Art for Heart's Sake

Yikes.... I'm HERE!!

Hi there, oh my goodness I've just realised I haven't blogged for 2 days!  Crikey, that's a sure sign things have gone mad around here, including me!!  

Wednesday was really busy - I spent most of the morning writing plant labels and then sowing seeds.  I skyped with Mum later than I expected to which resulted in about 1 hour of my work time wasted because the woman who was organising the skype session had forgotten it was meant to be at 2pm and sent Mum out on a van for an outing.  It's wonderful that Mum had an outing, don't get me wrong it's just it was a little frustrating because I couldn't go back out to the farm shed to continue sowing seeds while I waited.

We had a lovely Skype session - I took her round the garden with my iPad which was so wonderful.  Mum hasn't been here for well over 5 years so a lot has changed. She really enjoyed seeing everything.

Caroline (neighbour) came over to help me label plants for Bay Landscapes and my new outlet, Mapua Country Store (MCS from now on).  It's a one month trial at this stage but I have a feeling it will become permanent.  At the moment my plants are on a garden trolley and a small table so I can't take oodles of plants.  This is just as well because I still have to provide Bay L with the same number I would be normally.  They are selling a lot of their single vegetables at 50c each which I simply can't compete with re the price of my punnets of 6.  Hence it truly is wonderful to have another outlet for my gorgeous seedlings.  

Yesterday I took plants down to Bay L in the morning then came home and spent most of the rest of the day pricking out petunia seedlings.  I had to dash back down to Bay L (much to my annoyance at myself) to get two big bags of perlite - a medium I mix into the potting mix to improve the drainage - because I'd forgotten to pick it up that morning.  Bah, what a waste of 30 minutes!

Late pm John came with me to deliver my first lot of plants to MCS.  It felt very exciting I can tell you!  It's a wonderful store.  Here is a link to their website:

http://www.mapuacountrystore.co.nz/

Today I went to ballet practise (class isn't on this week or next because of school holidays) and it was just wonderful.  It was just Kerry and I so we were able to concentrate on Grade 3 totally and Kerry helped correct some of my arm movements that I've been doing incorrectly for a few weeks now, unbeknownst to me!  Yeehah!

This pm I have to prick out some tomato seedlings and then I'm going to treat myself to an hour or so in the kitchen garden.  I desperately need to plant some lettuces and a couple of other things.  I haven't had time to do any major weeding or planting out there and it is getting me down a bit.  This always happens when my seedling business goes nuts in Spring.  Hurting my hand hasn't helped matters and neither has the changeable weather (which I'm loving!!).  

My hand is improving slowly but surely.  The top of it was a bit more swollen this morning mainly because I had to do quite a bit of heavy lifting (plant trays) yesterday.  Hey ho, it will get better.  Smiles.. 

Ooh Exciting Times!

Hi honeys, it's Tuesday evening and I need to go and get my dinner started but before that I need to take some tomato seedlings I pricked out late this pm to the tunnel house - not that there's any room for them!!  Aaaaggghhhhh!

I've had a good day, I spent the morning pricking out more seedlings and then I had an early lunch with John and headed out to ballet practise which was lovely as usual.  It's school holidays here this week and next but we can still practise in our normal slots which is wonderful.  I now know most of the steps for my Grade 3 exam so I need to work majorly on my technique!!  Eeeek!

I am pretty excited about supplying my seedlings to Mapua Country Store from the end of this week.  I will be honest I had a few moments this morning when I thought to myself ''can I really do this - it's more work'' but YES I CAN!!  Firstly I love the concept of the store, supporting everything local and it's also in a great position.  I need to stretch my wings a bit so I'm thrilled I've got this chance.  I will make it work no matter what - even if it means I have to work all the hours in a day!

Well I'd better go and get my dinner on.  Smiles.. more tomorrow!  

Tetanus Booster and Other Things!

Hi, it's Monday and somehow Sunday got away from me.  David and Kirstin left around 11am and I spent the rest of the day unpacking a couple of boxes from Mum's house and sorting some space in the kitchen.  We now have a box of kitchen things we haven't used in 12 years that will be going to the local hospice shop so someone can make good use of them.

Today I went to get my tetanus booster at our local health clinic and while I was there I mentioned my hand to the nurse.  We both agreed there most likely is no cracked bone, just a lot of tissue trauma happening.  Her instructions were ''ice'' ''compression bandage'' and ''REST!!''... Hmmmmm yes you can guess what my reaction to that last word was.  There is no way in heck I can rest my hand because I'm in the midst of my busiest seedling period of the year! 

