CMMC: Christmas Bush

In Cee’s Midweek madness Challenge the first week of the month is about Macro or close up photography. So as it is nearing the end of the Christmas season I thought I would celebrate our Christmas Bush. It is an Australian native that blooms with a soft pink colour around November and its colour deepens to turning red around Christmas time.

We love our Christmas Bush tree. It is a beauty standing about 10 metres tall. Every year it never fails to deliver. My husband has even developed his own Christmas traditions around it. Sometime in the week of Christmas he makes his Christmas bush run. He cuts and delivers bunches of Christmas bush to family and friends whether they are home or not. Everyone loves it and is very grateful. Maybe because I saw smaller bunches on sale at the local florist for $15.00 a bunch.

When I was taking the photos for this blog post I took a much closer look at Christmas bush than I ever had before. I was surprised to notice the unusual shape of the leaves.


Coffee Catch-Up #23

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I finished my Christmas shopping last Tuesday. What a relief. And yesterday I  finished wrapping all of the presents, which I always get excited about. Unfortunately, this year we won’t have a big Christmas tree to put them under as we are currently between trees. The one from our old house is broken from too much loving and I don’t want to buy a new one until we extend next year.  So in the interium it will be back to the small fibre optic tree that changes colours.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about how much fun the family of magpies that has taken up residence in our garden are having playing under the water sprinkler when Rod puts it on to water my garden each evening. They run around under the water in an attempt to cool off and then enjoy looking for worms in the soil. They are too quick for us however, so every time we go to take a photo they run away and play somewhere else.

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If we were having coffee I would tell you that I really enjoyed flying into Sydney from Perth last week. As we flew overnight from the west coast to the east coast of Australia we saw a different flight path and to my surprise we also flew over our old suburb. I loved seeing the sunrise from the sky and an aerial view of what I think is the Parramatta River.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I made my own baked beans this week and was very pleased with how tasty they were. Motivated by having had some when we were in Perth, I was on a mission to give them a go. I have since found some other recipes so I think I might give them all a try and then rank my results. Do you have a favourite baked beans recipe you’d like to share?

If we were having coffee I would probably ask you if you want some Christmas bush. Our tree has once again produced a bumper crop and sharing it with family and friends makes it feel like an Aussie Christmas. We have 2 vases in our house, the one below in the entry to our house and one in the kitchen, the hub of the home.

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If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world? Let me know in the comments.


Coffee Catch – Up # 19

If we were having coffee I would wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 2016 has been an amazing year and I have loved sharing it with you.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that Christmas 2016 had a green theme for our family, which was a great success. My sister who organises our family celebrations really should start a party decorating business. She does a spectacular job matching everything to the colour theme and we all help by coming dressed accordingly. It’s a special and memorable day for all who attend.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that life is getting exciting as our painter is slowly transforming our house into a home. The more work he completes the happier we are with our colour choice of grey/lavender walls and white gloss trims. Interestingly, when the family voted on next years colour theme for Christmas, they chose Gravender (a combination of grey and lavender), so we should have a head start on inspiration.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how nice it was to have Christmas bush back in our life. Our Newcastle property has an old Christmas bush tree and we have enjoyed giving some to family and friends again. Australians love Christmas bush and it helps bring the country to the city.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how much I enjoyed the preparation for Christmas this year. From the shopping to the baking I have loved the planning and execution of each task. Many of the things I now do have become my tradition but I don’t think I realised it until this year.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that I would love  to see the rain falling on Ularu at present. Due to the dryness of the area, rain on the rock is a rare but spectacular event.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world? Let me know in the comments.