spring???

As the weeks progress I wonder what the weather will bring us for spring.This week we have had....rrrrrrrrrRAIN.Just as we where ready for the next heat wave the sky opened up and down came the rains....

Luckily we have plumbed in our water tank...5000(potential) litres of water for the garden and maybe in the future ,water for flushing the toilet..
the gutters are flowing and we keep going outside to tap the side of the tank to work out how full it is...

also I have been back to the farm to re acquaint my muscles with the job of planting vegetable seedlings .Whoa are my muscles sore as sore...wWe had a planting gun team with the rows filling as we watched .But still we had time for lots of tea and cake breaks..

Cosmos

I also just love these cosmos

maybe I will paint them on my wall

in the bedroom ,opposite the white cosmos,blue iris and yellow daffodils wall....

new projects

I am about to venture into the world of shop window displays.

In the bookshop in Eltham,Meera wants me to make a stage curtain and backdrop for the window of the shop ready for Christmas.With lots of red velvet and gold tassles and trim...

The whole stage area will only be about two metres tall and one metre wide so it is more like a diarama. I am trying to find some red velvet,probably crushed and polyester because the window faces west, so has sun on it all day and will cause the fabric to fade..

I had a great play looking at images on the web and have decided ambitiously to be inspired by this amazing image and am doing my best to create it (if I can find the fabric.)I am off to Sally Mills on Monday to have a look at what she has in the way of velvet and red..

I have also made aprons for the publishers reps. who come to the shop. At the end of the year Meera gives them a gift .In the past it has been bottles of wine etc, but this year they will receive a Sue Thomas apron with the bookshop logo of an owl reading... screenprinted on the front..

birthday in the park

there is an important date in September to remember. The 20th is Lena's birthday.Turning seventeen! We started with a dinner at our place with the usual gang of us and Wells's and Trent and Matcham and Marcus. We ate fantastic roast lamb,slowly marinated in olive oil,lemon,rosemary and salt,and then slow cooked in the oven for three hours...Mmmm yum! Then we had flourless orange and almond cake and a large bowl of lollies.

we sang happy birthday and the German version and laughed and giggled for hours...

Then on Sunday we had the next party which was for Lena's volleyball friends.We headed to the Fitzroy Gardens and carried the B.B.Q. a table and esky,lots of food and drink ,more birthday cake, a large basket full of balls and other sporty activities.The bbq was fired up and the balls started to bounce and fly.

Then the fun began.One of the footballs ended up,very lodged in a palm tree.So then the rest of the day was taken up with trying to get the ball down .First another ball was kicked up to the tree but was too far to kick.Then Adam found a rubber mallet in the car and that was tied to a rope and was swung up to the tree .Then the rubber came off the handle and was also stuck.Then all sort of other balls and rocks were sent skyward.(keeping an eye out for passing elderly citizens)But the palm tree was very protective of its new found friend.

The sun set and the wind came and sent us all home to our warm houses. and the ball and the rubber mallet were still up the tree, Hopefully no-one is near when there is a big wind in sunny Melb.and objects start to fall out of palm tree in the Fitzroy Gardens...

another busy week

As the week progressed I found myself in ...
the city to see a fashion parade for spring fashion in Melbourne, with the girls from the bridal shop "Catherine R Couture"we were disappointed that the catwalk display only lasted about 40 minutes.
The clothes were by Melb. designers and were a range for Summer with way too high heels ,very high skirts and not much to really inspire us.Except the full catwalk shabbang!....
....with cameras and loud pumping music and loads of crowd watching on my part .Plus a show bag with treats to explore;bottled water,magazines,chocolate,skin care products, ideas from the designers,even a profile of one of the boys in August's house who is trying to make it in the fashion world.
A small town version of Milan or Paris maybe....
with one small town girl watching it all in awe..

Then off to Wagamama for some dinner and delicious apple, mint and lime juice (so yummy).

