Just a quick one!

I am ment to be writing an essay at the moment but had to share a quick recipe i have just discovered. During the school holidays i have spent much of that time away on field trips for uni, photos later on, however i did spend some time in our makeshift outback kitchen with one of the professors making a BBQ meal. Know it was quite a surprise to be making the meat and vegetarian patties from scratch as we were literally in the middle of the bush. I was in charge of making the gluten free/vegetarian zucchini patties. I can not believe i have made it so long without trying this very simple and healthy recipe. I usually find vegetarian food a little bland but these patties are so flavoursome and look great too.
here is what you need:
about 3 zucchinis grated and squeezed of the juice
small can of corn kernels drained
chopped parsley
feta (i used danish but any is good) about a handful of cubes
1 egg
falafel mix and rice flour to dry the mixture a bit
just remember this is not a science and you can add what every you like in what ever quantities you think best. : )
I spoon them into a pan with a bit of oil and cook for about 2 min either side. we did use the BBQ when in the bush though : )

I have been snacking on these all day and cannot get enough at the moment. sooooooo yummmmmy and easy!
Enjoy Hugs MnM

Compost!

Today we had 2 tons of mushroom compost delivered to our driveway and i can not think of a better way to spent my first day of holidays shovelling compost in the garden. lol Friends came over to help and was all done by lunch time. It really does make everything look so nice and rich. We have been doing love our soil week with minerals and seaweed cordial also going onto the garden to make it a happy place for our plants to live.





I also did a tidy of my storing area and found some very large stones which make a great border under the nectarine tree.



With some help i also managed to put up a temporary fence to stop Tim Tam eating the horse poo a friend brought over from his place. I really do love chicken wire and star-droppers they are the best invention in the garden.



My snow peas also had a big day today as they have left the nersery ie green house, and are now growing on my temporary fence.



The mulberry tree also had a bit of attention today for a bit of a hair-do. Well that is what it looks like anyway as we have put a net over the bottom half to stop the birds from eating all the lovely fruit when they rippen. I keep looking out the window and thinking there is a huge head with a hair net on. looks very funny!



Baily also had a an extra friend over, Yuki, so is absolutely exhausted as he missed all his normal day time naps. lol He did not quite make it fully to his bead before he fell asleep and is still only half on his bed. lol



Well that was a busy day so am off to do some knitting with a cuppa and piece of dark almond chocolate. mmmm
Oh and here is the bunch of flowers from our garden today.

A package!!!!

I do so love a package in the mail because it guarantees something fun.
I recently went seed shopping at

Eden Seeds

online in Australia.
I went a bit seed happy and got lots and lots.
here they are

Got things like passionfruit both yellow and purple, coriander, sunflowers, kale, carrots, artichoke, freesias, cherry cocktail tomatoes, zinnias, carnations, turnip, beetroot bulls blood, dahlia, sweet williams, sweetpeas, parsnip, poppies, tea tree oil seeds.
Am sooooo excited.
Also found these little beauties while pottering today. Carrots

Are they not so cute.
Hugs MnM

September! Love it!

Well i am loving September as with it comes spring and all the lovely colours of the garden. The garden is so lush with green leaves, orange fruit and colourful flowers. Is my peaceful place to enjoy some mindful thoughts and get inspiration.


Surprise bulbs. These remind me of candy lol

Poppies i think?? When something brushes buy them a cloud of pollen is released. Is my very own pixy dust for a magical feel to the garden lol

All the stone fruit trees in our garden are in full bloom at the moment and is such a gorgeous site. This is a dwarf nectrine which sits in our front garden and greets us when we get home.

Mulberries which i need to cover very soon as the tree is so covered in these delicious fruits that the birds take to them with the force of a hungry teenage boy to a full fridge, lol my brother fits this description. lol So my plan is to cover the lower branches for us and leave the rest for nature.

Remember the new green house i recently discovered in Bunnings well these are the seedlings which not a few weeks ago were only seeds and now sit apon my house's shelves not three inches tall. Am a proud parent of my little green seedlings. lol

Snow peas : )

Roma Tomatos :) : )

and Yellow zucchini our fav : ) : ) : ) !!!

Growing must be a popular trend at the moment as our little boy, or so i thought, is much bigger. Here he sits on his bed which not to long ago actually fit him rather nicely.

Hugs to you all MnM

Life's little and big stuff

Well it has been a hectic month as my Babcia (grandmother in polish) broke her leg badly and is currently in hospital. She did have a turn for the worse after the surgery but was quickly stabilised and is hopefully getting better by the day. She was telling Little Ma to comb her hair the other day and that is always a good sign when she starts mothering her adult children again. Also I can't remember if i have mentioned or not but Noah left us just before my trip in July to Fowlers Gap. He is currently in formal training but we all miss him heaps and it is much quieter. So we have all been feeling very tired, worried and stressed with normal life stuff and the unexpected life stuff, so when Little Ma told me she was going to meet up with some RSB puppy educators last week to do some travelator practise i commented "You and what dog" as we did not have a dog she said "Maybe i am tempting fate" and she did. An hour later a friend called to ask if we could take on another RSB guide dog-in-training as she was moving house and has a new job. So last monday night this gorgeous boy joined our family.



