~*Our Weekend Away*~......

Do you remember the post I wrote about the weekend away at Annuaka Resort that our son Ryno gave My Darlin' & I as a surprise? well...... we went, we saw, we relaxed, we pampered & we LOVED it...... Like most of the Suites there ours was amongst the Rain forest, such a peaceful place.....

Our bedroom had this large spa set in its own corner, I was amazed when I filled it up the water was blue a real aqua sea blue......... the photo above was taken looking up at the glass ceiling..... nothing like sitting in here with the jets blasting full bore, laying back & looking up at the twinkling stars in the sky.....

Our dinner was just out of this world we sat at a table which looked out to the ocean & afterwards went for a very romantic stroll along the beach......

We also explored the rest of the place finding a total of seven swimming pools all laying under more rain forest & three spas set in grotto's....... I have to tell you I could very easily move on in there tomorrow..... we found this walk way the next morning......... followed it & found......

This gorgeous little Chapel......... I remember years ago not long after the resort opened friends of ours were married in this tiny church......... sadly the marriage didn't last & as much as we enjoyed our weekend here I couldn't help but notice that it was starting to look a tad rundown, the Chapel was all dusty inside, it looked like it hadn't been used in years, furniture in our Suite was starting to break, a lot of the beautiful filigree woodwork had been broken from previous guests...... to me that was sad a lot of time & money had been put into Annuaka, it needed some TLC.......

That aside we DID have a great time staying here & would go back again.....

Thank you again Ryno we love you xxx

*~A Complete Makeover*~.........

Hi yah Sweeties......... how'd yah be.... as my Dad would say......... Me well I have been flat out which is the reason why the posting has been a tad on the lean side lately. If you scroll down to my last post you might remember the cane lounge I was giving a make over...... She has in fact been finished for a while now but as is the norm with me after I cleaned the front Porch to get it all spick & span for her grand arrival, I noticed that everything else on it was looking in need of a repaint not to mention the painted floor boards..........

So off My Darlin' went to Bunnings to get the paint as I had run out after painting the lounge, & I set to scrubbing the floorboards & chairs. Next day I was all set to go............ it rained! The next day......... it rained, in fact 4 days in a row, so I patiently waited for blue sky to come out. Finally the sun came out & I was down on hands & knees painting. Three coats later & the floor was all done..........

The next week was spent repainting the chairs & coffee tables during the day one coat a day although by now it was getting pretty hard to keep the patience thing going......... sewing the new cushion covers at night.

I had bought two Euro cushions for the lounge & could not believe it when they were a tad too small so ended up opening them both at one end & sewing an extra strip of fabric in between them both & stuffing it full of super soft wadding........ fun to do on a machine when the cushion becomes very long.

Even the little boy on the pedestal was scrubbed down with bleach to make squeaky clean again as he had grown green, something I don't really mind but just kinda looked out of place with the white & blue.........

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this lounge with its big squishy cushions, it is just soooooo comfy....... perhaps too comfy, I laid down on it the other morning with my cuppa coffee & a really good book & actually fell asleep....... or perhaps it was due to the fact that I was up until nearly 4am painting the last chair either way I am not one to sleep during the day, so have resisted the urge since then to lay on it.........

Every time I have made new cushions for out here they have been pink to go with the house but being a true lover of Blue & White I just HAD to have a change, even the coasters on the tables are blue & white & the flowers are my favourite Camelia's in my garden which are always the last to bloom, a gorgeous white with just the tiniest dab of icy pink in them. At the moment the fabric is a bit bright but come summer & the sun with fade them to the perfect soft blue........

So what do you think.......... was the long wait worth it......... I hope so, OK so now you all know what I want you guys to do........ leave me a comment & tell me what you think..........Oh & I am still flat tack painting, I have redone an old mirror & am on to my second one.......

Hoping YOUR creative juices are flowing........

~*She's Coming Along Just Fine*~.........

Do you remember this cane lounge I showed you a couple of posts ago well she has finally started her make over. Because of the rain we had been getting I couldn't get out & scrub her, finally yesterday arvo the rain stopped long enough to start. Once she was scrubbed clean I moved her into the garage to dry.

I was up until 2.30am this morning giving her her first coat of paint, kinda thinkin' she's looking better already. Today she received the second coat. One more to go tomorrow & I'm kinda hoping My Darlin' will find the tome tomorrow to make the new base up for me. Two big squashy cushions to sit on & she will be all ready to put out on the front Veranda if she doesn't take up too much room out there...

Am really in the mood at the moment to do up all the things waiting patiently in the shed for me next I think will be a gold & black mirror which needs painting..... white of course..... OK so I'm off to find some fabric for the cushions......

