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 4 July 2019

Feather your Nest Friday, 5th July, 2019.

This was a much slower week for me!  A cold and a shocking cough slowed me down.  And these reminded me of why we prepare and keep spare meals in the freezer and why I make soft flannelette hankies to keep in the medical cabinet.  They saved my life just about this week!

But I wasn't sick all week and I am on the mend now so I still achieved some things!
Some of the ways I feathered the nest included:

I made a big batch of pumpkin gluten free scones. I had made pumpkin soup earlier and I just rescue a couple of chunks of pumpkin from the top and set aside for scones.  The addition of cheese makes these pretty good for lunch boxes.


I love scones, they made soup a full meal and they freeze well!

I also made a big batch of homemade dog food.  Little Scout is doing so well and we love her!  She is so good and wanting to please. She sits nicely :) 


She has learned how to be good in the car and lots of things like fetch.  She has a squeaky toy which is her favourite.  

A highlight of the week was meeting my friend Wendy in a town north of us.  We had a coffee together then later we met up again for lunch. It was so much fun.  We had planned a swap from the swap party plus an additional swap since.  I took Wendy eggs, a fabric panel and a big bottle of Miracle Cleaner...


Wendy gave me lace, doilies, a vintage sheet and bulbs for my garden (from her Garden) that are pink Lilies!  I got them all planted and am so excited as they will be beautiful.

While in town I went to two op shops.  I found two thick and good quality old bread pans, glass cut napkin rings, a piece of velvet for making hot packs and three gorgeous old jars for my collection.  


One is older with the greenish tinged glass.  The brand we have in Australia is Agee.  I have probably fifty of these now. These were $1 each.  The glass is thick and often uneven with bubbles in it.  I adore them and use them!  This is how I store my food so these will be full and on my shelves soon!

During the week I made two fruit loaves for toasting.  
We picked Broccoli almost every day.
I roasted another big piece of venison and it was beautiful.  Tonight I am making a lot of it into Shepherds Pies.  I will do one each for the girls and two for us. One will go into the freezer.   After that I will still have some left which Andy will have for lunches. Finally Scout will get the bone!

When in town I also did a big shop.  Since I re arranged the pantry and added the shelves in the laundry I am really working on stocking up more. I wait for really good deals.  This time the best deals were dish washing liquid, dried pasta and canned soup.  I also bought extra packets of matches to store. 

I made heat packs for the girls.  I lined them with thick flannel then they had pretty covers.  They loved them!  Lucy will just gently warm them for bed at night.  It is cold there!   


Then I made two new ones for myself.  I cannot be without heat packs!   I used barley from the soup bean section in the supermarket for the filling.


I made a long one to go around my neck when I get a neck ache/migraine.    These make wonderful gifts and a good inclusion in a get well gift or a winter birthday. 

So this was my week and it was a bit slower but still ok!
Andy has been working on cutting up fallen branches and fire wood.  This afternoon I think we will light a few bon fires and get a few more patches cleared up. 

We have a beautiful sunny winters day!  I love these days.  I need to get out in that sunshine.  
This week I have weaned two lambs and next week another lamb plus Laffie can be weaned.  They are eating so much grass now they hardly bother to come to the gate for their bottles.  Then I will be down to Jellybean and Blossom.  (The babies!) 

I hope you had a good week and that you had little opportunities to get ahead, build up your pantry, preparedness and savings.  Over the last few weeks I have noticed I have built up a lot of sewing and craft supplies.  (Thanks mainly to the Swap Party!)  This was from getting very low on fabric especially.  I am really hoping  that over the weekend I can get busy making things from all of this!   Now we are into the second half of the year I want to really work on my Christmas cupboard.  With less animals to feed I hope to have more time to craft!

Have a wonderful weekend! xxxx










32 comments:

  1. Scout is growing so fast! You heat pack are pretty. Ours are made from old jeans so not pretty! If you have a true common cold you can use Plague Defense once on the bottom of the feet and it will take care of it in less than 30 minutes. I woke up with a cold yesterday and was better in an hour.

    Today is Independence Day in the USA. We are sitting here listening to fireworks going off all around us.

