Hello bloggy friends,

I'm afraid I am having trouble being inspired to blog at the moment. Mostly because another virus has laid our household low so there is little of interest to report (or photograph). Also...I feel sometimes that I have run out of things to say. I haven't been sewing or cooking up a storm or doing anything too exciting with the girls. I have been concentrating on surviving each day as it comes lately, and trying to be calm and healthy and a little more assertive about the things I need or the things that bother me. So...a bit of a learning curve as I try and sort myself out. But....I have been really enjoying reading all of your blogs and also searching for new ones that I can relate to. I love seeing glimpses into other people's (usually women and mothers) lives.

As I have no new photos to post and don't like to leave the page blank and boring.....here is a photo from a few years ago. It was taken before we bought the house we live in now, when we were renting a little house a few suburbs away. Queensland was having a terrible drought - you can see how brown the grass was getting. By the time we moved out, it was completely dead! Anyway....Scott took Gret out for a lot of walk when she was a baby to give me a sleep in, and this must have been a morning when Em decided to go with them. It brings back really happy memories.

Hope you are all having a great week.

How does my garden grow?

After a bout of green thumbery in her garden with her girls, CT recently asked how my garden is going. The answer is that it has been sadly neglected lately, but nevertheless has managed to chug along on its own. Isn't Mother Nature awesome? I thought these white sweet alyssum had had their day in my little rock garden, but they must have self seeded or just come good with the recent rain as here they are, blooming away. If you look closely you can see that Kipper has been burying his latest bone in the back. This is one reason why I don't invest TOO much time and energy in my garden anymore. Even my vege patches have to be dog proof or he wanders about in them.

Did I mention a few posts back that my "old" vege garden which I was about to restart with fresh layers of compost etc and a good weeding has surprised me with lots and lots of little coriander and eggplant seedlings? (I initially thought they were weeds).This has made me feel amazingly happy. Little miracles in my own backyard - growing with no help from me whatsover. And they are growing at a rate of knots. I'm sure they have doubled in the last week. I can't wait to add some coriander to my next omelette or scrambled eggs and hopefully, in a few months, Scott will be able to grill homegrown eggplant to put on his home made gluten free pizza.

Here are the baby eggplants. I think I'm supposed to thin them out a bit as it's going to get crowded in there soon, but I haven't had the heart to pull out too many.

There aren't many flowers happening in Hester's Garden at the moment, but this lovely old ordinary geranium keeps flowering away. She always looks a bit down at heel and frowsy with the weeds around her ankles but I love her for providing a little patch of beauty amongst the weeds which want to take over everything in our subtropical climate. Nestled behind her is my little lavender bush which hasn't flowered for ages but I'm still hoping. She will get more sun now that the big passionfruit vine which used to shade the garden is dying off.

When I came around the corner of the house I saw our sweet doggy dog holding his bone between his front paws and basking on the green grass in the sunshine. Doesn't he look contented?

Speaking of sunshine, I won't be seeing much for the next few weeks as I have started a three week treatment for the sunspots on my forehead which will make the area inflamed, itchy, sore and sensitive to light for a few weeks. I'm not allowed to put any moisturiser, makeup or sunscreen on or expose the area to sunlight so I'll be trying to stay indoors and wearing a hat pulled way down when I have to go outside. I've peeked at photos of the results of this treatment (Effudix) online and it ain't pretty. Still, I'm sure I'll survive. If I'm feeling brave, maybe I'll post some before, during and after photos. This guy did, and I was really thankful for his honesty. I'm hoping my reaction will be milder. (Don't look unless you have a strong stomach)

Back to the garden tour.....here is my second no dig garden vege patch. (Click here if you'd like to see what it looked like when it was brand new and ready for planting). As you can see, the weeds and grass have won the war we have been waging and have made a lot of headway into the garden. I had to pull my silverbeet out as it was past its best and being eaten into green lace by little grubs that left tiny black poos all over it. Next time I plant it, I'll get organised and spray them with a garlic solution as I hear real gardeners do. In the meantime, I still have basil and shallots to enjoy.

This shot shows the amazing passionfruit vine that a neighbour planted over a year ago. It has been so lush and just grown like Topsy all along the fence. Sort of like an instant hedge. The original vines near the ground are now thicker than my thumb but most of the vine has died off. But at either end, it is still powering along with lush greenness. How amazing it can suck all the goodness of the soil all the way along the fence.

Last, but not least, my faithful little pink geranium that my mother (Queen of the Green Thumbs) gave me. It is the ONLY flower in the whole front garden. Never mind. I'll get back to it after this skin treatment is finished.

Our household is still being visited by the Gastro Fairy who has been bestowing fevers and other unpleasant symptoms on the girls and me. Scott has gone away for work until tomorrow so it might be a tough night. I hope not. Usually in these circumstances, I do the cosleeping, comforting and cuddling and he handles the cleaning up and washing of laundry but this time it is up to me. I've been feeling a bit glum and fed up this week - resentful of the same old routine and chores and mess but when my girls are sick, of course I am reminded of what is really important and all I can feel is love and gratitude for them and for my life. Today, I've stopped trying to do housework and my part time historian's job from home, and cancelled all dentist appointments, social engagements etc. I'm concentrating on cuddling my girls (and wiping the house with Pine-o-cleen). So.....I'd better stop blogging and get back to them. My big girl is on the mend after 5 days and asking for a banana.

Hope you and yours are staying well.