Looking back, last week was busy, but it didn't seem to be. Perhaps loving what you're doing makes chores seem like fun and you don't think of it as work, I know I don't. The really hot summer weather finally arrived, so I doubled the salads and we ate potato salad, coleslaw and pasta salad for four days. I also made a double batch of fish cakes, cream cheese patties and quick rice patties; half went into the freezer and we had the rest with the salad and in wraps for lunch. I picked rhubarb from the garden and made rhubarb and apple crumble and an apple crumble using apples from last season that were in the freezer. Brisket was on sale for $13.99/kg so I bought two big pieces. One went straight into the freezer and one went into the slow cooker. I used this to make Mexican style pulled beef and a roast beef and gravy dinner, and pulled beef in gravy for subs for quick dinners. I had one red tomato, finally, I was so excited I called out for Hannah to come see, it looked perfect. Then when I went to pick it, the back half was eaten by a bug! But I have been picking cucumbers and zucchini. I let some zucchini stay in the garden to get big, then grated them, drained them and put them into the dehydrator, and made zucchini pickle. I'm hoping to get enough for two years, to have some as a back-up on the shelf, just in case next year isn't a good year for zucchini. We have been eating the cucumbers as tzatziki, and cucumber salad, and just to munch on, with the hot weather finally they are so cool as a snack. I picked lots of mint and dehydrated it. I picked lots of rosemary and have it hanging to dry - the kitchen smells wonderful. The second flush of raspberries are starting, and the strawberries are just beautiful. I've picked a bowlful most days, and what we're not eating I'm freezing to make jam. I had more oranges, so I made whole orange cake and more marmalade. The greengrocer had potatoes on sale for $1/kg, a bargain price, so 20kg came home and I am working on them, getting them canned for winter. I've been working on Bonnie's Make Do and Mend challenge and the mending pile is down to one shirt that needs buttons, but my button jar doesn't have the same or enough of any others the same so I'll keep looking. It's so nice to not have a pile of mending taunting me. I packed up three big parcels of cards to send to the nursing homes and CWA. I took the plunge and joined Stampin' Up as a demonstrator a few weeks ago. Why? Well because the deal is too good to pass up - pay $169 for $315 worth of product that I chose, with free delivery. I use so much cardstock that buying it for almost half price was too good to pass up. Then talking about it with Wayne, we decided that I'll start doing some cardmaking workshops - a new "career path" for me - or really a way to pay for the products I use to make the cards I donate. So if you are in Melbourne, and would be interested in attending a card making workshop, let me know. I'm in the planning stage to get started in March right now. And if you love cardmaking and quality supplies, this offer to join Stampin' Up and pay $169 for $315 worth of product is available until 28th February, and there is no ongoing commitment or requirement to buy more (unless you want to of course) - if you want to know more, let me know and I'll do my best to help you.
And finally, this isn't a make, bake, sew or grow, but something that's been hanging over our heads for a few months - AMRA Vic has finally found a venue for their annual exhibition, seeing as Caulfield Racecourse cancelled their booking for this year due to renovations. Poor Wayne has been going spare, along with everyone else on the committee, trying to find somewhere big enough, with the right facilities for unloading/loading, and catering, and parking and public transport for visitors, that they could afford. Some of them were just stupidly ridiculous prices - $60,000 a day for what is just a big empty hall was the worst. Anyway now they have a venue they can go ahead and plan the exhibition. How does this affect me? Well that weekend I'll be working in the exhibitor's coffee lounge, and we'll have houseguests staying with us for the week of the exhibition, and now I can plan because August will be here before I know it! What did you make, bake, sew or grow last week?
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