Springing further

Proof that the we-think-it's-an-apricot-tree in the backyard is really flowering and leafing:

 Yesterday we went for a Nice Sunday Drive an hour north of here to visit Saumarez, a lovely old house with a pretty garden.  Because it is higher in altitude the gardens are different to here, and we saw plants which we can't grow down in the valley.  A pretty pink peony........

 .......with more on a bush.

 A deep red peony in the spotlight.......

 ......with the chorus dancing behind.

Magnolias do grow here, they have finished flowering locally but not so in the cooler climate.

In the Victorian language of flowers magnolias meant 'peerless and proud', while a peony stood for 'anger'.......an interesting mix in a bouquet!

The interior of the house was really interesting too, but as National Trust policy doesn't allow interior photography you will have to take my word for that.  The house was built and lived in by one family, Mr and Mrs White and their seven children, with the last unmarried daughter, Elsie, dying in 1981 at the grand old age of 97.  For many years she lived alone in the house until old age and family pressure necessitated a move to aged care in the nearby town; for most of her life she slept on an outside exposed upstairs verandah, rain, hail, wind, snow or shine.......and the winds can really blow across the plains around that house.  During her lifetime she kept everything in the house as it was when her parents were alive and after her death the family donated the house and contents to the National Trust, so it now gives us a wonderful glimpse into the life of a well-to-do farming family in days past.  Members of the family enjoyed horse riding, the gentlemen played polo, and the ladies had their hand-work and gardening.

Fabric has been purchased for the sashing, cornerstones and binding of Cricket/ette's quilt, not the pale gold and turquoise I had in mind as my favourite local shop didn't have the right colours so I ended up buying spring green and bright orange.  I'm not sure that I really love them, though......the blocks are being squared up now so the decision as to whether to use those fabrics or shop further afield had better be made soon.

These days every second TV program seems to be a so-called 'talent' quest, doesn't it?  We don't watch them, the trailers are enough to put us off.  Why, in this day and age of advanced electronics and headset microphones, do some singers persist in using a hand-held microphone which obscures much of their face?  and why do they sing with their heads thrown back, eyes closed, mouth wide open and face contorted as if in agony?  If singing you causes that much pain, become a plumber or a brain surgeon instead......something you can really enjoy.

"The gentleman's duty as an escort.
When a gentleman contemplates riding with a lady, his first duty is to see that her horse is a proper one for her use, and one that she can readily manage.  He must see that her saddle and bridle are perfectly secure, and trust nothing of this kind to the stable men, without personal examination.  He must be punctual at the appointed hour, and not keep the lady waiting for him clad in her riding costume.  He should see the lady comfortably seated in her saddle before he mounts himself; take his position on the lady's right in riding, open all gates and pay all tolls on the road."

Perhaps that point of etiquette could be better worded?  A gentleman would mount his horse, not himself, and I sincerely hope he doesn't don a lady's riding costume.

Enjoy your days!