TEA ROOM # 100

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE> Santa has been, the roasts are on and John and I are having a rest. Have a great day everyone. This is what I got from the boys. Colleen

This message was edited Dec 25, 2011 9:43 AM

So precious!!! They did wonderful.....

A lovely day for me,,,,,Molly got a barbie house, she advised me at 7-30 this morning,,..so really, what else matters?

Anthony, that little gem is gonna be a heartbreaker one day. She is lovely and absolutely right...nothing else matters...GRIN

How sweet Colleen. Everyone needs a flamingo for the garden. It is the unofficial bird of Mardi Gras here.

Lovely goodies Jean. And Cheers to you Chrissy.

Happy Boxing Day to you all

Moon

Good morning everyone. I hope Christmas Day was the best ever for you all.

We decided to go out for a drive and see where we ended up.
I cut turkey slices ( I cooked the bird , the night before ) , bread & butter, some seasoning & a container of coleslaw.
Along with the thermos, picnic basket and of course, some Christmas cake.

We went via Dartmoor then down to Nelson . Had lunch on the foreshore at Port MacDonnell , feeding the seagulls any scraps. We were the only ones there.
It was a lot cooler than home , so lovely to be there.
We saw a dolphin swimming around just off the beach.
Along the way, we also saw wallabies and emus.

Came home a bit more inland then via Casterton. It was so hot by the time we arrived home,we were ready to go back to the lovely cool beach again.

A really relaxed and enjoyable day.

I hope you all had the same happy and relaxed day with all your families.
A time to enjoy and forget for a little while, all the goings on around the world.

Anthony, Molly is getting so big now. I bet she had a ball with her Pop.

Happy day Moon, hope you day was as nice as ours.

Hello Teresa. enjoy the rime and hopefully the new Year will be shake free.

Chrissy, I know you will be surrounded in rellies, Have a lovely time.

Dianne, I really hope none of the wet weather affected you. Take care.

Colleen, hope your day was exciting with the boys . Love the birds.

Charleen, hope your day was also a great one for you. Cookies for Charley in the kitchen. ( unless Santa ate them )

Enjoy the day everyone. Rest and relax after the hustle & bustle of Christmas Day..


I am off to play with my babies in the greenhouse and will enjoy the day relaxing.
Heres a bit more Christmas cake to finish up.
Jean.

Oh, Girl. I had a wonderful day. It has rained all day but still a beautiful day.
Went to Church and had a surprize visit from my favorite Cousin in Law... Had a wonderful day with friends and it is a magnificent day.
Charley and the donkey kids had Carrots and half an apple each so they had a nice Christmas.
You know Charley beat Santa to those cookies.
Hope you all have a great day too. Love you all.
Anthony that little girl has the prettiest blue eyes.
Hugs and mule nuzzles to all...

After weeks of grey sky and rain the Sun came out for Christmas Day ! and it was wonderful, warm but not too hot (a little steamy perhaps but we had a wind blow the steam away in the afternoon.
We had a great time , probably ate a little too much ...real butter used (we only have real butter twice a year Christmas and Easter), for me that is such a treat !
We enjoyed a rest yesterday, (our choice, because we needed a quiet Christmas-no little ones in our immediate family) and we even had an afternoon snooze with the fan on. It was lovely!
I received a new computer ergonomic chair from Santa (so fancy I haven't figured out how to adjust it yet lol).
Lots of calls from distant family ...all in all it was a magic day because we are usually never alone and never have a rest unless ill, so that was such a treat and it was so enjoyed.

Your families all look so happy and Jean you day sounded great (except for the heat of course)

Charleen and Moon I don't know when your Christmas day ends so I will just wish you a very Merry Christmas just in case you are still celebrating ^_^ hugs to those spoiled long ears, bless them.

To everyone else I hope you are all recovering from a beautiful Christmas Day ! and let's look forward to 2012, it will be here in a flash now ...let's hope it will be kind.
Enjoy your day !

The dog got a new rawhide bone, the cat had a sachet of cat food - hubby picked up the turkey one by sheer coincidence and she tucked in with gusto.
Hubby gave me an i-pod so when I took Copper for a nice long walk this morning I had music to listen to.
I gave him a card reader for his pc - he is thrilled as it means he doesn't have to mess about using my laptop to download his photos...
I am pleased as it means he doesn't have to mess about with my laptop ;)
We are both really happy with our new gadgets!
Family get together on Xmas day went really well, good food, a few glasses of bubbly & everyone loved their gifts - I was so glad i went back to the shop on Saturday for my brother's gift, I bought my stepdad a polo shirt while I was there & he was pleased with that - he hates branded clothing but this Drizabone shirt only had a very discreet bone on the edge of one sleeve, he didn't even notice it.
We arrived home at twilight - too late for a photo of my latest bloom so this morning I was out with the camera...
I am really loving the lilies & don't think I could have a garden with out them now.

something else in the garden...
not exactly a delicate blossom!

