Brisbane I am so very proud of you...

Courtesy of The Courier Mail

Look at you all, you wonderful people, 1000's of you lining up to register and volunteer to help with the huge clean up.  Although I don't live in Brisvegas anymore, I am so proud to say I come from Brisbane, we are of sturdy stock that's for sure but the best thing about us is that when the going gets tough, the tough get going and we all pitch in. 

Seriously, my heart literally sang when I woke up to these images. 

And when I heard the stories of people, literally strangers turning up in streets with utes and tools and saying "hey, how can I help"...or "hey, I have an esky filled with cold water bottles and sandwiches, you don't have power, how about you sit down for a while with a cold bottle of h2o and a salad roll, and let me take over for a bit"...well I could cry. 

Actually, maybe I did.

Go Brisbane!!!!!

And here at home, (but hardly blog worthy), after sorting through with the children lots of toys and clothes and kitchen items to donate and boxing these up, I spent the afternoon in the laundry room (our first blue day for a long time) and recent events just brought home to me that I should never ever feel complacent or take for granted the days when I can put white sheets on my line under a blue sky.

Brisbane, I send you all our strength and support.

X

eta - Oh goodness an update, ...Chateau De Lille has very generously passed on an award, I'll be back soon to update, thank you so much x

Enough is enough...

I haven't any pretty pictures to post tonight.

No pretty words either.

Hardly any words at all really. 
What devastation SE Qld has seen.
I just read now of a family who lost their four year old in the floods today and my heart breaks for them.  I am so so sorry.  Their grief, I can't even begin to imagine.

And to Mother Nature or the gods or whoever it is who has some control over the weather, enough is enough.  Please.  No more.  There has been enough heatbreak, enough despair, enough loss.
It's enough.

My thoughts to everyone in SE Qld, especially in Toowoomba and surrounds, Ipswich and Brisbane.

Stay safe, keep your families safe.
Nothing is more precious.

XX

2011, it's here...

                                Oh look, a new use for driftwood pieces lol!

It's here, almost out of the blue (well the grey up here at least - it's raining again!).

(Thoughts to all those experiencing the flooding and isolation here in Queensland and I hope the sun shines for you very soon x and you find the relief you need so very much)

We've had the usual flurry that seems to happen at this time of year with family and friends so my poor blog has been sadly neglected (and may yet still be until school goes back) and I know it's customary to do the resolutions thing (but what's the point!  I'd love to say I'm going to eat less and exercise more, but I'd be wasting precious time and space!) but what I do want to do is to say thanks for the warm welcome to bloggy land.

I had lurked for a while on many many blogs before starting my own modest attempt in August and it wasn't until somebody posted that their copy of Coastal Living had arrived that I knew I had found my people! 

I don't know anyone who buys this magazine.  Not a soul.  In fact for a while there, I was the only one the local newsagency ordered this in for, but he tells me now he sells four copies a month at least (so maybe we should start a reading group or something my anonymous buddies!).

This is the first copy I ever bought waaaaay back in 1997 - yes, I know!.   I still  have it and it came to the surface in a brief but it's the new year, quick, clean up  frenzied tidy up.

It cost $US 3.95 and according to the cover, I paid $AU8 which I think was quite a fair sum for a magazine back then!

 It's the Christmas issue, 1997 and I bought it on a whim because I liked these pages.  And all these years later, I still like them.

Timeless really.

I hope your Christmas was wonderful and that you too are spending time with friends and family :)

So thanks again for the warm welcome to this lovely world, I love reading your blogs and am a very happy follower indeed, cheers x

Another cold rainy day here in Noosa. 

I find myself almost apologising to strangers for the weather, - the holiday makers who have paid $3000 + a week for their Noosa holiday and have had to swap bikinis for brollies -  I'm so sorry, that's Noosa at the moment, beautiful one day, raining the next - I hope they can still find beauty in this rather soggy Noosa!

We're snugged up in here wrapping presents and drinking coffee (well that's me, not the tots!), hope it's warm and sunny where you are!

Cheers,

x

                                      These little tea lights are from Mitre 10 - who would have thought!

