Category Archives: Weather

Sewing Skills

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I am not a professional seamstress or dressmaker but I do have reasonable sewing skills and am always ready to turn my hand to a bit of upcycling. It was with these skills in mind that I picked up a couple of things at the op shop today.

I spotted (pardon the pun) a cute pair of pyjamas which look as though they have never been worn. I love the colour and pattern plus the fact that they are 100% cotton. I bought them without trying them on as I knew that there are multiple ways to use the fabric.

Well, the shirt is a great fit so that is a win.

The bottoms need a little bit of work to make them perfect but I am confident that with some simple alterations I will have a brand new set of pyjamas for the princely sum of $4 plus a bit of time and handiwork from me.

I have removed the waist elastic which was too soft and obviously perished. Perhaps, these have been sitting in someone’s cupboard and unworn for an extended period of time. I am going to turn them into boxer shorts rather than mid-calf length trousers. This will give me enough excess fabric to make them a bit wider at the sides as well as extending the length of the crotch. I will use my existing pattern as a guide for these adjustments.

I also scored this collarless men’s shirt for $3. It is 100% linen and there is plenty of fabric for me to unpick it and remake into another summer linen top for myself. I can’t have too many sleeveless linen tops while the temperature continues to hover around 35C and above.

Processing Plums

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It is that time of the year when everything seems to be ripening at once. I have a nectarine tree but no other stone fruit, however, there are plums aplenty around town and I have received some from 3 different sources in the last week so today I made jam using 3.4kg of plums.

This is the result.

These were the first batch of plums I was given. They don’t look much but have a lovely flavour and beautiful deep red flesh.

Since having an airfryer I have discovered that it is a relatively quick and easy way to sterilise the jars and lids rather than having to turn the oven on. That is definitely a consideration on a day like today when the forecast temperature was 37C (98.6F).

However, it was not all plain sailing as I had a calamity with the second batch of jars. Thankfully there were only 4 of them but they came to grief when I managed to catch the handle of airfryer with my oven mitt and send the contents flying across the kitchen floor. One jar broke but that was all. GMan kindly swept up the broken glass while I retrieved the remainder and the lids, re-washed them and started the process again.

The other job was somewhat simpler than jam-making as I had some gifted oranges to juice. It is the first time I have had fresh orange juice since we moved here which has been a bit of a shock after having what seemed like an endless supply from the 3 trees we had in our previous garden.

Finally, we were delighted to record 42mm of rain in a series of thunderstorms overnight. It has given the garden a welcome soaking during what has been several weeks of fairly hot, dry weather.

Refreshed and Ready

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We are on our way home from our holidays and will be back in familiar surroundings by Wednesday afternoon. Relaxing in motel accommodation with no specific demands on your time provides plenty of opportunities to plan.

I have been jotting down notes on my phone of things I would like to do once we are home. Some are small tasks that will literally take 5 minutes. An example is updating the rainfall chart which has not been done since we went away. We have a rather clever electronic rain gauge which automatically records the rainfall from midnight to midnight each day and does not require emptying. The weather station which is indoors records this data for a maximum of 30 days so all of the information will be stored for when we arrive home. I then transfer these records into an Excel spreadsheet which is useful to be able to compare the data year on year.

There are other much larger projects but they will still depend on me taking the first step. Some have been being discussed at length but a new year is a good time to get the ball rolling. One such project is replacing the gas cooktop/900mm electric oven with an induction cooktop as well as a smaller (600mm) built-in oven. The very first thing I need to do is to contact our electricity supply company to ensure that the amperage of our supply is sufficient to support the induction cooktop.

I have a number of sewing projects that I am keen to work on and it will be a matter of prioritising them.

The holiday has been fun but now I am ready to make a start on new projects – large and small – as well as continuing with existing assignments. You are sure to hear more about some of them as time goes by.

Winter Winners

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We were out and about today in a town about 40 minutes drive from home. The purpose of our visit was see 2 different exhibitions about nursing and midwifery which were of particular interest to me. One was in the local museum so we also saw other local historical memorabilia. We also caught up with some extended family at a local cafe.

