I’m that frog

you know that story. The one that says,

if you put a frog in water and slowly bring it to boil.

the frog will die as it doesn’t feel the water getting hotter.

pits not true. The frog will jump out

but

I’m not as clever as that frog.

for the last few weeks Ive not been sleeping well at all

I just can’t fall asleep tossing and turning for most of the night

I’ve been getting up so hubby can sleep.

meanwhile I’m so tired that I walk around like a zombie

yesterday it finally dawned on me

my pain levels have been slowly climbing up again

I’ve been on these meds for a year now and it’s been at least the

last ten of them that I have been able to actually do things and be active again

now because I’m doing more and more I’ve been getting pain

slowly it’s been disrupting sleep patterns,

there are things that are getting hard to do again

and yesterday I found myself looking for things to eat. All day long

that’s when I realised that my body was trying to tell me something

I spent most of year just sitting and listening to my audiobook.

and not doing anything else.

lve even stopped knitting as it was hurting my shoulders and back

this has upset me more that you can imagine

I don’t want to go back to where I was before these meds

I want to be able to do things around the house

I want to be able to play with the girls

and I don’t want to have to use my cane again That’s what he caused my shoulder to

hurt so much.

live got a small hope that it’s worse right now because of the weather changes.

the day we planted the seedlings was pretty much the last nice day.

its gone back to cold, wet and windy!

last night we let the fire go out so we could clean it out

I wasn’t going to relight it until later. But it’s so cold I can feel it in my bones

i really really hope that once the weather settles into its summery pattern, my pain levels will drop again

please keep your fingers crossed for me.

My girls

On Friday Ana and family visited. Mum and dad are on maternity and paternity leave, and have been scheduling appointments and fun things to do as a family.

but they still make sure grandma gets her Ana time

I finally got a picture of Georgia with her eyes open. She has always been asleep. Which is great. But I really wanted one of her awake

Saturday baby girl and hubby were going out and dropped off Melody and Breanna to have a sleepover

wonderson then dropped of Ana so they could all play together

we all went outside to check all the stock and make sure they were all fed and watered

obviously while outside we need to run and play they had a ball chasing one another

once inside they shared a big bowl of popcorn and watched a movie

then of course they wanted Gabbys dollhouse and to do some crafting

as you can see they then shared a bowl of chips

Ana went home after dinner and Breanna literally dropped asleep

grandma put her to bed and she slept the whole night

Melody stayed up until the football was over

my team lost so no grand final for us And that’s all I’ll say in that!

this morning I gave the girls their latch hook kits

these are the bits of yarn already cut unfortunately they aren’t long enough not for someone just learning

it was very fiddly and they definitely would of lost interest quickly

never fear grandma is here

we went through all my yarn and found all the colours needed. One or two weren’t exactly the same but do close that unless you hold the next to each other you wouldn’t know

you see this is why we need our stash

well that’s what I told hubby lol

I then used the shuttle from the loom set

which I’ve not even touched because you know. life.

and cut up all the yarn they needed

I packed each colour in little bags and they were ready to go

Melody loves it and has just got on with it

Breanna is more an outdoor girl and decided it was all too hard and gave up

melody said she will finish both of them and give one to Breanna she’s a sweaty

grandpa went out to check all the animals and give them food so Breanna went out with him

unfortunately she didn’t bring a jumper or cardigan to wear outside so had to wear one of grandmas

its big but honestly not huge on her

just goes to show you just how short I am they will soon tower over me

Grandpa taught her to drive the tractor and she loved it

their mummy arrived to pickup Breanna but Melody wanted to stay another night

it’s been a long time since we had one on one time

tomorrow I’ll take her home in the afternoon

I have loved every minute of the last few days

I’ll probably need a rest day on Tuesday

lol

Product review

scrolling through Facebook, you get bombarded with lots of advertising

occasionally I fall for it.

mostly the things I buy I was thinking about anyway. Big brother was obviously listening when I was chatting.

anyway

I’ve cut my hair so it’s easier to live with.

it was really long and thick. Long enough to almost sit on. Now it’s just past my shoulders. Framed around my face and I’ve got a fringe, bangs, again

but now I have to style it. Especially my fringe or it dries all over the place.

originally I grew it all out so that all I had to do was tie it up. My shoulders would ache doing all that fancy blow drying and straightening. One hand holds the dryer or straightener and the other the brush.

so when I saw this I thought it would be easier as your really only using one hand at a time. So theoretically I could use just one hand and just swap over when I’m sore.

this is it. This is from the ad on Facebook

obviously they never work as well in real life, but it is light , manageable and I can use it, mostly, one handed

great. But where to store it.

