Merry Christmas

From my home to yours

Merry Christmas to you and your family and may 2018 be full of love, laughter and contentment.

Wrist update

Thank for all the kind comments regarding my recent operation. It's been two months and I'm very slowly gaining the use of my fingers. Typically everything was not straightforward and I ended up with a 2cm bone graft, a plate, lots of screws and the tendon on my thumb released. Needless to say it has taken quite a while to get some feeling back. I'm doing lots of exercises and having hand therapy weekly which is really helping. When the slab cast come off I was quite depressed as I had so little movement. Now four weeks on, I can wash my hair and hold light things in my left hand. During this time we have received help from Blue Care. I don't know how we would have coped without these lovely ladies. They have been coming in to cook one and half hours a week. I then freeze the meals into serving portions. Unfortunately PH has very limited kitchen skills and we ate a lot of pizza before this service started.  They also vacuum and wash the floors once a fortnight which saves PH's back. You just don't know what help is out there until you do some research.

We've had some very hot days here on the Granite Belt. My poor plants are really feeling it. Luckily even though the dam is very low our tanks are still quite full. We try to be as economical as possible with our water use.

Sorry it's been so long since my last post but hopefully I'll be back to normal soon.

Here are a few photos of things around our home.

Our first beetroot crop

These are the flowers of a succulent. (one of our mystery plants)

Our pumpkin, zucchini and rhubarb in our refurbished bed.

Rain at last

I'm not sure if other people feel the same way but I'm certain the closer we come to the end of the year the faster the days go by. It's almost four weeks since I broke my arm, yet it feels like only a few days. Admittedly it's been a very busy few weeks with everything I do taking at least four times as long. Planting my spring veggies has been a challenge with one arm covered in a blue plastic bag while I try and hold up the little seedlings and backfill with the other. I've worked out that by putting my foot on my gloved hand I can get the glove off without asking for help. Amazing how such little things can give you a buzz.

 My new strawberry bed

Silverbeet & onions

Two weeks ago my dear friend Christine took me away for a beach holiday. It was lovely not to have to think about cooking for a whole week. We laughed and talked for hours on end. Christine and her husband Leo live in Ballarat so we don't get to spend much time together. We try to meet up for a few days every year. As I grow older I treasure the time I spend with my family and friends.

Lots of laughs with this girl 

We couldn't stop laughing at our bibs 

 Beautiful Pool but no swimming for me

 Loved all the tropical flowers

Beautiful gardens

Beautiful gentle rain has been falling for the last few days. Our house tanks are two thirds full and even the dam has come up a couple of inches. What a difference it makes. PH and I have been fertilising and mulching our fruit trees and working on getting the weeds out of the in ground garden bed. One thing I can do is pull weeds.

PH taking out the rubbish bins in his raincoat and ugg boots

Unfortunately my arm has not healed properly and I will need an operation this week. The orthopaedic surgeon at Toowoomba told me they need to shorten the bone and insert two plates. Hopefully that will give me near full use of my wrist and hand. The only thing I don't love about my new life is the distance to specialist medial practitioners. It's a two hour drive to Toowoomba and I will need to stay in hospital overnight so PH will stay in a motel that night. It gets very expensive. I'm  looking into travel allowances to get a little bit of money back. As they say "you can"t have everything" and I truly love our little paradise.

I hope you are all enjoying some of this wonderful rain. Spring is such a magical time here on the Granite Belt. Let me know how spring is in your part of the world. I'd love to read your comments.

 Leaves on our new apple tree

New growth on our old vines

My Contented Life

The past week has been filled with the wonders of spring and family visits. It has been a busy time but so enjoyable. Every morning when I go to check my trees and vines there is new growth. If we get rain I'm sure the whole yard will be a mass of blooms.

Our little home 

The last of the Camellias

It was so nice to have our daughter and her family here. Our son in-law helped PH moved the last of the rocks from under our fruit trees. It's amazing how much a young person can do in a couple of hours. It would have taken us days doing one tree at a time. He also helped construct a rock wall out the back. I feel I get to spend more quality time with them now we live further away. They really enjoy our area which makes me so happy. Our granddaughter loved driving the ride on mower. 

