Is it Time?

Ever wondered whether you should take on a venture, new job, project?  Sometimes it happens so naturally you just look back and know it was meant to happen, but other times things just don't seem to line  up quite
so well.  I have to say after trying to get a little home made soap business off the ground about 18mths ago with lots of hurdles, I let it go....... then a couple of weeks ago I thought it might just be time to have another crack ...... but I seem to be getting various road blocks ...... ones I shouldn't be getting....... I'm guessing that it's God telling me that now is not the time!  And seriously, well, He is probably right.  I've found from past experience it pays to listen and take on board what I hear, so rather than getting my fingers in a twist with business paperwork, printing, websites, sourcing of containers, and getting ample supplies, marketing and bla bla bla................ I've decided to stop,    take a breath,     and get back to doing what we started here.......     working on turning my homelife (you know, those days that you don't have to head out to work),  back to the simple things  ........    
like craftwork for the home, family and friends

Yep, the crocheted stripey afghan is completed!!

gardening to provide food for us, and bartering for other goods

This was in April, the winter crop is growing well and we are picking silverbeat with cabbages close

enjoying watching the girls work and taking a breath.................. what about you?

Happy Mothers Day

Do hope everyone had a lovely Mothers Day today!  First off this morning, I enjoyed a phone call from my son who lives the other end of the country followed by a relaxing morning,  and our dog Scruffy (along with hubbie) presenting me with a Daphne and packets of seeds.  
Once I had the daphne potted up, and working out a good spot outside the cabin,  Pete decided it was time to start using all those pavers we've had sitting in piles...........

 Thankfully it wasn't long before our daughter Stacey and her long time boyfriend arrived with afternoon tea, and our mother/daughter tradition of chrysanthemums. 

 John took over helping Pete with the paving, and our eldest son started work on the gutterings around the house that were causing a few issues in the downpour yesterday.
I'm so happy with how it is turning out........ still a few more bits to finish off, but looking good. 

 

 

 I'm planning to have a little gathering of friends over on Saturday afternoon  since it seems appropriate to celebrate the cabins completion, together with my birthday by having  an afternoon of cake, craft and chatter lol. 

Hugs Sharm

It's May!

Welcome to May....... Mothers Day tomorrow, which makes me think of sitting and stitching or the clicking of knitting needles :)  What a happy thought that is.   I guess this means that May should be the month for sorting out your stashes of material, yarn, craft items, patterns........ how many UFO's can you find that you started with great intentions and never got completed??  I know I have quite a few, but I'm not sure exactly how many....... yet lol  

The little cabin is completed and I'm in the process of getting things into it...... Have I really got that much yarn????  Looks like I will need to get a few afghans crocheted up during the winter months.
My stripey afghan is halfway done........ once completed it will live in here.  I'm so pleased with how it is looking and how the colours seem to have worked so well together without us actually planning it that way.  Hubbie picked out the wall colour, the floor vinyl was a roll end, the stool was actually bought from a stall at the market when we only had the frame up, and the sofa bed was a purchase from the opp shop last week....... and yet they all work so well together!   I'm looking forward to getting some furnishings made up to have in here.   I'm also planning to have a little craft afternoon to celebrate it being completed, and since it will be my birthday on Friday, I'm thinking of trying to get something organised for that  Saturday afternoon........ craft, coffee, cake and friends...... sounds good to me!
Talk again soon,   Hugs Sharm

Autumn at the Cottage

It's Autumn weather here now and so it's a time to get busy with all the garden chores......... which is why I've been kept busy!

I need edging along the front fence line to help keep the grass out

 
 Seems my spare time of late has been either working out in the garden fighting all the weeds and grass that keep going into the garden beds, or in the kitchen doing up produce to last us till next year........ jams and relish mostly, with some bottled fruit. 

Unfortunately our summer garden did not do at all well,  I'm hopeful our winter garden will do better.  I've dug up half the vegie garden and have some seedlings planted: red onions, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, turnips and brussel sprouts.

For those of you who have been following along with the home challenge, no matter what part of the world you are in, it hopefully will be a time when you can see to your garden areas, verandas and porches tidied up, and the outside of the house washed down. 

The crochet work has slowed down while the garden is needing sooooooo  very much of my attention!  Once the colder weather hits, the garden will slow and the time for crochet will increase.  Did I show you the stripey afghan I started on? 



