Feather your Nest Friday, 12th August, 2022.

It has been a very different week because I have been in the city since Sunday until I came home this afternoon.   So not really my usual report.  Mum had some minor surgery with an over night hospital stay.    On Saturday before we headed off I made Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins...


And Scones to take with us. 


Andy held down the fort for the week.  Before I left I wrote instructions on the Bantam chicks,  the chicks in the brooder,  the Quail,  the bigger chicks in the main hen house,  the bird, the goats and the dogs.   It was some list by the time I finished as Quail have different feed and the new Bantam chicks are so tiny.  I weaned the lambs so they are now self sufficient.   He did a great job!   

The city was interesting.   There were no eggs.   I took some fresh ones with us but I was curious  to see what was in shortage and also prices of things.


Because I make most of my laundry liquid the price of the bottles in the store just fascinates me.  This was a half price "bargain"...


People must have thought it was a good deal as there was hardly any left.  

And veggies are very expensive. 


For reference there are 2.2 pounds in a kilo.

Meat has security alarms attached like electrical goods do.

I did study some ideas though.    The various supermarkets have their own versions but they have soup packs and green packs that are chopped veggies like this...



These are pretty good actually and you can read the ingredients list.  I am sure they contain a lot of stems and leaves and we could make similar with half the produce that might normally be discarded.  But we don't discard that stuff now!   A container in the freezer could be gradually filled with chopped stems etc.  It is all goodness.  Beautiful green goodness.   In my house I have to decide what the chickens get verses what I use up and I do some of each.  But no stem, no leaf,  no veggie that has gone to flower or seed is wasted.    Beetroot leaves,  broccoli stems grated up,  the parsley stems chopped,  it soon accumulates.

On a street nearby us someone left a box of oranges out the front and a sigh "please help yourself" plus a pile of plastic bags with a rock on top. Very nice!  So I got 12 beautiful oranges.

I found another pot for my container garden.

On the way home today I stopped at Aldi and stocked up on meat and various useful things.   I found a couple of awesome things to add to my Christmas presents. 

On other trips into stores I stocked up on beans...


And tinned tomato...


Mum and I saved every food scrap all week which I brought home for the chickens.

Today my niece Allie went to stay with Mum until she can come home on Tuesday.   Mum went back to the surgeon this morning and got a very good report!   She could also have a proper shower and wash her hair and the things we all know make you feel so much better.    So this is such a relief and I am tired but think we did well and made the best of the week.   

I returned in the rain,  the farm looks so green it is borderline fluorescent.   The chicks have grown!   AND...  the Quail eggs are wobbling!  Well,  some of them are.  The are "due"  Sunday.   I came home just in time! 

How was your week?  How did you build up your home,  feather your nest,  add to your pantry or garden?  
Every bit counts!   This leads me to another post early next week.    We are going to have a challenge!   See you then! xxx



















Comments

  1. I do similar packs for soups and casseroles at the end of summer, vac seal and freeze them. They are so handy and save so much time - dump them into the slow cooker or pressure cooker or pot straight from the freezer. Carrots, celery and leaves, turnips and tops, parsnips, onions, potato, sweet potato, silverbeet or spinach, cauliflower, corn - whatever veg is in the gardens or fridge goes into them. No waste either, I don't peel the veggies unless they are very dirty, otherwise just scrubbed and chopped.

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    1. Do you just freeze them fresh, no blanching? Then when you cook them up, do you thaw first before cooking?

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    2. It is all so much goodness. I dont peel either. Oh, except sweet potato. I have some Broccoli to harvest today so I will be adding some more stalks and leaves to my collection! xxx

