Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A Tribute to the Golden Age of Cinema




I have just been reading Maureen O'Hara's Autobiography. Below is a brief overview of her life. I do love some of her old movies... I need to revisit some of them.... I particularly loved her with John Wayne..... they just seemed like a perfect match...
It was funny as I was reading it I could hear it as she would speak it if you know what I mean in her Irish accent...
I am a fan of most of the old movies... Even though you watch them and some of them are just so lame to us now they just have that olden day charm...


A Tribute to Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara was born in Ranelagh, Ireland, on August 17, 1920, as Maureen FitzSimons, the second oldest child of Charles and Marguerita FitzSimons. Though she was quite a tomboy as a small child, by the age of six she began to develop an interest in performing, so her mother sent her to "elocution" school. At 14, she was accepted to the famed Abbey Theater, and won just about every acting award her country offered.
While training at Abbey, Maureen was asked to do a screen test at Elstree Studios. It wasn't at all to her liking, but after Charles Laughton and his partner Eric Pommer, who owned a film company Mayflower Pictures, saw it, she was offered a 7-year contract with their company. After small parts in two films, she co-starred with Laughton in "Jamaica Inn," filmed in London, and then went to America to star in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" at RKO studios. It was so successful that her contract was bought out by RKO. At the young age of 19, Maureen had starred in two major motion pictures with Charles Laughton, and was on her way to stardom.
Such was the impact of her red hair and beautiful eyes that Herbert T. Kalmus, inventor of the Technicolor process, would never hesitate to render a color commitment to a studio if he knew Maureen would be starring in the film! Kalmus used Maureen's image and coloring to literally sell his invention. She even became known as the "The Queen of Technicolor" after a series of flamboyant costume epics.
In 1941, John Ford cast her in "How Green Was My Valley," which began a friendship between Ford and O'Hara that resulted in four more films with him: "Rio Grande," "The Quiet Man," "Wings of Eagles" and "The Long Gray Line." Ford reportedly described her as "the best bloody actress in Hollywood." Her appearance with
John Wayne in "Rio Grande" also began a longtime relationship with the larger-than-life actor who easily matched her own powerful onscreen presence. They made five films together. She also starred in multiple pictures with Brian Keith, Jimmy Stewart, Anthony Quinn, Tyrone Power, Cornel Wilde, and John Payne, the latter in the beloved "Miracle on 34th Street." She had a reputation as a true professional.
Maureen "retired" from the movie business in the mid-sixties, but continued to appear on television through the 1970's, where she was able to showcase her singing talents. In 1968 she married General Charles Blair, a famous aviator, and in 1973, after making the TV movie "The Red Pony" with Henry Fonda, began a career as a full-time wife. She also helped her husband manage a commuter sea plane service in the Caribbean. After General Blair was killed in a plane crash in 1978, Maureen was elected CEO and President of Antilles Airboats, and became the first woman President of a scheduled airline in the USA. She now lives in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. She came out of retirement in 1991 to appear with John Candy in "Only The Lonely," in 1995 to do a made-for-TV movie called "The Christmas Box," in 1998 in another TV movie entitled "Cab to Canada," and "The Last Dance," in 2000.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Creatures

Check out the pretend eyes



Amazing detail












Check out this caterpillar with fork tongue or feelers (not sure)that I discovered on my poor little lemon tree this morning....
Aren't creatures great and small amazing....How can anyone say there is no God.. Look at the detail God puts into the tiniest creatures. And we humans have individual DNA's doesn't that blow you away .... that there is not one of us the same?
I love just staring at flowers. When you think about it God went to a lot of trouble for us to enjoy our surroundings so much variety in creation...Thank you God ....I see your hand on my life and all creatures great and small....... Genesis 1v24 "And God said. Let the Earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds livestock, creeping things, and (wild) beasts of the Earth according to their kinds ..... And it was so!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Kath's Birthday








" Happy Birthday Kathryn"
Saturday we celebrated my daughter in laws birthday...We had a great time together.



It is always good to get your family together in the one place..



As you know when they grow up it is often hard for you to always be together for Christmas and birthday celebrations so we have to learn to enjoy it when we have it..






Kathryn is Canadian and all her family are in Canada so we realise how difficult it is for her especially at Christmas and Birthday celebrations.....



I can't take the credit for this cake, My son Troy's friend Mat made these beautiful gourmet muffins with Ferraro Rocher chocolates on top... Kathryn is a great cook herself (She follows her family tradition on with the art of baking) We need to make sure our daughters continue to bake and cook because otherwise it will become a lost art like letter writing..... she made a great ice cream cake which went perfectly with these chocolate muffins.

































































Sunday, November 16, 2008

My Kitchen











Can't you smell the sweet lavendar fragrance? Speaking of
fragrance the bible says we are a sweet fragrance. I pray that our fragrance is fresh and full of God's mercy and grace..<><
2 Corinthians 2 V 14 & 15
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in
triumph (as trophies of Christ's victory) and through us
spreads and makes evident the frangrance of the
knowledge of God everywhere.
For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ (which exhales)
unto God (discernible alike) among those who are being saved and among
those who are perishing..





