Looking back at 2024 and what is new for 2025, (Last BLOG of the year)

 Greetings all,

Merry Christmas Eve 🌲🔆🌟🔥

What a year 2024 has been!!

I was going to write about what a crap year it has been, but I didn't want to leave a whole bunch of negativity here, there is so much of it in the world these days that I don't want to encourage it here on this platform, so I have taken a "well needed" step back to reflect on the year that was, and found that there were a few things that threw the curve ball at us - like losing our beloved Rudy boy, ongoing health issues, work issues etc - but there were also good things as well, like enjoying nature, the garden and adopting our Mavis from the Animal Welfare League...

Mavis and I doing a selfie...

Whilst work has given me the absolute heebee-geebees (I cleaned that up pretty nicely!!!), I was blessed  to have a whole month off in September - part of my long service leave - and in that month we redecorated parts of the house, did some planting in the garden, relaxed and just enjoyed life.

My home life has been great, we have it good, and are very grateful for what we have as we know we are in a good position financially and do not want for anything in particular (we haven't always been there so we know it is a hell of a good place to be in) and what with my garden coming to life in spring and summer, good food and also benefitting from a daily witchcraft practice. 

We do all have our moments of depression or sadness, which has only been so predominantly around us since we have had the C Virus shots in 2022 (I know, I sound like a broken record - but honestly, if I knew then what I know now - I would NEVER have got them).  We all struggle on a daily basis - sometimes we feel good - other times we feel ill, and very, very exhausted (we can have a good night's sleep and wake up SO tired) but it's nothing you can put your finger on and honestly - the Doctors are no good in this situation because they do not know anything but taking a guess at what's wrong and loading you up with pharmaceutical drugs, which cause more harm than good - and we do not want to go down that Merry-Go-Round.  Most of the time we all suffer from varying issues - differing body aches and pains, headaches, earaches, itches, migraines, constipation, diarrhoea and just an overwhelming sadness that prevails even when things are going splendidly.  It feels as though your very soul is too heavy to carry around - Sometimes it is very hard just to get up of a morning...

We are trying to keep off of junk food, sugary items, salty items and cooking things with too many oils - eating healthier foods and getting adequate exercise and rest to see if we can combat these issues and bring in a change of good health.

To try to conquer these feelings -most mornings I light my candles on my altar, light some nice incense to cleanse my space and pull an oracle card for the day.  It has been very insightful, and has helped me gain a wee bit of confidence in my abilities as a witch.  It helps me focus for the day and gives me some sort of calmness before all the madness begins (especially my work day!)

I have also started to 'craft' things and was able to make a few witchy items for a friend that was moving interstate - I made her a goodie spell bag with lots of things in it, like a protection jar spell, a protection sigil, some herbal tea, some bath salts and soap (all crafted by me), some seeds for her garden when she gets established (Sunflower and Calendula from my garden) - she was so happy with it all....

I have been making more of a connection with my plants and insects in my garden too (yes I talk to them hahaha) - which shows as the garden is looking very lush and green

Looking through the portal....

I purchased a new greenhouse this year as my old one kind of got demolished in the very strong winds we have had this year (and continue to do so):

Gloomy's Greenhouse....

I will be doing a product review of the new greenhouse on my YouTube channel in 2025 - so stay tuned for that one if you are thinking of getting one of these types of greenhouses - (there have been many learning curves with this one) - so maybe you will learn some tips and tricks!!

Speaking of YouTube and my channel, I started uploading Gloomy's Garden Vlogs in 2024 - something I spent many years wanting to do but didn't have the courage, I thought I was too ugly, fat, old etc and could think up any excuse not to do videos.  Then one day I thought "why not", other people do it and they are just themselves, I could do that too... I have started out doing a VLOG every so often and am up to #9 at the moment.

I wish to keep doing more videos in 2025, but expanding the repertoire to not only do garden vlogs, but to do other things such as monthly herbalism posts, Q&A's, Product reviews, Herbal Remedies, Health Tips and Tea & Chat type scenarios.  So if you are interested in any of this - please hop over to my YouTube channel and Hit that SUBSCRIBE button and the bell notification so you are advised when I put a new video up - Hopefully I will get a few more followers, I think I have around 20 at the moment.  I have to wonder how people get hundreds of thousands of followers!!!???!!!