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  2. Hi Annabel. It is so good to hear that Mum is on the mend and will be home soon.
    I read your put it to good use post and found that this gave me the incentive that I needed to get me going. Our neighbour had given us some long treated pine logs. I dug a trench along the drive way garden and then place the logs in the trench. I will put blue metal around the pots between the logs and the house. It is an area that has been untidy and bothering me for a while. It is now on the way to looking so much better.
    You mentioned an old bed frame that you hope to get for a garden trellis. This reminded me of one we have somewhere in the shed. I have plans to pull this out and set it up as a day bed on the veranda. I have plans bouncing around in my head for a patchwork cover for this.
    I finished off a table runner for Christmas. I plan on giving this to our Katie for her to build her own Christmas stash. I also appliqued a Mrs Claus onto a tea towel and will get Santa onto another.
    In the garden Spring seeds have been put into punnets and placed into the green house. Some Blue Butterfly pea seedlings and Winged bean seedlings have all been planted into the garden. Cassava cuttings, a sprouting onion and a Jaboticaba tree tiny seedling have all gone into the garden. I cleaned up a feral passionfruit vine and found a lot of fruit on it. These fruits have become cordial, curd and frozen pulp.
    Our family has been very grateful for our fluffy butt girls. There has been no egg shortage around here. I have been finishing off the compost in their yard. I rake it up into a pile every evening after the ladies have retired into the Palace for the evening. Each morning they scramble to scratch it down and gobble up any bugs they find. This compost is looking amazing and will end up going on the garden this weekend.
    Have fun welcoming your new little quail into the world this weekend.

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    1. Dear Jane, You did a lot of work getting those logs into place. And the iron bed sounds beautiful and would look lovely with a patchwork cover as a day bed. All that passionfruit was beautiful to find.
      Having chooks is the best thing ever. It is even fun giving them the garden scraps as they enjoy them so much. You are just ahead of me on Spring. I think I can start planting in a few weeks.
      The table runner is beautiful and lovely for Katie to add to her home at Christmas. I woke up this morning and thought Quail!! I raced to look in the incubator. It was a hive of activity! 14 so far! All colours and stripes. Now I am setting up a brooder. I got home just in time! Have a good weekend! With love Annabel.xxx

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  3. Annabel,
    Glad everything went well for your mum and I wish her a speedy recovery.

    Mandy (NZ)

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  4. Glad to see all went well for your mother. As a fellow Celiac would it be possible to publish a link to your gluten free recipes, namely the scones and blueberry muffins? thank you for maintaining this blog, such a wonderful resource for the world. And I mean world as I am in Canada. Even though I cannot use all the helpful advice I certainly appreciate those that I can. Many thanks, B.

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    1. Dear B, Thank you! In general I just swap out regular flour for GF flour with any regular recipe. I will make these muffins again and include the whole recipe in the blog post for you. The scones... I will try to use cup measurements so we are not confused with metric and imperial. This is my version as it is how I get them so high and fluffy. 4 cups of self raising GF flour. (Plus a bit extra to flour the cutting board and cut them out) 1 extra level teaspoon of baking powder. Half a cup of melted butter, 2 cups of milk. one egg. Blend to a very soft dough. Cut into an inch or 3 cm thick round. Bake in hot oven will take around 20 mins. I hope this works for you. With love Annabel.xxx

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  5. This week I had enough fresh tomatoes to can 7 pints of our favorite salsa in my steam canner. I had read somewhere that after blanching the tomatoes you could take their skins and dehydrate them into tomato powder so that’s what I did! Normally those would have gone to chickens or compost.
    Using last year’s frozen zucchini shreds (to rotate and make more room in freezer), home canned pineapple chunks (I whizzed in my blender to make crushed pineapple), chopped walnuts, coconut and craisins all from my pantry, I made 3 loaves of Pineapple Cranberry Zucchini bread!
    As I weeded and pulled out old veg plants to make space to plant fall garden, those weeds and veg plants went to chooks who converted them into eggs for us!!
    We’ve always tried not to be wasteful, but these days, everything gets looked at with new eyes to see if it could be reused or converted into something useful or delicious!

    Hope your Mum’s recovery goes well!

    Gardenpat in Ohio

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    1. Dear Gardenpat, That bread with the pineapple... sounds beautiful!
      Your chooks would have bee so happy with all that you pulled out. It is great you can still get an Autumn harvest. The tomato skins made into power is great. Full of vitamins and flavour! I feel as though our skills with cooking, preserving and using things up are more useful than ever! Have a lovely weekend Pat! With love Annabel.xxx

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  6. I enjoy all of your posts, but I especially enjoy the random comments about "gluten free" since I have Celiac Disease and must eat that way all the time. I am in the U.S. and must say I'm shocked by the high prices in Australia. I hope prices come down for you soon. I do know that prices go up, but seldom if ever, come down

