Wholesome Living

I bought myself a new book yesterday; A Home Companion by NZ author Wendyl Nissen.  Thought it might kick start reading for me once again.  It's a fabulous read for those of us who want to return to a simpler life, growing your own veggies, preserving food, using natural products, you know like our Nanas did.  But this isn't one of those heavy reads, no this is a very light, humorous read.  It's got some awesome recipes for home made products as well.  I'm now keen to make my own moisturiser, washing powder, cleaning paste and bug sprays.

I needed my Mum's food processor for my first try-out recipe.  Mum's are great for lending equipment.  Oh and could you please get some cream for me too?

One container of cream, a dash of salt, pour it all in and turn it on for a few minutes.

Stop when it forms a thick mass.  It actually looks just like butter when it's ready.  Scrape all the butter out and form it into a ball in your hands.  Yes it's a bit yuck but it seems to stay in the right place.

Squeeze out all the water gently under running water.  Pop it in a container and enjoy spread on fresh home made bread.

It doesn't make a huge amount for a 500ml container of cream but it's not bad.  And it's all 100% natural!  Of course if you happen to have a banker in the family like we do, well you'll get asked how much it cost and is it really worth doing?  Well of course it is!!  It's not about the money, it's about it being better for us and it's so much fun to make.  It only took about 3mins to make.  Mind you, I haven't cleaned any of the greasy equipment yet!

And what did the family make of the taste?  Well No.3 said it tasted much nicer and hubby said he wouldn't have known it was different if I hadn't said anything.  No complaints at all.  Sweet success.

Check out how big my darling little pumpkin has grown since I last showed you!!  I'm sure you can see her growing.  I have plenty more growing as well.  Some on the fence too which is a little concerning.

And my tomato plants are so full of green tomatoes that I'm sure they will all be ready on the same day.  I'm going to make jars of tomatoes for the winter casseroles, pastas and the like. 

 And do you want to see my finished compost bin?

It's just perfect!  The front panels come out nice and easily.  A lid might be in order next.  Not sure what it will be made from but I'm sure it will have all the bells and whistles.  It's very neat and tidy looking, and to think, one day it will be full of rot. 

NYR's

I've reeled you in with my amazingly coloured Zinnias haven't I?  I adore their colour so much in my vegetable garden.  Aren't they just the cheeriest flowers out?  How could you not be happy looking at their beauty?  Anyway I went out and bought another five pots of them yesterday as I just can't get enough of them!!  Yum-me!  Consider these a Happy New Year gift for you, from me. 

Now I'm not really one to do New Year's Resolutions, but... this year I decided that we would each make one for another member of our family.  No.1 drew my name out of the box.  Lucky me, look what she wrote...

Isn't her writing just a tip?  Her bedroom is exactly the same!  Anyway isn't she just the sweetest?  Hubby and I nearly wet ourselves reading it.  I mean does she really think I clean all day??  Has she not noticed the huge folding pile?  Well she didn't mention cooking so I guess I'm not hiding the fact that I haven't cooked for days.  But spending more time sewing and gardening sounds rather lovely.  I actually was thinking that I should cut back a bit this year, but clearly not.

So I did exactly what I was told.  I've been very busy in the garden all this week in the boiling sunshine getting the garden back into some sort of order.  The tomatoes are finally staked.

The pumpkins are doing a splendid job in the compost heap.  All self sown I might add.  Yes the whole pumpkin I'd say!  I have no idea just how many pumpkins I'll end up with but we'll all be making pumpkin soup, pie, quiche and more for some time I'm sure.  This year I'm planning to use my new garden diary and garden by the moon.  Should be better for me as I will know what to do when.

And of course I must do some sewing!  A new quilt just cut out ready for sewing.  I actually pinned and started quilting a quilt for No.1 last night.  Long overdue!  Of course I ran out of thread so had to stop mid flight.  Off to the sewing shop for more tomorrow when the shops are open.  Gosh I wonder if Spotlight will be? 

I think I've made a good start to my NYR, don't you?  So funny.  Oh and I took the big girls to the supermarket tonight so that was good quality time, sort of.  Well it was fun except for the trolley running into the heels moment!  And they all had lots of cuddles through the day too.

