Random acts of Christmas kindness week 2.

Last week was a wonderful week! I like to think I try and be kind to people and help where I can but this challenge really IS a challenge and it made me look in new places and stretch my imagination further than usual. Doing it I started to think I don't really do anywhere near what I could be doing and I could be doing so much more. Big and small. After one week it's prompted a review of what we do and what we could be doing and some plans for next year. It is also full of demonstrations that giving doesn't have to be about money. In fact handing over the credit card giving can leave you wondering who gets the money and experiencing none of the joy of giving yourself.  It has been a really good exercise for me, so far!

And fun too. Each evening my husband and I sit outside and talk about our days. So the evenings  have become a chat about our random acts of kindness and some of the things that happened this week were beautful. Then we plan and plot other ideas!  Really a lot of fun and the feeling of the Christmas spirit has grown each day.

Andy seems to have an natural aptitude for giving things away so two nights while we talked I sat there and bagged up lollies (one night) and shortbread (the other night) I just bought a huge bulk bag of Christmas sweets and two huge boxes of shortbread to do this. With pretty cellophane and red ribbons it looked Christmassy. Well, they were enough to be a success as each night Andy came home with stories of who he gave them to and of praising up and thanking different people he thinks are amazing and of talking to some homeless people and just nice things.

One of the highlights for me was my afternoon at the nursing home. I headed off with a little Christmas tree I bought for $5 and a few decorations. I know Kath had not had her own Christmas tree for many years. And there are no decorations in their rooms at all. Firstly I had to hope she would be there and she was. She was so excited just to see me. I said "I am going to decorate your room for Christmas". This alone was beyond her comprehension. So as we chatted I unpacked the little tree and fluffed it out and it went from looking like a stick to a really nice little tree!

At that point she got quite excited! Ohh "I'm so overwhelmed" she kept saying. Then I added decorations and she just loved it. It was really fun to do and see her reaction. Since she is in bed most of the time I placed and angled the tree in a way she could see it from in bed and the best bits facing her way.

Earlier Kath had told me she loves angels and I made her some angel wings and hung them on at the end. She just loved them and couldn't believe I made them for her!

Once that was all up I said to her now she only needs some presents under the tree and I had brought with me a gift basket I had made up over recent weeks. Kath uses a certain type of hair clips, I had managed to get those, and other little treats.  So I sat the basket next to the tree.

I pretty much lived off her reaction for days. It was lovely.

Another lady we visit, Wilma, I decorated her room with tinsel and she also got a gift basket. I tried to make the baskets look pretty and cheerful. She was equally amazed. I noticed she had not one decoration or card. And the home had no decorations that I saw. Andy is following up, going in there himself for a Christmas visit and he has several men he talks to there as well. They discuss football and cars as far as I can tell. So he will go in with a goodie basket to spread around in a week or so.

During the week was it was our neighbours (over the road) birthday. I knew she had a difficult day and I used ribbons left over from the wedding to add bows to her letter box. They blew in the breeze and looked lovely. I just added a card. Well, she loved it!

Each day was filled with something special because of this challenge, thank you Janine!

This challenge would be the right prescription for anyone not feeling Christmassy. It is just wonderful and makes you step outside of what you normally do to think and see new things. Last week I found myself speaking to new people, getting to know others better and keeping my eyes open, wider than usual. And counting my blessings more than usual.

Now I am excited about this week!

I think, somewhere along the line, we came to believe that giving involved large cash donations. It became corporate style giving. It removed the giving from our hands and we paid someone else to do it! Well, thats how it seems to me. We don't have to have large amounts of money to give. Small acts of kindness and help are giving. And we get to experience the joy. Mother Theresa said "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love"

Just go out and do small things with great love. That's it. It will be the best Christmas!

Feather your Nest Friday 5th December.

20 days until Christmas! That's what I thought as I wrote "Friday December 5th"
For most of us December is very busy and an expensive month. I love it but it can be too busy and the budget can really take a hit. On the other hand it's a huge opportunity with some thought and planning to save a fortune!

Even if you have not made a present it isn't too late to make some homemade gifts instead of buying them. This would be one huge saving. I tend to do things in big batches, like my Coconut ice which I package into about twenty pretty little gifts. Also I make up several hampers of some of each thing I make. It also allows me to give away lots of small thank you/Happy Christmas gifts.

