The Things We Do

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Today we have been at home doing the things that are part and parcel of our lives.

The Duke has spent the day sanding the piece of furniture he is restoring.  Apart from a little more on the mirror frame it is now all ready to be finished with a clear lacquer.  We have new handles for  the drawers and also the mirror attachments.

I have been sewing.  Here is the bag I have made for Miss O for part of her Christmas gift.  It is the same style as this one that I have done for Izz.

2011-08-21 01I also made 2 more reusable sandwich wraps.  I had made 2 for Miss O and Izz a while ago and recently Belle asked if I could make a couple more as they are a great success.  She also wanted some smaller wraps for putting pikelets or small muffins in for their lunches at daycare.

These are the sandwich wraps.

2011-08-21 02This is a mini wrap.  I will give it to Belle to try before I make any more.

2011-08-21 03This evening I used pumpkin, cabbage and broccoli from our garden in our meal.  While the oven was on I made a batch of pear and passionfruit muffins for snacks.  The pears were over-ripe and needed to be used and the passionfruit had been frozen from when they were cheap at the markets.

Despite the cold and the rain we have had an enjoyable and productive day.

A Birthday Party

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Today we headed to Belle’s place for Izz’s 2nd birthday.

The first project was to create the cake.  In keeping with the Wiggles theme, Belle had decided on a Dorothy the Dinosaur cake.  So, armed with the illustration I had created last night I set to work.  We used purchased slab cake.  Here is the result.

It has been many years since I made a child’s birthday cake but they all recognised her as Dorothy so mission was successfully accomplished.

Somewhat reminiscent of the Puss in Boots cake that I made for Belle’s 2nd birthday.

I certainly wouldn’t want to do it more than a couple of times a year – would much rather be sewing!

The outfit I made was very well received by the birthday girl.  We all had a lovely afternoon but I think I am nearly as exhausted as the children.  Partying is hard work!!

More Op-Shopping and A Change of Plan

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While I was in town I called in to the 2 op-shops to look for some jeans for myself.  My only pair are starting to get a bit threadbare and with the prospect of 5 days in Victoria at the end of the month I really needed some more.  I was in luck and picked up a pair of khaki-coloured drill trousers with a bit of stretch for $7.50 in one shop.  I went to the other and found a pair of Jag jeans which are in excellent condition for $12.95.  They are a really good fit around the waist and hips but are too baggy in the legs for my liking.  My plan is to unpick the inside and outside leg seams and reshape them.

I said in my earlier post that I would do some more sewing if everything went to plan.  Well, that went out the window quite quickly.  A friend rang to say he could drop in some equipment I need for a presentation in a couple of weeks so there went most of my afternoon.  I enjoyed the visit but no sewing was done.  Then I ended up spending a couple of hours finding and enlarging a picture of Dorothy the Dinosaur which is required for the party tomorrow.

I did put the studs on the jacket and get the present wrapped.  Everything I need is packed in the basket ready for tomorrow.

Second-hand Rose

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No post last night as I was busy sewing.

The flowers are not roses and the floral fabric is the only part that is recycled but here is the outfit that I have made for Izz.  It is part of her birthday present.  She will be 2 on Sunday.

A skirt.

A top.

And a jacket – I just need to add the press studs to the front bands.

When the pieces are teamed up it will look like this.

And this.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post the floral fabric came from a sundress that belonged to Belle.  She was planning on sending it to the op-shop but I loved the colours and the good quality cotton fabric.  The rest just evolved from there.  I had everything else in my stash and only need to buy some more press studs as I only have 3 left at the moment.

I am off to town shortly to buy the press studs, buy a few groceries and then I will be home to do some more sewing.  I may have more to post tonight if everything goes according to plan.

Pantry Organisation – Spices

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Thanks to Cath and the OC girls, I felt obliged to tidy up my spice drawers today.

When we had the kitchen renovations done a couple of years ago I convinced the cabinetmaker to put 2 drawers in the pantry for spices and other small containers.  I already had most of the containers so we were able to make sure that the drawers would be the right size.

They were not too untidy but some improvements could be made.

Here is the top drawer – before shot.

And after.  Please note – labels on top of the containers AND in alphabetical order.

The bottom drawer before I re-arranged it.

I do not think it looks much different afterwards as I chose not to label the tops of the jars.  Most of them are different and I know what is in them.  The old clear plastic container is perfect for holding the tiny bottles, such as the food colouring.

I also defrosted the small freezer and made a start on the study by cleaning the window and flyscreens.

Since I have 5 days off in a row (including the weekend) I am hoping to get some more cleaning and sorting done around the house.  I will show you some more tomorrow.



Anzac Cake

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Here is a recipe for a cake which is loosely based on the ingredients used in the iconic Anzac biscuits.  I found it here thanks to Tania.  It came from this blog which I have added to my regular reads.  Anyway, back to the cake……

ANZAC CAKE

1/2 cup Golden Syrup

125 grams butter

2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup castor sugar

1/2 cup coconut (shredded or dessicated your choice)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

 Method

Combine Butter and Golden Syrup in a saucepan, stir over heat until smooth.

Combine sifted flour, sugar and coconut in a large bowl.

Add syrup mixture and mix well.

