A mantel re-style

To amuse myself while I patiently wait to get on with renovations, I revamped the mantelpiece in the lounge room again.

This is a new photo that I took and had printed up nice and large on a beautiful thick cotton rag paper. I do plan on having it framed but in the meantime it's hanging off some painted dowel by a couple of bulldog clips.

The photograph dictated my colours for the mantel. One on my little treats when I was in Sydney a few weeks ago was this brilliant cobalt blue Dinosaur Designs resin vase. The colour is stunning and needless to say, I am dreaming of a mate for it. That gorgeous rose is David Austin's Jubilee Celebration.

The other end of the mantel has some pretty red sweet pea flowers, geraniums and a cute tea light. You can see a hint of the vase that's featured in the photo artwork.

As soon as I've decorated my mantel I am thinking of my new 'theme' for the next time I do it.

Oh, by the way, have any of you been to the Dinosaur Designs Extinct seconds and sale store in Sydney? I am wondering if it's worth a visit? Do they have much to choose from? I'd love to know :)

xx

Friday Flowers ... pink roses

For Friday flowers this week I have some pretty pink roses from the backyard.

The one above is a David Austin called Jubilee Celebration. It is one of my absolute favourites.

Another David Austin called Strawberry Hills which has the most amazing honey scent.

This petite rose is Jane McGrath. 

And the one above is the fave of many, a David Austin called Heritage.

Can you tell I'm a fan of David Austins?

Such beautiful roses. I'm trying to work out how many more I might be able to squish into the garden.

Happy 'almost weekend' people. Lyn and I are hoping to get to a Ten Days on the Island installation called Power Plant at the Botanical Gardens tomorrow night. Exciting!

xx

More Merewether Beach pics...



This is my fave image :)



Very similar images to my last post, but a different filter.

Thank you all for your lovely comments about the last bunch. I loved the way Katherine from The Old Boathouse described them by saying there's "something so iconically Australian about them in a romantic way not a "crikey mate" way". How nice is that?

xx

ps the dentist visit went better than expected (ie. cheaper than expected!) Phew!

Merewether Beach on a beautiful morning

Last Monday morning at 6.30am I walked down to Merewether Beach, Newcastle to take some early morning pics. Warning : I got a little carried away...

It was a stunning morning on a beautiful beach.

The pic below is looking north towards the city centre.

If you look closely above you will see the big ocean ship waiting on the horizon to go into dock to load up with coal. I counted 10 ships on the horizon that day.

This is Merewether Ocean Baths. It is the largest ocean bath in the Southern Hemisphere.

It was drained for cleaning on this day but I loved the time and weather worn look of it.

That's the cute little pump house (above) and the Art Deco bath house (below).

One of my fave pics above :)

I felt so thrilled to see it looking so beautiful as just the next day it was grey and overcast.

It was so beautiful I might just have to post a few more pics later...

can you blame me?

I hope you all have a great week. I'm off to the dentist so that's not the best start!

Take care xx

Lawn Bowls fun

For a relaxing evening pursuit Lyn, myself and some friends had a few games of lawn bowls at the Lowlands Bowls Club in Newcastle last weekend.

Lyn and I used to play barefoot bowls at Hobart's Sandy Bay Bowls Club a few years ago so the pressure was on to perform well. Well, sort of :)

Look at that style...

reminding me of this butt shot of Lyn from a while back..

That's me. What grace! *cough, cough* maybe not :)

And check out fellow player, Rick's shorts. These deserved a post all to themselves.

Sorry Rick, I couldn't help it.

Well, out of the eight games played, Lyn won five and I won three!

Not bad. Well, it was a lovely evening - until those pesky mozzies came out to eat me!

Have a great day bloggies!

xx

Catherine Hill Bay

One the way home from Bugewoi last Sunday we stopped off at a little village called Catherine Hill Bay.

The town got its name from a boat that was shipwrecked on the coast in 1867.

Coal had been mined in the area since 1865 and the jetty above was built from the cliff face into the sea so that the coal could be loaded directly on to a vessel. The town has quite a history of coal mining which continued up until 2002 I believe. Now, it's more of a shack town.

We had to have a drink at the local pub called the Catho. The town is currently fighting against large-scale development and here are signs and banners all down the main street.

Isn't it always the way that sleepy little towns get taken over by greedy developers that have no real care for the lovely lifestyle that the current people enjoy.

I hope the locals win the fight.

I loved these gates. They prevented access along the pier.

There's little old me in the shadow above.

What a beautiful spot.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

xx

Friday flowers

The frangipanni in Newcastle was so beautiful and the main reason I enjoyed walking down the city streets. It had been so long since I'd smelled the beautiful fragrance.

Despite the fact I have to work all weekend, TGIF! It has been a crazy busy week.

Hopefully you all have a lovely relaxing weekend :)

xx

ps. more holiday pics coming...

A lovely little spot

Here's the first part of my little adventure over the weekend.

Lyn and I took a Sunday drive south of Newcastle to Bugewoi for lunch. Lyn's workmates Rick and his wife Chris, Harry and Deb came along for the roadtrip.

On the way we stopped off at a little spot called Swansea which is at Lake Entrance.

The water was beautiful.

It was a such a clear, warm day and water was very enticing. I just loved the 'vintage' feel of the old boats and dingys - not that I'd be brave enough to venture out in one, I think it would end in a swim back to shore! At Bugewoi we went to the pub for lunch, sitting outside under a massive fig tree.

We ventured home via a little village called Catherine Hill Bay.

I'll post pics of that next :)

Isn't Bugewoi the cutest name?

xx

My long weekend mini break

Hi folks, I have been awol for a few days. Can you tell where I have been?

Of course it's Sydney. Actually I went to Newcastle NSW for the weekend to visit Lyn who is up there doing some work.

I stopped off in Sydney for a few hours to do a spot of shopping. Boy, it was hot, especially when I was running around like a crazy woman. I had fun though. Three hours north on the train I was in Newcastle. It was so good to see Lyn!

We had some fun and I saw some lovely sights so I'm going to break them down into a few posts as I took a lot of pics (shock horror). I hope you like seeing them :)

xx

Friday flowers

Some pretty pink Japanese Windflowers from my backyard.

Would you believe we have just started Autumn and I have Spring bulbs starting to appear? The poor things must be a little confused by the wacky weather.

Well, I hope you all have a lovely Friday and even better weekend! I can't wait!

xx