Wonderful Weekend

The weekend's here & I've had such a good week. All the camellias in our garden are starting to burst forth with the most stunning blooms. I've continued to feel & look well. I had a really good win at work with some quite unexpected new business coming my way. And you have all made my week with your fantastic comments - thank you so much. So there's nothing more for it - enjoy the weekend everyone!

Image: Country Living

Where's The Black Arm Band Millie?

Yes, you guessed it, poor MOTH is in mourning following his girl Justine's shock exit from Masterchef last night. And to top it all off, it appears that a tall, bald bloke from Sydney has stolen her right from under his nose! No sooner had Justine walked out the MC double doors forever, than MOTH jumped up & headed for the phone.

'I'm going to call her now & offer to buy shares in the restaurant she wants to open up.' he said as he strode confidently towards his phone.

'Too late,' I called out from in front of the telly, 'Matt Moran has pipped you at the post.'

'Matt who? Who's he Mills?' he yelled, frantically dialling Directory Assistance.

'Oh, only the hottest chef in Sydney, & he's offered her a place in the kitchen of his restaurant Aria.'

'Aria, Faria, never heard of it, this doesn't worry me one bit.' he cockily replied.

'I think you do know about Aria, remember I told you about it after work took us there for dinner a couple of years ago. I distinctly recall raving about it when I got home from Sydney.'

'Oh yeah, you said it was one of the best meals you'd had in years.' he says slowly putting down the phone.

Shuffling back to his chair, shoulders stooped, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. The air of defeat & rejection that hung over him was heart-breaking.

'What am going to do now Mills, I can't go on without seeing my Jussie every night at 7 o'clock.'

So Justine, if you happen to be reading this dear, please, please, make my MOTH happy again. Send him a large, autographed photo of yourself, sealed with a kiss. I'd be forever grateful to you.

Images 1 & 2 : News Image 3: Throng Image 4: MasterChef

All Is Forgiven

I've had a love/hate relationship with New Zealand for over 30 years. Although unfairly deserved by them for the most part - I've now forgiven them for past trangressions, mainly for producing an ex-husband & his very 'unusual' family! From my first trip there as an 18 year old backpacker, it has always bowled me over with its beauty & diversity. And I've seen it grow from a sleepy backwater with no confidence in its abilities, to a vibrant, sophisticated country full of a confident self-assurance that makes me positively bubble up with pride & emotion.

One of New Zealand's greatest icons is the Kiwi bach. When I lived there in the late 70's as a very young new bride, they were all a bit of a mystery. Some Friday nights, Husband # 1 used to head off 'Over The Rimutakas' from Wellington to spend the weekend with his uncles in their bach. What they did there I was never quite sure, but it definitely had the Secret Men's Business thing happening. It took me quite some time to 'get' that a bach was the Aussie equivalent of a shack or an American cabin.

Wiki says 'Bach pronounced Batch (or a Crib in the South Island), is the name given in New Zealand to structures akin to small, often very modest holiday homes or beach houses. They are an iconic part of New Zealand history and culture, especially in the middle of the 20th century, where they symbolized the beach holiday lifestyle that was becoming more accessible to the middle class.'

'Bach was originally short for bachelor pad, but actually they often tended to be a family holiday home. Baches started to became very popular in the 1950s, as better roads and more available cars allowed family beach holidays, often to the same beach every year, and hence to the construction of a bach in that spot. One humorous definition of the bach is 'something you built yourself, on land you don't own, out of materials you borrowed or stole.'

This is a current offering of a Kiwi bach - on gorgeous Waiheke Island close to Auckland. It's a beauty & yet unpretentious & welcoming. I hope you agree. I know for sure I'll get some comments from my dear NZ friends - be kind now!!

Images: SVB

My Heart

Cate from ella and baba recently tagged me to play along with My Heart, thank you so much it's always fun to play! In her very chic & stylish way, her post was VERY creative! Sorry Cate, but mine will be NOWHERE as wonderful as yours, but here goes anyway. All I have to do is post a photo that best represents my heart. Yeah right, so I thought this would be easy-peasy -WRONG!

Of course I'll post on my all beautiful boys I thought & how they make my heart sing every time I think of them.

Or the gorgeous MOTH who keeps me on my toes constantly with all his 'adventures' & who I couldn't bear to live a second without.

Or my beloved parents who gave me more love than I could ever have dreamt possible.

Or my job which excites & fulfils me every single moment I do it.

But my mind kept constantly returning to this one photo, so this is My Heart because:

I'd just been given the role of Alice in the end-of-year school play of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I was always the quiet, shy little girl who struggled to fit in, finding the world outside my gentle, loving & protective home difficult to settle into. Mercilessly teased because I always had my nose inside a book. Not interested in playing silly schoolyard games with the other girls. Not excelling academically, just plodding along in the middle of the group. Lacking confidence & self-assurance in every way.

Then something wonderful happened. Surprisingly, the role of Alice was given to me, the most reserved little girl in class. We weren't a wealthy family - so I wore my blue & white check Summer school uniform as a dress with a tulle petticoat underneath to give it 'Alice' volume & Mum lovingly hand-made my pretty white frilled pinafore & blue satin headband. And as cliched as it is, it was like the bright colourful butterfly emerging from it's dull cocoon. This quiet little 7 year old suddenly found her wings & flew. Playing Alice gave her the confidence to sit comfortably with the world, to leave home eagerly & excitedly every day, to walk up to the girls in the playground & join in their games & to get A's instead of C's.

