Friday, March 31, 2023

Another Friday


Little Ana is becoming very vocal these days. 
She chats away to you all day long. 
Most of which I do understand but some of it I just have no idea. But I’ve lots of 
Practice in faking it. So she’s pretty happy. 
I can’t believe she’s almost two! 

I think we have skipped autumn and gone straight to winter 
It’s cold and wet today. Even the ducks have disappeared 



The last couple of nights we have lit the fire for a few hours before bed, but today it was lit in the early afternoon 
Not even the ducted made it cosy in here. 
I just don’t like artificial heat. Give me a roaring fire anyday. 

It feels like the weeks are flying by
Daylight savings will end this Sunday 
It’s great for early mornings, and I don’t mind the shorter days either. 
Not at the start anyway. 

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Dangerous mail



Bendigo wool mills have sent me a 2023 shade chart. 

Kinda like a drug dealer giving out free samples 
This might up up being very very bad 

Who’s your favourite enabler?
I mean yarn seller

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Rain


It’s a rainy day today. 
The change in weather was felt in my body and pain levels. 

I’ll be home, going slow and being gentle with my self. 




At least all this rain is great for the garden 

Monday, March 27, 2023

Cooler weather


Cool ands showery today. 
The days of hot sunny weather seems to be behind us now 

We need the rain and it’s perfect. Steady showers letting it slowly soak into the ground 
After a busy morning swimming and going to the shopping Centre to get a few errands done,
I’m warm in bed working on the big mosaic blanket. 

Audiobook going and a poodle keeping me company 

Not a bad way to spend a day. 

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Saturday in the city

Saturday we headed off into the city. The usual gang minus one. Still off we went to see 
Agatha Christie’s The mouse trap.  

Not usually what I like but a day out. Is a day out. 



Once again Clare got great seats and we settled down to watch the show. 
I was pleasantly surprised. It was funny and engaging. 
And I didn’t see the end. I had no idea who had done it!

After the show we needed up back at our favourite roof top bar and enjoyed a couple of drinks in the sunshine 



After which we headed off for dinner and then back onto the train home. 

I learnt two things that will help in the future 
Take my walking stick. ALWAYS 
And take pain meds before you even start, because once the pain becomes unbearable it’s too late 

Other than that. It was a lovely day out, with good friends, on a Beautiful autumn day in the city 

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Recovery


After three days of granddaughters and pushing on Monday to get everything I usually get done over the the weekend that I didn’t 
I crashed big time.  

My car had to go in and it’s brake fluid changed or topped up so something in the morning so I took the opportunity to have a much 
Needed sleep in. 

Then I had an Ouchie massage in the afternoon so by the evening I was very very sore. 

A hot soak in the bath and then I continued working on my squares. 




They’re all done now. So today in knitting group I’ll start to sew them together. 
I’ve tried to organise them so they’re all different. Which I have succeeded at on this side 

They do have a back side. I’m not even looking at that. Or I’ll go insane. Or more insane than I am now! 

I’ll just be happy to have one side where they’re all different and not two alike are touching each other. 

A roast pork in the slow cooker for dinner
The weather has definitely changed now so the crock pot will come out more often. 
We even got some welcome rain. 

The wheel of life is definitely turning. 

Monday, March 20, 2023

Can’t help myself

A few weeks ago. I took some cuttings from my oregano and put them in a glass of water and left them  in the kitchen window sill 

You can just see the little roots have formed 



I had some plastic cups from I don’t know when. So decided they would make excellent mini pots 

I went over to the shed and Terry helped me make some holes in them 
And I’ve potted them up. They all have two baby plants except one which has three 

I’ve also got five baby perpetual basil plants in two pots 

The pots with three plants each are for someone special who will pop over Thursday to pick these , and my leek seedlings , up for her garden  



Remember the cabbage seeds. Some have germinated. 
The string did stop the birds scratching them up. They are all coming up at different rates. And one variety is coming up quicker with the other only just starting. So I won’t have to harvest all at the same time 



I love baby plants. So much potential in that little green slip 
And I love making new babies from existing plants. Sharing is caring and I love sharing my babies with others. 

