Look Up

Whenever there is a cyclone hovering off the coast we get wonderful clouds.

These clouds are courtesy of Cyclone Bianca a few days before it was due to affect Perth. Luckily the cyclone dismantled itself at the last minute, although it has resulted in ridiculously high humidity which we are not accustomed to in Perth!

The Letter H

Just when you were beginning to think I had forgotten my alphabet series.....

Heads,


Handles,



Hat,

and Hibiscus (taken this morning in my garden)

Have a happy day.

Tiny Bird's Nests

I have a collection of real bird's nests which were the inspiration for these little wire nests.

I made them from a selection of jewellery wire and twisted little tendrils of grapevine through them.

Each nest is only 4 cms across, so they really are tiny.

You could use them to store tiny things inside, or to put a tiny easter egg in at Easter time.

Yallingup Beach

This is another photo taken on Yallingup Beach last weekend.

How could you not feel peaceful just looking at this scenery.

Random Colours

Lots of people seem to get bent out of shape about which colour goes with what, when really almost all colours go together.

You only have to look at a group of colours randomly bunched together to realise that.

Or even a bowl of fruit...

or some cheerful pom-poms!

Just go with whatever feels right.

Summer Days

This morning we went for a walk on Yallingup Beach.

The tide was very far out so there was lots of flat damp sand to walk on.

The sea was sparklingly clear and it was so beautiful on the beach you just wanted to keep walking for ever.

Now we are back in Perth but I still have sand between my toes.

Where There is Light There is Hope

My thoughts are with the people of Queensland today.

It's not just about the coffee......

Cafes should not be just about the coffee.

We have some excellent cafes in Perth where I like nothing better on my days off than to linger over the morning paper and a good coffee.

Whilst some would say it is hard to make a great coffee, it is equally as difficult, if not more so, to create a great atmosphere.

Perth has suddenly got it.

Pictured below are some clever design features in three Perth cafes which help to create the very different atmospheres of all three.

See if you can work out which cafes they are.

New York State of Mind

This year one of my daughters was in New York just before Christmas and she discovered an amazing shop called Tinsel Trading Company, which is where the goodies in the picture below came from.

Over the Christmas break, in an astonishing case of synchronicity, we came across a beautiful book all about the Tinsel Trading Company. Needless to say it had to be purchased, not only because of the beautiful pictures which showcase the wares of the Tinsel Trading Company but also because some of my gifts had come from there .

The author of the book explained that she makes inspiration boards on an 8 inch hemp covered board when she wants to try a new colour palette.

These are two of her inspiration boards which were pictured in the book.

And these cute little tags are also from New York - this time from Anthropologie.

All these things have filled me with new ideas .......

Summer Jam

Plums and apricots were literally falling off the trees in Albany so, rather than see them go to waste I commandeered my mother-in-law's trusty weighing scales and made some jam during our summer break down there.

There is something really satisfying about making jam.

Jam making was a major event in our household when I was growing up in Ireland. Out came the enormous copper preserving pans, the wax paper, the cellophane covers, the rubber bands and absolute mountains of sugar and the kitchen was out of bounds for days on end.

I was always a little bit overwhelmed by it all, but it's actually really easy.

We have already tried the apricot jam and I can thoroughly recommend Bill Granger's recipe in Bill's Basics.

Time to get out your chopping boards and all those empty jam jars you have lurking in your kitchen cupboards......

Cool Christmas

We spent Christmas and the New Year in Albany. It was a welcome relief from the heat in Perth.

My brother-in-law has a beautiful bush block there and has done some really interesting things in his garden.

It resonates with me because he has recycled things and made them into decorative features.

There is also a resident frog who has lots of shady ponds to hide in.