Good morning!
This week I've been jotting down things as I do them. I'm finding I need to make notes to keep track; life is busy at the moment and now we are all well again, I'm playing catch-up, although it isn't taking much to exhaust me. I do a bit, then do a sitting down chore, do a bit more, do another sitting down chore. The weather isn't helping either, but I'm going by "if you do things, things get done". I placed a big online order of groceries. Honestly, with free delivery it was easier than trying to do it in person, and my shopping day was so hot I didn't want to go out. Amazingly everything on the list was delivered! Getting the groceries delivered is a tool, or a handmaiden as per The Bluebirds Are Nesting on the Farm. I remember Mum getting groceries delivered when I was a wee girl. The grocer would knock on the door, and bring in the groceries in a box. He would carry it through to the kitchen - true service. We need to use all the tools at our disposal to ensure we can do our jobs properly so if I need to get the groceries delivered occasionally I will do it, guilt free. When it was all put away, the shelves looked much better. I've been reading and listening to podcasts from various experts and while they are mostly speaking about the northern hemisphere, what happens those to economies eventually finds its way to us; all those experts are predicting mass shortages and rising prices across the board. I've been working the canning plan and keeping the stockpile stocked as best I can. Being prepared isn't panicking, it's simply looking ahead, and doing what is necessary now to be able to survive what the future brings. Good old fashioned commonsense. The tiny toms are going so well, every morning a pasta bowl full has come off the vines and been added to the freezer. When there is enough to fill the slow cooker, I'll make sauce. We've been eating them every day as part of our salad and as snacks. Same for the raspberries. They have been a little slow this summer, but now they are coming on and a cereal bowl full is going into the freezer every morning, ready to make jam when the weather cools down. I had another 6kg of brisket in the fridge, and the thought of cutting it up to pressure can almost made me cry, so into the slow cooker it went. It cooked all day, and came out so tender I could shred it with a fork. Bagged it into meal portions, vac sealed and into the freezer it went. The Happy Mail Project is making me so happy. These are the cards I made and sent off this week. I just love picking names from my address book and sending a little card to let those dear people know I'm thinking of them and wishing them a good day. My goal is to send five a week, so this week another three cards were made and posted. Next week I'm hoping to reach the five. Kitchen towels were on my to-do list for the present box. The easiest way I think is to create a production line. All the tea towels were prepped. All the toppers were cut out and sewn. All the buttonholes were done together. Then the all the toppers were stitched to the towels and lastly the buttons sewn on. I love to work this way; if I need to stop to do something else, then I can and when I come back I can move onto the next step. I cut down an old, torn sheet to make polishing cloths. It's pure cotton, and soft, perfect for polishing. Total cost for 10 good sized cloths $0. Cooked all our meals from scratch from the pantry. I can't stress how much this saves us. I was listening to a YT and they quoted Dave Ramsay as saying the average American, single person, not a family, spends over $3,600 a year on eating out! Now I'm thinking that would be about the same here, Australians have embraced the home delivery service for meals. I don't spend that much to feed my entire family for a year. I've been picking tomatoes and cucumber from the garden too. The tomato seeds cost $3 for the packet, and so far I've picked around 8kg; tomatoes were $6.95/kg yesterday so growing them is saving us a fortune - $52.60 to date. We have some hot days this week so I'm expecting to be picking and bottling all week. I cashed in some rewards $$$ to pay for the groceries this week. Opened the windows and doors and turned the air con and fans off. It rained so I didn't have to water this week. Used my rewards and RACV card to save 13c/litre on diesel. I'm still using materials in my stash to make gifts, and it doesn't seem to be shrinking! On the up side, I'm not buying anything. Looking back it was a good, frugal week for us.
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Good morning! It was a bit of a slow week for me, I just seemed to run out of puff quickly if I went too fast, and of course the weather was typical for our city, hot one day, freezing cold the next, bone dry then we were on flood alert. We had thunderstorms and torrential rain two nights in a row. Good for the garden but one in particular was terrifying in it's intensity. I hosted cards on Saturday and it was a fun day. We had a lovely time sharing tips and hacks and ideas and showing off our handmade goodies. This is my project for the day. I picked raspberries, rosemary, tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden. We ate them fresh each day and loved the taste of fresh from the garden food.
