TEA ROOM #113

Good morning everyone.
Its a bit cool here this morning after a beautiful day yesterday.
I hope the weather stays nice for tomorrow's T&T.

Charleen, you will remember your little friend when ever you sit on that seat.
Its good to know that you were thinking of him and helped him on his way to doggie heaven instead of leaving him in pain as some selfish people do.
Charley has been ignoring me lately. He has not been up to the Tea Room for any cookies. I think hes sulking because I give some to T Bo too.......lol

I will ask Dianne to open the Tea Room tomorrow. We will be leaving very early to get over to Hamilton and set up all the tables & plants. They open a gate for the sellers to set up at &am then the main gates open for the public at 9am.
If Dianne is unable to open , whoever is first to arrive can open the door.
I will leave extra cakes in the kitchen.

Hello Dianne, Colleen, Anthony, Al, Moon ans Karen.
Hope everyone is well and enjoying some sun.

I am off to see what needs to be done on the last of my retic hose fittings in the vegie garden.

Here a treat for you all today..... Choc Mint Shortbreads..

Enjoy the weekend and stay safe.

Happy day
Jean.

Cruel and in humane treatment of Mules, when you give the cookies to T Bo. T Bo loves food, I had Nachoes for Dinner. You should see him eat the chips!!! He does love his food. Hubby told me this morning that when he fixed himself an egg this morning, he had to fix one for T Bo.
Talk about Rotten!!!
I baked an Apple cake,,,,Oooooo, too good!!!!
Hugs to all....

Happy Saturday! Hope everyone is well and enjoying their gardens.

This message was edited Oct 19, 2012 6:49 PM

I remember "Lucky", he came out to greet us when we came to visit last January! Sorry for your loss Charleen. I hate taking them to the vet, but sometimes it's just the best thing do.

Give my regards to Charley and all the rest.

Al

Another nice day for a change.....
Charleen, it's nice that Lucky got to meet T Bo and now T Bo will help take away the sense of loss that you feel....you did the right thing by Lucky....

Jean, I will try to drag myself out of bed in time, I'm sure that Colleen won't let me sleep in....
Have a very successful day at Hamilton....

I went to our local nursery today and they have set up a section, only for Christmas decorations, (Early aren't they) but these decorations even stopped me, in my tracks.....they were just beautiful...
I felt like throwing out my (years old) tree and buying one of these beauties...Some of the decos,I had never seen anything like before....all feathers and glitter and glass.....needless to say I resisted....
but it was a pleasure just looking...

Hi Kat, nice to see you pop in..

Have a good day everyone, I'll go and set my alarm....
Dianne

{{{hugs}}} Charleen.
Not an easy decision to help a loved pet on their way to the rainbow bridge.
It broke my heart to say good bye to Chita a couple of years ago.
Take care - Teresa

managed to do 2 loads of washing, vacuum the house, cleaned the back door - it was looking very black with mildew & is back to white (mostly) now.
Then off down to the Post Office to send in my entries for the Dalmatian Specialty show.
Did some window shopping since I don't often have the time by myself to wander the shops.
Then home for lunch, mowed the lawns & took photos of some of the newly opened flowers.
And I had fun with Sugar & Copper playing fetch & other silly games to stop the weasel from getting bored & eating the washing off the line.
the sun shone, the birds sang & it was a really lovely day :)

Hugs to you Charleen...I think we can all share in your feelings, I lost Chester, my Springer Spaniel at 10 years old to diabetes, last December....

My silly little Brugmansia has finally decided to bloom...more than one or two blooms a season....It was decided that it is a variegated Shredded Brug....but I don't think it can make up its' mind....A couple are shredded, but most are not. I really like the green/yellow stripes on the blooms.

All the blooms are Fantastic. I love the Spring and the Fall....Waking up and going to sleep...
Thank you all. Yes, Al, you did get to meet Lucky. We enjoyed your visit.
Been moving plant into the house, hubby is going to be looking for Tarzen to come swinging thru the leaves...(hahahaha)
Picked some up by the main branch and the pots came off. they needed new soil. I even put one in a smaller pot. Coffee bean plant has a yellow glow to it. i gave it some hormones so maybe it will green up. I pruned it back too....
Yes T Bo has helped, Lucky is in Heaven waiting at the Rainbow bridge along with the other pets that have gone on....
Hugs and love to all.....

