Moving on up

Treasures in your own back yard

2012-01-10T07:00:00.189+11:00

I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to live where we do. Apart from the inconvenience of hit-and-miss public transport services, there aren't too many downsides to life on the urban fringe. One of the things I love the most is the abundance of bushland, parks and open spaces that surrounds us.

Recently I realised that there were a number of local parks and conservation areas that I'd never set foot in. One in particular, Quarry Hills Bushland Park, I drive within view of almost every day, and yet I hadn't managed to explore there at all. Well, yesterday I remedied that.

In spite of iffy-looking weather, I headed off to explore.

Is there rain in those clouds? Yes, no, maybe?

I picked a medium-length route - they range from 1km to 9km - that included the "Eagle lookout". I thought that sounded promising and set off from the car park.

Nice wide, well-maintained tracks to follow

And all signposted as well

Less than a minute into my walk, I heard something crashing through the dry grass on the hillside to my left, and caught a glimpse of two kangaroos bounding along the ridge. Of course by the time I got my camera pointing in the right direction, they'd moved. But I spotted them a bit further along, although one was only visible as a blob in the grass.

A couple of locals, lurking in the long grass

It was a pretty steep climb up to my first viewpoint, the "Soaring Shelter".

There are at least three shelters at strategic points, with views

This spot has an excellent view across to the west. You can see the You Yangs and Mount Macedon, and everything in between.

Love the descriptive signage with landmarks all labelled

There's also a decent view south.

That's the city way over there. It's only 25km or thereabouts; looks further.

From the saddle in between the two main hills, you get a view of nearby suburbia and across to the Dandenongs and Yarra Ranges.

Close to civilisation, and yet so peaceful up here.

I read the sign below and thought "fat chance of spotting a kestrel..." Actually, I was more concerned about avoiding snakes, so had my eyes fixed on the ground most of the way.

A bit of wildlife information

Then as I was mucking around getting some pics of the dramatic sky (and a passing Qantas jet)....

The airport's that-a-way

...I spotted this:

Wish I'd brought my telezoom lens

There were actually two giant birds, but I couldn't get both in shot together. I have no idea if they were Nankeen Kestrels, Black-shouldered Kites or Brown Falcons, but they were impressive to watch.

Heading up to the next lookout - this one has cantilevered viewing decks

The next viewing point was a good spot to take a break and just enjoy the scenery.

Nice to see where our rates go...

Looking across Mernda towards the Kinglake Ranges

I could have gone a lot further - the track continues on for several kms to the Granite Hills. Which, one assumes, contain granite. But I turned around and headed back towards the car. Mostly downhill, thankfully.

Pretty wildflowers

The whole area is a volcanic plain and there's evidence of old volcanic activity everywhere:

There are huge areas of exposed basalt all through these hills

It's such a thrill when you want to dig a post hole or plant a tree in your yard and you get down about 200mm and hit a huge chunk of the stuff. Really makes you appreciate nature...

Anyway, it was a really enjoyable walk, and I'll be heading up there again to check out the bits I didn't get to see this time.

For any locals who might be interested in visiting, I'll give you a few tips:

- Access is good - you can drive right into the car park from Gravlier Way and the tracks lead off from there.
- Tracks are wide and well-kept, but the top surface is loose gravel, which can be a bit hazardous on the uphill/downhill sections, so watch your step and wear decent shoes.
- The weather on top of the hills can be quite different to down below. If it's windy, it's likely to be quite chilly. If the sun comes out, you'll be hot. Wear light layers that can be added or removed easily.
- Carry water. You may not want to drink too much though - there are no public toilets.
- Don't forget your camera.

From the "things we wish we'd known" files

2012-01-09T10:00:00.000+11:00

We learned many lessons through the experience of building a home, and over the past three years I've been more than happy to give others advice on how to avoid some similar dramas, inconvenience or cost. I wish someone had done me the same favour....

One thing that we wish we'd known before signing our contract is just how cheap and nasty the appliances are that builders include in their packages. We knew we were getting basic models, but we thought they were a decent quality brand. Ha!

