Art for Heart's Sake

Gift Tags Done!!

Hi and yippeeeee my 18 gift tags are now winging their way in the mail and I just need to do the tea light holders now.  Oh my, I had such fun making them and I'm going to share them over the next few days.  Here is the first one and my favourite!! 

 

This happened totally by accident - I'd used an old piece of paper I had for the background which had leaves and large flowers (a bit like hydrangeas but not) in a very strange muted sagey/turquoise colour.  After looking at it for ages and going ''oh brother what am I going to do to make this look okay'' I suddenly had a brainwave.  Add to that a chipboard nest, branch and egg & a stamped bird and I was ecstatically happy - so much so I wanted to keep it!  I just love the colour combination on this one.

Today I'm going to my friend Lyn's for lunch so I'd better rush around outside and do my animal tasks before I leave.  Big smiles until tomorrow.. 

Oooh is Winter here early?

Morning on a cloudy, rather chilly Tuesday morning.  Yesterday was a fairly chilly day and I could tell by the clouds in the afternoon that it was definitely snowing on the surrounding mountains.  I haven't had a chance to get out to see them yet but I cannot wait!  I adore it when the ranges have snow on them.  They aren't right on our doorstep but we are surrounded by mountains in the distance.  I would love to be able to see them from our house, but we can't have everything!

I'm not fooled, I don't believe winter is here yet, although part of me really wishes it was.  All the gardeners I know are hoping for a harsh winter to kill off lots of pests and other bugs in the garden.   It will also help stall the mosquito and wasp population too!

I have a confession - I am NOT enjoying the exercycle anymore.  I keep getting a very numb rear end etc and it's a bit disconcerting.  It must be the design of the seat - it's cutting off blood supply somehow.   This is so frustrating because I know it's doing me good but I can't stand the feeling.  I tried putting a pillow on the seat today to see if it would make a difference, but NO!  Urgh...  I think I am going to take the time I spend on it down to 15 minutes and start putting the tension up instead. 

This pm I am going to go for a walk on the flat, definitely!!  I've been meaning to for the last couple of days but somehow it hasn't happened.

Oooh mass excitement - my final gift tag is beyond gorgeous.  I can't believe how well it has come together considering I couldn't stand the background piece of paper I used at first.  I'd been putting off doing this one because I didn't know how to make it look remotely pretty!  I promise the minute the tags are in the mail I will post pics of them.

I must get out to the studio and get them finished.  I need to get them in the mail tomorrow if I can.  My tea light holders will probably have to go early next week at this stage or maybe Friday.  Off I go!  Smiles..

Did I or Didn't I.....

.... post yesterday?  I have a feeling I meant to but didn't, giggle!  We went out straight after John walked the dog to go to a market that we haven't been to in a long time.  It was a beautiful day, blue sky, sunshine and cool temps - my idea of perfect!  We got home at lunchtime and I'm not sure where the rest of the day went, but it went!

On Saturday I cleaned out the chook house and trimmed all the long grass in the chook run (hmm did I say that when I blogged on Saturday.. eeek!) and John dismantled the other small chook house and run.  He's going to revamp the house so we can use it for Benjamin.  Benji's house is getting a bit old and it sits on the ground which means rats can dig under it and nest.  This time we are going to have the house about 2" off the ground.  Benjamin will have to jump in - but hey, he's a rabbit! Giggle.

John drove our ute down by our pond to fill the back tray with logs that have been drying since the trees were cut down last year.  He did two loads - meaning tossing them back off the ute and then tossing them under the house and another load yesterday (Sunday).  We normally share this task but because of my silly hip recovery I can't help.  I felt really bad about this and long to be able to do all of the things I usually do.  I'm at that icky stage of looking a lot better when I walk so I guess it seems as though I ought to be able to do things.  Even vacuuming the house is very hard work which drives me mad.  I don't want to cause my recovery to slip backwards by doing too much.  I know I walked too much yesterday because my femur is telling me so.  Ah well, I'll get there!

Today I have about three more gift tags to finish and I need to make one for my bonus son (stepson), David for his birthday early next week.

Oooh yesterday at the market there was a local artist selling her watercolour cards, bookmarks and calendars.  She paints birds and native flowers and her work is beautiful.  We bought a card and a bookmark for John's sister Yo, in the UK.  Every time I look at the card with a picture of a Kakapo on it I just go ''wow''..  Here's a link to some images.  Kakapo are rare and endangered and there are ongoing programmes to breed them and release them.  They are SO SO BEAUTIFUL!!  Google them to see more info.  Smiles..

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=kakapo&rlz=1T4TSAU_en___NZ359&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=l3BdU5nYJsGIkwXa74BQ&ved=0CKwBEIke&biw=1242&bih=556

Oooh my poor Femur!

Hi, yay it's a lovely Saturday morning and there is a nice cool breeze blowing.  I love breezy weather, it makes me feel more alive somehow.  This morning I've been cleaning out the chook house and using the hedge clippers to clip away the long grass in the chook run.