I canned brisket two ways. We had some for dinner with gravy one night, the rest is on the pantry shelf. I was given a beautiful bread tin, one with a lid to make a sandwich loaf and I can't wait to try it out. What did you make, bake, grow and sew this week? Good morning! What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week? I'd love to know! More than half the week was written off with our entire household knocked flat with the flu. Thank goodness for a stocked pantry and freezer, and for a meal plan on the fridge. No one who felt like eating went hungry and the medical pantry was fully stocked with all we needed to survive. By Thursday I was starting to feel a bit better and started to get a few things done. *canned 18 pints of ugly chicken *canned 5 quarts of corned beef Yesterday (Sunday) I went shopping, specifically to buy brisket and mince, and was blessed with finding both on markdown for great prices. It meant they needed to be processed and preserved straight away, but that's what a summer Sunday afternoon is for. I was able to *can brisket *canned mince *can 6 quarts meatballs in broth The tomato plants are loaded! I can't wait until they all start to turn red. As soon as I see even a hint of red I'll be picking them and letting them ripen inside. The birds and possums, and now the bats, are quick so I need to be faster.
I made some cards for the Happy Mail Project, using a new range of papers and a fun new punch. I love them! These will be going out later in the week. Good morning! Well the dreaded summer lurgy has struck our house. First it was No. 1 Son, then it was Hannah and I succumbed last night so forgive me if the list is a bit wonky! When I sat down this morning, I wasn't sure I'd have much to share for Make It Monday, the week has flown by and things were done, but they didn't seem to be much. Here's the list I had on the fridge:
I did a little shopping over the weekend, the back-to-school sales are the ideal time to stock up on sticky notes and folders to add to the craft stash. There are packs of 15 sticky note pads for $5, making them 33 cents each. These are handy to have in the stash for quick little thank you gifts, stocking stuffers, a just because gift when you cover them. They're also great for stalls too - Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas etc. What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week? One of my favourite things to do, and something I do at least once a week, is sit at my craft table and make cards. I love working with paper, cardstock and ink, creating beautiful cards for any occasion. I find it very relaxing, and I love to give the cards I make and see the smiles the create.
Over Christmas I was talking to someone and they mentioned how they hadn't received a single Christmas card, and they couldn't remember the last time they had pulled anything other than bills and junk mail out of their letterbox. That just about broke my heart. Loneliness comes in a shapes and forms, and not getting a simple letter or card in the mail is just one form, but it's a form I can do something about. This year I've started the Happy Mail Project. Every week throughout the year my aim is to make some cards and send them to people, just because, to hopefully brighten their day and make them happy. I'm not planning on writing a great, long, screed, just a short note saying hi, I'm thinking of you, thought this would make you smile sort of thing, to let folk know they're not forgotten and that they are important every day, not just on special occasions. Every Thursday I'll do a post office run and drop that week's happy mail in the box, hoping the cards will brighten someone's day. Good morning!
Welcome to the first Make It Monday for the new year. It's exciting to have a whole new year to plan what we're making, baking, growing and sewing. I've been away for a couple of weeks, only home for Christmas and New Year, so my efforts have been curtailed by this family emergency. I made some salads and a lasagne to take with us, and some pantry ingredients to make meals while we were away. We had a lovely Christmas day, just the five of us, very quiet and peaceful. I didn't take any photos but Hannah was in charge of our main meal and it was delicious. Roast lamb and chicken, baked potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli in cheese sauce and peas with gravy and mint sauce. She followed up that huge meal with a beautiful pavlova and traditional Christmas pudding with custard and ice-cream. I did get some crocheting done, in the form of daisy dishcloths. They are a small project I can carry and work on sitting waiting at the hospital. While I've been away, the tomatoes have gone crazy. Look at this neglected garden! I feel so bad, but I'm grateful for the rain and the effort the boys put in to keep the plants alive. I snuck three raspberries off one of the canes yesterday - they were delicious! Hopefully we'll get lots this year, enough to make jam because frozen berries have gone up again. What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week? Good morning! What a crazy week I had. Every day was flat chat, I felt like I was running from job to job, getting lots done, but nothing to show for all the running at the end of the day. Well except for the most untidy house I've ever had - it is a disaster, so today will be tidying up and putting away day, then I can do the Monday cleaning and we should be back to normal. Phew! Spoke to Sue Dunstan from ABC radio in Horsham about Christmas and how we can enjoy a fun and faith filled Christmas without going broke. All the Christmas cards are written and ready to post on Thursday. We also had rain, and a good drop too, on Friday and Saturday, so the garden has had a nice long drink, no watering needed. Making Pot Puff Scrubby - a new pattern that will eventually get into the shop Crocheted a face cloth Used the ends of cotton to crochet some dish cloths for the kitchen Baking Fruit cup cakes for lunchboxes Made a double batch of potato salad to last the week Made quiche to use up eggs, cream and sad veggies and Hannah and I had it for tea on pizza night with lots of lovely fresh salad, it was so good too. Made berry jam Made rhubarb apricot jam Dehydrated rosemary Made rosemary salt (it's so good on roast potatoes) Growing Put new stakes next to two pear trees and an apple tree and tied them up. The wind (or something) had blown them over and they were on a good lean. Now they're standing tall and straight again. Tied up the tomatoes again, they are growing well. Cut back the rhubarb that had gone to seed. Sewing Made four hanging kitchen towels. What did you make, bake, grow adn sew last week?
