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 3 May 2018

Feather your Nest Friday, 4 May, 2018.

This has been a busy and good week and we have had lots of rain!  Both the city and the farm had it.  So everyone is happy!

I will start at the beginning.  It was Andy's birthday on Saturday.  Usually I make him a fruit cake.  But this year we literally have fruit cakes stacked and on the go so I don't need to make another one.
I completely cheated and used an idea I saw on Facebook.   There are whole groups dedicated to things to do with the Coles/Woolworths/Aldi chocolate mud cakes.
These cakes come in chocolate mud, white chocolate and in some places caramel and I think strawberry.   Anyway they taste good.  You simply stack them on top of each other and decorate.  So you can do two or three stacked and you can do one or several colours and have a kind of Neapolitan cake or a graduated light to dark cake.  You use frosting to cover them.   Google  Woolworth's Chocolate Mud cake Hacks.   It is mind blowing.   People use them for the fanciest cakes including wedding cakes!  They adorn them with flowers,  chocolates and any theme.  Amazing!  So you end up with a professional looking cake for about $10.

I simply stacked two mud cakes and frosting.   In less than five minutes I was done.


Andy thought it was amazing!  Every time I make him a birthday cake he is touched.   


Everyone loves a birthday cake.  It is the fact that you made them one I think (or in this case assembled one!)   Kids especially do not care if your cake is not professional,  wonky and structurally unsound.  They just think  MUM MADE IT FOR ME.   I think adults feel much the same way...

This is a good time to say also I made Harper a tray of cakes with hundreds and thousands on top.  She is very impressed with hundreds and thousands!


We went train spotting and a cake came too.  


I used up eggs and lemons and made a batch of Lemon Butter.


I gave Mum and Chloe lemons and still have a couple dozen of Hilde's Lemons left.

I made Quiches as when I went to Coles they had cartons of cream for 30c.



Also I used up chicken from the freezer and made Butter Chicken which lasted two nights and used Mums mint and my yoghurt to make raita.

I made myself some scrub... it is the one I like to use on my face.  Just pure honey and soft dark brown sugar in a jar.  It is the best scrub and beautiful but it is messy so I do it in the bath.  Miracle worker though!

I made baked egg custards in the slow cooker.  I just sit my cups with water that comes three quarters of the way up.  I put a t towel under the lid.  I check now and then to see if they are ready.  


This week I went to two op shops.  I had good luck with books.   I have been adding medical books to my medical cupboard.  I decided everyone depends on the internet and phone apps for first aid advice.  No one seems to keep first aid manuals etc anymore.  So if the power is out they don't have first aid information.   As I speak the main phone carrier in Australia (Telstra) has a "glitch" and you can't even call 000  (that is our 911) so that is going well (not).   I decided I want hard copies of vital information.


As I am studying essential oils, herbs and homeopathy I am buying these kinds of books too.  These were all $2 each.

Then the next op shop had rose books!   I buy these for card making.   They have images like this...


And this...


So I am starting card making on the weekend. I have well over 100 images because I have three big books (for $6 all up).    Now and then I look at cards in the store.  This week I got a surprise.  The first card I thought was lovely I picked up and it was $13!  The second card was $10.   So they have gone up!  Last time I took noticed $8 seemed the average.  So card making is a huge saver,  good fun and cards make a beautiful gift too i.e. a pack of five or six is a beautiful present.  And useful!  The little images left over I make into gift tags.  Even gift tags are $4.  So card making is a great hobby!   You need no artistic skills to make cards if you just use lovely images.  If you want to go further and fancy them up this is easy too!  For men you could buy a motorcycle book and cut that up or trains or whatever they are into... for babies I get Beatrix Potter books or Winnie the Pooh and for children kids books are full of images to make cards, bunting, anything!   

Andy proudly told me he saved around $400 this week with his side lines and DIY.  
I will also count $100 from sending all coffees and lunches with him each day.

So it was a good week!   I have cut up a whole pumpkin (I did this in stages yesterday) and this plus sweet potato and onion are in my big crockpot for soup.  These were veggies I got recently so cheaply on one of my further afield grocery trips.   So it will be a soup weekend! 

