Finding joy in the everyday

Spring is on its way Dear friends and family, I can see spring in my garden and it has put a spring in my feet!!  My first jonquils and daffodils are flowering.  The cherry tree is in full bloom and the bees have arrived and I was very pleased to see tiny flowers on my Maple Tree. Winter won't be around very much longer, even birds seem to have a louder song to sing. The first jonquil in the garden First buds on the Maple Tree Pink Cockatoos - these birds mate for life and are very affectionate to each other. I thought I would share this story with you: I went out this morning to the fruit and veg markets to buy a half of duck (to make red duck curry) and to pick up some cat food for Ruby. While I was buying the cat food, an older lady came up to me and asked me what sort of cat I had. A cat lover can't help but talk about their cat to someone else, so I was more than happy to chat about Ruby!! I said that I had a Ragdoll cat and the lady said to me ...

Dear friends, Another week has gone and a new one about to commence. Its been a quiet week for me, however my poor husband has been very busy. As I mentioned last week, our washing machine was playing up and after attempting a load of washing on Monday, we decided it was time to replace it (it would spin when it needed water, add water when it was meant to be washing and then decided to do nothing at all).  The new one arrived on Tuesday (works beautifully) and for the rest of the week DH spent replacing the taps, washers etc and making sure they didn't drip or leak. It might sound like an easy job, but it wasn't . . . it also involved a number of trips to the hardware store and finally the plumbing store. All looks good now, I had complete faith in him that it would work in the end - DH had his doubts!! My son has completed his first week in his new job. He bought a new outfit last weekend and looked very smart on his first day.  So far, so good which is such great ...

Photography by Joluise Dear friends and family, August has arrived, not sure where July went, but it has and there is no going back. I always enjoy the arrival of August - firstly it is the last month of winter, secondly it is the month that my son got married (happy 1st wedding anniversary) and thirdly and finally . . . it is the month that both my daughter-in-law and I have a birthday. And I like birthdays!! Very much!!  One can never be unhappy on their birthday month.  Its been a good week. Even though it has been busy at work, it has been positive and the work really interesting . . . coming home at the end of the day and knowing I was able to get a bunch of things done and helped a range of people is a good feeling.  On the home front, everything is running smoothly (why won't it!!) . . . except for the washing machine that appears to be having a few hiccups.  If it doesn't behave its self, we may need to invest in a new one. For those in Australia - ...

Life is like this sometimes! Dear friends, What a cold, wet and grey weekend we are having. The only thing to do on days like this is to stay indoors and keep warm. And that is what I am doing.    Yesterday (Saturday) a couple of guys came and pick up the very heavy 6 foot fish-tank (it was horrible conditions for moving the tank as it was sleeting and freezing). This is exciting news (for me anyway) as now I have my study in full and not sharing it with the ugly tank. My husband has cleaned the walls and carpet (where the tank was sitting) and tomorrow all my bookcases will arrive. This means I can do some major re-arranging of all our books and that is one exciting task!!  Hopefully in my next week's update I will be able to share some photos of my new study. I don't have any new recipes to share this week as I haven't made anything new - I have been try to eat up pre-made meals in the freezer, some of which are poorly labeled so I am not entirely sure w...

Today was gardening day.  An early trip (after breakfast in bed!) to Bunnings hardware store to pick up all the bits and pieces we needed to build another raised vegetable garden bed (for the tomatoes this year) and some more straw (sugar cane mulch) for the new vegetable garden and other areas.  Whilst DH built the raised bed, I fertilised, pruned, moved some pots around and removed the plants (mostly bulbs) that were in the way of the new bed.   I have been putting this job off for a while now, but as the weather was glorious, it was time to get it done and it turned out much easier than I thought it would. I bought 8 tomato plants, but it is still too early to plant them in the raised garden, they will need to wait until late October, early November when we no longer get any frosts.  See the snow peas in the front of the shot, they are growing very well and covered in flowers.  All the vegetables have done really well this winter and I have learnt a...

