Feather your Nest Friday, 9th October, 2020.

 It was another good week.   We continued to have rain!  It is beautiful.  No amount of work we could do would make as much difference as the rain does.   And it was good timing!  I had planted up my raised garden beds.   I had just planted a sunflower patch and my pumpkins.    

I had Buddy eating down this little yard that is eventually taken over by pumpkins.  To get them started I put a little surround around them.   Buddy looked thrilled and I am pretty sure he thought yippee!  Desert! 


Everything I planted had several days of rain to water it in.  They all look so good.


Some of the other ways I build up the nest this week included:

I had a move -the -animals -day.  This came after many move -stuff -in -the -house days!   I had one Bantam with the chooks and I moved her into a separate enclosure with another Bantam hen and a Rooster.  The goal is hatching some batches of Pekin bantams. 
We moved the sheep and cows.  This is done with yelling their names and a packet of biscuits and they just follow us anywhere.
Buddy was moved too as I just mentioned. 

I added protective shade cloth around my Lemon Tree in the orchard.  Lemons do not like wind.  So I added a bit of a wind break. 

My cups of seedlings are doing well.  A lot of cherry tomatoes have come up which is just as well as I could not find these in the nursery.   Zucchinis came up well...


These took off in the last few days and today I planted out 12 of them.  

I painted up some jars and lids that were a matching size.  These are for a gift. 


The little roses are waterslide decals... I put clear varnish over the top.  You could paint something, use a sticker or cut out flowers from a seed catalogue... anything!  I love jars so I often paint ugly lids so they look nice.

On the rainy days I kept spring cleaning and re arranging... I cleaned out a basket I used before we lived here to take swimming.  It is a good useful basket so now it is in use again.  I found almost $50 in small change in it!   

We are working on fixing up a fence.  Grass was cleared from all along the bottom and this filled a wheelbarrow. I took that all up and gave it to the chooks.

Each day I have picked spinach, chard, kale and silverbeet and given a big bunch to the cows as I have so much.  They love it!

During the week I make a big pot of spaghetti meat sauce.  We had some on pasta that night for dinner.
The next day I used the sauce to make up three lasagnas.  


One I baked... it was cut into 6.  Two serves were dinner.  I froze the other four serves.
One is a gift of help to Lucy.
The other is for the upcoming baby week for Chloe.    
At the end I still had some sauce left over and that gave us a couple of lunches.   I love a decent cook up as it is so many meals ahead at once. 

I went to Mum's and we went through some photo albums.   Mum is cleaning out cupboards and re arranging too.   She gave me some lovely photos including one of my all time favourite photos of Dad. 
Also a recipe book hand written by my Nana.  There are some letters too.   One is from my Great Grandfather to Nana when my Uncle Jim was born.  It is congratulating her and he gave her money to help.   It is beautiful to have.  Another if from my other Grandmother... a school book of her handwriting (which is beautiful and she decorated her pages ... 💖) dated 1905.   And many more treasures. 

There are always a lot of birds at Mum's and they are very friendly.  Her Shrike Thrush (that is practically a pet) was sitting on eggs...


Three beautiful speckled eggs.  To me Speckled Eggs are the most gorgeous thing...


I will be back at Mum's on Monday and will check to see if they have hatched! 

I made yoghurt then we had a favourite easy meal.   I submerge chicken pieces in the yoghurt for the day.  In the evening each piece is dipped into crumbs.  (I use gf breadcrumbs) You can use seasoned crumbs... whatever you like.  I cook them in the air frier but you can cook them in the oven on a tray.  Once cooked and golden they are so delicious. This recipe is awesome to use up yoghurt too.  I did enough for a cold meal the next day as well.

I decided to make an effort to include the little things that make up life.  So here is a photo of Scout.  I am cooking dinner.  There is a big storage box outside the kitchen window.  She likes to see what I am cooking so she is watching...


I often am working away then get the feeling I am being watched and there she is.

Being Spring wherever I drive there are flowers.   There are mainly yellows... some whites and a few pinks.  When I see pink I pick that!   These were my free pickings this week.


The jug is one I found in a thrift store and it is huge.  So this is a lot of flowers!

The chickens are laying and so are the ducks.   These are the eggs I collected yesterday.


So many simple things, like eggs, are just beautiful.   Collecting the eggs is happy too.   The garden, nature and animals are very uplifting.  I know I do best if I am outside a lot and getting loads of sunshine and fresh air.  I sleep better.  These are stressful times.  We really need to immerse ourselves in positive things as much as we can.   Whether that is knitting, crafts, cooking, gardening, preserving...  we all know there are things that when we are busy with them we are thinking happy thoughts.    To be busy at home and content is a truly beautiful thing. 

