Feather your Nest Friday, 11 May, 2018.

We had a busy week!  Also we had rain both here and at the farm so it is wonderful.

It is lucky I write things down as already I had forgotten things I did last Friday and Saturday and I had got the new week off to a good start!

Over the weekend I started some card making.  With three rose books to use and my supplies it was easy to make up sets of themed cards.

I made almost thirty so I can package some up as gifts and use others myself for Birthdays etc.  Now that cards have gone over $10 to buy this is even more of a saving then ever as they are under a dollar to make. 

Being colder I did lots of cooking.   I had a spaghetti sauce cook up then I made Lasagna and Pasta Bakes.  I gave two Lasagna to Allie as she cleaned our gutters and this was our trade.  She was happy!

I put one in the freezer for Chloe when she comes which is today!

This gave us several meals as well.

I cut up a big pumpkin and added sweet potatoes and onions and made soup.

Then I froze single serves.   I add Turmeric to my soups now for added benefits.

I made pink playdoh with purple glitter for Harper.

The crockpot helped again with a leg of lamb.   Just now a leg of lamb is a good buy.   It goes into the slow cooker with as many veggies as I can get around it.  Some thyme, some mint jelly and pepper.

Later in the day when things have cooked down a bit there is more room and then I add peas, broccolini etc.   This was beautiful and made several meals.

I made 21 banana cup cakes.  A dozen went with me to see the girls.

Out came the endlessly recycled cake toppers!

I taught Harper the art of  getting extra icing sugar by tipping your are upside down and dipping it into the icing on the tray.   She caught on quick to this...

This occupied a good half hour of baby sitting time! 

I made up some essential oil rollers for Lucy who is now rather interested too.   I am fining my supplies are giving me both gifts and trade-able items too!  To someone starting out having someone to make a blend or a roller is a skill and helpful to them.  So that was fast, I knew nothing and now I can help others get started! 

I always study every catalogue that comes in the mail.  This finds me some amazing things!  This week a Supermarket up the road had pork roasts for $3.99 a kilo and around here I haven't seen prices like that for years.  So on Wednesday (which was the first available day) off I went.   They were great.  I mentally calculated my freezer space and Mums!  I stocked up.  When I got them loaded in the car I felt like in the IKEA add where the lady shouts "start the car! start the car!" lol

A couple of weeks ago I turned my $50 voucher into $150 free hair care.  Every time I go to Coles I notice they have still been clearing shampoo, conditioner and hair lines.  Yesterday as usual I checked and it must be coming to an end as now they had some great brands for $1.  The new lines are out on display and things have gone up dramatically.  I got Shampoo and Conditioner for Chloe that in their new packaging are now $15 each.  I paid $3.   I got some for Andy that is also now $15 each and paid $2.  There were many that are around $8 and I got them for $1.   I stocked up.  I refuse to pay $15 for a shampoo!   With my docket at home I worked out my savings.... $287! 

When Chloe gets here today I have some for her, they are luxury products and she has waist length hair...  so happy!

I am counting $100 also for making and sending all work lunches and drinks.

I haven't added up my Vicky Challenge yet.  I have all my numbers and I need to add up the last few weeks! 

Today Chloe is coming and we are going to a wedding dress fitting!

Then tonight Chloe and Luke are having dinner with us.  As I will be out most of the day I have Lamb Shanks and potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potato and onions in the slow cooker.  Tonight I will just steam some greens and dinner will be ready.  The weather is cold!  This will be a good meal.   For Lamb Shanks I just pour over a jar of tomato pasta sauce... it miraculously becomes a rich gravy. Done! 

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

Have a wonderful weekend.  xxx

The Christmas Challenge. Show and Tell for April Part 2.

On to the next photos for Show and Tell!  Thank you everyone!

Fiona made her parents 50th anniversary celebration cake.  It is just outstanding!

Fiona I am sure your parents were thrilled and you should be so proud.  This is just gorgeous.

She also make her nephews personalised pillows in their favourite theme...

This was another hit!  Well done Fiona what great work.  You also saved a fortune with all of this work! 

Bluey has been busy!  Jane isn't the only one smashing out amazing crafts!  Bluey has been making 

Lazy Susans.  First he made one for Jane then went into production...

How beautiful!  I personally think he could sell these as people could order them in various sizes to fit their tables etc.   

