Lemons and a fig hedge

 I have lost track of how many bagfuls ( that's one of those weird words ) of lemons that Viv has given us.  And I can't think of a nicer gift.
 I love decorating with fruit. Viv already knows this....and she still gives them to us. And they don't just come in any old bag....it's always a special bag that she has collected.
Thanks Viv. You know how much I adore them.
Nature always produces the perfect colours.

I've been sewing my socks off today.
This little pile of nature's colours are for Flynn's Quilt. He turns 2 in early August. They are now in strips and ready to be joined together. 
Don't let him read this Sam and Kiann.
Here he is going off to work!

The sun came out today. It was beautiful out in our garden.
Bill did some more mowing.
I dug up some huge matted iris rhizomes to revitalise the clumps and planted some potted roses that people had given us. 
I took some hardwood cuttings from our ornamental grapevine, fig tree and leucadendrons. No honey dip this time, just straight into the mix and tied up in a supermarket bag and tucked away out of the wind for the next few weeks.
Paul Bangay uses fruiting figs as a hedge plant.
A fig hedge....who would've thought! 

These 3 leucadendrons survived out the front. 
We also had 6 others down the eastern side of the house but they have been burnt and show no signs of recovery. Except this one.....beautiful fresh, new foliage.

These are looking gorgeous. I think they are erlicheers.

There is hardly anything in flower in the rose garden, just the odd rose....and this! It's a geranium called Rozanne. It stands out like a beacon!

These pretty little Ambridge roses were hanging   among the dead bits so I picked them. It's a David Austin rose. I never quite know whether it is pinky apricot or apricoty pink! 

The latest Belle....
I've worked out why I'm enjoying sewing this block so much. It's already wonky! 

White primulas and aprons

Pretty white primulas are my flowers of choice in Winter. I  usually halve one punnet of seedlings into two terracotta pots which stand either side of the front door. They look so fresh and healthy at this time of the year. I have been growing them each Winter now for a number of years.....

Late afternoon.....

The view looking west across our backyard still has that burnt out look about it. In fact we are thinking of having a grassed area there now instead of planting more trees and shrubs. We'll see how it looks in the Spring. New fencing will also come a bit later.

It was such a nice surprise to find these little tree seedlings around a burnt stump. We continue to be amazed at how nature looks after itself.

This burnt tree is now a mass of glorious green foliage. Not all of them have recovered as well as this though.

Aprons....

Mandy had a fascinating post on Facebook a few days ago about the history of Aprons.

 It mentioned how aprons were used to protect the dress underneath because our Grandmothers only had a few dresses and it was easier to wash an apron than a dress.

It went on to say how aprons were used, among other things, to carry eggs from the chicken coop, remove hot dishes from the oven, carry kindling wood for the fire, carry vegies from the garden and fruit from the orchard and to do a quick dust when visitors arrived.

I have a very clear memory of my Nana standing at the  kitchen sink wearing her apron. In this photo 

Pop is having his customary sherry in front of the open fire which was in the kitchen. I can't remember whether it was Nana's custom to have one too but she looks like she is holding something.....still with her apron on!

She was such a kind, gentle soul.

The funny thing is....I LOVE wearing my apron and find it difficult to do any messy jobs without it.

This gorgeous apron was an op shop find for $5. ( I haven't worn it for messy jobs yet...it seems too pretty to get dirty).

Some more Belle loveliness.......

Mmm...too many Peppa Pig cupcakes!

Peppa Pig cupcakes

We adore this little sequence of "cooking cupcakes  with Flynn" photos.  We especially love the concentration and joy on that little face.
The matted hair is just the icing on the cake (so to speak!) 

We are back home again......and it is freezing. 
We took Mum and Dad to Ballarat last Wednesday for Mum's 6 week check up. Her surgeon was very pleased with her progress and healing and has removed all restrictions. She is free to do whatever she likes. The news couldn't have been better.

We drove home through Creswick and Springmount....Mum and Dad's old home towns. 
This is where they were married 65 years ago. We would have loved to have been able to go inside the Church but sadly it was locked.

On Friday Mum had her hair permed. It was supposed to be a lovely afternoon outing. She fell going up the steps at the hairdresser's ( and I think the wind blew her over!) Her shin was completely skun ( is that a word? ) and required dressing at the local surgery. Four and a half hours after leaving home we were back. !!!!! 
Sky diving and white water rafting will have to go on hold  for the moment!

Must have sneaked another Belle set in before we left home last Tuesday. 

We had a meeting with our concreter and project manager last Monday. We have a preliminary construction program printed on an A3 sheet that looks terribly complicated. Bill loves it...it's like a spreadsheet. Anticipated handover is around the end of September.
 So much to do before then though. 

Hope everyone is staying warm and well.
To be perfectly honest, I love this season because I can have quilts EVERYWHERE and it looks nice and cosy. ( along with all the washing on the clothes horses!!)