Basil Day

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Six months ago, while we were overseas, our housesitters bought a small pot of basil as it was actually cheaper than buying a bunch of basil.  When we arrived home I planted it in the ground.  It is now doing its best to take over the garden!!

I took this photo yesterday morning.  The rain had finally stopped and the sun was shining.  You can see the ‘lake’ in the background.

2015-02-23 01I knew it was collapsing everywhere so I had intended to cut it right back and use as much of the leaves as possible.  When I got closer I discovered that the bees were loving the flowers so I could not destroy their fun so I have left the flowers and just picked lots of leaves.  Mind you, it is hardly noticeable where I picked them from.

I could afford to be picky so I chose only the best leaves and rinsed them thoroughly.

2015-02-23 02Then spun them in the salad spinner.  As an aside, I only bought this quite recently as I had never really seen the need for one.  After seeing my sister use hers, I realised that a salad spinner could be quite handy and I was delighted to find one at Aldi soon after.  It cost the princely sum of $6.99.

2015-02-23 03Next step was to chop the basil in the food processor.

2015-02-23 04I had about 2/3 can of chopped tomatoes in the fridge so that was added to the mix.

2015-02-23 05Then I used a small spoon to fill ice-cube trays with the basil and tomato mixture.

2015-02-23 06Finally, I double-bagged the trays in re-used bread bags and sealed them tightly before putting them in the freezer.  The basil blocks will be useful for when there is no basil growing.

 

Sew My Stash Sunday – 7

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Here we are back at Sunday evening again so it is time to share what sewing I have done this week.

Firstly, this is what I have finished.

A pair of bloomers as part of summer pyjamas – Size 4.

2015-02-22 01A pair of boxer shorts for pyjamas for me.

2015-02-22 02

I have been working on my next skirt.  I can’t do anymore until I get the zip.  Then it will just be the facing and hem that need to be handstitched.

2015-02-22 03 I mentioned in this post that I had discovered that the polo shirt I was making for The Duke was too big so I would have to recut it.  I tried that today but unfortunately it was not successful as even when I got the width of the body right, I was not happy with the shape of the armhole and sleeves.  I decided to cut my losses and that is going to the op shop in the hope that someone else is the right shape for it.  In the interests of my sanity, the pattern is going as well.  If it did not work this time it will not be any better in the future.

My next foray was more successful.  This is a piece of fabric I bought about 6 weeks ago so it is not strictly part of my stash but if I don’t make it up soon it will end up being added to the pile.  I bought it to make a top for myself.  It is a knit fabric but not super stretchy.  I found a basic pattern to use in the pattern-making book. and here is the result so far.2015-02-22 05The original pattern had a round neckline but I prefer a vee.  I have done the basic construction and now need to finish the neckline and hems on the sleeves and lower edge.

All in all, I am pretty pleased with the results of my sewing for this week.  I wish I had more time to sew as have so many things planned and I am just itching to get started.

Welcome & What’s New

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A warm welcome to all my new readers.  Please leave a comment and say hello.  I would love it if you would tell me a little about yourself and your interests.

This blog is wide-ranging and reflects what happens to be on my mind.  It can be anything from mending, gardening, sewing, cooking, decluttering or anything else that catches my fancy.

I am currently posting a series titled, “Sew My Stash Sunday” in which I am showcasing what I am making from the fabric I already have.  Do you have a stash?  I’d love to hear if you are trying to reduce it and what you make.

I have also changed the settings on the blog which should mean that you never see any ads on the blog from now on.  If you do, could you please let me know?

This week has been a bit unsettled with the approaching cyclone and then some very wet weather.  Hopefully, I will soon be back on track with lots of news and tips to motivate us all in our quest for a simpler, organised life.  If you have anything that you would like me to focus on, please let me know.

2011-09-29 02Meanwhile, take some time to smell the roses (or any other flower that you have in the garden).

The Backyard & Dinner

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We have been lucky here so far because while we have had a lot of rain of the past 48 hours we have not lost power.  There has been a bit of wind but nothing of any consequence so I am hoping that continues to be the case.

The rain eased off for about an hour this afternoon so I shot this video of our backyard ‘lake’.  I was standing on the verandah.

