Saturday 27 April 2013

Devonport





Today I'm taking you on another visit
to one of my favorite little shops,
Cosi Fan Tutte.
My previous post is here





For me it's a little trip over
our harbor bridge 






to the very
pretty seaside suburb of
Devonport.





I'm usually on the lookout for
gifts for friends - birthdays etc
and yes there is a french influence
you know me!




At Cosi Fan Tutte there is a gift
for every occasion.

I often buy fragrant soaps
lavender, fig and rose
as hostess gifts when
going to friends for dinner.






Carla Coulson's books are available here
she is an amazing photographer
if you don't already know of her
you can visit her blog here

I love her books, they are filled
with magical images and
inspiration. 

She has amazing photography workshops
here

Carla is Australian but now lives in
Paris
where she is pursuing her dream.




Just letting you all know
my friend Lorrie of
"Fabric Paper Thread" 
is having a beautiful
GIVEAWAY
until 3 May - don't miss it!



Today I'm joining
Claudia for A Favorite Thing

and
Mary for Mosaic Monday


Thank you all for your visits
I appreciate your comments.

À bientôt

and be kind to one another
hugs


Shane 











Friday 26 April 2013

Coastline Trees....




Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.....
                                                                                      Rabindranath Tagor



A blustery day on the North coast.

I took these photos during an early
morning walk along the ridge,
about two hundred feet
above the sea. 






The trees are called Manuka
our native version of
tea tree.





They are quite shallow rooted
but somehow they hang there
as if by one thread
connected to the soil.


Today I'm joining Mary
for Thursday Inspiration
where the prompt is
Tree


Thank you for your kind comments

À bientôt

Be kind to one another

hugs


Shane 










Monday 22 April 2013

A Sweet Bouquet




We had friends for dinner
on Saturday.
Dawn brought me a beautiful
bouquet of Autumn roses
from her garden.



The red one is
General Gallieni a tea rose
introduced in 1899.




Dawn doesn't know the name of
the creamy yellow one.
It had a lovely subtle fragrance,
 I'm doing some research
as I would love to order one.

I'm linking to Mary for
Mosaic Monday

Don't forget Terri's Giveaway
see my side bar for details!





Wishing you all a very happy week.

À bientôt



be kind to one another



hugs


Shane 











Friday 19 April 2013

MY BLUE TEA SET






I've loved this tea set forever
as it was part of every
family gathering as I grew up.

My darling mother treasured it
and she wouldn't trust anyone else
to bring it down safely from the
top shelf of the kitchen dresser.

It holds such happy memories
of many lovely coffee mornings
and afternoon tea parties.




Mother had several lovely
china tea sets
but this 'Spode Camilla' set
she loved the most.
This is the one she brought out
for special family occasions!





Being the only daughter in our family,
most of her lovely china
was passed on to me.
I in turn will pass it on
to my daughter.

It is used every day now and
I treasure it dearly - it never
goes in the dishwasher
but is carefully washed by hand!





Today I'm joining

Bernideen's Open House Thursday



Please make a cup of tea
and pop in to say hello!




Terri of Artful Affirmations blog
is having a beautiful Giveaway to
celebrate her new class
Soulful Adornments here
the winner will be chosen on 1st May!



À bientôt

be kind to one another


hugs


Shane 



...his mother put him to bed and made some chamomile tea.
AND she gave a dose of it to Peter!
'One table-spoon to be taken at bed-time'.







Wednesday 17 April 2013

French Canal Trip: Vee's Note Card Party



About three years ago six of us embarked
on a canal trip starting in the pretty
village of Chatel Censoir in Burgundy.


We chose Canal de Nivernais,
it was recommended to us as the
 jewel of the French waterway network.
We loved it and we would happily
recommend it to you - 
for us it ticked all the boxes!



We stopped off along the way to visit
many beautiful villages with great
markets, shops, and restaurants.

The photo above is the entrance to 
Vermenton
a delightful village on a side canal.



Our trip ended here at Auxerre
an historic Burgundy town.
This was a prominant 
town even in the 1st century AD.
 At that time the main road
Via Agrippa passed through Auxerre!
I'm imagining legions of Roman
soldiers making their way across France
- on foot.
How amazing is that! 

Today is Vee's
so please come over and have a look
at everyone's cards.
If you would like to join in, go here
for Vee's info on how it all works.





On a very sad note...
My heart goes out to everyone
affected by the terrorist attack
at the end of the Boston marathon.
(there were 45 New Zealanders
taking part in it).
What should have been
a sense of fulfillment
with happy memories
has been shattered by this tragic event.
What has happened to our world?
Sending love and prayers
to all my US friends.

À bientôt

be kind to one another


hugs


Shane 

Maison St Francis where we stayed the night
before setting off on our big adventure.




Monday 15 April 2013

Little and Friday



One of my favorite cafes is
Little and Friday
they bake the most divine
tarts - both sweet and savoury.



So, when my friend Carol
was visiting from the UK
I couldn't wait to take her there!
I told her she had to try
one of their famous
to die for
cream donuts.
We shared one between us, as we also
had a piece of their
Caramelised Onion Tart.




Everything is served on pretty
china plates.
They have large old kitchen tables
which you share with others.
It's a convivial atmosphere.




Beautiful baking
in the Little and Friday
cookbook - I would love a copy
but do I really need
another cookbook?!!!


Speaking of cook books
there is a new cookbook out by
The Mennonite Girls called
"Mennonite Girls Can Cook Celebrations"
and they are giving away a copy
so head over to their blog now
to enter!




It's Monday so I'm joining
Mary for Mosaic Monday!



and
Bernideen on Friend's Sharing Tea Tuesday




Do pop over and say hello!

À bientôt
and be kind to one another
hugs


Shane 



Beautiful mossy garland on the wall
at Little & Friday, Belmont.





Sunday 14 April 2013

Simplicity


A weekend at Tairua on the Coromandel Peninsula
New Zealand. February 2013.


I've been popping into my favorite
blogs this morning to say hello.
I found that many of them had
'stand-out' photos as part of a
challenge set by Donna of
titled
Simplicity.


Evidence that seagulls were milling about here
for a morning chat!


This challenge is not as easy as it sounds!
Anyway, in for a penny - in for a pound.
As I searched through
my albums, it took a while
before I found some images
that I thought might meet the challenge.
I would appreciate your
comments Donna!


Tas the golden labrador was taking us for a walk!


I have a very basic 'point and shoot'
digital Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS3
with a Leica lens.

I take most photos on 'normal picture'
mode unless it's children or animals.
I haven't got Photoshop although
I would love to have a play with it!!

Please visit Debbie's blog to see some
magical photos and why not show us
your photos too!


À bientôt
and be kind to one another
hugs


Shane 








Friday 12 April 2013

Sky...



'I must go down to the sea again
to the lonely sea and the sky'...
- John Masefield   


A Skywatch post

During the Summer months
we spend a lot of time 
on the water and I'm always
in awe of the beauty
of the sky.





The sky in these last two photos
was translucent
and the colors were quite magical.




Today I'm joining

Mary for "Thursday's Inspiration" 

and Bernideen's "Open House Thursday" 

and Skywatch Friday

and Claudia for Favorite Thing Saturday

I would love you to visit
both these parties
to meet other like minded bloggers.
Why not join in - it's fun!

I meant to tell you
that down under in the
Southern Hemisphere
daylight saving ended last weekend
when we put our clocks back one hour
... sad to say goodbye to
2012/13 Summer!

Thank you for your lovely comments
and welcome to my new followers.

À bientôt
and be kind to one another
hugs


Shane 







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