A quick catch up

Hello.  Although I've been absent from the blogging world for a few weeks, life has been busy with different things.  I've been spending a lot of time in the garden and happy to say that some seeds sewn have germinated in their punnets.  Some of the seeds were over six years old so it's especially pleasing they've germinated.

We've had some vege pickings from the garden including red onions, leeks, lettuce, spring onion, sugar loaf cabbage and  bunching broccoli.  We also have a few bulbs of garlic.

 

I spent a good 15 minutes one afternoon watching this baby Currawong having a drink at the bird bath in the back yard.

Hubby and I went out for an impromptu dinner with friends and I had what was possibly the best meal I've ever eaten.  Spicy crispy skin Atlantic salmon with sweet potato, wilted spinach, roasted parsnip and a creamy lemon sauce.

  

Stripey has been enjoying our lovely sunny weather and took a nap in the cat mint after chewing, licking and rolling in it.  He managed not to squash the spring onions too much.

The garden is still doing beautifully and full of flowers.

This is the first Buddleia I've planted and the perfume is amazing.

I'm off to Western Australia again tomorrow morning to spend two weeks with mum and then she is flying back to Melbourne with me to have a holiday and spend Christmas and New Year with our families living in Victoria.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and continuing to follow my blog despite my absence at times.  Enjoy your Sunday.

Anne  xx

:: 52 weeks of happy, 5/52 ::

Here are four of many happy moments this past week.

 1.  Watching bees gather pollen on the Echinops bannaticus.

2.  My lucky finds, crochet blankets.

3.  Making a new recipe, Persian Love Cake.  Eating it, even better.

 4.  Cuddles with 19 year old daughter and Stripey who decided to join us.

Wishing you many happy moments this week.

Anne  xx

:: 52 weeks of happy, 3/52 ::

Here are four of many happy moments from my week.

1.  Roasting a chook in the slow cooker on a stinking hot day (no hot kitchen with the oven on), with French Tarragon from the garden, paprika and garlic.

2.  The Pandorea (Australian native climber) in the garden room flowering for the first time.  It's been planted for about four years.

3.  Spending a wonderful day at the Australian Open Tennis yesterday and watching amazingly talented athletes like Novak Djokovic and Radek Stepanek play a fantastic game of tennis that was SO entertaining.  Five rows back gave us an incredible view.  Thank you to my sister and brother-in-law for the opportunity to go.

4.  Eating home grown beans fresh from the garden.

Just as I lined up this photo, Stripey decided to sharpen his claws on the wooden garden edging.  So cute!

Wishing you many happy moments in the coming week.

Anne  xx

Queen of Kong

Yesterday I took our cats Stripey and Bungee to the vet for their annual checkup and vaccinations.  I'm happy to say that at 12 years of age they are both doing well and Stripey's hypothyroidism is under control with tablets twice a day.  

While talking to the vet, I took the opportunity to mention Sophie's recent reaction to the brisket bone I gave her and he said that some dogs can react badly to the fat content of the bone.  He said the boiled rice and chicken I was giving her while she was sick was the perfect bland diet until she had recovered which she now is, thankfully.

When Sophie was a puppy I bought her a Kong which has long since been destroyed.  So while I was paying the bill at the vet I took the opportunity to buy her a new Kong and a one of those manufactured bones that is good for chewing but wont do her any harm.  I'm saving the bone to give her on Christmas Day as we will be spending the day away from home with my sister.

When I got home, I filled the Kong with pieces of homemade bread crust and gave it to Sophie.  She had so much fun and was kept occupied for hours trying to get that bread out.  Here are a few photos of her enjoying herself.

Charlotte in the background and evidence of dog hair under the occasional table.  :)  Oh and evidence of a happy, well treated dog!!

The Kong has rolled under the sofa and Sophie is waiting for me to get it out for her. 

So cute with that tongue hanging out.

She looks pretty good doesn't she?!  At this moment she is out on the back deck sleeping in the sunshine.  She asked to go out and is very content snoozing away the hours.  Stripey is trying to climb on my lap while I'm typing this post and purring loudly in my ear.  There is nothing quite as wonderful as a purring cat.

Well I'm off to make pastry for Christmas mince pies.  The fruit mince has been happily doing it's thing in the fridge the past few days.  It smells divine.  I'm not sure if it's the brandy or the lemon rind but the proof will be in the tasting I'm sure.

Have a wonderful weekend and good luck with your last minute shopping, baking and general preparation for Christmas.  Have FUN!

Anne  xx

Working companion

Hello, how are you?  Today the sun is shining again which is lovely and it's quite warm, a very pleasant 22C.  I've washed and hung a blanket on the line with the hope that it dries before it cools off late this afternoon.

I thought you perhaps might like to see my working companion.  I need good light when I'm sketching and that usually means on the living/dining table.

Looking for ideas and inspiration.

Fiddling around

Stripey, my purring working companion.  He was so happy to be sitting on me and was smooching my chin.

 

Yesterday when I made my morning latte, I had a happy little accident with the milk, a heart in my froth.  Unexpected things like that bring a smile to my face.

Anne  xx

Gardening and crochet

Hello everyone, how are you?  Today was much warmer, a lovely 13C which meant it was the perfect day for some gardening.  With overcast skies, no wind and just a misty rain at times, I knew that rugged up in warm clothing and with gum boots (wellies) on my feet, those weeds were going to be history.

There is nothing quite as rewarding as seeing a garden bed minus weeds and it was choked.  And gardening is always the perfect time to have a good ponder on life, mull things over, release some stress and enjoy the sounds of nature.  The kookaburras were exceptionally noisy today.

Some plants were pruned, something that should have been done in autumn but I was off overseas enjoying the delights of Europe instead.  There is another long section of this border along the driveway yet to weed and I haven't even touched the garden beds in the back yard.

A bright blue wheelbarrow (very muddy) is just the thing to cheer up a dull day.

After working for a couple of hours, my back and knees were protesting so it was time to go inside for some lunch and a sit down.  How lovely it was to cosy up on the sofa with my wool and hook, have a rummage through some grannies already made and contemplate how many more I will need to make for the blanket in my mind to become a reality.  I've no plan whatsoever really, just merrily hooking away at large and small grannies in the hope one day I'll have enough.  I've joined some together to get a sense of what it might look like....hmmm, lots of green and pink in there.

I had Stripey keeping me company and later he kept my legs toasty warm.

He is such a beautiful boy.

So I've passed a rather wonderful day doing things I love like gardening and crocheting.  Now it's time to think about dinner which will be baked fish with dill, home made baked chips and salad.  There might just be a self saucing pudding tonight too with lashings of cream.  Just the thing for a cold winter's evening.

Have the most wonderful weekend everyone.  I look forward to finding out what you all get up to on your blogs.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Anne  xx

Flaked out

What would you expect a cat to do in hot weather, find the coolest spot in the house?!   If I were a cat I would probably choose to sit on a window sill or in a doorway where the breeze is likely to come in.  Perhaps lie down on a tiled or wooden floor, surfaces that are cooler than a chair, mat or bed.  Well this is how Stripey chose to cool off last night. 

On the ironing board!  Absolutely no breeze was happening in the laundry so I have no idea why he thought it was such a great place to flake out in the heat.  And no, the iron wasn't on.

In other news, I've been fiddling around with bits and pieces of crochet.

Things are being blocked and ends woven in.  Claire from Sweet Birdy Love
can probably guess what I'm up to as she pointed me in the direction of the lovely blog Pink Milk and am I having fun!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend,

Anne  xx