Planning Ahead

Over the past month I have gone back to cooking a lot of meals on the weekend so that they are there when we need them. I found we were eating too many take-away dinners. Not all ways in the "McD" sense but often grabbing a cooked chook and salad from Coles on the way home from work - or something of the sort.

This has added quite a lot to our food budget as you can imagine, every trip to the supermarket is $20-$30. And on an already (I think) generous grocery budget this had become a major expense.

Hence the reason I have started planning again. I have made and frozen meals such as chicken fried rice, rogan josh, chicken biryani, lasagne, casseroles (all sorts), curried sausages and savoury mince. All of these are easy to cook, can have as many veggies as you want in them and defrost very very well, making dinner quick and cheap. Cheap as now I am not doing a full grocery shop and then doing another in bits and pieces throughout the fortnight. Lovely.

Do you freeze ahead? What recipes have you found that freeze and defrost well?

Doing Stuff

Brrrrrrr! Jack Frost has certainly started nipping at our noses here! 2 weeks ago Dad still had ripening tomatoes and now the asparagus is hibernating and the basil is gone.

I have finished Amelia's scarf and have mine about 1/4 done. Amelia's is called a cancan scarf - only took a day to do. Here it is:


It is pink, purple & navy

Last weekend also saw Amelia finish her artwork that she did for my sewing room. I think it looks awesome!

It's a cherry blossom tree losing flowers in the wind

Tomorrow I am off to Armidale for a drive and possibly a stop at Lincraft. Okay definately Lincraft, LOL!

Hello and Happy Mothers Day!

Yes it's been a while. Yes I have missed blogging about somethings and nothings. But today, after having a visit with my Mum, I felt like crafting, sewing and cooking once again. Thank you Mum!

What a lovely day I have had. I laid in bed until 10 and it was good. I had breakfast with the kids and Dave and got two very wonderful gifts, a blue glass windchime and a purple kettle. Here they are -


Excellent Mother's Day stall gift chosen by Amelia

This is a metallic purple and I love it!

After we had breaky we headed out with a cake to Mum and Dad's place. She didn't know we were coming but she had just pulled a carrot cake out of the oven! (Which was absolutely divine with a lemon cream cheese icing - lush).

 I had a really good visit with Mum (as usual) and left with hands itching to do some craft or sewing. So when I got home I looked for a project - a quick, satisfying one. I found a sewing machine cover, which is perfect as both Amelia and I both need them.

This is mine, we will be finishing Amelia's this week, she would like a cover with pigs, so pigs it is.

I had to add a little material to the bottom as I got distracted by The Block and cut it 10cm too short! Idiot!! LOL! But I like it. I am thinking of doing a little backstitching around some of the flowers so they pop out a bit more. What do you think?

It would be something to take to work and do during lunch when winter comes in full force and the icy winds make you want to stay inside. Brrrrrrr. In the meantime I will cast on a dishcloth as I am running short.

What crafting are you up to?


Fun & Free

I have been searching for some fun, free or cheap things to do with the kids during the year and came across - Geocaching.

You can sign up here at http://www.geocaching.com/, a basic membership is free as is the iPhone app. There are literally thousands of caches waiting to be found. Located in rural and urban areas, you could easily break up road trips for a little treasure hunting!

We had our first go yesterday, it was a more urban cache and totally fun! The GPS took us straight to the cache site but it took us a while (about 30 mins) to find it as it was quite small and since it was our first go we weren't a 100% sure what it would look like.

In each cache there are also little trinkets, you can take one and replace it with another. In our first one we put in 2 old coins and took a glow in the dark star.


A treasure found!

Today we found another, this one only took about 5 mins to find! But it was hidden in a lovely location.

Gorgeous view on a very hot day

Next time we go geocaching I am going to pack a picnic and make a day of it. Other than any fuel it is a free fun family activity which makes a great change.

Harvesting!

Love it! There is nothing as good as going out to the garden and coming back with an armful!
I went and pulled some carrots this morning (1 kg with the tops trimmed) and half a kilo of cherry tomatoes of varying sorts. Dont they look good?


Carrots are for my Mum and Sister
 

On Sunday I cut some of my rosemary where the "branches" (do I call them something else??) had started growing roots and transplanted them in a bed along the back fence. I read that rosemary can be grown like a hedge and this is what I am going for. That particular bed keeps getting over run by Brides Veil, a thin grass runner and I can not keep it out, so I am going to let the rosemary takeover - with a bit of help from moi.

Rosemary after her cut



Two new rosemary plants

Since Dave is making my new vege bed I can afford to give up that spot. I would like to be more organised this winter and have us eating solely out of the garden for our vege. This means more planning and less dreaming about the garden!

Summer

Summer is certainly here! We have had some really hot days here, well at least for us! Inverell usually has much milder weather and I am hoping that there is only another couple of weeks of the stifling heat and humidity to go..... really hoping. Got into the car at Tamworth yesterday and it said it was 36 degrees celcius. That's hot.