Phyllis has been busy!  She made Star Wars figures for her Grandson... (he is mad keen on Star Wars!)

The detail in these!  They are fabulous. Phyllis you are very inventive and clever!

Also she showed me how she makes package bows just using the wrapping paper she has...

Phyllis draws and she showed me how she makes a card to go with her gift... i.e. here the gift was a picnic set so this was the card...

So clever!  I love this sweet idea.   Phyllis you amaze me!

She also made doll clothes with a matching hat!

Melissa has been card making.  In one weekend she made herself a good supply!

Beautiful work.  

Cookie made one of her beautiful purses for her Granddaughter and she re strung her own Grandmothers pearls to make a bracelet.  What a special gift...

Thank you so much everyone.  I hope I didn't forget anything... if I did it is because I am unorganised and not on purpose!  

Now to get cracking and be productive for May!  I have made a lot of cards using my rose books.  I am working on a crochet blanket.  And I have added some bargains to the gift cupboard too.

Today I am heading off to a supermarket for some roasts as there is this amazing special.  I am getting as many as I can fit in the freezer plus one to cook tomorrow. Then on to Aldi!  

I hope your week is going well!  See you on Friday!  Thank you everyone for sharing your photos and inspiring us! xxx

The Home Pharmacy. Homeopathy.

Thanks to Lana we had such big response to last weeks post on preventative health care and early intervention.  I am going really well with drinking my water!
This week I want to include Homeopathy as this is a big part of my home medicine cabinet.  I am not even attempting to explain Homeopathy but years ago I had a practitioner who was so remarkable and she could give me answers in minutes about myself that no doctor has ever been able to.   For instance she told me she understood I have to have the windows open (therefore plane travel is difficult!)  and that I don't like too much noise or crowds.  She also saw me in the waiting room and said "hello Annabel! Oh you are having a baby!"  which doesn't sound amazing until you realise the doctor could work out if I was pregnant or not and my tests showed negative... yet yes I was!

The Royal family have followed homeopathy for generations and if you consider the incredible ages, staying power and youthfulness of the Queen Mother and the Queen that is enough to be impressive!

My Homeopath retired and I didn't find another but I persisted with using Rescue Remedy and our whole family has used that always.  I would never be without it.

Just recently finally I found a wonderful Homeopath online.  Karen is so good and I have asked her advice now on several issues.
This is her website Herbs Online Shop Australia.

The amazing thing is you can email Karen (or phone her)  and she will advice you free of charge.   She will also dispense remedies and you have them in a couple of days.  Just go to the contact link and she replies to you right away.
You can read through the remedies and their uses as sometimes something will strike you as exactly right.  Homeopathy is so interesting!

This is Maria's Essential Oil Cupboard.

With Mother of Pearl! 😍

I explained to Karen what we are doing here and that I am trying to build a home pharmacy as I want to be prepared and also we may be in the country which places me a fair way from a town.   So from a medical point of view what should I stock that would cover most scenarios?
Karen has a list to help with this.
This is her list of Homeopath Remedies for Emergencies  here.
You can assemble this yourself or buy it as a kit.  If you have extra specific health care concerns you can ask Karen what you should add to this and she will help.
There is also a more basic kit here. 

I thought I had struck gold that after all these years I can get remedies via the post and talk to a Homeopath and get advice for free.  Well, I have struck gold.  It is amazing.  I am sure a face to face consultation would be wise in many circumstances but so far Karen has been so helpful and I am back up and running with Homeopathy.

Next I asked Karen what should we stock Essential Oils wise from a medical perspective?  There are so many oils, how do we choose a wise selection to meet most health needs?
So off Karen went and she prepared us this list.   Essential Oil Emergency Kit.
I was amazed as I explained to her I have a small blog and what I am trying to do.  She made this up and it is so helpful.   I have some of these oils and can add others that are needed.  A list like this helps you to work out what to stock and what it is used for.  A great place to start.

Jane has a gorgeous set of drawers for her essential oils.

So now I feel I am really getting somewhere with my medical cabinet.   I have my conventional medicines and first aid kit well set up.  There is first aid in each car and the house.  With winter coming I am stocked in the kitchen too with the things I like to have such as Olive Leaf extract, Vitamin C, Zinc etc.   Now my Essential Oils and Homeopathic Remedy supplies are looking pretty good too.   It is amazing if you keep at something week by week you make progress.

