September

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September has arrived with a bang. 

Very windy on day one. It looks like I’ve not cleared the front porch at all

I took a little video for you to see. 

We are getting notices of even stronger winds this afternoon. 

I’ve been out back slowly moving things away and trying to clear the clutter. 

It always gets like that in winter. Things get put under the veranda, and they end up staying there. 

I’ll get it sorted slowly and then clean all the dust and crime off. 

It will soon be nice enough to sit out there and enjoy the outdoors again. 

Well. Until it gets too hot and humid anyway 

More stuff getting done

​this morning I decided to attack the front and south sides of the house 

 Forgot to take a before shot but let me tell you. The weeds around the pots were as tall as the ones in the pots. 

I used the whipper snipper, to get them cut right down. No way was I able to bend down and pull them out. 

I did weed the pots and all of the weeds were fed to Dobby and Brisket 

Then I started the front. I used the blower to get rid of all the leaves that had accumulated and then I used a bucket, broom and hose to clean the house and windows 

It looks extra nice when the sun came out 

September is our windy month, which means it will all be undone and it will look exactly the same before I cleaned it. 

But I know it was cleaned, and I hope the next time it will be easier 

After taking the tools back to the workshop and putting away my cleaning paraphernalia I headed to the bathroom for a long soak in the tub 

I was hot, sweaty and covered in dirt, and grass. 

Once I was nice and clean I used the veggies from yesterday and some sausages in the slow cooker for curried sausages. 

That will be for lunch and dinner tomorrow. 

For dinner tonight. I put some sausages and potatoes into a baking tray and into the oven. 

Hubby is having some right now and he says it’s delicious 

Me. Well I’m sitting in my chair with my legs wrapped in massage contraptions 

They use air and really get into the calf muscles. 

They really help with restless legs if you use it before bed. 

Depending on how I feel tomorrow, and assuming the weather stays nice, I’ll go back to the raised garden bed and finish weeding that. 

I don’t make plans anymore, I let my body tell me what it can do and go from there. 

Getting stuff done

​when I first set up my studio, I didn’t want to spend a fortune on the items I needed. 

I wanted two easels so I could work on 

Two paintings at the same time. That way work didn’t stop waiting for the paint to dry

I checked out prices of the wooden easels and they quite expensive 

Thus I purchased the small metal easel

And a poster stand, which was even cheaper. 

They have worked ok, the poster stand does wobble a bit. But I was working with it. 

But the other day I had another look, I’ve been checking occasionally to see if there were any sakes on

Well they did. The prices were slashed 

And I bought two for less than what they originally were. 

Even though they’re not top of the range, they’re much sturdier. And since they will be living in a nice safe environment they will not be damaged by weather or animals 

I had to put them together, they’re were in long thin boxes. 

I had asked hubby, but he kept putting it off. Like they do 

So this morning I just did it. He did ask if I needed help and I said no. Yes I was grumpy. They were here four days.  

I’m over it now they’re all done 

The next thing on the list was to take off the netting on the veg gardens.  Again I had asked for help. And again I was last in the list of priorities. 

So again I just went out and did it 

I took off the netting, weeded and harvested. I have one cauliflower 

Some broccoli, silverbeet and kale. 

I’ll cook it all and have it like a green salad. 

I took the net off these pots. These were hard as they’re at that level at which the back doesn’t like. I just tackled it slowly and got it done 

I then turned to  the raised garden bed. 

It had overgrown with weeds. So much that I had a hard time finding the anchors I used to keep the net from flying off 

I’ve half weeded it, then had to stop.  By then I was starting to have back spasms 

It was fine as the back half of the garden bed didn’t have anything planted 

Depending on the weather I’ll try to get out there and finish it 

I’ve packed all the nets and all other paraphernalia away.  Ready for when I need them again 

Most of the weeds ended up here 

This was just the first load. The girls are in lockdown. We have many birds visiting, and the ducks have arrived. They come back each year and are very comfortable with approaching the chickens and ourselves.  They will often be first when I go out to feed scraps to the hens  

Unfortunately this year they will get their share away from the coop 

I’m now inside having a little rest before going into the next job  

Folding and putting away the laundry  

Not my favourite job, but one that needs doing 

At least I have my audiobook to listen too while working  

I chose one I’ve listened too before as I often have to go out of hearing range, so it doesn’t matter if I miss any  

New books are for listening too while crafting. 