I think I have a disease. But that’s ok. I hope everyone catches it and we can suffer together 

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Planting the babies

Hubby took these to the shed and revamped them. Then we filled them with fresh compost mix and I’ve planted out the biggest of the seedlings 

There’s radicchio, cauliflower and broccolini in the first five beds 



Those white butterflies are still around so I’ve netted them
Hopefully it keeps them off my seedlings 



I sowed the second half of this pot with the other packet of beetroot. 

So we will have lots to eat fresh from the garden 



Topped up this garden with more compost and planted more leeks. All this came out of one little square 



Yesterday was so hot. The hottest match day in over ten years. 

Today it’s much cooler and there is a drizzle in the air. 
A perfect day to plant out. 

With a bit of luck the winter garden will flourish 

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Weekend at grandmas

We had a mani pedi 
Although only melody wanted her digits painted  



Melody Asked to learn some craft. She tried crochet first but it was a tad fiddly so we switched to knitting she’s doing really well and is currently still knitting away next to me 



Meanwhile Brianna was outside helping grandpa organise and cook a BBQ dinner 



While grandma watered the pots and veggies. The girls okayed on the swing and slide 



Then some chalk art. Trixie approved 



They will sleep over tonight and their parents will pick them up sometime tomorrow afternoon. 
Who knows what we will get up to by then. 


Friday, March 17, 2023

Everyone’s Irish






Happy st Patrick’s day 
Today we're all Irish 
Enjoy the fun day 

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Slowly slowly

I decided to plant out some of the leeks. 
I ended up using three sections of this tray and the rest is back in the mini hot house 
Waiting for me to decide where they should go 


I moved these pots into place and filled them with compost. 
The compost pile is out the back so I had to bring it in with the wheelbarrow. 

It took three fairly full wheelbarrow loads to fill them 

You can just see the leeks   They’re small but I’ve planted onions and leeks this little and they have 
Grown. After a week or so. Once they’re established I’ll mulch them 


I swam three days in a row this week and almost two hours each morning so I’m now exhausted 
So dinner is in the slow cooker. 
Meatballs in the roasted vegetable past I made with more fresh eggplant and peppers 



Not the best looking but it’s so full of flavour I’m sure it will taste good. 
The rest of the day will be taken up with continued work on the big mosaic blanket until my arms start to hurt then I’ll swap back to the small fabric squares. 

I really need to water out front as well. It’s been so long since we have had any decent rain and we don’t have any forecast in the near future. 
But the time I do all that it will be time for bed 

Enjoy your day 

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Mulberries

The mulberry bush was in pot. It grew really well but didn’t produce much. Just a few sad berries 

So a few months ago we planted it into the ground and boy has it made a difference 



I call it my snack tree as I constantly snack on the ripe berries while working out side. 

Even Ana now knows that we can eat the black berries 


 
The two newer, white mulberries were planted into the ground at the same time and they have exploded with new growth 



With a bit of luck they’ll have lots of white mulberries for me to snack on next year. 

Monday, March 13, 2023

Something simple

I needed something simple and small to keep my hands occupied as working on the big mosaic blanket is just too hot and heavy now 

I’ve wanted to make one of those combination blankets using fabric and crochet 

I made the squares up a couple of weeks ago and they have been sitting and waiting for the crochet part. 

Today I blanket stitch all around each square 



I found a video tutorial called height tea crochet and decided to follow the pattern 

It’s pretty simple and looks pretty. 




One square down, nineteen more to go 
Should keep my hands too busy to eat. 

Well that’s the plan anyway 


Sunday, March 12, 2023

Pottering

This morning I spent some time pulling out the first of the tomatoes and weeding in between the pots 



Looks much better. 
Hubby is going to check the outlets, where the excess water cones out. And then I’ll top them up with compost 
And get them ready for the winter planting 


I’ve slowly stared refreshing the pots and putting them to bed for  the winter. 
The white pot with the gladioli was very overgrown with weeds they had grown from underneath, getting in the drain holes. I had to tip it over, after getting the bulbs out, and using the rake to hook the weeds and pull the out!

It was quite the workout 



I’ve added fresh compost and replanted the bulbs. Covered with mulch and watered well. 

I’m not sure what this plant is but it was very neglected. 
It was somewhere that I had just missed it. When I found it I added it here waiting for some TLC. But I kept forgetting. 

