Another sojourn to Western Australia has been and gone with another one happening in a month or so to bring Mum back to Melbourne for Christmas.  The farm never disappoints when looking for photo opportunities, I just love those wide open skies and amazing sunsets.  Here are a few photos from my last trip.

A bobtail lizard looking for mulberries.

A large family of feeding maned ducks (geese).

On the bank of the dam.

Mum's cat Cara.

One of farming brother Eric's wheat crops.

Old silos on the farm.

Sampling some jam Eric made from quandongs.


Anne xx

My first pair of knitted socks

Where has the time gone since my last post when I mentioned I was learning to knit socks?  Well it's been taken up a lot by learning to knit socks, this pair in fact.

Now I'm sure if there are any experienced sock knitters out there you will see the mistakes and flaws but it really doesn't matter to me because I've learned a new skill.  My socks are comfortable and warm, a tad large but that's o.k. too.  

 

I must say that knitting these socks have been a life saver for me as I've been very much under the weather the past few weeks with a small operation and coming down with a nasty virus the next day that still wants to keep me company.  I've had to rest so much and sock making has certainly made this time pass more bearably.  

My thanks go to Christine Perry and her delightful blog Winwick Mum and her sockalong where she has posted in three weekly installments the sock making process.  The tutorials are explained in great detail in both written instructions and photos.  Christine has tutorials for knitting socks with either double pointed needles, large circular needles using the magic loop method or small circular needles either 30 or 23cm.  My first pair of socks were made on dpn's, my second pair are being made on 23cm circular.  My thanks too goes to all the wonderful ladies on the Winwick Mum Sockalong FB group for their encouragement and help.  Christine will be leaving the tutorials on her blog so if you want to join the sockalong or even just learn to knit socks, it's not too late.

So this is the yarn I'm using for my second pair of socks.  It's bright and out there, just my style and I'm really enjoying the process now I know a little bit more about sock construction.  I have quite a few balls of sock yarn (the stash) to use so I dare say I'll be knitting socks for some time.  :)

Stripey wanted to get in on the act in the very early stages of knitting my second sock.  He just wants cuddles all the time and I'm only too happy to oblige.  He makes a good hot water bottle on a cold day of which there have been many.

I can't leave without posting a photo from the garden.  Dew drops on the last of the autumn salvias.

Anne  xx

Summer days

Melbourne summers are usually a bit hit and miss and of recent days it has been more miss than hit with quite a bit of rain.  I'm not complaining though as it saves me from needing to water the garden.  One of the joys of summer is eating stone fruit and as much as I enjoy eating it fresh, I love to use up peaches and nectarines which are just a little bit too soft to enjoy fresh by stewing them.  In this instance I stewed them with a little brown sugar, vanilla, a sprinkling of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, the rind and juice of two oranges and a splash of red wine.  Served with Greek yogurt it made a delicious dessert.

Unfortunately the nectarines and peaches weren't home grown but the rhubarb below is and it was made into a rhubarb and plum crumble.

We've been harvesting more vegetables.  The spring onions, garlic, pak choy, snow peas and cabbage in the photos below went into a yummy stir fry recently.

Less healthy food made and eaten (not all of them yet), are these yummy Monte Carlos I made last night.

Home baked biscuits just taste so much better than store bought wouldn't you agree?!

 

Moving away from food and cooking now and onto animals.  Genevieve's cat Bungee decided he would try and catch some birds on her lap top.  He's never exhibited this behaviour before and was rather cute.

It's been an expensive week with the two cats and dog getting their annual checkups and vaccinations at the vet.  Stripey has a yearly blood test for hypothyroidism to check if his medication is at the right level and in addition to that Sophie has terrible skin allergies and requires special food and medication for her itching.  The price of the food has gone through the roof (U.S. made), so I'm trialling her on an Australian brand I've just found and hoping it works as it is considerably less expensive.  I've been assured it will solve many of her problems, so fingers are crossed.

On one of the rare occasions I was up early recently, we had a magnificent sunrise and although I can't see the horizon because we are surrounded by trees I was still able to enjoy the colours.

I hope wherever you are, all is well with you and yours.  Thank you for taking the time to read my post and follow my blog.  