Gloomy's YouTube Channel

I will also be doing a book give away in late January 2025 - as I received a book from a relative for my birthday, but I already have it, so I thought a nice give away would be great.  I will advertise it on Instagram and YouTube - the proviso is that you have to like and subscribe to my YouTube channel to go into the draw.  After a month, I will do a video of the drawing of the name - hopefully with my trusty Super-Hubby sidekick, and then make someone feel good about themselves for getting a free book!  I will advise when I have that all organised so you can follow the links and put your name in if you want 😁

So there are a lot of plans for the future of my YouTube channel in  2025!!

In the meantime, I have two weeks annual leave and we still have around 7 days left in 2024 - Christmas Day is tomorrow - we will have our own little celebration as we are not Christians, so we will do something Witchy and make good food and just be together with our pupster Mavis.

What ever you are doing or celebrating, I hope you have a wonderful time and feel very blessed that you made it through another year, looking forward to the new year ahead.

Until next year my friends,

Blessings and Good Health to you all,

An Irish Blessing

Cheers,

Gloomy )O( xxx

Summer Solstice Roasted Nut Muesli

 Hello again and welcome back to my blog,

I thought today as it is still officially the Summer Solstice/LITHA weekend, I would do a bit of Kitchen Witchery and share my Summer Solstice Roasted Nut Muesli with you all - it has no artificial ingredients, no additional flavourings, colourings or preservatives, no chemical numbers etc., - just a whole lot of goodness, made from scratch by loving hands and Mother Earth.

My family love this when I make it (they can't get enough of it actually), so if you have a spare hour or so and you are looking for something to do - why not try making your own batch of Muesli.

WARNING: IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO NUTS - DO NOT MAKE THIS RECIPE!!!!

(I have to put a warning just in case - you never know, and I don't want to be blamed (or sued) because someone had a reaction or died from my muesli recipe, you would think it being called Roasted NUT Muesli that it would alert them to the fact that is has nuts in it - but some people are just plain NUTS!!)

INGREDIENTS:

3 Cups of Rolled Oats (you can use gluten free ones if you wish)

1 Cup of Cashews & 1 Cup of any nuts you like - you can even mix them up (Almond, peanut, pine, pecan, walnut for example).

1/2 Cup of Pumpkin Seeds

1/2 Cup of Sunflower Seeds

2 Tablespoons each of Flaxseed, Chia Seed, Sesame Seed - or any seeds you like.

1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil

1/2 Cup Honey (sorry vegans - I suppose you could use Maple Syrup instead)

Remember - you can adapt this recipe to include the nuts and seeds that you like, so if you don't like cashews or sunflower seeds - then don't put them in, substitute it for some other nut and seed.

METHOD:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix well, add in the coconut oil and honey - mix well again until all the dry ingredients are coated.  You can use this time to focus on your intentions for this muesli, I focused on my family's health, gut health, and a feeling of happiness when they consume it.

Spread half the mixture evenly onto a lined tray (I like to use those silicone liners), and press down.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (approximately 350 Fahrenheit) for 15 minutes on the middle shelf, then stir the muesli up and spread out again, bake for another five minutes - keep doing this until the muesli is a golden colour.

Allow to cool right down.

At this stage, if you wanted to - you could put in a cup of sultanas, raisins or your prefered dried fruit - mix it thoroughly in then put it into an airtight container - preferably glass.

I didn't put any fruit in mine because my family don't like it - so the total I made was 2 x 1000ml jars.

It should last up to a month in a cool pantry (If your family don't eat it first haha).

MAGICKAL ASPECTS:

(in no particular order......)

Pumpkin Seeds symbolise hope, growth and potential for a new beginning.

Sunflower Seeds because of their association with the sun, symbolise loyalty and adoration. enlightenment, resilience and personal growth.

Sesame Seeds are used for money drawing, wealth and prosperity, success and abundance, lust inducing, removes spiritual impurities and is used to curse and confuse trickster spirits.

Flaxseed symbolises purity, perseverance and rebirth - can be used to enhance mental powers, increasing the psychic visions and abilities.

Cashew Nuts are used for prosperity, love and communication.

Almond Nuts are used for mental clarity, abundance and healing.

Coconut Oil for confidence, strength and glamour.

Peanuts for stability, energy and manifestation.

Cinnamon is used for protection, to attract wealth and prosperity, to ward off negative influences and protect against harm.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and feel free to adapt it to your own tastes.

