Howdy!
Hope you are all doing well wherever you are? Well in Sydney, on the beaches at least, we are having beautiful Winter weather, yes it is cold at night but in the day lovely.
I have had a cold this week…funny it just came on like lightning, so the last few days I have been taking it easy…today though I felt better and with the sun shining I decided to spend the day in the garden…I had the feeling that the sunshine would poof my cold into orbit…
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed myself…I love being outdoors…
I started the day in this little sun spot where the white bench sits…I needed sustenance before my day of digging and planting…what better excuse for a fried egg sandwich with home grown Rocket (Rocket from my garden I love you) and a good dousing of HP Sauce…I love drinking my tea here in the morning…you look up at the fig tree and it rustles in the breeze…
It felt just so quiet here today…everyone gone to school or work, the lovely neighbours away…I miss those days of having toddlers around...quite how did that stage go by so quickly?
When one girl is at home on her own and all is quiet strange things happen...she might lay on the grass face down trying to work out new settings on her camera taking 50 shots of the same blade of grass ;-)…
…and still be disappointed with the result…
and so do it again
on another one…
Talking of it being quiet ’round here, Miss BC and little Mr BC and I have been talking about getting a dog…another baby….or a dog?…I am guessing it’ll be the latter or I might have to do way too many favours.
Whaddya think?
Do you think a dog could come live in our cottage?…do you think it would survive with the white, or do you think I would have to tie it to the tree out the front?
There is much deliberation in this old cottage re: dog acquiring…you see the trouble with a dog is that I want one that looks pretty and doesn’t smell and Mr BC says that is absolutely ridiculous….he or she must preferably be chocolate, I’d go cream at a push…though I prefer no other chocolate brown in my life, in a doggie well I think it’s divine…and the fur…it must be silky…not kinda prickly or tight or curly…you know? Yes I know you don’t get a doggie on its looks, don’t even think about emailing me about that..I am already about a year behind on emails as it is :-)
Mr BC and Mr Teenage BC are being real stick-in-the-muds in the lil’ puppy department…Mr BC outright says no (as if he has a say poof!) and, get this, Mr Teenage BC reckons that it’ll just be more work for him (‘cos he does soooo much right now poof!)….truly, truly, truly, I kid you not, the teenager actually said that…those word actually came out of his mouth ‘more work’…ahem mate I might like to tell you that little bit of tidying up you do…well, that ain’t work sugar…
I dunno though a dog’s not just for Christmas right?
Anyway back to pots and flowers and pretties…I buy these terracotta pots all the time…Mr BC keeps asking why every time I go near the mall I come back with them….duh…that’s pretty obvious to me...a woman can never have enough terracotta, can she?
if you are in Australia I have found Bunnings to be the most economical place to buy them, though do please enlighten me if you know of somewhere better…
…I have them all around, I think I have shown you them before…but I don’t like them when they are new like this…don’t look right do they all new looking? They should come in vintage too ;-)
So going in today to give this place some Winter colour…pansies, sweet peas (love that) and my favourite, favourites who remind me of walks in the woods in Kent which I must just admit (close your ears my fellow dear Aussies gals) I miss like b*ggery (I don’t think I am allowed to say that in Blogland but boy I miss English slang too).
I also treated myself to Aloe Vera…yep you really know you are getting old when instead of buying lipgloss you buy plants…
I actually have a big one of these in the garden…one of the only things the previous hideous owners left apart from the trees…the trouble is it’s gone a bit…and this is the only way to describe it…ratty…I got talking to the woman in the nursery about it and she said that it’s pretty easy to take a cutting off…but to be honest, although I will do that too, this one was the way to go
…and I couldn’t resist these seeds with a name like that ;-)
I decided that I would try that yoghurt-on-the-pot thing…putting yoghurt on your terracotta enables them to age and get mossy…
So I whacked it on…you are meant to leave them, once you have smothered them in yoghurt, in a shady spot…(no I did not lick the brush)
I also had some bare root roses to put in…I haven’t yet received the David Austin ones…so these again are budget ones that I threw in my grocery trolley…too easy…I am SO pleased that the other ones survived in the sandy soil….these are round two…whoopee…this is how they look when you buy them bare rooted (the ones in the bag)…kinda really sad and twiggy and lonely…but last time it didn’t take long before they started sprouting and now I have real roses in this cottage!
I had herbs to plant and seeds too…I am loving Rocket right now (according to the Facebook BCer’s you might call that Arugula?)
…and the Spinach plus Mustard salads are thriving…
I am into the habit of every few weeks or so putting another row in meaning that we have salad out here most of the time..
and we have a little crop of carrots…I pulled one out and ate one, right there among the dirt…
oh wowza…how can a lowly carrot taste like h e a v e n!
don’t ask me, but it does…
…once the kiddos came home, the resident tea maker, that would be Mr Teenage BC, made tea…oh how hard he works…imagine if he had to WALK a doggie too!!!!!
and then onto more sowing…I love the little packets…
and I love little pots of things dotted around….
I came across a heap of these fellas…I don’t mind them too much…
…all I keep thinking here is they’re a whole lot better than a snake or a Redback!
