Watermelon Birthday Cake

What kind of birthday cake do you make for someone on a diet.... a fabulous watermelon cake of course! This was made for my brother-in-law by a colleague.

Even the candles are made of fruit

Making candles for the Blackheath Community Market

Preparing for Blackheath Community Market on Sunday. Fortified with a coffee from my favourite cafe in Katoomba ... The Gingerbread House - they make great coffees and tasty treats and sell all things ginger and have friendly staff :)

A storybook wooden soldier greets you at the entrance

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When the sweet scent of  Jasmine is in the air - Christmas is around the corner!

 

Time to make Christmas candles .....

 

Fresh lime candles for an Aussie summer Christmas and Cinnamon, Lavender & Mandarin (my 'chai' candles) for a cosy Christmas glow

 

 

 

Sculpture by the Sea

Spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Sculpture by Sea exhibition with my daughter on a balmy spring  afternoon. The coastal walk between Bondi Beach and Tamarama Beach has become a spectacular open air gallery.  Beach goers and art and nature lovers intermingled in this stunning setting.

One hundred & eight  artists from around the world created inspirational & interesting art works. Too many to include here! These are some of my favourites....

Philip Spelman (NSW), redtrumpet redtable,

Byeong Doo Moon (South Korea) Our Memory in your Place

Close up of the intricate metal work

Clara Hali (artist from Blue Mountains) hilje

Julie Donnelly (NSW) sentinals

Michael Greve (VIC), breaching (2004),

Our awesome coastline! ..... If this has tantalised the exhibition is open till 7 November 2014.

An afternoon in the gardens

A sparkling spring day in the mountains drew me to visit some open gardens in the Leura open gardens festival.

Ilion and Waitangi

 

Ilion is a layered garden which sweeps the street front with a magnificent New Dawn rose hedge.  The Waitangi garden took seven years to restore! The garden includes a secret garden, a walled vegetable garden and stately cedrus deodar trees.

Blue Mist

At Blue Mist, Paul Sorensen established a magical garden, full of visual delights and surprises.

The entrance is through a peaceful woodland, with mature birch, cedars and conifers shading a moss lawn and a weeping golden elm near a small pond.  Once past the cottage, sweeping views of the Jamieson Valley and the escarpment appear, along with a spectacular view of the Wentworth Falls.

There is a splendid display of camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons, interspersed with dogwood and maples.  A bed of lilly-of-the-valley fills the air with its perfume. 

Our new home

We are settling into our new home in the beautiful Blue Mountains. The people are very friendly and relaxed and the scenery is awesome. There are new markets, galleries, antique & craft shops and beautiful gardens and parks to discover. Through the lens of my little camera I will be sharing what this delightful place has to offer.

Spring in our garden ... the scent of Wisteria and sound of cicadas

Seems like there is a different festival nearly every week! This week is the Leura Gardens Festival




Some of my favourite places ....

Wentworth Falls



The Campbell Rhododendron gardens at Blackheath, cover an area of 18.3 hectares (45 acres) and comprise both exotic plantings of rhododendrons, azaleas, maples and other deciduous trees and pristine native bushland.

Goodbye little tree house

A magic moment I remember:

I raised my eyes and you were there.

A fleeting vision, the quintessence

Of all that's beautiful and rare.
Alexander Pushkin

Our 'little tree house' has been sold. Sadly & too soon the chapter for our family in the 'little tree house' has drawn to a close. It is time for a tree change and for our daughter to go to university.

I am reminded of those beautiful & wise words written so long ago .....

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace....

I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.

 He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has also set eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11)

 

A roaring wood fire made the house cosy on winter nights

The back yard with the gumtree which was home to a Rainbow Lorikeet family

 Many happy hours were spent on the balcony enjoying the delightful tree top vista






Another Time and Place

On a cold winter night I remember my visit to the 'Kingdom of Ironfest' at Lithgow with a warm glow. After crossing the Blue Mountains I entered a place where medieval times, the Napoleonic wars & Dr Who converged happily.

 

 

 

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A dress fit for medieval lady

 

Napoleonic re-enactment