To this day, Alice is with me in all that I do. She encourages me to grasp hold of every unique opportunity that comes my way, to make the right decisions & move on without regret from the wrong ones, to love deeply & passionately & to always uphold my core values. To encourage others, to continually seek knowledge & learning, to laugh often & to show true compassion & act on it.

So Alice is My Heart & will be forever.

What does your Heart photo look like -

Rebecca @ Life on the Farm and Other War Stories.

Jan @ Fancy That.

Christina @ Rustic Tarts.

Leanne @ Mrs. A in the Cove.

Carolyn @ Little Bear Studio.

Pam @ Pixel Impress.

He's Got The Power

MOTH had a 'close encounter' with a power tool this weekend. It's not the first time & it certainly won't be the last. He did give himself quite a fright & so needed to sit down for a couple of hours after & recuperate with a beer or 4 in front of the telly watching his beloved Demons thrash my mob The Powerless (oops, Port Power) boys!

He does have a chequered history with all things mechanical. The most interesting being the afternoon he decided to clear the grass from the blades of the lawnmower, but omitting one small point - the mower was still going at the time! He said (as I was driving like a maniac to get him to St. Andrew's A&E), 'Mills, that was awesome, it was like watching my whole hand actually explode!'. He wasn't so intruiged though, after 4 hours of microsurgery & weeks of hand rehab. to get his fingers functioning again.

Researchers using brain scans have discovered that when straight men looked at pictures of women in bikinis, areas of the brain that normally light up in anticipation of using tools, like spanners, hammers, sanders & chainsaws were activated. I can only assume that some of these stray thoughts were crossing MOTH's brain yesterday as he grappled with the circular saw, but when questioned he, of course, totally denied any such thing!

Image : The Guardian

Triple Treat!

Charlotte, Lucy & Heidi

Lucy & Heidi

Lucy

Heidi

Charlotte

Charlotte, Lucy & Heidi

Charlotte & Lucy

Couldn't resist posting the latest pics of my cousin Sally's gorgeous new girls! They have just arrived home from hospital & are doing well. Sal's such a star she's twin feeding 2 of the girls & Pete's bottle feeding the 3rd. Then it gets rotated around next feed - I'm exhausted just trying to comprehend the logistics of that. I'd need to run a spreadsheet to make it all run smoothly.

Lucy the oldest & heaviest is now 2.66kg., Charlotte is Miss Middle & weighs 2.48 kg. and Heidi the youngest is a whopping 2.5 kg. & has overtaken her sister Charlotte in the weight race. Sal says they are really good & are sleeping beautifully between feeds - long may that continue!

Dust Evader

MOTH informed me last night that he would be getting the 'Big Daddy' concrete sander into the Bathroom From Hell this weekend to sand of all the 'dags' left over from the pour. He'll need to do this prior to screeding the floor to get a really even surface before tiling. Well, experience tells me that there will be one all-pervading theme here this weekend - CLOUDS OF THICK CHOKING CONRETE DUST!!!

So there's nothing for it but to evade the dust completely with a little weekend away, pack up Louis V. & as I've had a longing for Venice lately, I reckon that's exactly where I'll be heading! And as time is of the essence I've had to call for the private jet to whisk me away!

Firstly I'll grab a water taxi to my apartment in San Marco,the Giustinian. Just a few steps from the Accademia Bridge and the Palazzo Franchetti gardens, this exquisite first floor apartment has views onto the Grand Canal, & is so cute & comfortable.

With the terrace doors wide open, the sounds of the busy Venice street life come & welcome me warmly.

The comfortable little sitting room invites me to sit for awhile & just chill.

Such pretty antiques pieces are scattered throughout the apartment.

And the dining room beckons me to sit for a moment at the table & plan my day.

Such a spacious & elegant bedroom that I know will lull me to my dreams in lighting fast time.

And a sweet skirted dressing table to sit & apply my 'war paint' at each morning.

Even a compact kitchen, but I hope I won't be needing it.

And a divine terrace to sit & contemplate my next move.

I'll wander down to get a good coffee.

And then take a long walk to just breathe in all the amazing sights & sounds here.......

and here......

and here.

And then off to Quadrilatero d’Oro, Via Montenapoleone, Della Spiga, Via Borgospesso and Via Sant’Andrea for some serious retail therapy.

And as I love the occasional dinner alone, it's off to St. Mark's Square for dinner & lots of people watching.

Oh, & look who's in town as well - how lucky am I! Couldn't think of a better couple of Dust Evaders as these two gorgeous boys! Well, must go George & Brad have beckoned me over to join them for a drink. My virtual trip to Venice is only brief & very superficial, but if you want to know more, our good mate Vicki A. over @ French Essence wrote a sublime post on Venice here.
Full of beauty, style & substance, you'll enjoy every word - I promise!

Image 1: Complete Seal Image 2: Artistry Masterworks Images 3-10, 13, 14: Venice Prestige Image 11: Italy Heaven Image 12: Science Blogs Image 15: Flickr Image 16: Z.About Image 17: Fresno Beehive