Ramblings

Tuesday 28th August 2012

Well I have arrived home safe and sound from my trip to Darwin.  What an amazing place!  The weather was gorgeous and the city so clean.  I had a fabulous time with my Aunt and loved the warm temperature.
The sunsets in Darwin are amazing and each night it got better and better.

This was the first night and even though we were a little late there was still plenty of the red glow left.

The second night found us at the Mindil Markets, which are famous in Darwin for the food stalls and craft.  Nearly everyone at the markets made their way down to the beach for the sunset.

You can see the people sitting on the beach here.  As soon as the sun had set they all made their way back over the dunes to the markets.

The third evening we were at a restaurant have dinner and this was the view!  Why would you want to be anywhere else?

We did spend time exploring Darwin which involved going on a heritage walk around the city.



The old town hall that Cyclone Tracy blew down in 1974



Government house - stands on the top of a cliff and overlooking the harbour!

We also visited Crocosauras Cove to have a look at the crocodiles!  The photo below is some baby one.  They just floated on the surface of the water without any effort what-so-ever.  There was plenty of them also!

 The adult crocodiles were over 5m long and weighed over 700kg.  They laid so still it was had to believe they were alive.  They looked just like a giant plastic replica, but I wouldn't want to mess with one!

On the home front we are missing our little dog :(  She was taken ill on Sunday and I had to take her to the vet yesterday morning where they admitted her.  She has been vomiting for the past 3 days and we don't know what is wrong with her.  It is just like one of your children getting sick and not a happy time for us at the moment.  We aren't sure when she will be permitted to come home.

I have picked some more turnips from the garden and given some of them away along with some cabbages and snow peas.

I think we have probably harvested 3 kilos of snow peas off the 6 plants.  I get a decent handful most days and we certainly have more than we can use so I am happy to pass them on.

I have removed all of the cabbages and now have some cucumber, cherry tomato and beans to plant.  I have also bought a blueberry bush and will be planting it in the garden along the drive along with some pumpkin.  The citrus trees I planted earlier are flowering so hopefully this will mean some fruit for next year.  It is all so very exciting growing your own food and most nights we have something we have grown from the garden in our meal.

I love the change of season from winter to spring.  It is as though the plants are awake again.  My wisteria has just started flowering and the vine is covered with buds.  I love the look and fragrance of these blooms and each year I get excited to see how many flowers it produces.  It seems to be more and more each time.



I hope everyone else is enjoying the warmer weather and abundance of plants!

Take care

Andrea

A Winner

Sunday 19th August 2012

Well I have a winner for one of my bags and that is Jodie from jellywares.  I hope you like which ever bag you choose Jodie!

I had a great birthday and was very spoilt by my family and friends and the best part was I had lovely weather.  My birthday is always during the Brisbane show week and is well know for grey, cold and windy weather, but this year it was lovely and warm and sunny!

Bags and bags

Monday 13th August 2012

Back to the bag making again!  I found a lovely free pattern on line for a Japanese Knot Bag and just had to have a go.  This bag was relatively easy to make and while I adjusted the pattern slightly, next time I will make the handle longer and the actual bag slightly bigger.  This would make a lovely gift for a little girl, with a few items put inside (ie. hairbrush, hair ties or even a little handmade hat)!

This bag is made from furnishing fabrics so it is very durable and completely machine washable.  I especially love the lining fabric.  It is so bright and cheery!

I finally managed to reverse sew (unpick) the shopping tote I posted about awhile back.  I cut down the sides and remade it again.  This was gifted to a friend for her birthday and she is going to use it to put her folders in for college.  I love the way this turned out and will try and make more.  What a lovely bag to take shopping and put groceries in!

I also managed to find the time to cut down a top I had made myself last summer.  I had originally made it way too long and as a consequence I never wore it, so now that has been rectified I just need the weather to warm up so I can wear it.

I love the soft colours of this top and of course I have to wear a cami under it.  One thing I didn't like though was sewing with this material.  I hate slippery material to sew with and because I don't have an overlocker I have to zig-zag each edge so it doesn't fray.  Does anyone have any tips for sewing slippery fabric?

I also managed to make this cute key keeper for a girlfriend's daughter.  It is her birthday next month and she will be 17.  This little guy will fit into a standard envelope easily so it won't cost me a fortune to post.

This little guy doesn't take too long to make either!  Another free pattern if anyone wants to have a go at this guy.
I was able to harvest a colander full of greens this morning.  This will be placed into the refrigerator for dinner one night this week.

I also picked some marigolds that I will dry and then plant.  I love these cheery yellow flowers.  I doesn't help that yellow is my favourite colour.  What is your favourite colour?

On the crochet front.  The start of another ripple blanket saw me make a trip to Spotlight this morning to purchase some more wool.  Luckily they are having a 30% off sale at the moment as I walked out with 14 balls.  Stay tuned for a sneak peak at this project.  (I need another project like I need a hole in the head - what am I thinking?)

Take care
Andrea

Thrifted outfit and a giveaway!