The view at the beginning of the video is where the water comes out of the drain which runs under our driveway.  It is not much more than a trickle when I took this but earlier in the day you could have white-water rafted from the top of our driveway to the rainwater tanks if you were feeling adventurous!  While some of this water is what falls on our property, the majority comes from the top of the escarpment which forms the rear part of our property, via a couple of substantial waterfalls, then heads down the roadway until it reaches a low point – the puddle near the western boundary of our place and the neighbour’s property and thence into the lake.

The ‘lake’ exists because the driveway of the property to the east of us creates what is essentially a dam wall.  In 2011 the volume of water flowing into our property exceeded the available space and overflowed down the road, damaging the surface and creating problems for properties on the low side of the road.  Ah, the joys of living on the side of a mountain!
Enough of the weather and floods.  It is highly likely that we will get more rain over the next couple of days but as long as we do not lose power that will be fine.  I have plenty of sewing to keep me occupied.
At the end of the working week it is time for a quick and easy ‘takeaway’ meal.  Here is one of the pizzas I whipped up with some home-made bases that I partly cook and freeze.  A few things from the fridge and here it is ready for the oven.
2015-02-20 01And 15 minutes later, dinner was ready.
2015-02-20 02Do you have a favourite takeaway meal at home?

Watching & Waiting

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My apologies to all my readers, and especially those of you who are new here but I don’t have any new and exciting content tonight.

As the title says, we are watching and waiting as Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia inches towards the central Queensland coast.  Even though we are about 650km south of where it is expected to cross the coast around 7am tomorrow, we are already feeling the effects of this system.  The wind has gradually increased since midday and we have recorded over 90mm of rain in the past 15 hours.

Cyclone forecastThe cyclone has rapidly increased in strength today to be rated as a Category 4 system and is expected to be a Category 5 with winds of up to almost 300km/hour by the time it reaches land.  This presents a very real risk to life and property.

This is serious and extremely dangerous.  Please do everything you can to stay safe and ensure the safety of others.

Regular posts will return soon.

Prepared

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Just a quick post this evening as I have doing some preparations since arriving home from work.  Yet again, there is a tropical cyclone (hurricane) heading south-west towards the central Queensland coast.  It is not particularly severe as cyclones go and is expected to cross the coast well north of where we are, however, we are already experiencing steady rain and gusty wind.

Storm surgeStorm surges are just one of the risks that we are being warned about.

I have cleared things off the verandah, boiled lots of water, charged the phones, know that the car has a full tank of fuel and know where the wind-up torches and radio are.  I have 9 ice-cream containers of boiled water which will be frozen in the camp fridge once it has cooled.  We have plenty of food and a gas cooktop which can be used for cooking.

We are not at risk of being flooded.  The most likely problem is the loss of power.  We could also suffer damage from falling branches or other debris, although this is not as likely.

Are you in central or southern Queensland?  Are you prepared?  Do you have any tips or advice?

Stay safe and if there are a lack of posts in the coming days it may mean that I am offline.

More Pancakes

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Last year I wrote about Shrove Tuesday.  You can read the post here.  This year I decided to be a bit more creative and I managed to make gluten-free, egg-free crepes.

I modified the basic batter that I posted last year.  Here is my recipe for the crepes.

100g gluten-free flour *see note below*
20g flaxseed meal
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
250ml milk
Whisk all ingredients together and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Pour a small quantity of batter onto a hot griddle, spreading thinly with the back of a spoon.  Cook until just set then flip and finish cooking.

NOTE:  The gluten-free flour that I use is a combination  of 4 different flours in specific proportions that I learned about in a gluten-free cookbook.  I cannot put the details of the flour here as that would not be fair to the author.    Here is a link to the book if you are interested.  No, I do not receive any commission.  🙂

2015-02-17 01Like any crepes these can be eaten in a variety of ways, either sweet or savoury.

I decided to use them to make a main course for dinner and filled them with a bolognaise sauce.  As you can see from the photo they are a bit delicate to handle once they are cool, especially if you make them fairly thin as I did.

2015-02-17 02The crepes will be heated through then topped with a little grated cheese and finished under the grill.  I am going to serve it with a green salad.

Are you making pancakes today, gluten-free or not?

