The Christmas Challenge. Chandelier makeover and catch up.

Time to report on my own Christmas Challenge!  In our family we have most Birthdays early in the year.  So it has been full on keeping up with birthday presents.
My arm has given me trouble and I have been very slow with my crafts.  I am working on improving my actual present cupboard as it is a mess and I need a better shelving system. I am looking for drawers or pull out baskets I can put in there and organise it. It is hard to see what I have without pulling it all out. So that is on my immediate list.

One craft I completed comes from a road side find.  I love, love, love chandeliers. I can always have another one!  Andy saw two light fittings and told me so I ran around the corner to see and picked this one up...

I see a lot of light fittings with 5 or more "arms" but this was better than most as it features pretty shapes, scrolls and patterns plus eight arms.   And it is quite a decent size.
Ok not everyone would get excited by this!  But Andy knows me pretty well!

First I spray painted it white. I hung it up in a tree and gave it a few light coats.
Next I ordered two types of crystals on Ebay.  There are places that give you free postage and whole bags of amazing droplets of strings of crystals for about $12.  (I found this out when I added extra crystals to my hallway chandeliers.)

I increased the overall size of the whole thing by draping strings of crystals between the arms so they dipped down... and then hung single droplets from those.

I already had plenty of globes and when they were in Andy plugged it in and lit it up and it works!

It is going up in the lounge room.  I have been playing around with that room and it will be an extra thing I can do in there.

The whole thing came in at around $30.  Plus it was fun!

Chloe took home her little table top (like the one I posted last Friday) as I had painted that for her in palest blue.  She already had the base which has been sitting with no top in her bathroom. It was kind of a joke how the table would be more useful if she could actually sit something on it.  So now she can and I hope she sends me a picture of how it all looks.

Currently I am working a crochet edge around a lace table runner.  I have been slow as a wet week on that.  AND Cookie has me trying to paint birds nests.... I have one more item to collect and I will be ready for this challenge. I said to her that maybe my birds nests would be depicting a species of bird that makes really messy nests!  haha that will be my excuse.

 What are you working on this month?  Some of the US ladies are experiencing snow storms so if this is the case I hope you are warm, snug and safe and working away on lovely things. That is the ideal way to get through intense weather.
Here Autumn is just kicking in. This revolutionises things for me as the garden becomes less demanding and the football season starts. This equals rainy weekends crocheting, sticking my photos in albums, painting and sewing. I can't wait!

See you on Friday when I hope we will all have lots of good things to report! xxx

Pantries and Preparedness. From learning one skill you get so much more! And the recipe for Sticky Buns.

Last week Cookie shared with us her easy one hour bread and we talked about being able to make basics from scratch and what an advantage this is... in both money savings and also being up to make meals from very simple ingredients.  Cookie's recipe can be found in last weeks post.

I am going to attempt a basic tutorial in sour dough another day.  It is thanks to Nanna Chel that I got started as she sent me some starter and instructions. She sent me to a blog called Gully Grove which helped me a lot as I found many instructions confusing but that blog made it much simpler!   Anyway, I am working on a tutorial to make it really easy for anyone interested.

Whether you are making bread with purchased yeast or sour dough starter it is like a lot of skills... it has many, many spin offs. You do not just get bread you get rolls, pizza bases, Calzones, focaccia and  fancy breads,  buns,  scrolls and sticky buns! (and many other things I haven't even tried yet.)

You can feed your family, fill lunch boxes, use for entertaining and gifts.

Then you have left overs. You get Bread and Butter pudding,  bread cases,  croutons, bread crumbs (for toppings, crumbed chops, meatloaf and more) and it goes on and on!  I wrote a post here about using up left over bread.  I make Bread and Butter pudding and it looks like a cake. It cuts like a cake and it is beautiful.  You can also make individual ones in a muffin tray.  This is also a great way to use up jam.

If you have a whole bunch of people to feed and they are always hungry all of this can really help! 

Anyway here is my Sticky Bun recipe. I adapted it from a very old recipe to my sour dough. I find really you can make any recipe calling for yeast. To do it I start with a cup or two of starter, make my sponge and go right ahead and use that instead of purchased yeast. Somewhere I will need to use less liquid than the recipe says or more flour (or both) to get the dough consistency but so far this has worked out with everything. 

