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 22 January 2015

Feather your Nest Friday, Jan 23 2015.

My hopes and aims were that this week would be good and we would do some getting back to normal and catching up!

And we did!



I had more free fruit. The first peaches were yellow ones and smaller. These are much larger white peaches.  Wendy suggested I made jam with some which I did. She said to me that peach jam tastes like summer. That sold me! It turned out a beautiful colour too. I used the yellow peaches as I had some that were fading fast and this used them up.



My aunt gave me beautiful plums. They are the most glorious colour! You could have them in your kitchen as decor they look so nice. There have been so many comments on various photos I have taken in my aunts garden. The series of lovely fruit on all her trees. I think we all love seeing fruit and dreaming what we could do with all this produce! Her recently released book is partly about her garden. It is called "A fig at the gate" (By Kate Llewellyn) and she literally does have a fig at the gate...

I made plum cobbler using the recipe I mentioned Monday on the post about using up what comes your way. You simply grease a pie dish and spread your cut up fresh fruit over the dish. Then you make up a batter that you pour over. Bake until risen and golden, about one hour on a medium oven.
Sever with cream or ice cream.
These can be frozen to use later in the year when there is no fruit.  I took a photo as I filled the dish as the colour was so lovely.



I also made plums into my trusty Use it up fruit cake. I called it "Ruby Cake". It looked and tasted so lovely. The fruit looked a deep ruby colour, very pretty.
I have kind of let the secret out that I make all these things and call them fancy names and they are all really the same. (I linked to these recipes in Mondays post, they are super easy recipes designed to use up what you have)



A  cake like this would make a lovely gift. For a birthday present or just a gift of kindness, a cake is a beautiful thing to give someone. From now on I will call the plum version Ruby Cake.

So from free peaches and plums I ended up with so many things including gifts to give. I made plum jam also which turned out the most pretty colour.



Working my way through all this fruit I felt very blessed by great abundance.

Andy walks in saying "what smells so good?!" which is nice I think and he comes snooping to see.

My next frugal thing was a great find. Two doors away there are a block of units. People seem to move out and leave half their things on the side of the road. Many times I think the tv's etc are better than ours and consider a swap. I'm not kidding either! Recently I was thinking my washing machine is getting on and worrying about it a bit. So the other day what appeared to be a brand new washing machine was put out next to the rubbish with a stack of appliances.  I went and looked. It had the new stickers on it and appeared new. Why would anyone throw out a brand new washing machine? On closer inspection it all seemed good. And fancy. I googled it and it was over $850! It has a function for everything. Much fanccier than anything I have ever had.

Soooo... I convince Andy (who says it mustn't work. No one would dump a brand new washing machine) to collect it and test it. He hauls it home, connects it up and says "away you go."  He was skeptical! I googled the manual and pressed the right buttons and away it went. Andy stood there waiting for it to explode or something. It ran it's cycle and we concluded there is nothing wrong with it. Maybe someone bought it PLANNING to wash something and never did?

So here it is. I now have such a fancy spare washing machine that I wish my current one would hurry up and croak. And when it does I will save myself hundreds or to be precise $850!



Next, my daughter is having a clean our/decluter and offers me a heap of skin care that she has mostly been given as gifts and things arent't right for her skin... would I like any of these things? There was plenty that I would love and suit my skin! So I had a little haul of all brand new things that would amount to a few hundred dollars worth of skin care.



During the week I did all the things I always do... line dry the clothes and linen, water the garden with household water, cook all our meals and send all the work lunches and coffee etc.
With the fruit coming in I added fruit to the freezer, jam to the pantry and was able to share it as well.

It was a really good week and it went too fast!

What did you do to feather your nest or save money this week? I hope it was a great week and you have a lovely weekend. Mel said to me that Feather your Nest Fridays help her as she goes along and thinks how she can add this or that to her list! Well, it helps me too and hearing what you have been doing is wonderful to me! xxx







50 comments:

  1. Hi, I've come over from Coffee Tea and Me, and I just wanted to tell you how lovely your blog is. I save reading it each day for the evening as a special "treat" for getting through the day. ☺️

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    1. Thank you so much! And welcome too. I really love Coffee Tea books and me, I have read some beautiful things there. Thank you for your kind comment!xx

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  2. Goodness me, Annabel...someone threw out that washing machine! Incredible! I made some Tamarillo and Mustard Chutney before the birds ate the fruit as well as Bread and Butter Pickles to use up our cucumbers. Love the look of your jam! Have a wonderful long weekend.

