Sunday 25 May 2014

Middle Earth Airline



Have I told you I love airports?
I especially enjoy visiting our international airport.
I like to sit in the observation room
and watch the arrival and departure of planes.



Earlier this month
I took these photos of an Air New Zealand
'Hobbit' Middle Earth aeroplane arriving!

I'll let you into a little secret
visiting the international airport
 is special for me
because it is the point where I start my long journey
when I'm on my way to visit my family in France!
For some weird reason
it makes me feel closer to them.....
just knowing that I can hop on a plane
and 25-30 hours later
I can be hugging my darling granddaughters.




So now the cat's now out of the bag!

I'm joining Mary for Mosaic Monday
I hope to see you there.

See you all again soon, in the meantime please

take care and be kind to each other 


Merci à bientôt

Shane









Thursday 22 May 2014

MAY NOTE CARDS




I love Vee's Note Card Party
and I usually have my post prepared in advance.

I've been working a lot lately therefore the
the usual standards are slipping somewhat!
My organisation has flown out the window
so please forgive me Vee for arriving late to 
your party!




The first two Note Cards are the type of cards I create
from time to time to send to my daughter
and darling granddaughters in France
so they can see what our home and garden
look like at various times of the seasons.



The third Note Card just happened!
I love taking photos of doors, gates and windows
these were from Summer in France 2013.
After I created this collage
the words just came to me!

 Please pop over to Vee's and look at
all the other charming Note Cards!




See you all again soon, in the meantime please
take care and be kind to each other 

Merci à bientôt

 

Shane









Monday 19 May 2014

Autumn Fruit



Autumn's bounty is generous
and each year I look forward to
savouring the delicious fruit of the Persimmon tree.



Tamarillo's are another fruit
that ripen at this time of year
also known as Tree Tomatoes.
I usually make chutney
which is delicious served with cold meats.