For Sticky Buns (this makes 18)

Use about two cups of active sour dough starter and make your sponge with one cup of flour and one cup of water. Let it sit and become good and bubbly. I do this the night before. 

In the morning:

Heat up a cup of milk and add a large tablespoon of butter and a cup of sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let it cool down to warm.

I put my sour dough sponge in the mixer, add this melted mix, add 2 eggs and 4 cups flour.  (I used bread flour for everything)

Mix and keep adding flour until you have a nice soft dough, not dry but not wet! (I think I used about five cups overall)  Knead until lovely and smooth. I do this in my mixer with the dough hook.

Let this rise. I set it aside until mid afternoon. 

I use my largest baking dish and another smaller one. Line really well and up the sides with baking paper. 

Make a caramel sauce in a saucepan of 2 large tablespoons of butter, 2 cups of dark brown sugar, 1 cup of Golden Syrup.  (this is available in the Australian or British section in supermarkets overseas) 

Melt this all together and pour over your baking paper to cover the bottom of both tins.  You can make this anytime however I make it just before I fill the trays with my buns as this gives you warmth in your pans which will help the buns to rise. 

Sprinkle bits of pecans or walnuts over your toffee mix.

When your dough has risen to about double roll it out into a long section. 

Sprinkle this with 3 teaspoons of brown sugar and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon.  

Roll this like you would to make scrolls to form a giant long rolled up sausage.

Slice this into about 18 thick slices.  Then set each one onto your toffee base...

I got 12 in one tray and 6 in another. 

So it looks dismal at this point! Cover and let sit somewhere warm until at least double in size.  The warm toffee will help your pan be nice and warm. 

Once at least doubled you can bake them.  I used a medium oven for about 20 mins. Keep an eye on them. You want them to be golden but not get too dark...

Now for the good bits!  You want to let this cool down a bit as the toffee underneath is bubbly and would burn terribly if things went wrong. But you want it still nice and warm so it will tip out. 

Lay out a big baking tray or baking paper and tip the tray upside down so the whole thing comes out. 

Then carefully peel away the baking paper...

Underneath you will find oozy goozy sticky buns all golden and yum.

I served them warm at dinner when I had visitors....

They are really good! Later when they were cool I found microwaving them for 30 seconds made them like just out of the oven again.

I froze the whole tray of six and they freeze well.  

So that is it!  

Last week I worked on rotating some food items from our storage. I ordered a bike basket and seat cover for my bike.  I added large size batteries to my supplies.

Our power situation made international news and Elon Musk came out and said he can fix our problems.  This will be interesting!  I know he is a really smart guy and can only imagine him talking on the phone to our Premier and find this somehow hilarious.  However it would be amazing if good came from it! 

Did you add to your preparedness this week or learn a new skill that would be helpful?

Today is a public holiday for us. I am trying to get off to a good start! Have a wonderful week! xxx

Feather your Nest Friday, 10th March, 2017.

This was one of those weeks with extra expenses that I guess happens to us all!  It seemed endless!   One of them was having a tree trimmed. Andy had already trimmed as high as he could reach on our ladder but it was bugging our neighbour and had to be done.  The upside was that we found someone who would do it for a great price as we would pay cash.  The other upside was this was the tree that had the birds nest in (they all flew away weeks ago) and we got up and saved that first.

Some of the ways we did save money this week included:

We had a lot of basil ready to pick.  I made a double batch of pesto. I use Mimi's recipe on A Tray of Bliss which is so easy and so good.

I gave a jar to Lucy which would do two dinners and made Pesto Chicken one night and pasta another. I still have some left as well.  It is beautiful and smells so good.

I made pizza bases, froze some and made pizzas with all kinds of left overs which served as dinner and lunch box fillers.

Andy found a pair of beautiful leather boots at an op shop for $15. He loves them and he needed new boots.  Massive saving there.

I got a few trays of chicken on a great special, used some and froze some. 

I made all the lunches as usual. 

I wrote $360 in my savings book for my Vicky Challenge.

Our Quince tree is covered in Quinces and about ready.  I think next week I will pick them. 

