Flowers, Jars and a Snail

Yesterday I shouted myself a bunch of these. Sorry about the blurry photo. My camera was on the manual setting by mistake and I was shooting away like it was on auto.

Ranunculas are such a beautifully, unusual flower.

This is the arrangement I have on my table now. Recognize the runner?

Mum bought this for me at an op shop when she was here last time. It didn't have a cork and I haven't been able to find one for it yet. It had been hiding in the back of a cupboard for a few weeks and then I had the bright idea to use it as a serviette holder. They fit in perfectly!

This large vase was bought from Ikea a few years ago to be used as a fish bowl. The fish died. It wasn't well when we bought it.

I haven't used this vase since as I just didn't know what to do with it. Now it is our fruit bowl.

This morning, I notice these bright red blooms amongst the weeds in the side garden. I believe they are poppies. Or at least they are a very good imitation.

This is the plant they were picked from. There are more buds on it. Is it a poppy plant? How on earth did it get there amongst my weeds? I was going to pull all the weeds out of this garden in the past week, but never got around to it. I'm glad I didn't now. I shall do it this week and leave this plant.

This little guy was near the lemon tree. The sand is there because of the Monkey.

I do like snails. Maybe because they are a little weird.

What I don't like about them is that they eat my herb plants! They absolutely aren't allowed to do that and if they get caught then the penalty is death.

Sorry snails. You are cute and weird, but you aren't allowed to eat my plants!

~ Ky x

The Chooks

Monkey and I drove out to the country after dropping Angel off at school this morning. I LOVE the country and hope to live in it one day, but for now, it's just for little visits. It's just so green and lush. It is balm for the eyes of a city dweller. Quenching a thirst that is rarely satisfied in the city. *sigh* I must dawdle on out there more often.

So, we rocked on up to the poultry farm, and I knew it the moment I opened the car door. A blind man would know he was at a chook farm. The stench is appalling!

Monkey opted to stay in the car and play games on my iPhone, so I was on my own. I had to do the choosing all by myself. Wasn't hard really. I just said to the lady, "l'll have 2 brown ones and one light brown one please."

She reached right into that cage and grabbed two of them by their legs. I could tell she had done this before.

As she did that, I was imagining the chooks talking to each other just like they do in animated movies, you know, in English for the movie goers, but if a person in the movie heard them all they'd hear is, "Brrrk, Brrk, Brk, Brrrrk...",

Anyway, so I was imagining them saying something like, "Oh no, they've got Doris!"

Doris yells,"Help, that woman's got my legs! Help, help!". Then Max pipes in,"She's got mine too. That means we're going together. Stick with me. It'll be alright!" All the other chooks were calling out, "Oh, we'll miss you! Bye Doris, Bye Max. Hope you don't become dinner!"

Then into the box they went.

All the lady and I heard was, " Brrk, brrrk, brk, brk, brrrrrk."

Next was the light brown chooks turn. She says,"Get your hands off me woman! If you'd just ask me nicely, I'll walk into that box for you. You don't have to grab me by the legs and put me upside down. JUST ASK ME NICELY!"

Again, all we heard was, "Brk, brk, brrk."

Ok, so back to real life. We now have chooks in our backyard, and yes we named them Max(Maxine), Doris and Penelope. Angel and I wanted Max to be Patsy, but the boys insisted on naming one of them and they chose Max. That's ok, I will refer to her as Maxine on occassion as it is more feminine.

Aren't they cute? Well as cute as any generic brown chook can be. If you look closely at their eyes though, they looked really freaked out. Like they've had too much speed or something.

My cute, freaked out looking chooks!

That egg was laid in the box on the way home. The first egg! It's proudly sitting in the fridge. I just might have it for breaky...poached.

I'm hoping there will be three more eggs tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see.

~ Ky x

Sunday Market Finds

Sunday morning saw the kids and I following our neighbours to a GREAT flea market. The Camberwell Rotary Markets. Wow! I have found my nirvana!

It's really big. Lots and lots of stalls of all sorts of things. Antiques, vintage, clothes, furniture. You name it, it was there.

Of course I didn't walk out of there empty handed. We walked out of there after nearly 3 hours of browsing and if we didn't have 4 kids between us to keep an eye on, we could easily have been there another 2 or 3 hours.

