Garden growth

While I was having lunch with Mum last week, she mentioned that the weekend was the best time (according the the planting moon calendar) to plant Spring bulbs.  Mum is quite a good gardener and she does all of her planting according to this calendar so I thought I would give it a try.  I am a middling gardener at best.  About half the things I plant either die or never seem to grow.  Plus, it was the day before Term 2 started and gardening seemed like some good productive procrastination.

Autumn has finally arrived in my part of the country with the weekend also bringing our first really good proper rain for the year.  The mornings are crisp and cool, the days are mostly sunny - the type of sun that is best for basking in - and the nights are best spent with slippers, jumpers and rugs.  I haven't turned on the heater yet but I've been a bit tempted.

I spent an hour outside, clearing a few weeds, removing old agapanthus leaves and flower spikes, planting the bulbs - some tulips, snowdrops and bluebells - pulling up the dead part of the pumpkin vine and burying it over in the right hand corner to compost.  There's still a few bits of it growing, it seems to have taken root again?  I'll just leave it to do its thing.  We only ended up getting one pumpkin off it (so far?) and that's reminded me to post about it next time.

After I had finished, I stood back and thought about how much our garden has grown in the three years it has been since we bought the place.  Certainly not all of it, but this part of the garden looks so good with the frangipani trees really taking off in height now, shading the plants below in Summer and letting the sun in when the leaves drop closer towards Winter.  I've planted the bulbs in under the frangipani trees.  I'm hoping the leaves will create some shade for the flowers in our very short Spring and help them to flower better and last longer.

The photo below was taken when we moved in.  It's a bit of a different angle but look at the change.  

So many differences.  I'm reasonably happy with this part of the garden at the moment.  I wish I could say the same for the rest of it.  Since working out we would not be in this place for much longer, the urge to plant new things has decreased a bit.  I'll be sad to say goodbye to my fruit trees though, and before I've even gotten an apricot from our apricot tree.  I'll have to keep my fingers crossed for an early crop this year.  Last years crop was a grand total of one single apricot which somehow disappeared entirely while still green.  I think a bird must have flown off with it.

How is your garden going?  Autumn is such a lovely time of the year to spend outside isn't it?  And do you plant new plants via the moon planting calendar?

 

Goodbye old car...

 

You've treated me well over the past eight years.  I've loved you well and washed you little.  I'm sorry.  You've never broken down on me in 218,000 km.  You may have hit three kangaroos on separate occasions and left me stranded with a rather stoved in front half in the middle of nowhere at about 8pm one night but it wasn't your fault you were a roo magnet.

Note to self, when you hit a kangaroo and notice that your car temperature level is increasing dramatically, make sure you take note of approximately where you are so that when you call friends to come and rescue you and they ask that all important question, your answer is not a high pitched "On the side of the road next to a really big tree."  So helpful.

And hello new (to me) shiny sporty car!

 

Happily, mine and MR's idea of a good car for me matched up perfectly, right down to the colour.  Working three days a week does not create a budget allowing for sports car purchases so we bought it together.  Our first joint big joint purchase/loan! 

It's been a bit of an exciting week hooning driving this baby around.  It's a 2011 Subaru WRX.  It has leather seats and sat nav and cruise control and bluetooth phone hands free things.  I thought the air con was on crack because it kept stopping being cold but MR informs me it is actually just rather clever and has climate control so when it thinks the car has reached that temperature it stops cooling it.  

It's been on one trip out to country town home and it has got some quite powerful acceleration happening.  Overtaking is very easy and quick.  There wasn't really any speeding because of the double demerits I'm a responsible driver but I did have fun slowing right down and then speeding up to the speed limit on some straight empty country roads.  I took my sister for a drive and there may have been some mad cackling from both of us while on those straight country roads.  Mum declined a test drive...   

 

Get fit

As you might have read a few posts ago, I've entered in the HBF Run for a Reason again this year, my third year of participation.  My sister is once again doing it with me and this year we haven't entered the walker's category as last year we were fast enough with mostly walking and a few 100m of jogging to reach a time that is in the next category.  This year we want to beat our time from last year.  So to motivate ourselves, we both got a fitbit.

