Art for Heart's Sake

The Saga of a Ballet ''Brain''!

Hi with a big giggle - oh my goodness, my brain really struggled at ballet this morning!  I am getting much better at the barre exercises and some of the floor exercises but ''oh dear!!''.. we did one routine this morning that COMPLETELY threw my brain and my feet for a six.  One didn't know what the other part of my body was doing!

There is no faster way to feel like a complete useless idiot than to completely lose the plot during a floor exercise while a couple of the others seem to ''get it'' instantly, gulp!!  Ahem, I must not beat myself up - after all I've only been doing this since early May!  What do I expect - miracles???  Another giggle.  On a brighter note, I did manage to get the final routine we did for the first time and even managed to keep my body straight with my eyes on the far wall while I was doing it, phew!

There was a HUGE frost this morning, it was white as white around here and my fingers and toes were frozen first thing.  There is a touch of high cloud now and I think the weather is changing with some rain predicted for tomorrow pm.  

I picked up three wintersweet barerooted shrubs today from my favourite tree nursery, Appletons.  I worked for this wonderful nursery one winter about 7 years ago (I think, I know it was ages ago) and it truly is a magical place.  Very hard work grading trees, also cold and wet at times but oh so wonderful at the same time.  Here's a link to their website - http://www.appletons.co.nz/

I need to work out where I want to plant the wintersweet now, perhaps I'll pot them up first.  I haven't managed to accomplish much so far today but that always happens on a Friday.  I left home at 9.15am and walked back through the door at around 1.30pm and then had to have lunch.  I have managed to water the plants/seed trays in my tunnel house so that's the main thing.  Smiles..

Tomato Seed Central!

Hi on another beautiful but very chilly Thursday morning!  Crikey it's just after 10am and it's only 4.7 degrees C - I LOVE IT!  

I ordered some tomato seed on Monday and it arrived yesterday pm so today I need to sow it.  I have around 14 different varieties.  I'm onlyh going to sow a few of each at this stage because it is very early - I need to make sure I have some tomatoes available for people who want to plant them in their glasshouses so needs must!

I got the special tomato seed sown yesterday and this morning I felt so sorry for it!  It was -0.5 in the tunnel house overnight - far, far too cold for any self-respecting tomato seed!  The temps are perfect for germination during the day but night is going to pose a bit of a challenge.  I've sown them in polystyrene trays which will help and have covered them with a permeable frost cloth that also acts as a micro-climate -  hence it's name ''Mikroclima''.  I also have them raised well above ground level so I'm doing all that I can to help.  I may have to wrap the polystyrene trays with bubblewrap around the sides for extra insulation, I'll see.

This pm I'm off to Bay Landscapes again to deliver more plants.  Which reminds me I'd better go and print out my packing slip and invoice!  

Here is a photo of a plump greenfinch waiting for his turn at the bird feeder outside my studio.  It's a little fuzzy because I took the photo through my studio door.  Smiles..

Backwards and Forwards!

Hi on rather beautiful mid-winter's day.  We had another shower of rain last evening when I was out walking the dog (of course!) but today the sun is shining, the birds are singing and there is just a skiff of breeze.

This morning I was organising more plants to take to Bay Landscapes tomorrow - labelling them and typing up a packing slip and invoice.  I also need to do some more colour labels for lupin plants I've realised (hmmm I was sure I'd already done them, pookies!!!).  This is fairly time consuming so I may not take them until next week now.

I am just doing my quality control on the 21 tea light holders I had finished and I found two ''seconds''.   This happens sometimes so I always make sure I check them thoroughly before I pack them up.  

I'm also about to sow 150 or so tomato seeds for an  eldery man in Nelson who has asked me to grow them for him.  I'm very happy to do this (if a little daunted timewise) and have decided to use polystyrene trays that I have 1/2 filled with potting mix, topping it up with seed raising mix.  This means once I've sown the seeds (evenly spacing them) today and they've germinated, I won't need to prick them out into separate pots - I can just give them to him in the polystyrene trays.  My tunnelhouse isn't heated as you know so my fingers and toes will be crossed re the time it may take for them to germinate.