So, here are some of my finds.

A lovely, big, crystal vase ($10) sitting atop a cute '50's printed tablecloth($5).

Some teacups and saucers. The two smaller ones I bought for little girls to have their own 'tea' in. I also bought some cheap 'made in japan' teacups and saucer cos they were so pretty. I normally will only buy 'made in england' or any other european country, but I couldn't resist them at such a low price.

The collection is growing quite nicely.

And this gorgeous bag. The BEST bargain of the day!

 I saw it in a box on the ground out of the corner of my eye as I was walking past. I stopped and picked it up. It's in perfect nick and is very good quality. I peeked inside to check out the condition and saw the name tag sewn inside. It says 'Mimco'. Nice!

I asked how much. The lady said $5. I'll take that thank you very much!!! I couldn't get that $5 out of my purse fast enough!

I also stumbled across a cute glass bottle and didn't realise until I got home and had a good look at it that its actually a really old baby's bottle. It's got the ounces markings on one side. It's currently got bleach soaking in it as it was very dirty. I tried the old baking soda and vinegar trick, but that didn't work. I'll put a photo up of it when it is clean...if I ever get it clean.

Next time, I am going WITHOUT the children so that I can have a good look through the racks and racks of clothes. So many fabulous bargains to be had.

Georgie, you MUST be here on a weekend when you do eventually get down here. I am taking you there and you will have a ball!

~ Ky x

First Of All, Second Of All

First of all I'd like to thank those of you who put your two cents worth in and helped me with the whole blog title, background dilema. Not that it is a dilema, I just get something into my head and focus on it and it becomes my everything until I work it out and move on.

So, I've decided to keep the blog name and just change my background and header picture. I've gone back to the last background I had cos I really do love it, even though it makes the whole screen look a little busy. I just couldn't find anything out there that I really loved.

Second of all, I started the day out on a bit of a high this morning. Doesn't take much really. Blue sky+ sunshine+breeze+cuppa+michael buble singing 'feeling good' = great start to the day. Hello Spring!

'Feeling Good' always makes me feel good. I've found it can pick me up off the floor and twirl me around anytime! It's one of my favourite housework songs. You know, the kind where you stop what your doing every now and then to have a little dance. I can listen to it over and over and over again. I don't mind doing the cleaning while Michael sings to me. It's just one of those songs that puts me in a good mood.

I do love me a bit of big band!

I'm going to see him in concert in February. The night before my birthday! Thank you darling hubby. It will be a fun girls night out. Will tell ya all about it after the event.

Anyhoo, I'm off to do some tidying and cleaning. Now where's my ipod?

~ Ky x

I Need Your Help

I need to tell you that I plan to change the name and the look of my blog...again.

I want to find a blog name that is REALLY me. Something I can adopt as truly mine for the years to come.

The problem is that I am having trouble thinking of something.  Some of the names I have come up with are 'The Willow Garden', but that's already taken. 'Camillia Lane', but I've decided that is sounds like a handmade soap company. 'Chocolate Cake', that just doesn't feel right either.

Maybe it could be some of the words that I use a lot like 'Seriously...' or 'I Reckon!' or 'Stop Fighting!!!' or 'No Hitting!' or 'I Need A Cuppa' ...

 It has to be just right. A perfect fit.

You have all learned a lot about me over time. You know what my interests are...mostly. You know my personality...mostly.

So, I am asking that you put your thinking caps on and give me some suggestions, keeping in mind some of the things that define Ky. Here's a list of interests if you need some inspiration...

photography, gardens, vintage stuff, european/british things, op shops, sewing, the country, pretty things, funny things, girly things even though that is balanced out with a love of 'boy' things.

You get the general idea. I don't care what you come up with. Just give me something, please! It may not be right for me, but it might inspire me to think of just what I need.

HELP!!!

~ Ky x

What I Did On Sunday

We went to Phillip Island to watch the MotoGP. What a fun day! What a muddy day! There was no one going home clean from the race. NO ONE!

We sat up on the hill  near corner one and enjoyed the view until the first race started. On the right top of the photo is open ocean. Over the horizon is the antarctic. Pretty cool, huh?

