Category Archives: Homemaking

Getting Ready

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There has been more doing than writing going on here in the past few days as the countdown is well and truly on. We are off on Sunday on our first overseas trip in nearly five years. It is a relatively short jaunt of two weeks to Honolulu and a couple of spots in California.

My posts while I am away will be on my travel blog, Somewhere, Anywhere so consider following my adventures there.

We have plenty to do in the next couple of days. The packing is well underway but a little tricky as it will be warm in Honolulu but San Francisco, in northern California, is still quite cool and showery. In fact, I am probably taking as much for 2 weeks as I would for 2 months. I have made a couple of tweaks since I took these photos. I am also taking a jacket, vest and scarves which are not shown.

For the warm days in Honolulu.

And the not so warm in San Francisco.

A selection of footwear.

Finally, I added this skirt after making it yesterday. It is navy and white which fits in nicely with several other pieces in my wardrobe. The fabric is a drapey 4-way stretch and not something I necessarily would have chosen myself. I was asked to make a skirt and the lady provided the fabric which had a border print along both edges and since the fabric was very wide I had an unused strip which she was happy for me to use so I decided on this skirt for myself. It is probably a bit shorter than I would normally wear but I have thrown caution to the wind and decided it would be a perfect addition for casual beachside wear.

I will add one more post here on Saturday and I will show you the other sewing project I have been working on today.

Harvest Time

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When choosing this title I noticed that I had used it before in 2021 – except that it was in early November. It is now late summer here and everything seems to be ripening in abundance so we are fully occupied making sure that none of it goes to waste.

Here are a few of the things we have been doing in the past few days.

When we moved here we inherited two espaliered nashi pear trees which have borne prolifically. We did not net them so the parrots have enjoyed quite a feast but we have still managed to pick several hundred fruit. Once we discovered that we really like the fruit stewed, GMan has made it his mission to peel and slice the seemingly never-ending supply and the freezer is full of containers of stewed nashi which we will enjoy in the coming months.

It is now about 6 weeks since I picked the first of our zucchini and I been managing to use them at pretty much the same rate as we were picking them until the last few days. So, today I made zucchini slice. I have been trialling making them in individual serves in the airfryer for some time now and am happy that I have finally got the amended measurements and cooking times right. I will post an amended recipe in the next blog post.

I also grated several extra zucchini and have them packed in bags of 200g in the freezer for future zucchini slice making.

Meanwhile, the tomato sauce was simmering on the stove.

This was the result.

I made another of my experimental versions of basil pesto and am pretty happy with this one. Almonds instead of pine nuts. Some grated zucchini mixed with the basil makes it milder flavoured. Nutritional yeast rather than cheese makes it dairy-free, vegan and reduces the cholesterol. Yes, minimising the cholesterol intake is going to be more of a feature of my cooking in the future. I also add the juice of half a lemon as it makes it a bit less oily.

The bumper harvest has not been confined to just our garden and our neighbour’s. I picked up a bag of plums from a roadside giveaway earlier in the week. I stewed these and have some each morning on my cereal.

Processing gluts of home-grown, gifted or foraged produce can be time-consuming but it is a worthwhile activity which helps to minimise the amount of food going to waste.

The Hub

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The kitchen is often referred to as the hub of the home but for us in this house the hub is definitely the office.

The office space is perfectly located as it is a walk-through space between the hall and the laundry, has an internal opening through to the informal family room and kitchen as well as having a view of the back garden and being within speaking distance of the the back patio.

This space is also the last to be properly organised and is finally done 9 months after we moved in. There are a couple of reasons for the delay. There was an assortment of paperwork and brochures relating to the house and the local area which the previous owners has kindly left for us. Some are useful but others are no longer relevant so we really had to sort them all out. Secondly, we had an assortment of peripheral equipment for the computer which I was unable to neatly position due to the layout of the desk.

Last week I found that the holes in desks for managing cables are not confined to bought furniture. So, we bought a couple of what are known as desk grommets and borrowed an appropriate-sized hole saw from the neighbour.

