October 31, 2006



Illustration Friday - Wind

Frances yapped in vain but Mr Wind just wouldnt give up...

I havent put pen to paper for weeks now, I really need to get back to drawing! This was a quick simple sketch with black pen...

October 30, 2006

You've got mail!!

It sure was fun going through 6 weeks worth of mail - who doesnt love snail mail, well apart from bills and marketing letters its all good isnt it?
I got some beautiful art cards from some swaps I did back in August!

I was involved in a handmade recipe card swap with 9 talented ladies from the EDM group - look at the beautiful illustrations - I cant wait to try out these gorgeous recipes!

I was also in a handmade card swap hosted by Clare which resulted in these gorgeous cards!



I was extremely pleased to win an online competition - I always enter them (got to be in it to win it!) so it was wonderful to come home to a lovely package from the Lifestyle channel waiting for me!

This book is called Sense of Style: Colour by Shannon Fricke, an australian interior designer. I have yet to sit down and read it, I think I can hear a cup of tea calling me....

Lastly here is what I received from my 'Club Little House' little gift swap partner, Laura. Such a sweet teeny weeny chair and Laura created an applique pillow for it. Those miniture doggies are too cute as well! Thanks Laura!!

October 28, 2006



There's a fine line between love and hate........

What a cool Tshirt!!

October 26, 2006

I need a permanant holiday!

Ohhhh getting back into things has been hard....
Gosh what a week so far - It all started on such a high note but soon came crashing down once I got to work Tuesday morning.
During my absense two of my collegues had a fall out (again)....
Is there catiness Meowww, mewoww claw claw in every office or just mine?? I don’t get it I really dont! – maybe they should look at Amy’s ‘Nice works’ post for inspiration or I should put a huge sticker on my forehead ‘Nice Works’ because being nice to one another is the simplest thing in the world!!
Enough of that….no need to tarnish my blog - its always nice here amongst friends and I feel like Ive neglected my little blog so much!!

Im still in the European time zone as I have no urge to sleep (nor do my boys Ughhh!) . My formal living room once so spick and span is now full of clothes but hey they are all clean and pressed nicely as Ive been ironing for hours every night.
Im slowly sifting through my snail mail paying bills, flicking through my subscriptions (7 magazines ...really?? that many??) and I have some people to thank via email for some lovely swaps - I will get to you soon my sweeties, promise promise

Do you like the scooter pic above - it all happened in an instant, the guy jumped off ran in to get something and the cat walked across the gate and there I was at that moment snapping away - one shot too and its a good one too dont you think?? I love it!!

Here are some things I bought during my trip - its so hard to find some cute souvenirs to take home that dont have a 'made in china' sticker but I think i did well



Greek coffee is always a must!
I also bought some long spoons that are great for cooking the coffee on the stove top or for serving with frappe or gelato in long glasses.
We also bought back 5kg of Shoushouko which is a cypriot sweet made of almonds and grape juice.
Its a handmade sweet and they string the almonds then dip it into a thick custard like mixture made of pure grape juice, honey or sugar and a handful of earth (yes dirt!) that helps thicken it they dip it once let it dry, dip again and again until its a thick coating - its served cut in thin discs and goes really well with nuts and other dried fruits with your alcohol. I eat chunks of it as a snack! Yum! Next time my friends grandmother makes it I think I might have to see the process.


I also bought some tiles for our house (No.22) and some hand carved wooden coaster plus a sweet little icon for my room.
I got a cute crochet bag and a funky silver bracelet.
My darling man bought me the beautiful 18ct white gold cross - I cherish it and wear it everyday now.....

We went to visit Andrew's aunt for lunch one day and she gave me a box of handmade silver forks and spoons - these are very popular in Cyprus and although quite formal, people use them to serve the preserves they make with the Summer fruit. Many years ago every greek girl would have a set in her dowry. I have many of these sets now - I love that each one was carefully made. As a young girl my mum bought my sister and I beautiful silver baskets that hold the forks - she still has mine at her house because she claims I have no proper display case in my home haha ...I must admit that as a child I thought it was so ugly but now i really appreciate its uniqueness, I'll have to show it to you oneday.....


October 22, 2006



There's No place like home.......

We're home!!! Wow, we had such an amazing holiday and I cant believe how fast the 6 weeks went. We had a brilliant time soaking up the sun, sightseeing, driving around, eating and drinking!!

Ive been home over a day and this is the first time Ive switched on the computer -Ive totaly suprised myself, I CAN survive without a computer haha, I only checked my emails twice during the whole trip!! well the internet cafe did reek of cigarette smoke (whats with Europeans lighting up every second of the day??) and it was SO slow, it was hardly worth it - too much to do, too much to see!!

Im sporting a healthy tan (ie no sunbaking) and a thicker waist as we ate our way through Cyprus!

Boy was it hot!! we arrived to a cool and gray Sydney yesterday and it was such a relief after having such intense hot hot days with such bright bright sunlight and we even experienced an earthquake in Larnaca last week , 4.7 on the richter scale but it sure woke us up!

Having lived in Cyprus in my early 20's, the island has a very special place in my heart and I have many cousins and friends there. I hadn't been back since 2001 and the changes to the island are phenomenal - I still dont know if its for the better though as it is a small island with less than 1million population but I guess as humans we need and strive for change - maybe because its been so many years since I had last visited the changes were just more obvious. I think since its entry to the European Union in 2004 things have developed at such a fast rate - I just hope it doesnt lose its identity.

The sea promenade with its gorgeous tall palm trees is now lined with fast food shops - KFC, McDonalds, Starbucks....sigh...that to me is not how change and progressing into the future should be...I mean when I travel I love to try out local cuisine and even though its easier to grab a 'Happy meal' for the kids, who wants to eat McDonalds when you can try the local fast food - Souvlaki & Salad in pita bread - simply scrumptious, healthy and so filling!!!

we searched the back streets where the locals hang out and found some gorgeous greek tavernas. I couldnt stop eating!! the food is amazing! We ate some unusal stuff too like snails, quail eggs, goat meat, lamb brains.....sounds gross but they were really yummy (really!!)

anyway its SO good to be home!! I quickly checked my bloglines account and you all have been really busy blogging away - Im looking forward to clearing all the dirty laundry and storing away stuff so I can get into your blogs for a read!!

Ive taken so many photos too - will post to my flickr account soon!!

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