Tea, Talderoy and Huntsmen

Weird title, I know.   Tea is easy.  That's because I've been to cafes four times this week.  Once for lunch with Andrew on a glorious bright summer day, with the Jacarandas flowering.

Twice with our Firey friends (it's a hard life) and once to write with a change of scene.  That was yesterday on another lovely day in a beautiful garden setting.

The amazing GF chocolate cake at Mojo cafe in Mundaring really fired up my fingers! (Don't worry I'm not getting paid so say that, it's just true.)

Actually writing is still going well.  I've done more than 4000 words on my novel this week, bringing my total up to a pinch under 70 000 words, though I suspect the title may have changed this week to "Satan Smith: Crap Demon-Hunter," since he's been getting his arse kicked! 

I'm also writing my fun "Christmas meets Freya" novelette.  That just flies off my fingers too.  Oh dear, it is going to be naughty!

Andrew did some work on the cottage today, on a piece of wood that had rotted.  The picture wall on that side is made up of all old windows and handy bits of wood that were kind of pieced together to make up a rectangle, and that bit was pine and had rotted.  The price you pay for living in what the English call a 'Bespoke" house!

Here's the window wall.  Can you see the little grey dot up high near the roof rafter?

That's a lovely large and hairy Aussie friend.  They're usually nocturnal so maybe Andrew's banging woke her up.

Reminds me of this pic I got some time back in the bathroom but forgot to post for you.

The juxtaposition between calm man on Scottish beach labyrinth and giant sinister Aussie spider with shining eyes amused me.  When I stopped screaming.  :D  Just kidding, I usually only scream if they jump at me or fall out of weird places! 

Here's a lovely smoochy kitty to soothe your nerves after that!

"You cannot avoid my powerful hypnotizing gaze. You will get up and feed me!"

Feel better?  No?  Ok, how about a rousing rendition of my own filked version of the song, Talderoy?  Talderoy went from pirate to Firey!  Beware, contains swearing!

       
Have a lovely weekend, everyone.  Swear a little bit.  I've found it's quite

good for the soul!   
       

Hey, What Happened to the Weekend?

Apart from passing my truck license (Yep still pretty stoked about that!) it was a typical sort of week and weekend here. 

Writing outdoors with chickens in attendance...

 
And writing-ending kitty smooch-attacks...

There was walking in nature...

There was fire-brigade business to enact... (Check out the cool new jackets organised by me and put away in their new owner's pigeon-holes!  So pretty to see! )

There was property maintenance, mostly involving the chooks... 

The chook-dome is now completely Fort Knoxed!

A replacement for the fallen tree perch that finally fell right down. Yes, of course they hate it and are ignoring it!

Music was made, indoors and out...

And last but not least, art was done!  (Shhh, it's still a secret but I can trust you, right?)

Bonfires and Creative Fires

 Our bonfire on Saturday night was so much fun!

Our Firey friend, Fifi, fed us so well to thank us for burning her pile of garden refuse that we felt much over-rewarded and we had a very jolly evening!

It's a family brigade!

And some of us also got a tad silly!

You definitely had to be there!

I stayed home from Fireys this week.  I wanted to catch up on some housework and baking, and do some peaceful creative stuff.   It was nice.  Like stolen time always is!   

I did some more work on the painting that I'm working on for a niecey's birthday. (With chickens, since nearly anything I do outdoors these days involves chickens!)   

I also videoed another song for you.  This is one my sis and I wrote a long time back and we had so much fun with it.  I think the idea was that the character in the song would eventually learn a lesson, but they were just too irrepressible in the end.  :D

       

It's been a musical afternoon today too.  Niamh was over to do some art and writing, so we did some sketching of our favorite subject (Cyrano Fitty Kitty of course!)  and then we worked on a song we've been writing together.

It's fun having other creative person in the family! 

I have a couple of truck lessons this week, then my test on the weekend, so I might leave my Friday post till lunchtime Saturday, so I can tell you if I've passed or not.  Fingers and toes crossed please!  I'll be fine as long as I don't do something silly due to nerves.  Why do I do these things to myself?  Because challenge is good?  (Remind me of that on Saturday morning!)


 

 

"Cherokee Girl" on guitar, plus dog and kitty.

