November 21

 Hallo again, just a few pics of what we've been doing lately...not a great deal and I am yearning to travel again once we can...such a sorrowful time for so many people and I do count my blessings every day.

Garden is booming with the warmer days although it hasn't been really hot yet which is unusual...lots of pansies here...

lovely lobelia self-seeds everywhere and looks divine...

I'm picking silverbeet, parsley, spring onions, basil, strawberries and lettuce from this riotous bed...

and now my mini Bougainvillea is really thriving...

Some more baby knits finished for two babies due in April...I have bought these top down patterns as there is no sewing up to do once the knitting is finished, the sleeves are knit on the round and the pattern starts at the neck edge and increases to the under arms...very clever methinks...

I went with Dad, Elizabeth and Caleb to the Remembrance Day Service at dad's Care Home, Gill (from Warrington) took this great photo...

Elizabeth and the Lads had fun at Halloween, K and V throw a great party every year and their whole street joins in...Dad and David getting in the 'spirit'

Steampunk is such fun...

Their bus is almost ready for the road with the help of big Bro and good friend Brock, will show some photos once it's tidy and ready. We're also working on Dad's house, de-cluttering and stripping wallpaper and painting(big Bro again)...there's still such a lot of upkeep even though Dad no longer lives there.

Pip pip cheerio

xxx

Visitors and A Walk

     Staying strictly within the confines of social distancing Elizabeth and the Lads managed a visit and I managed a walk around the block...    David had trouble in the dinosaur suit as it is adult size...

                                      

It was Eliz and Cody's birthdays yesterday, just had to send $$ to their bank accounts as we couldn't see them or shop for them...
I've done the 15 minutes walk around a nearby block, Day 1 went well and I saw a huge flock of pelicans going home to roost. Day 2 was hard work going up that slight incline. Day 3 Joe came with me and talked non-stop the whole way round(he hasn't been invited again). Day 4 I took these photos and could have walked further I suppose...this is around 5.30pm, it's getting dark so quickly now...

It's been raining all night which is a lovely change and to celebrate I am making a beef and potato stew for our tea tonight,

Hope you are well, I really do
Love Sue
xxx

Using Icing Colouring to Dye Wool

Hallo every-one, it seems I've been knitting non-stop for weeks, one thing was different though because I dyed my first a skein of 4ply merino wool with icing colouring! This is the technique, the dye is very thick and you only need a little, DIL Bree is making beautiful cakes with the dyes too*

using Wilton's icing colouring to dye wool

When it came to applying the dyes, purple and royal blue it looked as if they'd just mixed together to become one dark blue mess so I didn't agitate the wool in the dye...this surprised me by leaving pretty parts un-dyed, and some parts with varying degrees of colour...

 drying the skein before rolling it into a ball, a 100gm skein is enough for a pair of short socks...

it was a bit of a struggle to wind the ball as towards the end it got tangled, I sat and persevered to make sure none was wasted...it doesn't look enough but it was...

  ta-da! my new socks, I used Winwick Mum's Basic 4 ply Sock Pattern again, it's simple and knits up quite quickly...

This is Charlie's new jacket made with that lovely soft Jeans yarn and this pattern  , you will have to join  ravelry to see it but it's all free and wonderful over there...the buttons are wooden

  another pair of socks made with Spotlight's 'Not Just Socks' yarn, the pattern is on the ball band, again 100gms makes one pair of socks

Mum's collection of matchboxes from the days that they were complimentary and placed in a clean ashtray in restaurants and hotels, thank goodness those days have passed, some of these are from her overseas holidays...

Will finish off with yet another photo of this stunning hibiscus...
Love from Sue

* just some of Bree's gorgeous cakes using the Wilton's Food Colouring,
for more pics look for Bree's Cake Creations on FB

A Lovely Weekend

Well I think this says it all, the maximum temperature reached 42C on Sunday after a hot Saturday so we stayed indoors with the air conditioner just set on 'dry' and 24C which is very comfortable. I watered the garden and filled up the bird bath early in the day.

This pretty candle holder from the op-shop reflects the blazing sun...

For Christmas I made bunting with thread and dry gum leaves, if I'd had more time it would have been nice to write a wee note on each one...

while watering I spotted this big pod on my Bower Vine...friends have advised to put a paper bag over it to collect the seeds when the pod bursts as it will eject them far and wide...

I finished my first socks using the Not Just Socks yarn from Spotlight...the pattern is on the ball band and it uses one ball per pair of socks...normally sells for $13 so I watch out for it coming on sale and buy a few at a time...it's quite fascinating both watching the colours develop and also the intricate construction of shaping the sock...

On Sunday I also made this 'back pack' from a curtain remnant and some cord...I needed help from Marie at the DTE page as I couldn't visualize how the cord worked...this pattern is similar if you want to have a go, they would make useful gifts too...

filled with a cushion...I would prefer to use this than a shoulder bag while walking around town...

I made a yummy lamb curry and rice for Joe and I but Dad needs something mild and soft so I made him a quick seafood meal, wild caught salmon and prawns, a potato cake and some soft broccoli...this is a bread plate as he needs to eat small meals now...he loves his seafood and would happily eat fish and chips for every meal!

That's my round-up of recent happenings here, today I am going to see Elizabeth and the boys and get the paperwork started for C to start secondary school next month. Just the cost of the uniform is mind boggling and I have no idea how many families can afford it at all. At this new school there is a Student Support set-up where you are sent if you turn up out of uniform. They will lend you a complete uniform until the end of the day when you go and change back into your own clothes...the humiliation of that makes me cringe.

Bye bye for now
xxx

A Rainbow In My Garden

Hallo there, I'm just 'playing' with the camera and trying to improve my photos ahead of a holiday soon, I've walked around the garden and found a rainbow of delights...would like to learn to use a collage 'thing' for Windows 8 but Joe is at the dentist and I'm scared of downloading a virus etc even though we're fully protected by Norton!

Let's see what this looks like anyway, the camera is a Fuji Finepix S4000...

Red rose~Papa Meilland

Orange hibiscus~unknown name but it is as big as a plate!

Yellow~ pansy

Green~passion fruit leaves

Blue~ that sky today

Indigo and Violet~lobelia and a pansy, these are my favourite colours I think.

At school we learned to remember the order of the colours of the rainbows by remembering this gent's name~~~ Roy G. Biv. It still works for me after 50 years 😉

Aren't we fortunate to be able to see these delights?

Love from Sue

xx