All's Quiet on the Blogging Front

Things have been slow around here for a few reasons.

Firstly, I'm supposed to be doing my Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care. I say "supposed to be" because I'm studying full time while also still working full time, which means I don't do much of it until crunch time (or my travelling parents make an appearance and take the children from me which leaves me with no excuses).

Secondly, I've just been sick for two and a half weeks with a killer cold. And now Steve has it. Talk about low energy levels.

Thirdly, I've been commissioned to sew something. For money! So I am spending some time on that (especially since my friend who asked me to do it wants it to be Christmas presents, which is pretty soon). That's pretty exciting. I might even post about it. :)

And that is why all is quiet here.

Gardening Growth

I'm so delighted with how the garden is growing! It's gone from this:

To this:

So much green! I'm joyous when I look at it. Such growth! Such abundance! I sigh satisfied sighs of contentment when I look at it.

Let me walk you through what is there. Bottom right of the garden and going clockwise around, oregano (the dark green), Italian parsley, basil, tomatoes (probably cherry tomatoes, can't be sure because they grew themselves from the compost) and corn. Then (left to right in the middle) there are strawberries hiding under the tomato/basil, capsicum, a row of spring onions and a little rosemary cutting that I am hoping will grow.

I love those spring onions because I recently discovered you could re-grow such things from the base of the ones you buy in the store. Revelation! I've also got a lettuce (still inside) that is doing just that. I'm hoping to plant it soon.

Hiding at the other end of the garden bed is (left to right) thyme (too small to see but definitely alive and well), parsley and some lavender. You can't see it in these photos, but you can in the top one, there is a pumpkin vine and some more corn in the yellow pot, and in the big round pot we have a blueberry tree. Yay! The little green pot in the middle has some flower seedlings that I'm not sure will survive because a kid at mothers group got excited and tipped the entire pot over. We scooped it all back in, but still not sure what survived.

And that is my garden update. I hope you have some small amount of green in your life that brings you as much joy as this green brings me.

Doorstops

Recognise those bricks now? They have a new life, as lions that guard the girls' rooms. And also stop the doors from slamming closed with the wind. 

I realise you can't really see it now, but they have tails as well as faces. I was thinking about embroidering on some legs on the front, to make it look like they were sitting a bit more, but then couldn't be bothered. I used really small bricks and the faces were really big, so there isn't much room for it anyway.

I have to work hard at getting the girls to leave them at their doors, rather than playing with them, but thankfully the heaviness of the bricks helps to deter them. I hand sewed everything, used scrap material (the spots match the curtains in Rachel's room (see here), and the red is leftover denim from this dress that Sophie wears), and leftover quilting batting to pad out the bricks.

I think the bricks like their new life.

Bento Break

Making bento for a picnic lunch with friends. Lots of cutting up. I'd like to do more rice, but that seems to take more thought than I can manage in the mornings. Oh well!

Tomato, ham, strawberries, blueberries, cheese, capsicum, carrot and cucumber. They also had honey sandwiches on the side.

It's healthy and fresh and delicious. It will do.