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    1. Thanks Nanna Chel! We love bread and butter pickles. All the Australian ladies are busy with produce!
      You have a lovely long weekend too. We are planning a beach picnic if the weather cooperates.xxx

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  3. Good evening Annabel, I am so happy for you to of been gifted such nice fruit. I imagine your home does smell delicious!
    My daughter and I always check with each other when we are getting rid of things. It helps us both out.
    What a find on the new washer! Do keep your eyes open whenever you go by,

    Things I've done- I also cooked all meals at home and packed work meals for my husband. I got some great deals to stock our pantry at a local discount store and a sack full of nice clothes for my grands from a thrift store.
    I made homemade sandwich buns and homemade taco seasoning.
    I resisted making any purchases after doing some online looking.m

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    1. Thank you Rhonda! I have kept my eye out for things as I realised our council, if they pick up things from the side of the road, they just crush them. So even something this good is just crushed. I have had quite a few amazing finds!
      Well done on your cooking and things to stock your pantry. I have been going well too with some bargains that have started my cellar storage off! It feels really good. Many thanks for your comment, have a lovely weekend.xxx

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  4. Hi Everyone,
    Mmmm what have I done? Normally I write it down in my notebook, but this week I didn't. The main thing I did was keep cleaning out cupboards. It still is building our home, as the sense of achievement and pleasure means you stay home and out of the shops.
    Annabel, I couldn't believe it about the washing machine. Oh, what a find. I think we are all rejoicing with you.
    Peach jam is heavenly. I first tasted it several years ago and it is one of my favourites. Wendy is right, it's summer in a bottle. Love Helen x

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    1. Thanks Helen. Well organising and making things better is building up your home for sure. And yes... busy at home is a good thing!
      I am so thrilled with this washing machine I was dying to tell you!
      I printed the manual from the internet so I have everything. It is so good!
      The peaches and jam making have made the house smell lovely.
      Have a beautiful long weekend. xxx

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  5. Well this week, I am very pleased to say, I bought my first bulk supplies for my pantry - I bought eight kilos of plain flour. I also bought powdered milk so when a recipe calls for the addition of milk, I will make up some powdered milk and add that. I also bought some inexpensive little, white, plastic baskets for my pantry and have put all my unopened packet items, eg coconut, nuts; brown sugar, in those little baskets. My pantry looks so much tidier now. I also made some meat paste for sandwiches by dicing surplus corn silverside and whizzing it in my food processer with some diced onion, and some tomato chutney.
    Last Friday I bought a second hand book on freezing foods and cooking for the freezer which will be a big help to me. Yesterday my husband Don and I found a new to us second hand/antique store that sells a lot of tools and garden equipment. I bought a light, second hand garden hoe at a great price and the owner gave me the book I was going to buy at no charge. I am a reverse haggler so when he said I could have it for free I blurted out “Are you sure?” I had selected that book to build up my sisters’ nest, as I already own a copy. It was Sarah Ban Breathnach’s “Simple Abundance – a day book of comfort and joy”.

    I was so happy to read about your washing machine find. What a blessing!

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    1. Well done Sherri! I feel like I want to give you gold stars! I also bought powdered milk and a few things for my cellar. Flour and milk are such important staples.
      Also well done on tidying the pantry. It seems to make so much more room too.
      I laughed when you said you are a reverse haggler! Lucky the man stuck to his decision to gift the book to you for free! That is the most wonderful book, I hope your sister loves it. I need to re read mine. Every now and then I read it again and find new things.
      I am so pleased with this washing machine! It was like winning the lottery to me!
      Have a lovely weekend. You had a great week! xxx

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  6. Hi Annabel, what a find the washing machine is and a real blessing.

    This week I made soup, tomato relish, plum jam with free plums, Anzac biscuit,s muffins and many other things. We were also gifted with lots of food. I'll be posting the rest of my frugal things tomorrow on my blog.

    Have a great long weekend xoxo

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    1. You had a good week of cooking Wendy! I am thrilled you were given free food as I know you will make the absolute most of it.
      I will come over to the blog and read the rest.
      Enjoy the long weekend.xxx

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  7. I live on the sub tropical Faser Coast. Today I made mango chilli chutney. Tomorrow I plan on making mango ginger jam. The fruit is from a neighbours tree. He doesn't mind me taking bucketfuls home. Such wonderful neighbours are true treasures.

