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.

Sunday 24 July 2016

The Vicky Challenge. Mobilize the troops.

Last weeks Vicky Challenge was good for me. It was just one of those weeks that lots of random things added up!

This included washing my windows. It is an average of $100 for outside windows only here in Adelaide. I did insides too but I will count $100.

I pruned roses and a tree which took an afternoon. Going on what my neighbour pays that is at least another $100.

I had a free $30 grocery voucher and used that to stock my pantry.



I made three dozen sausage rolls. Going on bakery prices, less costs this saved me about $80.



Andy took all home packed lunches to work plus morning coffees etc saving $100.

Also I made over some tops for Harper. These tops cost me $5 each. The end result is worth a lot more!

We had fridge pizza and used up bits and pieces.

Hilde's lemons became lemon butter and gifts and deserts!





So all up I wrote  $470 in my savings book.

This weeks savings subject is getting help! I have been thinking about this because everyone has been so busy, so much is going on, the US ladies are harvesting and canning, others have been moving house, changing around the house, renovating and building pantries!
To get everything done at times like these can be daunting. And we are just one person with a list a mile long!

This is when I say mobilize the troops! If you have helpers get them helping. We like to think we are working as a team. When the girls were home we had the same idea. Before school went back we would have two whole days of cooking supplies for school lunch boxes! The girls loved this and it taught them a lot! As a family we always just incorporated the work that needed doing into a family thing. When I was young our family would take a picnic and we would spent the afternoon picking up firewood. It was fun! I still love gathering firewood!
I think if the family understands "this is what we are doing and this is why we are doing it" that overall kids benefit from being involved. They learn and feel important!

There are other helpers you can mobilize too, get your handmaidens working! (Crockpot, bread maker, washing machine etc) If you are having a busy day knowing your dinner is cooking away in the crockpot is a huge help!

Last week Vicky had so much to do! She has a whole heap of things going on as she is moving rooms around in her house to make a whole room into a pantry! She is also making over a cellar for all her canned goods. Like me she finds her cellar dark and scary so it was under used.
Meanwhile her garden is huge and she has it fully planted and now it is time to harvest and preserve things as well.
So much is happening and we are planning a future post to show you the new pantry and the cellar full of her preserves!  There are some great stories attached to these!
I was glad to hear that Vicky had all the troops mobilized and everyone was helping. Otherwise it would have been impossible!

Vicky's Mum has been a big help!

The current crop coming in has been the cucumbers.


Vicky's Mum has helped her harvest and slice.


Her son has been helping and babysitting the Grandchildren so Vicky can keep going on all of this! He also did the washing and hung the clothes out.


When it comes to harvesting and preserving you have a window of opportunity and you can't miss this! 


Since these pictures were taken they have harvested again and repeated the whole process!


Today Vicky's husband is adding shelves in the cellar for preserves. Also he uses some of the produce and preserves to barter with. This adds to the household income in all sorts of ways!  I am so glad Vicky has helpers.

So it is a team effort and so much more can be achieved.  Without a team effort like this the shelves would not be filled like they are being now!

Sometimes we have to be quite creative to manage and get help.  But if you can possibly delegate, share, barter etc you might end up with assistance and overall achieve a whole lot more. 
It also can take wisdom to know what must be done now and what can be left until another time or later. 

I always say make hay while the sun shines! Another one I heard was something like "the time to put on a new roof is when the sun is shining, not when it is raining!" (or something close to that!)  I thought about that and liked it! It means to me don't wait until it's too late do it now!

How was your week and how can you mobilize helpers when you need them?  I think this is an interesting subject as a lot of us like to do everything ourselves! (this can be me...) But if we get others helping we are doing them a favour. They are learning skills, feel a part of things, will pass this on to their own children and families, we can do so much more! 
Perfectionism is another enemy. We want things a certain way. But again letting others help is bigger than this. 

Have a great new week! The last week of July!  We have wind and hail! I am off to the shops and running errands. xxx







(Ps Mobilize is one of those words that can be spelt two ways like organisation! Depends on what country you come from. I got a ton of letters about organisation at one stage. English and US spelling are different. I pretty much tossed a coin on this one!)

35 comments:

  1. Annabel I love this post - it applies to my friend.

    It took my friend a while to get her head around the enormous job that she was faced cleaning up the house after her partner went into hospital. Apart from taking in some miracle cleaner and removing a huge amount of old Avon brochures and my husband folding up any card board boxes that should have been got rid of months ago I have been on the end of the 'phone for her.

