Well, I ventured out today to the local knitting store, where I immediately bailed up the nice lady at the counter. Now, I was taught to knit by one of my babysitters as a kid, and about 6 years ago I tried it again - but I bought a terribly fussy yarn, with lots of fluffy bits, and it just got too frustrating. That project is still sitting in a box somewhere, needles attached!

So, I asked her advice about which yarn to start with, and which needles. I ended up with a colourful acrylic yarn, and some 5mm needles. Oh, and a Patons ‘Learn to Knit’ book. There are some nice simple patterns in there, but I thought I’d start really basic so as not to discourage myself.

The hardest part was learning how to cast on. There was a method described in the book, but I couldn’t figure it out - so I used the method outlined in this video on YouTube instead:

If you’re picking up the needles again after a long absence, it’s a great refresher! I’ll be going back and watching it again to learn how to cast off. So, my first few rows went well…

As of tonight, I have gotten this far:

I’ve only made two mistakes so far: I accidentally added an extra stitch in my second row, and I dropped a stitch a little ways back. But, overall, it’s been really easy.

Truly, as soon as I’d cast on and went to make that first knit stitch, it all just came back, and I just started knitting! My hands are a little sore from the unusual activity, but I’m hoping with time and practice this will disappear.

I’ve decided that this first project will be a headband, and I may try and find a few buttons to funk it up if possible. I’m really quite enjoying myself - I told Nick he may have to hide it from me, I just can’t seem to stop!

Those of you out there who knit - what was your first -completed- knitting project? And what cool things have you made?

Well, it’s finally home. We’ve just come back from a week-long holiday in Fiji, and it was so lovely to open the door and step back into our own home.

We managed to get the house totally sorted out before we left, and packed those pesky unpacked boxes off into the garage to be worried about in future. The saga of unpacking was helped along enourmously by the completion of the two bookshelves - you should have seen the pile of empty boxes once I unpacked this lot!

Bookshelf No. 2 is currently in our spare room/cello room:

This morning started as all Sunday mornings should - with a cup of tea in bed. Fast forward a few hours, and we have Nick making awesome bacon, mushroom and onion omelettes for breakfast:

The garden is looking great, too. Did I mention that it took us three trips with the 4WD and trailer to get all our (okay, my) stuff from The Rental to here? And that one of those trips consisted solely of plants? Ahem…

The strawberries are going great-guns, and the little mulberry tree has fruit all over it! I can’t wait to tuck into these..

Oh yes, and we finally got ourselves a proper compost bin - it was on sale at K-Mart for $25! We saw it at Bunnings a few days later for about $45. Bargin!

Our backyard is huge, and mostly empty, so I’m hoping to ask the landlords soon if we can make a bit of a vegie garden along the fence - I would be estatic if I could actually finally garden in the ground properly!

Now I’m off to buy myself a pair of knitting needles and some yarn. Yes, I have decided to re-learn how to knit, and join the legion of make-it-yourself knitters. The last time I tried knitting I bought some fluffy, silky yarn which was a nightmare to work with, and started by trying to make a scarf. Needless to say I got fed up - so this time, easy yarn and a small project to begin!

Happy days! Nick and are about to move into a 3-bedroom house 2 blocks from the beach! We’ve rented our own place, and are now in the process of moving.

The new house has a big backyard with an old bird avery - just the thing to hopefully put a few chickens into in the near future…

So, we have a busy weekend ahead of us, using my parents’ 4WD and trailer to move all our stuff out of the share house and over to the new one - about a 45 minute drive. The new place is a little closer to where I work, and further out of the city. It’s in a nice, quiet suburb near the water, and we’re both looking forward to having our own place at last.

I’m so looking forward to building a home. I had my own home with my ex-partner for many years, so being in a share house again was difficult. Once you’re used to having control over all your space, it’s hard to give that up. The idea of having our own place is so exciting! I’ll have to post some photos once we’ve gotten ourselves organised

Months ago, I expressed my desire to get a couple of big, solid bookcases to store my ever-expanding library. Currently, said library exists in numerous locations - mostly boxed up, but also on my bedside table, floor, the top of my wardrobe…

My Dad’s response was “don’t buy bookcases, I’ll make you some”. Now, many months of labour later - in the times he could spare it - the project is nearing completion! Nick, Dad and I spent the morning gluing together the second of my lovely bookcases.

