My Weekend & Post Of The Month Club

Posted by Happy Homemaker UK

Hello, my chickadees!
{Chickadees are called 'tits' here,
but 'Hello, my tits!' just doesn't have the same ring :) }

How are you?

Our weekend was filled with my daughter's birthday celebration

and participating in the Big Garden Birdwatch

Robin in our garden during Big Garden Birdwatch

I grabbed a cup of tea and we played Yahtzee 

but not for long

as we broke into 'Ooh! Did you see that one?! Look!'

and busily made checkmarks on our RSPB birding sheet

Robins, carrion crows, feral pigeons, jackdaw, nuthatch, wren, and ring-necked parakeets

were our counted feathered friends for the day

I was glad we were to count for only an hour, for we could have watched all day!

It really was exciting :)

- plus a nice distraction from my daughter beating the pants off me in Yahtzee -

Photo from recent weekend walk

Although we are in the middle of winter,

it has been mild so far with just a few days of frost

The grass is green, and the daffodils are already coming up!

{ Shhh, don't tell anyone the winters are really mild here
or everyone will move here :) }

Life for me is busy at the moment with school commitments and moving locally in a month(!)

So it is nice to take a little time and journal part of my day here

***

Okay, now for Post Of The Month Club
Every blogger is welcome to join :)

Jump in with your favorite post from January
and link it in below

If you have a chance, stop by a few others to say 'hello'
Such an excellent opportunity to meet other friendly folks in the blogsphere,
don't you think?

I'll be reading every single one :)

- all photos by me -

Linking to: January Photograph Club

Whitewash

I'm sitting here, writing this post in what should be a hot, steamy Queensland summer, and instead it's been cold and raining for days. And to make matters worse, there have been next to no fabulous white beach houses to ogle - totally depressing. So I was very excited to find this gem. It would make the perfect beach getaway, and although it's a little sparsely furnished for my taste, the bones are very nice indeed.

 Sandstone...my favourite

Love the exposed beams and vj boards

Simply elegant

I'd love to get my hands on this and really zhush it up - I think some accessories and artwork (no surprises there) would take this from good to great. What do you think - maybe you like it clean and completely clutter free, or do you think it could benefit from a few well-placed pretties?



images courtesy realestate.com.au

A Woman's Right To Choose

Posted by Happy Homemaker UK

Birth Announcements by Scriptiva Paper Studio

In October last year, 

it was announced that in the UK 

women will be able to choose whether to deliver their baby

vaginally or by Cesarean section

Through my American eyes, I just could not wrap my head around this one

Generally speaking,

American women would not opt for this surgical procedure unless recommended by an OBGYN -

with its longer recovery and inherent risks as with any surgery

In the US

it would seem irresponsible to completely leave it up to the woman to choose

to have an elective cesarean if it was not medically indicated

(excluding subsequent births after a C-section)

But talking to English women, 

100% of them in my little poll are supportive of the availability of this choice
But why?

I have been chewing on this one for a while...
Hmm...

For sale by Bye Bye Birdie England

1. FEAR & CONTROL

Having not delivered a baby in the UK, I am no expert on the NHS system. But it appears the only 'known' on your birth plan is your hospital (which may be assigned, but at least known ahead of time). You are unlikely to have met your midwife previously. And naturally the looming unknown of each childbirth can create a fair amount of fear. So I can see having a planned C-Section could bring some comfort and would help organize your life around the birth. I get that.

2. 'TOO POSH TO PUSH'

...a mantra becoming popular among the affluent

3. MAKE IT OFFICIAL

A quarter of births here are delivered via Cesarean section (I'm not sure how many of those are elective), so now they are officially creating an option for what doctors have been quietly persuaded to do by patients anyway.

4. WHY NOT?

Is it any different from other elective surgery, including a knee replacement or cosmetic surgery? It is the woman's body after all, and she should ultimately make the decision once she knows the facts and risks.

