the generosity of you

Recently I have been showered in generosity. Pure, sweet, kind, selfless, thoughtful generosity...

Penny from Pocket Carnival sent me (for our soon-to-be-new-baby) one of her adorable softies:




Lauren Carney sent me an ORIGINAL drawing:




And at the Finders Keepers markets I made some great cards swaps with Courtney Brims and Kareena Zerefos. Plus I managed to swap one of my prints for this lovely pair of birds by Beth-Emily:



Now we have our bedrooms painted, and all this gorgeous new stuff in them, it's all starting to feel really really homey. Thanks, so so very much. :)

high tea baby

A few weekends ago (yes, that's how far behind I am in blogging), I was completely surprised when my friends threw me a surprise baby-shower!

It was at a gorgeous tea-house in a nursery, and together we sat around drinking very fine tea from very pretty cups, and munching on a delicious selection of bite-sized savouries and sweets. Each of us were served munchies from our own cake stand, and tea from our own tea-pots, with embroidered linen serviettes, and small flowers on our plates.

I've been to baby showers before, and had to do things like guess with a length of string how wide the pregnant woman's girth is. It's always been awkward, and there's always been at least a slight degree of offence due to the over-generous guesses.

Well, here, at mine, there was none of that. No awkward moments whatsoever. Just very fine company, tea and nibbles. It was wonderful. AND they gave me lovely gifts!!!


You may spot some handmade treasures in there from Chunky Chooky + My Bearded Pigeon.

I felt so special. And what's more, it was all a total complete and utter surprise! Mr You, in kahootz with these sneaky friends did a stellar job of keeping the secret. So much so, that somehow (I suspect Jedi mind-tricks), he managed to get me to suggest going to that exact tea-house that afternoon, so I thought it was my idea... Which as you can imagine added to my confusion... So when we walked in and I spotted the table of my waiting friends, I assumed they were there on their own, and it was a co-incidence we were there at the same time.

EVEN when they all called out "Surprise!" I still thought they meant "Surprise, what a co-incidence we're all here at the same time", not "Surprise here's a party for you!"

But it was a party for me. And I was completely chuffed. Thanks so so much guys! :)

pizza, pasta and tiny little boots

Guess what I did last night?...

I met long-time blog friend Jacinta from One Little Acorn! Yes, met in real life! She and her Mum, Shirley, are up in my region this week taking part in Camp Creative, and as they were so close (compared to being in Melbourne, where they are from, in a whole other state!), we organised to meet up.

The three of us went out for dinner and can I just say it was so comfortable and natural.

We've only seen the very occasional, small, not too detailed pic of each other on our blogs, but we recongised each other immediately. Then spent the rest of the night chatting away as if we were old friends who hadn't seen each other in a few years. I think we probably could have lingered on chatting for a few more hours. :)

Co-incidentally, it was only a few weeks ago I sent her the prize pack from my Thanksgiving Giveaway this year.

And guess what else?! They gave me a gift!!!



Hand-knitted (by Shirley) baby booties! With the loveliest "blackberry stitch" cuffs. THEN they shouted my meal!!!! I couldn't stop them. So generous and kind they both are.

Anyway, I had a really really nice evening with them, and I'm so thrilled to finally have met Jacinta after aaaalllll these years as blog-friends.

Thanks so much you two, safe travels all the way home, looking forward to doing it again next time. .xx.

chrissy highlights

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Ours was nice... firmly stomped our carbon footprint on the Earth though, as we drove here there and everywhere to see everyone, with only a few hours, or a day snatched at home inbetween.

But overall it went down very nicely.

Gifts given seem to be well loved:


Which is also good for us, seeing her settle herself on her new lounge at the end of a hard day's preening in the sunshine is just about the cutest thing we've got 'round here!


And gifts received are certainly well loved too:


A bright little tea set with yummy tea from my Sister Sparkle.


A gorgeous salad/fruit bowl "handmade in Mexico" from Mum.


And my beloved new pillowcases from Mr You, via my visit to the Finders Keepers Market in Sydney last month, after a momentary hyperventilation when I first saw them. These made by Sunday Morning Designs.

All things with drawing/painting on them. Just the way I likes it.

How 'bout you? Tell me about your hot item! :D

ka ching

Another International Art Exchange goody arrived in the post last week.

