What I HAVEN'T Done!!

I know I usually pop in to tell you what I HAVE been doing, but in the last little while, I think I've got a longer list going for what I HAVEN'T been doing ... if you see what I mean! :0)

Let's see ...

I HAVEN'T finished my August block for the Gardener's Journal Stitch-A-Long - sorry Chookyblue!!
I HAVEN'T written the instructions for the project I'll be teaching at a retreat in November
I HAVEN'T added any finishes to my OPAM list for two weeks
I HAVEN'T posted for almost a week
I HAVEN'T got the foggiest idea how I'm going to fit everything in over the next three months! Tee! Hee! Hee!

SIGH!! What a slacker I am!! HOWEVER ... today is the last day of Winter, so I'm really hoping that the warmer spring weather (notice my optimism that turning a page on the calender will suddenly turn the temperatures up a few degrees! Tee! Hee! Hee!) will recharge my batteries so I can get myself organised and motivated. Fingers crossed! :0)

Now, I may have quite a list of things I HAVEN'T done, but when we were treated to a bit of a preview of spring on the weekend, my Beloved Geek Boy and I headed out into the garden ... where I DO have some things that I can show you that I HAVE done!

First job was to revamp the herb garden and I forgot to take a photo ... which is a shame, since a couple of canine vandals have since dug up one section and used the new basil plants as a sunbed!!! GGGGRRRRRR!!!! I CAN however, show you some of my other new plantings. In the vege patch, I now have ...

A couple of tomato plants - two different varieties ... which was actually an "OOPS!" at the nursery! BLUSH! I actually meant to get two of the SAME variety, still, it will be interesting to see how the different types go. They've replaced the mutant carrots, so who knows WHAT might happen! :0) And replacing the frost-burned beans ...

A couple of different varieties of Zucchinis ... which we'll train up the trellis ... in theory! :0) And there are also a couple of cucumber plants ... the smaller ones to the left in the photo. Will keep you updated on how they go. The triffod snowpeas are still producing buckets of snowpeas, so lots of spring salads will be on the menu for a while yet ... YUM!!! :0)

In other parts of the yard ...

This was the first garden bed we put in when we bought our house (the only things in the back yard at the time be bought were the big gum tree you can see the trunk of here, a frangipani tree that has since gone to plant heaven cos it had been planted WAY too close to the house and a couple of 'ugly-shrubs'!) and while the grevilleas up one end (the right side and mostly out of the photo) have thrived, the shrubs up this end hadn't done so well and I decided it was time for a makeover. So now we have three Marguerite Daisies (light pink, dark pink and white), a Federation daisy (pale yellow), some white allissiam (spelt wrong, but spellcheck had no suggestions!!) and a nice thick layer of sugarcane mulch that looks great but is also a fabulous way to keep the moisture in the soil.

Meanwhile, in another part of the yard ... (sounds like an old Dragnet lead, doesn't it! Tee! Hee! Hee!)

... GB was busily re-vamping the pond area. The pond was the second thing we established after moving in and after 8 years, was looking a little tired and was losing a lot of water through root-holes in the plastic ... but there were some REALLY happy ferns!! :0) As you can see, this task requires a LOT of serious thought! Tee! Hee! Hee!

OK .... so ... that's what I've been doing instead of stitching in the last little while, but I'll be back into it next week after a couple of other time-consuming events are over and done with.

Have you remembered to leave a comment on my last post to be included in my pattern give-away??? If not, you have til midnight!! :0) I'll draw a winner and be back in the next couple of days to let you know who'll be adding to their "To Do" list, so stay tuned!! Thanks so much to the gals who've shared so far - I am LOVING the stories you've shared! Some have made me laugh out loud (there's a 'homely' teddy that tiptoes back into the house whenever he's put in the op-shop pile!!) and some have touched my heart and made my eyes leak. I have always felt that teddy bears were super special (I am a bit biased, though!!) but these lovely stories have convinced me all the more. In fact ... unless anyone who's contributed a story objects, I'm thinking of adding these lovely stories to my web page ... a "Teddy Tales" page, perhaps, to share the magic of 'real-life' bears with visitors to my web page. Will let you know when it's up so you can take a peek.

And since it's the end of another month ... OPAM gals, make sure you've updated your sidebar lists!! Thanks to all of you who've already emailed the number of finishes you've had this month to Peg or I - this is such a big help to us!! Peg and I will be blog-hopping tomorrow to collect finishes and it's my turn to get the random number generator cranked up to choose winners, so stay tuned for that too! Boy, I sure am keeping you in suspenders this week, aren't I! Tee! Hee! Hee!

And now ... I'm off to find something yummy to cook for dinner, so I shall sign off. I'll be back in a couple of days with some prize winners. Enjoy your creation! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS