I helped my Dad build a fire pit in his garden, he made wooden seats to sit around the metal fire pit with old stone columns for extra seating (unfortunately you can't see the actual fire-pit as behind the stone bench). Lots of stories and fun are had around it until deep into the night. If you have the space it is a great addition to put in! Shannon

August and September are busy harvest months. The tomatoes, blackberries, zucchini, plums and apples will keep us the busiest, canning tomato sauce, blackberry syrup, apple butter, drying apples, freezing plums and pickling green cherry tomatoes. I am also heavily mulching in preparation of going away for a week on vacation. And doing some light pruning on the fruit trees.

Weeducks, yes, Malaysia actually. I've worked in much of this region over the 28 years I've been out here. Emmerline, I am sat here at 7pm as I write this - it is 35 centigrade and extremely humid (because it has cooled down a bit since mid afternoon). I wanted some exercise yesterday and had to wait till after 9pm before it dropped below 30 centigrade - and then only just. Midnight still saw 26 and early morning isn't much better. It has become much hotter over my years here. Life in the city now is air conditioning in the house, car, shops and offices. It is like being a termite not going outside other than in a climate controlled environment like a car, taxi, bus or train. Mornings used to be cool, but no longer. It is always T-shirt and shorts weather here, only because you can't go to less than that! Gardening here is a chore. (I cut the grass yesterday morning) Go into the garden between 10am and 5pm and get burned by the sun. Before or after that time and get eaten by mosquitoes. I tend to look at the garden from inside the house.

I used to allow my Burmese anywhere and the wake up 'boofs' - cat talk for running up the bed and patting me on my face to wake me to feed them - were lovely. Then I started showing and breeding & got more cats. I'd wake to find myself on the edge of the bed while they sprawled out over 7/8ths of it! Now they all sleep in the kitchen, but kittens are due next month and will be born in my bedroom. No doubt my 1st time 'mummy' will bring them onto the bed one at a time, and I just can't wait!!!!!!