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    1. Dear Carole, Thank you so much! I am not celiac but I suffered a lot of pain, joint and leg pain. Since I was little. Someone told me to try going wheat free. So I did give it a try and by the end of the fourth day I felt like a whole new person and was pain free. I lapsed a couple of times and the pain was shocking. So I just never eat wheat at all. I am not confident on prices coming down so I am trying to plant more and more. With love Annabel.xxx

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  7. Hi Annabel and all
    I've been making lovely dried lemon and orange peel, and freezing lemon juice in ice cube trays. A while ago Annabel, you shared of a mesh herb dryer you bought. I bought one on your recommendation and it has been fabulous hanging a metre or so away from the wood fire, drying citrus peel (without pith then I blitz it and put in a jar - divine in all sorts of foods), also drying rose petals, stinging nettleeaves, hoarhound leaves and other herbs. Thanks for the suggestion. Deb

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    1. Dear Deb, Im so glad you are enjoying the free dehydrating near the fire! It is surprisingly quick! Just fantastic! The citrus peels are full of vitamins too. So are the nettles! I found frozen lemon juice so handy when I had no lemons I just went to the freezer. I need a restock though! Many thanks, Love Annabel.xxx

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  8. Hello Annabel and all the Bluebirds,

    I am very glad your mum has a great medical report and she is well. This is more important than anything else!
    Also, how lovely to have new quail chicks - exciting days ahead of you. I love your expression, ^borderline fluorescent^ - we finally have nice, warm, abundant rain in our area - still some crops, especially corn, are lost in our country due to a long, unusual drought.
    The scary war is still going on and today I got the receipt for iodine pills for my 17 years old son - he has to take two pills in a 6 hour period of time after a nuclear explosion occurs - some attacks and explosions happened at Zaporozhye, the biggest nuke plant in Europe and everybody is all years and eyes on this!! God help us!
    I have a lot of good news, finally! My ultrasound and mammograph result came out with a good result, although I was quite scared - it was my first ever and had to take it to exclude any suspicions.
    I got an unexpected salary raise - with no extra work hour, just because they considered I deserve it. After all, I have been working at the same society for 18 years.
    My husband starts his new job on Tuesday, and that is important, because so many businesses are laying people off.
    I started seed savings for next year, and I harvest everyday something from the garden - my dehydrator is my daily handmaiden, now is tomatoes and apples season. My first year with a dehydrator and happy about it - thanks to you and the bluebirds comments.
    I was gifted a big bag of home made pasta - very golden and delicious - for my computing skills I taught a nice older nurse at the medical center. I put it on a 3 liter glass jar and it looks like sunshine on the kitchen cabinet.

    I report good things happening to me this week and I took the opportunity to thank you again for this nice and kind community formed around Annabel. I learn many things from you all, if one is curious and determined enough to make the most of each day, each experience, each iddea for a better future.

    Thank you. Lots of love. Laura_s_world from Romania

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    1. Dear Laura, I am glad you have the iodine pills and I hope some for yourself as well. Our news is not telling us much but I know this situation with the nuclear plant is not good.
      Thank you for your kind words! I love how we have so many friends here now. I feel we can encourage each other so much.
      I am so glad for you that your tests all came back good!
      Congratulations on your pay rise that is wonderful! Also for your husband on his new job!
      It sounds like you are putting up so much food with your dehydrator! Just fantastic! I especially love tomatoes... I did a huge number of cherry tomatoes and they rehydrate just by throwing them into a Quiche and add so much flavour!
      The homemade pasta was a beautiful gift of appreciation! This all added up to a great week for you Laura! Now I hope this new week will hold many good things! With love Annabel.xxx

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  9. Although I don't ferment any veggies, Shaye Elliott (The Elliott Homestead on YouTube) has been showing how she came to the realization she could put lots of "leftover" fresh veggies in a half gallon jar and pickle them together. The photos look beautiful and delicious! What a good idea for leftover veggies. My husband had a very bad reaction to vinegar a few years ago or I would try it.

    We were throwing the last banana or two away when they were too ripe since I cannot eat them but I decided last week that I was going to start freezing them to make banana muffins for family members. I can have one for breakfast since that is the time I can eat more carbs. Food is getting too expensive to throw anything away. I ask for God's wisdom when I shop and when cooking/baking.