What ever you are doing, pace yourself

It’s not a race and you don’t get a medal for the pain you cause yourself. Trust me, I know 

 

Catch up

​I’ve been catching up with you all, and I hope to not let it get so long before I check out your blogs again 

But you know. Life happens 

After the busy week I was a wee bit tired and just had a slow rest day on Monday. 

I have been spending a few hours most days in the art studio and I’m just trying different 

Techniques to find what works for me. 

Tuesday I had a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned and some X-rays. 

My teeth are not the problem. Gum disease is. 

So the plan is that I will go back once a week for four weeks, where she will so a quarter of my mouth

Each time, giving them a really deep clean. 

I’m not entirely sure I’m ready for that. But it is for the best

They have some excellent gel that numbs everything and I’m definitely going to have that again 

Meanwhile 

Christmas shopping has begun. 

I’ve also spent some time on line today and I’ve ordered 

A few things for the girls. 

I always buy them clothes and the bulk of the order today was just that. 

I sent the text to their mothers for sizes and they were both good girls and 

Sent the information straight back to me. 

I usually wait until hubby’s birthday is over, he’s is the 8th of September, but I’ve ordered his 

Gift online. It was a while ago, and it’s still not here. I’m hoping it will get here before his birthday 

Arrives. 

Other than that. Life is pretty good here in the nest. 

You can feel that spring feeling in the air. 

It will soon be time to get into the garden and harvest all the winter crops and 

Begin planting the summer food. 

It will be nice to be able to spend time out in the sun again.  

Until the extreme heat of summer really hits 

Enjoy what ever your day brings 

Four girls and a birthday

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Friday passed as they all do with lots of love and laughter 

Poor Annie was just laying there watching the television when her little sister decided to climb on her to get her attention. 

Listening to them both laugh makes my heart melt. 

Ana had another afternoon at the primary school up the road. I think it’s an excellent idea to have pre school visits. This way the children enter on the first day all confidence and none of the anxiety caused by such a big change 

Saturday we had Georgias 1st birthday 

Yes already. Where has this last year gone 

Mummy made the cake  a unicorn 

We all got a round of applause from Georgie after singing happy birthday to her 

Getting her sugar rush, we didn’t let her have all that cake  we were hoping she would make a big mess  

She didn’t. She’s a little lady 

After the party we took the two bigger girls with us. They’re parents had a functional and they were spending the night with us  

Getting the girls out without letting Ana know they were staying with us was a delicate operation  

I would happily have taken her, but she has swimming lessons early Sunday mornings now. Mum and dad preferred she stay home  

I needed to stock up on canvases, I didn’t have any. I actually didn’t go to art because of it. Also I had no idea what I wanted to paint next  

When we got home we had pizza for dinner then the girls and I headed off into the studio so they could get creative 

I even had art smocks for them to wear  

They’re actually a couple of tops I bought that just weren’t nice to wear  the fabric was not nice at all to wear for any length of time  but are perfect for keeping the girls clothes clean 

After all that the girls went to bed to play on their tablets before falling asleep 

We have just gone back from taking them home  

I plan to, not do much at all, for the rest of the day  

Life is pretty good indeed 

Lunch and books

​today hubby headed off to have lunch with my swim gang. He’s met them all many times so no awkwardness. 

We talked, laughed and ate too much. Before we knew it three hours had passed. 

It was lovely to see them as I don’t go swimming any more. I’ve gone to meeting up five mornings a week to lunch every other month. 

When we finally got home I had a parcel waiting for me. 

Books!  

I love books. They were my escape from an unhappy childhood. 

Even though I have lots of things saved online I do like having something real to hold. I do print patterns and I have them in folders. 

But to have everything in one little book just makes me happy. 

These range from a few dollar to around the $10.  It would seriously be higher  in printing costs 

And these little books are definitely easier to travel with. 

I’m going to have fun just reading all the patterns 

Oh and yes I did clean that stain from off the carpet 

It only took a few minutes, the hardest part was getting back up off the floor when I was done 

This getting old caper isn’t for the faint hearted lol 

Winter

​the last few days we have had lovely weather. The nights and mornings were cold, and sometimes foggy. But the days have been full of sunshine. Getting up around 20 deg cel. 

Today that all went pear shaped. 

It’s dark with threatening clouds. 

The wind has really whipped up, and my phone has been going off with warnings. 

Especially around the farm. I have a separate zone for there. 

We have not had the fire going but I decided we needed it today. 

I cleaned it and hobbled down back to get the kindling. 

Once I had built the fire and lit it, I started bringing in the wood. 

That brown box is filled with firewood, and I also filled the plastic tubs. 

