A very Happy Christmas

Just a quick post to wish all my lovely readers a very Happy Christmas and I pray that 2019 will bring you much happiness and good health.

Now for the finishing touches

Well, the kitchen and bathroom renovations are finished apart from painting over a few scratches which were made when the cabinet makers had to come back and add something to the cabinets so that they went right to the wall as the painters couldn't get into the little space. The blinds were put up yesterday which was very timely as the kitchen faces the west and we are expecting 36C on Friday.

 

Quick and easy coconut oil soap

While I was sorting out the pantry in my new kitchen just after the latest heatwave I noticed that the coconut oil had melted in the heat and, as I haven't had a chance to make soap for a couple of months, I decided to make a 100% coconut oil soap using the room temperature method.

My poor neglected garden

As the past few weeks have been quite hectic with the renovations being carried out and a family member moving out, my garden has had to take a back seat apart from being watered. Before the renos began the CEO removed the kikuyu from the front garden which was quite high and, as he didn't want to use Roundup it proved to be quite a big job. Of course it is an ongoing procedure as it is such an invasive pest in the garden. At the same time he dug up some of the hundreds of dahlia bulbs he has planted over the years and replanted some of them and now they are starting to flower so hopefully we will have a few showers in the coming week to help them along. Firstly though starting tomorrow we have two hot days in the mid thirties before it cools down mid week. Our northern friends have been doing it tough with 40C days on the coast as well as inland plus there are currently 120 fires burning and to top it off it looks like a cyclone might be forming off the Queensland coast.

Nearly finished....I hope!

These past few weeks have been a bit of a blur as we have been invaded by various tradies and our quiet routine has been disrupted while kitchen and bathroom renovations have been happening as well as the long awaited and much overdue painting of the outside of the house. Today has been the first day I have had a chance to take a long look at how my plants are surviving as they have been covered in dust on several occasions as the house was sanded and then new stairs were installed. I thought I had moved most of the pots out of the line of fire but it is amazing how far dust spreads.