Well my lunch as ''gone down'' now so I can go and sow the seeds.  Smiles..

Darned ''Murphy''!

Morning on a gorgeous cool, sunny Tuesday morning.  Yesterday was very odd weatherwise - it was just cloudy with a hint of drizzle here and there most of the day and then at around 3.45pm it decided to rain properly - just as I was thinking about taking the dog out for a walk.

I waited for about another 1/2 hour and then decided to just do it because the rain had eased a bit - or so I thought!!!!!!  I headed off with a small umbrella and my lovely winter jacket and by the time I crossed the road over to the subdivision it was POURING again!  I got the giggles in the end because the umbrella was pouring water onto poor Chester's head!  Needless to say it wasn't a very long walk but I had to change my socks (my walking shoes are old and leak) and my trousers which were drenched!  Yes, you guessed it, about 5 minutes after getting home the rain STOPPED!!!!!!  Humphhh.

Today I'm spinning on the spot a bit.  I'm having a cup of tea which is the only reason I have time to write this.  I just dug up 6 raspberry canes for a customer at Bay Landscapes and I'm about to label some vegetable punnets to take in this pm too.  I normally go on a Thursday but my punnets are selling too well, which is great.  I'm only taking a few things today because I'll go back on Thursday pm.

My cup of tea is finished so I need to fly and label punnets.  Smiles..

Happy Monday!

Hi on a rather murky Monday morning.  It is supposed to be raining all day but again we have only had a little bit of drizzle here and there.  I'm hoping for decent rain!  

This morning I will finish the first 42 tea light holders and then I need to sow some tomato seed!  I really ought to have done it about two weeks ago so I have some ready for customers at Bay Landscapes who want them for their glasshouses in early September - ooops!!!  I will be sowing tomato seeds diligently each week over the next month or two.  The main planting time for them here in NZ is September (glasshouse only) and from about mid-October until the end of November (outdoors).  I love growing tomato seedlings but by the time mid-November comes around I'm ready to say goodbye to them too.  

I will be putting in a huge seed order at the beginning of August for all sorts of summer flowering annuals and vegetables such as cucumbers, courgettes, eggplant, capsicum etc too.  My life in Spring is going to be super hectic, I can just tell!  

My tea light holders are calling me.  Smiles..

Eeeek I was Ratty!

Hi, it's Sunday morning and yes I missed yesterday!  I didn't sleep well on Friday night and I had a very ''messy'' sort of day yesterday which made me exceptionally ratty!  

I went out around 12.30pm to see my dance teacher's dance school show at the Theatre Royal.  I really wanted to go but it sort of mucked up my day because I found I couldn't really settle to anything in the morning.  I did manage to do a bit of weeding so that was something.

John spent some time wiping the leaves of our Meyer lemon tree with a mild solution of dishwashing detergent and water.  A year or so ago the persimmon treea t the back of the same bed got too big and crushed part of my lime and lemon trees.  Unfortunately this also meant pests set in because there wasn't enough airflow through the citrus to help prevent this.  The sooty mould is a result of the excretions of the little ratbags that are living on the underside of the leaves.  I don't like spraying as you know so the only thing to do is wipe them hoping to get rid of at least some of the bugs.

Today it is meant to be raining.. hmmm we've had a few drops here and there but notghing much.  I'm longing for decent rain so I can spent a few much needed hours in the studio. I  think I'm just going to have to anyway because I need to get these tea light holders done.  

I must fly and start!  Smiles, big ones... thank you so much for reading my blog still.  I don't get any comments any more so I hope my posts aren't becoming boring?  Smiles..

Picking up Bare-rooted Trees...

...but we won't be planting them for a few days!  We are going out this pm to pick up 3 cider apple trees (different types), 1 Lobo apple, a Wiggins peach and a bargain Dawson cherry tree from a local grower.  They are bare-rooted and we had intended planting them tomorrow but the weather report for Sunday is abominable - we could get gale force Northerlies which would not be good for newly planted apple trees in our paddock!  We will have to sit them somewhere cool in their bag for a few days I fear.

