Land girls

Lovely images (despite the intrusive watermarks) from the fabulous Mary Evans Picture Library. I've posted more over here.

Diggin' it!

I'm so excited at the prospect of establishing a new garden that I've been lying awake in the early hours planning my plant selection and designing the layout. Although we're only moving a few blocks away (so the climate and soil types won't change) I think it'll still be a bit of a challenge. I'll have to develop a new colour palette, incorporating different spatial parameters and functionality ...

Cool colours dominate my current garden, with lots of green, clear pinks, blues, silvery greys, deep cerise and blackish-purples, highlighted with white and clear yellow. Our new house has terracotta roof tiles, so the baby pinks etc. won't work so well ... maybe I should move toward creamy-peachy-ochres, russets, dusty-mauves and deep claret-reds. This is a new colour scheme for me.

*sigh!* So many possibilities .... I can't wait to make a start.

Each day I gather images and think a lot about form and structure, texture, fragrance, colour and movement. I love gardens!

These are just some of the plants on my wishlist - click to enlarge.

(oh bummer - I lost my list of image sources..... please let me know if I've used your image!)

Be Still!

Through Jayme McGowan I discovered Terrible Yellow Eyes - a delightful collection of illustrated interpretations of Maurice Sendak's 'Where the Wild Things Are'.

Here are some examples:










As a child I spent countless hours immersed in the worlds created by Sendak, capering in the Night Kitchen, exploring the Wild Thing island and adventuring with Little Bear, Duck, Hen and Owl. When I lived in Japan in the 90s I was fortunate to see an exhibition of Sendak's original illustrations - I thought they were just beautiful!

Some people don't seem to like Sendak's work. What's your take on it? Does it evoke any particular memories for you?

Saturday shopping

Today was a good day.
This morning we braved the cold wind, grabbed ourselves some coffees, and bought .....


... a new house! Hooray!


Well, it's not exactly new - it's a little cottage built in the 1920s, in a leafy, quiet street. Here is my new sewing room:

our new bedroom:


and the bright and sunny sitting area:


We're looking forward to having more space - it's been quite a while since we've been able to host dinner parties or lazy lunches for our friends. Our new house has room for entertaining, three bedrooms, a decent bathroom, and quite a bit of space outside. We're planning to renovate the kitchen and maybe add a couple of rooms in a (non-obtrusive) second storey. Godfrey has lofty ideas for his new shed, and I've already planned the garden in great detail.....

The next step is to sell our current house - anyone looking for a Victorian terrace in Brunswick?

Just around the corner ....

I love these clear and sunny winter days, even though we really need much more rain.

In my street the fruit trees are already covered in blossoms, and the magnolia buds are bursting forth as they do so reliably every year at the end of July. I took these pictures as the sun was setting yesterday so they're not as clear as I'd have liked, but the trees and soft evening light made my heart leap.

Can you see the blackbird nest in the centre of this picture?









Eeek! When I reduce the resolution of my photos to post them online, they go stripey. ugh. I'll try and fix them later.

Veneration

In the middle of winter each year, members of our local catholic church march around the block behind a (rather elderly) brass band, holding aloft a large statue of St Margaret. It's a quaint and often somewhat bedraggled-looking ceremony, but it's a welcome insight into another culture. As soon as we hear the first strains of the little band we scurry out to the front gate to await the parade.




How is the middle of the year treating you? We've had beautifully clear weather recently, with some lovely sunsets too....




...

Window seat

One day I'd love to have a pretty window seat, with a peaceful view and lots of sunshine ...







Are you lucky enough to have a window seat?

(images from delight by design, apartment therapy chicago, from the right bank, and chris gray)

Glühdachel?

For several years my hubby and I have been thinking about getting a little dachshund.


Siobhan has a suggestion ... Even though we don't yet have a real sausage dog, perhaps this little fella could light up our lives:


Urban Outfitters are offering life-sized dachshund lamps for US$78.

(happy little dachels found here and here)

Swoon!

Last night I discovered Lis Timpone's exquisite drawings (via Dear Ada ) ....







If you click the images on Lis' site you will be able to see the amazing detail of her work. So lovely!