They never seem ripe as they are as hard as rocks but they go into the slow cooker for a day and turn deep ruby pink. The scent of Quinces is beautiful. They will give us stewed fruit and deserts.

This shows my side of the road vase that I mentioned last week.  I have a nest displayed in it. It also shows the table top I mentioned painting.... on top of my other road side find.... I found two of these little tables that needed new tops. I gave one to Chloe and painted the top of hers palest blue. (it is for her bathroom and her bathroom is blue.) 

I hope you had a good week! How did you feather your nest, build up your home, get ahead or save this week?

Our Patti isn't well. Her daughter Kristi messaged that she read Wednesday's post to her Mother as Patti has vision problems and pain in her eyes. She is also light sensitive and at this point it is undiagnosed. This sounds just awful and frightening.  Anything with our eyes is especially distressing I think.  I think Kristi will read our messages to her Mum so lets lift Patti up in prayer as it sounds like she really needs it at this time. Patti I hope you are feeling much better and the doctor have this figured out.  I have been thinking of you so much!

Jeanette's daughter is also having surgery today. She is having her Gallbladder removed then going home where Jeanette will look after her so they both could use prayer also.  Jeanette I hope this surgery goes very well today. 

Have a lovely weekend. I am planning a heap of cooking as Andy has extra work and will be working. xxx

The Christmas Challenge. Feb Show and Tell Part 2.

Here we go again! If you thought last week was good wait until you see what everyone has been making this week!  We have some really new ideas here too!

First of all we have a beautiful blanket made by Maria G.  Maria found out that she had a long lost cousin she never knew of! She was so thrilled and her cousins name is Lucy.  (good name!) They hit it off right away. Lucy has been sick and having medical treatment so Maria set to making her a rug...

This is just stunning. Maria you have an eye for putting colours together. It makes me think of Peacocks.

Allie made soap. When she was helping me paint we talked a lot about soap making and she got started...

Allie is mad keen on coffee so I know coffee was involved!

Cherilyn made some amazing things. These are whole new ideas for me!  Firstly she made an etched baking dish...

Brilliant! For anyone who is always taking baking to other peoples places a dish with their name on it is such a good idea! I thought also how about a verse or saying... or even a recipe? There are just so many things to do with this lovely idea!

Next Cherilyn burned images into wooden spoons...

and onto trivets or chopping boards...

What a good idea for gifts! This is so clever! It beautiful work too so neat and perfect!

She also made this most stunning baby blanket for her Great Nephew and in the colours of his nursery...

This is just divine.  Incredible work. Thank you so much for sharing this with us Cherilyn.

Barb got back to craft making and she has a wonderful device that presses lovely patterns into your card... I could have a lot of fun with one of these...

I am glad you are crafting again Barb!

Cookie has also been busy!  

Firstly we have candles that she has painted...

I love the flowers but of course I especially love the nests and eggs!

Cookie has told me you don't have to be artistic to paint... there are steps you can follow and you tube videos to help. I think she might do a tutorial for us!  

And she also made purses...

What beautiful gifts! You did so much for February Cookie!

Kelley made pot holders from old jeans. She made a whole pile of them!  When you think about it denim is tough and thick... good idea! 

Kelley is brilliant with making beautiful things that are up cycled!  I love this!

So you can see a lot has been achieved so far this year. Next week I will show you some of what I have been up to.
How are you going with your present making? It really is a year round thing. I have been ahead with birthday presents and also was able to take out two baby rugs and donate them to a lady Mum knows who sends things to a Romanian orphanage. Knowing this I will get crocheting and make some more rugs.  Sometimes people say to me they don't have anyone to make things for. Yes you do! There are countless orphanages, hospitals and shelters that need hats for premature babies, warm clothing etc. Quite likely someone in the neighbourhood does too.
I am loving that so many of us are using up supplies we have. I hope you found some new ideas here!

Now we are already well into March!  I am starting to think about Easter too.
I hope your week is going well!
What are you working on and how is your gift cupboard going? xxx

Pantries and Preparedness. Cooking skills.