My wonderful father has spent much time, money, and brainpower to design a magnificent set of two bookcases that will go a long way in housing my library. All there is to do on my next visit to my folk’s place is stain the wood, then secure the backing… and they will be done!

It was satisfying to spend the morning being constructive, and contributing a little to this project. The most satisfying thing of all, though, is that in 50 years time - chance willing I live that long - I will still be able to meander over to my hand-made bookcases, and know that the hands that made them were those of my wonderful and generous father.

So, thank you Dad, for all you’ve done for me - I am a very lucky woman to have such a father.

I came across this today on the ABC website. It’s like SimCity with an environmental conscience I only meant to have a look, and before I knew it, my turns were up, and I’d scored about 319,100! I may have to go try again soon when I’m not feeling quite so sick… darn Ekka cold season…

From the website:

“Play Catchment Detox to see if you can repair a damaged river catchment and create a sustainable and thriving economy.

It’s an online game where you’re in charge of the whole catchment. You get to decide what activities you undertake - whether to plant crops, log forests, build factories or set up national parks. The aim is to fix environmental problems and provide food and wealth for the population.

Managing Australia’s waterways is a huge challenge with climate change, increased demand for water and environmental problems putting our rivers under stress. Catchment Detox gives an idea of just how difficult it is to manage a river catchment.

Are you up for the challenge?”

Go play Catchment Detox at ABC Science!

I was very excited this morning when I wandered out onto the balcony, and saw this!!

I have always loved tulips, and this year I thought I’d try to grow some for the first time. And, it seems I have been successful! I was so excited that I ran inside and got Nick out of bed, saying I had to show him something… and when he saw it he said “yes, it’s lovely, I saw it yesterday!”. Next time he’ll know to tell me when a tulip blossoms

I’m keeping my eye on my other bulbs now - I’ve planted a number of different things in random pots, wherever there was some spare space around another plant. I can’t wait for my other tulips to flower, not to mention the daffodils, irises, and others. Something so bright and lovely is a wonderful surprise

If you happen to be one of my regular readers, you may have noticed a small absence of late. This is mainly due to the fact that my job has been sucking up a majority of my time and energy lately, and I, frankly, have not had the passion to post.

I’m a firm believer in the maxim “if you don’t have something to say, don’t say anything!”. And that applies very much to my blogging. However, I felt the need to share my current frame of mind with you all, and so here I am.

I have been living a rather un-simple life of late, in that the stresses of work have been on my mind, and I’ve not had the mental energy to create the calm attitude I need to get passionate about things. I’m sure many of you can relate - when something takes a lot of your time and mental energy, there’s not a whole heck of a lot left for anything else. It’s not a space I am happy to be in, and I’m hoping it will change over the next few weeks. I’d love to get back to researching for my sustainable home project, and sharing what I’ve found with you all.

And yes, I will have those mushroom photos for you soon! They have been mighty tasty, let me tell you Especially in the risotto that Nick made on Thursday night. I have to say he is a damn fine cook!

Here’s hoping I get back to “regular working order” soon, until then, all the best…

Jess

Today was a sad day for me, and for many other Aussie gardeners, I’m sure.

Peter Cundall, the host of Gardening Australia since it began many, many years ago, has retired from the show. For many years I have watched GA, and been inspired by Pete’s enthusiasm for all things gardening. His passion is infectious, and I’ll miss my weekly dose of it.

One of the things I love best about his style of gardening is his relaxed attitude towards planting, pruning, and all other gardening tasks! He just makes everything so simple, and manages to allay the fear that I might be doing something wrong. There is so much you can learn about how to garden ‘properly’ - knowing your nutrients, soil composition, companion planting… etc. But when it comes down to is, all you really need to do is dig a hole, bung in the plant, and Bob’s yer uncle.

So, farewell Pete - I’ll miss you!