That constant New Year's resolution of getting fit has finally reached a point where I really need to do something about it.  Not lose weight per se, although two or three kilos could be lost quite happily, but more get fit.  Fit enough to climb a flight or two of stairs without finding myself a bit puffed at the end of it.  Fit enough to go for a brisk walk with a friend and be able to talk fairly normally through it.  Fit enough to make it to the end of the 4km walk without falling in a heap.

I've done okay so far (for me).  My first week of owning it, I spent half of the time in hospital so we're not counting that one.  They say the average person should do 10 000 step a day.  My goal is 6000 but I've only met it twice.  Last weeks step total was 28512.  It definitely has motivated me to get out there and walk a bit more.  I've gone for three walks in the last week and a bit.  Not much, but that's three walks more than I would do in a regular week!  The only problem so far is, the day after going for a walk, I end up being that tired that I sleep in until 11am (it's school holidays) and then need a fairly quiet day to recover.  Ridiculous!  What happened to that theory that the more exercise you do the easier it gets and the more energy you have?  I haven't spotted that yet.  But I'm determined to keep going.  There's just over four weeks until the run and I have a fair way to go if I'm planning on jogging part of the way.


Do you own a fitbit?  Have you found it useful? 

And if you do, do you want another friend, one whose step total will be very easy to beat? Just leave your email below and I'll add you.

  

Buns in the oven

Happy Easter everyone!

This Easter I had my first two attempts at making hot cross buns.  The first lot I baked as a test run on Thursday and they were rather rock-ish so I ate (the inside of) one and threw the rest in the bin.  I think I just cooked them a bit too long.  The recipe did 30-35 minutes and I cooked mine for 30 but I think 20 would have done it to be honest.

My second attempt was on Sunday when MR was down to help me eat them.  I used a different recipe, this one from The Bookery Cook, after a recommendation from Nicole on IG except I just used powdered cinnamon and all spice, not all that lovely fresh stuff and I didn't have time to steep them in the milk so I just heated it up a bit and then let it cool off.  We had a bit of a time limit, we were due for afternoon tea with MR's parents who have retired and moved to Yanchep, a 40 minute drive from our house in Perth.

This time I watched my hot cross buns baking like a hawk and as soon as they looked like they might be browned enough I pulled them out and did the tap-tap-do-they-sound-hollow test and they did - cooked enough for me!  This recipe said 20 - 30 minutes and I pulled mine out at 17 minutes. 

Hot cross rocks in the top six and nice soft crumb filled hot cross buns in the bottom six

The recipe made twenty which really is a bit of an overkill, so we took some over to our next door neighbour (and returned with a slab on homegrown watermelon), some to MR's parents and ate the rest ourselves this morning for breakfast.

While up in Yanchep, we went for a little walk along the beach just as the sun was beginning to set.  After living in the country for 35 or so years, MR's Mum is so happy to be back by the coast (she grew up near the coast in New Zealand) and was excited to show off their little beach.  Their house is across the road and over a sand dune from the beach and there are lots of ocean views from their house.

After getting back from our visit we headed out for dinner and to see the new Captain America movie.  We went Gold Class and when we were given our tickets we were told we would be receiving a complimentary Easter sundae for dessert during the movie to celebrate Easter Sunday.  How lovely is that? 



I hope your Easter weekend was just as lovely as mine :)

 

The Next New Beginning

At the end of the year / beginning of next year (all things going to plan health-wise) I will be moving back out to the country.  Three hours east of Perth. 

MR's parents have retired and moved to the coast and he is currently back at home running the business with his brothers.  And we are renting his parent's house from them until I move back at which point we will buy the place off them.  Yes, that means we are currently running two households and yes it is a terrible, terrible idea.

Our new home is such a well thought out building.  MR's dad built it 20 years or so ago and they designed it themselves.  It is north facing so lots of beautiful natural light (unlike our current home which has the north side featuring the laundry, bathroom and one of the spare rooms and has verandahs on all the other sides of the house so is so dark inside) and it has an elevation in the ceiling with windows all along it into the kitchen and dining area which is on the south side so that it has just as much natural light as the north side.  It has a super huge kitchen with a walk in pantry.  It is very open throughout the kitchen, informal dining area and living room.  They were very ahead of their time.  It really is a beautiful home.

And home is the key word.  This house we are in currently was never going to be home.  I knew we would be moving back to the country eventually, although it is sooner than I imagined, and I just didn't know enough about house choosing to be aware of high on the list of importance natural light is to me.  I like bright, airy spaces. And they are in abundance in our new place.