But it also got me thinking about what reminds me of Summer. For me it is watermelon, sprinklers, cricket and tennis on the telly, tomatoes, zooper doopers, sound of cicadas and the smell of bbq's.



Yesterday's cherry tomatoes from the garden.

Hard to believe in less than 8 weeks, we will be looking Autumn in the face. Still we have a lot more Summer to enjoy. I need to build another vege garden and it will be in a spot that gets nearly all day sun, work out how to make a compost pile, which seems very technical, and get my worms back up to maximum eating. I am counting on lovely weather on my week off to make these things happen, I think Dave has a list of his own too like fixing the leak in the shed and digging out the fairy garden. Only one more week till our week off work!!! Can't wait!

2013

Happy New Year All!!!

No parties here last night, in fact I didn't here a peep. I did get up to watch the Sydney Harbour fireworks then went back to bed!

Today David and I have been cleaning the house, a very industrious start to the new year. Have a pile of stuff to take to the charity shop that got bigger today as we added more to the pile.

This is what I picked from the garden this morning, pretty good start to 2013I think. There is some rainbow chard, 2 potatoes, 2 zucchinis, carrots and some cherry tomatoes. Colourful and yummy. All the veg will be eaten tonight at dinner and the tomatoes with lunches or just as a snack.

I am hoping that this year will have more fun, more laughs, more gardening and less of the crappy stuff. I think being a bit more organised will go a very long way to getting rid of stress.

Roly Poly

I was looking for a jam roll recipe when I came across this from Wesley's Grandma's Recipe Book -

A roly poly. I have only seen it before being made by Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall and that one had suet in it and was being steamed. This one is baked in the oven and has butter instead of suet.

This recipe has only 4 ingredients and one of those is water! How thrifty is that??? It's easy too. Stirring 100g of grated butter (freeze it before you grate it) through 1 1/2 cups of SR flour, then pour 1/2 cup of water in and when it starts to clump together bring it into a ball, roll out into rectangle, spread jam over (I used homemade plum jam) and roll up. Bake for 30 mins at 180 deg Celsius.  Easy and did I mention delicious?!!

I took it out to Mum and Dad's place where we had it with a bit of custard. Mum told me that the last time she could remember eating it was as a child though she did think they may have made it in Home Economics at high school.

In a baking mood yesterday morning I also did a loaf of bread to take out and these Banana and Caramel Choc Chip Muffins. Yum but not healthy.... well it does have banana in it so maybe..... yeah probably not!

I am planning to make sure I have more time to cook, bake and sew. Doing the things I really love doing, in between all the things I have to do will definately make my life more rewarding.

What's your favourite homey thing to do?

What a Month!

December is always a crazy month but this year it went by so fast It felt like I had no time for anything. I have a list of the things I didn't get done for Christmas but it came and we had a lovely day.

I was particularly pleased at how much the kids loved their gifts even though there wasn't as many as we had made a deliberate decision to cut back. And you know what? They didn't even notice. I am going to do more (any!!!)  handmade gifts next year......really I am!

Over the next week I am going to try and put a few things in place so that I don't feel like I am always racing the clock. Since starting my new role I have been coming home and not really doing anything other than what is absolutely necessary and I don't like it. So I am going to think on how to get ack on a more even keel.

I have had the last few days off and a been trying to make round coasters but they aren't lookin right. See???

It's not right.  The top one is finished. Doesnt sit right at all. Ideas??

New/Old Bikes

We have been pretty lucky this week in being given four bikes for free! They all need to have tyres pumped and checked for punctures and the chains need a good grease but other than that they are all in pretty good condition.

Here are three of them, the other is red so will obviously go faster!

They were languishing in a garage that a workmate of Dave's is cleaning out. They were his kids bikes but were barely ridden and now his are all grown up and they have found a new home!

Don't cha just love free stuff? And in fact I will have a few other free or cheap spoils to show you soon!!

Catch Up: Sewing

Over the last week or so I have been behind the machine doing all the things that I love. But because I am such a conscientious person (is that choking I hear??) I did all the mending first which had been sitting there for a month. Though I do deserve Brownie points for putting the hem back up on Dave's pants BY HAND!!!

I made Amelia some dresses, this was the sewing that I was really keen to do and happily spent my whole flex day doing it.

This dress does have a white ribbon that comes out of the elastic casing but I hadn't put it in when I took these pics. Both these dresses are Simplicity 1895 which is from the "Shape it Up" collection. It's a Disney show.

I love the ric-rac detail on this one. Amelia picked the material out herself. It looks cool and summery.

I made some more pinafores for Ava and some matching pants. There is another pair of lime green ones too.

And a pair of Winne the Pooh boxers to add to a Christmas present. The material was really tricky - so slippery!! It isn't my best work but probably only noticable to a fellow sewer.

Finally here is one of the two materials I have bought for Evan's nappy covers, I have made them now but look how cute this material is...

Evan is obviously going places!!

That's my sewing up to date. I have ideas for some other projects but maybe for after Christmas.

Catch Up: Backyard

We had a big backyard clean up the weekend before last, the worst bit was hand weeding the pavers, the tips of my fingers hurt even with gloves on but I didn't want to use poison.

