Look, Miss Caroline…

it’s purple.

Today I bought myself something lovely.

Something I have wanted for a long time.

It’s a big, beautiful, heavy cast-iron casserole pot and it is purple.

It will hold six litres and weighs 6.4 kilograms when it’s empty.

Tonight we’ll have beef casserole and dumplings, but I’m going to make sure there’s enough for my lunch tomorrow too…

More Haste

My delay in writng this post is an indication that YET AGAIN I was rushing to meet a deadline. Nothing would ever be finished were it not for the last minute. This is a mantra that keeps me going.

I was making a quilt for publication in a magazine. I was incredibly fortunate and was provided with some fabric to make this quilt. I really enjoy trying to bring as many fabrics as possible into a quilt. I love a scrappy look.

I also really enjoyed the challenge of not having an influence over the fabric that I received.

I’d love to show you the quilt…

but it’s a secret.

I’ll give you a little sneaky look

but you can’t tell anyone.

OK?

Garden Haul

Four weeks ago I planted some little lettuce seedlings in my new vegetable patch. I have given them daily care, making certain there are no bugs or weeds. Offering water and seaweed fertiliser.

With lots of love and nurturing one of them has grown and flourished to look like this.

So… I pulled one out of the ground and put it on my turkey and cheese sandwich.

I feel so guilty for eating one of my babies…

Driving with Pip

Me: Hey, there’s a swan on the water there.

Pip: No, it’s a duck next to a stick.

Disputed

I would like to challenge the widely accepted notion that blue and green should never be seen…

and suggest that it should be seen everywhere.

Love / Hate Relationship

I am having a love/hate relationship with nature right now. In particular with butterflies and moths.

On one hand I love them.

Every single day we have Ulysses butterflies in our yard with their brilliant blue wings.

We’ve planted trees to encourage them into our yard.

They have courtship rituals outside my back door.

They lay their eggs up high and their fat green caterpillars eat their fill of leaves.

I love thinking that I am responsible for the next generation of Ulysses butterflies.

BUT…

I do not like the moths that lay their eggs in my soil nor their larvae, which are called cutworms, that nibble at the stalks of my tiny vegetable seedlings.

So far the beans have been chomped – we’ve lost all of those – and now they started on the capsicum plants.

I’d like to be the downfall of the next generation of these!

Any ideas or solutions?

I’ve got Mail

Sorry for my absence from my blog and yours. We have been a very germy household. First my Pete and then I have had a yucky virus. For three days I just laid in my bed and read books (actually, that part was kind of enjoyable) with aches and pains and a head full of slime. Too disgusting to be near anyone but those unfortunate enough to have to live with me.

Some lovely things did happen during those groggy, hazy days.

It was mothers’ day and my children were very sweet and kind to me. We had a family dinner in celebration.

My Pete cleaned the whole house and did ALL of the washing. He really did – while I lay sleeping and reading.

On the day I was feeling a little better I walked outside to collect the mail and found this.

A tiny green frog sleeping on my letter box.

Once he had been carefully removed I found something even better inside the letter box.

Something sent from across the oceans.

Something beautifully scented and divinely packaged.

Gorgeous handmade soaps from the very clever and extremely productive Julia B.

I wish that you could smell them. They are beyond lovely.

Thank you for your generosity, Julia. Something is on its way to you too. I hope it arrives soon.

Jojo’s Visit

Jojo came to see me for the afternoon yesterday.

“I bought shlowers for you Phrashey.” He announced as I opened the door.

As we ate our lunch he informed me that I could use my knife, but only older people can touch knives.

“Pippy can touch knife. I not touch knife, I not older. Ashy not touch knife too, Ashy too widdle to touch knife.”

He played drums while I sang:

Bee, bee, bumble bee. Can you sing your name to me?

We played a duplo game which involved a motor bike driving past animals sorted into groups; thee horses, three chickens, but only two cows.

Each time I reminded him not to put things into his mouth he asked:

“Why? It got germs?” (something to do with Yabba Gabba that those of us without three year olds are lucky enough to ignore…)

When he fell over we waited almost a full five minutes before he realised his leg was bleeding and immediately needed a bandaid.

So we watched Wiggles videos on youtube for a little while. Jojo was allowed to wear Pippy’s special headphones while Pippy was still at school.

As he left he told me, “You want to come to my house? You can come and play with me.”

Who could refuse an invitation like that?