Even though we're renting, we have the green light to start changing things we want.  MR's parents haven't really updated anything from the original style so there is a lot of 80's style bathroom things happening and the kitchen could use a new oven and new benchtops.  Bathrooms and kitchen renos are a  bit out of our price range at the moment though so we need to start small.  A lick of paint throughout the house and some new curtains in the master bedroom (which is currently featuring some lovely peachy floral numbers, eek).

Ideally, I would love to paint the master bedroom or a feature wall in the living room this Easter long weekend but we have left it a bit late I think.  I'm in Perth and have just got some paint cards to look through.  MR is not in Perth, is actually in the middle of driving a truck back from Port Hedland with his Dad and then will be out bush and I don't know that me emailing paint colour ideas to him and him choosing them online and me not seeing how they look in the natural light of the home is really going to work.  So I'm thinking maybe we I just need to ease back a bit from this full throttle urge to do all of the things right now and maybe just get MR to pick a couple of colours and get some sample pots to take up and explore with.  A little bit more sensible, right?

And while we are deciding there are an awful lot of wallpaper border strips on the bedroom walls that need removing...



 
What are your tips for painting and freshening up a room on a small budget?

Run for a Reason 2014

This will be my third year entering the HBF Run for a Reason.  My sister and I have got ourselves fitbits and are trying to be inspired to get out there, get training and get a bit fitter and hopefully knock a big chunk of time off last year's effort of 37 minutes 21 seconds (for 4kms).

If you have a few spare gold coins lying around and can see your way to sending them my way, I would be ever so very appreciative! 

https://hbfrun2014.everydayhero.com/au/megan

Things that happen when you watch too many movies

MR and I are often found of a weekend on the couch watching a movie. We have 4 drawers full and overflowing of movies and 2 shelves of TV shows on DVD.  MR likes to watch movies to unwind after a busy week working way too many hours and I like to feel like I am efficiently and productively multitasking by watching TV and crafting at the same time.*

While we may or may not be as bad as some when it comes to movie quotes making up a part of your everyday conversation, we do have a few we use on a regular occurrence.

I'm not going to tell you what they are right away, but I will put them down the bottom.  It's always nice to have a guess and feel excited if you know what movies they are from.  Well, I think so anyhow.

"Aziz, light!" or just "Aziz!" (mainly when I don't turn the bedside light off because I'm not ready to sleep but MR is.  And it is ALWAYS me who is never ready to sleep.)

"Llama face"

"ChickUN"

"Uno mas"

"Iiiice" - this one originated whilst in New Zealand and was shouted by the first person to spot the latest ice capped mountains of the day/hour. Needless to say, it got a lot of use in the South Island during our October holiday and caused much hilarity. 

I don't actually use this one but it is my all time favourite movie quote: "I shall go down in history as the man who opened a door!"

And MR, his brothers and friends have a habit of quoting Team America sayings to each other as greetings on the phone. I haven't seen it though so it loses a bit in translation.

So how did you go?  Did you recognise any of the movies?  Are any of them your favourite movies as well?

"Aziz, light" - The Fifth Element

"Llama face" - The Emperor's New Groove

"ChickUN" - The Fifth Element
"Uno mas"  - Shangai Noon

"Iiiice" - Cool Runnings

"I shall go down in history as the man who opened a door!" - Ever After

What movie quotes make it into your everyday conversation?

  

 

* I've somehow almost completely fooled myself that TV watching and craft doing simultaneously does equal efficient productiveness so please don't tell me otherwise. 

Difficult Situations

A few weeks ago my best friend and her husband found out they had lost their baby when they went for their second routine ultrasound.  The doctor wasn't able to find a heart beat.

I got a text from her cancelling a planned catch up for the weekend, letting me know what had happened and telling me she'd call soon.  I replied saying I was here if she needed a shoulder, someone to talk to or someone to take her mind off things. 

Such terrible news :(

I hadn't heard from her a week and a half later so I thought I might go and drop flowers off at her place.  I would have had them delivered but they are living with her parents at the moment while their new home is being built and I couldn't remember the street number.  I dropped them off and messaged her to let her know I'd left them outside the gate.  I didn't want to encroach if she wasn't ready to talk but I wanted to let her know I was thinking of her.

She replied that they had been at the doctors but had still not got any answers about what had gone wrong and wasn't up for a chat yet. 

