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, 12 April 2018

Feather your Nest Friday, 13th April. 2017.

It was a much more normal week and I had lots of catching up to do.  The wheels really fall off when not home enough!  Also it was hot.  We have had this late burst of heat and then there was grass fires around the city and on Wednesday we were in a blanket of smoke.  It stank too!
Finally it is cool again!  There wouldn't be anyone who liked the weather his week!

Yesterday I got busy washing as we are told rain is coming sometime today....  we need rain desperately.  The garden needs it, the farm needs it.  Chloe is almost out of rain water.  All the drinking water on the farm is rain water.

This week I made some cup cakes.  Half were for Andy's lunches and half were for Harper.  These ones were Harpers not Andy's!


I recycle the cake toppers endlessly,  Lucy gives them back to me.  I have Princesses,  fairies, ballerinas in several colours.


I stewed some Quinces in the slow cooker.  They start out lemon in colour and rock hard.  After slow cooking they come out pink.  They are beautiful and I had stewed fruit for my deserts and breakfast.



I finally finished a cotton baby rug and it is ready to post. 


Now I need to start a new project!

I had two days where I just stayed home and caught up.  These were beautiful days.

Andy made an enclosure for the chickens as in the winter they have no sense and stand in the rain and get soaked so we are putting them under cover.

I got out my winter boots and shoes and cleaned and polished them up.  I spent a while on it but they came up looking brand new! 

Yesterday I spent an hour or so making up some essential oil blends for gifts.   For my niece (it is her birthday today) I made winter essentials.... On Guard and a cold/sniffles blend.  
For my friend who wants to try essential oils I made the things she is asking for... something to help with stress, relaxation, sleep.   I made a Clary Sage and lavender blend,  Lavender Peace and Console.
This all was fun and so relaxing.  The house smelled glorious.   


I packaged them into these gorgeous little paper bags... (love these!)


Once you are set up with oils yourself it is very inexpensive to make up some blends as gifts.  A roller blend is $30+ to buy... but you can make them for about $2.   I am going to do a post on using your essential oils as presents soon.  I already did this with Chloe's Easer gift which was all germ busting cleaners and sprays.  So my supplies now are giving me so much more than just medical uses.

Yesterday Scarlett started walking!  So excited about this! 😊

Today I am going to a wedding dress fitting with Chloe!  And we are having lunch together.  Then we are having dinner with Allie.  I already baked her a banana birthday cake.   So if rain comes over the weekend this will be perfect.  

This was my week!  It was really nice! 
How did you build up your home,  increase your pantry,  save or get ahead?  
Have a wonderful weekend. xxx










32 comments:

  1. Dear Annabel, Wow on Scarlett taking her first steps that is such a precious time!
    The baby blanket is really beautiful.
    And how exciting to go to the dress fitting! I love weddings!

    I too have essentials oils and am looking forward to your posts on them. I started using mine again after a spell of not using them.

    Your chickens will probably love a place to get out of the rain!

    Have a great week. Laurie

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    1. Dear Laurie, Well the dress is coming along nicely!
      Mimi did a recent post using essential oils to make up little perfumes. This is another lovely idea for gifts. I think there are so many possibilities! I am working on lots more...
      And now the rain has arrived! We have so much shelter for the chickens but they insist on perching in pouring rain... anyway now they are locked in where they can get wet. Maybe they are not too bright lol!
      Have a good weekend to you too! With love Annabel.xxx

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  2. Scarlett is already walking. She will be running around before you know it. they grow way to fast.
    My daughter has made me several mixed oils and they do help me. I love some oils in my bath too. They help me relax.
    I did find some good sales this week. I got a 3 gallon jug of frying oil for 75% off. And some Easter candy marked down. I was really happy about that. I also am trying to get my pantry to a six month supply so I did some stocking up. My shopping for the week is here: https://mcoia.blogspot.com/2018/04/adding-to-my-pantry_11.html

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    1. Dear Makingcentsofitall, I love my bath and some relaxing oils. It is heavenly!
      A six month supply in your pantry would be wonderful. Everything you got this week would sure be a help towards it! Well done! Love Annabel.xxx