Back in 2001, we renovated our old place and installed a new kitchen. We were on a strict budget so there was no chance of prestige brands. But we ended up with appliances that had plenty of useful functions, looked good and performed really well.

At around the same time, our neighbours installed a new kitchen too. They had a bigger budget than us and I was envious of their stone benchtops and their Blanco appliances. The dishwasher and oven were so fancy and as far as I'm aware, they've not had a single problem with them.

So when we found that we were getting Blanco appliances as part of our building deal, we thought it was Christmas. Not so.

The dishwasher was so basic that we couldn't fit wine glasses and dinner plates in it at the same time. It didn't really have any functions other than um... wash the dishes. No delay start, no half load, nothing. And it was noisy. Watching TV in the family room while the dishwasher was running meant turning the volume WAY up. Worst of all, the design of the front panel was so bad that it couldn't withstand normal use - after three months of opening and closing, the handle broke off. Impressive.... We had that fixed under warranty, but it soon broke again. *sigh*

We thought the 900mm dual fuel upright cooker was pretty good to begin with. But we soon found that the oven didn't heat evenly. You should not have to turn food in a fan-forced oven to ensure it doesn't burn on one side. And the control knobs are cheap and nasty - the silver finish wore off one within weeks of installation.

The appliances were installed on the 10th December 2008. On Christmas Eve just gone, the dishwasher died. It just gave up the ghost in the middle of a cycle. Great... We took advantage of the Boxing Day sales to replace it with a much better one - and this one is so quiet that for the first few days, I kept checking that it was actually running.

Then the other night while cooking a roast, the oven lost power. All other power and lights were still working, and a quick check at the meter box revealed that its circuit breaker had been tripped. Uh-oh. We reset the switch and power was restored. Only...the oven temperature was dropping rapidly and we realised that the bottom element had blown.

Needless to say, we're unimpressed. We could have the oven fixed, but frankly, it's not that good and we have no confidence that something else won't go wrong in the near future. So it looks like I'm going appliance shopping again.

So my advice to anyone building? Do some online research on appliances before you accept whatever the builder is offering. Go out to a retailer and actually look at the ones in your package deal - open and close them, see what the quality is like. And if they're not up to scratch, DON'T accept them.

A lot of builders won't swap their appliances, but you can buy your own, get the builder to install them for you and leave theirs in the boxes. Then sell them and get some cash towards your (undoubtedly more expensive) purchases.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Shame on me!

2012-01-08T09:00:00.044+11:00

I have a shameful admission: I've been on holidays for two weeks now and have not done a single one of the projects I've had lined up for months.

My eBay coffee table is still sitting in the alfresco room waiting to be stripped, sanded and refinished before being installed in its new home in the lounge.

Meanwhile, it's a handy addition to our outdoor room.

The daybed is sadly in need of that seat pad I've been going to make. The "temporary" cushions I threw on it back in September are still there.

Hmm. Not quite the look I wanted.

Our outdoor furniture languishes in the sun, in desperate need of a couple of coats of oil.

Thank goodness for quality timber; it doesn't look too shabby.

The garden screens all want a coat of oil or sealer (not bad after almost two years...).

A little discolouration appearing.

Nothing some Ultradeck can't fix

"That" pot cupboard is still in the garage, waiting for a do-over of the paint job that didn't work out the way I envisaged.

I know it's under there somewhere.

The laundry and my walk in robe are both so embarrassingly untidy that I'm not even going to show you a photo. No, I haven't yet trekked down to IKEA for some storage solutions...

And it's now the 8th day of the New Year and our Christmas tree hasn't even been packed away. I'm avoiding that job because there is zero fun in it.

If I leave it up much longer, it'll be Christmas 2012!

On the other hand, I have watched a ton of DVDs, read a couple of books, had my hair done, watched a good chunk of the mega-exciting Australia vs India 3rd test match, slept, shopped, been to the theatre and generally relaxed.

So I guess my holidays haven't been a complete waste of time then. :)

The aftermath

2011-12-29T11:26:00.000+11:00

Yes, the hail really WAS that big!