I do not have anyway near enough storage in the house. I decided I’d keep it in the tray it came in and store it under my bed

this would work if it was in a bag of some sort

the two sides are quilted to help protect it

I used up some of the stash. I have a small stash of odd fabrics that are just too hard to coordinate with any colour scheme

each piece was only enough for one side

not a problem it’s really only needed to store the tools safely

the tray fits nicely

when travelling it will be very easy to pack

the only other thing I’ll need is a brush to brush the knots out of my hair after washing it

everything else is in this bag

it wasn’t exorbitantly expensive. Around $100.00.

it becomes five different hair tools so very reasonable priced

I do look after things so I’m sure I’ll have it for a long time

well I hope so anyway

Warm weather

today we have a lovey warm day. Unfortunately it’s also very windy. And it’s coming from the north. Which means for us down under it’s where the hot dry winds come from

perfect weather to dry out pots and hanging baskets

I finally pulled out these dead plants and replaced them

the tag tells you what they’re called the soil level is slightly down. But I left it like that it’s giving the small plants some protection

other than that I’ve been inside just resting. I was going to meet my swim friend in cranny this more. But I sent her a text at around five that i wasn’t going to make it.

my shoulders were so very sore.

I was protecting my back so the shoulders were overworked

I spent most of the night reheating my wheat bag and replacing it on my shoulders.

they’re still saying rain is coming. Even so I will need to water all the seedlings. They will definitely need it after the hot winds

it is lovely to be able to open all the doors and windows and allowing the fresh air in

Continuing

once again we have a lovely sunny day. This morning my neighbour dropped off the bags of potting mix and mulch

I topped up all four wicking beds and started planting out

once the seedlings were in I mulched I’m so used to mulching that a garden just doesn’t look finished until it added

Just as I was almost finished hubby got home. Typical lol

He asked me want I wanted to do next

bad move

I said we needed to start weeding the larger garden area

I had already started the asparagus bed look at all those weeds!

I could see the first spears starting to come up

I covered it with mulch and watered it

it’s windy today and the mulch just flys everywhere watering it helps to keep it in place

you can see the grass growing around the blue pots

And in between the large beds

they're the ones that are the hardest on our bodies

the raised beds and wicking pots are much easier. no bending

Ana and I had purchased quite a few punnets of seedlings and we needed all the space to plant out

the strawberry pots were weeded and the three new plants went into the pots to replace the strawberries that had died

you can see the rhubarb starting to really grow now

in here so far we have zucchini and eggplants

you can see the mulch bag open and ready to be added

this large raised bed is all tomatoes

they’re the larger varieties I’ll plant some tiny ones in the blue wicking pots

that way it’s easy for hungry little girls to pic and eat

the white pot at the bottom has eggplants but a dwarf variety I’m hoping they start to fruit first

after all that I left hubby to finish the mulching. my body is not happy

a hot shower and extra pain meds have helped a little

Tomorrow there is supposed to be rain

I hope so that way everything will get a good soaking

it will be a few days before I can go out and do anymore

we need to get some bulk compost mix to add to the pots I had not planted in

I took from those to top up the pots I needed so I could plant all the seedlings

in the end it was a very productive day

it’s amazing what a little sunshine can do

Making a start

Today started with morning chores.

then art class followed by picking up my medication

a friend popped in for a quick visit

we both walked next door to order potting mix and sugar cane mulch

after she left I got stuck in

here are all the seedlings we purchased yesterday

to plant these I had to turn this

into this

the supplies will be delivered this afternoon once the nursery shuts for the day. Around five

I love having a nursery right next door. Have I mentioned that before?

