Back to Basics Challenge 1

I've joined in Belinda's Back to basics to challenge. I was inspired by Belinda's post, so I thought this is how I'm trying to have us live so why not join a challenge. so here goes -

Sowing seed or Planting - This week we planted another 10 tomato plants, this added to the 23 we have planted at Steve's parents house totals 33 tomato plants all together, we eat a lot of tomatoes here all year round so hopefully fruit fly and possums won't get to them first. In the green house at the moment Steve has Bok Choy (this grows like a weed), carrots, cape gooseberries, celery. In the garden we have Zucchini, Beans, beetroot, radishes, tomatoes, corn, pop corn, watermelon, rockmelon, apple cucumbers, leb cucumbers, capsicuim, onions, potatoes, lettuce, strawberries, asparagus, garlic, pumpkin, squash.

Planning for The Future - As far into the future I'm planning for at the moment is Christmas, as I have written in past posts that my goal is to make as many of my pressies as possible, to date I have made 4 aprons, 2 drink bottle holders, 4 wash cloths, oh dear, I had better get a move on Christmas is only 5 minutes away, I still have some baking to do but that will be closer to the date.

Working for the Future - In the last year I have bought a Fowlers preserving unit so I can preserve fruits and vegetables when they are in season so that I have them for when they are out of season and outlandishly expensive. I'm hoping to have a good crop of Tomatoes to do this with so I don't have to buy another tinned tomato. I have always had a good stock of basic provisions in the pantry, lentils, flour, rice, beans etc. I buy these things when they are on special.

Building Community -


Learn a new Skill - In the past year I have been re learning skill that I once had, sewing, knitting, crocheting, cooking from scratch. I could already do all these things but over the years i had let them slide always saying I didn't have time. The one new skill I have taught myself is how to make soap, I have made 2 batches to date and we love it. Steve's eczema is a little better for the effort. I also make our washing powder which has helped with the eczema also.

Thanks for visiting.

Garden Update

The garden is looking fantastic, we have tomatoes already on our plants, we also have 2 Jurassic zucchini plants that are taking over the garden. My lemon tree has grown a least 6 inches since the weather has warmed up. Our apple trees have leaves slowly coming on hopfully, we will get some flowers soon. I cannot get the Rosella seeds to germinate, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. If there is someone out there that can offer some advice please help.

The Chrissy pressies are well on the way, I don't know if I have set myself a task that is too hard to complete, I will continue and see how I go.

I haven't had a lot of time for cooking lately, just the basic meals, some type of meat(beef, chicken or pork) and salad, there has been nothing too adventurous. We mainly eat salad in this warmer weather.

I will try and take some photos this weekend, so there is a record of the spring process.

Thank you for dropping by.

My Trusty Elna sewing machine.

I've had the trusty elna sewing machine out in the past few weeks giving it a work out. I got inspired to sew again with the swap I joined and now the bug has bitten. It has been years since I have sewn anything but I'm back and loving it more than I did before. It has to be at least 15 years since the last time I sewed up a storm. I am finding I've got heaps more patients than before. I had to give my wonderful FIL a call twice to be my sewing machine repair man. The first time because the machine was making a CLUNK CLUNK noise that just didn't sound right, the second time because the foot pedal would only go full speed, and this was just too fast. But all is now fixed, and I'm sewing up a storm.

Here is a bit of history about this old baby, I got it as a 21st birthday present in 1984, and it was already at least 10 years old then. But with a little oil it is still working like a dream at 34 years old. It does all that I need it too.

I have been busy working on my Chrissy presents, I have decided to make all my presents this year. We'll see how this goes, I'm up to my 5th Apron, Here is a photo of the first one I made for Imogen. Imogen is 10 in December and she loves to bake. (thankyou to my model Nicky who proudly modelled my creation).

I have made 4 others but they aren't completely finished so I will show them off when they are. I still have to do the hand sewing on the front of them all.

I also want to make a couple of special little girls in my life a cloth doll each, below is my failed attempt. The head just wouldn't work for me so it is in the too hard basket for now until I work out what and how to do it. I downloaded the pattern from I cannot recall where, and it was a easy to follow pattern but the head was deformed, so it is a "Wednesday Adams" doll at he moment.

I went to Spotlight and picked up a vogue pattern, hopefully this will work better.

Bye for now

Swap

This is the parcel I received from my Swap Buddy Cheryl at Gingerbread Crafts , Cheryl and I were in a swap that was run by the girls at Down to Earth, I forgot to take a photo of what I sent to Cheryl. But you will find it on Cheryl's blog through the Gingerbread Craft link above.I really loved my parcel from Cheryl, I use the water bottle holder and the note book everyday.

Thanks again Cheryl.