This one made me a little giddy as it's from an Australian cartooning icon; Mandy Ord.
I have admired and chuckled at her work before. So when I saw who it was from I did nearly pop!



Thanks so much Mandy :D

those markets hurt me badly

Dear Finders Keepers Markets,

I won't ask how you are, because I know. I know you are wonderful beyond words! Bringing glee and near hysteria to myself and Eve, my market companion, for the 3 whole hours we were with you! The degree of anticipation, pure delight and satisfaction you gave us was reminiscent of 8 year old versions of ourselves upon Christmas morning.

Yes, it is true that there were hundreds and hundreds of other people to squeeze through, but since everyone was in the same "happy place", and what we saw was so good, it was ALL WORTH IT.

My only complaint is that everything you offer was SO good, my lack of money became a real issue. It didn't stop me from partaking in some of your loveliness mind you, but it did hurt very badly not to be able to buy more.
Very. Badly. Indeed.

One of the great joys of the evening was finally meeting my long time blog-buddy Emma Kidd of Benconservato fame. I saw her and was so shy and nervous about meeting her my heartbeat tripled in tempo, I broke into a light sweat and I blushed badly while talking to her. But I DID talk to her, and she was SO nice, friendly and candid. Her stall looked amazing, with what looked like hundreds of unique works on display.


Image from Emma's blog

And guess what?! She GAVE ME a copy of her brand new colouring book, Monsters Behaving Badly!!!! It's is SO SO great!





Something funny happened too. I snuck away from my friend Eve, back to Emma's stall, to buy Eve a thank-you-for-having-me gift; a little gocco print that she was eyeing off earlier. It was only a few days later when we surprised each other with a gift from the markets did I realise she had pulled swifty on me too, sneaking off during the evening to buy me this amazing Bonnie Poplar brooch!!! She out-sneaked me! Clever, trixy lovely friend!



I also bought this sweet card by Renee Seaman:


I would have loved the full sized print, but this was early in the evening when I was still fooling myself into thinking I could "budget". Pfff!

A set of pillowcases came home with me too. I can't show you yet because they are a Christmas present for me (from Mr You... I think, I hope, I'm still working on that part of the plan). Let me just say I handed over the remainder of my food money in exchange for them. And while I realise this is seriously irresponsible spending, all I can say is that I would have cried for 9 days straight if I had left without them. It seemed only right.

Eve did even better than me. She bought herself and her friend each a porcelain pendant necklace, a cool t-shirt for her man, a beautiful cushion by Kristen Doran (who incidentally was very friendly), and my brooch! (Was there something else I'm forgetting?)

We both could have bought much much more, it was all so love-worthy. I could go on and on...

So there you go Dear Finders Keepers, my love for you is undeniable, you are my favourite!
Lots of love,
flossy-p .xx.


P.S. Catkin and Teasel has more to say plus lots of excellent photo's.

karma comin'at cha

I was well and truly happy-slapped with some more good karma today when a surprise package arrived! A for-no-reason, not even a swap, surprise package. Completely out of the blue, straight from the goodness of a crafty heart.



Sweet sweet Geek+Nerd sent me a bag made from a thrifted t-shirt (from her home town) which will make a perfect beach bag this Summer. Also in the parcel was a handmade felt peace dove, and a card from one of my favourite arty gals Abigail Halpin.



Coincidentally, during my first time at Chunky Chooky's Sunday "Sew N' Sew" last weekend, I attempted to make a wooly Christmas wreath inspired entirely by one that Geek+Nerd made for herself. I saw it on her blog, fell in love, and made plans to make one for myself. So on Sunday I managed to get to the point of wrapping the wool, but hadn't progressed any further... Until...

A-LA-PeanutbutterSandwiches!!!!
This dove arrived today to fill the void!
Meant to be!

Please don't comment on my wreath yet, it's not finished. It needs some felty leaves and stuff yet. I'll show you again once it's done.

Anyway, I have no idea why you sent this to me Sweet Geek, but I love you for it!!!! Even more than before :D
Thank-you!!!!!!

it's working

The International Art Exchange I mentioned last week seems to be working!

In the past few days I have received another 3 parcels of lovely art.


From Helena Tay of Little Mo and Friends:



Helena is from Western Australia, and has sent me a print of one of her sweet homely gals. Mine is cookin' up a recipe of love! Thanks Helena, your work is so sweet, so detailed, and has such personality!