After the rain all night it is sunny now.  This will help the grass grow!  

I hope you had a good week.  How did you build up your nest, get ahead, save... add to your pantry?

Have a great weekend! xxx










39 comments:

  1. Hi Annabel, you are always so productive. Harper is so gorgeous, and that beautiful wavy hair. Glad you had a great week. I have been unwell recently and have been s thankful for my lasagna pieces tucked away in the freezer, pre marinated chicken for stir fry and mimi’s Poached chicken. Has been a life saver. Have a great weekend. Fi xx

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    1. Dear Fiona, I am sorry you have been sick! I hope you are better now. These times having nice meals ready is a relief. Important and wise!
      Mimi's poached chicken is a beautiful way to have healthy and good food! Love it! Have a good weekend I hope you have had lovely rain. With love Annabel.xxx

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  2. Sounds like you’ve had a great week!
    This week I found 4 big boneless beef roasts marked down to $2.19/pound from their usual $6.99/pound so because they total about 20 pounds in all, I spent just over $40 but saved $100!!! Cooked up the first one in the crockpot for a pot roast with carrots, onions and potatoes as dinner #1. Then I sliced the remainder and made roast beef slices with gravy over homemade bread for dinner #2. For dinner #3- I put roast beef slices with Swiss cheese slices on Asiago cheese rolls! Plus we had leftover roast beef slices for lunch sandwiches! So around $10 for 3 dinners for the three of us plus lunches and leftovers!
    We just brought in $330 to our business for making a three tiered display shelf, 3 small crates and this 5 tray vertical display stand for a soap vendor client!
    https://pin.it/vz3am32mjzkf4x
    We sold another 4 dozen eggs so that brought in another $10. Since we have an average of 26 dozen eggs in our fridge storage at any one time, it’s great to sell off some of the extra. Our girls are laying over 4 dozen a week!
    I am almost halfway done laying our brick walkway addition in our side yard! It is using bricks that we got for free on freecycle and it looks like there will be a lot left over so we are already deciding where else we want to use them!
    I just completed quilt #5 using vintage 1930’s- 1940’s blocks so I will put that up for sale shortly. Hopefully that will sell as easily as the first 4! I have the blocks laid out for quilt #6 out of some more of the vintage blocks. Each one has been joyful to make and see the blocks come together into a finished item!
    I will be going to CA on vacation for a week so tomorrow I will be making freezer meals ahead so they don’t live on take-out food while I’m gone!!
    Meals this week all came from pantry- no shopping required!!
    I hope to put in tomatoes/peppers this weekend!
    All in all, a very good week!

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    1. That is a great price on beef, and your walkway sounds like it will be gorgeous!

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    2. Dear Gardenpat, That beef and all you did with it is fantastic. This is the way to do it!
      Your business is wonderful.... you two are a great team also!
      I love your brick walkway! You have done so much in your yard this last year or two... and the chooks well they have made such a big impression and contribute so much! You could write a book on your chicken adventures and how you feed them etc and how they benefit your household and family. It is AMAZING.
      I hope you have a fantastic vacation! Thanks for sharing your week it was really good! With love Annabel.xxx

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  3. Dear Annabel and beautiful bluebirds,
    It's been awhile since I reported in with my Vicky challenge and nest feathering . As some of you know I had eye surgery two months ago to reattach the retina in my right eye .i haven't felt up to doing much since then but I am recovering well and can see more and more each week . I now need further surgery on the same eye , this time I need cataract surgery . It will apparently be an easier and quicker op than the previous one I had.
    Anyway I have a few things to report in with this week. I converted $20 worth of points into flybuys $$ and made those $$ stretch , I got much more than $20 worth of groceries. . Saving about $35
    I bought some shampoo and conditioner that were marked down , I donated these to a local organisation that help people in need including people without a home.
    I saved about $15 because the items were marked down.
    I bought deodorant half price.saving $8
    i made easy banana muffins using Greek yoghurt, wholemeal self raising flour and bananas .saving about $25 compared to store bought.
    I got some medication free , saving about $30 .
    I received 3 meals from my parents , saving $30 .
    I had subsidised cleaning, social support and meal prep ( cooking) from Centacare , saving me $150 at least.
    That's all I can remember for now : a saving of about $293 , not bad for my first week back into Vicky challenge recording!.
    Thank you for continuing to write excellent blog posts Annabel. Have a great weekend everyone.love Barb W.

