The Loft

Warm welcome,

Here's a look into my loft....

We purchased the house about 24 years ago.(Gosh thats gone quick!!!) It was old, about 1920's-30's. But we saw some potential and it was close to all facilities, at the same time very quiet. We were very enthusiastic, during our earlier married years, so alot was accomplished in a short time. After which we became more laid back(as you do) , it is just maintenance now and I still like my house the same as I did when we first saw it.

The Loft
This was the cavity in the roof, it was such wasted space. So I found a carpenter to line it, and an electrician to put in too many lights and power points. (A girl can't have too many.) It is suppose to have a skylight as well, but we just never got around to it.

Its, probably one of my favourites, but definitely not the most decorative. In fact I don't think there are any decorations at all. It is so peaceful and warm up there. I have a small CD player up there and I listen to my music, whilst I sew and draw prospective projects.I lose complete track of time. I have lost so many hours , I hate to think... Well , here we go up to the top...

It was late afternoon, on a cloudy day when I took these photos, so the colour in some pics are a little off.

This is the view, looking down through the round window, which is shown on my sidebar.

There is a space, for Miss. L. But she doesn't come up as much as she use to, to play. All her things are still here.

Well hope you enjoyed the little glimpse into my world.

With Smiles

Kathryn x

Christmas Cooking

Warm Welcome,

I have been getting down to some serious cooking lately, I have been wanting to bake the Christmas cake & Plum pudding before it gets too close to Christmas. Give the cake time to become more flavoursome. I made sure I hade collected all the necessary ingredients, days before.

I soaked the fruit in the brandy for 24 hours. So when I woke up in the morning I would get the "must do" daily chores done , then start on my anticipated project. I was looking forward to it. I must say. I was kept very busy, as I made the cake quite large, and organised the plum pudding, as well as a few small puddings for presents.

I was so entranced by mixing a cup of this, 3 of that, that I didn't see who had come into my kitchen and messed it up. I thought I was home alone. How nasty....who could have done it??? Everybody that knows me, knows I like to keep a tidy bench and sink.

Does this ever happen to you???? The invisible messy stranger has struck again!!!!

Here are some of the results, The Christmas Cake looks the same every year, I may have to try to decorate it, a little more creatively next year. (It has my scarf I made & mentioned in an earlier post.) The Plum Pudding, takes 6 hours of simmering..... it smells delightful....
So I made these as well...
And this...
My rolls proving on the stovetop.

I love cooking... like my hand work.. it is my therapy.

With Smiles

Kathryn x

Daisy's Day Out...

Warm Welcome,

Hope all is well in your world, and that you and yours are safe & happy.


What a time we have had over the last few days. Our new puppy Daisy went missing.

Early morning I went to give her Puppy milk, but she was sound asleep in her basket in the laundry. I went back half and hour later and she was gone. We searched every where, knocked on all the neighbors doors & checked back yards. We had posters up within 2 hours, kept searching the streets. We resigned ourselves to the fact that she was gone. Somebody must have picked her up. The next morning we rang the Lost Dogs Home in the City, somebody had seen her and the home had come and picked her up. We couldn't believe our luck... She was found on the railway platform(maybe she was waiting for the next train.) blocks away from here. When we picked her up, they said she had been crying all night..We paid $45.00 to bail her out!!!! She was pretty grubby.. but an hour, a bath, and some nice puppy milk later, she was soundly sleeping in her basket. Naughty Girl..

We found where she escaped from, and have bricked it up....

Miss L. was a little sad when she left.(We have only had her a few weeks). She said"Oh..at least we have the memories".. Mr. M. quickly shot back "Mhh, I rather have the money." Nasty,Nasty., man..
Here is the Bag I told you I was making. I love red... but don't wear alot of it. The bag will match a pair of red maryjane shoes, I have.

Also a little show and tell, I bought a small sugar & creamer at the Salamanca market, when we visited Tasmania a couple of weeks ago. Here they are... Just the right size for 2 or 3 people.

I have decided to let you all into my house, via blogland of course.. I will post pictures of my loft first, and slowly work through the rest of the house........ Here is a little glimpse...

Till, next time,

With Smiles

Kathryn x

Suffragettes 100 year Anniversary.Voting in Victoria.

Warm Welcome,

Hope all is well with you and yours. The days are warming up here, but we are promised rain for the next 3 days. I wont hold my breath... I've heard that before..

The other evening I went to a cocktail party, in honour of the 100th anniversary of the Suffragettes, winning the right to vote in Victoria.

Both of my older sisters went with me. When we arrived we were met at the door, by two ladies dressed as they did 100 yrs ago in white. They wore a violet sash over their shoulder and violet ribbon and green organza in their large hats, they were handing out newsletters, much as they did all those years ago, about equality of men & women. After a drink an some nibbles, we were shown to our seats in a large room, where 3 speakers proceeded to speak about womens equality, then and now. All the while a slide show was going on in the background, I was more interested in this. The photos of these women, all those years ago fighting for basic rights , not only in Australia, but many other countries, tweaked a chord in me. Yes I knew the stories, protest marches, violence, hunger strikes, jail terms, force feeding etc... but putting a face to the story was quite disturbing. It made me think.. how much is owed to these women.. for standing up.. fighting ....in a time when it would have been so hard to do so.

One of the speakers, read of a time when , it was considered that a woman was less intelligent than a man because she had a smaller head. A woman could not give evidence in a courtroom, as she was deemed to have memory loss, or too influenced by her husband, to have an opinion of her own. When a husband died, the money went to the nearest male relative. How unfair...

