Our week was far from normal. Everyone will know Australia is in the middle of a crisis with so many fires. Today is another potentially very bad day and there are states of emergency, the army and navy have been called in. They are actually rescuing people on to a Navy ship.
Our area has had one of these fires. On Monday we had to evacuate our home and it was a terrifying day. We are very lucky as we still have our house and all our animals are ok. Chloe still has her house next door. But today will be very hot again and a north wind... so we are on alert and waiting as basically there is a smouldering huge fireground that goes on for miles both west and north of us.
I am going to write a seperate post on the fire and what we learned preparedness wise over the weekend. I have been talking about preparedness for years now. Suddenly we have a situation where thousands have no food, water, they are cut off and have no communication, trucks in their hundreds are stranded so no food will get through to many areas either. And if it did well the supermarkets are closed as they don't have electricity... Some places may end up isolated for a long time yet. So this is worthy of a post of it's own.
Today I will think of what ways I did still manage to build up our home and get ahead. As we did have some "normal" days too!
After last weeks gift of a canner, equipment and jars I realised my neighbour was still giving me more! Every evening she dropped by with boxes of jars. And they just kept coming. Some mornings I would wake up to find more jars next to the back door. I felt like I had a jar fairy! Every day I washed jars. I have lost count now but all my kitchen cupboards now look like this:
And this...
There are three more but you don't need to see inside all my cupboards! :)
Oh, beautiful shiny and thick glass, many with that old green tint to them.
And I have more coming. I figure that if God is sending me this many jars then He must be planning to send me a whole lot of produce! I will be ready!
This week I started harvesting basil, tomatoes in all shapes and sizes and also Parsley Seeds.
I had three sad bananas so I quickly made a nice big banana cake and put that in the freezer.
Also I made a big batch of GF Gingerbread biscuits and I freeze them so when everyone else has snacks I have something too.
My neighbour also offered me succulent cuttings. Her Mum is elderly and used to have such a great collection and they are neglected now. So this is some of what I came home with...
I didn't waste much time and collected up all my empty pots and containers and planted them up. I still have many to go and now will make up some as gifts.
I love them!
I have many spots in the garden where things have failed so these areas will be filled with succulents too. So what a blessing!
Considering the week I am pretty happy to have had such good things to report!
Over on The Tuesday Club We have started the year by reviewing our craft supplies and natural resources, i.e. I have lots of old floral cottons, wools, cotton yarn, card making supplies, my natural resources include pinecones, antlers, Bay Leaves, Rosemary, Gum Nuts etc. We are working out what we can be making with what we have. There are some wonderful ideas already. We are hitting the ground running on making our gifts and putting things to good use.
Now I will work on a preparedness post while the experience is fresh in my mind. Today we are on a watch and act alert as we have foregrounds to the east and north of us.
When we returned home it was dark. This was our sky...
This is what hell looks like I thought.
I hope you have had a good week. Almost all Australian's now know someone affected by fires and many are in a crisis today. I hope you are all safe.
How did you build up your home, increase your preparedness, add to your pantry this week?xxx
Thinking and praying for those fighting the fires,and all of you affected by them.
ReplyDeleteAnnabel, I've been thinking and praying for you and all of Australia. I have a huge fear of fires, so this would be a very personal hell for me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful gift in the jars and the plants. You are right, God always provides and if He is providing jars, foodstuffs to fill them must be on the way as well.
This time of year (Winter in the US) I always do the Freezer/Pantry Challenge and will only buy produce and what little dairy we need. We'll eat out of the pantry and freezers for 1 - 3 months. Heaven knows we have enough food in those areas!
The Flu is rampant here in Nebraska. Farmer and I have been drinking our 2xdaily Kombucha, sniffing Thieves, drinking lots of water, washing our hands, getting plenty of fresh air and sleep. I'll be making some elderberry syrup this weekend to further our prevention methods. Neither of us can afford to be sick now with our work responsibilities.
I'll be working on declutering this year. I have 2 large garbage bags of clothing to donate and at least one smaller bag of toys. My goal is to get through our bedroom this month. We have MORE than enough clothing. I no longer work at an office that required "office casual" attire. I am very much "casual" now (jeans, tees, cardigans). Someone else should benefit from all my unneeded items.