Bye for now,

Very Busy September Part 2

Here is part 2 - On the 12th September Steve and I along with our friends Amanda and Matthew, went to the "Basement" (a restaurant and stage show venue) in Sydney's Circular Quay, to see Jon English (for those of you that read from other parts of the world Jon English is an old Aussie Rocker from the 60s and 70s) and Jonah's Road. They were both fantastic, I thought I didn't know any Jon English music but I knew quite a bit. Amanda and I went to see Jonah's Road, they are some local boys trying to make it in the country music scene. We saw them this year in Tamworth, they are great, and a lovely bunch of guys, so friendly. They have a new release on CMC the song is called "Giddy Up" go and vote for them and get them up the charts so they might get signed up for a record deal.

I have started my Christmas presents, I have made 2 aprons for two little girls I know that love to bake, I am just finishing off their names on the front. One of them I have made too short so I will add some more fabric to the bottom of that one. I then have a couple more to make but adult ones, these are for a few friends. I like the idea of the pressies in a jar, and I'm going to make the older of the 2 girls some biscuits (cookies) in a jar as well as a recipe book to go with her apron.

I am about to start my cloth dollies as well, I have 3 to make for 3 special little girls in my life, I tried a pattern I found online but I couldn't get the head to work, so I went off to spotlight and bought a pattern, I am a pattern girl I like to have a pattern to follow. The pattern I found online was good but it needed how to do it pictures.

I'm going to give everyone I can homemade gifts this year. I really like the gift in a jar idea. I got all my ideas over at Down to Earth. While you are checking out Down to Earth leave a comment in answer to the questions Rhonda is asking in this current post. Rhonda is writing a book and she would like to know why all here readers have chosen the simple life.

Well I think I have caught up now, I will try and be more diligent

in my posting.

Bye for now,

Tracie

Very Busy September

I can't believe that it has been 3 weeks since my last post. I'm generally not that slack. We have had a hectic September. First there was Fathers day, we had a lovely brekky out with my FIL and the rest of the family at Rhodes. After breakfast we had a look around Ikea - I love Ikea, it was very busy at Ikea for Fathers Day, I thought everyone would be out having Fathers Day lunch and I would be nice and quite, but no, everyone had gone out for Brekky just like us and then they all went to Ikea as well. We managed to fight through the crowd and grab a few gadgets that we needed.

The next week we had our nephew Ethan's 8th Birthday Party. He turned 8 on the 9th of September and had his "Sports Party" on Sunday the 14th of September. The children had lots of fun. I glad I wasn't the 2 young ladies that were trying to keep 18 children amused in between rain showers. It was a very wet afternoon. They both did a very good job, the children were exhausted when they left after 2.5 hours of non stop running and lots of sugar.

Today (21st Spetember) was the Annual Spring Carnival at Gannons Park. When we got there I thought, I should have bought the camera and taken some photos. It was a beautiful spring day as usual, there were some great crafts and displays to look at. We stood and watched the dog trials for a little while, some doggies are very clever. We spent 1.5 hours at the fair and had a great time, we then spent an hour in the garden, the spuds are growing like weeds so I covered them with mulch again. They will be out of the mulch by tomorrow, I'm sure.

Last week we planted zucchini, purple beans, Lazy Housewife beans, yellow squash, baby corn, we now have added this to Tomatoes, potatoes, asparagus, snow peas, carrots, chard, lettuce, beetroot . If we can keep the slugs and possums off them we should have a good harvest this year. This is a photo of our snow peas, we have been harvesting chinese takeaway containers full every couple of days.

Here is a photo of Steve doing some planting in the pouring rain.

Don't our snow peas look yummy, I can tell you they are. There is nothing like picking and eating out of your own garden. Not too many make it into the container when I'm picking. I love raw vegies.

I do have more photos I will try and do more posting tomorrow.

Bye for now,

Tracie xx

Happy to see Spring

Today is the 1st of September and the first day of Spring. The days are already starting to get longer, the sun is coming up at around 6.00am. I only know this because this is when Kirby wakes me up, and this is the time on the clock radio. Who needs an alarm when you have a little cat chewing on your fingers. Steve and I went to the Gardening Australia show in Sydney yesterday, we were both a little disappointed, but this didn't stop us from buying a new greenhouse The new one is the tall one. and a new cat loo. Steve had filled up our little greenhouse with seed trays and everytime I would ask have you got seeds planted for this or that he would say that he had no more room in the green house. So now we have 2. He will probably fill up the 2nd one this weekend.

This morning it is nice and warm sitting here at the computer, it is 19 C (66F) on the clock. The clock hasn't been above 8C (46F) in the morning for weeks now. I think the warm weather is going to come on fast. This is fine as long as we get a little more rain.

I will leave you with some other photos of our "Patch".

This is the end of winter look, we will start to mulch and spread some worm castings around to make this all look better.

Here are our strawberries trying to make a come back after the possum ate all the leaves.

Have a great day.

Tracie