News & Updates from Vicki Avcin ~ AusCrafts · Page 68
We have a pot in our garden that my husband got 30 years ago. Each year we eagerly wait for it to flower with most times having maybe 3 flowers on it which have always opened one at a time, so 3 nights, one flower each night.
This week we counted 15 buds coming on and were so excited to see so many at once. The other night we had 4 flowers out at once! This morning we had another 4.
Problem is one has to be up very early before the sun rises to see these beauties as they only flower at night and as soon as the sun makes an appearance they start to die off.
Known as Lady of the Night or Queen of the Night, obviously named because they only flower at night, we think because of the hot humid weather weve been having this old plant has decided to finally show us that she is capable of more than one flower per night.
Normally found in hot humid rainforests the plant is common around Veracruz, Mexico, a coastal area that borders the Gulf of Mexico.
They are often grown in other places as indoor or greenhouse plants around the world. The flowers have a wonderful fragrance and when they are flowering the fragrance hits you when you open the front door in the morning when they are in flower.
Still several more buds to open on our plant yet so we will get a few more nights to look forward to seeing this old girl show us her beauty yet.
2018 is done and dusted and it is the time of year when families should be getting together and catching up on the past year, having lots of laughs, sharing lots of love and dont forget the eating!
Well the past few years it has been difficult for all our family to get together and we do the best we can to make up for it.
We were here in Hervey Bay as we were on call, Daughter was on shift in Brisbane so we had a late Christmas.
We left here on the 27th Dec to go to Brisbane, loaded up with the presents and our kitty cat and went to stay with my daughter.
Arrived just after lunch time and chatted non stop until my son and his family arrived at around 4pm. So lots of catching up, swapping presents and we saw all the photos from their trip to the west coast of the USA in October.
Then dinner time and afterwards we all sat round and played UNO.
The next morning my stepson and his family arrived for an hour or so. As my daughter had an appointment the rest of us went to Café 63 and got takeaway lunches and we went round to the park where the kids could play on the playground while the adults sat and talked.
We left to come back to the Bay later in the afternoon. It was a shame we couldnt all get together at the one time but we will again one year. In the meantime I will take whatever I can get and what better time to catch up than Christmas.
Well weve had this little girl before for a few months and we are about to get her again. Georgia will be with us probably for the next 6 months until we know whats happening with laws for rental properties.
Georgia belongs to granddaughter Zoe and was with Zoes mother until last week when Zoe was told to come and get the cat.
Zoe now lives with her Dad and step mum but they too have sold their house and are currently renting and cannot have pets.
There is a move trying to get laws changed here so that tenants can have pets, where at the moment there is not many properties that will allow pets.
It is in the process of trying to bring about change but doesnt look like it will happen until about July, so until we know for sure if her Dad can have the cat then, we are going to babysit.
It was either that or she be given to a no kill rescue organisation and she was fostered out but I couldnt let that happen.Shes very much an indoor cat and so clean that its not a problem saying well have her.
Only thing she likes doing is getting up on top of cupboards to sleep, which she invariably knocks anything on top of the cupboards off.
Thats always fun when we have to get her down!
But she really is the sweetest little girl and Im looking forward to having her with us again.
On Wednesday it was our youngest grandchilds first birthday. As the family live about 1200klm away from us we couldnt be there but Clay had an fun time with lots of cake and friends who came to his little party on the previous Saturday.
His mum made him two cakes, his real cake and a smash cake. I dont get this cake smash thing but it seems to be very popular here at kids parties.
It is a cake that is made specifically for the young kids to just smash into with their hands and ultimately get covered in icing and cakes as well as anyone close enough for the child to reach for.
Clay was ably assisted by his older sister Bella who encouraged him. Because he is still breastfed and as his Mum puts it……. he likes the booby…. Guess what his smash cake was!
We had to post his present but he didnt open it on the Saturday, instead his parents made him wait till his actual birthday.
I made his card, as I do for all the grandkids, and it is in the design of my new designs coming up shortly.
Two weeks ago the east coast of Australia was burning, then the rain came and greatly eased the fire threat.
Then our first cyclone for the season appeared and died but the weather system moved east giving North Queensland a good dumping of rain.
TC Owen became a low and it was thought that was the end of it. But Owen wasnt done, as a low it moved across the top end and out into the Gulf of Carpentaria when it rose from the dead (hence being dubbed the zombie cyclone) and formed into a Category 1 cyclone again.
For the last couple of days it moved west across the Gulf and today will be a Category 4 system.
Now its done a U turn heading back east where it will again make landfall and is forecast to move SE to the east coast and predictions are that it will move all the way down the east coast with heavy rain, strong to galeforce winds.
As it moves down another system is going to keep it to the coastline with its own heavy rain. So we now have a flood watch from Nth Qld all the way down to the border with NSW. NSW and Victoria also are under the influence of yet another system which has caused flooding in Victoria and damaging storms in Sydney.
This system is keeping the Queensland systems from moving further south therefore intensifying the Qld systems. TC Owen (and its aftermath as it will become a low overland) is showing the same pattern as TC Oswald back in 2013 as it brought flooding and a lot of damage as it tracked south down the Qld coast.
Looks like we are in for a wild ride as of this afternoon (Friday) and over the weekend and into Monday.
They are forecasting up to 400mm of rain over the next few days. We have plenty of fuel for the generator if the power goes out so looks like a great weekend to get in and try and finish some new designs Im working on.