Hoping you guys are having a creative weekend......

~*Feeling Soooooo Loved*~

If you follow my little Blog you will know that our 2nd eldest son Ryno moved over to WA at the start of last year which is a very long way away in this huge country. I have considered myself very blessed this year as he has returned home nearly every break he has had & as he is currently renting his house out he has stayed with us, just pure joy to me. This break he decided to stay on site as he was offered 3 weeks extra work, being one never to turn work down & as he is off to the US in August for a holiday the extra money will come in very handy. I received a call from him last night which I didn't expect as most of the time he cannot get reception on his phone being in the middle of nowhere asking me what My Darlin' & I were doing next weekend?? As My Darlin' has spent the last few months working on Saturdays we no longer make plans for the weekends unless it is weeks in advance, so the answer was *nothing yet, why*? To which Ryno replied *Is you Comp on Mum*..... Me *yep sure is*...... Ryno * need you to go into your emails*...... a few seconds later there I am opening the email he told me to & asking him *what is this*.......????.




Now before I go any further I need to go back to May 6th which was My Darlin's Birthday & the Thursday before Mothers Day. Ryno had not planed on coming back East that break but as these are important dates in our family he forked out the $900.00 to come home. He felt bad that he didn't buy us any pressies........ having him home was enough. So what was the email all about.........


The photo above is where My Darlin' & I will be spending next weekend......... all expenses paid thanks to Ryno. I sat there last night reading this email from Aanuka Beach Resort which is here in Coffs, & the only way to describe how I felt..... sooooooo very very LOVED! We have this large Suite with a large spa under a glass roof amongst the rainforest all to ourselves, no kiddies, just us, I am still pinching myself here. After I had stopped thanking Ryno over & over all I could think to say to him is *I Love You*....his answer.....*I know Mum, I Love You Toooo*. I don't think I need to tell you how I feel right now........

Wishing you all a great weekend & hope you feel as LOVED as I do right now xxx

~*Keeping Calm Can Sometimes Be Oh So Hard*~

.......but I'm trying real hard here, honest I am. Quite some time ago I posted about repainting my hallway it was out with the green & in with all cream & white. Now I had promised the after piccies but just before I was to post them my computer crashed & I lost all my photos...... The other day I had a friend over with her young son & it wasn't until they had left I discovered (to my horror) that the little sweetheart had drawn on every single door jam in my hallway, all SIX of them with pen, not just drawing but going down through to the grain of the wood! Now when I paint I give each wall three coats & all window frames & door jams five coats as they usually get the most wear so here I am looking at all my hard work wrecked with steam coming out of my ears, suddenly I realised the whole lot had to come off & be re sanded & repainted all over again GRRRRRR. So today I decided to get in & started after doing the housework.... bad move...... I managed to strip one complete door jam & sand the grooves out, because of the layers of paint I had to use a scraper & then sand but the mess was incredible, little flakes of paint everywhere! I also have one side of another doorway done but to be honest my heart just was not in it today.I had really wanted to get outside & scrub down the cane lounge I showed in the last post & start painting her but today felt like Winter had arrived...... I awoke to it flogging down rain & cold, so there went that idea!

The photo above is the only one I have left of the hallway when it was finished...... the skirting boards are still green as the floorboards have yet to be polished & would take all the paint off, the old cane chair used to sit on my front Veranda, I made a new cushion cover for her & placed her here.......... a great place to sit with a good book........ Tomorrow if the weather is sunny I will be outdoors, if not back in my Hallway scrapping away so long as my aching shoulders let me.....

Wishing you all a great night....xxx

~*Dear Abbie*~............

I have not posted very often this year although I had intended to, if not every day then at least every second......... funny how things don't always turn out how you intend them to huh? Truth is the great *feeling* I had at the start of the year pretty soon went by the wayside & it wasn't until the other day that I finally, nearly half way through the year, realised why. If you are a regular reader of my little blog you would know My Darlin' & I lost a very close friend at the end of last year & although we still do & always will miss him & think about him daily, we both realised he would not want us wallowing around in self pity being miserable, in fact he would have said to us * take a tablespoon of cement & harden up* & get on with our lives. However....... sadly there are some people who have not been able to do this, they cannot move on & one in particular has been visiting nearly EVERY day since Toad died, his life seems to have come to a standstill & I became *Dear Abbie* to him & therefore my life also came to a standstill because it was like all my *happy thoughts* were being sucked out of me....... Suddenly last week for one reason or another he came between My Darlin' & I, he has been bad mouthing me to all our friends & so it seems cut all ties with us! At first this deeply upset me now, well I have taken that tablespoon of cement & just want him out of my life, simple, it is after all too short. There has been so many things I have missed out on posting.......... our Dylans 9th birthday on Feb 14th (he was quite upset about that), our 19th Wedding Anniversary on April 13th, a tribute to my gorgeous Mum on Mothers Day, truth is I have realised I cannot be around depressing people, all I have done is shut my myself away from those I love most & for what, to try & help someone I have come to realise does not want to help himself. So onwards & upwards.........