I hope you had a good week! How did you further your garden, pantry or preparedness?  How did you feather your nest this week?  xxx 



















Comments

  1. Dear Annabel and Bluebirds!!

    I find this to be a very heartwarming post, and love the little stories that work together to build a beautifully practical life! Putting the gift of pantry jars together is particularly special!

    Buddy is looking strong, and smiling!! Hah!! ..... Gardens are miracles!!


    Rachel

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    1. Dear Rachel,
      I have had internet trouble and lost my first reply to you sorry. Thank you! A smiling sheep is good to have in your life! With love Annabel.xxx

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  2. Dear Annabel,
    It's so lovely to read your post this morning. Buddy has sure grown and Scout seems to have quite the personality. How beautiful to receive the all the family gifts from your Mum.Things that will be cherished for generations.

    It has been busy here as well. Yesterday I baked 200 cookies to be sent out for October birthday gifts for son and son-in-law and a few for my husband. We harvested 20 butternut squashes, 5 more acorn squashes, which got baked and stuffed with a stuffing of ground turkey onions and apples a d frozen for future meals, made 4 more quarts of bone broth and also butternut squash soup. From the 2 potatoes that had sprouted and I decided to plant, we dug 8 lbs of beautiful Yukon gold potatoes. We are exchanging our summer clothes for the fall and winter ones in the closet
    One of the shopping channels was having a 24 hour craft day and I got some new dies for my die cutting machine, one if which is s pocketbook with a rise pattern that is actually a box. I think it will make great packaging for Christmas gifts. We continue to work on our pantry taking stick and filling in holes as best as possible. Some of the sticker shock prices we saw were for vanilla extract, chocolate chips, foil, among other things. Shockingly gluten free pasta had gone up to over $4 for a 12oz package. Glad I got a good supply early on and can make my own as well. Wishing all Bluebirds a good week ahead. Blessing, Cookie

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    1. Dear Cookie,
      Thank you! What a good bake up you had! They will go over well I would think! Also what a butternut harvest! To me this have many uses and are yum. And all the potatoes! Very good harvests. I think I could watch a shopping 24 out craft special! I Havant considered this but it could be good! You will enjoy the new dies for the cutting machine and put them to good use. Vanilla here is also very expensive. So are the beans to make some up which I have been considering. I have worked out that with specialty things we might need, diet wise, we need to be far ahead. But knowing how to make them from scratch is a big bonus. Hope your week is off to a good start! With love Annabel.xxx

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    2. Dear Annabelle,
      When the price of vanilla started going up here I purchased beans to make my own for my own use and for gifts. I bought 10 beans for $13 on Amazon which has yielded nearly 32 ounces of vanilla . The stores are charging $9 and more for only 2 ounces of pure vanilla. Quite a savings making our own.

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  3. Oh my goodness what a precious picture of Scout. I love that. Watching Mommy!!!! Sounds like a great week.

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    1. Thanks Cheryl, Scout is a good girl, I love her! You have a good new week too! With love Annabel.xxx

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  4. Hooray! I can comment! I love those pink flowers. You are so right that we need to be immersing ourselves in positive things, staying faithful. Today the sun is shining, I have cleaned house and put away the canning I've done this week. I'm getting ready bit by bit for Thanksgiving this weekend, which includes making cranberries in port, some dinner rolls, and a couple of pies (pumpkin and green tomato). I'm also making good progress on a sewing project for a birthday next week, and I am reading a couple of really lovely books. I'm also pointedly staying away from the news to keep my blood pressure down, ha ha! Thank you for the lovely post.
    xx Jen.

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    1. Dear Jen,
      I messed around with settings and made it much easier for anyone to comment, I am hoping anyway!
      Cranberries in port sound pretty good! I hope you have a beautiful Thanksgiving! With love Annabel.xxx

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  5. I love Scout watching you through the window. My Mom would have been so lonely if not for her black lab Suzy after my Dad passed away in the Spring. One of my Aunts is doing research on our family and Mom told me that her grandmother's brother and 4 of his children died in a house fire in 1902. No one knew this. It is interesting what lies in our past heritage.