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  3. What beautiful gifts you made this week!
    I built up my home by cleaning this week (thanks to your motivational post!). I actually spent 6 full hours cleaning my kitchen today! It has been years since I've done a full spring cleaning in there, removing everything from the cabinets, putting baking supplies in new containers, and so on.
    I also spent a lot of time this week helping two friends who are having health problems. I did the grocery shopping for one, and babysat another's children for 2 days. I never get as much done with extra little ones around in addition to my own, but it does inspire me to be a better mom, taking them to the park and doing crafts and that sort of thing.
    Have a fabulous weekend!! -Leigh in Colorado

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    1. Dear Leigh, What a good week! It is wonderful you both helped other families and did so much in your kitchen. It sounds like the children would have all had a beautiful time too.
      I agree that completely taking every thing out, cleaning and putting it all back is the biggest clean. It is a big job! But it does the best job. It is a sort, declutter, organise and clean all at one time. And the kitchen is the biggest job of them all I think. Well for me, constant cooking etc means things get messy!
      You have a good weekend too you deserve a rest! With love Annabel.xxx

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  4. Dear Annabel, I have a whole week of posts to read but got to today’s. Can’t believe Scarlett is walking, big girl now. This is when she will probably become more interesting to Harper perhaps. Love the cakes. Poor Andy not getting any toppers. We’ve had awful weather here too. I’ll be glad for the crisp autumn days. Lovely to go to fittings. I went with my daughter in law but it had to be hush hush cos her mother wouldn’t have liked to know I was involved, Shen lives a few hours away and would rather have had her daughter do it alone than with me which is pretty silly but I thought it was very special to be included and we are close. I’m loving my oils I got too, inspired by you of course, but it was on my list of things to do to learn about essential oils and then when you started sharing I thought what a great opportunity to learn. Busy weekend here. Hope yours is great also. Fi xx

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    1. Dear Fiona,
      Yes it is really exciting to be involved in the wedding plans and lead up and choices. Also I love all the insider info. :)
      I saw your sewing today too, lovely. Harper has always been besotted with Scarlett as a baby. Soon there will be not much difference between them and they can be playmates. In fact I think possibly Scarlett will end up bigger then Harper. She is equal within a kilo now.
      Have a beautiful weekend caching up! With love Annabel.xxx

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  5. Hi Annabel, sorry I haven't commented here for a while. We have been very busy getting our place ready for the Open Gardens here on Sunday.
    So very busy, but good, and as Chookasdad has had notice of when he is getting his knees replaced, turns out months earlier than we thought, it has been a great incentive to get things done.
    We seem t be spending more than saving, but in the long run these spends will save us a lot of money in the future.
    So I haven't tallied up our savings for the past month. Hopefully in the next week or to I will have time to do so.
    The weather, winds and dust here have been horrible, we desparately need rain, as we rely on tank water for everything in the house, and spring water for our garden and our animals.
    Ahuge dust storm is just hitting us along with thunder and lightening, but it looks as though it could well be a dry storm.
    Annabel you have done wonderfully this week, and the fun now starts with Scarlett walking.
    Love to all Lorraine

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    1. Hi Lorraine and good news about you DH getting his knee replacements earlier than expected :).

      Very dry here too and the grass is crackling under our feet we could do with a lot of rain as well.

      Hoping big storms come your way and dampen the ground and fill up your water tanks and your building is going well.

      Sewingcreations15.

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    2. Hi Sewingcreations15.
      yes it is wonderful that the op is happening sooner, just have to make sure that he doesn't cut knock himself as they won't do the operation is a patient has any cuts, bites etc, because of risk of bone infections, when the patient is cut and the bone is open.
      We are busy cutting and storing wood hopefully to last at least un til Aug.
      Hve you had any rain? there is rain forcast here for today, but only about 3 0r 4 mil, we really need several inches in the old measurements.
      Especially before it gets to cold for feed to grow etc, lots of farmers are selling a lot of stock as they have run out of all feed
      Cheers
      Lorraine xx

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  6. Hello Annabel and fellow bluebirds :).

    Annabel I love you little paper bags for the essential oil rollers, baby blanket, and cupcakes and think those cupcake toppers are just adorable :).

    Our Vicky challenge added up to $133.05 in savings last week.

    Here is what we did to feather our nest and get ahead this week -

    Financial -
    - DH made $50 from a gardening job he did and he put it into our emergency home kitty to build that back up again. I made $7 from the sale of saved seeds from the gardens which I banked to top up the pantry stocking budget some more after our large pantry stock up in February.
    - Banked more money into our home deposit account bringing us to 24.76% of the way there.
    - Listed 10 items on eBay using a free listing promotion saving $16.50 on listing fees.

