Villa Maria speaks to me

not a day goes by without me knowing that I love living here. I feel blessed. it is like I have just finally slotted into the life that I am meant to be living, here. it is all coming together. nicely.

funny thing is that when I moved, I bought alot of my 'things' with me.. favourite curtains and alot of furniture, which bit by bit has been sold or swapped for something different.
- decorating Villa Maria has taken on a life of its own. it is as if the house is telling me what to do

My previous home, Inglewood was a true mountains cottage & I had it decorated in a kind of comfy, english look..

when we first bought this house, I had plans of creating a french look with an eccentric twist here at Villa Maria

but as I play house here, Villa Maria is taking on an Italianate look - vintage of course.

lots of gold is coming in to play.. lots of deep reds, tassels and gaudy pieces of furniture. accessories which most people shudder at. but you know, it is coming together really well. I love it.

op-shops have taken on a new purpose. with us finding our love of treasure hunting once again [I think both Joe & I had become stale in our passions of hunting for stuff we loved] but now, we have that excited gleam in our eyes as we spy yet another second hand junk shop or op shop on our travels.

I am looking for lace curtains which I absolutely abhorred in the 70's.. I have found a few and the best thing is, it seems I am the only one with a passion for this vintage italian look that is making itself known to me.. and things are very cheap. take for instance a lovely vintage curtain for $3. absolute bargain.

ebay has been fun.

I have found some gold velvet chairs and re-possessed a gold and glass table that I had given away.

I have swapped my large yellow floral lounge for a small, pink velvet one. seagrass table has been sold and in its place i have bought a chunky wooden table which to my surprise has crosses engraved in the top.

I have even swapped my antique bed quilt for a 1960's velvet fringed bedspread.. bought on ebay from a woman whose mother in law bought it with her when she migrated to Australia from Italy, in 1960. it has been stored in a linen cupboard since then and never been used. like new. ...
I have even bought an old ceramic italian holy water font to hang in my entrance, near my altar.

the garden too. I have planted olive trees along the nature strip. lots of geraniums are going in along the rock wall, to spill their bright blooms down over. a large urn sits in the corner of a garden, holding geraniums whose ancestors belonged to my great grandmother.. aromatic herbs are planted amidst the garden.. hopefully to give of their strong perfumes in the heat of summer... even the garden is taking on a life of its own.
yes, I truly love Villa Maria.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Parsley,
sage,
rosemary,
and thyme..
I have been taking time each day to try and sit in contemplation, to spend time with God.. and it is helping my spiritual life. I feel alot more settled than i have done in the past weeks..

spring is certainly upon us here in Springwood.. my new home town. The bluebells are out, many of them. Azaleas are blooming, birds playing their funny mating games.

the front fence is painted and I have a garden along the front ~ planting sedum Autumn Joy, english lavender [I was going to plant italian lavender, but the english is alot more sturdy] & lots of colourful geraniums. we have started work on the courtyard in the front garden - many pots, lots of herbs and eventually a vine covered 'secret place'

around the garden, I have been planting herbs in readiness for summer & salads.

worms are making their way to the garden at Villa Maria and the earth is teeming with them now. there are two blackbirds who greet me every morning and just this afternoon while Joe & I were working side by side in the garden, a pair of magpies came to visit.. the first since we bought the home... every day I say to myself 'I love living here at Villa Maria'

yesterday. a day in the city ~ [with some trivia links]

[Central station Sydney. Our mountains trains depart and arrive from here. we get special trains for the mountains.]

my friend Peter, supports a charity called the Lantern Club [which raises money for the Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children] and he has been trying for many years to get me to join.. but with my children little, I just didn't have the time ..

years went on and I became a grandma & little Harry was born just over 2 yrs ago :Introducing Harry.. he was just beautiful

[and of course, still is]. Harry - August 2010

Harry was slow in talking and after quite a few tests, he was found to have a very slight hearing problem and was fitted with hearing aids to help him identify certain syllables... He will wear these for sometime, while his hearing is re-trained.
I love all my grandsons but well, when I look at Harry, it is like looking into my own self. he is very much like me to look at when I was a child. we have a bond.
when we found out about this little hearing problem, I looked up and said to God. 'well, if it takes this to make me join the Lantern Club, then I suppose this will be my pet charity'.. and I joined.

yesterday, dutch husband & I, went to Sydney. on the train.

standing on one of the stations at Central ~ I remember coming here with my Nan, dressed in my best clothes. Ladies would be dressed in their finery. Hats and gloves were a must when going to the city.. times have changed and people are dressed so differently ~ I wore a vintage green cardigan. tights and black skirt. lovely rosary beads around my neck, sent to me from a friend.

to a very lovely, swish hotel

[The Menzies]
for the annual luncheon fundraiser for the Lantern club.. we travelled by train with a lovely group of *older* ladies, some in their late 80's!!

& sat with ladies we didn't know.. chatting and making new friends

Joe & I had alot of fun. He has recently retired and we chatted as we travelled along. I told him that I wanted to take some photos for my blog and then we got to talking of maybe oneday a month, coming to Sydney by train and exploring. there is so much to see in the city. China Town. markets. Parks & museums. Art gallerys. and of course the famous Harbour bridge..

so many adventures to come......
[click on photos to enlarge]