Ballet class started again this morning and it was just wonderful.  I truly can tell I am making good progress.  My left leg still feels very clumsy and heavy but it's improving heaps!  Oh my goodness I just love doing ballet so much!  Each time I feel slightly less ''heavy'' on the floor. We did a floor routine that I will be able to practise at home, even in limited space - yay!

Yesterday I spread some beautiful fish compost around on the area of main perennial garden I have weeded so far.  Still heaps more to do but it's lovely to have made a start.  The soil is pretty good to work with which is amazing in July!  This may change next week after predicted heavy rain!

Yikes, we have to go out.. more tomorrow.  Smiles..

Another Stunning Day!

Hi on another stunning mid-winter's day.  The sun is shining, the air is cool and the birds are loving the food we are putting out for them.  We put sugar water out for our native tuis, bellbirds and silvereyes and they tend to spend all day taking turns to sip it.  These are gorgeous nectar loving birds.  

Tuis would have to be my favourite - they are also known as ''the clowns of the forest'' and it's easy to see why.  They cavort, call and challenge each other all of the time.  Here's a link to some info about them:

http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/tui

My next favourite would have to be the bellbird - these are truly special with the most glorious birdsong.  Such a loud song for such a small bird:

http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/bellbird

Today I have done some more potting on (kale and calendula) and I'm about to plant a couple of things in the area I weeded yesterday.  

We have a couple we don't really know popping in at 2.30pm because they are off to the South of France and wanted to pick our brains re what to do, see etc.  John's made some notes from our trip so hopefully that will help them.  Of course this meant I had to vacuum and dust this morning, urghhhhh!  So many more important things to do than housework!

 A-planting I must go.  Smiles..

Ants in my ......

...LAPTOP???  Ahem, hi on another chilly frosty Wednesday morning.  I am about to launch myself at our main grape vine this morning - I need to get it pruned pronto!  I did the green seedless italian grape the other day.  The main one is a bit more difficult as parts of it are hard to reach!

As I am typing this greenfinches, sparrows, chaffinches and more are feasting on sunflower seeds and wheat in two birdfeeders I have on a stand just outside my studio.  I love watching them so much!  

Ballet practise was wonderful yesterday, I am starting to ''get there'' with my pirouettes, except for my left leg which makes it hard to put my foot into the correct ''up by the knee, knee turned out position''.  I will persevere.. I can tell it is getting a lot more flexible.  Having a rod of metal down my left femur definitely makes a difference to the weight of that leg.  I don't think the titanium rod weighs terribly much but it DOES make a difference and that makes sense really.

Now to the ants..  I have noticed a few small ants here and there over the past few days and to my consternation when I came out here late yesterday afternoon they were scurrying in and out of my laptop keyboard!  I have put some ant bait on the wooden platform my laptop sits on in the hope they might suck it up and take it to the main nest.  There were a few ''eating'' it last evening when I turned out the lights and went inside.  This morning it is still too cold (only 11 degrees C) in here so only a couple have appeared so far.  The last thing I need is an ant shorting out something in my laptop!  grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I'd better get to my grape vine!!  Smiles..

The Joys of Wireless Internet!

Hi on Tuesday afternoon, just before I'm about to leave to go to ballet practise.  I couldn't link to the internet from my studio again this morning.. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.. technology is wonderful WHEN IT WORKS!!  We have a wireless extender so I can have my laptop out here in the studio with a good signal and it seems to work erratically.  It'll be okay for a few days and then it's just not for a reason known only to itself.

Yesterday I managed to get 21 tea light holders done.  I also did some weeding in the front of the woodland garden yesterday pm so in my eyes that was a very good day!  

Today I've done an hour's gardening next door and I've also pricked out a couple of punnets of vegetable seedlings too.  Well I must fly out to my ballet practise.  More tomorrow.. Smiles..