Sweet Beauty

I had the delightful privileged of visiting a cake decorating exhibition held at Mt Cootha, Brisbane this afternoon. Our daughter had entered a wedding cake in the novice section and we went along to support and encourage her and because I wanted to see what she was up against!

AMAZING what people can do with icing, beautiful, skilled craft that looks so realistic and delightful. Various categories and degrees of expertise made the display very interesting. I take my hat off to all the entrants and appreciate the time and effort that went into making such amazing exhibits.

Afterwards, we continued up to the top of the Mount and surveyed Brisbane from a different, beautiful perspective. Great place for a picnic, indeed a wedding took place during our short time up there and lots of people were making the most of the venue and the beautiful Sunday afternoon.
Have a peep at the view

Have a great week
Simply Susan

Simple Pleasures

Yesterday was a beautiful day, more like spring than winter. During the afternoon,while my husband was in a tidying mood, he asked me what I wanted to do with a bottle of bubble mixture that had been hanging around since my birthday, in January. I happily took it outside as the wind was gusty at times and had several minutes of pleasure blowing small bubbles into the air. I returned to the house and found a large bubble wand and took it into the front garden and made some larger bubbles.

Blowing bubbles is something that has always given me joy and yesterday was no exception. I love launching pretty wet spheres into the air, that bob and dance in the wind, it makes me feel young and lighthearted and sometimes, others watching get to share in my delight, and birds are bemused by, should any be nearby.

The bubbles fly where they will, carried by the breeze. Some crash into rose bushes and burst, others soar over the fence and down the road, free and lovely until they too burst as a result of heat or air pressure, I suppose. The beautiful rainbow colours give me such pleasure, the size and initial shape of the bubbles as they emerge from the wand and drip give me momentary wonder at whether bubbles will be forthcoming, or whether I will have to try again.

I found my large bubble wand at Big W for less than $1 and the pleasure it gives is well worth the investment! I actually gave a few away as presents at Christmas time to loved ones, but, alas the weather was so poor that we didn't get to play with them.

I couldn't hold a camera yesterday, while I was engrossed enjoying myself, but I include a photo of a street entertainer in Sydney some years ago, who was making ENORMOUS bubbles and engulfing people in them as we strolled through Hyde Park. You can see some of the lovely colours that so delight me.

Have some fun,
Give it a try!
Love Simply susan

Whatsoever Things Are Lovely...

A long time ago, as he neared the end of his life, a man named Paul wrote these words:-
Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are noble, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report. If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.

In these challenging times that we find ourselves living in, these words are very appropriate and encouraging to me.
A short dose of the News via TV, radio or newspaper is enough to depress the most optimistic of souls, whereas a few moments focusing on the things listed above can really lift one's spirits.
In case you don't have access to the incredible beauty of a Poinsettia bush, let me share mine with you. During winter months the vibrant, deep colours and form of these plants lifts my heart in delight and praise.

Be encouraged!
Simply, Susan

Scrap Craft

Yes, I've made another cushion cover from the remainder of the remnant of cream satin that I bought last weekend I embellished it with gathered bias strips from the remains of a pretty tab curtain that I bought from an op shop last year. The effect is very pretty and my daughter, the recipient of my endeavours, is tickled pink.

The brown toned throw that I showed you last time was well received by other loved ones and the Tuesday "family dinner" on Sunday evening was delicious, enjoyed by all and a lot of fun.

Have just returned from a 'treasure hunt' and was thrilled to find a pair of pretty cream, embroidered curtains to dress the sides of the spare room window in readiness for a visit from a dear friend from New Zealand. I also found the right number of suitable hooks to hang the curtains, which I shall do after a quick rinse in the bath.
It pays to keep your eyes open for blessings.
Simply Susan

More Craft

I've been busy! I have knitted another throw for another loved one, in brown tones this time, well colours I hope a guy can enjoy. Plus I have made a second "Rose" cushion, see what you think... I'm thinking of knitting myself a throw in pink, since that's the predominant colour left in my stash of yarn, watch this space,

These throws are addictive!

Lovely chilly days here on the Gold Coast, I do love Winter! Going to have roast pork tomorrow evening followed by bread and butter pudding made with fruit loaf. My My! two "Tuesday family" dinners in one week!

I hope you have a Marvelous weekend
Simply Susan

Dragon's Breath Morning

I have just returned from an early morning walk, The sun had not long risen, the temperature approximately 14 degrees, just beautiful.. A dragon's breath morning! Heavy dew on the grass twinkled as the early morning sun caught it, a few shrubs and trees dressed in Autumn colours,and "Willy Wagtails" prancing about near the path, delighting in the new day, as always dressed like snappy waiters. Joy of joys wattle is coming into bloom, one of my favourite Australian flora. I love the clusters of golden puff balls against the knife like, grey green leaves and the dusty fragrance, which brings back memories of taking out the flowers from the ward when I was a student nurse, vases holding sprigs of wattle, what the English call Mimosa.

