Stay tuned

This is what it's like at our place the past couple of days..... I have lots to share, but you'll have to wait a day or two for me to sit and get the post up....in the meantime, stay warm!!

Welcome to Winter

With the start of June, its officially the beginning of winter down here in Australia.  Hopefully a time to catch our breath since the past seasons of Summer and Autumn seem to have been keeping us so very busy. We've already had a couple of power outs, so it's time to get the lanterns filled to have ready and waiting for our next outage!


 With winter my passion for getting out my woollen yarns become pretty obvious lol   My biggest problem is that I tend to have several things all going at once as you can see from the photo....... my lovely hitchhiker scarf in Woollmeiser is making progress - its my first knitting project in close to 23yrs, and the yarn is fine and the needles skinny lol,  so progress has been a little slower than I would have liked.  Today I've just started on a KAL (knit along) on a beginner knitting group on Ravelry knitting up a pair of slippers....... and naturally I have 2 crocheted dishcloths in the making!  It's time to get a few little items made up ready for gift giving.

Being the start of June, its also time to tackle another room in our Simplify My Home Challenge .
As you can see, much of this challenge is focused on reducing excess clutter from around us, finding ways to streamline our day to day workings and remembering to have that SOS - Spot of Simplification where we can sit and have our time out to think, plan, pray.  This month it's time to get into the Laundry.  Give your washing machine a clean over and putting it on a rinse  cycle (no clothing) with some vinegar in it will help clear the pipes without causing any damage.  Clear out those laundry cupboards and get rid of all the stuff you no longer use.  Make up a batch of homemade washing liquid, wipe down the walls.  Try to get the most from your laundry space so it works well for you!  As you can see I have a small space, but also have a storage wardrobe on the opposite wall to the washing machine which holds all manner of items.  The freezer has to here in the laundry..... there is no other place for it in our little home.  So while it was all sorted out and looking pretty here back in January, it's now time for a bit of a clean up..... as you can see lol.  By the way..... the little note on the freezer is my meal plan for the week, so I can easily grab dinner out of the freezer.

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