Category Archives: Homemaking

Opportunity Knocks

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Browsing in op shops can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t have some sort of strategy. When it comes to clothes I am always on the lookout for certain colours and types of fabrics as well as generally restricting myself to spots, stripes or plains. This way I can eliminate about 90% of the stock fairly quickly.

I have a bit of a mental wishlist but you also need to be alert to unexpected possibilities. This is particularly important to keep in mind as you can sometimes score some bargains by buying summer clothes in winter and vice versa.

When we were in Sale last week I spotted (pardon the pun) these trousers for $4. They are Fella Hamilton brand and made in Australia. I think they will be perfect for most of the year in our climate apart from the depths of winter or very hot summer days.

On our way home from Sale we stopped in Kyneton with the specific purpose of going to the Salvos op shop which I have previously found to be very good. We didn’t find anything on this occasion, however, we parked the car directly outside a secondhand shop which happened to have a rack of clothing on the footpath and I spied this jacket on the end of the rack. It has a fully detachable hood and lining as well as inside and outside pockets and a drawstring option at the waist. It will be a great addition to GMan’s selection of jackets and perfect for our overseas trip in December.

Meanwhile, 2 things that I have been actively searching for were a pair of tongs as GMan needed a pair for extracting lumps of charcoal from a jar jar of kerosene (his homemade firelighters) and a king-size sheet or doona cover in shades of pink. This is for the backing of the patchwork quilt I am currently making.

I was in Bendigo today and after my appointments I made a concerted effort and went to 6 op shops. At the final one I found both items that were on my list. One side of the doona cover will be perfect for the quilt backing. The tongs I found are brand new so I have earmarked them for the kitchen and the old ones can be used for the firelighters.

In another shop I picked up a dress for $5. It is a good quality knit fabric and will pair well with tights, boots and a coat and scarf. I did not bother trying it on but I suspect I may need to shorten the sleeves a bit.

The final buy was a set of 4 x double point knitting needles. All in all I have had a very successful week of op shopping.

Thoughtful Decluttering

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Last month I wrote this post about rearranging the linen. Once I consolidated the towels that were in a couple of different spaces I ended up with a plastic tub full of ‘spare towels’.

Fast forward to today when I read a Facebook post from a friend about a charity in central Melbourne who provide hot showers and laundry facilities for those who are sleeping rough. They are asking for donations of towels and also washing powder/liquid.

I was immediately sure that the tub of towels in the top of my linen cupboard could be put to better use. I will take them to donate when I go to Melbourne on Wednesday.

Most of these towels came from my mother’s home after she died a little over 4 years ago. They were too good to use as rags or even for animal bedding but I was not sure what to do with them. I have enough and someone else will be able to benefit from them so I am happy with the outcome.

This is the top of the linen cupboard now. There are 2 beach towels.

I am not a fan of decluttering that involves throwing excess stuff in a bin when with a little time and thought things can be moved along to be of benefit to someone who can really use them.

Stocked Up

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We have arrived home after a couple of night away at Sale which is about 4 hours drive from home. You can read all about it here.

Apart from the obvious holiday we used the travel wisely to source some grocery items with having to deviate too far out of our way.

The route took us through Melbourne so we took advantage of the fact that it was Tuesday and we called in to Graina at Moonee Ponds where we buy most of our bulk dry goods. Each Tuesday they offer a 20% discount if you bring your own containers which I always do anyway. I did not have too much on my list but managed to top up a few things. I also stopped at Ray’s Top Nuts nearby for a couple of other things.

As we continued towards Sale I noticed a roadside stall, The Spud Shed with a board advertising potatoes for $1/kg. I made a note to check this out on our return trip. The advertised potatoes were clearly small/seconds but they suit our needs perfectly and I selected a couple of kilos.

Our next stop was in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne at the warehouse for Australian Organic Products. I had ordered a 20 litre drum of laundry liquid by Kin Kin Naturals. The laundry and dishwashing products are produced by a small family business in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, not far from where we lived in Queensland where I bought them in recycled containers, directly from the maker, Felix. I had to change my purchasing arrangements once we relocated to Victoria and I discovered I could source the products through Australian Organic Products but the delivery costs are pretty steep to our regional location so I used the opportunity to pick up my order directly from the warehouse.

We usually do our regular grocery shopping in Bendigo at a greengrocer and Aldi but since we were traversing the suburbs of Melbourne we took advantage of suitable hops along the route.

This is everything I bought in our travels apart from the 20 litre drum of laundry liquid.

The weather is tipped to be cold and wet tomorrow so I am looking forward to staying indoors and working on some more of the patchwork blocks.

A Closer Look

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our new oven and induction cooktop. You can read about that in this post.

We have now had several opportunities to use the cooktop as well as the oven on a couple of occasions. I have used induction cooktops in accommodations that we have stayed in while travelling and I have to say that this particular one is as easy to use as any I have come across. I am still getting used to the instantaneous heat but I am very proud that I managed to cook brown rice without it boiling over at any point during the process.

The oven is another story. We do not use the oven a great deal apart from GMan’s sourdough bread baking adventures. Nevertheless, it has been refreshing to discover how simple the operation of the oven seems to be.

This shows the screen display which greets you when the oven is turned on initially.

The display is clear and easy to understand. In fact, I was able to navigate it for the first time without even referring to the instruction manual. The temperature selection is digital and can be selected in 5°C increments. Once the temperature is selected the digital display shows the exact temperature as it increases. The bread requires a starting temperature of 230°C and GMan was thrilled to find that the temperature was reached in barely 8 minutes from turning the oven on. This is a refreshing change from the 30 minutes required with the previous oven in addition to the accuracy being somewhat debatable.