    We are working on cleaning and organizing all our pantry spaces. It is nice to see it all taking shape. Now when I open the doors I see lots of half gallon jars full of lovely food stores and I know better what I have. This week we picked up food storage buckets at the local donut shop for $1 each. These will store flour. It will soon be cold here so we are working hard on finishing up the chores that need to be done before winter. Plants need to be moved to the garage to overwinter and veg pots need to be cleared. My husband is building a new wood rack with a snug roof and using old fence boards for shingles. We are expecting rain from the hurricane this weekend so inside chores will get done.

    Have a lovely weekend! Looking forward to news on Chloe's baby and pictures!

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    1. Dear Lana, I am so glad your Mum has Suzy. Dogs are amazingly caring and the benefits of having a dog are just immeasurable.
      Oh the buckets for $1 are a great thing! I hope others reading gather this tip. I know from Vicky your are like ours... good lids, strong... very good for bulk storage. I got some free ones in Adelaide. Everything from dry dog food to packets of pasta are good in these containers.
      It is great how well you will know what you have on hand now and can see it clearly.
      I hope you did not get too much wind or rain from the hurricane. With love Annabel.xxx

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  6. Annabel,
    What a true blessing the gifts from your Mum are. Yo will cherish them for years to come. My Dad gave me my Mom's mixing bowl last visit, I never realized how small it was in comparison to mine, all I can remember is all the cakes, cupcakes and cookies made in it, time well spent with Mom.

    Our week here was spent reorganizing Pantries, making more room and really putting things together. I can tell you that i don't think I need Olive Oil for awhile. I have one large pantry closet to do then I move on to reorganizing our storage room.
    Winter is coming and we are busy Fall Cleaning, I have the house/living section done and husband has most of the outside done, including cleaning the shed and power washing the house. I truly believe that Winter is the most work getting ready for.
    I continue to try to add to our pantry, this week adding 16 lbs of sugar, some cheese, 2 bags of chocolate morsels, and butter. I keep telling myself that every little bit helps and it does. We were also able to add 16 bars of soap to our pantry. Something that hasn't happen in awhile.
    Best of wishes to All Bluebirds to have a spectacular weekend and week ahead.
    Love, Rosanne

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    1. Dear Rosanne,
      I think things like mixing bowls and things that were used for years are lovely to keep and use too. Your winters are a lot to prepare for. Even with my imagining I think I would get a real shock. I would find ice and snow on roads very intimidating let alone the storms you get when it is below zero.
      Yes every bit does help and adds up. Soaps are very good to have... small, they also, very sought after if there are shortages!
      The week has flown by! With love Annabel.xxx

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  7. Dear Annabel, Buddy looks well and happy. Here in the states we aare moving into fall, but it still is warm. i harvested the last of the pepper s to freeze. It's time to put the garden to bed. Did a
    shopping trip for some pantry items. That's sweet that Scout watches you, she's waiting for a taste I'll bet.
    Yes, we do need to find things to do that bring joy and relaxation. Besides handwork and baking, I've been looking through my old issues of Victoria, Martha Stewart Living, and Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion that I saved looking for fun things to create and bake . I go through one or two each night after the work is finished while snuggling with my kitties. Nice to "escape" for a little while.

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    1. Oh boy I love Victoria Magazine. Also Mum used to get Martha Stewart Home Living. I loved them! This does sound lovely. I love Autumn.. it is my favourite time of year by far!
      Each season has good things though. I hope your week as gone well... mine got away from me so I am late with replies! xxx

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  8. Annabel, you have had a productive week as usual. Here in Queensland we have few COCID-19 restrictions so life goes on as normal. Before the heat returned I planted out lots of veggie seeds into newspaper pots and when they are big enough I will plant them in the garden somewhere out of too much sun. It was 30C yesterday and so dry. I have a mask I need to finish but I have lost my momentum as they are rarely worn here in our state. I'll finish it off anyway just in case it is needed down the track as the future is unpredictable. Now I have to go and feed my sourdough starters Gertrude and Griffin. Have a lovely weekend.

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    1. Dear Nanna Chel, I saw you still had the flower festival. How lovely. Two sour dough starters! That is a good idea actually. I hope QLD continues to do so well. The contrast one state to another is dramatic. It is really good you have been able to keep on in a normal way. If not for the family in the border community our own area has been pretty good too. However 2020 will go down as a challenging year! With much love, Annabel.xxx

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  9. Hi Annabel
    I hope this works, I tried last week but don't think you received it. Your garden beds look fantastic! It sounds like you and your mum are spending some really lovely time together, it must mean so much to you both. How exciting that another grandbaby will be arriving soon! I hope it all goes smoothly for Chloe and Luke. They will definitely be well fed!