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    1. Hi Barb and so glad your eyesight is steadily improving :).

      You do so much good work for charities which is fabulous and great specials you picked up too.

      Sewingcreations15.

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    2. Hello Barb, lovely to "see" you back here commenting and reporting your savings. I am thrilled that your eye is healing well and your sight is improving, you won't know yourself when the cataract is fixed.
      Love Lorraine

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    3. So happy to hear that you are on the mend! You are doing great with all of your savings, too - what a good idea to donate body care items.

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    4. Hi Barb, I have been wondering for quite awhile how you are. Great to hear that your sight is improving week by week. Your Vicky challenge results are impressive. Those muffins sound delicious, using things already in the cupboard is an added bonus. Great to hear from you, Cheers Jo

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    5. Dear sewingcreations15 , Lorraine, Kathy and Jo, thank you all for your kind comments .I am very happy that my eyesight is steadily improving.i hope the cataract operation improves my eyesight further.
      I finally felt up to commenting again after 2 months of recovery .
      Thank you all again .love Barb.

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    6. Dear Barb, It is so nice having you back! And you did very well this week. You have had a rough start to the year. But you have done well. Thank you for sharing your week and also for being so kind and helming others. With much love Annabel.xxx

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    7. Hi Barb,
      You had a very good week. Glad you're eyes are getting better. Have a great week.
      Much love,
      Patti

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    8. Hi Barb!
      So glad you are back and doing well! Very impressive savings there sweetie!
      XOXO
      Vicky

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    9. Barb it is so good to hear that you are on the mend. Looking forward to seeing more of your crafty creations now that you are feeling better.

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    10. Dear Annabel, Patti, Vicky and Jane , thank you all for your lovely comments . I look forward to reporting in next week hopefully with more savings than this week.Annabel, it's nice to be back, I love your blog and I felt awful that I was unable to comment after my eye surgery. Jane I hope to get back into crafting soon. I love seeing what you and the other ladies have made .
      Thank you for your encouragement Vicky. Thank you all again love Barb.

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  4. We were in Centrelink for an appointment today which is a rare occurrence thankfully and the staff member we spoke to told us the system was down and was hoping people would get paid today. Not sure if that had anything to do with Telstra's glitch. It is a good idea to have hard copies as you say, Annabel. I have a number of really good herb books especially 'How can I use herbs in my daily life?' by Isabell Shipard. I can highly recommend this book for Aussies as she writes about herbs that are readily available in Australia.

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    1. Dear Nanna Chel, t seemed there were a lot of computer glitches this week. Thank you for this book recommendation I will look it up. I am loving having this reading material and learning more and more. Have a lovely weekend! With love Annabel.xxx

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  5. Hello Annabel and everyone :), you did so well with the lovely medical and rose books and the huge bargains you got on the cream. I would have purchased every cream at that price and froze them for later use :).

    We have been sorting through a few medical issues with DH but we think now we have most of these things solved with appropriate medical treatment advice. We have had to liase with doctors, specialists, the RSL and Dept of Defence to get some conditions added to DH's defence medical card.

    Sorry there has been a delay in the gardening photos but I finally will have time tomorrow to take some photos and send them to you along with what we do in our large vegetable gardens here :). If not tomorrow I will definitely have an email sent by Monday as there will be a few photos to edit for you.

    On the 1st of May we also celebrated my birthday and our temple sealing wedding anniversary too. We had a lovely time and bought a hot chicken on clearance in the afternoon and hot chips and took a bottle of sarsaparilla to a lovely local park and spent a few hours there together.