Thursday 9th August 2012

I mentioned in a previous post that sometimes when I get dressed I suddenly realise that all of the clothes I have put on have come from the opportunity shop!  Today was one of those days.  So I thought I would try and take a photo to show you. 

My jeans were $9.95. belt (leather) $10.95, jacket $10.95 and then 50% off so $5.50, and t shirt - free, hand me down from my daughter.

Even my shoes where thrifted at $7.95.  At the time these shoes had never been worn, so a real bargain there! So a complete outfit for less than $35.00!  Amazing what you can get!

I really need someone to help me take photos though!

I did some baking the other evening, as Ron needed biscuits he could take for work, so I thought I would attempt some cinnamon rolls.  They turned out lovely and not too sweet.

The biscuits I made were peanut butter.  I have heard they are lovely with choc chips in them also, so I will have to try that one day.

It is my birthday next week, so I thought I would do a giveaway!  All you have to do is leave a comment before midnight AEST on 15th August and I will choose a person at random.  I will give away one of my bags (as I have so many of them).  So if you would like one of my bags please comment!

I love giving gifts.  By the way I don't call it my birthday anymore, it is actually the anniversary of my 21st, but I'm not telling you how many anniversaries it has been since my 21st!!!!

Take care
Andrea

Traditions

Tuesday 7th August 2012

We have a family tradition, if you could call it that.  When my mother was expecting me and then later my sister shoe crocheted a blanket for each of us.  I still have mine and I'm almost certain my sister still has hers.

The above photo is of my blanket.  This is barely cot size and was made using any scraps of wool that my mother had at the time.  The squares were surrounded by cream wool and a few years ago I had to crochet around the entire blanket to help keep it together.  This blanket is 41 years old.  I love that she made it out of what she had.

When I was expecting both of my children I again made them a blanket each.  Bec's was quite a good size, but Emily's was only a small square one.  I think I was just tired after chasing around a toddler all day that I didn't have the energy to make Emily's bigger.

My sister doesn't crochet, so my mother made each of her children (five) a blanket each, all except the youngest.  She had made the granny squares but still wanted to go around them each one more time and then put them together.  She asked me if I would mind assisting her with this task, so I was given all the granny squares and bought some black wool to tie them all in together.  This was something I worked on while visiting Emily last week and last night I finished it!

I haven't hidden all the ends, but thought Mum could do that part, as I really hate it!  At least all of the grandchildren have their own blankets now!

Sunday night for dinner I made a spinach and ricotta pie.  I made the ricotta and the spinach was from my garden.  While I will never be able to grow enough food for us to be self sufficient I love being able to put something I have grown on the table each night.

There was enough pie left over for Ron's and my lunch yesterday, so I thought I would take a photo before it was all gone.

Yesterday afternoon I managed to make some more lemon cordial.  We are still trying to work our way through the glut of lemons.  Hopefully we will be using our own lemons next year as my tree has flowers on it!  The orange tree is showing signs of flowering also, while the lime is a bit slow.  I can't wait to pick my own fruit!

Take care
Andrea

Quality Time

Monday 6th August 2012

I have just spent three days last week staying with my daughter while her partner was away.  We had a lovely time together and had time to explore her local area.  Unfortunately while I was there we had some REALLY cold weather!  I don't cope with the cold at all.  Thursday morning was -3.5 C, not cold for some but definitely too cold for me.

Frost on my car!

One of Emily's requests while I was there was to teach her how to crochet.  She had already bought some yarn so I took out one of my crochet hooks for her to get started with.  To date she has learnt how to chain and do double crochet (USA single).  After four attempts at trying to keep it neat she is well and truly on her way to making her first item, a scarf.

Love the look of complete concentration.

On Wednesday, I made the 40 minute drive in Dalby to meet her for lunch at the coffee club.  While I was there I had a look at a fabric shop and bought some more fabric for my bags and a pattern for a dress.  I have a wedding to attend in March next year and will need something to wear.  I will need to make some adjustments to the pattern as I am only a size ten but have a large bust so hopefully a friend of mine will be able to help with this task.  It is hard to believe with the cold weather we have been having that soon we will be looking for nice cool dresses to wear.

Dalby was established in the early 1840's and some of the buildings reflect this.  I really enjoyed my stroll around the town in the lovely sunshine.  You can see the lovely blue of the sky in the photo below.  The cars for the variety bash were in town.  This is a charity that raises funds each year through an unusual car rally to help sick children.

The back of an old hotel

I brought Emily home here with me on Thursday night and we made a trip to the other side of Brisbane to Ikea on Friday.  We had a lovely time together with lots of laughter.

We had lovely weather here on the weekend with Sunday getting to 25 C.  I spent some time in the vegetable garden, removing the lettuce that had gone to seed.  As the weather is starting to warm up I have put in seeds for more lettuce, chard and silver beet, cucumber and rosella.

Rosella is a plant that is related to the hibiscus and you use the calyx from the plant once you have removed it from the green seed pod.  It makes lovely jam, tea and cordial.  The rosella originated from Africa and I have had no trouble growing it in my area.  I can't wait to harvest them!

How are things going in your garden?

Take care
Andrea