My left femur is a bit sore today and I've realised why!  Yesterday when I went to the concert I had to go up more than 20 shallow stairs to get up to the balcony area where the sound was said to be amazing.  I went up the stairs while my neighbour got a car park and then when she joined me I had to go to the ''powder room'' (giggle) because the concert was about 2 hours long.  I went back down the stairs and I had my left hand on the banister (elbow crutch in other hand) and  this meant I could go down the stairs normally very comfortably.  Ermmm until today that is - I think I may have overstretched my femur especially as I had to go back up the stairs and then back down after sitting for 2 hours.  It will come right I'm just a bit slow on my feet today and it's a bit achy!

The concert was lovely and there were at least three out of the 16 items that literally gave me goosebumps from the top of my head down to my toes.  The flautist was incredible too!

This pm I want to go for a walk on the beach.  I think I'll give the exercycle a miss for today, or maybe not!  Crikey, it's hard to know how much to do when my leg is a bit sore, oh phaff!

Out to the chook house I go.  Smiles..

Morning!

Hi, pant, pant.. I've just finished 8.6km on the exercycle.. phew!  Why 8.6 you may ask - 8.5 plus a tiny cool down.  I'm sure this cycling is doing my leg good but oh my it's so BORING! Giggle.  I've taken to playing games on John's iPad just to stem my boredom. The only problem is then I'm ''no hands'' and I get a very numb bottom by the time 20 minutes is up, more giggles.

There is a mouse in my house.. no, not this one but in my glasshouse.  Did I mention this yesterday?  If I did I apologise.. needless to say there is now mickroclima permeable frost cloth tossed over the entire table my seed raising trays are on and I may need to resort to a mouse trap yet even though I really don't like them.  I won't put any rat bait (which I also detest because it's cruel) in my glasshouse because I don't want little pieces of bait getting into my garden soil in there.  Triple eeeeeek!

John is at an Anzac Day memorial service at the moment where the Nelson Male Voice Choir are performing two items.  From there they grab some lunch somewhere and then get ready for their big concert at 2pm (16 items!) which I'm going to with my neighbour.  We will leave here about 1.15pm which just gives me time to work on some of my gift tags.  I'm hoping to get them finished by Monday so I can do the tea light holders.

I didn't get a chance to pot up any love in the mist seedlings yesterday - somehow the day just went.  I was really busy, I know that much.  Oh that's right I vacuumed!  Ugh!  Blasted hard work for my silly leg.  I'm getting grumpy with my leg at the moment - I am so totally over this elbow crutch.  I've started walking without it a little when I'm in the house and am trying really hard not to limp.  I will get there!

I'd better go and pour a cup of tea and get out to my studio because it will be time to go in a couple of hours.  Smiles..

Making Good Headway!

Hi, it's Thursday and I'm about to head out to my studio to continue working on my gift tags.  I'm making good headway and am halfway through.  I am aiming to get the gift tags and a few tea light holders in the mail by Wednesday next week.  Pant, pant, crikey!!

Squeeeee I was looking at the studio garden as I was walking past yesterday and noticed a lot of sweet pea ''Cupani'' (the original sweet pea) and Nigella (love in the mist) seedlings.   I had a brainwave - potting some into punnets to sell at Bay Landscapes.  I have far too many seedlings so what a great way to use some of them rather than just pulling them out like weeds.  I'm going to start potting them on this pm after I've done the much needed vacuuming inside.

Yesterday I realised that I really don't enjoy walking at all.  I need to walk on the flat every day to help keep my new hip joint healthy as well as using the exercycle.  For the past few days I've been walking down the drive, around the more or less flat area of the subdivision across the road (yes even in rural areas there are subdivisions, although this one is more like groups of houses with loads of rural land) and I've come to the conclusion that this is not doing me any favours at all!  I think the downhill start and the uphill end is too hard on my leg (not to mention my psyche) at this stage.  I am going to have to drive somewhere nearby everyday to walk on the flat.  At low tide I will be able to have a lovely walk on the beach 5 mins drive from here - a much better idea!!  I got to 8.25km on the exercycle this morning - oh my poor butt.. it's a very hard seat!

A cup of tea is calling me so must fly.. I'm parched!  Smiles..

Mmmmmmm, Yum!

Hi, oh yum - I made quince jelly yesterday morning and it is SO beautiful.  I love the colour of it and it tastes gorgeous.  We love eating it with grilled lamb, or cold roast meats, ham and of course on toast or on scones (if I ever made them) with cream.

I had to laugh when John pointed out the word in the headline between the top jars!  Oh my, I think we almost fell off our seats laughing.  Ermmm sorry about the word!