5. TOO NATURAL

Most births are delivered by midwives. Some mums feel the natural and holistic methods of midwives are forced upon them. (i.e. might not induce until 42 weeks)

Retro Luggage available via This Vintage Girl

As an aside, items listed below always are provided for labor and delivery patients in US hospitals. UK patients are advised to pack the following for their stay in the NHS hospital:

- 2-3 gowns/clothes to wear during labor/delivery

- towels and soap

- 24 super absorbent sanitary napkins

- 5 or 6 pairs of underwear/'pants'

- diapers/nappies

- baby blanket and hat

It is also worth noting that toilets and bathrooms are often down the hall to be shared with other patients. And don't be surprised when your recovery is in a postnatal ward room shared with 5 other moms with newborns.

Another interesting difference is if you have a doctor, he is likely to be referred to as a 'Mister [Last Name]', not 'Doctor'. 'Mr.' is used for highly specialized doctors, so it is a good sign if that is his title. If he is a 'Dr.', he is not as highly trained. Women specialists are referred to as 'Miss [Maiden Name]' even if they are married.

And lastly, the hospital can provide a gas mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide (Entonox) through a mask or nose piece to laboring patients to make pain more bearable. This would have been a great option for me (and for my husband!) during my labor. I think this is similar to 'laughing gas' in the US. Reportedly there are no side effects to the baby, while the mother may feel lightheaded, nauseous, and/or a loss of concentration (in which case discontinue use). Anyone else vote for this during labor in US hospitals? 

I'm curious as to your thoughts on this topic :)

I find it fascinating

Post Script:

- Thank you Meg, for adding husbands can't stay overnight in the hospital with postpartum wives in the UK

- Unlike the US, babies are not granted UK citizenship just for being born in England. A baby will be given American citizenship, not UK citizenship, if born to American parents in the UK.

More medical posts:
The Dentist
More On The NHS

Sources: NHS, The Telegraph 

One house, three ways, two magazines and a painting

Confused by the blog title? Of course you are....let me explain.

Ever since I started writing this blog, I've loved to post about beautiful homes. There is a gorgeous old Queenslander here in Brisbane that was listed for sale after a complete overhaul. A short time later, it was on the market again, with a completely different look (you can check out the full post here). Well, as luck would have it, it's now the home of our very own Melinda Boundy, of Lily G. Of course, it's looking better than ever now - so much so that it's just been featured in not one, but two magazines.

 The above images are from the new Queensland Homes Gold Annual 2012, and were snapped by photographer John Downs (a really nice guy who was kind enough to send me these pics - thanks so much John).

I'm thrilled to say that the lovely Melinda (who has been one of my biggest supporters, and was the very first to stock my original artwork) commissioned an original Butterfly painting to hang in her living room. It's similar to 'The Monarchist', with some aqua accents to compliment her scheme. Here's a close-up...

How lovely is this frame Melinda chose? And by floating the paper on the mount, those lovely deckled edges were highlighted perfectly. 

Want to see more (and let's face it, who wouldn't?). Well, grab yourself a copy of this month's Australian Women's Weekly:

photography by Simon Kenny, words by Catherine Shields

Looks great, doesn't it? No wonder the glossies are knocking her door down for a chance to feature it. And how great it is to see the same home, decorated so differently? I know which is my favourite, of course :)

Hope you all had a great day yesterday - the sunshine was short-lived and we're back to rainy and miserable today. Oh, and for those who've asked - I've finished the book and it's a cracker. I'll be back next week with a little review, so pop back in for the full rundown.

Have a great weekend, 

Happy days

The sun is shining (finally!), the prawns are chilling, the barbie is ready to go, and I'm taking five minutes to just sit. And relax. Nice. I've got a latte in my favourite Pantone mug, a slice of carrot cake, and a lovely new book to read:

Doesn't get much better than this. And the book? 'Conversations with Creative Women' by Tess McCabe;

I'll let you know all about it once I've finished, but so far it's fabulous. It's an insight into the world of the creative blogger/designer/crafter/artist - and the interviewees are all Australian. You can find out more by visiting the website here.

Happy Australia Day to all my Aussie friends - I'm off to make the most of the sunshine while it lasts!