He is Baily and my-o-my he is a heart breaker. Has those long droopy eyes that say 'i'm so sad but a few cookies will cheer me up' or 'yes i ate the cats food off the table while you had your back turned but really i'm sooooo sorry and i WON'T do it again' he did do it again twice more. lol I think a Baily was just what we needed and has brought a smile to all our faces. I took him to uni with me the other day and he was so good just a bit scared of the bus but managed that after some persuasion. : ) He is about 6 months old and a very lean and lanky boy. It was quite a surprise to get a white dog after expecting a black one, as thats the only colour we normally get and prefer because Tim Tam is black and colour co-ordinating your wardrobe to two different dogs that shed carpets daily is not an easy or cheap task, so naturally we are totally confused as to what to wear. lol oh and did i mention he snores like a fog horn. I know this because he sleeps in my room. I envy Tim Tam right know because he is quite deaf so also sleeps like a baby. lol
He played with the water from the hose today which he found very fun and refreshing.





Though slightly confusing when the water stopped. lol he is such a joy to watch.


I have also got my second green house ever. and boy is it an upgrade from my first, which was a little 40cm x 30cm plastic box. this is my new one and i really am in love. It was from a trip to Bunnings which Little Ma has discovered is great for exercise as it takes a while to walk all the isles just browsing. Was only $50 so got a whole heap of seeds including yellow zucchini, mixed strawberry both white and red, california poppies, silvias, Lebanese cucumber, basil mix, roma tomatoes and some more. Have planted them in plastic tubes which Trees for Life use and placed them in bottle crates. Have planted five to ten of each as that is all i had time for but do plan on doing some more when time permits.




Although i have been terrible to my garden and mostly ignored it since uni started back I do still enjoy a walk through it in the mornings and afternoons. It is a good garden and can manage without to much care at the moment. These are the surprises i have had while on my walks.





More soon i hope
Hugs MnM

Knitting for yourself?

Well uni is back, work has again started and knitting has hence taken a back seat.
But over the holidays both Little Ma and I made a big effort to do as much crafty stuff as possible and even finish some UFO.
Little Ma has been working on this Wakame Lace Tunic from the Knitting Daily website. She had intended it to be for her, however a friend tried it on and it was as if it was made for her and her only. She looked stunning in it so now lives with her and is occasionally loaned back when needed. lol
Has anyone else ever had that happen?
I know i have made things for a particular purpose or person but once finished seemed to be destined for another use or person then i first had in mind.




This is a scarf i started over holidays and am still working on. I used the 2 colour brioche stitch which i discovered on a knitting/crochet community website called Ravelry. From that inspiration i found this wonderful website dedicated to the

Brioche stitch

The instructions were very easy to follow and i found that if i held my yarn in my left hand in a European style the pattern could be done in one graceful motion. I am loving working with this pattern. This is how my scarf is looking so far. Am using some handspun wool (green) and silk (black). Notice it has two sides which are of different colour : )



This is one of my UFO that i have had sitting on my shelf for a fair while now. It is also made from some handspun wool and silly me decided it was a great idea to make a shoulder wrap using a daisy wheel and then sew them together. It is a very time consuming project but finally finished and even had enough wool to do a few rows of crochet around the edge to give it some stability. I was pleased with the final look though.



Holidays were also a busy period for our crafty projects because we sell some of our handspun items in the

Handspinners and Weavers Guild SA

This wrap is off to there Littly Glory Gallery which sells members handspun crafty things. As there is only so many crafty things you can give to your relatives before you have fitted out there entire wardrobe. lol The guild has a stall at the Royal Adelaide show so fingers crossed someone will want a wrap to keep them warm.

Happy crafting MnM

lots of making and finishing

Well the holidays are coming to an end but i think i have done well and have done lots of stuff.
Little Ma and I have been cleaning out cupboards and giving lots of stuff to our local Salvos. We have de-cluttered and rearranged things so now have a bigger pantry for all the important yummi things like the preserved peaches i did last summer.
Have also cleared the old chicken coop and am in the progress of building a new and improved one for the girls so hopefully will have that done soon still in the designing stage. Funny how long that stage takes. Little Ma keeps changing her mind but think we are on to an idea for a cosy coop. We were inspired by a you tube video where a woman converted an old school desk into a coop. Will try to find the link and post that soon is so forth a look.

During the colder parts of the day have been sitting in front of our sunny window and been knitting.
These are my twin sister hats which i loved doing. I hand spun the wool ages ago and used to different colours of wool while spinning it which produced the variation. I had previously made a shawl with it but recently decided beanies are what needs to be made with that type of wool. Was fun knitting them as the colours on top came up differently on top like a ying and yang. lol




I have also been finishing some of my unfinished projects. This is a bag i felted ages ago so have added a lining and a handle to finish it. Have named it my monster bag.



