Living in the moment.The ever changing scenes of a week gone.
A Diary of sorts

31 May being the last day of Autumn.
Remnants of Roses. A fleeting glimpse of Summer gone.

1 June the first day of Winter.
Braving the cold wind in the garden

2 June
Mending day with 60 year old faithful

3 June Saturday
Grey skies so I always go looking for colour in the garden

4 June. Sunday
Sharing Birthday lunch with family and friends.
Boys…Friends and cousins showing off their trampoline skills
Then hurrying off to fish in the dam over the hill

Driving home through the always beautiful countryside.
Worrombi and Cobbity- my favourites
Observing the low sun created shadows as it hastes to bed amongst the hills


5 June Monday
Taking deep into the soul brilliant blue skies and warm hued Autumn leaves
Finding sunny nooks amongst Winter shadows for a slow morning tea
Sitting in a warm sunroom before dusk approaches
Seeing a molten gold sun slip silently behind the western hills

6 June Tuesday
A mending, bed linen washing, soup making kind of day.
Starting off clear and windy for line drying but changing to cold and wet. Needing a cheerful fire and happy flowers kind of day recently enjoyed at our friends home.

7 June
My beloveds birthday
Wet and cold. Double bar gas heating start to damp morning
Boys in school uniforms to be picked up
Happy birthday to be sung to grandpa….we love our grandchildren. Big and small.

I love these sorts of weeks
The plain, the mundane, the grey, the ordinary mixed with the extraordinary
Find exquisite beauty where you can
However small or humble

Linking up with What Joy is mine

Look no further!
Go visit your local nursery for a free lift of spirits

Free you say!

Yes definitely because no money changed hands.

By letting my mind be refreshed and calmed on a hot hot day under the misting sprinkler.

I remembered …
Lavender cutting/slips growing under some greenery
Hibiscus cuttings/slips slowly growing roots in a glass jar
Red trumpet creeping vine cutting/slip started in a pot
Big Red geranium growing lushly from a cutting/slip

It was a stepping back in time of how old gardens were created.
Networking and sharing.

How to best utilise what I have at home in the garden…..just a moving round and swapping positions. Or repotting with large recycled pots from the neighbour’s hard rubbish clean out.

There was no instant gratification costing $$, just some methodical or random planning and a little patience.

Have you ever done this?

Blessed

Joining Through the Garden Gate

Joining Frontier Dreams

What do you see
Your first impression
When you compare

First fleeting impressions hit the eye immediately.

How plain
How happy
How tall she walks
How sad they look
How harried they appear
How naughty that child

Wow, beautiful or handsome
Wish I had some of that

But that is only an impression
Not the true picture

Yet rarely do we say anything of people’s character
That they have a generous spirit
Are kind or thoughtful
You child are trying so very hard

These thoughts arose after looking through some photos I took recently of what at first may appear as junk, old, obsolete or old-fashioned….

“A gift to myself”
A visit to the country
Spending time to wander round
In quietness observe with a different eye
Sights and impressions not noticed in an everyday rush

The very first morning I hurried outside to make the most of beautiful weather not knowing what the morrow would bring.
I needed to savour these delights.

As the days continued I found more treasures to lift my soul.
Sights unseen on the ordinary day

Colours, combinations, textures, shapes, shades, forms, sharp, soft, lofty or insignificant.

Images of time
Of labour
Of life
Past

Yet in essence they were rusted drums, old tanks, fencing wire, peeling paint, weary old stone cottage with its silent walls and long gone school children and families.

It presented me with beauty, character and charm in a palette of rich colours.

Then as I attempted to choose which photos to use I observed another layer of impressions.

How many lessons taught to bring education to children in this cottage school house

How many throats cooled and thirsts quenched from the now empty and old, rusted rain water tanks.

How many Kilo-meters or miles of fencing put up over the years and repaired again and again

Those drums asked how many machines were serviced to provide food and sustenance for this and other households over the decades

How many litres or gallons of diesel used over the decades to to run a farm

These shutters spoke of shelter from the rain or cooling relief from breezes.

Old door
Battered door knob,
Big key hole for long shafted key
Sturdy lock standing the test of time

How many bodies have brushed through this door
Slowly and carefully carrying a heavy load
Or rushing headlong as children do with much banging
How much joy or sadness entered these doors
Now stealthily visited by critters

How many different views through this now empty window

If walls could talk

Look around you, what do you see. More than skin deep. See depth. A multi layered depth.

What story do you see around you, yesterday, today, tomorrow.

Till later

Also Linking here

Courtesy diannehope@morguefile.com

Home late after a full Sunday out

House is dark.

Key turned in lock

Greeted by Coldness

Lights on

Easy flick of switch for heater’s warm glow
For others a more time consuming fire to be stoked

We are so blessed with manifold creature comforts

Home
It embraces us and whispers welcome
A much loved Haven

What’s to eat

Know my fridge

Find cooked chopped vegetables and dry fried mince with onion

Into microwave bowl to heat
Add boiled water with stock powder and little gravy powder
Continue heating and boil a little
Blend partially with stick blender carefully due to hot liquid

Serve.
Savour and enjoy.
Comfort food.
Replete.

