Category Archives: Homemaking

Refreshed and Ready

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We are on our way home from our holidays and will be back in familiar surroundings by Wednesday afternoon. Relaxing in motel accommodation with no specific demands on your time provides plenty of opportunities to plan.

I have been jotting down notes on my phone of things I would like to do once we are home. Some are small tasks that will literally take 5 minutes. An example is updating the rainfall chart which has not been done since we went away. We have a rather clever electronic rain gauge which automatically records the rainfall from midnight to midnight each day and does not require emptying. The weather station which is indoors records this data for a maximum of 30 days so all of the information will be stored for when we arrive home. I then transfer these records into an Excel spreadsheet which is useful to be able to compare the data year on year.

There are other much larger projects but they will still depend on me taking the first step. Some have been being discussed at length but a new year is a good time to get the ball rolling. One such project is replacing the gas cooktop/900mm electric oven with an induction cooktop as well as a smaller (600mm) built-in oven. The very first thing I need to do is to contact our electricity supply company to ensure that the amperage of our supply is sufficient to support the induction cooktop.

I have a number of sewing projects that I am keen to work on and it will be a matter of prioritising them.

The holiday has been fun but now I am ready to make a start on new projects – large and small – as well as continuing with existing assignments. You are sure to hear more about some of them as time goes by.

2024 – A Review

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Well, here we are at the end of another year. Like most years, this one has had its ups and downs, highs and lows.

There has been overseas travel and renovations at home.

Sad farewells to friends and family members who have left us far too soon.

Catching up and celebrating with extended family – siblings and cousins.

Regular routines and out of the ordinary adventures.

Living in a location with 4 distinct seasons and lots of deciduous trees clearly defines the seasonal cycle through the year. I appreciate the seasonal changes and cherish the special aspects such as savouring seasonal produce when it is at its best.

We will be spending New Year’s Eve with family but I suspect we may all be in bed well in advance of midnight.

Resolutions are not really something that I do but I am keen to work on some key principles and encourage others to do likewise as we move into 2025. Things like kindness, gratitude, sharing, empathy and community spring to mind. Nothing too big or exciting but simply woven into every day and making a difference to our own and other people’s lives.

I love this image and have used it each year on the blog for a few years as I like to think of the waves gently washing away the year and leaving us with a blank page ready to write the story of the upcoming year. I think it is a better reflection of my attitude to the New Year than fireworks and popping champagne corks.

I would like to close this post by thanking each and every one of you for your interest which encourages to continue writing this blog after almost 14 years.

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2025.

Time to Reveal

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I have made some fleeting references to some red and black patchwork that I was working on in the latter part of the year but I couldn’t reveal too much as it was a gift.

This is a photo that I took in the very early stages when I was still unsure of the overall plan.

It all came together quite quickly as I used some larger pieces in places rather than all disappearing 9 patch blocks. This after it had been quilted but before the final trimming and binding.

The quilt was not actually a Christmas gift but an early (milestone) birthday present for my brother. I know I won’t be with him to celebrate on the day so this was a good opportunity to be able to give it to him in person.

I was very pleased with the result and I think his smile says it all.

A Beach Christmas

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I am quite surprised that I have not used this blog title previously as we have spent several Christmases at the beach over the past 10 years or so. It is always somewhere different and this year we opted for a house at Peregian Beach for a week with our 2 daughters and 2 granddaughters. My sister, brother and brother-in-law joined us for Christmas Day.

Our lunch menu was a mix of tried and true favourites along with a couple of new recipes.

In fact, when I was re-reading some old blog posts today I stumbled upon one from 2017 and the menu looked like this:

Proscuitto wrapped asparagus and haloumi **
Cold curried chicken **
Rice **
Parsley and cranberry crusted salmon
Mango and avocado salad **
Beetroot and feta salad
Green bean salad with slivered almonds
Meringue roulade with berries and pistachio nuts **

The items marked ** were on the table again in 2024. The meringue roulade is a particular specialty from our younger daughter and she excelled herself this year. She thinks this is the best one she has made.

I took this photo before the addition of the chopped pistachio nuts which add a nice touch of festive green contrast to the raspberries and pomegranate seeds.

A new addition was a Crispy Balsamic Thyme Potato Torte which we all agreed was a winner.

I will add the recipes for both of these in posts over the next couple of weeks.

I hope you have had a celebration which suited you and your family (everyone’s circumstances are different). Wishing you a safe and peaceful season from our home to yours.

Change It Up

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I had been contemplating the destiny of this shirt for a while. It is a black linen one that I made and has cute ladybird buttons. I really only wore it with my ‘ladybird’ pants – a pair of red cotton drill trousers with large black spots. They were good while they lasted but have since been moved on from my wardrobe.

I had decided to change the buttons to black ones to make the shirt more wearable with other outfits. However, yesterday I picked up a pair of lovely black and white patterned trousers at the op shop which solidified my plans for the shirt.

After a quick search of my buttons collection I found some that I knew would work perfectly.

Here is the complete outfit which I am really pleased with.

