Goodbye

Well it has been a long time between posts for me and an awful lot has happened in that time.
As many of you are aware from my last post our trip to New York was cancelled due to my mother becoming gravely ill after a lengthy illness.

My darling mother passed away last week. I will be forever grateful for staying home to spend her remaining days by her side. I admire her strength and courage more than I can possibly say.

I miss her so very very much.

Annie xx

Beloved Pieces of Furniture

As I pondered what to write for this post I decided to stick with another home theme to tie in nicely with The Decorating Forum (my little blog is featured this week).

The last four years has been tumultuous with selling an acreage property after renovating the old Queenslander house over two decades, the home in which we raised our family.
Then renovating a brick and tile house to live in all while searching for our present home which involved a relentless eighteen month search, then toil over this major renovation and redecoration spanning five months to revitalise this 1990's design, then sell the interim brick house, then move into this piece of paradise and we are still transforming this house.
Phew are you tired from reading that...you can imagine why it's taken me a year to come up for air and I still get myself confused trying to explain the sequence of events!

The old farmhouse we lovingly filled with antique pieces only to decide on a fresh start in a modern architecturally designed build. Hence this style of furniture did not blend at all with the modern aesthetic. Big decisions ensued and so we sold most of our furniture. Except for certain pieces which  hold sentimental value. The big old dining table is made from recycled baltic pine and I discovered her after a long search, when I was pregnant with our first child twenty-six years ago. Countless happy memories emanate from her scratched, chipped service..family gatherings, children's homework, painting and play dough extravaganzas. In the old house antique spindle back chairs encircled this table but now a modern and comfortable padded chair surrounds her.
In fact the kitchen we designed was purposely planned around this dining table. While entertaining I like to have my family or guests seated within close range to be part of the action.

The teak console was my parents and this created quite the dilemma. It included an additional top piece with glass doors and shelves which sat on top. In total it just didn't blend but the decision was made during the move when the glass shelves shattered (our fault not the moving company) and so the top was donated to charity. I procrastinated about this inclusion but am now comfortable with the aesthetic it casts over the predominately white decor of my favourite room.

 The rocking chair. Sourced for the birth of our first baby for moi to sit and feed and rock the babes to sleep. You know I nearly lost this chair and one day I will share the story. Never again will I let this piece escape my clutches. Mr red roses restored her as a surprise for my 50th birthday. I cried with joy.
Now I sit in the sun in my pretty room and ponder life and all it's mysteries.

Last but not least the duchess I saved my pennies to buy when the children were little. She was in a sad state when we bought her at auction but after being lovingly restored she has been a constant in our bedroom. An old piece in a modern room but it works.
My mother's beloved bedroom chair. Need I say more, this chair is cherished because it was my mum's and she adored it, not to sit in mind, purely for show!

I have enjoyed sharing this trip down memory lane. At the time of selling our prized furniture and my parents inherited bits and bobs (an old rambling farmhouse always has room for just another acquisition) I felt sad but comes a time in our lives when we need to let go of the past and downsize. As much as we wish to hold onto everything accumulated over many years it's not feasible.

Except for those rare pieces which grab hold of our hearts and won't let go.

Annie xx

Happy 1st Birthday Red Roses and Crystal Hip Hip Hooray!

Well my dear lovely readers I made it!
Today is exactly one year since my foray into this blogging biz and can I just say..I have learnt stuff I never ever realized I could learn!
Blogging has taught me very valuable skills and brought insight into human nature. The blog love swirling around me is amazing (now if I allowed anon/unmoderated comments it may be different but I don't have the inclination to deal with nasty folk). This is my Happy space.

Blog Love...the friends I've made are exceptional women, both in real life and online and for this I'm truly grateful. Another thing I've learnt is that fellow bloggers/readers 'get it'. They understand the appeal and what keeps us churning out our thoughts in this crazy world of technology. Now I've experienced many thoughts of 'why why why am I writing a blog'? To this day I'm not totally sure and have no idea if this foray is going to be a permanent part of the rest of my life but for now it's a hell of a ride and when I look at my little blog I see something I've created and feel just a tad proud.
On the whole this caper has been a thoroughly enjoyable hoot but I have witnessed the vicious side of blogging when a dear real life blog friend endured cyber bullying over many months. Nasty vile vicious stuff. A valuable life lesson...be mindful of wolves in sheeps clothing.



Now for something especially wonderful, as well as my bloggy birthday this weekend my family celebrated my dear Mum's 84th Birthday. Love my Mum to bits because she is a real trooper and she taught me the meaning of stoicism. My little family spent the morning visiting at her care facility with cake (only one candle, thought 84 might be overdoing it and set off the smoke alarms) and presents.
Family is very precious.

So once again thank you one and all for tuning in to my ramblings.
To my family and blog pals who give me encouragement.. you Rock!
Reaching this milestone has made me Happy.

Hugs
Annie xx

A Creative Moment

Hello all, winter here and it's cold. The dog and I are chasing the sun around the house to warm our bones.

Thought I would share this little assignment I gave myself recently. My daughter has a huge collection of fashion magazines so I commandeered one issue of Harpers Bazaar to make a simple layout of cards for my mother's care home. Many stylish ladies of advanced years still appreciate gazing at pictures of pretty clothes and I felt some flash cards would be nice for the residents to peruse.

I enjoyed myself immensely and may do a series for the residents if I can gather more visuals of shoots which are appropriate for the mature lady. Luckily this edition contained pics which were not risque.