Quick soup not from a tin.

Being prepared is a ….

Winner
Time saver
Sanity saver
Dollar saver

Boring for some
A necessity for others

A small thing for one
A momentous find for others
Practical for me

PROVERBS 31

Perfect ending to a Winter day

Till later

Far too windy today to do any gardening as can be seen by my grown from a cutting Lavender bush. It is sailing to the left.

The plan had been to spray the Roses again for scale to really kill those suckers before all the new leaves appear on my for now Winter hibernating bushes. I am so looking forwards to my Roses flowering again in the warm months.
Just like this Rose in all it’s summer glory!

What could be better today than soup.

Open fridge and find goodies for the making of Real Food.

A veritable feast of bargains. Reduced priced goodness. The best shopping.

Large packet of soup vegetables …mine was 1kg and included parsnip which sells for $10kg on special at the moment.

Large bag of Beef soup bones ….mine was 1kg

Find largest cooking pot or crock pot…my crockpot was out on loan.

Whilst quickly peeling and rough chopping vegetables, heat pot with a little oil and toss bones in for a quick brown

- add chopped onions and stir for a slight brown
- add rest of vegetables and stir for a quick mix
- add 8 cups water and stock powder for that quantity. Or use packaged stock liquid.
-add a glug or two of Worsestershire Sauce

Even quicker is to pile all the ingredients into the pot without any frying, but the taste will not be as rich.

Bring to boil and skim off scum that rises to top for the first part of cooking.

Simmer till meat is tender enough for you. The longer the better.

Remove soup bones from soup liquid and cut meat off.

I then mashed vegetables with potato masher to squash them somewhat. You could use a stick blender being careful as soup is hot

Return meat to soup.

As I wanted to make a slightly thicker soup I made a brown Roux kind of thick sauce and added some to the soup.

Then we devoured it for lunch with only a little left for a small snack.

Wholesome food.

The best taste.

Love my soup….

Then a reduced price afternoon tea treat at a fraction of going out for coffee.

Even better was that we sat in the afternoon sun in our enclosed verandah soaking up the warmth

Till later

Courtesy Pennywise@morgueFile free photos

Last night just thinking of myself and craving a snack I found a recipe for Chocolate Chia pudding.

I pottered about in a hum drum sort of way and put the prepared healthy pudding in the fridge to soak ready for the next morning.

Morning arrives and with much anticipation I prepare to be delighted by a delicious sustaining meal…..

Oh dear. I discovered that I had used Quinoa instead of Chia. Ahhhhh!
Not to be deterred I strained out the Quinoa and added chia seed and returned it to the fridge to do its soak.
The Quinoa will be experimented with another day.
And yes my pudding did turn out. Cold, thick and refreshing on a hot day.

In between it seemed we lived in a different world, a parallel universe.

By pippalou @morgueFile free photos. With thanks

As the stars in our vast wide country heavens so brilliantly pulsated last night, and most of Australia slept, a scene of unimagined horror climaxed and exploded in the madness of the Martin Place siege.

In a Lindt Cafe.

A happy place, a refuge and a meeting point on an ordinary Sydney day.

For ordinary people starting their day.

Instead, horror and the resultant aftermath.

A day to be forever remembered.

Lives forever changed.

In my life, thankful for our safe families sleeping in their own beds free from danger. By God’s grace.

For support network of friends when in times of need after the event.

Courtesy kamuelaboy@morgueFile free photos

Courtesy wallyir@morgueFile free photos

For those who give their lives
For those who save lives
For those who protect
For those who mourn
For those traumatised

Forever thankful for memories of quiet peaceful times at the Thomas family Moorlands farm.

For the silence of growing grain in our vast land.

For the old apple tree with battered lichen encrusted branches still quietly sending out delicate blossoms and the resultant apples.

Peace

Joining #IBOT

A proud catch and feast for a king

Joining in with Trisha and My Little Drummer Boys for
Wordless Wednesday

Courtesy mensatic@morgueFile free photos

Finish…
A chosen title

Joining in with 5 minute Friday

I’m a slow Slow typist…

START..

Finish…a word my dearest man has been waiting for many months
Hanging in there at a stressful job more suited to a younger age group
More suited to a faster typist
But he stuck it out
Counting down one day at a time
Keeping going
Keeping his resolve
And then it was
Finish
Forty nine years of work
Day after day after day
Providing and supporting
During the young energetic years
During young family years
During stressful time
During a change of city
EnDuring years of fighting suburban gridlock traffic
Then as the years have aged him being blessed to find closer to home work
Just a little drive
Happy to find work in the waning work years
Happy and enthused and interesting
Then overnight it all changes again
But the job must continue
But it will kill him
So the days get counted down, and the tension falls like petals
Till Finished…June 30
Ah…
Thank you my dearly beloved x

New adventures
New horizons

STOP

Courtesy GaborfromHungary@morgueFilefree photos

Courtesy taliesin @ morgueFile free photos

World environment day which was some days ago…

…well Life and Caring happened in between, but Hi, I’m back

How am I doing world environment day … every day
How do I see it … every day

In simple language, in a grandma, mum and dad and family way

Abundance of newly striked cuttings vigorously growing

Grow plants from cuttings to spread and share the abundant growth and joy around

Huge mushrooms on a dinner plate grown from mushroom compost by friends…a by product of spreading compost under the orange trees :)

