HOW MELBOURNE IS SUFFERING IN THE HEAT..LOOK AT MY GARDEN!!

HI lovely ladies .....well I have just endured the HOTTEST 3 days in Melbournes history!!

Dont get me wrong..I like the hot weather...BUT yesterday was 45 degrees...which is about 115 farenheit!!

I think there comes a time where we begin to become a bit PHYSCHO re this heat..

I was determined yesterday...I know it was silly...BUT I DID DO tennis...when the temp was about 40 degrees...BUT i coped...i lasted the hour...and it made me feel good..for my "OLD AGE""...PLUS my dodgey tennis elbow is NOW GOOD...so that made my day!

OHHH!! BUT HOW my garden has suffered...the agapanthus were just looking divine...NOW LOOK!!

the clivias were good...now scorched..

AND every other flowers/shrubs ARE ....????!!!! you know what..

lucky I had SOOTY clipped last week....so he is GOOD!

the bushfires are raging in other parts of my state...at least 11 homes lost...

and apparently deliberately lit my some MORON...whom i hope they catch..

Last night....something blew up on a transformer...and half a million melbournians were without power!!

the trains stopped mid way...office buildings shut down..

what is going on with this supposed civilised city of 4 million people?

it is just one thing after another??

anyway...didnt mean to be depressing...BUT with the hot weather...my little bit of a garden has had it....as WE have no water in melbourne..

OOOHH my...we are allowed to water twice a week....between the hours of 6-8 am twice a week...what a joke this all is!

this BLOG maybe A political comment!! but hey...TRULY WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS STATE??????

xxx andrea

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI!! AUSTRALIA DAY...HOW I LOVE THE LAND OF OZ!!

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY...

26 TH JANUARY...2009...

AS AN EXTREMELY PROUD 5TH GENERATION AUSTRALIAN...I LOVE

AUSTRALIA DAY...

US AUSSIES ARE JUST SOOO FORTUNATE TO LIVE IN AN ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL...STUNNING...FREE COUNTRY..

I THANK MY 85 YO DAD WHO WAS A PILOT IN THE 2ND WORLD WAR...HIS DAD..(MY GRANDAD)...WHO WAS SHOT THROUGH THE HEAD IN THE TRENCHES IN TURKEY ....(AND as a consequence LOST HIS RIGHT EAR)...

AND ALL THE WONDERFUL BRAVE YOUNG MEN WHO WENT TO WAR TO FIGHT FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY..AND OUR FREEDOM...

WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE COULD EVER WISH FOR...BIG CITIES...BUT STILL WIDE OPEN SPACES...FRESH FOOD...A DEMOCRACY...

THE LANDSCAPE OFFERS SUMMERS ...WITH BEAUTIFUL BEACHES...YET WINTER CAN PROVIDE SNOW FOR THE SKIERS...

THE SMELL OF THE GUM TREES....OUR TOTALLY UNIQUE WILDLIFE..

THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS....THE CRICKET...OUR DIVERSE WONDERFUL CULTURE... FROM THE ARTS...THE BALLET...THE THEATRE/OPERA...ART GALLERIES..

WE HAVE IT ALL...

I JUST LOVE BEING AN AUSSIE...AND CHERISH THIS WONDERFUL LAND....

SO HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY TOMORROW (26TH JANUARY) TO EVERYONE...

i have my flag flying from my balcony....but havent got a flag pole to hold it properly...(so that is something I have to do this year...get a proper flag holder)..

it is another absolutely beautiful summers day here in melbourne...THIS magnificent ship is sailing gracefully past my window...with 2 tugs in tow.,

cyclists...walkers are out in force using the bike path..dogs galore..

and MY beautiful city in the background...

(but look at the grass...it is just soo dry...It hasnt rained in ages & ages...our water capacity is at just 33 %...for a city of 4 million...not looking good)....

anyway....HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY...

xx andrea

NOT QUITE SURE WHO I AM?? COUNTRY/FRENCH/SHABBY/MODERN??

OHH!! I know this is quite MUNDANE in this world we live in...BUT HEY! we cannot be too serious all the time in our blogs...if we were...it would all become a bit too depressing..

soo i figure our blogs are here to express OUR MINOR dilemmas...run of the mill things in life...NOT to delve into anything too serious?? so if you all agree with that...

I am going to write about something..really quite frivolous..maybe even totally boring..BUT I have learnt..(from all you lovely ladies..what I think is boring...you may find interesting...and that is the same with me with everyone elses blog...so here goes)...

