Highs & Lows

The last four or five weeks have been a bit turbulent around here. My mother-in-law has been in and out of hospital over the last three weeks, she's had epilepsy since she was 9 years old but she has not had a fit in 30 years until 3 weeks ago, thankfully she is out of hospital and the doctors think they have it back under control. So fingers crossed she will be safe and healthy for many more years to come. 

In amongst all of this a very close and deer friend had a hysterectomy, which didn't go according to plan and it was all very worrying for a little while. She too is out of hospital but has a very long recovery period ahead of her.

I love living out here on the farm and the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, but sometimes it can feel like a burden, especially when we are a long way from the people we love in times when they need us. We can't just pack up and take off for a few days because there are animals to look after and waters to check. It all came to an emotional head on Thursday and D & I made the 4 hour journey to our nearest city to visit S in hospital and then drove home that night. It was very tiring but I am very glad that we made the effort, sometimes a simple gesture can make such a difference.

Needles to say I mentally haven't been in the right place to work on my blankets, and I've found myself flitting from one thing to another without much motivation. So I redirected my attention to the garden and have spent weeks weeding, mulching and fertilizing, but I find that sometimes I put so much effort into the work that goes into the garden that I don't ever get to just be in it and enjoy it. So last week I took the time to enjoy my garden and appreciate all the hard work that I've put into it over the last four years.

This is one of my little garden projects which I completed last month. Inside the pipe is our rain gauge. When I tried to explain to D my vision to paint it purple he gave me a look like I was loosing my mind but he very cleverly didn't speak the words. This is the finished effect and the colour just turned out exactly like the picture in my mind, believe me that doesn't happen very often. 

Can you see whats behind the blue salvia? She is the newest member of our family and is a constant source of joy, and she's become a great play mate and companion for Jessie. 

This is my next garden project. I want to make this into a garden bench, but I'm waiting to find the perfect pieces of wood. I'm sure I'll find something lying around on the farm, when I do I'll share the finished result.

When I first came here 6 years ago there was no garden or lawn apart from some gum trees and a couple of Jacarandas, over the last 4 years I've been busily trying to create a garden on an open and exposed patch of land. Now my idea of a "bush/outback" garden includes gum trees, oleanders (which my husband hates) and bougainvilleas.

  I came across this plant in the nursery last week, it's called a butterfly bush, I've never seen one before but it was so beautiful that I thought I'd buy it and hope that it will grow here. So far so good. Sorry the picture isn't very clear but the wind picked up and was howling when I was trying to take the photo.

This was a rose, but 5 seconds later it was gone! Naughty girl Sally!

At the beginning of the week I was lacking the motivation to pick up the crochet hook, so I decided to look online for inspiration, I even joined Pinterest! I've decided to start printing off pictures and keeping them in a scrapbook so when I get I crochet block it can help me.

Bearing in mind I had hospitals on my mind I found this great idea on the Little Woollie blog.

I bought these bottles, which cost $1 each, what a bargain! 

And found some colours that I liked in my stash.

Consulted my references (sorry, but I can't work out how to turn this around)

And here are the results.

I took the middle one into S filled with flowers from the garden and it looked sunny and bright sitting in the hospital. I look forward to making many more of these little beauties.

Another project that I managed to finish is this rug.

I'm quite happy with it, but not 100%, but I think that it's a good first effort. And I must admit it amazed me how fast it worked up on a 12mm hook, but I enjoyed getting my hands back on my 4mm hook and have managed to finish some more squares for my blanket.

Sorry that this post is such a mishmash of topics, I think it's reflecting where my head is at right now. Hopefully I'll be a bit more organised next time.

Xxx