Last week when we talked about early intervention I could see that the key is having things on hand and knowing what to do with them so you can act fast.  I am working on that!   I still do not have a home pharmacy cabinet.  Meanwhile I have these little shelves from Kmart.  I can see what I have. I know how to use each thing.  And this sits in a place out of direct light.

There is something else I love about Homeopathy.  It treats the emotional side of an injury, the shock, the fright, the upset to our system.   This is so important.  On the outside we might have healed but how often does a serious incident or illness actually scar us somehow on the inside?
If this interests you then study the Flower Essences here as these are remarkable.  You will likely read a description of yourself.  A description no one knows but you.  If you do, this is the remedy for you...
Flower Remedies.
I have only tried Flower remedies once but with success!  So this is an area I need to study much more.

If anyone knows of a Homeopath or Naturopath that is wonderful near them or who will give advice online (or possibly in a forum)  in the US please let us know for the USA readers.   Some health food stores have visiting practitioners in certain hours that will give some advice for free.  It could be worth asking.   But we have Karen and I am so grateful to have found her!

If you contact Karen do tell her you are a Bluebird!    I hope that for someone this is information that will make a difference.   When you have a problem conventional medicine cannot help with you have lots of alternatives.  Do not give up!

"The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth:
and he that is wise with not adhere them"
Ecc 38-4

I think everything we need is provided.  We just have to find it!

I hope you have a wonderful week!  It is set to be raining here and that is good for us!
xxx

(I do not make money from my blog and I do not sell anything.  Any recommendations I make are just because I think something is worth sharing and I do not get any kickbacks or any such thing. I thought I should mention that!)

Feather your Nest Friday, 4 May, 2018.

This has been a busy and good week and we have had lots of rain!  Both the city and the farm had it.  So everyone is happy!

I will start at the beginning.  It was Andy's birthday on Saturday.  Usually I make him a fruit cake.  But this year we literally have fruit cakes stacked and on the go so I don't need to make another one.
I completely cheated and used an idea I saw on Facebook.   There are whole groups dedicated to things to do with the Coles/Woolworths/Aldi chocolate mud cakes.
These cakes come in chocolate mud, white chocolate and in some places caramel and I think strawberry.   Anyway they taste good.  You simply stack them on top of each other and decorate.  So you can do two or three stacked and you can do one or several colours and have a kind of Neapolitan cake or a graduated light to dark cake.  You use frosting to cover them.   Google  Woolworth's Chocolate Mud cake Hacks.   It is mind blowing.   People use them for the fanciest cakes including wedding cakes!  They adorn them with flowers,  chocolates and any theme.  Amazing!  So you end up with a professional looking cake for about $10.

I simply stacked two mud cakes and frosting.   In less than five minutes I was done.

Andy thought it was amazing!  Every time I make him a birthday cake he is touched.   

Everyone loves a birthday cake.  It is the fact that you made them one I think (or in this case assembled one!)   Kids especially do not care if your cake is not professional,  wonky and structurally unsound.  They just think  MUM MADE IT FOR ME.   I think adults feel much the same way...

This is a good time to say also I made Harper a tray of cakes with hundreds and thousands on top.  She is very impressed with hundreds and thousands!

We went train spotting and a cake came too.  

I used up eggs and lemons and made a batch of Lemon Butter.

I gave Mum and Chloe lemons and still have a couple dozen of Hilde's Lemons left.

I made Quiches as when I went to Coles they had cartons of cream for 30c.

Also I used up chicken from the freezer and made Butter Chicken which lasted two nights and used Mums mint and my yoghurt to make raita.

I made myself some scrub... it is the one I like to use on my face.  Just pure honey and soft dark brown sugar in a jar.  It is the best scrub and beautiful but it is messy so I do it in the bath.  Miracle worker though!

I made baked egg custards in the slow cooker.  I just sit my cups with water that comes three quarters of the way up.  I put a t towel under the lid.  I check now and then to see if they are ready.  

This week I went to two op shops.  I had good luck with books.   I have been adding medical books to my medical cupboard.  I decided everyone depends on the internet and phone apps for first aid advice.  No one seems to keep first aid manuals etc anymore.  So if the power is out they don't have first aid information.   As I speak the main phone carrier in Australia (Telstra) has a "glitch" and you can't even call 000  (that is our 911) so that is going well (not).   I decided I want hard copies of vital information.

