Finally an update!

Well Cinderella has been done and dusted with Grace deciding to join a youth choir so I am still running around LOL! Wish Sarah would be interested in it too but she's not into performing and things like that but loves her tennis coaching and spends heaps of time out with our new chooks. Crystal went and turned boy on us so it has found a new home with the lad I got the little ones from. Apart from gardening, running around after the girls etc etc I have managed to get some embroidery done too. Hopefully will do some scrapbooking next week too before I get busy with helping at Grace's ballet concert rehearsals and 3 performances in a fortnight. That will be her last concert with that particular ballet school because she has decided to move to a smaller school to do classical and give jazz a try too. Two lessons a week on a Saturday afternoon is much better than during the week and is about $55 cheaper than I am currently paying for the same amount of tuition time.

The pics of the new chooks are when they were 4 weeks old. Now they are nearly 6 weeks. Just watching them wander around, while I garden or whatever, shows what little individuals they can be. The two older ones get on great with them too and I am sure they are enjoying life more without Crystal bossing them around. LOL!



Princess (named and owned by Sarah)

Ginger (replacement chook for Grace)

Ebony

Ginger (Grace's 2nd chook) - the brown one after the front
Shocking photos I know but they just don't keep still long enough LOL!

Here's some pics of Grace in her costumes for the Cinderella performance that is happening in just a couple of weeks. The one with the green skirt is the one I have had to make almost from scratch. The original costume was either too big or totally the wrong style and colour. This one fits in much better with the group of 5 others. Now they know I can sew I will have to be prepared not to get caught out and end up making more for them LOL.

 

Flowers in my front garden this week

 

Chooks

Here's the pics of my new chooks which have settled in very nicely. They are now about 9 weeks old.

Firstly there is head chook Crystal. She is a pure bred light Sussex and is extremely friendly and inquisitive. She has been named by Grace.


Second chook is Henrietta. She is a Sussex crossed with an Isa Brown. She is also friendly but not as out going as Crystal. Being a cross she will be an exceptional layer too.



Thirdly there is Silkie. Picked by Sarah who couldn't think of a name LOL. She's a pure Silkie and the eggs wont be brilliant so she's there just for her gorgeous looks and because the girls wanted one.

Hardanger

Well I finally finished this a week ago too. The edging looks so much better this time as I have used the correct stitch LOL.

Garden

Here's some pics of the front garden. I love it's cottage feel but it does survive quite well on just the grey water. Some areas have only just been replanted back in autumn. These two small areas are receiving a mixture of fresh and grey until next autumn to give them time to establish and aclimatize. The roses are just about ready to flower and the clematis on the verandah will be smothered in another week. Its very satisfying seeing all my efforts come together as it is very much a spring garden with all the bulbs etc. Slowly adding a lot more summer bulbs too as they cope with the extreme heat very well.

Its also good to look back at all the work I have done designing it too. When we bought the house it had 4 sick looking roses along the front fence and 3 scragy bottlebrush. Lets say they were at the tip within 4 days of moving in. Then the framework was established and away I went. Roses and bulbs first then everything else followed slowly with lots of cuttings taken to help move the plants throughout the garden to save money.

scrapping

Here's the latest two layouts. One using up some old stickers I had hanging around and the other is using that ugly paper but I am very happy with the result.

Chickens

Well here is the nearly completed chicken run. The weather has been so cold and fickle that I have only been pottering along with it. Will be another few weeks before I see chickens in it though.
Just finish the wiring, paint the wooden lid for the nesting boxes, cover the plastic with sarking and paint it to match walls and get the timber for the door into the run and timber for the roosts. Everything else is organised.

Scrapping

Here's some scrapping that I did enjoy. Using up the last of the mauve papers I was using a couple of weeks ago.

Scrapping

Here's the attempts at scrapping with a BG paper pack I was given a few years ago. I'm afraid I don't really like it but have used the darkest papers first.