That was a week and a half ago.

So my question is, what do I do now?  I want to text her again to see how she is going, obviously really not good I know, but still.  I want to be there for my friend.  But I don't want to bother her if she is not ready.  I've never been pregnant and I can't even begin to imagine how she is feeling right now.

From my own experience, talking about my illness was a pretty hard thing at first.  I only told very few people and it was very stressful and difficult.  That sort of news can change a relationship, particularly if a person doesn't respond in an expected way, it can feel quite hurtful when you don't receive the support you need at a time like that from a trusted friend.  I know an illness is nothing at all in comparison to the grief of losing a baby but it can certainly be just at relationship changing.  My point is, sometimes it's easier to talk about things when someone else brings it up.

 
Yes?  No?  Thoughts?
  




  

Lovely days

The end of Summer and beginning of Autumn are some of my favourite days. I get so excited by the brisk mornings and the need to put on a cardigan. Today was the first cardigan morning for me and I decided soon after it wasn't actually necessary. 

Autumn starts late here in WA. It really is still the more the tail end of Summer than the luxuriousness  of long pants, cardigans, couch blankets and Winter pyjamas. Soon, but not quite yet. What it is though is the onset of cool evenings. Perfect for crochet on the couch. My Bertie blanket is getting longer. 

Today was Brown Owls and I got another two stripes done. It's 33 stripes long now, so very close to half way. 

While it's hard to drag myself out of bed on the third Sunday morning of each month for Brown Owls (9am on Sunday is not a time I'm well acquainted with), once I get going on my craft and chatting away to friends I've made through the group, it really is a nice way to start the day. 

Today I followed craft with lunch out in the Swan Valley at a local brewery with MR, his cousin and her boyfriend. We sat outside and caught up and enjoyed yummy food and beautiful weather. And then on the way back home MR and I stopped off at Yahava Koffeeworks for a coffee, a hot chocolate, a muffin and an escargot. 

MR is quickly mowing the back lawn because the bins are being emptied tomorrow and the we are couch and DVD bound. We're thinking Zoolander. We've got veal mignons and roast veggies planned for dinner which doesn't involve much prep so all in all, it's been one of those lovely slow, relaxing days in which you still manage to get a bit of stuff done. Just lovely. 

How's your weekend panned out?

  

Lately...

Crafting...
Sewing date and lunch with some lovely friends at my place.  I almost got this quilt that I started at the beginning of last year finished, only about 20 cms of stitching the binding on to go and I'm embarrassed to say, it is still not finished!  I put it down after the girls left because I had some school prep to do for the next day.  Must. Finish!

The Bertie Blankie is going well, I am getting a bit more done most nights of the week.  I'm getting close to being half way there and in even better news, I'm not yet bored of it! 

Watching...
The Block (the first reality TV show I've been sucked into, ever!)


The Riddick movies

Thor: The Dark World


Reading...
The Gentleman Bastard Series, Books 2 and 3.  If you like a bit of a fantasy/intrigue/con artist sort of thing this series by Scott Lynch is pretty great!!  I found out about it via a review by one of my favourite authors, Patrick Rothfuss, on Goodreads.  How exciting is it to see what your favourite authors like to read?  He rated the first and second books with five stars so I thought I'd give it a go and I'm glad I did.

and now back on to the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.  I got book 13 for Christmas and it's the final in the series but I'm determined to reread them all before reading the last one so I am all up to speed and know exactly where everything has been left off.  No missing important bits here just because I've forgotten them!  I just started book 5 last night.  Do you reread series when the next in the order comes out? 

Baking...
Banana and raspberry bread

My comfort food - sago  

Anzac biscuits for MR, and using my new biscuit barrel for the first time.

Pancakes, the last three weekends in a row!!

Growing...
My pumpkin is looking more pumpkinly every day.  Unfortunately only one flower was pollinated so there's only one pumpkin.  My dad told me (way too late to do anything about it) that I should have pollinated the female flowers with the male flowers by hand but unfortunately I really am a gardening novice and had no idea there were female and male flowers on the same plant and just thought all the flowers should turn into fruit through immaculate conception.  Clearly not.  I will know better for next time a pumpkin plant decides to grow in my garden.  Especially now that I have googled it and know how to do it and tell the two different flowers apart.

What exciting things have been happening in your world lately?