Yesterday pm I sowed some seeds for the first time in about four months.  Oh it felt so good to be doing it again.  I love growing plants, especially perennials, from seed because it's so exciting when they pop up.  I also did 7km on the exercycle and I've decided I need to do my exercycle exercise in the morning from now on.  By early/mid pm my leg is tired and it's a real effort to do it.  I have persevered but I think it will be much better for me and my leg if I do it in the morning. 

Today I need to work on my gift tags because I'm trying to get them in the mail by early next week at the very latest.  I got a little bit done yesterday pm but I need to concentrate on them today.  Off I go!  Smiles..

A Very Thoughtful Tree Branch!!

Hi and take a look at this!!

This is the largest of the dead acacia branches that John cut down yesterday.  This branch was dicey because it was facing towards the big white blossomed cherry tree at the back of my woodland garden which meant the cherry tree would stop the branch falling and send it possibly back on top of John!  While he was sawing I stopped him and asked if tying a rope around it with me holding the tension on the flat behind the woodland garden would help.  We did this and the minute John heard the branch start creaking he got down the ladder and came and pulled on the rope.  It needed a bit more sawing so I held the tension as tightly as I could and this time when it creaked and John got down I pulled as hard as I could.  It came down and LOOK where it landed. 

We couldn't believe our eyes - it had completely missed all the things it could have badly damaged (the dwarf maple you can see if front of it for a start) and landed as though it had been planted there!  We are almost tempted to leave it because it fills up the gap beautifully - except it looks very dead!  Just amazing and thank you tree branch for avoiding all my beautiful plants.  We might leave it for a day or two and then John will cut it up to get it out.

 

I'm really sad about the death of this acacia but it had a good life and we've left the trunk and some length on the branches so it can just decay exactly the way it wants to.  It is still a beautiful feature in my eyes.  I'll take a photo of the bottom of the trunk - it is covered in moss and lichen and looks so gorgeous.

I'm making quince jelly this morning (sitting on a high stool) so I need to get started.  Smiles..

 

 

A Photo of Us!

Hi there, it's Easter Monday and it's a BEAUTIFUL sunny day here today.  We had very strange weather yesterday, with a period of rain, then sun, then showers coming back the other way!  We lit the fire late morning because it was pretty chilly and again had to turn it right down by late afternoon.  The fire stayed in overnight which is just fabulous because it was chilly again this morning.  I think we're at the stage of lighting it most days and just keeping it on low now.  This means scouting around in the hope that some of the wood we've had stacked for the past few months is dry enough to put under the house to use.  With all the rain we've had, who knows!

This photo was taken by our neighbour on her android thingo.  We don't seem to take many photos of us as a couple which is something we really must remedy.

Yesterday we made a start on the glasshouse and I just need to finish weeding it this morning so we can put down some weedcloth on one side so my seed raising table can go back in.

I'm also hoping that maybe the rest of our dead acacia tree can be cut down, if not today then maybe this weekend because it will only take one gusty high wind to bring the branches crashing to the ground and that is not what I want at all!  Too many trilliums in pots etc under it.  I'm planning to move them but I'm not able to garden for long periods of time yet - 10-15mins is about my limit at the moment.  It's also ungainly carrying pots with an elbow crutch in the other hand.

I have another load of washing to do and then it's headfirst into the glasshouse.  Smiles..

The Sun's Out.. ermm It's Gone!!

Hi and Happy Easter!!  It's 10.30am on Easter Sunday here and I'm just back from my walk.  The sun was out this morning which was lovely but now it's raining again.  It's the Mapua Easter Fair (6 minutes drive from here) which is a big yearly fund-raising event so the rain is a bit sad for them.  It has been so wet underfoot that everyone will need gumboots - if the domain where it is held is open (it was closed by the council because of waterlogged ground).  We aren't going because it wouldn't be much fun for me dragging my gumbotted (wellingtoned!) feet around with an elbow crutch.

I had a wonderful end to my birthday last night.  John took me out in the car at 7pm, we drove down the drive and along the road for about 200m then up our neighbour's drive!!  Ooooh I was so happy because I really wanted a relaxed evening and sometimes being in a restaurant can be anything but!  Caroline had cooked the most amazing roast pork with all the trimmings and we all had second helpings.  After a bit of a break she appeared with a gorgeous cream sponge topped with raspberry coulis.  Each of the sponge cakes was about 4cm high (almost an inch) due to the gorgeous eggs from her chooks.  I have to say we polished off the WHOLE thing between us!  Crikey!

I'm feeling a bit jaded today because I didn't get to bed until after midnight and I tend to turn into a pumpkin at 10pm!

Here's a photo of our lunch yesterday.. oh gosh it was divine!  Yes it was a very ''foodie'' birthday!

Today we're hoping to get out into the glasshouse to pull out all of my chilli and basil plants, also my tomato and the remains of the bitter gourd plant (that didn't come to much).  I need to be able to use the glasshouse to raise seedlings to sell at Bay Landscapes.  Time for a much needed cup of tea!  Smiles..