Monthly Archives: October 2025

One In, One Out

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A few weeks ago I decided to list these boots for sale on Facebook Marketplace. They are about 28 years old but have not had a lot of wear and the elastic side panels have been replaced. The boots no longer suit my footwear needs and had been gathering dust.

I had several enquiries but they were not the required size and I had planned to relist them another time. Then I received a message from someone who lives a few hours drive from me who simply said she would pay postage and offered $110 rather than the $150 I had originally listed them for. I was very happy to see them go to someone who clearly wants them and will wear them.

These RM Williams ladies boots are top quality high-end footwear and currently retail for around $750. That is considerably more than I paid for them.

Regardless of the price I paid or the current value they were of no benefit to me so I was pleased to be able to move them on.

Meanwhile, my summer footwear is somewhat depleted after having not bought any for at least 3 years. Op shopping sometimes yields so excellent footwear bargains but it is definitely rather hit and miss.

So, last week I decided to bite the bullet and buy something new. I was unsure of exactly what I needed but I was leaning towards white which would be versatile enough to wear with pretty well all of my clothes. I also wanted to be able to wear it with dresses, skirts or trousers.

This is what I found.

These shoes are very lightweight and comfortable with the adjustable crossover strap. They are a bit more substantial than completely open sandals and I am confident that I will get lots of opportunities to wear them as the weather warms up.

Handmade

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As I sat down to write this post I was casting around in my mind for a suitable title. After close to 15 years of writing this blog it is inevitable that I end up reusing titles and that does not really matter. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the very simple one-word title of ‘Handmade’ had never featured. This is amazing since so much I what I write about is things that we have made or refashioned, whether it is cooking, sewing, gardening or various constructions.

Anyway, enough about the title and on to a couple of things that I have made recently which I want to share with you. The first is a recipe. This is a quick and easy no-bake sweet treat which is easy to have on hand for unexpected guests as well as a terrific option for times when you need to contribute something at the plethora of end-of-year events which will soon be upon us.

CHOC FRUIT AND NUT BALLS

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup sultanas
1 cup raisins
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup coconut + extra for rolling
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 – 2 tablespoons fruit juice

Method

Place almonds in food processor and process until fairly finely chopped. Add sultanas and raisins and process a bit more. Add the remaining dry ingredients and finally the juice. Drizzle slowly until the mixture forms into a solid mass. Remove mixture and roll into small balls. Roll the balls in coconut and store in the freezer until ready to use.

NOTE: This ‘recipe’ is my own creation and the quantities are only approximate and very flexible. You can use any dried fruit of you choosing. The juice can be fresh orange or lemon juice or any type of bottled juice.

Additionally, it is gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. Although I have not tried, if you need a nut-free version you could consider using pepitas or sunflower seeds instead of the almonds.

Meanwhile, I have also done some sewing recently. I had picked up some beautiful quilting fabric from an op shop some time ago with no real plans for how I would use it as they are not the colours I generally work with. I added it to my stash for a yet to be decided project. Last week I used some of it to make these blocks.

I then turned them into 2 patchwork tote bags which are fully lined with a contrasting internal pocket.

They are both being donated. One went to be part of a raffle at a Frocktober High Tea which a friend held yesterday. For those of you who don’t know, Frocktober is a focused month of fundraising for Ovarian Cancer Research. All cancer research is important but ovarian cancer is a particularly insidious disease which usually has very late diagnosis, and therefore, very poor outcomes and survival rates.

The other bag will also be part of a raffle next weekend but this time it will be at a fundraising fete for our local Community Pantry.

I am pleased to be able to share some of my handmade goods to benefit others in the wider community.

Tinned Tomatoes

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You may remember this post from about a month ago. I bought 3 rather large tins of crushed tomatoes. I made sure that I had a plan for how to use/store nearly 3kg of crushed tomatoes once the can was opened. This is important to make sure that nothing goes to waste.

I opened one a couple of days ago and used 2 cups of it in a dish I was making. The remainder are now frozen in quantities which are a similar size to a regular 400g can of tomatoes.

