Autumn at Home

2 Comments

When we travel to the USA later in the year, I am hoping to see some of the famous fall scenery in New Hampshire and Vermont.  We will probably be a little early for the best of it but I am sure we will see some, especially in the mountains and northernmost areas.

In the meantime, here is a glimpse of autumn in our own backyard – literally.

It is only one tree, a liquidamber, but it in a climate that does not have many deciduous trees that produce a colourful autumn display it makes a lovely contrast to the surrounding evergreens.

Project 333 – Planning For Summer

Leave a comment

I haven’t moved to the northern hemisphere.  It is late autumn here and heading into our coolest months.  Nevertheless, I am planning ahead and thinking about what I might like to have in my wardrobe by the time summer rolls around again.

I am making 2 tops in a style I have made before.  Here is one that just needs the bottom hemming and armhole binding done to complete it.

2012-05-09 01This is the back as it buttons up the back.  The fabric was in my stash so no outlay at the moment apart from the buttons.  It will be perfect with either black or white summer trousers or shorts.

The other top which is also partly made is simply plain black in a lightweight crinkle cotton.

I have given quite a bit of thought recently to how to simplify my wardrobe.  I will definitely be sticking to a couple of basic colours but more importantly I am feeling more confident about what styles of clothes I will wear and how to streamline my clothes to more accurately fit my lifestyle.

More on that another day.

The Final Itinerary

4 Comments

Those of you who have been playing along at home will know that we have been working on the itinerary for our upcoming USA trip.  It is over 3 months until we go but I now have the final plan.  We have all of our accommodation booked so now we can spend our time researching and planning what we will do.

  • Washington DC – 4 nights
  • Philadelphia – 2 nights
  • New York – 4 nights
  • Boston – 2 nights

All travelling will be by train between cities and public transport within the city.

Then we pick up a hire care in Boston and head off.

  • Cape Elizabeth (Portland) – 2 nights
  • Bar Harbor – 2 nights
  • Shelburne – 1 night
  • Charlotte – 2 nights
  • Shaftsbury – 1 night
  • Woodstock – 2 nights
  • Cape Cod – 2 night

Drop of car in Boston and train to Washington DC.

  • Washington DC – 1 night

Fly home

Any tips or ideas for the areas we will be seeing would be gratefully accepted.

In the meantime I found cheap flights on Jetstar so have booked to go to Adelaide for the weekend in November to see a friend for her birthday.

Defrosting, Dusting & De-bugging

2 Comments

Today I defrosted the small freezer.  Since it is only the size of a bar fridge we take it out on the verandah and let the ice thaw without any added assistance.  I pack all of the contents into the camp fridge and set it to ‘freeze’ so there is no problem with anything defrosting.  The freezer lives in the office so I took the opportunity to give the room a good clean.

Here is what I did:

  • Cleared the desk of some random papers
  • Sent some emails which related to the paperwork which was then discarded
  • Threw out a pen which no longer works
  • Wiped down the bookshelves and desk
  • Clean mould off door and architraves
  • Cleaned the windows
  • Washed the flyscreen
  • Removed the light fitting and washed out the residue of bugs
  • Wiped lemon oil around the cornices and corners to deter the spiders
  • Wiped down all of the computer items
  • Vacuumed the keyboard
  • Cleaned power points and light switches
  • Vacuumed and washed the floor

2012-05-07 01While I try to keep the house in reasonable order most of the time, I do find it good to give one room a good clean from top to bottom.

2012-05-07 02How do you clean?  One room completely or do you tackle all of the vacuuming or perhaps clean every light switch in the house?

DIY vs Outsourcing

2 Comments

Today we went to the Wood Expo and unfortunately I did not find anyone who was doing the type of restoration work that my cabinet will need.  That is OK as I have plenty of time and no particular deadline.  I took more photos and printed them before I went so I have a complete pictorial record of the unit as well as all of the dimensions.  My next job will be to see if I can find someone who can give me an estimate of what my idea is likely to cost.  I did see a slab of silky oak for sale today – $150 and it was more than what I imagine will be required for the job.  I will let you know of any further developments.  In the meantime, it functions perfectly well as a stand for the television and storage of other items.

I decided to outsource the restoration of the cabinet  as the skills required are beyond that which we have.  However, there are lots of things we can do and make for ourselves.  We have managed to fill the rest of the day with doing things for ourselves.

2012-05-05 01The Duke makes our bread in the breadmaker and today was fruit loaf with sultanas, chopped raisins and chopped dried apricots.

2012-05-05 02He also bottled his latest home brew and then started a new one today.

2012-05-05 03I made some fresh pasta.  Here is some of it cut into lasagne sheets and ready to go in the freezer.  I used some to make chicken and mushroom canneloni for dinner.  We had a serve each and here are the 2 leftover serves ready to be frozen for lunches later in the week.

2012-05-05 04I picked a pumpkin and also some cucumbers from the garden.  We had mashed pumpkin and peas with the canneloni.

2012-05-05 05We made soda water using the Soda Stream and I had a glass of bubbles with fresh slices of lime.

Now I am off to do some more knitting on my dishcloth.  I have done 4 so far and the 5th is underway.

Woodworker Wanted

2 Comments

It is Friday evening and we have a long weekend stretching luxuriously in front of us.  Not too many plans and some time to achieve interspersed with time to relax.

One thing I have pencilled into the diary is going to the Maleny Wood Expo.  We have lived here over 6 years, yet have never attended this event.  We always seem to be on holidays or away for the weekend.

