Art for Heart's Sake

Anniversary Break!

Hi there, just to let you know that I may not be able to post until later on Sunday, although I will tomorrow morning if I can.  John is whisking me away on a surprise wedding anniversary (our 6th on Sunday) break and I will be frantically watering tomorrow (Saturday) morning and doing animal chores in prep.    Lots of smiles and more late Sunday when we are back.. p.s. Chester has gastroenteritis possibly.. lots of windy bits etc in his gut poor lad.  On bland food for a few days and hopefuly will be okay in kennels..  fingers crossed.... Smiles..

Boy It Was Windy!

Hi there, yay it was too windy for our neighbour to light his fire - thank goodness!  As it was I went down to check something in the paddock later and realised just how much dry tall grass was in the paddock where the garden rubbish pile is.. yikes he would have been crazy to light it! 

Today is cool and cloudy, just perfect!  I am really hoping we will get a little bit of rain over the next couple of days.  Water restrictions are only a few days away from happening so it said in the paper.  Ack! 

This pm I'm off to physio and then we may have to take Chester to the vet.  He's got a bit of a squiffy tummy and we've noticed he looks and feels slightly bloated around the midriff, poor lad.  I have noticed his ''deposits'' have been a bit erratic over the last week and yesterday they definitely weren't nice!   Better to be safe than sorry - I know he's eated a bit of rubber tennis ball in the past week too, ack!  He's eating okay and not vomiting so at least it can't be a major blockage.

It's our 6th wedding anniversary this Sunday and so yesterday I made something to give to dear hubby!  I'm really happy with the way it has worked out so I'll post a photo of it after Sunday.   My sprinkler needs moving so I'd better get outside!  Please do a big rain dance for me.  Smiles..

An Early Morning Fright!

Hi there, yikes I woke up with a bang this morning.  I was just opening my eyes when the phone went which John answered.  I got up to see what it was about (John was having his breakfast before work) and it was our neighbour saying he was going to light his bonfire today because he had been given a permit to do it just for today.  Normally by now they have stopped people having rural burn-offs because they can get out of control as it is getting pretty dry.

Needless to say my jaw hit the floor - there was already a gusty SW wind blowing and I just couldn't believe our neighbour (and good friend) would even THINK of lighting it.  Long story short I got rather uptight because I'm petrified (with a capital P) of fire.  It is one of the downsides of living in a rural area - during Summer and Autumn there is always the chance of fire and the fact that we have eucalyptus trees (which go up in flames like rockets) doesn't help.  We can't get them all chopped down because it would cost thousands of dollars for a start!  Apparently I get my fear of fire from my great grandmother who was exactly the same.  I remember having nightmares when I was a child about there being a fire at the top of our stairs and I couldn't make it to the fire escape (I grew up in a fairly large double-storied house in Invercargill (bottom of South Island).  They used to be so vivid I would wake up thinking I could smell smoke and would have to go downstairs to check that the coal range was okay.

Anyway, so far so good, he hasn't lit it.  The wind is getting increasingly gusty so I'm hoping he won't full stop! 

Today I need to water like a mad thing, especially in the kitchen garden.  This wind is drying out everything incredibly badly which is really sad.  It sounds as though we are going to have a dry summer this year so water restrictions will definitely be on the cards sooner rather than later I fear.

This pm I am going to work on an anniversary card for my darling John.  It's our 6th anniversary on Sunday.  A-watering I need to go right now.  I'll post a photo of it after Sunday.  Smiles...

Home Again!

Hi there, well we're home - it's 4.30pm and groceries are away and dog is about to be walked by John.  It is hot, hot, hot and breezy outside - major yuk!  Hayfever is rife everywhere this season.  John is taking his usual meds and his nose is streaming and his eyes are red.  I have itchy eyes and nose too and lots of people are saying they have hayfever for the first time in years.  Even my hairdresser has horrendous sinusitis because of it.    A bit of rain is forecast here and there over the weekend (I flaming well hope so) so that may help.

