Simple ways, simple days

Yep, just when you think things are all systems go Thunderbirds the computor has a melt down, so here we go take two. February Stitch Along blocks complete,Yeah!!! Well that feels better I am off the blocks with my part 1.

Finally some quilting and stitching, I am a huge fan of Craftsy.com and have purchased numerous classes across many craft genres.  Whilst watching a class called Simple Fresh Quilts by Joanna Figueroa I felt that the spool block quilt was perfect for this jelly roll that had been kicking around my craft room so I thought why not let's do it. So early December I set about stitching the top and here it is as I was making the sandwich, this was also the first time I have tried spray basting a quilt and I must say I really like this technique. My furry, four legged helper is Mimi who just loves to help make the quilt sandwich and tries to take ownership over all quilts, she will only sleep on a bed with a quilt on it. Maybe I should make her one of her own. This quilt is also the one that I decided to bite the bullet on and started to free motion quilt it myself, my previous quilts I have quilted in the ditch and basically with straight lines. I found the free motion side ...

Slowly getting back in the groove. Trying to settle back into the groove after our camping holiday. One of the first requests was " please Mum can you make some bread", isn't it funny the things you miss , the smell and taste of homemade bread has to be right up there. I hope to step up the bread making this year and branch out into fancy plaits and rolls etc, Sorry about the photos, I am not to smart with the phone and I have not located the camera in the unpacking yet. I was pleased with these 2 light rye loaves and somebody else was also as a slice was missing when I returned, they were still hot. I was also very relieved that the vegie garden had looked after itself whilst we were away it is always a worry during the heat to leave it to it's own devices, but it seems to have coped. I will need to get busy over the next few days to deal with the over sized zucchinis and the apricots look not far off either and I am very curious abo...

Reflections on 2014 Well we have just returned a day earlier than planned from our camping holiday at Lorne in Victoria, some unexpected heavy rains for Friday and Saturday  convinced us to pack up camp and return home with a damp tent rather than a drenched one. We had a lovely time spending days at the beach and nights playing Phase 10 ( card game ) and Rummikub along with spending time with my eldest daughters fiance and his father. Over Christmas and New Year there was a bit of discussion about the year that was and how it had at times challenged our resilience and that we were grateful for the good times amongst the struggles. Both my girls and I live with a genetic medical condition that impacts us everyday but we make the most of what we can and are happy with life, There is no treatment or cure we just need to manage and adapt as necessary, according to our Specialists we are experts at this and constantly surprise them with what we manage. Having said all of that ther...

Sweet smell of Sourdough bread mmmmmm.... Last week in one of our neighbourhood newsletters there was an ad for free sourdough starter to anyone that would like to try their hand at baking sourdough bread. DD15 and I had often discussed trying to bake sourdough as it is her favourite, but to be honest I was a bit daunted by the whole process. A couple of years ago I read a novel based around a bread starter and how it weaved it's magic through a community and then far and wide without anybody really noticing at first. I think it was called the "Friendship Bread", I must dig it out, and the spirit of pass it forward, share it around has stayed with me and this spurred me forward. Yes I could have started my own starter but I think I was honestly waiting for this one to come to me. Anyway I thought what the heck why not get in contact and see what is involved, so I emailed the person to organise pickup. A lovely young woman called Allegra, who lived within walking di...

Small steps toward sustainability...Yeah! Well about 6 weeks ago we were lucky enough to have some solar panels installed due largely in part to our local Council initiative of a special repayment scheme for low income households. Until now I had only dreamt of solar panels and ogled other people panels with envy, abit like the colourbond roof add, for those in Australia. We are now all switched on and plugged in after a few inspections. I love the new catch cry from my girls now, "can I put the washing machine on now will it run on solar?" They have very quickly adapted to the right times for appliances to be used and oddly enough have become abit eco warrior in their attitude, hope it lasts. Will keep you posted re outcomes and hopefully savings. Melbourne Cup weekend was also a big weekend in the garden for me as I began the planting of vegies in our rearranged beds the aim is to now keep it going all year around. I feel a steep learning curve coming on but with p...

Frugal and Simpler seems to be on everyones mind. Well it seems that frugal is a hot topic at the moment, maybe due to the economic state of the universe, every second person seems to be thinking about it or acting upon it. Simple is another word that seems to go hand in hand with frugal. It really does seem that the more we have the more we want and I no longer wish for this. I want a slower, deeper more satisfying life, one where I can truly engage and enjoy the moments. I also now see how really important this could be for my girls as they move forward into their adult years. I certainly do not want them on the treadmill of consumerism. My aim with this blog is to hopefully keep me on track with this journey. I want to rediscover my cooking from scratch abilities and to grow as much of our own produce as possible, with some left over to share and swap. I aim to nuture my home so that it becomes a real haven away from the fast pace world that surrounds us all. To s...