Love these French inspired prints and tile. I wasn't sure I liked the kitchen colour when we first moved here but it has grown on me. We had a very country kitchen before in cream and oak benches so it was quite a change. I love the lavender prints against the colour. The colour changes in different light.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Dinner Set and Dresser














This is the Dinner Set that I found at Bloomhills second hand shop. It is a setting for 6, with Two oval platters. It has soup and dessert bowls but no bread and butter plates?. Someone told me it must be very old because a long time ago they didn't make bread and butter plates? It just has made in Japan on th bottom. I love the pink an the delicate design.
I also love my Kitchen dresser. It was in a gift store as part of the store with items on it for sale and I asked the store owner if she would sell it to me... I do love it so these two things are some of my favourite things.
I need some tuition on how to down load my photos and more importantly placement and I seem to have trouble being able to put my text where I would like to etc I will have to speak with my daughter in law because it frustrates me. Also if someone could tell me how you put text on your photos like Sarah from a Beach Cottage?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Sailor Boy Date

I have decided to do some of the things I love around my home after reading Lora's Blog from "My Blessed Life"http://myblessedlife-lora.blogspot.com. I will endeavour to do one a day over the next week or so. I love my date sailor boy that was given to me for my 50th Birthday by a friend from church.. I try to keep up with the date but sometimes it's like my devotions and quiet time a little random..sometimes a week has gone by and poor sailor boy is sitting on a week ago. Blessings Sharonxx <><

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Decorate a Christmas Tree

I love this idea from the Notebook magazine for a Gardenia Christmas tree. The only problem is Gardenia's don't last long before they go brown and they are expensive,but they do smell delicious and I love the freshness of the flowers and the pine tree. It would make a great small tree for a centrepiece on the table.

Decorate a Christmas tree
By Jada Bennett


Make your home truly inviting on Christmas Day with the luscious scent of pine needles and gardenias. There’s no need for baubles or tinsel – our tree features a chic, natural alternative to Christmas decor. Gardenias flower in the warmer months, making them the ideal bloom for your tree, but you could do the same with roses or frangipani, or your favourite summer flower. Keep in mind that when displayed this way, these gorgeous blooms will look their best for just a day or so – their fleeting beauty and magnificent fragrance will make your special occasion all the more memorable.

What you will need

Gardenia flowers;
Floral wire;
Parafilm (green or white) or sticky tape;
Christmas tree;
Spray atomiser and water
Photography: Scott Hawkins Styling: Jada Bennett

Hints and Tips
...Quantity of flowers will be determined by size of tree - be adventurous and introduce a mixture of flowers...

How to...
1 Cut gardenia head leaving a little bit of stem. Using thin floristry wire, pierce the top of the stem just below the base of the flower. Bend the wire end down to meet the end of the stem.


2 Wrap the length of wire with parafilm (floristry tape) or substitute with sticky tape. This will bind the wire to the stem and create a false stem length to work with that is stable yet bendable


3 Insert flowers at intervals on your tree, or if you have a large Christmas tree, wrap the wires around branches to secure, being careful not to bruise the delicate flowers. Lightly spray with an atomiser.


Published in Notebook Magazine

Issue: December 2007

Monday, November 3, 2008

Melbourne Cup

Beautiful Head Bands


Well tomorrow is Melbourne Cup here in Australia. It's a horse race and its called "The race that stops a Nation"... and it's true people stop to watch from all over the nation. Business's shut down just to watch or even have the day or afternoon off. Its an excuse for the ladies to dress up in their finery and the milliners are busy making hats.... People place a bit even if the rest of the year they never do and all over the place people have sweeps where you are randomly picked a horse and everyone contributes so much...It's I guess a bit of fun although coming from a family where your father spent most of his money on the horses and then some I don't think it is a sport to get caught up in the world of gambling...

My daughter Laura made these great head bands last night. I think they are fabulous and worthy of Melbourne cup...I love the bird design... My daughters are both very artistic and I love their creative flair..

A few years ago my daughter Amy and a friend dressed up in old style for the Melbourne Cup and she drives a little 1963 mini so it fitted right in with the theme.. The little mini is bright pink and she is thinking of selling it soon as she is hoping to head over to the UK. It's been a faithful car for her and it runs on the smell of an oily rag so it's a shame she can't ship it over to the Uk so it can go back home to the mother land where it came from.
Boy it's almost as old as me and that's pretty old!
Some more of the girls handy work...
Love Sharon XX <><

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Great Hints from a great Aussie Magazine Notebook


http://www.homehints.com.au/newsletters/20081029.html Click on this link to view some great tips from the Notebook Magazine which is a very good read for women..

