Sunday

Easter & Chestnuts

I hope you had a lovely Easter dear readers. Our family (the town mice), went down south today and visited our friends (the country mice), and we had a special time together.   After an egg hunt, in which lots of little kiddies from the country lane near our friends house, found their goodies in baskets ranging from paper to wicker, we went inside and roasted the biggest, sweetest chestnuts on the fire.   The chestnuts I have to tell you, were gathered by my mum who has a tree in her backyard that provides the most beautiful shade in the summer.  That tree reminds me of my dad, who could never see any sense in planting anything in the backyard that didn't produce food.  But my mum, who is elderly and not very mobile, went to some effort to gather the nuts, and then organised to send them down to us.   We did not spend this Easter with my mum nor my dad this Easter, and that is ok, and sometimes not ok.
Whatever Easter means to you, I hope that you get some time for reflection, and for thinking about the sacrificies that others have made to your life.



Saturday

my bunting featured on Dena Designs blog!


I was excited to find my Kumari Garden Bunting featured on the Dena Designs blog this morning, as I heart this designer as one of my favourites.  When I saw 'Kumari Garden', I just knew it had to be made into bunting!!  Check out Dena Designs here.

Have a lovely weekend peeps.



Tuesday

what is a market but a pop up shop anyway?

Aren't 'handmade craft' markets getting very stylish these days?....




These pics are courtesy of Photobat from the Apron Design Market in Launceston, recently.
(I love the fact that stall holders are given a whole marquee to display their wares - that would be bliss!)
That fab vintage typewriter belongs to a market friend of mine - Rosie from Notions.  She always finds the most amazing props for her vintage inspired goodies, indeed.

And I love the look of this pop up shop by Harvest Textiles....


Well. So far for me, I shall be content with a wee online presence, and the occasional trestle at my local markets here in Hobart.



Thursday

how far can a bowl of rice go?


Well, it can go pretty far!
$14.00 for 10 kilos of rice, fed 150 school children and teachers at my son's school yesterday.
You might say, that's pretty economical and it would be, but take it further and donate a gold coin for your bowl of rice, and suddenly you have $200.  A great teaching lesson for fund-raising for a school building project in Farajok, Sudan.  Along with pupils experiencing a humble meal, their school work was done under a tree that day, just like the school in Sudan! 
This is part of a wider fund-raising effort for this project -they've already made $200 from rock shifting! And the school is also madly collecting 5c - it's amazing to see how that's adding up! 

  • more than 80 percent of southern Sudan's rural population does not have access to electricity.
  • A girl born in southern Sudan has a better chance of dying during pregnancy or childbirth than of completing primary school.
  • Some 95,000 Sudanese children under the age of five died last year as a result of preventable diseases in southern Sudan.
  • About 400 BC, the ox-driven water wheel was introduced to the Sudan. It still plays a vital role in the country's economy.
facts from here