PILLOWSLIPS FOR CHILDREN'S WARD!!

 

Last Thursday and today myself and 3 other CWA members spent the day making pillowslips for the children's ward at our local hospital to give to any young patients in hospital over Xmas!!

 

 

So far we have made 20 pillowslips. We have decide to have some for sale at the CWA Xmas market to raise some funds to buy some more fabrics to make more pillowslips. We have also decided to continue making scrapping pillowslips from children's fabrics so the young ones can take something special home with them!!



1 XMAS ITEM

 

WOW!! I have actually made a Xmas item for myself this month - the last couple of months I have been busy secret Santa sewing - I will have lots to show you all at the end of December!!!

 

 

One lonely little tree ornament!! His friends from the set will have to wait until the Xmas - new year break!! Pop over to Narelle's and check out all the wonderful Xmas items completed this month!



WEEKEND DOINGS

 

Well the last week just disappeared didn't it. And now we have 30 days until Christmas!!!

I have finished quite a bit on the sewing front but cannot show what I have done ... Secret Santa Stuff!!! Save them all for the end of December!!

Friday night our son and family arrived from Wee jasper. They came down to pick up the truck loaded with hay and straw for delivery around Canberra.

 

Sooooo..... I had my grandson and my offsider working with me in the yard yesterday!!

 

 

Here they are digging a trench to plant a heap of agapanthus in. poor boys - there was a bit of gravel mixed in that dirt - this will be the edge of a planting of shrubs at the gateway to the house yard.

We had to soak the ground up really well so the boys could dig the trench. Of course there had to be a supervisor and you know who that was!!!! Once the trench was dug we placed compost in the bottom, then the agapanthus, the back filled making a ditch on the side. Then we let the hose dribble in at one end to really soak the ground up. then some rice straw mulch on top and now we wait and see if they survive!!

 

 

This is the garden bed we made last week. my sister was cutting down some huge Yuccas so I said thank you very much they can be a feature in the centre of the new bed!! We also planted 2 shrubs each end. I plan on planting lots of smaller shrubs (geraniums, lavenders and maybe some roses) all around the yuccas!! Soaked them all up yesterday and again today. Hopefully it will set them on the right track - we are supposed to get up to 37deg this week and rain predicted for Thursday.

 

 

And another new garden bed. This one is to plant a screening hedge for privacy for the old house. Although the old house was built in the early 60's and our house was built in the early 80's, the previous owners never planted much in the line of trees or shrubs. A few roses and that was about it. And I mustn't forget the magnificent mulberry tree!! hence the reason for all the new beds and plantings. I hate living in a wide open space open to all and sundry to view from the road!!

 

 

this is a close up of the new compost that Greg brought home for me to try!!! It is actually pelleted feed that caught alight whilst it was being made. So it is burnt feed. It has a bit of a smell but not as bad as the old decomposing feed he brought home a couple of years ago - especially when it gets wet. Anyhow, I have put it down under the newest bed under the straw. We shall wait and see how it goes - the other smelly stuff had broken down really well and the beds it was spread over are full of big fat worms!! Hopefully this does the same.

 

One frangipani is well on it's way, and the second one is showing signs of buds. Hopefully the 3rd one will show some sign of surviving over the next few days. I have no idea of where I am going to plant them next year - I guess they will need some sort of protection from our hot summer wind and the winter frosts!!

plus Lachlan spent a few hours on the ride on for me and got the whole yard area mowed - now all I have to do is get the push mower and do the little bits and pieces that the ride on cannot access to have a tidy yard again!! he went home a happy boy last night with his pocket money stuffed firmly in his pocket!! he asked me did I need him to come down more often to help!! Of course I said yes!!lol

 

Our daughter in law finally transferred the photos across to my computer that she took back in September of my mother, daughter, grand daughter and myself. 4 generations!! This was taken 4 days before mum was admitted to ICU with pneumonia - it is a reasonably good photo considering how ill she was at the time. Note to self: DO NOT shove your glasses down the front of your shirt for photos!!!lol  Especially dark framed ones on a light coloured shirt!

 

Well - that is it for this week. Busy week ahead with a couple of xmas luncheons, a sewing morning with CWA, selling raffle tickets and hopefully some more gardening.

have a great week everyone!!

 

 



MIXED BAG TODAY!!

 

Up bright and early once again on a Saturday morning - out in the yard mulching once again on a Saturday morning!!!! my offsider and I were hard at it by 7.30 this morning - we made another big garden bed and mulched it down, then we planted out 13 bushes and trees.