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    1. Dear Brenda, I do follow The Elliot Homestead too! There are some things I cannot eat myself but I will still make for the kids or others. They always come in handy. I think praying is an important part of shopping for sure. Wisdom and planning also help such a lot. With love Annabel.xxx

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  10. Glad to see your blog this morning, and hear that your Mum is on the mend and doing well. I smiled about your wobbly quails, hope the next few days brings lots of smiles to your face as they emerge. I was stunned to see the prices at your stores, yikes! This weeks grocery ads here in Arizona, US, were pathetic, I am so glad I have a pantry! Thank you again for your blog, it is a bright spot in the world! Hilogene in Az.

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    1. Dear Hilogene, Thank you! Today Andy saw snow peas for $60 a kilo. That is around $30 a pound. This beats the figs I saw at around $50 a kilo. Its a sport to him now to look at the prices. Yes thank goodness for a pantry and stocking it as we see ok prices! With love, Annabel.xxx

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  11. We had a very wet spring here in the Pacific Northwest. We got our garden in rather late because of that. We are just now starting to harvest a few items. We got 3 green beans this week for a total of 8. The one thing growing well is zucchini. I made zucchini relish this week. We now have 10 pints. We have started to get some cherry tomatoes. We will probably dry those. We are hoping that summer lasts long enough that we get some corn to harvest. The nights are already starting to cool down so we will see. We discovered this week some bugs on the winter squash that have killed the plants so no winter squash this year. Nancy in the state of Washington.

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    1. Dear Nancy, I watch Acre Homestead and she lives in your region and I have been watching her harvest. She said the same about the nights beginning to cool. Cherry tomatoes are just beautiful and they dehydrate so well. Zucchini is so useful too! Good job on the lovely relish!
      I hope your corn matures in time that would be great. Have a very good new week! With love Annabel.xxx

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  12. Glad your Mum is doing well. Those veggie prices are crazy! We bought pork loins and they had security alarm stickers on them. Those pork loins were 1,49 a pound and we sliced up pork chops for 8 meals and used the rest to can 7 quarts of stew. We stocked up on cans of baked beans at $1 a can and got two free boxes of cereal. At the salvage grocery 1# sausage rolls were 1.99 and 1.25# hams were 2.99. Into the freezer they went. Every bit into the pantry is a bit more saved. Customers in the grocery stores are only buying a few items and the shelves are packed. We feel that this will end badly since stores will cut back on what they order and when pantries are empty everyone will go out to restock and clear the shelves. Will there be stock to replace it or will food producers have cut back and not be able to fill orders to restock stores? There are still deals to be had here but you really have to look for them and shop several stores each week.

    Some are trying to shove a bill through Congress in which they are hiding the green new deal. It is supposed to be seen as an inflation relief bill. If you are in the USA please call the capitol switchboard and leave a message for your Representative telling them that you oppose the Inflation Protection Act. It will only make things so much worse than they are now! Debate began today, Friday. Please call right away since it has already passed the Senate.

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    1. Well they passed it. Waiting for the fall out.

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    2. Dear Lana, Well I know what the green new deal is. And I know about hiding stuff in bills and legislation and calling it something else. I am very sorry this got passed.
      You got some great deals! Yes! Every good deal into the pantry is money saved. I feel there will be a point at which people panic... and then the shelves will be empty. It is uncertain how shelves will be there are a lot of issues now. But we still have opportunities and we need to take them I think.
      Have a good new week Lana, with love Annabel.xxx

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  13. I'm glad your mom is feeling better. The cost of green beans is shocking to me.

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    1. Thanks so much Cheryl. I can beat the beans... Andy saw snow peas today for $60 a kilo. Over $30 a pound. Needless to say he didnt buy any! Have a very good new week! With love Annabel.xxx

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  14. Praise God that your dear Mum is okay. Please give her my love and tell her she is in my prayers.
    There were no eggs on the shelf at our supermarket this week...praying we can get chickens again, and that I have no skin reaction to them. Bless you all in the coming week! You're a real encouragement to so many homemakers and sisters in Christ. xx

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    1. If you have allergies to chickens, try ducks. They lay big beautiful eggs, and certain breeds, like Khaki Campbells, lay as many or more eggs a year than chickens.

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    2. Dear Jenny, Thank you so much. Mum is a major fan of yours so she will appreciate your message, thank you. I am sorry about your skin reacting to the chickens. I hope you can over come this but if not as suggested above ducks could work. I wonder if there is a test you could have? Have a beautiful weekend! With love Annabel.xxx

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  15. Dear Annabel, that soup pack idea is wonderful. Like you, I love to make a study of the supermarket. I especially like browsing the frozen meal section as it gives me ideas for meals that freeze well. The bakery section is fantastic too for ideas about flavour pairings and presentation.

