Card update

Well, it certainly is "crafty" weather. A little bit of rain and a maximum of only 22 C. Winter is coming!
Thought I would try out another card idea, yes I do like red. One padded and one not.  One day I will take the plunge and try to actually sell my cards online. Is it worth the trouble? Sold some of my monkeys through them being featured in a catalogue and it was quite a lot of work with emailing info etc and then trucking down to the post office to send them. The other question is will folk actually like them enough to buy?

Anyone who stumbles over this blog might like to give me any thoughts they have on selling online and maybe any experiences. Just a mass of insecurities aren't I?

Stuffed!

Stuffed!....(well, more padded really) Not me, my greeting cards!

Terribly labour (yes Mr Spellcheck that is the correct spelling for down here) intensive, but I hope worth it, artistically I mean, handcrafts are never a real money making enterprise, something to keep idle hands busy. Along the way I do sell a few to fund my support of PLAN child sponsorship. I'm currently sponsoring a young Kenyan girl who lives a very basic lifestyle and the plan is to help the whole village not just the individuals. PLAN is a worthy non religious organisation founded by an Australian journalist after the  Spanish civil war to help orphaned children, it has morphed into a world wide concern.
Anybody interested, I could try to make a little tutorial on how I do the cards, just leave a comment.

Everybody needs good neighbours.....

This is the story of my good neighbour Jan.
She is loyal, she is trustworthy, she is a ball of energy and she BAKES!
Happily she bakes a lot and and not only that she won't eat day old cake. This leaves me in the envious position of having supper left outside my door quite often. Luckily I am trying to put on weight (I know, I know) so this is not a bad thing.

Not only do I get all of this yummy stuff, it is often themed as well, green lamingtons for St Patricks Day (that's the day Jan plants her sweet peas) and pink ones for Valentine's Day.
Pictured above is the latest offering (minus the little bit I tasted!) Thanks Jan it was scrummy.

A little bit crazy

Here it is, the renovated path and edge, not as organic as the old one but, come Spring, it should be good.
A bit of greenery  will hopefully cover up any wobbly bits.

Garden renovation

It is almost 5 years since we put in our pond and apart from a disastrous flood back in'07 when we lost all but 9 of our goldfish, things have gone well. A little too well actually, our libidinous fish have multiplied alarmingly and I now have about 150. Something has to be done about their numbers or the whole thing will crash. The plants however have loved all of that extra fish poo and have grown amazingly well.

Sadly though, the  lovely piece of wood that  was edging the side of the pond has succumbed to rot and had to be replaced so that is the current project. Apart from finding muscles that haven't been used in a long time, things are going well. luckily  one part of the team isn't too fussed about straight lines and as it is based on a Japanesy style of garden, a little 'informality' is ok. However it is a constant  struggle for 'himself' to loosen up as he wants to go with the neat edge approach every time. The result is usually a compromise although he would say that I always win.

Shall post a 'work in progress' pic. soon but the real results won't be until spring when the pavers and stepping stones are filled in with greenery.

Old and Demanding

No, that does not refer to me but to our 17 year old silkie terrier TJ.
Seventeen years of pampering has created a monster. Blind deaf and very, very demanding. The worst of it is that he lives on our bed and refuses to be anywhere else, this means every couple of hours or so he has to be taken out for toilet breaks, food, drinks and then sometimes he just wants company! He is barking as I type. Sometimes it is a guessing game, what the hell does he want now? The extra laundry is a bit of a burden, even clean dogs smell like dogs so sheets have to be changed almost daily, why did I let this happen?  TOO SOFT! Many of my pioneering ancestors are no doubt spinning in their graves, to them dogs were chained up outside and and thrown a bone every now and then.

Why, why ,why do we put up with it?  It must be love. A sobering footnote is that dogs have been known to live into their twenties. I may go barking mad before then.

Ahh sweet autumn

Sweet autumn's bounty. The last pickings from our persimmon tree, sweet and luscious fruit with that amazing gelatinous mouth feel.
This variety unlike older ones can be eaten slightly underripe without leaving a furry feeling in your mouth, similar to a raw quince...don't get me started on quinces, lovely lovely fruit cooked with a little sugar to a perfect purpleuosness. Very hard to buy unless you grow your own.

The grubs love our persimmons as well but we pay them no heed and simply cut out the bad bits, spraying the tree for fruit fly is a bit futile in this area as there is a huge reservoir of fruit for them to eat year round in the large ficus trees in the park opposite our house. The flying foxes wheel in every night to feast on the hard dry little figs, but please God they don't make the park their roosting place............bat poo is not good.
We often sit out for the evening show as they fly in, it's Halloween every night. Drives our two dogs crazy.

Wow! it's autumn already.

Out of the hospital again and somebody turned off the heat while I was away.
Gorgeous Autumn days looking forward to the few coloured leaves we get here in our temperate and mild coastal climate. Just a taste from last year, leaves from our feral Liquidamber tree.