A Sunday Drive

A Sunday drive today took us firstly to the new farmers market in town, and then to this beautiful garden.  It is a part of the Australian Open Garden Scheme.  Throughout the year different properties are open for inspection of their beautiful gardens, and as this one was created in black soil like ours, we thought we would go check it out.  Black soil is notoriously hard to grow in.  It holds the water like a sponge for weeks after rain, so any plant that doesn't like wet feet, won't like black soil.  It dries out on the surface quickly and cracks and the weeds on our property love it.  Since the previous owners had several horses, we have been tackling weeds ever since we moved here at Easter.  My vegie garden of which I had such high hopes a few months back, has taken way longer than I first anticipated.  Weeds, weeds and more weeds.  Today we may have found a solution, not to the weeds, but to laying out the beds we want to create.  Things are looking up.

How adorable is this?  Really I love it, paved walkways, and raised beds, I think this is the way we'll go.  This garden is made into a series of rooms, like this vegetable garden room and then the photo above is a relaxing reading room, just off the verandah, it's gorgeous.

Of course there is a water feature, what garden is complete without one? 

Lovely meandering walkways on all sides and even an outside shower, yes seriously, cheeky aren't they!

A really beautiful setting.  The peace and quiet is wonderful.

Old fences, old tools.

Beautiful Roses, can you smell them?  Aahh!!!!

Speaking of beautiful.................

What do you say!!!!!!!!! Gorgeous hey?!  11 Weeks on Tuesday 19th October, when do you stop counting in weeks!?
Hope you Sunday was wonderful also.

First things first...

So I wanted to show you all that I really have been working my little, well maybe big butt off in the garden.  See the little digging thingy is dirty and my super duper no prickles in my finger rubber coated woven gloves are grubby too.  So see I have been plugging away at the first 2 acres of weeds I intend to rid us of.  The towel is for sitting on and for the dogs to lay on by my side, they love to join me in my efforts.  I am doing about 3 hours a day at the moment and I can see the results as bare patches of earth, where hopefully the grass will now run.

See the mounds of weeds I have plucked from the earth.  Now I just have to bag it all and find some way of getting rid of it.  There are seeds still on the ground I can't get all of them and hopefully I will be able to either pull them as they grow or poison them.  Depends if my back and hands give out I guess.

My tricky hoe thing is handy too, though I do prefer to kneel or sit and just pull.  It takes quite a bit of effort to toss that thing around and I think it's quicker with my magic pokey tool and my hands.  That is the second barrow of grassy weeds from the centre of the driveway.  And I'm still not near finished.

I started gathering up the thorns and prickles we have killed in what will be my monster vegie patch.  Thanks heavens for my rubber coated gloves.  The prickles not only prick you they sting as well ouch!!!

So I have done one corner and there is still a huge area to clean up, but I am enjoying it so much.  A friend said she will buy fresh vegies from me when I get going how exciting.  Who knows maybe I will get some pocket money from this after all.  That would be fun.  The only problem I am having is my back lets me down.  A few minutes shovelling and I am in pain.  Went to the Myotherapy massage centre yesterday wonderful treatment and I will go to a chiropractor as well.  So hopefully pretty soon no more back ache and the garden can progress much quicker.

Today is also the 1 year mark since we lost our beautiful baby grandson Lucas.  Alicia and Paul will be sad today no doubt.  I lay awake this morning waiting for the clock to tick round to 6.15am.  The time he left to be with Jesus.  Now I am wondering, why is the anniversary any different from any other day.  It isn't, it just marks a time frame.  The loss is no greater today than yesterday and tomorrow will be another day without Lucas.  So no more, no more counting days and weeks and months.  My little Lucas is always in my heart and always in my thoughts.  The passing of days makes no difference to the love I feel for this little man we knew for only 7 weeks.  In a few more weeks we will have a new baby to love and care and cuddle and dream for.  Not a replacement at all but the baby we have longed so much to hold in our arms.  So I will keep weeding and tilling and bringing the earth to life and our new baby grandchild will be born and we will rejoice and cry and little Lucas will be with us then, now and always.