Melbourne copped a you-beaut storm on Christmas Day (thanks SO much, Mother Nature), which you can read all about over here. We were lucky in that our house is undamaged; not so lucky when it comes to cars.... but hey, stuff can be fixed. It's unfortunate that even with insurance, there's mega-bucks involved, but lots of people are worse off than us, so I'm not moaning too loudly.

I'm still cleaning up around the garden though. I sorted the front yard out on Boxing Day, sweeping soil and mulch off the footpath and back into the garden beds, righting pot plants and clearing up masses of shredded leaves, small broken branches, etc.

I'd had a quick look around the back yard, but it was only yesterday that I looked really closely:

Smashed

Smooshed

Punctured

Pulverised

Shredded

Before - Christmas morning

After

Some grooming required

I have no idea how the Kaffir Lime escaped damage, but - phew!

Today I'll be out with the secateurs and the broom, restoring some order. If only cars could regrow damaged parts like plants do, we'd have nothing to worry about.

What's better than breakfast?

2011-12-11T12:53:00.002+11:00

Second breakfast, of course!

And it's improved even further when a new cafe opens up just a short walk away in a restored farmhouse that dates back to the mid-1800s. We found a flyer in our letterbox last week, advertising the new eatery and could barely wait for the weekend to arrive so we could try it out.

After a full-on RPM class at 9:30, we came home for a quick shower and some clean clothes, then headed out for brunch. We had planned to walk, since it's literally ten minutes away, but the foul weather saw us pile into the car instead.

Love that local bluestone. It was quarried from the river bank only a few hundred metres away:

We drove along the driveway, past the front paddock where at least forty kangaroos were enjoying their breakfast. Dammit! I didn't bring my camera and the phone doesn't cut it from a non-scaring distance.

We arrived in the small car park to find that the area had been landscaped with artichokes and an assortment of citrus varieties - lovely! The front garden is very pretty too:

There are nearby houses, but not close enough to spoil the view....

Those tables on the verandah would be very appealing on a warm summer morning. Love the wisteria climbing up the posts:

And of course, there are food pics! Mine: toasted brioche with seasonal fruit compote, honey labna and pistachios...

...and Bike Boy's: Spanish baked eggs

We've waited quite a few years for some sort of food and wine venue to open within walking distance. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants around if you get in the car and drive for ten or fifteen minutes, but our pretty little pocket of suburbia was seriously lacking in amenities till now.

I foresee many weekend walks and bike rides in the future with a stop here for coffee, a cold drink, or something a little more substantial.

Patience brings rewards

2011-12-04T18:55:00.000+11:00

Some of the ugliest plants produce some of the most spectacular flowers.

I don't know the name of this prickly little bugger, but it produces a number of tall pink blooms at this time of year, which are truly beautiful and have a sweet scent to boot. Unfortunately, each flower only blooms for a day, so the beauty is short-lived.

Today I stepped outside to bring the washing in and just happened to glance in the opposite direction from the clothesline as I closed the door behind me. I caught a glimpse of pale pink and discovered three flowers in full bloom that were definitely not there yesterday.

There are still a few buds waiting to open, but by the look of them, they'll all be in full bloom tomorrow.

Then it'll be another twelve months before I have the pleasure of these amazing flowers blooming outside my back door.

Horticultural happenings

2011-11-19T16:02:00.000+11:00

Having been away for a few weeks, I was itching to get out into the garden this weekend to take care of some overdue tasks. The weeds have gone feral while we were away, a whole bunch of plants need pruning or light trimming or something, plus I want to deal with a snail plague and a minor case of scale on the citrus before it gets out of hand.

Of course, the weather has turned absolutely vile and I have no hope of doing any of it today. Instead, I'm stuck indoors thanks to violent storms. Luckily, I managed to chuck some snail pellets around on Thursday night. The rain we've had since has brought all the little snails and slugs out to play, and they've been enjoying the "treats" I left for them. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than the sight of a bunch of dead snails:

Our fejioas have put on phenomenal growth while we've been away, and all four have burst into flower.

