Let's hear it for house and yard work!!

It just shows the resilience of insects and birds. The garden that Hanno used to tend, which supplied 80 percent of the vegetables we consumed, was busy with wildlife. Bees buzzed, birds came for water and nectar, kookaburras mined the compost heap for the grubs they knew were in there, and reptiles drank and sunned themselves - always out of Gracie's reach. Then nothing. There were no flowers or plants to visit, no water in the bird baths, no isolated containers collecting rainwater. I sat quietly in the garden yesterday afternoon and was so happy to see how much life there was. I didn't see any reptiles but the bees and birds were in and out, swooping and dive bombing and checking out the flowers that were there. They know there are more flowers coming and they will gracefully wait for their return. I will too!

This post will be disappointing for some of you because this is not the garden update. I still haven't finished. Everything is planted but the pots are not in the places they'll sit. Placement is the hardest thing to work out, especially as this is  a flower garden and all flowers need sun.  To make it more difficult, when I move the large pots - and these are holding 90 - 100kg of potting mix plus the weight of the pot, I don't want to move them again for a few years. I have to get it right. Spring will arrive in just over four weeks time so I have to place the pots where they'll sit all summer-long. Some plants, mainly the roses, can tolerate our summer sun, some can't so I'm trying to work out which plants can sit on the shaded side of larger plants. I'll get there, I just need more time to figure it out.

I got my hair cut!  I think it's four years since it was cut and it was 11 inches below my shoulders. It feels so good to have it shorter again. It's much easier to wash and keep tidy and I don't get caught up in my ponytail when I'm asleep.

Last week I had a mobility assessment for my Home Care Plan. They sent a physiotherapist to assess me here at home. He did a range of tests such as having me stand and sit down as many times as I could in 30 seconds without holding on to anything. I did eight which he said was excellent! I also had to get in and out of bed, and stand in one spot and turn around in a circle. The only two I could not do were balancing on one foot and walking with one foot in front of the other - which required me to stand on one foot for a brief time. He asked me how I spend my days and I told him I'm baking, cooking, gardening, cleaning, playing with Gracie etc. just the normal stuff we all do, and he said I was well ahead of what he would expect of me at my age (76). I think the two I couldn't do are linked to my non-malignant brain tumour. It's always caused me to feel unbalanced and I think that will always be the case. So he scored me 90 percent which I'm happy with.  Let's hear it for house and yard work!!

A new digital electricity meter was installed on Friday so there'll be no more people coming to read the meter. The bills keep rolling in - my Council rates notice came on Thursday so I'm making sure I keep my budget on point and always save money when I have the chance.

My sister will visit from the Blue Mountains in August and my friend Nicole Lutze will visit tomorrow for morning tea. I'm making a whole orange cake with orange cream cheese frosting. I've only got a few lemons and no oranges left on my trees so with the fruit I had in the kitchen, I just made orange and lemon cordial. It is SO delicious - MUCH better than shop-bought cordial. I also have 500ml of syrup to make lemon cordial during the week - that will be the end of the lemons. We had a lot of rain earlier in the year so the fruit was large and juicy. If you live in a warm climate, or have a warm spot in your garden, I hope you'll grow a lemon or orange tree. They're easy to look after and will give you the tastiest fruit you can imagine.

LEMON AND ORANGE CORDIAL

First, juice your fruit. If you get 2 litres of juice you'll need 2 litres of syrup.

You can use sugar syrup or weak sugar syrup, depending on your taste. I used weak syrup but if I was making lemon cordial, I'd use normal sugar syrup.

Normal sugar syrup is 1 kg sugar to 1 litre of water.
Weak sugar syrup is 500 grams sugar to 1 litre of water.

To make the syrup add the sugar to the water and boil it. When the sugar has dissolved, let it cool.  Measure the amount of syrup you have and add the same amount of juice. When mixed together, bottle it and store it in the fridge. Dilute according to your taste - it will be about ¼ cordial to ¾ water.

If you end up with extra syrup, put it in a sealable jar and store it in the fridge. It will keep well and you can make your next batch of cordial with it.

You can also use honey or maple syrup but it will add that flavour to the cordial. I've never make cordial with anything but granulated sugar.

Today I'm cleaning and rearranging the back verandah. It's a real mess. It's a wonderful place to sit on a winter's afternoon and Gracie loves being out there with me. So it's a good investment of my time to make the place look and feel good. I washed the bench seat cushion covers yesterday and when they're on again, I'll finish the outdoor setting chairs, three of which still have to have their arm rests attached. Lunch will be lamb curry and rice, leftovers from the baked leg of lamb I had yesterday.  I'll end my day doing my Woolworths grocery order and sending that in so they can deliver it in the morning.

I hope you have a wonderful week and enjoy the work you do for yourself and your family. xx

ADDITIONAL READING

• Small changes to what you eat can have big benefits for the planet
• Ten effective habits to adopt if you’re an eco-enthusiast
• Climate crisis is making days longer, study finds
• A hairy caterpillar: a ginger toupee, twitching cartoonishl
• Darn it! How to mend holey socks at home