Back from holidays

 Last week a classmate and I drove to Caloundra for a holiday which we have done for the past three years. We always arrange a mini reunion with our old classmates at the same time as we are all in our seventies now and some have retired to the beach or the surrounding areas. 

Even the seagulls got out of the water quickly in the cold snap

Time flies

 I can't believe it is over two months since I have written a blog post. I am not always sure I have anything interesting to say and have noticed that a lot of bloggers have stopped blogging perhaps opting for the quicker way of communicating on Instagram. I have noticed many changes in the blogging world since COVID began in 2020. Still, life goes on and here are a few bits and pieces of what life is like here in this neck of the woods where the days are sunny and the nights are getting cool as winter is just around the corner. 

A new month, a new season and a cyclone

We are now halfway through March already and the new season of Autumn means that there is plenty to be done in the garden now that the heat has gone. We did have Cyclone Alfred to contend with though as it made its way down to SE Queensland and we were buffeted by winds in the early hours of Sunday morning on the 9th March after it crossed the coast. I thought our almost 100 year old house would blow away but somehow it survived and the only damage on our property was a large broken branch on the macadamia nut tree which fortunately landed on the pathway instead of the laundry. The cyclone certainly did cause a lot of damage to the beaches in SE Queensland and Northern NSW and several properties were flooded.  So now that the weather has returned to normal gardening duties can go ahead once more. 

Red Spider Lily

Damage to the macadamia nut tree

Of course, there was panic buying here in town just like during COVID so the shelves in the supermarket were almost empty plus the roads became flooded so the trucks which supply the supermarkets couldn't get through for a few days. 

I wondered why the misting machine was still turned on when veggie shelves were almost empty. 

In an attempt to get back into the swing of gardening I ordered some new seeds from The Seed Collection. I will be a bit late getting my sweet peas in but I wanted to wait until we got our new fence out front as I wanted to grow them along the fence. 

I have mentioned before that I have a lot of very clever friends and that includes Suzie Peace Pybus who has had two of her books published recently and they just get better and better. I could hardly put The Truth about Irene down it was so captivating. Our local library bought both books after I requested them so yours might too if you would like to read them. 

A couple of friends and I like to visit different coffee shops to support local businesses and recently we found one that was new to us at The Salvos and right next to it is an Op Shop. 

The Lighthouse Cafe makes really good cafe and you can also pay for a coffee for someone in need that the Salvos help. 

I have joined up all the pieces of the rag quilt I am making and now the tedious task of snipping all the seams can begin. Thankfully I bought some special scissors years ago which make this job easier. 

I thought the hydrangeas had stopped flowering for this year but noticed that the new one I bought which is growing in a pot had flowered once again. This one goes from white to green to pink but I am not sure in which order. It hasn't flowered very often but, I daresay, it enjoyed the 170mm or so of rain we had recently as these plants like a lot of water. 

I hope everyone is doing well and that the weather is being kind to you wherever you live.

A lovely Saturday

Last Saturday some of the ladies from our now closed down Simple Living Toowoomba group met for a catchup as several of them want to keep in touch and what a lovely morning it was chatting, sharing ideas and recipes as well as enjoying the bounty of the swap table.  

Choosing a word for the year

I don't make New Year resolutions anymore but I do try to choose an appropriate word for the year and this year I have chosen 'Joy'. My word for 2024 was 'Hope' and I certainly did need hope last year as it proved to be a challenging year.