A B C...

... According to me.

A. Age: my fingers don't want to type this... surely that's not my age.. its my mothers age.. or even my grandmothers... can't be mine.. surely not!

B. Bed size: Queen. but I sleep on the very edge of the right hand side - close enough to the edge to dangle one foot out of bed... its sort of a thermometer..do you know what I mean?

C. Chore that you hate: Making beds.. running from one side to the other... but then they look so lovely all made up... I love that look of cosiness.

D. Dogs: I had a Maltese named Daisy :) sooo beautiful.. but now I have a c-a-t.

E. Essential start to your day" My shower... the day just doesn't flow if this doesn't happen...

F. Favorite colour: Well, it was lavender, however, I am turning to pink ..and of course white... and I love the pale blue and red combination..ohhhhh do I really have to choose...??? I can't help but wonder how bloggers pick a color and stick to a theme... I am sure I have it worked out.. then I see mint green..or pale blue... sigh.....

G. Gold or silver: Gold

H. Height: 5'8and a half"... I love being tall :)

I. Instruments you play: Piano... and I sing... this is a huge family interest.

J. Job title: Counsellor. I love my job!

K. Kids: 3 daughters... then the next layer... one granddaughter and two grandsons.

L. Live: Australia! Between the ocean and the mountains. On the beautiful eastern coastline. Golden beaches...the Pacific ocean... lush green mountains... the Australian bush... rustic old farm houses.. modern beach mansions... shopping plazas... its all here!

M. Mother's name: Dorothy Lillian. Beautiful name. Beautiful lady.

N. Nicknames: Never had a nickname till later years... (if you don't count the family pet name). One sister couldn't pronounce Marilyn so called me Mayma..or Mame (still does)... but nicknames... came later... Maz... Mazza.... Mazzabindi :)

O. Overnight hospital stays: In November for one week. At Port Macquarie.

P. Pet peeve: People that use the term 'whatever' grrrrrrrr!

Q. Quote from a movie: You had me at 'hello

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings. 6 sisters.

T. Time you wake up: Between 5 or 6 am.

U. Underwear: Not ready to change from pink and frilly to Hestia yet :)

V. Vegetable you hate: Unwillingness to try legumes.

W. What makes you run late: Daughters applying layer after layer of makeup :)

X. X-Rays you have had: Knee (when I slipped) Kidney stone...ughh!

Y. Yummy food that you make: A lovely Dianne sauce... or my Beef Strog served with macaroni cheese!

Z. Zoo animal. Giraffe.

Simple Womans Daybook.

For Today...Outside my window... I can see the evening drawing in! The air is crisp with winter settling in. The trees and foliage still green, but the leaves are sparse.. and they look cold.

I am thinking... of new found friends! Of like-minded people that come into your life for a reason or a season. They will play a role.. leave an imprint.

I am thankful for.. The warmth of my bed. The hot water in my shower. The throw rugs that I use constantly, winter foods. My fire place.
From the kitchen.. I want to get back into cooking.. I love to cook.. I love the aromas that fill my kitchen, the warmth of creating foods to share.. I have been an empty nester for too long.

I am wearing... Black pants, black jumper, black and white shirt... dreary!... but I am warm.

I am creating... ideas... plans for winter... plans to knit, cook, create a potted garden, read, my hibernation can be a simple, but fun time.

I am going... to go back to where I have just holidayed, a spot at a beach, a cabin, with beach views.. set high on a hill.

I am reading... some Jodi Picoult books loaned to me by my daughter. Just finished one on the trials of Aspergers (House Rules) and could not put it down. As a counsellor, interested in mental health, I have a profound interest in Aspergers and read as much as I can find about it. I found this book more informative than many resource books on the subject

.I am hearing.. Silence! I love it.

Around the house.. I am content that I am up to date with my housework and in a comfortable place with it. I will start to rearrange soon as I tend to tire of things staying the same for too long.

That's all for my first attempt!

Have a wonderful Wednesday

Thanks to the Simple Woman's Daybook for inviting us to join in

Pay- it- forward giveaway!

I am still getting used to this blogging world after all this time :) I predid my last post... and posted it 2 weeks later... but didn't realise it was still dated as an older post... so I think some might have missed it. Will give this another go. One more week and then the giveaway finishes.

Pay it forward giveaway!

Recently I won a giveaway! A beautiful bounty of gifts! I could not have been more excited! One of the first blogs I signed up to follow when I became a blogger was with the lovely Kathryn from Our Shabby Cottage. I have always been in awe of her talents. She has an etsy shop which she stocks with her beautfully shabby decor, which is of a really high standard. If you love Cath Kidston you will just love the fabrics she uses. Her handmade throws are just so beautiful, I just drool looking at them. Kathryn has a busy family life, I have followed with interest as her new house was being built and felt excited along with her when she moved into it. How she fits into one day all that she does leaves me gobsmacked.

Anyhow...... Kathryn had a pay it forward giveaway. Pay it forward has a special interest for me also. I just knew I had to enter. A while back, my number 1 daughter and I became very interested in the pay it forward concept. So much so that we were once invited to speak at a large gathering to explain and promote the concept. My daughter and I had so much fun paying it forward to people that never knew we did. Secret gifts, small favors, and the thing was I think the pleasure was mostly ours :) My daughter and I sharing these moments made it all so special. So you see why I just had to join in with Kathryn, don't you?

