thank you julia

well look what i have [oops i mean julia] done..
i have finally got rid of the toile back ground on my blog..
i have used a piece of vintage american wallpaper from the early 1900's and isn't it gorgeous?
i know there is a few lines here and there but i don't care i feel at home now and i will never tire of this image ..
thank you julia , without your help and kindness i could not have done it ...

grass trees..

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i have always had a fascination with these native australian trees..

they are found nowhere in the world but here.

they earned themselves a nickname of 'black boys' as their silhouettes resemble black boys in a group...however this name is not politically correct and the name grass tree is now used..

there true name xanthorrhoea is too much to roll off the tongue..

there is a group of people rescuing these trees from developers and named themselves replants ..

and what a marvellous job they do too..

they trim their hair [sorry leaves] into cute little 'haircuts' and some are really comical and very humanising and each grass tree then has its own persona ..cute ..

i am thinking i would love a driveway with them on either side but i wonder if they are alpaca proof???

found...

i have been searching for these blocks for a while now and as i stopped looking for them i found them!

so i have three liberty works in progress but that is the norm for me ..

and i have been crocheting the flounce on my baby cashmerino blanket for so long now i needed
another something to alternate it with...so....i started to ripple....

rippling ...flouncing....wonky squares...stackandwack...kaleidoscope stars...socks...cardi...and a secret project...ooh ahhh .... i blame where i work at calicoandivy because i am surrounded by fabrics and wool of all types so it has set me on fire ... oh and pat of course ...

i love being fortunate enough to have people in my life that are sooo like minded..

foodlovers guide...

fantastic fremantle or as the locals call it ,freo.

i have a great foodie friend who likes nothing more than a great tootle out to seek out little shops that have wonderful hidden treasures ..

so we went to freo as the temp is starting to cool down now [25 ]and our first stop was the little street in freo called george street ..which is made up of all those lovely shops that one must go and spend a little time browsing ..

we had a lovely coffee and shared a raspberry teacake and it was a lovely start to the day ..

i then bought a shop [only kidding] a beautiful building built in 1880 for a cool million..

then we discovered a shop that sold all things organic ,french ,homemade ,and chocs from new york...

we gathered our treasures from the 4 corners of the world and put them in an esky [i told you my friend was an avid foodie] they included wild olives,goats cheese from france, buffalo mozzarella and figs stuffed with marscapone ...

then of to kailis for their famous chowder which obviously has some cream in it and it is slightly pinkish in color and is sooo delicious ..

after that we went to a famous meat wholesalers and loaded up with french cutlets and beef cutlets ...

these days are a great destresser as pleasant company and pleasant foodie treats are really hard to beat..

wip ...

work in progress ..
this is the border that is taking all my time at the moment and i do so enjoy it ..
but i figure that i have crocheted my way to paris by now .
i will finish it soon and then on to another project that is whizzing around in my head..
that is one thing that blogging does do and that is it makes you finish things and that is not a bad thing....

kookaburra...

the kookaburra has long been associated with australia .

it is similar to the kingfisher but a lot larger and these birds have a sinister streak..

although they are native to australia they are not native to western australia and the rogue is the culprit in sending our little wren population into serious decline .

they are meat eaters and swoop on their prey from a tree where they are cleverly camouflaged .

when talking to a local ranger he had autopsied one which had 10 blue wrens in its belly!..

so you see the only kookas i like are the little camping stove that i had to use for breakfast on sunday as we had an ill timed power cut and i even had to use a camping kettle with a little whistle to make a morning cuppa..

then there is the lovely little ko0kaburra cinema [outdoor] that runs in a little community in the perth hills..

imagine sitting under the milky way[we are directly under it]and watching the movie AUSTRALIA in the evening air and being served refreshments from the local volunteer fire brigades ahh bliss...

a note at the bottom of the program "please generously support these tireless guardians of our hills lifestyle"..

i say hear hear and aren't these little communities wonderful?

a friday tootle...

well after the week i have had i needed a well earned tootle..

so i called up a friend [an aunt who is only 6yrs older than me] and off we went..

the day was a little hot [anything over 25 is hot for me] so i had the aircon on in the car most of the time and we drove for a leisurely lunch ..

i drove away from the coast and we stopped at a place called settlers hills and we sat and had a vegetarian wood fired pizza ane some perrier water ..

then we opted for coffee with a view and back to the coast we went..

everybody wants to live near the water in the summer as it's always a few degrees cooler and there is usually a nice sea breeze ..and there was , coming in from the beautiful indian ocean .

there were plenty of kite surfers around and the photo i have take is of a little island just a few hundred metres offshore called ' penguin island '.

this little island has the most fantastic views and is home to a the fairy penguins [remember pingu?].

here they are studied and protected with round the clock supervision under the watchful eye of the rangers.

in the top photo you may be able to see two litte white shapes -these are the little ferries that take you to and from the island.
on this and the surrounding islands you can always see large sea lions basking in the sun and some are really large.
also in the summer when the water is calm you can actually wade across the sandbar 'which we have done only once.
after coffee we went home and i was totally invigorated .. tired but in an ivigorated sort of way..