A Laundry List

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Tonight I want to share a germ of an idea that has formed gradually over a period of time.

Some people have an ongoing shopping list to which they add items as they find that they are required.  Others keep a list of what is stored in the freezer and cross things off as they are used.

I am thinking of creating a laundry list. I have this cupboard in my laundry.  On the left-hand side are the assorted brooms and the vacuum cleaner (not shown), hangers for knitted items and dispensers for plastic bags as well as the racks on the inside of the door for laundry liquid and presoak and the rag-bag.

2015-02-16 01The right-hand side has the laundry hamper with shelving above.  This holds various cleaning items as well as spare light globes, batteries, rubbish bags and shopping bags.  However, the door is clear and this is where I could put my list.

2015-02-16 02I envisage a write on/wipe off board and am thinking of making one myself from a sheet of coloured A4 card and laminating it.

So, what am I going to write on this list, I hear you ask?  It will basically be a reminder of extra jobs that need doing such as ‘stain on white trousers’, ‘scrub cuffs of mauve shirt’, ‘hem of black skirt’ or ‘darn striped sock’.  They will be all the little things that seem obvious at the time but by the time I am doing the washing/ironing it can be overlooked.

What do you think?  How do you keep track of the extra laundry jobs?

Sew My Stash Sunday – 6

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The only problem with having a commitment to a weekly series is that the weeks fly by incredibly quickly.  This week has not been completely devoid of progress as I have cut out the mint green linen skirt.

2015-02-15 01Belle was here today and was most impressed with the skirt I had completed.  I showed her the pattern drafting system and some of the pattern choices.  She commented that she wanted some long-sleeved shirts for work but that she finds that the ready-made ones are not long enough to stay tucked in.  We delved into the stash and found a piece of fabric which would be suitable and she has chosen a pattern so that has been added to the list.

2015-02-15 02Meanwhile, I had a couple of bits of mending to do so I completed those jobs and can now get back to the skirt.  I darned a sock for The Duke.  There is nothing fancy about my ‘darning’.  I use a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine  which is not particularly pretty but is effective.

2015-02-15 03Then I patched (yet again) a pair of his trousers.  These are his stylish weekend wear when out in the yard and there are now patches on the patches!

2015-02-15 04This is the inside of one leg with no fewer than 3 patches!  I guess there will come a time when they are more patches than trousers but in the meantime they remain perfectly serviceable.

Some Random Stuff

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There is no real theme to this post – hence the title.

A couple of years ago I wrote this post about the highs and lows of social media.  One of the wonders of it is the ability to easily connect with family and friends.  Today I have spent some time setting up a group for my cousins and other extended family.  This will allow us to keep in touch across vast distances and generations.  The catalyst was a seed of an idea to organise a get-together on the centenary of our grandfather’s arrival at Gallipoli.  He was not with the first landing on April 25th 1915 but it was significant for our family as a sequence of events that followed this led to him spending time in England where he met his future wife (our grandmother).  I already have feedback from far and wide which simply would not have been possible without Facebook.

As I was taught at school – “new thought, new paragraph”………

The decluttering continues – I have a small bag of a few more things that will be leaving the sewing room.  I generally keep a plastic supermarket bag on the bag of the door in the sewing room and add anything that I find and then drop it off to the op shop when the bag is full.  I also have 2 small cartons of books which we sorted from the bookshelves last month.  They have been sitting on the floor next to the bookcases waiting for me to get organised and find a new home for them.  I have listed them on a couple of local buy/swap/sell sites as well as Freecycle but if I don’t get a taker by the end of the weekend I think they will be going to the op shop as well.  It is a difficult task to balance the desire to have things gone and not hanging around, against finding the perfect home for them.  How do you manage this conundrum when decluttering?

I have also set up a ‘Decluttering’ tab at the top of my blog.  Check it out if you are interested.

Finally, I just wanted to share these couple of photos with you today.  In my next life, I think I will be a dog………….

004or maybe, a cat!

003These photos were taken at about 4.30pm and the cat has been on that chair ALL DAY!

The weather is not looking fabulous here – in fact it is pouring with rain and blowing a gale so I am not sure what the weekend will bring.  I hope you have a fabulous weekend wherever you are.