carving, cleaning & gardening

For some time I've been wanting a decent set of lino carving tools and a month or so ago Tim ordered me a set on eBay (I think I may have complained that he spoiled the girls -Chicky babe and Bec- buying them manga stuff on line) Anyway I have been waiting and waiting and the girls got their posters and other booty and day after day went by without my tool set arriving.

Yesterday the neighbour handed Tim a package- it was my tool set! They had had them for a couple of weeks and just hadn't got round to bringing them over! Oh well, never mind today was the first day in ages that I've had time to play with them anyway. They or it rather is quite nifty. It has one handle and 5 interchangeable blades that are hidden away inside the ergonomic handle. It is so comfortable to use. And amazingly quick, I'm using a relatively newish product, the white easy carve rubber rather than the traditional lino I'm used to using, It carves like butter!  Which is both good and bad. Quick to use but also quick to cut off more than you thought you were! Fortunately this didn't happen for me but I can see this could happen if you used this with kids. Tomorrow I'll do an artist's proof..

I want to make some handmade Christmas gifts and this year it might be hand printed tea towels. I have several plain white towels ready for printing. I looked through a book I have on designs from different cultures and historical periods and found some inspiration from the Asian flowers which carry a meaning of happiness- a perfect wish to incorporate into a gift. Maybe I should do a second one reversed so that I can print them alternating along the edge of the tea towel, maybe not it is actually quite big....We'll see.

I just had to include this photo of my sister and my mum from not this weekend but the one before when my sister decided to relax some more in my garden -in the middle of the day in the horrible heat on my only day off that weekend (I was not amused at the time- but this photo is quite amusing and just blurry enough to afford them some anonymity!) She woke me early and asked if she could come to visit- no mention of gardening - half way through morning tea she was up and gardening, then mum joined her, hence the nice top and the fluffy purple hat on mum (tee hee!), it was hot and we were totally unprepared for this kind of get together!They came back again this Sunday but I was prepared this time and had the whole weekend  spare this time. We ran out of room in the skip bin so and will be returning next Sunday ( one of my trees had to come out because it was damaged when the pipe burst recently and then there was 5 years worth of weeds along the driveway!!!!) I think that her garden is so totally clean and tidy she has nothing left to tackle. Fortunately for her my garden could use a little work especially in those areas that I ignore and pretend are not there.
So I was in charge of cooking morning tea and lunch on Sunday and will be again next Sunday- I now have a new found respect for farmers wives or scullery maids of yore. As soon as I finished washing up dishes from first morning tea (yes they are part Hobbit) They were ready for second morning tea. Wash those dishes cook lunch, clear and wash again. Mind you they were a very hungry and appreciative customers.
I made pizzas and a leek,asparagus and fetta tart, potato salad, sausages (at my niece's request) and these scones made with yogurt and oil- they are my step fathers favourites and very easy to make.
I will be able to repeat the scones but I'll have to think up another lunch.
I won't know myself soon. Our newest house mate is quite tidy and likes to clean especially while she is supposed to be studying and likes to rally Bantam Boy into joining her!

A post with no title and just a few words...

I am off from school today and decided to water my garden. I found that my rose bushes have burst into a mass of glorious blooms. I cut some to bring them inside to enjoy. 

I was pressed to decide which photos to use the colours are so lovely. 

So here are a few.

spring in my garden.

And berries in the kitchen.

(Gluten free low fat apricot upside down cake- made with wheat flour and berries, still worked

and still yummy!)

Surprise garden make over.

My sister came to visit on Sunday afternoon while I was revelling in my organisation success, (see previous post) her kids and husband were going to the movies and as she has developed a tendency to motion sickness at the movies she was at a loose end and was looking for some relaxation time.

As I made her a cup of tea she started to pull an old shirt and a pair of gardening gloves.
"What are you doing?" I enquired.
"I'm going to do your garden."
"You don't have to do that."
"But I need to relax and gardening is how I do that."
So we spent the afternoon in the garden, we did one half and I told her that if she was free next weekend she could come and relax some more in my garden.

She even convinced me to throw away some old cane chairs that really had seen better days onto the verge for the collection next week- being a collector it was hard to do. I notice they were not there this morning. But I have decided that she was indeed right and now I can finish off my Adirondack chairs that are in the back shed.

Doesn't it look much better! I have paving again not weeds!

I have a set of old metal chairs that really need a good sand down and a paint. I happened to mention to Tim that I need a set of legs to make a table to go with it - maybe another mosaic project.




Today when I got home from work Tim had found a set of legs on the verge side trow out that are perfect for what I need. A karmic swap for the cane chairs.

