It wouldn't be a post without a picture........

.......so here are some.

In October last year we visited a couple of local gardens which were open......one was on a hill out in the country, with a creek at the foot of the hill. It was very peaceful.
Some of the iris in flower, in that garden. Yellow is such a happy colour. That particular garden was having its last open day as it was changing hands within the family, so we are glad we went to it.
The second garden was in a warmer drier spot, even though it wasn't very far from the first. It was a very new garden and the owners had used plants which did well in that climate - this one is a leucadendron, a native of South Africa which grows so well here that many people think they are Aussie native plants.

You would be proud of me, this week I made a skirt.....that is to say, I re-made a skirt which was recently bought new in an op shop; it was a wrap-around skirt, a style which is not flattering to the middle-aged barrel shape because it never sits just where it should, and the view when the wind blows it open is not always what we want to show the world. So its waistband was removed, the one and only seam was sewn with a zipper inserted, and a new waistband made from the old one and sewn back on. Because it was a wee bit loose (read: almost falling down) I inserted some elastic in the waistband before sewing the final side. Result: a new cool cotton skirt, just the thing for the coming summer.

So while fired up with the clothes sewing bug I have decided to have a go at making this top, not long ago I bought some black and white printed knit fabric for that purpose. I have used another Jalie pattern and been quite pleased with it; once I knew what size I needed to trace it went together very well, and the two tops I made from that pattern are very useful. The sizing on this one is slightly different and it will also need to be shortened as it's several centimetres longer than the first pattern. I'm not very tall, you know.

Last weekend winter came back to annoy us and it was very very cold - so much so that we brought in some wood and lit the fire, despite having emptied the fire box and cleaned the glass a week earlier. We had an early taste of spring some weeks ago and it has been shy ever since, hiding from us and peeping out occasionally to tease us. And we had lots of rain, lovely rain, the gardens are smiling. When they get tomorrow's forecast rain, they will no doubt be ecstatic.

This week we have been feeling a little jet-lagged as daylight saving started in the wee small hours of last Sunday morning. While I don't mind it during mid-summer (because the alternative would be sunrise well before 5am and that's far too early for any sane person) six months is way too long. The sun actually rises later during the first and last weeks of daylight saving, than it does in mid-winter.....isn't that ridiculous? If one needs to use lights and power in the morning as well as the evening, where is the saving? I thought the main reason for daylight saving was to save energy, not use more of it.

"Punctuality.

The hour generally selected in cities is after business hours, or from five to eight o'clock. In the country or villages it may be an hour or two earlier. To be punctual at the hour mentioned is obligatory. If you are too early you are in the way; if too late you annoy the hostess, cause impatience among the assembled guests, and perhaps spoil the dinner. Fifteen minutes is the longest time required for a tardy guest."

Remember that next time you receive an invitation, and don't forget to adjust your watch for daylight saving lest you be too late or too early.

Enjoy your days!