A Village View - the Old Cheese Factory

The week before Christmas, I took a little stroll 'uptown'.

This is the Old Cheese Factory building, which houses various businesses.  On the odd Saturday morning, we like to saunter up there, hoping to find a new little treasure or two.

Is it just in the Southern Highlands, or is all of Australia determined to plant every driveway and edging with Aga-flippin'-panthus?

It's not that I don't like them.  They are just everywhere.

Anyway, remember me telling you up the little shop that Zoe and her mum have, up here at the 'cheeso'?  Well, they have moved into a bigger shop (still in the cheese factory) - and it looks great.

I never seem to be able to visit without buying something.

Note the angel sitting in the window.

You might recognise her from my previous post, as she is now sitting on my dresser, next to my 'old' nativity set.

Foxgloves are one of my all time favourites.

We stopped in to a local cafe for a cool drink and a spot of crochet.  This is the beginning of my star garland - yes, it did come from the Royal Sisters.

I hope you are all having a calm and restful boxing day.

I am. 

Cheers

Fi

Ships Log - and a few of Fi's Christmas treasures

Ship's Log.

No land in site.

It's the week before Christmas, on a Monday morn, on the east coast of Australia.  The natives assure us that this is the time for blistering heat, buckets of perspiration and the constant whir of the strange beast called the air conditioner....

I am sorely tempted to mark these ideas down to mere mythology, or perhaps the deranged and fanciful imaginings of a water-logged mind.

The journey has been long. 
We started off from the Port of Winter some months ago now.  We sailed around the coast of Spring, with the rain lashing against us, relentlessly.

We spied the harbour of Summer, from the crow's nest, some time ago, hope swelling in our hearts - finally sailing in on the first day of December.

We have checked and rechecked our charts for navigational errors - surely we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere!

But, alas, no.

It seems this is to be our lot for this harbour.

Rain, rain and more rain.

I fear mutiny.

Written by my hand,

Captain Fi

This 19th day of the month of December, in the year of our Lord, 2011.

On a much happier note, I really wanted to share with you some of the Christmas bits and pieces that I get a lot of pleasure from.

Isn't it the little ordinary things in a day that can add up to make it extraordinary?

Now, you can take the girl out of the snow, but you sure can't take the snow out of the girl!!  I might be in Oz, but you can't beat a snowman at Christmas.  I love this little pair. 

Now, if I was uploading my posts in chronological order (which I'm not today), you would recognise this garland as 'wot-i-woz-up-to-at-the-cheeso-', but seeing as I haven't posted that yet, you won't.

I only made this garland yesterday, but I think it has to go on the favourite list.

This is my new addition for this Christmas (apart from above-mentioned star garland).

It is my early Christmas present from my darling one, a new nativity scene.

I was drawn to the simplicity of the figures.  That somehow fits in with a stable birth - don't you think?

And this is the 'old' nativity scene.

I bought this about 17 years ago.  It is an entirely different look to the smaller, new one, but still very beautiful and it has been with me through many Christmases (sp?), good and bad.  

This one is sitting on a dresser in my bedroom, so I get to look at it when I go to sleep and when I wake up.

A few years ago, however, there was an unfortunate accident.  Can you see Mary's hand?  No, because it broke off.  Shame.

Now, I pondered whether to save this one for a separate post, as this one falls into the category of 'Fi's Perpetual Christmas Card List'.

Fi's what?

Perpetual Christmas Card List.  I save my favourite cards each year, that I can't part with.  Either because of the beautiful picture, or the beautiful words.  My family have now taken it as a personal challenge to come up with a 'perpetual'.

So far, my mother is winning with the tally.  This is one of hers.  I've had this one maybe 10 years.
I was thinking of doing a post with my perpetual cards altogether, or something,...

Now, this piece is quite special (to me, anyway), because I painted it.

It is a design by Jo Sonja Jansen (who else?) that I painted, mmmm, let me think - about 18 years ago.

Oh my gosh!  Did I just say 18 years!  Where did they go?

I hope my daughter appreciates it, as she will be the inheritor of it, one day.

Well, looking through those treasures has cheered me up some and brought a bit of sunshine into another wise dreary day.

Cheers

Fi

What I Didn't Show You

What lies behind this door, is what my darling husband and I built for me some months ago.

It is the end section of the garage, which was full of junk, wasn't lined, had no door or window and was filthy with dirt, dust, mouse poo, you name it.

We turned it into this -

My new craft studio!!  I have shelving units behind that false wall.  This shot is taken from the door.

Here are a few more views.

Doesn't it look so neat and tidy?
But don't let that fool you - I cleaned it up for the photo.

Do you see those little dollies on the window ledge?
My daughter and I made those years ago.

Here is a better look.

I made the green one (it's my favourite colour) and the lovely Miss P made the blue one. (That was her favourite colour when she was little. She used to say "My favourite colour is blue. Sky Blue, but not the blue at the bottom of the sky, the blue in the middle").

This is my mother - I put her to work on her last visit, making paper bead necklaces for the Christmas charity event we held at Church.

And this is me, signing the register at my sisters' wedding - that was why my mother was visiting.

See that bit of sun behind me?  Well, that is a miracle that is.  Anyone living on the eastern seaboard of Australia this summer (ha! what summer!) will know what I mean.  It poured day and night all week before the wedding, torrential rain the night before and morning of, the sun came out an hour before the wedding, and then poured again the next day, and still hasn't stopped.

Cheers
Fi

Granny Square Inspired Throw

I actually got around to taking some photos of this throw that I did some months ago.

I have to admit, I haven't sewn in all the ends yet (even if it is gracing the arm of the sofa).

Here is the a closer look at the edging.

And the whole picture.

My photography isn't doing justice to the colours, they are a lot nicer than they appear on screen. Really.

It's not very big - just enough to keep your knees warm, when necessary.

Cheers
Fi