Category Archives: Blogging

Salvage or Not?

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I discovered recently that some clothes can be salvaged and others can really only be destined as waste or recycling if you have access to textile recycling facilities.

First, a pair of GMan’s shorts which he managed to splash with a substance containing bleach and you can see the results near both side seams below the pockets.

The fabric is sound and they in otherwise fairly reasonable condition so I decided I had nothing to lose and coloured in the affected spots with a black permanent marker. The result is far from perfect, however, the marks are considerably less noticeable than before.

GMan will continue to wear them for everyday wear.

A top of mine had a different fate. I bought a very fine knitted top for $5 secondhand almost exactly 2 years ago. According to the label it was linen. Anyway, it had been gradually getting thinner in the underarm area and I suspect that was was why it had been donated in the first place. It has finally become unwearable so I have added it to the pile for textile recycling. The photo shows a close-up of the multiple small holes under one arm and the other side was in a similar state.

This is my last post here for about a month as we are now on holidays and I will be posting here.

De…………..

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I have been considering doing a series of posts on decluttering – the how, why and when etc but I think that is going to have to wait until well into January as we are about to head off overseas for 5 weeks so my focus will be my travel blog, Somewhere, Anywhere. Please consider subscribing if you would like to follow along on our adventures.

In the meantime, here is something to get you thinking. I could not have said it better myself.

There will probably be another post or 2 here before we depart on Monday.

Countdown

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Almost 2 weeks since my last post. While I haven’t been writing there seems to have been plenty to keep me occupied. Sometimes it is difficult to get motivated to write as I am loathe to repeat myself and after 14.5 years of blogging it can begin to feel like more of the same. However, in a lot of respects our lives and routines are remarkably repetitive.

The spring weather is as unpredictable as ever with days that hint of the coming summer interspersed with others that feel like winter. Nevertheless, we are enjoying the spring flowers and fresh foliage growth. The fleeting nature of spring flowers makes them particularly special as we have a small window to enjoy them before they are gone for another year. The daffodils are finished but the wisteria are looking their best this week.

Like every year, 2025 seems to be gathering speed as we race towards the end of the year. We no longer have work Christmas parties, end-of-year school activities or even a huge focus on a family Christmas but the countdown to Christmas has crept up on me.

We had a short break last week and spent 3 nights at Walhalla, about 3 hours east of Melbourne. It is a historic gold-mining town which now has a permanent population of 20.

This is a view from our accommodation one evening.

It occurred to me today that it is 10 weeks until we fly to Europe for a trip which we hope may include a white Christmas.

Before that we have another 2 night short break here in Victoria as well as about 10 days in Queensland visiting family, a weekend of volunteering/attending the local Folk Festival and the usual round of events, meetings, visitors and so on.

I really do need to be organised to make sure everything goes smoothly.

How do you feel about the latter part of the year? Are you planning or already prepared for Christmas and the year’s end?

Garden Notes – Signs of Spring

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It is almost a month since my last proper blog post. I took some time away from writing as there did not seem to much of note that was worth writing about. Additionally, I find a certain level of inertia sets in at the end of winter. Autumn and the early part of winter have a certain excitement as we relish the change of season after a long, hot summer and we look forward to bracing walks, some cosy indoor time with our latest craft projects and the opportunity to indulge in pots of warm soups and comfort food. However, by the time late August rolls around I am itching to toss aside the multiple layers and once again be out and about in the sunshine.

We are finally beginning to see some real signs of spring.

The daffodils are in full bloom. You can’t help but feel happy when surrounded by their bright yellow blooms.

Other flowers include borage and the first blooms on the espaliered nectarine.

Lettuce are ready to begin picking for salad as the weather starts to warm up.

There was much excitement today as we had 2 rainwater tanks delivered. They are only relatively small but fit neatly between the shed and the back fence. The water collected will be a useful addition for the garden during the hot, dry summer. They will be connected and ready to go early next week.

I think a final word on the coming of spring here in Victoria needs to go to a Facebook friend who posted this. It just about sums up where we live perfectly.

Wishing you a pleasant weekend wherever you are and whatever the season may be.

Outsourced

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The past week since my last post has been somewhat devoid of blog material. In fact, it has been generally fairly quiet with us spending most of the time at home. There were a couple of fine sunny days which were perfect for some more fence painting. We have now completed 2 coats on all of the outside of the pickets and both sides of the gates. Once we finish the inside of the pickets then I will just need to do some touching up of baseboards and posts which are dark grey.

We did go out yesterday afternoon to pick up the quilt which I had taken to a friend to quilt on her longarm machine. It is always a delight to see the transformation from a piece of patchwork to a completed quilt. I think this one looks particularly spectacular.

