A Return to Simplicity.

Lots of interesting bits and pieces of information pop up on social media every day and now and then it's good information! Such as the number of plants to have in the home to benefit wellbeing. (Image from Better Homes and Gardens) Australian Better Homes and Gardens tells us that plants in the home have a positive effect on us and our environment. You can read about it here . What is the number?  In an average 4 x 5 metre room the number is as follows: One plant provides mental wellbeing Five plants provides 60% more mental wellbeing Ten plants will maximises their health and wellbeing benefits. (Image from Better Homes and Gardens) Of course there is science behind all this and the size of the room counts in the maths related to the number of plants. Now, on counting up the plants in my house I did discover I need to bring in a few more as I only have 6 inside (and a few faux ones as well). I would say that the 3 above are my favourites. At...

Sometimes I just seem to have so many projects on the go....stitching, crochet, patchwork, repotting and propagation, mulching............. That's me....to many balls on the go at once, but when you slow down a bit and take stock you soon are able to see which needs doing and which can wait. I like to do something at night while I sit and watch TV with hubby and this is usually the crocheting. Currently I am about halfway through Attic24 new Dune rug. You can read about it here . As the cats like to sit with me at night trying to crochet is always tricky as this one likes to chew the yarn. Jenny's new BOM Phyllis Mays Kitchen is slowly getting done but I've renamed it Nonna's kitchen as my kitchen relates to past and present Nonna's, mothers and mothers in law !  I feel sometimes our kitchens/recipes become a melting pot of past and present and that make us into the cooks and care givers we are today! I finished this version o...

Your home should tell the story of who you are , and be a collection of what you love! I would never have believed that I would love recycled/repurposed bits and pieces of furniture and stuff!  But as I have grown older I have become less wanting of the new and have turned to liking furniture with a bit of character....a turned leg here and there and other bits that can be repurposed into alternative things for the home and garden. An old chair and bowl make an excellent garden planter and just look how gorgeous this old gate is! A splash of paint or wax and an old faithful cupboard or dresser is given a new lease of life to display a collection of blue and white dishes. This louvered door came from the university ( what stories could it tell ) and now resides in my home. A lick of paint and it now becomes part of the decor.  The old ceiling rose was a garage sale purchase for a few dollars...a few chips and chunks missing but comes up a...

True gardeners know two things to be true: that a garden is never finished and any bare patch of soil is a potential project! (Country Style Magazine)  Now that is so true of our garden here in the dry tropics, although we work in the garden all year round it is especially rewarding in the winter because we can get so much more done. Now that the cooler months are here there is lots happening around the place. All through the summer months I grow hanging pots of Petunias. Those wonderful little flowers are now popping up around the place and I have seedlings for free and the only thing I need do is dig them up and repot into hanging baskets. The roots are not deep so it's an easy job. These Zinnias are doing the same, but I do help them along by sprinkling the dried flower heads into the pots and they reproduce themselves for many years. They even come up between the pavers!  This pot was planted last weekend and there are flowe...