barbed wire hearts

Its been a long time since I shared any creative projects.

I've been busy OK?

Anyway, here are a few (bad) pics I took of some barbed wire hearts I made not too long ago.

I found some barbed wire at one of the tip shops and collected it to make some hearts. Once the basic heart shapes were made (thanks Wayne, you're a wire genius and not afraid of barbs), I used finer wire to decorate the hearts.

First I made a spider web. I used some craft glue blobs to create a dew-drop look on the web.

Another is a bit more random in curls and webs.

Last is an extra curly one with pink wire highlights.

One of these days I'll get creative again. Meanwhile I'll be better off diverting my creative energy to clean out the guest room. And the office. And paint the railing on the porch.

Strangely enough I'm actually looking forward to actually doing all that. I just can't seem to find the time!

z

the holes in the wall - kitchen update

The kitchen renovation has stalled. I already mentioned this before but haven't given an update of where we're at.

Handyman has been here and has been working but he's been diverted cause we realized that the power points had to be moved before he could finish pine lining the wall. I mean, he could only work on the 2 walls as it was as we're waiting on the power company to move the power so he can put in the new window before he can pine line the front wall...

Its all about doing things in order.

Usually I realize I'm getting ahead of myself after I've already made plans for something, then I have to stop it to backtrack and get something else done first.

And when I say "I" I mean Handyman. I plan, he has to do.

So for over a week now this is what our kitchen wall looks like.

A bit more rustic than I'd like.

Meanwhile, we've kept Handyman busy. He's put the ceiling and insulation in the mud room (I should take pics huh?) And he's started enclosing the end of the porch as per Wayne's instructions.

See, when it rains here the rain comes in at an angle and almost everything on the porch gets wet. If its wet and windy simultaneously everything on the porch gets wet. So having part of it enclosed, especially near the door, will provide a bit of protection from the weather. We won't have to worry about soggy boots this winter.

The windows removed from the kitchen are going into this new enclosed area.

So far only one side has been done. Eventually I'll be painting this all the same colour as the house so it won't look this dark.

This could be the right place for my plastic chandelier... though its too long to hang there unless you're only as tall as Chipmunk.

I wonder if Chipmunk would like a chandelier in his little stable shed? He's a special boy, he deserves a special home, right?

z

redlands - dream garden

There's a place just outside New Norfolk which I've always wanted to visit, and last weekend Wayne and I finally found the time to go and have a look around. Its called Redlands and used to be a huge farm with lots of outbuildings like its own blacksmith, bakery, distillery, etc.

It still has a distillery where they make their own whiskey and schnapps. Good stuff. Oh, and the bakery is also a going concern now - its not open for visitors but it bakes artisan bread which is sold through some local shops.

You know I'm a sucker for old signs.

And old buildings. The distillery shop is inside what looks like it may have once been a dairy, wonderful stone floors and thick stone walls. Unfortunately the photos I took inside suck.

This is part of the distillery.

Then of course there are tons of old buildings, some in better conditions that others. I'm not sure if they're in use or not.

This is the old oast house.

This is the workers' quarters. Amazing. There's talk they want to restore these rooms as tourist accommodation. 

I love it all. Especially the garden. Its the kind of garden I dream of... the kind of garden I would have loved to grow up with. Its the kind of garden fairies flit around in and leprechauns live in.

There are trees with branches which hang down to the ground, creating ideal secret hiding places... love the sitting area comprised of tree stumps under these birches.

The ducks enjoy a bit of shade on a hot day.

No garden is complete without a cubby house!

And the flowers! Huge trees with hydrangeas growing happily underneath them.

Stone wall fences and more hydrangeas... old fashioned and new varieties. Beautiful. And much happier than mine in the shade of the big trees.

If I had this canopy over my garden I'd spend more time sitting in the garden reading or just relaxing.

I love Redlands. Our garden will never look like that. But hopefully I'll soon have a garden full of pretty flowers and interesting corners. And an area to sit and relax in the shade.

z

dancer is home!

Our girlie is back!

Dancer's been away for a long time... we took her to be broken in to saddle before I went to Greece last year, then, for one reason or another, her return was put off again and again.

Over the last few months I've been going down to visit her and having a few rides to get used to her (and her used to me and my clumsy ways). But now our girlie is back home, finally.

She's looking gorgeous. She's such a sweet-natured girl. But she's green. And I'm not the best rider in the world. I mean, I never was the best rider in the world, but I had balance and I could stick to a horse back then.

Makes sense that after many many years of not riding, many many additional kilos, compounded with middle age, that I'd get myself a green horse to ride. I got myself a pair of sticky-bum jodhpurs but I'd need superglue-bum jodhpurs to stay on if Dancer jumps sideways suddenly...

Anyway, Jenny has done a wonderful job in schooling her. If you have a horse you need broken I highly recommend her. Dancer is responsive to a light touch, a shift of weight and a squeeze of the thighs. Suits me perfectly in one way as I've always had soft hands. Doesn't suit me at all (yet) in another as my balance is still off... I'm still riding like the sack of potatoes my first riding teacher used to accuse us of being.

That will improve with time and more riding.

I hope.

Gotta go.

I have a horse to ride!

z