    We had fantastic weather on the weekend and she took advantage of it - not only that but one of her sons turned up yesterday and he is back there today helping her get rid of a ton of stuff - they have hard rubbish clean up this week so it is really a case of making hay while the sun shines.

    Her partner's bed is out for hard rubbish - I am not going there as to how bad it is but she has come to the decision, after a talk with me that getting rid of it would benefit the whole house (it was rank) sorry.

    She has been using the miracle cleaner and her son walked in today and remarked how nice the house smells.

    Tomorrow my husband will pick up another load of paper for the tip, not sure just how much is left but I know as the clutter and debris is removed from the house my friend is sounding so much better.

    I have pumpkin soup out of the freezer for dinner tonight - I will pop it in the small slow cooker again so that it will be ready when my husband gets home. This afternoon I have a couple of things I need/want to do so this will be a great help to me.

    Last week I saved in a couple of different areas - I saved over $60- on the enamel dishes that I purchased from Coles.

    Spotlight had a linen deal again, my mail from them included a scratchy and I ended up with 15% off. So armed with that I went in search of King sized bed linen for our son (if you remember I got some for our daughter a few months ago).

    I found a doona cover marked down by $60- to $60- and 2 sets of sheets that were also marked down to $60-.

    When I went through the checkout I didn't end up paying $180- my total cost ended up being $132-60 because not only did I get 15% off everything but one of the sets of sheets was marked down even further.

    My husband was a happy camper when I told him.

    Later today Coles should have their catalogue on line so I will check it to see if there is anything needed from Wednesday on. If not then I will pop into Coles tomorrow and pick up some more enamel dishes and look at those baking items that were mentioned last week.

    We have spring like weather here, I saw on the news that you had massive storms come through last night and are expecting more.

    Hope everyone stays safe in the strange weather conditions that we are having.


    Lynette
    XXXXX

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    1. Dear Lynette, I am so glad your friend has help. What a relief it would be to have so much clutter and rubbish gone. She will sound better by the day with this and the smell of fresh clean eucalyptus.
      Well done on the wonderful linen buys! It is good to be ahead with linen.
      It can be so pricy this is the way to do it.
      Yes we have had storms again, another big lot of homes without peer. Driving around yesterday Andy said there was no traffic lights either! And a tornado hit one area! Today is not heaps better either!
      Pumpkin soup sounds like the best thing ever. I need to make a new batch of that.
      Have a good week Lynette! With love, Annabel.xxx

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  2. Great work with $470.00 Annabel. All those yummy goods are great too as well as the lovely things you made Harper. Can I ask where you got the tops for $5.00 each, they are lovely as they are, but vaulted up to designer status with your embroideries. She's a lucky little girl. I can't believe it's the end of July almost. Where has 2016 gone? Unfortunately, all the winter sunshine cake I made from your recipe the other week has gone and I'm getting requests for more. I did make biscuits tonight and a yoghurt strawberry cake to keep the wolf at bay this week. Have a lovely week Fi xx

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    1. Dear Fiona,
      The tops and onesies have been from Big W. I got them a few weeks ago and they had been $10 and were half price. They are good quality basics. Lucy has had some going through the wash and they wash up well. I am amazed by this price as I wouldn't make them for that. So I just work designs on them. I did some more this week now need to go onto a bigger size.
      Yes the year is going... I think once we hit August its down hill to Christmas!
      I am glad you enjoyed sunshine cake. It is a true winter thing to me as it brightens up dark winter!
      Well done on the cooking! Have a good week! With love Annabel.xxx

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    2. Thank you Annabel, I will check them out in big w. Many thanks. Xx

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  3. Hi Annabel!

    This is such a refreshing post - so unpretentious and inspiring!

    Those cucumbers of Vicky's look refreshing in themselves. I think I'd like to eat a few just as they are, right then and there, and they wouldn't make it to the preserving jar! I am really looking forward to seeing more of Vicky's garden-to-pantry work, while, all the time, appreciating the enormity of the challenge her household is undertaking. Now this would make an interesting TV show!!

    Good on you, Vicky and Rick & Co. It's sweet that Vicky's Mum is helping, too! I hope you find plenty of joy in your work - to get the best out of it!! I am in awe of your home work, and am learning from your efforts.

    I think I am almost speechless as I consider this noble endeavour of preparing for winter. May wisdom guide you all.