Let's hope we get a slightly bigger crop than last year's....

In other news around the garden, I'm finding I've made a few bad decisions when it comes to plant placement. These kangaroo paws have quite tall flowers, and tend to hang out over the path. After heavy rain such as we've had the past couple of days, they like to have a little lie down...

The bed along the rear wall of the house is really narrow, so I'll be moving them to a wider spot and replacing them with a dwarf variety, I have a couple of those further along the wall, and they don't get in the way of pedestrians at all. Live and learn...

Whilst a lot of our plants are still coming out of their winter shabby-ugly stage, the good old cannas are already putting on a spectacular show. These are outside the dining room window, and just gorgeous:

Tomorrow I have to take care of that scale and the weeds (should be easy after the rain), do a little pruning, and go around the garden taking note of the other jobs that need doing. We need to oil the deck and merbau screens before summer and give the bamboo screens a coat of sealer, but I'm sure there's a lot more to be done.

Once we have the (slightly late) spring maintenance out of the way, we can relax and enjoy summer in our outdoor "rooms".

There's no place like home

2011-11-12T10:52:00.001+11:00

We arrived home yesterday from a lovely two-week holiday in Thailand. We saw some amazing sights, ate fabulous food and spent almost half of our time there lazing around in the paradise on earth that is Krabi.

Ao Phra Nang, Krabi - a photographer's paradise, just a short walk from our hotel

In spite of having had a wonderful time, I'm happy to be home, and feeling grateful for many things, such as:

- The absence of smelly drains
- The relative peace and quiet of my neighbourhood (apart from that damn dog barking from over the back fence!)
- The lack of humidity. I truly love Melbourne's mostly dry summer...
- The order and tidiness of the streetscape around here. No rubbish, no piles of sandbags, no broken-up footpaths or drain covers, no mould covering buildings, no cars, motorbikes and street vendors parked all over pedestrian thoroughfares.

I think I even missed the noisy clamour of the cockatoos and corellas squawking every morning and evening.

We're not holiday shopaholics, and were on a reasonably tight budget, but we did pick up a few pretty things to decorate the house, including:

Silk fabric, Chiang Mai

Hand-painted silk cushion covers, Chiang Mai

Block prints on rice paper, Bangkok

Hill Tribe silver necklace, Chiang Mai

I won't be wearing the necklace - although it's beautiful, my preferred style in jewellery is far more delicate. Instead, I plan to mount it on black fabric, frame it and hang it on the wall. I've seen similar framed pieces for sale here, priced at around $700. I paid 250 baht (less than $8) for this, and if I DIY the framing, total cost should be under $50.

I also picked up a few ideas for furniture and decorative accents. Unfortunately, carting home heavy teak furniture was a no-no. The shipping costs were a bit high, and the fumigation process to satisfy our quarantine laws cost as much again. But I'll be keeping an eye out on eBay and cheap import shops for things with the right "feel".

It might take me a while to get our souvenirs sorted, but I'll post some updates along the way.

Progress

2011-09-04T19:10:00.002+10:00

Three coats and a light sand between:

And I've managed to change the eBay photo into a format that will work with Blogger. So here's the "Before":

It doesn't show quite how badly weathered it was - some of the joins had opened up, but after three coats of oil, the timber has expanded and closed up the gaps quite a bit. I'm going to leave it (under cover, of course) for six months to allow the oil to really penetrate, then oil it again. After that, a yearly treatment should keep it in good condition.

In case you're wondering what I used....

We're huge fans of the Intergrain range of products. They're water-based, low-odour and Australian made. I used Nature's Timber Oil on this, in a clear finish. It nourishes the timber and brings out the natural colour, but you can get tinted versions as well. It smells strongly of eucalyptus, rather than some of the stinkier products around that smell strongly of mineral oils.

Coming together

2011-09-04T10:19:00.001+10:00

I'm slo-o-owly completing my decorating plans. It's quite difficult when you have something (or several somethings) specific in mind though - finding just the right items at a reasonable price can be a challenge.