GMan created a hole in the desk and another in the divider under the desk so that we could feed the cables through to the power point.

This meant that we could set the equipment up on the desk with the power cords neatly tucked away rather than trailing over the front edge of the desk.

This is the view behind the monitor with the cables all tucked neatly out of sight.

Under the desk.

The other side of the divider.

The power board and cables are completely hidden by the shredder and bin of paper/cardboard to be shredded. I do this on a regular basis and add it to the compost. The covered item on the shelf above is the printer which we use very occasionally so we store it here when not in use.

We also finished sorting out the random piles which had collected on the desk and the addition of a shallow basket for paperwork that is ‘in progress’ or ‘to do’ keeps everything much tidier.

On the wall opposite the desk are these IKEA cupboards. Although they are not true built-ins they are attached to the wall and were here when we bought the house. It is great to be able to have our books behind the glass doors, mostly on view and accessible without gathering dust as they do on open shelving. One of the lower shelves stores stationery items.

I am happy with the result. Despite being quite compact (2m x 1.7m) it is now a much more useable space.

Some Sewing

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In my last post I promised that I would share a bit more about the French-themed event.

It was a film night at Maldon Golden Movies, our local community film society, where there was a screening of the 2021 film, Delicious. While GMan and I had actually seen it previously, it was fun to have the hall set up cabaret-style and provide some French-inspired nibbles including galettes and quiches from the local bakery.

I did not manage to get a photo in my full French outfit but this photo shows the navy trousers, Breton top and shoes that I teamed with the red beret which I shared previously. It drew many comments but the interesting thing is that apart from the beret, they are simply regular clothes from my wardrobe. I actually picked up the trousers and top in op shops late last year and have both become some of the most worn items in my wardrobe.

I made 8 white tablecloths from 2 sets of good quality cotton sheets which I sourced from the local op shop. These are bound to see numerous uses in the future as the format of the evening was very well received.

Hemmed, pressed and ready to go.

Tables set and patrons ready to enjoy the movie.

A Red Beret

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Tonight we are going to an event with a French theme. So, I decided that a French-inspired outfit would be a good idea and a beret was needed.

I watched a YouTube video on how to create a pattern to make a beret and then dived into my stash to find a suitable fabric. A piece of red uncut cord was the perfect weight and colour. For ease of fitting I chose to finish the inside edge with a piece of ribbing rather than the traditional binding.

There will be more details about the event and my whole outfit in the next blog post. Hint: There will be more of my sewing featured.

A Hot Day

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We have had a remarkably mild summer so far but yesterday it really kicked into gear. The outdoor temperature at our place peaked at 40.5C. This is not remarkable compared to other parts of the country but it was certainly enough to make us choose to stay indoors. With the blinds drawn and a couple of ceiling fans we were quite comfortable for most of the day before turning the airconditioning on in the family room for 2 hours in the late afternoon from about 5.30pm. The temperature was set on 24C and this soon made the room pleasantly comfortable.

I spent most of the day sewing and made two bags for a friend from fabric she had given me. They were mostly relatively small pieces of linen and cotton which had been carry bags from bed linen she had purchased at various times. I am really pleased with the results and looking forward to giving them to her.

Meanwhile, GMan was hardly being lazy either. He had picked 45 Nashi pears from one of our trees the previous day. This was after the birds had helped themselves. If we get organised and net the trees next year our harvest should be about doubled. Neither of us were smitten with eating the fruit raw so he decided to try stewing them. This was a raging success as they taste just like the tinned pears we both remember eating when we were growing up. It was a huge job to peel, core and slice them all but we now have one container in the refrigerator and several others in the freezer.

Today is a day of extreme to catastrophic fire danger across most of the state so we will be indoors, staying cool and most importantly, following any emergency reports and advice.

Buying Blinds

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Today I can unveil the latest addition to the house.

A couple of weeks ago we ordered some blinds. The first was a roller blind for the front door which is glass and faces north. It does not get any direct sun on it because of the overhanging porch but the blind offers privacy as there is a direct view from the porch to the full length of the hallway as well as assisting with temperature regulation in both summer and winter. The was a previous blind in place, however, it was not made to measure so no an ideal size. The colour was not to my liking either.