Oh so very excited - my local art supply store - a very cute small store that has the most amazing selection of art materials now stocks Golden products.  Why am I so excited you might ask??  These are the most fabulous acrylic paints/fluid acrylics, plus they have lots of very special mediums like all different grades of gel mediums and modelling pastes etc.  I have been doing an online course with Donna Downey this year (I have about 5 to catch up on, eeek) and she uses Golden products all the time.  How amazing to be able to get them here in little Nelson (when compared to major cities in this country we are pretty tiny).  They aren't cheap but they are fabulous.  I will not be able to buy much at a time but over a long period of time I will collect the most important colours and mediums.  I had to laugh at myself - what a goof - I asked if they had a particular colour of paint that Donna uses a lot and I love - ''yes''.. ermm well I made a noise that sounded very much like a donkey, giggle.  How embarrassing!!  I was so excited! 

Now the physio - I have strained a disc and the ligament around it most likely so I have some exercises to do.  I can't do the best exercise to heal it because my shoulder is just too painful (old crock that I am) but I can do a variation.  I got the giggles majorly (again) because she put me on a Reflexor (think that's how it's spelt) table which was a bit like being on a bucking bronco face down.  Me being me, I got the mental image of the table going mad and folding me in half!  I have to say my back eased quite a bit after that.  I need to go back to her on Friday.

I must go and give my chooks some silverbeet to munch on.  Smiles..

A quick post

Hi, it's Wednesday pm and I'm out in town with John about to go grocery shopping then to physio for my back. Pookies!! It is really sore again so time to do something about it. More later... Smiles

A Welcome Shower of Rain!

Hi, it's Tuesday morning and John is busy cutting down smallish eucalyptus trees from the planting opposite the north side of the house.  Every year one of our friends comes and cuts down 3-4 of the large trees for us to use as firewood the following winter.  This year he hasn't had time so we desperately need some wood cut so it can dry out before we need it next year.  There are lots of fairly medium sized (in height) slim trunked specimens so they will give us quite a lot of logs.  I just hope we will have enough wood.

Yesterday I did quite a lot of watering and also saw, to my delight, that the bean seeds I planted last Tuesday have germinated already.  It just goes to show it pays to wait until the soil is truly warm before sowing bean seeds.  I normally try around mid-October with mixed success so now I will always do it in mid-late November instead.  It looks as though my strike rate will be 100% which is fabulous.

We got a lovely surprise late afternoon, it clouded over with really black, rolling looking clouds which then paled off and we got a short but delicious shower of rain.  It didn't do anything for the ground but it did make the plants happy, I could tell.  Today we have high cloud and it is fairly warm.

Today I am going to try and get the blueberry patch weeded, it just depends how hot it gets.  Oh I've also had to make an appointment with the dentist, ugh!  I have a strange sensation upper back right.  I thought I may have flossed too vigorously because the gums were swollen but the swelling is going down slightly and I have a weird numbish sensation in the gums and also my face.  Hmmmm I'm hoping it isn't a tooth root problem.  I am SO petrified of the dentist I get really nervous just ringing up.  I have an appointment next Wed (the first one I could get) and am on the cancellation list.  Ick ick ick.. why do I have to be so petrified??!!  Off to weed and forget about it!  Smiles..

 

Heritage Sweet Peas!

Hi, it's a hot Monday morning.. eeeeek Summer is here, OH NO! and it's not meant to be officially until this coming Saturday, urgh.  At around 5pm last evening the temp rose to 31.2 degrees C (around 90 degrees F) which is just plain icky in my eyes.  We have a beautiful beach about 10 minutes from home and since we've had Chester (dogs aren't allowed on this beach) we haven't set foot on it.  The year before I had about 10 swims which were just heavenly.  It's a very long, flat, sandy beach and the water is usually fairly tepid by mid-late summer.  This year I am DEFINITELY going to get back in that water because I really miss it.  We'll just have to leave Chester on the verandah and go.  The only prob with this particular beach is you really are best to go around high tide otherwise you have miles to walk to reach the water and it tends to be a bit sandy/silty then.

