Some Light

For those of you who may have wondered, I am still here.


Looking back through my previous (and quite limited) posts, I have certainly lost my enthusiasm for all the things that I loved working on and sharing regularly. Other than making a quilt for a new baby nephew and finishing off a custom cushion order, I've barely picked up a needle and thread. Covid along with all of the national and international border closures has absolutely turned our lives upside down and inside out. 

So what's been happening around here? Well, spring has well and truly arrived and the garden is awake! I picked some sweet peas this morning, which are normally ready a little later in the season. I guess they get the right amount of sunshine on their tops and cool moisture at their roots.


The lemon trees are full of fruit and even though we've used up and given away bags full of lemons, we still have a lot there.


I started out with a few cuttings of Aeonium and they've well and truly taken hold and are full of flowery babies, ready to cut and plant out. 


I have about a dozen large aeonium plants dotted around the garden and they seem to survive, no matter what.

Another plant which seems to thrive around here is lavender. We pulled out some old bushes which had become very woody and planted some new little bushes which have begun to flower. The bees are in flowery lilac heaven.



I bought a Mabel Grey Geranium plant at the end of last summer because the leaves have a very strong lemon scent. If you brush past them, the scent is just lovely. This year, they've bloomed for the first time and this makes me extraordinarily happy.



My little girl turned thirteen last week and I am now the mother of teenagers. How did that happen? In what seems like the blink of an eye, they went from toddlerhood to teenagehood and the rest of it was a blur in between. To celebrate her birthday, we had some of her friends come to the house for an ice-cream buffet and some very loud and competitive 'Just Dance' party. 


Even though they're (mostly) teenagers and "too cool" for most things, they seemed to forget this as they devoured platters of fairy bread and rummaged around the garden, looking for the sweets that were bashed out of the pinata we'd set up in the backyard. 

My son got his first job at the golden arches and has been steadily learning the ropes. I'm so proud of this kid. He came home the first few times with burns from the fryers, but that didn't stop him from wanting to work. He used some of his hard earned money to buy himself a drone. Now he just needs to learn how to fly it.

Speaking of flying, DH took him up for a fly in a small airplane last week and he's well and truly sure that he wants a job in aviation, just like dad. With no international flying right now, hubby has been spending more time at the local air school and getting back into training to be an instructor (just like he used to do when he first started flying over 20 years ago). This has helped him a lot and after many months of uncertainty and bleakness, I'm beginning to see his joy return.

Me? I'm running around chasing my tail. After being on the go for the last few months, I gave myself yesterday and today off and for the first time in ages, I enjoyed spending a day in my sewing room and not going anywhere. 

I even started a new project, so there is some light.




20 comments

  1. Oh I can smell those sweet peas ! Gorgeous.....
    Your garden is looking great.
    In spite of Covid you have been keep busy.
    Pleased you got to spend time In the sewing room.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Maria, thanks for stopping by. I do love sweet peas and I've noticed that I seem to have a lot of purple flowers in the garden - this is completely unintentional :)
      Hope you're having a lovely day x

      Delete
  2. beautiful garden ! and yay on the career in aviation! Glad your husbands joy is coming back -all the uncertainty has really effected every industry. What are some of your favorite uses for your lemons?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hiyah Alycia, oh I'm a sucker for most citrusy things. I usually end up using the lemons in meals and baking... Mmmmm lemon drizzle cake.... I usually make up lots of lemon butter which stores okay for a while in the fridge.
      We made limoncello this season too, but just need to sweeten it up with some sugar syrup.

      Delete
  3. Beautiful garden! All my perennials are slowly dieing as the leaves change for fall coming. I live in Oconomowoc wi, usa.
    I too, can't go into my sewing room. I have wasted 6 months of valuable time. I hate myself for not sewing. It's what I dreamed about and now that's here, I do nothing. My mom died in March, last funeral in her church since covid strikes. Yes, I know I need time to mourn but this is ridiculous! My 3 other siblings have moved on. I can't. She was my best friend and I still cry everyday. Maybe cause I lived with her near the end of her life? It was only 3 months. I was honored to take care of her. She died of liver cancer. I need to sew. My soul needs to sew. Why can't I? Enough venting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry to hear of your mum's passing and I can completely understand that you're finding it difficult to move on and get back into your sewing. Please don't beat yourself up about it and take as long as you need to mourn your loss. You can always sew tomorrow, or the next day, or even the next xx

      Delete
  4. Glad to hear that you got back into your sewing room. Just having a quiet play day can be quite therapeutic. Belated birthday wishes to the birthday girl and glad to hear that hubby has found a new path.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quiet sewing days are some of the best therapy. My birthday girl is still trying to milk extra special treatment because it's her birthday month *insert big eye roll here*. Hope you're well :)

      Delete
  5. Ok I have to ask what is fairy bread and how do you make it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL Fairy Bread is an Aussie birthday party tradition. Usually, it's something we make for toddler parties, but sometimes, teenagers need to be reminded that they're not adults just yet too.

      Fairy bread is simply buttered soft white sliced bread sprinkled with 100's and 1000's (rainbow sprinkles).

      Delete
  6. Sweeeet Anorina. I know the feeling. Here in the US it is exhausting, even though we do less.. being so careful is stressful
    I am happy that your garden looks so good and yes, those kids grow so quickly
    Start sewing again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, you said it perfectly. Being careful (especially for such a long period of time) can be super exhausting. I hope you're well my friend xx

      Delete
  7. lovely plants in the garden.... it's not surprising energy is down during these times... I am amazed at how resilient most of us are being..... hope you find some fun creative time as I know it will be good for yiu.....
    Hugz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Fiona. Yes, I think we've all been doing very well at accepting the rules and going with the flow. I hope you're well and enjoying some spring sunshine xx

      Delete
  8. Your flowers are beautiful! I'm glad you said hello :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oops I lost my comment,lol,we can see our children and grand children again after midnight tonight and we can go for a drive,glad I don't live in Melb they are still in stage 4 for another 6 weeks take care my friend xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your garden looks lovely, and the joy of having lemons in your garden! I have hardly done any any sewing myself, or much cross stitch either recently. I don't seem to be so good at concentrating. At the moment anything that happens is a bonus. x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your garden is glorious and having sweet peas on the table will brighten any day. I've been wondering how your husband was faring with the extreme loss of flights - so glad to hear he's finding some joy in teaching others to fly. And also excited to hear of your son's intent to pursue a career in aviation - so much first hand knowledge from dad. xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm sorry for the funk you've been in, but also glad you have your husband and children to keep you occupied. Your garden is so lovely, and I'm pea-green over all those lemons! I'd love to have some... if only we were closer. :-) It's nice that your son has his first job and already seems to be thriving. And that your hubs and son are flyers. Wow. Going anywhere by airplane is that last thing I'd choose to do, but I've learned out of necessity, how to emotionally handle it when fear gets the better of me. It's not easy to overcome, so I admire those who seem to take flying in stride. Now to get you "back in stride" in your sewing room! I wish you well, and that you find something of such great interest that you're motivated and excited to create.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment. I truly appreciate the time you've taken to leave me a message. I will attempt to answer comments via email.