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    1. Dear Lana,
      I think the denim for heat packs would be sturdy and good. I think I could use this for me too. I also swear by plague defence. I think I had worse than a cold as it was bit more like chest infection but I used the oils and I am so much better now. I saw USA had wonderful celebrations and wish I could have seen it all on TV and saw huge crowds turn up in Washington. I love the USA as so many of my good friends are from there! With love Annabel.xxx

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  2. Oh my goodness if that's what you get done when you're sick! What a week you've had. I've been clearing out more (determined to only pack and take what we use or love), made a batch of 30 cards for the nursing home, two huge meatloaves by request (one we are eating, one is in the freezer), slowly tidying up the lavender bed, started a stockpile stocktake so I know exactly what to start buying in September and kept the fire going. I has been cold here too, with a couple of mornings at 0 on the weather station. Wednesday the fog didn't lift and it reminded me so much of Riverina winters. Picked up a stocking stuffer for AJ for Christmas at 70% off (he loves the suede cover notebooks for his journalling for work). Sewed buttons on some shorts for Tom (and suggested he could do it himself - he just grinned at me), cleaned the inside of my car and the windows (no point in washing it with the rain and wind). And best of all, started working my routines again properly - our home is slowly getting back to order. Have a lovely weekend, and I'm so glad you're on the mend.

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    1. Dear Cath,
      Now you have mentioned meat loaf I really need to make some! I love meat loaf. I do individual ones in a muffin tray as well. Yum!
      It is wonderful how you make the cards for the nursing home. They are a really good fund raiser. This is a great donation.
      Very good on the note book! Tom has it worked out lol!
      It would be a lot to get back to normal and normal routines. I don't have to be out of the home much for things to slip fast. It takes ages to catch up. But go along slowly and as you are packing and sorting too it will come together. It is exciting to be packing. Each is a step to your dream coming true! I am praying on that! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  3. Annabel, I'm glad you are feeling better. I think you are wise to stock your pantry as well as you can, just this week we were in a big box chain store and there were several signs in the canned food section about food shortages from now until the middle of August. I took a picture of the posted notice, it gave me an uneasy feeling.

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    1. Dear Patsi, I saw this regarding the corn. It will be interesting to see how far this filters down since dairy, meat, etc depend on corn. I am not sure about chicken and eggs.. but very possibly. I know you will be watching closely.
      I know you are one step ahead. Many people will be scratching their heads wondering why meat went up. I agree, a well stocked pantry is so valuable! With love Annabel.xxx

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  4. Even under the weather you had a productive week, Annabel! I'm glad to hear you are on the mend! Getting meals in the freezer is a goal for me over the summer. That and canning for simple meals, such as turkey or chicken that can be turned into a casserole or canning up some beef stew. It will be back to school time here before I know it!

    Have a wonderful week!

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    1. Dear Jenn, Ready meals are just like an insurance policy! I was able to add a new meal this week after using up a couple. I try and keep a list on the freezer of meals I can just take out and thaw. I do need to have a freezer re organise though!
      Enjoy the last of the school holidays. When the kids went back to school I used to have a couple of days doing the biggest clean up! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  5. Annabel I am sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling well. Here's hoping all the babies wean well and you get some time back for yourself.
    When I went to my Spinning club, I mentioned I was looking for a particular spinning wheel, as the one I am currently using belongs to the Club. A lady has the exact wheel I am looking for and is happy to sell it to me. She is going to bring it to our meeting next week.
    I am unable to use most commercial deodorants. I started making a bicarb soda based deodorant but found it very messy and on a hot day I was still ending up stinky. I found a new recipe and have made up some deodorant that I have put in reusable push up sticks. So far so good.
    A friend of Katie's requested a pot of my 'Ouchies Balm'. Her little daughter loves to smear the balm onto her ouchies. It also helps keep the tears and the drama to a minimum. I made up a batch. Bluey has a pot in the shed to smear onto his regular grazes. He used to get quite a few infections until he used the ointment. He hasn't had any scrapes develop into infections since he started using the Ouchies Balm.
    The garden has required a bit of effort to get back into some form of control. It has been quite dry and we have had gale force winds for a number of days now. The wind is drying everything out. I have been watering everyday to try and keep some moisture in the soil.
    Life is good.

