Sunday, January 13, 2013

The Week in Pictures...

 
 
** As I type this it is overcast outside and a refreshing, cool breeze is coming through the window: The complete opposite to the sweltering conditions we had at the start of the week! The heatwave finally broke on Wednesday when it reached 31*C (bliss!), but not before the garden suffered some serious heat damage: I have had to cut back the cucumber vines that got burnt to a crisp; the geraniums are a shrivelled mess; and the lamb's ear appears to have melted. Oh, summer, how I despise thee.
 
** I picked the first of the cherry tomatoes this week - so sweet and juicy. I consume half of what I've picked before I even make it from the vegie patch to the kitchen. It's alright, though, because the plants are loaded and still flowering. I wish I'd had such luck with all the tomatoes I planted, but no. I am resolved never to purchase seedlings from the supermarket ever, ever again. LESSON LEARNED. Instead I've been browsing online for organic heirloom varieties to grow from seed. (If you're familiar with purchasing heirloom seeds online I could use the recommendations).
 
** I send out a lot of mail art but don't usually receive a lot, so I was absolutely tickled pink to receive two pieces in the mail this week, one of which was an amazing handmade postcard from Heleen in the Netherlands. It has a snail on it. A snail with a letter. LOVE IT.
 
** I am quite content to sit for hours with Rhonda Hetzel's Down to Earth, a simple living magazine and a pot of tea.
 
What simple pleasures did you enjoy this week?
 

12 comments:

  1. I adore Rhonda. Every time I read her words I can hear her speaking to me. That snail is just lovely. He's so good he's framable

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    1. Frame him I might! What a splendid idea. :)
      Yes, Rhonda is wonderful. I cannot tire of her book - it provides so much inspiration, especially at those times when disillusionment and discontent begin to kick in.
      ~S.

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    2. Oh, I do that too! Read her when I'm waning, I mean. I wonder if she knows how wonderful she is? Perhaps she deserves some snail mail too.... I'll have to think on that!

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    3. I think Rhonda would be the type of person to quite enjoy a handwritten letter. :)
      ~S.

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  2. oh the cool, it has just been bliss...and today it rained...I had forgotten how good the smell of rain is..........I still cant believe it actually rained after all this heat....

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    1. Rain? We got three drops (if that)! The ground here is so dry and our tanks are nearing empty, we could really use a "wet spell". :/
      ~S.

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  3. Yesterday was Sunday and we woke to the unfamiliar sound of cool cleansing rain pattering on the roof. It rained here most of the day and you could almost hear the garden heave a sigh of relief. One of the loveliest sounds and smells in the world after an extended hot spell. According to the Weather Bureau the cool change is due in part to the cyclone near WA bringing in moisture. Doesn't matter where it came from it was very welcome. I hope it reaches NSW and Vic and the Fire-fighters get some relief.

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    1. Yes, the cloud and the moisture is being brought across from WA by the jetstream. We've not had any rain here, although the cloud cover and SE breezes are wonderful. Hopefully we'll get some rainfall before T.C. Narelle dissipates completely.
      ~S.

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  4. Hi Sarah! It's all too easy to forget the simple pleasures and get caught up in 'big' things like work and bills and for me at the moment, the delightful process that is moving house/states. I think some of my simple pleasures though were some down time doing the crossword on my iPad, and the discovery that woolworths now sell Terry's Orange Chocolate in bar form. Small victories haha!

    I'm new to the blogging world (sophboat.blogspot.com.au)and am looking forward to reading more of your posts :)

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    1. I think it'd be alright if you were unable to find small joys in moving house: I hate moving! But at the same time I have a gypsy mentality and get restless if I stay too long in the same place. Go figure.
      Best of luck with the move, and thank you for visiting my blog. :)
      ~S.

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  5. Oh my those cherry tomatoes look so delicious! I had every intention to grow tomatoes this year but left it too late to plant them! It actually sounds like you might have lots of deliciousness growing in your garden.

    Sleeping under the doona with the fan on just means I like the air around me to be cold while I am all snuggled up under a doona! Not good for the environment so I don't do it very often but sometimes I do....

    Goodluck with the book editing - following your passion can be scary - I hope I get up the guts to do it one day - the security of my current job is just too hard to leave.

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    1. I like to have the ceiling fan on for white noise: It kind of drowns out all those noises houses tend to make in the night. I'm a light sleeper and I hear EVERYTHING! We got one of those little Vornado fans to help circulate air around the house but, ohmygosh, it is SO LOUD! I have to turn it off at night because it makes so much white noise it sounds as if there are people talking (you know how your brain hears things in white noise? Well, I hope you do because I swear I'm not a loon!) and that kind of just creeps me out. :/
      ~S.

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