Ordinary days of autumn...

 We've had no rain for almost a month now, so it's back to hand watering the garden just before sunset each night. The daytime temps for mid-autumn have been a consistent 31C (88F) and the nights 22C (72F)...and oh how I am longing for the day time temps to drop into the 20s, and the nights into the teens. I actually bought a cardigan this week in HOPE of actually getting a winter this year. Ha ha!! It's only a thin open-weave cardigan, but I shall enjoy wearing it when the time arrives. 

The Cubby - 

Around home I've been moving things about in our back undercover area. Cully May and Rafaella asked if I could fix up the cubby house and turn it into a cafe - hmmm. This spurred me on to re-organising the outdoor area so I could bring more natural light into my dark kitchen. By moving the cubby nearer the garden, my kitchen window was free to accept sunlight, and the children also have way more room to move about in this area. 

Anyhow, once this was done I sewed new curtains, added a faux potted plant and tablecloth, and a Cafe sign above the doorway. 

Here's where it used to be, in a corner with not a lot of light or space...but now the old couch is there, and the old cupboard which holds their Cafe bits and pieces, plus my kitchen window above the cupboard is no longer half hidden. 

I bought them a teapot, sugar bowl and milk jug at the op-shop, and they're using some of my old vintage tea cups and spoons as well. I forgot to take a photo of the three of them having a high-tea in their cafe on Tuesday, but believe me they loved it! 

For cold drinks and food they have pretty paper cups, serviettes and plates left over from birthdays last year.

I crocheted edged three tea towels, one each. 

I sewed pretty girl aprons for Cully May and Rafaella, and a sturdy boy apron for Charlie David. He thought it looked great with his Fireman's helmet. ;-) 

Apart from the $3 at the op-shop and another $3 for the faux plant at Reject Shop, everything came from what I already had on hand. The cubby has been given a new life after almost a year of non-use and the whole project spurred me on to finally moving things around out the back to better serve the whole family. There's suddenly a lot more space where it once looked crowded and dark...it's amazing how a little re-organising can produce this kind of outcome around the home. 

Behind the cubby is where my garden potting area resides. I have been gradually raising seeds for the garden - flowers and herbal plants mostly, but also snow peas and asparagus peas. Some have gone into the raised beds and grow bags already, and are doing very well. New seeds have just been planted and all going well they should be in the garden 4-6 weeks from now. Then I'll plant the herbs that need a much cooler temperature to germinate, especially coriander. 

I'm very grateful that we have such a large undercover area for these things, as for most of the year our tropical sun is very fierce to be out in. 

Sewing -

Another (almost) completed project is Blossom's 30th birthday quilt. I sewed all the blocks together and was able to take a few photos to show you the quilt top.

As the quilt top is mostly white, and the backing and binding will be too, I was made to realise that hand quilting it with a heavily shedding dog and cat inside would be too stressful. It would take weeks and I'd have it over my lap all the while, with it folded around me or laying over the couch (places our pets LOVE to sit)...so for such a special birthday gift it would need to be longarm quilted.

A lovely lady not far from us has it in her care right now and will quilt it in a leaf pattern which my Blossom requested (she loves leaves). We are so excited as the Lord provided the cost through two weeks of higher than normal pattern sales in my Etsy shop. He knew, before I did, that hand quilting a white quilt was not the best idea given our home situation, so we praise His kind and generous heart for this provision!

I am still enjoying sewing jar covers from my scrap fabrics, but have moved right on to embroidered ones. As the stitcheries all need to sit inside a 4" circle I decided to choose patterns from some of my previous quilt designs. I finished this one earlier today, and the little embroidery is from one of the Simple Days blocks, though I did reduce the size a smidgin...

I have two more traced and ready to stitch but intend adding a lace edge to them this time. I find this little project very relaxing, and my gift-box is filling with them so that's a real bonus. 

In the Garden -

Well, we had such a wet season this summer that there were no bees to pollinate my pumpkin plants. Here is the only pumpkin we grew (it's called a Queensland Blue), and we've named it Survivor, so I'm planning on making something special with it soon. Earlier this month I planted two new pumpkin plants in the front yard and as we're back to the dry season I might have plenty more to harvest by late spring. I planted our old favourite this time, a Kent (or Jap is another name for it) because we always get an abundant harvest from it.

Our fruit trees are doing well, especially the Mulberry, Pomegranate (has flowered for the first time), Lime, Fig and Barbados Cherry. The two passionfruit vines are also heavy with fruit.

Kitchen - 

Bread is baked a lot as it is a staple (sour dough and focaccia mostly), plus jam drop biscuits (cookies), banana choc muffins, curries, stews, bone broth, pesto (we have so much basil in the garden)...and the list goes on. Just today I sent a jar of pesto and a fresh baked focaccia over to Blossom. My dear husband spent all morning fixing her car, so I made food to deliver when he took her car back. It's very handy having a husband who trained as a motor mechanic before becoming a teacher, and now a car salesman! 

How are you?

I often wonder how you are managing in your week? My life is quite ordinary, and that's just how I like it. Each week has it's own natural rhythm that rarely alters, but within that week there are always new things as well. I find that the change of season brings with it new ideas to try, old ways to retire, fresh eyes to look around my surroundings, and new things to give thanks for. 

Anzac Day -

Today is Anzac Day here in Australia, a day we honour those who served in the armed forces through every war we can remember. It's mostly focused on the ANZACs though - Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought bravely at Gallipoli in 1915. More than 130,000 Australian, New Zealand and Ottoman troops died in that horrendous campaign. We will remember them. 

Blossom has been reading books to the children this month about Gallipoli, preparing them to watch the Anzac march on telly this morning. She sent me photos of the girls helping her make Anzac Biscuits while they watched the march. Last year both girls walked in the march as part of their school, but this year they are homeschooling so they studied it more deeply and understood why the march was so important, why the day itself has so much meaning. 

How is your April to-do list coming along? Have you been gradually marking things off along the way?

I am really pleased with how many things on my list have been accomplished - mostly big things that seemed too hard at one stage, but are now done. And to be honest, Blossom's quilt top was really weighing on me, but when I hung it up to take a photo my heart was bursting with joy. The Lord got me there, because for a while I wasn't sure it would be done in time. 

No matter what we have going on, if we hand it all over to God and ask Him to help us, He will. He never fails...we might fail (I can attest to that personally) but He will not. So if you've got a lot of weight on your shoulders right now, or a must-do list that seems never to shrink, or if you have so much going on you don't know where to start - go to the Lord in prayer. Humbly ask Him to show you the way. 

He showed me that my plans for Blossom's mostly white quilt would cause me a lot of anxiety and problems...and I had not even considered this until he showed me one morning in prayer! And once he told me, well...it was obvious, and I had been blind to it previously. And then He provided the money to pay for machine quilting. 

Honest, you may not think that's amazing in the same way I do, but I did not even ask Him for this...yet He loves me and He knew what I needed when I didn't have a clue. That's our God, ladies. That's our loving, caring, generous, forgiving, amazing, Holy God. 

Pray. Pray often. Open your heart to Him, obey Him, teach His Word to your children and grandchildren. Never doubt Him. Just trust. I couldn't live any other way. Why would I want to? The very best in my life is Jesus and you can't top Him. Amen!

Take care dear friends, and please let me know how you're doing in the comments below. Need prayer? I'll be praying for you. Until next time....

Hugs and blessings,

Don't miss out on any Elefantz news or free patterns. 

Subscribe to my blog posts HERE and receive them direct to your email inbox.  

Or sign up HERE for my free newsletter which often has extra benefits, freebies & tutorials!