new websites!

Brand spanking new websites are springing up around me!
Please check them out - Ros; gifted florist, card maker and photographer amongst other things! www.pinkblossomtree.com
and Wendy; mother, wedding celebrant, teacher, yoga yogi, and much more! www.wendyhaynes.com

all natural

I rescued a great book from the clean out my mum had over Christmas (one of those spring cleans where everything except the kitchen sink was given or returned to family!!) Its an old book - older than me anyway! Published in 1982, and its got fantastic ink and colour drawings to illustrate. Its called the 'Country-side Cookbook' -recipes and remedies by Gail Duff.

So Ive read through it and although I wouldn't use half of the remedies (some of them just request you wear the crushed leaves of a certain plant in your hair!) There are some great alternative medicines that, if you had access to the fresh herbs or plants, would be interesting to try.

One of them is for the field Poppies, a remedy for Insomnia:

Infuse five whole flower heads or green seed capsules in 250ml of boiling water for 10 minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey. Drink the whole amount, hot on going to bed.

Another is for Walnuts, for luxuriant eyelashes and eyebrows:

Moisten your eyebrows and eyelashes morning and evening with the below decoction:
Macerate 50g dried walnut leaves in one litre of water for 2 hours. Bring them gently to the boil and boil for 2 minutes. Strain and and use the liquid as above on your fine face hair twice daily.

Hyacinth Buds

Purple Hyacinth early in bud stage

Orchid Painting

Slipper Orchid I painted today.

cymbidium

I have started drawing again after a long drought... back to botanicals. My friend Ros and I have been encouraging each other along with projects set so we keep on drawing. I ordered some brushes from the UK which arrived and are really nice to use, Kalinsky brand, made in Germany. So I got to work the other day with a cymbidium, sketching then painting. Its a photograph of the painting, so its not the best quailty for the colours, but I was still happy with the result and will keep on going with the "scientific" style of drawing and painting. I read a great book on Margaret Mee {link to her website on bottom right} and was so inspired to go trekking through the amazon in search of rare or previously unclassified flowers! But sketching in the comfort of my lounge room will have to do for now....

midsummer identity crisis

I'm at home listening to Kings of Leon and its raining hard outside with big bulging grey clouds looming in the sky . These 'autumnal' looking pears I photographed at Dorrigo make me want to make a delicious crumble on this rainy day at home! instead I made corn and zucchini fritters with a zucchini from my garden.
Poppies are an all time favourite - these ones were at my pine street house in Hamilton - exploding their petals in the warm sunset light. It's an altogether strange-feeling midsummer day today- I feel like its midwinter instead (even though its muggy outside, the rain and the certain smells it brings remind me of cold months. having the cat curled up on my lap just tops it off!)

yoga retreat

The location of my mum's last Dru Yoga retreat was so beautiful - like a gallery, filled with amazing vista's, beautiful furniture, antiques and art from all over the world. the garden was also gorgeous - orchards of fruit trees and a huge working vegetable garden. Dru Yoga info: www.wendyhaynes.com

its a girl!

I am going to have a little sister in june! this is great news - I already have an older sister and two younger brothers, so a younger sister is awesome. little dresses. pigtails, flowers in her hair and tea parties. i cant wait. even though the age difference will make me more like 'aunt' than sibling, I will love seeing her grow up in a way thats different if you grow up altogether in a house full of similar aged kids. at least there will be no rivalries and hair pulling! congratulations to my dad and ruth. x

habitual

these beautiful designs are from habitat flowers www.habitatflowers.com

I am helping out from behind the lens to 'beautify' her website, all the photos have been shot in store. the shop is an amazing treasure haven of chic goodies, homewares and, of course delicious flower designs!~ more pics to come

petals of cream

soft cream rose, its shape is so delicate. it reminded me of a small birds egg cracking open. this is my first entry to my blog, so I thought I'd start with something that looks like the beginning - new and fresh and hopefully the start of something nice!