A Bright Spot.

 

 A bright spot in the back garden ( on a dreary day ) as the first of 7 flowering cherries begins to blossom.

 The Tuis and Wax eyes are very busy in the branches. 

A Great Series.

 I'm interrupting my previous theme to tell you about these books that I heartily recommend. 

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley.

 Sadly Lucinda died quite recently this year so that is a huge and sad loss.

3 of the covers.

 Each book is about 800 pages but I have just raced through them. 

 I have missed 2 but my local bookshop rang me yesterday to say my copy of book 1 has arrived. Another friend who introduced me to the series said they could be read in any order. ( true ) 

 If you google Lucinda's name their are several website that could give you more information.

 Do try and get hold of these if you haven't already I am sure you will be enthralled as I was.

The Pantry , the Freezer, the Vege & Herb garden.

 Basically it boils down to I don't want items that come in plastic or are over packaged. Paper bags and boxes / containers are fine. Any fruit and veg I buy I use my own reusable ( string mainly ) bags. I try to buy whole items like pumpkin so no need for glad wrap across a cut. Best I like to pick straight from our  own vegetable or herb garden  Meat from the butcher's shop is okay but not supermarket trays with plastic covers.

 We make  and freeze a lot of our own spreads like pesto and capsicum dip so those are in small glass jars which get reused. We do however like cream cheese  and frozen peas etc  they come in plastic. When we freeze our own surplus veges we tend to put them in plastic bags or containers( sometimes glass jars )( glass jars in a freezer can become very slippery and heavy ) 

 I use a small amount of milk and cream mainly for baking/ cooking but can't find that in glass. ( we don't have milk in our tea or coffee)( but sometimes need it for guests )  Maybe milk suppliers  could go back to glass bottles that get recleaned and reused, ( I know glass breaks and therefore can be dangerous ) 

 Looking into the pantry cupboard in my picture I see glass jars, tins, al cans , paper containers but I also see large plastic containers that are in constant use - those I don't mind as I am reusing and reusing. ( for flour, sugar, baking needs and  home baked goods . At the bottom are containers to reuse.

 Looking elsewhere. Should I stop using biros and instead only pencils. Should I stop buying sewing thread on plastic reels - they used to be wood.  I use cotton or wool or bamboo batting in my quilts. 

 I use bankcards that are made of strong plastic, some are renewed every 2 years. The ones I think we could do without are pressy cards and plastic loyalty cards ( lots are cardboard so that's better ) 

 It seems to me I keep thinking we need to go back to a time before things were packaged this way.

 Next post I will start on about clothing, footwear, cars.

 * Thanks for your comments  I did find shampoo in a cake. Haven't tried it yet.   Any other good ideas Ladies? 

My Little Changes.

 My little changes won't save the planet but my actions are the only ones I can change.

 Where I go, how I go, what I buy, what I throw out, what I reuse, what I do without, what I make myself  will make a difference. too small to measure in the greater scheme of things. I am prepared to try. So will others be, but not everyone. 

I wear makeup. I have done since I was a teenager. I believe it has protected my skin and I am naturally pale so it helps me feel better about facing the world or even looking in the mirror.

 I am now taking even more interest than before about containers and packaging. In the photo are 2 identical products to protect lips from the wind and sun. The round  tiny tub I can clean and reuse as a container for tiny sewing items - beads, buttons etc. so the push out type ( with 3 small plastic bits ) will no longer be my choice. Both have too much packaging.

 The foundation comes in a glass bottle so is okay but it has a plastic lid.

The choice of eyebrow pencil is clear the one that can be sharpened and has no plastic.

 Also with the lipstick. The lip crayon it is called ( is  3x fatter than lip liner )  is all useable and just needs sharpening when it gets blunt.. ( I also compare the amount in these containers the difference was huge.)

Some skin products I like come all in plastic tubes...how am I going to change that....look for some in glass? ....not use them....make my own?

 Soap. I like Dove  sensitive ( not strictly soap ) for my shower. I buy it singly as the 4 together have an extra plastic wrapper. ( so more expensive for me  ) Shampoo seems to be all in plastic containers 

( possibly for safety ).

 Do any of you have any good suggestions for me?

 Next time I will look in the kitchen cupboards.

That's Rubbish.

 For the last 53 Years that we have been a household we have never had rubbish collection at our gate. Starting in July we are being forced into it. Why Forced? We have to pay  the W B Council for the service whether we use it or not. The bins have been delivered. The Transfer station in the city is being closed down so we will no longer be able to do our own recycling.

