April 23, 2007

My youngest son Alexander treated us to a special breakfast on Sunday morning. Instead of the usual toast and coffee, he decided he would cook some pancakes. Every now and again, Christian makes a stack of French styled crepes, but this was good because the recipe was easy to follow and a lot less complicated to make - even a 10 year old could do it!

The recipe came from this beautiful book - Breakfast, Lunch and Tea which my girlfriend Kristin gave me for my birthday last week. The photography is fantastic and the book features special recipes from the Rose Bakery in Paris, not far up from the Notre Dame.

Actually, Kristin was visiting us from the UK and is probably on her way back to London as I type! It’s always lovely to catch up with special friends, especially when they come from far away places to visit!

The weekend was spent making red beads and assembling jewellery for a collection that will be on display at a gallery in the near future. I’m really excited about this project but I’m running behind schedule as it will be on sale in time for Mother’s Day. And talking about Mother’s Day - I’ve left my Donna Hay cooking magazine on the table of late, opened to the page where you can buy subscriptions ... do you think my boys will pick up the hint?

April 8, 2007

Well - Happy Easter to you all! It was chocolate heaven at our place this long weekend. We have all eaten chocolate (in moderation ) and some of us have even exercised the highest degrees of self control! But - April is an extremely busy month for us and it can be quite difficult to say “no thank - you” more than once! You see, not only do we have to deal with the Easter Bunny coming over to our house, today is our wedding anniversary and next week both my partner and I celebrate our birthdays! See - I told you it was going to be hard!!!!

We spent most of the Easter long weekend with paint brushes in hand. We had a few things we wanted to finish and start! The house got a makeover with most of the outside walls getting a facelift and new splash of colour. It wasn’t my ideal way of spending the 4 day break but when I stand back and look at what we managed to achieve over this time frame, I was impressed. It’s not quite finished but the finishing touches wont take long.

On the bead and jewellery front, I have some new pieces up on show. What do you think of my Red Emperor necklace? I love it! This can be found on the necklace page along with some other new pieces in blues and olives. Later on today I will post pictures of some stunning new focal beads on the beads to go page. Make sure you come back to have a look.

April 2, 2007

Well ... I don’t know what the weather’s been like in your part of the world, but we are in the South-east region of Brisbane, Queensland level 5 water restrictions come into play next week.  This morning I woke to the sounds of “rain”. It’s something I haven’t heard in a long, long time and a welcome site and sound, especially for my garden and fruit trees. Mind you, it no longer looks like a garden and all the grass has died back. Looks (and tastes) more like a dust bowl these days. I hope it continues for a little while today! My boys are enjoying their first day of the school holidays and I am enjoying the early morning peace and quiet - and the sound of the falling rain. It is of course,  a perfect day for making more beads!!!

The threat of rain held off all weekend and last night we went to the drive-in theatre with some friends. Wow - it was a real blast from the past and I haven’t been to the drive-in for a long, long time. It brought back some special memories. Drive-in theatres are a thing of the past these days but boy - that, was one very large screen! We had lots of goodies to share and good wine to drink. Lots of chatting and catching up with good friends.

On the bead front this week I have some new pieces up on bracelet and necklace pages. New bead sets will be up in a few days, so don’t forget to come back and have a look! I have been adding some new textures and finishes to my earrings, necklaces and bracelets lately .... the addition of pearls is a bit of an obsession with me these days. Coin, sea and of course, freshwater pearls now come in every colour and size imaginable but perfect for matching with my art glass beads!!!