Today I pulled it out. Got rid of the compacted soil around it. Tickled the roots and repotted it.  Good water and it’s good to go. I’ll mulch it and fingers crossed it takes off 



All that wheelbarrow work and the trying to pull out the clumped up soil has exhausted me. 

I think the rest of the day will be spent doing less physical work. 
Hubby went away for the long weekend, but I got a message saying he decided to come home today. 
Which is great. I can get him to start on the overflow valves 
So I can finish those wicking pots and move on to the next section tomorrow 
Enjoy your weekend 

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Exhausted







Today is a do nothing day. 
Brought to you by the gale force winds trying to rip my roof off 
And bring down trees 
All night long. 

I’ve had maybe three hours sleep  all up 
In about twenty minutes at a time during the night 

I’m grumpy 
And I’m only half way through my first coffee. 
Approach with care. 

This has been a community announcement 

Monday, March 6, 2023

What’s cooking

Yesterday, while working very hard outside I decided we needed a quick lunch 
Something simple yet filling. 
So I picked more tomatoes off the vines and got some oregano from the herb garden 

Cooked them up until just soft and added a jar of the roast vegetable purée I made a few weeks ago. 
This is what it looked like. 


Cooked the pasta and stirred through. Added a generous amount of Parmesan cheese and lunch was ready. 
It tasted good. And the left over were eaten today by hubby and wonderson for their lunch. 


Meanwhile today I cooked up some more of the zucchini pickles 
And made a coconut cake, the recipe came up on my newsfeed on Facebook. 
I doubled the recipe and made them in two loaf tins so that should keep the boys happy for a few days at least 


The silverbeet is coming to the end of its long life so I picked the best leaves. 
I also needed to use some eggs as the girls have been busy laying. 
A Greek spinach pie was exactly what Was needed to use them up 

I had a piece with a cup of tea. Delish 


Dinner tonight is chicken and mushrooms. I’ve got it cooking in the oven now 
Hubby got up around midnight to do a few loads in a truck. So he’ll want dinner early 
And he’ll probably be in bed soon after. 



A good day of using up produce to make yummy food for us to enjoy. 
I went to the pool today and did an hour and a half of exercise. 
I think the rest of the afternoon I’ll be working on finishing my socks. 
The burst of energy is now complete. 

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Sunny Sunday


Sunday has arrived again and it’s a beautiful day. 
So outside we ventured to get more jobs done 

This wicking bed was left empty as the bottom of the young chickens cage was put into here after every clean out I’ve now taken out the wood shavings as the goodness is now through the soil. 

I topped it up with fresh compost and then added two bags of seed raising mix. I’ve direct sown two types of cabbage for the winter season. I’m hoping that the last of the warm days help them to germinate. 

I then added a top of sugarcane mulch 
The birds like to scratch through the mulch so I used some scrap yarn to try and stop this. I might do a second lot of rows going the other way.  Just to be sure 


Meanwhile the seedlings in the hot house are doing well. 
There seems to be two Different types. They have either germinated and growing well. Or nothing has happened. I’m assuming  those ones will burst forth later. We can only wait and see 



The first packet of beetroot have germinated and growing well. I’ll give them a few weeks more and put the second lot in the other half of the planter 



Remember the rose hips?  
I threw the seeds in here and some hand germinated! 

Even if I get a few plants from all those seeds I’ll be very excited indeed 



So much more was accomplished but I’ll post about that in the next few days. 

Now it’s time for me to have a nice cup of tea. 
If I can get up and make it. 

Friday, March 3, 2023

Today at grandmas

We went outside and harvested the veggies. Those tiny tomatoes were very yummy and Ana Kept  asking for more. 
So once inside she got a bowl full to enjoy 


We spent sometime helping grandpa with the book work 



Grandma bought some sparkly chalk so we had fun creating art 



The dogs were getting in her way so we came  round the front of the house 



Trixie trying to help 



Teddy throwing his 2 cents worth 



Then we helped grandma water the plants   Ana had her own watering can and once empty will call out grandma more and place it on the ground for me to fill with the hose 



Ana has now gone home with her daddy her mummy is in Vanuatu and is hunkering down for their second cyclone this week. 
I’ve spoken to her via messenger and they’re fine with candles, water and food 
Prayers and good thoughts appreciated. 

Now grandma is off to soak in a hot bath with a cold drink 
Can’t believe it’s the weekend again 

Happy march y’all