This week...

This week has involved a fair amount of op-shopping; which is one of my favourite things to do. I have some wonderful finds, in this photo are from top to bottom - a small cane basket which I am using as a storage space amid my sewing area; a puzzle for a friends' daughter {a birthday present- we made a deal - only 2nd hand gifts this year}; a baby blanket which I think I will turn into a bath mat; an apron that has my favourite colours {the photo does not do any justice}; a ball of real wool; a small vase - another birthday gift; 2 small jars for tealight candles; a knitted top for myself - which will probably be dyed another colour; 2 pairs of shoes for Miss Evie - a bargain at $1 each; and underneath is a beautiful talble cloth - I am thinking about turning it into a curtain for the kitchen. 

I have also picked up some large storage jars for the pantry, some more wool, and some material.

Meanwhile.... I have been a nut knitting away and have produced 2 face washers {photo soon}; and 1 & 1/2 granny squares for the blanket that is in production.

Housework has been kept to the minimal this week with all of the knitting, op-shopping, and some gardening in the vege patch - which is looking a little neglected! On my "TO-DO List" this week is to plant some seeds, according to the Moon Calendar Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are best times to sow root vegetables. I have also cooked up another few jars of chilli jam...

Miss Evie reminded me this afternoon that I must get stuck into some ironing....

Miss Evie managed to almost empty the ironing basket and climb in, then she was stuck!! The poor child was almost swallowed up by the large pile of clothes that are waiting to be treated with some hot loving!!!

I must I must I must......get some ironing done!!!!!

I'm off to do some sewing, another favourite thing to do!!

What I did on Wednesday

A busy day today..

Peach Jam making day!

First I washed the peaches, then it was time to remove the skins... ohhh what a process... but eventually I got there....

 Do they look delicious????

The result of the jam making session, 

7 jars of homemade peach jam, and all from nearly 3kgs of free peaches!! 

Time to share ;-)

Also, this week whenever I venture outside I seem to walk into 20 spiderwebs, they're everywhere!!! What is going on with the spiders?????? I find their creative ability amazing and I managed to capture this web on the camera this afternoon!

 awesome

Mmmm is for Monday

Monday... my day of production, I enjoy Monday's now that I am not working full time. Mr D is back at work, Miss Abbey off to school and I usually get stuck into some household chores, lots of cooking, and some "me" time when Miss Evie is sleeping - she can sleep for 2-3 hours.... Don't get me wrong, weekends are wonderful, and weekdays are productive!

The "To Do" List ..... let's check some things off this list!!

I do enjoy a little "me" time.

Today "me" time was a quick stint on the internet to search for a recipe and some knitting... I have not knitted for quite some time and all of a sudden the weather is changing and the knitting needles are click click clicking away... I made my first dishcloth....I was inspired by Jellywares, the pattern is so easy and quick, Miss Abbey has expressed her desire to make one too!!! Then I whipped up dinner, a quick stir-fry.

And then some more knitting.

Then I decided to make a yummy afternoon snack, a bit of a treat... I found this yummy choc chip cookie recipe over at ecoMilf, and they are super YUMMY!

 Miss Evie thought they were delicious too!

A bit more knitting.

After school we had some sisterly play time under the table.

And last of all, a story before bed time...

.

Let's hope we all have a peaceful night sleep tonight. x

The week starts off like this.....

Sunday morning, hot cup of tea, a quick look through the paper and the "To Do" List for the coming week. 

The day also included some washing, a few household chores, a bit of cooking, tidied up my sewing area - decluttering is a little more appropriate... filled a huge bag of stuff to drop off to the op-shop {I have a thing - bring in a bag, send out a bag!} It is a useful thing to keep in mind and apply at all times otherwise we end up hoarding and taking up/wasting valuable space!

The rest of the day was just this,

Oh I do love Sunday afternoons.....

I made this...

I am rearranging our small & cosy living area to cater for the addition of  Miss Evie's wooden table and chairs {which I purchased off e-bay for a reasonable $20}, as I have decided that the best place for the table and chairs are on a carpeted area I thought it would be wise to have a 'spillage mat' placed under the table to protect the carpet, hence this weeks sewing project.

Miss Evie tries out her new splillage mat.

The finished piece.

I made this simply and cheaply, the apricot patterned material was given to me from a relative and has been in my fabric stash for quite some time - just waiting for the right project. The back of the mat is actually an unused table cloth that has been collecting dust in my cupboard.  The last edge that was sewn together has the scalloped edge of the table cloth on the outer to prevent freying....

Let's see how it holds up!