Kate + Flo

Great design really does stand the test of time, and Australia's very own Florence Broadhurst is a perfect example. Flo is recognised for her use of bold, vibrant colour and graphic prints, and local company Signature Prints has been instrumental in bringing her work to the forefront. Now, thanks to a collaboration with Kate Spade, the rest of the world will soon know what a talent she was:

 I particularly love the jewellery - my lovely sister bought me some Kate Spade goodies on a recent trip to New York, and I'd love to add these babies to my new collection :)

 Brad Goreski is on the Kate Spade team too - love him

One of my dearest friends has just ordered a Florence Broadhurst rug from Cardry's. She chose 'Japanese Floral' (as seen below) in a custom colour combination of red and tangerine - a striking combination and definite statement piece.

I love the 'Cranes' design, and how beautiful is it in pink? Drop-dead gorgeous.

And don't think it's all bright and bold - pale and pretty is equally gorgeous:

Two of my all-time favourite designers, working together. What's not to love about that?

Botanics In The Churchyard

Posted by Happy Homemaker UK

 'I Spy' in a village churchyard:

A valuable ecosystem

It is common to find old yew trees in old churchyards

in central and southeast England, the Lake District, and Wales

due to well-draining chalk and limestone soils

Slow growing and long lived,

yews have been found to be older than the churches they protect

possibly because they were planted on old religious sites where churches were erected later

The majority of the world's ancient yews is found in Britain,

some still growing after 1000 years

These evergreens were
sacred to the Druids and Celtics,

a common source of myths and legends,

used for making longbows during the Middle Ages,

and always a good food source for birds

One of the curious things about yews is they have an unusually small cone

surrounded by what looks like a red berry (an 'aril' to be exact)

which is the only part of the tree that is not poisonous

Another 'I Spy' is lichens on gravestones

Lichens take water and nourishment not from soil, but from air

As many gravestones are made of limestone,

they create an ideal habitat for these little cutie-pie plants 

as limestone neutralizes acidic pollution

Because headstones are rarely cleaned and graves are rarely disturbed, 

churchyards inadvertently protect some endangered lichens

 So much life in a village churchyard :)

- all photos by me -

Sources: AncientYew.org, Wikipedia, Country Living Magazine Dec 2011, The Country Life Book of the Natural History of the British Isles pub 1980

***

It's Back!

Post Of The Month Club

January 31st

Hope to see you there :)

Big Garden Birdwatch

Posted by Happy Homemaker UK

Mini Binder for sale by Journal Junky

I'm so excited

I just registered to participate in the next RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

over the weekend of January 28 and 29

I feel just one dot more English :)

I'm instructed to grab a pen, download the bird ID sheet, 

and spend an hour watching the birds in my backyard

And get this - 

They invite me to grab a cup of tea, a favorite biscuit {cookie}, and put my feet up (!)

as I note how many bird species are seen in my garden {not flying over} within an hour

The kids are enthusiastic, getting our bird feeder stocked and ready

With the results, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds {RSPB}

gets a snapshot of bird numbers in each region

Last year over 600,000 people took part in Big Garden Birdwatch in 2011

counting over 10 million birds

Bird Counting Sheet (partial)

House sparrows have been the most counted bird for the last eight years, 

with an average of four seen per garden

In 2011, starlings were number two, and blackbirds took third place in participating gardens

Want to join me? 

Get more information on the RSPB website

Fancy butterflies? 

The public will participate again in the biggest butterfly count in the world this summer

See details of the Big Butterfly Count here

{ tweet, tweet my birdies! }

Rested, refreshed, and ready to go

Hi everyone, how are we all? Hope you had a wonderful holiday season - I've had a lovely break and now it's back into work mode and time to tackle all the projects I've been planning. Throughout the holidays, it's been busy as usual around here - a whirlwind of exam results, graduations, university applications, job interviews, birthdays....and that's just the kids. Exhausting! I'm looking forward to getting back to work - I really need the break.

My first job is to completely redesign my studio space. As I've mentioned before, I'm very messy when I'm creating. Try as I might, I just can't seem to keep everything tidy and organized. So I'm kicking off the year with a plan - storage, storage, and more storage! Of course, that involves research, and I've been collecting ideas, images, and inspiration wherever I can.

Look at that light! And I must find one of those trolleys - perfect.

all images via Pinterest

You can find these pics and more on my 'Studio Spaces' Pinterest board. And if you find some fabulous examples of stylish (and organised) offices and studios, please send them my way! I'll be back soon with an update of my own studio, as soon as it's a little more photo-worthy.

See you then,