 Here are 3 new bins in our garage. The wooden lidded bins at the right used to extend right along the wall and had our own containers inside it. R built it when we moved here nearly 3 years ago. Now he has had to pull most of it out to make a space for the new Council bins. On a given day the bins have to be taken up our drive and along to the corner of the street for emptying.( Far more work ) The landfill bin has to have tags attached b4 it will be emptied. They cost $3.95 each.

 We are very used to sorting and cleaning our items and we have always had compost bins and I have a worm farm. All our garden rubbish get put under our big avocado trees. ( only town dwellers were given food scrap bins ) 

 It best to look at it as a new challenge! A challenge to see how little we can put in the bins.

 Next post I will talk about ways to reduce our use of plastic and other undesirables. and what I think manufacturers and food producers need to do to help with Zero waste!

Quilt Show.

 On Saturday I went to the great New Zealand Quilt Show in Rotorua ( at the Energy Events Centre ).

 My friend Jill drove a carload of us there so that was lovely. There was a lot to see. Mostly a very high standard of work. The ones I enjoyed best were the wall hangings of cities of the world.

 My favourites are these 3.

 The Arc de Triomphe in Paris France  by Jennifer Patterson of New Zealand.

 A close up showing how she used hand stitching and machine quilting to work the details.

 I also liked Marilyn Muirhead's piece of Strasbourg in France  Marilyn is a member of our Tauranga Patchwork and Quilters Group. She also paints and does mixed media works.

 This quirky view of Florence in Italy was by Emily Mathieu from France.

 I had an enjoyable time soaking up the talent and admiring almost all the work on display. I have only one comment that is negative and that was the lighting. Very favourable on some quilts  but really lacking on others. Some exhibitors must have been disappointed.

 My only purchases were 4 fat quarters to use in my current project. The merchants' area was rather crowded. 

 ( click on my images to enlarge them )

Autumn Colours.

 

A Liquid Amber with seed pods. (On a neighbour's property.) There were also golden maples and pin oaks with great colour as I walked around our area. Some things are beginning to flower quite early - hellebores and paperwhites.

 Our 2 new persimmon trees have produced well for very young trees. I  removed lots of tiny fruit early on to not over tax the trees. The tree with just 4 have sized up a lot larger than the tree I left 15 on. All have got to a good size. I put bird deterrent netlon bags around some of the fruit and it seems to have worked. ( no bird pecking or wasp damage so far ) Persimmon are probably my favourite fruit. Each tree cost $50 so I am glad they are doing well. I will let most of the fruit get riper before I pick them. I prefer them still at the crunch stage not a bag of jelly.

 Looking up our driveway there is a tree on either side.

 

 Some lovely flowers I got given ( no perfume with  any of them unfortunately )

 We have had Arbor Barber here trimming back trees one afternoon. More light getting into the clothes line now. It doesn't take long for trees to get large in the BOP.

 I have had 3 lengthy sessions at the dentist lately - all good to go now ( hadn't been for ages ) But still have a sore lip that got damaged when I was numb. ( so didn't know it had happened till later ) 

 We are both wearing new glasses too. Mine quite a different style for a change.

 Today is drizzly - we need some steady rain.

Please stay Outside.

 

 This fellow ( I think a Nursery web spider ) had to be taken outside. He was a fast mover and quite large.

 This praying mantis came in on sheets from the washing line. He walked all over me, looking around.

 I took him out to the herb garden  to release.

Strange.

 

                                             Strange clouds at sunset.

 Strange little capsicum folk inside the big capsicum when cut.

                             The strange fascination between small boys and sticks and water.

Not so strange 

that I found I can still make a reasonable Pavlova and adult guests loved it.

 I had stopped making them because of the sugar content.

Not so strange that 6 senior women can go out to lunch together and have a wonderful happy time. The food doesn't have to be fancy ( just have someone else prepare it ), but the coffee needs to be hot and aromatic and we can talk or sew for ages . We put the world to right but it doesn't make it so.

 We also meet to sew together at each other's homes . ( more talk ) 

****** 

 I have sewn together some of the smallest squares to stop them fraying.

 This is not the final arrangement just a progress look. Lots, lots more still to make. Most of theses are being blanket stitched by hand . A few raw edged on the machine sat flat but ones I zigzagged should have had a backing reinforcement layer to keep them absolutely flat ( and I didn't want to have to do that ). Lots more are in the pipeline. This piece already has a name. 

"These are a Few of My Favourite Things."

I have Finished This.

 Yesterday I sat and completed my hand sewing project.  ( I copied a necklace I have with a dragonfly on it ) It is made of felt and hand stitched with my knotted blanket stitch around the edges. The cotton lining I sewed under,  on the machine then handstitched in once the hand stitching on the other side was finished. It covers up the starting and stopping nicely. The wings are made using Angelina Fibres which I have had in my cupboard for a long while.( teased out and heat set ) . The veins in the wings I did using sewing machine cotton ( Gutermann ) as it needed to be fine. I used backstitch.