    We are at the end of school holidays and they have been great. I've spent today baking and will do more tomorrow. I've been given two huge bags of lemons from my neighbour so will be making some lemon curd as well.

    I've been cross stitching an advent calendar for us, I have done 18 motifs so just a few more to stitch, then I need to figure out how to turn it into a calendar. I'm only using supplies I have on hand, and it's been really fun. I'm trying to organise as much for Christmas this month as I can. At the moment everything is just shoved in a cupboard under the stairs!

    Hope your weekend is going well
    Jen (NZ)

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    1. Dear Jen,
      I have worked on my settings so it is easier to comment and I think it worked so thank you for trying again! I know you would enjoy the holidays. On the last weekend the girls and I had baking days. They got more advanced as they got older but they were icing things and enjoying it and often took a cake or gingerbread biscuit or something on the first day to a best friend. This all kind of helped with the first day back. I would get ahead. They were allowed to buy lunch a couple times of year but mostly they didn't want to. I dont know how much this money saved over the years! And how much cooking they learned too! So it is lovely and I imagine tomorrow you will have a busy day.
      Lemons! Lately I have made cup cakes and made them like butterfly cakes with he lemon curd in the middle. This is really good!
      I am sure your Christmas stash is good. The advent calendar will be great. It all adds to the excitement of Christmas! Have a really good new week. With love Annabel.xxx

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  10. Annabel you got so much done with planting in the gardens and your newly planted veggie plants with all that rain look happy and healthy indeed :) . Buddy looks so thrilled at seeing the pumpkin plants. Lovely pink blossoms you have harvested to brighten and cheer up the home and your baking as usual looks divine.

    Our Vicky challenge added up to $551.50 in savings last week :) .

    In the kitchen -
    - cooked all meals and bread from scratch.

    Home deep cleaning -
    - Crawled under the bed and vacuumed underneath it and under furniture as well as the skirting boards to get rid of all the fine dust. We are still very dry here with little rain.

    In the gardens -
    - In 2 garden beds I weeded and took out spent winter vegetable plants, trench composted kitchen vegetable scraps and dried crushed eggs shells in them and put some around our navel orange tree. I planted some more capsicum, cucumber and dwarf bush beans in both gardens.
    - Planted another vegetable garden bed with heirloom sweet corn seeds.
    - To plan firewood for next winter we cut up some more fallen ironbark tree limbs at the back of the property and split 1 1/2 3 x 2 metre rows of firewood we cut earlier with our log splitter and stacked it in the lean- to shed.

    Earnings -
    - DH earned $70 by doing a paid gardening job.
    - I earned $20 from the sale of saved broad bean seeds from the gardens.

    Finances -
    - By ringing up our electricity company and letting them know they had forgotten to apply our pensioner concession from over 18 months ago I got a credit of $535 on our electricity account.

    Internet listings -
    - Saved $16.50 by listing 10 handmade items on eBay on a free listing promotion.

    Have a wonderful week ahead everyone :).

    Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).

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    1. Dear Lorna,
      That was a very worthwhile phone call! Wow! Well done on that! Also well done on your listing and the extra income sales and DHs extra work brought in.
      You would be well ahead for next winter or even longer. Really very good.
      A very good week. I wish you would get some rain though. I know what it is like to long for rain but we have been very lucky with rain the last month or so.
      I hope you have had a good week... lots going on here so I am late to reply... but lots to report tomorrow! With love Annabel.xxx

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  11. Dear Annabel
    As usual you accomplish so much. I enjoy seeing what you get up to each week. you are an inspiration. I hope your mother is doing well. She must miss your father so much. Sounds like you received your busyness from her. It helps to keep busy. Thinking of you. Ann xx

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    1. Thank you so much. Mum is doing well. She keeps very busy. And she has another Great Grand baby to look forward to soon. Yes we were brought up to work and help. Mum has always done that but so did Nan before her. And she was one of 13 so her Mum was definitely busy. There is always much to do especially on a farm I guess. Thank you Ann. with love Annabel.xxx

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  12. Annabel, your photos always show the beauty in everyday life. I loved your post this week. That Buddy staring at the fenced-in plants and Scout watching you through the window are wonderful. I always look forward to Fridays to see what you are sharing with us :D.

    My busy week included (but was not limited to!) the following:

    Replanted seeds that failed to come up in two garden rows.
    Cleaned up some flower beds and garden borders.
    Darned a pair of socks.
    Cleaned and reorganized one section of the big pantry.
    Found red bell peppers and onions for a good price and chopped and froze 2 large bags.
    Canned pinto beans and okra & tomatoes.
    Saved seeds from okra, zinnias and hot peppers.
    Mailed out thank-you notes for birthday gifts and messages.

