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 29 August 2019

Feather your Nest Friday, 30 August, 2019.

I am happy to report this week was much better and Dad is doing pretty well.  So it was a much more normal week.  
We had some rain and we are glad of that.  Things look so green and nice and that is something to be very grateful for.  And here we are...  the very end of winter.  Our first farm winter.  I loved it.  The wood fire was going and I still lived outside so much as with the animals and garden, chickens and bringing in wood I am outside a lot.  It has been beautiful.

On Tuesday I had a call from Luke.  Would I possibly be willing to take another calf?  Yes!! I sure would!  And so he came to the door and in the front seat of his ute he had a baby boy calf who was tiny.  Just a few days old we think.  He is so cute!
I named him Loui.  He took to the bottle in minutes.  Thanks to my animal pantry I had everything I need on hand and had a bottle made up in minutes. He is very easy to feed.



Well I love him!  The first day I had him tethered. From then on he has roamed free in the orchard yard.  He moved into the little hut made from the rain water tank.  He loves it. We added fresh hay.


Now he comes when I call.  He runs around the yard leaping and bounding.  He wags his tail when he sees you.  He is just so cute.  He made my week!

So some of the ways I feathered my nest this week included:

I used up cream and made some quiches.

I made a carrot cake and peanut butter biscuits to take to the girls...




I dried Bay Leaves and got them packaged up:


It was an experiment but I bought a meter of pure silk and tore it into strips to make a rustic ribbons.  Then I dyed it soft antique colours.   It is for antique effects in card making and on sachets  (like the ones I made earlier in the top of the picture) and so on.  I am really pleased with how they turned out and packaged up some for gifts as well.


The grey blue dye I already had.  The others are tea, coffee and the pink is food colouring with a bit of coffee.   This was really fun to do and I can't wait to use them on my cards.  (hopefully next week!)

Yesterday I made Chloe and Luke a chocolate cake plus one for Andy.  Most is sliced and frozen for when needed. 


In the garden I have been getting ready for Spring planting and hope to being early planting this weekend.   In the orchard the new fruit trees all have buds and are about to flower!  They are looking so promising!  

Scout is growing like a rocket and is so good.  She loves to learn. Her favourite toy is this frisbee...



You have to play with her. She talks you into it.  She places balls, frisbees, sticks in you hand then runs and sits in a crouching pose WAITING for you to throw whatever it is.  And everyone does. No one has the heart not to!

My chickens are now laying nine eggs a day!  This is the most so far and on the way to the dozen a day I am hoping for.

We also made the investment into a bigger freezer.  I had a space we could put it in the laundry.  We got the biggest capacity freezer we could get for the space.  Now if I am offered venison or anything else I have room to say yes please.  Lately I could only say yes to what I could cook as I just didn't have the space.  I think this is a really good investment. 

I needed collars for Laffie and Loui.  I need to be able to lead them i.e. from one paddock to another.  big leather collars are expensive!  I found old leather belts and Andy put holes in the right places and cut them down.  They made very stylish collars for free.

Life changes so much with the seasons.  I have loved winter and am sorry to see it end but Spring is full of planting and opportunities to set ourselves up for some wonderful harvests.  So this is going to be a busy time.  I had some practice last year and my garden is already set up, I can just add to it and fill it more.  I think being self sufficient as you can be is a good idea.  Whatever happens you have produce, possibly eggs, fruit... this gives you a buffer against prices and hard times.  It is healthy too. Being in the garden is so much healthier than in front of the TV.  We do reap what we sow.  Get sowing whether it is in the garden or in other ways from handiwork to something you always planned.  Little steps each day really get you there and add up!

I hope next week I can get back to my Nanna series.

How did you build up your home, savings, pantry this week?  Have you made any good investments lately or is there one you are planning? 

Have a lovely weekend! xxx












37 comments:

  1. Dear Annabel,

    I think maybe my comment from last week got lost, but I just wanted to say that I am so glad your Dad is better. I knew he would be! Your silk is beautiful! And it is amazing to think that you are at planting season again already! You are such an inspiration!

