So much to grow

 Sentimental Rox is going to begin blogging our other most favorite past time and that is the garden. 

 It is something I eat from and feel so close to like "they" the plants are all my friends. 

Tomato Plants

I am an avid believer in growing what you need and use on a regular basis.  For instance it would be madness for me grow something I don't eat or cook.  I try to stick firstly to the staples of onions, potatoes, beans, spinach, parsley, thyme, carrots and following that the list is endless and it is hard to stop.

          .....oOo.....

The garden is a major source of enjoyment and fulfillment to my partner and myself.  Each day there is something to do and tend.  I go and greet the garden each morning with so much joy.  I am more than sure they know that I am there everyday.  Everything has and is growing wonderfully.  

Strawberries in Coke planters on the fence

                    ....oOo.....

The strawberries who I call Good charlotte berries are prolific.  I have now made purpose built strawberry planters from halves of coca cola plastic bottles and attached them to the fence with zip ties that are removable.  This way they are able to cascade down with their beautiful nutritious fruit ... they love it there!

The main focus of the day today is the compost heap.  We have decided to re position it  as it went where it was by default.  The rest of the vegetable garden has a new home so now the compost will as well.

Rooting Powder is amazing stuff.

This is a cutting:

Now This is one is so pretty but I cannot tell you what it is called.


What I can tell you is this:

Rooting Powder is amazing stuff.

I had to leave the mother plant at my house in Bellingen and that was sad, so I got some rooting powder and chopped off some branches and dipped them in the powder and voila they rooted!  sounds gross I know.  Your mind not mine, this powder is also called Hormone Powder.  It causes the plant to form roots – How? I'm not sure but it works. 

So this photograph was taken  a year later and this plant is thriving!

Rooting powder is most certainly extremely helpful in starting plants from other parent plants.  Recently I started a Rosemary cutting in the same fashion.

Image by Mezza - A successful cutting

Frienship is my Bracelet

"The friendship that can cease has never been real."
- Saint Jerome 

 

Big bird is also a bird who makes friends easily. The world-famous bird has been a central character on Sesame Street for the program's run.

Today I woke up to the news that 14 people have lost their lives on the east coast of the USA.  My friend Mandie and her family have left their home in Warwick to take safety in a motel away from the falling trees.  They and four million others have lost power, and it is a chaotic mess.  I treasure my friends!  Stay safe please as I do not want to see anything bad happen to you.

Then I received a phone call from a friend who wanted me to check on his mother who wasn't answering the telephone and he was worried.  Friends are an extension of yourself sometimes I feel.  Anyway I was pleased I could be a good friend today.

"May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty." Irish Proverb

Sentiment.....

Rust does not sleep anywhere in Friendship!

De mayo de las bisagras de nuestra amistad nunca crecen oxidado.
Spanish Irish proverb..

Building friendships takes time. Friendships require self-disclosure so any friendship has risks, Talking and listening builds friendships. Friendships require equality and loyalty from friends.

The best time to grow a friend is before you need one!

Lately I have been blessed with my old friendships being re-kindled.
It is the most amazing feeling to find these people who I truly loved but had lost due to the time and circumstance as well as the life-style of the times we lived in.

Today with the aid of technology we have connected again and never will we separated as the miles are cut down by optic fibre and satellite technology and I am more than pleased with this as now we are all so very close.

To all of those dearest friends and family, I love you and I never forgot you! Guess you could say I am still amazed by it all, sometimes I am so moved and overwhelmed by this as well. Thank you for waiting for me.
Image by Mezza - Our rusty door hinge on Morgo.

