Yes, the zucchini (Kamo Kamo variety - a Zucchini Kumi hybrid) has taken off!

I planted it in a recycling bin which can no longer be seen. As well as racing towards the steps and front door there is another part shooting off to the right.



So you'll understand why Zebby has given up any attempt of veggie guard duty -


much nicer to snooze on our bed, snuggled up to a favourite catnip soft toy (this is not posed - Zeb snuggled up to HIS purple toy all by himself).

Chilean Earthquake

Yes, New Zealand is on Tsunami alert. Potentially affected coastal areas have been evacuated, with people heading to high ground. I'm okay here - my home is about 600 feet above sea level.

My heart goes out to the people of Chile.

Postscript: The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration produced this image of how the Tsunami would roll out from Chile:



and they were pretty much right.

Zucchini progress

Zebby checks the veggie garden from a safe distance - that zucchini plant has enormous leaves .......


... caution every step of the way.

Little does he know it started flowering on Monday ...




Updated photos of the "triffid" tomorrow.

Mickle Knitting #2

Last year my dear Mother came down to Wellington for a Quilters Symposium (yes, she is a patchwork quilter). Amongst the various selling stalls was one that was also giving away knitting magazines. Dear Mum got 3 for me, including an English magazine had a pattern for this:



I found a pure woollen yarn here that would be okay and made the tea cosy. Dear Mum gave extra help as she worked out how to put the daffodil flower parts I'd made together so they ressembled a daffodil flower. With this help, and Mickle also teaching herself Swiss darning, the tea cosy was finally finished ..... and eventually sent off .....



To my dear sister over in England, where the cosy has kept their teapot warm over a cold and snowy winter.



A woolley jersey/sweater/jumper does just the trick for ceramic teapots.

Coffee drinkers - Mickle will have to think again for coffee pot jerseys (just do understand that much as Mickle's taste buds love coffee, her innards get very stroppy with it. Stroppy digestive insides are painfull, unreliable and not much fun)

Wonderful thanks to Liz for photographing the tea cosy (as Mickle completely forgot to before sending the happily knitted tea cosy off the the UK), and happy hoorays to the cosy's new home of tea drinkers accepting the daffodil tea wotsit/warm up devices way before their English Springtime.

XXX Mickle, Purr, purrpurrrrrumble from Zebster

I've been spoilt

Last month my dear Folks gave me a waffle maker for my birthday, AND two wonderful books full of advice and patterns for knitting socks. Wow.



And I had some sock yarn in my wee yarn stash. The single balls are of New Zealand Marino sock wool. The other two balls are a Kaffe Fasset designed yarn.



Super, amazing suprise - last Saturday this arrived from the folks as well. I just couldn't wait. Having found a pattern I loved I went and bought the yarn too ...



A hand dyed worsted marino yarn in the equivalent here of a double knit (needle sizes 4mm to 5mm)



Converting a skein to a ball took about an hour for one. The ball is huge, as shown beside an ordinary (yet super scrummy) apple. My Zebbycat was very bored with this going on, he attempted sleep in our living room, then retreated to the comfort of our bed in the room next door.



And I've already started knitting the wrap, with 2 1/2 pattern rows completed (25 rows of the 10 row pattern). Photos soon, I promise. This 100% NZ Marino yarn is so lovely to handle and knit with, even in our summer heat.

And super luck - Zebbycat now mostly ignores it when Mickle is knitting. That bed is sooooo much cosier to snuggle and snore/snoozle upon.

Wishing you all happy and peacefull times, Mickle and my Zebbycat (looking very cute as he washes his face and chin)

A Glorious Device

An instrument of torture?



No, a great kitchen tool that peels,



cores and



slices apples!

I gave this to dear Dad for Christmas and it was put to use immediately.

Also seen in the garden

Zebbycat ensures this flower wont escape


then checks the air for interesting smells



All is okay with HIS garden

In my garden

I've raised all of these from seed. Firstly some mint plants which kindly come away again every Spring despite my neglect



My first ever vegetable garden containing sugar snap peas, cos lettuce, a couple of bean plants, florence fennel, kumi kumi (a summer squash), little gem squash, new rocket (arugula) seedlings, Greek oregano and nastertiums (grown for the seed pods which I pickle)



Here is the wombok, an Asian style green (okay, so I've eaten it all now but here is how it looked)



And the poppies have just started flowering.