    With warmest regards,
    Rachel Holt

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    1. Thank you so much Rachel! I do find joy in the work. There is such happiness when we go out and pick from the garden or cook the things we've grown. Sometimes the simple things are the best!
      XOXO
      Vicky

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    2. Hi Rachel,
      I wasn't sure where to leave the answer to your question about the chokoes so I left it under the question. However, if you didn't see it, yes we do grow chokoes here. I googled it and it turned out to be what we call chayote squash. I've bought them at the grocery store but have never grown them. I like them very much as they can take on the flavor of almost anything. I've sliced them up and seasoned them with cinnamon and a little sweetner and sauteed them in butter and they tasted like fried apples. And thanks for your tips on the meat pies. We live in a very small town and so far I haven't been able to locate any puff pastry. Next time we go over to some larger towns I'll look there. Otherwise I may be attempting to make it myself. Blessings. Cookie

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  4. Hi Annabel, I have been busy faffing around this past week. It's been a waiting game for us to get away, get everything ready here at home for the daughter to look after and for a special delivery to arrive.
    I've been making sure there is washing powder and miracle cleaner both in the house and in the van. I did have the van pretty much packed when Bluey reminded me that the cot needs to be packed, Bugger! My careful placement was ruined. Anyways this has been to general mode of the past week.
    Savings were made with some sewing of gifts using only what was in the cupboard. All the veges for the week came from the garden. I made up a new trellis for a pumpkin that is a volunteer plant in the vege patch. I used materials that I found in the shed and the 'Maybe useful one day' pile.
    This weeks savings came in at $456.
    Asking for help is something that Bluey and I are not very good at. We are particularly good at making sure we help and assist our friends and neighbours but are rubbish at asking for it. The two of us help each other and now we have Katie to assist if needed. We manage.
    Life is good. It's SUPER GOOD!!!!!

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    1. Dear Jane,
      Well done on a good week in spite of your medical hold up. And well done on working out how to get that cot in!
      It sounds like a super special week for you! I am super excited to hear about it! :)
      As you and Bluey work so well as a team that is really ideal. It is so much better than working alone. And now you have an assistant if needed! Even better!
      Much love Jane! With love Annabel.xxx

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  5. Dear Annabel,
    Thank you for the pastrami recipe. Since finding your blog I've learned so many new things and new ways to do things. A true blessing.
    It is so true that having helpers makes the work lighter and creates fond family memories to be cherished. I enjoy seeing all of the pictures and also look forward to seeing more of what Vicky and her family have accomplished together.
    We are "under the heat dome" here so I've been up extra early to get a few things accomplished, like baking scones for the week. A quick synopsis of my Vicky challenge looks like this: I made the goat's milk soap this Saturday. So much fun and my husband says the house smells like someone is receiving a spa treatment (I used lavender essential oil in some of the soaps. I made 18 althogether, some scented and some unscented. I plan to wrap them in some lavender colored tulle with lavender colored ribbons with sprigs of dried lavendar from the garden on the scented ones. Made natural bug spray (although the bugs seem to be thriving on it), dehydrated 3 pounds of onions, and 5 pounds of zucchini, saved on marked down meat and sale priced chicken that I cut into parts myself. Made my own turkey burgers and froze them individually, made 3 pounds of salami style summer sausage, made liver and bacon pate from the chicken livers that were in the chickens, dehydrated cucumbers, ate all meals at home, made dairy-free cheese, worked in the garden, have bundles of herbs drying, made a large jar of taco seasoning. Made bread and butter pickles (sweet pickles) in the microwave that will last in the refrigerator for many months I put a savings of $435.11 in my book. Wishing everyone a beautiful week. Cookie

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    1. Dear Cookie.
      Im glad you saw the recipe. Another cold meat, sandwich/lunch box filling thing I like is meatloaf! That is pretty economical and filling too.
      I have a lot coming of what Vicky has been doing as theres zero harvesting here unless you count hail stones! And Vicky has had another really big week! I also love to see it. I love all those jars lined up!
      Well done on the soap! It is so much fun, I agree! They will be gorgeous gifts. I saw homemade soaps this week at really high prices but they looked good. It gave me confidence of the value of ours as gifts.
      The dehydrating is fantastic and the cooking. I am really interested in the turkey burgers. You can share how you made them anytime!
      Mum used to make wonderful pate. Such a luxurious thing or it seems like it is so fancy and special.
      You did heaps! What a good week! Well done Cookie.
      I will post my super quick way to make meatloaf in the microwave if that would be a handy cold meat. it takes 12 minutes! With love Annabel.xxx

