Making the most of it: Spring

Oh my goodness! You have no idea how excited I have been this week by Spring... weather... boring? NEVER!
One thing that really sucks about having your own retail/shop based business is that you have opening times... that means most of my day times are taken up by being in the gallery. I do get alternate weekends off but as luck would have it, none of the really yummy days this Spring have fallen on my free time. 
This week I totally lucked out and Monday was the most glorious, sunny, blue-skied kinda day. Perfect bicycle riding weather!  
I had my eyes peeled for a vintage ladies bicycle for a while and one day whilst heading to work from my fellas house I spotted the most beautiful shiny 70's 3-speed cycle propped up outside the local op-shop. I called Mark as soon as I pulled up and sent him over quick-smart to nab it! Lucky I did as whilst he was paying his $17 for it another hopeful arrived for it... too late! It's now mine, all mine! 

 With such a perfect 24 degree day on Monday I quickly roped a friend into taking a spin down the pathway along the creek... but not before we spent an hour or two servicing my bike! Whoops! 
It's all good, between us we fixed  the gears, tightened the chain and adjusted the brakes. We also took a trip to the local cycle store where I grabbed a cute basket... perfect for my camera, water bottle and this little fella! 

 This is his sleepy face. That basket must be cozy!
Our town is riddled with bike trails along the creeks and river, winding through wetlands, parks and plantations and you can feel like you are in the middle of no-where even when you are bang in the city. The thing I love most about city trails is the crazy mix of natural and industrial... look at these massive water pipes spanning the valley! 

It's been a long time since I took a bike out for a spin and I really admire those super-fit peeps who whizz around on them all the time. I'm not the most confident cyclist, I'm more than a bit wibbely-wobbly, I'm frightened when I go too quickly and even the most moderate incline had me struggling... but heck was it fun just taking in the world and practice makes perfect right? Join me in a bike ride this Spring?

Spring is in the air

At last. Spring is in the air and it's bringing a spring to my step along with it.
We are still having our fair share of cool, rainy days but with the occasional beauty thrown in the mix I'm not complaining.

Our chilly town is defrosting and coming out of hibernation and so am I.
This past weekend has been full of all stages of the gardening process, sowing seed, potting-on seedlings, fertilising veggie patches and preparing to build window boxes.

As well as that I have been building the mother of all display cabinets for the many little bits and pieces of vintage and antiques I love... I can't wait to share some pics but I'm saving them until the process is finished.

Spring is such a productive sort of time don't you think? It seems to take ages to show up, and then 'boom' it's all go!

It's not only the garden which is enjoying some long planned invigoration but this weekend we had a huge day of Spring cleaning at home too. Little by little my dinky house is feeling fresher and cleaner and prettier. One project at a time, each DIY getting me closer to the vision of loveliness I know this quirky little home has been hiding under years of neglect.