Moving right along now.  Here's a sneaky peek at our new bedroom I've been promising you...

This is all I can show you as this is basically it.  The ensuite still only has a shower in it and we need to choose the tiles for the floor soon.  The bedroom needs new carpet and the wardrobe is naked.  We also need a new bed and storage either side of our bed.  But for now it's perfect.  It's dark.  It's relaxing.  It's ours.  It's so quiet in the mornings too.  Just heavenly.

Have you made any NYR's?  Don't be too hard on yourself.  It's pretty clear that we are too hard on ourselves.  Go on, have some fun this year, you have permission!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Christmas!!!  she says, singing like an old bat.  Am I the only one who gets a little bit excited when she realises Christmas is just a couple of months away?  The first week of October is now over so that must make it... about ten weeks away!!!  How exciting is that???  Oh gosh, I hope I haven't freaked anyone out!

Now that the warm weather has arrived in little old NZ, I have been spending the odd hour outside sorting the garden out.  My goodness it's got away on me.  I thought it was about time I watered the Christmas tree and got it into shape for the festive season.

The nursery was paid a visit this morning and these glorious red and white Petunias made their way into our boot.

And how could I go past these red delights?  I do love a pretty dahlia.  There are so many buds on this plant, so hopefully it will flower right into Christmas.  So our front door area is looking like a Christmas bomb has hit it.

And Mr Red Gingham's Pohutukawa is doing very nicely and completely covered in red blooms.  This one is a very early flowerer.  Usually they flower in the summer and put on a lovely show for Christmas. 

Aren't the flowers so dainty with their little golden tips?  They do make a mess a couple of days afted being picked unfortunately.  Little bits of dried redness all over the place.

And I seem to have left this decoration out all year.  How could I put away such a lovely heart? 

My Red Gingham banner garland has made itself at home in our family room.  I think it looks very pretty up there.  Maybe we'll have a spotty and ginghamy Christmas this year?  Although we have had those two themes separately in previous years.

I don't know about the different colour schemes some people do these days.  Could you do pink or blue really?  I'm sure it's not big in the UK with the traditional Christmas such a reality.  But over here in the Summer it's tempting.  Why is the wintry Christmas such a big thing for us in the heat anyway?  We just can't stay away from it.  We love the idea of having a cold Christmas Day.  Heck, the shops spray fake snow on the windows!!  How ridiculous is that?

I often mention doing a different theme but it just doesn't excite the family.  Perhaps we could do red with hot pink?  It would combine both seasons.  I think a little fabric shopping is needed for inspiration.  I need some stuffing for my bunnies anyway.  Plenty of time really, aye?

Simple Sewing

Ok Ok, I'll use the soap!  But I still think they look nice all wrapped up.  I'm going to keep it for a little while longer before getting it all wet, but I still think it seems a shame.  I'd better not tell you about all the other dry soaps I have, had I?  Or the bath sachet I bought in Honolulu, oh... about 13 years ago!

Now just to prove to you all that I haven't stopped sewing altogether, I sat down yesterday and made a few goodies.  Remember I told you I was going to do a sewing class at the girls school?  Well that's coming up at the end of the month so I thought I should start organising some samples.  They need to be quite simple projects as they probably won't have a great deal of experience.

This little padded heart looks like something anyone could make look pretty reasonable.  Unfortunately I'll have to precut the felt as they won't have scissors sharp enough or pinking shears either.  But sew they will do.

This cute monster came out of the Softies book which I adore.  I quite like my colour combination and I think the eyes really give him character.  We have plenty of button sewing skills with these projects.  But we do love a good button or two.

 

Oh stop being such a silly monster!  I'll have to sew him up later today.  He needs a smile as well, or maybe a tongue.  Do you think the students will like the sort of projects I've chosen for them so far? 

I also managed to get behind my sewing machine, shock horror.  I've seen lots of bunting hangings lately and thought them rather sweet.  I am making this one for Daughter No.1 so it's in her favourite colours.  I am thinking about stitching a quote on it.  It looks a bit boring otherwise.  So I googled sewing quotes and found a lovely site with loads of nice ones.  Of course I'm looking for something short and sweet, we don't want to be stitching a book!

