Carnival Week...

This week Toowoomba has been celebrating the

Carnival of Flowers....

We started last Saturday with the Wine and Food festival and the parade.

 

 

The wine and food festival is a great week end filled with Great wine, food and live bands...This is our third year of playing tourist in our own home town and we all enjoy the great family weekend.

Monday saw Robbie and William go of to camp for a week so it was only Cassie home for the week.

 

Monday saw us going to the quilt exhibit. Us being my friend Helen and myself, the quilt below was my favourite out of them all. There were so many but this one caught my eye as the stars were not visible at first until you really looked at it, subtle but brilliant I thought.

 

 

Then after lunch it was of to see the gardens, so many to see and ALL of them were outstanding.

Below is a sweet little nook we had a rest in, I could imagine sitting here having a good wine and some cheese.

 

 

Colour every where, so many ideas going through my  mind as I walked around.

By the time I got home that night I had sore feet and lots of inspiration.....

 

 

Wednesday saw

Bruce, Cassie and myself head into the Lockyer Valley to have a look around....We were going to look a a caravan so thought we would look around on the way, we got to look at the van at 3pm....Not getting it as it was bad really bad......Worth the trip though as there is So many amazing shops in this area. Well worth the drive down through Forest Hill and out through Laidley...

 

 

So many thrift shops as well I went to 10 all up and got some great finds.

My favourite find of the day was this little shop in Laidley called Potato Studio....So full of some amazing bits and bobs. Below is a taste of what they have with these ceramics....and so much more, I will be going back again.

 

We stopped at some great little cafes a long the way, they day did seem a bit like a food crawl hahaha

So we came home with no caravan, but lots of goodies from our travels...

This week I will be doing catch up on house work, book work and yard work. Never mind all worth it for the wonderful week we had...

 

Blessings to All

Mandy

This and That....

What a wonderful Tuesday...

Last night we all woke up to the sound of Thunder and lightening and Rain lots of rain....We are so thankful as the tanks were getting low,on our last half a tank....The gardens were looking thirsty as well.....Now the tanks have water and the hills have a green tinge to them.

 

 

It was a good end to a great week end....We all went to the Sunshine Coast for a long weekend just what was needed. The boys did a lot of fishing and the girls and I spent time on the beach, eating and going through the thrift shops. Perfect week end had by all.

 

I spent time on Pinterest, see this chair below? I found lots like them on Pinterest, just what I want to do with my favourite old chair, cover it in a patch work of colour. So yes a lot of time was also spent in the thrift stores looking for old floral sheets and material...I didn't get any sheets but we did get lots of other goodies that I will share later in the week.

 

 

Monday afternoon when we got home this wonderful little book was waiting for me in the mail....So much goodness in one book... have you seen Dottie Angels blog it is worth the visit...www.dottieangel.blogspot.com So simple and sweet with lots of good ideas.

 

Today I have been going like a mad woman in the garden after the rain, weeding, pruning, potting up cuttings and being so very thankful to our Maker for once again being able to be at home and look after my family, even if these days my family is much smaller...lol

 

 

Now back to the garden for a little while, then of to the Mobile Library ending with a visit to a sick friend.....

 

Blessing to All

 

Mandy

A walk to the Red Gate.....

Hi all

I wanted to share the beautiful Moonlight Grevillea that is all a  bloom at the moment, doesn't it look amazing against the blue Spring sky.

 

 

 

Then I thought we would go for a walk down to the red Gate at the bottom of the garden...see it in the distance.

 

 

 This is the rain forest part of the Garden that Greg started 17 yrs. ago. Above is the Mulberry tree that is full of fruit just starting to ripen. This tree has a weeping effect and when it is all covered in leaves this is the coolest part of the garden.
 

 

The Clivias are in full bloom as well as the Bird of Paradise.

Below you can see some of the colours that the Clivias come in, my favourite is the cream on the left.

 

 

The palms are getting tall down here and the under growth needs a bit more filling in. More bromalads and Clivias I think.

 

 

Here we are at the Red gate, over the back you can see is the chook house and the chickens, they are out side the house yard so they can roam free all day and lay us lovely eggs.
 It is very dry at this end of the garden and is in need of a make over.

 

 

To the left of the gate is this hill that I have just finished mulching as it was so dry, at the top of the hill you can just see The Old Dairy. The Saliva's do well on the hill so I think I will plant a few more, I have plenty of cuttings I can put here.

 

 

Yesterday I got these Grevillea's from Toowoomba and I will plant them up on the hill as well, one is a ground cover called Molonglo which looks a lot like the Moonlight in the first picture hopefully the ground cover will help to keep the soil in place.

 

 

To the right of the gate is this area, very full of Salvia's that I have just chopped back to nothing. In a month or 2 they will be nice and big again though. I have started at this end of the garden pruning and mulching so as I go along I will share with you and at the end you will have been all around the garden.

 

This week I am linking up to

  http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/cottage-garden-party-20-2013.html

Go over and have a look at all the gardens....

 

Blessings

Mandy

Spring has Sprung...

Two weeks ago my garden was a blaze of bulbs colour and green grass, Spring was on the way. Vases full of flowers all through the house and the smell of Jasmine and butterfly bush throughout the air.

 

 

Now...

Well it looks like Spring has been and gone.

 

We have had some doozies of frost and they have done a number on my garden....Through winter I let the nasturiums grow wild and then when a frost comes they are usually hit and the plants under neath are saved. Below is how most of my garden is looking ATM.

 



 

The roses are starting to come out slowly..

 

All the Bulbs are gone, we had such a mild winter up until August that every thing was out in flower...Then when it frosted it took every thing.

 



 

But I know Spring is here as the Jacaranda tree is losing its leaves as is the Book leaf tree...

Lots of raking coming up over the next couple of weeks.

 

But when the leaves are gone and those beautiful purple flowers are all over the tree it is worth all the raking...

 



 Washing is drying faster with the sun out, and days in the garden are getting longer.

Yes Spring is in the air....

 

Blessings

Mandy

Family Time....

They came and now they are all gone home....

Some week ends just go way too fast, but what a wonderful weekend we had. Babies every where getting to know each other...In blue is Mason, sweet Abby and our little Harrison.

 

 

 

Saturday morning was started with A photo shoot by a talented friend Rachel. Boy o boy was that fun, babies all crying Gracie walking of because well she dose not like getting her photo taken.....

But the older children got family photos done and I think all the babies got single portraits as well.

Will have lots to share when we get them back.

 

 

Love this photo of Jess with the little ones, and yes we made her wait so we could get a photo.

The big boys all went up to the farm after lunch to misbehave I mean do boy things, while we girls sat around and talked and ate and cooked and ate a little more.

 

 

The new outdoor room was used all week end and loved by all. Saturday night was a time of catching up with friends old and new and before I new it they were all gone and on there way home.

 

 

Then we had Sunday which was Fathers Day a day to celebrate those Dads that are enjoying there first Fathers Day and a day to remember the Father that taught them how to be good men, husbands and Fathers.

But the week end didn't finish there as Sunday was also Bruce's birthday, so Sunday night was finished of with a birthday dinner with Bruce's children as well....

 

Yep the kind of week end I call memory making.....

 

 

And now

I should be cleaning but instead I'm going to see how your week end was....

 

Blessing to all

Mandy