I pricked out seedlings this pm and even though it was a tad uncomfortable with the odd major tweak my hand managed better than I thought it would.  I'm using Arnica Plus, a homeopathic anti-inflammatory cream and it seems to be working a treat.  Fingers crossed my hand continues to improve quickly.  I don't think I'll be able to staple labels on my plants on Wed pm though so will ask my neighbour if she can help me.

Well it's 6pm so I'd better go and put my potato in the oven to bake.  We are on summer time now (daylight saving as we call it here in NZ) so it is still light at the moment.  It IS hard to wake up in the morning though!  Smiles..

BAH... I'm a Twit (NZ for silly person!!)

Hi there, it's Saturday early pm and John is in the process of getting  us lunch.  I am really irked with myself today.  Last evening I managed to really hurt the top of my right hand and I fear I have a cracked bone in the top of it, sort of central.  It hurt so much and is swollen today, plus it hurts to do things like turning off a tap and even typing makes it a bit sore.  I can still lift things and oh...

It is now 7pm and we went out this pm and while we were out we visited a pharmacy and my hand now has a compression bandage on it and it's feeling much better.. Still sore but at least it's supported.

David my bonus son and his wife have arrived for the night so I'd better leave this here.  More tomorrow.. smiles..

An Interesting End to Our Day!

Hi, it's Friday evening and this will be short because I'm in the middle of cooking dinner.  I've had a really busy day and a bit of an odd one to be honest!  It started with John coming out of the bathroom this morning quoting ''Houston we have a problem''.  Yesterday we noticed that the water wasn't very hot in the shower but we didn't think much of it because over the past few years we've had a problem with small german wasps getting through an outside downpipe and into our hot water cylinder, eventually ending up in the ceramic fitting of our shower which resulted in cool water and not much flow!  Not this time, the element on our hot water cylinder had gone.

Electrician was called and he turned up this pm, which was fine... except.. he didn't make sure the cylinder was empty!  Yes you guessed it, it gushed all over him, the kitchen, our towels in the hot water cupboard, all our tea towels (plenty of them) and the jars etc in the bottom of the cupboard and their cardboard boxes.  He used numerous bath towels to mop it up.. sigh!!  I know he had no choice but we really didn't need this hassle right now.

Top that off with lovely family members coming to stay tomorrow night with one day's notice when the spare room is full of the things from Mum's house and you have a bit of a disaster zone!  Needless to say they will have to sleep in the living room because there is no way I can sort the boxes tomorrow although we could stack them in John's office art a pinch.. hmmmm maybe not!  

Ballet class was the highlight of my day as usual.  I spent the rest of today madly pricking out seedlings and sowing seed.  My tunnel house is now beyond full.. why didn't I get a larger one??  One highlight was Joy visiting me today (a lovely gardener, regular reader of my blog and yes Joy honey you are a lovely friend) to pick up some seedlings I've been growing for her. Such a joy to grow plants for a fellow plant lover, I can tell you!!

Well I'd better fly, dinner is waiting for me to finish it! Smiles..

Crikey, In A Rush!

Hi there, it's Thursday pm and in 15 minutes I will be shooting down the drive to go to ballet class - the last class for this term!  We've had a break of two weeks from the Thursday Tecnhique and Repertoire class because all of the girls were in Peta's show.  They had the Thursday off for the opening night of the show and then last week was a rest week.  The next two weeks are school holidays and then we will be back into it, learning Grade 6 RDA, which I cannot wait for.  We've started it and will probably be doing it today - the music and the barre work is just scrumptious!

This morning I went to Bay L early with my loot and then I rushed home to skype with Mum at the rest home.  It was so lovely seeing her and best of all, it does her the world of good to physically see me, rather than just hearing me on the phone.  Since then I've been pricking out seedlings and getting seed raising mix into some trays so I can sow heaps of seed tomorrow pm.  It is coming up to Labour Weekend (end October) here in NZ which is the main gardening weekend of the year.  I need to make sure I have oodles of things available.  Room is a problem, I need a bigger tunnel house!

Well I'd better fly.  Smiles.. p.s. my finger is feeling a bit better, but I think I can now see the tiny bit of metal embedded under my nail.  It is right under the nail so as the doctor said ''if there is something in there digging for it will make the situation worse, your body will just have to eject it!''.  Nice!!

A Gnarly Tiny Piece of Wire!

Hi, I've just spent most of the afternoon writing plant labels and labeling plants to take to Bay Landscapes - 106 items!!  Crikey Spring madness is here!