In my last post I showed you all the sweet little chair makeover & thank you for all your lovely comments, anyway I bought a mag last week with this sweet chair (not exactly this chair) & how's this........ prices start at $375.00....... yeah right as if I can afford that..... boy do I feel good right now knowing mine was not even a 68th of the cost.....




So my latest project will be the beauty above............. cost so far zilch thanks to my neighbour....... as they say *priceless*............

~From *Tacky* to *Elegant~.......

Do you remember these oh so Tacky fluffy covers? I remember them used for toilet seat covers (with matching mat of course....) cushion covers, rugs in fact anything & everything was made out of the stuff.... About once a month we have Dinner with friends at their home & the first time we went I discovered this quaint little chair stuffed away in a corner.... well it was instant love & before I could even open my mouth to enquire why it was shoved in the corner Sandy blurted out about it being the most ugliest thing she had ever seen....

Now just to help her out & save her a trip to the tip hum hum..... I told her I would quite gladly take it off her hands....the look on her face spoke volumes, yep she thought I was completely & utterly mad....... or that mt taste was in my erm you know where or both...... anyway that night as *she* sat patiently waiting for me by the front door i left via the back, can you believe that?????

It was awhile until we went for dinner again but this time she was brought home & placed in my bedroom much to my Darlin's horror. So she sat & sat & sat until finally one day I started to *pretty her up*....

The first thing to come off was the purple fluffy cushion cover of course .......

Which was replaced by a pretty rose print & new padding......

Suddenly she looked 90% better already....

Next came the sand blasting, followed by etching primer & lastly a few coats of white oil based paint left a few days to harden & then she was ready to bring back into the bedroom.....

My Darlin' was quite surprised by how she looked after her makeover, no longer *Tacky* now more *Elegant* just like she should have always looked.

Sandy called in yesterday & I showed her the finished result...... so what was her reaction?

*I still don't want IT back* now I am asking myself *Where is HER taste*?......

So now I am on the look out for a dressing table to match.... you know the sort..... white with rounded corners & triple mirrors where Ladies used to sit in the 50's & 60's to apply their makeup sitting on one of these chairs...... I wonder where it is.......


Hope you are enjoying your day especially if you are doing up a small treasure you saved from going to the tip.........

~The Joy Of Feeling The Soil Between My Fingers~............

Hi all.......so what have you guys been up to this week?........... I have spent my week in my front gardens & so far have filled our Wheelie Bin twice.......was lucky it was emptied Tuesday morning after I filled it on Monday, since then I have filled it till it is chockers & brimming over, have also filled two wheel barrows plus have a pile, a huge pile of cuttings from our trees down our driveway sitting on the front lawn. So far I have only done 31/2 gardens & we are talking BIG gardens here & just when I was thinking this arvo *where on earth am I going to put the rest of the weeds, dead plants & plants I no longer want* when our neighbour who owns the Pre-school next door told me I can use his *Green Wheelie Bin* as they wont be using it! YES..... THANK YOU....... I can keep on gardening tomorrow.......... it soothes my SOUL...... I sit in amongst the soil & weeds (my jeans have piles of dirt on the knees & the bum) my shoes are falling apart from using my new *you beaut Bunnings Shovel* & I FEEL so good, this is what I have needed for soooooooooooooo long. I have had so much crap happening in my what was supposed to be my *YEAR* friends who lives have been falling apart & have made me their *Dear Abbie* where it got to the point where I *went DOWN again* I have realised I have to look after myself.....is that being toooooooo selfish? Anyway I am rambling......

So tomorrow will find me back out in my gardens, the weather is just to die for....not too hot, not tooooo cold, Sunday my Darlin' & I will head off to the *Tip* with the back of our Truck loaded with all the weed etc that wont fit in the other Wheelie Bin & will arrive back home with the back of the Truck chockers with beautiful dark soil to put back into the gardens...... & then the replanting starts...... pure BLISS FOR MY SOUL.....

So how will you spend your weekend?

However you do....I hope you Enjoy.......

*The Ode*

This post is dedicated to all the New Zealand & Australian soldiers (The Anzac's) both fallen & returned..... without these brave boys, some 14 years of age when they went off to the *Great War* we would not know the meaning of FREEDOM............. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.... Anzac Day to me is a day of Gratitude..... a day to give thanks for living in a free country........ a day to remember those that returned never to be the same as when they left their beautiful shores........ a day to remember those who did not return ....... for the Mothers, Wives, Siblings & Children of the missing & fallen........