Saturday mornings

Beautiful roses in a vase in my lounge

pancakes and bacon drizzled with maple syrup

made for me by my one love

pruning and clearing

wandering through the grounds

washing machine spinning

girls playing Wii tennis

chocolate cake with peanut butter icing

watching the news hoping the planes will be ok to leave soon

reading emails, smiling

butterflies hovering over purple blooms

clouds scudding across the blue sky

the air cool

the day waiting

what are you doing today?

Join Me

These little fellas sit under a tree in one of the gardens here.  See no evil was broken quite some time back and I cannot get another one to match.  So instead I will concentrate on speaking no evil and hearing no evil.  It's a choice we make really don't you think?

Missy you've met before, she is sweet and a little neurotic, the fault of Danielle, who has pampered her and treated her like a human.  On the other hand Boston who would not let me get a good shot of his face yesterday and literally turned his butt in my direction is just like Ashleigh, his owner.  She is quite independent, has a couple of tattoos, I am sure Boston would get some too if he could, Ashleigh no getting any ideas here ok!!  It is strange isn't it how much like their owners animals are.  Danielle is not neurotic mind you, but she is a lot more cautious than Ashleigh is.  She has one tattoo on her foot, which she regretted getting the day after she did.  Ashleigh on the other hand has two.  One on her butt cheek near her hip, a southern cross, which is a star formation here in Australia, to remind her how to find her way home.  And a swallow and italian words on her foot.  What to do when your children grow up and make their own decisions.  Some you agree with and some you don't.  Shrug I have no clue sometimes.  I choose to love them regardless and how could I not they are wonderful.  Just like Missy and Boston, who make me smile so often and make my heart overflow everyday, just like my family.

We brought little angel boy with us from the other house, we had to I love him.  He actually looks so much more content in his new surrounds.  He is nestled in between a couple of trees in the front yard.  He watches us come and go and enjoys the sun and breeze he is truly adorable.

Paperbark trees are wonderful, the bark is used for making bark paintings.  The artists use layers and layers of different coloured bark to create images.  Often Australian scenes, houses, landscapes quite amazing.  We have several paperbarks in the yard, the leaves are thin and long and similar to a weeping willow in appearance.

See the incredible bark, it is soft to touch almost silky in feel and so many colours in every layer.

Bottle brush trees, native to Australia, we do have some weird and wonderful things here.  The yellow brush will become the brown pod on the right.  Equally beautiful in its own way don't you think?  This bush sits at our entry near the fish pond.

Gum nuts, the remainder of the gum tree flowers after the bloom has gone.  like little pottery jars aren't they?  There are so many of these on the trees along the border of the land, I cannot wait until the spring flowering to show you.

So another little tour is over, you'll be true blue Aussies before I am finished with you.  Only 15 days to go till France.  I had a wonderful email from Helene whom we are meeting in Cannes on the 29th May.  I met her blogging, isn't this world fantastic and she has offered to show us around Cannes for the weekend we are there.  How marvellous, is that!!?  The best part of travelling is meeting the people who live there.  Seeing their favourite spots, how generous and kind is she to take the time to meet us.  That is why I say you are welcome, to visit us.  Truly truly welcome.  With open arms I wait to greet you.

And Gretchen, my travel buddy from our Europe tour last year is taking the first tour with us as well.  She lives in Ohio and we have stayed in contact since we left the tour early last year.  She has inspired me as I have gotten to know her and I cannot wait to see her again.  So yes I am excited, to show you round my corner of the world, through this little blog and to meet you in your corner too.

Afternoon Stroll

Took a stroll through the garden yesterday afternoon and I want you to come with me, come on the afternoon was cool, the breeze lovely and soft and the leaves rustling sounded like waves lapping softly on the shore. 

Do you remember Raina, she came with me, nothing better than sharing good times with the girls is there.

Raina loves my pups too.  I bought these for my dad who had a beagle, years ago.  When he passed away back I 2004 I took the little guys home, sweet aren't they.

I think she might be a bit of a beach babe.

After a while she needed a rest and headed for my favourite little spot on the back verandah.  In the mornings the sun warms, and in the evening the breeze wafts in and cools us down.  Just wonderful.

This is the beginning of our vegetable garden.  At this point all we have done is spray to kill the weeds.  Because the horses had been using it before we came it was full of prickles, huge thorny ones.  We will let it all die properly, then dig it over and prepare the soil.  I doubt we will get too much planted before we leave for France so stay tuned in June for the continuing project.

