Composting bin

unpainted compost bin

A few years ago our local council replaced our garbage bins with new recycle, green waste and rubbish bins. They did'nt want the old bin back, so what to do with it, for a time it was washed out and used for the garden tools.  After moving into this house I  realised that my compost bin was left behind at the old house,   I've been meaning to buy a new one  but it always slips my mind until I throw the vegetable waste in the bin.  While lying in bed I came up with an idea ( I do my best thinking in bed), the old bin could be cut down, meaning the wheels and base would have to be cut off.  A phone call to my son, he arrived with the angle grinder and promptly cut the bin apart. Now I have a compost bin with hinged lid, ok, the green and yellow isn't exactly eye-catching but, maybe, when some of the plants grow you might not see it.  Today it was off to Bunnings for some manure and straw and now I have a start on compost for my garden. I am having a feel good moment, all the waste from the juicer and the vegetable scraps will  be in the compost bin instead of the council land fill.

Cooking dilemma

We have another family get together tomorrow, this time to celebrate my dad's 85th birthday. Lately all our get togethers have been bring  a plate. We are a quite a large family with kids, nieces, nephews and grandchildren so, it is a bit much to ask the person who is hosting to privide for all of us. Now, what do I prepare, I'm babysitting DJ over night so it will have to be cooked tonight because I will be busy with him in the morning.  It is also a 45 minute drive to my sisters. What will be tasty tomorrow?  I've thought of a rice noodle salad, prepare all the ingredients, but keep the dressing in another container. Pork ribs is another option, or honey chilli chicken, will they still they be ok tomorrow?  I still have a couple of hours to decide.
I realized I did'nt have a gift, what do you buy a man of his age who just goes out to buy anything he wants. It had to be a voucher, and as he is still gardening it was off to Bunnings. Of course I can't go into that store without browsing, so I have come home with another plant, I had a corner in the family room that was calling out for a plant. It does look good.

Autumn sunshine

Wow,  we are having an amazing autumn day, the sun is shining, and we have clear blue sky. I have been outside in the garden doing a few of the tidy up jobs before winter is here, when the last place that I'll want to be will be outside.  I have a small under cover area at the back of the house that I have given a bit of a spruce up.  I had a  lovely shelving unit that was in the kitchen of my old house,  I didn't want to leave it behind,  but knew I wouldn't be able to use in my current kitchen, so I asked my son to hang it on the brickwork.   I have arranged my collection of birdhouses on the shelves along with a few small pot plants and  a lovely mosaic frog on a terracotta plate,  that was given to me by my sister for my birthday last year. Daniel has also hung a couple of planters from the wall, I am pleased with the overall look, but of course you know how it is, I will probably have to change things as I think of something else.
On another note, my friends son has had a tracheotomy tube inserted in the hope that he can be removed from the life support system, hoping this will be a step in the right direction.

Life is precious

During this past week I have learned that the son of a dear friend is in the Intensive Care Unit of one of our hospitals and is on life support. This young man was fooling around, along with his mates on some very large pipes (4metre high) when he stood on what he thought was a grate and fell through. It is known that he has some brain damage but to what extent will not be known till he is conscious. I feel so helpless, my friend and her family are suffering and there is not much I can do. I would love to be able to take away her pain but all I can do is hope that he will recover and be the same young man that he was. It is going to be a long road to recovery whatever the out come, so I will be there to help her in whatever way I can. If only these young people, when in their cars or just mucking around with their mates,  didn't believe that they are invisible and  realised that life is precious.

Sushi rolls

Today has been unseasonally warm and windy for Good Friday.  I have been busy preparing for Easter Sunday and making sushi rolls for my nephew David's 30th birthday celebrations at my sisters tomorrow.  David, his wife  and little boy Xavier live in Perth and have flown over to spend Easter with his family.  David had a birthday party in Perth with Simone's family and friends and is lucky enough to be able to do it all over again with his Melbourne family.  It's not every day you turn 30yrs. old  I wish I could again lol.  The sushi rolls are finished,  as is the table decoration,  next,  I'm going to make a fruit and orange loaf and cook the apples for the apple pie that I will make tomorrow night when I get back from my sisters.    I have'nt touched any stitching or knitting for a couple of days, too much else to do.  I do lie, when I have sat down I've been too tired to pick anything up. I think it will have to wait till after this weekend.   Have a happy and safe Easter Holiday.

A small project

Pattern by Christine Book, Homespun No.40(Vol7.8)

Last night I decided to put away the knitting, just for awhile.  I moved into this house three and a half years ago and became sick soon after, so nothing has been done to make this a home but the basics.  It seems my imagination went into hiding along with my energy, but, now I have it all back and am keen to get everything done. I have started to decorate my room, make it pretty, so while flicking through a couple of my quilting magazines I came across a small project I could do in a couple of days. I opened my fabric stash and found a beautiful Moda fabric designed by Robin Pandolph "Secret garden" it would be perfect.  I should add I have been a fan of Robyn Pandolph's fabrics for quite awhile, a friend and I went to see her at the Quilt show when she was in Melbourne a few years ago, and we both fell in love this lady from America.   Another of my favourite designers is Lynette Anderson, who used to own Patchwork Angel in Queensland, over the years I have sewn a lot of her patterns,  I love the muted colours and designs she is now producing, can't wait to see her latest fabric line when it arrives in the shops.   Oh, the usual hassle, the photo to go with this blog won't load, will try again tonight.

Garden clean up

My grandson Connor is on school holidays, so instead of getting up early to take him to school this morning I had a sleep in.  I was going to have a relaxing day doing a few things that I've been putting off.   While  laying in bed contemplating what I would do, there was a knock at the door, my son and daughter-in-law were here to help me clean up the backyard. We worked for about three hours before I decided Daniel  needed to get the trailer from their house to take the quickly growing pile of waste to the tip. My daughter-in-law Tanya cleared away a huge area, that had become overgrown with weeds, she is a dangerous woman with a maddock.  Daniel mowed, and we cut back several shrubs that were growing wild.  I am very impressed with how much they achieved today. Oh, and they brought a Bbque chicken and salad, with them,   yummy chicken and salad rolls for lunch.  With everything cleared away I was really looking forward to a long shower.  Hope I can get out of bed tomorrow morning,  lol.  A very productive day.