This morning I had to make an unexpected trip to the doctor, darn it.  On Monday morning I was moving the duck pen (we've penned our dear old Dudlette the duck again) and when I went to lift off the top shelter part which is chook wire on a wooden frame a tiny piece of wire managed to stab me under my nail in the right hand corner of my index finger.  Youch!  I went inside, washed my hands and then put iodine into the finger nail and felt it go into the teensy tiny hole, youch again!  I noticed my finger was starting to feel a bit odd yesterday with sort of ''prickling'' down the outside of it to the first knuckle.  I woke during the night with my finger throbbing off my hand and when I looked this morning I could see a patch of redness where the prickling is.  Humphhhhh I had a gut feeling a doctor's visit would be sensible and sure enough I am now on antibiotics for it!  We couldn't see any metal left under the nail just a spot where it went in so hopefully there are no foreign bodies in there except infection!  It doesn't look infected except for red bit on my finger.   Pookies!!  I hate taking antibiotics!

John is back from his driving trip to get my things from Mum's house.  He flew to Auckland on Saturday morning, then drove to New Plymouth, stayed the night with my sister and saw Mum on the Sunday then drove down to Wellington and stayed with friends for the night.  Monday morning he caught the ferry then drove here, dropped my things off, stayed the night and then got up really early to drive down to Christchurch to drop the vehicle off.  It was a vehicle that needed relocating from Auckland to Christchurch - basically you get the rental very cheaply.  He spent time with Claire (his daughter), stayed the night at a bed and breakfast and then flew back here this pm.  He loves travelling adventures, unlike me!!  \

Back to my plants I must go.  Smiles..

An Lovely Phone Call!

Hi, it's Tuesday morning and I'm enjoying a cup of tea, taking a break from pricking out petunia seedlings - fiddly little darlings that they are!  This season I'm specialising in mainly double varieties because the big hardware store garden centres have all the others and there is no point trying to compete with them.

Yesterday late pm I got a delightful phone call from a woman on the Chatham Islands which are off the coast of New Zealand here: 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatham_Islands#/media/File:NZOffshoreIslandsMap.png\

Helen used to live in Nelson so had phoned the old Bay Nurseries number (Bay Landscapes have it now) to find out about getting certain plants.  They put her onto me and we had the most wonderful chat.  Long story short I'm going to be growing 100 Snapdragon seedlings for her early next year, plus some Orlaya (similar to Queen Anne's Lace) and a few other things.  I honestly knew straight away I've met a kindred spirit re plants.  

Here is an article I found about her life on the island - it's fascinating!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/nz-life-leisure/72077747/Living-in-isolation-on-the-Chatham-Islands

Well I'd better head back out to my petunias.. I have to leave for ballet practise in a couple of hours.  Smiles..

Monday Evening Already!!

Hi honeys, after another very busy day, culminating in John arriving back with a car full of precious family treasures.  I am SO happy to have them here as each tiny piece of them reminds me of my childhood in our the gorgeous house I grew up in!  Blissful sigh!  

Today I've been busy pricking out seedlings like a crazy woman.  I was just about to start pricking out my first lot of petunia seedlings when John arrived back so that was the end of that and about one hour later it was time to walk Chester.

This is just a short post because I need to get back inside to put my dinner in the oven.  I'm improvising - wish me luck!  John has gone out to choir practise.  Smiles..

Crikey, Time Just Went!

Hi, it's Sunday evening and I truly don't know where the time has gone since I last posted.  I've been busy doing some weeding in the main perennial gardens and also today I managed to do some weeding in the kitchen garden when the rain stopped mid-morning.  It's been SO lovely to have some rain.  We got 15mm overnight on Friday and then another 11mm unexpectedly overnight last night.

Today I've finished my column for Mud Cakes and Roses October/November issue and also managed to get some work done on a few gift tags while it was raining this morning.  I haven't been feeling too good, slight discomfort in my oesophagus - stomach related.  This happens when I've been under stress for too long and the week before last was extremely stressful.  Last week had its moments too so yes my system is saying ''enough already''.  I feel better when I've eaten.. it just feels as though I'm swallowing on a block of wood with a bit of upper back discomfort.  

It was SO lovely to be back in the garden.  Oh my word there is so much to do especially in the kitchen garden.  I've 1/2 weeded one of my rotational beds and now have plenty of Leeks that need eating.  Any suggestions re recipes???  

Well I must go and check on my slow-cooked pork meatball dish that I will be having with pasta, sweetcorn and spinach or fresh broccoli - I haven't decided which yet!  Smiles.