A beautiful view not far from my brother's home I'm back from my holidays visiting the family. Flew home on Sunday evening after 10 wonderful days away.  My dear husband was very pleased to have me home (I think he lived on Chinese takeaway in my absences as none of the food in the fridge or freezer had been eaten), my eldest son had baked me the most delicious chocolate cake and Ruby hasn't stopped chatting to me. Its lovely to be wanted! Monday I did the washing (not that I had very much), did some grocery shopping (and throw away the uneaten [very off] vegetables from the fridge) and enjoyed being at home. Today (Tuesday) I am in the middle of making strawberry jam (can you smell it cooking?), then my dear husband is taking me out for lunch and the afternoon (God willing) will be spent in the sunshine with a book.  Tomorrow (whilst my husband is at a meeting) I am off to Floriade (flower exhibition) to take photos of tulips! Somewhere in the middle...

My local plant nursey is having a 20% sale this weekend, perfect time to buy everything I need for the vegetable garden - so I bought and planted the following: Strawberries (taking the number of plants to 10) Beans (2 punnets) Zucchini (2 punnets) Pumpkin (2 different types) Cucumber (2 punnets) Capsicum (large and mini yellow ones) Mini daisies (annuals) (2 punnets) 2 large daisies - bright yellow 1 Summer Wisteria for a large pot They are now all in the ground, fertilized and watered.  Now I sit back and wait . . . well, not quite. Probably planted far too much, but thats ok, I will share it around!  Yesterday the tomatoes finally went into the garden bed as it doesn't look like we will get any more frosts this year. So now I am off to have my lunch (leftover pasta) and perhaps do this afterwards (or read) - on the couch and not the snow.  I just had to use this photo as it was SO CUTE. Once I have had that rest!! I have some ironing to do . . . some skirts...

For the last 2 weeks I have been home on holidays with my DH and this is what I have been up to. Birthday gift for my friend Kathy - as part of my handmade gift giving this year I made Kathy a lavender bag (as part of my beginner sewing lesson) and a paper tole picture which she can hang on the wall or display on a shelf. This is a card and gift I had for my mum for Mothers Day.  I card the I made a while ago using paper tole - my mum has the habit of reusing cards I make to give to special people, so I can imagine down the track someone else is likely to enjoy this little girl!!  I often send her flowers, which, as you know die, so this year I made her a flower picture. I would really like to write a bible text at the bottom, but my hand writing isn't neat enough, so I might need to use the computer. Also part of my beginner sewing lesson I made two heat packs - the green one is my sons and the butterflies I gave to his girlfriend Millie.  They both loved them.  Mil...

My week - in summary Not many highlights this week, my youngest son went on a school excursion to the Art Gallery and thoroughly enjoyed himself.  My eldest son impressed me with his maturity and ability to negotiate a 12 month lease on the unit he is renting.  He was so pleased with himself for achieving it without anyone's help.  This is something he would never have attempted a few years ago, another sign that he is growing up.  The weather has been glorious and I praise the Lord for providing such a mild end to summer - yes, officially summer comes to the end next Monday and them we move into Autumn, my favourite season.  It is perfect weather for sitting outside and watching the world go by - which is what I did on Wednesday afternoon.  Small moments of joy. (below: these are 2 little guys who live in my garden ) All week (in the evenings) I have been busy working on a photo album for my parents - I have gathered up and scanned all their old famil...

Sydney Harbour Bridge taking from the Manley Ferry Family My son hasn't been feeling very well this week and missed a couple of days of school, and this is only his 2nd week back at school.  He is looking and feeling much better today.  I have no idea what bug he caught, but that is nothing unusual. My DH has been trying to fix a problem on his laptop and each evening he came home from work and spent ages trying to figure out the problem - getting more and more frustrated. Finally on Thursday (with the help of a on-line technician) he cracked it and was so relieved. Otherwise it has been a very quiet week. Weather Mostly cool with one day/night of rain followed by humidity. Since the rain I have heard the crickets chirping happily.   Shopping Had to buy a new kettle as ours wouldn't turn off when it boiled.  Kettles range in price from $9.00 through to almost $200!! Who would spend $200 on a kettle unless it made the tea and brought it to me!!  Our last t...