Solstice Blessings to you,

HAPPY LITHA

Gloomy )O( xxx

Copyright Gloomy's Garden (Gloomy the Garden Witch) 2024

Gloomy's Garden Vlog # 9 - The Summer Solstice - LITHA

Greetings my lovelies,

I have decided to share my latest video blog (or VLOG) on my website from now on - just in case you are interested in what I am doing in my garden.

Today we celebrate LITHA or the Summer Solstice here in Australia. It is a time to honour the Sun and the energy of the summer season. A time to connect with the natural world and to celebrate the beauty and diversity of life. It is also a time to reflect on personal growth and to set intentions for the year ahead. The colours of LITHA are red, gold and green (just like the Christian Christmas), so you can celebrate by decorating your house or space with these colours.... you could make wreaths from native plants and hang them on your door for prosperity - or any other intention you require. As we are in the fire-ban season, we are not allowed to have the usual bonfire (like Lithe in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21st), but you could use battery powered candles instead of normal candles if you are celebrating outside - you could also have a barbecue with your family and friends (which uses fire). Litha is a celebration of abundance, light, growth and joy. In the Celtic language LITHA means 'Light". Things you can do to celebrate at this time: Spend time outside under the sun. Get energised, feel renewed & be grateful to be alive. Reflect on peak moments of accomplishments and be proud of yourself. Embrace your Bad-Arse Awesome self (even if you do look hot and sweaty after being in the sun!!) To celebrate my LITHA, I am planting some climbing plants, that I bought yesterday, in my front garden (in the full sun). I embrace the shining light of the Sun for it will bring me vitality and beauty. Blessings to you all )O(

Gloomy

Let's have an end of Winter/ partly through Spring catch up....I'm on holidays!!

 Hello everyone and blessings to you all....

It seems as though I am pretty useless at keeping track of my time, and once again it seems as though I have neglected to post more blogs this year....

Winter has come and gone and now we are in the midst of the start of Spring (though the weather lately has been more Winter than Spring), the buds on the trees are bursting, blossoms are abundant on the fruit trees and everything in the gardens seem to be plodding along quite nicely, even after the neglect that I have given them.

You see, this Winter we suddenly lost our beloved Rudy - one minute he was fine and chasing magpies in the back garden then the next day, he died.  It was a traumatic time for us all and it took weeks for us all to stop crying - we loved him greatly and neither I or my family were ready to say goodbye to our special guy... but nature has a way of taking it's course doesn't it?

This is the last picture I took of Rudy on 18th June 2024.

There was a period of a month where the house was just so quiet and all we could do was miss our boy, talk about him and cry a LOT.... we were just SO sad...

Hubby decided he couldn't take it anymore so we discussed rescuing another dog, we started searching the RSPCA and AWL sites for likely candidates.  We got Rudy from the RSPCA when he was approximately 5 years old and we had him for 8 1/2 years before he passed - so I said I wanted a younger dog so that we had more years to love them (I know that doesn't always work out, but all of our dogs have been 13+ before they passed over the rainbow bridge - so I was going on that).

We then found a 2 year old little brindle Staffy x Shar Pei called Mavis that seemed to suit us - we went to the AWL to see her and instantly fell in love - bought her home and boy, is she ever a bundle of energy.

Meet Miss Mavis Bramston "Wiggle-Butt" McLean aka Mavey-Wavey full of Gravy:

She is a terror on 4 legs hahaha - very excitable, very puppy'ish, but learns very quickly.  She doesn't like other dogs or cats (we seem to always get those type!!) and chases birds in the garden (so there goes my hope of eventually getting chickens hahaha!!).

She is going through the terrible two's at the moment - but it's all a learning experience for both her and us.  Mavis has bonded to Paul and he is her favourite Hooman!! (she gets jealous if Caetlyn or I get too near her Hooman - and herds us away) She loves to dig in the garden, so I have had to put a guard around my new apricot tree, so she wouldn't dig it up - she also tried to dig out the peach tree, which I have successfully put a load of compost around and tried to rescue it LOL.  I have made a spot in the garden for her to dig her heart out!

Speaking of the garden - I am amazed that things are still alive as I haven't really been hands on a lot of the time.

