Another birthday and the lovely bits of winter

Our littlest one turned 20 yesterday and I can't begin to reconcile where the time has gone since she came into this world.  Genevieve wanted a birthday meal at home so I made Indian food, lovely butter chicken, sweet potato and chickpea curry with rice.  This year was a bit different to previous years because my littlest now has a boyfriend, a very nice young man who enjoyed my food too.  :)  I made an orange cake for the birthday cake, a new recipe which unfortunately had a few problems holding together it was so lovely and moist.  It tasted good so that's all that matters, we're not too fussy in our house.

The dodgy cake.

20 candles, almost enough to start a fire.

 Every birthday, Fathers and Mothers Day and Christmas morning it is our tradition to have croissants and coffee, tea or hot chocolate, whatever is your preferred hot beverage mid morning.  Yesterday Genevieve had an exam at 9.30am which meant an early start for us both as I drove her to the complex where the exam was being sat.  So we had our croissants and hot drinks this morning.  I think this is a hot chocolate fit for the birthday girl.

 

So birthdays for our lovely girls are over for another year.  Winter however is not over with another two months to get through.  This morning it wasn't raining and we even had a little sunshine, the perfect opportunity to get out in the garden to do some weeding and pruning (me), raking leaves (hubby).  It was cold but I rugged up and spent a delightful couple of hours enjoying the fresh air and getting out into nature.

  I've always been one to struggle with winter although it doesn't seem quite so bad this year.  Perhaps by the end of August I'll be well and truly fed up.  That being said, I always find it so encouraging when I see the Hellebore's in bud and

 the Daphne about to flower.  I love bringing little sprigs of this divinely smelling shrub into the house.

I hope you are spending the weekend doing what you love.

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

Winter garden

Hello everyone, how are you?  The winter garden is really quite dismal at the moment with only a few pops of colour here and there.  However there is some which is lovely.  I planted Primula seedlings in March so they would be flowering by June.  Please ignore the weeds, it's on my to do list.

The Hellebores are flowering although their heads are very droopy from all the rain.

The Daphne is giving off the most beautiful perfume and I have placed sprigs of it throughout the house.

Some bug seems to like the leaves.

I found this Azalea hiding amongst some Pelargoniums.  I nice little splash of colour if I look hard.

These Jonquils were planted about 14 years ago and every year the grubs have eaten the flowers.  Not this year though.  It's very exciting to see some bright yellow in the garden.

This Chinese Lantern (Abutilon) flowers for most of the year.  I'm loathe to prune it back as sometimes it is the only thing flowering in the garden and the Wattle Birds love it.  Hubby pruned the side of it as it grows out into the driveway.  I've left the top branches so I can see these flowers everyday.

This Pandorea an Australian native climber, needs some serious attention.  I hoping to have lovely flowers come spring.  The sky looks lovely in this photo but it was oh so cold today.

When we have huge amounts of rain like we have this winter, the Land Crayfish also known as Land Crabs (although they are not a crab but a relative of the yabby) come up to the surface in our lawn (weeds) and make these mounds.  You can read all about them by going to the link above.

They don't do any harm, although we have to be careful not to slip on their muddy mounds.  If a yabby should venture from it's home in day light hours, our chook will gobble it up very quickly.

I was inspired by  Gillian of Eclectic Me to make some wash/face cloths.  Here is my first attempt which   turned out much smaller than I expected so I'll be adding some more stitches to the foundation chain when I make the next one.  It's very wonky around the edges and there are a few threads where they ought not to be.  I used Bamboozle yarn from Lincraft and found it very slippery to use.  I've since found a yarn supplier in the U.K. who who will ship internationally.  They have the most gorgeous cotton yarn in pretty colours just perfect for making up some more of these for the bathroom and the kitchen.

I must apologise again for the poor quality of my photos.  The good camera has gone to the camera hospital and I'm using the little digital we first had.

I hope you are all well and happy and that those living in the U.K. are having some summer weather.  It didn't look to wonderful in Paris on Bastille Day as shown on the t.v. news.  People were dressed in coats.  Brrrr.

Well it is time to make dinner.  On the menu tonight is beef rissoles (patties), Moroccan seasoned potato wedges and a mixed salad.  Menu planning is going well.

 Thank you for taking the time to stop by.

Anne  xx

Hibernating

Just to let you know that I'll probably be absent a bit in the next few months.  I don't do winter very well and unfortunately I'm heading for the black hole again.  Bummer!!

I'll try and post a few bits and pieces when I'm having a reasonable day.  I have been working my butt off to avoid this horrible place again but obviously I didn't work hard enough.

I'll be reading your posts even if I'm not posting myself.

 

Bye for now,

Anne  xx

Changes

I've made a few changes to my blog, obviously! :)  I like to change things around every now and then, and this is what I'm going with for the moment.

I worked on the blog illustrations today and they represent some of the things that are important and have meaning to me.   I sign my pen and water colour illustrations as Damelia (for my Grandma) and use my own name when I paint in oils.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.  May the beautiful and very cold people in the northern hemisphere keep warm and stay safe in your snowy and wintery conditions.  To those in the southern hemisphere, enjoy the sun if it's shining down on you.

I'll leave you with this photo of a rose (Lordly Oberon) I planted in memory of my Aunty when she passed away a few years ago.  It is flowering beautifully although the blossoms are a  little rain damaged now.

Anne  xx

Winter joy

Hellebores budding in my garden.

Winter is not generally a time of year that I enjoy for a number of reasons. It’s cold, damp, muddy, wet, frosty, grey a lot of the time, there are minimal flowers in the garden and a myriad of other reasons. As winter is going to come around year after year I decided that I really should put out some effort into thinking about the nice things that winter brings with it. Here is a small list of things I’ve come up with to help me think more positively about a season that often makes me feel more than a little glum.

Blueberry muffins and camelias.

Roast dinners, soups, stews, self-saucing puddings, muffins, chocolate, hot chocolate with marshmallows floating in the top, lattes, a hot cup of tea, wood fires, cozy beds, snuggles on the sofa with a cat, crocheting (it’s not too hot), being inside a warm house when its miserable outside, having the oven on and it’s not too hot to be baking, stepping outside to cool off when I’m having hot and sweaty moments that seem to descend on me every half hour or so and wearing snuggly thick socks to keep my feet warm.

I took a peek outside the other day and discovered the first Forget-me-nots were starting to flower as were the Helebores, Snowdrops and of course Polyanthus although I did cheat there and buy some flowering pots. I should not forget the beautiful Daphne. I look forward to it flowering each winter so I can bring in some sprigs to sweeten the air. I hope you are enjoying your winter or summer depending on which hemisphere you live in.

Anne

Daphne on the bathroom window ledge.