knitting, crochet & crafts, great anti depressants

knitting helps me feel good & hope it helps you to feel good too, doing a bit of reading, apparently any craft that requires creativity is beneficial. 
just a couple of sites i found how it has proven to be helpful for others.

knitting (& other crafts) is healthy for your brain

knitting-health-benefits-depression-dementia


i love the look of a knitted or crocheted garment, the luxurious feel of the fibers & of cause the warmth. i've knitted since my teenage years on & off over the decades, my step mum taught me originally, she couldn't read any patterns but knitted & crocheted up many garments for young & old (she had many grandchildren to keep her hands very busy). mum was one of those who could look at something then go home & sit for hours til she had the pattern, cables were a little out of her league but she did a few of the 2 stitch versions.

Rhonda from Down To Earth blog rekindled my knitting a few years ago, since then i've finished 3 jumpers, many beanies & quite a few dish cloths. have even taught myself circular knitting which i was always afraid to tackle, still need to practice that one though as i would love to have a go at making socks.
currently have a few projects on the go, a cardigan, coat hanger cover & a dishcloth. there's also a top i've started but not liking the look of it will pull it out & do a different pattern for the 8ply.

left to right; cotton top, dish cloth, bottom;
knitted lace coat hanger cover & cardigan

the knitted top i started before xmas 2013, not happy with the way it's knitting up, the ply is way too loose for the pattern probably suit a 10ply. so will undo it & find another top pattern, most likely one from BMW.
i don't knit everyday, the sweats don't allow it, but when i do i thoroughly enjoy it. just the idea of being 'productive' gives me a small feeling of satisfaction that i'm making something very useful, that you can not just 'buy' in a shop. sure i've bought many jumpers over the years as i've not yet made one for myself but knitted for many others, one day, after i get all the other jumpers/tops/scarves/wraps/etc made, i might sit & make one for myself. does anyone else suffer this problem? not that it's much of a problem, it's nice knowing that others enjoy my knits.
i also like reading other blogs about how they found knitting or crochet, this is not only limited to the women but also men, it's good seeing both genders getting in on the act. 
love looking up patterns (am also a pattern collector/hoarder) have quite a few books that i just love, one book i've made a few from & still have a few in i would love to get a start on but keep finding other projects to knit.
haven't knitted for a few days now, with this high humidity we're having the sweats just won't let up so i've been mowing instead...

so, have you found knitting or crochet & what's on your needles right now?


thanx for visiting 

little visitor

two days after xmas & the humidity is beyond sweltering, yet the temps are barely above 30`c. 
still up into the wee hours of the morning (chasing a paladin around skinning his corpses, for quite a few hours) this little/big fellow was sitting on top of my window, 

the cat didn't even realize it was there

love seeing some of our natives, think he/she is a ringtail possum, don't think it expected anyone up at his time (just after 1:30am) sorry the photo isn't very good, from my mobile. the cat only saw the rear of him as it was leaving, he climbed up on the gutter then scuttled off across the roof & probably out onto the fig tree which overhangs the house 

hope everyone had a good xmas

thanx for visiting

wishing you a ...

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A SAFE & HAPPY NEW YEAR 

thought i'd also leave you with my favourite xmas carol, enjoy!

herbing about...

one of my new objectives this year has been to acquire more herbs, had a beautiful collection when i first came here which many of the more delicate herbs all died within months, (town water was very bad due to the drought) the rosemary survived, been carting it around from place to place for 30 years or more, just keep planting it in the places i've lived. 
the last couple of years i've wanted to get my collection going again, from joining in on the DTE forums peeked my interests in herbs again. they have a herb ally going there which mine is feverfew & i will post about that another time.
the feverfew has taken off & is flowering all through the front garden, it looks so happy! there is also oregano & lemon thyme & finally got the common thyme growing out the front too.

feverfew growing well out in the front garden

also have some tansy & comfrey growing out the front & a few comfrey in pots, just waiting to find some good spots to put them, they don't seem to survive very well in the heat here & struggle throughout the hot months. 

bought some new herbs & spices from Mudbrick Cottage, it's my favourite place to buy herbs from in queensland. thursday my 2 new additions arrived they are Lemon Verbena Aloysia triphylla (syn. Lippia citrodora) & Peppermint scented geranium Pelargonium Tomentosum. 

Lemon Verbena & Peppermint geranium

i would like to grow lots of different herbs, they are wonderful plants with many health benefits, they are not hard to grow, some are just a bit picky & so it's trial & error until you find the right places they like to grow.
so far have growing; parsley, basil, tansy, lemon & common thyme, (latter is growing wild out in the paddock) comfrey, aloe vera, mint, chives, oregano, nasturtiums, lavender,  lemon/rose scented geranium, wormwood, rosemary, catnip, calendular, marigolds & the 2 mentioned above. that's all i can remember at the moment, am just happy my list is growing. 

do you grow herbs?


thanx for visiting

mowing season

after 4 days of rain & a little sunshine, the grass has turned most yards into a sea of green, long waving leaves giving us a little lush paradise if just for a short while.
there is no holding back, the loud growls of the backyard mowers going flat out before the next lot of rain. many will be on ride-ons, as most around here are on 1/2 to 1 acre house blocks.

mine is no exception...

