At last! After the house fire, my Art studio (214 Brooke Drive in Borrowdale Brooke Estate) is repainted, the Living area rebuilt, and paintings are hanging again for viewing!
The garden has recovered from the invasion of builders and under Dad’s loving care is looking magnificent….
214 Brooke Drive Garden
To see images of the art hanging on the walls, and for updates and catalogue, visit my blog page, ‘Art by Lin Barrie’:
https://wildlifeandwilddogs.wordpress.com/art/
Our Christmas tree this year is a painted re-cycled pallet wood tree –
the tree set up at 214
……made by The Framing Centre, experienced Zimbabwean timber picture frame manufactures and suppliers of art material- check out their site for the great re-cycled pallet wood furniture and frames that they make!
such as this one that frames two of my small wild dogs…
Lin Barrie art in Pallet Wood frame
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Framing-Centre/695807913771954
I used various decorations including these cut out metal stars…..
Christmas Star
and angels….
Christmas Angel
and these cut out plastic bottle bases which make lovely translucent floral and star shapes….
Christmas dangles
These are made by the Sunshine Zimbabwe Project…a heartwarming vocational training centre offering skills and sheltered employment to adults and adolescents with special needs, whose motto is:
“PUTTING A LITTLE SUNSHINE INTO SOMEONE’S LIFE”
https://www.facebook.com/SunshineZimbabweProject
Sunshine Zimbabwe Project
These pretty cut-out angels have travelled from Harare to Binga, Australia, Mutare and the Save Valley Conservancy! Given to family near and far so that even if we can not be together at Christmas, we can all hang our angels on our trees and remember each other year after year at Christmas time…..here is little Ethan, receiving his angel in Australia….
Ethan and his African Angel
Ethan hanging his Christmas Angel…….
Ethan’s Angel
And here he is opening his Christmas Day present-I posted the fabulous “Chizi’s Tale” to him…
Ethan and Chizi’s Tale
About an orphaned Zimbabwean rhino…….illustrated by Zimbabwe’s own Jacqui Radford..
chizi in bed
In support of Tusk Trust, written by Jack Jones, here is the book being presented to Prince William at a Tusk event in New York recently…
Prince William and Chizi’s Tale
The wooden christmas tree fits right in with my interior decor…including the re-cycled plastic cup lampshades which hang in the living area of my Harare house, and which I obtained from Shingiririai Trust just after my house fire….I decided to add the translucent floral and star shapes made by the Sunshine Zimbabwe Project, as dangling chandeliers beneath the plastic cup lamps…creating a glowing jelly fish shape- I am sooooo pleased with these!
Re-cycled Chandelier
Founded in 2003 when sixteen concerned women met under a tree in a church yard to talk about ‘doing something for orphans’, they are producing innovative household and fashion wear from everyday debris!
shingirirayi trust
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shingirirai-Trust/426100987417213?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal
Before leaving Harare for Senuko, then to Chilo for the Christmas period, we have a family dinner in harare…
yummy local produce, colcom sausages and ham….
colcom sausages and ham
Dad in our Harare garden, with my favourite Christmas flowers, Crinum lilies…….
Dad and crinums
Then we head off to Senuko, to our bush home “Tsavene”, in the Save Valley Conservancy..
Tsavene
At Tsavene, accompanied by my daughter Kelli and her boyfriend Anton Milner, we have yet another pre-Christmas feast with our grandchildren Jade and Rayne…
senuko christmas lunch
and they place the family angel on our tree at Tsavene…(note Jackie Milner’s yummy mince pies in the background!)
jade and rayne decorate the senuko tree
Jade is a star….
Travelling onwards to Chilo Gorge, Kelli and Anton join us for a few days to drive my car back home….
Anton takes awesome panoramas of a sundowner on the Save river bank….
panoramas of chilo
and a gorgeous photo of me and my special girl….
Kelli at Sunset
“Kelli, I am so proud of the beautiful and fabulous woman you have become…
Life is a Journey, Enjoy the Ride!”
Lin and Kelli in the Chilo sunset
Clive and I remain at Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge for Christmas, and into the New Year-hosting many guests in a lovely place…….wherever you all are we wish you a peaceful and special festive season……..
christmas greeting card
wine and wild dogs 
This is a beautiful post … don’t know how I missed it! All the best for 2015 …
Thank you savannabel- am loving your posts as well….!