Birdy fridge magnet...and garden.

Having recently discovered a passion (if not a great skill) for embroidery, I have been playing with some new stitches and they sort of turned into this little bird and its rose garden.
I turned them all into fridge magnets with some self-adhesive magnetic canvas, and the bird has flown off to live on my friend Louise's fridge (Happy Birthday Weezie), but the 2 little rose gardens ended up with me due to their slightly weird shapes.
They do make me smile though whenever I go to get out the milk...

Good point.

From Jen Bekman by Craig Damrauer.

Life etc

This time of the year always seems to get a little crazy, but I must admit I'm feeling it a bit more than usual this year. Everyone seems more frantic and on edge, and I just want to jump off and disappear into my own little QUIET world. What is it with the approach of Christmas and the apparently synchronised increase in general noise? Sigh.
Anyhoo- one thing that always relaxes me is looking at all the beautiful clever things that people out there are making while sitting in my nice comfy quiet room with only the hum of the computer to damage my ear drums.
The above is another lovely piccie from a lovely blog I found earlier...Vintage Moth/Down Abbie's Road although it could have been taken in my own garden today!

Generally not a fan of things that are too cute...but

...could not resist these ridiculously charming mice at Mouses Houses.
I mean really.
(Thanks for the link Marijka!)

Garden blackboard

This is a cement chair in my backyard that I mosaiced the top of last year, but as we often sit in low-slung butterfly chairs just near it, I found myself unhappy looking at the exposed cement on the side.
I am also currently going through a phase of painting everything that stands still long enough with blackboard paint...so guess what happens next....


And a Japanese Zen Buddhist quote from Issa completes the picture.

Car free roads- if only...

Loved this print by Tatsuro Kiuchi sent to my by Jen Bekman.