Saved and Salvaged

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Sometimes it is necessary to buy something new but there are plenty of instances where you can reuse or repurpose something you already own or purchase it secondhand from a variety of sources.

Here are a couple of examples.

Today GMan put up a hanging rail in the new pantry.

It was the one that had been on the end wall previously but it was removed during the renovations. While the rail was in prefect condition, one of the tiny locking screws had been misplaced during the renovations. It seemed a shame to buy a whole new rod so GMan found another screw in his collection that was suitable apart from being far too long. He managed to modify the screw and the rail is now up and functional. It is a small addition but I am so pleased to have it.

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I needed a hook on the back of the laundry door. So, the next time I was in Bendigo I popped into the salvage yard at Eaglehawk and found exactly what I wanted for $2. The cost is not really the issue but more a matter of not buying something new when there are plenty of perfectly good items that can be reused. GMan cleaned it up and attached it to the door.

Now there is somewhere for GMan to leave his clothes that he wears in the yard. They are generally too grubby to put in the clothes hamper with everything else and are often going to be reworn the next day so this is a perfect solution.

Black Friday Bargains

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I do not generally participate in the madness that are the Black Friday sales. This phenomenon which began in the USA as the shopping day after Thanksgiving has infiltrated retailing in other parts of the world, including Australia. I find it more than a little ironic that this shopping mayhem follows the day which is supposedly about gratitude and togetherness.

Black Friday and the extension which has become Cyber Monday are just more opportunities for retailers to bombard us with their consumerist messages.

However, these year I actually inadvertently shopped during the Black Friday sales. They were things I was planning to buy anyway so picking them up at a reduced price was nothing more than good luck.

The first was the exciting purchase of 5kg of laundry pre-soak. It comes in 2.5kg bulk packs which I will decant into an original container which I have had for a number of years.

The other buy was another glass preserving jar which GMan uses for his sourdough starter. He had one and really needed a second jar. When I received a Black Friday sale email I checked for the specific size and shape of jar and decided that it was a good time to buy. I also found these cute wooden lids which will transform some of my smaller preserving jars which have been mostly gathering dust on a top shelf.

They are now useful small canisters as the wooden lids have a rubber ring which creates an airtight seal.

All of this cost me less than $100 and are things that I needed and will use. The fact that I bought them during the Black Friday sales was a bonus.

Blue is Best

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I generally stick to a relatively small palette of colours when choosing my clothes. Black, white, navy and grey are the neutrals I wear. I like strong colours with a blue undertone and my favourites are cobalt blue and cherry red along with almost any other shade of blue as well as emerald green.

It is clear that I am not alone in sticking to a narrow range of colours.

This is my elder granddaughter yesterday on her 17th birthday. She was excited to be wearing her new blue dress out to dinner.

Coincidentally, a photo popped up in my Facebook memories a couple of days ago. It was a blue dress I had made for her 8th birthday gift in 2015.

This photo of her wearing it was taken about 15 months later.

Her high school formal is early next year and the dress she has chosen is blue, of course. In fact, her motto could almost be, “Any colour, as long as it is blue”.

Beautiful Bowls

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I recently scored these 2 large ceramic bowls. They were on offer through our local LETS group (Local Exchange Trading System) for the equivalent of $12.

They are in perfect condition and exactly what we had been searching for. The larger one is big enough to mix the full quantity of sourdough mix that GMan uses for 2 loaves of bread. He is so pleased with it.

There is something particularly thrilling about finding just what you need through a variety of secondhand avenues.

Unveiled

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Last week I was watching as the builder was putting the finishing touches to the pantry. Then there was some final sanding and painting to do.

The final step was to rearrange things. It was a big job and I took my time and there is still some more tweaking as usage patterns develop. Now it is time for the big reveal.

Since it is a long, narrow space it is impossible to photograph an overall view.

The extended benchtop, drawers and overhead shelving. Note the LED strip lighting under the open shelving.

The full wall of open shelving on the other side. The height placement of the shelves was specifically determined according to the height of what I wanted to store.

Since well before the pantry renovation began I have been dreaming of how I would organise the new, improved version.

Let me show you a few closer details.

I previously had these plastic tubs full of plastic storage containers in the corner cupboard. It was a reasonable solution but having them in a deep drawer is even better.

I spotted these 3 cute glass jars in an op shop recently and immediately decided that they would be perfect for GMan’s collection of teas – black, Earl Grey and green tea. All ready for making tea and coffee. The mugs are hanging just out of sight to the right of this photo.

I have reinstated the ‘breakfast corner’ with the kettle and toaster together near the entrance to the pantry.

The far end of the extended bench is home to the Kitchen Aid stand mixer and airfryer, both of which are used frequently.

Other regularly used appliances are stored on the open shelves. I have placed them at a height which makes them within easy reach and simple to access.

The storage buckets of bulk dry goods stand on the floor.

There is space to store the empty glass jars and bottles.

Teatowels and aprons in a drawer close to where they are used.

The addition looks completely seamless as we were able to match all of the components with the original. I am beyond ecstatic to see this all come together and I am really looking forward to the increased functionality of my kitchen and pantry.