Letting Go

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Today I spent the morning with Belle and Missy at Belle’s place.  She is doing a big purge of 28 years worth of ‘stuff’.  Most was achieved yesterday but we did help with a few things today.  She has come to the realisation that she cannot hang onto every single ornament, photo etc that she has so the time has come to be a bit ruthless.

Belle is finding that she now has not only has her own things accumulating but also the girls’ stuff.  One item which prompted some discussion today was the childrens’ artwork from daycare.  What do you keep and what do you toss?  Do you let the artist see the disposal?  Challenging questions and I would love some feedback on this conundrum.

I understand the struggle to offload ‘things’ only too well and am still waging a battle with various piles of stuff in my spare room.

I think that the most important thing is that once you have decluttered not to simply refill the space with other stuff.

I will never truly live a minimalist lifestyle but I do aspire to have an uncluttered, orderly house that contains only things that I actually use.  Aahhh, one day!!

My motto is, “Live simply so that others may simply live”.

Shopping & Sewing

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As I mentioned in yesterday’s post I had a successful op shop expedition. Here are the results:

Summer jeans

A pair of summer 3/4 jeans for Miss O – look almost brand new.

Hoodie

And a hoodie for Miss O.

Denim dress/pinafore

A gorgeous denim pinafore for Izz.

I spent some time today sewing and finished the sandwich wraps as well as a pair of trackpants and have started a couple of other outfits for the girls.

I did some mending and also altered a pair of trousers for Miss O.  They are a pair of corduroy hand-me-downs which were too loose for her last year so I made the little belt.  Now they are too short so I added some extra fabric on the bottom.  It matches the belt and looks quite smart, I think.

We are off to Brisbane tomorrow.  First stop to see Belle and drop off the clothes, although she does not have the girls this weekend so it will be a surprise for them when they get home.  I am going to help her sort out some things as she is trying very hard to cull a lot of the ‘stuff’ she has collected over the years as well as clothes and toys that the girls have grown out of.

After that we are off to the other side of town to see Missy and to drop off 2 prints which she asked me to get framed recently.  I had them done at Holden’s Gallery, a gallery and framing business here in Maleny.  We have had a lot of work done by them and it is some of the best framing I have come across.  Phil and Jennifer do a brilliant job and are very pleasant and helpful.

Here are the prints after framing.  They are ones that Missy got when she was on holidays in New York last year.




Back to Work & Bargain Hunting

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I am pleased that it is Friday and the end of the working week.  This has been my first week back at work after 3 weeks of holidays.  The problem with holidays is that no-one does the work – it is just there for when you get back.  I have spent most of the week catching up and am now pretty well back where I want to be.

Despite being busy with paid work, I have managed to achieve a few things.  We ate meals cooked from scratch each night for dinner and The Duke and I both took our lunch to work each day.  I bought and posted books to a friend, made a hair appointment for next week, had some medical tests, mended the hem of a beach towel, did 2 loads of washing, took a bag of stuff to the op shop, picked up some framing, stripped and changed the bed.

Tomorrow I will need to do a big basket of ironing, clean the kitchen and get stuck into the sewing for Miss O and Izz that is on my list from things to do before Sunday.  Speaking of Miss O and Izz, I managed to pick up some bargains at the op shop yesterday.  A gorgeous denim dress for Izz,while for Miss O I found a ‘hoodie’ and a pair of summer jeans.  They have been washed are are on the line at the moment but I will post some photos tomorrow.  All of the items are in excellent condition and cost less than $16 for the 3 things.

More Cooking

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I am still trying to get ahead with meal preparation since we returned from holidays.  Tonight we had pumpkin soup and grilled cheese on Turkish bread for dinner.  The soup was from the freezer which required very little preparation so I had time to do some other things.  The refried beans are cooking in the slow-cooker overnight and I squeezed a big basketful of lemons.  I made about 1.7 litres of lemon cordial and another 1.2 litres of lemon juice to go in the freezer for future use.

Izz had a grommet put in her ear today.  I spoke to Belle this evening and all has gone well.  We will see them all tomorrow evening as The Duke and I are babysitting for a couple of hours as Belle has an appointment.

Organised – Arranging Appointments

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A quick post tonight.  Today was my first day back at work but I did manage to do a bit of organising.  I will be working from home on Thursday and have managed to book a medical appointment and also arrange for the windscreen to be replaced.  It was cracked during our outback travels.  I am pleased that the work will be done here at home so no need for me to travel anywhere – I can just carry on working while it is all happening.

More news tomorrow.

Frugal – Baking

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Today’s post comes under ‘F’ for frugal.

Since we have been away for a bit over 2 weeks there is not much in the way of prepared food in the house, however, there are plenty of staples and ingredients.  Tonight I made pizza for dinner so while the oven was on I also made a boiled fruit cake for snacks and lunches.  The recipe is one that has been passed down to me from my mother.

It is not only recipes but all sorts of kitchen hints and tips that are part of the connection between one generation and the next.  Simple things – like lining a cake tin.

What did we use before baking paper and silicone bakeware?  Butter wrappers and brown paper.  I use this method, especially for fruit cakes just as my mother does and her mother before her.

Cake tin lined with butter wrapper

I had finished making a batch of spreadable butter so had this wrapper which I used to grease the tin and then lined the tin with it.  A heavy paper bag cut to size completed the lining for the sides of the tin.  If the tin is round or irregularly shaped you can use the tip of the scissor blade to trace around the tin for a pattern so that the paper is an exact fit.