Since we were walking down the street between venues I spotted an op shop so we decided to check it out. They had a lovely selection which was nicely displayed. GMan found a white tshirt which had been on his ‘to buy’ list so I was just idly waiting while he tried it on when I spied a coat. It was red. Be still my beating heart.

This vintage red duffle coat is all I could have hoped for. It is wool/cashmere blend, fully lined, made in Australia from Italian fabric. A perfect fit and cost me $20.

It has definitely been a successful week of op shopping. When we were in Bendigo on Wednesday I bought a red wool blend jumper for $6 which also appears to be a vintage piece as well as a long sleeve shirt which is white with navy spots in a soft cotton fabric for the princely sum of $2.50. It will be more suitable for spring than winter, though.

My other purchase which does not rate a photograph was a king-size doona cover for $8 which I unpicked so that I could use the back of it for the backing of the recently finished patchwork quilt. I took that to be quilted today so I should be able to show you the finished product in a week or so.

Getting Ready

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There has been more doing than writing going on here in the past few days as the countdown is well and truly on. We are off on Sunday on our first overseas trip in nearly five years. It is a relatively short jaunt of two weeks to Honolulu and a couple of spots in California.

My posts while I am away will be on my travel blog, Somewhere, Anywhere so consider following my adventures there.

We have plenty to do in the next couple of days. The packing is well underway but a little tricky as it will be warm in Honolulu but San Francisco, in northern California, is still quite cool and showery. In fact, I am probably taking as much for 2 weeks as I would for 2 months. I have made a couple of tweaks since I took these photos. I am also taking a jacket, vest and scarves which are not shown.

For the warm days in Honolulu.

And the not so warm in San Francisco.

A selection of footwear.

Finally, I added this skirt after making it yesterday. It is navy and white which fits in nicely with several other pieces in my wardrobe. The fabric is a drapey 4-way stretch and not something I necessarily would have chosen myself. I was asked to make a skirt and the lady provided the fabric which had a border print along both edges and since the fabric was very wide I had an unused strip which she was happy for me to use so I decided on this skirt for myself. It is probably a bit shorter than I would normally wear but I have thrown caution to the wind and decided it would be a perfect addition for casual beachside wear.

I will add one more post here on Saturday and I will show you the other sewing project I have been working on today.

A Hot Day

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We have had a remarkably mild summer so far but yesterday it really kicked into gear. The outdoor temperature at our place peaked at 40.5C. This is not remarkable compared to other parts of the country but it was certainly enough to make us choose to stay indoors. With the blinds drawn and a couple of ceiling fans we were quite comfortable for most of the day before turning the airconditioning on in the family room for 2 hours in the late afternoon from about 5.30pm. The temperature was set on 24C and this soon made the room pleasantly comfortable.

I spent most of the day sewing and made two bags for a friend from fabric she had given me. They were mostly relatively small pieces of linen and cotton which had been carry bags from bed linen she had purchased at various times. I am really pleased with the results and looking forward to giving them to her.

Meanwhile, GMan was hardly being lazy either. He had picked 45 Nashi pears from one of our trees the previous day. This was after the birds had helped themselves. If we get organised and net the trees next year our harvest should be about doubled. Neither of us were smitten with eating the fruit raw so he decided to try stewing them. This was a raging success as they taste just like the tinned pears we both remember eating when we were growing up. It was a huge job to peel, core and slice them all but we now have one container in the refrigerator and several others in the freezer.

Today is a day of extreme to catastrophic fire danger across most of the state so we will be indoors, staying cool and most importantly, following any emergency reports and advice.

Buying Blinds

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Today I can unveil the latest addition to the house.

A couple of weeks ago we ordered some blinds. The first was a roller blind for the front door which is glass and faces north. It does not get any direct sun on it because of the overhanging porch but the blind offers privacy as there is a direct view from the porch to the full length of the hallway as well as assisting with temperature regulation in both summer and winter. The was a previous blind in place, however, it was not made to measure so no an ideal size. The colour was not to my liking either.

