The little brown dog.

Lucky, otherwise known as our little brown dog. 14 years old now. Insulin dependent diabetic for the last 15 months. Partially blind and nearly totally deaf. Still the love of our lives. Bounds around and never ceases to amaze us.

We adopted this boy 12 years ago. He was an abandoned dog and the vet said he was about two years of age when we got him. He is the most fabulous boy. Hardly barks, very well behaved, loves people and other dogs. Always wags his tail and has a very happy disposition even with the blindness and deafness.  Has two injections daily and they don’t seem to worry him greatly thank goodness.

Had some trouble trying to do my last post Wishing for rain. Only managed to get the photo of my Cafe au Lait Dahlia on. Was doing it on my iPhone, not sure if that was the problem or not. This is being done on the iPad and seems to be working ok.

As for the wishing for rain, there is no rain. The odd showers here and there, but that’s it. So very dry here in my part of North Central Victoria. The warm weather just doesn’t want to take a hike yet.

That’s all for this post. Take care.
Liz...

Wishing for rain.

Where has the time gone?

I can’t believe it’s been something like 4 years since I last wrote on this blog. I can’t really remember why I stopped posting. I feel as though it had something to do with the hours that I worked and that time wasn’t there to devote to keeping this blog going. I also had health issues.

I cut down some days at work, so I now only do 4 a fortnight. My health issues are better. Only thing wrong now is my right foot which I have a number of issues with, but other than that, all is still peachy.

My garden is looking great, my sewing not so great. Bought a brand new sewing machine a couple of years back and haven’t really used it to it’s full potential. I keep telling myself that when I fully retire I will get so much done that I will astound myself. Well, I am semi retired now and no sewing gets done. Ho hum.

I have no idea who will read this or who is still posting from all those years ago. The people that I followed then and who followed me, may not do this anymore. I would like to think some of them still communicate through blogging.

Oh well, it will be what it will be.

Bye for now.

Liz...😊

A nice start to the day.

G'day. A friend from work was telling me about the fruit smoothies she has been having for her breakfast and as I find it hard to have a good breakfast because of the early hour I get up, I decided to give these a go.  I have added rolled oats to mine. Just the plain old rolled oats, not the ones with fruit added, though I suppose it wouldn't make much difference. This one that I had this morning has a banana as well as some mixed berries, oats, some low fat yogurt, a cup of skinny ( low fat ) milk and a small amount of honey. This is a delicious and healthy start to the day. 

If it's a work day,  I have my breakfast at about 5.00am.  So I need something that is filling. This does the trick. I was surprised at how long I went today without feeling hungry. I have already made up the one for tomorrow morning. It is in the fridge waiting for me to enjoy. I didn't think hubby would appreciate hearing the sound of my stick mixer whirring away at that early hour. Plus I don't have time for fiddling around. 

Second photo is of the raggy bathmat I made last week. I have been meaning to make one for some time, but have been lazy and kept putting it off. Well, last Wednesday when I got home from work I started cutting out the squares and had the whole thing finished in 2 hours. It is only 4 rows long and was quick and simple to do. I just cut up an old towel for the backing. Must admit it looks good in my shabby chic bathroom and it will look even better when it's been washed a few times and frayed some more.  Even hubby liked it. 

All is well in my little corner of the world. Still go to the hospital on a regular basis. But other than that, all is just peachy. 

Take care.

Liz...

Good things, sad things.

G'day. I am going to start with the good things. I felt like having a bit of fun with the sewing machine and using some of the fabric that I seem to have accumulated over the years. I decided to make some new placements for my lovely shabby chic table. This table is the one I have been working on for some time, it is now finished. It was to be my outdoor table, but it is just too pretty to have out there, so it  and the six chairs are now in my dining area and the one from there has now gone outside waiting for me to shabby chic that at some stage. 

I wanted placemats that were quirky, pretty and not perfect. I cut the fabric all different sizes, some are longer than others, some are more mug mat size. None are perfect, only one is truly square. Some are puckered from the heavy free motion quilting, some don't lie really flat, but all of that is just fine by me. It was just a bit of fun and they do look good on the pink table top. I am one short, that might get made in the next day or so and I may even make some small mug mats to go with them. 

Now for the sad.  One of my best friends and her family lost their best friend last Friday.  Their much loved and adored dog had to be put to sleep. Albert was 13 years old and really was the light of their lives. I know how much hubby and I love our little dog, but rarely have I seen such devotion like Albert enjoyed. He couldn't have asked to be more loved or cared for during his life. I know they are inconsolable. Albert was such a huge part of their lives, he will be greatly missed. 

Take care.

Liz...

Just saying hello..

G'day. Well, we have had some much needed rain over the last two days. It has been just fabulous. Always great when I don't have to go out and water the garden. I am still travelling to the hospital for my treatments. Had a colonoscopy a couple of weeks back and that showed that I have an Adenoma, which is a tubular growth in the colon. It was benign, but may turn cancerous somewhere down the track. So, regular colonoscopies for me now. Other than that all is just peachy in my beautiful part of the the world.

I have the most gorgeous Hydrangea bush in the front garden. When I bought it a couple of years ago, the flowers were the most glorious blue. I never worried about trying to keep the colour or change the colour as you can do, by putting stuff in the soil around it. I just wanted to see how it would go if I left it.  When it flowered late last year, the flower heads were huge and some were blue, some were a mixture of pink and a bluey purple, some had a tinge of white. It was amazing. I haven't trimmed the flower heads off it yet as I quite like the look of them as they age and the colours that they turn. The red and green and russet look really good. I have 4 Hydrangea bushes now and they never cease to amaze me. Three are in very large pots and I just love them. 

They are an old fashioned plant. I can remember my grandmother growing them and my mother also had a few. I think they have made a bit of a resurgence over the last few years, though I guess they wouldn't suit every garden, or every gardener for that matter. They are also very easy to propagate from.  I had a friend visit last Sunday and I had not long picked the roses and the hydrangea blooms and when she saw them she asked me if the hydrangea's were fake. She had to touch them to be sure they were real ! 

Take care.

Liz...

It's been on hold for a while, but it's nearly finished.

G'day. My outdoor setting is nearly completed. I have really been dragging my feet on getting it done. As you can see, there is still one blue chair. I can't decide if I should leave it or paint it pink like the other end one. I am a pink girl and I had half a can of the paint left over from painting the large kitchen dresser that houses all my sewing stuff. But, I do like the colour of the blue and there are a few blue things in this undercover area. You can't see by this photo, but the table has been rubbed back in parts so that the white paint underneath shows through. It is very shabby chic now. It looks ok, but I am very undecided about that blue chair....to paint pink or not !!! I have left the legs of the end pink chair, white, so would do the same with the blue chair should it end up pink. What do you think?? 

I have even been thinking of painting one of my garden seats pink. That would really jazz up the garden, don't you think. !! I have seen it done and it can look fabulous. Oh decisions, decisions. 

Hubby had a tooth out last Wednesday and has been in terrible pain ever since. He even thought the dentist had taken out the wrong tooth. But,it seems he has what is called "dry socket" that is when a blood clot doesn't form, leaving the bone and nerves exposed. The pain has now gone all along the jawline ,up the back of his head and into the back of his neck. No pain killers seem to ease it. The dentist just said to wash the mouth out with warm salty water 4 or 5 times a day and take Panadol. He is the proverbial bear with a sore head. 

Take care. 

Liz...