SUMMER FLOWERS AND FRUSTRATING SHOPPING

I love the cheerful faces and bright colours of that edible flower, the nasturtium. 

  Many times I have attempted to establish a permanent nasturtium plant,

always with a spectacular lack of success.

They grow weakly, bloom a bit, grow tiny leaves, and die off.

And that is despite watering, and trying different positions.

The other day Mr Cardinal, in a triumph of hope over experience,

bought me this little dear one at a plant market.

Poor little plant, I hate to tell you what I fear will happen to you!

The roses, thankfully, continue to thrive and bloom, despite our ignorance.

Maybe, like Real Estate, it comes down to Position, Position, Position:

I love a raglan sleeve, and have been looking for some time for a pattern for a simple shift dress with raglan sleeves. 

Recently I spotted McCalls M6460 on Diary of a Sewing Fanatic, a U.S. blog.

Now, I am probably the last person in Australia to realise this,

but when I went to the two local pattern suppliers,

I discovered that it does not appear, even in the latest books.

The clue is in the number, which was way past those which we have here.

I have tried to shop locally whenever possible to help our economy,

but in no time at all I had purchased it online at a fraction of the local price, and it arrived in a few days.

Sad but true.

On the pool repair front, the crack and all other signs of age have been fixed, and the undercoat applied to the whole pool

ready for a shining new coat of Pebblecrete:

The post-Christmas decluttering going on around here is Truly Amazing.

Mr Cardinal attacked his man-shed/cave like a demon,

taking a full trailer load to the tip, and a car-load to the Vinnie's Depot.

He wants to build some shelves up the wall,

so today, in stifling 33 deg. heat we visited the place which has everything,

except exactly what you want, Bunnings Warehouse.

There is no air-con, and I thought I would melt into a puddle right there between Doorknobs and Tools.

We came home without the shelves, but at least have a plan.

There were lots of tough plants, though,

and for $2 I bought a miniaure maidenhair fern.

It's still mighty hot.  
I think we'll be having a salad involving mango tonight.