This week I saved money and built up my home by:

Picking lots of flowers and filling big vases.

Putting up our Christmas tree, decorations and fairy lights. It's created a lovely Christmas atmosphere. Setting the mood is a big thing. It FEELS like Christmas. And we began the Random Acts of Christmas Kindness Advent Calendar. This is so much fun and much of our evening conversation is about what happened in the day and planning ideas! Well, it makes a very happy atmosphere.

Mum gave me a bag of oranges from the river land. Beautiful huge juicy oranges.

A friend who knows I take things to the op shops gave me a couple of bags of things to take with my next  load. She had put aside a black leather bag she thought I would like and other things for me to consider and then take whats left to the op shop. Oh my goodness... this is what I got given to me as a result...

A beautiful black leather hand bag, an Oroton card holder, a mesh evening bag, a Jimmy Choo clutch bag and a sparkly carry all bag. I LOVE them all! I don't know what this haul is worth but something staggering.
Well,  that was so much fun and it is all my style and colours and I will use everything. I couldn't stop looking at it all. It was like Christmas came early.

Andy brought home a lovely bookcase for his office. Side of road find. He is so pleased with it!

I made Lemon Slice. I love this slice. It was for some neighbour gifts, the nursing home and random acts of kindness gifts (and to go with coffee at home)

This is the recipe...
2 packets Marie Biscuits. (or plain sweet biscuits)
1 tin condensed milk,
1 cup butter. (melted)
2 cups fine coconut,
Juice of a large lemon.

Crush or process the biscuits. I put mine in a large snap lock bag, squeeze the air out and seal. Then beat it senseless with a rolling pin, then roll that to make it pretty fine.
In a big bowl add your crushed biscuits, melted butter, condensed milk and lemon juice and stir all together.

Press this into a lined (I use non stick baking paper) tin. I use a medium cake tin or small baking tray.
Refrigerate. Ice with icing made with some lemon juice included so it tastes lemony.

Let set and cut into small squares. It is so delicious. My favourite slice. It keeps quite well. I would keep it two weeks although it would be a miracle if it lasted that long.

I took some cuttings of plants I really liked. I have had good success the last couple of years with cuttings, some are now huge plants. One of these is a pink hydrangea.

As I have wrapped presents I have found something for everyone in the collection of things I've made this year. Then add cooking and I have plenty.

The things I am needing for my cellar pantry I have been finding or re purposing. I need a sturdy basket to take up and down and I have used one intended as a hamper gift basket by just using a box instead for the gift. The basket was from the  op shop. It's just perfect for this job. I often find that... needing something then with a pause to look around you find the solution.

I hope you had a good week with some savings and that you count all your work as building up your home. Much of our work is KEEPING what we have already built up nice and fresh and clean. Today I am cleaning and tidying. All the cooking and wrapping etc has taken it's toll and I need to have a bless my home with cleaning day!


Some pictures... some of our climbing roses.

Our streets around us just now are lined with purple. If you park you car underneath it is purple the next morning and as the breeze blows it is like confetti. Just lovely. Adelaide is well known for thousands of these. They are Jacaranda Trees. 

And this is for Mimi. This is a neighbours yard to show you the Hollyhocks. If you look you can see in the middle and at the back how they are around the garden and very tall.

I really love the beautiful streets and gardens. Going anywhere is a joy, walking around is beautiful. 

The bird life is amazing. In winter even ducks and ducklings walk past. I was amazed at first as there are more birds here in the city than there were where I lived in the country. We wake often to Kookuburras' laughing.  All these things add to the joy of everyday. At times there are pink Magnolia trees on the streets around us, just now hydrangeas everywhere with huge blooms and agapanthus blue along the sides of many roads.  It really makes our surroundings lovely. I am thankful of this, it is beautiful. I try and soak in the lovely things I see, watch less news and be grateful.

Have a wonderful weekend. We need some time to refresh and restore. There can be so much on and to do in December that we miss the joy. Feel free to say no to some things. If you know what your number one mission is then it is easier to sort out what to say yes to and what to say you cannot manage this year thanks. We have to do that. If we say yes to everything we can lose everything. Some time to rest, relish the time, plan and sleep gives us a chance to see how beautiful things are.xxx

Beginnings of emergency preparedness. Part two of a series.