 The legs need some work but while I'm doing the chairs I'll do them at the same time! I got an email from my sister asking if I have a wire brush attachment for my drill and was I free on the 3rd of October. I guess that's when we are transforming them.

An afternoon in the garden.

Tick two more things off my list, I sat in the swinging garden chair reading 'The Divided Heart'. It was lovely and sunny but not at all hot,just perfect. I am amazed at how lovely the flowers are, they are true survivors as they get little TLC from me. I'm not so impressed with the tenacity of the weeds that appear with relentless regularity between the brickwork!!I suppose they don't realise they are weeds and are only trying to survive as the flowers are.

My poor roses are covered with aphids. I read somewhere that you can spray roses with milk and water solution to kill aphids but now I'm thinkig that it could have been to treat black spot. Anyway I did a little tending to the garden by spraying them with milk, so that's actually three things off my list. I think I will have to try white oil or maybe look up the book to find out what I actually have to do!

Chicky Babe wanted to know why I was taking a photo of the dog poo - I was taking an 'arty' photo of my shaddow in the garden. I think this is an illustration of how people see things differently. I tend to look past the 'crap' to see the pretty , unexpected things beyond it.
One of the kids visiting said he wished that he lived in a house like mine where the mum didn't care. What?? I care!!!! About the mess he explained. I just wish that my mum would just sit down and watch a movie and not worry so much about the house, it's more relaxing. A kind of backward compliment!

Funny really because the chapter I'm reading is an interview with a writer that says she lets the housework slide in favour of her artistic pursuits and mothering. I can so relate to this. Plus I know it's clean under the clutter! For a brief moment once every week it's nice and clean AND tidy. So if you come to visit me it must be on a saturday afternoon, on any another day you will have to turn a blind eye to the mess and look for the lovely little bits and pieces hidden in the rubble of my life.

Growth, change and sowing seeds

New year was great Bantam Boy and Chicky Babe had friends come over for a sleep over- no sleeping of course until about 6am! They are still promising they will pick up the remnants of chocolate wrappers and party poppers! Bantam Boy shaved his beard and got a hair cut for the new year. I don't recognise him now. It took me ages to find him in the shop today. Most of his friends have welcomed the change. I preferred the long hair bearded boy actually. Not really the usual mother stance is it? I am getting used to it though.

I've been trying out my new camera and in the process of loading them onto the computer I opened up a file of photos of the yard about 2 years ago. The yard was virtually bare and the plants along the fence line were only about 50cm high! My lemon tree was a tiny little thing.
Now it is absolutely laden with fruit. It is a variegated Eureka as you can see the fruit is stripy too! They turn yellow as they ripen. My sister is particularly jealous of my 2m tall tree hers has been in her front yard for years and it is still less than 1m tall. looking forward to making lemon curd tarts.


I have just figured out how to use this blog compose page to get the text in the correct spot under the photos and move the photos around! This is much much easier!

I love the contrast of the pink and the green with this hibiscus. The tree is full of blooms bobbing in the wind just outside my lounge room window. I must confess this is not one I have planted. It is an old gnarled one that has been here for years. Actually it is responsible for my deciding to blog actually. I had been looking at the lovely places people have and one day as Chicky babe was using the computer a picture of a lovely garden filled the screen.
"Wow, what a pretty garden!Where is that from?"
"Mum you idiot That's OUR garden!"
It was then that i realised it was all about perspective really. Things that you choose to see and also what you choose to show. Later that afternoon I went out to have coffee with a friend along the river just where the harbor and the river meet near the old bridge in freo. It was a glorious day, warm with a slight breeze and I thought i suppose people in other parts of the world would think how it would be a lovely place to visit.

I am beginning to realise that I am fairly impatient, mostly with myself. Looking back at the house and garden when I bought it exactly 3years and one month ago there has been a lot of change. I've created a garden out the front, completely stripped the place of hideous dirty wall paper, knocked out a wall, replaced the kitchen and bathroom, polished the floorboards had french doors put in from the lounge to the new pergola. I have achieved quite a bit really,I still have a lot of plans including making a space for me to do more art work. This mosaic was one piece that tried my patience! It is 1m 80cm across the base and took a year to complete. A good deal of that time it spent on the kitchen/dining table. The kids didn't mind they liked the novelty of eating at the breakfast bar or the informality of eating in front of the T.V. It is almost time to do another. I'd like one to go outside the french doors with a water feature so it can be seen and heard from inside the house. Not sure of the design yet -birds maybe or something floral. I have some Art Nouveau wallpaper prints that could be a good starting point.


Sowing seeds.