A Year of Good Things 5/366

Well so far I haven't been doing such a great job of posting everyday and maybe  I need to let myself a little bit off the hook on that one. As long as I keep you updated then it's ok to be a day late with a post. So every now and again you'll get a double whammy of 'good' on one day, that is as long as you don't miss me too much if I miss a day...... but I'm sure you'll be fine! 

5/366

"what no photo" you say in utter astonishment, "not even a dodgy one!" Well day 5's good thing is a little different, it's quite simply that after a long day at work I turned the computer off and gave my best friend my full attention last night. Normally I sit on the sofa with my laptop beside me scanning the internet and my emails. On the nights I'm not sewing I'll check on facebook countless times, hang out in the etsy forums, check my email, and in the last week update my blog. That's fantastic when I'm home alone cause with all my online friends I'm never lonely, but not so great when my best friend is home and he's trying to talk and I'm trying to type!! So last night, I sensed that my friend needed a little more than my attention in between forum comments and websites, so I briefly checked cyberspace when I got home and then I turned the computer off and spent some quality time with my friend.

I cooked us a really tasty meal and then we watched a documentary on SBS and had a lively but agreeable discussion about it.

So not only was this a good thing for my friend but it was also a good thing for me.

Berry Smoothie

Can't say that I managed to achieve much today, it was too hot but in an attempt to cool down I created this delicious Berry Mango smoothie.

Here's what's in it: frozen mango cheek, frozen mixed berries, orange and passion fruit juice, coconut water and a dash of sparkling mineral water. All thrown into a jug and whizzed up with a stick mixer. It did the trick it cooled us down, but now writing this I'm fantasizing about it and may have to head to the kitchen to make another one.

A Year of Good Things 4/366

Day 4: 4/366

Eggs and Cheese, what's good about these?? Well today's good thing was my trip to the local farmers market this morning where I purchased this farm fresh tray of eggs from the local egg farm and 2 delicious pieces of locally produced cheese. I also purchased some amazing lemon tea from a local herbalist. Its always a good thing to support local producers.

A Year of Good Things 3/366

Day 3 : 3/366

This post is a little late, last night when I was feeling inspired and ready to post the internet went down! Perhaps it was the universe telling me that 11.45pm at night was way too late to be contemplating being online. But it as a hot and humid night and as sleep wasn't going to come easily I might as well have been doing something constructive! Anyway what was my good thing for day 3 you ask?

I did a good thing for my puppy...... seeing as it was hot and humid Charlie was feeling rather uncomfortable in her long coat... so she had a late night bath

this is charlie happily rolling about drying her face on the towel

looking slightly damp but somewhat happy with the cool down

A Year of Good Things

I've decided to be a 'Do-Gooder' and join Pip Lincolne from Meet Me at Mikes in  her 'Year of Good Things' project.

Here's what it's all about

"Every day of this year, do a Good Thing. It might be something good for yourself. It might be something good for your pet. It might be something good for a stranger, or your boyfriend or your wife or your child. It might be something good for your friend or the mailman or a neighbour or the lady at the bank. It's up to YOU.

The great thing about this project is that you already do a Good Thing every day for someone. I know that you do! We're just trying to slow things up a bit and take notice of the things you do."

You can even do a good thing for your local community or even the environment. Once you've noted your good thing you can document it on your blog, facebook page, your iphone, or even just your personal journal it's up to you. Pip explains it a bit better here

Pip is 11 days up on me on this project, but better late than never ... I'll start today.

I remembered that I did something good yesterday so today will be more than one Good Thing

Day 1: 1/366

Wednesday 11th January

After the recent fires in my town the Local Shire and SouthWest Catchments Group put together a brochure to educate people how to help our coastal vegetation recover form the fire. I work at a local resort and after discovering the brochure at the Shire Offices I thought it would be a great to have it available to help educate the tourists at this busy time of year. My sister kindly acquired some for me and yesterday I put them on display at the front of our brochure stand. so although a small thing it's a good thing as it's my part towards helping with recovery

So day 1 was good for the environment


Day 2: 2/366

Thursday 12th January 

When I got home from work I made my best friend and myself a yummy Nespresso 

That one was good for our taste buds and our tummies, and my friend really enjoyed it. We sat on the front porch pondering life while enjoying the wonders of Nespresso


and as a bonus good thing for the day........


Good thing 2.5/366

Today I left the lights off........ all day!!

It was a quiet day in the office so no one was ever really going to notice and it's actually quite light in there. It was my contribution to reducing our carbon foot print for the day...... and that's definitely a good thing

Mmmm wonder what 'Good Thing' I'll do tomorrow

Happy 2012

I know I'm a little late, but I've been having issues dealing with the fact that the new year is not only upon us but also past us ! And I'm sure I'm not the only one whose head is spinning wondering where 2011 went. So as a belated welcome to the New Year I thought I'd share with you my favourite photo from 2011

 and I'm guessing that it's absolutely no shock to you all that it's a photo of Charlie, but perhaps the most candid photo I've taken of her since she was a puppy.

In looking back on the year that was there are a couple of stand out moments......

#1- it was the year that our dear sweet Tootsie chose to move on from this world.

just 3 weeks short of her 15th birthday it was time to let her go. We miss our girl but we're so happy and thankful for all the wonderful years with her and the love that she gave us. 

#2 - Montage Collective was born and with my iheartcharlie label I had the opportunity along with some very crafty and talented friends to delight Perth shoppers with our wonderful creations, in a series of 'pop up' shops

these are some of my crafty creations on display in the first Montage 'Pop Up' shop in Fremantle.

#3 - I finally decided to join the rest of the world and get an iphone and now have absolutely no idea how I ever managed to live without it or the hipstamatic app.   

 

 And no surprises as to who my screen saver is ........

#4 - I had my very first 'iheartcharlie' stall at a market. Just prior to Christmas I was at the Margaret River Handmade market and had a great day for someone who is  very much learning about selling her wares in a market environment. Here's a couple of dodgy photos I took of my stall. I was a little nervous on the day and appear to have left all photographic skills at home, but they give you an idea of how I presented iheartcharlie to the market shoppers

and last but not least

#5 - At the end of November  along with the  rest of Margaret River I experienced the very real threat of losing my home to a bushfire. The fire came within  5km of the town site which was thank fully  saved by a wind change and some very savvy fire fighting. The true heroes of those days were the many volunteer and professional fire fighters. And while some families out on the coast did lose their homes and part of our coastline was decimated no human lives were lost.

 These photos are of the view from my work, looking west, at lunch time on Wednesday 23rd November the first day of the fire. I've recently learnt that when these pictures were taken 11 homes had already been lost

The coast line looks barren at the moment but some late rains have brought with them the start of the rejuvenation. It’s sad to see it now but with time the scars of the fires will be replaced with the lush green that our region is so well known for

 this photo is only a glimpse of the devastation. To the right at the back the once green River Mouth bush looks like a barren waste land, in the middle just jutting above the river line is what remains of the historic Wallcliffe House. Once home to the Bussell family it was one of the original homesteads in the area, it is now a burnt out shell. And to the right of where this picture was taken is where the homes were lost on the first morning. The fire skipped and jumped there are areas that are now barren and others that were spared.

And onward into 2012 we go...... after a year of good, bad and sad I'm looking forward to seeing what this year has to offer. 

So a happy belated New Year here's hoping that 2012 will be an exciting and rewarding year for us all.