100 good swap karma points for you!



From Patricia Frisella of www.patriciafrisella.com/:



Patricia is from New Hamshire (US), and has constructed a lush romance-filled collage for me. Deep rich colours coupled with pops of detailed pattern, and 3D elements like a feathered horse tail. I think the poem may be one of hers too, but I'm not sure.

I love the line in the poem "She'll loose her hair and corset and bounding over hedgerows gallop to the glade..."

Thanks so much Patricia it's beautiful, 100 good swap karma points for you also!



From Pat Spiller of Pat Studio:



All the way from Maine (US), Pat has sent me 3 of her gorgeous cards. Based on her textile art, these cards look so real, you have to touch the fronts to grasp that they are prints. I can't look away because my brain keeps insisting I should be feeling texture. Either way they are incredibly alluring!

Thank-you so much Pat, I love them. 100 good swap karma points for you too!



Not only that, I actually received a really lovely thank-you email from my Art Exchange recipient, Alisa of Ink Caravan.

Good karma points flying all over the place this week people.
Grab one if you can.
They are worth their weight in gold!
******

through the door

I've been wanting to join in Pip's "My Place and Yours" for a little while now, but this week I actually have something good to contribute... Stuff I've been wanting to show off ;)
This weeks theme (by Shelley from Femme De Montmartre) is "Through the Front Door".


Outside our front door we are now greeted by turtles. We didn't buy each other wedding gifts, instead we bought ourselves these adorable hand carved turtles on our honeymoon. See? Two turtles, swimming together, hanging onto each other... get it? Romantic eh? hehehehe.
Anyway, they give our house a new tropical beachy look, it's prefect to lead us into Summer.




And just inside the front door... the super cool retro buffet we got at a garage sale on the weekend! For $10! It's in excellent condition, and if we do end up updating the handle, and painting the inside a bright colour (as we had planned) its going to help Mr You's smaller instruments stand out very well, and look even more cool. (Although it's in such good condition I'm not sure I want to tamper with it... but a deep red inside would look pretty impressive).




Of course when a new piece of furniture comes into the house, it sparks rearranging, impromptu cupboard clean-outs, etc.
An unexpected mini Spring clean!

over and over

Still slopping through this funk. So I'm going to go easy on the words, and just show some nice pictures.

I saw this book on someone's blog, coveted, searched, found, bought, waited, got.

Complete impulse buy. So unlike me. Love it though.

"Over & Over" - a catalogue of illustrators who use hand drawn pattern in their work.

out of the blue

See that dog with his paw on his overwhelmed heart? That's exactly how I feel.

Out of the blue yesterday a very sweet card arrived from Renee along with a packet of wild-flower seeds. (I have no idea how they wrangled their way past the quarantine beagles! But they look gorgeous.) Completely out of the blue! How nice is that?

Then, next thing I know, the delivery man arrived with a package for me. This one was a complete surprise too.

A new village store tin for my collection!!!!
All the way from Tinniegirl in Melbourne, with a sweet card saying she found this while cleaning out her studio and thought I may like it. Huh! :)



(Here's a pic so she can see where all of her donations are going):



What a week. I won't deny the putrid mood I've been in. Foul is all I'll say. I wrote a big "Wedding Wednesday" post, but didn't publish it... I might do a heavy edit, cheer it up a bit... okay, a LOT... and post it later.

All week I was tugging at wanting to post something reassuring, but I'd get near then do a complete about turn, unable to deal with it. I wanted to thank-you all so much for all of your AMAZING comments for me over my last two posts, but just couldn't bear my own blog.

Then out of the blue these gifts arrive, and I'm given a happy-slap in the face; a big reminder why blogging is so important to me. It's not me writing, or sharing, documenting, marketing, or anything like that. The thing I love most about blogging is the overwhelming feeling of good. The friends I've made, the community I feel part of, and that our little world is absolutely engorged with creativity, sharing, generosity, support and friendship. Where else can you find all that in one place?

I mean I don't know anyone, not really, but that doesn't stop me laughing along, shedding a tear at the sweet posts about your babies and pets, feeling hell shiver through me when one of you is going through a big personal issue, squealing in delight at happy news, and almost... almost buying a plane ticket to fly one of you out from America to photograph our wedding (almost, I didn't do it in time though and missed my chance. But we were serious about the idea). I even report your news to Mr You, like I've been chatting with you on the phone. And he does the same to me when he's beat me to it.

