Monday, September 27, 2010

Purple prose.

Funny thing about wisteria, until a few years ago I could not smell it without gagging.
This possibly dates back to a memory associated with the funeral of my great grandfather when I was about 9 years old.
Visually it was a feast but the feast was also nauseating. Luckily (perhaps with aging) my brain does not tell me to throw up when I smell it anymore. Hallelujah!
I planted this about 7 years ago and each year I have tolerated it better and can enjoy the lovely flowers. Just thought I would share a photo. (If you look through the trellis you can just see some of our new solar electricity panels - not hooked up to the grid yet...waiting,waiting).

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Mixin' it up!

How about this for a nifty garden junk idea?
My granddaughter knowing my penchant for old stuff, especially metal found this mixer for me at a Trash and Treasure meet and just knew I would love it and I do!
I thought the spiky succulent gave it a nice retro feel.
Looking now for a suitable bowl to complete the look.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Things are looking Up!

A few tentative steps outside the front door this morning, harnessed up the dog and stepped  into a world exploding with spring colour.
Two weeks in a hospital ward leads to a kind of 'white out' or sensory deprivation I guess. All sensations are heightened,sight, smell (yes I did pick up the dog poo) and even touch. The highlight of my small excursion was the four leafed clover I found. Is this a universal sign of good luck? As I said, things are looking up!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Tender mercies

I'm Baaaaack!
12 days in in a private room, a view over the city, all meals included, sounds like heaven right?
No internet, lousy tv, plenty of books a few bunches of flowers, more sweets than are good for me  only made bearable by the ministrations of the wonderful girls and guys on ward F2 (my home away from home) and the physios, not all bad. Mercifully no photos.
All good.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Birthday, smirthday

Well, my birthday has come and gone and I can say that it was the worst yet.
Sorry  to be a downer but the news that I am going into hospital for a "tune up" of an ongoing problem is not the best gift to get. It is particularly galling because spring has come with a vengeance and I will miss it.
See you when I get out.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Three days to go.

A fun morning at the local Girl Guides' clubhouse where they are having a "Trash & Treasure" sale.
Just went to support my granddaughter's troop. The money raised will help pay for their insurance for the coming year, a necessity nowadays.
Last year I had a stall but not able to this year besides, I have donated most of the succulents I grew to the children's  school which is currently having a remodel of their gardens. The plants do look nice in the ground, shall post a picture when they get established.
Snooping around my damp (yes again!) garden this AM these two beauties caught my eye, first a bulb which is I think a hemerocallus, a spectacularly flamboyant producer of stamens (very butch!) and the white plant is the common Australian native rock orchid which has a heavenly vannillary scent.
Winner in the olfactory stakes though at this time of year is surely the gorgeous freesia, an indescribably lovely perfume with undertones of cow manure LOL. That's how it seems to me  anyway, just a little counterpoint to the nice notes rather like a base note.
The other  thing about freesia perfume is that when I smell it I am 17 years old again. My Birthday party that year was a biggie (why am I thinking about birthdays?) and was made memorable by the bunch of freesias I got, plucked from his mother's garden, by the latest heartthrob.
Smells are very powerful in pulling out those long forgotten memories or is it just age that makes one remember the past so vividly and forget the last thing you heard?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Six days to go

Six days to go to a BIG landmark birthday. I mean BIG. Let's just say I could collect the pension after the 7th of September.
Am I unhappy, you betcha, then on the other hand I never expected to reach this age, I  expected not to reach the millennium so it is all good.
Onward into the 21st Century and we are installing solar panels on our roof to generate electrickery.
 As usual there is a hitch, the frames will go on the roof but no panels. The scheme to encourage installations has been so popular that installers cannot keep up with the workload or the materials.
No use getting upset but delays are so frustrating.
Just a glimpse into my riveting life LOL.