On Saturday pm I picked a big bunch of heritage sweet peas from the garden by my studio.  They are so beautiful and smell divine.  I found a teapot we were given as a wedding present and decided to use it outside for flowers.  It doesn't pour at all well so makes a much better vase.

A cup of tea is beckoning and I think I'll sip it sitting at the outdoor table gazing at these beauties!

Raspberry Patch!

Hi, yes it's another beautiful sunny day (groooaaannnn, giggle) and I will be chasing the shade to do any gardening today.  It was very hot at one stage yesterday but I did manage to get the raspberry patch deeply watered and mulched with fish compost and untreated sawdust.  Raspberries and blueberries love sawdust because they like acidic conditions. 

In the afternoon John helped me cover them so they can ripen in peace without fear of birds stealing them all.  Here is the finished result:

This cloth is permeable and is actually frost cloth.  It is brilliant for keeping the birds off (whereas bird netting just tends to capture birds and they die) and I also use it to keep white butterflies off my broccoli plants etc.  Needless to say harvesting the raspberries is quite funny.  I have to undo one of the sides and climb under the cloth - believe me it gets hot in there!  It's time for me to venture out into the farm shed to do some potting up.  Smiles..

It's Sunny AGAIN!!

Hi, well I think it's about time I tried doing a rain dance!!  It's another beautiful morning with a blustery SW wind (ugh!), with no rain in the forecast for the next week or so.  We may get the odd shower on Monday (bah I'll believe that when I see it!).  Eeeek my mind is reeling re what to water next.

I water deeply from now on, for at least 2 hours with the sprinkler in each spot.  This ensures the water gets down to where it is needed, or at least has a better chance to really get absorbed.  I only water in the early morning and evening from now on too because the water just evaporates otherwise and can burn the foliage and flowers.  Our sun is exceptionally strong here in New Zealand.  In the peak of summer you can get sunburn after only 4-5mins exposure.  Quite creepy really. 

This is a fairly quick post because I MUST get out to the raspberry patch to hand water it deeply before we cover them to protect the ripening fruit from birds.  Oh to have a wonderful walk in permanent cage!!  Smiles and have a great day/evening wherever you are...

A Very Special Day!

Hi, it's Friday 23 November and this day is always a special one each year.  It's my Dad's birthday and if he was still alive he would have been 86 today (wow).  It's also my Mum and Dad's 59th wedding anniversary and I think it is so special they got married on his birthday.  Dad had an appendicitis operation a day or two before the wedding day and to everyone's amazement he stood at the alter, if a little bent over!! 

Yesterday was a little frustrating in terms of chooks etc because darling Monty chased the girls' in the morning and Sophie (smallest chookie) got separated from the other two.  It took me ages to find her and I was really frustrated because I wanted to do lots of other things.  Ah well, it ended happily, with Monty locked insided until Sophie appeared and then I put the girls back in their house.  This morning a very disgruntled Monty is shut inside again so Bertie and Lizzie can have a frolic around the garden.  I fear when it comes to chook + cat, never the twain can meet!!  It's important they get some time in the garden so they can have a decent dust bath (chooks that is, not Monty, giggle).

I managed to get the potting area of the farmshed tidied up a bit so that is really great.  I have to say it was a bit of a shambles!!  I also potted on some chervil and sweet basil seedlings and I'm hoping they might be ready to sell at the market on 10 December.  Needless to say I didn't get a chance to start my christmas cards - funny that!

I had a phone call this morning from a lovely lady in Auckland who had heard about me and loves hardy geraniums.  She has ordered a couple for her daughter for Christmas so I'll be sending them to her early next week. 

Today I need to do more watering (it's getting very dry!!) and also work out what I'm going to talk about on my radio show when I record it this Sunday - watering tips I fear!  A cup of tea is calling!  Smiles..