That is a beautiful cat....

I just cracked the turkey--2wings and a leg for morning tea,,mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 'turkey',..,I most certainly enjoyed a couple[mmmmmm!]of glasses of brandy and ginger beer yesterday, lazing in the garden with a caged cockatoo nattering away,..,probably not as funny as the trip home yesterday morning, as i sat at the traffic lights and cocky was talking to the people in the car beside--what a scream!! Jean, your christmas day picnic sounded great,.,.,.Teresa, garden looks great,..,,.Chrissy the 'bucking bronco' chair sounds great, we have one here,.,.'but they send you to sleep'

tee hee - I have bucking bronco chairs too - every time we have a 5+ shake ;0

Cassie is a pretty cat, very dainty - but a right madam at times.

When I first met hubby he introduced her as Princess Cassandra Tod...
I asked if her middle name started with 'a'.

Once he figured it out he was so tickled that he started using it making her initials spell CAT.

Sitting here relaxing with a very full tummy.

Dinner today was leftovers, but really great leftovers.
Prawns, seafood mix, turkey, fresh coleslaw with french dressing ( just to be a bit upmarket today) , asparagus spears, onion & cucumber in balsamic vinegar.
After a nibble at bits of all that, I had a little room for Christmas pudding & custard.
I promise I will not eat anything else today.

Teresa, so glad you are able to have a laugh at all the NZ shakes. Sounds like you also had a lovely day.
I like the look on Miss Cassandras face. 'I'm boss of this garden', I can hear her saying.

Chrissy, I am sure your guardian angel made sure you had a bit of sun for Christmas , after all you are the 'angel lady'.

Glad you had a great day too, Charleen. Give Charley an extra pat for me.

I have been busy this morning, potting and moving things around. It has been a lovely cool morning , but the sun is appearing from behind the clouds so it will get hot again.
I moved all my cannas to their summer place. They sit in a kiddies paddle pool. They love it and so do the Pacific Coast irises.

I have a few seeds of a very pretty canna if anyone would like some.
I only have a few at the moment but there are 2 more pods to ripen a bit more & split. The plant must self fertile, because I have no others out.
Its called Little Devil and is a small growing one . Probably get to 2-3 foot high.

Have added a pic.

Have a happy day .
Jean. .

Thanks Jean and Chrissy. Still Christmas day here....grin A lovely day with In-laws, son and grandchildren and a nice Skype visit with my Brisbane DD, SIL and the grandbabies.

Santa Hubby gave me a new watch and a beautiful cashmere and silk shawl for the chilly days ahead. Good food, happy children and lots of good conversation with the rellies we don't get to see often. 17 happy faces around the table. All in all a happy Christmas.

Happy you all had nice days also.

Moon

Good afternoon everyone. Well Christmas has finished here for another year. All the visitors have left and the boys are sitting quietly playing with their DS. We all had a lovely day yesterday with Roast Christmas dinner then catch what you can for tea. We still have plenty of cold meat left so looks like some cook- ups and some sandwiches for us. There's even enough for the dog and cats. Jean your Christmas-day picnic sounded wonderful. Chrissy so glad you got to rest for a change. Teresa glad you didn't have any more shakes. You enjoy yourselves today Charleen and Moon for your big day. Dianne I hope you had a great day too. I'm going to have a look at my pressies now. Lots of garden stuff, lights hanging pots statues plants gloves, markers a potting mix scoop. Everyone have a bit of a rest now. I'll be back later. Colleen

Seems everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Molly is very cute, Anthony..and so is Cassandra..my daughter's name. We had a superb day with all the family at my daughter's unit..it was a very memorable day. It was the first day we have left all the kitties alone at home and I ws a bit worried about snakes being about having found this the night before.

[IMG]http://i40.tinypic.com/ape4n7.jpg[/IMG]

It's only a small one but shows they are about and hungry!!

Take care everyone! Enjoy the remainder of 2011, but it has been a tough year so I am hoping that 2012 brings new beginnings in so many ways!