Anne xx

Bits and pieces

Hello everyone.  I apologise for being absent from my blog as I've been taking a little time out to try and find some equilibrium.  Not quite there yet.  In the meantime I have a few things to share. 

The best news is that my brother's farm has had RAIN, 23mm in fact.  It's SOOOO exciting so thank you to everyone who has sent good vibes his way.  He will need followup rains to keep grass growing once it greens up.

Never leave a washing basket lying around with clean clothes in it, makes the perfect bed for a feline wanting a cat nap.

Stripey in the basket with Bungee keeping watch.

 Apparently Bungee prefers sleeping under the basket which was sitting on top of his bed in the laundry.

Look at my magnificent ironing pile on the right.  Doesn't quite reach the ceiling yet!  :)

 It's not safe to have the odd body lying around either it would seem.  Stripey is making good use of me as a place for a cat nap while I was having a cat nap.

I've seen a few of these little Eastern Spinebills around in the last week looking for nectar in the fuchias.  You can see a blossom in the lower right of the photo.  The fuschias really need a prune now but I'm loathe to cut them back and take away one of the sources of food for these little birds in winter.

Something is happening in our back yard.  This was once a cubby house for the girls and when they outgrew it, it became a potting shed.  All my talented hubby's work.  He built it so it could be taken apart and rebuilt if ever the need arose.

Looks like the potting shed is being taken apart, a need has arisen.

A spot up in the north/west corner of the sloping backyard is being leveled a little.

Something is happening up in that back corner.

The repositioning of the potting shed in progress.  So what is happening to the space where the potting shed use to be.  Stay tuned.  It's very exciting.

A couple of weeks ago I found this little trinket owl which is so cute.  The little butterfly clip on the neckline opens so you can pop your special things inside.

Early last week a good friend bought me this gorgeous posy of flowers to cheer me up.  They were in a glass vase but as the stems got old I cut them shorter and put them in this op shop jug.  I love the colour combination of the yellow and aqua blue.

Wishing you all a good weekend.

Anne  xx

P.S.  The magpie has returned to raid the hessian from Sophie's dog bed in her kennel.  Obviously the building of nests is in progress.  This is the fourth year the magpie has returned, the hessian bed in Sophie's kennel is new too.

A happy moment

I've just realised that it is week 18 of 52 weeks of happy.  I've lost a few weeks but wanted to share one happy moment I had the first week I was home.  While doing some laundry in the outside laundry room, I happened to look up and through a gap in the wall saw Hector the cat sunning himself on the seat.  If you look very closely you can see him.  In amongst the sadness and grief of that week, this was one beautiful moment that made me smile.

Taken on my phone.

Have a lovely week everyone.

Anne  xx

:: 52 weeks of happy 15/52

Another week has passed and time to share four happy moments, a wonderful idea from Little Birdie

1.  Sitting outside in my PJ's in the warmth and cuddling Stripey.

2.  Buying some lovely yarn to make into a vest.  The light is terrible in my house now the days are shorter, so lousy photo.  Sorry.

3.  Helping hubby make green tomato relish.  One kilo of tomatoes yielded two and a bit jars of relish.  One in the fridge already being demolished.  YUM!

4.  Having breakfast out with good friends.  My Bircher muesli with yogurt, rhubarb jam and pistachios was delicious.

Wishing you all many happy moments this week.

Anne  xx

Hector

This is Hector, one very handsome grey tabby farm cat who likes to sit on what is called the pussy cat log.  Sometimes Humphrey, the other farm cat likes sits on the log too. More often than not, the cat on the log takes a swipe at the other cat as he walks by.  They are mostly good friends and Hector or Hecky as he is usually called, loves having his face washed by Humphrey.

I've not been sleeping particularly well at night as the windows are wide open  to let the breeze in after the hot day.  That also means all manner of night time sounds come in the window too such as the ducks on the dam talking to each other, crickets chirping and just after dawn the galahs screeching.  During the day through the same window I can hear  big orange and black wasps building their mud nests on the verandah wall.  They are so noisy they sound like World War II bombers.  They give a very nasty sting too.

This afternoon Mum and I sorted out a big basket of old linens, some lovely old doilies my great grandmother crocheted around and others that belonged to my granny.  The work and quality is beautiful and will be the subject of other posts when I get back to Melbourne.

Anne  xx