Month: August 2020

A short while ago, my Mum sent us a package!
The state they live in, Victoria, had quite the Covid19 surge and at short notice, it became mandatory for people to wear masks when out and about.

My parents live in a retirement village – so Mum went on a sewing rampage with Dad as back-up (going to Spotlight to get thread and elusive elastic).
79 masks made in three days!! The neighbours came in on the third day to help with threading and joining the elastic!

All up, Mum’s made about 150. Being a dressmaker and sewing teacher from waaaaay back, her material stash is enviable, and she’s managed to make them from what she has had stored!
I love our masks! Of course she’s sent us and my sisters families masks.
The material with the Aboriginal Design was originally made into a dress for me many years ago – it was one of my favourites (when I wore dresses that is! Don’t seem to do that anymore!!)
The cat design was some material I’d brought back from Japan a while ago and gave to Mum to ‘do something’ with!!

Tried to get Pip into the act!!

Very proud of my Mum with her skill and generous community spirit. Hopefully helping keep people safe!

Sorry I still haven’t sorted out the answering messages thing!
But thank-you for the query about the spacing with my blueberries Tracy!! Total rookie moment! I guess since our other bushes hardly grew at all I wasn’t aware how big they can get!!
So… we got in today and did some rearranging!

Four are in the main patch and 4 (including the old two we dug up) in the ‘duck yard’ garden.

This one has a bit of size but the one below might be a bit of touch and go
We’ll have to go get another lot of pine bark to mulch.  I stole some back off the path to plant in with this lot.

 

I think I need to change Flea’s name to ‘Rover’
She follows me like a dog at my heels!!
I thought it was just her chook-brain wanting food at first but even when there is a stack of delightful snacks that they are all squabbling over, she will leave them behind to follow me!! Nawwww

I don’t have the super ugly ‘before’ photo but Jeff got into this side garden to remove the pig face and weed, so I gave him a hand and added some more soil etc
Still needs a bit more of a tidy – maybe some pine bark too – or straw. Dunno
Ruby’s transplanted Aloe plants are going well!!

The duck yard garden is a mess – I think I’ll leave the nasturtium patch alone but pull the other hugelkultur patch apart and out… it was too hard to control the birds kicking it apart – coupled with the wind and weather last season…
Its a big work in progress (ie mostly in my mind right now)

I do like how the nasturtiums took over though…

A tulip appeared!!
The snails in this tulip and iris garden are stampeding so I REALLY have to get brave and go out at night to pick them all off!!
Not tonight. Its icy cold out there and I am too comfy inside. (Yah – am a woose not brave)

It will be nice seeing more and more flowers appearing

I bought a couple of bags of mushroom compost today to make a mix to plant seeds! Yes… its finally that time of year!
Oh – I just noticed… its the first of September right now! Spring really IS here!!

BUT – terrible news about the mushroom compost… apart from bagged commercial stuff, it is no more in Tasmania. Apparently the mushroom farms are closed so no more getting trailer loads of the beautiful stuff!! Sob!!

Anyways… better get to bed. Visitors tomorrow morning. Jeff managed to tell me about it this afternoon and I am like ‘eek!’
Tidied a bit and baked a cake so I am set

Hope you are having a good start to your week!
Cheers

Hello!
Little spring flowers are starting to show up!
Today was quite a nice day, so we managed to get some useful outside things done.

We put newspaper and cardboard down and topped this with woodchips… still need some more to finish the top end but it looks 100% from before when it was all crazy weeds

The trailer is full of soil that we got from Sharons the other day. I thought I should top up the strawberry patches as a start
I ended up sieving the soil – roughly – just to remove big rocks or roots.

I then mixed it in with the leftover cow-poo-straw which made a nice mix (If you are into that sort of stuff…)

It went on top of the pine bark

Ready – time to scavenge about for strawberry plants. They all were looking a bit tiny and sad

I got quite a few out of this patch – I need to rescue the remainder and do some topping up here next!!

Slightly underwhelming so far… hopefully they will like the new patch and sit up well within a month or two.
This was the bed last season that killed two plantings of strawberries! (I still am completely clueless why!!) It ended up with tomatoes instead.
Hopefully this new improved mix will be agreeable for them!

I also weeded this patch and added the remaining soil mix – needs a bit more of a top up but I reckon it will be the place for lettuce and rocket.

Anyway – things are happening.
I guess I’ll need to sort my seeds and get cracking on the planting soon!!
Yay

Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Cheers

Warm cosy fire – why wouldn’t you like to be slothing inside?

Today has been a proper winters day – dark, gloomy, miserable, cold, rainy with some serious wind – and I’m loving it!

We were out and about earlier on, but once home it was so nice to snug up and relax inside with the fire.