Our Christmasday was beautiful, even with the rain. I now have 4 walking mudballs out in the pasture. Charley and the donkeys love rolling in the dirt in this case it is mud. How's the grass going to grow if they are wallering ????
I always love all the pictures and Anthony, Cocky is a social butterfly bird. He probably loves the expressions on the peoples faces when he is talking to them. It would make a great picture too....

Good morning everyone...
If I never see another chocolate in my life it will be too soon....We had so many different homemade
ones over the last two days....oooooohh I feel sick just thinking about them...a friend has started making them and came around on Christmas day with bags full....they were really beautifully decorated and tasted delicious...but I ate too many....I think that I will not eat anything sweet for a week to recover.

Glad that everyone had a great day, we did too...
It's nice to hear a Cocky story Anthony, he's been quiet for a while...love the pic of you and Molly, she will love her Barbie house....it doesn't seem that long since our grandaughter had one and this year we gave her a driving course for Christmas....those years fly by.

Had to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart... then the first day of the Boxing Day test yesterday and what a beauty it....just the best way to relax after Christmas.

I'm off to the sales today, I want a new frypan, a really deep one......I know it's boring but it's necessary...lol....then back home to watch the cricket...
I love Christmas.....

Charleen, my Gladioli flowered unharmed, thanks to you...my mother was very happy to see it.
We didn't get much rain here at all.....only a lot of thunder, we could see it heading toward Melbourne.
Kettle is on Jean..
Back later.
Dianne.

Look I got you all a new picture of my funny long ears. All covered in Ga. Red Mud. They are beautiful. You just would have to brush them down and they love all the extra attention. Isabelle had a limp the other day. I went out with my needle nose pliers and hoof pick. I never did feel anything in there. but I said a little prayer and She is not limping. God and i love those critters.
Look at that beautiful bloom. I love glads,they have gorgeous blooms. Very exotic tropical looking.
glad to help. Us gardens got to help each other.
Waves to everyone.

Good morning everyone.
A lovely cool morning after a small ( very small) shower of rain during the night. I said to hubby last night that I could smell rain in the air. It is a distinctive smell, but he cant smell anything very well so said I was imagining things as the weather site showed no rain anywhere near us.
I had a good laugh this morning and a ' I told you so' grin.
The sun is just coming out from behind the clouds so will soon dry up my little shower.

Dianne, very glad you were not in that awful hail storm. So much damage. I feel for all those people .
Do you notice though, on the news reports re. flooding on roads etc, how many idiots are still driving fast in the background ?
Some people never learn .

Anthony, its nice to hear about Cocky, we love hearing all your stories about him.
I bet Molly is having great fun with her Barbie house.
Does she have a wardrobe of clothes for Barbie ?
I remember my daughter did.

Colleen, sounds like you all had a lovely day too. The boys will be enjoying their presents . You did well too. Lots of garden pressies.

Charleen. Love that pic. I can imagine the comment being made by the longeared one.
Glad you also enjoyed Christmas.

Teresa, It was nice to see that the shakes were well behaved for a day or so. Lets hope it stays that way.
I bet Copper had a few extra nibbles from the leftovers.

Hello Kat. Sounds like you had a lovely time too. . Hope your kitties are all still safe . Maybe you could feed a few turkeys to the snakes to keep them full .

Lovely pressies, Moon. I may have to come over and borrow the shawl for the cooler weather..

Hello to everyone else.
I am going to do a bit more potting of the larger rooted cuttings today. I played musical chairs yesterday with all the plants. Moving some down the back and some out of the greenhouse. At the moment I have a lot sitting around under my GHA brug.
He gets extra water as I water them.
The wading pool is now full of the cannas. They like to sit in the water for the summer. .
We are having the last of the leftovers for lunch today.
I suppose you will all be doing the same.
Have a lovely day.
Enjoy something nice and light with your cuppa.. Cinnamon Teacake.
Happy day, Jean.

Good morning everyone. Gosh, is it finally over? Has been so hectic. Charleen, so glad Isabelle's hoof is oK. And that black cat has the sweetest little face......... Barry and I had our Christmas dinner in the park, overlooking the river (which was quite brown, and flowing very fast). No critters came to share our lunch, but we enjoyed watching the tiny colourful wrens and the butterflies flitting here and there.

Yesterday was the main family day and the morning was hectic. First an hour's drive to pick up Barry's mother, then over to drop her off at Barry's brothers place. Ian couldn't drive as he'd had surgery on his hand 2 days earlier.