I swear there is a snake in this backyard, I can feel it in the water….;-)
I was done for as the sun went down…you kinda feel tired and achy but in a good way….I love that feeling when you have been out in the fresh air, hands in the earth all day…digging and planting and mooshing…don’t you?
OK I gotta cut loose here, there is a bath running, everyone is tucking up for the night, I have a lil’ drinkie-poo and I have not one but four blog posts to catch up on with my favourite blog…
…b l i s s
…nothing better than soaking gardening bones while reading blogs in the bath is there?
See ya around kiddos…
You are so right a girl can never have enough terracotta pots!
I have heard that mixing some garden fertilizer (preferably cowlike in origin) through the yoghurt makes it a bit of stinky job but the pots age very fast very beautiful then. I have a number of pots that I am going to try that on soon, I think.
Glad you are feeling better.
I have a doggy, hes cream and white and black, he has short smooth soft velvety coat and his ears feel like a bunnies ears, he keeps me company and makes me smile when I am down. He licks my face when I am poorly or if I hurt myself, he asks for no more than the odd treat, a walk or two a day, his breakfast and diner and water. he is simple, yet complicated. He sometimes doesn’t come back when he’s called because he’s too busy eating some dead fish on the beach, he likes raiding my food baskets overy so often and he can’t be in the car in hot weather so that means booking him in somewhere if I & my hubby go away, and all the doggy sitters get so full up around here.
It’s sometimes hard work but the walks can be great because it’s time let your mind be free, I have some of my best ideas and relax time walking him.
His name is George and he’s a Beagle, stubborn but very affectionate. http://mellielang.com/2010/08/06/my-beagle-asleep/
That sounds so wonderful. I would love to have a dog like George but we are in a unit at the moment and can’t even have pet fish! Can’t wait to buy a house and start our pet ‘family’.
Here’s a recipe I found online that creates moss on things.
Moss paint…to grow moss.
What you will need:
•One or two clumps (small handfull) of moss.
•2 cups of buttermilk. (you can substitute with yogurt/vegan yogurt can be used)
•2 cups of water (or beer)
•1/2 tsp. sugar.
•Corn syrup. (optional)
Steps:
1.Gather up as much moss as you can find or buy.
2.Wash the moss to get as much soil out of the roots as possible.
3.Break moss apart into manageable pieces and place in a blender.
4.Add the buttermilk/yogurt, water/beer and sugar. Blend the mixture until completely smooth. You’ll want it to have a paint-like texture. (If the mixture is at a consistency where you feel it will drip, add corn syrup until the consistency you desire is reached)
5.Use a paintbrush to apply the moss-paint to the surface on which you wish your design to grow.
**If possible, check back weekly to either spray the design with water (to encourage moss growth, especially if you live in a dry environment) or apply more moss-paint.
wow thanks Lois, looks interesting!
xo
I have a 12# mini-dachshund that is short haired reddish brown and adorable. She was “used” (I say that with gritted teeth because the thought of her in a cage for 6 years doing nothing but breeding and making cute puppies to sell at high price malls makes me crazzzzzzzzzzzy!) in a puppy mill in Kentucky and rescued after they were finished with her. I saw her on Petfinders, a wonderful search site online in the USA (maybe you have something similar?) She has been with me a year and a half and yes, she sheds a bit, and she requires a bit of attention but mostly she snuggles, burrows under the sheets at night and can be found on her blankey on the sofa most of the day. Her name is Daisy (Maisy Doodlebug…) and she is absolutely GREAT to have around the house!
Greyhounds are wonderful breeds and have great temperaments with kids…. then there are Labs…. so goofy and so sweet.
Can you tell that I am a dog lover Sarah?
I can! thanks for the advice… x
I can second that! I have a miniature longhair dachshund, and even though he is still a puppy (under a year), he is fully house trained, knows exactly where to sit to let me know he needs to go outside and despite being longhair, he sheds remarkably little! He loves going on excursions, chasing the waves and wind at the beach, but most of all he loves to snuggle, being white, he leaves no marks— perfect whitewashed beach cottage dog! And if you must have a fleck of chocolate, you can always get a chocolate piebald dachshund……just saying!!
thanks!
Your photos are really beautiful and so creative! Simple yet attractive and full of sense. Just discovered your blog… see you soon.
Hello Sarah,
I just cam across this post regarding the “doggy question”. I have 2 little boys (aged 7 and 8) and we adopted a Jack Russell puppy a year ago. I have 3 white slipcovered sofas in my home, dropcloth slipcovered ottoman and chair, and white slipcovered dining chairs, and a gorgeous white quilt on my bed. When I had the boys people thought I was daft with the white . . . and I proved them wrong. Ditto the little terrier. I do not wash my slipcovers any more with our four legged man around, no ma’am. I know from experience that if my white covers can survive fort-building, peanut butter sandwiches, yoghurt and oops, red wine, it will certainly out-live a doggie.
He’s also a DELIGHTFUL companion and we adore him . . . which helps and of course goes a long way!! :>)
Adore the pic of you with you on your bench in your cute little boots holding a cup of tea. ♥ Happy gardening!