    It is so good to get fresh doses of inspiration now and then—I find that having new ideas to try infuses the home with so much energy.

    With warmest wishes to you and your mum,
    Kelly (Mrs. Kiwi)

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    1. Dear Mrs Kiwi, Thank you! I do make a study of the supermarket. I am finding the deli section is much cheaper than the meat section ie for chicken. It is the same thing wrapped differently. I also study the freezer section! People ask me what meals can be frozen? Well, walk the freezer area and you see pretty much everything frozen! I love to figure out prices and how much can be saved baking. I also love new ideas! I agree with you these give us a lift. Thanks re Mum she is doing really well. With love Annabel.xxx

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  16. Dear Annabel, what a busy week you had. So pleased to hear your Mum is doing okay after her op. May God bless her for a speedy recovery.

    Unbelievable about the shortage of eggs. Where have they all gone? Surely the chicken/egg farms are still operating. So glad we have our chooks and now we will have more of a market to sell the excess. Our girls are just starting to lay again. I have two broody girls sitting on eggs at the moment.

    The higher price of things is very frustrating. We mostly purchase veggies and beans and the cost has gone through the roof. Gives me incentive to grow more food. I stocked up on seeds yesterday as rumour has it that there will be a shortage of those soon. There were a few blanks spaces on the seed rack so this could be right.
    I feel for the ones who would be struggling with the high costs of everything right now.

    Thank you for encouraging everyone on this journey, you are a a shining light in this dark world.

    Have a great week and God bless.
    Lots of love,
    Tania xxx


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    1. Dear Tania, It is fantastic you have chickens and yes the make should be very good for selling them too! I hope you get lots of chicks that would be an added bonus!
      I am hearing the same about seeds. So I am making sure I have plenty and now I carefully seed save. I have broccoli that has gone to seed and formed pods so I will be saving those. Your garden and all you do is so valuable now. It always was but I mean the value now of each vegetable is through the roof! Many thanks Tania, With love Annabel.xxx

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  17. So glad your mother is recovering well, Annabel. I'm betting we get baby quail pictures next week--and I can't wait.

    I am in the US, with about two months until the average first frost date. I am going to plant some lettuce seeds today and hoping the frost holds off enough for us to get some. My spring crop bolted before it headed up, but we got lots of outer leaves and I would be happy with that again.

    Still pushing myself to do one extra thing every day. It is making a difference.

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    1. Dear Maxine, Thank you! I replied and then lost it! You could get a lot of lettuce in two months I think, worth doing! Well done on the extra things you are getting done! It really adds up! With love Annabel.xxx

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  18. Two absolutely awesome things so far as using all the foodstuffs are the book by Tamar Adler's Everlasting Meal and videos from Three Rivers homestead. She saves kale stems in a separate container in the freezer then chops and uses in soups. I was watching an old Jacques Pepin cooking show clip and he said he saves the stems from cilantro/parsley and chops those to go into soups, too. So I'm really looking at what is going into the compost bin and thinking "Can we eat that instead?" There's plenty we can't that can still go into that compost! Like shredded paper!

    Last week as I was searching for one item, John spied another that was cases of diced tomatoes in 29 ounce cans that were 2/$1. They had three or four cases. The best by date on top said "August 2022" but we all know those tomatoes will last longer than that. And we use tons of tomatoes in soups and such in winter. I said "Get some" and turned back to the item I was looking for. Well he only got two cans. This week I want to run back by that store and see if those tomatoes are still there. They can go in my pantry! I'm not afraid of using them after this month!
    I used up vegetable leftovers by adding to a single serve portion of leftover soup, extending the soup enough to fill two big bowls for another meal. It seems like everything I make these days for a meal, even though I'm trying to make meals for just two people expand and I end up with a second portion to go into the packed freezer! I'm not mad about that, lol.
    I took a field trip outing to the next town to look over prices and stock at a store I've shopped only once before. I was shocked beyond words at prices. Nothing like yours mind you but still, things were quite high and shockingly so. A small jar of peanut butter that typically sells for 99c on sale, $1.29 at regular price was $7. I gasped out loud when I saw that price. 2 pounds of oranges were $7 where typically they'd been 99c a pound. That sort of thing. I bought a little bitty roast beef that was $9. It was half the size I'd typically buy and even then they were smaller roasts.
    Never mind. I have plenty of ideas of how to save more money and not spend more than I am at present and I mean to start working harder to do just that. It's necessary and whether or not i feel I want to is really not the issue. It's that I know it's worthwhile to discipline myself to DO them and just make it habit once more.