A close-up of the stitching pattern.

The backing fabric from a thrifted doona cover really highlights the quilting.

Meanwhile, in a change of pace we have a weekend full of activity but more about that next time.

Independence Day – A Reflection

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I know that I am a couple of days late for American Independence Day which is celebrated on 4th July. 6 years ago I had my own version of Independence Day as 4th July 2019 marked my last working day in the office. Interestingly enough, it took me another 3 weeks before I was sufficiently organised to even write a blog post which combines a measure of relief and optimism. You can read it here.

A themed dinner with work colleagues.

Well, here I am 6 years later and still writing this blog – I have actually been writing it since March 2011. Life has had some ups and downs, some expected and others totally unforeseen. We managed a mere 6 months of retirement before our collective worlds were turned upside down with the arrival of Covid-19 in early 2020.

There was plenty of time for gardening.

There have been family events – milestone birthdays and weddings as well as several funerals. The death of my mother in early 2021 left an enormous void in my life and that of many others.

Farewell, Mum.

While Covid-19 did put a dent in our overseas travel plans for a few years we made up for that with road trips within Queensland and interstate once the tightest restrictions had eased. The addition of a new puppy in 2020 gave us plenty of distraction, too. We resumed travelling abroad in 2024 and have plenty of plans for later this year and beyond.

The household seems to revolve around Islay.

Our biggest post-retirement change was a move from Queensland to regional Victoria. Although we bought a home that was only a couple of years old there continue to be some modifications needed to make it completely to our liking.

We have settled into life in our small country town and life hums along in a regular rhythm of activities at home, volunteering, cultural events, visits from family and friends as well as travel near and far.

Enjoying a local Writers’ Festival.

Did I really know what to expect from retirement? Not really, but it is simply a matter of finding your own pace and space.

Inertia

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It is over 2 weeks since my last post but I have not been overly busy. So, why has my lofty goal of writing a post every second day fallen so spectacularly by the wayside? I have had time to write, computer and internet access as well as plenty of potential material but still no posts.

I look back on the last 2 weeks and my last post was immediately following Easter and my birthday which coincided this year. The intervening time has included several milestones.

25th April is ANZAC Day, the anniversary of the day of the landing of the Allied Forces at Gallipoli in 1915. While not at the original landing, my paternal grandfather did serve at Gallipoli. It is a day to reflect and honour our servicemen and women from all theatres of war.

The remembering did not end that day as 26th April was the fourth anniversary of my mother’s death. The passage of time does dim the acute grief but I miss her every day and this time of the year is particularly poignant.

Grief was brought sharply into focus with the recent death of my uncle and I am currently making a brief visit to Queensland to attend his funeral and importantly, to support my cousins at this time.

There is definitely a degree of inertia with respect to the garden. I feel as though we are all holding our collective breath as we wait for the season to break and bless the ground with some rain. Autumn is definitely with us but it still feels unseasonably warm for the beginning of the second week of May.

The other significant event here is the federal election in Australia. It was held on Saturday 3rd May and we are certain of the main result there are still quite a number of unresolved contests as the counting and recounting continues.

We also cannot ignore global events such as the conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and other places around the world. The impacts of decisions by President Trump continue to cause ripples across the globe which will impact us all. The recent death of Pope Francis and the current conclave to elect his successor are also of note. While it is important to be aware of national and global events, it is wise not to let it overwhelm us.

On the local front, I have had plenty to occupy my mind as I am working on some administrative documents for voluntary work.

All of these things have diverted my attention from the minutiae of my daily activities which is where I draw most of the inspiration for my blog posts.

Meanwhile, life keeps rolling on. Apart from my flying visit to Queensland we are actually on a bit of a road trip to South Australia. You can read more about it here. There may be one or two more holiday posts in the next few days before we head for home.

I hope to share some more of our activities in home once we get back. Please let me know if there is anything in particular you would like me to write about. Most of my posts fall under the general headings of:

Gardening
Cooking
Sewing
Op shopping
Cleaning
Renovations
Decluttering
General organisation

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Rhubarb Is Ready

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I have been away from the blog this past week as other things have taken precedence. We have enjoyed visits from two groups of guests. I has been a delight to show them around our town and the surrounds.

Here are a couple of photos taken from the summit of Mt Tarrengower which overlooks the town.

An almost full moon as we looked east towards the town.

Sunset in the opposite direction.

Our house guests of the past few days departed this morning so I need to get back to some food prep and meal planning. The first step was to cut a generous handful of rhubarb from one of the clumps which are happily growing near the back fence. We usually have some stewed fruit on our cereal each morning so I chopped and stewed the stalks and have containers of stewed rhubarb ready to go in the freezer.