Good morning everyone. Jean has a market today so we have to do without our cakes this morning unless someone else brings some in. Dianne, Dianne, did you sleep in? I thought that we were going to get a nice storm here yesterday evening but it was all hot air. A bit of rumbling and plenty of black clouds but about a teaspoon of rain. I hope you all have a wonderful day and Jean I hope you sell all your plants and come home rolling in money, [so you can buy more] lol. Colleen

Morning Everyone, a bit cooler here today and the wind is picking up, rain was forecast for Jean's area so I hope it doesn't arrive until after the markets are finished for her, and yes sell lots and lots Jean. As much as we need rain for the crops and gardens I am enjoying the sunshine, it seems to have been a very long dull winter this year.
I planted some Golden Nugget Pumpkin seeds under the Blood orange tree and hoped a couple might come up, the whole lot came up so I will have pumpkins everywhere if they all survive, oh well pumpkin soup for next winter lol.
Have a great day everyone,
Cheers Robyn.

Hello all. Here is a little something to munch on while waiting for Jean's report on the T&T sales. Hope you all have a lovely day.

Fudge Nut Brownies

I didn't sleep in Colleen...I was down at Mick's paddock, the grass is so high in the open area that I thought I would let him have a graze on this sunny morning...his paddock looks as though it has been mown with a mower...he is such a glutton...
While I was there, this lovely dessert was making itself on the internet for morning tea.....so we can have moons' brownies and whatever this is....

Moon, I think that Brug of yours is quite lovely...I like the different flowers it throws...

Those little pumpkins are so tasty C....you need lots anyway...lol

Charleen that is a wonderful pic of the 2 dogs.....love it...

Jean, we are all watching over your shoulder to make sure that you don't spend all your profit....
Have a great day everyone....

This message was edited Oct 21, 2012 4:46 PM

This boy looks me right in the eye when I take his picture. He is not Camera Shy. He helped me garden this afternoon. Tore out a large Lantana saved one root for next year. Feel like I been run over. I know it is going to be worse in the AM.
I made this little ornament of Lucky. See his Halo??? and wings....
Charley sends you all nuzzles and Abigail lay me an egg.....

Sorry for you, losing Lucky, Charleen.......I know all the other animals there will help you through your sorrow...Anthony[hello everyone else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

Good morning everyone. Its a beautiful sunny morning .
Yesterday was a bit cloudy with light fog when we left for the T&T.
Warm later and a great day.
We did get a little sprinkle late afternoon and the day turned cold . By that time we were home anyway.
I sold 3/4 of the plants I took over and made a very nice profit.
I bought no plants at all for myself , so was very good.
There were only about 4 people selling plants and mainly the common daisies, irises etc. nothing I dont have already.
I was able to enjoy lots of garden talk with customers as I do have some that look for me there now.
I have a couple of ladies coming to buy at home here next week so a great day out.


Now I start gathering new plants together for the next T&T in the early New Year.
Its a good time to be taking new cuttings and splitting plants.

Charleen, I really love your little little ornament of Lucky. You are getting very good at these.
Take it easy there too. Dont do too much at once in the garden.
I know the feeling, once you start, you simply must finish what you are doing.
Hugs for T Bo and cookies out for Charley and friends. I did throw a lot of stale bread out for Abigail and her feathered friends too.

Anthony, how are things doing down there in the vortex ?
Did you get more dahlias at all.
I saw a few yesterday, but only one color so they stayed there.
Your garden is going to be a sea of color when everything is flowering

Dianne, I could feel someone watching me yesterday.
I was so good in not spending my profits. I will wait until I go to Mt Gambier before Christmas..
I hope that wind you had didnt damage too many plants. No wind at all here which is a nice change.

Colleen, thanks for opening the Tea Room. I did find a last slice of Dianne's sweet dessert this morning.
I'll have it for my morning tea.

Moon, thank you for the lovely brownies for everyone. I didnt see any left over so they must have been good. .

Hello Karen, Al, Robyn, and Teresa.
I am off to tidy the car and put the leftover plants back in the shadehouse.
More weeds to get at around the irises today too. The irises are all starting to open so should be a lovely display later .
I have lots of buds coming on the iris reject piles too. Hopefully I may sell off a few to the ladies that are coming to see the garden..
Have to fix Michael too ( my scarecrow) he is looking very sad as his hat has fallen off , his pants are falling to pieces and he needs a need jacket.
Cant have him looking so shabby as he is seen by all driving along the road.
too the locals a while to realise it wasnt me out there when I first put him up. .
They used to wave to him...lol

Hers something tasty for you all......Almond and Strawberry Cake..