As I am studying essential oils, herbs and homeopathy I am buying these kinds of books too.  These were all $2 each.

Then the next op shop had rose books!   I buy these for card making.   They have images like this...

And this...

So I am starting card making on the weekend. I have well over 100 images because I have three big books (for $6 all up).    Now and then I look at cards in the store.  This week I got a surprise.  The first card I thought was lovely I picked up and it was $13!  The second card was $10.   So they have gone up!  Last time I took noticed $8 seemed the average.  So card making is a huge saver,  good fun and cards make a beautiful gift too i.e. a pack of five or six is a beautiful present.  And useful!  The little images left over I make into gift tags.  Even gift tags are $4.  So card making is a great hobby!   You need no artistic skills to make cards if you just use lovely images.  If you want to go further and fancy them up this is easy too!  For men you could buy a motorcycle book and cut that up or trains or whatever they are into... for babies I get Beatrix Potter books or Winnie the Pooh and for children kids books are full of images to make cards, bunting, anything!   

Andy proudly told me he saved around $400 this week with his side lines and DIY.  

I will also count $100 from sending all coffees and lunches with him each day.

So it was a good week!   I have cut up a whole pumpkin (I did this in stages yesterday) and this plus sweet potato and onion are in my big crockpot for soup.  These were veggies I got recently so cheaply on one of my further afield grocery trips.   So it will be a soup weekend! 

After the rain all night it is sunny now.  This will help the grass grow!  

I hope you had a good week.  How did you build up your nest, get ahead, save... add to your pantry?

Have a great weekend! xxx

The Christmas Challenge. Show and Tell for April 2018.

It looks like everyone was busy, busy, busy in April!  I love seeing what you have been making and it is so good to share ideas with each other.  Thank you to everyone who has sent me photos!

We will have two weeks of show and tell as there is a lot to show you!  I hope you are inspired with new ideas and also some tips on keeping costs down with your crafts as I include those where I can.

First we have Kathy.  She has been knitting...

I am always impressed with knitting socks as turning corners is mind blowing to me! 

Well done they are beautiful!

Kathy also makes up earrings as gifts.  She finds she can usually make them for $1 a pair as she looks for old jewellery to take apart and re make and this is a great source of beautiful and unique beads.

Kathy also said using clear fishing line is great for bracelets and necklaces as it is super strong and so cheap!   These are so pretty and such a personal gift.

Jane has been busy and completed a rug which is a gift ...

To me this is something that someone would have their whole life so they will always remember being given this! 

With Jane's gardening she saves seeds.   She has been making gorgeous seed packets from pretty paper to package them up in a gift worthy way...

I love this idea! And seeds are a great present and something to post in an envelope which is an added bonus.   Seeds can also be sold as Sewingcreations does. 

Jane also made a babies sun hat...

Beautiful work Jane as always! 

Cookie has also been busy.   She has been making purses from her husbands old jeans!  You would not believe a pretty purse could come from jeans but take a look...

Cookie made a whole series of these.  So beautiful! 

Cookie says she has become addicted to grub roses.  I agree they are fun to do, beautiful and embellish so many things in a gorgeous way. 

Next we have Tanya.   She has been sewing.  She is also very busy homeschooling and has eight children.  You are amazing Tanya!

Her little boys love anything with camouflage print! 

My girls loved skirts like these... I love the ric rack braid edging too....

Well done Tanya!  I know that children love it when Mum makes something especially for them.  Beautiful.

Teresa made great progress on her gift cupboard with some amazing buys i.e. kids pencils for 10c a dozen. Into the cupboard they went!    She also fancied up a lotion bottle to make it a beautiful present. 

I thought how this idea could be used for anything we might make up with essential oils too and that we could save and reuse pump packs or the foamy pumps and make them over for gifting. 

Thank you Teresa!

I will post more next week!  If you have photos you would like to send in then email me at brinkzi21@hotmail.com  

So far the week is going well!  We have had beautiful days and have rain coming.  I got all my washing done and dry yesterday just in time.  

I hope your week is going well!  

I am still responding to comments in Monday's post.  Thank you to everyone who shared there. I have a list of things to research as a result.  

See you on Friday! xxx

The Home Pharmacy. Early intervention.