                                       Here as a work in progress.

 Here showing the lining. It is a very simple fold over purse for makeup etc in my carry bag. The old one had become worn  and ragged.

 I will now concentrate on the project I showed in the last post. I tracked down some Derwent Inktense pencils ( which become paint when wet ). I need to practise with those a bit. I also eventually found th website I was looking for. So that's all good!

*****

 We have been having high tides mid day this week.

 This is our bottom lawn. The estuary is to the right in this photo. It has surrounded our burning heap and the neighbours one and the rustic seat. Our house is 30 metres or so above this area. 

 Also this week  - earthquakes ( we only felt the one at 2.30 am ) felt in many parts of NZ . Eastern BOP did evacuation practise and watched possible tsunami from high ground. No one was hurt  and the Kermadec Islands ( where it started ) were not inhabited at the time.

 

Doing a Couple of New Things.

 Before I start on about the new projects I want to say when I finished my last post the rain was really starting to come down... It rained for a couple of days and nights. We got 145 mls  or 5.5 ".      😀       '

                                                ******

 As we have been picking ( up ) quite a lot of passionfruit ( which 5 year old grandson loves )I decided to use some in Curd. I make lemon curd ( or Honey ) frequently but had not tried a recipe for passionfruit curd. It is of course yummy! ( 5 little jars and a jam dish full..)

 My second new thing to try is a quilt! Yes you read that right. A quilt! You have made lots of those before I hear you say. True. But not this one. I don't have  a pattern but know what I am trying to achieve. SO I am writing my own instructions ( to me for future reference ) . You may be able to help here. If anyone knows what website has a photo or pattern for the quilt made of tiny daily blocks ( thru lockdown )  for a whole year. 365 blocks.( I have seen a finished one and liked it.) 

 I did the maths then just to be sure made some sample sizes to make sure I was correct. The tiniest block will be 2.5" square. The other are all joined or cut multiples of that. Mainly white or slightly patterned white or pale, pale pastel shades.

 The blocks will be many  methods of  creating motifs.

 Broderie purse, applique, pigment pen drawings . Maybe others.

 I have started selecting small motifs from fabrics I already have and and backed them with  ironed on .

 It will not be a quick project but that's okay.

 Next Monday R has a medical appointment in Tauranga so I am planning on going too and walking to the fabric shop to get some more pale pastel fat quarters and to the shop that has fabric ( I think they are called pigma  ? ) pens.

Reading and Gardening.during Hot Days.

 Sorry I've been a lazy blogger.

 Yesterday when elder Grandson was here he picked these truss tomatoes from the plants in pots outside the laundry door. They grew from the mini New World pots I collected back in 2020. Smallest grandson planted the seed then bigger grandson and I planted them out into bucket size pots and now they are bearing fruit! Lovely mid sized and tasty. ( so Raewyn if you have just planted yours they should still do okay ) 

Here are the plants a while ago. As well as the tiny toms I have a kumara in a pot ( climbing up a string at the back ) and a yam ( bottom left ) 

 All need daily watering or they wilt but no bird problems this close to the house. Down the garden birds keep pecking R's Big tomatoes so we have hung CDs to deter them.( they sparkle away in the sunshine as they twirl in any breeze -  if we have some. ) The 2 little Grandsons love planting seed and watering and picking any produce. Its good if they can eat some on the spot especially little 2 year old as he is a fussy eater.  They have skills of picking strawberries, beans, tomatoes, peas and even corncobs.

 ( My cucumber is not not thriving or producing anything good yet. It's strange how crops vary ) 

****

 Lately I have been reading some books I would recommend. "Where the Crawdads Sing." by Delia Owens. Its an unusual book but factually very accurate and a a compelling plot.

( her first fiction )

 

 Local NZ writer and sometime blogger Carole Brungar ( her blog Madness and Mess hasn't been written since 2018  -  I used to read it as she is a gardener and quilter as well as now writer ! ))  has now written several books. R and I got given her 2 Vietnam War themed books for Christmas. The characters going off to the War grew up in the Manawatu area at the same time as me. The stories feature Himitangi and Foxton Beaches that I knew well as a child and teenager. She got all the local info very accurate and it it made me remember my time in that area of NZ. Well done Carole. Please keep writing. I will look out your other books. I hope your wonderful daffodils are still thriving.

 The 2 books are called, "The Nam Legacy " and The Nam Shadow."