This is a skirt i knitted ages ago and have been at a loss as to how to finish it to make it fit better. I had crochet the band but was not tight enough and kept slipping down. Last holidays tried using some ribbon but became complicated and put it back on the pile of unfinished. Until recently when Little Ma suggested using a technique which cages a piece of elastic in but still allows stretch. Was really quick and am so happy with how it looks and fits now.





Its back to uni on Monday so am going to us every free minute of my weekend to do crafty stuff because don't think i'll have much time for it when it all starts again.
Happy crafting!

Holidays are finally here!

Well exams are over and results are out and i am very happy.
Actually I lie holidays started as of the 3rd of July but in true geology style there was a field trip to Fowlers Gap from the 4th to the 9th. This was a weird thing as it was for a semester 2 course which we have not even started. But it is the only time it could be squeezed in to the schedule and field trips are an invaluable resource to a students learning. I must say it was a good trip despite the freezing cold temperatures and the mice in our tent. However I did survive the ten hour bus trip up and back and am now currently sitting in a comfy warm bed with knitting needles close by and a cup of tea in hand. This was one of the many stunning view we had while trekking though the Australian landscape.



Know while studying for my exams i did have a slight laps in concentration from the books when my sis complained of cold fingers in the morning on her walk to the bus. So I took a short break from my desk and relocated to the couch with knitting needles and some wool. This was the product of a couple of days work involving continued fittings and some imagination and maybe a few rows of undoing. But that is the true test of a good knitter, the ability to still smile while undoing a few hours of work. lol She is much warmer now and i am pleased to have gotten a bit of productive knitting in which eased the stress of study. I ran a simple cable through the top which I think just adds the finishing touch.




This was something that awaited me in my garden when i returned from my trip and i must same it is amazing the colours one can find with such cold weather.



These are also a quick knit up Little Ma did while I was away. A friend brought the wool over and asked if she would do her some gloves to also fight of the cold chill that Adelaide has been experiencing.



At the moment I, as always have lots of projects on the go, but am working on a pair of gloves for my brother. He saw the creation above, the black ones not he fluffy pink ones lol, and decided he too needed some homemade gloves. I am enjoying doing them because as usual i am making up the pattern as i go and it is actually looking very good. I must say i really like winter as gloves are such a great thing to knit.
I hope to do lots of finishing of projects this week so hopefully will have more things to blog.
Happy crafting

Colours in winter

Well Tim Tam stil has a paw the size of a seals flipper but looks better today. We had a bit of a sleep in before i carried him outside on the grass where he surprised me by doing a half rub/role which was his normal tradition every morning before getting hurt. I think he is fully over being a good patient in bed and has been doing a bit of three legged hopping around the house as well today. Of course these hops are supervised as he does had the tendency to swerve to the right as he has not mastered the three leg hop quite yet. lol On our hop through the garden we stopped to appreciate the colour our garden produced when it is so cold.






Make me smile.

Not a well boy

Well we really did have a crappy Friday this week. Not only did we have bad car karma but Tim Tam hurt his leg.
I can't remember if i have mentioned or not but Tim Tam our 13 year old dog has developed a cancer on his front left ankle.
He has had it for a fair while know and after seeking advice from the vet did decide it was best to leave it as the process to remove it and then chemo would be a very long and painful process for him and in the end he does not understand why we would do that to him and more importantly he is not in pain and is very happy. Unfortunately he over did it at the park on Friday and i think sprained his ankle, of course the one with cancer on it. Being a man he did not show it while at the park in front of his paw friends but that night would not put weight on it and seemed to be in considerable discomfort. He could not settle and by morning would not put weight on it and his paw had swollen to twice it's normal size. We took him to the vet who said he has also got swelling on the elbow. By this time Tim Tam was panting a lot and was getting very distressed as was I as the vet did recommend if he does not get better options were amputation of his leg or put him to sleep. Know i am definetley not ready to say good bye to my boy and do fully expect at least another year out of him. So he has been given anti-swelling, arthritis and pain meds which he will probably be on for the rest of his life. All Saturday he slept and thankfully had a peaceful night. Both Little Ma and I have been nursing him, and i must say it is hard when your patient does not speak his thoughts. lol I have to carry him outside for toilet breaks however he is ever ready to eat his tablets with a piece of cheese. This morning he actually got out of his bed on his own so I was really pleased but he still can't walk very far without getting tired. We sat on the grass this morning where i talked to him and he wagged his tail in response. He really is a happy dog even when in pain. After breakfast i put him back in bed in the back room so he could watch the goings on in the house and there he has stayed getting some solid rest and recovery.



When he does get up he just stands there with his leg hanging but i think he gets sick of laying down all day. I gave his other legs and back a massage last night and think he actually enjoyed it.



I am just greatful i am studying for exams so can be there for him this week. Hopefully the swelling will go down and he will be back on his feet soon. Fingers crossed!
At the moment Tim Tam is being kept company by Tiger the cat and Noah who has again been kicked off his big bed by the cat and is know sitting on much smaller mat. lol