Goodbye Trees, Hello Winter

It saddened me to have to get two of our big gums chopped down but one was dangerously decaying, as in likely to drop even more big branches and cause damage, and the other had put its more recent energy into lifting the pavers at the back of the house.  The result is not as horrendous as I anticipated and has, in fact, inspired me to establish another small garden bed when the weather warms up.

Winter is finally here after a magnificent autumn. I took this photo of our coral vine one sunny autumn day. It's a plant that comes up every year and never gets any attention.

Another plant that is continuing to please me is my tomatoberry.  Even at this time of year I am able to pick 12-20 small tomatoes every day although the bush is starting to look a bit sick.  It's a variety that I've never grown before but I will be looking for it next next summer.

And, the winter solstice has passed! It's a date I always seem to note.  The temperature may continue to drop but the days will start to get longer.  There never seem to be enough daylight hours for me and I've become 'not good' at getting up in the dark.

It's not often that I am there when our two daughters go out together. Rachel was a bridesmaid recently and Emily was at the wedding.  The other bridesmaid was the bride's sister and she was Emily's friend at primary school so I was delighted to get a photo of the four girls together.

New Carpet

Finally! Our new carpet is to go down next week! After much procrastination and endless debate (not all pleasant) our home is to be re-carpeted. Of course it has necessitated a big tidy-up, which is the reason for the debates. We have so much "stuff": bookshelves and cabinets full of things that we rarely use but are of sentimental value, some monetary value or "likely to be useful sometime." Anyway lots of things have gone to Lifeline and several boxes that have been put into the shed will not return to the house until they have been sorted through. I am finding the whole exercise emotionally draining. Lots of old books and magazines that have been sent to new homes are a record of our activities and interests over the years: cars, motorbikes, archery, guns, woodwork, gardening, alternative health, camping, caravans, nutrition & cooking........plus a big box of video tapes and LP records (we haven't had a turntable for years!) Lots of things are staying: a couple of early editions of Popular Mechanics (1949), a postcard album dated 1903 that belonged to a great aunt, a selection of National Geographic, Australian Geographic and Nature Australia. We have plenty of more recent publications to fill our shelves, and how many photo albums have we accumulated over the years?!!

Our living area has been thinned out. Next task: the bedrooms!

Winter Solstice

We've had some miserable weather in recent weeks - but it is winter and there have been some bright spots! The advent of our winter solstice means that from now on the days will get longer. Hooray!! I understand completely why this date features in pagan celebrations.

My cymbidium orchids are flowering and so too is my sole camellia (in a pot.) I am convinced that position is the most important factor that determines whether or not one's orchids flower.

Finally, we have got the website and blog for Toowoomba Quilters Club Inc up and running. It needs some work - but it's up.

Also I had a pyjama day last week. For those who don't indulge in such decadent behaviour, it means that I spent the entire day in my pyjamas, large parts of it in bed being a sloth. It was a bright spot because, afterwards, I felt so much better for being lazy and self-indulgent!

Our next major project is to re-carpet the house and I am somewhat heartened to know several people, including Di, who are managing to stay sane during major renovation projects in their homes. Packing up the contents of shelves, sideboards, dressing tables....not to mention the mess behind the computer desk...(Does everyone have endless cords, wires, connectors behind their electronic equipment?) ..is a nightmare!

January is half gone!

I had a very lazy day yesterday, sitting in a comfy chair finishing a novel, Katherine by Anya Seton. In recent times I've enjoyed reading a few historically-based novels and this one called upon the history I learned as a child at school in England. (So it wasn't all a waste of time!)

At least my body had a bit of a rest from outdoor labouring - which I do enjoy. Our block and my outdoor pot plants all look pretty good at present although the forecast of possible rain later this week is good news. My tomato production is beginning to fall off now but we have had another wonderful crop this year. Decades ago I made a batch of tomato relish and am going to do a repeat performance this week. It's an old recipe from my sister who makes those sorts of things regularly and frequently.

One of my favourite things about Christmas and birthdays is the exchange of greetings with old friends with whom I would otherwise lose contact. I have several friends in that category including Pat who now lives in Newhaven in England. Our mothers were friends when we were small children in Surrey and I guess we kept in contact through our mothers. Later, in the 1970s, we met up in London and have exchanged news and seasonal greetings ever since. The "credit crunch" as she calls it has impacted severely on them and she is waiting to hear about the possible termination of her job.

