Day 14.

 A beautiful red Nerine. I made sure when we moved here from the orchard that a few of my many Nerines came with me. When these bulbs are happy they multiply really quickly forming high mounds that need thinning and replanting. I hope these ones will do the same in this garden.

  I love these liquid amber leaves that I see in a neighbour's garden when I walk. I like their shape as well as the colour. Outside at the moment there is heavy cloud cover. Just a few spits so far.Our garden desperately want some rain please. It has been forecast so here's hoping.

Today I baked  a sticky date loaf. It is a recipe I first made back in 1966 when i was in Country Girls and Young Farmers Club. That's awhile ago!

 New Zealand is hanging in there. the total has reached 1210 today with 282 recovered and still just the one death..

 Rain just starting as I type!!!

Day 13.

 Today one of my favourite flowers of all. Carnations or Dianthus. This one is Dianthus Dancing Queen and has a lovely delicate perfume: slightly smells of cloves and other things but distinctly carnation.

 They last well picked or in the garden. I have 2 of this one and several others.

 No walk today as I decided to do 2 stints in the garden. One cleaning up around all the veges that are still producing and this afternoon one of the flower gardens.

 Our lovely neighbour did well, she got everything  ( 9 items ) we asked for. I found out later she shopped for two other households as well so 4 in total. What a wonderful neighbour to us all ( I'm so glad we share fruit and veges with them we we have a surplus)

 Today in  New Zealand we have 1160 cases  to date with 241 recovered and still just the one death.

 Stay safe  .

Day 12

    Another Gerbra today growing in the same place as yesterday's one.

 Very pleased with how these turned out.

 If I  had it available dried peel would have been good( I just used lemon zest - but not enough ) 

 I did a different walk today.

 Go out the gateway and turn left twice and right at the roundabout.

 Theses trees are just going to get better and better as the days go by. ( Liquid ambers , oaks etc. ) Where the street ends I just keep walking across the grass and down a hill.

 Halfway down  I sat down and watched the bird life and fish jumping.

 If you enlarge this photo and look hard in the right half you may see the Royal spoonbills all on a little island. They are very white.

 Just around that corner where the track disappears are mallard ducks , Paradise ducks and between 60 and 70 Canadian geese( poo machines ) ( the same ones that sometimes are around our side of the estuary, pooing everywhere )

 My walk took ages.....not because it is that far but because many neighbours were out in their gardens and they all greeted me and we chatted from a wide distance.

 The other thing that made today so nice was our kindest neighbour, who we share our bottom boundary with ( through the rope fence ) said she was going to the supermarket tomorrow morning and would be happy to pick up a few things for us.

 I decided to say yes cause she is not going out of her way and I haven't been to the supermarket since the 13th of March!  

 We would never have starved but we may have run out of a few things like dish washing liquid etc.

 R mowed all the grass around the mailboxes and pavilion and communal ground today, so that was useful.

 While I was out near the front gate a fresh delivery van came  in - sitting beside the lady driver  who waved was a huge big blue teddy bear! 

Day 11.

Today's flower is a lemony yellow gerbra. It struggled during the really hot weather ( being quite newly planted ) but with water and time it now seems happy. No perfume but delightful flower face.

 This morning we had a successful 30 minute SKYPE with friends in Lethbridge in Canada. It was a good connection and didn't freeze or drop out so that was a good catch up.

This is not a good photo because all the light is outside but I wanted to show you that my Ted is joining all the other bears around the world even tho he's at the upstairs window and only one neighbour has spotted him. The driveway is quite long and there aren't many little kids. He shows up best at night when the light is on .( I took photos but they are not good. )

This is a progress shot. I am making Hot Cross buns. Here they are rising. I used the bread maker to get the dough to this stage.

 Today in NZ there are 1039 cases of Covid - 19     180 have recovered and still just 1 death.
 Stay safe stay busy everyone.

Day 10.

Good to hear the recipe worked.
 Today's flower is a close up of a double Snapdragon or more properly an Antirrhinum. The group of them in different colours have been flowering for an extended time under a cherry tree. They just go on and on.They must be happy in that position as I have often grown them but never had them flower for so long.

 I took some photos when I went on my walk around the closest loop. Usually you see pics when the tide is in . Not today. The walk can be taken in either direction.

 Today I went up the sloping driveway and turned right, then  walked along the short side street , before disappearing down between a gap in the end hedge. Shortly the path comes to this nicely shaded part.

 There is lots more of the same. Some in the sun some in the shade. Around corners up and down slopes.

 At the other end   the track opens out to the bottom flat beside the estuary.

This grassed area belongs to 3 neighbours ( no fences ). In the middle of the photo below is where our bottom flat starts ( further on passed the orange kayak ) 

When it gets to these trees is is our garden. The water and jetty is down to the left in this pic.

 If you look across the grass you can just see the rope fence between us and the next neighbour.  Take a right turn just before the fence and climb up the hill to our next level of garden.