Not a lot to report from my end of the world – Jeff got all gardening keen after the planting of the blueberries and went and pruned the roses – I think with a chain saw since they are now about a foot off the ground!!
And weeded this whole plot.
We went and grabbed a load of nice woodchips and when the weather is not howling – we’ll put down some newspaper and tidy it up with the woodchips.

Some green on the raspberry canes!!

Of course as soon as I am doing something ‘interesting’ I have several chooks underfoot!

And I had a little soapmaking afternoon – I cut this today and its pretty.
Lavender and cedar – such a nice combo!
I’ll get some snaps soon of the cut version
I have more lye mixed but haven’t made up my mind what to do – I got some new colours and fragrances – next will be apple and sage.
Stay tuned 🙂

Hope you are all doing well
Cheers!

Hello!
Spring is fast approaching.
Time to get my butt into gear and do something vaguely garden related!

We really needed to get those blueberry bushes in the ground. Not sure if we will be lucky enough to get fruit this season, but they’ve a better chance if we actually planted them

While we were digging, we let the chooks into the garden as a treat!
So funny – they have such a marvellous time when they are allowed somewhere new!

Very industriously digging up everything of course!!

They mostly just got in Jeffs way… so many worms to be snatched up!!

Once Jeff had removed the grass, we dug into the soil to break it up a bit then added in some pine needles that I had leftover from last season.

I decided not to plant yesterday as I wanted to get some pine bark mulch to put in the holes and mulch with once planted…

So we quit the blueberry task and I moved on to digging up the last of the beetroot and weeded the plot.

Handy using my sink even though its not hooked up to the tap yet

Plot is now ready for a new planting of carrots and beetroot!

I spent a little time weeding one of the other raised beds – the mulch has done a great job of keeping the weeds down though

Soon I’ll have to decide where I am planting everything this season!

Lucky worm… chooks didn’t spot this one.

A lovely day!

Today we collected a couple of scoops of cheap pine bark – it didn’t need to be showy so I was ok with paying less!

I lined the holes with it and mulched all around the plot.
Hopefully they will be happy and do blueberry things…

The rest of the mulch went into the beds where the strawberries will go and onto the path in the backyard garden… so now it looks like a path not a weed-fest.

Then, because I was out there, I got into tidying up this area a bit

This,
To this:

and

This,
To this:

Pip was acting resident snoopervisor for a while

I started cutting back the cape gooseberries, but they still have lots of fruit on them.
I picked a bundle today

Anyway, its all an ongoing project of course!
What makes me pleased about this upcoming season is that I have lots of plots almost ready just to plant in rather than having to do any big weedings sessions or building from scratch.  Will just be adding a bit of soil and compost and going for it!
Bliss.

BTW… that huge egg of course was a double yolker…

Cheers!

How happy does Margie look?
We go out to Sharon’s pretty much weekly for treatments and lunch – we’ve been expecting the arrival of baby goats for a while.
I think Margie took her gumboots out every week in case she got to go out and cuddle babies!!

Barely 24 hours old!!
This is Margie with Jasper… a little fluffy boy.

This is Sharon with one of the triplets – Janet or La Toya (and yes, their brothers name is Michael)

They were all super adorable – and wobbly. There were a few little experimental bounces – so cute!

This was Lulu’s first time as a Mum and found the whole experience a bit of a shock… but she is a really attentive Mum… follows Jasper about everywhere nuzzling him making sure he is ok

Missy, who had the triplets, is a bit calm and casual about it all as she’s been there and done that before! (With Michael above)

Drink time

I got a few cuddles too!

Cuddling goats is good therapy… definitely go away feeling pretty good!

 

 

Jasper got a bit confused for a bit and was sucking on Margies pants haha
(Nawwww)

Saying hello to your neighbour

Anyway, thought you’d like to see a bunch of cute baby goats – hopefully I’ll be back out there this week to have another cuddle!

Cheers

Hi!

We managed a bit of a walk the other day – original intention was to go a lot further but we cut the day short a bit as there were a few pressing things to sort at home that I had been (ahem) procrastinating about.

Beautiful day hey? The track was nice and squishy and muddy – but I had remembered my gaiters so I felt a bit invincible. (We were up in Rocky Cape NP)

I might have to email parks again sometime and pester them.
About three years ago they dropped off supplies by the side of the track up here to presumably put in a bit of a boardwalk across the muddy bits and there is a sign for the hill too. I keep eyeing off the short steel droppers thinking… well… if they don’t want them…?? haha
Amazing nothing has been liberated during its long stay in the scrub.
I wonder if the job has been forgotten or if (highly likely) they are vastly underfunded.

We really need to set a full day aside to get back up here and do the proper hike – complete with picnic!

Now… moving along to soap…
Did I show you this experiment? (I re-post processed it in my trial photoshop)

I got into it and cut it… But I only tidied up these three chunks – because I did it quite unevenly, the amount of soap wasted was too much with the cut, so the rest can be ‘rustic’ and they’ll start to look great as they are used and worn down.