After several weeks being surprised that preparedness is in our news this week I have decided to accept it as the new normal! Last week it came up in two significant ways that I saw. The first were articles about last news state wide blackout and things that went on behind the scenes that are just coming to light now.  One was in regard to what emergency services and police had to say.  There was talk of worry abut civil unrest and that service stations (gas stations) were one of the most volatile places to be.  This makes sense as everyone wanted fuel to get home or for generators etc and fuel wasn't pumping.  We noted this. We already formed the view you do not want to be in a queue for fuel anyway but that tempers were quick to that up in these situations.  There were other points about what would people do without cash (no ATM's) and food and so on... a lot of it pointed to the belief that law and order would not last long.

The other was a current issue. On Friday afternoon and evening everyone in our state was called upon to stop using electricity where possible. It was warm but not extremely hot. The minister exempted the elderly with their air conditioning...   This was all to avert another possible shut down and later on we were given the all clear and the power stayed on.  So again we were on stand by with the generator, I did lots of things while we still had power in case it was going to go out.  We are getting lots of practise drills!  In a way this keeps us conscious of being prepared and taking the ways we are working to be better prepared seriously.  Its not like we are going to forget about it with constant reminders anyhow!

This week my subject is basic from scratch cooking.  Being able to make up something good to eat from very basic ingredients and things you have on hand is a skill that is going to help financially and also if going to the shop isn't an option for any other reason.

I have lots of photos of good cooking that I thought I would share. I love seeing what everyone is baking and preserving etc!

This is my niece Georga who had been baking with Chloe. Chloe taught her how to make jelly slice.


Rachel cooks on a fire yet turns out things like this!

Rachel's Ricotta Tart. (From ricotta she makes herself)

Jane got started on sour dough cooking.  This has lead to experiments in bread but also other things and I am finding this myself with sourdough... it is just yeast that means you can make just about anything from bread to sweet buns,  pizza bases etc...

Jane's beautiful sour dough bread. 

Jane's stunning focaccia bread!

Cookie mentioned the other day about her one hour bread that she regularly makes.  She has written the recipe up for us. This is one hour, start to finish, bread! 

RECIPE FOR SIMPLE BREAD

Preheat oven to 350 F

INGREDIENTS
5 1/2 cups bread flour
2 -4 Tablespoons sugar
1  1/2 teaspoons  salt
1  1/2 Tablespoons of INSTANT yeast (I use Saf-instant yeast, which
can be purchased on Amazon and in the U.S. is about $8 for a pound,
while at the grocery store here it's $5 for 4 oz.)

1  1/2 Tablespoons oil
2 cups of lukewarm water.

Mix the dry ingredients together.  Add the oil and water and mix for 1
minute either by hand on in the mixer.  The dough should be slightly
sticky.  If not add water a teaspoon at a time until it is.  If too
sticky, do the same thing with the flour.  Once it's initially mixed
together either mix it for 5 additional minutes in the mixer or or
knead it on a lightly oiled surface. (I usually spray the kneading
surface with a non-stick spray.).  If kneading by hand continue for
another 5 minutes until the dough is smooth.  If you've mixed in the
mixer for 5 minutes take the dough out and knead it for 5 minutes on a
lightly sprayed surface.  DO NOT ADD ADDITIONAL FLOUR TO THE DOUGH
WHEN KNEADING.

Divide into two pieces and shape into loaves.  Place on a greased
baking sheet, cover and let rise in a warm place for 25 minutes.  When
loaves are risen make 3 slashes in each loaf if desired.  Bake for 25
minutes.   Yields two large loaves.

Love
Cookie

This also goes on to become all kinds of other things...

Cookie's Bread and Butter Pudding.

Rachel and Cookie got together and now  Rachel  is also making Cookie's one hour bread.  She is finding this wonderful!

She has been making rolls...

Which go on to become such things as steak sandwiches....

And scrolls! 

These included date, mixed nice and walnut... all using Cookies original recipe.  This is the thing I am finding... with one versatile recipe you can make variations and so many things!   And also that we can learn one new recipe or skill and it leads to a whole series of good things! 

Rachel also made jam from berries she collected. Beautiful bread and lovely jam, good combination!

Maria made gorgeous cakes...  This one is Jamaican Cake with spices which is served sliced with butter. It goes into her husbands lunch box.