 As you climb this slope there are fruit trees and other trees on both sides. The avocado trees are at the top of the photo.

 There are you puffing?

I  hope you are in good health and doing some daily exercise.

Day 9.

A low growing compact wee dahlia that has flowered all summer long. ( no nice perfume tho )

 For those of you who remember my walnut tree on the orchard this walnut tree provides a much reduced and more manageable task for me. I think we will cherish them more than when we had so many.( the quality isn't quite as good tho ) 

 Tonight as part of our dinner I am making battered silver beet. If you don't have much it makes silver beet go a long way OR if like me you have more than 2 people can easily eat it is an alternative way to use it.

 Make any batter you already know how to make and thin it till it stays on the ripped up pieces of leaves and doesn't all run off,   then fry it in hot oil. Eat immediately while still crisp.( only use the green bits ) I think kids quite like it like this too.

 Beautiful weather here again. Stay safe stay sane.

Day 8.

 Thanks for your comments it is encouraging me to post every day. I forgot to say yesterday that we have now lived in Bay of Plenty for 42 years. We moved here from Taranaki on April 1 1978.

 Today's flower is Alyssum. Not a showy one but great as a ground cover around other plants. It self seeds well too. This was a packet of mixed pastel colours.

I got to these feijoas before anything else chewed them.They were warm lying in the sun when I picked them up. Yum.

 I did some baking today.

Chewy Fruit Slice.

 Here it is in the sponge roll tin . It needs pressing down flat but is quite a sticky mixture.

 This is my trick for doing that without wasting any stuck to your hand. Wrap a small piece of glad wrap around your fingers and it doesn't stick at all.

 It is seriously yummy. Here's the recipe.

1 1/2 cups of flour ;  1 tsp of baking powder. ; 2 cups  dried fruit ( apricots sultanas etc ) ;

1 egg; 1 cup of sugar; 150 grams of butter; 1 tblsp of golden syrup ; 1 cup of coconut.

 Method: Melt butter and sugar and golden syrup. Let cool. Add egg and beat in. Mix into dried ingredients . Press into a greased or lined flat tin ( sponge roll tin )   

 Bake 20 -30 minutes at 180 degrees C.         Watch the first time you make it as ovens are all different. ( mine took less time ) 

 Cool then cut into slices. Keep refrigerated or better still freeze some of it as it's very tempting.

Day 7 .

A late dahlia that looks lemon here but turns white as it ages.

 Today's joint exercise was on the driveway. R trimmed the 2 port wine magnolia as far up as he could reach and cut back the small agapanthus. I did the picking up and sweeping. It was back breaking and really warm. Still it looks good now ...... the drive is 2 feet wider.

 My knitting progress. I'm about to change back to the grey.

Do  stay safe.

Day 6.

Little yellow marigolds in a pot. As it is a smallish pot they need water every second day or they wilt.

 There were lots of chores I could have decided to do this afternoon but I said no do something you'd like to do, so I sat at one of the outdoor tables and knitted for quite a while.

 This is the view I had.

This is looking in to where I was sitting.

( We have 2 glass fishing floats hung up here . They were found on the beach north of Patea,off the edge of our property where we lived on the family  farm when we first got married in the late 60s.) 

 My knitting grew by an inch or more on each part. ( I'm doing 2 sides at once to make sure they match exactly. 

Hope you are all okay still.

Day 5.

This little Chrysanthemums has been flowering in the garden for weeks. I just keep it dead headed and on it goes.

 We had a dribble of milk going off in the fridge  I decided to make pikelets ( my recipe requires souring milk - usually I add a dash of vinegar to turn it )  out of it.

 Neither of us take milk in our tea or coffee so I mainly keep milk for cooking and visitors cuppas. There won't be any visitors.! I made a double batch and put most in the freezer.

 We had a long thunder storm last night which gave us a little rain! We are grateful for that.

 Hope you are all okay out there.

Day 4.

                     Thanks for commenting Ladies.
 So sad to read this afternoon that the first NZer has died of Covid - 19. A lady in her 70s in Greymouth in the South Isalnd ( West Coast )

 This shows some of the road where I walk. That's a friend's house on the right. I live further up and around a corner to the right. It's always quiet but now even quieter on our road.

Day 3.

 Very bright Zinnias give my heart a lift. No nice perfume but the colour makes up for that.

 Someone in our subdivision ( gated community ) suggested we were all at risk of catching the virus from our mail boxes. If the mail man or the mail was infected or any of the box owners there was potential to spread it along  all of us if we collected the mail.

 The boxes are situated inside our communal gateway that leads out to the main highway.