Keep safe and enjoy the day
Jean.

it poured with rain this morning & only cleared for a little while this arvo, the timing was great as my brother in law & his fiancée were visiting and Baz's friend that owns the other Auster in our(the one we rent) hanger.
I was able to dig out lettuce seedlings for them & after they left I kept gardening, weeded most of the garden & potted up 7 more lots of lettuce seedlings to take in to work tomorrow.
Labour day here so no work :)
While the sun was out I also dug up a couple of my azaleas & moved them across the drive way to the North facing garden, the other side seems a bit to soggy for them so hopefully this time they will be happy & do a bit better.
More cloud came over so I finished up & now I can spend some time online.
Dinner is in the slow cooker, shin beef on the bone with potato & onion along with a tin of basil pesto tomatoes.
Smells good, and so easy to prepare.

That dinner sounds good, Teresa....
Congrats on your profitable day at the T&T Jean....nice to make a profit doing what you love....hope you sell some of those Iris.
A couple of nice days ahead for us, weather wise....until the weekend off course..

I bought a Christmas cake from Aldi today...it looks and smells delicious....I won't be making one this year so I'll cheat and pour some brandy over this one and soak it for a few weeks.
Have a nice evening all.
Dianne

You will love this one then. Made it last night. Spirit horse
Just a pretty Pendant horse
Guess this could be Like the opposites of each other. I do love to do horses and Wish I were better with people. Oh, well, I try.
Don't forget to post a photo of Michael for us again. I hope Abigail doesn't want to sit on his head. If you see T Bo he may try to drag him out into the yard for a romp....

Good morning everyone.
I am sitting here without a jumper at the moment. Its not so cold as the last few mornings have been.
Yesterday was lovely and warmer today is forecast.

Teresa, the slow cookers are such a great thing. I use mine often during the cold weather. So easy to just turn on leave to cook away slowly.
Hubby loves the ham hocks done that way.
Pat the spotty ones for me. I hope Sugar is continuing to behave well as a lady should.

Charleen, You are getting so good at those cute ornaments.
I like the black & white horses together.
I will add a pic of Michael when he gets dressed up again.
T Bo cannot have him to play with.
I dont mind if Abigail sits near him ( not on him ) as long as she leaves me an egg or two...lol

Dianne, I like going into our Aldi store here. You never know what you may find.
I always get my Christmas cake and pudding there.
Very yummy, but I leave the brandy off. Hubby would like it but not for me.

Hello Anthony, hope you are not getting that wind down there.
I have tiny little buds on a couple of the asiatics here. Very early this year.
I also found a couple of small shoots in one of the pots I though had died . Not sure which lilium but I will find out next year hopefully.
( Dimension I think )
Looking forward to see your flower pics later.

Hello Moon, and Al. I am not sure if you wish for a white Christmas or not but I hope its still warm there for you.

Hello Colleen. I have a lovely white flower on the arum lily you sent. I put it out in the patch I have under the willow. The whites grow there along with the Green Goddess.

Hello to everyone else looking in.
Hope the weatehr is kind to you all.
I am off to check out my brugs etc. I have the first lot of broad beans grow ing bigger daily. we will enjoy a feed soon.

Heres your morning tea treat....... Lots of assorted Cream Cakes..
( I can just hear Brian and Lisa asking for more cream )

Enjoy the day. Christmas is sneaking up on us.

Happy day
Jean.

Yes, Jean not enough cream for them is there? Hi everyone. Well things are progressing at last for Brian's Memory Cactus Garden. I had a meeting with a couple of councilors, one being the planning bloke and they are pretty keen. The even came and had a look at all the cactus. I have to have a plan of the garden drawn up and what goes where, so that the OHS lady can come and assess the danger for the public. We have to follow all the rules. Over 2 years now, but maybe we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel . The Arum lilies are lovely aren't they Jean? So pure looking. We haven't had any rain here to speak of. Lots of black clouds and thunder and lightening but only a couple of spits. It doesn't seem as though anyone is getting any significant rain. Must go and get the boys ready. Have a great day. Colleen

Colleen, the lovely cactus garden in Mt Gambier is surrounded by a cyclone fence about 4 foot high. You can see all the plants and take pictures and are you are safe from any falling cacti.
( unless a stupid idiot climbs over )
It seems to be a good way of merging cacti & public.
Maybe the OHS person could investigate this option.
One doesnt need to be right up close & personal with cacti to admire them.
Jean.