However… I would love to try it again, but next time fill the container right up and make sure the soap settles down evenly.  I think it will be a fun design to play with again.

The remaining colours that didn’t fit into the moulds I put into the tube and did a hurried ‘kaleidosoap’ pattern… all very groovy!

Hope you’ve had a lovely day!
Cheers!

Hi!

Wow… I am a bit daft.
Its been years that I’ve been using my ancient version of photoshop, but armed with a new computer and confidence I trotted off to our local Hardly Normal (OK – its Harvey Norman for those outside Australia – you can buy household furniture, appliances and tech stuff) to get myself a spanking new edition of photoshop.

So… I am seeing a stand with options. Sigh. These days no CD but a card that you have to follow instructions and with any luck, download your photoshop without any hitches and Voila!

I avoided the student/teacher version and asked the difference between the $150 and $250 photoshop elements. The more expensive one had video editing capability so I didn’t need that.

Wow I am thinking… a lot cheaper than I expected (This is where the daft comes in)

So… Home I go. Follow the instructions, get my serial number follow prompts and hit download.
All good until it stalled at 42%

Eventually I terminated the download and started again
Stalled at 10%
Yay… WHY did this not surprise me?
A couple more goes and I am like… maybe a glitch in something… shall we switch everything off and on again in the time honoured manner of all computer techs everywhere?

Okies…

Oh yes… marvellous improvement.
Now I found it absolutely impossible to navigate back to the download area using the serial number.  Adobe is like a rabbit warren!
I tried so many things then looked for online help… eventually got someone who informed me that the people I needed wouldn’t be back to work until Monday

Bangs head on desk

I tried downloading the trial version thinking I could maybe just add in my serial number to unlock.
Nah… it downloaded fine but no option using my number.
So… almost at tanty-time I gave it up as a lost cause until I got someone a lot more computer savvy than me to sort it.

(OK I will admit to a tanty since if you are going to sell something at least make it idiot proof to download)

I’d been busy for a few days so today I thought I’d buckle down and get this thing sorted.
Rang a number and got some clever lady in India to take over my computer and make it all better.
(And watching what she did kinda comforted me as there was no way come hell or high water that I would have sorted that out on my own.)
All done, all registered, all updated…
Time to open and play.

Alrighty… so. I expected things to have changed a bit but… ummmmm
Nothing resembling the fine tuning tools of the photoshop I’ve been used to using could be found.

Lets cut the long agonising story short.
Photoshop essentials is not photoshop. (duh) Its the lite version. Super lite. I’m thinking lets compare ‘finger painting’ to ‘Van Gogh’.

I rang HN to confirm my sinking feeling and yes… PROPER photoshop is over $1000 (Which as it turns out they don’t even have)
Happily I can send them an email, uninstall what I jumped through fiery hoops to install and they can refund me the $$

The trial version that I downloaded by accident is the one I need and I had a play on it today and its gorgeous! I only have about 3 days left of it before I have to do something about buying it either outright or a monthly fee or something.
My enthusiasm to investigate further today ran out.

So yeah… photoshop doesn’t cost $150 🙂
(I should have known really… I knew before about it being pretty pricey but because it had been so long and there were no other options at HN I figured perhaps within the digital world of things getting cheaper…???)

I really have missed post processing my photos properly.
All the ones here have been done on the new photoshop and were from this morning when I went to let the chooks out.

So many cool webs everywhere!

It was all foggy this morning but not too cold

A snap of the white garlic

Oh – when I got my email of my last blog posts, the photos turned out enormous… couldn’t see them all properly… did that happen to anyone else?
Would be good to know as I still have to get in touch with someone about not being able to reply to your messages!

Which brings me to Lee’s question about the carrots.
By the sounds of it, perhaps your soil was too rich. Esp if the leaves were all lush but nothing underneath.  I tend to plant my carrot seeds in where the beetroot was – without enriching or doing anything but weeding. The lack of readily available nutrients sends the carrots down looking 🙂
A lighter sandier soil is optimal too.
Always plant from seed… don’t transplant.
Thats all off the top of my head but what I think of as the basics for growing them.
Good luck – let me know how the next crop goes!

In the hothouse the potatoes are still looking great. No idea if they will be all top and no bottom… waiting waiting

Poor little self seeded tomato… finally gave it some compost and mulch and a good watering. It’s in the hothouse – it might take off…

I am so very glad I grabbed a few punnets of lettuce late in the season. Its so nice having them at hand.
An iceberg lettuce in the supermarket was going for $4.50!!!!!!
I can’t even….

Man Fern frond – so funny and hairy!

Ok… that was my tale of photoshop that wasn’t…
And a small morning stroll through the yard!

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy
Cheers!!