A mixture of Mandarin tree, Thyme, Calendula and Juniper

I had to pull my cauliflowers out as they went to seed and some got eaten by critters in the garden, I also had to pull out the kale as it was infested with scale - which is too hard to get off, so I just got rid of the whole lot.  We did get some food out of it, a couple of cauli's, broccoli and kale plus one small cabbage that hadn't rotted to it's core.  A few swede and beetroot, some carrots, lettuce, spinach and snow peas.. so there has been some success.  I have planted out my spring seeds late July and they have been up-potted in my greenhouse - can't plant them out yet as the weather is still too cold at night, I don't want to risk losing them.

Our bathroom being painted

  

I started my month long holidays on the 1st September and we have been painting a couple of rooms in the house to make it more colourful - it is now the 26th September and I have another 6 days before I go back to work... but my holiday has been quite full and I haven't even gotten into the garden much yet, except the occasional weeding frenzy and watering/fertilising the herbs and plants.

    

Our Fairy Hallway

          

Or Fairy Lane... as we call it!!

I did a mini Herbal Energetics course with Rosalee De La Foret, who is one of the leading herbalists in the world today - which was lovely and just reminded me why I grow herbs (not just for medicine and wellbeing, but also for the witchcraft side of things too). I got a lot of good information out of it and spoke to a lot of nice people in the course community as well.

I also bought myself some new clothes - a couple of dresses for summer, a skirt and top, and a pair of jeans. Plus a new Book to read - How does it feel? by Jeneane O'Riley. It's about an environmental  biologist Callie Peterson, who finds herself falling through a fairy portal in the woods and ends up in the realm of the Unseelie Fae - with a Prince Mendax who wants to kill anything human, he wants to be rid of her so he challenges her to three deadly trials - if she survives, she gains her freedom - if she doesn't...... His wrath is only the beginning. I only started it two days ago and I am three quarters of the way through - quite a good read so far...  I can only presume she survives as there is another book in the series, plus one being written at the moment.

I was supposed to be getting my health in order and making myself exercise to get a bit fitter - first day of my holidays I hurt my ankle (pffft - always happens when I have holidays, it's like my body goes "OK everyone off their feet for a few days!!").

So yeah - it's been an interesting, sad and happy few months of winter and early spring.

I might even do another YouTube video on how the garden is progressing soon - but don't hold your breath - I am pretty dreadful at doing all these social media type of things aren't I???

Anyway, if you have made it this far without falling to sleep - thank you!!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Until next time,

Annette (& Mavis) xxx

I have started a YouTube channel...

 Hello my little wild ones,

Well, it's been a hot minute since I last posted, so I thought I would update you on what I have been doing in the cyberworld...

I have started up a YouTube channel:

It only has 4 videos on at the moment and it will be a mixture of gardening, health, herbal remedies, green witchery and anything else I feel like sharing with you all as time goes by.

I hope you will join me and maybe pop over to see my latest Gloomy's Garden Vlog (well, it's actually the first one ever) - right here.........

Gloomy's Garden Vlog # 1 

At this stage I do not know how often I will be posting - it depends on how much time I have at any given time, but I hope to post at least once a month at this stage, as I work up the nerve to actually talk live in front of the camera (I am very shy!!).

Anyway - ENJOY!!!

Blessings to you as always,

Annette (Gloomy) XxX )O(

 

GLOOMY'S HERBALS - A RECIPE FOR BITTERS

In today's society there are a LOT of illnesses that can be prevented by having good gut flora.  The so called "Foods" we eat today are making us very sick (and surely killing us quicker than normal).  To prevent getting ill, we need to get our gut flora in check, and to do this we need to stay away from processed and packaged foods, junk food, excessive sugar, flavourings and colourings.

Look at the list of ingredients packaged foods in the supermarkets and you will notice a load of numbers and words that you don't even know what they are - this is wrong, so very, very wrong.  You should be able to tell what is in your food.

Herbal Bitters can really aid the digestive system and it is a good practice to take them just before a large meal - (like the sort we eat at Christmas time, where we stuff ourselves silly and then can't move...hahaha).  

Herbal Bitters can also have a very positive effect on all the body systems, as there are bitter receptors throughout the body and it will help to stimulate these systems.  

This herbal concoction can be used all year round if required - before any large meal, greasy fried meal, or a rich meal, (though it does pay to limit these kinds of meals) to help in the digestion of such foods through your body.

 

INGREDIENTS:
Dandelion Leaves and Roots,

Yarrow, 

Chamomile, 

Calendula/Marigold Flowers, 

Wormwood,

Elecampane (can be fresh or dried), 

Fennel Seeds,

Peppermint, 
Brandy.

