Autumn has Sprung!

Happy Autumn to the Southern Hemisphere
and Happy Spring to the Northern one!

Either way it means more mild temperatures if we are all lucky.
:)

We have a butternut pumpkin that looks like it is ready to pick any day now.
It was a complete surprise- a volunteer from the compost bin. I don't remember the last time we had butternut pumpkin- so you could've knocked me over when that is the kind of curcurbit it grew to be. The little female flowering fruits are so adorable- and quite big for an unfertilized "fruit"- the first one we had I thought for sure must've got pollinated without our help, it was so large when it withered. But since that happened the next one we made sure we helped Mother Nature along. We had plenty of bees around when the gum tree was blooming- but that was done by the time this blossomed... and now we have a lovely butternut to grace our table one of these days. I need to look up on how to best take care of it after picking. Some pumpkins do better left on the vine as long a possible- but since the butternut is so thin-skinned- I am not sure.

Made some cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day- will try to place a photo or two here to show them to you. I baked and iced- DS decorated.







Hope you are well.

Homesick

Even after 10 yrs of being here and making some lovely friends and owning my own home ( well- paying it off), which is a lifetime dream- I am still homesick.
Homesick, family- sick, friend-sick, tree-sick... the whole lot.
Not everyday, but often enough that I wonder that even if we won the lottery (Which we don't play, BTW) would moving to the bush/countryside make me happy enough to want to stay? I don't know how one figures this kind of thing out.

I know I should be thankful for what I have- and I am- but I long for more peaceful surroundings. Sirens and loud vehicles, smelly exhaust, and constant human voices are my daily life and it doesn't sit well with my interior. I don't know how to help that either.

It was a lovely day today- mostly sunny with cooler temps- about 23C as the high.
I got laundry,dishes, and two skeins of handspun all washed and dried. That's saying something for a Monday!
I also got an entire batt of fibre from Kathy (www.KathysFibres.com)spun!
Just into singles at the moment.
Last week I did a pair of slippers (as a test for a designer) in crochet and finished up a hooded scarf that I was testing for someone else. I have been quite prolific for someone who seems to get little done in a week most weeks! I am feeling happy about that.
Now I've agreed to test crochet a pair of baby slippers- if they turn out nicely I'd like to send them to Karla- my friend Jane's daughter - who, along with her DH of course, is expecting their first child this September!!!! I am so very excited for them!!

Thanks for reading.
Hope you are well.