 












some of which has now been mowed but i've still called in the cavalry to help me catch up, it's a big yard for me to do on my own at the moment, i even bought a new mower (last year) so i could do it myself, it just grows way too fast after the first rains, so the mower man is coming sometime next week. i usually have to get him in a few times for the whipper-snipping but this time there's mowing too. he also knows his trees so there is no mowing over anything native out in the paddock/yard.



thanx for visiting

basic necessity

one of our basic needs are cooking appliances, they're great when they are working, aren't they? we take them for granted until we don't have them when we need them. i ran out of gas late thursday arvo, right in the middle of cooking sausage & eggs! went & switched the bottles over & just had enough to finish cooking. ordered another bottle friday morning but it won't get delivered until monday. 
friend & neighbour dropped around this morning (saturday) with some shopping, we got to chatting & i asked if she knew anyone who had a camp stove, as i was trying to cook porridge under the griller! her hubby came around about 20minutes later sporting this...

am happy now that i can make brekky again.

thanx for visiting 

storms past

glad to report that the storms have finally subsided, still a lot of cloud around & a few small spits, can bet tomorrow will be extremely hot & steamy here, at least for now it's lovely & cool.
a lot of water went through here & also leaked into my laundry, like it usually does, one day will get that fixed too.



thanx for visiting 

storms

WOW, what a storm we just had here, lasted for over an hour! 
no idea how much water fell as don't have a rain gauge but the lightning & thunder crashes had me & the animals ducking for cover! 
there was also a small mob of kangaroos that got caught out in it too, one got left behind, poor thing was terrified & didn't know which way to hop or move, her bubs in the pouch was crying too. just checked on her before, another joey had come back to her, calling out all the way down the hill till he had reached her. they seem settled now & have moved off.
honestly haven't had storm quite like that since the lightning xmas a few years ago, the whole house shook with every crack, flash & clash! scary stuff! 
now my house is wet, as i had open windows, some i got closed in time, others didn't, well lets just say it's very wet inside too...
sorry, didn't get any pictures, not sure if they would've turned out anyway, just glad that everything stayed intact.

& damn, i think the storm has done an about face as we just had a low crack of thunder, i'd better head off, just in case we have another blackout, will add more later!

messed up ...

no room to move or see what i had on the go nor could i see out the window ...

which annoyed me no end but i sat & tried hard to ignore the messy table, then in a bout of sweats i got up & cleaned it off, sorted wool into new bags & material stash in another bag, now the table is cleared

feels much better, was going to put a nice table cloth on it but thought i'd save that for when i want to show off some knitting (gets really dusty here)

hope you're all having a good weekend




thanx for visiting

books

                                       my 1st book bought 2nd hand from Amazon

it's old fashioned but i like the feel of a book in my hands, the sweet smell of the pages as they're turned, just like being wrapped up in a favourite blanket (especially on rainy days). 
they can inspire, teach or take us away on an adventure filled with thrills & excitement (my favourite books when in school was the silver brumby series) these days i'm more into learning; homemaking, making soaps, knitting, simple living, self sufficiency, even some cooking, etc. 

                                   two crochet stitch books for my eldest daughter & soap recipes 


i have discovered Amazon, they have many titles of new & used books, most in good condition.
i have a wishlist with them that is getting quite long but am looking forward to gradually updating my collection of books.

i know that having the internet is supposed to cut down our demands for paper, in my opinion books are way better especially when the power goes out, it's hard going if all you have to read is downloaded onto your computer. don't get me wrong, i still use the computer to download some patterns & recipes to print out & keep in a binder, (am always running out of ink)...


books also make good practical gifts.

            

thanx for visiting

about my place ...

pottering around my place here, not getting too much of anything done but feeling good when i empty another bucket of weeds onto the compost, or sit & knit a few rows til the power surges (sweats) drive me outside again. 
wandered around taking photos, not too many, some of the backyard, the unfinished chook shed, the paddock, the house, the garden out front & some kangaroos. my yard is mostly empty as it's hard going trying to keep trees & plants alive here, this is my 3rd-5th attempt, (due to dying trees & illness) hopefully this time will be better. just trying to keep the roos from destroying my small trees (they mark their territory by rubbing themselves on them) for now they all have wire cages for protection.

                                         this big buck loves the small trees
                                          
have an orchard half planned, it's where the new chook pen will be once it's built, have an imperial mandarin down there so far with some pumpkin vines growing well around it. some avocado trees started from seed will probably be the next ones to go in, followed sometime later by mango trees, hopefully, have only just potted some seeds up

                                           avocado trees grown from seed 


mowing season has started, finally, had 2 deluges late last week & i can barely keep up with the growth of the grass, it grows so fast here. been picking heaps for the chooks & mowing the rest. ground is uneven so its not easy going, have to dodge the fig tree roots & old shrub stumps too.






thanx for visiting

sunday

g'day 
nice & cool start to the day at 20`c at 7:30am, it's now 26`c almost midday, it's clouding over as i type, a strong breeze is blowing also.
every week i go down to our local market grounds to help out with; weeding, planting, re-potting & organizing seeds etc. we also have a flourishing vegetable garden which supplies our sunday markets, i sometimes buy our own as well as other vegies.  

also trying to get some knitting done, currently working on a cardigan for my daughter who is in england, the pattern & wool i bought from our australian bendigo woollen mills, (once i work out how to do more with the blog i will get photos up) have completed the back & just started both fronts together, this way they will both be the same.

hope everyone has had a great weekend

thanx for visiting 

first steps...

g'day

well this is all new to me, blogging that is, i read many of them & think most should write a book! guess it will become easier the more i do.
the reason for my blog name?  i love cats, love the country & love cottages, old queenslanders also fall into this category.