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    2. Dear Annabel,
      I would love to have your meatloaf recipes. Thank you. I just usually buy ground turkey meat in bulk, or turkey thighs and grind it myself (that way I have the bones for stock.). You can use any seasoning in the meat but I use McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning as it gives the meat a more "meaty" rather than poultry taste, and a little extra garlic, I sometimes make a batch using sausage seasoning and this endeavor then becomes turkey sausage. All that I really do after that is form them into individual patties weighing about 3-4 ozs each and stack them individually on parchment paper, wrap up bundles and freeze them. When ready to use they can be taken out individually with no need to defrost and cooked inside in a frying pan or on the grill. The patties hold together very well without the use of an egg or other binder, although I'm sure they could be used. I use the turkey sausage in a quick grab and go breakfast, instead of stopping at a fast food place.
      Another extremely hot day here. We had massive thunderstorms last night with 60mph wind gusts. Hard to believe we are on the other side of the world from you, and in a different season experiencing similar weather. Warmest regards. Cookie

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    3. Dear Cookie,
      I thought it is ages since I made meatloaf so what I will do is next week make some and post the recipes and methods as I do microwave, crockpot or oven. Then you will get the recipe, we will get them for dinner and lunches and it might be handy for someone else too.
      Thanks for helping me with the turkey recipe. I love turkey best of any meat. With love Annabel. xxx ps we kept having so much rain and wind too!

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  6. Annabel, those sausage rolls look yummy! We, like Vicky and her family, are knee deep in harvesting, preserving and now planting again for a fall harvest. We have a long growing season and are trying to take full advantage of it! My husband and I make a pretty good team when it comes to joining forces and getting things done!

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    1. Dear Patsy,
      It is good to hear about your harvesting! It is also great you have a longer growing season. That has to make more produce possible. And it is great you and your husband work so well as a team. It is a big help to getting things done and staying on track! I hope this is a good week for you, with love, Annabel.xxx

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  7. Annabel,
    Everything you've done looks great. Especially the baby tops. So sweet. I love seeing all the pictures of your cooking and crafting.
    Ive been busy with the harvest as you stated about the US ladies. Ive made lots of blueberry jam, our bush is just crazy productive this year. I just finished up a ton of bread and butter pickles. I canned them in the new green vintage look jars, so pretty. Also have canned tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. I still have peaches and strawberries waiting in the freezer to be made into jam.
    My children have been helping lots. They just offered and I said sure. They have washed produce, helped slice and dice, measured out sugar,vinegar,pectin or whatever. My daughter volunteered to watch the "tomato baby" which is the cooking down of the tomato sauce that is stirred about every ten minutes for two hours!
    And to round out the food preservation for the week I dehydrated tomatoes and zuchini and also froze some of each. We are currently overwhelmed by eggs and tomatoes!!!
    I baked a batch of cookies for my oldest son to take on an overnight canoe trip to add to the goodies the college provided. The focus of the trip was team building which ties right in with this topic.
    In the evenings I have been crocheting new washcloths for the bathrooms. Im so tired of paying for cloths that are just ratty looking after being washed once or twice. Daughter also volunteered to help with this project.
    My wonderful husband worked INSIDE yesterday. He much prefers to be outside. But he cleaned behind our appliances mopping and vacuming as needed. He also hung up a shelf in the laundry room and added shelves inside a kitchen cabinet. That really helped a lot.
    My family does like you said. We approach most things as family projects and generally someone will just offer to help someone else.
    I hope I can find time to post more often.
    Ginger

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    1. Dear Ginger,
      The blueberry jam sounds beautiful! And it is lovely to hear about your children helping. Really this is so good all round.
      I am thinking I bet the cookies were a hit on that canoe trip!
      The washcloths are a good project and so nice. A lovely project for your daughter too. I think they look really lovely.
      The help your husband gave you inside was very nice! A good example of what we are talking about with teamwork!
      This is beautiful to hear. Working as a family and a team is the way to get things done and I think everyone benefits! Well done Ginger. With love Annabel. xxx (thank you for posting too)

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  8. Hi Annabel!
    I so want to eat one of your sausage rolls! The little tops for Harper are so cute I love roses. Thank you for showing my canning and including everyone's help your the greatest!
    This week was busy, but a good one. Rick sold 2 junk mowers for parts and made $200, he bought shelving for the cellar and saved $10 on those, I cashed out points for $85 in gift cards, but won't count them until I use them, Rick put in the new toilet and saved $100 on labor, we picked 2 bushels of cucumbers and here they are $40 a bushel so $80 dollars there plus I canned with Mom's help 58 quarts of pickles @$4 a jar saving us $232, Mom cut 10 oz. of spinach $4, 5 pounds of green beans $5 and we were gifted 4 cases of jars that were still in the box never opened so another $42.72 there so the total for the week is $593.72 I am happy with that! I hope everyone has a wonderful week and is seeing just how much the effort we put into making our homes are truly valuable in so many ways.
    XOXO
    Vicky

