Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Lightening dull corners . . . . . harvesting Vegies

Good Tuesday Evening to you dear friends & readers  
A Special Welcome to all the new friends & readers that have stopped by recently


Sometimes when the Christmas decorations are packed away, the house can seem rather bare & things look a little shabby to me
This time of year I like to make an attempt to lighten things up a little bit & perhaps titivate some dark corners
A vase of freshly picked flowers from the garden will always bring a dull corner to life ...

Red Alstromerias & white Penstemons


I was given a $30 Bunnings Voucher for Christmas so off I trotted to buy myself a new rake to work on shifting my piles of mulch .
While in there I couldn't resist the beautifully healthy maidenhair ferns on sale so my Voucher purchased one of those also

Just perfect to sit in my old red ceramic duck planter .  .  .

.  .  .  & cheer up the fireplace hearth area

My Mums elderly friend Margaret is going voluntarily into Resthome care.
She had been sorting the piles of bits & bobs that 90+ years of acquiring & gathering brings !!
Mum bought me up a large plastic bag of goodies from Margaret.
To be honest, much of it was rubbish unusable but I did find these two vintage brooches & gorgeous old triple string of beads that Margaret had thought I could sell in my Cottage.
I made two little brooch pillows from some brushed velveteen to display the brooches on - & the necklace changed colour after a gentle soak in warm suds


At the very bottom of the plastic bag was this crumpled up piece of fabric that someone had intricately appliqued a Holly Hobbie girl onto.
I LoVeD her.
I decided to frame her using some of the oddments of vintage cotton laces that were in the bag.


Then I made her up into a tightly stuffed pillow - perhaps to sit on a bed or a bedroom chair

I just adore Holly Hobbie - she takes me right back to my childhood.

Well dear friends, all that worm juice/tea has been sure working its magic on my vegetable garden lately
We enjoy garden salads most nights & I have had some late season brassicas ready to pick also


The Mr & I both really love broccoli - it is MY favourite vegetable of all of them really


Though I have more young baby beets growing, I was able to cook up a batch of early ones last week for us to enjoy
The photo below shows just some of what I harvested over the weekend


The Mr is away today & will not arrive home until the wee small hours.
He has travelled to the other side of the Island to collect a (new) 2nd-hand mower to cut hay & silage at the farm.
The house is quiet as the 4 legged ones sleep & I am burning my new Eco Soy Candle - a gift from my Stepdaughter for Christmas
The fragrance is French Vanilla & the house smells rather heavenly ....


The beautifully gift boxed candle came with this little verse inside it . . .
"from birth to death
our entire lives have
a soundtrack written in scent.
One note of a half forgotten fragrance
is enough to place us at the
heart of every moment
we've ever
lived"

How very true ... I think the french vanilla fragrance is taking me back to Mums baking days & coming home from school to the house fragrant with delicious mouth-watering smells.
My Mum used to do the most wonderful baking.

Goodnight from me dear friends & readers
& Goodnight from the furry ones below
Wishing you the sweetest of dreams .  .  .
Thanks SO much for your visits here this late summers evening
with much love & friendship to you All,
Julie, Pippi & Blackie  x0x0x0


19 comments:

  1. Firstly...Hail to the 'worm juice'...!
    Your veggies look lovely, and l'm very
    fond of beetroot!
    I'm afraid l don't grow anything, except
    grass..! :). As l'm given loads of things
    from neighbours/friends who do grow things
    on allotments and gardens! So, l'm quite
    lucky really! :).

    And, l love Holly Hobbie...She looks grand,
    and, looks lovely on the cushion, often wonder
    what she looks like, but, l think that's the
    best bit...wondering!

    And, plants, l have plants ALL over my home,
    never cut flowers, l always feel to cut a flower
    is cruel...and cuts it's life in half, out in
    the garden, hedgerows etc...that's where they belong.
    But, l do have plants that flower indoors!
    Lesson taught by life....
    "Every flower is a soul, blossoming in nature, please
    don't take their life by plucking them".

    And Julie...You always leave the best till last...
    Their probably very tired after helping you with
    your lovely post...Bless them...! Purrfect! xx

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  2. Such a lovely welcome to my morning, thank you, lovely Julie! Your spruced up corners look a treat. A vase of flowers is always perfect. Love the Maiden Hair Fern; it looks perfect in the duck planter sitting on those lovely polka dot cases. I did chuckle when you mentioned your mum's friend 'gift' to you. I grimace when someone says "I have some fabric and stuff I was throwing out, but thought you would like them!!!!". I too, LOVE Holly Hobbie. Gorgeous print and it now looks perfect made up as a pretty cushion surrounded by all that sweet lace. I must say your veggie patch is looking robust and healthy. My favourite are the beets. They taste delicious and their gorgeous colour always makes me smile. Have the most wonderful day, lovely Julie!