    We are having a post-tropical storm at the moment, with lots of rain, which we needed after the last few weeks of drought. I won't be able to get into the garden for a bit, as it is so wet, but the plants really needed a big drink, so it's all good. I hope to send you a photo of the dress, soon. Hope you have a lovely weekend! Wish I were there to enjoy a piece of that chocolate cake!

    xx Jen in NS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Jen, It was me, I jus published some comments and saw yours, sorry it was me bing slow. (ok very slow!)
      I am glad of the rain for you. When it is raining here often I have to delay things or dont get so much done but I always think ok the rain is worth more than any job I could be doing. It is doing more good than I can. And it is true.
      thank you re Dad. I am pleased to report he is a bit better each day, even though he over does it! With love Annabel.xxx ps cant wait to see dress!

      Delete
  2. You’ve been busy! Louie is precious and that is the best looking carrot cake I’ve ever seen. Y

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! This sprinkling of icing sugar over a pretty doily is the easiest way to decorate a cake ever! It looks pretty and there is nothing to it! Lucky for me as I am not very good at cake decorating ! xxx

      Delete
  3. Hi Annabel,
    Love little Loui💖💕another doll baby to add to your herd :). So glad he took to a bottle right away and loves the little silo/shed.
    No one would want to disappoint smart little Scout :D. She's such a sharp girl.
    Wow, nearly a dozen eggs a day! That adds up fast. It's wonderful you're sharing them with those in need as well as with family.
    Pretty cake and dyed ribbons you made.
    I dehydrated (oven) my first stalk of celery today....talk about easy-peasy! It's fun, too...and none of the thing went to waste.
    We are talking about getting a chest freezer as our fridge/freezer is too full as it is. Just waiting to learn how much Mike's truck repair is going to cost. Should know tomorrow.
    I feel your excitement to get your Spring garden started. Gotta run~xxoo Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Mary, Loui is the cutest. And Scout. They are becoming little friends too.
      I must try dehydrating celery. I started dehydrating last summer. I will do much more this year. I had success with apples, pears and figs and vac pack they have been wonderful. So I can expand a lot.
      I hope you can get a freezer. If you can find special or bulk buys and meat goes up like it has here this would be a great advantage.
      So now I hope the truck comes in under budget!
      Thanks Mary, with love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  4. Another darling calf! Louie fits him perfectly! Your baking looks so delicious and Scout is an adorable dog. Our Coco is getting old and doesn't play anymore. The ribbons you made are so pretty. I am so tired from chronic fatigue and the sepsis but I am till looking forward to your Nana series. I really enjoy reading all you do. You will love your freezer. We have two and I am so glad. Nancy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Nancy, I am so sorry you are feeling so low. Your system will take time to recover that is for sure. Please drink masses of pure water. And rest. Do not push yourself too much. Day by day I hope you feel improvements.
      I hope to be back on track with my Nana series and will work on it over the weekend.
      Rest up and have a good weekend. Love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  5. Love your posts Annabelle, and I love the idea of belt collars for the big pets!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Earthmotherwithin... I looked at big dog collars and nothing was big enough for Laffie. And expensive! I see leather belts in op shops all the time but Mum had one and I had one in the cupboard. They look nice too! Favourite price = free lol! xxx