Vertical Elements

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We have ongoing plans for the garden but the wheels turn fairly slowly here as everything carefully considered.

A couple of weeks ago we decided to reposition a couple of the small raised garden beds which we bought early last year. This is all part of the grand plan to have defined pathways and sections of the garden rather than a wide open space.

They now run north/south rather than east/west. You can see the old positions by the patches of dirt in the foreground of the photo.

I had also seen somewhere online that people had used reinforcing mesh to create an archway between 2 raised garden beds. So, yesterday we purchased one large piece of mesh from the hardware which was delivered in the afternoon and we set to work on our plan.

This is the second one we built and I am hoping to use it to grow climbing beans. There is a tomato in the bed on the left and spinach on the right-hand side.

The first one we did is a bit more difficult to see because of the background. It is high enough to allow clearance for the shed door (not regulation height) to open. I have planted a couple of cucumber seedlings close to the arch in the garden bed on the right. There are also capsicums in that bed. The box in the foreground is onions and the lettuce is thriving on the other side with coriander in pots nearby.

We also have cauliflower, strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb in other spots not shown in the photos.

It is great to have some permanent vertical structures in the garden which are both decorative and functional.

Desk Declutter

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Even though we have been in this house just under 2.5 years I have already tidied and decluttered the small office space and desk a couple of times. However, I was a bit more ruthless this time with a few more things gone.

Although I did not take a before photo I found this one from a previous post.

The most noticeable difference is that the speakers are gone as well as the cane basket from the corner of the desk. As we were working through the various bits and pieces, GMan noticed that the speakers were not actually connected to anything and whenever we listen to audio on the computer it comes directly from the speakers in the laptop!! The speakers do not appear to be compatible with the laptop so they are off to the op shop to find another home. The cane basket had become a receptacle for all sorts of electronics odds and ends so we decided that not having it there would force us to put things away properly. I will probably repurpose the basket for storage in my sewing room.

This is the finished view of the desk.

There is a small cupboard on the wall above one end of the desk. This is where we keep the modem as the power point and connection are there.

However, I always felt that this space was under-utilised. So, GMan drilled a hole so that we could feed the cables through and place the modem on the top shelf. This freed up more shelf space to use for other storage, including the lower shelf which is more accessible. I now have some stationery supplies in a couple of very classy ice-cream containers. They were previously on the bottom shelf of the bookcase opposite the desk but it makes more sense to have them here.

Finally, we went through all of the drawers and removed various things that are no longer relevant and rearranged a few items to make better use of the space. The final touch is that I plan to make labels for the drawers so that things are easier to find without opening multiple drawers. That is a task for another day.

Countdown

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Almost 2 weeks since my last post. While I haven’t been writing there seems to have been plenty to keep me occupied. Sometimes it is difficult to get motivated to write as I am loathe to repeat myself and after 14.5 years of blogging it can begin to feel like more of the same. However, in a lot of respects our lives and routines are remarkably repetitive.

The spring weather is as unpredictable as ever with days that hint of the coming summer interspersed with others that feel like winter. Nevertheless, we are enjoying the spring flowers and fresh foliage growth. The fleeting nature of spring flowers makes them particularly special as we have a small window to enjoy them before they are gone for another year. The daffodils are finished but the wisteria are looking their best this week.

Like every year, 2025 seems to be gathering speed as we race towards the end of the year. We no longer have work Christmas parties, end-of-year school activities or even a huge focus on a family Christmas but the countdown to Christmas has crept up on me.

We had a short break last week and spent 3 nights at Walhalla, about 3 hours east of Melbourne. It is a historic gold-mining town which now has a permanent population of 20.

This is a view from our accommodation one evening.

It occurred to me today that it is 10 weeks until we fly to Europe for a trip which we hope may include a white Christmas.

Before that we have another 2 night short break here in Victoria as well as about 10 days in Queensland visiting family, a weekend of volunteering/attending the local Folk Festival and the usual round of events, meetings, visitors and so on.

I really do need to be organised to make sure everything goes smoothly.

How do you feel about the latter part of the year? Are you planning or already prepared for Christmas and the year’s end?