 When I walk I take a walking stick - not cause I need it to walk but in case I meet an unattended dog ( s) ( I started this long ago when I used to walk in the Quarry Park behind where our orchard was.) ( so for self defence ) 

 Yesterday I found I could use the bottom of my stick to open the mail box. There was mail inside so I returned to the house and collected a spray bottle of meths and a cotton glove and a large paper bag. I returned to the mailbox and sprayed it ( it's plastic )  I put the glove on my right hand and removed the mail and dropped it into the paper bag. When I got home I tipped it all on the concrete and sprayed the plastic wrapping around the Sky watch magazine. I sprayed the other paper articles and left them to dry in the sun. I put the paper bag in the incinerator.

 This is rather a rigmarole so from now on I will collect the mail only when I know there is some or on Mondays if the Listener has been sent ( or a proper snail mail letter ).

How are you all coping?

Day 2.

Another rose with a lovely perfume sitting on my bench. ( Abraham Darby )

One of the projects ( if you could call it that ) I'm doing  is to cut up all scraps in my scrap bin into usable squares 1.5 up to 5" or into long strips. I'm doing some each day.

 I cooked a very large savoury scone that will be cut into wedges . Any left will be frozen.

 On my walk I did pass 2 neighbours going the other way. We stayed on our separate sides of the road and called out greetings to each other.

A different Normal - Day 1.

I don't normally go out much but this is different. Lockdown means I'm  ( we ) ( everyone ) not allowed to go out being an older person and ( non essential ) makes me feel a bit useless and selfish but I do understand why it is necessary.  I can still smell the roses and go for a walk around our very quiet gated community. Today I walked just before lunch in some sunshine  and was able to chat across the road to some other folk and the mail man. Out on the main highway the trucks to and from Auckland are thundering by...delighted I'm sure to be travelling on near empty roads (they were probably going too fast ? )
 I have been doing lots of planning to make sure our supplies last as long as possible. Having a bread maker and a big supply of flour I intend to make foccacia bread every 2nd or 3rd day to keep the Vogels and Molenberg for toast.

This one just ready for the oven.  R is quite a good cook to and takes his turn when he feels like it. We have a very full freezer altho most fresh veges are coming to and end.

Tomorrow would have been my Patchwork and Quilting group day but that is off for the foreseeable future so I will make every effort to work on a project at home.
 I have also been into my knitting supplies and decided I will start a vest for littlest grandson.
 It is quite worrying how indispensable our TV, phones and computers have become...our lifelines.
 Please all keep posting about how you are managing.
Skype Grandchildren don't create much mess do they!

Guest Speaker.

Yesterday at our patchwork and Quilting group meeting we had a guest speaker - Liz Wilson who is a textile artist and dyes fabric and works in mixed media.She showed us many dying techniques using indigo and Japanese traditions. She also dyed  paper using garden leaves and below on a 

re purposed white shirt using grasses seed heads 

 She also dyes and sells silk scarves using indigo  tying , marbling and and eco prints.

****

 There have been some interesting moon risings these past few nights, causing the high tides. 

Harvesting and Gardening.

 This is the last of the peaches. We have eaten them raw and I have poached and frozen some and given others away. ( most develop rots within 48hours of picking ) So work fast!

 The William bon Chretien pears ( also known as Bartlett pears in NZ ) have been prolific but I picked this final lot as the wasps and birds were making them disappear too fast. After a short while these will begin to change to yellow and are very juicy and sweet. They are nice raw or cooked.

 Lots of pulling out of vege plants that have done their thing. Tomatoes particularly. I am clearing all plants from the unsightly old poly house. R is going to pull it down and replace with a smaller structure.

In the flower garden, which is just hanging in there because of watering restrictions, I am planting a few new daffodils and freesias.

 At the moment we are getting really high tides.

 So far since we have lived here the jetty has never been underwater but apparently it has happened ;the neighbours have photos.

Show and Tell.

Today at Patchwork and Quilting Group we had Rosemary Heath talk to us about Indonesian fabrics including samples of Polong, Songket and Ikat and where she had got them from and  how they are made.

 There was quite a bit of Show and Tell today after the break for holidays. I was able to show my finished dressing table runner which turned out well. Looks quite at home on the dining room table as well.

 My first completed project for 2020.

A Little Sewing.

At Katipatch a fortnight ago I bought a couple of fabrics I really liked.
 I am using one to make a dressing table runner.

The photo doesn't show off the shine all the dots have. It sparkles.

( in fact it kills the fabric's appeal ) 

 I have edged it with a fabric that also has sparkly spots.   I made the ends wider to get the length I wanted and I am putting appliqué seahorses at each end.

 I think I will back and bind it with the green fabric.

 I am at the stage of sewing them down.

( You can almost see the sparkle in this shot )

 I am pleased with how it is going so far and it is a quick project to get me back to patchwork/ sewing / quilting.

Still no useful rain. The proper lawn grass is the colour of this type. We have kikuyu  on some areas (and rubbish grass) which has stayed green. It is making gardening very tricky as we don't want plants to die. I am saving all sorts of used water for it.