HOME AGAIN.

The path to welcome me home! Valerian spills out to greet me, filling up the pathway. I love to see the nature given plants such as this, seeding themselves in places they like, as opposed to where I might choose.

This is 'Remember Me', given to me  to remember.

Some deadheading needs to be done! I think I missed the best of my roses whilst I was away but am still loving picking them to have in the house AND to give away.

       How I wish I could put the scent of these roses on the blog.....not possible!

I am off to my studio this morning, having promised Kate I would keep painting when I came home. Not quite so easy here when there is always something going on. We have just had unexpected visitors this morning...7.30...waking us with a phone call to say they were almost here! My brother and sister-in-law on their way home from Melbourne, a lovely surprise even at that time!! The house is OK, the washing up to date, ironing to be done BUT NOT NOW!! The day is very grey and cool.....after 88mls [around 3 1/2 inches] of rain between Friday am and Sunday am....so the garden is too wet to be in.....so no excuses...sorry, reasons....for not painting!!

Last day here with greedyforcolour

Today is my last day here and as usual it is sunshine and showers. it has been literally, heavy rain for a few minutes this morning, then greyness with little peeps of sunshine. Then lunchtime brought out the vivid blue of the sky. Naps after lunch, lying on my bed amidst the treetops there was the blue sky and the wind blowing through the trees. I feel as though I am a bird in my nest, no wonder nestled is such a special word!
We had an early lunch with my niece and her family, special time sitting on their window seat with my knitting and my special great-niece snuggled into me reading her book.
Saying goodbye is always hard but it does mean the 'hellos' are to start happening. Both families are coming to aus in about 3 weeks so not long enough. I am also home with the big one tomorrow night and that will be lovely. The lovely thing this time of being away is that he has said every time I have spoken to him that he is missing me and will be glad to have me at home....music to any girl's heart and always warms to the soul.
we have been through so many emotions this time, of pet rabbits....more for Kate to say in her blog, the excitement of seeing all that has happened here and in my nieces house, the relaxation and the painting mornings we have had, the warmth of smiles from Hugo at ten to six this morning, as he arrived in my bed for a cuddle. He has to drag his little chair to my door to open it. One morning I had a cup of rice milk [ugh] brought upstairs for each of us, one at a time. He hopped into my bed and then said he had forgotten the snacks so off he ran downstairs and came back very carefully holding a large tray with a new packet of rice cakes, scissors to cut the packet open, a knife and a jar of honey. So there we sat, eating our rice cake with honey.
As for Archie, so many precious moments with him. I have these soul moments with him, the love he has inside him is amazing and he is still a boy who has his rough and tumbles with his brother, naughty moments but how he loves!

Fun moments all, special dinners, knitting and crafting, napping and visiting, I am so lucky to have had all of this.

Shopping Expedition With Kate

A shopping expedition this morning. No boys....much as we love them!! Freedom and a trip to town, not to the most exclusive shop in town but to....The Warehouse....'where every-one gets a bargain' . And I did! Or should I say we did. But I'm the one who went a bit overboard and didn't spend a packet.

It is one thing I hate about being larger than I would like.....it is getting clothes that fit. The old Warehouse gave me CHOICE! AMAZING! and I had Kate urging me on!The best bargain were merino tops, $40down to $15, now who could resist that?

I am sorry about so many photos of me but Kate said I had to, that the big one holding the fort at home would love to see them.

Kate and Jonno have two gorgeous outside dogs, the one in the photo with me is a border collie. A smiling loving and enthusiastic dog. He was drawn to me like a moth to the flame when we went out for the ''photo shoot'....all he wanteed to do was jump up on me with joy. He didn't really think I was being fair!

Only one more full day after today. We always find goodbyes so difficult but with  goodbyes come hellos and home with the big one will be lovely too....and our dogs!!

IN NZ WITH GREEDYFORCOLOUR

Here I am in NZ with Kate so good to be here to be with all the family and it is lovely, lovely with to see every-one in their own environment and all the new things that have happened since my last visit. This is my morning view

with the green hill and contented cows munching away. Last night they were just through the garden fence as we watched television and crocheted/knitted, breathing and snuffling and of course munching!

Sorry about this one of a boy who had been sent into the bathroom for timeout lying on his side instead of standing upright! He had been enjoying himself until I appeared and said it might be a good idea to sit and think about being good. His reply was,'I have forgotten about goodness and badness.' What do you say?

As we ate our picnic lunch on Saturday beside the beach we saw heaps of ladybirds [bugs] so we all set to catching them,placing them in a paper bag, sliding the new ones into a small opening,  to bring home and let them loose on the rose bushes where there are some aphids. kate is hoping to create a new colony here, keep your fingers crossed for the sake of her gorgeous roses.

           
Watching television and........

the dog who crept inside wondering whetheer he could join in and then sat looking very embarrassed because he KNEW he was not allowed inside.

Flying kites, how does Dad get it off the ground?

          And a swimming lesson. The goggles make him look like his 14 1/2 yr old cousin in Perth.
This one is such a chatterer, always asking questions or explaining how things work.
I have had  dinner with my niece and her family...Kate's cousin is also her sister-in-law. This was lovely too, seeing how the children have grown, all the work in the garden and everyuthing that has happened since I was here  last time. Special dinner of paella and then pavlova....delicious.. I feel very loved when I come here. When there is distance between family members, get-togethers make for very precious times. We have had some crocheting times, knitting, and painting...just great to have the head space and time to create. We have been to the school where the cousins go, bare feet seem to be the go in this amazing school, really so aware of the children and all their strengths. kate has had a pile of books for me to read, ones she has enjoyed ond often books I may not have chosen....and I have really enjoyed.

