Make It Monday 30th December 2024

Welcome to our last Make it Monday for 2024!

The year has flown by, and I've loved seeing everything you've all been busy creating. All the makes, bakes, grows and sews have been not only beautiful but inspiring and motivating too. 

I've looked forward to Monday morning every week, especially the weeks when I wasn't able to contribute anything. Getting old (and creaky and achy and yes, cranky) is starting to slow me down!

This last week we've had Christmas Day to celebrate, and lots of leftovers to enjoy.

I was able to pick up three leg hams for $5/kg right before Christmas, and already the troops have devoured one! They tell me it was just as good as the expensive ham taste-wise, and I'd say it must've been because it's all gone. It was carved for Christmas lunch, then again for tea. They had it sliced and fried for breakfast, then some was shaved (with the electric knife) for sandwiches, and then it was sliced to have with salad for dinner and some was diced to top pizzas. That bone was clean! 

We cooked a leg of lamb, bought from Costco a few weeks ago for $6.49/kg for our Christmas lunch, and the leftovers were sliced for sandwiches and to have with salads, and some was diced for a sweet lamb curry. The bone is in the freezer to make stock after the New Year. 

I made a huge container of potato salad and a huge container of coleslaw and boiled a dozen eggs so salad meals have been really easy. 

After the garden disaster, I've replanted. I gave in and bought some seedlings with Christmas money: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, egg plant and 3 capsicums. I'm not sure about the capsicums, they take a long time to produce, but I'm praying they will grow, stay strong and healthy and produce lots of fruit we can use. I know everything else will be fine, just a little later than usual. It's too late to replace the three fruit trees we lost, and I know we will miss the fruit this summer.  Hopefully there will be no more weed spraying on windy days and my garden will be fine. 

I picked a big bunch of rhubarb and stewed it with a little lemon juice and sugar, and another big bunch of rosemary to dry. 

I a kilo of brown sugar to refill the canister.

I made a triple batch of washing powder for me, and a double batch for Hannah. I also made her a double batch of Miracle Spray - that should see her through the year. 

The taco seasoning jar was empty, so out came the spices and it was quickly filled. Under five minutes of my time made 30 tablespoons of taco seasoning.

Craft time has been crocheting dishcloths for the new year. It's a little habit of mine to start the new year with seven new dishcloths, and I move the old ones to the laundry. This year the dishcloths are round, and I've been practicing new patterns (thank you Annabel for the inspiration). I tend to learn one or two and stick to them because I can do them without needing a pattern, so learning new patterns is a good thing for me. 

I've done the yearly shopping. There was a dispute about the price of tomato soup at Coles, but after me showing them the photo I took as proof of the shelf price, and then waiting about 10 minutes for someone to go and check it, they finally let me have it at $1.10 a can rather than $1.30. It may not seem much but that extra 20c a can is an extra $19.20 on my grocery bill, or a 19% increase in the price. Check your prices and check the shelf price, then pay attention at the register!

And as is usual for this time of year the windows have all been washed inside and out; the curtains in the bedrooms and bathrooms have been washed; the carpet was cleaned a few weeks ago; the outside of the house has been de-cobwebbed and bug sprayed; the pantry has been emptied and cleaned and everything put back in order; kitchen drawers have been emptied and wiped out and the lower cabinets have been emptied and wiped out and everything put back in it's rightful place.  Does anyone else do a major clean and tidy to start the new year? 

What did you make, bake, grow and sew this last week of 2024?