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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Thursday, April 16, 2020

day by day 16.04.2020

Another quiet stay at home day here.  

Went for a walk this morning and came across this little fella sun baking. We were able to pick him up, he must have been a bit cold and sluggish.


The weather was cooler after the heat of yesterday, a pleasant 25C {75F}.

Out in the veggie patch I spied this grasshopper on one of the barrels.


And then a wanderer butterfly.  We have had a lot of butterflies and moths this year, I wonder what that could mean?



The garlic is poking up through the soil already.



Up on the ladder picking seven year beans. These are up on the roof edge of the shade house.


Beans and blue skies.


Today's pickings.


I am trying my luck with growing a pineapple plant from the top of the fruit. So far so good.


This was what I was doing most of today. Mending husbands yard jeans. He wears the left knee out on every pair he owns. All up I have patched seven pairs of jeans! Tomorrow I will hand sew where I couldn't reach with the machine. My grandma used to unpick the legs of the jeans, patch the hole then sew the seams up again. I'm not doing that haha!



Tonight's sweets. Chocolate self saucing pudding, vegan style.


I have felt pretty ordinary today, hopefully tomorrow I will be back to normal. I need to get garden beds ready for planting!

Not wanting to count chickens before they hatch, but here in Australia, the number of positive Covid-19 cases are dropping and maybe in a month we will be able to get back to some sort of normal, whatever that will be. Our government is making sure we are on top of this virus before lifting restrictions. South Australia has had no cases for a couple of days so hopefully this trend continues. 

While our news is getting better, I am feeling sad and helpless for the other people going through such a terrible time in their countries. 

Please take care and stay well.

xTania

17 comments:

  1. Love how happy u are!!! Here in the U.S.A. Trump wants to re-open but our covid deaths are rising. Very afraid staying in will be for nothing as people will think all is well and congregate.Peace to you and your family.

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    1. Hi Cookie,

      I have been following the news in U.S.A. and I cant understand Trumpy's decision to re-open so soon. I know the economy is taking a big hit, but a wrong decision about this virus could be disastrous! Hopefully he comes to his senses and changes his mind. If not I hope he knows something that we don't.

      Stay safe,
      xTania

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    2. Just wanted to say I have so many of the ideals you do. I want fresh vegetables, not from a store who had them shipped across America unripe. I want simpler times. I have so much and realize I need so little. I too, love the vintage finds and my entire house is full of them. Needless to say, I have made some very great finds which others looked over as junk. .

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    3. Sounds like you and I have very similar interests Cookie. Do you have room to grow some of your own vegetables? Containers, pots anything to grow food? I am on the lookout for more containers so I can set up and grow even more.

      I would love to see your vintage finds. That is the first thing I look for in thrift shops, unfortunately they are closed at the moment.

      xTania

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    4. I will ask my daughter how to send some pics of my finds unless you know how.I have a small house and small lot but since my daughter has moved in with her 2 hybrid wolves it seems even smaller!!!!! She wants to plant veggies. We live a minute from Lake Erie so its still cold here.Her wolves are in a short film to promote wolf rescue so I will get the site so you can see our beautiful girls.

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  2. Since neither my wife or my mother can sew anymore, I've learned to patch my jeans with denim scraps and white glue. We wash in cold water so it holds up fine.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the tip Gorges. I can see white glue would work, it holds wood together, so why not denim. My dad sews his own buttons with wire lol!

      Take care,
      xTania

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  3. I have a pineapple growing in a pot too, Tania. I have my fingers crossed that it will grow a little pineapple fruit. Meg:)

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    1. Good luck with your pineapple Meg. One of our friends grew a pineapple fruit recently and so I thought why not? They live here, so no excuse not to try.

      xTania

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  4. One thing I am scared of is big brown grasshoppers...to the point of I run away and scream..cockroaches okay..big brown grasshoppers no thanks. Have a good week. Kathy, Brisbane

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    1. Ooooh Kathy, I hope my grasshopper photo didn't freak you out too much. Cockroaches vs grasshoppers, I know which I would prefer haha!

      xTania

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  5. Tania, I love the work on your husband's jeans. My husband does the same. I had never heard of undoing the seam! That is dedication.
    Sandy

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    Replies
    1. I did seriously think of undoing the seam to get at the holes, but in the ended decided against it. Mind you all the hand sewing I have to do, it may have been quicker to unpick the seams lol. My grandma always did a great job with her mending, whereas I look for shortcuts.

      Take care Sandy,
      xTania

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  6. Tania your daily writing discipline is admirable and I wish some of yours would rub off onto me...lol Keep persevering with that pineapple, we've enjoyed a few sweet pineapples from Brian's plants growing in the glasshouse, here in freezing cold Barossa Valley. I've been patching Brian's jeans too, since he finished working for a company that supplied all of his jeans every year. I'm trying to get a bit more life out of them since there are no more freebies. I was hoping to find a magic clever way of reaching those hard to get to spots with the sewing machine. Unpicking the side seam? Yeah...nah.!! ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Iron on patches make it pretty easy Sally, but then I still like to add a backing and stitch them to add more strength.

      I just had a thought. Does the pineapple plant produce only once or does it keep producing over and over? I presume I would have to replace the plant to get more fruit. Better wait until I get success first lol!

      Sitting down at night is when I get the blog posts done. I am keeping them shorter these days :-)

      xTania



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  7. After harvesting the ripe pineapple the plant sends out pups on the side. Take out the old plant and plant the pups. No more pineapples will grow on the old plant. An overripe apple placed in the middle of a flowering plant will promote fruit set. It takes six months from when the flower appears until the fruit is ready to pick. A long wait but really worth it. All of ours were started from tops that were discarded by the cafe where we get our chook scraps. :)

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    1. Thanks for the extra information on growing pineapples Sally. Sounds very similar to other succulents. I will save this info and put in my gardening folder for reference later.

      xTania

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Your comments really make my day. Thank you for taking the time and for being so kind.