These Drying Days . . .

Good afternoon dear friends & readers & welcome  to my new followers  :-)

It is SO lovely of you to stop by & take the time to read my ramblings . . . 

source : pinterest

Here at my funny ol' threadbear life I often refer to January & February as my drying months

The late summer days are filled with constant drying as I collect & gather, & try to "preserve" all the things I will need throughout the coming year for my potpourri making & other oddities that I do here 

statice sitting waiting to be gathered into bunches & hung

Along with the lavender I mentioned in my last post that I gather, dry, rub, (& inhale!!) ... I got a good picking off my statice plants this past week ... plus a couple of buckets of hydrangea's 

click on the pics to enlarge them if you like

From past failures, I have found the best way is to pick them when the leaves feel papery to the touch, (about this time of year is ideal) - give them a good big drink of water (for about a week I find) - then hang them to dry in bunches

I love the see my Dads old painting ladder (that is hanging in the Cottage) filled with my dried flowers for the season

The old statice from last season, I chop up into my rose potpourri to add a bit more colour

Last year my friend Pauline from Infused with Nature gave me some calendula seeds which I scattered around the edge of the vege garden & I am sure  ... every single seed took   :-)

So I picked a basketful of the flower heads & dried them in my dehydrator this week

Along with the yellow statice, they add a nice splash of colour to my citrus potpourri's

The dehydrator has been working overtime lately as I have a large order to fill for a friend - I do really enjoy making all my potpourri's & it never feels like a chore  :-)

The roses (thankfully) are having their second flush & I have been drying their petals as much as I can before these strong winds we are experiencing, blow them to infinity & beyond ...

I have also been drying some millet seed heads which The Mr grows at the farm to make into silage, & also to break feed to the cows when the grass gets low

You may recall some months back, I moaned about posted about pruning our grapevine & weeding the rows of aggies & what a chore it all was ...

 This was what it looked like back then - mid September these were taken

We have had some prolific growth & the severe pruning of the vine has really been quite successful with it looking like producing a good crop this year

you can see the bunches of grapes in the pic on the left

The Mr keeps telling me he is expecting a phone call from Corbans Wines anyday now  (???!!!)   . . . truth be told, usually the birds beat us to most of it as we don't cover the vines to protect the fruit

I am really enjoying the flowering miniature agapanthas this year -having weeded the rows properly last September

This past week I finished an order for a friend who wanted some of my wool blanket cats/rabbits to on-sell in her shop

She had asked for 5 of each so I made up a dozen & let her pick out her favourites

About mid last year I helped my friend move house - she had lived in the same house for 40 years & so consequently, got rid of alot of stuff during her move.  I took lots of bags to the Op Shop & also the dump for her.  I also took quite a few home & - you may recall - earned myself the name "Mrs Steptoe".
There was a supermarket bag to be taken to the Op Shop & when I opened it, it contained her wedding dress ... 
"are you sure??" I asked 
 "Yes I dont want it" came the reply.  
So I asked if I could perhaps have it to cut up for the lace & fabric ??
"Yes, of course, do whatever you like with it" 


It seemed appropriate then that I came across the plastic bag with the wedding dress in this past week in the mess that is my sewing room ...  as tomorrow is a potluck tea combining both her birthday, her housewarming, & a "thank you" to all those who helped with the move

The dress had a long train & a frill around the bottom which my pic has not shown

I found one of the doll bodies that I had made last post still waiting to be clothed ... with trepidation I cut into the wedding dress fabric & lace ... I tried to use as much of the lace as I could

I covered her wings with it plus stitched some of the tiny pearl beads here & there ... made her some lacey bloomers

although I have given her a small posy of tulle flowers, I like to think she is more of an angel . . .  not a bride doll

I hope my friend loves her - there sure is plenty of wedding dress left over   

My neighbour has opened the door of one of her aviaries & released her ring-neck doves - some have returned & others have  not  . . .  a pair have decided to take up residence in my trees & The Mr captured these pics yesterday morning . . . 

I am more than happy to share my garden with them - I love the sound they make & they seem very quiet & content

Finally friends, I made a Trademe purchase way back in September last year but it was a "buyer must pick up" purchase ... as the lady lived in Auckland I asked my stepdaughter to collect it for me - which she did - & I have only just received it when they came for a visit last weekend

I am not sure why, but I have always loved these old cane shopping trundlers - although I must admit my grandmother had one & Oh how I hated it back then !!!
The Mr asked me what I planned to do with it ... "I'm not sure yet" I replied ". . .  something arty perhaps . . .?? "

"Well so long as you dont expect to walk down the street with it wearing a funny old hat & expect me to walk with you" he informed me . . .  (gosh, I hadn't thought of that .... now there's an idea !!!)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend out there folks - thank you SO very much for your visits
Wishing you rusty old trikes filled with flowering snapdragons  :-)

with much love & friendship,
Julie x0x0x