It's going to be a challenging year at work, so I'm looking to simplify my home life as much as possible.
Again, know I'm praying for you all.
Kay (from Nebraska USA)
Annabel, I've been thinking and praying for you and all of Australia. I have a huge fear of fires, so this would be a very personal hell for me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful gift in the jars and the plants. You are right, God always provides and if He is providing jars, foodstuffs to fill them must be on the way as well.
This time of year (Winter in the US) I always do the Freezer/Pantry Challenge and will only buy produce and what little dairy we need. We'll eat out of the pantry and freezers for 1 - 3 months. Heaven knows we have enough food in those areas!
The Flu is rampant here in Nebraska. Farmer and I have been drinking our 2xdaily Kombucha, sniffing Thieves, drinking lots of water, washing our hands, getting plenty of fresh air and sleep. I'll be making some elderberry syrup this weekend to further our prevention methods. Neither of us can afford to be sick now with our work responsibilities.
I'll be working on declutering this year. I have 2 large garbage bags of clothing to donate and at least one smaller bag of toys. My goal is to get through our bedroom this month. We have MORE than enough clothing. I no longer work at an office that required "office casual" attire. I am very much "casual" now (jeans, tees, cardigans). Someone else should benefit from all my unneeded items.
It's going to be a challenging year at work, so I'm looking to simplify my home life as much as possible.
Again, know I'm praying for you all.
Kay (from Nebraska USA)
Please take care-so scary.
ReplyDeleteOh my! I can hardly think of how terrifying it must be there with the fires. It does look like hell to me too. We will continue to pray. I look forward to your post this weekend. Breathing must be challenging too.
ReplyDeleteThose jars are just amazing! What a blessing! I had three over ripe bananas too and made a dozen large banana chocolate chip muffins which we love. Most went in the freezer to pull out two at a time.
You have a huge savings there with those succulents and your potting is very pretty. They would be $4-6 for each plant here. I found deals on freezer bags for freezing bulk meat, dish liquid, and filters for our water system. I used gift cards earned on Swagbucks to buy 2 dozen half gallon Ball jars for food storage. I found $500 in the budget that was surplus and moved it to savings today.
Be safe dear one!
Dear Annabel, I thank you for posting in a positive way even when things are scary and you could be forgiven for missing a post or two. I am grateful as I have been worried about you and are relieved to see you post. We are relatively untouched where I live but I know that can always change. We watched the news last night and as you say the current situation is exactly the type of reason we need to think ahead. Today I tried to buy us smoke masks but they are all sold out even though no fire is in this area yet - just that everyone is starting to think after watching the events on telly. And the time for being teady is past. Thankyou also for being a great example of keep goingness - you also achieved alot this week - I love all those clean sparkly jars. I pray you all continue to stay safe. Love Clare
ReplyDeleteAnnabel these fires are terrifying. On New Years day we had a haze over Christchurch and the strong smell of smoke from the fires. Think how far away we actually are in relation to these fires. Do you know, I think I find them more terrifying than the prospect of earthquakes. Of course that's just me. The terrible loss of human and animal life is heartbreaking. It compounds the trauma you experience. I was thinking back to when you started preparing your emergency cellar, with a growing unease about uncertainty in the future. I think your insight into how federal and state politics were being played out, that essential work was being left to chance and not prioritised, contributed to your proactive stance. Politicians the world over can certainly be a self-serving bunch. "Forgetting" who it is they work for, the common good of all they're constituents and not just the few.
ReplyDeleteDo take care Annabel. That photo of the fire you posted looks scary and too close to your home and loved ones for my liking. I am thinking of you all the time through this and it's a real sense of helplessness at not being able to do anything other than to say I care.
Mandy(NZ)
Thanks so much Mandy. I heard the smoke was over New Zealand. I guess it probably still is depending on the wind. Today is a shocking day for the East states but much better for us. A cool change came late last night. We had worries over the change of wind direction so not much sleep. But things are much safer now! Ahh what a week. Thanks so much for your kindness. With much love Annabel.xxx
DeleteMany of us here in the States have been praying for you all.You certainly have many generous people in your life, those jars are amazing,ours here don't look like that. Also your plant provider is awesome. Besh wishes.
ReplyDeleteAnnabel so glad you and Chloe are okay and the fire did not reach your homes :) . It is so scary I do agree and I pray for everyone in these bush fire ravaged areas.