      Delete
  6. Building the pantry. Since I too, live in the country, on a farm in the central USA, I have a deep pantry and 2 freezers. It took me a few years, as a young farm wife, to understand the wisdom in having these. Even though we are only 15 mins away from our small town & only 30 mins from the city; and I work in our small town; I still do not want to go to the grocery or any store every day. It is true, you save a lot of money if you stay out of the stores. :)
    Over the past few weeks we have purchased 1/2 of a butchered hog from my boss. I will get organic chickens again in Sept. My last delivery was in July. I only get 6 at a time; so I can cut them up the way we like them. 18 chickens will provide enough meat and bone broth for us for a year. We won't get another delivery until June 2020.
    We took in our fat butcher steers this past week. We will keep 1/2 and have sold all the rest except for 1/4 we give to our Pastor as part of our tithe. I love not having to pay for beef in the store. I also feel safer knowing where our meat & eggs come from. I am working on a better option for local cream & cheese. Our honey is also local.
    I bought a 20# lug of peaches and made 3 batches of jam from them, and also left about 8 to eat fresh. While the jam is a bit too sweet for me, it will make great gifts at holiday time. Next time I will try the low-sugar kind of pectin.
    After 15 years our pear tree finally bore enough to actually pick and use. I canned 14 pints of halved pears. I have quite a few left that are ripening on the porch. I plan to make some cakes or quick breads and store in the freezer.
    We had no garden this year. Only a few gifted tomatoes and cucumbers. I really don't need any of these except to eat fresh. I have plenty of salsa, relish and frozen zucchini for another year.
    We've been trying very hard to eat out of the pantry and freezers for the past months. The places I need to restock have not been on a good sale yet. All I'm seeing is higher prices. Makes me wonder what the winter will be like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Kay, I am loving hearing about your life in the US and your pantry and freezers. You are doing so well. Many are saying this, like you that the prices are higher. We had pears in summer. We have two trees and two varieties. I found it so hard to know when to pick them! One lot ripened well inside. The others remained hard. I will know more this year.
      It is a very good way to help your Pastor with the meat. I hope you do not have an extreme or hard winter... I am worried about our summer. But meanwhile I will enjoy and make the most of Spring. One day to go!
      Thank you so much for commenting, love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  7. Dear Annabel, I am so happy to hear your Dad is improving. I will keep up the prayers for him. I love Loui. He would melt your heart! He looks sweet. I love the goodies you have made to take to the girls. The plate is even pretty and I love the pattern on the cake. I love how you put baked goods in tins. Do you line them with a tea towel? It looks good for transporting. Your ribbons look so pretty. I love how you have packaged them. You make everything look beautiful- you have such an artistic flair. Scout looks so cute. It's great being outside. I need to spend some time in the garden on the weekend. It is so much better than sitting and watching tv. I have washed the bedding and cleaned out the fridge today, plus organised photos. That feels good. I am looking forward to putting in the groceries into a clean fridge. I would love to get another freezer just for cooked meals. I think it would save a fortune....We have two small ones already, but one is just for meat. It would be great to say...what is for dinner? And go to the freezer. Plus little bits could add up...I got H a little bike for $5. He doesn't care that it is second hand, he is just enjoying riding it. Lots of love, Bridge

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Bridge, The doily and icing sugar is a really quick way to decorate a cake and looks nice. I always line the tins with a pretty paper napkin or a cloth napkin. Bigger baskets a t towel. They travel better and it looks nicer.
      I love a clean fresh fridge! Also I feel when it is neat and organised I know what I have and dont waste anything. Keep an eye on FB buy swap and sell etc as often I see fridges and freezers come up. Ready made meals are so helpful.
      The bike is great! Little kids dont care or notice and just love everything. It is great.
      Bridge most of what is on TV upsets me! I even watched Play School with the girls a while back and it had a scene that I could not believe was on a kids tv show! I took about a week to stop being outraged. I can handle football. So I am better off in the garden for sure.
      Have a lovely weekend. Like you I will be in the garden getting an early start on spring planting! With love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  8. Dear Annabel, Oh my goodness Loui is so sweet, thankyou for sharing the photos of him. I love his perfect black hooves. The rest of your photos are so gorgeous too, you certainly achieved much this week. I love this Spring is here weather, I have had 14 daffodils come up and they make me smile everytine I walk past them. I have been a bit too much away from my home this week but still managed to make choc chip cookies, anzac biscuits, 64 sausage rolls and all meals. My daughter had drawn a cute turtle with cycles for Maths at school and accidentally copied it two extra times - I cut both out and stuck on cardboard for the grandfathers for a card each for Fathers Day. My husband put up one piece of well placed lattice in one section of our verander. This has made a huge difference as it has created the illusion of much craved privacy at our back door. We both are so surprised that this little change has made us feel so much better . I also cleaned my washing machine this week too - no more marks on my clothes. I must write this on calender and do more regularly. We are off to see family this weekend - our car will be full of food to share and at least three deliveries saving me much on postage. Thanks again Annabel, your posts are so inspiring, love Clare

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Clare, I am noticing many flowers out here too! The roads here are lined with wattle and it looks beautiful.
      Your cooking is amazing! I am not sure the size of the sausage rolls but full sized ones are around $5 here so that would equal almost $400 worth. Even party sized ones it would still be worth a fortune!
      It is amazing how much better appliances work when cleaned. I am trying to note to do these things more often too.
      Have a wonderful weekend visiting family! They will appreciate your cooking for sure! With much love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  9. Hi Annabel!
    That's great news that your Dad is doing well, I hope you all got some time to recover this week. Loui is cute! You must have been pleased to be so organized when he showed up! I'm really happy for you with the freezer. That will make such a difference. And you will no doubt fill it quickly!

