With the horrifying invasion of Ukraine and widespread floods closer to home, it’s a distressing time for many. I confess I’m taking refuge in things that give me comfort, things that may be seen as trivial by others, but help me. Here are some of this week’s thoughts.

Do you like reading cosy mystery stories? They offer dead bodies and all the twists and turns of regular mysteries, including misleading clues, but there are no gory descriptions. I like to read cosy mysteries to break up my reading of other genres. They are a retreat from the harsh world for me.

I’m fortunate to receive ARCs (advanced reading copies) of Elizabeth Spann Craig’s books. She writes several series and I reviewed one of her recent titles, Frictional Characters, this week. You can read it here. The amateur sleuth is a librarian – no wonder I related. 😊

Fiona Lowe’s new book, A Family of Strangers, is released on Wednesday 2 March. It’s set in Tasmania and I enjoyed the way the community of Rookery Cove came together to provide support to its members when they needed it. You can read my review here.

I dashed out between showers on Wednesday to rescue some dahlias. Some flowers had been battered by the rain (and nibbled by snails) but others were cut for indoors. Aren’t they gorgeous?

Did you see Gardening Australia’s stories about a street library for plants? Kelly, a resident of inner Sydney, has been running her plant library for two years. She pots up cuttings and puts them out on stands, where passers-by can take them for free and drop off their own contributions. What a generous idea! We gardeners know you CAN have too many plants and this is a great way to share them. You can watch the segment here or read the story in the current issue of Gardening Australia magazine.

Do you know of a gardener who does something similar?

I think I’ll start taking cuttings of more plants but I’ll probably see if any of my gardening friends want them. A friend who lives in Sydney drops by here at irregular intervals and we always swap plants. It would be good to have some ready instead of uprooting something each time. I like the idea of sharing more.

It was good to get out again this week; to my quilt group this time. I didn’t sew much but catching up with people was the best part.

There wasn’t much sewing done at home this week, either. I’ve been going through my pile of unfinished projects, sorting. Luckily, I still like them all! But I did order a new sewing machine – a basic Janome. I’ve had a Bernina QE440 for nearly 20 years and I have never used most of its features. For the type of machine stitching I actually do (not the type of stitching that I could do), I want a reliable machine with basic features and a drop-in top bobbin. I’m looking forward to it arriving. Exciting!

Have a lovely week.

Creative Dabbling

27 february