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    1. Jane buckets of mangoes sound so exotic and wonderful to me! I agree good neighbours are so helpful. Mangoes are expensive here and both my girls are crazy about them. That is a real bonus for you, well done on the chutney and jam. Have a lovely weekend.xxx

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    2. I think I'll start praying over the mango trees ( little plants ) I'm growing from seed. Yes, mangoes are a luxury for us too.

      Jane, could I have your neighbours please ?

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  8. Oh what beautiful fruit! What a find on the washer as well, you did have a good week! We moved the furniture around and I made a cover and pillows for the sofa, I am still tweaking the arrangement, but it is looking good I think. This is definitely a good thing to do when it is cold outside! I never grew up with stuff left on curbs since we lived on a farm, but my husband has me well trained now!

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    1. Well done Kathy. Keeping busy when its too extreme outside is really good. When I lived in the country we never had curb rubbish or anything like it either. When I first came to the city I would see all these amazing things on the side of the road. Then I discovered our local council comes along with a truck that crushes it all! Nothing is saved. So even a brand new washing machine is just scrapped. That is when I decided Im going for it! And I have had some amazing finds including crystal chandeliers! This was a good one for us thats for sure! Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for your comment! xx

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  9. On an earlier post you recommended your aunts book, so I ordered it from the state library. I am thoroughly enjoying reading this wonderful book and am considering buying my own copy. What an amazing lady your aunt is and what a wonderful outlook on life she has! Such an inspiration!

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    1. Dear Jennywren,
      I am so glad you are enjoying it! You will have a smile when you get to the end....
      I will tell you you commented! Love Annabel.xxx

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  10. You've had such a good and productive week Annabel. I'm so pleased for you! My week was spent advertising and interviewing new staff for my disabled son, so not much else was achieved. But I did manage to cut my own hair with the Creaclip and it turned out really well! A bit of toner, a deep condition, and I look like I've spent $200 at the hairdresser, so I have to be pleased with that. It's amazing what we can do!

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    1. Well done on the fab hair Mimi! I have reached the stage I dont trust hairdressers!
      Finding suitable carers must be really hard as no matter what you still have to see how they turn out to be in reality. Which must be nerve wracking. And Im thinking you must need three or more even to cover all the shifts? I hope you find some that turn out to be wonderful and you will feel secure and at ease with. Good luck! I know that must be a stress. And I know you achieved many more things this week as well. I hope the weekend brings you some rest and relaxation.xxx

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    2. Thankyou! Yes it's always a gamble with carers as it's not just a 'job'. It's coming into someones life and home and their personalities have to mesh with Mr A's and the other staff. So we've narrowed it down to 5 to fill 2 positions and an on call role, and we're trialling them all next week. Fingers crossed! I hope your weekend is lovely too...xxx

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  11. no nest feathering here due to unfortunate events, but living vicariously through your nest Annabel. Amazing find with the washing machine, looks a ripper. Glad it didn't explode or do anything awful.
    Love the plum cobbler in the heart shaped dish, oh so scrummy. Also the other things you make, simply gorgeous.

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    1. Hugs Fiona. I am thinking of you. I hope next week is much better! And you get a rest over the long weekend and feel better...xxxx

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  12. You have had a busy week Annabel. And what a fantastic find that washing machine was, its unbelievable some of the things people toss out. All that fruit looks delicious, that is what I like about summer. Think I will plant a plum tree :)

    My feathering this week included; Starting a new regime of putting a timer on for 15 minutes and go like crazy to clean what I could in each room. Works a treat! I baked bread, biscuits, vanilla cake, rhubarb cake (on my blog), picked some nectarines from our tree and stewed them to put in the freezer, I also stewed rhubarb for later use, picked some kale, celery, tomatoes, cucumber from my veggie patch, the usual household chores, started cleaning out sons built in wardrobes, it has been a while since this was done, and I had five no spend days.

