Sunday, March 3, 2013

DUCK FEET


'I wish that I had Duck Feet' by Theo Le Sieg. 1965. Random House.

I wish
that I had duck feet.
And I can tell you why.
You can splash around in duck feet.
You don't have to keep them dry..

We have had half of our average annual rainfall, 
in the first two months of 2013!
And this, after five months with absolutely no rain prior to the end of 2012.

Our local creek has flooded several times this week, and is far wider than its usual self.  We can hear the rushing water from up here on the hill.
  What is the world of weather coming to?

The garden, of course, is loving it, for the most part.


The Red Cardinal Garden of Neglect prize for Best Performing Rose of the Week, goes to:
Big Red Rose, with thirteen buds and blooms at last count!
For us, gardening in the tropics, and with no skills in rose horticulture, that is quite a record...


Passing visitor, surveying the soggy garden from our highest tree.


This week I made a jacket from a piece of floral linen which has languished in the stash for at least ten years.  The pattern, an oldie, McCalls M4385 is called a "Jean Jacket".  Looks good with my pink jeans, or over a pale green linen dress which occasionally makes a re-appearance...


As rainy days just cry out for digging up old projects,
I collected these quilt blocks together to begin assembling them into a friendship quilt.
They were all made individually by members of my monthly sewing group, and many have the creator's name embroidered on them. 
I'll show and tell when the quilt is finished.


Because a woman can change her mind, I bought a different tote for my trip to Canada.  Cheap and Cheerful, from Colette, it is lighter and slightly larger than the blue bag I originally planned to take.
I think this one will work really well with all my in-flight necessities.

Meantime, over in Canada, darling daughter had a birthday, and made this cake:


Chosen from the kids cake book by our sweet grandson, the Petit Garcon, for his Mum.  I don't know how she found the time to hand roll all that fondant into those pretty stripes, with a baby and a toddler underfoot, but she did!
What a Star...


Have a great week everybody ...

XXXX




20 comments:

  1. Dear Patricia - you are so talented with your needle and thread, the shirt looks lovely.
    What a difference to the garden from a few weeks ago, all very green now. I have been wondering the same thing regarding the weather. So many countries in Europe have had such a lot of snow in places you least expect it - Italy for example whereas in our part of the UK we only had it for 5 days in January.
    All very strange.
    I sense the excitement mounting re: Canada.

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    1. Hello Rosemary, That is interesting about the strange weather in other areas - we should not feel we are being singled out! It is still snowing heavily in Canada; hoping it has gone away by the time we get there in May.

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  2. What is it with the weather, Patricia? After all the rain we had last year, it's now very dry but cold here, so spring is still not appearing. I hope it settles down for both of us very soon.

    Your jacket is gorgeous!!! You really are so talented at sewing. I wish I'd inherited my mother's skill at sewing and tailoring, but knitting is the only craft I'm any good at. Roll on your Canada trip. I'm dying to see your photos. :-)

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    1. Ah, dry over there and wet over here. That is how it works! Glad you like the jacket, and I must say I am quite pleased with it. There might be a sewing gene and a knitting gene. I missed out on the latter! I need to think about something else besides Canada or I will bore everyone long before I even get there :)

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  3. What a deluge we have had Valerie! I'm pleased with the jacket and amazed at daughter's cake efforts. Scarves are key for travel, and work really well in the colder climates. I don't like all my tour photos to look the same, so variety is important.

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  4. What a fabulous cake! Your daughter is very talented, even without the distractions of two little boys. She must get her creativity from you with all your beautiful sewing. And how fun to have a monthly sewing group!

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    1. Always proud of my daughter, Beryl, who is gifted in many areas! Sewing friends are the best... they were wonderful when I was ill last year.

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  5. Hi Patricia

    Loving this post which shows what a talent you have. Like Mother like daughter they say. I hope you enjoy the week ahead. Thanks for your lovely comments on my blog. Greatly appreciated.

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    1. Thank you Shell, and hope you have a great week too! Your blog is really beautiful.

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  6. That is a LOT of rain, but your garden will appreciate it. Lovely bag - I'm like a pack mule boarding a plane, and have the kitchen sink in my bag.

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    1. Hi Sulky, I thought that bag was bang on for the purpose, and I am another pack mule, and I'm pretty sure I have a sink in there too!

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  7. Your garden looks quite happy, beautiful roses. I like the jacket. I too get out old projects when the weather turns bad. We don't have really bad weather all that often, maybe that is why I have so many languishing projects, LOL!

    Your daughter could open her own cake making business from the looks of this one.

    Darla

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    1. Still raining here, and I have found a few more old projects! My daughter would love to have such a business - she loves to cook, and dreams of having a B&B.

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  8. Rainy days are perfect for digging out old projects. Look forward to seeing the completed Friendship Quilt. The clock is ticking toward your visit to the north and I can only imagine how excited you are. That jacket would be perfect to take along! What a sweet cake, and so special that your grandson chose it. Hopefully, you'll get relief from the rain very soon.

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    1. Working on the Friendship Quilt and the rain is still pouring, Sanda. Trying to figure the Spring temperatures in Canada is difficult re what to wear. This week they had another big dump of snow.
      I love that my grandson chose the cake, as I doubt I would have had the patience myself.

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  9. Hello, Patricia ! Do those red roses smell as beautiful as they look ? I just found out something (I think of very prosaic things when I'm not working !): I was wondering why you didn't put a "ç" in "garçon" and then realized you didn't have one on your keyboard ; that's it, that's my earth-shattering thought for today ......Lots of love from a slightly bored teacher on holiday (many things to do, no energy ..!). XXX

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    1. Hello Silver Bunny, alas my French efforts are the poorer for an old Australian keyboard. I have dug out my French dictionary and hope for improvement after re-immersion in Quebec - very soooon.
      PS Grandson was enrolled in French School the other day - cute!

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    2. Give him "un gros bisou" for me when you get there !xx

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    3. Ooooh, 'a big kiss'! I got it!

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