Our moments of inspiration

"I was the only one left in the tomb then. I sort of liked it, in a way. It was so nice and peaceful" 

Excerpt from "The Catcher and the Rye"

Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever  reminded of them. Henry David Thoreau.I have many moments of inspiration that come and go quickly.  Mostly I must act swiftly so as not to lose the inspiring  thought.  Copy it down or hastily put into practice what I had just minutes before conjured in my minds eye.   I made strawberry planters to hang on the fence from cut down coke bottles. That was a one of those moments of inspiration.I find that Gnarls Barkley says a very similar thing to the Catcher in the Rye Quote and it is as follows:I remember when I lost my mind. There was something so pleasant about that place.Even your emotions had an echo. In so much space

Image by MezzA - Bellinger Heads in the dawn mist 2011

"NO THE PONY IS TOO OLD"

FAMILY TREE 

EDWARD BUTLER b. 26th June 1876, Broadwater, Stanthorpe, QLD. d. 27 August 1958, QLD. EDWARD'S Parents are:
SAMUEL BUTLER b. 12 Oct 1847, Shelford, Cambridgeshire,England. d. 10 Jul 1934, Applethorpe,QLD, &
PATIENCE TAYLOR b. 19 Apr 1849, Rimbanda,Armidale,NSW. d. 22 Sept 1915, Stanthorpe,QLD.

EDWARD BUTLER married CHRISTINA FLINT 7th Dec 1899,Stanthorpe, QLD place of residence was Maryland Station, Tenterfield, NSW.

CHRISTINA FLINT b. 3 Aug 1877, Thornhill, Maryland, NSW. d. 5 Mar 1962, Stanthorpe, QLD.

A little more about My Great Great Grandparents and my great grandfathers siblings!

Markus Henry Peters and Matilda Stella Peters (nee Butler) at the Killarney Show

Patience Taylor (b. 1849, d. 22September 1915) 

Patience Taylor (daughter of William Taylor and Ann Nunan) was born 1849 in St Peters, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, and died 22 September 1915 in Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia. She married Samuel Butler on 1868 in Tenterfield, New south Wales, Australia.

More About Patience Taylor:

Burial: 25 September 1915, Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia.

More About Patience Taylor and Samuel Butler:

Marriage: 1868, Tenterfield, New south Wales, Australia.

Children of Patience Taylor and Samuel Butler are:

1. William Butler, b. 27 November 1879, d. date unknown.
2. +Isabella Butler, b. 18 November 1880, d. 9 November 1965, Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia.
3. Job Butler, b. 18 November 1880, Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia, d. 22 November 1968, Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia.
4. Thomas Butler, b. 21 February 1883, d. date unknown.
5. George Butler, b. 23 November 1888, d. date unknown.

MY GREAT GRANDMOTHERS OBITUARY
Mrs Christina Kirkpatrick Butler (nee Flint)

The death took place of Mrs Christina Kirkpatrick Russell Butler, aged 84 years on march 5th 1962 at her daughter's, Mrs Alicoque Glover's home in White Street, Stanthorpe.  Mrs Butler had had a stroke eight months prior to her death and was nursed by her daughter Alicoque until she passed away. With careful care and attention Mrs Butler was able to walk and move her right arm considerably with assistance only a month after having the stroke.

Mrs Butler was born on her father's sheep property at "Thorn Hill",Maryland. She lived there with her parents Mr &Mrs Robert Flint until she married Edward (Ted) Butler in 1899 at Stanthorpe Queensland.

After her marriage she and her husband took up a small selection at Maryland. During her younger days she was noted for her horsemanship. She was a lover of outdoor life, especially as far as rough riding was concerned. Many a horse which no man would handle, she would break in, and many an old hand today still talks of her skill in breaking in of horses and buck jump riding. Most of her riding was done in a lady's side saddle. She was still riding at the age of 70 and in recent years when asked if she still rode,her reply was "No the pony is too old".

She learned to ride almost before she could walk for her father who was also an expert horseman and veterinary surgeon, broke in horses of all descriptions and owned and trained race horses and trotters which he raced in Brisbane and various other towns.

In her early days she was also noted for her art in ball room dancing; many a time being belle of the ball. She was a great lover of music and could play the accordion and mouth organ. She still could play a tune on the mouth organ up until she passed away.