    Enjoy your weekend,

    xTania

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    1. I am really interested in the rhubarb cake as I love rhubarb! But I cannot grow it, I dont know why but I have never succeeded with it. I got a big bunch in an op shop a while ago!
      Your harvest is wonderful and all the things you do with your produce.
      I absolutely love the 15 mins with the timer. I do it usually once a day with 30 mins. That is the time it takes to pump the household water out onto the garden... while thats happening I go go go. It is amazing what I get done in that half hour! If I need to I repeat it late afternoon/early evening. It is a miracle worker! I agree with the idea we can do anything for 15 minutes and to just go fast and its amazing. A great way to inject some speed into the day. (can be good exercise too!)
      Have a lovely long weekend! xxx

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  13. Hello Annabel
    This week has brought some trials and some moments of abundance for which I am very grateful. We had some troubles in our family and it really got me down then I remembered that we are told to give thanks for our blessings so I tried to give thanks in prayer every time I found pleasure in something and indeed my mood lifted immediately. The family problem has been resolved and hopefully it will not raise it's head again.
    This week I feathered my nest by.....
    *DD17 lost her graphic calculator at the end of last year. It wasn't in the lost box at the end of term so I bought a new one, and kept the receipt. I took a punt that maybe it had turned up in the after term clean up so I rang the school this Monday and yes they had found it. I returned the one I had bought and got my $195 refunded.
    *I mended a bra
    *I worked cleaning a house for 8 hours in addition to my regular job
    *I claimed an allowance my DD is entitled to and got $354 which I paid straight to the school before I was tempted to spend it
    *I was given 17 glass jars with "pop" lids for preserving and I am welcome to about this amount fortnightly
    *At work I was told I could feed myself there so I ate the fruit and saved bringing mine from home
    *I asked if I could take an empty tin from work which they were going to throw out and am covering it to make a gift for my niece for her birthday. Hoping there will be another empty in a few weeks to make her a matching one for Xmas
    *I took all my food to work
    *Cooked all meals bar two at home. The other two a friend bought Daughter age 14 and I takeaway so I saved my food and money
    *I was gifted $690 and I put it straight on the mortgage
    *I went to Coles this afternoon and bought only the specials I had seen in the catalogue to stock my pantry. I spent $60 and saved $44 off the regular price. So I am stocked on Cordial x 12, Rice Crackers x 6 and my 17 year old daughter's sanitary products x 5 (all they had). I am doing a Costco shop on Sunday and if there is any money left I will go back to Coles and get more of these great bargains
    *I line dried our wash and managed to keep the number of loads of wash down
    *Daughter age 14 wanted a magazine holder to use in her locker at school to put her exercise books in (everyone has one) so I jokingly told her to cut down a cereal box and cover it with the contact we had and use that. Well blow me down if today I come home and that is exactly what she had done. Even better we had no cereal boxes so she rang my friend and asked him if he had one, which he willingly gave her. So she saved the cost of a magazine holder. It looks really good as well.
    *I asked and was given advice on preserving fruit in jars
    *I froze leftovers from dinner last night to prevent the kids snacking on it and it will make another serve for two people.
    *I filled the car with petrol for the amazing price of 96.7 cents per litre using a voucher.
    Looking forward to your next blog.
    God Bless

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    1. Mel I am so glad your worry/problem worked out. You went on to have an amazing week!! I am mentally adding up the refund from the calculator and the gift of money and extra 8 hours work etc and I am thinking wow that is a major boost!
      The petrol price beats any I have seen too! Mel the jars the pop are just right for preserving. I know you can do it in a big enough pop but also canning kits are sometimes easy to pick up on free cycle or garage sales.
      DD14 was very inventive too, that was really good!
      Also your bargain were very good. This has all added together, I want to give you a row of gold stars!
      I really hope you get a deserved rest over the long weekend as you must be tired. It is amazing what can be achieved in a week. I think you went ahead in leaps and bounds! xxx

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  14. Wow Annabel!! What a bountiful week of blessings you have had! Great score on that washing machine!!

    I've had a busy week feathering the extended nest with meals and help!
    I did buy some cordial at Coles for my husband (won't drink water!) Not many other significant specials except doritos were cheap, I bought them for haystacks.

    Whether saving money on groceries, or being blessed by abundance, or sharing our resources or time with others, every little action builds up our nests. I love reading everyone's comments here each week. I know what we do has great importance!

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    1. Dear Kaye,
      I know we have talked about how much both our Grandmothers influenced us and helped us. So apart from your nest you are now helping another nest! It is such an important thing! When Chloe was born my Mum was such a help to me although not close by. I hope you get a little rest over the long weekend, you have had a huge week! Love Annabel.xxx

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  15. Why not use the new washer and donate your old one? The newer models save a lot on water and hydro. Can't believe someone was dumping it. Must have been an eviction or someone moving fast with no means of taking it.

    Love your blog by the way. Just found it the other day and have enjoyed reading back through.