The all the wood left in the wheel barrels 

Got placed in one and the second is empty ready for me to fill  

Im having a little rest before I finish that  

I did vacuum all around the wood box and the rest of the room. 

If you look, you can see a dark area in the carpet  every time I vacuum I think to myself 

“ I really need to clean that”

But I get side tracked and forget  

I’m determined to do it today, so that it has time to dry completely before Friday  

What do you think are the chances of that happening?

I’ll let you know 

I’ve been trying to catch up with all your blogs. I’m think I’m almost there.  I’ll visit you all again very soon  

Busy week.

​on Tuesday my friend from Queensland was dropped off by her hubby 

For a sleep over. 

After she was settled in we headed off to go shopping 

I had to drive the big car as my car is too low to the ground for her to get in and out of. 

She has major back issues and uses two sticks to get around. 

I’m not confident in driving the big car anymore. Although I got more confident as

The day went on.  I even reversed parked into the car spot. 

We both bought a few things we needed. 

But we didn’t go overboard. Everything is getting so expensive 

Once we got home, we settled ourselves with our current WIP’s and watched 

Game of wool. It’s like the bake off, sewing bee and pottery throw. Only 

For knitting and crochet. 

Wednesday she was picked up and went back to her step daughters. 

She will be in VIC for another week and then they will head off back home. 

No matter where she is,  she goes back to the USA frequently to visit her daughter. 

She’s originally from Michigan,  we talk on messenger almost everyday. 

I didn’t do much after she left as I needed to rest for Friday. 

Friday arrived and so did the girls. 

Georgia now gets very excited when she sees me. 

Grandpa was once again here and between us we kept the girls busy. 

Or they kept us busy. Lol 

Georgie and grandpa looking at the little keyboard that comes off that walker. 

Her daddy plays the piano and it looks like she’s interested as well. 

We will see. I hope she does learn piano, then he has to listen to 

Gnomes marching constantly. It’s a song that uses all the keys, and is 

A more engaging way to practice scales 

I can happily live the rest of my life not ever hearing that again 

Grandma and Georgia like to bang things together to make sounds 

That’s the extent of my musical education 

Annie wanted a pj’s day. She was very quiet all day. 

I asked if she was feeling sick but no. She was just tired from a busy week 

She didn’t even want to do any craft.  So I let her just chill. 

They are both watching pepper pig here. 

You can see the new mat I purchased at panda mart. 

I got two. One to sit and play in front of the telly and one for under Georgias 

High chair. 

Helps cleaning crumbs much easier. 

Grandma then had a long soak in a hot bath, and went to bed. 

I really needed my sleep after all that.  

Progress and practice

​I laid out all the squares this morning to see if I had made enough 

Turns out I had made too many 

So now I need to make a few more to finish the extra row

I should be able to do that in one evening. 

And part one of this project will be done. 

Meanwhile I’m trying to straighten up the sides of the DPP Quilt top 

As you can see I’m trying to increase the shorter side to match it up. 

I still have a long way to go. But progress is happening even if it’s slowly 

I’ve been wanting to learn how to knit with two colours at the same time 

I’ve got a few patterns for jumpers, sweaters, that I want to make for hubby to 

Wear. 

I do need to practice a bit before starting a big project like a jumper. 

I got the big idea to knit a football player wearing my teams jumper. 

My team have black and white “ prison bars” and perfect to practice 

Knitting with two colours at the same time.

It was tricky just making sure I didn’t tangle myself into knots, but not too 

Much that I wanted to give up. 

I do need to work on my tent

 

This is why I started with something simple.  This is very messy 

I did use thicker needles than i probably should have.

But just for what I was making and for practice it was perfect 

The finished doll. 

I think I made his arms a tad thin. But I’m sure Ana won’t care 

She is definitely a one eye Maggie now and will love it. 

She’s just like her grandmother lol 

 It’s been very wet here the last few days. 

I’ve currently got an audiobook going, while I’m working on the EPP. 

I’ll head off into the kitchen to do same baking. 

I’ve got my friend from Queensland coming to visit tomorrow.  She will spend the 

Night and be picked up the next day. 

I need to have easy meals ready so we can spend the day going shopping. 

She’s a crafter and we actually meet at a knitting group many moons ago. 

She was the one who helped me with learning crochet 

We will visit the panda mart, she doesn’t have one near where she lives. 

And spotlight. They’re having a sale and we always need more pretty yarn. 

It’s going to be a fun couple of days. 

A little late

​I’m late updating you all on my Friday fun days. 

So here are some photos for you to enjoy. 

Ana with this weeks stitching.  It’s a baby chick. 

