Grow Your Blog Party & My Giveaway 2015

Welcome to the third
Grow your Blog Party
hosted by Vicki of 2 Bags Full.

Thank you dear Vicki for hosting
this amazing annual event
to bring together bloggers
from around the world!

For first time visitors to my blog
let me introduce myself!
My name is Shane and I live in
Auckland, New Zealand.

Yes I live in Auckland but....
my heart is in a little village in France
where my family and grandchildren live!
If you love France too
then we will have much in common
as many of my blog posts have
a french flavour... a certain

Je

ne

sais

quoi

I have been travelling to France for years,
and I love everything about it

who doesn't dream of a weekend in

Paris

but it's rural France I love the most.

Photography

has become one of my favourite
pastimes since starting my blog.
French villages are known for 
their beautiful old houses and barns,
windows, doors, gates, fences
and little country lanes to photograph!

My family are now used to me lagging behind
when we're out and about!
I simply can't pass up a
photo opportunity!

I have a very basic 'point and shoot'

Panasonic lumix camera.

I have learnt so much through Donna

thank you my dear friend for

passing on your wealth of knowledge.

I join several weekly and monthly blog parties
including these ones
Mosaic Monday
Tea Time Tuesday
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Friends Sharing Tea
Roses of Inspiration
Wednesday Good Fences
Sunlit Sunday

We would love you to join us!
People post about all sorts of things
recipes, crafts, books worth reading and so on.
If you are a new blogger
this is a great way of making new friends
and increasing your followers.

I’m a gardener

My time spent in my garden
is one of the things I love most of all,
whether it's weeding and nurturing plants
or simply doing my garden walk each morning
with a cup of tea in hand
to see what's new each day!
It grounds me and prepares me for 
my work day ahead.

Swaps

I also enjoy taking part in swaps!

I've been part of groups

that swapped lace and buttons

tea cups, magazines!~

...and then I love to

Create

I enjoy making little books, cards
and bags for my grandies
using fabric, lace and paper.

I work three days a week and when time permits
I also enjoy making collage pieces 
such as the one below which I created for my

Giveaway

for

Grow Your Blog 2015.

I will draw the winners name on
February 15th 2015 and post on my blog
Bonne chance everyone!

You don't need to be a follower
there are no restrictions
and I am happy to post world wide!

If you write a comment on this post
you will be included in the draw!

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little about me
I'm sorry it has become such a lengthy post
I do ramble on and love to chat!
have you noticed that already?!

Now I'm off to visit your blogs
Enjoy the party and have fun!

Dearest Vicki
thank you
for being the generous, giving and loving soul
that you are!
The world needs more people like you.


Thank you everyone for visiting my blog

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt




Shane

Beauty to lift the Spirits

Another beautiful cup that belonged to my

darling mother

sadly this one is an orphan

I don't know what happened to the saucer!

I won the beautiful decorated burlap sac

in a giveaway by

Marie of Lost Bird Studio

Merci mon ami!

By pairing the sweet cup with my

Spode Camille saucer and plate

I think I have a match made in Heaven

what do you think?

Our family still feels anxious with 

the recent happenings in Paris

so I felt the need for some beauty

to lift my heart and spirits today

I am focusing on the beauty in the world

....my beautiful family and my love for them

....focusing too on our amazing planet

made for us by our Creator

Who has an unending abundance of love for

each and every one of us.

Focus

On

The

Beauty

Thank you all for your recent encouraging comments

Welcome

to my lovely new followers

it is so good  to have you here

thank you for being part of my blog

I'm linking to 

Stephanie for Roses of Inspiration

Ruth for Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Bernideen for Friends Sharing Tea

Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane

Tea cups and a Magazine Swap

I'm so grateful my dear mother lived in the days of

Tea Parties

this was the time of gracious living.

She gave me her precious china which she loved so much.

There is only one cup left in this particular set

along with four saucers and plates.

I have the plates on the wall in a bedroom!

But I use the cup quite often

it is such fine china and lovely to drink from.

The gold is fading in parts

this adds to the aged patina that I love.

It shows that it has been used

and not locked away in a cupboard.

This cup and saucer were made by
Hammersley & Co. Longton, England.

It's at least 80 years old, maybe even more.

I would love to know the name of the pattern,

 if anyone is able to enlighten me.

I googled Hammersley, but this particular pattern didn't come up....

 Now for some other tea time treasures....

Back in September

Judith of Lavender Cottage

Yes... Mosaic Monday Judith

and I had a magazine swap!

I initiated the swap after drooling over the gorgeous

photos of tea related magazines on her blog!

I've read the two lovely magazines from cover to cover

several times - thank you so much Judith!

We don't see these magazines in New Zealand.

You can read Judith's post about our swap

here

I'm joining

Judith of Mosaic Monday

Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday

Ruth for Tuesday Cuppa Tea

and

Bernideen for Friends Sharing Tea

Take care and

be kind to one another

...oh just before I go it's Giveaway time

come back in a couple of days

and I'll tell you all about it!

Merci à bientôt

Shane

Chinese Flower Tea

Every second Tuesday is our group's

Embroidery day.

It's a small group - just four of us now.

These photos are from one such day about a year

or so ago at Mary's.

The Chinese flowers before

they are added to the tea pot.

It is fascinating to watch the flower unfold.

Changing little by little to become an
amazing work of art!

It has a delicate taste - much like a soft green tea.

I love tea parties so today I'm joining

the following parties

Terri ~ Teacup Tuesday

Kathy ~ A Return to Loveliness

Martha ~ Teacup Tuesday

Bernideen ~ Friends Sharing Tea

Sandi ~ Tea Time Tuesday

  

Thank you for your visits and comments
WELCOME

 to my new followers
it's lovely to meet you!

À bientôt 

and be kind to one another

Shane ♥