    Our Vicky challenge added up to $860.76 and here is what we got up to and how we saved this week -

    Finances, bill & grocery savings & internet listings -
    - Listed 26 handmade and saved seed items on the internet using a free listing promotion saving $42.90 on usual listing fees.
    - Banked more money into our saving for our home deposit bringing us up to 25.20% of the way there.
    - DH earned $50 from doing a gardening job which he put into the home cash emergency kitty.
    - Saved $20 in power costs the last 2 quarters by only turning on our electric hot water system when water needed heating twice a week (we had an estimate bill last quarter) so only worked out the savings now.
    - The average monthly grocery spend of a family of 2 adults in Australia according to ASIC is $956 a month (2015 -16) - what we spend including the gardening budget is $345 a month = a saving of $617 for the month of April.

    Gifts and blessings -
    - Received 1 bag of free lemons from a friend saving us $9.18 over purchasing them.

    Purchases -
    - Bought 7 x pairs of new summer shorts and a pair of embroidered 3/4 jeans on 74% off normal prices clearance from Millers online saving $145 on usual prices. Likewise I will now be set up for summer shorts and jeans for a few years. Had to buy more since I grew out of the others as finally I have put on some much needed weight :).
    - Purchased a hot roasted chicken on special for $5.85 saving $4.15 on usual prices.

    In the kitchen -
    - Cooked all meals and bread from scratch.
    - Juiced and zested previous bag & current bags of gifted lemons and saved the zest and juice for future meals etc in the freezer.
    - Made 5 jars of orange and lemon marmalade (1.682kg) from gifted lemons and discounted oranges purchased whilst shopping saving $22.41 over purchasing an equivalent no preservative brand of jam in the shops.

    In the gardens -
    - Separated 26g of dried lavender we picked from the gardens saving $4.42 over purchasing it and picked some more lavender blossoms to dry in the home.

    Hoping everyone else has had a wonderfully frugal week last week and the week ahead.

    Sewingcreations15.

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    1. WOW sewingcreations15, 25.20% now saved for your own home, you rock
      Love Lorraine

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    2. Dear Sewingcreations, We are the same as I did get every cream for 30x but it was only three. But I look every time and one time they were 10c and Harper was with me and she pushes the little kids trolly. I hand things to her and she puts them in the trolley. So I started handing her cream and after about 8 she said "too much cream Nan Nan Bell" haha but I got lots and froze most of them.
      I hope the medical issues are all ok and nothing serious or worrying. It is probably time consuming with Dep of Defence and RSL added in but hopefully they are helpful to you and supportive.
      That is ok on the photos. I knew it would be when you had time and also when you thought it was a good time to take them. I cant wait to see actually! Your garden inspires me so much! I am just itching to be in the country where I can follow your footsteps!
      Happy birthday and I am glad to hear about your weight being better. We all want to be thin but then too thin is a problem of its own. I am glad to hear his as it will make you stronger and better if you are sick etc as I know being too thin and being unwell is bad as there are no spare kilos to be dropping!
      Your Vicky Challenge was fantastic! That marmalade sounds so beautiful I can imagine the colour. Nothing makes me happy than pretty preserves in jars!
      Have a good weekend. We have sunshine today which is perfect really after all the rain. The grass will grow! With lots of love Annabel.xxx

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  6. What a great idea on the cakes! Everyone is always thinking of ways to make things great. I love that. Happy Birthday to both you and Andy. Sounds like you had a romantic picnic too for your anniversary. Have a great weekend.

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  7. Wow Annabel, you have had a great week!

    I love, love, LOVE the idea of mud cake decorating. I took a peek at them on google...oh my! Its my youngest daughters birthday on Monday and she loves mud cake so guess what I will be making? lol! Thank you for telling us about them!

    Harper is such a little lady, so cute :)

    You had some great finds at the op shops, those books with roses are so pretty. Herbal books are often found in op shops, I will keep my eye out for you :)

    Have a lovely weekend,

    Love Tania xxx

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  8. We are off for the lake today! Have a lovely weekend.