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    1. Dear Jane, The balm sounds excellent. And effective. This would be a good one for us all to make!
      I am so excited for you over the spinning wheel! You are doing well with it and your own wheel would be amazing. I also cannot use supermarket deodorant. I come out like I have been scalded. It is not that handy but I think... maybe a good thing in one way. Who wants to put toxic chemicals under your arms.... next to breasts and lymph glands? It is madness if you think about it. We absorb it all. So I am glad to not do that. You have come up with a good solution!
      Wind is very drying. We are hoping for rain tomorrow and much of the new week. I need to garden too, in my case due to so many weeds coming up from the sheep manure we put in the garden.
      I just saw tonight that your good week continued with the meat! Amazing!
      Have a lovely weekend! With love Annabel.xxx

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  6. Scout has grown already! What a smart, good girl! How great that you make her food, too.
    I'm glad to hear you're on the mend. Your day meeting up with Wendy sounds fun :)
    I love the old jars you found ~ Our fireworks💥🇺🇸haven't started yet here on the West Coast...soon, though. Enjoy your bonfires🔥. xxMary in SD

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    1. Dear Mary, I am sorry I took so long to reply! A very busy week and it went fast!
      I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July. I simply love the USA because I have so many beautiful friends from there. With love, Annabel.xxx

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  7. Annabel good to hear that you are on the mend :). Great to hear most but 2 of the lambs and Laffie are ready to be weaned that will save you a lot of time in bottle feeding and preparing bottles. Your heat packs look wonderful and so pretty.

    Our Vicky challenge added up to $124.50 in savings last week :).


    In the kitchen -
    - Made all meals and bread from scratch.

    Ebay listings -
    - Listed 20 items on a free listing promotion on eBay saving $33 on usual listing fees.

    Purchases -
    - Saved $8.20 on usual prices by presenting our RACQ membership card whilst purchasing 10 lts of hydraulic oil from Repco.
    - At woolworths on half price special I purchased 9 x mouthwash and 4 containers of moisturiser to top us up for a year saving $47 on usual prices.
    - From IGA on 58% or $13.08 off normal price sale we purchased 3 x 6 pk of hotdog rolls @.80c ea, a loaf of wholemeal bread @ $1.20, 2 x 4 pk cheese and bacon rolls @ $1.20 ea, 1 x 2 pk of cheese and bacon stix @ $1.40 and 1 x 6 pk of cream buns.
    - Also from IGA purchased clearance 1.954 kg capsicums for $2 kg saving $3.83 on usual prices. These were chopped up and added 12 meal sized portions to the freezer.
    - Ordered gift cards from RACQ for fuel and groceries saving 5% or $19.39 on usual prices. More money to spend on both fuel and groceries with no outlay.

    In the gardens -
    - We finished our 10 x 2.2 mt garden enclosure for a total of $39.26 in cost including the 50% shade cloth and netting clips we purchased. We still have more shade cloth and netting clips to use for our larger garden beds we are going to construct.

    Hope everyone else had a wonderful week too :).

    Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).

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    1. Dear Lorna, I am sorry I am so slow replying this week. The week has gone so fast and been so busy. But I did wean the calf and two more lambs. And they are doing fine and eating so well.
      You had great savings. I love to freeze capsicums and add them to things so they were a great buy.
      You have made more progress with the garden set up. Shade cloth will be so good for summer. We need to do the same. We had the first summer to learn and we really need shade cloth up in Spring. I have worked out most of this but there are several particular plants that I need to figure out something for.
      I hope this week has been good for you ! I have a heap to report and we have had rain and watching it gush into the tanks is fantastic! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  8. Annabel you amaze me with what you achieve when feeling unwell. You are a real energiser bunny. I hope you feel 100% soon. There is a lot of flu here in Queensland and it is probably the same in SA so I hope you avoid it.

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    1. Dear Nanna Chel, I have been going through your soap recipes deciding what to make! Thank you... I do fall in a heap from time to time. This week I had a few moments like that! We had a big storm and a lot of rain too. The rain water tanks are filling! With love Annabel.xxx

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  9. You are amazing, Annabel. It is incredible to think what you have achieved in a week of being sick! I am amazed and inspired. Scout is so cute! I bet Scout is loving living on your farm too. I bet the Winter days are so pretty on the farm. I really like that you got together with your friend and had a swap at the same time. I love the idea of your shelves and then filling them! I have felt tired this week! I am loving having my son home on kindy holidays. It is the best! I miss him dreadfully when he goes. I have kept up with the garden. now bok choy has sprouted. I definitely need to make more use of the slow cooker and cook more in the mornings when I am fresher/have more energy. I love that you give your girls meals too. What big help! I am cutting up a big flannelette sheet as we speak. I love your idea of the hankies. I also am hoping to make a rag rug. I'll give it a good try! Our next step is to put a trellis along our new back fence for passionfruit and climbing spinach etc. So exciting! Lots of love, Bridge

