Friday, January 31, 2014

Heat wave sewing continues

A second heat wave gave me few more 
hours at the sewing machine.
                  
I needed replacement chair covers for our outdoor chairs 
No-one sells them.
They would rather sell you new chairs

The frames were fine
I was forced to work it out my self 
based on the design of the ones that were dangerously 
close to dumping someone on the ground.

If I had to do it again I may modify that difficult curve however
I think these canvas covers will last for years.
We bought a secondhand air conditioner just a few weeks ago!
 Moved the water tanks and installed it into the wall.
That keeps the windows free for gazing out of 
rather that looking at a big lump of air conditioner. 
It's what we refer to as a "swampy", they work best in dry conditions.
That's us!
Thank goodness the project was completed swiftly.
Thanks Joe for the innovative, make do with what we have, stand.
Perfect.
Fantastic!
A life saver!!!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Mildura losses an icon

 Where am I going to sell my herbs and Silver beet now?
It was a very busy newsagent with a small supermarket 
and the best take away food.
Conveniently near a bakery, butcher, pharmacy and florist.
Very popular store gone up in flames.
All the others were saved thankfully.
http://www.sunraysiadaily.com.au/story/2038689/photos-pjs-mildura-supermarket-fire/?cs=1763

The local paper got some amazing shots of the fire
and the firemen as they battled the blaze.

Here we go again, this time looks like 7 days at least
Heat wave with predicted temperature over 40 for the next week.


The low will be moving through tonight but here in the north west of Victoria
It won't effect us slipping under.
Those on the coast will cool down but we are in for it.


Already falling far short of the monthly average rainfall,
that's no way to start the year.
It rained the other day, 
I saw it in the distance evaporating before it hit the ground.
The big black rain cloud had lots of promise....
but not even registering a trace.
There's a Farmers market on Saturday.
The forecast is for 44!
Market is going to close at 11am  an hour early, due to the heat.
This is certainly going to be an indoor week.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Smokey sunset

It was a little unnerving to have such a smokey environment
all day.
The bush fire was 100 km's away but the wind had picked up,
changed direction and brought the smoke with it.

The sun was very red, my little happy snapper has not captured the true feel
I was compelled to grab the camera, next time I must grab my glasses as well!

Just behind those trees there is a public park and a sound shell of sorts
There was a Summer concert with The Angels, Suzie Quatro
The Black Sorrows and Shannon Noll.
We can hear the music from our yard...

Too tired from the week long heat wave and market to attend.

The weather has settled down, thank goodness.
A week in the mid 30's seems positively cool
by contrast.
We survived as did most of the garden.
Deep watering and mulch is amazing.


Thursday, January 16, 2014

Day 5 heatwave

It is amazing that I was able to pick any flowers
after this extended heatwave.
Its market day tomorrow...

Day 5 over 40 degrees
The cool change can't come quick enough.
They say it won't be until late this afternoon.
 This Tansy was taller than me.
I am sure the plant will appreciate the hair cut.

Mum has been encouraging me to grow different coloured 
Sunflowers
I raided her garden this morning for a few roses
That pink is just her colour.

I have been indulging in Peach smoothies for breakfast.
Our peach tree is dripping with fruit and they are ripening fast.

2 Peaches, loads of ice cream and a dash of milk.
Yum.

Monday, January 13, 2014

4 days forecast over 40

The forecast is fierce
Day 2, 3 pm 41.1 outside. 
Thanks to our air conditioner it is 30 inside

Inside is the place to be, a good chance to catch up
on rainy day chores...


Cushion covers


I've had to make up the pattern as I go,
 so no two covers will be the same.
I chose the fabric months ago on a sale table....
Not enough fabric on the roll so I have had to improvise 
with some old couch covers.

It is getting easier however
I had totally forgotten how to put in a zip,
used the ones off the old covers!
The cushions were pretty bad so this heat wave is timely.
 I have to remove most of that leather top as
it can still be felt through the canvas.
They are in service as soon as they are finished.

The colour is reflective of the climate this summer. 
It is strange that the Northern Hemisphere 
is having the exact opposite but extreme weather event.
Do they call it a cool wave, given ours is a heat wave?

Monday, January 6, 2014

Lost no more.

I have been looking for a sculpture
that has been lost in my garden for more than a year.

It was a child student who made this and it has become
 a symbol of differing ability and proved a learning lesson 
in teaching for me.
 The other day I was very excited to see this

Last time I saw it was after a weeding effort
I looked for a new spot for it but decided to 
return it to the original spot so I knew where it was.
I have spent much time looking for it ever since as the garden
once again became out of control and overgrown.

In fact I have done some serious cutting and pruning 
over this past year in this area just looking for the figure.
The soil has coloured the raw clay, no wonder it was hard to find
Oh my goodness, a winter flowering gladdy in a most inappropriate place
Would it have forced up the sculpture as it tried to grow,
we will never know
This is such a genuine naive piece
There was a student of the same age in the same after school class.
she had made a figurine of her grandmother
in a rocking chair, wearing bunny rabbit slippers and spectacles
It was amazing, such detail, such fine work....it was finished with the same
attention to detail, beautifully underglazed.
I enter all students work in the local agricultural show and I try
to ensure that every child will win a prize for their efforts.
Most of the sections are divided by age group which means
the students are always competing against each other
I was aware that the student of the above work had an aide 
in her regular classroom to assist her with her learning.
It was with the best of intentions that 
I entered this piece in the disabled section.
She won first prize, as did 
the Grandma in the rocking chair with bunny slippers.
She asked me what disabled meant when I gave her her prize.
I stumbled over the teachers aide rationale.
I never saw her in class again and as you can see she 
left her winning figure behind.
I love it, 
however it reminds me that perhaps she should have competed
with her age group, we will never know how she would have gone,
Maybe third prize or award of merit may have 
kept after school pottery as an option for her.