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  9. Annabel,
    What a lovely week you had, the cake looks spectacular.
    Oh, how Harper is growing, she is a beauty!

    Very wise to add the medical books to your library. I am always looking when I go to thrift stores. I have to laugh because I did Spring cleaning in my living room, my dear husband commented that there were to many books in it. They were stacked under end tables on shelves. Well I went and cleaned, 56 books later there are only 9 remaining in the room, 2 Bibles and 7 Classics. The remainder will go into my basement library, lets say I need another bookcase.

    It is wonderful when you can get books so affordably and the thought of people just getting rid of them.

    I added to my pantry this week unexpectantly. We went to buy soda for my husband's class, a 12 pk usually runs $5, there were 12 pks on sale for $3.99, I was not going to pass up that amount of savings. In addition I was able to get a case of vegetables for 29 cents a can, 4 cans of baked beans for 49 cents a can and numerous other items.

    Oh, the last card I purchased ran me $8.99 here. I am contemplating making my own now. So more book searching.

    I haven't gone to a thrift store in over a month, I did see this week that I lost another one near me, so I am down to only one Salvation Army which is high priced. A sign of our economy.

    So happy you have had rain there.
    Enjoy your weekend.
    Love, Rosanne xxx

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  10. Hi Annabel and everyone,

    What a great cake idea! Saves time and expense! The rose illustrations and miss Harper are beautiful.

    I'm afraid it was a rather expensive week for us (car repair, relatives visiting), but we did our best to save where we could.

    Cooking and food: All work lunches ($150) and snacks ($40) were packed and brought from home. We did eat dinners out with my husband's visiting relatives, but brought home leftovers and took those for lunch, too.

    Household: Five of my rosebushes had rose rosette disease (insert sad face) - they had to come out, and no roses can be planted in the same spot for three years afterward. We did save money by removing and disposing of them ourselves. There is a silver lining - my dad very kindly made us a surprise gift for our anniversary, so we are going to use that to purchase some new perennial plants to put in their place. (And the rosette did not spread to my much-loved Brandy and red roses in the front yard, my hot pink Floribundas, or the yellow knockouts, so I am counting us fortunate!) I may do some iris bulbs and hydrangeas or peonies, as those do well here.

    My husband took the car in for routine maintenance. They found a broken strut and some very worn brake pads. Although the repair was expensive, I can't imagine how much more expensive an accident or breakdown would have been. The strut was covered under warranty, so we saved $700 just by taking the car in on schedule. The shop also gave us a loaner car for free for 2 days while they did the repairs, saving us $200. Also, the gal at the service desk hunted around and found us a coupon promotion for $110 off, so I am really grateful to her. I think having some savings, if you can, helps a lot in this situation.

    The promotion for countertops at our local store did indeed make the total less than it would cost for us to DIY, so we made an appointment for official measurements. I'll post the savings once the job is done and I have the final numbers.

    Entertainment: Our relatives had a nice time exploring the campus neighborhood (lots of tiny shops, galleries, and pretty landscaping). We went to watch a horse show that did not charge admission. One afternoon I made a nice tea and used our good china; everyone seemed to like this and it really did not cost much.

    Personal care/education: I watched a free tutorial for how to finish needlework as a flatfold. (Vonna, The Twisted Stitcher, has amazing videos!)
    I gave myself a pedicure ($45). My husband had a haircut at home ($15 - he likes it very short!).

    Crafts/gifts:
    Our sweet neighbors gave us some pepper plants (about $15 at the store).
    I stitched a bit on a xmas ornament and knitted half of the edging on a shawl, as I had time.
    There was a great sale at our craft store (DMC floss 3/99 cents), so I purchased enough floss for several planned projects, and also picked up some needlework fabric and other textiles on clearance. My husband had a 30% off total purchase coupon, so the receipt said I spent $72 and saved $83. I think the actual savings was more than that (the fabric was very deeply discounted).