Last post I explained how I came to decide to build up an emergency pantry and and some emergency supplies. Since then my friend was caught in a terrible storm in Brisbane. It was so bad the army was called in to help afterwards. Helen told me the Queensland government have been urging everyone to have an emergency plan and supplies and have even had workshops to help people. Each state has its own information but here is part of QLD's which I am reading up on...  It is really good! Everything right down to what to store in your pantry. We should all look up what our local areas advise us to do.  I think printing things out into a folder is a good idea. Once our power was out and the phone hotline was a recorded message saying to go online and follow the advice. Well, that was great if you had power!

https://getready.qld.gov.au/be-prepared

After our decision to get started I worked on a plan. This is developing as I learn more but it's a start.

These are the things we DO have:
Emergency numbers in our phones.
Important phone numbers copied somewhere other than in my phone. If we lose our phones many of us have no copies of numbers and don't know them by heart. 
Copies of licenses, banking, passwords and all that kind of stuff.
A reasonable first aid kit and first aid guide.
A reasonably stocked medicine cabinet.
Gas for cooking when no power.
Candles that would last a few weeks if there was no power. These are mostly part of my decor. Plus matches etc.
Several torches and batteries.
A battery lantern with spare batteries.
A pantry with food that would see us through a couple of weeks.
A radio that will run on batteries. In a crisis a radio that doesn't need electricity is your news of what to do and whats happening. This is how the government lets you know what to do!
I have tons of shampoos, soaps, basic cleaning supplies and don't need to worry about things like that.

From a bit of a stock take and think I decided to add some water supplies to this as that is the first thing we lack. And to build up my existing pantry as much as I can. I had a clean out, re arrange and stock up. I am still doing that. Filling my jars, adding to my canned goods etc.

This week I wrote up all the emergency numbers in a place other than my mobile phone. I will keep adding but I have the basics.
I wrote up a plan of what to do if we know something is coming, a storm, power cut, shortage... (this list and details I will share next post)
I copied what Mum does. She keeps all emergency charts on the inside of her kitchen cupboards. What to do with a snake bite, emergency first aid... it's all on the inside of cupboard doors. We all know it's there and it's right in front of you when you need it.

I added three tarpaulins and three rolls of masking tape to our supplies. This is for in case in a storm windows break. We have a big tree out the back that belongs to the neighbour so this is very possible.

The next thing is to improve our first aid supplies and medicine cabinet. Things get used and not replaced or expire etc so getting that all up to scratch and adding things so that it really is pretty good.
I am just trying to do that even if it is one thing per week. Also since changing cars I realised I have no car first aid kit. So another thing to do.

The Later Day Saint blogs are so helpful. One thing I keep reading is that they encourage you not to feel overwhelmed and do something, however small, to make progress. Feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start can cripple us from starting at all! It is better to do something than nothing. It will add up. And to save some money in the same way, a bit at a time, as you can. Just start. 

Our cellar was set up to be a wine cellar by previous owners. We decided to keep one wall like it is for bottles as that can be water and all kinds of things in bottles and that might fit there. We decided to make one wall shelves and have sealed buckets behind the stairs which can contain packets  etc. 

This is the view when we open the door which looks like floor boards...

Possibly you can see why I found it intimidating. It looks like the pit of doom...

It needs a good clean, it has years of dust, cobwebs down there! But it is dry, no signs of any dampness at all. 

Once it's clean and it begins to fill with good things, I place a nice mat at the bottom and whatever else I can think of to make it less scary and instead an exciting treasure trove! 

Having decided we needed shelves (or to build some) we were out driving and we found this on the side of the road! Sturdy metal shelving perfect for canned goods and all kinds of things. How amazing and what timing! Aside of needing dusting it is perfect! What a bonus and good start. I looked online and metal shelving units for storage were around $200. 

Not everyone has a cellar and we are really lucky to have this. My friend who is also building up supplies has  purchased a metal filling cabinet to use to store food. Laine used to use under the bed spaces. You could use an old suitcase, a trunk, a linen press type cupboard. Install narrow shelves along a hallway, convert a wardrobe or walk in robe to be a pantry, convert book shelves ...you can be inventive. The Prudent Homemaker (a lovely blog) has a section of her shed as a pantry. (and it is one of the best pantries I have ever seen!)