Mrs Butler was a very keen reader all her life and never wore glasses. She always did have a fine sense of humor and an amazing quickness of wit. Many a laugh she gave each and all who came in contact with her during her later life.

She and her husband resided at Maryland until 1911 when Mrs Butler came to live with her daughter Alicoque at The Summit and lived with her for eight years.

She then bought a home at The Summit and lived there until her late husbands death four years ago,when she again moved to Stanthorpe to reside with her daughter Alicoque where she remained until her death.

During the whole of her life she only ever visited a doctor twice until just recently. The late Mrs Christina Kirkpatrick Butler is survived by 11 children; four sons and seven daughters.

These are 

Sid  ( The Summit) married  BEATRICE /

Victor (The Summit), married IVY /

Roy (Yarraman),  married Doris / Brian, Kevin

Bert (Brisbane),

Amy (Mrs Glasby) Murwillumbah),married DAVE GLASBY

Matilda (Mrs Peters) Killarney), Married Markus PETERS William (Dad),Mary,Joan,Dudley,Lawrence

Queenie (Mrs Carter) Malanda), - John, Max

Edith ( Mrs Cussen) married John Cussen / - Mavis, Kay

Gracie( Mrs Stonebridge) Ipswich) married George Stonebridge /, Baxter, Roselyn

Elsie ( Mrs McCanna) Mackay)Married Charlie McCANNA /,(twins that passed away)

Alicoque (Mrs Glover) Stanthorpe).

All 11 of her children were born at Maryland with her mother Mrs Flint as nurse.

There are 33 grandchildren and 50 great grand children. I am one of the 50 grandchildren and my grandmother was Matilda (Peters)
...I was reared by my grandmother's sister Edith  Cussen (Nee Butler).

 Image - My grandparents, Markus and Matilda at the Killarney show.  

Matilda was the second eldest daughter of Christina and Edward Butler, who were my great grandparents.

 

This is an image of one of their sons William Henry Peters ( Billy)  and one of their grandchildren Mary-Ellen Peters  (Me) on his knee in the wheelchair he had been in for only a year at this point. Brisbane 1960.  This picture was taken at Rita Clarke's wedding.

                    ....oOo....

Updated to the list of Matilda's...
My Grandmother Matilda Stellar Peters has had two great grandchildren named after her and one Great great grandchild.  I named my first born daughter Matilda Sunshine Katherine after my Grandmother and Katherine after my mother's middle name, Ellen Katherine Peters /Fraser (Baguley).  My cousin  Anne Sullivan named her daughter Matilda. My Nephew Rick Ellen (son of my sister Julieanne) named his first daughter Matilda.

Regeneration generation

Recycling and reusing has been a focus of mine for as long as my life has been long.  I had the misfortune or the fortune depending how you look at it of going the " The Great Depression"  of the 1930's without living in that actual era.  How? You may ask.  I was reared by people who did and every day of my early life I heard stories of this time and how hard things really were.  They were tough believe me!  It was a dark time for many.  Given that I was forced to listen to endless stories of this era, I feel well equipped to go into this next dark era I feel we are approaching at a rapid rate around the Earth.  This shows in my adept use of EVERYTHING.

For more information:The Great Depression in Australia

Image by MezzA - circa 1997  Jack's Garden the entire backyard

And birds and flowers once more to greet

In this sequestered nook how sweet
To sit upon my orchard seat
And birds and flowers once more to greet
-   William Wordsworth 

On the mend... Everything in the entire world is in a constant state of change, So are these Canowind chimes in a constant state of transformation. Painted black now to combat the sea air and the rust problem. Still totally effective though and ready to be decorated further now.
Mother Theresa would be impressed I am sure of this.

Image by MezzA - Canowind chimes in Urunga painted black.

Thats a take and thats a mistake...

Whether or not you want to believe it, you are not perfect. In the course of your life you will make mistakes, even if the last one was in 1975 it was a mistake. The majority of people make many mistakes, daily. That does not make us bad people, just human.