And this is Lightening Orange Cake which is an Annabel Langbein recipe.

Beautiful Maria! I know Maria is always cooking for her family and how her Grandchildren love her cooking.  Her Granddaughter was asking so nicely if Maria would make a particular cake again.... This reminded me of how much my Nan cooked for us.  She made cakes all the time.  Andy and I both remember how our Nan's made big jars of biscuits and sent them with us on holidays.  Weirdly both our nan's made the same kind of biscuits stuck together with pale pink icing!  They were wonderful! You ever forget these things!

In the last couple of years I have got much better at using everything and making my own stocks and bone broth.  It is a process.  Keep learning new skills.  There is a lot to be said for going back to basics.  There is a lot of joy in it but they are really important skills.
My Grandparents lived through WW1 and WW2 and the Great Depression.  Their recipes didn't contain fancy ingredients, expensive ingredients etc. They were mostly simple, delicious and wholesome.
Recipes from back then were like "take some of this and add whatever vegetables you have" and many didn't have exact measurements!  Old cook books are full of very easy from scratch cooking.
If you are lucky enough to still have your Nan ask her how to make things and if there are old family recipes around get your hands on these!
Many of us as children were probably fed meals by parents who at times had very little money yet we were unaware of it and just busy eating soup or eggs on toast or whatever it was they had whipped up!
We have been building up our pantries. In a pinch we need to know how to take those ingredients and make meals, use up what we have and can pick from the garden.  We need to teach these skills too as they are life skills that could be urgently needed.

Thank you for all the beautiful photos and to Cookie for sharing this recipe.

Last week I added to my pantry and preparedness with pain killers, bandages, free candles and tinned foods.  I was happy with that for the week.

Next Monday's post will be about sour dough and all the things you can make if you master one simple bread recipe.  You can use Cookie's,  a sour dough starter or any bread recipe.  You then have a huge range of family filling options!

What simple recipes do you use that are nourishing and inexpensive? I am finding a lot come from slow cooking and things that simmer all day like soups and stews.  But also things made of left overs like Bread and Butter pudding...  They are all budget stretchers!

Have a great new week! xxx

Feather your Nest Friday, 3rd March, 2017.

I had a much more normal week overall and it was mostly hot. I am hoping this is the last of the heat as we are now officially into Autumn! I love Autumn so much!  Usually we can have hot weather until about the middle of the month...

I did quite a bit of nest feathering!

I made a big lot of laundry power.  This was made using the pink Zote bar Vicky sent me.  It was easy to make and I am loving it.

I used a recipe from The Beehive Cottage and it was there that I got the idea that, yes,  you can have pink laundry powder! 

Andy got me a little trolley that fits in a gap in the laundry... the gap between the sink and the washer...

I saw this in the Aldi catalogue and he was driving straight past an Aldi so he got it for me.  That's the laundry powder on top.  

This week I finally made Sticky Buns from my sourdough starter. It was kind of an experiment to use a recipe I have had for years and adapt it to sourdough. Anyway it worked! I could write it up as a tutorial/recipe if anyone wants.

They look like this when they come out of the oven...

Then you tip them out and they look like this! 

They were huge and I got 18.  Low calorie obviously.  Well, they were beautiful.  I froze some, gave some away, sent them on the fishing trip and they were just a hit.

I also cooked a corned beef, that was the cold meat for a few days in the lunches etc.

I used up some of our apples with a pork roast.

Due to the whole spider hunting thing I washed the woollen underlay and all linen. (we have never found a spider yet)  When I remade the bed I decided to do something Mum used to. The two pure wool king sized blankets I got during the year for $20 each are just gorgeous but they take up a ton of room in my blanket box.  So I put these on the bed then put the fitted underlay over the top. Mum always used wool blankets as underlays. These keep your bed much warmer and softer.  Waiting at the Doctors surgery I was reading a magazine with a feature on bed linen etc. They had a range of underlays and for a pure wool thick one the price was almost $700!  You really could make your own from blankets...  

Also I washed all the lounge covers, for the same reason... 

I painted two little table tops.

I cut Andy's hair.

On the side of the road I found a huge glass vase with silver trim. It is amazing! Plus two giant candles! I thought fine, the candles can add to my supplies. The vase is spectacular!  I will get a photo of that when I decide what to do with it. 