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    1. Dear Bridge, Thank you! Well Scout is going very well. She tries hard to please! So she is learning. I am enjoying being surrounded by green. I cant wait to see your rag rug! if you keep some disposable hankies for real sickness you will be glad you did. I did hem some for the girls so their little noses have super soft hankies.
      A trellis will add so much growing space. it is amazing.. you kind of end up with a living fence. This also looks lovely. Your garden is really coming along. it is just a matter of doing the next thing and this all adds up. Sorry for the slow reply! It has been a week that had gone super fast! With much love, Annabel.xxx

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  10. Scout is so cute! He makes me happy just looking at him.
    I am glad you are on the improve...but after the busy weeks you have had, you deserved a couple of slower days anyway!
    I have been getting some plants and seeds in the ground on the drier days, but we have had some lovely rain too. Which reminds me: it is a great day today for sewing. I should make more quilting blocks!

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    1. Dear Earthmotherwithin,
      Rainy days are wonderful for sewing. We have had a cheap of rain yesterday and bit more today but it came with a big storm so many branches down. But still the sight of rain pouring into the water tanks is good! I hope this week has been going well... it has sped past here and is almost Friday again! With love Annabel.xxx

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  11. Sorry to hear you have been unwell, the dreaded lurgy seems to get us all eventually, but you are so right about being ahead for times such as this. A freezer full of meals is such a blessing in times of illness.

    Such great finds at the op shop. I found some old books at one of our op shops. Ive always loved Anne of Green Gables, and I own the complete series, but I’ve never read any other LM Montgomery books, I picked up 6 for $4! And I’ve never read What Katie Did series or Pollyanna, and I picked those up for cheap too, so I have lots of reading to get through 😊

    Do you have the recipe for your fruit loaf on your blog? I’ve been searching for a good one, the ones I’ve trued just haven’t been quite right.

    It will be good to wean most of your animals, you will have a lot more time to tackle that craft stash! 😊

    Have a lovely weekend. I look forward to next weeks post already!

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    1. Cheryl, I love Pollyanna it is amazing as it is a spiritual lesson and applicable to any age. Its amazing. And What Katie did is a good series too. Long time since I read those though! And i LOVE Anne of Green Gables. So beautiful.
      I have the recipe for the gluten free fruit loaf? It will never rise as much as regular but it tastes and slices pretty well. Best toasted. Just let me know if this is the one you want...
      Even having weaned two lambs is saving me so much time. Next week will be revolutionary weaning the calf and another lamb!
      They are all fat and healthy even the two just weaned are so plump so I think I must have got them along far enough to do well.
      Have a lovely weekend to you too! xxx

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  12. Annabel,
    I hope your feeling better. And wow is Scout a cutie! It's good your making her food it is so much better for them. Mine is having chicken and sweet potatoes today. And the bearded dragon is getting prunes and berries.
    I love your heat packs they are so pretty.
    We replanted peppers in the garden due to all of the rain. We planted some seeds, but they washed out so we will have to replant those too. Not our best garden, but we will keep at it. I am adding to the pantry though as I find bargains. Come winter I want to be all tucked in and cozy with a full pantry.
    I picked a few berries, got some freebies in the mail, I made noodles using our eggs, we sold eggs, we did alot of work at my mom's boxing things up and getting rid of things so we can put it on the market. Our garage fridge went out so brought over mom's, but sigh it doesn't work. In the scrap pile it is. When we get a truckload we will take it all to the scrapyard. Every bit adds up. I made the dogs food and canned some good bone broth for us. I've bartered for more blackberry bushes, but haven't been able to plant them yet. I also was able to gift my granddaughter for her birthday with gifts from the gift trunk. Rick got a great deal on bread at the breadstore and I pinched 4 loaves to dry. I like to have it ready for stuffing. I added up our savings and we are still doing very well each month and keeping track we are finding new ways to save. I hope everyone has a great weekend.
    XOXO
    Vicky

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    1. Dear Vicky, Each past year that I have known you your veggie garden has been amazing. I hope this year you will still get something. This proves this year is a very hard one.
      It is a great idea to make stuffing. I save things for either crumble toppings (if it is sweet) or stuffing or croutons if it is savoury. So good!
      I am glad that even in a difficult season you are still finding ways to save. You are very savvy with finding new ways! Very good you had a gift for your little Granddaughter in the gift box too! Have a good weekend! Love Annabel.xxx

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  13. I am glad that you had a quick recovery from the cold. My week at home was also a slower week but I've puttered about getting things done from my July goals list. Of course, I've added a couple of painting jobs since, with my new planter and the roadside rescue wicker chair. I've chosen an Annabel sort of soft pink for the chair's new coat of paint. The black paint used is literally just washing off. I got the plasticized spray paint that will adhere to vinyl and plastic. I'll need to buy a pretty seat cushion for the chair as well and I'm thinking roses. Have a great new week!

