Have a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

I have to apologise for not posting anything lately, I've been busy baking, cooking, shopping, entertaining............ hope you'll understand. I need to tell you though I've been absolutely blessed by the heart-warming and touching messages you left on my blog, I want to thank all of you who have been so generous and beautiful and encouraging, you are a wonderful bunch for sure. Thanks heaps and heaps.I just want to wish everybody a very meaningful and safe Christmas and all the best for a wonderful new year, enjoy your time with family and friends, I'll see you again in the new year. I'll leave you with some of the sweet sweet cookies that my kids and their friends cut and iced. They had two of their school friends over and we sure had fun doing that together! Every design is unique.

Christmas is just around the bend.......

Hiya, I'm still here, all is well; just extremely busy, I'm sure you can relate. I was a bit slow to start decorating this year, but once I got started, I had so much fun. Here are some photos. I'll definitely get back to Tips for growing roses later, I haven't forgotten about them.

In the Lounge RoomA bit of playfulness for the kids' sake.............

Not forgetting roses as well...............

Roses used here: St. Cecilia (light pink) and Radio Times (medium pink) In the Living Room/Dining/ Kitchen area

See the red and green?

Have a great weekend, my dear friends!

Sweet As.........

I'm always on a look-out for recipes for good choc chip cookies, this recipe is close to the best so far, yummy as! I like my choc chip cookies a bit chewy and moist, not hard, I love walnuts in them, I made a portion without nuts as one of our lovely family members doesn't like nuts. Different strokes for different folks, as the saying goes. This is the recipe, the secret is out!! I don't mind sharing though!Choc Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp hot water 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups dark or milk choc chips
1 cup walnuts (optional) Directions:
(1) Preheat oven to 177C or 350F.
(2) Cream butter, white sugar and brown sugar together until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, choc chips and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto baking paper lined trays.
(3) Bake for 10 or 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are nicely browned.

Here are some "in-between deadheading and new blooms" roses, aren't they luscious? They fill the house with delicious scents as many of David Austin roses do.Some of you suggested I do reviews on my roses here, Funny how I've actually thought to do that even before; however I've tried not to be too technical with the roses information here on my blog, simply because I think you can get most information in roses' books and magazines; I follow those instructions and do my own trials and errors when it comes to growing roses. As for choosing which ones to suit your garden, THAT is always hard, I like most Austin roses. If I had to choose, I'd say all the ones I've got have been pretty good, some took longer to get established in the beginning; but don't give up just because they don't flourish in the first year, give them 3-4 years and you'll be able to tell whether they suit your area. Roses here:The Dark Lady(red), Jubilee Celebration(apricot/pink) and Jude the Obscure(apricot/yellow) Will share more tips on growing roses in another post.

Mixed Bunches

Haven't posted anything all week, it's about time I did! In the mood for mixed coloured roses today, when they are mixed bunches, they can appear so different from different angles. In the bedroom................ On the piano................ Small urns are great for floral arrangements! Take them to the en-suite bathroom?................... I love them in there! Roses used in bouquets: St. Cecilia, Jude the Obscure, Golden Years, Anne Boelyn, The Dark Lady, Sir Edward Elgar and Jubilee Celebration. Got this door bell quite a long time ago, put it away and forgot about it. Love the fleur-de-lis on it! Now I'll have to wait for hubby to put it up. Roses above: Pierre de Ronsard Have a ding dong dandy weekend, my dear friends.