My boys just hangin' out. The big boy bought himself a Rossi cap. He was in heaven...so to speak.

She was just hangin' out too.

I was doing as I was told and having my photo taken with the track in the background.

125cc bikes.

The water was just gorgeous. Looked good enough to swim in...and then jump straight back out of.

My little dude wanted a photo with his Mum.

A little something to try and keep them amused.

Look at me Mummy!

Looking through the green makes everything more fun.

Casey Stoner...the Aussie champion.

Go!

I'm amazed I even got this photo. They go so unbelievably fast along this straight. Imagine being on one of those bikes doing 330km/h. You can barely see them when they go past.

I love how that guy has planted himself in front of the big screen to watch the race when the track is right behind him.

It was a great day, even with all the mud. I think it will become an annual family tradition.

We will be going back to Phillip Island one day soon just to explore it. It's such a beautiful place. So many photo ops. Stay tuned for those.

~ Ky x

A Portrait with Bubblegum

Nic and Taz, which of these two for the portraiture brief? It has to be in by midnight tonight. Yeah, yeah, I know, I've left it really late to take the photos. I had trouble coming up with an idea for this one.

~ Ky x

Confetti In Motion

 This is really freaking hard! I'm not having that much fun doing it. The lighting has been really bad. We've had too many rainy days. I was busy all day yesterday. I don't have a helper until he gets home from work, which means that the natural light is no good to me by then.  And it's been windy for days on end! All these things add up to making it really difficult to get any good photos. Well the kind I want to get anyway. Not to mention that I'm still learning about all the functions of my good camera. I think I need to buy a DSLR. I'm sure it would be so much easier with a much better outcome.

Why oh why didn't I do this a couple of weeks ago??? Serves me right! Next year I will know to start planning and shooting the photos well in advance to optimize my chances of a REALLY good photo.

Tell me what you think of these photos. I'm interested in constructive criticism.

~ Ky x

The Eye Dropper Brief

I've actually put in an entry for the 'eye dropper' brief in the EOS Photo5 comp...finally. Only 4 more briefs to go. Yes, I know, I should have already posted them all up by now, but, well, I'm a last minute girl. It's how I roll. Like it or lump it. I've tried to change, but I just can't seem to get myself organised enough to have it all done well in advance.

I tried to come up with some really cool photos using the eye dropper. Actually, I think I was just having a bit of fun stuffing around with it all. They are ridiculous photos and are completely unworthy of entering into any kind of photo competition. I really should have started thinking about what I was going to do for this photo as soon as I recieved the brown box in the mail.

Glitter on water with drops of vegetable oil in a pretty glass bowl.

Blue dyed milk in water.

Milk in water. If this had been a plain glass bowl it may have turned out ok.

Dyed milk in water...again.

And yes, you guessed it, dyed milk in water.

I just wasn't happy with them. They are actually laughable if you compare them to other photos that have been entered into this category. Go and check them out for yourself. You will be floored at the creativity and patience of people with a passion for photography. You can view them here.

I ended up entering a photo from my After The Rain Macro post.

Can you guess which one?

~ Ky x

Canon EOS Photo5 2010

I am entering an amateur photo competition. I was talked into it by my friend, Ms Z. I, in return, talked her into entering it too. Apparently Canon do this comp every year. They send you a box with bits and bobs in it to do with the various categories.

This year there is a dropper to use for a close up photo. Incense for a black and white photo. Confetti for a motion photo. Bubblegum to be used in a portrait photo.And an 'inspired by sound' photo.

There are a lot of photos already entered and that in itself is quite intimidating as some of them are just brilliant! Some of them are not so brilliant, which makes me think that I'm not that bad a photographer after all. I am under no illusions that I will win any of the categories. I'm doing this for fun!

I haven't actually taken any photos yet, but I will be getting into it in the next 3 days cos the first category is due by Sunday and one each day after that. The hardest thing is working out how to be most creative with the props to achieve the best results and also having an original idea.

I've been jotting down some ideas this morning, but if you have an original idea, I'm open to suggestions.

Of course y'all will be getting to see the end results. I'll put up the duds first and then the pics that I chose to enter into the competition after the closing date.

