Normal

It is Normal for me to have many projects going at one time.

Part of what I like to do is think up new ideas for upcycling items that would normally end up as land fill.

Last year I upcycled some coffee bean bags here.  The bags were used to propagate plants which I'm happy to say were later donated to a volunteer group and they were planted in a sensory garden for people with disabilities.  The garden had been destroyed in last year's devastating bush fires.

This year, I'm trying something new with the bags.  I have a huge supply of the black, silver lined bags. Mr Eggins, our coffee supplier has changed his bags now to a brown paper bag look, but still with the lovely silver lining.  I'm still playing with ideas so may show you some finished products later.  For now, here is my normal state of affairs on what is my desk.

Have a happy day, and thank you for visiting.

Mismatched Tea Cup Trio

I can't believe it's taken me this long to tell you about our Christmas tradition.

Is it February 2014 already?

Well, here goes anyway.

Since the publication of the first Guinness World Records edition of the year 2000 (previously published as the Guinness Book of Records)Son Number Three has received a copy under the Christmas tree from Santa. 

So, Christmas just gone makes it his 15th copy of the book and he still enjoys pouring over it during the month of January.

All our children are adults now, so we haven't fussed too much about the fact that no one else receives a surprise gift from Santa.  That is until the past few years...

Only because our Grand Daughter, Little Miss Six, is liable to pick the fact that only some people and not all, receive gifts from Santa.

You see, when Eldest Son was about eight years old, The Easter Rabbit brought everyone in our house a mug nestling an Easter egg; everyone that is, except me.

For mother's day the same year, Eldest Son gave me a beer stein.  (It was a weird gift to receive from him, since I loathe the taste of beer). When I asked him why he had made the purchase he said he bought me a mug because the Easter Rabbit had not left one for me.  What a silly Easter Rabbit!

So this year Santa left me a tea cup trio that I know for a fact cost the grand sum of three dollars...yes, three dollars.

The set comes in the regal colours of royal blue and gold, on white.  (I'm guessing the above is a George Jones & Sons mark).

Their shabbiness means I feel comfortable using them daily for my morning coffee...which has to be an affogato. 

To make an affogato, take a decent scoop of the best ice cream you can afford (or make your own; recipe here).

Over the ice cream, pour a double shot of espresso coffee, freshly made.  I like to allow my ice cream to melt a little before enjoying.

We purchase our coffee from here / here   

Well, as you can see, the cup proclaims its royalty, since it's a Royal Albert cup.

Poor Santa, he must have been in a bit of rush to pick these up and not realised his mistake...after all, I think they're a pretty good match don't you?

(Whispering: I think Santa made his purchase here or perhaps at the Markets because Peppa Loves Vintage also loves to visit the Glenbrook Rotary Markets once a month on the 3rd Saturday).

Linking to Terri's Tea Cup Tuesday.

M.I.A. 'Cause Life is O.T.T. - A.T.M. #2

Another task I set myself while M.I.A. was to propagate some herbs which will be donated to Blue Mountains residents that have had their gardens damaged or destroyed in the recent fires.

Mr Honey Pie is addicted to coffee.  What other way can I put it?  Luckily we have a great coffee enthusiast that delivers freshly roasted coffee to our door as required!

As a result we have endless bags that once held the aromatic beans.  Being the hoarder that I am, and the committed up-cycler I decided to put them to good use.

After slicing the tops off so that they are nice and straight (this is important....I used a ruler), I folded them down about three or four times to give me a nice sturdy container.

Using my Silent Setter, I punched holes for draining.

Voila!

Even in our heat wave conditions, they continue to do very well, except for the sage which I always find a difficult herb to grow.

Have you ever used an unusual container to grow plants? What was it?