Besotted With Colour!

I've been to our local hardware warehouse -garden centre today and taken lots of colourful photos...I much prefer Bunnings to any jewelry or clothing shop...poinsettas

orchids...

hyacinths...

dahlias...

geraniums...

gerberas...

vincas...

salvias...

marigolds and roses...

petunias...

more petunias...

foxgloves...

and some colourful ornaments...the lions get a big zero from me as they are so tacky and cost $500 each! lol

a metal kangaroo and owl...

Hope you aren't too dazzled by all this colour; I bought a dwarf bougainvillea with variegated leaves and and a deep pink 'flower' for a big pot by the front door...I painted this pot yesterday, it's been at my folk's place for yrs as it was full of mother-in-law's tongue plants and too heavy to move, Dad and Dave pulled it all out for this week and hey presto...

Wishing every-one a great weekend where-ever you are,
Love Sue
xx

Links to Fallen Soldiers in Our Family

Just posting these links here before I forget where they are,

my mother's late uncle on her mother's side

https://www.loyalregiment.com/14173-pte-t-nelson-l-n-lan-r/

my mother's late uncle on her father's side

https://www.loyalregiment.com/10818-pte-g-kelsall-l-n-lan-r/#comment-217733

This site is so rich in detail and information I'm sure I'll be back!

Some of Joe's Holiday Photos

Obviously Joe took pics of things I missed or didn't particularly see the beauty of so here are some of his photos taken with his mobile phone...the beach at Nice

statue in Nice

a water playground of fountains, very popular on the hot days in Nice...

our bedroom...

bounty from the market...

a window dating back hundreds of years...

 Carpaccio for lunch in St Remy...

very worn steps near the Roman Amphitheater... 

a lovely entrance to a home...

pretty blue shutters and ivy enhance this home...I think this is a holiday let btw

now doesn't this look mysterious...how long has that curtain been hanging in that window?

 this fish shop only opens on Thursday mornings, perhaps just to supply fish for Christians on Friday?

and last but not least, this battered door could tell some tales if it could talk...

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of Provence

Love Sue xx

Cauliflower and Feta Bake and Other Tales

I really enjoy the recipes from this blog, Ozlem's Turkish Table ~ the Mediterranean countries have a climate much like Perth's and the food available there such as  capsicums, eggplants, garlic, zucchini and tomatoes are abundant here too.

Ozlem explains that instead of making fritters with this mix she bakes it for a lighter meal. The one thing you must do though is chop the cauliflower into small pieces as they are not pre-cooked. Heather, you can leave out the chilli altogether my dear, the cheese and onions shine through for a beautiful flavour.

You'll need
around 800gms chopped cauliflower, add the stalk but chop it finely
1/2 a finely chopped red onion
3 finely sliced spring onions
2 tablespoons each chopped parsley and dill or a heaped teaspoon each of dried herbs (ETA I think this is too much dill as it has a rather unusual taste, perhaps a sprinkle and lots of parsley would be better)
pinch of chilli flakes(optional)
4 T plain flour(I use wholemeal)
pepper to taste
180gm crumbled feta cheese
2 T olive oil
5 eggs beaten together with a big dollop of plain yogurt

Just mix it all together really well and bake at 180C for around 30-40 minutes.

I'd bought some chicken sticks on special so I baked them at the same time to enjoy with the cauliflower bake...

We had an amazing sunset on Saturday night, local friends posted their photos on Facebook...these are mine

I love the bare branches of our frangipani tree at the front door...

In Arles tiled numbers at the front of the house are very popular so I bought the 3 tiles to make our number 5 for around $4, the lavender is such an evocative symbol of the region and grows well in our gardens...I bought some tile cement which worked really well...

and while I had the cement at hand I glued my sea-horse to the wall too...in for a penny in for a pound...do you like our new ceramic pots?

The passion fruit vine opened it's first flower this morning...here the delicate tendrils cling to the fence, it's wet and windy again today but the vine will withstand the pressure...

  and finally the Papa Meilland rose I bought in memory of dear Mum flowered this morning on my brother's birthday...Happy Birthday Ian xxx

Bye bye for now, have a wonderful week
xxx

Not Ordinary Knitting

Had a little walk in Old Rockingham this morning...it's not so 'old' any more with lots of new cafes and a lively art centre and a busy market going on...love that bicycle...

Outside the Art Centre 3 trees have been very tastefully 'yarn-bombed' , they each have a patch incorporated spelling out 'A', 'R' and 'T'...

The Red Hat Ladies have decorated a bench seat nearby in their favourite colours of red and purple...

It doesn't say who created this marvellous metal eagle ... isn't it amazing?

and my own modest knitting, a cardigan un-finished from several years ago, I couldn't find the pattern but worked out the neck and front bands and added some pretty buttons...

I took this 'yarn cake' to France and worked on it this at times, 30 sts wide on 6mm needles using the whole cake and simple seed stitch which I like because it lies flat instead of curling up ... a pretty scarf to gift to some-one special...

We had a nice quiet weekend, it was cold so we stayed indoors and 'pottered' and had a lovely roast chicken for dinner last night so we have lots of left-overs for the next couple of days...I do love left-overs and inventing a new meal from them!

Have a wonderful week every-one,
Love from Sue
xx