Work on the little cabin continues at a much slower pace now that Hubbie is back at work.  I want to thank all of you for your patience with me having limited posts over the past few weeks.  My DH was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few weeks back, and we have been busy following up with tests etc etc.  He will be going for more biopsies in a few weeks and we will know more then.  We are thankful that routine blood tests picked it up, and this means we have caught it early.  The biopsies will let us know if both tumours are slow or aggressive types which will give us an indication of what needs to be done. 

Thankyou to those who hold us up in prayer.  May each one who visits this blog be blessed.
Hugs Sharm

Trying a new Receipe

Yesterday I decided to make a change to the usual laundry liquid I make because although the usual one is great for sheets, towels and light soiling,  when it comes to really dirty clothes  ...... like when I've been out working in the yard, or my husbands work clothes (he works on excavators, so his clothes can be full of dirt, grease, fuel), ...... well for these times, I need something with a bit more of a boost in it.  It seems that the soap used in the American recipe may have a built in stain remover in it, so with that in mind I decided to alter my recipe a little to add in some grated  Sard Wonder Soap as well as the pure Sunlight Soap that is usually used here in Australia.  I've added a new page to my blog called Cleaners....... and this is where you can find the recipe if you want to try it out too.  As I said, its a new idea, so I'll be trying it out over the next few weeks.

 

 

Due to some family health issues, I've been a little preoccupied while Hubbie has been having lots of tests etc etc, so I realise that we are a little behind in our cleaning challenge for March.  My apologies I have been tardy, but hope to get that fixed up sometime very soon.

Sharm xo

Progress on the Little Cabin

You may remember back around Christmas time, we had decided to build in the single carport

 (now that we have the larger double carport sitting in front of it).  The single carport sits on its own, just to the side of our cottage, where the side veranda leading to the kitchen door is.
  We purchased some very large second hand old fashioned windows and a door very cheaply.  This way it would also cut the cost of outer boards, inner walls and insulation needed, plus let in plenty of light making you feel like you were outside.  Things like this tend to progress slowly, in bits and pieces as time and finances allow.  My wonderful hubbie has done all the work himself (with just a small amount of help here and there from myself and dear daughter).  
 

 Having had this week off work due to a medical procedure, and getting bored to death after just a day or two sitting around, he just had to do something to keep himself busy. 




Window seals repaired and outer window painted









Plastering underway ...... a first for Hubbie and coming along very well!!! 

 We are calling it the cabin at present, but I still feel that's not quite the name .......... I'm sure once its completed it will soon get named as such! 

A night time view with a portable light on inside

 I am looking forward to setting it up inside.  I plan to have a small sink area so I can make the all important cup of coffee without having to come inside, and since we already have a "bar" fridge that is currently stored in the shed, I plan to bring that in as well.   I'll be looking out for one of those sofas that can be pulled out to become a bed.   I can already envisage some potted plants around it ........... once the area is cleaned up from the building site look that is lol    And that is where we are up to for  the moment.   

Hugs, Sharm

 

 

 

Welcome to March

Yes, it's March already!!! It always seems to sneak up on me every year!!  Time to continue on with the simplify my home Challenge too..... I wonder how everyone went with their Spots of

Simplicity in Feb???... This month we are looking at paperwork .......  Filing, bills, budgets, piles of papers, your office area ........ Oh, I can hear those sighs already!! Paperwork and clearing/sorting of papers can be daunting, so my suggestion is to try a couple of these ideas:
1.  Set a timer for 15 minutes and go at it till the timer buzzes, then go do something else for a bit.  Keep coming back a few times each day for 15 min intervals until you feel like you have some sort of control.
2. Take that big pile of papers that looks like the leaning Tower of pizza! go sit on the lounge room floor and sort your way through it all while you have a movie or music on.

I find my homestead binder to be fantastic!  I have it divided up into 7 sections....... 1 section for each Pillar.   Right at the very front I have some plastic sleeves that hold business cards -  this is where I keep the business cards that we use with regards to anything to do with our home.  Behind the business cards I also have a couple of the local takeaway menus in plastic sleeves.  on odd occasions, usually spur of the moment, pet eight suggest we get some Chinese for tea....... It's so easy to flip to the menu and give them a phone order so it's ready by the time I drive into town!