366/366: full circle

An achievement in itself has been managing to blog every day of the year. I am commemorating this auspicious occasion with some good news. The semi-circle of shame is no longer. I mentioned that I would do the grand unveiling on New Year’s Eve, so here ’tis.

Having weeded it all, it was ready to attack, by removing some soil and recycling some old vinyl and rocks.

Almost complete, I will probably add more river rocks to the arrangement, but for now it will suffice.

WordPress’s Project 365 challenge has encouraged me to write every day, and it is true: the more you write, the more you want to write. However, I know that on some occasions I was scratching around for a post, so next year I will not be forcing myself to do it daily. Hopefully, my posts can be more thoughtful, although sometimes it’s fun just sharing a photo I like, with little or no writing. I’m looking at posting weekly on princessprattles, freeing myself up to work on my novel, my other blogs, and maybe even introduce a couple more. Yes, addicted to blogging and loving it.

Have a fantastic New Year, and aspire to great things. The possibilities are endless.

365/366: mulch ado about nothing

Sorry Shakespeare, for torturing your title, but hooray and hallelujah, the pile of mulch is done and dusted. Thanks to my husband’s concerted effort on his days off, the final deadline has been achieved, (by the end of the year), a day ahead of schedule. This is all well and good, but that was actually the third deadline we had made for the mulch, though in all fairness, the other two were just a guideline.

There remain a few piles ready to spread in the back yard, but finally it is finished and we can reclaim the driveway, a good way to end the year.

Being a leap year, Project 365, which should officially end today, has a bonus day tomorrow, for what I like to term Project 365 + 1. It feels a little like the end of a school year. I’m ready for a holiday!

 

364/366: containment issue: english ivy

You might plant an innocent little cutting, and within a few months or years it has insiduously taken over part of the garden. However, some of these plants are very attractive, so it becomes a containment issue, such as with seaside daisies, fishbone fern and in this case, English ivy. Left to its own devices up in the top tier of the back yard, it spread to such an extent that it was becoming a pest.

My circle of shame was testament to its hostile takeover, but that transformation will be revealed on New Year’s Eve. Last time it was mentioned it had become a semi-circle of shame.

The giant mountain of mulch has helped spur me on to create places in which to spread it. It’s a win-win situation, getting rid of both the pile in the driveway and creating a new look for the back yard.

A sense of order has now been restored, and will allow much easier access to pick plums.

363/366: new home for a conifer

One of our many Castewallen Gold conifers had some offspring. Situated just in front of the rhododendron, a successful cutting I took from the huge purple-flowered one in the front yard, is the rogue conifer.

As the conifer has grown larger, I have realised that its position is untenable, as it blocks the pathway and possibly inhibits growth of the rhododendron, necessitating the move.

My personal labourer came to the fore again, and did the necessary digging and re-planting of said conifer. Although I work extremely hard in the garden, I appreciate his help in situations such as these, where brawn defeats creativity.

Now it has a new home, and hopefully it will continue to grow, but this time I will keep it in check with regular pruning, unlike the previous giants we have had lopped or removed.

The path is now clear as is the view looking up towards the top tier.

362/366: black and blue

The blue chair I bought recently at a garage sale has had a makeover, and is now black.

As you can see, Zorro approves either colour scheme, which leads to a question: can cats differentiate between different colours? And how would you know? Did someone ask them? Je parle chat, meaning I speak cat. We have conversations sometimes, as anyone with a cat might attest to, or is it just me?

My plan was to spray paint two other cane chairs today. However, with temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius, I think it’s best to wait for a cooler day. Paint always performs better in less extreme temperatures, be they too cold or too hot.

Having just been to Zumba this morning, after a couple of hours spent pulling up some english ivy, I am more than happy to leave it for another day, and head to the shops for the post-Christmas sales. In the meantime, I can show you the “before” shots of the other two chairs.

 

361/366: the companion marigold

Marigolds are apparently good companion plants for tomatoes, so I bought a few of the potted ones to have in the house on Christmas Day and to later plant in the garden. Although this is an expensive way to buy marigolds, with seedlings a cheaper alternative and seeds even more thrifty (if they grow), at least it was a better option than purchasing cut flowers, which only last a few days.

No sooner had I taken them out of the basket to plant out however, when Zorro spied it and just had to climb in. I swear he is addicted to cosy enclosed spaces.

When I planted marigold seedlings a few months ago, the snails got to them and they disappeared, so this time I’m not taking any chances. I have surrounded them with snail pellets, so it will be interesting to see how long they last.

 

360/366: the festivities continue

As if to wish me a Merry Christmas, yesterday Zorro jumped up onto the coffee table where I had put the poinsettias temporarily and sat directly behind them. He stayed there while I raced to get my camera, seemingly knowing that I would love to have a festive shot for my blog for Christmas Day.

Even Shadow had a go, although he wasn’t as centrally located, but cute nevertheless.

I love setting the table for a festive occasion.

Sharing Christmas with family is special, and a lovely spread was enjoyed by all.

Merry Christmas from Sandi Claus.

359/366: wishing you mulch joy

Know thy limitations could be an alternate title. Why do we try to get so many things done “by Christmas”? I have mentioned before that I work best to a deadline, but sometimes you also have to be realistic.

This was the pile of mulch with a deadline, again extended because really, what’s the difference? Family coming to share Christmas Day will not be judging me by my pile of mulch, and if they do, there may be no Christmas pudding for them!

It looks so much less than when we started:

So instead of finishing the pile, with more important things to do like wrap presents, some last-minute housework, extra decorations and food preparation, I made it part of the festivities, which is why I wish you mulch joy at Christmas, love Sandi Claus.

 

 

358/366: my Christmas tree 2008

In 2008 I bought a new Christmas tree, a beautiful silver one, which I lovingly decorated with silver, red and black ornaments. It was time for a revamp of the old, which meant largely getting rid of a mish-mash of tired old baubles and tree. At that time I worked at Myer department store and being surrounded by all the beautiful decorations I couldn’t help buying plenty. I will have them for years to come, although this year I have only put my small green one up. It’s good to have variety, but I was especially happy with the new look in 2008.

Merry Christmas from Sandi Claus!

357/366: a plum’s net worth

When you find a plum on the tree pecked this much, it is time to net the rest.

Determined to cover as much of the fruit on all three trees with the 4 x 10 metre netting that I had purchased, necessitated some manoeuvring.

In the end I realised I should have either bought the larger roll or two of the smaller. I made my choice, so I took an alternate route. I pruned the tree early, with plums attached, and then put them in a basket. I’ve never picked plums quite this early before but for jam-making there will certainly be plenty of pectin! Only one way to find out, and that is to do it. It will be interesting to ascertain if there is sufficient flavour so early.

I might leave them in the basket for a couple of days (inside) to ripen a little more before the attempt at cooking up a batch of jam. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, although in this case it will be the proof of the jam is in the spreading (and eating goes without saying).