I'm joining Mary for Mosaic Monday

~~~~~~~~~~

There's a very special giveaway I want to share with you
Vicki of the inspiring blog


makes exquisite birds nests and
this Spring nest is part of her amazing giveaway.
The link is on my side bar
be assured you won't want to miss this one!


Take care and be kind to each other 

Merci à bientôt

 

Shane











Monday 12 May 2014

A Yellow Rose



As Autumn has my garden in her grasp
I'm making the most of the last blooms.
My lovely roses are bravely offering up
the odd flower here and there.
In a couple of weeks I will prune them
and say Merci and Au Revoir until next Spring!



Rose brought me this lovely yellow bloom
on our last embroidery day.
I can't remember the name
but I want to order it to plant in Spring.
 If you would like to know the name too
let me know in your comment
and I will be in touch.


I'm joining Gemma for  
Monday Mellow Mondays
and
Macro Monday
and 
Isabelle at Le Chateau des Fleurs



to my dear friends on the other side of the world
I'm really enjoying seeing your Spring gardens
the beautiful lilacs just take my breath away
sadly, they don't grow where I live..

why is it always the unattainable
that we desire most?



Take care and be kind to each other 

Merci à bientôt

Shane












Sunday 11 May 2014

Colourful Photo Challenge - May


I used Pixlr and BeFunky to boost saturation and blur the edges.


May's Personal Photo Challenge topic
set by Donna is
COLOURFUL

If you would like to join in
please visit Donna's blog here for her tips and suggestions!

Our embroidery group had a special lunch
at a French cafe on Tuesday
to celebrate Rosie's significant birthday!
I mentioned to the girls that I hoped to find
something colorful to photograph that day!
When I saw these brilliant red cakes I knew this
was the photo op I was waiting for!




I took this photo of my granddaughter at Château de Fontainebleau last year.



This was taken last year in France too - in a wheat field in mid Summer.


I use a basic “Point and Shoot” 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS3 with a Leica lens.

I followed Donna's suggestion and
edited each photo to adjust the colour saturation, 
vibrance and contrast.

Do pop over and see what everyone else
comes up with here!

Thank you Donna for continuing to
inspire me to think about what I am
seeing through the lens before I click!!


Wishing you all a happy weekend!

a little reminder.....
Kerrie's beautiful Giveaway
closes tomorrow 10 May
so hop over to her blog here 
to be in the draw.
Bonne chance!


Take care and be kind to each other
    
Merci à bientôt

Shane







Sunday 4 May 2014

Fresh Cut Flowers


My roses are almost finished for the season
 last week I picked the last
little spray of flowers of 'The Fairy'.
She has bloomed her little heart out all summer long
thank you dear Fairy!






The white rose is 'Iceberg'
it does very well in Auckland
and blooms from November to May.
I've got six bushes in one bed
and they have put on a good show for months.

I will prune and feed them in early June
and put them to bed for the winter.





I'm joining Liz for Fresh Cut Friday
and
Mary for Mosaic Monday


Take care and

be kind to one another

  Merci à bientôt

Shane x

 







Friday 2 May 2014

Gathering the moments - APRIL 2014



This year is moving far too fast for me!

I've reached that stage in life
where I'm quite happy for time to stand still at times
so I can capture and fully enjoy the
very special moments
that make up the rhythm of life.
 I want to commit these moments to memory forever
so in years to come I can look back and recall
I remember when..... 


It was a month of of seasonal happenings.
We had Easter - our most important feast
in the Church's year
celebrating the Resurrection of
Christ our Saviour.



Then on 25th April - Anzac Day
commemorating the soldiers of the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
who fought in WW1 and WW2
side by side
in far away lands
for God, King and Country.







I'm linking to Cheryl of Thinking About Home
for her monthly meme


Wishing you all a very happy month of May.

Take care and

be kind to one another

  Merci à bientôt

Shane x


'Seamist'

We bought this old classic launch last year
and my husband 'The Yachtie'  is restoring it...
a labour of love!
The interior has been ripped out and he is
more or less starting from scratch!
We know the hull has 'good bones'
so she was worth saving.
She will be re-launched pre Christmas 2014
in time for Summer cruising!






Thursday 1 May 2014

Pork and Pistachio Terrine with Poached Pears....





On my side of the world
 Autumn well and truly has us in her grasp!
Immediately my thoughts turn to delicious
heart-warming food.

It was our embroidery groups fortnightly meeting
on Tuesday and the venue was my home!



I decided to serve a long time family favorite
Pork and Veal Pistachio terrine.
Pears are in plentiful supply now, so I poached
some in lemon juice, water and brown sugar.




I served both the terrine and pears warm
with salad on the side
and some crusty french bread... very yummy!


PORK & VEAL PISTACHIO TERRINE


1lb Lean pork and Veal minced
4oz Cooked ham - thick pieces diced
1 heaped Tbsp Fresh chopped herbs
2oz Red Onion - grated

½ - 1 Clove Garlic - crushed
1 level tsp freshly grated Nutmeg
1 tsp Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper
1 Egg to bind all together

10oz Frozen Spinach - thawed
(squeeze all water out - I do this with my hands
or you can press it over a sieve)
Pistachio Nuts - halved
 Streaky Bacon

Mix the first 8 ingredients together in a bowl.
Then add spinach and pistachios - mix through.

 Grease a meat loaf tin
Line with long strips of streaky bacon
on bottom and up sides of tin.

Add terrine mixture to tin
fold the bacon from the sides over top of loaf.

Bake in oven @ 160º for 1 hour.




 
  



The autumn crops of tomatoes are so tasty
kissed by the sun and full of juicy goodness.



I'm joining Penny for Tasty Tuesday
please pop over to Penny's blog
to find some very special food inspiration!

 Wishing you all a very happy week
and welcome to May 2014!



Take care and 

be kind to one another


  Merci à bientôt

Shane x

 

 

 

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