    I have had a week of constant running around and I am very grateful that it is Friday night! I did manage to hang washing each day before we went out, so that was a big bonus. And I planned meals that were easy or could be doubled to give us a meal ready to heat on a busy night. Next week we also have a lot on, so I will get as much preparation done in the weekend as possible.

    I found a beautiful duvet cover with applique butterflies on it at the op shop. It was $1, the brand retails here for over $100. It had some permanent marker stains on it, but I thought at the very least I could cut it up for other projects. After a quick search online, I sprayed the marks with hairspray, soaked it overnight, then washed it the next day. Not a single mark in sight! I couldn't believe such an easy method worked so well. I was thrilled. As is my five year old!

    I also found a wooden tea set, also $1, and some rugby boots for the same. So I was pretty happy with those finds!

    I keep meaning to email you some photos, I must do that this weekend!

    Have a lovely weekend everyone
    Jen in NZ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Jen, I bet that cover was in the op shop because of the marks! haha like my vac was on the side of the road I bet because it cut out with a dirty filter. Well lucky us! It is so nice your little girl loves it! You had great luck!
      I hope you do email me! I love your photos. Also I could do a Blog Tuesday Club which I havent done in a while.
      After your busy weekend do have a bit of a rest. But you had a good week! With love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  10. So happy your Dad is doing well. I have kept him in my prayers.
    Oh, what a cute calf. You are getting so many animals. I can't help but wonder if you are collecting 'pet' farm animals or will you ever be 'using' them. If I named them they would be pets!
    I love hearing about your farm.
    Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Cheryl,
      Thank you for praying I really appreciate it and gosh we have had some answers.
      I think the animals will be either pets or a bit of both i.e. Laffie might have a calf eventually. Blossom is my "lawn mower." I think they will mostly be here and with luck will have babies and increase. I do love them. They all come when I call them. They all love biscuits (cookies)
      Thanks so much Cheryl, I hope your week is going well! Love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  11. Annabel Louie is so cute as is Scout putting things in your hands to throw to her. Your baking, ribbon dying, and sachets look divine :). So happy that you were able to get another freezer as you can never have enough freezer space from what we have found. We have 2 x 400 lt freezers and could do with yet another really.

    Our Vicky challenge added up to $362.09 in savings last week :).

    In the kitchen -
    - Cooked all meals from scratch.

    Bargain grocery & medical -
    - Purchased a grocery e-gift card from RACQ saving 5% or giving us $13.89 in free groceries.
    - Topped up on an additional carton of full cream powdered milk and a carton of baking choc chips for additional food storage.
    - Picked up 2 x 2 lt bottles of orange juice on clearance for $2.50 each saving $5.
    - Purchased 4 x 6pk of wholemeal and white bread rolls on clearance saving $3 on usual prices.
    - At IGA on clearance I purchased a 2.134 kg pork shoulder roast for $8.54 saving $8.53 on usual prices. We have had one roast meal and will have two nights of a homemade pork and vegetable home made pie and a lunch from the rest working out at just near on $1.06 per meal for each of us.
    - While at the op shop they were giving away a huge trolley load of red capsicum so we brought home 5 large ones weighing about 2 kg saving $15.80 over purchasing them. We diced them and put them in 7 meal sized sized portions for the freezer.
    - Got DH's pain medication for a few months on a bulk script saving $71.50 over buying them per box on prescription. I also got 5 months worth of my medication to save trips into town to fill scripts.

    Op shop and new clothing bargains -
    - From an op shop I picked up new with tags a pair of jeans, a pair of 50 + hard yakka work jeans, near new pair of jag jeans, a zip up tracksuit top, a pair of cotton capris and a wool jacket all for $5 bargain. The hard yakka work pants new are $50 - $65 ea new in other stores.
    - As my track pants and tops are near worn out from Millers on end of season clearance and for $10 ea I purchased 3 pairs of track pants and tops, and two waterproof long padded jackets. The jackets alone in other stores are $60 - $80 ea at normal prices.