    Medical purchases -
    - Bought a new back brace for DH and got a $5 discount for asking if they could do better as it had no packaging and all up saved $41.50 on prices charged elsewhere by shopping around.
    - Filled another bulk script for pain medications for DH saving another $70.40 over purchasing the boxes separately.

    Deep cleaning -
    - This week DH and I deep cleaned the lounge room, sewing room, bathroom, laundry and toilet and DH pressure cleaned the front veranda to get ready for our rental inspection on Monday. We damp dusted the skirting boards, belt rails, furniture, walls, some door surrounds, vacuumed, decluttered and threw out rubbish. We now only have 3 rooms to finish both tonight and tomorrow.

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

    In the gardens -
    - Planted 62 broad bean seeds saved from the last crop saving $4.85 in buying seed and also planted some parsley seeds in the gardens.

    Hoping everyone has had a wonderful week :).

    P.S Annabel I will start sending photos of the vegetable gardens here from Tuesday next week after our inspection is over.

    Sewingcreations15.





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    1. I can't wait to see your veggie garden - we have had some late freezes (last night and perhaps tonight!), so I am still waiting on planting seeds and have seedlings hanging out in my kitchen where it is warm!

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  7. Dear Annabel and Bluebirds

    I have had an annoying time here with no internet for eight weeks, well no reliable internet. I have been able to make quick facebook posts at work but apart from that nothing else. I have missed my blogs and messenger and so many other things I use the internet for. Next week I will be on a permanent more reliable service but for now it is up and running albeit slowly. I have so many posts to catch up on with all my blogs and also I had over 30 messages on Messenger which I am yet to catch up on. Crazy how reliant I have been on the internet.

    My bathroom is being redone and not because I wanted it done but because they pipe blew and the tiles flew off everywhere and the hall flooded. So we saved money by Jo removing all the tiles and doing a lot of the labour saving us paying for the extras. I did need to have a tiler in and he has done a great job but I am fed up washing in the laundry. Monday should see the tiler finished and then we just need to redo the cornices and we are all done. I am sick of having a vanity unit, shower screen, taps and tiles filling my dining room. Not to mention the dust that keeps filling the house.

    Both my youngest two moved out of home a fortnight ago so I am an empty nester now. It is taking me a long time to sort and clean out their rooms, not aided by the house renovations but I am saving money on meals and on the electricity and gas uses. I am also starting to cull things with a vengeance so that I only have left in the house what I need and can use. It is a work in progress but I am getting there.

    Big news also here my darling daughter that I love so much is expecting her first child. I am so happy I could bust. I have begun knitting her outfits with yarn I have here. I also have lots of gifts planned that I can make that will cost very little if anything to make....I am filled with such joy.

    A family member is doing my car service for me tomorrow and this is saving me a few hundred dollars so I am very happy with that. Doing well here and plodding along very happy to back on the internet

    Love Mel S

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    1. Dear Mel, Oh that explains some things! I know, we all rely on the internet so much!
      I hope insurance has come forth with help over the pipe. The dishwasher pipe that broke and flooded us... the insurance gave us all new floors. I was amazed how god they were actually as they were wonderful (RAA)
      and at first when it happened I never even thought about being insured. Andy said well we are insured...
      Goodness me you will be in shock to have no kids home still! That is a big adjustment. But for me it has become just a re arrangement... they are not in the house but a new stage that is lovely too.
      And a Grand baby! How wonderful. Mel Im so glad for you. I bet you are knitting!
      Thank you for the update! I am so glad to hear from you and you are ok. With loads going on! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  8. Hi Annabel,i love your post on your essential oils i have since bought some roller bottles off ebay so i will be very interested in your post of making some for presents i will be busy this weekend making some cards to sell :)Have a relaxing weekend,and thanks for your lovely posts
    xox

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    1. Dear Melissa,
      I love the roller bottles! With a handy blend, a little label ... they are a great gift. Chloe making me some in blends suitable for me (i.e. sleep, relaxation...) got me started in the first place. I liked them so much! They just "agreed" with me. Have a lovely weekend card making. I think we are in for a rainy weekend which is making me think of crafts and crochet. Lovely! With love Annabel.xxx

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  9. Annabel,
    Your essential oil packaging is so pretty, but I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Your talent to make the simple so amazing is a blessed talent.
    The baby blanket is so pretty, doesn't it just make your heart sing when you accomplish such a wonderful present.

