The little birds...

If you watch little birds you will see they are busy and happy! Using whatever they can find they create the most gorgeous little nest.
I would be the little bird with some glittery thread in her nest!
We can be like this. Happily working away with the things that are available to us to create a beautiful and happy home.
All the while with a little song in our heart.

Banner by Free Pretty Things for You.

Thursday 7 August 2014

It all adds up.

Recently I have been so encouraged by The Prudent Homemaker. Part of her weekly blog is about ways she has been frugal in the past week. And loads of followers join in with comments about their own savings. Well it is just the best reading! I come away very encouraged. And the thing is most of the savings are small ones. It is the small things that add up to be enormous things over time.

Even better all the savings and efforts are around the priority of God and the family and the home. It's a joy.

The effect on me has that I am much more aware of the little savings and little ways I build up my nest everyday. Much like counting our blessings is a blessing in itself, counting the way we have helped our family, the budget, the home everyday makes you more aware of the value in what you do. I feel really happy when I consider how much this or that saved us and what a difference I made today here or there in the home or in the garden.
The dollar value of the things we make and create is often astonishing!

This week a big thing happened for us. We sold my old car. We were warned being a four wheel drive etc it would be hard to sell as everyone else is doing what we did, converting to smaller fuel efficient cars. But we finally sold it and what a happy day. THis has helped us so much.

My daughter said to me that she would love to use the cleaner I do in her home as it smells so good. I could have just given her the recipe but I made up a double batch, some for myself and some for her including a jar of cleaning cloths.You kind of have to love it when they grow up and start wanting to know how you do things!



I won't repeat the recipe, I posted it on a post called Clean and Fresh in June...
http://thebluebirdsarenesting.blogspot.com.au/2014_06_01_archive.html

It is wonderful stuff and in quite a few blogs and sites, not my own invention.

My quest for ladders resulted in ladders coming in from several directions. After the one Andy found on the side of the road my neighbour gave me some from the old shed. This one is adorable. It is a sturdy little step ladder, in perfect order so I am keeping it as a useful step ladder.



I painted it palest pink and used left over transfers. It is so sweet, I just love it. As I had both the paint and transfers it was a free project.



Mum gave me half a celery which was huge. I chopped it up and popped it into the freezer in three bags. One for chicken casserole (farmhouse style) and two bags of leaves and tops for chicken soups. Celery leaves make the best chicken stock. So I will make all these up in the next few weeks.

There are signs spring is coming, little blossoms appearing, sunnier days and things seem brighter. My herb garden is looking pretty good but I will add new basil and a few things in a few weeks.

I used the slow cooker several times and last night made lamb shanks which were delicious and falling off the bone. We got them from a wholesale butcher for a fraction of the price of the supermarket. I made enough for three meals.
I will share this easy recipe next week. If you don't have lamb shanks it can be used with any lamb. Shanks were once cheap. Now as they are trendy they are expensive! So any lamb on special is fine. That's what we have to do, adapt recipes and combinations to what we can find at good prices.

Everything does add up! Even things you think no one will notice. I am just noticing now some of the things Nan used to do. I never understood at the time  and we hit a new stage and see things with new eyes!

Have a wonderful weekend. I am experimenting tomorrow with bread in the slow cooker. I will let you know how it goes! xxx




10 comments:

  1. I was reading The Prudent Homemaker comments and saw yours and thought you must be an Aussie when you mentioned it is winter so thought I would pop in and say hello. Your blog is very pretty and just up my alley.

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    1. I am very happy to "meet" you Nanna Chel and I really appreciate your comment. I love The Prudent Homemaker. It never fails to life me up. Yes I am in Adelaide South Australia. It has been really cold but today sunny and we are only three weeks to spring! xx

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    2. Annabel, I am in SE Qld and we have been having warm days of up to 20 degrees with cool mornings but we have escaped the really cold weather apart from a few weeks during winter. You have had it much colder down there in SA. Let's hope that it isn't a scorcher of a summer coming up like last year! We are never happy, are we? :-)

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  2. I love the little step ladder Annabel. It's just gorgeous!

    I've been adding in the little bits of "leftovers" to use them up and they could just get tossed out as only a tablespoon or so left, but I think it is great when they can be incorporated into the meal or sauce etc that you are making. All those little things add up for sure! I freeze all sorts of things in ice cube trays or flat and stacked in snack sized snaplock bags so the leftover can just be tossed in frozen to what I am presently making. Waste not, want not as my dear grandmother always said! :)

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  3. Love your decor and the ladder is very pretty.

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    1. Thank you Jan. How many ladders can I use, this is the question.... someone just said help myself to several in their shed! This has me thinking! xxx

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  4. Love this post. Good attitude! I am happy that you will soon have your Spring and also happy that we will soon have our Fall as that is when my sweet Husband comes home! YAY! Never thought I'd be happy about the end of Summer on Cape Cod but as our children grow one year closer to leaving I really feel his absence...long season, he's been gone since end of April. Thank you, as always and much love to you.
    xoxo, Marybeth

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    1. Marybeth oh my goodness it must be hard to be apart from your husband so long. Well it is almost Spring here and fall there so I hope it is really soon when he returns. Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it very much.xxx

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  5. hello,
    lovely post!!!
    i love your ladder!! i freeze all my leftovers and use it in different meals.
    i am so happy for you...spring is coming.
    wish you a happy week,
    regina

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    1. Thank you Regina. I am getting better at freezing things so they dont go to waste. Now and then I have a challenge to not buy much and have a "use it up" session and its amazing what I can come up with from bits and pieces in the freezer. It is a real saver. Thank you for your comment. xxx

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