Good morning! We had a lovely week away, the weather was ideal and the company was wonderful. Lots of laughing, relaxing, plotting and planning was accomplished around the campfire, or on the bank of the river. It's good to be home though, even if there is a big basket of washing and lots of cleaning and repacking to be done. My making, baking, growing and sewing for the week was a little different, being away, but lots still happened. Making Daisy dishcloths for the shop Spa set for the shop Tanning puffs for the shop Perle scrunchies Baking Creamed rice in the camp oven Scones in the camp oven Growing The garden took off while we were away, I came home to tiny tomatoes on some of the plants, the rosemary is out of control again, Lacey's rhubarb is growing again, and there are lots of little apples on the apple trees, and the potatoes! What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week?
Hello happy makers, bakers, growers and sewers!
Last week was frantic for me. On top of getting everything ready to go away this week (yes I'm away again), I had to rethink the 12 Days of Stocking Stuffers due to a camera malfunction. That meant recreating the 12 ideas, photographing them, writing up the instructions, then uploading them. I was frazzled, tired, hot, bothered, cranky, frustrated and the whole time I was having fun because I had the opportunity to sit and craft for days. With the videos, I made every item, things I can use on camera, in real time. I love to do things in real time, so you know exactly how long the project takes, no speeding up the filming or cutting out the boring bits (sorry, you have to suffer through those!). So everything had to be made from scratch again. And that's why my week was frantic; the usual things still had to be done. I had lots of help, with boys getting cardstock and setting up the photos, and unloading the dishwasher and sweeping the floor and checking off the shopping list, opening paper packs and putting their weight behind punches. And it was all done. So, if you'd like to see what I've making this week, hop on over to the 12 Days of Stocking Stuffers. Baking: ANZAC slice Cranberry Hootycreeks Fruit cupcakes Growing: Feeding the garden Tied up the tomatoes again, they are growing so fast you can almost see it if you watch long enough. Fed the back lawn Sewing: Two lots of bowl covers (for an order) Set of scrunchies (for an order) What have you been making, baking, growing and sewing this week? Good morning! It's time for another Make It Monday round-up. Last week was an up and down week in our home, and it showed with all of us being particularly stressed and frazzled. But life went on, and we are grateful for that. We’re finally seeing some real spring weather too, with days getting a little warmer at last. Remember a week ago we lit the fire and there was snow on the hills? Today is going to be 30! Gotta love spring time in Australia. Last week was spent tidying up the craft room. After a year of crafting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, stencilling, making cards and scrapbooks and everything else it was a bit of a mess. Two afternoons and the papers and cardstock are back in order, and the stamps, dies and embossing folders are sorted. The fabric boxes are nice and tidy, and the yarn boxes are back in order. This week I'm going to tackle the craft tables and get them tidied up, dusted and wiped over and make sure all the tools are in the right spots. When that's done I'll be ready to start on next year's handmade Christmas. Making: Face scrubbies Shower puffs Crocheted scrunchies Baking: Mini fruit cakes All our meals were cooked from scratch using ingredients in the pantry 8 small garlic, sea salt and rosemary focaccia 12 pizza bases for the freezer Growing: Tied the tomatoes up again, they are growing so well with the warmth and rain Picked the last of the broccoli Collected the seed from the rhubarb crown I let go to seed Picked rosemary and hung it in bunches to dry Sewing:
Scrunchies Fabric gift bags (made from scraps of fabric - waste not, want not) What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week? |
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