You know its almost Christmas when...

... the Jacaranda trees burst into bloom.

A haze of purple is visible across the landscape and carpets the ground. We have a glorious specimen in our backyard that faithfully marks the change of the seasons with its flowering and leaf falls. At this time of year, the blossoms steadily fall, sounding like wishful raindrops on the tin roof of my back porch. They dry to a deeper shade that crunch under foot and end up throughout the house, but I would not ever remove this tree. Its sheer beauty makes all the mess more than worthwhile!

Another sign of Christmas at my house, is celebrating my eldest daughters birthday. Samara turned 17(!!!!!!!!!!!) on Sunday. We just spent a quiet day at home as she had just returned from Leavers celebrations the day before. Samara was very privileged to receive an extra special gift from her Nana.

This is a prototype of Jackys new line that will be available next year. Samara was in awe at this amazing gift and can't wait to show it off to all her friends. Well, time to hit the post office and bank. I will try and write again tomorrow. I want to show pictures of our new window display!!