    I hope everyone has a great weekend!
    Kathy

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  11. Hello Annabel and fellow Bluebirds, oh my gosh, Harper is gorgeous! Look at her hair! She is in deed, a real little lady. I love your birthday cake hack. I did a similar one. It was H's birthday...I made the cake, but bought the frosting and then decorated it with a bin truck (toy) and smarties/m n ms (they were the rubbish). He loves bin trucks. He loved it and loved that he could keep and play with the truck.. Saved me a small fortune, I think. We had a small party here at home. It was great, very simple (we had tacos). Plus we can keep all the decorations for another time. The battery operated star light garlands were so pretty and from KMart. So cheap. I'm wanting to build up my knowledge on natural therapies and am looking to increase vitamins into H, like zinc, magnesium and B12. I'm still working on learning to crochet. Love to you, love Bridget P.S. Your cards are so pretty and well done on finding the books for $2, bargain!

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  12. Dear Annabel...a great week. That's genius with the mud cakes. I made my granddaughter a Moana Te Fiti cake (Disney princess thing) last year, by doing the same. Stacked three, iced it, decorated it, done. A dream. And like yours, it looked great. Great buying on the books. I love that thrift stores are now like going to a library! I get some great books there too. My week was good. Lots of cooking from scratch, some sewing, some costuming. Productive over all. So I'm pleased. Happy Weekend everyone. Mimi xxx

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    1. Dear Mimi, Thank you! Well my cakes aren't like yours but one day (maybe) I will get more technical!
      Yes our op shops have library sections and wow the cook books etc brand new amazing books... incredible. Some have been $100 plus and now they are $2.
      I am glad you had a good week! It is cool here now so its soup time and the slow cooker will be on all the time. I really like it. Have a beautiful weekend! With love, Annabel.xxx

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  13. Hi Annabel, glad to hear you and Andy had a lovely time celebrating. Harpers golden girls are just gorgeous. My daughter and I have both had a cold so I made up a big pot of cure all chicken soup with lots of veggies. My husband and I were lucky enough to stumble across a roadside find of a large terracotta pagoda and a huge white concrete bird bath for the garden. My son turned 16 last weekend so we used a coupon code and got a deal for his cake, clothes he wanted from City Beach and a free birthday meal at the restaurant he wanted to eat at for signing up for their news letter. Managed to get a number of his other presents at discounted prices too which helped to stretch the birthday dollars. Gave my daughter and myself a trim with a crea clip Mimi recommended a while ago (mine is a cheap version off EBay) which always turns out a neat cut and saves a lot. Coloured my hair too. My husband and I hired a Britex carpet cleaner and cleaned all our carpets on both floors, had to go over a couple of stubborn stains with the upholstery attachment, but wow they have come up like new and for about $60 was a bargain. So has been a busy couple of weeks but we have managed to save a lot and feels satisfying being productive. It's a beautiful Autumn day here, so I had better go hang out the washing, I thawed the ham bone from Christmas and put it in the crock pot for a ham, tomato and onion soup tonight with some crusty bread. Loving this weather with sunny days and cool evenings. Have a great weekend everyone. Love Lisa xo

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    1. Dear Lisa,
      Chicken soup is great stuff. I am trying to always have the ingredients to put some on. Andy used to say he didnt like soup but when sick I made him have some! Well then he says "this is actually pretty good" plus it made him feel better. Now he looks for it!
      We always trimmed hair at home. Now the girls are 32 and 30 and Lucy still asks Chloe to please cut her hair. And people stop Lucy and ask her who is her hairdresser it is so lovely!
      I colour my hair. This is a wonderful lift and my hair is more manageable as naturally it is very fine. Shiny hair is a thing with me to me it looks and feels so much younger.
      I keep hearing about Britex cleaners! I think my car seats could do with a date with one one those!
      I am loving Autumn weather. Today (Sunday) was sunny and the night is quite cold. I love it. The crock pot will be busy all week. Well done on a great week! With love Annabel.xxx

