snippets

It's been a month since I last posted. I've been keeping busy and dealing with some aggravating health issues as well. I've been a bit awry and have been heading early to bed. Blogging just hasn't been on the radar. Yesterday when I read Kate's post, it seemed a good way to dive back in. 

So here are my snippets from the last month:

Wandering at the river at sunset; a walk with my sister, her daughter and my girls. Such a magical time of day.

Enjoying family time at the Peregian markets on the coast...

and in Brisbane with these adorable people.

Outside I've been gardening with the girls. they've each re-done their bed, taking full responsibility for maintenance (with some gentle "encouragement" from me). We've been planting and watering and waiting and watching...

On the knitting front I've finally finished this beautiful cardigan, for Stella, from Ravelry. My mum is knitting the same, in grey, for Ruby. She's almost done too. I love the shape and fit of this cardigan. Next one I'm doing is for me. On 3 and 3/4 needles with a 5 ply wool from Bendigo Woollen Mill. I'm awaiting delivery. Eeeek!

With the leftover yarn I'm knitting up some school beanies. It's a small cheeky deviation from our school's uniform policy. The colour is a perfect match and they've each chosen their own personal stripy design.

Crocheting some squares for Kate's granny hottie crochet-a-long. I'm running behind. Because crochet is relatively new for me I find I have to concentrate more. At night when I'm tired I find it's easier just to pick up my knitting and carry on. I will finish this though.  I love the idea and I like developing new skills.

Loving Ruby's owl school. Each night these nocturnal creatures are put through their flying paces; on completion they'll receive a flying certificate ( I shamelessly listen from outside her door).

Reading lots of books, lately. I've just finished a lovely book of short stories called "Emperor of the Air". Before that, the disturbing but totally absorbing "We need to talk about Kevin". Next in line is "Nest" by Inga Simpson.  I loved "Mr Wigg", so I'm hoping this will be good.

Crafting pom-poms, just for fun. A rainy day plus kids equals craft.

Dealing with BPPV. I'm not going to dwell too much on this but suffice to say this has been making my life a bit of a misery since April. I was hoping it would go away on it's own but this week I plan to seek out some help. I can function and work and I look pretty much normal (!) but it has been been making me chronically tired and a little bit anxious. Time to deal with it.

Experimenting with bicarb and vinegar. It's amazing how much fun you can have making things go pop and fizz...

Baking whatever comes out of Ruby's head. And biscuits. I just love baking.

So that's the last month, in summary. I'm hoping to be around a bit more in the coming weeks. Thanks for sticking with me, if in fact you are still there! 

Enjoy your week, wherever you may be.

Much love.

it's never too late to start gardening (and a spot of puppy love)

They seem like a nice bunch of folk at Mum and Dad's village. My noisy little family and I invade them on a regular basis, swimming in the pools, taking over the gym and making hot chocolates from their machine. On one occasion when I felt compelled to apologise for the noise level to one elderly couple at the pool, she said "I don't mind at all, dear. And he (with a nudge to her husband's arm) is completely deaf. So it's not bothering him" 

Just lovely....

There's always something going on there too. From yoga to lawn bowls, concerts to Happy Hour, this place is a bustling hive of activity. But it's their newest venture that's got my interest piqued. Someone's managed to take a piece unused land and turn it into a raised vegetable garden.

My mum's taken on half a bed. She's starting small, with some tomatoes, lettuces and herbs. I think this is a great starting point. From someone who said a few months ago to me "what do you use use herbs on?".....(ummm...everything!!), this is a move in the right direction! My mum's always been a gardener of the flower variety. She definitely influenced me with my love of gardening; I've gone in a different direction; favouring edible plants. Maybe I can influence her right back...

I like the way this garden looks at this early stage. Someone's indulged a creative child-like whim; a scarecrow graces the plot, adding colour and humour. Some have planted seedlings, others have started from seed. Some have planted neatly in rows, some have gone for trellised climbing plants, others have started with jiffy pots. Some beds are mulched and some aren't.

The garden is completely organic. Signs ask residents not to use pesticides or sprays. Which is all good in my book. 

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Oh, and a few photos of puppy love from a visit to the RSPCA on Sunday. My lucky crew got to sit in with a litter of 3 week old staffy pups. Oh, the joy...

(apologies for the quality of the photos. The light is dim and the puppies are quick.)

stills: holidays

 1.  hardy seaside plants.

 2.  my two...

 3.  holiday ear piercing (and a smattering of freckles).

 4.  softies for friends.

 5.  rock pools with family.

 6.  lettuce babies gifted from a friend.

 7.  another present from another friend..lucky me.

 8.  making anzacs...

 9.  just out of the oven...

10. tea and biscuits...delicious.