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    1. Dear Terri, I saw the beautiful chairs you got from the side of the road!! They would be worth such a lot here! At least a few hundred each and they were beautiful!! And I love your choice of paint colour. They will be divine. With cushions these will be just beautiful. What a find! Well done! Love Annabel.xxx

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  14. Dear Annabel, I'm glad you are feeling better and amazed at how much you achieved while not feeling well! Scout and the babies you rescued are all so cute. I'm glad they are thriving.
    We were away from Friday through Wednesday of last week. The trip was for a memorial for my mom's last brother. We had an amazing time! So much love, good times and building memories! It has been at least 8 years since I had seen any of the cousins and much longer for many, plus quite a few I had never met because they were children of my cousins or had moved away from Michigan where it was held. They had graciously saved out money from the estate to pay for hotel rooms and provide most of the meals. We were able to pay for the airfare home with points we had earned. As my husband said, even though it was still fairly costly, it was a priceless experience.
    Now that we're home, it's back to eating from the pantry and freezer while shopping the sales and clearance to keep adding to the pantry. I've found a couple good codes to get free or inexpensive photos made from the trip, brought home some of the extra coffee and toiletries, have stew going in the crockpot with mostly items on hand, making banana muffins using frozen bananas and cut up a watermelon purchased at 10 cents a pound to have ready to eat.
    Love from AZ,
    Elaine

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    1. Dear Elaine,
      I am sorry for the loss of your Uncle but glad it was a special and meaningful get together for your family. The trip would have been a good photo opportunity so maybe some of these will be potential lovely gifts.
      I hope your new week is off to a good start! With much love, Annabel.xxx

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  15. Dear Annabel,
    I am so sorry that you had a cold and cough. I pray that you are much better now.
    You always accomplish a lot, regardless. The sewing you did is so pretty and useful.
    I am afraid if I had a puppy as cute as Scout I would be holding it all the time. She is so adorable. If I had it to do over again, I would make all of Lody and Gracee's food. John and I discussed it, but goodness those two big dogs ate a lot. Now that my precious Lody is gone, Gracee is eating a lot more chicken, so her consumption of her grain free dog food isn't as much. Lody was a very good eater. He was a very large Golden Retriever.
    The GF Pumpkin Scones look delicious. I need to do more baking, but family matters have kept me distracted recently. Hopefully, things will calm down and I can get back to routine.
    We are still adding to the food storage pantry. I have been working on figuring out what we actually eat now and what we won't buy any longer. Our food choices have changed so much in the past five years that what we had in storage and the lists I had before no longer work.
    Sales are not great, this summer it seems, in the grocery stores here. We keep a close eye on the Vitacost website and when they have the organic shelf stable items we normally use on sale and a 20% off coupon, on top of the sale, we usually stock up.
    Have a wonderful and blessed week.
    Love and hugs,
    Glenda

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    1. Dear Glenda,
      Yes big dogs would eat such a lot! Also we are on a farm so we just have access to raw meat and bones. But I have heard terrible things about bought food including them containing euthanised dogs! Aplenty this really happened. Hard to fathom.
      I find if I have gf scones or something similar I do well as I am not so tempted by worse things lol!
      I owe you a big letter. It is coming! I know you have been busy and stressed with family matters.
      Sales are not great I know that and it is true here. And with the very bad growing season and poor corn crops this is going to hit a lot of areas so hard. You are wise to stay well ahead. I hope this week is off to a good start for you! With much love, Annabel.xxx

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  16. Glad you are feeling better! I got 6 jars of beets canned and going to work on the 2nd batch this week-and got 6 pints of carrots canned also!! Have you heard from Laine at all? so Looking forward to hearing from her! Thanks
    Becky

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    1. Dear Becky, Well done the is a lot of good canning! You will be glad of it. Yes I have been talking to Laine. She could do with some prayer right now. Also Abbie is due with a third baby. With much love Annabel.xxx

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