The way they were!

One year our family took a lovely holiday to New Caledonia ( Noumea ) and stayed at the Club Med Resort. As you can see going by the photograph, it was a long time ago, when you see how small the children were. We liked this place as the children could spend the days doing activities at the Kids Club. While we enjoyed our days in the sun, swimming, shopping ( French shops!) eating delicious food and making use of the paddle boats, and windsurfers.
They even had a Circus orientated activity place and I got to have a go on the trapeze and managed to let go of the first trapeze and swing and catch the second one which was a lot of fun and exhilarating.
We liked New Caledonia, so much that we went back a second time.

All fun, but I digress.... Now back to the photo ~ One evening all the little kids in the group, put on a great performance and lovely show, dressed up in their cat costumes.
Our two are the little ones, at the front left.

I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend
Hugs
Carolyn

Have a lovely weekend

Mary Ruffle photos.



I was delighted to receive a few awards from my beautiful friend, Bella.
She is such a talented, wonderful, and warm hearted Lady. If you have not met her before, please go and visit her blog. bellasinclair.blogspot.com
I am always amazed at her wonderful Artwork. Thank you, sweet Bella.

The first two awards were created by the very talented ~ Ces.
The Deborah award was created to honour a Sisterfriend, who is a poet.


The Arija Award was created to honour another Sisterfriend ~ a thinking, seeing, feeling, loving person who celebrates life every day.
The Friendship Award was created by Kathi of Beautiful Mini Blessing.
Kathi creates incredible miniatures.
I would like to share these awards with the following lovely Ladies.
I realize that some of you have blogs that are Award free and understand this. I just want to say thank you and that visiting you, always brings joy into my life.

Karyn
Marsha
Constance
Celestina Marie
June
Nancy
Karen
Amanda

Thank you for visiting me and my blog.
Happy weekend to all, my friends.

Hugs
Carolyn

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Having fresh herbs is one of the nicest things to have, when you are cooking.
They are so much better than the dried, not that there is anything wrong with the dried. On my kitchen windowsill, I have this little tin container that I keep with herbs, that is really handy. I am also hoping to get some herbs, planted out in the garden, maybe this weekend if the weather permits.

Some of my favorites ways of using herbs ~

A salad with basil, ripe tomatoes, and buffalo mozzarella cheese.

Potatoes, scrub and leave the skins on and cut in cubes, spread on tray and add olive oil, garlic and rosemary.

Scrambled eggs with chives or parsley, sprinkled over.

Mint sauce with roast lamb.


Basil ~ is an annual herb, the plant will last the summer season and once it begins to get cold, will die. It grows well in pots and can be continually picked fresh.

Coriander ~ is also an annual and needs warm weather to thrive. It likes a sunny position and is also suitable for container growing.

Mint ~ is one of the easiest herbs to grow but it spreads and takes over the garden.
Mint is a perennial and that means you will have this for years. Mint likes a sunny position.

Parsley ~ can be treated as an annual but more correctly you will often get two years from your plants. It can handle sun or shade.




Diana is having a giveaway, she had designed these beautiful Christmas stamps.
You can visit on the link below, to go and see her and take a look.
dianaevans.blogspot.com

I hope that you are having a good week

Hugs
Carolyn

Welcome November!

A day is too precious to let it pass by unnoticed.
Each evening it is nice to set aside a minute to think what we have done that day and many times I think I have not really done very much. I probably need to try a little harder tomorrow.

If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
That eased the heart of him who heard,
One glance most kind
That fell like sunshine where it went -
Then you may count that day well spent.
~George Eliot





Photos from Flickr


Down at my old Family home, the orange and lemon trees were laden with wonderful fruit.
It is lovely to be able to go out, pick fruit off the trees and enjoy it.
There are also apple trees, one of which was a new French apple tree, that my Father had planted just before he went into hospital.
We brought the tree back to our place, and yesterday DH planted it in the garden.
I am looking forward to the day when we can go out and pick, a delicious juicy apple off the tree.

Many thanks for your kind words you left for me and also for visiting my daughter's blog.

Happy week
Hugs
Carolyn

Happy Halloween!

I would like to say a huge thank you for all your kind comments and well wishes you have left for me.
I was deliberating whether to post this, as it is personal, but it is something that can happen and was scary, when you are not quite sure what is going on.
Also many thanks to Nurse Millie, for her medical knowledge and Deanna, who has experienced this very same thing.

Even though we have not met personally, that does not seem to matter, I just want to say many thanks for your wonderful friendship, means so much to me.


My daughter, who is in her last year doing Fashion Design has started a blog and would like it, if you have a free moment please, to go and visit her if you are able to.
Her blog can be found here :
victoriagreendesign.blogspot.com
Many thanks, she would like a visit from you and please leave a comment.

Graphics Fairy

Wishing you all a very Happy Halloween! ... what ever you are doing!
Whether it be out trick or treating with the children, or sitting by a warm fire.
Have a great and safe weekend.

Hugs
Carolyn

A ride in an ambulance, was not on my agenda.

Country Living.

Well sometimes a day really does not go, the way you plan. A ride in an ambulance was definitely not on my agenda.
Yesterday I woke at 5.30am to find that because maybe the stage of my life and the time of the month, something was not right, I had haemorrhaged which was very scary.
DH phoned the Medical Centre emergency line .... 111. He did this and within half an hour the ambulance had whisked us down in time to catch the 7.15 am ferry. This is the ferry that DH normally catches and most of our friends were on the boat. Laying in the sick bay was not much fun, feeling like a drained out dish rag and looking like the colour of parchment.

So was so glad when the 35 minute ferry trip was over and the ambulance was waiting, to deliver us to Auckland hospital.
Our friend Nurse Jackie ( also a commuter ) rode with us and made sure that we were looked after once we arrived and we were lucky to have a room to ourselves, with a bathroom.
I was told I could not have anything to eat or drink, maybe a sip of water was all, if I needed.
A cup of tea would have been so nice as that was my normal way of starting my day.

After 8 hours of seeing three Doctors, explaining everything to each one, examinations, prodding and ultrasounds, I was so happy when they gave us the ok to go home.
DH spent the day doing work on his laptop at the little desk in the room and fielding lots of text calls from our friends, who were very supportive.

I was glad to get home, have a delicious meal cooked by DH, ( I was very hungry )
have a shower, and tuck myself into bed for a good nights sleep.
So now we wait for the results and hope that all will be well.

Dozing while waiting to see the Doctors.

I hope that you are having a great week

Hugs
Carolyn

White Roses and hydrangeas

The garden was very pretty today, some little iceberg roses have made an appearance, a white hydrangea and one last camellia for the season. I always like to be able to bring flowers from the garden and put them in a vase.
Country Living

Pansies for a splash of colour.
via {This is Glamorous.}


I have found the sweetest bliss
In simple little things like this:
A glossy blackbird on the gate
singing blithely to his mate,
Bumble bees all plump and bold
Drifting through my marigolds,
Lilac bushes bent to earth
Boasting blooms of lavish girth,
An early rain upon the lawn
Glinting in the blush of dawn.
To my hushed expectant soul,
Beauty speaks and makes me whole.

~ Rachel Wallace-Oberle

We are enjoying our Monday ....a holiday! day off! sleep in!
One could get very used to these three day weekends. Labour day, has been a good way to get some things done around the house.
I have a big standard bay tree, that has not been doing well in the huge terracotta pot.
Seems to be a little root bound so we are going to go and plant it out in the garden and maybe it will be happier there. Must away and do some more chores.

Thanks for dropping by my blog today ~
Happy week to all.

Hugs
Carolyn