OKAY...I think you all know i am a decorating/re organising freak/guru..impulsive woman! BUT with my two boys at uni..and with only MY GORGEOUS dear SOOTY (my poodle) to actually worry about..

OH SORRY.!!,.forgot my HUBBY!! but he can look after himself!! ( i do love my hubby...dont get me wrong!!...)...xx

I Just love to re organise my home...BUT in doing that today....I kind of found myself in a dilemma as to WHO OR WHAT i actually really like as a decor theme?

i love shabby chic....I totally adore FRENCH CHIC...still like a bit of modern??

but i still have a little bit of that old country decor in me!!

I guess i am lucky enough to have quite a big house...so i can indulge all fantasies within my home...

so I have the room featuring my GORGEOUS RAGGEDYS/BLACK DOLLS..other dolls my hubby bought for me some 15 years ago from a fabulous shop..of all places..in HAWAII..

my room with ALL MY CROSS Stitches I HAVE DONE OVER THE YEARS..PLUS MY FRAMED LOT OF ARTICLES FROM NEWSPAPERS/MAGS OVER THE YEARS I OWNED MY SHOP..

(I AM quite proud of my achievements over those years...I was actually featured in THE AUSTRALIAN top 100 shops in MELBOUNE)...SO THat was a bit of a hoot!!

my FRENCH CHIC BIT OF KITCHEN. ...

my MODERN living room..

my PINK shabby junky EBAY room!

my back computer room with my SONS certificates.. & other stufF..

SOO really what decor style am I?

well i think i encompass all forms in the one house...with a house full of MEN/MALES...even SOOty IS MALE.

okay...this has been like a bit of a cleansing thing...airing it all...I dont think what i am doing is too bad???

I sometimes look at it all...and think Ugggggg...BUT IN RETROSECT...it is probably okay??

an eclectic MIX of STuff!!

sorry if this was a bit of a BORINg BLOG...but just agonising over decor!!

OH MY GOSH!! WHILST CLEANING UP...FOUND THESE CARDS & PHOTOS!! I AM GETTING OLD!!

I think i am becoming a bit of a BLOGGING JUNKIE!! oh well! keeps me thinking about something to write...and i HOPE NOT TOO BORING for all you Lovely ladies out there!!

at LEAST I know my son in JAPAN frequently checks in to see what MUM is up to...so at least he may be interested!!

OKAY...well I am kind of doing a BIG clean up of cupboards etc IN ALL rooms of the house...going through one by one...AND chucking out stuff...(actually giving most to the local op shop who love it!!)...

soooo whilst cleaning out one drawer...found these GORGEOUS cards...which i had totally forgotten about...

Two are for my 21 st birthday..(some ..mmm how old am i this year?? 52...so that must be some 31 years ago!!??...ooooooohhhh how I hate to admit that!)..

anyway....found this gorgeous card from my "NANNA"..mums mum...who died at 86 yo when i was pregnant with christian some 20 yrs ago...

and that is her lovely old vintage writing...kids dont write like that these days!!

SHE must have known I was going to be a shabby chic rosey pinkey girl!!

AND another card from my AUNTIE...all along the same theme!! they must have known something in advance..

And of course some lovely cards from my mum..

BUT i JUst have to say...I absolutely ADORE the Christmas card my hubby gave me.

it is ALL 3 dimensional...with the lovely black DRESS (velveteen).....pink ribbon..handbag..shoes...HOW TOTALLY AWESOME IS THIS FOR A CHRISTMAS CARD???

A BIT outside the square...but something i really just CHERISH...,(wont go into what he wrote inside for me!!)....

SOO just searching through stuff...found these lovely cards...brought back lovely memories...

AND I FOUND these OLD OLD OLD photos of myself & my now 46 yo cousin on our OLD OLD holidays back in the OLDEN DAYS!!!

OHHH HOW FUNNY DO I LOOK IN MY LITTLE SHORTS..?? bathing cap?? WHEN I WAS ABOUT 6 YO?

MEMORIES ARE A WONDERFUL THING.

XXX ANDREA

GONE PINK MAD!! MAKING LITTLE GIFT CARDS..LISTING ON EBAY..

Hello again ladies...well it has been a HOT one in Melbourne today...quite funny experiencing hot weather after having been in the depths of cold (winter) in Japan!! nevertheless..with quite efficient air conditioning..one does acclimatise !!

So being inside all day..venturing out just to get the inevitable grocery shop!! I have just been busy listing some bits & bobs on ebay....and painting a few things...making some "thank you' cards for purchasers on ebay.

whilst in japan i purchased some cute little stamps...a nice THANK YOU...a cute little poodle...and a Pink stamp pad...SOOO i have just quickly stamped a few cards I had at home...tied them all with a PINK little ribbon\.....

nothing fancy...and NOT that happy with them..but will refine it with a bit more time...(just a quick little thank you card to put in items i sell).