I've been watching eBay for ages, searching for the perfect carved timber daybed for our alfresco room. I've seen several, but have missed out on them when they've sold for way more than I was prepared to pay. So I was excited last week to win one at a rock-bottom bargain price... even if it did mean a three-hour round trip to collect it.

It was quite badly weathered, having been left outdoors in the sun, rain and wind for a year or so. It's teak, and was originally coated with a clear sealer and intended as an indoor furniture piece. I forgot to take a before photo (d'oh!) and can't get the eBay pic to load either, so this one was taken after I'd sanded and applied one coat of clear oil:

Two more coats of oil should see the timber in pretty good condition, and then a yearly oil after that will keep in in good nick - especially since we'll have it under cover. Then all I need to do is to make a seat pad for it, add some scatter cushions, and we'll have the perfect spot to sit and enjoy a cold drink on summer days.

Slowly does it

2011-07-25T21:48:00.002+10:00

Things are going along slowly in the decorating department, but I did get my family room cushions made. Of course, I'd bought enough fabric to make four cushions, but once I arranged them, I decided I really needed five. And perhaps one for the lounge. But when I went back to get more fabric, the shop had completely run out. :(

Oh well, I'll keep an eye out. Meanwhile, I don't think it looks too sparse:

A week or so ago, we finally decided that we couldn't last a minute longer with our old, OLD mattress. It's more than 15 years old (I know!), well overdue for replacing. So we've taken the opportunity to ditch our timber Federation style bed as well. It was fine in our old house, but just didn't fit in here. A brand new mattress and base have been ordered, and I'm expecting a call to arrange delivery any day now.

I'm going to be selling this bed (not the mattress, it's only fit for the tip):

If anyone's in the market for a queen-size solid timber bed, still in good condition, just let me know. :)

Before and after - family room

2011-06-19T16:50:00.002+10:00

Still some things to add/change, but I thought I'd post a before and after, now that I've hung my mirror and frames.

I had to turn the lights on to get a decent shot, it's late in the afternoon and very overcast today....

And here's the rendered image again of how it's supposed to look:

Nearly there!

Family room progress

2011-06-19T10:25:00.001+10:00

It's been a while, but I'm finally back to doing some decorating - hurrah! We had our new couch delivered yesterday, so (at last!) I'm getting on with the family room makeover.

Last year I had a design consultation with Kristine from Lemonbutter Furnishings & Interiors, and I've been working away at collecting bits and pieces for the room ever since.

This is what we started with:

Much as I love my colours, the old navy couches made the room look so, SO dark and gloomy. So I had in mind a warm white modular couch, to lighten things up. Kristine suggested a large silver-framed mirror as well, to reflect extra light and make the space appear a bit larger. Here's the computer mock-up of her suggested layout:

The colour palette revolves around the wall colours (dark teal and olive-beige), the warm white of the couch and the chocolate of the ottoman (which I don't have yet):

And she suggested accents of silver and olive drab:

The silver adds some glamour and is reflective too, so again, should lighten things up a bit.

Here's the room with the new couch in place, and my eBay bamboo and timber chest/side table next to it:

Ignore the mirror propped on the floor and the dresser sitting in the middle of the floor on the other side of the room... I have to find a home for that somewhere. If my eldest son doesn't move out soon, I may be forced to sell it. :/

The lovely leather couch. The whole family can fit on it, with room to spare:

I found this fabric at Spotlight - it's destined to be made up into new cushion covers. I'll get another chocolate leather one (or two) and perhaps an olive colour as well...

Once I have my mirror and prints hung and the dresser out of the way, I'll post another photo, but it's getting there. :)

Of course, when you move the old couch, this is what you discover.... food wrappers, tissues, dirty socks, empty water bottles.... and toenails. TOENAILS?? Ugh. Kids!

Space savers

2011-04-20T19:34:00.011+10:00

We love fresh produce, but not having a lot of yard, we've had to be a bit smart about it. Planting four feijoas along the back fence as a screen was a brilliant suggestion from someone whose opinion I value. Eventually, they'll provide privacy, plus a lovely lot of fruit. As a bonus, they look pretty, flowering in winter when most other plants in the garden are not at their best.