    I know how it feels to travel and come home, you wonder where the gremlins are that sprinkled the dust around your home. During my husband's travel season I feel like my weekends are just laundry, ironing, clean house to leave and come back and do the same over again, after 6 months straight of it I am ready to stay home and make the mess myself. Most of my personal messes include flour.

    Your chickens are going to be confused for a bit with a home to keep them out of the rain. I have been praying you receive some rain, I cannot say how hard it must be to live on only rain water for drinking. Here we pray farmers wells are full from snow and rain fall.

    With your encouragement I am getting back into essential oils, I took a break for awhile, except for my lavender fabric softener, just can't live without that.

    May you have a Wonderful Weekend
    xxx
    Rosanne

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    1. Dear Rosaane, Thank you! I feel for you on the travel... while the thrift shopping is wonderful things just mount up at home and the waning etc is all accumulating! I am glad to have caught up again!
      Yes the rainwater is all the house and drinking water. It is beautiful as even your hair loves it but it is a life being very careful and not wasting any water. And waiting for rain. There is underground water and shallow too but mostly it is too salty for drinking. We have reasonable rain, no snow.
      The essential oils have become something I cant do without, in such a short time. Last night I was really tired and my throat started to be sore... straight away I had the oregano oil out and On Guard on my feet before a big sleep. Now it is better. I will be stockpiling this stuff!
      I hope you get a restful Sunday! With love Annabel.xxx

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  10. Hi Annabel and everyone,

    Hooray for Scarlett!

    Cooking and food: All work lunches and snacks were brought from home. ($150 savings on lunches, I would say $40 on healthy snacks.) I made a big pot roast and veggies in the crockpot. I baked a double batch of banana bread, a big pan of brownies, and oatmeal "pucks" for the freezer. We restocked the pantry with oats on sale and baking supplies.

    Household: We put glass soap dispensers in the bathrooms and also the kitchen; I was at my wits' end trying to keep regular soap dishes and counters clean. We did some straightening and trimming in the garden and backyard; echinacea and butterfly bush are coming back! I am tending my baby lettuces on the kitchen windowsill.

    A trip to the thrift shop yielded two full-sized silver platters and a set of antique silver pastry forks - they were black with tarnish, but are beautiful after polishing! I spent $23.

    One of the crockpots met an untimely demise a couple of weeks ago - we had a $5 rewards coupon for a discount store, and they had a 20% off sale on Sunday, so new crockpot was $15.

    I threw open my windows, washed all the bedding and throw rugs, and gave my counters and window seats a good scrubbing. My husband cleaned the ceiling fan blade.We also bundled up books and movies for the resale shop.
    We have been organizing our home dvd collection into slim sleeves instead of bulky cases. By doing this, we were able to eliminate the need for a big, bulky bookcase in the living room and store everything neatly in the entertainment center. It opens up and brightens the living room even more - I am loving so much extra light with our efforts this year. It did cost a bit to purchase the sleeves, but it has improved our quality of life quite a bit.

    Entertainment: Lots of reading from our home library, and a new-to-us movie from the library. We had a weekend date at the new local coffee shop - very yummy, and locally roasted! - and were delighted to find that they package up used grounds for gardeners to take home for free. My roses will love the "snack".

    Personal care, work, and education: It's tuition payment week - we saved $600 by using the tuition remission benefits through my husband's work. He also had a haircut at home ($15 savings).

    My work role is changing and I am having to give more talks to large groups, so I unfortunately needed to buy some professional clothing., I found a big sale, combined it with a coupon, and bought suiting separate pieces and eight tops to mix and match for $286. I know that is a lot - but I saved several hundred with the sale and coupon, and these are sturdy, well-made pieces that should last a long while, so I think I did ok overall.

    Crafts/gifts:
    I made an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie pie as a contribution to a small family dinner. (Recipe: https://gimmedelicious.com/2014/04/06/the-perfect-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookie-pie/) Similar desserts are $25 at my store.
    The jar candle stash was useful for another last-minute gift ($30 saved on purchasing the candle and giftwrap).
    A thrift store trip yielded a set of 5 adorable, brand-new with tags onesies for my friend who has a 2-month-old baby girl (paid $5 - retail is $35). She loved them!
    I made 4 pairs of earrings for gifts.
    I put a few stitches into a cross-stitch ornament for our tree with threads leftover from other projects.
    I finished the waistband ribbing on a sweater - another couple of weeks and it may have sleeves!

