Weekend Reading, Garden, Hanno's birthday

Surprisingly, life is rolling along nicely here despite the chaos that Covid is causing in Australia and around the rest of the world. We don't go out much, usually just for groceries or medical appointments, so when our gate is closed, we're in this slow bubble that feels like we're working on a small and isolated homestead. But it's not as quiet as you may think because our family visits, or they phone to ask if we want anything at Costco or Ikea when they go there, and, of course, we see the grandkids too. It's just the right mix of house and yard work, quiet time and being social when we have visitors.

This is the Digiplexis with its first flower spike, the background flowers are wallflowers.

Standard Mary Rose, cut back and just starting to shoot again with snap dragons, salvia and geranium. 

The back garden is 99 percent complete and I'm pleased to say it's flowering beautifully. I cook our main meal at lunchtime and after cleaning up I'm usually out in the garden by about 2pm.  It's such a pleasure to sit out there watching the birds and enjoying the fresh air. We have a flock a homing pigeons a few doors up and late in the afternoon they're let out to swoop and fly around the neighbourhood. It's a sight to see. And just this week the Willy Wagtails arrived from Papua New Guinea so I've been watching their antics as they fly overhead.  If you look up, it could be lorikeets, King parrots, cockatoos, ducks or geese, but there's usually something to see.

I harvested this big ginger yesterday - it's 23 cm / 9 inches long.

Hanno harvested and juiced some of our lemons during the week so I froze some and made a couple of bottles of lemon cordial. I think homemade lemon cordial, with either icy filtered water or mineral water is one of the best summer drinks.

Today, I'm going to reorganise the tea towel and dishcloth drawer. I admit it, I've gone a bit mad with the dishcloths so I have to take out some of the old tea towels to get everything in. While I'm at it, I'll clean and reorganise the three drawers under the stove.  They contain the main plates and bowls we use as well as mixing and serving bowls, with frying pans below. Now that we're older, I try  to keep everything we use on a daily basis within easy reach. If I don't have to struggle with daily chores it gives me more time and energy to do things I enjoy. I hope to get all the drawers done before lunch. We're having another quiche today because when I shopped during the week I bought some fresh asparagus.  When you don't buy out of season vegetables and wait for their prime time, it's always exciting when they come in season and use them when they're at their cheapest and most tasty.

We have a very special day tomorrow.  Hanno's birthday, he's 81 years old.  I've asked him if he wants to go out for lunch and he's "thinking about it". My guess is that we'll have lunch here.  Hanno's had a hard time of it this past year so everything is slower now and there are more cups of tea on the front verandah.

Summer Memories, an off-white potted rose in the backyard.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I send warm wishes to everyone in lockdown and hope life improves soon. Take care of yourself, enjoy every day and take it easy.  💖

Weekend Reading

• Strong Female Lead: viscerally powerful film lets the Gillard years speak for themselves

• Can do: tinned fruit and vegetables are offensive no longer

• What is fabric softener? Do you actually need to use it?

• Nan's creamiest rice puddings

• Lunch Boxes for a week

• How to store and restore winter woollens for seasons to come

• Quitting the Rat Race - A Day in My Life

• The Smart Fridge Hack That’ll Help You Eat Your Fruits & Veggies (and Waste Less Produce!)

• Preserving Food from the Garden | Canning & Fermenting

• The Mornington Peninsula farming couple putting seeds in the spotlight

• Transition Farm

• We’re never leaving the home office: Pandemic offers end to commute

• Instant Chocolate Hard Shell

• Sweet and sour: how to recreate classic Australian Chinese restaurant recipes at home