Big smiles

We are so lucky our neighbour keeps bees

Unfortunately before they left we were outside looking at the night sky when I stepped backwards and lost my footing. I now have a broken wrist. PH took me to Stanthorpe hospital and the very kind Doctor realigned and put a cast on. The staff were all lovely and I was home within two hours. They will put a new cast on tomorrow. I'm now just frustrated that I can't cut up my food and do the everyday jobs around the house. This is not my first break so I know the pain gradually goes away and I'll be able to do more before too long. In the meantime PH has taken up the slack and keeps me happy with nice cups of tea.

We both feel so happy and contented here in our little patch of paradise. It's wonderful to have finally found a place to call home.

As I was sitting at my computer this morning there was a thump on the window. I rushed out to see this little fellow lying very still. I grabbed a shoe box and carefully put him inside. He started to come too, so I sat it on the table out on the patio.

After around fifteen minutes he flew away. I was so happy he was ok. The only other time I've seen one of these kingfishers is on the day we moved in. They are such beautiful little birds.

Home and Away

On the home front, I've finally taken my first steps to meeting people in my new community. Moving away from friends has been a big social change. On the Gold Coast I'd go to Tai Chi and have coffee with my friends afterwards. Since moving I haven't done any formal exercise and I can really feel myself tightening up. Last Wednesday I finally joined an over 50s class. It was rather daunting to front up to the first class not knowing who or what to expect. Of course I needn't have worried the other participants were very friendly and the instructor tailored the movements to each persons abilities. Yesterday I enjoyed my class and met another couple new to the area. Now I will look forward to more group activities. Not having children at school means you have to put more effort into meeting people in a new area. Joining a garden club might be nice for PH and I. Next year I plan to be a volunteer and help with different community projects.

 Full moon last week

Last Thursday I drove down to Murwillumbah and stayed with my cousin on her little farm. It was so good to spend some time together. We visited the Swell sculpture festival at Currumbin on Friday. The local cafe gives away its food scraps to people with chickens so we collected one for her girls. What a great idea.

My cousin Lyn with one of her roosters

Wish my orange tree looked liked this one

Lyn has around 20 chickens and 3 turkeys 

On Saturday I went to my daughter's and helped her get ready for the big 18th. PH joined us for  the party. I really only did some running around my daughter is a great cook and her wonderful husband stoked up the BBQ. We had a great time celebrating this big milestone. How could 18 years go by so quickly. I am so proud, he has grown up to be such a beautiful person.

Proud Grandma

It was so nice to drive through the home gate on Tuesday. I couldn't wait to see what was happening in the garden. So much new growth. There are leaves on the peach and apple trees and the grapes are budding. It is so exciting. This is the first spring I've really experienced. It feels like Christmas morning every day.

Sydney

Our anniversary weekend was wonderful. We spent two days exploring and rediscovering this beautiful city. Our hotel was right in Darling Harbour and because we used our loyalty points it only cost us $58 for the two nights. The room was small but the view was spectacular.

The view from our room

On Saturday afternoon we walked around Darling Harbour. Then we indulged in a spot of people watching while enjoying a cool drink. It is such a busy vibrant place.

 Darling Harbour just before sunset

After a nice breakfast at our hotel we walked over Pyrmont Bridge to the Queen Victoria Building. I love this old building with it's beautiful mosaic floors and towering domes.

Pyrmont Bridge

The Queen Victoria Building decorated for spring

There is no trip to Sydney without a ride on the Manly ferry. It was a gorgeous sunny day and there were yachts all over the harbour. The Opera House sails were glittering in the sunshine.

At Manly PH and I enjoyed a walk and an ice cream before getting back on the ferry. There were so many people out and about for Fathers Day. It was lovely to see all the families enjoying themselves.

These two where having bath in the fountain at Martin Place

After such a big day we had a light dinner at our hotel and an early night. Poor PH is still complaining about his calve muscles hurting. He is not used to walking so far. Out to the shed is his preferred distance.

I am so thankful there are no Haigh Chocolate shops in Brisbane. I just can't resist them.

My favourites 

It was a long trip home and I was a bit nervous of the last section between Warwick and Stanthorpe which I call the road of bones because of all the kangaroos. I think next time we will stay with one of our children on the Gold Coast. It will save us the parking fees and we'd get to spend some time with them.