I don't think we know when we are in the middle of a situation that we are making a mistake or not.  Sometimes it takes many years of hindsight to see this.  I look at my life not as a list of the mistakes that I have made.  If I did this then nothing would be right.  I tried for many years with my children's father to find that common ground that we had briefly shared once for about a week.  This is true, in hindsight I think I stayed with him for 28 years coz it looked normal.  Looking normal isn't all its cracked up to be.   Believe me, not seeing this could have been a mistake, if it were then I am truly sorry, I trusted that God would bring me something special from the firey hell and he did / God blessed me with three awesome kids.  So is a mistake a mistake or just a crisis to make you change course.

Image by Mono - Ballina Motel

Everyone needs a Home

"A Cornfield for a Home" 

TINY LITTLE BUGS, WORMS AND BEETLES ROAM ABOUT BURIED DEEP AMONG THE ROOTS IN LOOSE DIRT, THEY HAVE A FEW SMALL TUNNELS GOING EVERYWHERE DOWN HERE THEY ARE SAFE FROM BEING CAUGHT OR HURT. 

 "If you tickle the earth with a hoe she laughs with a harvest."      

- Douglas William Jerrold -

I planted many things today in my garden and made some strawberry planters from coke bottles cut in half and tied to the fence with a zip tie.  They look effective and beautiful.

Image by Mezza - Cane fields near Ulmarra.

I don't believe in pessimism.

If something doesn't come up the way you want,

forge ahead. 

If you think it's going to rain, it will.
- Clint Eastwood -

Pessimism, from the Latin word pessimus (worst), is a state of mind in which one perceives life negatively. Value judgements may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgements of fact are undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "Is the glass half empty or half full?" situation. The degree in which situations like these are evaluated as something good or something bad can be described in terms of one's optimism or pessimism respectively.   

Value judgements are something I have some trouble with in life.  I seem to have the values that I do and I find a huge chasm of understanding around my belief systems and how I interpret the world as it is around me.

Image by MezzA - Pacific Highway near Woodburn.

Looking Back

The only real security is not in owning or possessing
.....Not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. 

Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what it was, nor forward to what it might be, but living in the present and accepting it as it is now.
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

This is a lesson for me to learn.  In the last couple of years I've lived in the past remembering such things and I have ripped myself off doing this as  I have not been able to see the joy in front of me.  The man I have to share my life with is a special person and no one but no one will know the depths of him like I do now.  Stay in the present and enjoy and don't let the past steal the JOy I have found finally.


Image by MezzA - Looking Back up  river at Woodburn NSW

Cow manure is my saviour

“Everything that Bush touches turns to manure in public policy.”

Quote from ~ Alec Baldwin quotes  (American Actor, b.1958)

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Mezza

Cow manure is my saviour

Cow manure is cheap fertiliser that build up the nutrients in soil.  I get cow manure from a local dairy farm.  I need to do this regularly as the soil here on the headland is just empty! Well I have been working hard over the past year to build it up and add much to it!  I have a compost now / new house and new garden. 

Good Charlotte's Strawberries

I use what ever I can to build up the soil. I even go so far as to bring a bucket of soil home from various places in so making like a soil soup!

Remember, that organic matter is depleted every day as it is broken down by the soil micro-organisms and their friends. So replenishing organic matter in the soil to continuously supply the hungry vegetable gardens with the nutrients they need is a never ending job.

This is why its is so sparse in the yard; we rent.  We are making better friends with the owner of the house and I think he doesn’t mind us adding the gardens that we have so far! After all how could anyone get into any strife for growing things!  Yes it would be immoral don’t you think.

IMAGE BY MEZZA – STRAWBERRIES IN THE GARDEN ON MORGO

She who Dares

Beautiful monstar
A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a friend.  ~Author Unknown
Montana and I went on a road trip to Sydney to see 
Justin Bieber in April  2011.. It was amazing and it 
was so much fun. 
Image by Mezza - Montana on the ferry on Sydney Harbour

Little Things Maketh me Mirthful

"The smallest children are nearest to God, as the smallest planets are nearest the sun."

Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825)

Wired... looking tiny through the wire 

From this perspective Brice and Phoenix look small.   I am small in statue but my mind is as expansive as the universe allows me to imagine.     Size means nothing, it is about what we do with what we have and how effective as little creators we can be while we are a part of this dimension. 

Image by Mezza -Looking  small through the wire

"Two is company and three is a crowd."

 These are the ugly words I remember as a child.   This is what the kids at school said to me because I had no parents and I knew nothing much about them.

They picked on me because I wasn't allowed to play with anyone at my house and because I was different and could not wear cloths like they did.  My cloths were very old fashioned and I was not allowed thongs. 

I was not allowed to do my homework at home!  I was very much just left out of everything.   I went into a children's home at 12 and was in the care of the government till my 18th birthday!  

I always try too hard to make people like me.  I do this because I have inappropriate emotional responses to all things in this world of ours, I do not fit into anyone's mould.  I feel very very alone!

Just what is Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder?

Separation Anxiety Disorder is a psychological condition in which an individual has excessive Anxiety regarding separation from places or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment. In children, the strong emotional attachment is likely to a parent; in Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder, the attachment might be to a spouse or friend.

Image by Mezza - the girls and Brice Urunga 2011

DAWN HAS A MAGICAL FEELING WHEN YOUR IN LOVE

“I love that feeling of being in love, the effect of having butterflies when you wake up in the morning. That is special.”  Jennifer Aniston

“The best smell in the world is that man that you love.” She also said that.  I also say this same thing. I love the smell of my Bricee.  The most amazing smell in the world next to my own children.

Human pheromones must have something to say in the sexual chemistry. "Pheromones are unlearned, and perhaps un smellable, signals that enter the brain through the olfactory system.

"The chemistry of pure love" -

http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Chemistry-of-True-Love-47238.shtml

Image by Mezza - Dawn in August Urunga 2011

While there is breath there is Hope

Hope is amazing

YES it is and so I want to quote Mr Martin Luther King Jnr.because he say's it so well.

If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.  

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hope is all I have each day when I wake up from my sleep.  The word say's "we have faith hope and love".  

I must keep my dream alive each day!  

I must rekindle the same passion each day when my eyes open and I realise I am still here on this earth ... alive!  

While there is Breath there is HOPE is one of my favorite sayings that I use a lot in my everyday communication.

Image by MezzA - Dawn on the water at Urunga 2011

Narrow View

I find it amazing how so many people refuse to look at certain things without first filtering out what they see with their own preconceptions; assumptions.

The view is narrow . . .and some are never going to widen their view.  They are comfortable with it and so therefore it appears to work for them.  Their view is so narrow though they cannot even see the damage they are causing to themselves doing this!

http://ypomdigital.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/narrow-points-of-view/

 Image by MezzA - A Narrow View in Urunga

Taking the high road is usually not the easy one to take

.....or the most popular. 

 The low road seems to offer instant satisfaction. It may seem better for the moment, but if you compromise your principles and your integrity, it will always end up costing you far more in the long run."
- Billy Cox -

 Scripture also tells us that we should go through the narrow gate because the wide gate and the wide road are the way to self destruction.  It may hurt more and it may be that it is much more uncomfortable to go down the skinny road, in the end the reward will come.  Sometimes others take the easy way out!  It's all about what they do in the situation and how they posture it.  This will make the difference in the long run. 

Today....  go the extra mile and give the extra inch.  When you do, know that you have made a valuable difference in the final outcome.

Image by MezzA - Downtown Urunga at dawn 2011

Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.

Don’t cry because it’s over.... Smile because it happened.

You know that you are in love when the hardest thing to do is say good-bye!!