Besides having supplies on hand the extra storage space means when things are on amazing specials you have room to buy up big. Some specials are so good this is your big chance! My friend Helen will see an incredible special and buy 50 cans of this or that. She saves so much money and has one of the best grocery budgets I know. Having storage space allows you to do this. Some huge savings come at times from a bulk buy and it depends on having that storage. 

Next post I am going to cover making a list of things to do if we know a storm, a shortage or an emergency is coming our way. Knowing what to do first can save a lot of time and panic and help us to not overlook something obvious that in a crisis and brain fade we might forget! 

Thank you so much for all the comments and things you shared after my first post on building up my pantry and preparedness. A lot of you have experienced first hand all sorts of emergencies and seen empty shelves from panic buying and amazing experiences. I am really grateful that we can encourage each other. This is a learning process and like all things you learn a bit then you learn a bit more! But encouragement is a big thing. You can know everything about a subject but do nothing. It is better to take baby steps and begin than do nothing and study. We have to put in practical steps. (Says me who has been thinking about this for a little while!) Even if you store one small thing this week and do something that will contribute to better preparedness I will be thrilled as getting the ball rolling is often the very hardest thing, then we get going we are ok!  I often do better when I join in with someone else on a challenge and report in. So that's what I'm doing here with you!

So that is my progress this last week.

This week I will get the cellar clean and sparkly, the shelves installed and some water stored. I am thinking after Christmas the sales will help me get some food stores.

Have a good week and just do a little bit toward your preparedness. xxx

Christmas and a challenge!

It's Christmas! The first of December I think it's officially Christmas and our decorations and tree are up!

I love Christmas. I have two friends, Helen and Janine, who love Christmas more than anyone else I have ever met. I don't need much encouragement but they both are so enthusiastic it is contagious!

This year Janine had an idea. It is the best idea I've heard of in a long time and I've asked her if I can steal it. As she likes spreading Christmas joy she advised me to go for it.

So... you know advent calendars where you get a little gift each day as you approach Christmas? The idea is to basically reverse it and to give a gift of some kind, be it an act of kindness, help, a gift, a surprise... something, to someone else, everyday leading up to Christmas. Janine called it Christmas random acts of kindness and thought up all kinds of things to do for strangers, people we know are in need, people we know who work hard all year in our schools, community, workplace and to watch for opportunities to just go the extra mile to do something surprising and unexpected for someone every day.

This is guaranteed to give you the best Christmas ever.

I told Andy about it. He loved it. And we began plotting what to do. He is always doing kind things to help people. But this was like permission to go over the top. So we are both going to do this and at the end of each day compare notes. Last year Andy gave blessing bags to homeless people as part of his Christmas effort.
As an advent calendar we are going to write little reminders of what happened each day and peg them to the Christmas tree. I made little bird pegs last Christmas... We know it will warm our hearts as we see this collection grow.

This would be beautiful the more of you the better. Imagine at the dinner table everyone sharing what their random act of Christmas kindness was. I think kids would love it!

Sometimes I hear someone say they don't like Christmas. I get that Christmas is a very hard time sometimes. But the feeling of joy, the joy that brings a tear to your eye, memories that are beautiful, the happiness of little children.... I love all of it.  Besides all of that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus and honouring Him. Christmas carols and lights do it for me, they bring in the emotional feelings... and planning gifts and surprises. That "I am going to cry" feeling of welling up and emotions taking over... that is the Christmas feeling to me. I am extra aware of things to be grateful for and of miracles at Christmas. Well, for anyone who has never felt these emotions or perhaps not in a long time... this challenge is sure to produce those kind of results. Old Christmas movies are wonderful and help you set that feeling too.

I am going to include one post a week until Christmas about the challenge and I would love you to join me. We are already having fun plotting and planning. And both of us need to come up with something each today! I can't wait to hear what Andy did today. I am helping him out this week by baking batches of biscuits, rocky road, lemon slice and fudge. I will make a batch of something each week and package them up.  I have many possibilities as I am going to the supermarket this afternoon and will be out and about.

It seems to take surprisingly little to totally make someones day. There are plenty of people that no one has said hello to, been kind to, thanked, or given a gift in quite some time. People who haven't had a pretty card or letter, flowers. People who can't afford a Christmas roast or presents under the tree. Those with thankless jobs, unsung heros who work hard and do good everyday. It doesn't take much...

