It has taken a long time to get back to walking since I broke my ankle. I decided this evening I would go for a stroll around the block. It felt really good, despite the fact that I had slipped on a step earlier and my big toe is swollen to twice its size, pictures to follow later.
On my stroll I found some more agapanthis, white this time.
This is the view out of my bedroom window of the fennel that grows in front of it. The reason for the picture is a reply to a comment from Pixie of Pixie Post. I wanted to show her that not all fennel is evil, some of it is very beautiful. The reason I planted the fennel there was that I thought the smell near the window might deter the mossies from visiting our bedroom. 
Its Agapanthus time again in Havelock North. They are blooming everywhere. Nearly every garden has hosts of nodding blue and white heads. I know they are considered a weed in this country, but they are a very beautiful weed. I love them. 
This year I was very proud of myself. I was organised in October to send of the Christmas pressies to my brother and his family in France. Usually I realise mid-december that the last posting date was months past. Imagine my suprise when the parcel arrived back at our house again. I had missed out a crucial part of the address, in fact I did not have the crucial part of the address in my address book. I have added a new outer parcel and sent it back again, fingers crossed they might get it in time for Easter. The strange thing is I have sent him parcels to this address for quite a few years. I am wondering did he ever recieve any of them?
Last year this gap in the trees was full of a very tall tree in next doors paddock. They had it chopped down last winter. We were sad to see it go. But we can see so much more sky, and so much more sunset.
A beautiful end to a good summer day. From plums straight from the tree for breakfast, the trip to Splash Planet seeing the kids so happy and then while I was blogging a fabulous sunset appeared. I love summer.
Above Gerberas in a vase on the table while I was working this morning. Below the flowers I sat in the shade off this afternoon at Splash Planet, while watching my middle child and youngest child have a brilliant time on the water slides.
There is a plum tree in our garden that is not very pretty and in the wrong place. Each year I threaten it. Then the blossom comes out and the fragrance is amazing, and it gets another reprieve. A few months pass and I say, "That plum tree has got to go". But then in late December early January the plums appear. They are the nicest most delicious plums I have ever tasted, and the tree gets yet another reprieve. The first year we got 20 large buckets of plums, far to much for anyone to cope with. We gave it a very hard prune after that. Now we only get two or three large bowls. Which is just enough to enjoy. As you can see below we are not the only one that enjoys the plums.
Peter put up this notice in the kitchen yesterday. Would you believe how many times I stood staring at the notice while turning on the cold water tap, doh. Glad he has fixed it now.
The first glimpse of what the finished quilt might look like. All that planning and it looks exactly as I wanted it to.
Above is what the back will look like.
Now where am I going to put those fairies. I did originally want to put them as a whole block. But I just don't think it works. The current favourite idea is to put them on sticky stuff, cut around them and then apply to the centre of the blocks. There will only be 12 fairies and 36 blocks alltogether.
I was so busy buying the berries, for my summer pudding, I forgot to check that we had any white bread. Hmm. I got started cooked the berries, streched the bread I had to fit the bowl and put a saucer on top to press it all down, keeping my fingers crossed that it would work.
Unfortunatly it didn't. I think this is the worst summer pudding I have ever made, but who cares really it still tastes the same. We had it for breakfast with yogurt.....yum, yum, yum.
I am making a quilt as a wedding present for my stepdaughter. She got married almost three years ago. It took two years to plan and cut out. Now I have started sewing. Perhaps this year it will be finished. I still have some planning to do. I have 12 fairies to add to the quilt, I just don't know where to put them yet. I hope she will like it when it is finished.
Sunday morning farmers market shopping. My trolley was as full as I could get it with goodies. Lots of fresh berries to make a summer pudding. I love summer pudding. I was very disappointed the other night in Pippi's, they had summer pudding on the menu. I was so looking forward to it. So you can imagine my surprise when they turned up with Strawberry Shortcake. What they meant was a pudding for summer, not a summer pudding. :( . I will just have to make my own. I am going to have it with yogurt for breakfast tomorrow.
There was also the above exhibition running. They had taken little minuture diaramas and built a story around it. Designed to make the imagination soar. And appealing to all of us.
I was feeling a little melancholy today, I think this photo sums it up for me really. My eldest flew off back to Uni. I miss him already. Tomorrow I will be fine but today I really missed having his presence around the house.
Happy New Year to you all out there in blog land, with a beautiful pink daisy. I hope 2010 is a very happy and prosperous year for everyone.
Christmas wreath Mark I had to go, it was dried up and looking very sad. While gardening I spotted some flowers on the fejoa tree. Perfect. I don't know how long they will last, but they look really good.
I am officially an old lady. Peter bought me a shopping trolley for my christmas, it is exactly what I wanted. It means I can buy even more goodies at the Farmers Market on Sunday mornings. We tried it out it out it last Sunday at the market, maybe not the right weekend, it was packed. And so was my shopping trolley.
Peter bought me a lovely new stripey red table cloth yesterday. He noticed it was half price and immediately thought I would like it. Strangely enough I had bought the exact same table cloth the previous day. To top it off I added my red spotty table runner. But it still looked a bit plain. Then I remembered the beautiful red and white bunting Keriann had shown me the previous day. So after half an hour with a pair of scissors, some red and white fabric and a lot of safety pins, I had some bunting. The kids thought I was mad, I think it looks brilliant. I think I will leave it up for the rest of the year. Some red roses in red spotty plastic mugs finished it all off. Well I was really pleased with the result.
And here it is all ready for us to sit down and eat. Picture courtesy of Peter.
It looks a bit slumped by the end of the afternoon. Don't we all.
Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, almost to late and never again, but the sun is shining and the Jacaranda trees are in bloom.
The hall has been decked with Holly, well really ivy and herbs again, I thought the fennel flowers were particularly inspired.
More ivy and herbs over the dining table.
And the same on the mantelpiece.
The pressies are under the tree.
And the stockings are ready and waiting in front of the fire. Notice only four stockings, none for me, aww.
The Amaryllis is flowering right on cue. Christmas has started to emerge all over the house.
My youngest and I put up the Christmas tree. Unfortunately Santa had to be relegated to the bottom of the tree as he made the top bend over.
The cards are hung under the mantelpiece.
And the holly........ sorry herb wreath has been hung on the door........... well not exactly on the door but beside it. The door is always open in the summer, so it would never be seen otherwise.