She wanted to do it in blue. Not sure why, I didn’t ask, I just threaded 

The needle with blue and let her go. 

She remembered, mostly, how to do it. 

She was so confident that she was laying down and humming a little tune while 

She worked. 

Meanwhile 

This cheeky monkey has started to pull herself up. 

These Fridays are going to only happen during school holidays next year. 

With Ana going to the same school her daddy went too 

I’ll miss her, although she will be here before and after school, it won’t be 

The same. 

On the flip side. It will be nice to have some quality one on one with Georgie 

Time keeps marching on, whether we want it too or not. 

On other news the weather has turned wet again. And we have been warned 

That we will be getting very cold winds from Antarctic 

So hubby spent today making sure we have enough wood all split and ready to use 

What ever the weather is currently happening at your place, 

Stay inside and stay safe. 

Wordless Wednesday

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Not so ancient wisdom

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I remember my grandmother having a mending basket that usually contained socks more than anything else. 

I too had one when first married. But clothes became so cheap, and nasty , that it just wasn’t worth mending. 

The kids usually outgrew them before they needed mending. 

But, as I now make socks myself, out of pure wool, they’re definitely worth mending 

I was inspired by Boud and her visible darning. I saw this little contraption somewhere on the interweb and decided to purchase it. 

Today I used it for the first time. 

As usual I watched a few YouTube tutorials and dove right in. 

Just setting it up was a challenge. 

The warp took me three try’s and it still wasn’t perfect. I just left them on after the third try and started weaving 

Again a challenge. I had to not pull to hard as the yarn gave way too easily 

But I persisted 

The photo is the final result. 

Definitely room for improvement. 

I’m sure, hope, that I will get better with practice. 

I added the little cow needle holder. 

I think he looks adorable 

Imbolic/ candlemas

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What AI has to say about the southern hemispheres festival 

Well today and yesterday were beautiful sunny days. 

If we had a groundhog it definitely would see his shadow. 

I’m thinking we are heading for more cold wintery days 

For our brothers and sisters in the north 

Have a blessed Lammas, I wish you bountiful harvests. 

I’m grandma

​yesterday Ana asked me a question. I can’t remember what it was, but she always starts buy saying 

Grandma. Well little Miss Georgie said grandma too. 

Grandpa was there and I asked. Did she just say grandma, he said yes. And to prove it 

She said grandma again and gave me a big smile and a hug. 

Well. Let’s just say I was very chuffed. 

Until later on she called out Trixie. 

Still I was first and I’m never first. It’s usually grandpa 

She’s playing with grandpa but she kept her eye on me. 

When she was tired. She crawled over, I picked her up and she cuddled in,

Put her thumb in her mouth and went to sleep 

See this is why grandma’s are padded and squishy.  We make comfortable beds lol 

While grandpa was keeping Georgia busy Ana and I did some crafting.

We haven’t been able to do much since Georgia arrived, so we were really overdue 

I bought a packet of these simple stitch squares. 

We have  decided that we will do one a week.

Is simple and a quick project, so it was easy keeping her on task. 

We had to take photos to send to mummy. 

I may have forgotten to do that. Grandma is getting forgetful in her old age 

So another Friday passed by. 

It is easier when grandpa is here. I don’t feel bad spending most of

My time with Georgia. He can take over and I can then give Annie 

Some one on one. 

I think she really liked that 

Anniversary

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38 years and they said it wouldn’t last. 

It honestly doesn’t feel that long. It’s all gone in a blink of an eye

It’s been a roller coaster but we got through it all 

Our reward two children who grew up to be decent 

And loving adults 

A son in law and a daughter in law who are the best we could of asked for 

And four granddaughters 

I think we have done a great job. 

Here’s to what ever time we have left 

I hope they’re as blessed as our 38 years have been. 

Wordless Wednesday

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Little house on the prairie

​our little house is coming together 

We have put the beds together and have made them. Ready for someone to sleep in 

There are two blanket boxes that need to be put together. 

We have finished one. That one  goes in the bigger room so that Trixie can use it to jump up and down 

From the bed. 

The second one, was supposed to go in the second bedroom but there is no room 

So it will go in the living area to provide more sitting space 

Our wonderful son in law is here connecting the water from the tanks to the 

Little house.  

We have power, the solar system is working  perfectly. 

I was able to use my hair straightener. 

I got very excited by that lol 

So progress is being made. 

Soon it will be liveable.  

I can’t wait to spend the night in it.  I hope our children will use it 

The dream is manifesting beautifully