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    1. Thank you so much Theresa. You are right the new washer would probably be more efficient on water and power! I had not thought of that.
      Thank you for your kind comment and welcome! xxx

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  16. Dear Annabel,

    What an amazing week you have had! I am so enjoying everyone's comments!

    In the middle of my comment, I did something to my new keyboard and it disappeared lol! If you receive 2 from me, please forgive me :)

    I am LOVING the fact that you have a "spare" washing machine! Just like Laine would say, have a spare of anything you can to defray costs later. Just awesome! How you literally found it on the side of the road is completely epic! What an addition to your nest.

    Tomorrow is my big cooking day I spoke of in last week's comment. Yay!
    This week:
    -My husband cut and colored my hair, our daughter's hair, I waxed her brows, I did a manicure on 2 of our 3 girls, and I did haircuts on both of the boys. Huge huge savings there, we are abundantly blessed
    -I cut my mom's hair
    -cooked from scratch all week
    -shopped the house for a vignette on my buffet...a huge refresh at $0.00
    -put together another box for the Domestic Violence thrift shop. I love the name of the shop it's called Eve's Treasures. I decided to make this a goal this year, of a box a week until my home is satisfactorily decluttered
    -painted some old flower pots with ASCP I already had, I need to wax them yet and in a few weeks I will use them throughout the house :)
    -was able to meet my savings envelopes a 4th week in a row, and added a new category with high hopes (God is so faithful)
    -mended some pants for the boys
    -made a few cards to add to my stash
    -made homemade chicken stock to freeze
    -read a lot of pantry blogs, including "A Working Pantry" so I can learn more

    And of course there is always the regular day-in, day-out stuff. I so appreciate every single comment here. Everyone is so encouraging. I really NEED the encouragement that I find here. I love when Tania reports her no-spend days. I love every little detail everyone includes, I am learning so much from all of you ladies. Thanks to all and have a blessed weekend/week!

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    1. Colette you have just reminded me of something. I have had this feeling I know someone who talks about and keeps a spare of all the appliances. It was in my mind and I didnt know who it was. It was Laine! How did I forget that. She always accumulated spares! I knew it was a good idea!
      A box a week of donated goods over the year is a significant donation to the shelter too, I think thats wonderful.
      Well done on your week it sounds so good! I hope your worries over your daughter are less... I have thought of you often.
      A Working Pantry blog is starting an excellent free series. I am going to link to it next week. It is a very good source of information and like another friend to encourage me on.
      Your hairdressing skills are a blessing! A huge saving and so nice for your Mum as well. I try and add up these savings myself as they are enormous.
      Also I was thinking... with your skills it is a huge way to help someone without having to donate cash. If you had time you could once a year offer to do ladies haircuts at the shelter or something like that. I just thought of it as ladies fleeing terrible situations... their personal appearance and confidence are probably at a low from trauma and stress. A little pampering works such miracles. But it is a gift to be able to do your daughters hair and your Mums, it is wonderful.
      Fridays are a big encouragement to me too. All week I think I must write this or that down to add to Frugal fridays. It helps us know what we do is so important and really adds up in so many ways. Savings is just one of them!
      Have a lovely weekend. Here it is a long weekend for Australia Day on Monday. xxx

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    2. Annabel, you're not going to believe this, but I just contacted the main office of this particular charity last Tuesday, yes TUESDAY to offer them my services as a means of donation. The lady on the phone gave me the contact information for the woman who runs such programs within this particular non-profit. Everything you said is positively true. I am a survivor of dv, and that is why I chose to support this particular charity with our household goods, and I have been praying for a long while how I could be of service. I finally got the courage to call them this past Tuesday, I read your comment as a confirmation. God is so good. As things progress with them and they figure out how to utilize my services, I will keep you posted. I am so excited about this! big hugs!

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    3. Colette that is amazing! When I read your comments I could just "see" you doing those ladies hair. To me that would give something money couldnt buy. I am so excited! God is lining you up for great things!
      For a minute I thought "should I say this" as it could seen rude to suggest... now Im thrilled I did! Thank you for sharing this with me! xxx

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  17. What a lovely blog you have! I really like your little jars of jam, and your cobbler and cake look divine. Great find with the washer! It is so nice to come across happy, uplifting blogs like yours!

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    1. Thank you very much Laurie! Thank you for commenting, it was a god week!