I also have my potted cumquat, which is now over twenty years old and is bearing a lovely crop. Then there's my herb garden and a few bird's eye chilli plants. Again, pretty and useful.

Our lack of space prompted me to try my hand at espalier, something I'd never done before. My lemon and kaffir lime are doing well, and I think I'm getting the hang of this pruning caper (with a little help from some experts I found online. God, I love the internet).

So, continuing my one year on theme, here's the lemon:

Just after planting in March 2010:

January this year:

January again, after pruning:

And this week. You can see that the leader is just about up to the third wire now. Hopefully, we'll get a bit more growth before the colder temperatures slow things down.

And the kaffir line is going great guns, now that I've overcome my scaredy-cat tendencies when it comes to pruning. Immediately after planting in March last year:

And now:

This one really hates Melbourne's winter, but at least now I know it bounces back nicely. The bonus of shaping it is that we get to use all the pruned leaves in delicious Thai curries.

Limited space is no excuse for not using your garden in a productive way. :)

One year on - part 3

2011-04-05T17:54:00.008+10:00

One year on - part 2

2011-03-26T14:26:00.002+11:00

March 2010:

Today:

And a closer view:

Yep, those tiny wisps of dichondra "silver falls" on the right of the first photo have gone crazy, as you can see. I'm going to have to get busy with the secateurs to stop it swamping the dwarf mondo grass...

One year on

2011-03-19T12:57:00.003+11:00

March 2010:

March 2011:

Planting completed

2011-03-06T15:46:00.003+11:00

I finally got the bamboo in the ground. It doesn't seem to have suffered too much from being left in black garbage bags for almost a week....

A few finishing touches are still required. I'm thinking a Balinese-style statue of some kind, plus some groundcovers or very small shrubs in between the clumps.

That just about completes the planting in our garden now. I can sit back and watch everything grow for a while. :)

********

Remember the alien eye-stalk? Turns out to be a rather pretty flower spike. They've become so tall that some are having a lie down now. Anyway, they have these small but attractive orangey-pink flowers all along the stalks:

Succulents always amaze me with their flowers.

Free stuff!

2011-02-28T19:21:00.003+11:00

Thanks to the generosity of Aaron and Erin, I'm now the proud owner of four giant clumps of bamboo, probably over $500 worth, FREE.

They dug out a huge mass of the stuff from a relative's yard and kindly offered some of the surplus to anyone who wanted it. Of course, I very quickly said "Yes".

I had planned to plant bamboo along the fenceline outside our sliding door, and now it's all lined up just waiting till I have the time to deal with it.

Those are 4m tall canes!

Yes, I took the pics through the (dirty) glass. It's raining out there!

It's lucky that the weather has turned cool and wet this week - no chance of the plants suffering heat stress before I can get them in the ground.

Christchurch earthquake appeal

2011-02-28T06:00:00.001+11:00

I'm copying this from my other blog, to get the message out to as many people as possible:

I know we've all been digging deep recently to help our fellow Aussies affected by floods and cyclones, but please if you possibly can, dip into your pockets again and give a little something to help our Kiwi cousins.

Christchurch is a small city by world standards and as such, has limited resources. Emergency funds have already been stretched to the limit by the September earthquake, and now this latest and far more serious quake has left many folks destitute and in need of all the help they can get.

Remember, it's not just those who've lost their homes and belongings, but many, many people who don't have jobs to go to because their city workplaces have either been destroyed or are off-limits due to the danger of further collapses.

Whether you can contribute financially or not, if you're a blogger you can still help by posting a link to the global appeal website, which is here: http://www.christchurchearthquakeappeal.govt.nz/

Even if you don't have a blog, please spread the word by posting the link on Facebook or Twitter.

It's been a little wet here...

2011-02-05T12:01:00.004+11:00

The tropical cyclones up north are having a nasty effect on our weather in the south, with stupid amounts of rain dumped on us yesterday.

