We had a lovely week away in Kinjarling/Albany at the time of our 47th Wedding Anniversary. Strangely, it was still and warm and sunny, and everywhere was the most amazing blue. I have a strong emotional connection to this coastline and love returning to it year by year. DH's family lived here at one time, and the first thing we did as a couple was visit this coast.
Since getting home, I have been working on a series of reversible gift bags -one side Christmas fabric, one side generic. I have made 5 so far. I need eight, but it is getting harder to keep going now it is a bit repetitive. The idea is that we no longer will need to throw out shiny paper which is hard to recycle.
The garden is responding to the seasons. This poinsettia is huge, even though I cut it back hard last year. I think it grows up to get the maximum amount of light.
We have harvested the limes, which we juiced and froze.For the first time I experimented with freezing juice in glass jars and it worked out well. We did some flash freezing of slices for drinks too.
We are eating tangelos and grapefruit. The myer lemon has only a small crop this year, after I cut it back hard to reduce the spread of citrus gall wasp. I will be giving away grapefruit very soon -the crop is very heavy.
The rains held off for quite a while, but last week we copped a bucketting. It was a bit disappointing to see how badly the gutters fared, seeing as we had them cleaned only a couple of weeks ago. I have actually been using some water from the smaller water tank on the garden, although it absolutely does not need it, just to create a space for the next rain events which are expected this week.
We are all sick! After 3 and a half years, we are sick with COVID. DH was eligible for the antivirals, and I am pleased to say he is doing quite well 4 days in. DD is crook too, and I tested positive on Saturday this week. We have been taking advantage of the extensive selection of food in our freezer, pantry and larder as none of us find much energy for elaborate cooking. This is one of the real benefits of the simple living lifestyle- the preparation we did months ago and now being appreciated. Stock in the freezer, left overs saved for another meal, rice of all kinds- I rarely run out of something without having a back up somewhere.
While I am sick, I have been reading books and here are some I recommend:
