A Holiday Drive

DH hired a car so we could go around at our leisure. And I loved being the carefree passenger with a camera! From Slovenia we drove to Croatia.

It was a ride with breathtaking scenery. The advantage of traveling like this is stopping whenever something grabs your eye. Every time you head out somewhere it’s a potential find. 

Like this old flour mill. Isn’t it something? I couldn’t wait to get out and have a look

Here’s the old building made of stone. And farm workers represented in carved wood.

The best thing about being away is realizing how wonderful the ordinary is. With the sun setting over the hill, we could have been anywhere. But we were right there. And I’m so glad too.

The Pleasure of Detail

Here I am in Maribor Town, Slovenia, enjoying a harvest installment

What really took my eye though, was the skilled craftsmanship on the buildings

 These detail on these doors is superb. Unfortunately Google won't allow me to flip the pictures the right way around, but it's too nice not to show...even sideways.




google wont flip these pics, they are doors!

  

Look at these motifs….wonderful…

I can feel some designs coming on…

Yuletide Mysteries

Over the years I’ve noticed that some household happenings only ever seem to take place during Christmas.

Take these tree lights below as an example. I remember winding them perfectly around a cardboard roll so I could easily unwind and use them this year- without any tangles or fuss.

However

This morning I opened the box to find this wiry tumbleweed waiting for me, knots, twists and all. It’s even collected some baubles along the way. Where has it been these last 365 days? What has it been doing? And where have the extra bulbs gone?

The other expected but nonetheless unpredictable happening…is the breaking of something. This is a biscuit gun. It’s brand new. I’ve had it a year but as it’s only used at Easter and Christmas, it still feels brand new.

It’s also newly broken. The top screw down cap simply split for no reason. My last biscuit gun (you can read about it here) also broke last Christmas, but I wasn’t’ so annoyed that time as it had lasted 30 productive years. I won't be buying another as this is the only brand I have seen around and I am not impressed with it's performance. I think it will be old fashioned biscuits this year!

I can't be the only one...

What's Your Festive Mystery?

WOW: Making Room

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Today I am making room for Christmas. I still have our Christmas Table Cloth to make…so to create that I will need desk space. It's so disheartening to have to stop work...to make room. It signals that a major clear out is due. Or overdue.

This is what my table looks like most of the time. By lunchtime I expect to have it spic and span. *Wish me luck*

For those of you making Red December, this is the fabric I recommend. It's Robert Kaufman and the range is 'Marbleous'. Red is difficult to photograph but I hope this pic gives you a good idea of the print. The intensity is consistent whilst still having enough change through it to look lively. Just what you want from red fabric!

For my borders in the Red December pics in the post below, I used a local Quilter's Muslin from Emma Louise (Victorian Textiles) from her range called Holiday Red. Also excellent.

SacherTorte in the Sacher Cafe

I love SacherTorte. I think it's the best chocolate cake in the world and every year we fly one in from Vienna for my DDs birthday (yes, they deliver!).

But it's nicer on location...

And for those of you who'd like to make it, well here's the official postcard recipe. I will definitely be trying this one out for myself!