Ready to turn into cake tin lining

Prepared cake tin

Fruit cake mixture

The mixture is then added.

Ready to go in the oven

Once the paper is removed the end result is definitely worthwhile.

Fruit cake

Also, to prevent the top of the cake burning you can add several layers of heavy paper or newspaper on top of the cake tin (not touching the surface of the cake).

I will post the recipe in the next few days.

I have completed 1 of my 4 jobs for this week’s challenge. The car is completely cleaned inside and out.

Home Sweet Home

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We are home again after our trip away and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.  Although, we did find some good beds in our travels and the best of these was at Willyama Cottage in Broken Hill.

As well as a bed that was easily as good as our own, the cottage was very well presented and had absolutely everything that we needed.  The kitchen utensils were excellent quality and preparing our own meals was a breeze.  This was an economical and healthy option to dining out.  The tariff was $100 per night.

If you are ever planning to be in Broken Hill I would suggest that you consider this cottage.

A ‘COFFEE’ update:

Clean – washing the clothes and linen from our travels.  I am on to the 3rd load now.

Organise – all of the bags are unpacked

Frugal – avoided buying any souvenirs or things that I thought I wanted while on holidays

Finances – totalled up every cent spent of the trip – 16 nights away and 6,000km travelled for $4,650 (included fuel, food, accommodation, tours, wine bought etc)

Eating – put another lot of refried beans on to cook in the slow-cooker overnight

Exercise – does running back and forth to the clothesline count?

Sustainable – bought meat while we were away from 2 butchers and asked for it to be put in my own plastic bags that I took with me.

That is enough from me.  Till tomorrow.

Anyone for Coffees?

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As some of you know I do not drink coffee so you are probably wondering about the sense of the title.

Since I have been away on holidays for the last 2 weeks with somewhat limited internet access I have had plenty of time to think and plan my future goals and action plans.  COFFEES is the acronym for at least some of my actions and goals.

CLEAN

ORGANISE

FRUGAL

FINANCES

EXERCISE

EATING

SUSTAINABLE

Most of my posts in future will have some link to at least one of these ideas.  Since there are seven words I could do one each day of the week but I think that could be a bit restrictive.  I would love to hear what you think.

Tonight we are at Glen Innes on the last night of what has been a fabulous holiday.  I will post some stories and photos of the trip once I get the photos organised.

Meanwhile, I have realised that it is exactly 23 weeks from when we arrive home tomorrow until we leave on our next holiday to New Zealand.  I have some goals which fit in nicely within this time frame.  One idea that I have taken from Peta at Great Googa Moogas is challenges such as “30 Things in 30 Days”.  I have opted for 92 things in 23 weeks.  For those of you who are arithmetically challenged, that is 4 things per week.

I will normally post my 4 things for the week in a post on Sunday each week but I have decided to get a headstart this week and post them tonight.

1.  Clean car inside and out

2.  Finish making sandwich wraps for Miss O and Izz

3.  Create a spreadsheet for future holiday packing needs

4.  Make trackpants for Miss O and Izz

That is enough for tonight.  It will be good to be back blogging regularly again.  I hope to make it every day if possible.  I look forward to your involvement and comments.

Dishcloths & Doing My Best

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Today I am writing this from Burra in the mid-North of South Australia.  Our holiday is going really well so far.  We have just had 3 nights with our dear friends in Strathalbyn and were able to time our trip to join in a 70th birthday celebration of Sunday followed by dinner on Monday evening for a 21st birthday as well.

We left Strathalbyn this morning  and visited The Duke’s mother, who is in residential care due to Alzheimer’s Disease.  Despite the effects of this cruel affliction she was pleased to see us and it was good to be able to spend some time with her.

Then it was off to Burra , but first we stopped at the suburban shopping centre and stocked up on a few groceries.  As we were walking through the shopping mall towards Foodland I noticed the post office and popped in to see if they had a 4 pack of Sally Wise’s cookbooks which I had heard mentioned on the forum of Simple Savings.  I was in luck as I picked up the last 2 packs – 1 for me and 1 for my sister.  They were an absolute bargain at $15 for a pack of 4 cookbooks.

Our accommodation is very well appointed and even has a slow-cooker so I will be making the most of it and making a casserole tomorrow while we are out and about.  My attempts to maintain my sustainable habits are going well so far.  It is easy to take my calico bags to the shops as plastic shopping bags are not an option in SA.  Why can’t the rest of the country follow suit?

I finished the first dishcloth the other day and have started a second one.  I just do a bit occasionally but it is good to have some handiwork to do when I feel inclined.

More holiday news in a day or so.

On The Road

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We left Brisbane late on Thursday afternoon and headed to Goondiwindi, on the Queensland/New South Wales border for our first night.  After a busy week in the lead-up to our departure I slept brilliantly last night.  In fact, I slept so well that I woke up this morning thinking that I was in my own bed.  That is unheard of, for me!

Today was a long day of just over 1,000 kms and almost 12 hours of travelling.  We arrived in Hay just after 6.30pm.  We shared the driving and while I was a passenger I did manage to do some knitting.  I am making some dishcloths and I have almost finished the first one which I had started at home during the Easter break.

I am hoping to continue our sustainable habits during the holiday as we would at home.  I brought food in containers, our own carry bags for shopping as well as drink bottles with water.  It is sometimes difficult to maintain habits when out of your normal environment but we will try our best and record our success (or otherwise) here.  The only spending today (apart from fuel) was one cup of coffee for The Duke ($3.85) and consequently a disposable cup to the rubbish!