 

METHOD:

Simply chop them all up and place in a Kilner/Mason jar.  Cover with brandy, stir to remove any bubbles then leave to infuse for 3-4 weeks in a cool, dark cupboard. 

 

You can also use Vervain, Agrimony, Ginger, Hops, Burdock Root, Dock Root, Stinging Nettle and many others.  

 

When infusion is complete, strain out the herbs and put the bitters into a dark bottle, and store in a dark pantry or cupboard.

 

 

DOSE:

 

 Take 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon about 15-20 minutes before eating (work your way up to a tablespoon full if you do not like bitters).  It is best to take bitters straight on to the tongue but perhaps add the bitters to a little drop of water until you get used to the bitter taste.  

This concoction will last up to 6 months. 

 

NOTE:

 

You can either grow these herbs in your garden or purchase them dried online from a reputable source.  But I prefer to grow my own herbs so I know that they are fresh and have not been sprayed with any pesticides or other nasties.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER:

If you are under a Health Practitioner's supervision, always check with them first before embarking to take anything herbal, just to make sure there are no herbs in the mix that might be contra-indicated for you (will clash), with the prescription medication you are already on. Better to be safe than sorry!

I hope you found this helpful in your quest for a healthy gut flora.

Keep well my friends.

There is a new video on my Youtube Channel

 Hello my little flower fairies,

I have put another "rather late" video up on my YouTube channel - this is Vlog # 4 - Autumn 2024. As well as this blog which I found in my DRAFTS - which I was supposed to put up in May hahaha - yeah I know, I get sidetracked a lot!!

In this video I take you through my gardens in Autumn and show all that I have been doing - cleaning up, fixing things, planting seeds, and just general gardening in Gloomy's Garden.

Sitting under the Gazebo in my back garden.

The video can be viewed here:  https://youtu.be/GSKr9oNnEEo

I will eventually be doing a lot more on this channel besides gardening, but I am just a newbie in the video / YouTube world and just getting up the nerve to do different videos, like herbal remedies, pill making, witchy ways etc., so just bare with me whilst I get over my shyness to do so.

If there is anything you would like to see on my channel - please leave me a comment below and I will take it into consideration.

Plus, if you could - out of the kindness of your hearts, like and subscribe to my videos if you find them interesting (and don't find me too dull to listen too hahahaha).

I promise I will get better at these things...... eventually!!

Thanking you in advance,

Your gardening green witchy friend,

Annette )O( xxx

It's been a hot minute (or two - hahaha)

 Greetings Beautiful people of the interwebs,

I hope you are all keeping well and life is going great guns for you!!

As the heading say's - It's been a hot minute or two since I last did a blog (Spring was the last time - it is now Autumn!!), but life has a very interesting way of prioritising your time and what you can do.

In other words - life got in the way!!!

So just a quick catch up from me 😁

I am happy to report that Paul is doing well, he is off all the drugs that he was on for 5 months and he is walking everyday and trying to get fit.  He has even roped me into doing more fitness and going for walks with him - which has really helped my stress a lot.

My work has been very stressful this last couple of months due to 2 new system integrations, which generally speaking, are not going well - even with 4 years of testing and things not going as planned, the powers that be decided to go live with it, and we have all sorts of issues arising (as we knew we would) - so the systems saga continues.

I have to keep telling myself - 3 more years to retirement, just 3 more years........

This last summer we have been doing our house up a bit too - we have new carpets in the lounge and Caetlyn's office plus new flooring in the kitchen.  We are waiting for our new lounge suite to be made and delivered - which is supposed to be late April, then we are getting the roller shutters replaced on the front of the house (as the old one ones on the front window are broken).  Then we are thinking of putting tint on the front room window, to stop the heat from coming in too much in the summer.... but that might be another year away.

I also want to take a month off of work to repaint and re-floor my office and turn it into a space that I want to work in - at the moment there is just everything everywhere, as it is our library, my office, my witchy room, my sewing room, my art room, my harvesting room and as you can imagine - it is chockers full in every part - so I want to sort it out, eliminate stuff I don't use or need anymore, paint the walls and put new carpet on the floor.  Maybe move a couple of cabinets out and make more room.

