The Most Average 'Before and After'.

Have you ever seen a more average-looking 'Before and After'?
This is the path down the side of our garage. It is a space we rarely even look at let alone venture into. A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to give it a bit of a tidy up because the stepping stones were completely covered with leaves. Just as I was starting I thought to myself 'Hey! This would make a great average 'Before and After' for the blog we have been neglecting lately.' So here are the (average) pictures from my phone camera.

Before.

Half done.

After.

After from the other end.

The old shower frame still needs to be taken to the tip and the roof tiles were there to stop a previous neighbour's dog from getting into our yard.

Enjoy! ;)

Adventures in doing vaguely grown-up things...

I remember having a conversation with a friend once, during which I wondered when the time would be when I would stop buying fashion magazines and start buying gardening magazines instead. Well, although that time is not quite here, however I have noticed my consumption of InStyle and Vogue is waning and I've been to the nursery twice this year with my mum. TWICE. And it's only July.

I'm not known for my ability to keep plants alive - I've killed Rosemary, which apparently is pretty hard to do (it really isn't that hard at all) - but I've had a few pots of African Violets on my kitchen windowsill for over a year now and they are still alive. As a result, I'm branching out and attempting a little herb garden* on my balcony. At the moment it's just a bunch of pots with herbs in them, but I'm hoping to create something quite nice out there...I mean, it's only 18 months since I moved in. One day I'll really go crazy and buy some outdoor furniture so I can sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. 

*confession - the second trip to the nursery was because the herbs I bought in the first trip did not make it. They are in a better place now.

'What have you got in your mouth?' and other stories from a day in the life with a toddler.

The dictionary defines 'blogging' as... just kidding! Sorry. No, I really am sorry.

So, what are we doing here? As a mother of an active toddler and as a self-employed work-from-homer with a mending and sewing pile as tall as myself and a kitchen that is rarely tidy I thought I needed something else to fill my time. Writing a blog with my sister! It's going to be fun for sure and together we can motivate each other to keep going. And at least we know there is one other person who will read our posts. So here we go!

As I said, I have an active toddler. If he doesn't get outside each day he gets a little stir crazy. We were both very happy to see some sunshine a few days back. The grass in the yard has dried out a little bit after some rather rainy days so we ventured out into the garden for some sunshine the other morning. The little guy tottered around trying to pick up everything that wasn't nailed down while I pulled a few weeds and inspected the plants that survive my gardening skills.

Top left: A happy pot plant. Top right: A little lady (a gift from a high school friend many years ago). 
Bottom left: The carrot seeds I planted about three or four weeks ago have sprouted in their seedling tray. I'll transfer them to the veggie patch once they are a bit bigger. 
Bottom right: One of our gardenia bushes doesn't look well. Many of the leaves have a black mould. Sooty mould? Time to investigate on doctor Internet.

He ate some dirt, tipped out some dead plants from their pots to locate the ball of roots left behind and he tested some rocks using his mouth. He loves it. I wander around wondering how many times I should bother saying "What's that in your mouth?" as he never seems to mind a mouth full of dirt. I guess that's just the age he is at right? Strengthening that immune system. He's going to have a very strong immune system at this rate, at least until he goes to preschool when I hear everything changes. But that's a little while away. 

Anyway, back indoors now and back to learning how to be a 'proper' blogger. As you may have gathered from this post you might end up seeing entries from me about life in general (does that make this partly a lifestyle blog?), motherhood, amateur gardening, sewing and craft, working from home etc. and a few pictures here and there. I'm more than sure my sister Caroline will showcase her various talents and interests here too. I've already had a glimpse at a couple of her music and book reviews and she has some fashion and style to share with the world as well. I know I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Wish us luck!
 (P.S. Why does the spellcheck on blogger ask me to correct the spelling of 'blogger' and 'blog'!?)