    I hope everyone has a great weekend!
    Kathy

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    1. Dear Kathy,
      I love that the coffee shop will give away packs of coffee grounds! Yes they are great for the garden. Some use them in soaps, scrubs etc too!
      All your cooking sounds beautiful.
      I love both the silver platter and onesie finds! Wha bargains there! I have a thing about onesies. They melt my heart! Your earring gifts are jus stunning too.
      You really achieve heaps in a week. I love it!
      Now I think your investment wardrobe is very good and you got a lot of pieces for your $$$. And you must look professional speaking to groups... so I think you did very well. You will look lovely and feel good.
      I hope you have a great weekend! I am starting to think about my new week. I am aiming for a lot as really this week was half playing catch up! With love Annabel.xxx

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    2. Hi Annabel,

      Oh, thank you for the idea to use them in soaps! I have soapmaking things and am always looking for new ideas.

      Hope you are having a good weekend,
      Kathy

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  11. This has been a good week for us! The only $ spent for groceries was $4.96 for 5 jars of Prego spaghetti sauce (our favorite) and $4.96 for 2-1/2 pounds of extra sharp cheddar cheese, and a 5 pound bag of mixed salad green + 6 living artisan lettuces for $2 total! After harvesting most of the living lettuce leaves for salads/sandwiches, I put the lettuce bases into water to invigorate the roots. Now I will plant them into my garden using gallon milk jugs as mini greenhouses to get them started early in the garden!
    I’ve been systematically bringing quart jars of grape juice up from the basement every time I take something down. The grape juice was 18 years old and the lids and rings are corroded! But after draining the jars and throwing away the kids and really nags, I rin the jars through the d/w and the jars are sparkling like new and ready to be filled with new foods to fill my shelves! I feel wasteful throwing out the juice but at least now, they are not wasting jars or “real estate” I could be using for something that we will actually use up!
    We sold a quilt that I put together from vintage blocks and then the customer went on our Facebook site and bought a set of 4 soup cozies too! So that was unplanned income!
    I remembered that one or more of you bluebirds mentioned listing things for sale on eBay using a free listing promo. I looked and sure enough, there was a promo going on for 50 free listings that would expire the next day, so I got 4 things listed for a week and one has already had multiple bids! I’m excited and looking around the house with new eyes thinking about what things I might add to my “eBay sales” list! Lol!!
    There was an extra $300+ in our checking account when I zeroed it out as the new paycheck came in. That meant about $160 extra dollars into savings and the same amount extra paid on the next debt on the list (we are down to just 2 plus our mortgage).
    We sold some more eggs because we had 27 dozen in our fridge! Our girls are really producing!!
    We are Just completing two other big wood orders for our business so that should add more to our business and personal accounts!
    Spring is trying to come so temps are warmer and I long to be out spending hours gardening and landscaping. Unfortunately, our son in law is in Intensive Care unit of hospital unexpectedly since Tuesday or Wednesday (days have kind of become a blur) so our time has been diverted to be “support team” for our daughter, s-I-l and grandkids. The garden and yard will still be there when things calm down!
    I love to see and hear about all the things you and the other bluebirds are doing, Annabel! It is so motivating and inspiring to me!!!

    Here’s to a wonderful week ahead as we feather our nests!

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    1. Dear Gardenpat,
      Yes sewicgcreations uses the free eBay listings. This is a good idea for you! If you put your fb shop link somewhere in the listing too this could send traffic on over (if that is possible but I think...) and certainly eBay is a massive audience!
      I have been watching your shop and sales and love the quilts and the "kleenex" they are so lovely. I like the soft scallop edging you do very much.
      Your chickens are hard workers! Can you imagine your life without them now? They add so much! They are actually a side line business themselves!
      I hope your SIL is doing better. That is a worry. Considering this you did amazingly well. You are so industrious Pat. Thank you so much for sharing your week. I am just planning mine, my planner is siting next to me. I am hoping for a good week. It is started well just with the fact it is raining steadily and has been mostly for a couple of days.... this was desperately needed here and at the farm. With lots of love, Annabel.xxx

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  12. Hi Annabel!
    Your week sounds lovely, especially a dress fitting and lunch out together. And Scarlett walking - how exciting. I think maybe next time you pack Andy's fishing lunch he would think it was extra special with a princess cupcake topper lol.

