Sunday 25 January 2015

Grow Your Blog Party & My Giveaway 2015









Welcome to the third
Grow your Blog Party
hosted by Vicki of 2 Bags Full.

Thank you dear Vicki for hosting
this amazing annual event
to bring together bloggers
from around the world!





For first time visitors to my blog
let me introduce myself!
My name is Shane and I live in
Auckland, New Zealand.



Yes I live in Auckland but....
my heart is in a little village in France
where my family and grandchildren live!
If you love France too
then we will have much in common
as many of my blog posts have
a french flavour... a certain
Je
ne
sais
quoi




I have been travelling to France for years,
and I love everything about it


who doesn't dream of a weekend in
Paris



but it's rural France I love the most.



Photography
has become one of my favourite
pastimes since starting my blog.
French villages are known for 
their beautiful old houses and barns,
windows, doors, gates, fences
and little country lanes to photograph!

My family are now used to me lagging behind
when we're out and about!
I simply can't pass up a
photo opportunity!



I have a very basic 'point and shoot'
Panasonic lumix camera.
I have learnt so much through Donna
thank you my dear friend for
passing on your wealth of knowledge.



I join several weekly and monthly blog parties
including these ones
Mosaic Monday
Tea Time Tuesday

Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Friends Sharing Tea
Roses of Inspiration
Wednesday Good Fences
Sunlit Sunday

We would love you to join us!
People post about all sorts of things
recipes, crafts, books worth reading and so on.
If you are a new blogger
this is a great way of making new friends
and increasing your followers.






I’m a gardener

My time spent in my garden
is one of the things I love most of all,
whether it's weeding and nurturing plants
or simply doing my garden walk each morning
with a cup of tea in hand
to see what's new each day!
It grounds me and prepares me for 
my work day ahead.


Swaps
I also enjoy taking part in swaps!
I've been part of groups
that swapped lace and buttons
tea cups, magazines!~



...and then I love to
Create
I enjoy making little books, cards
and bags for my grandies
using fabric, lace and paper.

I work three days a week and when time permits
I also enjoy making collage pieces 
such as the one below which I created for my


Giveaway
for

Grow Your Blog 2015.



I will draw the winners name on
February 15th 2015 and post on my blog
Bonne chance everyone!

You don't need to be a follower
there are no restrictions
and I am happy to post world wide!

If you write a comment on this post
you will be included in the draw!

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little about me
I'm sorry it has become such a lengthy post
I do ramble on and love to chat!
have you noticed that already?!

Now I'm off to visit your blogs
Enjoy the party and have fun!

Dearest Vicki
thank you
for being the generous, giving and loving soul
that you are!
The world needs more people like you.


Thank you everyone for visiting my blog

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt




Shane







Saturday 17 January 2015

Sunshine makes me happy



I captured these photos
of sunshine on my windowsill.
Recently I bought some new
bathroom things so I wanted to show you those too!
I thought the sun shining through the window
would make a good background!



When I visited my Aunt at New Year
I was very taken with one of her
Christmas gifts.

A light room fragrance of
Frangipani and Lime
which is perfect for our Summer days
and it is Made in New Zealand.
I decided to treat myself to one too!




As I'm reading your blog posts
and seeing the snow lying on the ground
I wanted to share a little of our
New Zealand sunshine with you!

We are having the most wonderful


Summer




Then I found myself humming
'Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy'
as I wrote this post,
so... I popped over to YouTube
and downloaded the video for you.

It's not compulsory listening if you're
not a John Denver fan!





I couldn't resist giving you a few more photos
of my Pierre de Ronsard rose.
I'm 'over the moon' with everything about this rose
it is a prolific bloomer


A Star

and that's after just one year in the garden.
I recommend it to anyone looking for a
new pink rose.


I'm joining Karen for Sunlit Sunday
and
Judith for Mosaic Monday
and
Stephanie for Roses of Inspiration

Thank you for your comments
Take care and
be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt




Shane








Tuesday 13 January 2015

Beauty to lift the Spirits






Another beautiful cup that belonged to my
darling mother
sadly this one is an orphan
I don't know what happened to the saucer!

I won the beautiful decorated burlap sac
in a giveaway by
Merci mon ami!




By pairing the sweet cup with my
Spode Camille saucer and plate
I think I have a match made in Heaven
what do you think?