This is our creek on a normal day; just a trickle of water that you can't even see from the bridge amongst all the vegetation:

This is the creek this morning, after 60-70mm of rain in the past 24 hours:

Note the little spillway in the billabong:

Uh....what spillway? (If you look carefully, you can see a line in the water that shows where it is):

We stood on the bridge and watched thousands of dragonfly larvae and a lot of tadpoles happily swimming in the billabong. The birds were pretty happy too - lots of food for them.

We humans could do with a bit less rain, thanks.

Things are pretty good around here - a few road closures, but we got off lightly compared to some parts of Melbourne, which received up to 180mm, most of it in a very short period last night. We have no flooding, no leaks and the only signs of the torrential rain is some mulch washed onto the footpath from the front garden, and one top-heavy potted plant that's having a lie down.

Cross your fingers for us; there's more on its way.

Flood relief - on a personal level

2011-01-30T10:13:00.001+11:00

Blogger A-M lives in Brisbane, in one of the flood-affected areas near the river. She and her boys were extraordinarily lucky in that their ground floor apartment was untouched by the floodwaters. They have spent quite some time with no power or hot water and various other inconveniences, but A-M considers herself fortunate and has been out and about helping others who were not so lucky, like 73-year-old Ken.

Please go and read A-M's post about Ken, who is in desperate need of some help. His townhouse was completely flooded and is now just a shell, with no walls, floor coverings, cabinets or power, and not a stick of furniture. You can help Ken directly by using the Paypal "donate" button that A-M has set up on her blog.

Also, if you're in Brissie and you know a generous plumber who may be able to spare some time to help Ken get a new kitchen installed, please leave A-M a comment on her blog.

I know that bloggers are a generous lot and I'm sure we can help Ken get back on his feet.

x

Alien plant from the planet Zorg

2011-01-15T13:18:00.004+11:00

My succulent collection has endured the big wet and is now enjoying the warmer weather, with most putting on some major growth.

This particular one is a favourite of mine. I don't know its name* unfortunately, but its pretty colours and odd, warty leaves really stand out. Now it's thrown out a long stem from the centre, which I assume is a flower(?):

I get the giggles every time I see it, because it reminds me of some alien eye-on-a-stalk from a B-grade sci-fi movie.

I swear it's watching me. Creepy...

*Edit: I'm told it's most likely an echeveria.

The neighbourhood

2011-01-02T17:53:00.002+11:00

All this in the suburbs, without going more than 1km from my door. Make that 800m, I was feeling lazy....

Creek

State park

Old homestead

Billabong

River

And where we live....

Love it! :)

Random stuff

2010-12-18T15:18:00.006+11:00

This is a bit of a random collection of photos and ramblings, in no particular order....

The Christmas tree looks a lot better than last year, thanks to the addition of some new decorations. Swapping a four-foot tree for a seven-foot tree and changing colour schemes meant we had a lot of empty space on the new tree.

Thanks to the trusty $2 Shop, I have these...

...and these...

...and these...

Plus these from K Mart...

...and these from the Reject Shop....

Add some coordinating wrapping (of course, because I'm a bit OCD), and it's looking almost perfect. Still room for some more bead garlands next year, plus more lights, I think.

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Of COURSE, now that we've had our shade awning installed, ready for the blistering summer heat...there isn't any. It's done nothing but rain for the past few days and more rain is forecast pretty much for the rest of December. Great.

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I bought this tower of gift boxes about five years ago from Target to use as a Christmas table centrepiece.

It came filled with different kinds of lollies, which of course were nought but a memory by the time New Year rolled around. I kept the boxes though, and after much nagging by The Baby, decided to refill them today.

I may have to do an audit each night to make sure they last more than a week.

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Remember way back in winter, when I pruned the weeping mulberry and it looked like a stick? Here, I'll refresh your memory:

I'd never really grown a weeping tree before. Well, there was the cherry I put in at the old place, but we sold before I saw the result of my one and only pruning experiment there. So I was a bit terrified that it wouldn't grow back, or would turn out looking a bit mental. I needn't have worried:

Awesome gardening skills, or what?