Christmas Tchotchkes

I love Christmas. 

I love the food, I love wrapping gifts, I love silly carols, I love ultra tacky house lights, I love putting up the Christmas tree and I especially love the ornaments.

These two vintage Christmas ornaments were from a small collection passed down to me from my grandmother. I still remember hanging them on her small tree as a kid.

I love buying ornaments on overseas travels (they're small souvenirs that get used at least once a year). This  Mexican mama is from our Playa Del Carmen.

And a pinocchio from Venice!

And a fluffy owl from Richmond in Tasmania.

This one is a lovely new addition - a gift from Germany from a very thoughtful friend.

And a gift from last year with a favourite line.

Let your heart be light -- Merry Christmas everyone!!

Impatience and Hydrangeas

I cheated. I bought the worlds biggest hydrangea bush on the weekend. 

I've been watering and caring for my little mail order seedlings all autumn and they've barely grown. And my two transplants from last year are not doing so great either. So when I spotted this gigantic beauty in the nursery at Capalaba Produce where I was meant to be fetching chicken feed - I gave in to all notions of being patient and just bit the bullet and bought it.

And I knew exactly where to put it - this ratty looking garden bed gets morning sun and afternoon shade which suits hydrangeas perfectly.

Mr Tchotchke loves lending a hand in the garden

Wa - lah! Who doesn't love a before and after shot? I topped up the bed with lots of organic sugarcane mulch to help it retain moisture.

It's so fluffy! I'm sorely tempted to lop off a few blooms to bring inside. I think I'll give it a few days to settle in.

At first I felt a bit guilty for giving in to temptation and not sticking it out with my seedlings - plus it was the single most expensive plant I've ever purchased. But I figured it could be an early Christmas pressie to myself - and it was just as much as a few bunches of flowers and would provide me with far more enjoyment. Let's hope I can keep it alive until next year!