Our family still feels anxious with 
the recent happenings in Paris
so I felt the need for some beauty
to lift my heart and spirits today


I am focusing on the beauty in the world
....my beautiful family and my love for them
....focusing too on our amazing planet
made for us by our Creator
Who has an unending abundance of love for
each and every one of us.

Focus
On
The
Beauty




Thank you all for your recent encouraging comments

Welcome

to my lovely new followers
it is so good  to have you here
thank you for being part of my blog






I'm linking to 
Stephanie for Roses of Inspiration
Bernideen for Friends Sharing Tea
Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday


Take care and
be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt


Shane








Sunday 11 January 2015

Oh Paris.....




I've no doubt you are all as alarmed as I am 
at the horrific and tragic happenings in Paris last week.



It is very sad to see French soldiers on patrol
at Paris monuments
protecting both french citizens and tourists.



On Friday evening at 8pm
the lights of the Tour Eiffel
 were turned off for six minutes
in respect for the citizens who died
in the Charlie Hebdo massacre.



Please pray for the families of those who
lost their lives in this atrocious attack.

My regular followers will know how anxious I feel
having members of my family living so close to Paris.
Please keep them in your prayers
asking God to protect them and keep them safe.
Merci.


I am joining Karen for Sunlit Sunday

Karen, I know this isn't a "sunny" post as such
but I would like to share it here as a reminder to us all
of how lucky we are to live simple lives
in our little necks of the woods
far away from the "hot spots" of today's unfathomable world.

I'm also joining Judith for Mosaic Monday.


Take care and
be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt


Shane






I  love Paris

Saturday 10 January 2015

Five on Friday...


I popped in to say hello to Amy at 
and discovered she hosts a Friday party called

It seems to me like a good way to look back on
what has happened and where I've been over the past week.
It is a weekly photo journal that I can
email to my family in France as well.


Two weeks ago we did a little road trip
from Auckland to Palmerston North...
1000km in total... not so little!

I wanted to visit my elderly Aunt and my cousin.


The weather that day was dull and overcast
not good for taking photographs
but great for travelling - not too hot.
We passed by Lake Taupo which is a mecca
for trout fishermen and women.
In fact people come from all over the world
to fish here!


We stopped at the southern end of the lake
for a picnic lunch.
There are beautiful streams and fishing pools
just a short walk through the bush.


Driving through the central plateau
there are three mountains
Ruapehu, Ngaruahoe and Tongariro.

I took this photo of Mt Ruapehu out of the car window
(flying along at 100kph!)
I was hoping the cloud would lift
so I could get a better photo for you - sorry, no such luck!




The day after our journey
we took my Aunt for a drive through the
beautiful Botanic Gardens.
Palmerston North is well known for it's rose gardens.
I was impressed, the garden was immaculate
all the roses are named.

I was back at work this week...
it's always hard starting back after a holiday!

If you would like to join Amy's
Five on Friday
the link is at the top of this post.


Take care and
be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt


Shane







Monday 5 January 2015

Beatrix Potter's Art





Wishing all my dear friends 

Happy New Year
2015

I found this sweet 'New Year' card 
drawn by one of my favourite artists and writers
Beatrix Potter.




We had a wonderful Christmas
with my son and his partner who live in the country.
They cooked a turkey with all the trimmings!

My contribution was to make our starter
of smoked salmon with a cucumber salad 
and a trifle with all the berries...
yes raspberries, strawberries and loganberries!

Remember it is summer on my side of the world
so it was a beautifully warm day.
Many New Zealand families have now opted
to have a barbecue with salads as their Christmas meal.

However for me Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas
without the traditional fare of roast turkey
cranberry sauce and all the trimmings!





I created this collage from the images
in one of my favourite books
Beatrix Potter A Journal.




Speaking of rabbits
Suzy of Rustic Vintage Country
is having a delightful rabbit
Giveaway here


I'm joining Karen of My Little Home and Garden
it's so nice to be joining you for Season 4 Karen - thank you!
and
Judith of Lavender Cottage
for
Mosaic Monday
and
Stephanie of The Enchanting Rose
for
Roses of Inspiration
a new weekly party each Tuesday.
Do come over and join us!





I've enjoyed a break and had a much needed rest.
Today was my first day back at work -
so here we go again!
I'm looking forward to catching up with you all.

Take care and
be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt


Shane








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