Vertical Elements

2 Comments

We have ongoing plans for the garden but the wheels turn fairly slowly here as everything carefully considered.

A couple of weeks ago we decided to reposition a couple of the small raised garden beds which we bought early last year. This is all part of the grand plan to have defined pathways and sections of the garden rather than a wide open space.

They now run north/south rather than east/west. You can see the old positions by the patches of dirt in the foreground of the photo.

I had also seen somewhere online that people had used reinforcing mesh to create an archway between 2 raised garden beds. So, yesterday we purchased one large piece of mesh from the hardware which was delivered in the afternoon and we set to work on our plan.

This is the second one we built and I am hoping to use it to grow climbing beans. There is a tomato in the bed on the left and spinach on the right-hand side.

The first one we did is a bit more difficult to see because of the background. It is high enough to allow clearance for the shed door (not regulation height) to open. I have planted a couple of cucumber seedlings close to the arch in the garden bed on the right. There are also capsicums in that bed. The box in the foreground is onions and the lettuce is thriving on the other side with coriander in pots nearby.

We also have cauliflower, strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb in other spots not shown in the photos.

It is great to have some permanent vertical structures in the garden which are both decorative and functional.

Desk Declutter

Leave a comment

Even though we have been in this house just under 2.5 years I have already tidied and decluttered the small office space and desk a couple of times. However, I was a bit more ruthless this time with a few more things gone.

Although I did not take a before photo I found this one from a previous post.

The most noticeable difference is that the speakers are gone as well as the cane basket from the corner of the desk. As we were working through the various bits and pieces, GMan noticed that the speakers were not actually connected to anything and whenever we listen to audio on the computer it comes directly from the speakers in the laptop!! The speakers do not appear to be compatible with the laptop so they are off to the op shop to find another home. The cane basket had become a receptacle for all sorts of electronics odds and ends so we decided that not having it there would force us to put things away properly. I will probably repurpose the basket for storage in my sewing room.

This is the finished view of the desk.

There is a small cupboard on the wall above one end of the desk. This is where we keep the modem as the power point and connection are there.

However, I always felt that this space was under-utilised. So, GMan drilled a hole so that we could feed the cables through and place the modem on the top shelf. This freed up more shelf space to use for other storage, including the lower shelf which is more accessible. I now have some stationery supplies in a couple of very classy ice-cream containers. They were previously on the bottom shelf of the bookcase opposite the desk but it makes more sense to have them here.

Finally, we went through all of the drawers and removed various things that are no longer relevant and rearranged a few items to make better use of the space. The final touch is that I plan to make labels for the drawers so that things are easier to find without opening multiple drawers. That is a task for another day.

Countdown

Leave a comment

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?

A Day Out – Part 2

Leave a comment

As promised, here is the second instalment of our day out in Shepparton.

We went to the SPC Factory shop and I had no real idea of what to expect apart from hoping to buy some tinned tomatoes.

Well it was an absolute eye-opener as they had all sorts of packaged food, drinks and some household goods.

I did buy 3 large tins (2.95kg each) of chopped tomatoes. You can see them on the top shelf as I had put some of our haul away before I thought to photograph it.

I also bought the 12 bottles of passata, 2 packs of gluten free gnocchi as well as a couple of other packs of gluten free pasta shown here.

Other items were 6 pairs of socks, 2 rolls of baking paper, a travel coffee plunger/mug, several tubes of toothpaste and facial scrub.

Everything that I bought was needed and well-priced. It would be easy to go overboard and be sucked into buying things that you do not need. You also need to know that you can successfully use and/or store various items as well as being aware of the pricing in regular supermarkets or other sources.

I am confident that the $114 that we spent was good value. I certainly would not need to shop here regularly nor would I make the 2 hour drive just to shop here. However, it is good to know what is available should we happen to be in the area in the future.

A Day Out – Part 1

Leave a comment

Today we ventured to Shepparton, a regional city which is a couple of hours drive north-east of where we live. The reason for our visit was twofold, seeing the Brett Whiteley exhibition at the Shepparton Art Museum and going to the SPC Factory Shop. For those who are not familiar with the acronym, it stands for Shepparton Preserving Company, an Australian food processing company based in Shepparton which is well-known for its various canned fruits and vegetables. I was hoping to stock up on canned tomatoes but more on that in my next post.

I did not think to take any photos of the very recent building which houses the Shepparton Art Museum. The current location opened to the public in November 2021. Here is a photo I found online.

The exhibition we visited was excellent but I chose to simply enjoy the works rather than trying to photograph them.

We then walked up to the rooftop terrace where we caught this view which is almost the reverse of the previous image.

On the way up the central staircase I spotted this artwork. It is actually a timber ladder suspended from the ceiling against a circular mirror which creates the illusion of the ladder extending infinitely upwards. Really intriguing………….

The design of the large glass windows frame the view to the lake and beyond.

The spectacular patterns on the bark of these eucalypts caught my eye from the outdoor area outside the museum cafe where we had a delicious lunch. The food was excellent and the majority of the menu was gluten free.

After we left Shepparton we took a short detour off the main road to see the historic Toolamba Bridge. The single lane, timber planked bridge which spans the Goulburn River was opened in 1900.

We made one more stop on our way home. These photos show some silo art at Colbinabbin. The series was too big to fit into a single photo so the 3 photos show the sequence. The idea of painting a silo began in 2015 in Western Australia and has expanded since then to encompass silos, tanks and water towers in dozens of rural towns across the country. The themes are many and varied but always have a strong local influence. The resultant Art Trails have reinvigorated many of the rural communities.

Next time I will share the details of our shopping exploits from today.

The Excitement

Leave a comment

It probably seems a bit at odds with my last post about decluttering but I could not contain my excitement when GMan spotted this in an op shop today. Sometimes you don’t know that you need something until you see it.

For the princely sum of $6 I am now the proud owner of a cast-iron tortilla press.

It needs a bit of cleaning but then I will definitely be attempting to make my own tortillas.

If you have any experience using one I would love to hear about it. I will post about the results in due course.

Do It Once

Leave a comment

Almost all of what I, and probably most of you, do is repetitive. Some things are repeated daily, weekly or less frequently. Things like meal preparation and washing up can even be multiple times each day.

However, there are some jobs which can be done once and once only. Many fall under the broader category of decluttering which in itself can seem like an endless task.

I recently cleaned up the desk in our small office which is a built-in desk in the walkway through to the laundry. Keeping this space free from clutter is an ongoing project and I completely understand that.

There were 6 small plastic boxes sitting one one corner of the desk. These had previously held photographic slides that belonged to my father. The slides have all been scanned and saved so I had disposed of the originals. The boxes were covered with adhesive labels and notations in permanent marker and I had been undecided as to whether I could repurpose the boxes. I possibly could but the question really is, ‘do I need them?’

After several months of seeing these boxes multiple times each day I decided that they could be used by someone else. So, the first step was to remove the labels and clean them up.

No before photo but here they are, ready to go. I plan to take them to the Bendigo Share and Repair Shed as I feel that someone will be able to use them.

I am sure that they will be perfect storage for someone’s small treasures.

Just because you don’t want to send something to landfill does not mean that you are obliged to keep it or even to find a way of using a particular item.

Garden Notes – Signs of Spring

Leave a comment

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

Leave a comment

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.