How about this guy, he is a whopper, and I have no idea why I am not running like crazy in the other direction.  I hate spiders and cockroaches.  But he is pretty high in a tree and he is amazing eeww!!

Have a wonderful day everyone.  The weekend is looming.

The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar and other Beasties

Oh I was just about to tell you the very sad story of the hungry, hungry caterpillar that got eaten by a bird, but happily after a quick scour of the rose bush, I have found him.  Yesterday I spent ages seeking him out and I came to the conclusion he had gone to a higher, better place all be it in the belly of a bird.  He reminds me of the story picture book I used to read to my girls a long time ag.  The Hungry hungry caterpillar.  On the first day he ate through one plum, then 2 apples, 3 strawberries, on and on until he turns into a beautiul butterfly.  Probably the wrong fruit there it has been a while since I read this, but you get the picture hey!?  So my caterpillar is eating through every sweet smelling rosebud on my rose bush.  But I can't give him the flick, I just can't.  I absolutely love butterflies and I so want him to eat and eat until he is fat bellied and gorgeous and turns into a crysallis, cocoon, whatever and then into a beautiful butterfly.  I have never seen a caterpillar go through that transformation and I am so hoping he will do it at my front door. So in hopeful anticipation of that I am letting him gorge himself on my roses.  He better not let me down. 

A beautiful day yesterday had the girls and I leaf cleaning the pool and to our horror we scooped up a centipede.  A really big centipede, I am so glad we weren't splashing around when we spotted him.

And we made over the pond at the entry, well my lovely husband did, he took the lady with the urn and set her up in the pond, she looks lovely don't you think?

So have a wonderful Sunday, peaceful, or fun enjoying the Spring weather.  Here's a rose for you.

Wow I have just been given an award th Sunshine Award, how exciting.  Thank you to Mary Ann from Starlight what a delight to think someone enjoys my ramblings enough to award me.  I appreciate your kindness Mary Anne

Carnivale

This weekend was the 60th Anniversary of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.  We had beautiful weather and the parade was wonderful. I am still not a parade person, standing in the sun with wriggly kids, whinging parents, pushy photographers, oops was I one of them and just a lot of waiting and standing.  The floats were better this year than some other years but the gaps between the floats was sometimes long and frankly boring.  Sorry but it was.  The performers on stilts were great and there were quite a few different ones, the beautiful red lady above was really pretty.  The Koala was walking with the volunteer fire brigade and I am afraid that once again this summer they will be very busy.  We are having extremely hot weather already.  What a great bunch of men and women they are.

Toowoomba has really become extremely multicultural in the last few years and the parade showcased many of the different nationalities that have made their home here.  The Asian walkers were particularly colourful.

 There were so many colourful floats and performers and then we went up to the Food & Wine Festival.  This is about the 8th year I think that the Festival has been run and the first that we have been.  It's a new and different concept for Toowoomba.  We tried some different wines and there were local cheeses and olives to try also.  The Whitlams a well known Australian band played on Saturday night and Bjorn Again an Abba knock off band on Sunday.  All in all a pretty exciting weekend for our little town.Then of course there are the gardens that have entered the Carnival competition.  We visited the Grand Champion Garden, which is only a short walk from our house.  The pot above has been mosiaced (if that's a word) from plates and china hearts.  All throughout the garden there are little nooks that have been prettied up with lovely mosiacs.  We actually know relatives of the owners of this garden and there is a wall where special mosiacs were done for a Grandma who passed away not long ago.  Now the grandchildren can remember Grandma whenever they wander through the garden.

Also this weekend I cooked.  Saturday morning I made the yummiest French Toast with bacon maple syrup and balsamic strawberries, delicious.  This afternoon for lunch I experimented a bit.  I got some store bought puff pastry and cut the pieces in half, blended some cottage cheese, humous and grated fresh parmasen and spread it on the middle of each piece.  I topped this with thinly sliced tomato, red onion and asparagus.  I sprinkled a little more grated parmasen on top before baking in the oven for about 25 mins.  It was so delicious.  We had a couple of glasses of Pino Grigio with it.  So lovely for a spring afternoon.  So Carnival weekend was lovely, I'm glad we decided to venture on down this weekend.