The weather is starting to get cooler now, with daylight savings ending in a few hours - we revert to winter time.  That means that I have to move my chilli plants to the patio area at the front of the house so they don't get too cold, and so I can overwinter them - they are still producing heaps of chillies, so hopefully they will still ripen once I put them out the front.

I have trimmed all my roses, fertilised and put compost on all the plants out in the front garden and got them ready for their winter hibernation.

I still have to do the back garden - and I am running out of time (always the way for me!!).

I have two tomato plants that are still producing cherry tomatoes - so I don't really want to pull them out just yet - but I might have to to make way for the brassicas - and I planted a whole bunch of seeds in the vegepods a couple of weeks ago - some of them are starting to pop through now!!

I have 4 beds to prepare (I am so behind schedule!!!) for winter crops, and the back garden to tidy up - once all the trees have lost their leaves (Granny Smith Apple, Pink Lady Apple, O'Henry Peach, Stella Cherry & Apricot) - I am going to collect the leaves for leaf mulch.  I then have to harshly prune the apple trees back, compost around their roots for winter too.

I also have to compost and mulch around the banana plantation too, as they will need a bit of warmth for the oncoming winter months.

I also have a few things in pots that I need to plant out before it gets too cold!!

See - busy, busy, busy and no time to do it in - but we will see how far we can get this year LOL.

Harvesting and preserving all the fruits and veggies has taken some time as well - I still have a tonne of pomegranates and apples to preserve - plus some beets to bottle as well. (I think I need more like a year off of work hahahaha).

Anyhow - enough of me grumbling about lack of time ⏰ - it's 11.45pm on Saturday 6th April and I really should go to bed if I am going to have a full day of "doing much needed jobs around the garden" tomorrow.

So thanks for catching up with me again, hopefully I will be able to chat more to you all soon.

Blessings to you all )O( stay safe and healthy!

Cheers,

Gloomy xxx

All of a sudden.....life takes a turn!

 Hello my dear Spring Blossoms,

I hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the weather where you are (whether it be Autumn or in our case, Spring).

Spring seemed to be upon us in no time and to be honest, I thought I was prepared, but clearly I was not!!

Three weeks into spring and I still hadn't prepared the beds for planting, I had sowed the seeds of many flowers and food, kept them alive in the greenhouse, but just had nowhere to put them.  Which is OK I guess as the weather has been fluctuating quite a bit - we have had cold days/nights and we have had temperatures into the 30's (Celsius) - like yesterday (today it's back down to 16 degrees!!

BUT - All of a sudden - life took a horrible turn...

My beautiful husband Paul became very ill and ended up in hospital in the Cardiac Care Unit - he didn't have a heart attack, but he had an onset of Edema, which blew him up like a balloon with fluid.  His liver couldn't cope with the toxins in his body and was pushing the fluids out to anywhere it could (legs, stomach, chest, back) his body became toxic, so because of all that happening (in just a few days), his blood pressure skyrocketed and heart was weakened.

He spent 9 days in hospital and lost just over 22 kg in weight - in fluid!!  (I just thought it was all the homely cooking I was doing that was putting the weight on him) So you could imagine the strain it put on his heart. 

Now he is home and is very exhausted from both the experience and the drugs they have him one to get rid of the fluid, reduce his blood pressure and strengthen his heart.

He still feels awful (not in pain though) and is sleeping a lot of the time - the doctors were quick to put him on the drugs - and I guess they saved his life, (they told me that if he hadn't gone to hospital he would have been dead two days later) so I am thankful for that - but nobody prepares you for the mental anguish that comes with it.  He feels useless, old, (he is only 58) like his life has no meaning anymore.  He can't get interested in anything - even music, his number one love, is on the back-burner.  He has picked up his guitar a couple of times, only to lose interest again.  We feel that it is the drugs and the restrictions that are making him this way and we know that once he has got to a certain place in his health matrix, that a lot of those drugs will be eventually gone - but he still feels like he was put on the "medical merry go round" that he was not prepared for.

You see, we are a family that never goes to the doctor, we pride ourselves that we are not on any of the medications people our age (mid forties to early sixties - yes, I am the oldest!!) are on.

You might think that is silly - but we have always relied on Mother Nature, using food and herbs as our medicine when we needed it - that is why I garden mostly - to stay healthy.