I made bread.

I made three trays of Enchilada's, some for us and some for the girls households.  

Here is a happy story! Chloe has been wanting to get chickens.  She has found a hen house on the farm that she can have, it just needs shifting.  So she said to me she will count the free hen house in her Vicky Challenge.   

This bit of the story is not so good...

There were people near her place that moved away from the district a couple of weeks ago.  The weather has been really hot much of that time.  On Wednesday Chloe discovered that these people had moved and left behind their chickens.  They must have had some food and water at the beginning but when she found them I think they had been out of everything for at least a few days and things weren't too good.  She grabbed the hose and gave them water and rang me! 

Long story cut short....  they had truly been abandoned and she has rescued them and they are hers!  What a way to get chickens!  

On top of that one hen is broody and sitting on eggs!  She is able to let her keep sitting to see if they hatch! 

There are nesting boxes, feeders and everything you would ever need and she can have the lot! 

Her Vicky challenge this week is going to be massive!  (there are six chickens that survived.... and if the eggs hatch then she has hit the jackpot!) 

I counted in my Vicky Challenge:

Lunches, the fishing picnic, the sticky buns, made over little tables, laundry powder, the vase I found and the candles.... and Andy's hair cut. I wrote $475 into my savings book.

How was your week? How did you get ahead, build up your home or save this week? 

Have a wonderful weekend! xxx

The Christmas Challenge. Show and Tell for February 2017 Part 1.

Lots of photos have come in for show and tell for February! I don't even have to remind anyone these days! At the end of this post I will invite everyone to send in their photos though as I don't want to miss out on any!

As usual these are in no particular order and I include everyone.  Next weeks photos are equally beautiful, inspiring and diverse!
I hope everyone finds joy, inspiration, ideas, motivation and this helps us move into a new month of making things for our gift giving and Christmas cupboards.

Firstly, we have Rachel. She has been making socks with a frilled edging!

Frilled edging! You know how I love this! 

She also has been cooking up a storm but you will see this in a post on Monday! 

Lynette has made knitted toys. She made these for Harper and Scarlett! We have an angel and a mermaid! Imagine my surprise when these arrived in the mail! 

They are just gorgeous. Thank you so much Lynette!  This parcel absolutely made my day!

Fiona has been using her machine to embroider stunning designs onto wool fabric. She is making hot water bottle covers. How exquisite!

These will be gorgeous gifts. 

She also made a childs rug ...

I am so glad to see you sewing Fiona. Sewing  = happiness. Actually crafts full stop = happiness! 

Teri made a dreamcatcher for a present all from things she had on hand... this is so feminine!

Beautiful work Teri.

Jeanette has made hats.  This is one she made for her friend who is undergoing cancer treatment. She makes the flowers removable so it can be worn with or without.  Jeanette I am sure your friend just appreciates this so much!

Jane sent in this picture of a chest of drawers that Bluey and her daughter Katie made over.  The before were shelves that were not too good (think paint dribbles and icky colour) and this is the result of the collaboration!

How beautiful! 

Jane also made sating pillowcases for her son...

(some of the fabric was from cutting up a satin sheet)

Gorgeous candles...

Patchwork bags.... 

And she made over and decorated tins to use for gifts.  I LOVE the shells and pearls. Just stunning.

Jane this is all amazing and a lot for the month of February as I know you did heaps of cooking too!


Well that is enough for this week, we have heaps more next week!  I would love to see what you have been making. Filling our gift cupboards is a year round job. Lots of things end up as Birthday and other presents and some make it through to Christmas.  Seeing what you all have been doing is fantastic. Everyone is off to a massive start!
You can post pics on the Bluebirds Facebook page or email me at brinkzi21@hotmail.com

I hope your week is going well!  It is pretty hot here. But also the first day of Autumn! I can hardly believe it! I love Autumn!  We usually still get about two weeks of summer weather though... not long to go now!  This is so exciting to me!

Vicky is having a ton of unpleasant dental work tomorrow. It will be a long day for her.  I am praying she gets on well.

See you on Friday! I hope to be able to report some decent building up my home activities! xxx