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old,

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn,

At the going down of the sun & in the morning

We will remember them.

~I THANK YOU FOR MY LIFE~

~It's been a long time~.....

OK so where was I..... um missing in action it would seem....... it has been nearly 3 months since I posted, I think that is a record for me! This is going to be long post I think soooooo grab a cuppa if you want to hang around & have a read.......



I am going to take you all back to Feb 14th most celebrate Valentines Day, however in our home we celebrate our youngest child Dylan's birthday, this year he turned 9 his last year in single numbers. I had planned on posting about his special day, had all the you beaut photos to share & wouldn't yah know it my Laptop crashed! (due to Windows updates, I now only update security items). To my horror I found I had lost everything except my blog, website, & email address when I finally fixed it, all my doco's gone, worst still all my photos gone & among them my little mans 9th birthday photos...... anyway he had a great day which is the main thing.



Fast forward to March 6th & our Nieces Engagement Party. We were wining & dinning with the elete of Coffs Harbour at Pacific Bay Resort, one of THE top notch places here & a place I had never been to before... way out of our league. Anyway we had a great night at a beautiful Resort......








I made this cushion for Sheree & Tim for their Engagement pressie....... The image print I bought about 13 or so years ago at a Craft Fair in Brisbane that my Sister-in-law & I went to & I taught myself the art of Ribbon Embroidery. Soooooo after all those years of holding on to my first ever attempt at Ribbon Embroidery I decided to make a *special* pillow for a very *special* couple...........

Merilyn my Sister-in-law, Sheree's Mum, picked out all the fabric to make up the cushion.... I was so happy that they loved it....... a real boost to my ego.....

Ok so fast forward one week..... March 13th.... & our family headed off down south to our oldest Son's & future Daughter's Engagement Party........ what a great weekend....... To me this was a huge *Healing* I finally have my *Family* back..... Oh the joy of seeing all my *Kiddies* together for the first time in I don't know how long, to see my four beautiful Grand kiddies, to be able to Kiss & Cuddle my Son, to welcome Lisa into our family, just to be welcome & stay at their home, wake up n the morning & do the *Nana* thing with our 4 Grand kiddies.......

`

So the photo's above & below are of me & my Bested Friend ever *Anna* at Mick & Lisa's Engagement Party........... this beautiful *Lady* drove for hours to spend *Quality* time with me & my Family...... She means the absolute world to me............

Pure Bliss............... love this this Lady so sooooooo much............

Our 3 beautiful boys.....Mick, Dylan & Ryan....... love this photo......

Our gorgeous Taska with our beautiful Granddaughter Shay......

Easter arrived & we traveled south again this time to stay with Anna for the weekend..... a visit that was long overdue, we had not been down to visit her for years & years....... We did the *Westfield Shopping Centre* thing much to my Darlin's horror & Taska's delight...... all those shops in one place.........Taska thought she was in heaven (we have very limited shopping up here in Coffs) & I have to admit even I felt pretty exhausted by the end of the day...... Easter Sunday was spent having a barbie with Anna's son Mario, his beautiful lady Emm & their two little boys.........

Monday saw us on the road heading home after quite a few tears flowed, the weekend had gone way too fast.....

OK so that's all the GOOD things that have been happening in my life......... there has also been a few BAD things going on, one in particular where I have had to call the Police on a rather crazy woman who has been accusing me of having an affair with her now ex partner (my Hubbies business partner) ......... it got to the stage where I was wondering what she was going to do next.......I think my neighbours were a bit appalled to see her standing outside my house screaming abuse at me a couple of times not a pleasant thing to have to go through........
for now she is leaving me alone thank goodness.........

I think that about does it for this post, wishing you all a great long weekend (it is Anzac weekend in Aus & NZ).......

Lyn xxx

With all our love...........

This day 17 years ago our beautiful daughter *Taska Rose* was born....... can it really be that long ago.......... It has really jolted me into reality....... this is Taska's last year in school & next year that amazing door to the world opens up for her......I wonder now just where her journey in life will take her, which door she will choose to go through, if in the coming year she will decide what she wishes to do with her life...... but mostly can we still keep her happy & safe.......


Taska & I (yet another terrible photo of me) last September....

Erica, Taska & her yummy boyfriend Morty.......

Taken last night before going out to Dinner....

Wishing you the best day ever my beautiful Taska, do you know how proud we are of you, how much joy you have brought into our lives & that you are much loved.....

Mum & Dad xxxxx