I’ll top up the wicking beds plant up and then mulch

but that’s for tomorrow

Ive run out of energy for today

I’ll shower and relax by knitting for the rest of the day.

hubby has gone to the farm and he won’t be back until tomorrow which means I don’t have to cook dinner.

im happy with a sandwich or cereal

then I’ve got the television all to myself

a perfect Saturday night for me

Preparing

Ana arrived late this morning the whole family slept in which I’m sure was needed

After mummy and Georgia dropped her off I asked what did she want to do first

obviously nails!

first they must be all lined up so we can choose

four colours were chosen so each hand and foot had their own colour

grandma forgot to get a photo

this pic is out of order don’t know why just pretend it’s at the end of the post

after breakfast, nails and snacks I asked if Ana would like to come with me to buy veggie seedlings

I got a loud excited Yes!

it was a tad windy so we didn’t hang around

we went up and down the rows deciding what we wanted to buy

all the tags had pictures of the produce so Ana would tell me what she wanted to buy

i didnt take pictures of all the seedlings but rest assured we came home well stocked

everything she saw we bought and each time she declared, “I love those “

she was such a good girl the lady at the register gave her a small box of crayons

obviously once we got home we had to get the colouring books out

insert previous photo here

we spent the rest of the day watching Frozen. Both one and two

singing, colouring and eating.

she definitely can pack food in.

she did asked for veggies, fruit and the cow cheese.

it’s cheese that comes in a round box. Each piece is a triangle and covered in foil. She loves them. Especially pealing the wrapper off

eventually daddy arrived to take her home.

it was a busy but enjoyable day. Grandma is now sitting with a nice cup of tea

Positive signs

The first of the roses are coming out

unfortunately so are those dam reeds!

I think I’m going to have to use poison to kill them

i really don’t like to, we have a very large frog community. But there really is no other way. No amount of boiling water, salt or digging out has worked.

I’m going to have to read up on weed killers and make a decision on what to use

Im thinking to hit it with the most potent of the ones available. Hopefully I may only need to do it the once.

any suggestions gratefully accepted

Happy birthday

Happy birthday hubby

63 years round the sun

wishing you lots more!

let’s face it. I need you to keep working

lol

love you heaps

Missing Annie

Ana and her family all went out to spend the day together

im sure they will all have fun

but

this left me to my own devices

we had a bit of mis- communication

and a senior moment

I went shopping and bought apples on the weekend

then early in the week I thought oh I need to get some apples as you do

and then hubby went shopping and thought oh I better get some apples

as you have probably noticed we ended up with LOTS of apples

I decided to cut some up. Add some frozen rhubarb from the garden and I made jam

it doesn’t look the nicest but I does taste good most of this will be used in those 100 cookie recipe I use

you would be surprised how much it used up

I waited for these to arrive for weeks

finally they did and I finished off the wall hangings

these will be gifts for Christmas however I’ve not decided who will get them

four of these ready to go

I also finished these.

again I’m not sure who will receive them yet

I’ll make those decisions closer to Christmas

you can’t see them but I have added ribbons so they can hang

after all that.

and cooking dinner, chicken, in the slow cooker I’m pretty much done

it’s lovely and sunny today but as usual it’s cold and around 5ish it starts to really cool down

I’ve brought lots of firewood in so that we can ramp it up tonight

then I’ll sit, watch whatever hubby wants and knit.

a perfect end to the week

Wind.

Today the weather is windy

not the gale force winds we have been having, thankfully , but enough to dry washing

I striped the bed, put the sheets in the washer and out on the line early

towels were hung under the veranda and everything has dried

ivd got the sheets on the bed ready for me to remake it

towels will shortly be brought in folded and put away

all living areas have been dusted and vacuumed.

it was also bathroom day I scrubbed it all down and then I had a shower

After all that

I’m working on the socks

I’ve run the life lines for the heel and will continue knitting the foot

I think I’ll add a lifeline before decreasing for the toes and start the second sock.

But

Ill start knitting the (cuff) of the second sock and end it with the toes.

casting on and knitting the first few rows is hard. My hands just won’t do what I want them too.

I’m hoping this will be much easier

Ill let you know how the experiment goes

Monday

Yesterday I woke up feeling much better than I have been

Don’t know if it’s the weather, I suffer from SAD seasonal affected depression

or the emotions from the past few months

It wasn’t just one thing it was lots

or the fact I hadn’t been sleeping like at all I’d be up all night get to bed around five and sleep two or three hours

But the sun was shining I had slept thanks to pharmaceuticals and I had spent some time alone decompressing

I did three loads of washing

I baked. I had requests

and I started to try and weed

the weeding didn’t go well

everything hurt

the back, the knees and my shoulder

I think the bursitis is back

I had no choice but to come back inside

I plan to go out again today I’ll fill that tub with weeds and then stop if I do that I won’t overdo but the garden bed will eventually look much better

meanwhile hubby has asked for more knitted socks he swears that on the days he wears them with his work boots the feel much better by the end of the day

of course I’ve started another pair for him. It’s not heavy or complicated so perfect for now