Then over to my sisters place to swap pressies and enjoy some nibbles with a cuppa. Running late by now, we then headed back to Ian's only to find others were running even later, so in a way we caught up time wise.

So many presents under the tree, it took up half the lounge, almost. 4 generations of family members and their spouses, it was such fun to watch the young ones opening their pressies. One of the girls had her 16th birthday on Christmas Day, so we were celebrating that too.

Couldn't resist this pic of the flowering yuccas just up the road from me. Weren't we talking about these only recently?

Karen

Toasted ,smoked salmon/schallots and cheddar for morning tea[and a nice chunk of turkey breast and stuffing],.,.Molly showed me her new battery 4 wheeler motorbike, and is already dropping wheelies in the garage[v8 next]-but tends to get bogged in the yard...Ive been dragging all my show lilies down into the garage-show is 17 days...not an easy task,..,.,sounds like everyone ate well over christmas!!!!!

Hello Karen, glad everything was lovely for you over Christmas.
How nice to have a birthday girl as well.

Anthony , that wasnt a breakfast that was an early lunch. Hmmm, dont the nobs call it brunch. Sounds yummy whatever you call. it.
Hope you do well at the show when it comes around, and we will be waiting to see all your trophies when its over.

I have been going potty all morning as it has been cool and enjoyable to work out side.

Have to go feed the man. He just wants something easy now, so frozen pizza will do him. I may have some fish & chips.
Enjoy the rest of the day.
Jean.

Washing cleaning and potting up ...a big wave to everyone ! I spent hours fixing some FB problem this morning now I have to do my work ...so I will be back in the arvo, haven't had anything to eat yet ...not sure I want to (too much already probably).
The rain is holding off for a bit so better take advantage of it ...
Here look at the sky ...this is my Summer so far (it was Spring too )
Enjoy your day everyone !

Copper is a bit disappointed not to get left overs but there isn't anything I could safely give him...
we left the chicken I cooked at my brother's, I did it in the slow cooker all day Xmas day, best way I know for tender moist chicken but not so good if you want an intact bird to carve, the meat just falls off the bone.
We have ham but that can give dogs pancreatitis so none for him.
he'd love some chocolate but that is off his menu too.
We did let him lick the empty ice cream container tonight so that made him a happy boy for a few minutes.
Had another shake this afternoon - I was a work in our tea room & it sounded like someone banging on the back door.
There are lots of new cracks in the block walls, we have been told not to go upstairs until engineers check it out - we weren't planning on going up there... nice to have our boss back us on that.
Don't think there is any new damage to our house, just made the existing cracks a bit wider & more obvious but we are on the list to have them fixed & that will happen when it happens.
Been lovely sunny weather but a change is coming in the next 2 days & it might be a wet cold New year.
Police will love that as it dampens the enthusiasm for mischief making :)

Good morning everyone. Its a cool morning here as is usual . Makes it not seem so bad when the day heats up later as we get cool evenings too.
The garden is very dry looking and I have slowly started getting some of the old plants out. Most will wait until autumn so I can really cut them back properly.
Have to deadhead the roses again. They are doing very well. I wonder if they just like where they are out in the open or if the handful of Epsom Salts each year helps. Probably both. I have no hose on them so they havent been watered in the 3 years they have been there.
I notice all the old irises I pulled out and threw under the trees are showing signs of growing. I dont mind as they are out of the way and will fill that empty spot.
I have had hundreds of Monarch butterflies around, but they are slowly dying off now.
I bought 4 new buddleas for them. I will plant them out in the salvia area as they will be good for shade over the smaller salvias.

Hello Teresa. At least Copper did get the icecream . All our scraps go to the maggies. They just love to fight over the carcase of any chooks. This time they got a turkey one.
Its so funny to watch them argue when there is plenty for all. They are so picky. If I toss out any meat scraps, they wont eat them unless they are from cooked meat.
Very upmarket birds here. I said to hubby, next thing they will want knives & forks. ...lol

Hello Chrissy. That pic of your sky looks just like ours has done for a long time , but we dont get the rain from ours. You will see blue sky soon, I hope.

Hello Karen, Colleen, Dianne, Anthony, Kat, Moon and Charleen.
I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and having some lovely weather. Keep safe and enjoy all your lovely presents.

I am off to play musical chairs with the plants again. I am having fun deciding who will go where. I now have 4 brugs on the front veranda so I can smell the flowers when they open.
I moved epis off benches and still have to plant a couple of Lilly Pillys.