Our local economy appears fairly buoyant. However I do remember experiencing a completely different sentiment when I was in Sydney late last year. Try as I may to understand what's going on, along with most of the population I have to believe that our government knows what it is doing.

Time for a gripe! Why do we have to buy in multiples to get "special" prices? I don't want to have to buy two loaves of bread or six cans of tuna in order to get the good price. We don't eat any more of the discounted items and storage becomes a problem.

Lost week

I'm not sure what happened to the past week! Mostly I have lists of things that didn't get done and places I didn't get to! (They include my yoga class, gym and Toowoomba Quilters.)

I did, however, get a bus to Brisbane to see our daughters before we go away again. A $10 bus fare (one way) makes it not worth driving and their devoted father didn't need to see them because he "can remember what they look like!"

Wasn't the rain wonderful! We had a total of 62mls and our tanks are overflowing - it's especially good when you are totally reliant on rain water. Hopefully, this area will be nice and green when I get back from Darwin.

We fly out from Brisbane on Friday and will be staying in a fairly remote part of the NT. I have several novels to take with me and I will be back to sewing hexagons again while we are away because I haven't progressed any other projects to an appropriate hand sewing level.

Cauldron Fire

Our plans were modified a bit when our elder daughter decided at short notice to spend the long weekend in Toowoomba. We enjoyed her company - and the visit did make me clear off the spare bed. We do tend to use it as storage space and dump a lot of stuff on it!

Last night we had a cauldron fire on our water tank where we enjoyed several hours of fire gazing, star gazing and quiet conversation. We've always enjoyed bonfires and since the introduction of fire restrictions we have modified our methods. It was such a beautiful evening with a glorious clear sky.

During the week we cleared a bank of lantana. It wasn't actually convenient for me but the time is always right when male muscle is volunteered! I should add that it has been there for decades but only recently earmarked for destruction. The results suit both of us and my scratches and wounds are healing nicely.

I thought our computer was dying earlier today so freaked out a little. It must be three years old and there are some files which should have been backed up. It seems ok again now but the experience served as a reminder to save files responsibly!

We are still without our 4WD after it was taken back to the dealer's workshop last week (for the thrid time)! I'm going to New Zealand in ten days' time so there won't be any camping trips in the immediate future. I just checked out the weather in Queenstown: maximum of 8 degrees today, minimum of -4!

Pop!

There's always someone or something to burst your bubble! Today it was a white faced heron that visited my fish pond, which is all of 70cm wide, for a feed of goldfish. I was very upset because, in the interest of trying to simplify our lives, my fish are my only domestic pets. (I do have wildlife "pets".)

Yesterday I was so happy with the way I had tidied up our outside area - and that rotten bird spoilt it for me.


Anyway, my dipladenias still look beautiful. They must like their location because apart from an annual cutback they are pretty well neglected and I've had them for 13 or 14 years.

I had a good day. As usual the ladies at TQ were really helpful and I'm keen to start work on a table runner now that I have completed fixing and mending my daughters' clothes that I brought home last trip.

More car drama

Today was weird: the 4WD was again towed into town because it wouldn't go - after a "thorough" checkout on Monday! Nothing went to plan - or list - again! HE was pretty grumpy. I retreated to the room I have recently called my sewing room and worked on my Miranda bag. (Thanks to Caity who provided the promotional and inspirational motivation.) I'm actually quite pleased with my progress; although I am slow because this has to be a positive experience and outcome - so I am following the directions meticulously.

We had drinks on the verandah this evening so that put paid to any project work tonight. We all know that even after only one glass of wine it is not wise to work any projects! It was a lovely evening and the sunset was beautiful.

I'm going to Brisbane tomorrow and will spend the night with my daughters after what will hopefully be a successful shopping trip. Both of our daughters are creative and draw beautifully (not traits from my side of the gene pool.) I think it was meant as a compliment when No 1 daughter recently said: "Mum is really clever: she's good at maths and spelling and organising things but she's really not creative."