The beginnings of my Herb Garden

I have only recently got into fresh herbs... sad as that is knowing now how much better fresh herbs taste.. slowly but surely I am building the Herb Garden {in pots as we are renting}. We have basil, thyme, lemon thyme. rosemary, dill. parsley, flat leaf parsley, chives, and oregano, the basics to most recipes.... there are also 3 strawberry plants here.....

and my first rose plant.... 

Ooops, I forgot,

One of my favourite things to do is to go op-shopping! The idea of finding something arouses the treasure hunter in me, on Wednesday I spent 1 hour sifting through one of our local op-shops and found these items all for $6.60!!! Talk about thriftiness!!! And I love it!!

A gardening book, a simple vase, a vintage serviette/placemat, a functional and practical knife, a book for Miss Evie, a pair of knitting needles, and two new tops for myself! 

I wonder what next week will bring?

This week...

I have had a very productive week. Firstly Chilli Jam......

 The tomatoes and sugar were left overnight...

 This time I decided to add red onion and garlic..

mmmm, home grown hot chillies....

The end result!  Home made chilli jam, {or sweet chilli sauce}.

We have had some gorgeous Autumn weather this past week, it truly is my favourite time of the year. After a day cooking in My Kitchen, we took a trip to the beach for which will probably be our last swim for the season. I never tire of spending time playing at the beach with my girls.

I also made this jam recipe. You will find it here Auntie Doris' Peach Jam. I think it is more a marmalade than a jam, however it is delicious.

I was fortunate enough to be able to pick a whole box of peaches from a relative's tree. Yum. The recipe produced 5 jars and I still have a box of peaches, time to share them around I think....

From My Garden this week I have received minimal produce, it is disappointing that I have had caterpillars, bugs and beetles eating away and I have not been as efficient at planting seeds to keep an on going cycle of seedlings and producing plants. 

Tomatoes, Spring Onions, and small Leeks all bound for the beef casserole.

In My House this week I finally got around to de-cobwebbing the ceiling. I use this easy environmentally friendly "technique"!

All you need is a broom, a cloth/rag, lavendar water in a spray bottle (optional), lemon oil, and elastic bands.

And do this...

Spray the cloth lightly with the lavendar water and a couple of drops of lemon oil. Too much lavendar spray will make the cloth too wet and cause brown smudges on your ceiling.

Apparently Spiders do not like the smell of Lemon oil and will eventually stay away.

January ...

Due to the problems with time management, computer gliches and everything else, I did not manage to post much between November and Febuary.

This is the only picture I could remember taking and finding of some of the delights picked from the vege garden during January... we were lucky enough to have plenty of tommy tomatoes, green and butter beans, lettuce, zucchini, some potatoes, spring onions, and beetroot!

Simple Sundays

Just how I like it, a lovely sunny Autumn day.... a bit of gardening, some household chores, and some time with my girls!

This morning in the vege patch I decided not to let the bugs and beetles get the better of me...or the veges,  they have become a frustrating point lately..eating the broccoli, beans, and tomatoes, and this morning I discovered them on the potatoes!!! So one by one I picked them off and squashed them!!! Sorry Mother Nature, but we need to eat some veges too, and I think the bugs and beetles have had their fare share!!

I also topped up a spot or two with some home made compost, bought compost and sugar cane mulch in preparation of planting out some new seedlings!! 

 Ready to be planted out are 2 different types of beetroot, mini cabbage, 2 different types of carrots, and swede..... let's hope the snails, slugs, and bugs don't enjoy them before we do!!

 In this photo (L-R) you can see potatoes, corn, leeks, chilli, broccoli, zuchini, pumpkin, cos lettuce, and beetroot....

The pumpkins doing their thing... nothing produced .... yet....

 In this photo are (L-R) Tomatoes, foreground are cucumber, rosemary, spring onions and leek....

As you can see there is quite some spare space... lots of planting to do.... just waiting for the moon to be right. I follow the moon planting guide to improve the success of seeds taking, developing, growing and producing,  and so forth.

 The one and only chilli plant... tomorrow I have plans for these hot little babies................. sweet chilli jam, I have made one batch already and it was delicious!!!

I found this recipe on a google search and it is so easy!!

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/6329/chilli+jam 

 

  I omitted the fish sauce as I didn't have any in the pantry!

Happy days....

My Girls......

I love you both sooooo much.......

 

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

Nanna Dot took this at Keilor, Feb 2010.

My Birthday.

I usually don't like a fuss over anything to do with me... but I have to say that I did enjoy this birthday. Simple and not too much fuss...thank you David for a yummy chocolate mud cake....

yes, 21 today.... not really, but who's counting?