Using an electric beater gradually beat in the combined eggs and milk.

Pour mixture into a prepared 20x30cm cake tin and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 30 minutes.

When done the cake will look a lovely golden colour.

Icing

60 grams butter (softened)

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 tablespoon hot water

Beat all ingredients together.  Spread over cake and sprinkle with more coconut.

Here is the finished product.

This definitely a winner in my opinion.

Weekly Challenge – Week 14

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Week 14 – I have decided to remove all the tasks that have been completed.  The list now will just be the ones I haven’t done from previous weeks 😦 and the 4 new ones that I have added for the coming week.  They will retain their existing numbering so you will be able to gauge how long I have been procrastinating over some of them.  I have put notes in italics by way of explanation below some items.

What I have done so far.  Scroll to the end of the list to so the new additions for this week.

3. Create a spreadsheet for future holiday packing needs

17. Follow up what I need to do to change my superannuation

23. Organise quote to have poinciana tree lopped and mulched

We have almost decided that we can do it ourselves.

25. Clean windows on southern side of house

I have done more than half of these

32. Thin out and re-pot bok choy seedlings

I have planted 12 of the strongest ones in the garden and wil stagger planting of the rest.

35. Make a vinyl cover for the newly-created day bed

39.Arrange to close a bank account that is no longer required

44. Defrost small freezer

47. Take glass jars to op shop

I will give them to a specific person who would like them but can’t be done till next month.

51. Add more notes to my Christmas letter draft

53. Book long-term carpark for when we go to Melbourne

54.Search for accommodation for weekend in Sydney next month.

55. Make more re-usable lunch wraps for Miss O and Izz.

56. Clean and pack away the doll’s house I received through Freecycle (for when the girls are older).

I feel as though I could have this all up to date by the time I the new list next Monday.  Come back and see how I go.

Til next week. 🙂

Repaired and Refreshed

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Today we did not need to go anywhere so The Duke and I spent the day working on various projects around the house.

I mended a pair of The Duke’s jeans which were starting to look a bit threadbare but he had declared that they would be OK for working around the yard.

2011-08-14 01I used some double-sided iron-on backing which is normally used for applique work.

2011-08-14 02I ironed a piece of this to the wrong side of the jeans where they were very worn and then added a piece of strong, black cotton fabric.

Using a zig-zag stitch I overstitched the torn areas and around the entire patch.  Here it is from the wrong side.

2011-08-14 03And the final view from the right side.  Very classy for wearing at home!

2011-08-14 04I also reassembled the newly-painted chest of drawers and mirror and here they are in the corner of the sewing room.

2011-08-14 05I lined the drawers with some used gift-wrapping paper and have sorted out some more fabric which will be stored in them.  I am gradually making progress with the sewing room decluttering.

Get Me Out of Here!

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I now know why I live where I live and do not trawl the shopping malls for ‘entertainment’.

This morning we dropped some things off to Missy and then headed off to Paddington Hardware and found these handles.

We had to order some more of the larger ones as they only had 2 in stock.

This is the project for which we need the handles.

Here are the small jewellery drawers that go on top and the supports for the mirror.

The Duke has started stripping the brown paint off the drawers so you can see the silky oak timber.  Here is the mirror.

The Duke then mowed Belle’s yard and our final stop was Westfield Chermside, a large shopping mall not far from Belle’s place.

I am not keen on shopping malls but I had a specific plan.  I wanted to go to the Early Learning Centre to buy a wooden puzzle as part of Izz’s birthday gift.  We could not find a park so The Duke dropped me off and I thought I would just quickly duck in and get what I needed.

As I got to the bottom of the travelator I turned into the main mall and was confronted by wall to wall people.  It looked like the week before Christmas.  According to the media there is a downturn in consumer spending, so were all these people window-shopping?

I battled the crowds and eventually reached my destination.  It is no longer called the Early Learning Centre but Kids Central and there is nowhere near the selection of toys and games available that there were previously.  I found this puzzle which was $15.  Unfortunately, like almost everything else these days, it was made in China.

I have heard various retailers whinging about the rise of online shopping and how it is eating into sales and profits in traditional retail outlets.  Other perceived issues include opening hours and the value of A$.  I don’t know about other people but the crowds and inconvenience would drive me straight to online shopping.

My experience this morning reminded me that I would be better off searching the internet or trying to find wooden toy craftsmen in the local area.

If you are interested in the issue of ever-increasing consumption and consumerism and have not read Affluenza it is definitely worth a read.  It will open your eyes.

I am very pleased to be home again, in the relative peace and quiet of our rural acreage.  I just sighed with relief that we made it out of the mayhem.

Work and Weekends

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I am very pleased that it is the end of the week at work and we have time to relax and unwind.  To some, our weekends seem very busy but it is a different kind of busy from our Monday to Friday office jobs.

Tonight we went to a local pizza restaurant for dinner.  We enjoyed our meal and the singer with his guitar added very pleasant background music.  A relaxing start to the weekend.

Tomorrow we will see Missy and Belle plus we want to look for some new handles for a silky oak dressing table we are restoring.

What do you have planned?  Or do you let the weekends just unfold as they happen?

Have a great weekend whatever you do.