The verdict on the first loaves made in the new oven was that they are probably the best ones he has made in about 8 years of baking sourdough bread.

Some Special Sewing

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I have put my head down and done some concentrated sewing over the past couple of days. It is a birthday gift for our elder granddaughter.

The result is that I have now completed 21 patchwork blocks which is half of the total needed for a QS quilt.

I wrote a post in February which you can read here in which I mentioned that I had done the first block.

Here are the other 21 blocks ready to start sewing.

The disappearing 9 patch is essentially a 2-step process. The first is to sew the 9 pieces together and you can see some of them here at that stage.

After that, each block is cut into 4 pieces and rearranged before restitching. This gives the overall random finished pattern.

I hope to have the patchwork completed in the next week or so but it is somewhat dependant on other activities.

Too Clever

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I have been meaning to write this post for ages but every time I think of it I am in the middle of serving dinner. You will understand why in a minute.

This is a jar lifter which I bought a few years ago. It is designed for lifting preserving jars out of a water bath or otherwise manipulating/moving hot jars. Who would have thought that it would have another use?

One of the challenges of the airfryer is extricating dishes of cooked food from the small space. Oven mitts are really not much use as they are too bulky. I often use these small dishes for making individual serves and they are perfect in the airfryer. I use them for making pot pies, individual baked desserts and mini quiches to name but a few.

So, back to the jar lifter. It is the perfect size to lift these small dishes from the airfryer. The lip on the edge of the dish means that it can be held securely to remove it.

I keep the jar lifter on the shelf in the pantry with the empty preserving jars and it is within easy reach of the airfryer on the bench opposite. Sometimes things just work perfectly and I actually smile to myself every time I use it to lift dishes of food from the airfryer.

It really is the simple things that make a difference.

Buying Basil

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Basil grows easily here during the summer and sometimes I am organised enough to make and freeze some pesto for use throughout the year.

However, I bought a large (800g) can of basil pesto a few weeks ago when I spotted it at Cheaper Buy Miles when were in Melbourne. There are several of these stores, predominantly in inner suburbs of Melbourne, where you can buy an amazing array of short-dated items.

Here is an image from their website.

You never know quite what you will find so it is quite an adventure. They often have a good selection of gluten-free and vegan foods, too.

Anyway, back to the basil pesto. I bought a 800g tin for $6 and based on the average price per 100g of basil pesto at Woolworths it is worth about $20!!

Of course, it can be quite daunting as to what to do with this kind of bulk quantity. I used some to make a creamy basil pesto and mushroom pasta dish for dinner the other night then I portioned the rest up in ice-cube trays and froze it.

I now have a bag of frozen cubes of basil pesto which will thaw quickly and easily for a multitude of uses.

Family Time

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In my last port I mentioned that we had visitors coming to stay. Our daughter and 2 granddaughters who live in Brisbane have been to visit for a week. They spent the first couple of nights in Melbourne where they went to see Beetlejuice and then took the train to Warrnambool where we met them and spent 3 days exploring the surrounding area, including the Great Ocean Road.

At the whale watching lookout at Logan’s Beach but no whales in sight.

Some stunning scenery along the Great Ocean Road.

Finally, we had 2 nights at home before a drive to Melbourne today to drop them at the airport for their return flight. I managed to take up 4 pairs of jeans for the girls as well as trim the younger one’s hair.

Yesterday we went to Bendigo where we went shopping for a 16th birthday gift for our younger granddaughter, had lunch at at Italian restaurant and then GMan, our daughter and I went to see the Frida Khalo exhibition at the Art Gallery. Although the granddaughters weren’t interested in seeing the exhibition we did manage a photo of them near the entrance. They had gelato and went to the gardens instead.

It has been a full and interesting week and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the family.

Back to reality tomorrow as I finish washing the extra bedlinen and rearranging the guest rooms. I am also hoping to do a bit more fence painting as the forecast is for fine weather and not too cold.

Conception to Completion

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We have guests coming to stay next week and as well as the dedicated guest room I needed to set up another bed. There is a fold-out sofa bed in the third bedroom so I have unfolded it and made it up in readiness.

After I had done the bed it occurred to me that there was no side table in that room. After a bit of thought I decided that I could create one fairly easily with things we have one hand.

First……….a spare plastic crate from the shed. No modification needed apart from turning it upside down.

The next step was to add a solid top. GMan found a piece of melamine that was leftover from the pantry renovation and cut it to size. It is heavy enough to stay in place without any additional fixing.

The next step was to find some suitable fabric in my stash to make a cover. I found a large piece of embroidered heavy satin which was originally one side of a thrifted doona cover and made a fitted cover.

The fitted cover in place.

The new side table in position and the room is ready for the guests.

The entire project took less than 2 hours to complete from the moment I first thought of the idea.

A New Bed

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In a post from last week I mentioned that I was searching for alternatives to the bed that we had in the spare room. You can read about it here.

I feel as though I have spent the past week buying and selling beds on Facebook Marketplace.

We thought we had found a suitable bed, however, it turned out to be too big for the room as it had quite chunky timber head and foot ends. I managed to sell the original bed quite quickly and thought I would need to make do with the one that was a bit of a squeeze as we have guests arriving on Sunday.

Luckily, I spotted the perfect bed not too far from home and we were able to collect it today.

The bed is assembled, remade and the room is back in order and I am really pleased with the outcome.

Now all I need to do is to sell the one which did not suit our space. It was definitely a ‘whoops’ moment but not the end of the world.