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  18. Your jams look wonderful as usual and I do love a good peach jam. You are lucky to have people that give you their surplus fruit, I wait to buy a good special or marked down fruit. I made a peach, coconut and vanilla jam to put in Christmas hampers and everyone commented on it being the most amazing jam they have ever eaten. All I did was throw in a handful of desiccated coconut and a splash of vanilla essence and cooked it in the microwave re your recipe :)
    Great find with the washer and lucky you to get the skin care products enjoy.
    Have a great long weekend!

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    1. oops! I just replied to you and I did it so it came out as the next comment, sorry Debbie. Its one below. xx

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  19. Debbie you have given me the idea to add vanilla to peach jam! I add a very thick vanilla concentrate to stewed fruit or poached pears or peaches... it is really good. But I didnt think of it for jam! What you said about how people say the jam is the best jam they ever had... its true so it really does make really good gifts. A little basket made up of several or some relish or something as well. I gave my daughter a basket filled with jam, fresh fruit and a bunch of herbs. She was very happy with that.
    Have a wonderful long weekend! Thank you.xxx

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  20. Thankyou for linking this lovely post at my Five Star Frugal linkup too....xxx

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  21. Hi Lovely Ladies, I too just had to echo Colette's comments. This is a lovely community and all the details of how we feather our nest is a huge encouragement. Mimi and Colette, I now also do my own hair since Annabel told me I could! I agree with you Annabel, after 15 months away from the hairdresser, I simply don't want to go again....and I used to LOVE it! It was possibly one of my favourite treats. Now, whenever my hair needs doing, I do it in the privacy of my own home, and I'm not nervous about the way it's going to turn out. I spend $24 per year, and MimI you are right, the charges for having your hair done are astronomical. A girlfriend with almost identical hair to me, recently paid $270 for a cut, colour and foils. I said to her " why don't you do your own?" I think as women we need to have these conversations.
    Thanks everyone, Love Helen x

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    1. You are so right on the haircuts Helen. And it's little things like finding the right combination of products for your hair that make a difference too. I swear by Dove Intensive Moisturising shampoo and conditioner (which Annabel recommended) and any version of the Moroccan Argan Oil, and use nothing other than that those three products these days. It used to be mousse, leave in conditioner, hairspray and wax, as well as a super expensive shampoo and conditioner. My product spend for a year has decreased from $600-$700, to around $200. Add that to the savings of salon haircuts and colours and the total is up around the $2000 mark...on HAIR for petes sake! And I'll add, cheekily, that my hair looks better and is much nicer condition..hehehe!

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  22. It is so fun to read about fruits of summer when here I am thankful for the cold hours we are getting as it will help boost peach production come our summer.

    Here's what I did this week to feather my nest:
    http://bluehousejournal.blogspot.com/

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    1. Terri we had a wonderful Cherry season which was just before Christmas. I love cherry anything so cupcakes are a lovely idea... will be trying that next season!xx

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  23. Any news from Laine on her new blog?

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    1. No, Ill be sure to let everyone know if I hear anything.x

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  24. Hi Annabel, I'm commenting late as you motivated me to pick up the apples that had fallen off my sons tree & harvest our jalepenos as they were turning red instead of growing. Today my boys helped pick up & check the apples then I cooked them up in a light syrup and now have four beautiful jars of apple, home grown organic Gravenstien apples, for future use. Which made me smile with satisfaction. I said they are beautiful & my son asked how a jar of apple can be, its all the effort that went into producing them combined with the small task of preparing them, beautiful. The most perfet fruit is still on the apple tree as I am not sure wether to pick that now or not.

    I also picked the jalepeons yeilding 2 small jars and made 2 small jars of strawberry jam with market strawberries from the freezer.

    No pictures due to technical difficulties : )

    Thank you for the lovely inspiration & great find with all the fruit & washing machine!

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    1. Thank you Karen I am thrilled for you! I understand the satisfaction of the jars lined up! Apples are so useful! Next time I can lay my hands on some I want to do pies, apple cake, apple sauce and also you can add apple to berries for jam. But so many things! They store well in the crisper too. I would look at the fruit everyday and as soon as the birds get started on it then pick it. Thats when I strike! As then it will keep well and you can make a few pies or whatever to freeze and other things a little at a time. Oh I forgot baked apples... I really love baked apples! Also well done on the jam! Take pictures anyway even if you cant post them as they are beautiful! I think this week I might have some figs coming to me... this will be good as I finished on plums and peaches yesterday! Thanks for sharing this I was so pleased! xxx

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