Back to Winter

Life in my back garden!

Eerily white, isn't it?  From Honduras to this, yes reality bites. I'm trying to add visual interest, but still have a long way and several more growing years to go. 

OMG

One of the days we were diving in Honduras, the wind came up and it was really hard to get back in the boat.  The wind had pushed the waves into 3 or 4 foot swells and the boat was lurching up and down with the ladder attached.  It was hard to swim against the current to the boat. Once you got  there you had to hold on to the ladder while reaching down to take off your fins. The constant up and down of the water threw you up and then down again with a such strong  force it was hard to keep your grip on the ladder.  I noticed one of the women trying to take off her fins and climb the ladder. She was very slight and was pitching up and down.  Being the former instructor, I thought I could help and went rushing in, thinking I could somehow help her get her fins off, with no real plan in mind for how I was going to stay stationary.  Unfortunately I just got in the way, and she drifted off towards the safety line with only one fin on. I reached for her, but I didn't make contact.  Luckily a boat hand jumped in the water and with only bare hands and feet - no mask - no fins - managed to help us all off with our fins and push us towards the first step on the ladder!
So the real hero was our boat hand who outdid all of us with our sophisticated safety gear!
As I read in the paper about the cruise ship which went down in the Mediterranean and hear about all the non heros, I realize my actions looked selfish even though my motives were good. I never explained to the other woman what I was thinking and she was really cool to me afterword.
Mea culpa!

Our new Life

The Handyman trying his new trade.

The photographer extraordEnaire!

tHE PHOTOGRAPHER MODESTLY SHIELDING HIS PITS

NOW THOSE ARE PECS!

The group =some men may have worked out!

We thought you should see our new friend.  But you haven;t been replaced in our hearts. However, we may never come home!

Fashion Heights achieved

Look closely at the glasses, not everyone could position a bandaid in just the right location to effect a repair. Only the  Handyman can do that.

We have set a new standard for sartorial splendor.  Life on the Island is casual and we have taken advantage of that.  We must confess that we have been sleeping in public in the deck chairs. I think our fast paced life is catching up with us - eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, read, bed!

Indoor Christmas arrangements

Arranging a floral centrepiece for yourself is not hard.  Pick a pretty container, anchor some floral foam in the container and then fill the vase with greenery until the foam is completely covered.  I used cedar boughs and euonymus leaves for contrast as the main filler.  Carnations were chosen for their long lasting life.  Pine cones were used to echo the season.  Then you just meed some bling to jazz it up.  Try to pick colours that reflect or complement your table setting. Don't forget to top up the water in the vase daily.

Red carnations and gold accents

Christmas urns 2011

Cedar boughs, birch logs, pine cones and red ornaments,
 with a few dogwood sticks to pick up the colour

This year's Christmas urn styles are lower than last year. Ornaments figure prominently in arrangements this year. I went for colours that complement the house. Of course, a big bow makes it festive.
 The urn at the front is one that stays out all year.  It was originally a grape vine ball that has deteriorated to a shell.  Two or three birch logs anchor the ball and then they are filled with boughs.  The red stars echo the woven star in the arrangement.

Look around the garden some branches really lend themselves to arrangements.  For instance Cotoneaster, euonymus, dogwood, willow, especially curly willow, and burning bush branches all can make a statement in an arrangement.

The berries of the mature burning bush would look lovely in an arrangement. 

The perils of inviting them in

Once inside, that gorgeous plant that you rescued from your balcony or garden before Jack Frost could 'nip it in the bud' reveals that it really was a bug incubation station for some minute flying or web making thingy.  However  insecticidal soap or just plain dish soap diluted in water makes an effective spray for leaves and spines of plants.  The problem is, where to conduct the sanitation procedure.  The bathtub makes the perfect lab. A spray bottle makes it easy to get the undersides and nodes of branches where bugs hang out. Once the plant is dripping with foamy water leave it to 'stew in its own juices' to be sure the soap has penetrated the brittle carapaces of the bugs then, the shower is there to hose it off once the soap has done its magic.  You must be vigilant for the birth of the next generation of plaguing insects, though.  Be prepared to follow up with a fresh application if new bugs are seen.

For the time being my hibiscus is bug free. 

I was moved to bring in a hibiscus that had unusual peachy blossoms with a darker hued trim along the outside edge of the petals. But hibiscus are notorious for getting bugs and I thought I would do a preventative spraying. Here's hoping I am rewarded with blossoms this winter and the plant survives to go back outdoors.

I'm almost ashamed to show you a picture of my mis-shapen Jade.  But I live in  hope it will blossom from an ugly duckling amomg Jades into swan like graceful proportions. 

I also have a Jade plant that I must confess has never had a pleasing shape in spite of all the pinching and proping it has received. Spider mites were detected on it.  So in a way I have the outdoor plants to thank for me discovering it.  If I hadn't brought them in I wouldn't have been examining my plants for signs that the bugs had spread. It too received a dish soap application and hopefully  it is on the road to good health and better structure soon.