"It's been ten years or more since I set eyes on you..."

I love cake for breakfast.
I especially love Birthday cake for breakfast.
Zok is pretty well proud of himself...

"...so much to plunder...I think I'll sleep instead..."

I won't bore you all with photographic proof that the Christmas items went up in stores on October first.
I won't tell you about how I plot and plan to eek out some small bit of Halloween for myself and then remember that night doesn't descend on our days until about 9 p.m. this time of year.
I will just leave you with this:
Twenty
Six
Dollars (US or freakin AU at todays exchange rate)
EACH!!!!!!!!!
(as if all orange colored pumpkins were created equal for sobbing out loud)

Yes, those are DEEP FRIED, SUGARY, beignets...please send help, or an exercise tape...

Dearest Warratah, and Lilac bushes, I did underestimate you, and I apologize.

"I've got a brand new pair of roller skates, I think we should get together and try them out..."

Yes.
This about sums up the week.
*artwork by Dot Dash aka - http://pipstafford.blogspot.com/

"...I'm about to throw some tomatoes on the griddle to fry...kick off your shoes and sit awhile..."

We had house guests- followed by a house guest, who will be followed by house guests. Zok has been in constant motion, in the kitchen, cooking meals.
His nephew is here, working a contracted job as a 'sparky', which is Australian for 'certified electrician'. He is on night shift, from 6 p.m. until 3 a.m., and Zok likes to make sure he isn't starving on his way out the door, and in case he has failed this task, two to three food options are packed up in travel containers for the hours he is away.

All the while the weeds are still winning their battle to overcome my patience to get rid of them.
The first Convict City Roller bout is drawing nearer.
The garden plants bloom and die and bloom again.
Zok learned to make bread.
I planted a pin-cushion Hakea.

"Somewhere in between the waxing and waning wave"

I lost my weekend to skating, and a sudden weather change from rain to warm cloudy days. I even skated down at the beach which makes me the object of comment by many the passer by. However, if I am ever to actually be a referee my transitions and ability to skate backwards without looking behind myself the whole time needs to improve, and quickly.
Two members of the South Island Sirens came to help Cassie and I make penalty calls at Sunday's scrimmage session, four of us at once is the most we've ever had.

Meanwhile at the homestead, Zok finally made the decision to get the kitchen aid mixer he has been talking about for over a year.
He has made buttermilk pancakes, lemon grass buttermilk scones, and he used it for his pizza dough. Every item has been especially fluffy. He is very, very, pleased.

I've been spending hours trying to battle against the evil onion weed-
This is a bulb weed, and according to the gardening show (our only garden show is national, which I find charming) impossible to overcome by hand weeding, but the alternative is to kill the whole area, by covering the beds over with black plastic to raise the soil temperature so high the weeds die.
Of course everything else would have to die as well.

Zok moved a small Banksia tree, to make room for a new veggie-bed.
Australian's are anti-lawn due to the ever ongoing struggle with drought.

Something is wrong with my Warratah, I haven't had any luck finding out what is wrong. Often, if a common plant has a problem, the gardening show talks about it, because the problem will be spread across a large area of Australia. I have posted last years photo 'in memory of'.
My Clivia has three blooms instead of one this year, such is gardening in the continent of old soil...good and bad. My lilac and snowball tree are both growing at a good rate, Zok has ordered a pomegranate tree after we witnessed the success of the one on the gardening show (from the patch that is local in town at the botanical gardens).