    Ebay Listings -
    - Listed 19 items on a free listing promotion saving $31.35 on usual listing fees.

    In the gardens -
    - DH put the heavy duty chicken wire on the front of the garden beds and made gates by using star pickets with wire so we can fold back the wire to plant and till. It is now covered in wire, kangaroo proof and ready to plant.
    - I went through our saved and purchased vegetable seeds and found we only needed to purchase heirloom bean and corn seeds which I ordered on eBay.
    - I can't wait to get my hands in some dirt, get outside and plant things in the gardens as I have not been allowed out in the sun until my face is healed more :).
    - Used grey water pumped from our grey water tank to water fruit, berry and ornamental flower gardens.
    - Used saved rain water from recent showers from runoff from our tank shed roof to water potted plants and herbs.

    We still need lots of rain here as the local farmers are having to put down starving kangaroos, so sad :( , and most homes are out of rainwater and need water to fill their dams to water stock.

    Hope everyone has had a wonderful week :).

    Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Lorna, Oh to hear about starving kangaroos. That is shocking. It shows how desperate things are. No words...
      You will have to be careful with sun on your face full stop. The treatment makes you very sensitive and you need to be so careful. A big hat always!
      Well as usual you achieved such a lot and had great savings. The capsicums were such a bonus. I feel they add a lot of nutrition to a meal. I often throw then into a casserole for extra richness.
      The clothing savings were huge! What good finds. Thank goodness for good op shops. They still exist, especially in the country I think.
      I am doing something similar with chicken wire around my veggies. I need fencing I can move or are down to get in and dig or plant. But with a dog, rabbits and who knows what I need the protection of a fence. That is on the plan for this week.
      It was good you were able to further add to your pantry plus the bread specials. Freezer space is a big thing... I am so thrilled to have more. I also buy bread and rolls on big markdowns. They just about fill one of my freezers!
      I hope you get some rain. Replenishing your rainwater and watering the garden and area for the animals. Using your grey water is excellent. I have always tried to do that.
      I hope you have another wonderful week! With much love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  12. Early autumn here in Norway, and I am starting to pick my runner beans at last. The apples are heavy on the trees and I thinned them down ahead of a storm and have used some of the still underripe ones as cooking apples, making a deep apple pie. Plums and greengages are ripening too.

    My father in law discovered one of his freezers had broken down ( luckily in time, the food was still frozen) but it has been a bit of a scramble to redistribute an entire chest freezer full of meat and berries! I used some of the raspberries to make jam, and will do the same with the black currants; they were frozen in 1993...what does everyone think?? My father in law says frozen is frozen :)

    I mended my husband’s dyne; the down filling was puffing out, and when I examined it I found it had a lot of tiny tears in the seams and fabric! It is almost worn out, but will last a while longer now. And thinking of bedlinen, my father-in-law asked me if I wanted to turn out the linen press, which was full of vintage towels, sheets, pillow cases and dyne covers. He wanted to get rid of them all, so I boxed them up and brought them home with me! I shall sort through them better after harvest is over, but I am going to make some more beeswax wraps with some of the jolly 1970s designs, for my daughter who is starting uni next week (yikes!)

    On the farm front, our Farm Co Op has a really good sale on animal feed stuffs, so I loaded the car with a seasons worth at 50% off! ( They are rebranding their products, so these were the old design sacks!)

    I haven’t had a lot of time to treasure hunt recently, but did find a lovely liberty print skirt, a couple of Rosamunde Pilcher anthologies and a blue glass Ball mason jar in one charity shop all of which were bargains and came home with me.

    On Sunday we will take oat sheaves and sunflowers from our fields to church to decorate for the harvest festival.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Gill, I think Autumn in Norway must be beautiful!
      It was wonderful if the freezer had to break down it was noticed in time and the food shared around. Now the berries where they really froze n 1993!? Well I bet my Mum and Dad have things this old. Funnily they might be ok but I wonder how many people would try them?
      The linens could be very useful! Retro prints would be perfect for many things and the beeswax wraps will be great!
      Stocking up on animal feed is really good. I am trying to do the same when I see good prices.
      The blue glass jar would be beautiful. I love jars so much!
      I love the sound of the harvest festival. How beautiful. Thank you for sharing your week! With love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  13. Awww, Loui is so cute! And Scout is just like my dog Huckelberry: he drops his frisbee on your lap or feet, then stands wagging his tail and looking expectantly at you to play. Resistance is futile, as they say!