Now we have to watch how much sodium we ingest as that creates a fluid build up AND you would be surprised at how much sodium is in the products that we buy daily - and we just don't think about it.  It has truly been an eye opener - even home grow fruits and vegetables have a certain amount of natural sodium in them - like celery!!

One thing that did make him feel less useless was fixing our back fence - we have wooden fence extensions and in the storm on Monday night - they broke!  So Paul fixed the fence up and it gave him some purpose - an achievement, and maybe he can discover he can do other things too - which will make his self worth better.

Forever the clown!!!

Mental health is such a fine balance - and as I said, it was OK for them to stick him on all these drugs and give him restrictions, but there was NO mental health support whatsoever... it's just something you have to deal with....

People are not machines, you can't program them to do things if it is not in their nature and them having to go against their nature is very hard on them and those around them.  This maybe something that the medical field need to look into - whilst we are grateful for them saving lives, correct (non-biased) mental support is needed for the patients as well.

Low Sodium Food For Thought maybe???  hahaha!

Anyway, this is his second week out of hospital and we are making progress here and there.  I am lucky that when all this happened that my work supported me and gave me a month off to cope with it all.

So onwards and upwards we go on this merry-go-round called life - just to see where it takes us!!

I hope you are all doing well my lovelies,

Until next time - blessings to you all and take care of yourselves and your loved ones xxxx

Gloomy xxx )O(

Mid-Winter

Hello my dear Wild-Ones,

Here in the Southern Hemisphere it is well in the middle of winter, but there is still a lot happening in the garden at this time - even though lately I have been too busy to really get out there to do much but the occasional 5 minute weed session here and there!!

The beautiful Osteospermums are blooming well and creating

a lovely bright colour in an other-wise winter garden.

The jonquils have popped up just a bit early this year,

and their scent is divine!!

(Even if Super-Hubby doesn't like the smell haha)

                                          The most vibrant Dimorphotheca ecklonis "Fire-starter".

Another Osteospermum - Black Widow - with friend!

The Greenhouse is looking full at the moment,

waiting for spring to come so they can be

planted out and spread their little roots in the soil.

My "mini" herb bed is doing well with lots of

scrummy herbs growing in there, as I try to

keep them alive over the winter.

The ones I have put in here are:

Rosemary

Parsley

Oregano

Thyme

Chives

The back garden is looking rather flooded and

leafy - even the fake critters are looking a 

wee bit forlorn!!

So what have I been up to whilst the weather has been wild and woolly? 

A few things actually - I have taken up crocheting again and made myself this lovely long jacket:

Yes - they are skulls!!

I also have made a phone case cover - my "shop bought" phone cover was starting to fall apart - so instead of buying a new one (because anyone who knows me, knows that I am a hermit and I don't like leaving the house - especially to go shopping at the best of times), I decided to crochet one instead - it turned out ok - except the next cover I try will have to have a different part around the camera because when I take photos - I get a black haze...LOL

In the theme of "Save the Bees"...

I have also been preserving a lot of our Autumn harvests making jams and pickling beets, making chilli sauce from our Habanero chillies, freezing lots of pomegranate pearls and pumpkins (and of course making pumpkin soup!!).

Pomegranate & Apple Jam                    

Beetroot from my garden!        

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                Habenero Chilli Sauce

                                            

It's also been the time for de-cluttering the house and getting rid of anything that we either haven't used in 6-12 months or things that no longer serve us or our current needs.  It had been awesome to do!! Even today Super-Hubby and I are going to clean out the pantry, so that I can organise it a wee bit better...and get rid of any old packaged food that is past it's use by date!!

And harvesting my dahlia seeds for the coming spring:

I did receive a lovely gift from an Instagram friend in New South Wales - she had chatted to me about an Elder tree in December last year, and she said that she would post a cutting to me.  Time went by and I thought nothing of it (you know, people promise things and then life happens and it goes out of their minds), but early July a parcel was delivered to me and inside was this gorgeous Elder cutting:

I have named this Elder cutting Courtney, after

my friend that sent it to me 😄

HOW BLESSED WAS I!!!

Even though it has been bitterly cold this Winter, we have still been doing quite a lot in the gardens and home - so it hasn't been a total hibernation period like most years!! (which I think, is a good thing!!).

I hope your Winter (or Summer - depending on which hemisphere you are in), is going well.

Until next time Wild-Ones, may you seek the beauty in nature everyday!!

Blessings to you all,

GLOOMY's Garden

And remember to save the Bees!!