Thank goodness they are getting started on the garden....it's been long enough..
That wire fence is a good idea, Jean...no OHS prob with that.

I have to peg down my climbing rose today it's going in all directions....

Very pretty Charleen, they would be very popular.
Have a good day all.
Dianne

Morning Everyone, the wind is howling here ...again, and stirring up my allergies, wish it would go somewhere else, or we could have some rain to settle the dust and pollen. I should have some nice fresh fruit from my stone fruit this year finally, I planted them about 4 years ago when I moved here and they all seem to have lots of young fruit this year. The almond tree has almonds the size of golf balls on it, hope I can beat the cockies to them.
Getting excited about my upcoming trip to Perth, I fly over next Monday then drive back on Wednesday, should be fun, haven't been across the Nullabor for 20 years or more.
Have a great day Everyone. Cheers Robyn.

Spent the weekend cleaning up the garden for the winter. We collected hundreds of seed pods from marigolds, sunflowers, coneflowers, zinnias, and susans. We had several dahlia roots that also had to be pulled and sorted. The excess seeds we don't need for next year will be donated to our local parks commission in the city for all to use and see next year.

Weather has been splendid, just slightly cool with light frosts at night. Days have been downright warm with shirtsleeve temps in the afternoons. We finally turned the burner on to take off the morning chills but it doesn't stay on long.

Al

Al what a neat idea to donate excess seed to local parks.

I took the lettuce seedlings in to work, everyone was thrilled at the chance to add to their vegie gardens.

Normally Labour weekend is when to plant tomatoes in Canterbury, I am glad I didn't get around to it yesterday as this morning we had a frost & they are predicting another tomorrow!

The tomato plants are happy enough on the kitchen window sill for now so I'll leave them another week at least.
My Sweet 100 has more than doubled in height so I'd like to get it outside as soon as it's safe.

Robyn - enjoy your trip to Perth, I did a 3 week trip, from Brisbane via the out back, we stayed at Innaminka,
Birdsville, Ayers Rock & a lot of tiny townships - and one rodeo grounds on the way.

The trip back was 3 days on a bus via the Nullabor, the hardest part was the last 11 hours from Sydney to Brisbane.

Almond trees?-I heard that!!!

Good morning everyone.
Lovely day yesterday, but became cooler in late afternoon. Very windy also.
This morning is very grey. I think we are in for a bit of rain later. Do the garden good as the ground does dry quickly.
I finally finished all the drippers along the vegie garden retic hoses. Now I can just turn taps on and let the timers do the work. All I have to do is turn the taps off at the end of the days watering.
Once a week gives a good soak and from the forecast for a hot summer, the plants will be looking for their weekly drink .

Anthony, There were lots of almond trees where I used to live and plenty of Cocky's relatives there to clean them up too.
Look out Robyn, you may see a white feathered visitor from Tassie.

Al. I see on the news that parts of the US are still getting high temps.Its nice that it cools down at night though.
Soon you will be wishing for the warm back.
Your marigolds are very pretty.
I have thrown marigold seed around here but the only ones that grew didnt last long.
I do have the wallflowers which come up all different colors each year.
The self sown seeds that do drive me mad are the honesty and a species geranium ( cranesbill).
They get into the oddest places and I am forever pulling them out.
I do love the ferny look of the geranium maderense , but it can also be a pest. Lucky they are all easy to pull out.

Teresa, sounds like you had a wonderful trip through our inland. I just love the colors in our great outback. The red sands are always changing as the sun moves.

Hello Colleen, Dianne, Moon, and Charleen.
Hope you are all enjoying some lovely weather.

Heres something yummy for morning tea......Caramel Peanut Butter Bars.

I am off to check on all the baby brugs.

Enjoy the day.
Jean.

