Rosie and mints

Rosie (my birthday gift from my mom) has been planted into her pot and is soaking up the sun outside.  I can't wait to see how she grows and flourishes.

I've planted my mints into a planter now. One is chocolate mint, which smells like a peppermint flavoured chocolate and the other is peppermint, destined for many cups of peppermint tea.

The syrofoam container that I have used for the planter was from the fruit and veg shop and I have pierced holes in the side, about an inch from the bottom of the inside of the container, to allow excess water to drain, but still allow there to be some water storage at the base.  I have used this one with much success previously.

Self watering plant pots from yogurt containers

So far the lettuce in the soda bottle SIP are doing well. 

I made a second one from a smaller bottle and have planted a purple or white daisy in it.  I was concerned it wouldn't survive being moved from a less than ideal spot between the pavers to the pot, but it seems to have.

I also stumbled on another gem with some 1L yogurt containers. The beauty of these are they nest beautifully making a natural reservoir for the water without any cutting or addition of extra bits. All I needed to do was make some holes in the bottom and thread some yarn though them and get ready to plant.

First you need 2 of these containers.  Make sure they have been cleaned properly as you don't want your plants to suffer from mouldy, sour dairy products.

Next. Make a few holes at the bottom, and thread your yarn through them.

I tide a knot making a loop at the top so that they stay put and can spread the water.

Then you can nest them, the prepared on into the untouched one, and they are ready to serve as an awesome SIP for your next plant.  They are snug enough not to have an evaporation problem, but still separate easily so when it comes time to top up the reservoir, its simple.

The ease of this makes so much sense, and the way my kids homemade frozen yogurt pops, I could be overrun with these one of these days.

Stock photography update

I checked my stock images I uploaded and two were accepted and have been made public!!!! Very thrilled about that.  I just have to keep getting more images to upload and making more too.  Woohoo!

Rosemary topiary

Right, gardening adventure no. two.

I've taken a few cuttings from the huge rosemary bush we have outside.  The plan is to make topiaries from them to give as gifts. A well thought out and very forward planned Christmas project.

I've stripped the foliage from the bottom half of the stems and stuck them into a vase of water which I'll keep refreshing every so often.  I've found in the past that if I "forget" my cuttings they thrive, but when I panda them they don't grow. Go figure.

So, let's see how that works...

Wicking potted plants

After looking at the Styrofoam box in my laundry for 3 weeks I have finally turned it into a self irrigating pot (SIP).  When Missy was still at her old school we learned how to do this during an after school activity. It's not difficult to do and there are many posts on the Web as to how to make them.

I also made a coke bottle SIP the other day with some lettuce seeds in it.

The Styrofoam planter has herbs in it, given to me by my mother-in-law. I was thrilled to get them and knew they were exactly what I had been waiting for to actually get my bee into gee and make the SIP.

I hope to post updates of the progress of both planters and some other adventures I have on the go.

Stock photography, again...

Today I have uploaded my first set of images to a stock photo website.  Now for the wait on tenterhooks to find out if they will be approved.

Stock photography is a pretty difficult area to get into, with images not just being taken, but made, and while there are a gazillion things to take pictures of, you have to be quite careful about what you photograph, and how you "market" it.  I'm really hoping that these images are accepted.  I was gutted when my first attempt at this many years ago was met with complete failure.

This photograph was taken at the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial in Albany, Western Australia.  It held me captivated for a long time, with all its detail. Lest we forget. A memorial for the ANZAC's who fought for this beautiful country.

The first wallpaper Psalm 145 v 8-9

Click on the image to download the fullsized image.

The new school year has started

DS has started Kindy this year, and while I thought there may be some issues with him "missing" me during the day, he has sailed through them happily, to the point he doesn't even wait for me to settle him in class.  He loves his new teacher and he has really embraced it.  Although, I am sure that he would happily attend 5 days a week, rather than the 5 days per fortnight.

DD has also settled in class, although she seems to be battling a little with finding her space properly.  I'm hoping that this will settle soon too and that she would become her usual happy little lady.

I have decided that this year I would like to put together some inspirational desktop wallpapers so I will keep you up to date with this.  I will be posting them onto my KSP website though rather than here.  I will create a like to it on the side though.  While this one won't make the ranks of wallpaper, it could end up in a printable bookmark or devotional type card set :)

Love this devotional from Bible Love Notes.  Perhaps I over-think things too much.

Over Thinking

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People deal with difficulties in different ways.  Some folks analyze and ponder. Others consider the situation, but quickly move on. Introspective people can bring clarity to subjects by careful, logical examination, while laid-back personalities can bring perspective because they don't take things too seriously.  However, we often operate in extremes, over-thinking or under-thinking problems.  Over-thinkers who struggle with negative, sad, or angry thoughts can take these steps: 1. Ask God for His peace in the midst of your difficulty. John 14:27 2. Identify specific Bible verses that speak truth to your situation. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 3. Memorize these verses or at least write them down. Psalm 119:9-16 4. Whenever you begin to think obsessively, read or recite them. Psalm 119:9-16 5. Make sure you meet with God daily for perspective. Psalm 130:5 When we replace obsessive thoughts with "God thoughts," we are reminding ourselves that God is our refuge from every problem. He is our comfort, wisdom and peace! (Psalm 46:1-3) Tomorrow we'll discuss solutions for those who "under-think" problems.