    My week was spent catching up on some mending, making jam from figs
    on our trees for Christmas gifts, and making some little bird baths for the hummingbirds that entertain us on our back porch. The vegetable garden is pretty well done for the summer, so all that's left is to take out the spent plants and plant some cover crop in the beds, which I'll probably do next week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Chipmunk, Yes resistance is futile! exactly!
      How I would love to see Hummingbirds. I only more recently realised how tiny many of them are!
      Fig jam is beautiful. It will make great gifts!
      I am just beginning to plant my Spring garden. We are in opposite seasons! I love Autumn however so you will hopefully enjoy the change and rest from gardening and produce. (I am always tired by the end of summer and all the jam making etc!!)
      I hope your week is going well! With love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  14. I am so happy for you all that your dad is better. Praying for continued healing.

    Louis is so handsome. He and Lauffy are going to get along great. I miss calves and cattle. They are the best.

    I haven’t posted either here or on the Tuesday Afternoon Club for a couple of weeks. Life gets in the way sometimes. For me it has been work that is picking up speed.

    I did have some good weeks though. We canned, froze and pickled 80lbs of beans, 50lbs of beets and now am working on fruit. Finally cases of British Columbia peaches have arrived. I got the last one priced at $9.99 a huge saving. Blueberries have also been abundant in B.C. so us on the prairies are reaping from their overage. Blueberries were purchased at $1.00/lb. The water pump for our area has broken. We have been asked to use very little water, so no more canning till it is fixed. As it is the start of a long weekend here, it probably won’t be fixed till next week. Thankfully most tenants in the apartment building go away for the weekends. I will switch to dehydrating and freezing instead and may go to my daughter-in-laws if we absolutely want to can. We still need to do corn and tomatoes.

    In other frugal living, while I was in the stores, they had butter on for $2.99lb usually around $5.95lb. I got 12 of the unsalted ones. I also hit on dome meat deals - chicken thighs, ribs, tenderloin steak, hamburger and stew meat. I bought what I could. All were on sale plus one had an extra $5.00 in store special taken off.

    Thank you once again Annabel for all the work you put in for us gals to see.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love your screen name! Well you have been incredibly busy with work and preserving. You have done so well. What a huge amount! The peaches will ba beautiful. I know it gets exhausting but then suddenly it is winter and it is over. So there is this time of opportunity. Make hay while the sun shines is what I love to say. Thats what you are doing!
      Butter is a high price world wide it seems. I think it will continue to go up. Good idea to stock up at that price. I would do the same!
      Thank you for such a nice comment. I hope the new week will be a good one! With love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  15. Hello Annabel, and thanks for posting again about your lovely week. It’s ALWAYS motivating to me. I’m glad your dad is improving. Lovely to get a new little friend for Laffie, do they get along?

    My week has been topsy turvy!

    I’ve caught a nasty virus. More than a cold. I’ve had fevers, headaches, chills etc all week! But I’ve had to try and push through most of it, because we have a rental property that we built 18 years ago, and our long term tenants moved out, we knew we would need to repaint and spruce it up a bit, but when we inspected the place, we discovered it needed a lot more work than we thought! We are looking at paint, new floor coverings, new window coverings and a new kitchen!!!! It’s a huge job! Luckily hubby and I can do most of it ourselves, but one or both of us have and will be out there everyday until the job is done! After the first inspection I was wide awake until 1.30am, thinking and planning all that had to be done, Eventually I remembered the saying “How do you eat an elephant?”...One mouthful at a time! And that calmed me down somewhat. It’s as you said (and have said many times before) it’s amazing what you can achieve if you do a little bit every day! So we will be cracking on with it for many weeks to come! It’s already proving hard to put a meal on the table every night and keep up with the housework while renovating all day (it’s times like these I wish I had more frozen meals on hand, and I’m kicking myself for not preparing more in the lead up to this, we had 1 month notice they were moving out, so I should have prepared better!) But I’ll work hard, and do the best I can, we will get there!