The point is I feel a great, great sense of friendship. And that's why my blog has morphed over the years. That's why I've continued to blog. And realising that I feel SO much better. SO much.

One of the reasons I've have had trouble blogging is that my head is so full of wedding crap, that's practically all I can think about right now. But I'm afraid of my blog turning into a wedding only thing, and that any extra wedding related opinions will snap me. I feel like I'm failing by not illustrating and keeping up with my creative endeavors. I feel like my blog is becoming banal. But you guys are WAY more understanding about it all than some others. So why am I holding back? I should just share, right? Like friends do, without concern of judgement.

I mean it's the internet, what could go wrong? Heh heh.

Anyway, my point is THANK-YOU! Both to Renee and Cathy, and everyone who commented, and even those who didn't but read my posts all the same. I think this reminder will really help me get myself out of this blue.

bird watching

I splashed out, I did. I bought myself an entirely delightful pair of earrings, and they arrived today! They are so lovely and delicate in real life, I can't wait to wear them out.

These 'Botanical Bird' earrings are made by Tinyartjewelry on Etsy.

She has some really unique and wondrous things in there, reminiscent of discovering a secret garden.

Go take a peek! :)

loot, glorious loot

Tinniegirl has just finished her '7 Days of Loot'; a show and tell of all her lovely new wares. While I wasn't organised enough to join in at the time, here's my wrap-up of recent loot.

Speaking of Tinniegirl, she and I did a little swap, yes we did :)
I spied a tinnie of hers in her etsy shop that my heart could not deny. I was about to buy it then and there, when I had a thought... maybe she would like to do a swap instead. A few emails back and forth and each of us were delighted with our new goods.

I sent her 2 prints, and some other bits and pieces, and she sent me this!...



But not only that, I mentioned that I have been collecting little village shop tins (I have a little village along the tops of my kitchen cupboards), and she sent me a whole little street of shops for my village. Thanks to her generosity I now have a new Butcher Shop, Lobster Pot Cafe, Italian Restaurant, AND Mexican Cantina!!!!! It's awesome, and I ADORE them. Thank-you so much Cathy!

These new shops brings my tin collection count to 19, weeeee.




Next on the loot list is glassware. For our tables (at our upcoming wedding), we're going for a rustic/vintage/country cottage kinda thing. I've been keeping all my glass jars, and last weekend we went to the recycle centres at the local tips. OMG! It's my heaven! I got all these for under $10! (plus other stuff). I was so thrilled, they're just what I'm looking for!



Imagine these, if you will, with flowers and tea-light candles inside. :)


And finally, for my loot wrap-up, I have a gift from a friend. When I was in Sydney, hanging out with my friend for the day she went off for a quick rummage and returned with this!



It's a whole bag of fabric remnants that she got from the Akira Isogawa warehouse sale. And she got it all for ME!!!! I couldn't believe it! She said it was suppose to be my Christmas present, but stuff happened, and she held onto it for me anyway. How awesomely amazing and generous. You can't even see half of it in this pic, there's so much. No bits are large enough to make a full garment, but there's so many beautiful small, delicate silks, I'll have to think up something great for them to become.
Any ideas?

I'm sure you're drooling now (hey, it's fabric, we girls can't help it), so I'll leave it there. :)

redressing the balance

I realised there's not much been going on in this space apart from wedding talk these days, despite my little whinge on Wednesday complaining about that very imbalance. So I've shown up here today to attempt to redress this balance, and start catching up on all the "real life" stuff that's been going on.

Some of you may recall a call out for help a while ago, when I was trying to decide which digital SLR to buy. I finally decided on the Nikon D80, only to discover when I rang to buy it, that it had been discontinued the day before! It took me another 2 weeks to decide I could part with enough money to get myself a Nikon D90 with an 18-200 lens. I got out my credit card, racked up the new debt and began the wait 'til it arrived, only it never did...

Nikon's prices went up across the board in March. I got my order in before then, but Nikon chose that exact time to do a country wide stocktake, meaning no new stock was being distributed from them to any retailers at the time. I waited and waited, for weeks (with a wedding I have to shoot fast approaching). Because I got my order in before the prices went up I was suppose to get the gear at the lower price, BUT, when it finally came through the prices had risen. I could get the camera body at the old price, but the lens had increased. Not by alot overall, compared to what I was paying anyway, but it was enough to tip my cash balance, and have me withdraw my order and jump ship to Canon.

