Origami Cranes and A Depressed Baguette

First there was one.

Then a few more,

in varying sizes, and colours

 - and before we knew it,

Laura's origami cranes

were taking over our house!

Well, perhaps not the whole house,

but my part of the house.

The part where I put my teacup

twice a day to relax 

and read blogs or magazines.

So relaxing has become slightly less relaxing ...

* * *

And in case you think Laura's

the only one round here with clever fingers,

here's a sneak peek of Emily's health assignment,

a slideshow entitled 

"One Depressed Baguette".

Complete with little cut-out baguettes,

 furniture, scenery  ...

How cute is that???

* * *

So glad the craft gene was passed on to my girls ;-)

Busy August Days

Life has been busy.

Piano teaching, school assignments

church commitments,

Stampin' Up! plans and preparations,

and everyday busy-ness.

So much for my plans of painting our bedroom

or the fence this term.

But food must go on ;-)

In the last week we've enjoyed a

Pear Clafoutis

and a Carob Cake.

Both dairy-free, gluten-free and failsafe.

I'll post the recipes one of these days.

I'm enjoying the first of the freesias

and warm weather today.

And I've put some things on ebay, 

including the little Kokura Jugs above,

if you're interested.

And now it's time to run out the door 

to the next activity ...

Happy Giftgiving

Recently we celebrated two birthdays in our extended family.

Both of which involved my kind of shopping.

For my sister I found this suitcase in the Reject Shop

and filled it with baking goodies

including some caketoppers I made using Stampin Up! products.

 For Steve's sister (who loves patchwork, pink & blue and was turning 60)

I found a jelly roll in colours and patterns to suit,

(not an easy task as so many jelly rolls

feature bright modern fabrics)

and popped it in a cute box that she can use to store the fabric

once unrolled.

She was over the moon when she opened this gift and

ran around showing everyone what we had given her.

My sister had spotted the suitcases herself but hadn't bought one,

so she was happy too.

So I felt that for once everyone was happy.

And guess what?

I bought one of the suitcases for myself.

Because, unlike my sister, I couldn't resist ...

Friends & Flowers

Last Friday I enjoyed the visit of two good friends.

50% of my blog readership.

LOL

One I have known for a long time

and one who has gotten to know me through this blog.

They both brought flowers.

Violets

and jonquils.

One of them even smuggled in a baby possum!

A delicious diet-friendly lunch was 

contributed to and enjoyed by all,

and good conversation

was the order of the day.