Heres something tasty for morning tea. Banana Muffins.
Enjoy the day.
Jean

Good morning everyone. The visitors have all gone now. I will have to wash today. I spent nearly all day watering again. It is really dry. I will be glad when the new watering system goes in and I can just turn on a tap. In the new year the plumber said so don't know just when. The boys got Ninja alarm clocks for Christmas. They have et them both nights to go off at 7am. But it's amazing, when they start to go off I go and watch them. They squirm a bit but don't wake up and one of the boys has his about a foot away from his head. After it goes off the second time I switch it off as i reckon that they must be tired and I'll leave them in bed a while longer. I will have to go and get my roses dead-headed too Jean. There's always something that needs doing in the garden. Must go and start the washing or we'll have no clothes to wear. That would be a sight. be back later Colleen

Had to laugh about John going to build another new shadehouse, Colleen. I remember when your first small one went up.
They do tend to breed , dont they ?
I now have the 3 greenhouses, 2 smaller shadehouses and the giant combined one. Watch out or you will be covering the yard with shadecloth. ...lol
In regard to moving the hills hoist, well, I am thinking of covering mine with shadecloth and hanging lots of pots on it.

Do what I did and buy a dryer. So much easier and it doesnt cost a fortune in power either.
Of course one isnt using it for just bits & pieces. I always do a full washload.
My arthritis makes it hard to hang washing on the line now and the dryer has been fantastic.
You can always get one of those pullout lines that attach to a wall for anything you need to hang out.
Jean.

The trouble with the pull out from the wall type Jean is , I won't have a spare wall if he builds the SH along the northern wall unless I put it under the carport or put it out the front. lol Colleen

Good idea re the hoist Jean....a friend of mine has wisteria growing over his...it looks marvellous....good place for a grapevine too.
I have a wall one, to save space....
Same situation here with the roses, half in full flower, half due for a hair cut...It's certainly been a good year....
I'm repotting today, too......these baby Brugs are growing very tall.
I liked your Xmas birds, Colleen....show us where you place them.

Karen, You must have had a lovely time with 4 generations.....I miss my Nanna and my aunts and uncles and without little kids, it's not quite the same....

Still, our Steph is still a baby to us all and she is so wonderful to my Mother.....she tells her all about the latest fashion and who she has a crush on at the time and she'll sing K.K.K.Katie with mum at the drop of a hat....Mum and I used to sing that when she was little...she just loved saying K.K.K.Katie.
It's funny that mum can remember all the words and sing it clearly, yet she can't have a conversation..

Oh well, off to pot some floppy plants.
Have a good day all.

Here are my new statues that the boys gave me for Christmas. Colleen

The gnome on his tractor. Colleen

and the Ibis, all in my Shade house around the pond. I think they are lovely. Colleen

Hi everyone :)
A nice quite Christmas even had a nice rain shower, he he have been surviving on leftovers and the chook’s have been very happy with all the extra scraps too.
Who else is getting the hot weather now!!!

Seachanger your gladiolus is called Priscilla.

Just in case I don’t pop in again before the New Year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR

something to scent the air in the tea room...
I picked a big bunch of sweet pea.

Thank you Teresa. I love Sweetpeas. Funny thing is I hardly ever grow them. Must remind myself to put some in in Autumn. Colleen

Sweet peas are one of my favourites Teresa ...I seem to have no room for them these days or it is too shady in the jungle ...they are lovely and the perfume mmmm ^_^

Isn't it funny how we gardeners must drape vines and hang things off anything we can. I was eyeing off my second clothes line in the cottage area today (it has Brugs growing under it) Now if I planted a light vine ...lol.

Have a lovely evening everyone ! it's almost 2012 whoo hoo ! can't wait !

I used 'sweet pea' in a floral arrangement, with scotch thistle ansd a tiny, long ,red ,Fucshia-effect was good ,..,judges comments were'nt

They are beautiful. I've never had any luck with sweet peas here, but do love them.
Beautiful pictures Colleen, the boys got great presents...

Good morning.

Colleen, I love your garden ornaments. The boys did well.

Teresa, I can almost smell those sweet peas from here. Gorgeous colours.

Jean, your cyber baking skills amaze me. Always something to make the mouth water. And what I like best is they can't send my sugar levels raging.

So many seem to be spending the holiday season at home this year. Actually, I am enjoying being here, no pressure or stress now, just pottering about.

Have a great day.
Karen