After Rain.

 

 My Zephyranthes candida or rain lilies are looking lovely. I am making a row of them right along the top of a retaining wall.

Quilt , Garden and Books.

 

Late last year a new bossy club member persuaded us all ( at P and Q ) to make a donation quilt by all making the same block. Our sewing group ( of 6 ) made this blue tones Braid quilt which Jan then assembled into a pleasing quilt. (It's  just on hangers here, Its not really wobbly -  last Friday during Show and Tell display.) I am sure whoever it is given to will  like it .

                  *****

 

Vireya rhododendrons do well here. This is bright and lush looking at the moment as we drive out our front entrance, which has garden on either side. It is  called Tickety Boo  and is about 2 years old.

 Back in Sept 15 ( I just checked ) I showed a packet of seeds I had just planted in trays. Snapdragons ( Antirrhinum majus ) called Twinny Appleblossom.  This is them flowering in clumps around the garden. I had a good take with the seed but its a long process from seed to flower. I hadn't noticed it says height 25cms! so they are quite low growing.

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 How do you decide which books to donate to a coming up Used Book Sale? We always buy up large when it's on,  so need to make space on our shelves. BUT  its difficult deciding if you might ever want to read a certain book or author again. So many favourites. Eventually we filled a couple of cartons up and delivered them. The Sale will be in a couple of weeks.

 

 Books I have enjoyed recently are:-The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. ( apparently its been on TV - I didn't see it )

 The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

;The Botanist's Daughter by Kayte Nunn.

Stolen Moments.

 Stolen Moments was the name on the box this jigsaw puzzle came in. I am renaming it Stolen Hours! I quite enjoy doing the occasional  jigsaw especially if it is a group activity, but this puzzle gave me little pleasure. I got persuaded to do it by 5 year old grandson who tried himself first and couldn't even complete the outside border. The picture is an Oil painting so NO straight edges. It is 1 of 3 in a Landscape  series . ( I must avoid the other 2 ) It was 1000 pieces. But I got 1001! ( I've never had an extra piece before - a duplicate )   ( Son gave me half an hour of his time and did a row across the sky - otherwise it was just me doing some every day )

 ( Published by Arrow in Australia www.mjm-australia.com    )    Made in China.

 I have now got my sewing back out! Hurrah!

 My hand sewing project is self designed inspired by a mandala in a colouring book. I know basically how I want it to look but am trialing parts as I go. Felt and cotton fabric all hand sewn. 

*****

 The grandsons spent time here on a very hot day so when the tide was in at our estuary water play and pretend fishing were good activities.

 Here smaller grandson (5)  just wants to get " accidently " wet. He is wearing gumboots!

 Bigger ( 8) grandson had new gumboots and decided not to fill his. Instead he practiced some poses on the jetty pile.

 

 

A closer View.

 

The colouring has been done by a 5 year old and an 85 year old and all others in between.

 ( click to enlarge ) It's not nearly as quick to fill up as I expected. 

It's 2024.

 Over the holiday time my sewing machine was put away in it's carrier bag in the hall cupboard because I wanted it's table space for other things.

 This is a paper table runner that is for colouring in.When unwrapped it is far longer than I envisaged. Everyone who comes to our house gets asked to do a little colouring. It started with smaller  Grandson and family 2 days before  Christmas day.

 Younger grandson and his Mum select their pencils from the new tin of coloured pencils ( I do love colours set out this way  be they cottons or paints or colour charts )

 It is longer than you can see here as it is rolled at the far end.

 It doesn't matter if it takes a long time. My aim is to later cut it up to use as Christmas [future } wrapping paper.

 On the other table this jigsaw got completed.

 R cut  us hard board  backing pieces that can be uplifted if the table space is needed. The boys have them at their house too.

 Lots of reading and playing Kubb has happened too. I'll make that another post.

Happy New Year to you All reading this.

Season's Greetings.

 

Wishing You All a Very Happy and Safe Christmas.

New Zealand Christmas Trees.

 Pohutukawa = New Zealand Christmas Tree.

 This one is in the small round about as we drive into our sub division. It is a dark shade. Some are more orange red.

 This one is now finished. It is in the 2nd round about in our sub division.

 This little one is in our young folks section below their house.

 Its a good year for Pohutukawa  I think the liked the rain earlier this year.

 We see them everywhere we go.

 In fact I can see the neighbour's ones from upstairs better than they can see them. 

Bethlehem Town Centre which is closer to me than Tauranga has these and other decorations on display.

 There is quite a good selection of shops there ( tho not every type ). There is a large elderly population in the surrounds so it  is often very busy. As long as I can find one, parking is okay.

 We can post things at Te Puna ( closer still ) at the local store. I'm trying to keep off the roads as much as possible as there are so many road works and a very large population trying to use them.

 

Caring for my Indoor Plants.

 Firstly Thanks Janice for your reply. I am just going to ignore the threat for now and see what happens.( if my blog got wiped I'd start another one! )

 

 This morning as I often do, I have been caring for my indoor plants.I have lots.The peperomia obtusifolia seen here is one of the easiest to care for. It lives upstairs on the dressing table and gets plenty of light from the ranch-slider It does however get dusty and is time consuming to clean, so I took it down to the lawn and sprayed it gently with the rose nozzle on the hose. It is dripping of dry now..

  I have one position in the house which causes plants to sulk and degrade. It is on the side table inside the front door. The position. really needs a plant there but the light is very low. I leave the hall light on for it often but that is not enough. Sometimes I stand the plant in another room in the light but what I really need is a new plant ( or something else decorative ) that will thrive in low light. Are Aspidistras still available?  I know in my grandparents day that was the plant that stood in the near dark passageway.