Sooooo... in my next post I will show you the gorgeous gifts that Kathryn sent (trying to get my camera to co operate). I will be having my little giveaway, and I am having so much fun getting it together. I love to do cardmaking. I am making 4 sets of cards to give as my giveaway. I hope you like them as much as I like making them.

Here we go, I will randomly select 4 bloggers to recieve a pay-it-forward gift from me. All you need do is leave a comment on this post for me. The conditions are, that you must have a blog, and you must be prepared to share the love and pay-it-forward on your blog and then link back here when you post about your pay-it-forward. Pretty simple :)

Variety Club Youth Choir Flash Mob 'I am Australian'

Proud Mum

I wanted to share with you a videoclip of my daughter in her band. I am so proud of her talents and of the wonderfull daughter that she is.

This is the utube address I hope that you enjoy this. http://www.ebetalent.com/dreamtime-dance-band

To make it easier to pick her out I am adding a current picture of her too. She is on the left, she and her friend from Australia were shopping in NY, I think it is, when her friend visited her recently.

Add-on: Mariette (from Marriette's Back to Basics) tells me this s the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. If you havn't visited Mariette please do... I love her blogs, I am a constant visitor. Thank you Mariette. http://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas to all of my blogging friends. I hope you have a happy and Holy day and that Santa is good to you all.
Marilyn

A visit to my sister to see how she was feeling after a fall. I could not help but take a few shots of the cute pink things in her home. The "get well" boquet was lovely don't you think.


The teddies look so cute cuddled up on the chair.

I just love her pretty mint green and pink kitchen.




She is a keen collector of all things Betty Boop. I love this darling little bed cover in one of the rooms.

l

I just love pink, don't you?

This little Easter bunny and I would like to wish you all a Happy and Blessed Easter.

Here comes the bride! Isn't she beautiful.


The lighthouse made a beautiful setting! This lighthouse is at South West Rocks which is on the mid north coast of NSW.





This darling little family have settled in their hometown and I wish them all the best for their future (Note the kangaroos grazing in the background).

My Goddaughters Wedding.

My beautiful Goddaughter Angela recently married the man of her dreams. I thought I might show you a few pics of the reception.


The wedding was held at the Lighthouse at South West Rocks. The reception held at The Tavern on the beautiful Maclear River... do you see the river in the back ground.. and ohhhhhh that cake! Was a chocoate mud cake with strips of white chocoale surrounding the milk chocolate. Delicous!



The centrepieces for the table were long crystal vases with goldfish in them. Alas it was such a hot day that some of the fish were distressed and had to be refreshed and moved to a cooler spot. But all was well!



Tomorrow I will show you some pics of the wedding at the lighthouse.

Marilyn

Back Again

Hi to my blogland friends. Its been ages since I blogged! My health was my main issue but I am going ok again now - much better than I was.
I have so much catching up to do. Although I didn't blog I did keep up with all your blogs and they were a great comfort when I wasn't well. I even entered some giveaways and won some, and I want to thank the lovely people for the beautiful gifts I recieved.



This is just the most beautiful piece of art and I love it. I adore the little faux cupcakes too...arn't they just adorable. I took lots more pics of the unwrapping,however, I took them on the wrong setting so can't show them here. I just love my gifts and I want to thank Kerryanne from Shabby Art Boutique. If you have not visited her blog please do so... you won't be disapointed. Kerryanne and I both laughed when I won as she opened her giveaway to all... including blog friends in various counries and I won and I live just half an hours drive from her. We have not met yet but thats somthing I am looking forward to :) .

Take care all and I will be back soon :)

Marilyn

Computer problems!

Hello dear friends. Just wanted to let you know I am still following all my favourite blogs, have just had some problems with my computer..they are not sorted yet but I am trying. Have had some health issues and am sorting those out too. But the good news is, I have had my family all home. All problems went out the door for those two weeks. Had my daughter and her husband fly in from the US, my daughter, her partner and my granddaughter up from Newcastle and my other daughter, husband and grandson visit from Tamworth. As well as that had heaps of friends staying. My house has been a hive of activity but now its all stopped. Have to get used to my quiet house again.
I will be back to post as soon as I can.
Marilyn

Yikes! Its flooding again.

Our town is in flood, for the second time this year.
I took a heap of pics to show you but on the wrong setting :( however, my friend Anne gave me these first few pics to use, then my friend Suzy the last few. Thanks girls!
This river in flood time is the second fastest flowing river in the world. The first is the Mississippi.
A field opposite my Goddaughters house, this is photographed from her front door.
Coles car park.
The gardens outside the RSL club.
Under the bridge from a different angle


This gorgeous old factory has been turned into a furniture store. My friend Suzy Baines gave me these pics below to show the water going inside the shop. They worked for hours to raise all their goods out of flood reach and they were succesful..they didn't lose any of their stock.

Can you imagine the cleaning up that will have to happen?

This picture Suzy took just up the road from the factory.

The Kempsey Show

First of all let me tell you that I am sorry I have not blogged for a while. I have been too sick, but looking at your blogs has been a great comfort for me and I have tried to keep up with my comments. If I have missed you I am sorry, but I have a date for my operation now, which is June 4 and so then I will be back as soon as I can and back into blogging, which I love to do.

The Kempsey Show was a great event and though I was sick I took my grandchildren and was able to get some pics. Enjoy!

Savannah won first place for her arrangement, by the time I took the pics it had wilted a little. This is her work, and she was so proud.



See Liams little potato animal taking a peep around!



They both just loved the baby animals