I have used my first antique French button dear Liz sent me.  I just love them.  They are the perfect red.

And I just thought I'd be a bit different and extend the bunting off the side of the hanging.  I love working with linen.  It's so natural and warm.  Well warm, mainly because of the amount of time you spend ironing it!  But I do think I could make many a tea towel with linen.  Maybe I just will.  

And just so you don't think I've discarded my newly found kitchen skills while I've been busy sewing, I made muesli for the first time yesterday.  And it was so easy!  We have received some hubby feedback this morning about the honey flavour and the lack of absorbency from the oats, but we can work on these problems. 

And would you like to have a little peek at my babies?  Just look how well they are growing, the little poppets.  The Nasturtiums took about ten days to sprout but they have such strong little stalks and are growing in front of my eyes.  I'm hoping for a fine weekend to put them all out into the garden.  The peas are doing very well outside so I'm sure the others will be just fine too.

Right now.  I think it may be time to get a wriggle on and start on the kitchen.  My little one has a cough at the moment and the others are starting to catch it.  I just hate coughs.  Luckily they slept well last night.  Ok then, I'll catch up with you all later.  Hope you are all fine and enjoying a little craft time, if that's your thing.  Bye!!

Shiny Red Gumboots

Yesterday it rained.  Last night it poured.  Today I got to jump in puddles with No.4!  How cool is that?  Lucky for us I bought some lovely shiny gumboots on Saturday.  A serious gardener has to have a pair of boots after all. 

Don't our boots look lovely all lined up?  Daughters 1 and 2 share a pair as they don't often need them.  I'd rather have the cute pair on the left, but plain red is the next best thing. 

It was a grand day on Saturday so we made the most of it.  Some of the seedlings were transplanted into their new homes.  My bench was getting a little overcrowded.  It still is with the addition of another couple of seed packets.  The rain sure has made them grow.

I had a secret little helper too.  Look what I found No.3 doing.  Picking up all the fallen leaves.  She has a lot of interest in the garden and is great at weeding.

She picked up a whole wheelbarrow load by herself!  And when I asked her if she enjoyed doing it, she said "No not really". She just saw that it needed doing and thought she'd help out.  What a little sweetie, and she's only five too.  They are now in my compost heap and under the broccoli plants for mulch.

Look, Spring is here!  Isn't she a beauty?  No.4 is very pleased it's outside her bedroom window.  When she's looking at the stars at night, she can see her flower too.

My mother gave me another big bag of lemons.  Well of course I just had to make a double batch of lemon curd and two packets of lemon cordial to freeze.  And did you know that I've been making bread ever since I told you I was going to?  That must be at least two weeks or more.  Go me!  It's so easy and there is nothing nicer than serving up a tray of freshly made bread and homemade jams in the weekend.  Oh and watching Mamma Mia at the same time!

We had a lovely weekend.  I hope you did too.  The sun is back shining brightly, for the whole week I hope.  I really must get back to sewing one of these days.  I've been spring cleaning the kitchen cupboards instead.  See I told you it was Spring!!

I'm Going Bananas!

It's nice to see so many of you are wanting to make lemon cordial and lemon curd now after yesterday's post.  That makes me feel very good because now I know you aren't missing out on two of the tastiest things. They are so yummy! 

One thing I did when making the lemon curd, was I beat the eggs and left them in the fridge for ages so when I mixed them into the hot mix they had time to combine before getting too hot.  Otherwise you can end up with cooked egg white bits in the curd.  Bit odd looking. 

See my lovely red bucket of lettuces?  My mother bought them at market day on Saturday for me.  How jolly sweet of her.  How jolly sweet of my father who got the job of carrying them home too!

Well No.4 and I had another very lovely outing yesterday to Spotlight.  We bought what we needed and then headed to our fav lunch spot.  The sushi was truly divine.  Very nice indeed.  I LOVE this one, Teriyaki.  Please don't tell me if it's not good for me, I really don't want to know.  The little girl picked out a pretty pink donut for her lunch.  It's such a treat to eat out. 