 

 

We placed a layer of this stuff - Soy Bean shells (and heaps of seed so I will probably get a soy bean crop from it! lol) and then a layer of rice straw. This is in an area where I can only get weeds to grow so it will now be filled with shrubs, geraniums and anything that is HARDY!!!

 

The weather was glorious when we first started - the sun was out but there was a cool breeze. By the time we finished at 11am it was getting quite hot!! I went into town to do a few jobs and then home again to continue watering.

Then at 5pm................ THIS!!!

 

 

I watched this Storm blow in and was wondering if it would rain over us. And it did. heaps of thunder! Huge drops of rain pelting down with a strong wind behind.

 

 

 

The gutters couldn't cope....

 

 

The wind was so strong and the rain was at such an angle that it was coming in the front door, which is 4 foot from the front of the verandah!!

 

I really thought it was going to hail by the size of the raindrops and the drop in the temperature.

Twenty minutes later it stopped and we got a whole 3ml in the rain gauge!!!!!!! Was sure it would be 10ml (half an inch). But very grateful for what we did receive.

We had an inch of rain earlier in the week, but there are still cracks in the ground - I don't think the ground has ever got back to what it was before the last drought.

Off out to tea tonight (oh goody no cooking for me) to celebrate the MOTH's birthday - they are useful sometimes!!!lol. Looking forward to a nice evening with some of our children and grand children!!

And I hope the drier areas receive some of these storms that are circling around the eastern states - I know it is really needed.

 

 

YAY - A FINISH!!

 

Great news with my mum today - no major problems with her heart and the cardiologist doesn't want to see her again!!

 

And I finished an apron that has been in my UFO pile for 2 years - and it took 20 minutes to make and stitch on 2 ties!!!!

 

And a meeting that I was chairing and dreading all week went off without a hitch and everyone was happy. So a BIG DOUBLE YAY for a great day!!!!!!!

 

ON THE WEEKEND

 

On the weekend I

 

Mulched

 

and Mulched (the first of 5 hours of mulching!!)

 

Sewing...YAY!!! finished 3 secret sewing items

 

and just for

good measure - the tomato crop for this summer is on it's way!!

 

 

 

 

 



A Catch Up Finally!!

OOOOPS... nearly 3 weeks since my last blog post - I have no idea where that time has gone - and really have nothing much to show for it.

This weekend there is an event taking place that has me so envious of all the participants!!!!
The Bathurst Bloggers Meet - is on tomorrow!!!
I was all set to go until early this week and circumstance changed and now I am unable to attend.
So to all the beautiful bloggers at the

 

HAVE A FABULOUS FUN WEEKEND!!!!!!

Now back to blogging and what has been happening around here!
I think I have fallen in a heap since mum has been able to stay on her own most of the time. Her memory is improving v e r y slowly - and makes for some funny comments and laughs for us. Physically she is probably as good as she is going to be - she is out and about in her garden, in every car that is heading out her driveway - coffee and lunch in town are her latest perk - we are back to our weekly sewing get togethers at her place - yes life is good!!

 

 

Perhaps having to do 6 weeks of cleaning up when I moved back home is what has dragged me down. It will get done all in good time! I have been doing some sewing (secret stuff!). I have also been doing a lot of watering - things have really dried out here - rain predicted for this weekend so fingers crossed!! I really appreciate living in an irrigation area though - feel for those in the dry area!

 

A new Lemon Tree planted. An old suitcase upcycled! And a frangipani cutting that has struck (my grand daughter brought these back to me from Casino where she has moved to - hopefully they will flower also!!!)

 

Three different rose in the garden flowering profusely.

 

Tomato plants are all planted and growing well. I have cut back to just growing tomatoes and capsicum in the vegie garden in summer - only 2 of us living here now and I can pick up other vegies from the home growers at the local weekly market. I can concentrate on keeping the trees and garden plants alive - more water for them, plus I save money not buying seedlings that only 1 or 2 come to anything! I do need my tomato and capsicums as I bottle what I need for the year for the Bolognese, parmegiana's etc!!

 

Lack of water hasn't affected the cactus and succulent garden - this fellow is certainly reaching for the sky!!!! And we have been feasting on fresh mulberries for the last couple of weeks. I have yet to pick a bucketful for stewing and jam - that is on the list for this weekend!!

 

The temp has dropped quite dramatically here today - from humid, steamy high 30's to mid 20's - we have had a couple of very light showers and now we have a gale blowing - it had better not blow any rain straight over us.... I will not be a happy camper if it does!!!lol

It has been predicted that we will have a couple of inches of rain (50mm) over the next couple of days here (some of the wheat farmers don't want it as they have started harvesting) - our farm needs it badly - the Lucerne will benefit greatly as will the oats/grass paddocks - lots of baling and hay planned for the coming months.