Baking and Sewing Today.

Much needed rain and drizzle here today.

 So fruit mince pies it is. Everyone  in this family seems to like them better than Christmas cake so I'm making heaps of these instead. They freeze well.

 ( click to enlarge )

 My Quirky Garden wall hanging is 99 % finished. I just need to stitch the hanging sleeve at the top, take out the pins and give it a press. It has a wooden rod through the top. Hope it hangs straight. I've measured and remeasured.

 Here you can see the top stitching around the edge .

 This is the bright bold backing fabric. I had nothing grey to match so decided to go bold. If I get tired of the front I can flip it and look at this amazing fabric.

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 Brightness in the garden outside too.

 There are lots of these dotted along the big border. Yesterday Today and Tomorrow (or Brunsfelsia I think.)

 A new red pompom Dahlia is just about  out.( the round pompom will form more.)

 Hydrangeas of all colours except pink. Blues, purples , lace cap and regular. Here the white is flowering way  down in the  fruit tree area . It's always best before any flowers fade and brown. It will be liking the rain. It will plump the plums up too.

 The vege garden is doing well. It has been hosed every second day.

In the Pink.

 

The final and largest flowering cherry has been out for weeks but is now getting its leaves and carpeting the ground with pink. As the wind blows pink snow wafts thru the air and into every corner.

 The white alstromeria below it is thriving and very pickable.

 The big gardening project at the moment is removing more agapanthus from this very long curving garden bed.

 The new edging and lawn looks established now and so much neater and easier to care for.

 As with any big garden there is still lots to do. ( like pick asparagus and blueberries! )

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 Last weekend we had our bonfire ( of garden rubbish ) down on our bottom lawn beside the estuary. Son was able to get some fireworks still ( but maybe not in the future ) and the boys and some friends enjoyed it all. 

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Now for a book recommendation. I have just finished reading"The Frozen River, " by Ariel Lawhon.

Its a gripping historical novel based on the life of Martha Ballard , set in Maine USA  in the late 1700s.

 This amazing woman and midwife delivered over a thousand babies in her 35 years and kept a diary of it all. She never lost a baby or a mother. She traveled on horseback through mud and snow , day or night.

 Such an amazing story.

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