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    1. Dear Vicky,
      What a week! The cucumbers in this post was a lot but what you have done since is huge! Rick is very good on his fixing, bartering and making things. That is such an asset.
      What good timing to get jars! And four cases of them! They would be worth such a lot here, they are expensive. Anyway I just love jars!
      Thanks so much for the pictures Vicky everyone has loved seeing them!
      with love Annabel.xxx

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    2. Hi Vicky,
      What an incredible week you had. I'm inspired by all that you and your family are accomplishing. Quick question: Do you can or freeze your spinach or do a combination of both? This is my first year growing spinach. Thanks. Warm regards. Cookie

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    3. Cookie,
      Thank you! I freeze some and I dehydrate some. If you like to make vegetable powder it grinds nicely into a powder to add in.
      XOXO
      Vicky

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  9. Cheers to Vicky on all her canning! Annabel, your rolls and lemon curd (butter) look fantastic! My chickens are giving us 6 eggs daily, so I'm making lemon curd in the a.m. My children love it on rolls or bagels. And it's a great way to use up eggs!
    Well, mending and making my own chicken stock gave me some savings. Plus putting the last of the peaches into jam. But my biggest savings was in home-haircuts. With 5 haircuts and a bang trim for my 6 yr. old daughter, I saved $56! Perhaps more, I'm guessing $10 cuts for my area of the country. My husband keeps hitting the yard sales on his way home from work. So lots of savings on books for school as we home school. I made an herbal soothing salve that helps with rashes and bug bites. I made 5- 4 oz. jars and 1 -2 oz. jar. This will last me 2 years for my large family. My stock was low and the end of summer is a great time to stock my medicine cabinet. So our savings was $327.50 for this week. Plus my husband made $5 on scrap metal just cleaning up the property.
    Have a blessed week everyone!
    Leslie

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    1. Dear Leslie,
      I hope your lemon curd turned out wonderfully! I love it! Its so useful.
      The way your daughter helped to make the jam inspired me to write about help and getting everyone involved.
      Well done on all the haircuts! this is a massive saving! Also on building up the medicine cabinet.
      Scrap metal is surprising. Here we also can save and sell bottles and cans as they are 10c to recycle. A lot of people do very well out of it! My son in law saves copper as he is a plumber and he does well from it.
      Thanks so much Leslie, with love Annabel.xxx

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  10. It's so much easier to rally the troops now that they are a bit older! We're still eating down the freezer and I'm shopping as little as possible so we won't lose much (I hope!) in the move. This week I pulled out a 20-pound turkey and we had lots of delicious meals from it, including our favorite cream of turkey soup, turkey salad, and sandwiches. It made things easy while there's lots going on.
    Have a lovely week, ladies!
    Blessings, Leigh

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    1. Dear Leigh, Yes the age of the troops is important!
      The turkey would have been beautiful. I love turkey! You can make it go so far too as you did with soup etc.
      I hope the move has gone well Leigh! With love, Annabel.xxx

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  11. Hi Annabel,

    You have made wonderful savings again! I haven't been keeping a tally every week, but I now really appreciate all the things hubby and I do around the home can save amazing amounts of money. I love the idea of mobilising the troops too, I need to do it more often with mine! But often Mr 10 will help me with chopping bulk vegies for the freezer. Lately we have been getting Mr 14 and Miss 17 to wash, dry and put away the dishes after I've cooked dinner, rather than use the dishwasher. This has been beneficial to us all, with Mr 10 wiping down benches and the table too, while we all chat. The bonus is a clean kitchen ready for the next day!xx

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    1. Dear Mel,
      The family working together plus your kitchen being in good shape in the morning are both really good things! Thats a win win Mel!
      When the girls were home I had a few surprises.... when I had a bad migraine I was really wiped out. I was a do everything myself and for everyone Mum. But in those times I couldn't! Well this kind of had a benefit and that is I offers found out how much more capable the kids were than I thought! and they learned things and stepped up to the plate. So my enforced stepping back overall did them good. I wish I didn't have the migraines but you see what I mean, we do everything and they really only benefit from helping as they learn so much and hopefully will carry those skills with them.
      So mobilize the troops :) it is a good thing.
      I hope you have a great week Mel! With love Annabel.xxx

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  12. My problem is I sleep in and loose the hours to do things. Need to change my attitude. Thanks for the posts as it inspires me to try harder.