A life of migraines from childhood and it still took me so long to understand early intervention!  My friend Nerile and I were talking about this. She suffers shocking migraines too.
Eventually I understood I needed to take action on the very first sign of migraine pain.  This helped.  One day watching Dr. Oz (years ago!) he explained the very first signs of a headache are like the ocean with gentle ripples.   As the migraine grows worse it is like an ocean with waves.  Once it is fully up and running it is like a raging sea.  You have a chance against a ripple.  You have no chance against a raging sea.
This finally really clicked with me.  I had resisted medication but leaving it too late actually meant I took a lot more medication overall than if I acted early.  Not to mention how sick I was.   In my old hometown (when the girls were little) the local Doctor had a regular routine .... after the surgery was closed he would come over to my place to give me an injection to stop me being sick.   Then the next day I would start recovery.

It was still not until much later that I learned to act well before the first pain of a migraine.   Instead I learned the signs one was coming... feeling overtired,  feeling grumpy,  a general feeling I could recognise that trouble was coming!    At this point I was really getting somewhere.  This was my turning point and since then I get far less that actually make it to the really bad stage.   Life is so much better.

When I started this series it was Lana who mentioned early intervention again.   She said with essential oils and homeopathy you want to act IMMEDIATELY.
The first big success I had was with my rotten sore throats and the Oregano oil.  I did act immediately.  The very first sign I applied my Oregano Oil to the glands on my neck.  When I went to bed I put it on my feet.  In the morning my sore throat just wasn't there!  It never made it past "the ripple".
Sometime later I woke in the middle of the night with a sore throat.  I had the oil next to me on my bedside table.  This was a good move as I could apply it without getting up or thinking about it... and again in the morning my throat was fine.  I do think this very early intervention is the key!

To achieve early intervention we have to know what to do, have things ready to go and on hand,  have things with us wherever we go as well.   Also I have noticed that when not well I will forget things.  Like in the moment I will forget I even have a homeopathy remedy!  So I need to have my medicine cabinet well set up,  know how to use things and remember to use them!  It seems the middle of the night is a time for me when a sore throat will start up.   So I keep my bedtime oils and my oregano right next to me on my bedside table.

I have a rubber band around the bottom of the oregano oil so I can tell which on it is in the dark.   Lynette suggested that the acrylic lipstick stands work really well to keep little bottles oil and rollers neatly in place. I am going to try and get some as Andy now has four rollers of various blends near the bed and without fail he knocks them over every night!  (But he likes them heaps!) 

I also have two oils that come around with me in my handbag and a little purse of oils plus some homeopathic tablets that travels with me if I go away.  

Talking more about this with Lana she gave me other wonderful tips which I am sharing with you.
Lana is not a Doctor.   Be sensible and seek medical advice and do your own research on things.    But Lana has helped me enormously and everything she has suggested to me has helped me so much.

So I will share her letter in full... even the bits she wasn't sure I should! 😊

The number one thing is keeping the body hydrated.  The world's population is chronically dehydrated.  Alternative and natural medicine professionals estimate that 80% of disease would go away if the body is hydrated.  Everyone needs half their body weight in ounces of water everyday.  Fresh lemon juice can be added to the water if wanted for taste but those ounces need to be water, water, water.  If the body is really dehydrated, and that was me, then drinking all that water will make you feel ill until the body adjusts and begins to get hydrated.  This does no happen overnight.  You can build up your ounces over a few days if that helps.  If you consume caffeine then you need to add 2 ounces for every ounce of caffeinated beverage.  Once the body is hydrated it can flush toxins out like it should.  This will takes some weeks to accomplish. I have friends that I treat and the whole family is always dehydrated even though they swear to me that they drink tons of water.  90% of the time they are fine after drinking 3 big glasses of water.  You really have to measure your water to be sure you are getting it down everyday.  If you start having headaches then you may be flushing too many salts from the body in the process of getting hydrated.   We use Hyland's Bioplasma to replace lost salts that the body needs.  We hold the tablets under the tongue for 10 minutes.

Thanks to Lana I now have a big jug of water to work my way through everyday,

this is in addition to what I normally drink. 

The first day I thought I would drown but now I am really liking it! 