Just loving this time of year.

My big kids aren't so big that they don't still feel the magic, and my littlies, well....I don't think they can believe it, the lights, the decorations, the sparkles - all totally up their alley!!!

                                 My big girl made this dove at school, I just love it.

                                    My attempt at a stick/twiggy thing!

I'm off to brave the shops for some last minute shopping!

Have a great day! x

A game of tag...things to know...

Oh goodness, this is a bit new to me being so new still to the blogging world, but the very lovely Emma Burgess has tagged me in a game, so *deep breath*, here goes :)

What is the one thing you can't stand?

Rudeness.  Our time on this planet is short enough and I just see no rhyme or reason for deliberate rudeness.

If you could go back to your childhood which cartoon character or TV show would be your favourite?

Oh I was just a huge Bewitched fan so I'll say Samantha but I know I used to pretend I was Tabatha.  In fact, I think it went past that, I'm pretty sure I thought I was her!

What is something you do or have done that would surprise a lot of people?

Hmmm.  Well, I had four children and that seems to be something that surprised many!

Do you believe in ghosts?

You know, I am really not sure.  There have been times in my life where I wished I did for sure though.

When you go to the store what's the one things you can't stop yourself from buying more than one of?

Oh gosh, I love candles, big fat white candles, I'm sure you know the ones, with that smooth waxy lustre, oh I do love them.  And then I need something to put them on or in...and so it goes on....

What is the funniest story you have about your significant other?

Oh there are so many!  The oldest one was the time he made fried rice to impress me with his culinary skill (we were newly dating) and he didn't know you had to boil the rice first.  That was 20 years ago and we still trot out that story every now and again!

And then most recently, he bought a magnificent ham for his staff for their Christmas lunch do (which in a rush he had to grab from our garage fridge in the dark early in the morning and pop into a cooler bag). So then with much fanfare and to-do many hours later, he lifted off the lid (and from what I have since heard, with a bit of a flourish) of the cooler (a la Basil Fawlty and the famous duck) ...to reveal....2 X 3 litre bottles of milk still in their Woolies bag - he'd grabbed the wrong bag out of the fridge in the darkness of our garage!

What is your proudest moment of being a parent?

Oh too many, but for me it's seeing my big teen boy take the hand of my littlest one to help with some stairs or when my tween teaches the preschooler a dance routine and they are both laughing, these moments, they warm my heart.  I love being a Mum and even though it's very busy with four, it also feels very right.

If you could go back and relive one day in your life what would it be?

I found this really hard to answer actually. 

I think the day I met my husband.  It was such a very ordinary day and I think it needs some hoop-la to mark it a bit more as the day that my life took such a new direction.  A balloon needs to be released on a beach somewhere or something.

And in turn, I'd like to tag -

Cherie over at her lovely Samford Valley house

and

 Simmone over at Crazy House Capers

Thanks for reading xx

Oh my poor neglected blog, I still love you really, it's just been a busy fortnight with no time left over!


Anyway, I wanted to jump on quickly because I bought these little led and pearl fairy lights at Woolies (who would have thought!) and I just love them and thought someone else might want to duck in and grab some too - they were $7.99 a string and they take 3AA batteries - I bought 4 strings and this one is in my bowl - I was thinking along the lines of some sort of centrepiece for Christmas Day maybe, I'll have to have a proper play with them when things settle down a bit!

And just quickly, this too - I love it, it's in Target, $45 (was $60) - and it's a great size, quite large, perfect for all those yummy Christmas treats I plan to whip up (umm, yes, when things settle down a bit!) looks beautiful sitting on the bench :).

Here's some brownies we just made to christen it properly  - it was sitting on the bench with nothing inside it and it looked lonely!!

 Next to my Doulton beach bunnies, just to give you an idea of scale - it's quite big and for the price, well I have to admit to quite liking Target!

It's beginning to look like Christmas around here - my girls love these reindeer, they take them off the table to play with them all the time - one is the "mummy" and one is the "baby" - just really too cute to watch them!

Have a great day everyone :)

x