There's been more cold and grey weather for us the last few days, with storms forecast for this weekend too.  We've caught outside time when we could, even if it's been so grey at times that the gold of the flowering wattles seems to shine out of the darkness.

This little Wavy-leafed Hakea has gone bonkers!  It think it is about four years old.  One of our babies. 

Angus doesn't care if it's grey at walk time. He had the zoomies this morning while the girls were busy mousing. 

Funny boy!

This grey old man roo wasn't impressed when we walked by the other day.  He and his wife watched us very carefully.

 

It's easy to see why the roos around here are gray instead of red.  They camouflage into the forest so well.   Can you see him now?

It's been the sort of weather where staying in and crocheting or playing music makes good sense.

I recorded this song the other day.  Cherokee girl by Charles de Lint.  It's one of my faves to play because I love his writing and music, I love the writing of Terri Windling that inspired the book he wrote this song about, The Woodwife, and because I love the song for itself.  It's got a very cool message.

 

Kitty feels that the dark, cold mornings require warming himself under the table light beside the pot belly fire and being disapproving.

"I disapprove of you saying I disapprove of things!"

The paintings on the tanks up at Chidlow yesterday where we walked were a nice touch.

They're so gorgeous and bright and I especially appreciate the local birds they've painted.  I do love community art!


This weekend I get some Shaman healing from my friend Frances, and we go to a funeral for Jerry the pony.   Now I have to go and find the right thing to say about our dear little Pegasus pony, whether my own writing or a quote.

Have a lovely weekend!   On Monday I will draw the name of the lucky winner who will receive a free print book from me, to be sent anywhere in the world.  Please go to my site then comment somewhere on my social media to be in the chance to win a book.  Last chance to be in the draw!

T.L. Merrybard 

A Good Weekend of Interestingness.

Dawn this morning was amazing.

Let's hope it presages a fantastic week!

Our weekend was really lovely. we started it with a lunch for Mum and sis, Jen, on Friday.   Plus six Labradors and one brave cat!

All six dogs in shot at once, plus Cyrano.

Pippa did show little too much interest at one stage, but she is a puppy after all, in fact it was her first birthday on Friday!  Happy birthday, sweet Pippa! 

On Saturday we spent all day at a course for Hazard Reduciotn burns, a very valuable course, but quite intense.  I got home pretty exhausted and rested for a few hours hoping to still be able to go to the Samhain moot we'd planned with the local Druids, but it wasn't to be. Ah well, I am pretty thrilled to be able to go to a six hour course, even if i didn't manage the two things on one day!  Apparently they had a good time and are keen to do it again, so we are all go for our Midwinter bonfire here.

While i was resting trying to recover enough to go to the moot, Mr Kitty decided he was going to come on the bed and sit with me.  He has never really taken to sleeping on the bed in all his 13 years, but since he has got up with me, all of a sudden he thinks it is the best ever.  It is too!  We have one of those hotel-style soft-as-a-cloud toppers on our bed, plus under that a memory foam topper as well, all in an attempt to have less painful nights.  i guess it might be nice for old kitty bones too.  He certainly looks pretty cosy snuggled in there.

 
Sunday morning it was more Firey stuff, with a training event for the comms brigade plus the local fire controller types.  It was fun in a busy way. I got to be on a radio, pretending to be the central fire authority, ordering out brigades, ambulances, power workers, all sorts,  as requested by the controllers, as the 'incident' went on.  I never got any useful pics of that either!  I did get this one of the "Blue-shirts" using their excellent teamwork skills to get one of the gazebos back in the bag!

I do love the colour of their uniform. Makes a nice change from fluro yellow.  :D

In the arvo I spent some time playing guitar in the sun.

And worked on the Wickerman for our bonfire night a bit more.  The chookies liked me being down there in the paddock and came to keep me company.

Ah, my pretty, cheeky, Red Rover.

I love my chookies!


Today I plan on getting my "Leonie" yearly planner up to date.  A bit late I know but I told myself I couldn't play with it until Land of Giants was all done, and what with one thing and another, that has been a long time happening.

Ah, so pretty!

It's not too late to set some goals for the year, even if it is nearly half over.  :D