Well, I am grateful that I am living in this day and age, in a country where women have rights. Many countries are still in the dark, as far as the contribution women can make for the common good.

At the end of the evening we were given this badge to commemorate the event, it mentioned what the colours represented.

Green - Give

White- Women

Violet- Vote.

Well, must away....I promise not such a serious post next time...

With Smiles

Kathryn x

I'm Always Chasing Rainbows..

Warm Welcome,

It is the most glorious day here. I have been doing a little gardening trying to get the garden, prettied up. Have bought some pansie seedlings, but not enough unfortunately, I'll be out again tomorrow for some more. The water restrictions have but the brakes on alot of my garden beds. I use to plant masses of pansies, marigolds, petunias etc... But have had to replace with standard roses, and my seedlings are now strickly for pots and some hanging baskets. Have busied my self craft wise, with making a bag. ( I will show in another post) I also am working on my scrap quilt, with the prarie point binding, I showed some posts ago. Well, off to make pasta for dinner with some homemade pesto and roasted pinenut bread.

Oh, yes... have a look at the rainbows in my kitchen, every afternoon for a couple of hours I have the pleasure of the company of these gorgeous colours. There must be about 15. Aren't I lucky!!!

Goodbye, God Bless

With Smiles

Kathryn x

The Best of Days..

Warm Welcome,

Firstly, thankyou to everyone who has left comments. I really enjoy reading them, and appreciate the time you took to send them. It really makes my day.

Having a lovely day today, just doing the housework, cooking and enjoying the little things the day brings.

I have been cleaning my sewing loft madly, after I found a few families of moths in there. Yes, Shock..Horror .... How dare they even think of going anywher near my fabric stash, when I am so careful to keep mothballs & cloves in every nook & cranny. I'm all for live and let live, but not in my Loft..

I mentioned in the last post about the new family member, Daisy. She is 8 weeks old and a West Highland Terrier. It is just like having a baby again, peace and a nice sit down when she goes to sleep. Ahhhh... She is a lovely puppy. But so easy to stand on. Jock our dog, is lovely to her and they play alot. The photos doesn't do her justice.


Awhile ago I showed some fabric I was making into a cup bag. Well here is the finished product. I was pleased with it. The side pockets are for tea, coffee etc..
I made Quiche today, it was lovely with Salad.

RECIPE FOR QUICHE

Ingredients:

4 Eggs

1 cup Pastry mix(lion)

1 cup celery

1 cup onion

1 cup lean meat of bacon

1 cup carrot

1 cup cheese ( I use low fat)

1 cup cream(I use half cream half skim milk

Sprinkle some extra cheese & put some sliced tomato on top.

Mix altogther and cook for 1 and a quarter hours on 160c. oven.
Waa.. Laa....

Serve with salad.

Bye for now, God Bless you & yours.

With Smiles

Kathryn x

Home from Tasmania

We arrived back from Tasmania, it was a lovely break. The weather was lovely.We did some of the touristy things, visited Salamanca market on Saturday, with a plethora of wonderful items for sale. I bought this lovely little glass sugar & creamer, for $20.00. No, not cheap, but I wanted it. It's just what I have been looking for. Also purchased 2 jars of mustard, some sourdough bread, a two headed gingerbread man, pink lady apples, a stuffed tassie devil and a few other bits & pieces. Along Salamanca Place which runs directly alongside the market, are these beautiful old sandstone buildings, which housed some brilliant craft and artwork.

View from Hotel Room. View from Rosny.

We sat and ate lunch in St Davids Park, small pickins, but very tasty. So green... Tasmania we were informed, do not at present have water restrictions. We are on stage 3a, here in Victoria, and although we use grey water, we are still drying up.

Back to Tasmania.... We wandered around the city, and found the Cat and the Fiddle arcade, things we noticed were, some street signs were quite fancy, a much slower pace, friendly people, quiet city, green, scenic, the most extraordinary old buildings(I think this my favourite).


We had dinner at an Irish Pub, oh yes...and a Guiness, it was so nice we went back the following night.

We went to constitution dock and we on a cruise on a refurbished ferry, along the Derwent River complete with lunch. We also, went on a bus trip , which took us through some of the suburbs. I liked Battery Point and a place called Upper Sandy Bay, some beautiful views from a place called Rosny. Took a few Photos.. We had dinner on our last night at Constitution Dock, from one of the vendors that sell seafood from their floating shops. I think it was called "Flippers" , we tucked into some yummy fish, flake, callamari, scallops, chips and to be healthy a little coleslaw.Ha.Ha.. Whilst I was eating my small piece of fish a seagull came from behind, and took half the fish, from my hand, all I felt was a webbed foot on my forhead. When it landed I noticed it had a crooked leg, and I dont know if you have looked at a flock of seagulls, but there is always one with a bad leg. I always throw it a morsel, as I feel sorry for them. WELL..NOT ANY MORE........ Mr. M.. smirked and said "Just be glad it didn't poop on you as well".I could go on and on about the place but I would bore you. I would love to move there, perhaps to a smaller country town.(Oh well dreaming again!!)




Did I mention I bought some fabric, as you can see none of it matches. I will use the two bottom fabrics for quilt backing,( One of these was reduced in price to $3.00 a metre from $18.95, I think it must be a few years old.) and the other two, well....I just liked them. The red & white fabric just implored me to buy it.. Yes.. I'm a sucker for a pretty piece of fabric.

Miss. L. is a little camera shy, worried about her photo on the internet, but she was there.
I must remember to say a big thankyou to Lesley from Lesley's Creations in the U.S. for the lovely Award.

This a the new addition the family, her name is Daisy. More on her later.

Take Care
With Smiles
Kathryn x