ReplyDeleteYou had lots of wonderful blessings this week with more jars, lovely succulent cuttings and wonderful harvests from your gardens :). Happy New Year to you and yours too.
We have not done a lot outside this week due to the heat unfortunately so we concentrated on doing things in shaded or inside the home areas.
Our Vicky challenge added up to $48.35 in savings last week :).
Home deep cleaning -
- We used grey water from the washing to clean down two tables, 2 chairs, a wood smoker and a tool cabinet and then wiped them over with fresh water to finish to get the dust and dirt off them.
- We swept half of the back patio to get leaves and dust off the concrete. Still have the other half to do and need to get rid of some rubbish.
In the kitchen -
- Cooked bread and meals from scratch.
Groceries -
- Took advantage of doing a top up grocery shop using a Woolworths $10 off $100 purchase with a code, $10 off with my Rewards card and weekly specials to save $23.60 on usual prices.
Pantry Building -
- With the discounts above and combining RACQ gift card 5% off discount I purchased 6 tins of apple pie filling costing $0 out of pocket to top up our pantry with.
Internet listings -
- Listed 15 items on an eBay free listing promotion saving $24.75 on usual prices.
Have a wonderful week ahead everyone :).
Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).
Lorna: Glad you are ok also. People have been inquiring about you over at The Prudent Homemaker Blog. Prayers for you continue. Much Grace.
DeletePatricia/USA
Dear Lorna,
DeleteWe really do have to plan our work around the weather. On hot days when I am not watering and feeding animals I am inside in the cool and I will work on something inside only. Then on a better day I will attack the outside work. I am glad you could add to your pantry. I hope it cools down for you. Today is is MUCH better here. A cool change came through. First we had to worry about the wind change so we did not get much sleep. But now the fires are out or under control (there is more than one to think about) and things are good. I am so tired!! I did some planting in the garden today but not too much other than that! I hope you have a lovely weekend! With love, Annabel.xxx
Annabel I am so glad you and your family are safe and out of danger. I have no doubt you would be tired always being at the ready to leave and worrying about other family members too. Good you have had a cool change come through :).
DeletePatricia thank you so much for all of your prayers and we are fine here currently with no fires close to us.
I tried to comment on Brandy's blog but it wouldn't let me for some reason so I will try again next week.
Have a great week ahead everyone :).
Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).
Dear Annabel, you and your family have been in my thoughts and prayers today. We saw that today and tomorrow are really dangerous days for fires. Will keep praying. Thank you for the post. I love your jars! Lots of love, Bridge
ReplyDeleteI pray you remain safe. I am only beginning to understand how difficult life has become for those in the evacuation areas. People are truly stranded.
ReplyDeleteWe have water, food and maybe not enough fuel but I do try to keep stock to hand.
Over the last few weeks I have discovered that my son is prepping seriously. I fall into the class of medically unwell and I doubt I would live very long without my medicines.
Annabelle I've been thinking of you and your entire country and saying prayers for you all.
ReplyDeleteI so hope the fires are able to be controlled soon.
Take care
Annabel,
ReplyDeleteEven during the midst of disaster you are still productive! I love, love your jars. I know many poo poo canning and don't see the point of it, but there are just so many good reasons to can. For one it definitely stretches the grocery budget beyond just jams and jellies. I absolutely love your jars! I am dreaming of the goodies you will fill them with. You can save a small fortune on bottled fruit and tomato products alone.
It has been pretty good here we have been keeping busy. I have to say I'm doing great without my own vehicle other than I may be missing out on some mark downs, but when I do get to get out and about I am diligent about looking for them and getting the most bang for my buck. I am only going about once sometimes twice a month, but the gas savings have been great haha!
I'm always so glad to see your posts because hopefully they mean you are ok. Every time I watch the news & see what is happening there I say a prayer for you, your animals...well, all of you in Australia and all the animals. The news is so horrifying I just can't imagine living it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you have all the positive canning things to focus on to carry you thru this time. I have a "problem" hoarding fabric but I love it so much because just holding/folding it and imagining all that I could do with it actually does help me through difficult times. It will take me away for a little while.
Everyone is praying for you.
Dear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteI have been keeping you in my prayers daily as these fires continue. What a devastating thing for so many.