(Winter Bliss, wrapped in his warmed towel)

How is everyone going??

I am stumbling my way though the new computer (Lets not talk about the photoshop fiasco!!! I MISS the days when you bought a program, you were given a CD to chuck in the computer to load. Needless to say downloading online failed miserably, no-one available at Adobe until Monday and thats several hours of my life I won’t get back!!!)
(OK… so I talked about it haha)

Carrots!!
Pulled up the last of the patch – lots more left than I thought!
We’ll eat a lot but share a lot too. Will replant in October!

Good grief… thanks also Word Press for ‘updating’
So as well as stumbling through my new computer I am looking everywhere to find all the usual buttons to create a blog post which are all in much more inconvenient spots!!

First World Problems 😀

So… hot house doing ok… pretty sure there are little mousie mouses in there chewing things that they shouldn’t be!

The lettuce are giving us a bit of a feed and the experimental potatoes are fabulous

Some keen bunny has chewed off a few garlic shoots!!
Not Happy!!
Luckily only lost about 4/5
Did the Dodgy Bros. job and netted this patch

I can only conclude that a duck snuck into the chook coop and laid an egg!!

The middle egg is our ‘big’ egg and weighs 70g
The one on the right is a smaller 60g

The monster on the left weighed in at 116g!!! Poor Chook! Ouch!

And lastly from me before going to serve up dinner (Just got some veggies in the oven with some chicken) I did an experiment with soap…

It didn’t quite work out the way I planned in my head – will take a snap soon of the cut version. It was all very ‘rustic’ for want of a better word!!
Still… kept me amused one afternoon!!

Hope everyone is well… and sorry, still can’t answer messages. Will get on and pester someone at BlueHost soon about that!

Cheers!!

Hi!!
Just a brief note from me!

I was super amazingly lucky to get a new computer!! My wonderful parents shouted me a new HP PC (I think they might have been sick of me whinging and whining about my lame old clunky slow one and not doing anything about it)
(Can’t wait to see them in person for big hugs 🙂 )

So – I am slowly getting things working and re connecting with sites – though I think word press has changed their site this week so I was struggling to find out where they hid the button to press to create a new post!
Oh – and I can’t seem to reply to your comments!! I will try again but don’t think I am being rude and ignoring you. Clearly a lot of teething issues to work through!!

I can download photos as of today – but still need to get a new photoshop.

I am going to tackle setting up my email next …
(Maybe I should have lunch first??)
I have some lye cooling as I haven’t made soap for a week or so and it feels weird 🙂

We’ve been hiking and I’ve been slowly working on decluttering upstairs.
Today we’ve got a proper winters day.
Cold, wet, dark, gloomy and I’m loving it!!

Hope everyone is doing well and hopefully I’ll be back with a real post complete with photos soon!
Cheers xx

Hello!
Well… It was time to get my butt out of bed early and give the market a go to make some space for more soap!!
The weather was slightly iffy but not too tragic looking so I went ahead on Saturday and packed the car and did a mock set up of the gazebo with my new side shelter arrangement:

I thought it might do the job… It really helped with the wind and the little bit of rain we ended up having! (Soap not the best thing to have out in the elements – don’t want to be selling suds)

(I also had to practice setting it up by myself as Jeff was sleeping in prep for a nightshift)

Colourful hey?

Well, you know me well enough by now to know it was a bit of a hassle getting up and functioning at 6am… haha
But I did it and got myself down to the foreshore (in the dark!!) got a spot and started setting up.
We had to fill out a covid-ready form, have hand sanitiser and the market provided us with signs to put up to tell people to basically be sensible.
(Looks like Tassie boarders are going to still be closed until at least 31st August since the mainland is still struggling with new cases)

It was a slow start to selling but eventually people rolled up and bought soap!
I had visits from a few ladies that had done Sharons workshop as well which was really nice!
I tarted up my paper sandwich bags with this cool stamp I got from Japan yonks ago…

I discovered last night though that ink just goes chalky and wipes off!!! Damn.
Will have to find a different decent stamp pad. I rather liked the white.

Anyway, it was worth all the agony of the early morning as I sold over $300 worth of soap, so a good day out in my opinion… and even better, I’ve created some more space in case I want to make some more!!

Sharon and her family popped down to the market which was great – she could see what I’d been up to haha. Plus she got behind the table and helped me sell when I had a bit of a line up at one point and her husband Paul kindly bought the blueberry bushes I wanted to get but couldn’t leave my stall!!
We’ve got snow forecast (I know!!!! What??) so I don’t think I’ll be planting them this week. Its so icy out there this evening.
I stocked up on wood at the back door – planning on cosying (spell check doesn’t like my word but I know what I mean…) myself up in front of the fire tomorrow!

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend – staying safe, staying healthy and not too stir crazy!!
Cheers!

PS -Yonks = A long time