I do have a particular reason for wanting to go this year.

Silky oak cabinet

This cabinet is solid silky oak.  It was made by my father in the 1950’s from a rather large and outdated (at the time) sideboard.  There were drop-down doors on the front originally but they have long since been removed.  This has been at my parents’ home for as long as I can remember and when my mother was moving into a small unit I decided to bring it home.

I had no real idea about what I would do but I had a vague notion of being able to reuse the timber – possibly into a small coffee table.  However, we recently moved our television from the wall mounting and wanted something to stand it on so used this piece of furniture as an interim measure.

The idea has formed to keep it pretty much as is but the green paint on the inside will need to be removed and I would like open shelving in the middle section to house the DVD player and PVR.  The side sections need doors and will be used to store DVDs, CDs and associated peripherals.

Now all I need is someone to do this work and return this lovely piece of furniture to its former glory.  That is where the wood expo comes in – I intend to take some photographs of it and hope to find a craftsman who is willing to create the vision I have for this cabinet.

Here is an image of a silky oak tree (Grevillea Robusta), the source of the timber used in this cabinet.  The tree is native to our local area so I am hoping I will find someone who has access to a supply of the timber as more will be required for the shelves and doors.

Silky Oak

We have often moved and re-purposed furniture in our home but I have never considered undertaking a major restoration such as I am considering.  I think it will definitely be worthwhile.

Durable, solid timber furniture that is handed down through generations is much more appealing than the latest mass-produced import.

Pizza Bases

2 Comments

Since I was at home today I took advantage of the extra time and made tortillas to use as pizza bases.  I found the recipe on Simple Savings and it is very simple.

2.5 cups of flour (I used 1/2  white and 1/2 wholemeal)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil
3/4 cup warm water (I used slightly more – probably due to the wholemeal flour)

2012-05-03 01Mix ingredients in food processer until combined.  Knead dough for 5 minutes then leave to rest for 15 minutes.  Divide into about 10 pieces and roll out thinly.  Cook in a hot pan and set aside when cooked.  Keep covered with a damp teatowel.

2012-05-03 02Here they are ready to use for pizza bases.

2012-05-03 03I was happy with the result and the pizzas were a success.  Unfortunately we were too busy preparing and eating the pizzas to stop and take photos.  Maybe another day I will remember.  We used 2 tortillas and the rest are in the freezer for another time.

Project 333 – More Than Just Clothes

Leave a comment

Project 333 is a minimalist fashion challenge, started by Courtney Carver of Be More With Less.  I am happily managing on 33 items of clothing, including 1 handbag.  Although I excluded jewellery, I am committed to wearing the same pair of earrings for 3 months.  Earrings are the only jewellery I generally wear apart from my wristwatch, wedding and engagement rings.

So what has this achieved?  I do all of the ironing each week as I need the items to wear the following week.  This means I do not end up with a huge pile of ironing.  I know what I am going to wear the next day as there are enough choices but not too many.

Realising that I can function quite adequately with a relatively small number of clothes made me consider the rest of my wardrobe and I have sent a few more things to the op shop.

I can also see exactly what I need to buy or make for the coming seasons so I am working on that.  I have 2 summer tops partly made and they are in colours that will work with my existing pieces.  I have a list of things to look for when we are overseas.

Although it is still well over 3 months before we go on holidays I have planned almost my entire travel wardrobe and bought a fleece jacket that I needed for the trip.

All of these things have flowed from the fact that having a basic selection of clothes has given me the space and time to really consider my wardrobe and hopefully continue to make wise choices.

By having the minimum of clothes to care for and maintain I have more time to do other things.  I also find myself applying the concept of ‘enough’ to many other facets of my life and possessions.

This evening I was knitting a dishcloth and it occurred to me that I have a box full of knitting needles despite the fact that I do not do a lot of knitting these days.  I will sort through the needles and take out any that I have more than one set of the same size.  I can only use 1 pair of needles at a time so any excess will be given away (Freecycle or op shop) so that someone else can have the benefit of using them.  It will not take up any less space as I will still have the box and I will have enough so that is all I need.

What things could you apply the concept of ‘enough’ to?  Love to hear your stories.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

Leave a comment

Here it is Monday night and I am still trying to work out where my weekends go.  I start with great intentions of achieving so much and by Sunday afternoon/evening I am left wishing that I had another day or two and then I would get everything done that I had planned.

No, of course I would not.  I would simply have a longer list.  When I was considering all of this last night I realised that although I do not seem to get everything done that I hope to, I do usually manage to make some forward progress.

By forward progress, I mean achieve something that will not need to be done again next week.  So this does not include regular jobs like cooking, washing clothes, ironing or even mending because I know they will all be back to be done again another day.

This weekend I helped The Duke re-hang the freshly painted doors on our new storage cupboard.  That is an achievement – we now have a completed cupboard in the downstairs entry.  I do not have to think about that again.

We have also been working on planning our trip.  We have finished the itinerary and have booked about 3/4 of our accommodation.  My goal is to have that completed well within the next 3 weeks.  That will mean I have 3 months clear before the trip to focus on reading guidebooks, planning sightseeing and things to do.  In short, making sure we make the absolute most of this ‘trip of a lifetime’.

I have not posted for a while about Project 333.  This is all ticking along smoothly with the minimum of fuss which is good as that is the essence of the challenge.  Tomorrow I will tell you a bit more about some of the things I am learning along the way.