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  3. As usual.........your home is warm and welcoming and calling to me! "come to Julie's for a cuppa and a natter".......I used to have a beautiful maidenhair fern when i was a kid-teenager, but one of my nieces got in pivy with me oneday when i wouldn't let her come out with me and my friends,so she gave my fern a drink of nail polish remover........that beautiful fern died! Hollyhobby takes me back too, such a sweet symbol. your garden sure is looking great, i need some of that wormwee here, things are pretty dry. Hello hugs to Pippi & Mr Blackie from Simon :-)

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  4. Wonderful post Julie, Holly Hobby take me back to my teenage years too...love what you have done witn her...I always wanted Holly Hobby wallpaper in my bedroom but I got Wombles instead!! Lol!! Love the maidenhair fern, I haven't had much luck keeping them alive sadly. Love a vase of cut flowers, the girls who came over to sew last week brought me two bunches of roses, they are beautiful and we have a lily flowering in the garden, it is orange and red, but the stems get long and they fall over, so that is when I pick them and they come inside, they are lasting really well too. Hope hubby got the machinery home successfully.

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  5. I have garden envy over all your lovely greens - 'tis way too hot in sunny Queensland at present to grow such lush veges.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Sandi, Gosh its turned rather hot here now too!!! I have been watering most nights but the vegie garden definately gets preferance. We are promised rain tomorrow ... I am hoping its more than the 4 drops we got last time they promised rain was coming :-)

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  6. Hi Julie wow i so love your decorating,the hobby Holly pillow is so cute,i remember her from my childhood.
    Your veggie garden is looking fantastic,hubby has just planted beetroot,carrots and parsnips,love home grown produce.

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  7. Lovely post Julie. I still have some small pieces of ceramic Holly Hobbie from when my daughter was tiny. Your Holly cushion looks so sweet with the lace. Great that your voucher extended to that gorgeous fern. I can almost smell your beautiful candle and love the verse. It is always a joy to pop in for a visit xx

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  8. you do grow the most impressive veg - I love raw beetroot and broccoli too. What a nice surprise to find the 'holly' piece and now it will get a new lease of life and be seen and appreciated. Hope the new machinery arrives safely and makes life easier for you all.

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  9. I remember Holly too, but I think my mother loved her more than me, I would have preferred a room full of wobbles.

    Your new ferns look lovely.

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  10. Hi! First time visiting your lovely blog. Beautiful photos! I will be stopping by often.

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    1. Thank you for taking the time to leave your lovely comment. I look forward to "seeing you visit here again" . Julie x x

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  11. Those cats look so peaceful sleeping there. What a great veggie garden Julie, can I have some of your green thumb please:)that fern would be dead by now if it was in my house lol. Oh I remember Holly Hobby to, great that you rescued her, and made her into a pillow. Hope you enjoyed your peace while the mister was away? Have a great week. Chris xoxo

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    Replies
    1. Hi Chris, yes the garden is quite prolific at the moment ... takes lots of watering though. Not too sure about the green thumb ... more or less just bung it in & hope for the best sometimes Chris :-) Hope you have a great week too x x

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  12. It's all just beautiful. We are in midwinter so buried 3 ft deep in snow. Your garden looks delicious. And I too like Miss Holly.

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  13. Lovely to see what you are up to Julie - and lovely little snippets to see in this post. Gosh the Holly Hobbie brings back memories! Your vege garden is looking great too, we're living out of our vege garden (daughter's doing, not mine!) and it's good to have so much fresh food. Here's hoping for a decent rain soon!

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  14. I just love getting those gift vouchers from friends because you can get what you really crave for. lol Your veges look yummy and that juice has done a good job too. I have never been very successful with Maidenhair fern but I would consider having another go at them as they are so pretty. I loved the Holly Hobbie print too, very sweet. Your furry friends look all snuggly there. Have a great night.xx

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  15. Hi Julie... I too have memories of a Holly Hobbie doll my Mum had made me when I was a child, I wonder what happened to it. One of my four legged friends loves adventuring oh the stories she could tell... she followed me to the cowshed the other morning so I took her back home again on the bike and 20 minutes later she was back again!
    I have a new to me vege in my garden... it's called a Yacon (google it) if you are interested I can give you some corms when I have harvested them...
    As for the baking... I can definitely testify your baking is delish too, sounds like it has been passed down from mother to daughter;O)

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  16. Aw! The kitties! So cozy!
    I love the red. I love Holly Hobbie and I really love all the glimpses of spring! Take care, sweet Julie!

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