The new blind.

When it is open we still have a view of gorgeous roses and the rural outlook across the road.

There is an opening between the family room and the small office which allows for plenty of natural light and creates a feeling of spaciousness. However, on cold winter nights when we are trying to keep the family room warm, it is a problem as much of the heat tends to drift up the hallway through this opening and the nearby doorway. We are waiting for the carpenter to install a door between the family room and the hall but that still left the issue of the opening which is about 1m x 1m.

So, we ordered a honeycomb blind to fit the opening. It fits neatly inside the recess.

When it is open it is barely noticeable.

We did notice that the movement of air in the family room means that the blind does tend to move back and forth in the opening so I intend to make a small draught stopper to lie on the ledge behind which will eliminate that problem. I am looking forward to the difference it will make to keeping the warmth in the family room in the colder weather.

Tomatoes – A Test Run

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I am always looking for ways to store the inevitable summer glut of home-grown tomatoes. I make tomato sauce (ketchup) but there is a limit to how much of that we need. The recipe is here if you are interested. I also used to freeze cherry tomatoes whole for use in casseroles and other cooking. I have dabbled in making tomato paste and tomato powder. These have all been reasonably successful but somewhat labour intensive.

Our tomatoes are not ready yet but the neighbours have generously shared their harvest.

I had these spread out to ripen and today I selected the reddest ones and cut them into quarters. I placed them into a round cake tin with 2 large cloves of garlic and a handful of basil leaves (all homegrown) and a drizzle of olive oil. I cooked them in the airfryer for 25 minutes at 170C then blitzed them in the high-speed blender.

I now have a couple of jars of delicious sauce which will be perfect for pizza bases, pasta dishes or adding to other dishes for a rich tomato flavour. This was super quick and easy and I will definitely be doing it again in the future. I choose not to process the sauce but simply store it in the freezer.

Scrolling Idly

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Many would say that idle scrolling through your social media feed is an appalling waste of time and a bad habit. Generally, I would agree with these sentiments but randomly checking Facebook has proved to be very worthwhile in the past week.

One evening I quickly checked and happened upon a small cupboard for sale on Marketplace. I showed GMan as he had been saying that he needed a stand for his BBQ (also sourced from Marketplace). He was also thinking that some storage underneath the stand would be useful. I checked the dimensions of the advertised cupboard and we decided that it would be perfect for this purpose.

A short drive and $20 later and we had a stand for the BBQ.

I could not believe my luck when I managed to follow up that win with another. Yesterday afternoon I spotted a sofa which looked perfect for our family room. We had a sofa bed there which we had brought from Queensland and although it is good for a spare bed it is not the most comfortable sofa in the world. This ‘new to us’ leather sofa is in excellent condition and is a welcome addition for $190. The sofa bed has been rehomed in the spare bedroom.

Of course, you can’t pick and choose exact colours when buying secondhand. This shows the colour of the sofa and that colour of the back of the sideboard which is quite close to it. 

I am planning to find some fabric which incorporates the taupe and indigo/navy colours to make a couple of cushions for the sofa which will tie it all together colourwise. Perhaps something like this.

With a bit of creativity I think I can make it all work really well together.

LETS

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Last week I joined our local LETS group. It is an anacronym for Local Exchange Trading System. This Wikipaedia entry gives a good general overview if you want to know more about the concept.

Meanwhile, back to the local group, known as MaLETS (Mount Alexander Local Exchange Trading System) which is based on our regional local government area of Mount Alexander. This article is an excellent explanation of LETS in general and the successful operation of MaLETS in particular.

It was easy to join and start trading straightaway. On Sunday I bought a dozen eggs and a cucumber from 2 different members and sold 2 tote bags that I had made. I am really excited about the possibilities this opens up.

I am making some more bags (as well as other things) in preparation for the next market.

This is one that I have finished.

Some others are still a work in progress.