Its weeded!

I got some new cushions for the back deck, the were $5 each reduced from $13 so I was pretty happy with that and it makes the deck look a little bit swanky!! Heee!

Looking good

The other thing I am lovin is my apple tree, that actually has apples on it. It is so good!

 

I have ideas for the front yard but whether they happen or not is a completely different story.



Bee Happy

I had a lovely surprise on Friday. I had covered a workmate (and friend's) job on Wednesday and Thursday as she had been committed to work elsewhere. Look what she brought me back as a thank you!

Bush honey from Tenterfield, she said she saw it as she was driving and thought of me. Must mean I am sweet! Ha Ha! How nice is she? I am delighted and a lovely end to a busily weird week! Thank you Kim!

Catch Up: Wedding Road Trip

What a few weeks!

Three weeks ago my parents, my two sisters and me went on a road trip to my niece's wedding at Mt Tambourine. It was like reverting to childhood with Mum, Dad and us three girls in the car!!! Scary!!

We got to the border!! Kate is pretty excited!

We only turned back once, about 10 kms in, to retrieve shoes for the wedding and I am happy to say that we didnt have a fight on the way up....or the way back, hard to believe hey?

It was pretty exciting just to be there! Dad walked  Kel down the aisle and he was looking good in his suit!

Looking good for 78 Dad!

The wedding rehearsal was funny, Kel looked like a bride from Big Gypsy Wedding with her shorts on and practicing in her heels.

We rented a house and the birds were awesome! We all loved them!

Of course for the main event I have zero pictures as some very smart cookie left their camera at the rental house!! But it was the best ceremony I have every been to, unique, personal and touching. I cried the whole way through!!!!

Mess

We have painters doing their thing to our garage at the moment. They aren't the most tidy, clean or thoughtful people.

The washing is mine but I am so over the rubbish that they have thoughtful unearthed and then let fly around the yard in the wind. And yes that is part of a tree they cut down and left ON TOP OF MY ONIONS!

Ah hem, well they are all most done and they have done a really really good job so maybe I should take my butt and do some picking up and less bitching....maybe.

What's Growing?

After a lovely holiday filled with lazy days and beautiful weather it was back home. To say we have had some unexpected weather would be an understatement!

Last Thursday the wind was so blustery it could have literally blown a dog off its chain! Then came Friday where we had snow falling about 3 kms away. Snow. On October 12. Then yesterday we had a very very thick frost, just to let us know that we are in no way in control! All I could think of were my tomato plants and how I was told to wait til the end of October but I got a bit carried away with the warm weather.. I am so happy to report they live to see another day.

View from the cabin
 

I feel like I need a day off just to get stuck into all those jobs that I have on my 'to do' list! Though I should be able to get more done now that daylight savings has started. I love daylight savings!!!

Cherries for Christmas

Strawberries in less than a week

Dwarf peach has little baby peaches on it already

Potatoes done as seen on Gardening Australia

Silverbeet, carrots and beetroot - more to go in soon

Tomato plants not killed by frost

Lavender

Asparagus, its very pretty and ferny

Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting - Mmmmm

Back to work for four days then heading off to Queensland for a wedding!! Tomorrow I will show the ugley bit of the garden now that you have seen the good bits!!!

I Made Buttonholes!

Aren't I just too clever?? Lol!!!

After bemoaning the dodgy buttonholes my machine was making and very nearly doing a sneaky with Ava'a pinafores I went right back to the start. brushing out lint, rethreading the machine, new bobbin and a new attitude. I can do this, just because I haven't doesn't mean I can't.

And guess what? I did it and better yet they actually look good.

I didn't end up going with the covered buttons bt had a family confab in the sewing shop to decide on the buttons. As you can see we went for orange and sparkley white.

I am really happy that I don't have to avoid or do work arounds for patterns with buttons anymore!

Birthday Archery

Yesterday was Dave's 36th birthday. I'm telling him he has turned thirty sexy!! He is only somewhat amused. Funny that.  Anyhoo, we went down and bought his recurve bow that we had put away and half a dozen arrows. He is loving his bow who I have named Shirley (and yes there is a bit of a convoluted reason for it).

For the love of Shirley

We went out to the outdoor archery range for a picnic and so Dave could shoot Shirley.Sounds a little mafia but it is really lovely out there. It is about 5 kms out of  town and quiet, quiet enough to hear the birds. A guy who is in the archery club and knew Dave was getting Shirls came out and took both Dave and Wes around the course.

Wes shooting with his compound bow

They both had a good time even though they both lost an arrow and broke one each! You would think that with neon fletches on the end of the arrows it wouldn't be to hard to find but they both stayed lost.

Targets are wool bales filled with a bunch of different stuff

Amelia and I stayed at the picnic area and collected leaves, took pictures of  interesting things we found and went for a stroll. We couldn't walk too far as we were both wearing thongs and the snakes are already out and about.

Sorting leaves into colours

We will definately be going out again, it was a really nice few hours and it was really fun for Dave to get to shoot on his birthday.

How was your weekend?