I hope you enjoyed seeing a little of Sydney. We love to travel and now we love coming home to our little acreage. I'll be off again tomorrow. It's my grandson's 18th this weekend so I'm couch surfing for five nights. Two with my cousin Lyn down near Murwillumbah and three staying at my daughters. PH will join me on Saturday for the big BBQ lunch. I love spending time with my family and friends, I miss them all so much. I'm lucky it's not too far to drive. It must be hard for families separated by states or countries.

Gratitude

I want to say a very big THANK YOU to everyone who has read my blog and especially to those who have left a comment. This is a huge learning curve for me and your interest and suggestions are very much appreciated.
Cheers Wendy

One of last years roses

Baking

I like to make my own food from scratch. Being gluten intolerant has been a challenge but it has increased my knowledge of what is in our packaged food. I grind most of my own flour from organic brown rice and buckwheat. It is so good to know exactly what we are eating.

Banana date and spinach muffins

Yesterday I made savoury and sweet muffins. I only keep a few out and freeze the rest. Then just take out one or two as we want them. It's just too temping to have them sitting in the cake tins. I also made a batch of lemon cordial for PH. I'm slowly getting him off diet cola. He also scored a nice thick custard. Busy day!

 Lemon cordial

Tomorrow we are going to Sydney for a couple of days. We're celebrating our anniversary and decided to do something special. It will be our first trip from the Granite Belt. Where we lived on the  Gold Coast we were 15 minutes from the airport. Now we are 3 to 4 hours away, depending on traffic and coffee stops. Can't have everything.

Thank you for reading my blog. It's so lovely to read your comments.

Beautiful Birds

Since moving to our small acreage we have been entertained by a large variety of wild birds. I was so excited to see my favourite King Parrots as well as Eastern and Crimson Rosellas. There are lots of small finches and honeyeaters too. Unfortunately we seem to have misplaced our Bird book in the move so have no idea what most of them are.

A pair of King Parrots

Eastern Rosellas in the Peach Tree

Our two favourite birds are "The odd Couple " as we have named them. We have been watching them come and go for the past few months. Sometimes they are with a few other Crimson Rosellas but mostly just hanging out doing their own thing.

Our beautiful Odd Couple 

We also have Magpies who delight us with there beautiful songs. The Currawongs love our Juniper Berries and have been feasting on them lately.

There is no early morning bathing for our feathered friends. Below 0 temperatures every morning so it takes a while for the  ice in the bird bath to thaw.

Rock sitting on solid ice in the bird bath

Our family of Wood ducks have not been around this week. I hope to get some photos of their new babies soon.

Would love to hear about the bird life in your neck of the woods.

Water

One of the main challenges of moving to the country is the lack of water. It's no longer turn on the tap and out it comes. We have to think of how much is left in the house tanks and dam.

When we arrived in February our two house tanks were full but the dam was very low. The dam is used for the orchid and gardens. Unfortunately because of an extreme hot spell we lost most of our fruit. It just fell off the trees with the leaves. At the end of March we got a little of the aftermath of cyclone Debbie which refilled the dam and topped up the tanks.

Since then not much rain has fallen and the dam is now looking very low.  If it gets much lower we won't be able to pump. I'd hate to loose our fruit again this year.

Just teasing us

To help conserve the water in our house tanks we take much shorter showers. I also put a bucket in the shower and use that water on my pot plants.

I'm so glad we put in the raised waterwise garden beds. All the veggies are looking happy and healthy.

Peas and Snow Peas

Spinach

Hopefully we will get some rain in September. I'd love to know how you manage your water in dry times.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Sunday Drives

When I was a child most Sunday afternoons were spent driving around Brisbane. Sometimes we'd go to Wynnum, where if I was really lucky I'd get a pony ride or in summer a swim in the big pool that was fed from the bay. Those memories are very special to me.

I'd love to see this old tradition come back into our busy lives. It's a lovely time for getting out and about in your neighbourhood or further afield. To connect with family and nature.

For the past few Sundays we have been exploring our new area. Last Sunday we headed south on a back road and came to Boonoo Boonoo (pronounced Bunner Boonoo) National Park. What a magical place.

I wonder what happened here

It was a beautiful day and the scenery was spectacular.

Platypus Creek

At the falls Lookout

Morgan's Gully

Dirt road though the forest

What a beautiful and relaxing way to end the weekend. I hope you enjoyed a Sunday Drive too.

I'd love to hear about the places you visited.