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

This is a fantastic Give Away

swing by the Beach Cottage GiveawayCheck this blog give away. It is extremely generous and I would love to win it myself but if you want a chance just leave a comment on the blog..

Sharon <><

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Tea Towel Apron


My daughter Amy made this cute apron from two tea towels. Just cut the shape and add the frill and you have a cute individual pretty apron. The white tea towel already had the trim on it so it was perfect and the frill is made from the cut off part.
There is such a choice of nice tea towels these days that you could use so I think we will be making more of these for gifts......Sharon xx <><

Bees a buzzin



Well Like I said yesterday I really haven't mastered any crafts but I had a little go at embroidering on some baby items a hat and singlet. It's not perfect but it turned out quite cute anyway. I will have to buy a book or check it out as I would love to do some more properly. Master the old bullion stitch...
I would also like to master the art of wrapping presents so they are a delight in themselves. Kathryn my daughter in law always wraps her presents so beautifully. This one was simple but I just loved the green paper with the touch of gingham which I think is a great combination. Her attached flower card just copied and printed on the computer. What a great idea!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Domestic Bliss


















I had a weekend of celebrations... a surprise party for a friend at church and a baby shower today and I did some baking and some embroidery which turned out reasonably well. I have always just touched on different crafts but not really mastered anything. I would say that I do prefer the art of hand sewing and quilting rather then machine sewing as I find it more relaxing. I am also a little like this with my baking a bit random I hardly bake these days but I do enjoy it when I do it but of course it is too tempting once I make that cup of tea not to eat what I baked.

I made these White Chocolate cupcakes from the above breast cancer magazine. It obviously sn't from the weight watchers magazine.... Lots of butter and chocolate. No wonder they went wn a treat.....



WHITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
Makes 24, {pep and cook time 1 Hour 30mins
Ingredients : Pink Paper Muffin Cases
250g Butter Chopped coarsely
150g white cooking chocolate, chopped finely
2 cups (250ml) milk
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
2eggs, lighty beaten
Icing Flowers, to decorate
Pink Butter Cream
250g butter, softened
3 cups (500g) icing sugar mixture (sifted)
1/3 cup (80ml) milk
few drops of pink food colouring


1. Preheat oven to 160/140C fan forced. Line muffin tins with paper cases.
2. Combine the butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in a medium saucepan; whisk over low heat, without boiling, until smooth. Cool 20 mins.

3.Whisk in the combined sifted flours then the extract and eggs. Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared pans. Bake cakes for about 35 mins or until cooked when tested . Cakes will be crusty on top. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

4. Pink Butter Cream: Beat Butter in medium bowl with electric mixer until white as possible. Gradually beat in half the icing sugar and all the milk. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula; beat in remaining icing sugar and food colouring.

5. Fill a piping bag fitted with a small fluted tube with the Pink Butter Cream. Pipe Pink Butter Cream on top of cakes and decorate with icing flowers.

Un-iced cakes suitable to freeze. White chocolate mixture suitable to microwave

Mine looked slightly different from the pictureBlessings Sharon xx <><
























Monday, October 20, 2008

At last







I don' believe it but it has taken me over a year to get started after the initial start last September 2007 after following my daughter in laws blogs. She is a great photogragher and I love to see what photos she has taken. then in April this year her parents Dot and Terry were out from Canada and we enjoyed a great time with them at the Whitsundays on an amazing Sailing ship called Pacific Sunrise (fully catered). I would totally recommend it to anyone travelling to the Whitsundays. http://www.whitsundaycoralcruises.com/ We have been sailing there a few times before but I'd have to say having it all catered is the way to go. The staff were amazing, the food sensational, and being a small sailing ship made it very intimate and friendly.




Dot shared her sister Judy's blog (My Front Porch) http://www.judys-front-porch.blogspot.com/which really got me hooked I have been following it ever since and so many others and sometimes you can sit for hours just pouring over what everyone else is up to on the other side of the world and so you get hooked. I guess the time factor has been one of the reasons for my hesitation because I know I will find it hard to do what I should be doing and choose to check into the blog world and lose myself but so what it is time well spent... as you are encouraged and lifted up in your spirit of womanhood from women with so much talent and love to share.. and Godly inspiration... so I have begun my journey to share my world, and realise that there is a much bigger world then my small space. I look forward to meeting you all soon!
Dot and Terry at the beautiful Whitsunday's It is famous for sailing as there are many islands and safe havens. You can go out to the great Barrier Reef and there are some wonderful snorkelling areas to see tropical fish.. and one of the most famous beaches in the world known for its white sand called Whitehaven Beach where many people get dropped off by seaplane to picnic or get married.