~ Some flowers for today ~

Hello!

There's nearly nothing nicer than sharing flowers is there.  Be they fresh ones, photos of them, paintings or even catching a whiff of a scent of one.... sending most of those out to wherever they may land:

Another of my waterbowls with sweet and shy native violets

Freesias resting on one of my Mum's beautifully worked cushions.
I'm so glad I took this photo years ago as the actual cushion has disintegrated with age and use... the magic of photos, it will live on

Some beauties... we once did some housesitting and there happened to be many roses growing.
I love this shot in the late afternoon light.

I'm sorry if I may have already shown this one in the past but its a favourite and seems to want to be shown again somehow

Kind wishes to each and every one of you xx

Update to Previous Post "A Blog Break"

Yesterday, my dear Mum lost her fight to live.  

Being the grand old age of 95, and still making her own decisions, she astounded medical staff  with her bravery and fortitude by agreeing to (Mum was still making her own decisions), and undergoing, some very uncomfortable procedures in the hope they might give a reprieve to the condition but, at the same time, maintaining her pragmatic approach to the situation. 

However, those skilled and caring Doctors and Nurses agreed it was time to stop all interventions, make her comfortable and pain-free in a quiet and peaceful part of the hospital so that my brother, sister and I could spend as much time as possible by her bedside. 

Mum stayed with us a further one and a half days and my heart broke as I cuddled her and held her hand during our last goodbye.

We are so thankful for that time and realise how lucky we are to have had her in our lives for those many years.  She is a true Matriarch in every sense.

 ~~~~~

Thank you for all your beautiful comments in the previous post.  You know I love to answer comments always and I felt so much support from you dear blogfriends as I read each one.  

However, I don't seem to be even half as brave as Mum, because I just have the need to retreat from things at the moment.

Warmest regards, Sue xx 

A Blog Break

Hello !

I am taking a break from my blog and instagram.

A pic of Mum and I taken a long, long time ago.

Here's, not so much a title, but words from my heart.... "To say I have a strong Mum is an understatement... give her some odds, she'll defy them and she's trying her hardest again!"
Proud she is my Mum.

Thanks dear blogfriends, see you when I do xx

December!

Update: Sunday 15th November 2019:
Hello!
I shall wind up this year here on my blog with very best wishes to everyone for a safe and peaceful Christmas.

Am starting to slow down in a few things (such as getting around to everyone on their blogs) and that's a sure sign that a little break is needed. 

A few pics first though:

On Thursday I joined the other monday art group ladies for an enjoyable end-of-year lunch: 

I had a Bloody Mary (wow! head blowing ;D)! )
followed by baked eggs, pepperonata & persian fetta ... the pepperonata was a rich tasting sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, chillies and onion - perfect, spicy but not unbearably so.
Roasted local peaches and ice cream for dessert
(too busy talking to remember a photo of dessert though)

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The  Epis that I included, further down, in this same post, have now died off and some are currently developing fruit at the junction of the spent bloom to the leaf (usually they're edible by Christmas-time).  Here's a photo of one of them to show you what I mean:

The fruit swells and becomes a pretty pink.  Its a refreshing little tidbit! 

Our cherries continued to provide lovely eating over the past couple of weeks but, all good things must come to an end, and here I hold the final cherry of the season!  They were delicious :D)

Anyway, thanks for your blog-friendship throughout this year. 

 Good cheer and all the best.  

See you in the New Year.

Sue xx

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Hi there, I hope the past weeks have been good to you.

Thought I'd jazz up the background on my blog for December... spread a few baubles and glitter around... 'tis the Season!!

~ First up,  a completed painting of my current favourite flowers.
I'm pretty active on Instagram and have been lucky enough to catch up with a few blogger-friends there, so I'll always try to have something different here:

~ There's been lots of bushfires in various States here over the past couple of months and, a week or so back, here in East Gippsland some dry lightning strikes caused lots of random fires.

Currently, there's a huge 9,000+ hectare one burning just 6 km East of our town.  Because of the size, dryness of the bush etc, its likely to be around and causing spotting-on for many more days, weeks or months according to the authorities.

It's something we, like so many other communities, have learnt to live with.

We have so much admiration for the fire-fighters who attend these fires - several are in our street.  We hear them coming and going at any given time.  They're brave!  Their families who support them are wonderful too.

Life goes on but our hearts go out to the ones caught in the direct path of these fires  ❤︎❤︎

We're under the flight path of the helicopters who fill up their buckets from our river and then back to the fires... we salute those pilots also! ❤︎

~ Mum turned 95 this week and I must share with you this beautiful cake one of our Nieces, Skye, made for her.  She was thrilled to bits and was quite overwhelmed.  Mum is still an avid knitter and is currently setting her needles on fire getting a whole new layout knitted for a new babe due in the family early next year.  ('Toots' is one of those family names of endearment and the fact that Skye added that was an extra lovely touch):

Here's a sample of some of the fabulous knitting Mum has recently made:

She recently made over 2 dozen knitted Poppies for Remembrance Day as well!  She's amazing for 95!!!!

... thought I'd include some of my handmades for Mum's pressies.
They were fun to make and she loved them.  Took the wrapping paper off so carefully, saying she was going to keep that too.
It was a happy day 😊

~ These beautiful Epis burst into flower over the past few weeks.
My Sister grows them and keeps us all supplied with gorgeous varieties.  They're like an exotic touch to the garden:

~ Now to share my latest yummy obsession... sushi... but not of the raw fish kind. Me, in my ignorance, used to think that was all there was!  But, no!  There's all sorts of combinations and with the tasty ginger strips to eat between each mouthful.
On our weekly shopping day, I'm enjoying it each time Hubby suggests I may like to do some sushi-ing for lunch - oh yes! Added bonus, it ticks the gluten-free box too ;D):

~ A little sketchy card I finished last week.  Some Correas (Australian Native) in watercolour and old cardstock re-used:

~ A little glimpse into Hubby's greenhouse and the strawberries that are tantalising us.  A few weeks before we can eat these: 

.... however, a little walk further down to his orchard and look what's there!
Cherries!  Oh joy!  We have regular visits and just stand under the netting, reach up and eat.
They are so yum.
The birds can't get them at them, Hubby let the nets down in time this year ;D)

~ Another painting I had finished a while back.  This time, an acrylic:

~ The nasturtiums along the side of the house are really partying!
I've let them ramble and roam and re-seed to their hearts content and they're taking full advantage:

Well, that's about it for now.  I shall do what I did last month and pop in to add another something or other to this post and, in the meantime, get around to visit everyone over the month.

Thanks for taking the time to read and perhaps comment.  Its always lovely having an e-chat ;D)