Welcome

I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome Becca and Angie to the followers list. It is lovely to think others think my life is interesting enough to vist from time to time.

I have just gotten back from my flying visit to Melbourne and my friend at Castle Cleugh. Their new home is gorgeous and in a great location just near the beach in Beaumaris. We had fun doing a little shopping ( I bought a few new clothes and some things for the kids) But of course now I am at home I am thinking I should have bought that and that - oh well I will just have to go back again.

One of the things that really struck me about Melbourne is the local strip shopping, we went to Mentone and the Concourse and few others just in the course of the driving me around and getting me aquainted with where things were. I love the idea of being able to go to the butcher, the bakery, the coffee shop, the fruiterer, a clothes shop etc etc without having to inhabit one of those ghastly shopping centres (malls) there is something decidedly quaint about being able to grab a basket and wander around and shop.

I take it for granted in a lot ways becasue we live in a village outside of Brisbane and this is how we shop every day, but it struck me that in Brisbane generally this type of shopping experience has largely disappeared except for a few precincts like West End, Redcliffe, Sandgate and some of the trendy areas like Bulimba and to a lesser extent Wilston.

It is a shame if we could all shop more locally we would walk more, get to know our retailers more, support smaller businesses with more sutainable business ethics and then we would be moving steadily towards the type of world I think we all crave.

I enjoyed my Saturday morning at the shops so much I didn't even think to be miserable about how cold it was !!!! (actually it was a lovely 9 degrees celcius but as the morning wore on the "snow" clouds came over the sky and it got chillier) but there I was breathing fresh air and not recycled air conditioning air, hugging my bags of produce and thoroughly enjoying every moment of being outside.

So if there is a tired little set of shops near you where you can pick up the bread and milk, the paper, chat about local events as you wait for coffee or find a dusty bargain on a back self then do yourself and the planet a favour and go explore. Certainly the internet may be making the whole world a village but nothing beats interacting with actual people and seeing their smiles, and the knowledge that your purchase may just keep them open a little longer or draw in another retailer to help revitalise our local precincts.

Have a wonderful Monday where ever you are - and take a walk to the shops!! (even if like me you have to drive there first)

daisymum

I'm baaaaack...........

Just walked away from the computer and thought hold on - one of the comments about last week was how our friends in the other hemisphere rarely get to see our Christmas tables so for your looking pleasure some of our Christmas tables from over the years.................

Will scan some of the older ones in and post them next week.

daisymum

Tablescape Thursday again already!!!

Hi wanted to say welcome to the new visitors here to Daisy mountain.

Can't believe it has been a week since Iposted. having a roast with the gang tonight so will get the photos of the Tabelscape uploaded after dinner for you all to see.

I am off to visit a friend of mine in Melbourne tomorrow morning at 6am!! (which means leaving home at 4ish the things we do for good friends hey?? and it will be COLD and I HATE the cold.!!

have a great day until tonight my tablescapers!!!

daisymum

Tablescape Thursday

Tablescape Thursday:

What Christmas at the Beach looked like last year.

Hi friends just came across a great idea Tablescape Thursday - check it out at "Between Naps on the Porch ". What a great name for a blog.

I am recycling a Tablscape from Christmas last year for my first one.

Been very absent work has been really really busy but promised myself this week that I will start getting back to dooing some of the things I love.

Off to Melbourne next week to visit my friend at Castle Cleugh.

Have Daisyson's 21st this weekend. and school and club rugby so no relaxing weekend here!!!

And I turned 46 last week.

And to answer some of your emails and comments while I have been absent:

No we didn't get flooded out but the kids schools were closed during the middle of the day and we had to pick them up early it was my birthday so I was out with a girlfriend visiting patchwork shops and books shops and supposedly having lunch didn't work out like that but we had loads of fun!

Yes I am fine not ill or grumpy just busy in fact thinking of changing the name of the blog to that "not grumpy just busy"

The vege garden is doing okay but for the first itme my tyre stack potatoes failed I only got 6 out of the two stacks!!!! Not sure why maybe there was too much water!!!!!!!!

And no I ahven't bought that bread maker yet...still can't decide what I should do and of course the sour dough started is off and running again so now it isn't an issue except I bought a box of bread mix a few weeks ago ( yeah cart before the horse stuff) so might have to get kneading which might be good for the wobbly arms I have now grown overnight since my birthday!!!!

I will really try not to be so absent am off to buy myself a laptop next week as I never seem to get anywhere near one of the four computers we have in house!!!!! Figured I can sit on the couch and blog at night when there is NOTHING on television which brings me to another technological question just how long do I have before digital tv takes over and we can't watch anything???????

I can't believe the year is going so fast I have made my second batch of laundry liquid already two more and it will be Christmas !!!! Again.

daisymum

A question of bread......

Okay so my sour dough started died and I have to start another one but that aside I think I would like to get into the whole baking bread thing s little more than one or two loaves of sour dough a week.

Of course all new ventures are fraught with questions so I will pose this one to you all.....bread makers - whaddya think??

I have always been of the opinion that they are just too small a loaf for my large family but then someone suggested I could just use it to knead the bread (great idea no time for all that these days)

So I went to ebay and there are heaps of different brands and sizes and I got confused so tell me
- do you have one
- what make and model is it
- good points
- shortcomings


anything else I need to know before I but one new or secondhand?

daisymum

Mother Day and surprises!!

Obvioulsy Mothers Day was full of surprises from my wonderful family. But I was impressd that little or no money was spent on gifts, my daughter cleaned the house for me and put flowers in all the vases and made a gorgeous cake.


My eldest boy bought me a load of mulch and proceeded to weed and mulch all the gardens for me.


Our youngest made me a lovely card and a photo frame for the fridge with his little face in it, daisyson8 bought me a scarf, a book mark and a smelly lavendar sachet to hang in my cupboard from the school craft stall (all hand made).


Only daisydad and daisyson18 went commercial from my son I got a pair of secateurs (I misplaced mine in the garden somewhere no doubt they will turn up when things die off a bit!) and a new pair of gardening gloves and from my lovely husband a bottle of my favourite perfume.


The day was spent on canteen duty at rugby, then washing jerseys for the other sons team, a few hours quilting a Fire Quilt to send to Victoria and getting some things organised to sew this week. Then a game of badminton with all the kids (really gets the heart rate up!). Then catching up on emails and the blogs and a glass of wine and home made pizza.


Bliss a simple productive wonderful day spent being a mum.



daisymum7

Whaddyamean it is wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't believe it is Wednesday already loads to tell bnut maybe tomorrow not time this morning.

Have a great day gang!

daisymum