So, I'm off now to have a go at some shots...or maybe I'll do some housework instead. I can't create in a messy environment, so I might do that and think more about what photos to take.

~ Ky x

Sunny Days, Monkey and Eat, Pray, Love

I've been feeling a bit all over the place of late. Happy, content, tired, very ordinary, melancholy, joyful, cheeky, snoozie, indifferent...and the list of ups and downs goes on. Mostly though, I've been feeling good. I would have to say that it has a lot to do with the unbelievably gorgeous weather we've been having. Clear skies, sun, soft breezes, warmth without humidity. It's just divine really. I find it hard not to feel content in some way on such a gorgeous day.

As usual too, I think often about things that I would like to blog about. I write paragraphs in my head of different topics that I feel the need to share with the world and now that I am in front of the computer, typing, I can't think of one of the very important topics to share. That's so typical of me. So scatterbrained sometimes.

And now I'm being interrupted by the 3 year old Monkey asking me a barrage of questions. So many questions...all the time. Does he think I'm an encyclopedia or something? I can assure you that I'm not. Far from it in fact. Unfortunately, when his questioning goes just that little bit too far I end up saying either, "I don't know." or "Just because...". Hardly satisfying answers for an inquisitive mind, but that's all I've got.

He just saw this photo being uploaded to this post and put his hand on his chest and exclaimed, "I'm loading!". Kids these days!

I don't even have any cool photos to share cos I haven't been anywhere to take any. Sorry, so boring of me. Actually I do have one photo I think is pretty cool. This is at a cottage, which name eludes me right now, at Mitchum. Notice anything different about this door?

That's right! No door handle! I was going to save this photo for a post where I could use it to illustrate a point about not being able to 'open the door' or 'can't get in' or 'being unable to reach out', but I'm just not feeling that clever at the moment.

 I went on a girls night out on Saturday night for dinner and a movie and totally forgot to break out the camera to take some photos. Oh well. We only talked and ate and then watched a movie. Nothing too exciting to show. It was fun though. We saw Eat, Pray, Love. I haven't read the book, but after watching the movie I can say without a doubt that the book is better. The movie really lacked something. It didn't speak to me. It didn't touch me. I was a little disappointed to say the least. To me, it felt like the movie was made in a hurry or not enough thought had gone into adapting it from the book. Not enough depth to the main characters, or maybe it was bad acting. Don't know. Can't quite put my finger on it. I'm hoping Lilian of Mothering Misadventures will critique it when she has seen it. She's great at that sort of thing.

Anyhoo, I need to go and cuddle the Monkey. He is requiring his mother's attention.
Hope you all have a lovely day!

~ Ky x






 

It's A Special Day Today...Twice!

Today is a special day...for two reasons.

First of all, it is my Mum's birthday.

Happy Birthday Mum!!!!

I do love you so very much! xxx

Second of all, it's also our wedding anniversary.

 We made it to 9 years! Woohoo! That's a record for me!

Seriously though, it's a very special thing that we have made it this far.

It's been a turbulant 9 years.

I am so grateful that we have put in the effort to work at this relationship.

It's been hard at times...REALLY hard, but that hard work has payed off!

I have God to thank for this very special man that I get to call my husband. I have often wondered over the years what God was thinking when He put us two together. Recently though, it has dawned on me. I am with this man because there is noone like him and there is noone that could possibly put up with me, live with me or love me as deeply as he does.

He knows me better than I know myself...almost. He can read me like a book. He knows how to make me smile. He also knows how to make me angry. He has a fantastic laugh. He looks after me with everything he's got. He's patient with me. He's kind to me. He's thoughtful towards me. He sacrifices for me. He has incredibly broad shoulders that carry the burdens of our little family. He's forgiving. He's lots of fun. He has so much common sense. He's one of the hardest working men I have ever known. He's smart. Really smart! He's not a tall man, but he more than makes up for it with his personality. He is a man of good character. He is loyal. He loves his family and friends fiercly. He's passionate. He is an AMAZING dad. He's determined to do whatever it takes to make my life and the lives of our children full and happy. He's cute and he's mine!

Most importantly, he knows how to love me!

Happy Anniversay Baby!!!

I love you so much more than I did yesterday and I look forward to growing old with you. xxx

~ Ky x