instruction, the pocket (which was nothing to do with the pattern and all to do with me ... too much talking, not enough focus and basically just being a bit "blonde" on the night), the instructions and diagrams are all very clear and it was a pleasure to make, which I'm pretty sure is what Oliver + S patterns are known for.

The fabric I chose for the main part of the carrier, a deer print cotton duck, was probably an unusual choice for a little girl's doll carrier but I just loved it the moment I laid eyes on it and I decided I would use it regardless of it being a bit on the different side.  The pink polkadot fabric for the straps just happened to be from the same Buzoku Duck collection, although I didn't realise that until I got home and read the selvedge.  The lining and the pocket trim is a cotton chevron fat quarter.  And just for an added bit of fun and colour, I added two sets of bright yellow buttons to the straps.  I thought I may as well keep the eclectic theme going!

We road-tested the carrier on the weekend and it held up very well.  My daughter ran in it, she skipped in it, she climbed in it, she laid down to feed the ducks in it (forgetting about the "baby" strapped to her chest!) and she fell over in it - and apart from grazed hands and a scratch to her baby, all went very well and, oh my goodness, did she look cute! 

 I can see that this little carrier will be joining us on many more walks and "adventures", and no doubt will come in very handy during our upcoming trip to Canada where there will be lots of walking, excursions and general excitement - and we all know how tiring that can be for little dollies!

To Work or not to Work ... that is the question

Hello lovely people!

I'm really not a very good blogger, am I?  I've been quiet for so long and it feels like ages since I've posted anything.  Life has just been so busy these past few months and I simply haven't had any spare time to sit down and devote to this little hobby of mine, which is a shame (a big, fat one) but sometimes you've just got to realise that not everything is possible and life has to be prioritised.  I do hope to get back into the swing of things soon.  I hope you are patient and stick around.

I have managed something, though, behind the scenes.  The very gorgeous Trishie, from the Under Lock & Key blog asked me how I combine working with motherhood.  So I told her.  Here is my story, featured today on her blog.  Check out her blog while you're there - it's beautiful.

Under Lock & Key - To Work or to Stay at Home

Lah-Lah's Adventures Concert Ticket Giveaway!

 

Calling all Sydney-siders, calling all Sydney-siders!

 

I have an amazing DVD, CD and concert ticket giveaway opportunity for the amazing Aussie pre-school musical group Lah-Lah, who are touring Sydney throughout April in support of their new show Lah-Lah's Adventures.  How does that sound?  Fabbo?  Yes, so fabbo!  Check out Lah-Lah's YouTube video if you are not convinced, and the Media Release for more info and tour dates.  They are gorgeous and any little one would love to see them live. 

The prize pack contains a "Shake it Like This" CD, a "Making Music Lah-Lah's Way" CD, a "Lah-Lah's Adventures Brand New Day" DVD and a Family Pass (good for four) to the April 30th Casula Powerhouse, Casula NSW show.

If you haven't heard of Lah-Lah before (I actually hadn't) they are a band that introduces children to music and musical instruments through fun and entertainment. Based in Sydney (Australia), Lah-Lah features five wonderful expert musicians, who all love to share the joy of musicianship with little ones and their families. The group features a dancing double bass, singing saxophone and an accordion that sneezes when he squeezes.  I have been told Lah-Lah are Australia’s premier kid’s band.  Awesomeness!

The series follows central character Lah-Lah, who together with her buddy Buzz, the band leader, and their instrument character friends, Lola the double bass, Mister Saxophone, Squeezy Sneezy the piano accordion and Tom Tom the drums, explore a variety of musical styles from pop, jazz and world music, to a touch of Mozart.  So parents don't assume it will just be your kids who will be revelling in the fun, you too will be joining in, tapping and jiving to a whole new beat!

Thank you to Roadshow Entertainment for this really wonderful opportunity - one that I know your kids will love, enjoy and learn from.  If only we lived in Sydney ...

 

Enter below using Rafflecopter.
 

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 Good luck and please let me know how much fun you had if you are the "lah-lah lucky" winner!