I am hoping to do another post before I leave here. Just know we are having fun!!

SCARF AT LAST AND A FIGTREE ROOM!

Just as our weather is really beginning to warm up I finish my scarf...where is the reason for that! I ask you! I had to take heaps of photos of it before I could get one showing the pink flowers [it is a more vivid pink than it does show.] It is draped ove an old gnarled apple tree that lives in the bottom of the garden, it doesn't produce fruit but I love the look of it and can imagine that there possibly could be fairies living under it.

Just beyond the apple tree is the biggest fig tree I have ever seen. Actually it is more than one....in the middle of it all is again an old gnarled trunk with large curved branches coming out and touching the ground and have then formed roots which have grown into 'minor trees' all around the parent trunk.

Inside this is a fig room...not a garden room as all the best gardeners talk about in their beautiful garden books.... no, a fig room!

with a large crop of figs dangling around the outside of the room, ready to be ripened by the heat of the sun. A big crop thanks to all the rain we have had this year.

I have a picture in my mind of a table under here, comfortable chairs, children climbing the tree, maybe sitting perched on the branches reading or playing with their cars while daughters and I are chatting or crocheting or just sitting.

Other years I have worried about snakes also choosing the cool of the tree but this year there is NO long grass around it or inside...... the big one and I cleared it out on Sunday and now all that is left underneath this tree are a few remnant violets and the last straggly bits of bluebells. A good idea? I think so.

I begin my journey today to wend my way to Kate. Two nights in Melbourne with daughter no 1, Remembrance Day is a special one for us as we remember her beautful husband who died 2 years ago on the 11th. She is an amazing person and has picked herself up and created a new happy [mostly, now,] life for herself and her two boys.

Friday sees me catching a very early plane to Kate where I WILL  see all she has been blogging about! What a treat!!!!!!

Glimpses Of Our Life

Last night as I was about to cook dinner there was a sparkling shower of rain in the very late sunshine. The colours in the garden were ....as you can see!!

Then there was a rainbow!!! Can you see it? My little wonderful camera just couldn't cope but I had to show you! I needed to see it just at that moment. I always see rainbows as something special that the Universe sends us, 'good times coming' or 'never give up hope'.

A peep of the valerian that is flowering profusely wherever it drops seeds, my sort of garden. I love nature to take care of the planting!

Two dogs joined at the ...head, it really is at the hip as they are always together and often lie back to back or side to side! They are only newish friends but are great buddies, to each other and give themselves unconditionally to us and our family and friends.

Two books I've enjoyed. The first is different to the Lace Reader and absorbing as well.

This is hilarious, a great stocking popper especially for the men in our lives. He has written others, son no 2 will certainly be getting something from this writer.

I have been very slow with my blogging lately, just lots of things getting in the way. I have been doing huge weeding in my garden, trying to get it all done before I begin my holiday across the sea!!! The ground is still moist from the rains we have had so had to get the bulk of it done before it dries out....and we know it will!

I have been busy making a slip cover for daughter no 2's couch, it has come up well especially if you don't look too closely. I was offered a morning's gardening on Saturday so I could finish the covers! An offer too good to refuse! Especially when son-in-law is a gardener, has man hands, much stronger than this woman's hands and really is not any good sewing a fine seam!! So he did...and I did! So covers finished and a huge amount of weeds in the ute, not even lying in a heap as I'm inclined to do.

A Crafting Birthday Present for a Four Year Old Girl

I found a great dolly's cot in an op-shop a few weeks ago,thereby beginning a journey to create the birthday present for this special little girl. I began with four beautiful shirts donated by one daughter and began with strips sewn together.....you had a peak on an earlier blog.

I made the matress and the pillow from an old pillow slit into two, with  new covers, a bottom sheet, purple with the Pink label on it, the top sheet has a white doiley to decorate it, the pillow slip is striped with the shirt material and then made the doonah into a patchwork doonah

The Birthday Girl was thrilled but probably not half as much as I was! It is very satisfying to see a day's enjoyment, [the making of it] turning out so well.

Then last night it had to be wrapped, not an easy task when  it is quite a large parcel and there is nowhere enough wrapping paper in the house! So brown paper, patched, and bits cut out of proper wrapping paper that have been kept and are not big enough to be useful....why do I keep these leftover bits? I now know, they can be very useful!!

Geraniums....Pelagoniums

I meant to put this on the blog I have just completed! I just saw that Attic24 had shown a similar one and realized my error of forgetfullness! I have been planting more pots and putting some that already have shot into the garden beds, I love it because it is so tough and flowers in the most awful of conditions and does not mind being neglected!

Gardens and Projects

         I have been helped in the garden and around today and of course much more has been accomplished. The paths and verandah have been cleaned up and then blown with the grass blower, so much better than the old straw broom. Just after the big one finished the paths our very friendly blackbird, the one with the wonky wing, got to work, he just didn't want to have such tidiness in his domain.  He is worth while though with his singing, a sound that is Springtime to me and so heis excused the mess he makes! You can see his little peck-hole about half way up the path.

A patch of brilliance in the dappled shade.

My works in progress.... The baby shawl for one daughter is more than half way now, I am so pleased and of course after half way each row becomes smaller, even if it only one stitch at a time!  My scarf is also on the way, nearly finished the lighter purple. I have a plan for the ends, hope it works and of course will show you when it is finished

Now I have to do a few things inside. I sometimes would love to have the inside help when I have been in the garden most of the day. I should be waited on hand and foot, in fact feet should be massaged, a cool drink placed in my hand and dinner miraculously on the table!! If only!!