11. a "homework book" for me, courtesy of Ruby. Full of word searches and other creative tasks.

colour

It's not really happening for my veggie beds at the moment. Our summers here are normally hot and wet, but unusually this year we've seen little to no rain. Not enough to justify planting out delicate and water hungry cucumbers, corn, tomatoes and the like (although I do have a few lettuces in...). Yes, sure, I've got hardy tarragon growing in abundance. I've got some basil plants valiantly hanging in there (they're near the lettuce soaker hose). I've got some marigolds which add a nice splash of colour to a salad. Some brave chives and a handful of parsley are struggling on. But it's not how I would like it to be (sigh). I can't wait for autumn to really kick in so I can get planting. 

In the meantime, I'm touring the garden to see what does survive and thrive in this relentless heat of summer. If I can't have food, then maybe pretty will do for now.

Vinca flower- tough, hardy, maintenance free..these pop up regularly in my garden. They're so attractive in their simplicity. 

Geraniums..of course. This is from a cutting I took from my parents' garden before they sold up. Now my mum takes cuttings from mine. Just snip and stick in the ground. It really is that simple. 

This is one is a Yesterday Today and Tomorrow (otherwise known as a Brunfelsia). So called as the flowers change colour, from this purple through to a faded vintage lilac, then to white. Their perfume is divine. Not sure why it's flowering now as I usually see this shrub in bloom from September through to Christmas. Maybe it's as confused about the weather as I am.

This is my lilli pilly. Does this classify as colour? I'm not sure either, but it's very pretty and delicate. 

Strawberry flower. I have my strawberries in pots; recently I chucked in some fertiliser which they really seemed to like. These have hung in there for the last 2 years. We got a little crop last year; maybe this year we'll get a few more. One of the plants is sending out some decent runners. Yum.

I should know this one, but it escapes me. It's everywhere.. all through the garden. Probably a weed, but I like it. It's pretty and happy and soft, and not really in the way of anything else. So it gets to stay.

Green runners... a nice contrast against the pavers, rocks and old wood. No flowers, but green is my favourite colour, after all. It can stay as well.

I'm expecting rain over the Easter holidays. That's when we're booked to go camping.

gardening, continued..

On the way home today we scooped up a bagful of dry leaves that are collecting on the school oval. They form the third layer in our no-dig veggie bed.

With the cool weather starting to settle in, the leaves were plentiful.

(There was a bit of leaf throwing and giggling before the task was complete.)

Then we were home to finish the first layer; soaked newspaper, ten layers..

... followed by a trip to our lovely friend to pick up a sack of grass clippings (second layer).

The dry leaves went thickly on top of the clippings...

... and were watered in with diluted molasses. Chook pellets went down next, then a good helping of lucerne hay. Watered in with more molasses.

At which point we'd all had enough.

We went to do some guinea pig wrangling; they were free-ranging in the backyard. We wanted to put the little critters away in case the predicted storm came through. Ten minutes later they were safely tucked up in hay with some fresh food.

Tomorrow, we'll finish the layers. Manure and lucerne, alternating, followed by compost and mulch on top. Tomorrow...or Friday.. or Saturday...

But I'm inspired to finish so we can get to the really good part. Planting out our seeds which arrived yesterday. I've got mini-greenhouses, jiffy pots and some ideas for newspaper pots.

Should be fun!

Keep you posted...

starting over

 One friend has left town and now the other is set to take flight for five long weeks..

I have felt a bit low. It seems that everybody is on the move, new adventures and experiences ahead of them. It's taken a while, but self pity over now, I have decided this is a good time to action myself and get into some tasks I set myself quite some time ago.  At the beginning of summer, to be precise.

The vegie garden was abandoned after a long hot dry spell, followed by weeks of intense raining and flooding. Surprisingly, quite a few of the hardier plants battled through.

Today, I was inspired to put together the small beds I had promised the girls. The weather is cooler and it just feels fantastic to be outdoors again.

They're keeping journals on the progress of their own little patches. We got off to a flying start today.

The plan is to build the beds using recycled materials. As documented in an earlier post, I've used some old hardwood from an outdoor table that a friend made quite a few years back. The corners are held together using some old pieces of lattice driven into the ground at the corners. It's rustic and kinda cute. We'll then use the no-dig method to build up a healthy organic soil. I have some seeds put away from the Diggers Club, and I will probably get some more from Green Harvest. The girls have painstakingly copied out lists of autumn and winter plantings that should grow in our subtropical climate. With the help of a great app from Gardening Australia called the Vegie Guide, we will track and record the progress of our seeds and seedlings, and hopefully have a harvest to photograph and enjoy at the end.

While the girls were busy wetting and layering newspaper, I turned over the soil in my beds. It was wonderful to find that even thought the soil was compacted and a bit root-bound, it looked great and was full of earthworms. It will be fine, I think, and I am looking forward to getting back in there.

Wish me luck.