In praise of my blog

I don't have many readers of my blog these days.  Blogs are a dying medium and sometimes I wonder whether to continue BUT THEN a question arises about some event in the past and I scroll through past posts seeking information and PROOF (for those who remember the Hugo Weaving film).  I don't always find what I'm looking for but I love seeing my life flash before my eyes.  The blog acts as a journal, particularly a garden journal.  And so I shall continue, even if it's only for me and my garden plans.

Flowers from Georgia's garden to remind me of the Sip n Paint sessions she took at the Darlington Vineyard during Great Eastern Wine Week.  I didn't attend any of her sessions but I heard rave reviews, and have seen quite a few paintings of the daffodils.

I couldn't resist Chard's re-opening, even though I need absolutely nothing.  I told Cheryl (who owns and runs Chard) that I was not there to buy but to enjoy her inspiration and design.  Her sense of style is amazing.  She divides the space into small rooms a little like Ikea and decorates them with online finds at incredibly low prices.  It is an upmarket recycle shop.  I think it is also an addiction for Cheryl.  She leased out the shop due to health problems but no-one does it like Cheryl!  When the lease expired, she took it back on.

Then there was the Sunday  Steve summoned me to The Village to meet a German Shepherd pup.  Be still my heart.  Heike lives with Liz and Carl J on Bruny Island.  She is one lucky puppy.

And last week, amazingly my friend Vivien arrived from Sydney for 5 days in Hobart.  We were childhood friends in England and have seen each other three times since, and not for the last 20+ years.  She had exhibitions and galleries to attend but the Wednesday was ours.  I picked her up in Hobart and drove via Richmond to Triabunna via The Darlington Vineyard, venue for Georgia's Sip n Paint that afternoon.  Meet and greet with Steve and George then up the East Coast to Swansea, for lunch at Salt Shaker overlooking the beach.  Seafood chowder and wine for two, of course.  Then back down that magnificent coastline for a quick look at the view of Freycinet from Boomer Creek Vineyard, and on to Hobart via Sorell this time.  Then a facetime (or similar) chat with Rosemary in Spain from Vivien's hotel room.  A fabulous day, and a careful night time drive home.

I took my own Wine Week adventure last Saturday.  I have been watching the construction of a beautiful building on a gentle rise just before Swansea for some months.  I thought perhaps it was the house of the people who run Tasman Sea Salt  but it turns out to be a new cellar door winery at Mayfield.  It was a $120.00 adventure but proved well worth it despite being a white and pinot winery which, sadly, is what the East Coast grows.

The view from the carpark is enticing - shame about the cars!

farmier this way.

very farmy this way

We had bubbles and salt enhanced canapés at the winery then set off for our first walk across the fields to the newish Tasman Saltworks.  A rosé (from memory) at the saltworks, an explanation of the salt making process, and an experiment in flavour boosting with cherry tomatoes and chocolate. [Unfortunately this has made  me remember that Steve bought me some salted caramel Lindt chocolate yesterday at my request.  Hypothesis supported.]  Above you can see the shadows of the photographer and corner of the salt shed.   Off we trotted like sheep to our next destination. 

Fortunately we all wore stout boots, as advised, for this part of the expedition took us to a narrow beach with the tide coming in, and up and down rocks.  This is the sort of jaunt I love, though challenging with a glass in hand.

We clambered around the headland to the relic of the Mayfield jetty.  There a table was set up with platters of oysters, fresh and kilpatricked.  Fresh oysters!  The biggest, plumpest I have ever seen.  A cold and crisp chardonnay accompanied.  Unfettered by companions and manners, I launched into the fresh oysters.  Absolute heaven.  Then it was a bit more beach walking and bush bashing back to the winery where pinot and pizza awaited.  A magnificent 2 hours.

Back home in Tribes

It's nice to be  home and feeling well again.  I'm still a bit deaf - leading to some amusement when I asked a student at school lunch today whether they were going to the beach or a swimming pool this afty.  I thought she'd said they were going swimming, apparently she'd said they were going surfing...  These kids really do have some great subject choices.  Though, admittedly it is cold and wet today.

The photo below was taken a cuppla days ago, but with similar weather.

I love that Triabunna is still a working fishing port

a section of Georgia's garden

my daffodil alley

a view of my garden that you don't get to see often,

but that I spend a lot of time thinking about

and planning for

a rather dark photo of the quince tree getting ready to spring into action

 

a view of the productive garden

though not terribly productive at the moment

And then, of course, there's reading.

I don't understand how someone living in the USA can write so  knowledgeably about England, but Elizabeth George seems to.  This book centres around Female Genital Mutilation in England's Nigerian and Somali communities.  I learnt a lot.

This one restored my equilibrium.  Books, boats and nice men.  Delightful.

Mother

Today is Mum's 96th birthday.  The day I saw her on the verandah of the nursing home, all rugged up for the wind and cold, reminded me of this photo from our trip to St Davids in 2010.

We were walking on the road to Whitesands (Porth Mawr) and had just crossed the bridge where Dad saw the ghost of a hooded monk many, many years ago.

I also have to report, while on the mother theme, that I wore Mum's fur coat to the FrocknFur.  

Someone said I looked like the Queen Mother.

And, on one of the rare occasions when I got to see Mum in the nursing home this visit, someone asked me if I was Mum's sister...

Under the doctor

That's what we say in these parts.  I'm now on antibiotics and presume I'm getting better.  Certainly not worse.  The weather here has been very kind since I've been back, encouraging lots of time in the garden and on the deck.

hoping the spiders will catch the codling moths

a new plan is forming for this area

a walk to the chemist earlier in the week revealed this shop had closed down,

a walk to the post office the next day showed it is re-opening soon

The FrocknFur (and Feathers) event at Scorchers to raise money for the RSPCA was planned before I went away.

It also happened to be Robyn's birthday

Louise took time off from Grandma duties.

Georgia snuk into just about every photo.

Her Majesty the Queen of Hearts (and Judy Dench doppleganger) holds the raffet tickles aloft.

We raised $180.00 for the RSPCA.  I'm hoping we can channel it into a special program to care for the pets of victims of domestic violence and homeless people.  Not everyone has it as easy as us, or our pets.