I've had Nikon gear for a long time, and lots of it. So the brand switch is a big deal for me. But I can tell you I was just as happy when this baby arrived last Friday!



I'm now the proud owner of a new Canon 450D. (oops, just realised the pic is the wrong model, oh, you get the idea).
The switch saved me money, time and stress. I bought it over the phone, and it arrived on my doorstep less than 24hrs later!

We're still getting acquainted. There are SO many buttons I have to learn; I'm not in the land of film anymore. I haven't gotten to the chapter of the manual about getting the photo's out of the camera onto the computer yet, but when I do, I'm sure you'll notice ;)

In the meantime I'll be polishing up all my film gear ready for Ebay. I still love it all dearly, but since I moved away from the city, I just can't get my favourite films, or trust the printing anymore, making film photography very very difficult to maintain. Sigh.

But... a new era awaits!

I'm a bit cited!

small objects from afar

"Eye Spy a small object"
(This week's theme by The Crafty Librarian)

Looking for small objects in my house I realised most of them are souvenirs from varied travels. On grand adventures souvenirs are a must, but with overloaded backpacks it's essential to make them small and light.



The first "small object" souvenir here is a wood carved henna stamp. It is apparently to be used for creating henna mehndi, but I suspect in India that's all skillfully hand painted. This was given to us my Mr You's friends after they returned from a holiday to India. We've never used it as a stamp, it's far too beautiful, and instead we admire it as an ornament.




The next is a crystal droplet from a chandelier in Venice. This was brought back for me by one of my dear friends when she travelled to Italy. There's a little hook that comes out the top, and you can easily imagine it hanging, as one of a thousand, from an ornate ceiling of a theatre.



This last one is my own souvenir collected from Paris. The first time I visited Paris I was traveling on my own. I quickly fell under the spell Paris casts over newcomers, and I practically skipped around town the entire time I was there. Humming French tunes to myself, positively swooning with adoration for that city. I couldn't free my mind of music the whole time I was there. My souvenir, befittingly, was a tiny wind up music box thingo, that plays Edith Piaf's 'La Vie en Rose'. I adore it. It's still one of my favourite small objects.

something beginning with j

"Eye Spy something beginning with J"
(This week's theme by Lauren)

I searched high and I searched low, and I've come to the conclusion we live in a J-free zone (how odd). So I've defaulted to flashing about some jewellery for this week's eye-spy. Conveniently they are all things I've been meaning to "show and tell" for a while now anyhow...



That first little rabbit brooch is something I splurged on at the Finders Keepers artist markets. He is "Made by White", and suitably Mexican in influence to make me quite gleeful.

The middle pic is the awesome multi-layered, ultra-compartmentalized, (with hooks for hanging too) jewellery box Mr You got me for Christmas! No more tangled crushed clumps of chains, beads and hooks for me. No Sir-ee!

The other week after the too-short haircut I mentioned, I cheered myself up by making a pair of earrings to compliment my new hairstyle. These are those. Tiny emerald coloured flowers. Sw-eet, I can almost hear the butterflies flapping past and the birds singing merrily.

And yesterday I picked up this little bouquet of glass leaf beads. In some form or another, they'll be next to move into the fancy palace of a jewellery box!

little old inuit

Yet another gift arrived from the ever generous Renee today. This time it was an engagement present. Inside the card she wrote:

"This little soapstone carving was given to me as a gift about 20 years ago. It is carved by an Inuit from the North West Territories (here in Canada). It is being sent from my happy home to yours."

When we unwrapped him and picked him up out of his bubble-wrap coating, he was icy cold to touch. Almost as though Renee had somehow picked him up and handed him right to me, all the way around the world. From the depths of the Canadian Winter direct to this balmy Australian Summer day.

Half an hour later I picked him up again to take this photo of him, and he was still cold. Holding on to where he's from, as if to remind us of Renee. I hope he holds onto his chill. There's something almost magic about it. I love it.

Isn't he lovely? I had an Inuit art calendar last year, which I loved too. I wonder what he's reaching up for? Maybe he's cheering for Obama too. Or maybe he's waving with delight, or pointing to all the stars, or about to launch into flight.

Thank-you Renee. We adore him! :D

(p.s. This is such a common event now, that I've allocated a tag especially for Renee, heee)

all you will ever need

It's happened before... and now it's happened again. A package arrives, unexpected. It's a gift for me, for no occasion, for no reason, just a spontaneous, sincerely generous gift. And again it's from Renee. Full of love, generosity and heart, Renee.

It's a book. It's called Imagine a Place, and is filled with the most amazing illusion illustrations that grab hold of your imagination and make it fly. Each illustration is accompanied by a prose, here's one of my favourites:

Imagine a place...
...where your ship holds
all you once knew
and the horizon offers
all you will ever need.

And here's one of my favourite pictures from it:


(The lady at the back is holding a big saw)

Thank-you Renee. I love it! I really really love it.

As I discovered yesterday (the postie delivered it bright and early), it's great book to browse through as you're waking up over a cup of tea. It puts a new boundless perspective on the day ahead. So not only has Renee given me a great book, she's given me days with no bounds, imagination, inspiration, and of course she always gives her love.

The book is Imagine a Place. Words by Sarah L Thomson. Paintings by Rob Gonsalves (he's from Cananda).

the nicest people on earth

It's one thing getting a "for no reason" gift from an old friend, but it's a whole other thing getting one from someone you've never met.

Yesterday this amazing ceramic disc arrived in the mail, along with a sweet card that read; "My daughter bought me this in Mazatland, Mexico years ago. Since you love all things Mexican, I decided I would love you to have it. Take care sweet girl. Love Renee."

Those words along with the gesture brought tears to my eyes.

You see Renee is someone I've come to meet quite recently (on the web only). She has become somewhat of a patron of my art, and is buying alot from me. She emails me often with the loveliest compliments, and supportive words, and tells me I remind her of her daughter. And if that's not enough, she's doing all this during what must be the most difficult time of her life. She has terminal cancer.

(I don't think she'll mind me sharing that fact. She is quite open about it).

I find it difficult to believe actually, because of how much life she has in her. How it beams out strong and bright, with a melody and a damn good dance to go with it. She is absolutely full of spunk and charisma, love, generosity, tenderness, and humour. She is embracing. And I imagine her hugs would be unforgettable.

I don't know her well enough to know if she was always like this, or if this new life she's been given (in boldly defying how long she was told she had left) has brought these qualities to the surface more. Either way, I'm not sure I've ever known anyone like her before. I'm not convinced I will ever again. And I almost feel like the "chosen one" to be gifted with her company and friendship in this way. If I haven't made it clear yet, I feel completely honoured to know her.

I have no idea how I would react if I was in her shoes. But with her I have the feeling though that cancer really doesn't get a look-in. (although I'm sure she battles and suffers to no end in all sorts of ways of course)... What I mean is that with all of her bountiful qualities and abundant sense of life, cancer is way back in the queue, on tippy toes, straining to even get a look-in. It does not define who she is. She alone has taken that steering wheel. With her foot on the accelerator, music singing out, honking the novelty horn loud and happy, waving to kids out the window as they laugh with glee at seeing her, and the flowers at the sides of the road bending in to be close.

... And with a lump in my throat, a grin on my face, and a pencil in my hand, I wonder how on earth I get someone like that on paper in the painted form.



Thank-you so much Renee.

barry comes to stay

One of the giveaways I won (that I mentioned during the week) arrived yesterday, from Jenny at Daisy Chain. I won Barry. He's so beautifully made, and has such expression on his face. He came with some great bonus luggage, including fabrics, a really cute keyring, vintage buttons, and a paper crane :)

Anyway, I'm now handing the microphone over to Barry as he's been keen to "phone home".

Thanks Jenny, he's wonderful! :)
_ _ _


Dear Mum,

I had a pretty comfy journey here, and it went faster than I thought, and I slept most the way. I was really anxious about leaving home and coming to live with flossy-p and Mr You, but they seem to really like me and are taking good care of me. Even though you put extra confident on my insides when you made me, I only needed it in the first few moments. After that I had heaps of fun. I've sent you a few pictures of my first day here...









I had so much fun, and my favourite part was watching the whales splash and play. I think I'm really going to like it here. Flossy said you can come visit whenever you want!!! And she even told me they have good friends that live not far from you in Blackwood, and they visit them every other year. So next time they go I can come too and visit you!

Give everyone a big hug for me,
Baz .xx.