The new blind.

When it is open we still have a view of gorgeous roses and the rural outlook across the road.

There is an opening between the family room and the small office which allows for plenty of natural light and creates a feeling of spaciousness. However, on cold winter nights when we are trying to keep the family room warm, it is a problem as much of the heat tends to drift up the hallway through this opening and the nearby doorway. We are waiting for the carpenter to install a door between the family room and the hall but that still left the issue of the opening which is about 1m x 1m.

So, we ordered a honeycomb blind to fit the opening. It fits neatly inside the recess.

When it is open it is barely noticeable.

We did notice that the movement of air in the family room means that the blind does tend to move back and forth in the opening so I intend to make a small draught stopper to lie on the ledge behind which will eliminate that problem. I am looking forward to the difference it will make to keeping the warmth in the family room in the colder weather.

A Summer Garden

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The past 10 days have been an alternating mix of warm, sunny days and some significant rainfall so the young seedlings are enjoying the conditions. The zucchini plants which I planted at the beginning of December are literally doubling in size overnight. You can see what they looked like in this post.

This is today. The eggplant in the adjacent bed are doing well, too.

The cucumbers and new lettuce are also getting established.

Then there is the basil. Some in pots.

And more in the garden bed.

The basil is going to be trimmed this afternoon. I am planning to make a pesto/green sauce to serve with grilled eggplant, capsicum and pasta for dinner. As usual, this a creation I have have dreamed up. If the reality is as good as the idea I will hopefully have a recipe to share in a future post.

Spring Blooms

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Today is not exactly spring-like – cool, grey and trying to rain.

However, the past month or so has been a delight to see spring flowers that we did not see when living in Queensland. I was excited to see the daffodils which I planted after we came here in bloom barely 3 months later. It seemed like almost every garden in town had daffodils. Some were neat clumps beside a fence and others were drifts of them and other bulbs under mature trees. I am looking forward to having some more next year. I also plan to plant some tulips, probably in pots. The tulips in the public gardens in Bendigo were a stunning display and yesterday I noticed that the Iceland poppies were in full flower. They are an old favourite from my childhood as are sweet peas which I have noticed in a couple of local gardens.

Meanwhile, I noticed this specimen in the garden today. It is lurking between the espaliered fruit trees and the fish pond so not the best location to show off these stunning flowers. I am thinking of relocating and incorporating it in my planned spring flower garden for 2024.

Garden Update

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It is nearly two weeks since my last post and I could make the excuse that I have been busy but that is not true. I have been well occupied and juggling a few different aspects and I have simply not felt enthused to write. However, I am back with a few blog post ideas buzzing around in my head so I hope there will not be quite such a hiatus in the foreseeable future.

Today I want to show off some of the progress we have made in the garden. As always, it is small steps.

The weather is slightly warmer, or perhaps ‘less cold’ would be a better description. Either way, the bulbs and spring blossom are in full swing.

I did not plant these daffodil bulbs until early June so they were a little later than many of the bulbs around our town which are almost finished. I am enjoying their sunny faces which are just beyond our back terrace.

While much of the blossom around town is ornamental, I am very excited by the flowers on our espaliered nectarine tree. If every one of those becomes fruit……….Yummo, in a few months time. I will keep my fingers crossed.

A couple of months ago we cleared out the remnants of last summer’s crops and I planted some garlic as well as cauliflower and red cabbage seedlings. I hastily covered them with some fine netting to protect them from any bugs.

Yesterday was a glorious spring day bathed in blue skies and sunshine so we spent a few hours out in the garden. The seedlings had grown enough that I really needed to create a better frame for the netting. I sourced some thin metal roads that we had salvaged from an old clothes airer and some irrigation piping that had been left by the previous owners and managed to create the perfect framework for the netting.

Here is a closer look.

Cabbages and garlic.

Cauliflower.

Some flat leaf parsley which GMan salvaged and repotted about a month ago.

Until next time.