Splash!

 

Among the comments received on my last post there were a few remarks about the Whale photo that I use as the header photograph on my blog. 

 I do understand that because my blog is called Crafty in the Med that seeing a whale in the sea photo as the heading image it would be perfectly normal and logical  for bloggers to think that the photo was taken in the Mediterranean. For those of you who have read my last post you will now know it wasn't.  I assure you all  those years ago when I set up my blog in 2011 I really didn't think about that at all.  I just wanted to add a sea theme for the header image. However,I have to admit that I also really wanted to show off this wonderful photograph that I took myself. I am not great at taking photos at all so it was pure magic I got this one and I will probably never ever in my lifetime take another photo like that again. I am afraid I shall continue to brag about it even though daughter Nº 1 tells me at times "

Yes,Mother we know you took it" and I usually reply "Just in case you forget !" 😁 

Hooray for the gardens:

Once again I am thoroughly enjoying visiting and strolling through, via my armchair, the beautiful gardens that are on display throughout our blog world... an abundance of lovely blooms,foliage and masses of colour! Wonderful productive veggie/fruit gardens which have begun to produce scrumptious crops! Gardens that are exceptionally gorgeous at this time of the year.  I would like to give a few mentions here of some of the blogs that I follow who have recently posted about their gardens:

🌿Cherie at North Yorkshire Craft Guru 

🌿Kathy at Compassionknit

🌿Linda at A Rich Tapestry

🌿Marlene at Poppypatchwork

🌿Joy at Diary of a (retired) teacher

🌿Ellie at Feltabulous

and there are more!

  

On a sad note there is one particular garden that I shall greatly miss. Teresa loved her garden and she delighted us frequently with posts throughout each year about her ever-changing garden.

I haven't got my own garden but the gardens in the apartment complex are really lovely at this time of the year too. The complex is surrounded throughout by this decorative hedge. I took this snapshot yesterday. This was after a rather ferocious storm and when the sun came out.

 

 

As I said I haven't got a traditional garden but I do have my balcony garden and it is doing better this year now that I am at home more and can dedicate time to it. I have taken a couple of photos of some of my plants

My Peace Lily.   A surprising recuperation! A few months back it looked as if it was near the end of its existence. It looked quite soggy and poorly and I suspected a victim of over watering. Who could have done that I wonder?  I remember tucking it away behind another plant for it to dry out and hoped it would sort itself out. Yesterday I caught a glimpse of white among the branches and leaves of the other plant I had put it behind. Lo and behold it has a flower and it looks decidedly better. A little bit brown/yellow around some of the leaves so I have sprinkled tea leaves around the top and given it a little water and brought it out into the light.

 

My Fern.  It was a tiny little thing when I brought it just after moving into the apartment 30 odd years ago. It has been in the same place all those years! I have just kept changing the pot as it grows and throwing water at it when I remembered to. It is now in a large clay urn and I think I am going to have to cut it back quite a lot and dig it out of the pot, renew the soil and it will go back in there and will continue to remind me of the woodlands at home in Somerset.

 

 

My Devil's Ivy

It is like a weed . I keep having to cut it back. It being up there high in a corner I often forget to water it but I have noticed it has a guardian as I see Sr P waters it sometimes. 

There is much more but I am trying to rearrange the balcony garden and bring in some plant stands so the rest is a bit of a mess at the moment. 

 

 "Life begins the day you start a garden. – Chinese proverb"

 

The end of it! 

I have my second jab this morning! Sr P wasn't very well after his second one I wonder if that is because it was Pfizer . Mine is Moderna so hopefully I don't get any side effects!

 Before I forget again I would like to thank all bloggers who responded to my "Tidy-up" blog post about reciprocal blogging relationships. Lots of interesting perspectives which are certainly worth mulling over. Thank you 😊

 

 Happy Blogging

Amanda :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding joy in the little things.

The little things in life......

I have often mentioned I have no garden and that I quite envy people who do have one. 
 I am no gardener. I don't have green fingers like my mother and grandmother had. They both had exceptionally beautiful gardens and were fervent gardeners.
A garden is certainly one of the things I still miss from home.
My longing for a bit of green scenery in my home is somewhat appeased by having plants on my small balcony. They do extremely well there actually and I presume it must be due to a greenhouse effect that is produced from the sliding glasses panels we put in some years back which make it into a type of conservatory.  They also seem to thrive on the AC water I water the plants with. We don't do much else except occasionally feed the plants during the summer and give them some new top soil. That doesn't mean they all thrive of course.  A lavender shrub I bought has been struggling and struggling to survive but it has dried up, so that is going in the bin tomorrow.  
I got quite a lift this morning to see this little hanging plant I bought last year has produced a delicate little pink flower. I am being particularly careful to keep it well watered and the sun blind down during the morning as we get the full scorching morning sun on the balcony. I am hoping there will be more flowers.
I have no idea of the name of this plant.   I think it was a plant Sr P bought for me at the street market.

As I am being able to relax a little more during the summer months although I still have some classes throughout July I find I am quite enjoying the little things even the mundane things like having time to do a bit of baking

Cream cheese choc chip cookies ...went down very well with the family.

Choc and Apricot Muffins and Cherry cupcakes.   They disappeared "pronto" !

and Pear cake which I made this morning.      It isn't like that anymore either!

Delight of delights.... I have also been able to get back to my crochet.
I am making this sofa throw for my great niece who is getting married in September. It is nearly finished. I am doing the last row of the edging to night.  

 I will display it better when it is finished and I have blocked it too.

Well that's all for now.

Keep well

Amanda :-)