The number two thing is diet.  A big green salad every day will help flush toxins out of the body and also help neutralize the body's pH.  A body that has an acid pH is wide open to infection including cancer.  You can buy pH test strips to test using your saliva. There is quite a lot of information online about eating to neutralize the body's pH.  Artificial sweeteners should not be a part of anybody's diet.  The body has no idea what to do with them so it stores them.  I often have people come to me asking why their feet hurt so much and so often they are diet soda drinkers.  The artificial sweeteners seem to be felt in the feet first.  If you get up the morning and just feel sluggish and toxic then eat raw food such as an apple for breakfast along with a good bit of water with it and it will get the body detoxing.   

Climbing stairs or swinging on a swing so that the legs are worked at the hip joint area gets the lymph system going and that is very beneficial for cleaning up the body.  If you are aching or feel like you are getting sick and have been watching your water and eating well then this is the best thing to do to get the junk moving out.   (You probably don't want to post this but sex is wonderful for keeping the body healthy and the lymph system working and for treating illness.  God had many purposes behind that!)  We don't take over the counter painkillers because they shut down the lymph system.  The only one that does not is plain old aspirin.  If you are not feeling well then try drinking a good amount of water and eating something raw and climbing some stairs to get the body on the mend instead of compromising it even more by taking chemicals.

We don't use antibacterial anything here.  Some of those antibacterial products actually contain pesticides!  We do not use insect sprays on our body as this IS putting pesticides on your skin and the body absorbs it.  We think about everything we use such as shampoos and soaps since it is absorbed right into the body.  

Once you have your water intake up everyday and your pH corrected and it is time to get the kidneys cleaned up.  Put a drop of lemon essential oil on each kidney at bedtime for 3 weeks.   After the kidneys are flushed out it is time to work on clearing up the junk in the liver.  Three capsules of dandelion root daily for 3-6 months will go a long ways toward clearing up and getting the liver working better.  (We use Nature's Way dandelion root here.)  It is really important to keep the water intake up while doing the clearing up of the kidneys and liver as you want the junk to detox and not be stored by the body somewhere else. 

I'm sure you are thinking that this is hard but it is not and you will benefit so much from these things.

A few essential oils things-I can tell when I am coming down with a cold because I almost always get a sore throat and itchy feeling nose.  I do test myself but even if I could not I would put a drop of Plague Defense on the bottoms of my feet and put on socks for 4 hours.  I would also drink a lot of water to flush out the virus that dies because it can really make you ache if you don't help it flush.  I also use Plague Defense if I feel that I am getting sick with a flu like illness and drink the water.   A new product we found this winter is Sinupret.  It is an herb blend and it seemed to be useful for one of the flu strains.  Anytime we feel nausea or indigestion that feels like a sick stomach we take a drop or two of Tummy Soothe in water.  Warrior can be used on a cut or break in the skin to kill bacteria.  Our youngest daughter gives blood and I try to get her to use Warrior on the site afterward because she has picked many infections.  If I have to have blood taken or even a finger stick I put Warrior on the site.  Even though it is supposed that everything is sterile I often find that I picked bacteria so I just go ahead and take care of it rather than get a full blown infection.  Sometimes if I have been through a big detox of something and my kidneys feel achy I take hydrangea root tincture for a few days to clear up sludge in the kidneys or use lemon essential oil as mentioned above.  Kidney stones are treated with hydrangea root tincture, take a one ounce bottle as directed on the label until it is gone.  It will dissolve the stones.  If you have recurring problems with kidney stones take 3000 mg of magnesium every day but get it in capsule form not a tablet.  Many report that they never have a kidney stone again after starting to take the magnesium. If we  get into a lot of smoke or something toxic in the air we use 10 deep breaths of Lung Support to heal and clear the lungs instead of waiting for trouble to develop.  It is good to use some Sunshine if we are going to be in a stressful situation.  We usually just carry a 2 ml bottle of it in our pocket and an take it out a breathe some of it if we need it.  One morning we were out with some friends for breakfast and they had just gotten up on the wrong side of the bed and were so cranky.  I took out my bottle of Sunshine and waved it around and soon all was well.  :)  A few weeks ago my Mom called and was upset because my Dad had fallen and I told her to get the Sunshine and put a drop on the back of hers and Dad's neck just to calm them down.  It really works for them but they do not think to use it if they are upset.

Disclaimer-I am not a doctor and I am making these recommendations based on my training and what I have learned from treating myself others with the kinesiology that I have been blessed to be able to learn.  

I hope you find something useful here!