I’m going to again push my love of seeing bees busily collecting nectar amongst the bushes and herbs which we grow in our tiny patch….as soon as the sun comes out even in winter here in Australia the bees come out foraging. But soon I’ll have to prune my flowering Lavender hedge which I am so loathe to do. I know, I have to be cruel to be kind to keep my hedge nice… But still !!! Also this time of year our little veggie/herb patch looks a bit sad as I really need to plant spinach to fill in the hole left by the finished Basil and tomato

On an aside though, did you know that Rhubarb flowers and goes to seed. That spike of a tall Lacey flower though has the most disgusting smell which made me promptly cut it off…but there are still stalks of rhubarb growing for a second crop….firstly I wondered how to harvest rhubarb as I’ve never grown it before, so I Googled for info and found that you twist the stalks at the base and they come off easily. Then as I hadn’t cooked rhubarb for years I found a recipe which may have been a Jamie Oliver one. The instructions said to roast it which I did in an old-fashioned Corningware dish from the Op shop. The dish was just the perfect size. Pour the required sugar on top with a tiny dribble of Vanilla essence. Cover and cook. There was a suggested time and then also that you’ll smell it as soon as it’s done….well that was so correct as to the smell; divine. Next time though I’ll use less sugar. It was SO rich I could only eat a bit of it with my homemade thick Greek yoghurt.

I was happy to have learnt that old milk is a good fertiliser even though it was only half a cup….my parsley is thriving

Then memories…Remembering when…the tying up like a bandaged bear and staking, with a neighbours help, of a vandalised small tree on our park just opposite our house. It is now a huge gum tree.

Also saving a tiny acacia tree years ago from having the long leaves plucked off by then toddler grand-daughter, explaining that we wanted to see the tree grow big. It has!

So there’s many a way to celebrate World Environment Day. We care. We do it everyday without even thinking sometimes, just like the older generations before us.

If you pause for a moment, how or what have YOU done. How do you care.

Do you wish to share?

Even the seemingly trivial things?

Whether you are just starting life’s journey or well on the way like us. With a looking forward to it soon to be retired hubby. New happenings and new adventures and new horizons but always learning.

Lavender is one of my favourite flowers and once established in a friendly spot is as tough as old boots, as you can see in my photo!

Lavender a symbol of an old worldy age, a simple life.

From Wikipedia…
“Lavandula (common name lavender) is a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found from Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, southern Europe across to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, southwest Asia to southeast …are cultivated extensively in temperate climates as ornamental plants for garden and landscape use, for use as culinary herbs, and also commercially for the extraction of essential oils.”

It make me think of when times were slower, when seasons were followed, when thought was given how everything could be used wisely.

No waste and carelessness, but a time of learning , how to make do, work hard but enjoy the fruits of ones labours. Of helping and supporting one another. Of time to ponder instead of always having to race around or wanting to try something new. Of being content.

The story to my hedge stared over two years ago. My garden was and is getting to be like a very aged person who needs lots of loving care and rejuvenation, but with not too much time I wanted to spruce it up a bit…it is a slow work in progress.

Where I wanted to plant this hedge was a long bed which had a lot of overgrown old plants which needed ripping out and poisoning, a very slow process which I undertook over time. Then had to wait for the Nandina Bamboo and ivy to really die and with a pick dig out the roots…needless to say it was hard work. The soil needed to be enriched a little so I just dug and turned it over where each cutting was going in. Once everything was planted and watered I put down cane mulch of which I had a bale needing to be used up from the shed….it broke down beautifully to feed the soil over time. With sunshine and rain and day following day.

Let’s start some new plants…by harvesting cuttings from my proud “Mother” plant. A large scruffy old bush which I had been tempted to rip out but kept. I have grown so new many plants from this one bush

In July last year I just took soft cuttings and stuck them straight in the ground. I put in excess cuttings knowing I would loose some. Water was applied to keep them moist over summer. A lot of going out everyday to cheer them on and watch as they grew from drooping cuttings. By September the cuttings had “taken” and were well growing with new shoots by October.

I cut off their first flower buds in sacrifice to give strength to the newly grown plants. Once the next flush of smallish flowers had finished I thought I’d better trim the whole hedge to make it even…after some days I thought I’d killed it and was so very upset. But by mid January there was re growth much to my joy.

Now in mid May which is the next year I have a lovely hedge which soon I must prune again to remove spent flowers and let the plants regenerate and so the process goes on. Time after time.

A beautiful sight for me every day out my back door and windows. A lesson in time and patience. To keep going even if it gets tough…hard work never killed anyone , except for the aches in muscles I forgot I had

I love my hedge bordering my herb garden as do the bees and can watch and admire it for an age standing with my back to the sun….and now the lavender is sheltering new cuttings which when a little bigger I will transplant for another type of hedge …a Japanese Box

….and in between loving the sprinkles of joy and sun shine some of our little grandsons bring when we visit their homes x