    Have another productive and fun week, BlueBirds!

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    1. Dear Pam,
      Seeds have a mind of their own. I have had some things spring up so fast and other things just never budge!
      Thank you so much... I love the animals, they really make my day.
      Peppers freeze so well. I love adding them to things this way.
      Happy bleated birthday! It sounds like you had a lovely day.
      A very good week Pam. Here we are it is almost Friday again! With love, Annabel.xxx

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  13. Lemon curd in the middle of anything sounds wonderful!

    My week wasn't spectacular, but it all adds up--
    * I was given a cute sweater vest, ugly pewter pitcher (think garden art!), string of twinkle lights (new in package) and a plastic fishing tackle organizer for my daughter's earrings.
    * I mended a wool throw and sewed a button on DH's shirt. Doesn't match exactly, but close enough. I actually switched two buttons so the mismatched one would be less prominent.
    * As usual, I paid my bills online, saving time and postage.
    * I made and canned applesauce. More to come. Apples were .48 lb. about two weeks ago and I bought 40 lbs.
    * I discovered I was overcharged $3.05 at the grocery store when the sale price didn't ring up. I went back for the refund.

    Best wishes to our Canadian neighbors who celebrate their Thanksgiving this Monday. Canadian Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October and in the US it is the 4th Thursday in November.

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    1. Maxine yes it all adds up! I did not realise Thanksgiving was celebrated on different days, US to Canada. This actually explains something to me!
      What a good apple purchase! The apple sauce sounds wonderful.
      Lovely to be given some useful things. Could the pitcher be used to water pot plants?
      I hope this week has been good for you! We are almost Friday again already! With love Annabel.xxx

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  14. I love so many things in your blog. Your garden looks wonderful. Rain is wonderful to help things grow. I think Buddy is thinking how can I get in there! Love Scot at the window and your rose decals. I usually receive these Friday p0wts in my email. Is there a reason I did not this time? Nancy.

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    1. Dear Nancy, Thank you! Buddy tried for a bit to break in then he gave up. He was pretty gentle about it thankfully! Ok I am needing now to add email alerts to this blog now we have changed to a new site. I will get on to that so you can sign up then you should get them again. With much love Annabel.xxx

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  15. Hello Annabel,
    I've so enjoyed your blog for a very long time but lately I realized that I haven't gotten any e-mail notifications from you about a new blog post and was really missing hearing from you. I was worried that you are O.K. Then I decided to go onto your blog and was a bit confused about you not being there. But when I came here I saw that thankfully you are O.K. (sigh)
    How can I sign up to get e-mail notifications for this new blog? I don't see anywhere to do it here?
    Thanks for any help you can give me.
    Have a great week.
    ~Sue M.

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    1. Dear Sue,
      I will get on to adding email notifications to this new blog. Then you can sign up. I have a lot of things I need to do and add. So hopefully I can get this fixed for you. Thank you for finding me! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  16. It would be amazing to see some pages from your grandmother’s book, if it’s not too personal. I have always wondered what kind of biscuits you fed the sheep to get them moving? - I so enjoy reading your weekly posts, especially the stories about your farm animals :)

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    1. Thank you for the suggestion. Ok I will get some photos taken of things that might be of interest or help. Thank you so much. With love Annabel.xxx

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  17. I forgot my way to the farmhouse! I had to go look it up so I wouldn't forget how to get here again, lol. I love the way Buddy appears to be smiling at the camera. He looks so happy.
    We've been making lots of small home repairs: dryer, Keurig, a fan (that one didn't work the others did).
    I had the pleasure of seeing my baby grandson again after five weeks. We didn't see them the week before we left for vaca and while we were gone the family was diagnosed with Covid. All are well and never had more than the mildest of symptoms thank heavens.
    I was thrilled to find a 25 pound bag of flour in a store I typically don't shop and it was a really good price for it, too. So I bought it to stock up. I was very happy to find that.
    We are not seeing massive shortages here at this time but some stores are still limiting and some are stocking extras of what they do have in places where outages are. I'm slowly but surely building up my little stock piles of things.

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    1. Dear Terri, I am glad you found me! I am so glad the family were not too ill. And that you have been able to see your Grandson again. He would have grown in the five weeks.
      It is great to store a good amount of flour. Especially at a good price!
      I hope no more cases of Covid in the family but very good to hear it was so mild. With love Annabel.xxx

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