february reflections

It was the month of Summer we never saw coming. Up until this point the weather had been pretty mild with just a scattering of hot days among many pleasant, sometimes wet days. Well that all changed in week two of February.

We had rain on the Monday, and then to see these temperatures pop up, we knew we were in for one very long hot week!

Tuesday reached 38C
then this...
Wednesday  46C (114.8F) 
Thursday 46.9C (116.4F) 
Friday 48C (118.4F) 
Saturday was cooler at 35C but the humidity was stifling. 
We broke records! 

We finally gave in and had one of these installed. As yet we haven't had to use it, but next time all will be okay. No more melting from humidity.

The vegetables suffered. 

Every day I went out in the middle of the day to add cool water to the top of the barrels, and this is what got them through.

The good news is that most of the vegetables have recovered. The fruit trees however did not fare so well. I lost apples, mandarins and nectarines. They fell from the trees due to heat stress. It did not matter how much water I put on them, they still succumbed. 

I picked the leftover grapes just before the heat hit.

Even the spiders were feeling hot. I saw a lot of dead ones that didn't survive the extreme weather.

Apart from the heat slowing us down for that week, life has gone on as usual.

I took a photo of this flower at a lady's house I clean. She had them sitting in pink food colouring and they looked so pretty.

Look at this clever art work. My friend purchased this crab made from spark plugs and other bits and pieces when she visited Perth recently.

Toadstools in my lawn again.

As well as a lady bug.

We had a nice drop of rain just before the heatwave. 

A lucky find at the op shop.  Two metres of holly hobbie type fabric in really good condition.  I do not think it has even been washed.

Sorting through photos for someones fiftieth. 

And this little cherub has turned one.

Peek a boo!

Our family celebrated with a simple barbeque in the park.

Grumpoo and his boys.

I stopped using chemicals on my body years ago when I decided to live a healthier life.  Recently I found this recipe for Homemade Anti Aging daily cleanser. 

Recipe can be found here.  

I simplified it by using almond meal, rice flour and powdered milk.  That's it. 

I have been using this for a week or so and my skin is loving it. Just a small amount mixed with water and rub gently over face before rinsing off.

I also made some of my own toner (rose water) by soaking rose petals in water to use after the above scrub. Keep in the fridge and your skin will feel so refreshed, especially in hot weather.
I follow up with a moisturiser using a mix of sweet almond oil and aloe vera gently massaged into the skin.
My night time cream is coconut oil. 
These are all natural and work remarkably well.

Roadside foraging.

Apples.

Peaches.

These were white peaches and so juicy and sweet.

White figs off our tree. Surprisingly the heat didn't ruin all of them.

The figs have never tasted as good as they do this year.  They are nice and plump and this one had a touch of pink.

Pickings.

I think I will have enough tomatoes for making relish soon.

 Frugal fruit cake. Recipe here. 

Delish!

It is now just two weeks until our son moves into his own home. We are sure going to miss having him around, but I have the feeling he is going to miss us more ~smiles.

We are making plans for the new season in our lives. When our house is quieter it will be an ideal time for a fresh coat of paint throughout the house. I have chosen a new colour and plan a little rearranging also. I am looking forward to the fresh new look. 

More travel is also on the agenda.  I have a feeling that I am not going to have time to be bored.

Thank you for visiting here today dear friends. Hope you are all well.

Tell me what you have been up to lately? How did you cope with the awful hot weather?

Cheerio for now xx

this week

Good evening dear friends.

Thank you for dropping in on my little blog. 

February has arrived, and this means just one more month to enjoy Summer. 

It also means that hubby gets to celebrate his big fiftieth birthday. 

Last weekend I called into my favourite little op shop and found this set of six place mats and a table runner in the palest colour blue for $1.50.   Unfortunately the table runner is too big for my table so I will need to find somewhere else to place it. I may brighten the placemats up a little. Maybe a crochet border, some rick-rack or lace? We will see.

I also found these cute retro jars.  I have not seen them in this colour before. One is filled with lovely smelling pot pourri and they were just twenty cents each.  Wouldn't it be great if all op shops could sell things at this sort of price?  That would make me very happy. 

This old toy trolley belonged to my big brother as a youngster.  I would sit in it and he would pull me around and occasionally tip me out!   
I am hoping to bring this back to life. It will need a lot of work, but I am confident it can be done. It needs a long pull handle, some new wheels and a coat or two of red paint.

Bossy bantam rooster strutting around.

Outside colour.

A very plump sleepy lizard passing through.  
We also had a brown snake pass through a couple of days ago.  Gave us the fright of our lives lol! 
Sorry there are no photos of the snake, I was long gone...

Tomatoes ready for the dryer.

Some time ago I found this bundle in the Salvos op shop. Could it be that a dear old lady knitted all these little rectangles in the hope of making a blanket?  Maybe it was something for her to do to while away the hours. Anyway for what ever reason, these ended up at the Salvos.
As soon as I spied the bag with all the knitting inside, I knew I would be taking it home to finish off the blanket.  It needed six more rectangles which I have knitted up, and now it is ready to sew together and put a nice border around.

Pretty bath bombs on my kitchen bench.  Sweet daughter in law is making them.

There has been more bread making, a regular part of my routine now ~smiles.

and more beautiful roses.

A classic back to basics recipe. 
Salmon patties.  
I browsed a couple of recipes and then made up my own. 
You will need;
One tin of salmon, two potatoes cooked and mashed with butter, cream and approximately two tablespoons of mayonaise. One onion finely chopped, one tablespoon fresh parsley chopped, 1/4 cup cornflour, 1/4 cup of flour, one egg and some fresh breadcrumbs (I didn't measure the bread crumbs sorry, maybe around a small handful). Mix ingredients altogether and form into patties, then place in fridge for half an hour. After they have rested, roll in flour, dip in beaten egg and toss in some fresh (or bought) breadcrumbs. Fry in a little oil and enjoy.

Very delicious topped with cream cheese and sweet chilli sauce.

This little guy dropped in a few nights ago.

Not a very good photo, but he wasn't hanging around for any more pics.

This old 70's Kriesler stereo has made its way into my lounge room. Hubby picked it up cheaply and has already replaced the stylus on the record player.  It also needs the tape player looked at by someone who knows about these things lol. Thankfully we have found a place in Adelaide that repairs them.  

So of an evening we have been playing our old 33 records.  We much prefer to do this than to watch television. I had forgotten how good they sound.

I bet some of you owned one of these players back in the day. Do tell?

Finally somewhere to keep and play all our records from years gone by.

An ordinary pile of logs makes a great spot to sit and watch the sun go down.  At the moment the salt lake out the back has water in it so this makes for a good photo.

One of my favourite quotes. This says it all ~smiles.

Such a beautiful sky on show this evening.

Another season in our life is about to begin.

We have known that our son has been looking at buying a house of his own. Well on Tuesday it finally happened. He will soon be paying for his first home and moving out in April. I am very happy for him, and wish him well, but this house that he has called home will be so empty and quiet.

Very soon we will be empty nesters. The last of our four chicks will have flown the nest to pursue a life of their own. I am a little sad at this thought after thirty six years of having a busy home. This new life will take some getting used to. 

To end on a much happier note; later that same day my daughter told me that I am to be a grandmother once again. A tad excited about grandchild number three arriving. So maybe our house wont be quiet for long.

I would like to welcome any new followers and visitors to my little corner of the world. I hope you enjoy your time here.

Thank you to those who take the time to comment, I really love hearing from you all and appreciate your wonderful contribution to my blog.

So tell me, what did you get up to this week? 

Hope your weekend is a good one.