Your jars are beautiful! It doesn't get much better than that. I have had the thrift store ladies tell me to be prepared because they are about to get more jars in that I can take. I am running out of room but I can't turn away free jars!
I am excited about the new year. This first week has seen a lot of work done in the pantry. I cleared out a few old foods (I'm getting better at rotating) and packaged a lot of things into glass jars. This helps me see what I have and how much, it takes up less space than packages, and I just think glass is healthier. Now my goal is to use up some of the unhealthy things we no longer eat. I used up several things this week in a use-it-up dessert.
I purchased almost all groceries on sale, and when I ran out of milk mid-week, I made do with powdered milk in the pantry. I repackaged bulk shredded cheese into smaller bags for the freezer, and we ate all meals at home.
I took John to the library to check out some books. He loves for me to read to him so this is our free treat. While I was there, I noticed two huge boxes of crochet books and magazines. The librarian told me I could take as many as I wanted. I only took 4 as I don't yet crochet and most of the patterns looked way beyond anything I plan to make. I asked around but nobody crochets anymore!
I finally got around to cleaning out the chicken coop and I added fresh straw to their nesting boxes. They are starting to lay again so I am getting ready! I also purchased their feed on sale and tax free.
Colton has been busy this week. He worked has worked 4, 48 hour shifts in the past 2 weeks, 2 of which were overtime shifts. This will really help with savings goals but we are glad things are back to his regular schedule again. He gave John a haircut. He submitted his college grades to his employer, and because he made A's in all his classes, he will be reimbursed for 90% of his college fees, as his classes were job related. A very nice perk!
One thing I want to prioritize this year is having a regular date night. Most of the time this needs to be free. This week I set up a little New Year party for us in the loft. I printed out free games from Pinterest and made decorations using what I had. I made white chocolate truffles to enjoy with a glass of wine. It was a lovely time.
Another thing I plan to work on is my Etsy shop. It has been on the back burner for awhile but I am ready to jump back in. I updated my page, started a couple of sales, and restocked a few items I had previously sold out of.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead and a wonderful 2020!
With love, Kelsey
Hi Annabel,
ReplyDeleteI wrote a comment on this post the same day you published it, but it must have got lost in cyberspace 😊 (likely my error LOL)
I just wanted to say I couldn’t stop thinking about you after I found out you had fled your home, but equally I knew because of your preparedness that if anyone could survive this it would be you. I remember you posting about all the bonfires you had to clear the land, and installing the sprinkler system!
I almost feel God used your work and preparedness to send a message to us all. You’ve been an example and a role model for so many people, and it’s really making me look hard at my own practices.
On building up my own nest this past week, I made several jars of mandarine marmalade from mandarine pulp I had in the freezer from last April, I made a few jars of mango chutney from gifted green mangos and I made a 10L batch of laundry liquid, so I’m off to a good start for 2020.
Annabel, continued prayers for your entire country to douse the fires and bring rain. Your preparedness information is very inspirational. The jars were a lovely gift. I never turn down free jars even though I'm not an experienced canner yet - but I hope to be in the next couple of growing seasons!
ReplyDelete*I cancelled our Amazon Prime subscription as the online shopping has slowed after the holiday purchases. I also returned an item that didn’t live up to my expectations and received a refund.
*I didn’t give up on a stain in a shirt I like to wear both at home and out and about. It took a couple of tries but finally got it out with Dawn dish soap so now the shirt is back in service.
*Used save chicken bones and organic vegetable scraps from the freezer to make delicious bone broth and then used that for chicken soup.
*Cashed out my Ibotta earnings for a $20 Amazon gift card and also received a $5 credit from Amazon due to bad service with a delivery. I was also able to earn $3 in the Ibotta app by placing my Walmart grocery pickup order through it.
*My husband used free materials to work on the addition to the workshop. We hope to be able to make products to sell as well as possibly do cabinet making from home.
*We accepted the gift of cow manure/old hay that has composted down into a beautiful soil additive for our new garden. I am excited to grow fruit & vegetables this year!
*We updated our budget and set financial goals for this year. We have started January with progress made towards our goal so we hope to maintain and see the improvements throughout the year.
*More on my blog here: https://www.cozyhomemaking.com/frugal-fun-homemaking-for-beginning-of-january-2019/