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  13. Dear Annabel, You had a very good week-sausage rolls and yummy lemon butter!! I agree to get all involved with household chores, canning, laundry, etc. We did this when our kids were home and they all learned skills. I, also, would like to do everything myself but found out it wasn't helping our kids to learn. Plus, my husband always steps up to the plate, especially if I'm not feeling well. :)

    Vicky, I love seeing your cucumbers and the jars of pickles!! Beautiful! I can't wait to see your new pantry room and cellar! How exciting to have a whole room for your pantry!

    Mel, thank you for the information on dandelion salve. (from an earlier post). I will be gathering some when I can find them.

    Have a wonderful week, all. Love, Teri

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    1. Dear Teri,
      The skills your kids learned at home would have set them up well for the real world. It is also wonderful having a husband who steps in when we are not well. I am lucky with this too Im happy to say.
      I am converted to dandelions too now after seeing what Mel is making! I hope your week has gone well Teri! with love Annabel.xxx

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  14. Dear Annabell and Vicky what wonderful weeks you had. Annabel the food is always so lovely.I will make some of your sunshine
    in a jar in the winter when people have too many lemons. You got a lot done and great savings.Annabell do you have a link to the jam you make in the micro? I think it is a good idea as it has been over 100 with terrible humidity. I have a 2 burner
    hot plate. I may try canning outside. Vicky the pickles beautiful! I used to help my GG with huge batches like you can.
    Such a wonderful skill and great memories. She had an entire
    free standing garage and the wall were lined with her canning.She lived in a small town and it was before food banks.
    She always had a big pot of soup on the stove for anyone that was hungry.She had a giant garden and lived in the Salinas valley.She never said no to free food. People would come by
    with case after case of fruit and veggies. She had hundreds of kids come thru her Child care they all came back to visit. Some for a bowl of soup. Some to bring fruits and veggies and
    some to get their fruit and veggies for the week. I think she fed so many people I do not even know how many. If you took canned food she would always say bring my jars back so I can keep on going. She did this up into her 80's That was hospitality. She always had tons of boxes in her kitchen/living room of food waiting to be processed. She would say sit down and eat and after that we can peel or chop......
    She rallied the troops. I look back now and she could of not welcomed people in because she had a project going but it was not about her it was about you, She would focus on her company
    and peel that piece of fruit with great speed. What a lovely
    heritage that she passed on to the next generation. If money
    was really tight she would send you with eggs. because she always had chickens. She would send someone younger out to take the scraps to the chickens. On the rare occation she did not have produce you would find her with a crochet hook in her
    hand. She made wash cloths to room size rugs. Sometimes she would be unraveling a sweater for yarn we all brought outgrown and thrifted sweaters to her. She would say get your bowl of soup and come sit close I will show you how to unravel a sweater. I had forgotten about this until I started typing.
    Sorry my post is so long today. I had a great savings week
    a friend sent us a box of food from a recipe club with 3 meals.
    I made tutus for a baby shower and did some discount grocery
    shopping at the 99 cents store. I think a savings of 200 dollars.
    Blessings love Patti


    suc

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    1. Dear Patti,
      This is the link to the lemon butter in the microwave. It is much easier and quicker. And no heating the kitchen up...
      http://thebluebirdsarenesting.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/jars-of-sunshine.html
      Patti your Gran sounds amazing! And I love that as you wrote you had a memory come back! If only everyone was like her! I would loved to have seen her shelves lined with produce! What a hard working woman! You are very blessed to have this wonderful heritage!
      I would love to see your tutus! You had a really good week! Well done.
      I truly loved hearing about your Gran and all she did. Very inspiring! With love Annabel.xxx

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  15. Just one more quick comment.Georgene over at living On less Money
    was talking about Titus 2 Hospitality and I believe this is what my GG was practicing and all you lovely ladies that share your life with us.
    Blessings love Patti

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    1. Thanks Patti, I am off to read this! xxx

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I really appreciate your comments thank you! The aim of my blog is the be a place of encouragement and happiness. Very rarely is anyone rude. Actually only twice so far! If you post a rude or aggressive comment I will read it but not publish it, thanks for understanding.xxx

Spam is never published... if you are advertising a product or selling website your comment wont be published. I am inundated with stuff about drugs, horses and weird things! I am not going to publish this stuff! Thank you.