    And on that note, enough screen time for me, we are ripping up tiles today!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Der Cheryl,
      Well I hope the tiles are all up and that job is out of the way! I know how messy that one is! I hope you are feeling much better and are over the bug.
      It is a very big job when tenants move out. Thank goodness that your husband and you can do it. I hope you can find good tenants then that will look after the place.
      The slow cooker can be an answer when out all day. Even for a component of a meal. It is seriously hard to come home when exhausted and cook when you need to collapse! I hope things have gone well since you commented. Progress will make you feel better about it. With love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  16. What an adorable calf! Congratulations on your new baby. Beautiful ribbons and sachets.
    I have been adding to my stores this week. We asked a man in our neighborhood to pick from his crabapple tree. He consented and we have 13 jars of jelly in the cellar so far. Of course, the kind tree owner received a jar. ;) During the summer, I scout out for elderberries when they are blooming. Now is the time to harvest those lovely healing berries! I harvested 5 gallons and am in the process of canning syrup and drying berries. Oh, how I love this time of year!
    Blessings,
    Leslie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Leslie, I am so glad you asked that man to pick the crab apples. How lovely! So nice you returned with a jar. I bet he is happy for you to come pick them next year to. I have made many friends this way.
      I would dearly love to pick Elderberries. Here they are a thing only purchases in medicine from in the health food shop. I would also be searching for them for the health benefits. Make the most of them! How wonderful.
      It is so good you have been able to add to your stores. That is a very good week. With love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  17. Annabel, I checked last week's comments and see that you are well aware of the danger of cute farm animals...I have a healthy respect for them myself having grown up in country setting and having heard the true but awful stories that can occur even with care. Thank you for reassuring me.
    Here in my portion of the US we are seeing the beginning of harvests of peanuts and hay; sorghum and cotton will likely be harvested in the coming weeks. It's been a good year I think for our farmers, not having the delays in planting that Kay's part of the country experienced this spring and early summer. Hunting seasons begin here in the next week or so and we've seen many hunters preparing their base camps, putting in wood supplies and clearing up about their sites.
    Like all the rest of the world we are seeing an increase in prices even in my beloved Adi store. I'm learning once more to watch for good sales at other stores. An interesting study done by another blogger showed that in the U.S., Aldi actually came in second to Walmart in grocery prices which is rather surprising to me. I do prefer my Aldi but yes, returning to old frugal habits is not that difficult when I see I'm having to stretch harder to keep spending in check!
    My fall wardrobe this year is supplemented by thrift store purchases for the first time in my life. I've never bothered with clothing in thrift stores in the past but I've been inspired by some very fashionable vloggers to brave the search and am astonished at what can be found. I think I'm $35 all in which is awesome!
    Have enjoyed all the comments thus far. It's wonderful to find we are each a part of a global community! It really does bring the world into better focus doesn't it?
    Have a great week! Oh yes, I am too am happy your dad is doing better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Terri, Today I found out a full grown Angas bull can weigh one ton (1000kilos) That is 2204 pounds! So yes an affectionate animal this size can squish you!
      I have had many amazing finds in thrift stores. Absolutely amazing. It is kind of work to do it but I find it fun. Like thrill of the hunt! And of course you find other things too along the way. You have done well.
      I do love also how we are a community and despite distance we are all trying to do the same things. We are such sisters in our efforts and gaols.
      Have a wonderful new week! With love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
    2. Annabel,
      I read your blog faithfully and greatly enjoy all the comments. Even though I am a grandmother I still learn things every week. I live in Texas but spend several months a year in Australia so for me your blog covers all the bases.(American baseball reference) This IS a community of like minded people, even internationally, and I think the world is a better place because of it. I really like the idea that we have so much in common no matter where we live. Thank you for giving us a place to meet and share.

      Delete
    3. Thank you so much! There is so much in common between Australia and Texas! Except a Ranch is called a Station here. We are very lucky to be able to encourage each other despite the distance. Thank you so much! Love Annabel.xxx

      Delete
  18. Glad to hear your dad is doing better.

    ReplyDelete

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.