Thanks to Her Majesty, we in Queensland have just enjoyed a long weekend.  Its been a crafty one for me. During a visit to our local  Spotlight sale (our local mega craft store) on Saturday morning, I spied some very pretty combination yarn in shades of green.. I immediately thought of my friend's green couch and how lovely a throw in those colours would look. I eagerly purchased four skeins, and then, inspired by a cushion cover, adorned with a rose motif, I searched for fabric that I could experiment with. I found a lovely remnant of suitable cream satin for just two dollars and home I went with my haul!

The throw turned out a treat, I knitted it double throughout with cream 10 ply wool, which gave a pretty effect to the project. My friend was delighted when I presented it to her on Monday afternoon, she assures me it looks well on her new green couch. I can't wait to see it in situ.

Yesterday, (I had an extra day off), I embarked on the cushion cover. I was totally delighted to find a very suitable remnant of upholstery fabric at local Op Shop from which to make the body of the cushion. I cut bias strips from the cream satin and joined them all together.  Having drawn a spiral with tailors chalk, off I went sewing the bias to the front of my cushion cover.

Yippee! It worked! The general effect, I am pleased with, but have realised that a lighter weight fabric would give a completely different effect as would different colours. But hey, not a bad effort overall and the whole thing only cost me three dollars and I have enough fabric to make a second one. I presented the cover to my daughter last evening and she was impressed.

F.Y.I. last nights dinner was corned silverside with mustard sauce, served with home grown beans, carrots and potatoes, followed by lemon meringue pie and cream - it was YUMMY! I do love these "family" treat meals! Alas no photos!

The Speed of Life

As we find ourselves almost half way through another year already I have wondered why it seems that time is passing so quickly. I  was prompted to write down a few thoughts. What do you think...

The Speed of Life

Easter eggs in January, Christmas in July,

Are we living in the future or does time really fly?

We use public holidays like stepping stones as we charge on through the year

Cramming more and more activities in, while at the clock we peer.

"Is that the time? Oh I must rush, I'm due at so and so's

I've hardly time to do it all, how quickly each day goes!"

Are we surprised  that we're always tired, with no time to pause and wonder

At the bigger issues facing us, instead we feel we're going under.

Next seasons fashions arrive with full force and with zing.

I'm still thinking Winter and I'm faced with choosing Spring!

Buy Christmas presents in January sales, Easter buns while you're there,

By the time that Easter comes around, they'll not be any where.

Electronic gadgetry has not helped our cause,

Providing much more stuff to do, we've rarely time to pause.

The phone is never out of reach, we dare not leave home without one,

It wasn't so very long ago, we knew few people who owned one!

Handwritten letters rarely arrive now, delivered by the post,

Though they are few and far between, they're the one's I love the most.

Instead, emails and text messages arrive as if by magic

Demanding instant responses, this speed at times seems tragic.

Where once we waited weeks to hear news from afar,

Now everything is instant with one tap on the toolbar!

We've lost the art of waiting, no matter where we look -

Instant communications, instant meals...golly, now E books!

Everything is instantaneous and all is found on line.

With all this extra help, wouldn't you think we'd have more time?

We Facebook this and Twitter that,

No wonder folks love dogs and cats

Some time to pat and fondle creatures not caught up in the race.

They help bring down one's blood pressure

They definitely have their place.

We drive like manics on the roads, speeding from here to there,

No thought for other people, no evidence of care.

No manners seem in evidence as we tear around from place to place,

The milk of human kindness is not visible on our face.

Will the world stop spinning if a jouney takes a little longer?

We just consume more alcohol and drink our coffee even stronger.

Life in the western world is speeding up, Is there anything we can do?

Can we slow it down and enjoy it more, can we take another view?

I wish I had the answer, because my life is speeding by

We've made time our enemy, I can only wonder why?

Copyright 2011

Food for Comfort

Winter is here!

Winter is one of my favourite seasons, a time to add some extra bed coverings; wear extra undies, jackets and scarves and eat comfort food.

Winter on the Gold Coast is not like winter in colder climes, it doesn't snow and frosts are few, but nonetheless it is winter. A bowl of soup and a hot pudding still go down a treat when the opportunity arises.

Inspired by a workmate, who told me she had rustled up a Baked Jam Roly Poly pudding for dinner on Sunday evening, I decided to make one for dinner last night to follow Baked jacket potatoes, served with grated cheese,baked beans and bacon. Roly Poly used to be a favourite pudding in my childhood. I couldn't wait to give it a go, accompanied of course, by custard.