The effort reinvigorated a creative side of my personality I should nurture.

Unfortunately this photo would not load correctly so the models are standing on their heads which is kind of funny. Why do some iPhone photos do this I wonder? For love nor money I couldn't get those gals standing on their feet.
Anyway I hope you get the idea...

Cutting (I use a mini guillotine contraption), spacing, layout and laminating is therapeutic and not to be underestimated.
If the opportunity to be creative comes your way embrace it, for it matters not how big or small the task... just Enjoy.

Annie xx

Retro Treasures hiding in the Study

Last weekend Mr red roses and I attacked the study for a major over haul of files and paraphernalia which had accumulated. Everyone knows you keep important information for X amount of years and yes we had certainly done this. I cannot emphasis enough how the Mr and I loathe anything to do with paperwork, sorting and filing. I enjoyed having a good whinge on twitter!

The weekend in question was raining and so was the ideal opportunity to get this wretched job done.

A few sentimental treasures I rediscovered amongst the depths was my mother's first powder compact and the little case for her engagement ring. Now proudly displayed on my dressing table.

My father's typewriter. I have no connection or love of this machine but for some reason my husband does so it received another reprieve and sits majestically on a book shelf.

Of course sorting through stuff one finds lots to distract from the task at hand. I had kept some favoured programs from theatrical events and looking through these was like stepping back in time, the pages were yellowed, not unusual for paper that's 30+ years old.
Among the stash was my old lettering manuals from a evening trade course I did back in the day, when advertising posters and art work was done by hand using inks and nibs, paints and sable hair brushes. Computer graphics were still in their infancy but not long after I graduated, technology came along in leaps and bounds and ticket writing/poster art and calligraphy skills faded into oblivion. Thankfully this was only a hobby and not my main source of employment.

The following three photos I snapped from the pages of a 1972 Jesus Christ Superstar program. To this day I view it as the best stage production I've had the pleasure of attending.

Do you remember Brush-o-matics? My dad bought one and thought it was brilliant, he used to brush-o-matic everything in sight.

Arpege was the very first grown up perfume I bought when I started my working career at the age of sixteen. French fragrances and I have enjoyed a love affair ever since.

Here is a foxy looking young Andrew Lloyd Webber (wrote the music for JCS) rocking a long hair 'do'. Who knew he would be worth mega millions and a superstar in his own right?

This dictionary has been in my family since I was a tot and I still refer to it on the odd occasion purely because I adore a good dictionary. I lament that many children nowadays are not being taught how to use them and instead fall back on computer spell check. I don't hold with the argument that dictionaries are antiquated, learning to navigate them is a great scaffold to further learning and I made sure my own kids appreciated their value.

Nooo, I don't have furs hanging in my wardrobe. These vintage garments (fake and real) were part of a borrowed collection my daughter amassed for a photo shoot.
Just thought I'd throw this pic in for retro good measure!

So I'm very happy to say our study is now tidy with room to move and files refiled or put through the shredder. Speaking of which...the pile of paperwork to be shred was massive and I still have a small mound to dispose of but in true diva style the paper shredder was having a hissy fit due to overwork so I gave her a rest this past week.
Mark my words...We are never letting paperwork breed like that ever again!

xx

One of Those Days...

...when I was planning to share more holiday photos (and I promise I shall) until I became side-tracked.

Holiday jewellery needed to be put away and this little exercise set me on a road of remembering and reminiscing. I am lucky to possess the only few pieces of jewellery my dear grand-mother owned.

Nana played an incredibly important part in my early years until she passed away at the age of 64 to cancer. I can still remember the day my mother told me that my beloved Nana had gone to heaven. I was 6yrs old and can remember the pain of this news as though it was only yesterday. Marquisette pieces were very popular when Nan was a young woman and among several pieces I have is this gorgeous brooch and clip on earrings. As I have pierced ears I've never worn the earrings but am considering having them remade to allow them a new lease of life. 

My own collection of brooches is minimal.

As I sorted and lovingly placed the pieces away safely I pondered why this task seemed so important to me today. When I think of my Nan I think of my dear Mum. Everyone in my family calls her Nan even I do privately but nowadays when I visit her in her permanent care facility I call her Mum so I that don't confuse her unnecessarily.

You see my gorgeous mother suffers with Dementia and was first diagnosed in 2004. When I started this blog it was with the intention of writing about all the pretty things in my life and avoiding the unhappy so I decided not to bring my mum's story into the mix because while I am grateful for her everyday and she still brings such joy to our lives, well, her life is private and I get quite emotional when I discuss her circumstances. No amount of time erases the sadness, we just have to accept it is what it is.

The thing is I should invite her spirit to this little blog because she is the most remarkable woman I've ever had the pleasure to know. Her life at times has been fraught with tragedy and heartbreak. Yet she is a phenomenon and just keeps on going, fighting off life's adversity at every corner.

So...maybe there was a reason for me getting side-tracked today. It became apparent when I opened twitter to find this message from Alzheimer's Australia and I very much needed to share this information with you, even if you are not an Australian resident you will find this interesting because this dreadful disease which robs and takes our beautiful loved ones from us is a world wide problem and one that we all should be aware of.

campaign.fightdementia.org.au/the-campaign/letter-from-ita-buttrose/

youtu.be/lcFoZFxrsT4

youtu.be/elNEgZpFFlU

Thanks for taking the time to consider this info. Together we can make a difference.

Annie xx