It's been a big year...

Merry Christmas Dhaaarlings...

The Empress and I would like to wish you all the very best for the 

Christmas Season...

It seems to have been a very difficult year for both of us with one thing and another.

The Empresses health remains fine apart from the odd bloodpressure anomally which is rectified with a review of he medications.

As for me i'm still struggling with Chronic Fatigue following a bout of Glandular Fever and recurrent chest infections. But I'm slowly comming good.

Me being unwell as you might imagine gets the Empress worried too...

On good days we are able to lose ourselves in the garden and for either of us on not so good days... getting out of bed is not the priority...

Finally last month I managed to meet with the theatre group director and after a four hour discussion have come to the decision that i will be taking an indefinite break from costuming... I figure that the stress and lack of support and the inability of the director to address any of my concerns over several years now is not worth persisting with. It is not good for my health and wellbeing.

So i'll be taking at least a 12 month break... Sadly she still doesn't get it and recently asked if I'd like to make just one or two specific costumes for the show next year!!!

Sweetcorn and Cucumbers

Tomato and Beans

In other news the Vegie patch is coming along nicely, harvesting beans, sno peas, Silverbeet, Lettuce, Zucchini and a variety of herbs. 

Fresh Peppermint Tea Anyone?

We have had some lovely pots of Peppemint tea made fresh from the herb patch.

The tomato plants are thriving along with the sweetcorn and cucumbers but are nowhere near harvesting as the days remain comparitivly cool... we need some extended sunshine to get them to colour up.

Yesterday i planted up a "New Bath"... (one of two recently procured from the tip recycleing shop for the bargain price of $20 a piece)... of Asian Greens, including Bok choy, Chinese cabbage so It might be a week or two before I can whip up a little stir-fry.
I've also put in two different types of Aubergine/Egg plant. I've never grown them before so am interested to see how they go...

In another Plant Nursery hunt.... the most recent of many over past months...  i finally had a win!

As you probably know... My most favourite rose of all time finally succumbed to the dreaded "Black Spot" virus. I've been searching every nursery that i manage to find in the hope that they might have a replacement and until yesterday i'd not had much luck at all...

But there hidden back behind a clumped arrangement of Standard and bush roses was the solitary beauty i'd been seatching for...

A  climbing "Black Boy" rose 

My heart skipped a beat... Then i noticed that the poor little darling had several spotty black and yellow leaves...
My heart sank... Bloody black Spot!

On making enquiries with the sales staff as to wether they would discount for a diseased plant... I got the reply from the spotty teenager behind the counter of...

 "No... cos...  all our roses have got a disease Mister"

 I asked to speak to someone more senoir so the manager was called over.
 I said... 
"Your young salesman here just told me that i couldn't get a discount on this rose that has "black spot" as he tells me that all your roses have diseases... I just wanted to check that this information was correct"...

 The manager looked quite horrified and whilst looking daggers at the young sales assistant... appologised profusely and immediately knocked $10 off the price... I thanked him for his business accumen.

This reduced it to almost half price and i figured that if i got the little darling home and gave it a  good treatment it might just survive it's ordeal....
And so might I!

So there you have it... I've a new rose for Christmas and it has been sprayed and fed and watered....
One of those bed bases looks like it may just come in very handy afterall..

Merry Christmas eveyone and Happy New Year!