Here in my heartland

I intended to post yesterday, and wrote something to accompany a video I made of Gracie running around the house like a ratbag. When I tried to post it Blogger didn't like it so I walked away.

I grew perilla leaves for Sunny last year and saved the flower heads. It's known as sesame leaf in Korea and used in sushi and a variety of other meals. I've been picking through the dried flowers to extract the seeds and soon I'll sow more of them. I already have three plants germinated and growing well in the bush house. Sunny doesn't know yet but she'll be really pleased to have them in her sushi again.

Soaking perilla seeds with sweet pea seeds before sowing.

The days have been productive here. In the mornings I've been doing little bits in the garden, like sowing seeds, pruning herbs and fertilising. Hanno has planted the garlic, cleared the old sweet potatoes and raspberries and prepared the soil in two gardens for the new season. There is something about this time of year when we have cooler nights and the heat lingers less during the day, when thoughts of a new garden and food for the table make me think about my childhood. Back then, school and home made up my entire world, and it's like that again now.  My home is my world and the most dramatic thing that happens here is the weather, everything else is calm and predictable.  We had nearly 80mm of rain a couple of days ago and it's raining now. The tanks are overflowing and the sound of water flowing makes me feel rich and optimistic. 

Jamie playing with one of his cousins. 

Last week, Kerry and Jamie flew over to Korea to be with Sunny and Sun Ja and spend time with their Korean family; they'll fly back on the weekend. I'm really pleased they took the trip because Kerry can have a break from work and they can catch up and reconnect with Sunny's family. That's always a good thing.

The new lounge coverings.

Back here in the heartland, we had corned beef, potatoes and cabbage for St Patrick's day lunch and it made me think of all the corned beef dinners I had when I was growing up. I had my DNA examined a couple of years ago and discovered I am 68 percent Irish. That was followed by 24 percent English/Welsh, 6 percent Norwegian, 1 percent Swedish (that's my father's mother) and 1 percent Sardinian. I've always had an affinity and affection for the Irish and that 68 percent shows me how real my connection to Ireland is. 

I've been sewing. I made new covers for the cane lounge on the front verandah and recovered a little neck pillow I made last year.  When I can't sleep at night, I often end up in the recliner in the lounge room because when I watch TV it usually puts me to sleep. I realised quickly that I needed to support my head because I kept waking up with a sore neck. I used the pillow all through last winter and decided to cover it with a light flannel fabric so it would be even cosier. I haven't used it yet but as soon as it's colder, when I put my feet up and reach for a rug for my legs, I'll also grab the rabbit pillow and drift off to sleep. Tomorrow I'll make a little cotton curtain for the toilet window. When I finish that, I'll have a break from sewing and move on to my knitting for a while.

The other thing I've been doing, and enjoying a lot, are two online workshops - one for bloggers and one for writers. I send out notes to start each course, then we correspond via email and meet up twice on Skype to see each other face-to-face and to discuss blogs and writing assignments.  It's been wonderful spending time with women who I've known online but have never met and I think it's been beneficial for the ladies to talk to each other about mutual interests. I hope I've encouraged all of them to think of themselves as writers and to stay in that mindset. It's easy for new writers to think they aren't good enough and that can hold them back. Writing requires confidence and talking with other writers helps confidence grow. It's also a reason to comment on any blogs you read. Your comment might be the one that keeps someone writing, and that would always be a good thing.

I hope you're enjoying the change of seasons.  I am!