On the way home we stopped to buy our fruit and vegetables.  Who could resist a box of bananas for $3?  Not me that's for sure.  So this morning I googled and found this marvelous recipe.  I must go back to the site and see what else they have, as it looks like a winner. 

I secretly made them before I got help from No.4.  Was that mean of me? 

I did let her arrange the cupcake wrappers on the bench.  Don't they look great with the granny blanket in the background?  Oh domestic life is good.  (Stop laughing mother!)

The recipe states that you can leave the eggs out if you like.  That's lucky as I forgot to add them!  I'm always doing things like that.

And it's not such a great idea to drop the whole tray when getting them out of the oven either!  Honestly I'm like an old lady sometimes.

 

This is how many one batch made.  But I made a double!  I want to freeze some and we are going to a friends for afternoon tea today - it's always nice to take something along I think.

Aren't they pretty?  Considering I've never liked baking, or anything to do with the kitchen, I'm spending lots of time in there.  The girls helped me fill the bread maker containers last night.  That's the best time saving thing I've thought of in years. 

Now I'm off.  I'm taking homemade bread and veggie soup to eat with my mother.  We'll take her a muffin too.  I'm thinking that I just might have to make some gluten-free ones for me.  I hate to miss out on all this good cooking.  It kills me in the weekend when I serve up freshly made bread and then reach for my two slices of frozen stuff from the freezer.  Never mind, at least I can eat all the food I'm growing in the garden. 

Goodbye for now my sweeties!  Have a good day and thanks for coming to visit me again. 

Juicy Lemons

What a fabulous weekend I've had.  The weather was just perfect.  Warm and inviting.  What better thing to do than get outside in the garden.  I found some yummy things to do inside on my breaks too.  Lemon curd is a favourite with our girls.  Of course the homemade variety wins every time for flavour. 

My two bags of lemons have been reduced to three lemons.  On Saturday I made a batch of lemon curd and then lemon cordial.  It was so much fun I repeated it all on Sunday.  What easy recipes they both are. 

The girls all had turns rolling them around the bench to make them more juicy and then squeezing them. 

 

I'll give you the recipes if you like as they are so simple.  For the lemon cordial you need:

Juice and zest of 3 lemons

1 1/2 cups of sugar

3 cups boiling water

Place all in a large bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved.  Strain when cool and bottle.  

To drink, use one part cordial to two parts water.   

Lemon Curd:

100g butter

2 teaspoons lemon zest

100ml lemon juice

175g castor sugar

3 eggs - beaten lightly

Combine all but the eggs in a pan.  Heat while stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and add the beaten eggs stirring constantly.  Return to low heat until thickened slightly.  This stage doesn't take long at all.  Pour in two jars and refrigerate. 

And this is where my lemon tree is going to go, up there.  Of course hubby is going to be busy trying to pull those bushes out first.  I think there will be room for a manderin tree too.  The girls can't eat enough of those.

I have added some stepping stones to this garden.  It was getting a bit tricky to get to the weeds at the back.  Now it's just perfect and ready for my spring planting. 

I found the planter boxes got too hot and dry last summer so this time around I will plant flowers and herbs in them.  Geraniums, Nasturiums, Salvias are sounding colourful.  I'll be growing loads of herbs and flowers around the garden, when I have my fruit trees in, to attract the bees.   

I've found room for several trees; an apple, pear, plum and of course the

lemon and mandarin. I'll have to get double or triple grafted apple and pear trees for pollination.  I really don't have room for two apple trees and two pear trees.  Does anyone have any of these and can tell me if they do well?  Otherwise I'll probably just get two different apple trees if it means more fruit.

It's all been rather exciting in the garden.  I've not done a bit of sewing at all in weeks.  But I must do some soon as I've promised the school that I will teach sewing for senior electives.  It sounds rather exciting really.  I have to get my projects organised for them soon.  Nice and simple ones as they probably won't know how to sew at all.

Now I'd better be off.  No.4 and I are going to Spotlight to see what's on special.  I quite fancy some sushi for lunch too!  Hope you had a lovely weekend too.