I love the quote "don't wait for a miracle. BE someones miracle"I think Joel Osteen said this. How true. We can be someones miracle. Sometimes it's easier than we think.

So I am heading off to the shops and looking for a chance to bless someone. But I know I did one thing so far today as last night Chloe was here for dinner. I made her up a lunch box of leftovers to take to work today just like I always made her school lunch. She thought it was a lovely treat so that is a little thing for her today.

Have the most wonderful and blessed December. It really is a wonderful time of year. xxx

Feather your Nest Friday 28 Nov.

Here we are almost into December! It was a good but a bit hectic week. Plus I had a migraine which sets me back. I am lucky I don't get so many as I used to though. It was a mild week too which is a big help, everyone has more energy when it isn't hot.

Thank you for so many comments and emails on Wednesdays Pantry and Preparedness blog. I feel so convicted about the importance of this. If you are interested in the subject make sure you see the comments as they are full of experience and advice. I'm in awe over what some of my US friends have experienced! The last comment (as I write) is from my friend Helen. Yesterday she was in Brisbane when a shocking storm hit. The army has been called in to help and I am seeing it on the news. Oh my goodness. Helen says the QLD government has been urging people to prepare and even had workshops to teach people. But even so there have been families with no water in the house walking outside in danger to go to the shops and then finding them closed due to no power. So all this only adds to my determination.

So for Feather your Nest Friday we think about how did we build up our homes and save money this week. Many days I am doing what Laine did and listing my achievements for the day as I then focus on how much I got done and feel good about it rather than all the stuff I still have to do! It is nice to have that sense of achievement at the end of the day.

This week:

I made Apricot Balls for some small thank you/Christmas gifts and treats. They are really good and so simple. I collect chopped apricots (and dried fruits for cakes etc) when on special.

The recipe is...
500g chopped apricots. Finely chopped is best.
1 can (440g) condensed milk.
1 cup fine desiccated coconut.
Extra coconut to roll in. The balls, not yourself.

Mix all together and roll into balls. You can choose how big you want them. Roll into extra coconut to coat them. Done!
Package up, I usually do packs of 6. Keep refrigerated. I keep them for a couple of weeks.

These became little gifts for nine people I like to give a little something too for Christmas and as a thanks. Plus we did some "quality control"and ate some too.

Andy found salvaged some wood planks. So many possibilities!

I got him to cut them into chopping boards then I oiled them with olive oil. They will form the base for some gifts... a giant one and half a dozen smaller ones... The larger one I will cover in cheese and nuts etc as a hamper gift with the chopping board as the base and wrap it all in cellophane and a big ribbon.

So they were free and I really like them!

I have been assembling gifts I made throughout the year. I add together things that make sense in some sort of theme like here.... soaps I wrapped, wash cloths/cleaning cloths I crocheted, note pads I decorated... and choose colours I know my friends and family like. Starting in January makes all the difference! I get to December with so many things, half the time I have forgotten them but they all go into the present cupboard. This bit is really fun. I took years to reach the point where I really make most of my gifts but I finally do!

I made an under the kitchen sink shelf. I used a board that was the right length from the shed and two bits to hold it up so not cutting and no nails or anything BUT it works! It is stable and gives me a shelf to improve my space. This was the only cupboard that needed something and I saw an expandable under the sink shelf you can buy but then thought why don't I just do this? I could ask my husband but he is super busy with work just now. I'm kind of proud of my little invention! (although I can't see myself winning any wood working awards)

A $5 Woolworths card came in the mail. I will wait and use it on some good half price specials and turn  it into a $10 value... or maybe more in the after Christmas sales.

I gave Lucy a mixed bunch of herbs for her kitchen.

I picked roses, they have been beautiful and the hydrangeas are still coming out.

I hope you had a great week and have a lovely weekend. Today I am having a catch up day, wrapping some presents to post, getting lots of little things done and making a place to put the Christmas tree. Tomorrow the tree goes up! Usually I do this on Dec 1 but that is Monday so the weekend is better.

December is an expensive month for many people so we have lots of opportunities to save and Christmas gives us lots of chances to build a beautiful atmosphere in our homes. That is priceless and beautiful memories are made that last a lifetime. How exciting and beautiful! xxx

An emergency pantry. Part one of a series.