This post is dedicated to Montana ... I knew this day would come, I knew I would never be ready really!  I tried to lighten up about it, just don't want to know about any of it! I am going to wait until someone else gets humble as I have done my time!  I am not perfect but I sure am honest ...  Sometimes that sort of honesty can be overwhelming to most!  Most do not like the truth!  Why?  Because the truth is painful at times.  Because something or someone is being true does not make it a pain free guarantee!

Love  Mumma

Image by MezzA -  Stones on the beach

SLOW UP

A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety. 

Aesop Fables

The universe has a wonderful way of making life slow up a bit, if your too busy you could end up nursing a sprain or a break for instance!  Anyway its best to do most things slowly and an evening meal is one of them!  Lest ye choke on thy last morsel.

Poor appetite results from a decrease in the desire to eat and is commonly seen in the elderly. It is not known why this occurs but may be due in part to negative emotions, such as anxiety, depression or sadness.

Image by MezzA - Kookaburra at hungry head.

NO RAIN... NO RAINBOW

You cannot have a rainbow without a little rain!

So this is how the wise adage goes.. 

I am trying to embrace the lesson to learn in this!  

To me it means that life is not a bowl of cherries and sometimes just sometimes things don't always go the way we would like.  

If some one turns the sprinklers on our plans, our lives, our loves and our dreams. 

Wait for the rainbow ..... it will decorate and tie it all back together for you and  me too, I always hope.  Rainbows are a symbol oh hope.  Rainbows are a sign of a covenant of God.

IMAGE BY MezzA - Rainbow over Urunga 2011

Teddies Leave Home Too..

“I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is the leaving you all. I'm not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven.”  

~Louisa M Alcott 

For Reasons Unknown

I pack my case. I check my face.
I look a little bit older.
I look a little bit colder.
With one deep breath, and one big step, I move a little bit closer.
I move a little bit closer.
For reasons unknown.

EVEN RUBBISH SOUNDS GOOD

"Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good action; try to use ordinary situations."

Jean Paul Richter

 Mother Teresa quotes this :

I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use. 

You know sometimes I feel exactly the same.  I see things we can use that we are about to discard all of the time!  Necessity is the mother of invention I was told and this has led me to make these gorgeous canowind chimes from recycling my food cans, I have other plans to use more stuff that jingles in the future but this is the first attempt at making these ones here.  The sun glistens on the metal and the sound is not intense that it interrupts your life.  Another wonderful Mezza invention.

Image by MezzA - CANOWIND CHIMES

ALL PURPOSES...

“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose – A point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.”   

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

I walk this "walk" out to the beach often.  It gives me a small sense of purpose.  I love to see the ocean and so I purpose to get there! 

When the pain inside from my severely broken heart becomes all too much for me, I walk.  Sometimes I run.. but not often lately have I danced out there.  Not for a good while now.  I have staggered back in at night a few times in the dark.  I do not advise anyone to do this as it can get hectic.

The dancing doesn't come easy though when your sad and so I must purpose to do this also because my body needs me to take care of it.  It is my responsibility to do so.

I miss the happiness that the sunshine of a child's love entices with a smile and a hug.  

I miss them all ~ this is why it is hard to purpose.  I must force myself even if I think that I cannot do this.  I MUST TRY TO KEEP GOING... I have to because every day I ask God to help me burn this away like dross and with that in mind .. today could very well be that day!   Peace.. Love and Light.. YES may peace love and light be cast into the darkness of this situation..  Where there is light, darkness takes a hike!

Image by MezzA - Walking over Water

Not Conflagration

But extremely fired up..

May the empowering energy of the Fires of the Universe ever be a part of my being!

I was at least hoping to see glass made..but alas none. 

We went out to the beach and lit a fire in commemoration of the fire works I always took the kids along too.   Montana had to have ear muffs to keep the noise out. I wanted to have a party for our friend and so it was fitting to light a fire.   Tonight it was just us and the ocean.. it was nice.

Images by MezzA - Out at the Beach 31st July 2011