Thank you Lana!  I sure did find useful things here.  I immediately set up a system to drink much  more.   I also have ordered Warrior and Sunshine.   I already have the other oils mentioned.  All oils that Lana lists are from Hopewell Essential oils.   I find them wonderful. 
If you want to use another company and want an equivalent then look up these oils and note the ingredients.  Sometimes I do this and make my own blends.  

This is an endless subject!  I believe there are times when information comes to us just when we need it.  I really like my GP and I am thankful for Doctors and hospitals.  But there have been a list of things my Doctor really has been no help with... these things include years of aches and pains,  a burning sensation on my tongue (burnt mouth syndrome)  restless leg syndrome  (this one nearly drove me bonkers) and ongoing sore arms and elbows since painting too much,  getting tennis elbow and two spider bites!  Oh and also insomnia... and re occurring really terrible sore throats.  My poor doctor has been absolutely useless at any help at all with any of these things.  When I was really stuck information came my way and each of the things was fixed virtually overnight with either vitamins, diet changes or essential oils.  So when medicine has nothing for you what do you have to lose!? 

Do you have any early intervention health tips?  Have you had any good results for persistent illnesses, aches and pains etc?   It seems almost everyone has some issue they are prone to.  Something that is usually the first sign they are coming down with something,  over tired or stressed...

It is absolutely beautiful here today.  Gorgeous sunshine and we hear rain is coming.  This is perfect! 
Have a wonderful week! 

Feather your Nest Friday, 27th April, 2018.

We have had beautiful sunny days and cool nights.  I love it like this!
This week was a mixture of little ways to get things done,  get ahead and save.

All week I have been working through lemons from Hilde's.  As I use a lemon I then put what is left into the dishwasher to go through with the next load.   The dishes come out so well and the whole dishwasher is sparkling.

Over the weekend I have big plans for them.  I am making lemon cheesecake and making my first bach of Limoncello which I have been wanting to try for years.  I figure this would make good gifts.

I made a big batch of Mimi's Sticky Balsamic Vinegar.   This is something we use all the time.  A simple drizzle of this over a salad,  pizza,  things like figs.... makes everything so beautiful.   It is sold here in tiny bottles for about $5.   I used Mimi's recipe and it's is wonderful and now for the life of me I cannot find the link.  We will get it posted in comments.   I used a big jar of my own Plum Jam in the mix  to add flavour and make it thick.   Well it is beautiful and I got so much! 

I actually ordered tiny 100ml squeeze bottles for this so I can give some as gifts.  So I have mine in decanters and a big jar of it waiting for my bottles to arrive.

Allie helped Andy to clean our gutters on the shed and the house.  This is a big job and now done before any major rain.   For her work I am making Allie a tray of Lasagna.   This is one of the trades I do with her... sometimes it is Banana Cake.  We are doing a lot more trades lately.  She told me she would much prefer Lasagna than cash! 

Last week I had my Flybuy points arrive and I turned them into a $50 Coles voucher.  I always aim to at least double my money by buying great specials or make downs.  This is a burst of extra things for my pantry.  This time I did the best ever! 

On facebook I saw that Coles was having a clearance of shampoo and conditioner.   The thing is if you follow catalogues the clearance items are never in them.... nor the mark downs.  Most times I look at catalogues thinking I would not pay that!  The good stuff is never advertised.  Thanks to Facebook groups I heard about this one.

I turned my $50 voucher into $141.95!   

I bought brands I use and like.... this was an example this Dove Conditioner was normally $6.90 and out for $1.72.

I ended up with so much! It took ages to select!

I have supplies for just ages and this was all free thanks to saving my points.  Now when at the check out I notice most people don't even bother dos ave their points!  I cannot understand it! 

I essential got paid $150 for half an hours work here.

I cut Andy's hair.

Yesterday I had a lovely time.  I took Harper to the train station to watch trains.  That kid loves trains. She nearly screams the house down when another train is coming through the tunnel lol

So we sat there eating cake, feeding birds and watching trains.   There is so much free stuff to do with little kids.  We go to the play ground.  If there is a construction site we watch the tractors.  Men digging holes is highly impressive.  Kids love this kind of stuff!  

How was your week?  How did you save or get ahead?  What did you do to build up your home?

Today is our wedding anniversary and we are going out to dinner!  Tomorrow is Andy's birthday and I am making a chocolate cake and a special meal with his favourite... steak. 

Mum is here in Adelaide and loving seeing the girls again!  

Have a wonderful weekend! xxx