    Our chickens also insist in standing in the rain, despite the option not to. They are largely ornamental now, six chickens but typically only one egg a day :(
    Oh well, the kids love them.

    We had a storm earlier in the week and have lost phone and internet. But we did not lose power, which was very lucky. We headed away this weekend as it is school holidays here. Not much planned, mainly catching up with friends and buying some supplies that are hard to get where we are.

    Only four weeks left of pregnancy! Well, according to my due date anyway. So once we return home I will be filling the freezer with meals and baking. Apart from that there is nothing that desperately needs doing, mainly I have concentrated on getting the other kids as prepared as possible by involving them more in planning for the week and writing up a jobs schedule. It seems if it's written down there are less groans!

    I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, yay for the rain Annabel!

    Jen in NZ

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    1. Dear Jen,
      I wrote to you thinking you are about due and now wonder if this reply was sitting here first!
      Your chickens must be related to mine... so cute but not big on common-sense lol
      Four weeks is not long! A full freezer will be great. Also the lists and routines... well done. I honestly think with the older kids that they love to know they are needed and helpful and responsible. Even if they groan maybe.... but with the baby they will all seem suddenly much more grown up and capable. It is good. It is a team effort. I am sure they will be besotted with their little brother or sister. And I cant wait to hear! Jen take great care and rest when you can! With love, Annabel.xxx

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    2. Oh, so excited for you, Jen! I agree with Annabel, the older ones love to be counted on. It worked in our family. We have 8 and it was such a blessing for the older kids each time a baby came along. I watched several transformations from self-centered kid to reliant kid. :)
      Blessings,
      Leslie

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  13. Tough times looming on the horizon here. more cuts in hours loss of shifts. My income will be liveable but only just and nothing to spare. Dried out some leftover bread and made crumbs. Put buckets out to catch the rain water. Collected water from the washer to use for flushing the toilet. Menu planning from the freezer. Bought some cheap cleaning supplies sponges scrubbers $5 all up to stockpile. Had a few dollars on a gift card so 3 tins of soup 3 tins cat food and 2 pasta sauces went to stockpile. Bought some cheap apples and pears dried out most and made some sauce for the freezer. I don't owe much but I want my credit cards cleared before my wage drops. I bought Lynx deodorants and shower gels half price to put away for Christmas. Saves 5 dollars on buying the gift set. Thankfully I have until July 1st to get myself sorted out. As they say life wasn't meant to be easy! Leanne

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    1. Dear Leanne,
      Oh no I am sorry to hear this! I really am. You re not alone. It is somewhat good you have a warning to get prepared, at least you can plan a little bit. I hope though that you can find savings or something that comes up to help balance the books more easily. I am hearing this a lot and even those who's income is staying the same are finding prices and health insurance and so on all going up. As it turns out quite a few ladies are talking about ways to generate a little bit of side income... and we have some posts on this coming up. Patsy at A Working Pantry has good posts on building their emergency fun and starting a little business and how she is doing it step by step. And developing extra incomes generally. The thing is they dont have to be big. It might be one thing that makes $50 a month and another that makes $100 but together they fill gaps. I am a terrible seller but I set the gaol to average $100 a month in sales which again isn't very much but something!
      Some of Vickys and Mimis tips on grocery savings are very good too. I hope you find many bargains also that help you keep ahead in the pantry. It all helps! With love and hugs, Annabel.xxx

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    2. Dear Leanne, please know that as much as the times ahead may be difficult, you will get through them. I think all of us here can help you with tips and advice so do not hesitate to ask. I've been through some horrendously difficult financial times. Some lasted years. But I eventually got on top of things. Sending hugs. You can do a lot between now and July 1st. I hope it was okay for me to comment Annabel. Mimi xxx

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    3. Dear Annabel, what a lovely week, and the prospect of another. Scarlett walking is exciting, but so is wedding gown try-ons! Your quinces, cupcakes and rug all look gorgeous, but then I wouldn't expect anything less from you. I had a strange week, but still managed to be productive last week. It's funny how just wanting to have something to write down, motivates you sometimes. Love, Mimi xxx

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  14. Thanks for sharing your adventures in oils. Yet another idea to tuck in "my notebook." ;)
    Those bags are lovely.
    My family does so much better when I'm home. I gushed to a friend a few weeks ago over how I Looove homemaking. I was particularly thankful because I had said,"no" to an event so I could tend to the home needs.
    Blessings,
    Leslie

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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.