My family are in the country and you should see Mums pantry! They are a long way from town and having a good pantry is just necessary. If you run out of something you cant just pop into town!
They also need emergency things such as medicines, medications, first aid supplies etc because leaving someone untreated for the time it would take to get help wouldn't be an option. In fact Mum has treated people over the years that has saved lives from having a decent first aid kit. 

Most of our Grand Mothers had pantries or supplies, maybe even a cellar. It was just the normal way of life to store up in times of plenty for times like winter, drought or maybe other hard times like sickness or unemployment. I love all of that! Nan used to make jam and pies from every bit of fruit in the orchard and lined up on her shelves they looked wonderful. Pumpkins were stored along the bottom of the pantry on the floor. If the power was out Nan didnt mind she used her wood stove. She made the best scones ever and always in her wood stove as she preferred it. And it attracted people, the warmth, the smell of cooking, we would all hang around the stove! 

Somewhere along the line supermarkets and 24 hour shopping came in and made us all think if we want anything we can just run to the shops. We were slightly lulled into a sense of security that the supermarket was our emergency supply room. Except there are images of empty supermarket shelves in times of emergency like a massive storm approaching or a flood coming. Nothing on the shelves and nothing to buy! ATM's not working, shops boarded up, no power .... what then? People wandering around with no money as plastic is not working when there is no power! What would you do then? In the last couple of years I've noticed this happening so many times that I have lost count.


Common sense tells us we need some cash on hand, candles and matches incase the power goes out, emergency numbers listed, some emergency meals when plans go wrong, a first aid kit and some basics to address the most common scenarios. But still I know people who go into crisis if the power goes out for a couple of hours. 

We have had things so that if things went wrong we have enough food to not shop for a week or two and manage to cook it without power. Enough candles to manage for a week or so for evening light. 

I think having come from generations and generations of food storers, emergency preparers and planners it is in our hearts to be the same. That's why we look lovingly on pantry shelves of beautiful bottles and oils, jams and chutneys and jars and think ahhhh how beautiful. Sarah Ban Breathnatch wrote in iImple Abundance about the joys of "putting things up" in our pantries and making preserves as something good for the heart and soul. Something deeply satisfying about it. And sure enough my happiest times are summer when free or cheap fruit has come my way and I work my way through it making things! Joy!
Proverbs 31, being amongst my favourite verses, I know the woman is not afraid of the winter because she is prepared. And the Bible references how the ants work and how we should be. Well, the ants work like little maniacs storing up food for when the rains come. They are prepared and work so hard to be that way. Boy are they busy!

So with all this in mind and my long history of loving all things in jars and bottles something recently happened.  This last couple of months I have had so many thoughts on food storage. I have felt a prompting, borderline nagging.

When we moved into this house three years ago we found there is a tiny cellar. It has been used as a wine cellar as it is set up for bottles. While I thought how handy, we have not used it. For one it is steep steps with no rail. I had a serious fall off a ladder several years ago and so ladders are not popular with me. But there it is, it's about the size of a walk in closet, room for one person, two if you are very friendly.

A couple of weeks ago my nagging feeling had me reading some preparedness blogs and gathering information. On blogs I read comments. Comments often are fabulous sources of information. I had checked that the page I was reading was current and it had just been written in November. And I start reading the comments and something happens....

The first one I read I feel a great sense of de ja vu. The lady is saying for the last two months she has felt a constant prodding to start a storage system. She feels very convicted that she has been prompted to do it. As I read more the next person and the next say the same thing! This is a US blog... so all of these people have felt an urgent prompting to stock up a couple of months ago. Well, they are all covered in record breaking snow now! Roads are cut, people are isolated inside in freezing conditions!
Can you even imagine how those that acted on their prompting and stocked up necessities are so glad they did. How wise were they!?! 

So I feel prompted. And I doubt a giant snow storm is coming here but in the last year I know of so many reasons people have done better if they are prepared. From job loss, extreme weather, water contamination that happened to a blogging friend, shortages on the supermarket shelves and crazy prices due to shortages... in all these circumstances being prepared and having a built up pantry are the biggest help. 

The final straw came for me when two friends I respect very much said things to me. One, when she found out I have a cellar, said that would be her dream come true! And another said she has been thinking the exact same things and has already purchased a storage system to build up her supplies... So that is IT! 