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  14. Annabel,
    Everything looks so good as always. And what a bargain on the books. Things like will be important to have on hand so it's great you are finding them. Cards are expensive here too and I know many people have stopped buying and sending them because of the cost. It was a good week here. I got a Kohl's gift card in the junk mail again, I got a small box of samples in the mail, free children's allergy meds, free weed killer (which I will never use) I cashed out for some gift cards with my points, got several free items from Kmart and added to the gift trunk, got a free solar cell phone charger in the mail for the emergency supplies, the ladies gave us 6 dozen eggs this week, Rick found several clearance items and saved over $100 and saved another $350 on parts he needed by shopping around. I have a batch of dandelions drying and plans to pick more. I have jelly beans from Easter still so I think I will make a jelly bean cake this week, it is made with egg whites and the jelly beans are baked in it not used as decoration. We almost caved and ordered pizza, but I had buns that needed using and precooked hamburger in the freezer so decided to make pizza burgers instead and they were quick to make. It would have cost $25 to order the pizza. So not caving is a savings. On the few nice days I hung out the laundry and moved boards and things for the ladies to look for worms and bugs. Free protein for them. LOL It was a good week!
    XOXO
    Vicky

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    1. Dear Vicky,
      Your savings every week are inspiring! You just keep at it and work in different areas as you can. Well it all adds up so much! Many times a day I think of you especially if I get anything free I think oh "that is Vickys favourite price!" haha!
      I hope soon the weather will do the right thing so you can get planting... but really you have used this time really well! With love Annabel.xxx

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  15. Hi Annabel!
    Andy's cake looks great! I couldn't agree with you more that baking someone of any age a birthday cake is always a hit. I can't wait for lemons to come into season here, your lemon butter looks amazing.

    I have only one more week until my due date, and in the last couple of weeks I finished a crochet blanket for one son, and also my other son's birthday quilt. Which he actually received 8 months after the birthday I was meant to give it lol.

    I have meals in the freezer, the house is fairly well organised, and we are feeling ready to welcome a new addition :)

    My boys think it will be a girl, my daughter thinks it will be a boy. We will know soon!

    Have a lovely weekend
    Jen in NZ

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    1. Dear Jen, Oh my goodness so close now! I am really waiting to hear if you had a boy or a girl! I am thinking of you and you are in my prayers! I know you are organised! Well done on finishing the rug and the quilt!
      All the best and I hope to hear good news soon! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  16. Annabel I cant believe that cards cost that amount of money! I have received my Mothers Day gift a bit early. Bluey bought me a craft cabinet from Aldi. It hangs over a door and it keeps all my card and paper crafting items together. I hadnt realised how much I had in the way of card making materials. I am going to start adding my card making to my Vicky challenge.
    The week has been busy with lots of home based activity. There has been lots harvested from the garden. This weekend I plan on making my first batch of rozella jam and some lemon butter. It will only be a small batch but will be absolutely delicious.
    Life is good.

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    1. Dear Jane, I was shocked at $13! Thats for sure!
      I love your cabinet! Soon as I saw it I was thinking how much I need one! It is a beautiful gift and just right for you now!
      I know you have been extremely productive and also the garden produce has been looking lovely. You are a hive of industry! What a good week! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  17. Sorry, I'm behind commenting. Your cakes are all lovely! Love the photo of Harper. She's dressed so stylishly and yet she seems so captivated.
    My youngest, Phoebe, is like that. Lots of attention to her dress and fully engaged in the world around her. :)
    Yes, I need to get busy on card-making. My mother in law has been supplying me with free cards she gets in the mail. But when we move, I'll go back to making. Your pics will make lovely cards.
    I have been making lots of Lemon Curd (Butter), too. Our chickens are overwhelming us with eggs.
    Thanks for all you share, Annabel. Also I'm thankful for Lana and your dr. for their info. in the posts on oils & homeopathy.
    Blessings to all,
    Leslie

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  18. What a good idea about the medical books. I have given away so many books because everything is online now, but if there is no internet you have nothing. This reminds me that I need to keep hard copies of important paperwork or put them on a stick just Incase. Great idea with the simple but lovely birthday cake!

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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.