 Kiwis especially would enjoy these  and people who remember the time of the Vietnam War and the way the soldiers were treated on their return.

Wonderful Lily.

 

Sometimes plants really excel.

Lilium Oriental -Zalmira is one of these.  Flowering  and perfume are larger and  stronger than I expected.

 Luckily I got it tied back early on when I saw where it was headed.

 I think the perfume would be too strong inside so it can be admired outside . 8 blooms on a really sturdy plant.

Pohutukawa Trees.

 This year so far some of the smaller New Zealand Christmas Trees ( Pohutukawa ) seem to be the brightest.

 This one in a neighbours driveway.

😊

 This one next door in our neighbour's garden. I can see it best from our upstairs window.

 This one can be seen from the New World Car park at Brookfield in Tauranga.

 There are also some fabulous bright Jacaranda Trees about. I haven't photographed them as I am usually driving when I see them.

High Winds.

 

 Garden damage last evening during quite gusty winds. This flowering cherry will need quite a bit of repair to be safe again.

  To save their necks I picked 4 of my lovely lime Gladioli and put them on the bench to admire.  This year they are free of thrip damage so I am pleased about that.

 Outside we have been busy over the last 2 weeks pulling out box.

 This corner flower garden which I have planted over the last 2 years had only the rhododendron behind a box hedge when we came here. Now we have pulled out the rest of that box hedge which extended around the corner.( to the left ) 

 Here it is now minus the box hedge and newly planted with Carnations , geraniums  ( I grew ) lobelia and other seedlings. The sweet peas are self sown from last summer and the daphne and dahlia I planted 2 years ago. The difference is now box plants aren't  stealing all the nutrients from the soil and I don't have to climb over the hedge to get in there and weed. The pluses are also I now have a bigger area to grow fragrant picking flowers  and  we don't have to continually trim the box hedge.  This garden area already had a concrete strip along the front.

 I now have all the garden beds I plan to have and will just maintain and enjoy them. 

 There is now just one box hedge left on the property.

 The vege garden is producing well and Grandsons enjoy finding and picking strawberries   ( lots ) and blueberries ( just a few ) when they are here.

A Completed Project.

 

 My friend Helen had made a needle case ( for packets of needles ) with a 3 rows of tiny hexagons across the middle and ribbon ties to close it.

 I took the measurement and changed the way it looks by designing my own felt Iceland poppies for the outside covering.

 On the inside are pockets for packets or whatever I like.

 To close it, it folds into 3 and because I didn't want ties spoiling my flowers I have used 2 domes. on the corners. The binding is a pretty batik fabric I already had. Apart from sewing the binding on it  and defining the pockets it was a hand stitched project ( very portable ). It used up some of my large supply of felt and embroidery cottons.

 I am really pleased with the results.

      ******

 Despite throwing lots of rots ( caused by last weeks heavy rain ) on the lawn for the birds 

 I managed to pick this bowl of strawberries. I have left some big ripe ones for the 2 grandsons to find ( and eat ).

A Mystery Trip.

 

 What a slack Blogger I have been lately. I have been mostly gardening not sewing.

 Last Friday which is my regular Patchwork and Quilting Group day some of our ladies ( 24 in all ) set off on a "Mystery Car Trip," organised by Marilyn . It meant an early start. I was quite spoiled as my friend Dorna offered to pick Jenni ( who lives near me ) and me up so we didn't all have to take cars.  Strangely we got to the city in really quick time ( this road is usually SO slow in the mornings ) I then changed cars and was driven by another friend Shirley with Helen navigating. All she was given to follow was an address...for rural Whakatane...which turned out to be Pins to Patches, which is a very well stocked Patchwork shop, now at the owners own home ( in the country ).

 I didn't spend much during our various stops at shops, only getting things I had run out of like green cotton and also some large domes for my nearly finished needle case project. I shouted myself some new very thin pins ( so now I can throw some of my not fit for purpose ones away ) and a magazine.

On our return journey we stopped at Blueberry Corner. I got 2 punnets a huge fresh blueberries at a good price and the ladies all got a berry cream freeze. They were huge - even the small size, and took some eating. They were delicious ,but too big for me.( above some of us sitting in the shade licking fast ) Jenni took the photo. We all arrived home safely. I was tired despite not driving. We had a happy day together and all get on well. ( I think we might do it again some time in the future )

 ******

 My new secateurs. ( made in France I see ) After about 20 years of faithful service in garden and orchard my very expensive ones began to mal function and R couldn't fix them this time so he got me a new much cheaper pair. They won't get anywhere near the use the other orchard ones got. So far they are cutting clean and easy so I hope that lasts.

I'm off to bake now.