I have also kind of gone a little "BIRD" mad!! I found lots of pink tin birds...I have replaced their gold ribbon with my nice shabby pink ribbon...

I also found some 'CROSSES" i had stored away in my "ebay room"...they were a rusty tin type item...so i have just given them a quick pink wash...sealed them..and replaced the crappy brown ribbon ..with guess what??!! YES PINK RIBBON!!

I have also listed some gorgeous Vintage type Victorian women images...with their little bit of bling...they are a sturdy thick hanging type item...i replaced their ribbon with my inevitable pink ribbon...

I just think they are a lovely shabby goodie...to hang...to keep in a bowl...just to keep amongst other goodies... I have also taken down my country style calendar..and replaced it with the FrencH calendar my hubby bought me for Christmas...thought I should do the right thing by him.. PLUS I have phographed the lovely set of FRENCH CHIC stamps he also bought me..(lucky...they are different to the ones I already had..he didnt know that...so now I have a LOVELY BIG lot of FRench CHIC stamps to play with!! they will be added to the thank you for ebay purchasers..I have a lot of playing around to do.to get all these cards JUST RIGHT!!).

OH well...must head off to dinner...hubby is cooking some yummy Fresh Snapper fillets...I have made a quite nice salad...

am looking forward to watching the cricket tonight .... I am a TENNIS & CRICKET fanatic...in fact I just LOVE SPORT!! (sorry to all you ladies who hate sport...BUT I AM A totally addicted sports freak!!)...

so i wish my tennis elbow would get better...been about 10 weeks now!! off to the physio again tomorrow,.,.

I will be devasted if I cannot play again!!

have a lovely week everyone...keep blogging and let me know what is going on!

xxx andrea

MY DAD ... MY HERO..PIER TO PUB SWIM AT 85YO!! WHAT AN AUSSIE ICON!!

OH WELL!! I AM BEING A LITTLE BIT SELF INDULGENT HERE...BUT I FEEL I NEED TO LET EVERYONE KNOW HOW FANTASTIC/WONDERFUL....A TRUE AUSSIE ICON MY DAD IS...

OKAY...MY DAD...ERIC..IS 85 YO...AND THE PHOTOS I HAVE SHOWN IS WHEN DAD WAS IN THE AIR FORCE AS A PILOT IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR

I HAVENT FOUND SOME RECENT PHOTOS..BUT HE LOOKS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME..JUST A LITTLE MORE GREY...AND A LITTLE BIT LESS HAIR...

I MUST SAY..HE STILL HAS THE SAME WONDERFUL BODY...BIG CHEST..GREAT LEGS..!!

MUM (WHO IS A YEAR OLDER AT 86!!) STILL MARVELS AT THE WOMEN WHO TRY TO LATCH ONTO MY DAD!!

HE IS THE MOST WONDERFUL FATHER/FATHER IN LAW/GRANDFATHER...HE IS FROM THE OLD SCHOOL WHO WALKS ON THE GUTTER SIDE OF THE FOOTPATH...OPENS DOORS FOR US LADIES..

AND OF COURSE..HE IS ALWAYS...ALWAYS THERE FOR MYSELF..MY HUBBY AND HIS 2 GRANDCHILDREN..WHO HE ADORES BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE...(BUT I MUST SAY HE LOVES MY TOY POODLE SOOTY....HE IS HIS 3RD GRANDCHILD!!)(..

BUT TO CUT TO THE CHASE....I AM JUST TOTALLY DEDICATING THIS SITE TO MY DAD..

HE IS THE ELDEST COMPETITOR IN THE WORLDS LARGEST OPEN WATER RACE..."THE LORNE PIER TO PUB"....THIS IS HIS 15TH TIME DOING THIS EVENT.

HE HAS APPEARED IN THE LOCAL PAPERS...ON RADIO...AND MY SON FROM JAPAN..FOLLOWING HIS GRANDADS PROGRESS HAS JUST EMAILED ME THAT DAD

AT 85 YO...HAS SWUM...1.2 KMS...IN OPEN WATER...IN 30 MINUTES & 9 SECONDS...

AFL FOOTBALLERS DID IT IN 12 MINUTES & 10 SECS..AND THEY WERE 22 YRS OLD..

WE LOVE YOU DAD......WHAT AN INSPIRATION YOU ARE...

XXX ALL OF US!!