Good morning everyone. Grey and gloomy this morning with a little nip in the air. Supposed to be 35C today. I hope they're wrong. Lots of washing to do today. Little one had an accident last night, pillow as well. Oh boy. The epis are looking good this year. I have my very first large red this year. Everyone says that's the most common but I couldn't get mine to grow and flower. Finally the patience pays off. I'm so glad that I found the names of my English brugs. That's a load off my mind. I knew they couldn't be far as I have all the brug stuff together but they were being elusive. Colleen the hound dog sniffed them out though. Have been talking to my older brother Bill over the last couple of days about Brian's memory garden. He has designed it for me, now I have to hand that to the council for approval. Gee they make every little thing hard work. Dianne it is by no means a certainty yet. I just have to keep pushing [gently] Well must get a move on as I have Thai Chi this morning. Have a great day. Colleen

Morning Everyone, it's a dull grey morning here too, but it doesn't look much like rain, supposed to get to 34 here as well and it's warming up outside already. It would be lovely if we did get some rain, save me from having to water everything before I go.
The outback is a fascinating place, I lived in Kingoonya for about 12 years, and miss it a lot, I don't miss the flies and the dust though lol. You never knew what sort of 'visitor' you might find on your doorstep, emus, kangaroos, major mitchell cockatoos, cockatiels, budgerigars, goannas, snakes and once a beautiful male dingo. They used to come and visit looking for water, so I had buckets of rain water set up for them. And you could see for miles and miles, the salt lakes were stunning at sunset or under a full moon.
I had better go and do some washing, then work out what clothes to take with me and think about packing them.
Cheers Robyn

I was amazed by the Stony desert - in the morning if you looked ahead it looked like a sea of red as far as the eye could see - but looking back it looked like asphalt...
the shadows of the rocks blended together to create the illusion.

Bright sunny day, and no rain :-(... sure do need it.
Brugs are blooming and smelling so good.
Hope you all have a good day, even tho gloomy.

Good morning everyone.
A dull morning here but not cold or windy yet.
Yesterday was quite warm but turned cooler with a few sprinkles.
My irises are all stating to open now with the warm weather. Lots of green around and it all looks so lush .
Pity in a few months it will all be brown again..
Hubby likes to walk around admiring everything while its lovely & green.

Its shopping day again so I am going to enjoy spending some of my profits from the T&T.
I will say hello to all and see what I can find in the kitchen for morning tea.

Here we are ....Devils Food Cake...

Enjoy the day and find time to sit and admire a garden somewhere.
Happy day
Jean..

Day off-public holiday, Royal Hobart Show!!!! raining and cold as usual on show day.,.I delivered some animal enclosures to there on Tuesday and purchased 1 mint and 1 purple Carnation pot from a grower who had come over from Murray Bridge to sell at the show..

Have a nice day off, Anthony...
Would you post a pic of those carnations if they are in flower?.....my little pinks are just starting in the front garden and the perfume on the warmer days is wonderful....

It's blowing a gale and has turned very cold here, so we came home early from shopping, no garden product browsing, though we did pick up 3 bales of compressed pea straw to try it...usually we buy bales of it and it takes up all of the boot...so I thought that we would try the compressed, much easier to load...our son has our ute at the moment....somehow I don't think it will be coming back..lol

One of my lovely Tree Peonies is flowering, the yellow hasn't produced any flowers this year for some reason, but Boreas did the right thing and flowered.....the colour really isn't half as deep and as beautiful as it truly is..
Hope that you bought something nice for yourself, Jean......
Dianne.

Good morning everyone. Cloudy here, and a bit cold. No wind as yet which is nice.
Yesterday was quite a nice day with a few light sprinkles.
No strong winds at all.
Dianne, you keep that wind down there, I get enough over the year without any more popping up.
I bought no plants at all. I was looking for a couple pf azaleas but surprisingly there were none at all.
I would have expected large displays of them along with other spring flowering plants.
All I saw were a few rather tatty hydrangeas and a lot of petunias,carnations and pinks. A few salvias too , but nothing like I was looking for.
There are no decent nurseries anywhere in the whole area .
I need to go over to Mt Gambier to see what is available.
Even there, the larger stores have mostly gone out of plants except for a few of those "designer "plants only suitable for indoors.
The nurseries seem to stock all the same types and are usually tatty or potbound.
There is one place I will try over there. It is a very shabby looking nursery with so many plants jammed in , but one can often find a treasure if the price is right.

