Can't I swap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

             Sometimes I wish I could be a dog who lives here, instead of me!!

 

But instead there is ironing to be done!

And the vaccuum cleaner waits for me, not quite the carriage taking me off to the ball with my beautiful gown and glass slippers!

However I guess the work keeps me fit!

Last week I had a deep tissue massage from someone in Melbourne....I did ask him if this was the same as a torture chamber..... and daughter 1 in Melbourne had one yesterday. The therapist remaked that 'your mother is in good nick for her age'!! This is the first time I have heard someone say about me, good for her age! Well, I ask you!!!!

Well, Cinders, back to the vaccuum!

Crochet flowers for cushion

I have another sad tale to tell about my knitting! I have had to pull out the back of my cardigan as in my haste to begin, I looked at the number of stitches that were there AFTER I was meant to cast off for the armholes! I have started again but last night I needed some light relief and crocheted some flowers, some from Attic24 and three from Australian Better Homes and Gardens. They are going to look pretty I think on my 'vest' cushion!

I am making some pumpkin soup at the moment, a recipe from JenniferChiaverini's The Quilter's Kitchen. If it is as good as it looks iI will put it up tomorrow. It has maple syrup and orange juice as well as all the normal  ingredients and I felt like a change. There is some for a friend who has a nasty cold and I wish I coud send some over to The Greedy One as she is a bit 'under the weather' at the moment, some TLC from Mum would surely help, wouldn't it?!

Cold mornings all in a row!

Yesterday morning!

We have had two good frosts in a row, the second one this morning a really white one extending out into the paddocks, rare for us. I love the crisp freshness of the mornings, normally followed by the most glorious sunny days.

Our new black girls didn't seem to mind, their black coats contrasting with the white.

The canna lilly leaf yesterday and this morning, beautiful crystals of ice this morning.

A frozen Arum lilly, crispy crunchy!

A frozen succulent cutting, recently popped into the garden, strangely the mother plant wasn't touched at all.

 Oh dear, the poor little bird snap frozen whilst having his bath...... but no, it is the bird ornament fallen in!

And the 'frog pond' under the tap with the 'frogs' having a frozen bath! I didn't realise when I took the photo that our glorious morning was reflected in the 'frog

bath.

Sometimes we do not get what we expect and today has turned out to be just that. Within a couple of hours the day had changed into a raw, cold, grey day.

Good for our characters one might say although I think I am tired of having things to improve my character!

Enjoy your lovely sunny weather on the other side of the world and really, I do love our winter, such a relief after the heat of summer! I can still complain of the cold occaisonally and always have to remind myself of something I heard Billy Connelly say once, "There is no such thing as bad weather, merely bad clothes!'

My Creative Corner

My creative space today is a corner of my verandah, and all the things I  have with me.........

my cushion cover, almost finished, two rounds around the outside.

My space today, in the weak sun!

My jars that sit beside me, knitting or crocheting.

The largest is to put all my ends in, all those cut off ends that seem to infiltrate everywhere, on clothes to be carried to other rooms, on the floor beside me, down the sides of the chair...... you know , you understand!

The medium size is to hold my embroidery cottons, for noses, eyes, mouths and maybe whiskers for when I make crochet animals.

The wee tiny one....like the three bears plates of porridge.... has tiny buttons for eyes.

And my plastic container goes everywhere with me....pins, needles to sew with, an odd reel of cotton, perhaps little feet for an animal in the making, [so I don't lose any in the making] AND most importantly, my little nippers for nipping all the pieces of wool I need to nip!

Now the sun has gone in, the clouds have swarmed in, very black ones and I do need to walk with the dogs before it rains so I must go!!

Wood collection for cosy fires

When we built our house we decided on an open fire, imagining long winter nights with a lovely log fire to gaze upon and dream..... the reality was

a. It didn't last all night, the house was cold next morning

b. We used a lot of wood to keep our big room warm enough.......

and this meant lots of wood collections!

Now we have an in-built slow combustion heater which goes all night, our house stays warm and we don't use quite as much wood. And we are warm in the evenings without as much effort!

Today the 'hewer of wood' was getting himself organized when I suddenly had the idea of a picnic lunch and helping. Ham and cheese sandwiches, some cup cakes and a thermos for hot tea, the dogs and us humans set off!

We find the log, tie up the dogs so they can't go off chasing kangaroos.

They don't think much of that!

Chainsaws all ready!

Now in use, getting small enough pieces to then split with the magic splitter.

The magic splitter, no more chopping of wood!

Beautiful markings and colours

Some sustenance for the workers

We don't have a twincab ute but a 1 1/2 cab, meaning the small seat in the back is OK for the little ones and slim ones, not so good for me to climb in....or out for that matter.

Because where we were we decided the dogs had better come home in the ute instead of running along beside us and getting distracted by those jumping things we have here in Australia! So guess who sat in the back and who sat in the front!

I'm the one in the back sea!

Wool chaos and a special birthday

Why doesn't my evening, sit by the fire stash, always look like this?

Yesterday I needed to change

                                                     this mess
                                                         and
                                                     this mess

                                                 into some sort of order.

No photo of my table, too dark as I go back to it now. Just take my word for it! And make do with the stash in the old copper preserving pan!

                                                           Again!

On Sunday we went to Melbourne to a very special 80th birthday partym our friend June. She is the most amazing person, an artist, still painting and teaching at80, no plans for stopping. Shehas an enormous amount of really good friends, and she makes each one of us feel as though we are really the very best, a warm loving person. She has worked really hard for an organization called Very Special Kids, a place where terminally sick children can go with their families for respite or to have their final days in a place where they will be nurtured and loved. Her sense of humour is gorgeous and every-one feels so loved and cared for when in her presence. Her son did ask for names for her 90th, I am sure that there will be another party for her then, she hasn't time to pass over, even though her beloved husband will surely be waiting for her. My words do not do her justice, nor do my photos  of two of her paintings we have here but here they are anyway!

We need more treasures like June!!

Now it is off to help get wood for our fire. Normally I don't go out to help but today I just feel like being outside with my 'hewer of wood' and might take sandwiches and a thermos for our lunch....if it is not too cold.   

 

Early morning

I am off to Melbourne for two nights and have quite a bit to do so thinking to myself there would be no blog this morning I glanced outside and saw the morning sky. How often we miss the things that bring us back to where we are, right now. My chores are not so important when I see the gifts that nature continually brings us, this morning it is the early morning sky.

As I took the photos from the top of a rock wall,[not to have wetr slippers!' I had a bird's eye view of my round garden bed.......

So often we need to see things from a different perspective.