 My maidenhair fern does well and also my several African violets and Calethea and Kalanchoe but more tricky to get just right are my Peace lilies.. The tips of the leaves go brown and I know it is either too much or too little water - that is hard to solve.

 What do you grow indoors ladies, that thrives for you?

What to Do?

 

 

This white Hydrangea likes a dull drizzly day (It sunburns quite easily )

 All the garden plants are getting a slow( so far ) gentle watering from rain.

What to Do was the title of this post, so here's my question. Have any of you had a threatening email from somewhere called legacy blogger or Legacy migration ( in USA )?  I was told to migrate my blog to them. because my account has someone associated with it who hasn't blogged since 2006. If I didn't move,  my blog would be closed down in 60 days.

 Question - is this for real or yet another scam email ?

 Any thoughts or help would be appreciated.

Project completed.

 

I am pleased with how my 'long stitch,' cushion cover turned out. Finished and a good fit with the inner.

 The back has a generous  ( 2/3rds ) envelope entry.  ( like a pillow case ) I prefer that to a zip.

 I can start something new now.

*****

 Despite damaging, relentless winds some patches of my garden are bright and cheerful.

 Snap dragons, cineraria , larkspurs, bedding begonias,  primrose and low alstromeria.( too low for picking really ) There are some new taller ones due out this month that I want to buy a couple of. They keep  so well picked

Walking.

 All week I have been doing short walks to help my back. I hurt it last weekend. Walking did not hurt it . Getting up after sitting did.

 Today with it 95% better I did a LONG walk. This afternoon I walked for an hour and 40 minutes, from Hukarua Harbour Park ( at the end of Plummer's Point Road ) to Te Puna Beach. I wore far too many clothes and carried an umbrella. As you can see from the first photo it was dull and spitting when I started out. It improved to quite warm. I have shown you photos on this walk before ( not recently ).

 The tide was fully in today.

 Here the path follows the railway line on the left.

 The highlight of my walk was finding this avenue of Awanui Flowering cherries all out. I counted 50.

It Must be Spring Now.

 It must be Spring now as a whole month has gone by.( it's September half way gone ).

 Iceland Poppy faces are fleeting as Spring winds and rain do their thing.

 At least 8 more buds to come. The Yellow Kangaroo Paw plants are doing well. They seem to love the rain. I mistakenly thought because they were Australian they would prefer dry.

*****

 Smaller Grandson is a good worker. Here he is unloading the  clean new sand for the new sandpit.

 He and I have been doing lots of puzzles too. Jigsaws and wooden puzzles. This one called the Soma Cube. My boys had it nearly 50 years ago and it's still a challenge. I decided to see how many of the shapes I could still do.

 Here's one I did this morning. That's 5 I can still do.

 I'll keep pushing myself with puzzles of many kinds.

Bigger grandson and son started a very tricky 1000 jigsaw 2 weeks ago and did about a quarter before they had to go. I was then left with 3/4 to finish to get it off the table. R has now cut us some MDF board to work on so the puzzle in progress can be lifted off the big table.

 

 I thought it would be the sky and water that would be hardest but in fact it was the flowers.

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 Yesterday I planted these seeds into 3 trays. So tiny. About 30 in the packet . I do hope some grow as I really like the frilly part and the delicate colour.

 As always lots of gardening happening. I have picked the first few asparagus.

*****

 Molly the cushion top is almost finished. I hope to show you it complete next time I blog.

Not quite Spring Yet.

 Lots of frosty  mornings. Not quite Spring yet. Many signs of it with daffodils,  cherry blossom, daphne ,Pieris and  Freesias ( what a perfume ) all brightening up the garden

. The final roses are pruned and a few late blooms sit in a vase.

 There is a planting of Pieris either side of the driveway

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 I am making a variety of new cushion covers and found this idea in an Australian Homespun 

magazine from Oct 2022. Annorina made this slow stitching cushion by cobbling together Liberty scraps.

 I had floral scraps but not Liberty. I can do 2 or 3 rows of the big quilting using 3 strands of embroidery cotton in off white, before my left thumb aches and I need to stop. I'll get there. Its a new idea and I haven't done any hand quilting for ages. The big stitch size suits my eyesight. My first rows were not well marked and I have wobbled  so I might redo them at the end.

Storm Damage.

 Last Tuesday the winds were as high as I have experienced here. Our power went out before 5pm and didn't come back on till nearly 8pm. I would not have wanted to be the linesmen who were out working to restore our power. The winds were scary.

 We had damage!.

 One of our Reed avocados is lying on it's side. The roots ripped up.

 Up the hill behind it the apple tree has been snapped off. Its trunk split upwards. ( click to enlarge )

I think the avo falling sideways opened a tunnel for the wind to sweep in.

 When and if the weather ever clears up and the sun reappears the clean up will start 

( with the chainsaw ) We will see if the avo hangs on till we pick its fruit in a few months time .

 I wandered around the garden looking for bright spots.

 Poor little hyacinths had their heads bashed in as they try to emerge.

 The hellebores seem quit hardy. I love their faces which they are reluctant to show.

 The older type are less impressive but lovely all the same.

 I find they don't last in a vase unless very mature so I am picking camellias and proteas and early jonquils and Daphne. The last few rose that hadn't been pruned have sodden rotting buds. Also flowering are primroses and polyanthus.  Roll on Spring and fine days.