Anthony, I hope you enjoyed the show if you went along. Not good weather for it though from the sound of it.

I will be going outside when the sun gets itself out from the clouds.
I bought a few new garden hose bits and will finally get rid of the old bits along the paths. I had to get a new tap timer so I can safely leave the tap on for a short time while doing other things. The old one had given up .
Great invention, tap timers.

I hope you are all getting ready for the impending attack of the Christmas heebie jeebies.
You know.... did I buy him/her the right thing ? Will I need one of those...or maybe two ? Did I send a card to him/her ?
All the lovely little thoughts that will niggle at you until its all over for another year...lol

I had better go make a cuppa as I am not venturing out just yet. Its a bit nippy out there.

I hope you all enjoy your day..
Here a treat for morning tea........Apple and Cinnamon Slice.

Happy gardening
Jean.

Good morning everyone. We had the wind here again Jean. but it's lovely out there at the moment. a bit overcast but not too cold. Friday again, Where do the weeks go? Yes Christmas presents to buy. I already have some but still a few to go. Must get my cards out otherwise it's December and no-one gets one. One son, John, loves Christmas and buys presents for everyone [just about anyway] but the other son just thinks it's all too commercialised ? and doesn't go into it very much at all. He says instead of buying him a present just spend it on myself. It's not the same and never happens anyway, because there's always something else to spend the money on not me. Are your Epis flowering Jean? Mine have hundreds of buds. What a show if they all came out at once, but then they wouldn't flower for long would they? Dianne, that Peony is so beautiful. I did have a couple once but I didn't look after them properly so I think they're gone. My first Hippies are starting to flower now. Just the common red one but gee they're lovely and they are so colourful. I got the boy's paints out yesterday and just sat and painted grass and trees and flowers and a couple of sleepy lizards and rocks. I can't really paint but I enjoyed myself and it was soooo relaxing. The boys loved it and now they want to put it in a frame and hang it up. I have two little admirers anyway. Well must go Have a great day everyone. Colleen

I just noticed a new iris in the garden, it looks like it may be yellow but until the flower opens i won't know for sure.
I got some from the RSA when they removed a garden to make way for the renovations.
I don't remember planting it where it has come up.
I put a piece in the daffodil garden but I don't think that one made it.
I love the way my garden still springs surprises on me :)
Or maybe it's just my terrible memory...

Good morning everyone.
Yesterday was quite cold and plenty of squally rain showers . The morning looked good for start then went downhill.
Nothing was done outside. Today looks like being the same. I want the rain for the garden but its frustrating not being able to work outside.
Of course , all the weeds are laughing.
We have a very annoying sticky weed here that grows feet overnight.. It is a creeping ferny looking thing that has virtually invaded the whole garden now.
Easy to pull out, but it can sneak in and out and under plants before you see it poke its head up.
Very hard to use Roundup on it because of the open structure and thin creeping runners.
It likes to hug the plants so you cannot attack it with spray. Being a lovely green it blends in so well too.
I am happy to share it with anyone else....LOL

Hello Teresa. Its nice to see the irises coming out now. You are lucky that one survived the workmen at your place.
They only need a tiny piece left in the ground to start growing again.
I am finding irises coming up among the beans now . I was positive I had dug all the bits out.
Hope the weasel is behaving for you.

Lovely epi Colleen.
Mine are also full of buds. Going to be a lovely show.
It must have been a mild year for them here, because I had about 5 flower during winter.
Still have a few flowers on the zygos too.
Nice to see something being done on Brians garden.

Hello Charleen, Charley was here this morning. Looking for cake again.
I see Abigail following him too.
T Bo wasnt around, he must have stayed home with you.

Hello Al and Moon. Are you still getting the unseasonal warm there ?
Soon be Christmas and you may have a warm one this year.

Hello Karen, Dianne and Anthony. Hope all is well with you all.

I am going to get another cuppa and sit here until I see the sun outside.
Its light rain at the moment.

Heres a treat for morning tea....Banana Chocolate Cake

Enjoy the weekend
Jean.

Morning Everyone, it's cool and sunny here, still quite breezy, I will be madly watering everything before I head off tomorrow, hopefully everything will survive while I am away for 2 weeks.
I just bought a gorgeous Aloe on ebay, A.Mitriformis x Brevifolia variegata, quite stunning with dark green and white leaves.
Cheers Robyn.