Step one has been to get my husband to help me. We opened up the cellar and went down to plan. As I told him this whole story he was quick and happy to agree what a good idea it is. That's handy as I thought he might think it's silly! He will make the cellar better for storage, a system to get things down and back up again so we don't have to carry them while going up and down a steep ladder and a lighting system for if the power is out. 

I am looking at this as a challenge and am going to post as I make progress and learn. If you would like to build up your supplies and preparedness then please join in, tell me what you do and how you do it and if you have problems with it lets try to find answers!

Loving challenges as I do this is quite exciting! Hopefully our supplies will eventually serve as a saving and insurance policy for us and our wider family as well. 

Many of you will be well ahead of me, or even need restocking. Please give me any tips or advice you have. Lots of the blogs I read that are most excellent on pantries and storage are by Latter Day Saint ladies. As I understand their church encourages them to first work towards three months supplies in their pantries then to work towards one years supply. They are full of knowledge and wisdom on this (and experience!) If anyone is reading with this experience please share as you would be invaluable to me! 

Normally I post on the blog Mondays then we have Feather your Nest Fridays. I will add to this series as I go in between sometimes as well for those that are interested.

I have to tell you a little thing. My friend yesterday mentioned how hard it is to find similar people to herself. She is a Christian lady, family orientated, loves crochet, sewing, keeping her home beautiful, gardening (pretty much the same as me) and I thought really it is through the internet that I have been able to cast my net wider and have made friends with similar interests and values. Location becomes kind of irrelevant! But on my own street I don't know of anyone who would even think sewing and crochet still exist, let alone cooking. Thankfully birds of a feather really do flock together and we can meet and chat regardless of where we live! And there is something else... there is an affinity as if God is the Father we are all sisters and that explains a lot of experiences where I feel such familiarity and understanding that seem surprising! 

Easy shortbread makes impressive gifts!

Shortbread is delicious and so quick to make. And it makes an impressive gift when you give it as a whole piece. You can cut it out and make individual biscuits or cut it into wedges and give it in cellophane bags or tins but making it in one large piece makes it so quick to make and so impressive to give.

I have already posted this recipe here.here.

Last week I made this doubling the recipe and using pizza pans as my base. I lined the pans with non stick baking paper and simply pressed half the mixture over each pan to fill it nicely and patted it smooth. Then score the way you want to to be divided and re do that once it is cooked. Then it comes apart so neatly with no crumbs.

I used a craft stencil I have to decorate it with some icing sugar. This took ten seconds literally! You could leave it plain or use a piece of lace, a paper cut out, a part of a lace table cloth or many things to lay across it as you sprinkle icing sugar over it. A simple heart paper cut out will leave a heart image. I had this stencil left over from cushions I made.

One I gave away with my pizza pan underneath knowing it will come back... but you could use pizza pans from a cheap shop or place it on a cake board or even heavy cardboard cut out. With the baking paper you can lift it out once cold and carefully re position it onto another board, plate or whatever.

Then I just wrapped the whole thing in cellophane and tied it up with a red ribbon.

I sent one into Chloe's office workplace and it got a very good reception!
It would also be a great family gift or a gift for a man. I operate on the premise that most men love home cooking so when stuck I give food!

It amazes me that something so simple and so cheap to make is so yummy and impressive. Something we need to do is to look in gourmet and gift stores at the prices they charge for these things. A few tiny pieces of homemade shortbread in a small box was $16 at our local store. The quantity would be less than one quarter of one of these. What would they charge for something like this?

The very stores we stay out of due to the mind boggling prices as the stores to go in and look, notice what is popular as gifts, what the prices are, get packaging and presentation ideas and, once you recover, make notes on your information and go home to make gifts! I even take photos on my phone so I remember!

We can easily underestimate the value of our gifts especially with cooking. Take a look at some of the stores hamper gifts... it might be five small things in a box with a ribbon and its $80. You can look online at some of the famous stores and what a hamper consists of and the presentation and prices. $100 does not buy much! It is an amazing exercise! But it makes you realise the value of things we can easily put together.

Over the Christmas period I like to make up little hampers of some jam, some biscuits, coconut ice, fudge, apricot balls... five or six things I've made in a box or basket. WIth cellophane and ribbon it all looks lovely. These are gifts that are LOVED. If I didn't do my annual coconut ice there would be a riot I think....

We had three days of solid rain last week so the garden is looking so fresh and things have grown so much!

Have a wonderful week! Not much on November left! xxx