Tuesday is the evening for sharing a meal with a dear friend and our daughter, both independent dwellers, who come and share a home cooked meal with my husband and I, and lend a family atmosphere to these very special evenings. I remembered to take a photo to make your mouth water. I confess the setting could be better and the photo of the bowl is a little blurred, but I think you'll get the idea.

We all enjoyed the meal, by the way. Request for next Tuesday is Lemon Meringue Pie, I've only made that once or twice, so wish me luck!

Have a GREAT day
Simply Susan

Food for Thought

Having just completed an hour of ironing, I got to thinking about all the repetitive tasks involved in running a house, or indeed, just plain living.

It's extremely unlikely that I will die with a duster in my hand. It is not a task that I spend significant amounts of time on, I do it when I think that there might be pretty patterns to be enjoyed when I lift a crocheted doily, or gaze across dust at eye height and I get a fit of guilt.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a grub, indeed housework gives me great satisfaction. I love to see the ironing pile transformed to neatly folded piles of items and shirts hung on hangers; to enjoy the shine on a newly swept, or washed floor; to enjoy the clear reflection in a freshly polished mirror; to inhale the fragrance of furniture polish when I have attacked the furniture.

But I am aware how time consuming all these tasks are and the necessity of constant repetition. I can get quite maudlin thinking about it all. What's the point of it all?

Well, I'm pondering all this and realizing that life is made up of daily rounds,for example; cooking, eating, washing up. Over and over we repeat these tasks sometimes happily sometimes not. But what is the alternative? Should I think there's more to life than this perpetual round of tasks? The only two obvious ways of escape from them that I can see is to be exceedingly wealthy and pay some one else to perform them for me, or to die. The first option is highly unlikely and to be honest, I'd probably be bored, the second is not attractive to me.

I have come to realize, somewhat late in life you may think, that the alternative is not freedom from the tasks, but rather a different view of them.

All of life is made up of repetitious cycles, repetition of time through hours, days, months, seasons, years. My challenge is to make the most of each opportunity, to see all of life as a blessing, including housework.

One only needs to talk to someone in less good health than oneself to realize that they would be happy to flick duster, lift an iron, sweep a floor.

Its all about attitude and faithfulness. The daily round of tasks may not be exciting at first glance, but, like I said there are lots of people who would love to be able to complete such activities because they are currently unable to do so.
I have come to realize that attitude and faithfulness to mundane tasks is important.

I'm going to have to stop ironing and thinking!
I should add at this point that my husband is extremely helpful with house hold chores, and I am very grateful to him, however ironing is not one of his things, and this leads me to all this pondering....

Happy Tuesday
Love Simply Susan

Ruby Jewels

Whilst walking around a farmers market on Saturday in the crisp morning air, memories came flooding back to me when I spied pomegranates for sale for $2.00 each.

As a child, I used to accompany my mother to the local market on Saturday mornings to help with the shopping. In the winter months I looked forward to purchasing a pomegranate for the princely sum of sixpence with my pocket money. These fruits seemed enormous to a young girl.

I would take my pomegranate home and after lunch I would cut it in half and then, armed with a teaspoon, I would sit at the dining room table and carefully prize the ruby jewels from the bitter membrane surrounding them and then savour the sweet juice and later chew the pips. Since no one else in the family liked the taste, I had it all to myself!

It seemed to take a long time to consume one of these fruits, ensuring that no ruby jewel escaped my prying fingers. How I enjoyed this experience. In my opinion, it was sixpence well spent.

Have you ever tried one?
Simply Susan

Cleaning Tools

Driving to the library one morning this week, I pulled up at traffic lights behind a tradesman's ute (utility) that had two upturned wheelbarrows in the tray at the back. Both were covered with a thick coating of dried cement. I found myself smiling as I recalled my father's often uttered words about always cleaning tools when you have finished using them (and putting them back where they belong).
Clearly the user of the wheelbarrows, who installed swimming pools for a living, wasn't going to be able to use those barrow much longer if he maintained his current practice of not cleaning them after each use. He would soon be unable to lift them due to the weight of encrusted cement.
I also smiled because it was a reminder to me of how important it is to keep relationships free of misunderstandings, grudges and bitterness. These left to build up can ruin a relationship.
The other reminder was the picture that the wheelbarrows presented to me of the danger of built up sin to the most important relationship of all, the one between a believer and God, it is so important to keep short accounts with God and not let sin build up to the point that one thinks God has moved away.
The Bible tells us that "if we confess our sins He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" Am I glad about that!

Those wheelbarrows were a timely reminder of lots of good thoughts...
Hope you are having a great weekend.
Simply Susan