And a DRUM ROLL from me

My gorgeous GORGEOUS beads have arrived safely from my partner Adlinah Kamsir in Singapore.  Adlinah posted a really tantalizing distorted photo of them on her blog and I nearly went insane trying to figure out what was there.  I even thought at one point she might have changed the colours in the photo as well just to tease me further ...

but no, the colours are the same and so beautiful ...  And so beautifully packaged too along with some sweet munchies to chew on as I bead.  What a lovely thoughtful thing to do.

I will cringe as she opens her beads from me ... beautifully packed in ... boring bubble wrap.

So here is my BeadSoupBlogParty beads and I can't wait to get started with all these lovely goodies - no less than 3 lovely focals and the clasp is a vintage pearl box clasp.  Heaven!

Will keep you posted as the saying goes :)

Ooo, ooo, ooo

Arrived home tonight to find a card in the letterbox saying a parcel was being held for me at the main Post Office cos it needed a signature for delivery ...

JUST GOT TO BE MY BEADS from the lovely Ally at www.dreamstruckdesigns.blogspot.com. 

Power on again now but to be off for another 2 hours tomorrow.  Off to bed now, will post more tomorrow when brain has caught up with tired eyes lol

Ahhh, the best laid plans of mice and men .....

Due to kitchen renovations our power supply has been on and off in the past two weeks more times than I care to remember - and it's about to go off again for another three hours - THEN ***hopefully*** it will stay on and I can start posting again :)

So till then ...

Have been asked to re-post this - a poem I wrote a few years ago.

Yesterday's gone – diminishing shapes gauzy and greyed

Tomorrow exists - composed, but not yet played.

Wake with me  

a purple dawn whispering

softly across the silver sea

Golden fingers stretching sensuously

across the sky as an expectant sun

pokes one eye lazily over the horizon

(as if to re-assure herself)
before, in a burst of glory she expels us

from the womb of night.

Fly with me,

I will please you with

diamonds dancing on spider webs

as sunbeams play with the dewdrops

The sweet smell of earth refreshed

after a midnight shower 

Untamed beaches where gulls and spirits soar

and the surf sings to the sand

See new born foals on new found feet

rainbows and flowers

a mountain peak

Cry with me,

I will shame you with

factory ships wallowing in bloody bays

as smiles are slashed from cetaceans' faces 

Death traded for dollars

Political puppets growing fat

on corruption and cocktail parties

Slums, breeding grounds for

race hatred, rats, and kids

fixing in doorways - apathetic stares

no one caring who knows or knowing

who cares.

Lie with me,

I will cover you with a mantle 

of twilight studded with diamonds and destiny  

Tranquility; late summer barbecues

stepping stones and skipping stones across a river  

 Children’s laughter bubbling out of wet togs

and into warm pj’s

Sit on a beach and stare at a sunset

red as the firelight that flickers

on your face my friend

No need for words

The ART of Cooking in a BEING RENOVATED KITCHEN

When I said, “Let’s do it” a couple of months ago – was I having a mental block? OBVIOUSLY !!!
Why had I forgotten the last time I tried to cook and barely coped without a working kitchen for 6 days? Right, it WAS 17 years ago, but you’d think something so challenging would stay in your mind … NO!!!
Perhaps akin to not remembering the pain of childbirth LOL.

To anyone who ‘knows’ about shifting house they’ll understand how general stuff can fit into about 33 large boxes. Linen, (bulky) – about 15 boxes. Kitchen stuff – pots, pans, bowls, utensils, cutlery, food etc – easy peasy, about 9 boxes …

That is unless you’re foodie! - 9 boxes – HAHAHAHA!!! Double that at least, triple it even with all the extra “essential stuff” and all the “extra essential TOYS” one’s accumulated over the past decade or so.

So in order to keep the kitchen going throughout the renovation I had a grand plan utilizing the slow cooker, the BBQ (thank goodness for summer), an electric grill, the microwave and the laundry tub for washing up.

Food storage - I’d planned for all the oils and vinegars in one place – pots and pans in another, herbs and spices in another, canned stuff in another, etc etc. And I could cope without most of the whizz bang toys (very temporarily of course LOL ) …

Last night most of the cupboards and drawers were emptied. I cooked a pork rack in the oven with baked veges (enjoying the last use of the current oven). I should have been forewarned – the cutlery tray (taken out of it’s drawer earlier that day and put on a handy table) was buried under an electric drill, a tape measure and a tea towel covered with a brown sawdust type extremely questionable wet ooook.

To be continued …