Then off again to find somewhere for coffee.We found a restaurant in Burke street, very Italian,to have coffee.We had a lovely waiter called Fabio who went out of his way to be the waiter of the year for us.
We were the only people in the restaurant so we got lots of attention including all the glasses and napkins removed and then replaced with fresh glasses of water with ice and fresh napkins delivered with a spoon and fork-a la carte style...
then we had coffee and profiteroles and a complimentary plate of delicious chocolates.and I had an affogato(which is icecream with a shot of coffee on the side and a liquor as well)perfect for the end of the night. we all marched out the door at the end of the evening and in a syncronised line all said....
"ciao fabio" and giggled all the way back to the car .... what a lovely evening.

lovely lunar lady

There has been a lunar eclipse tonight.

Slowly the moon started to be eclipsed and then the dust in the atmosphere caused the moon to appear red, a lovely soft red glow, so beautiful.

I found this photo on the internet staight away as lots of Australians were outside taking photos and posting them on the net...

Is it Spring yet

spring is in the air and it is still only August.We have had warmer days and so the blossom is out and the wattle is flowering. the warmth just makes you want to be outside and so I have....

the new chook yard is calling and so I have been pruning branches,chopping rogue elms,digging in the dirt,moving rolls of wire,cleaning out the old ticket box which is where the chickens will sleep,and planning how big to make the yard.( also keeping up with my other jobs so I have a bad case of sore tendons in the elbow from too much chopping and pruning )Then the fun part of deciding which breed of chooks.

Leonie and Massey have beautiful spangled Hamburgs which would be great and also I would like some Isa Browns which are such docile birds and great layers...also toying with the idea of Guinea Fowls, which Lena is not too sure of she thinks they are ugly and noisy.. I think that you need to have chickens in the yard to please the eye and the soul. something to while away the spring and summer days as long as we can keep Mr Fox away...lets keep our fingers crossed..

WORK and more WORK

I thought there was not a lot of work happening in my life,since I had my trip to England.... So I sent out the feelers saying ...." Say you have no work enough times and something will come your way."...and boy has that happened. To list my jobs at the moment

Monday:Gwens ..cleaning three bed and breakfast's in three hours,

....then 2pm till close (6pm)at the Lane in Eltham,

....making coffees and food

....then come home and make dinner for the family. ....

Tuesday:Gwens ..two hours weeding in the garden getting ready for the open garden .in Sept.

....a flying visit to Montsalvat to check out the long lost sewing workroom.

...found fabric had arrived for twelve cushions to make for Rosaria (decorator)

....checking meterage for all twelve cushions ,slightly short so one more call

... to Rosaria......

....phone calls to organise insert delivery.

....home to pick up Lena at lunch time to drive to the city for a spot of shoe

shopping for a formal dinner for the vic. team of volleyball.

....back home at 6.30 ready for dinner again

....PHEW its only Tuesday Next installment will be following soon

still wintery

The days are still cold we are waiting for some warmth to come from the sun .Today I have been to "Diggers Seeds" in Dromana . With Gwen and Nerri we went to be inspired about planting and growing vegies for our families. The idea is to be "locavores",to eat what you can grow locally or at least lower the food miles that are involved in feeding the family.It was a very grey day with slight drizzle and the garden was holding its breath for the signs of spring to come.I found some red flowering broad beans,curly kale,orange callendulas,blue lake climbing beans and delicious rissotto with brussel sprouts from the cafe ....YUM.... have a look at http://www.diggers.com.au/ for some inspiration

winter fun

Today we have ventured outside ,the sun was shining slightly and the fresh air was calling .Grabbed the football and soccer ball and the ute and headed to the back paddock. A game of kick to kickwith the footy ,with some time to gather sticks for a bonfire Large and small the gumtrees have been shedding branches and there is nothing better than dry eucalyptus for getting a fire started...Some kicking of the soccer ball as well. Then the cool of evening started to ascend and we stopped the sporty stuff, dropped off the sticks in a pile (for a later bonfire)and headed toward the house, The moon was rising and darkness was upon us,an end to another wintery July day.

New Beginnings

I have decided to make myself a blog to write about things in my life that I would like to share. Every day I discover something that is trully amazing and that I would like to write about or photograph.Lets see how we go!!!

It has been raining at our place and the drops are hanging around on all the leaves in the garden, the greens are back to being SO green after the drought.The time has come for the inside activities..no wool.. no problem, all those cupboards full of fabric can now be used to knit over winter. Just start ripping into long strips and start knitting.just like a rag rug but on a smaller scale.
it is very wintery and we are stuck inside feeling like we are just hanging around getting FAT