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    1. Dear Terri, Thanks for recommending the book and There Rivers Homestead. As you will see in my next post I am right with you there!
      I would get a whole slab of those tomatoes at that price! They will last years beyond that date!
      It is worth looking in different areas at prices. Here prices can vary dramatically from suburb to suburb. In this case it looks like your area won though!
      You are right... there are many things we can do to save and do to eliminate waste, stretch meals etc. and we have to make these things habits. It is amazing what we can do if we make some adjustments! Many thanks Terri, Love Annabel.xxx

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  19. Dear Annabel, I am so happy your Mum is doing well. I love how your whole family helps each other. I was speaking to a retired farmer lady yesterday, she lives in the town now and her son with a family of three boys on the farm. She does not like cooking for just two people so everyday she cooks for her house, her sons house and three days a week, when her daughter travels to that town for work she cooks for her daughter's household of four and has their evening meal in takeaway containers for those three nights as well. I asked what her favorite meal to cook is and she said roast which she does twice a week. Her 14 year old grandson on the farm supplies everyone with eggs and potatoes, he has planted what sounds like a whole paddock of them which is so important as they eat so many roast potatoes each week. They all help each other, I loved talking to her. Prices here are getting distressing. Two months ago 250g of butter at Aldi was $2.79. Now they are $3.33. My husband went to Coles and 250g of butter was $4.30! I saw 5kg white rice on special half price for $11.50. This special used to be $9, which means the bag has gone up $5. I am very grateful I put food away when I did but am worried I will have to use it much sooner than I thought. On to better news, I had a very exciting gift from my husband this week. He arranged for one more chook to come here from the farm I got the others, this one lays mint green eggs. I am very happy. The lady that sold us the chooks does not like eggs and, wait for it everyone you will all gasp, she just throws them out of the pens onto the ground. I was quite astounded. So many people would love those eggs. My girls have started laying at least 5 a day now so I will soon be able to gift some. I have had quite a few people asking for them, with the prices in our area now up to $9.00 for one dozen free range eggs. I look forward to seeing your baby quails Annabel. Keep up the good work everyone, love Clare

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    1. Dear Clare,
      The lady you were talking to sounds just wonderful! I call it team work. All the family is helping each other. I love it! The 14 year old Grandson sounds fantastic too!
      Mint green eggs! What a lovely surprise for you! Your cartons of eggs will be so pretty! I am thinking how the lady doesn't want the eggs. Maybe you could do some kind of deal with her. It sure seems like a waste as you say. Especially as they would be so many colours in each carton!
      Just keep stocking when you do see a good deal. We just have to keep our eyes and ears on the job! I hope the week is going well, I have been catching up and now it has come in so cold and rainy again so Im cooking! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  20. Dear Annabel, I am so happy to hear that your Mum is recovering well. I love that Allie went too. Family is wonderful. I will keep praying for your Mum. I love your cakes! I am excited because I have the tiniest blueberry bush and it is fruiting! I have some things to put to use this week- so I have to get cracking. Eggs, and turmeric I think. I love the thought of your baby quails hatching, how special! Sending lots of love, Lily

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    1. Dear Lily,
      Thank you! Blueberries to pick will be lovely! Thank you for praying for my Mum. She has had a good report and is home doing really well! With love Annabel.xxx

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  21. So glad your Mum is improving, surgery is always stressful.
    Mixed week here, our weather has been HOT, hot for us anyway at about 30 centigrade. I love warm weather but it does make for a lot of plant watering!
    I am supplying my neighbour, as well as myself with courgettes (zucchini) and potatoes and have set her up with mint, parsley, chives, lemon balm and rosemary plants.
    I have had a good week in the charity shops, vintage, unused, linen tea towels ( much bigger than modern ones) for 30p each, books, always books, beautiful vintage table linen, but my best buy was 5 metres of rug canvas for £5, this stuff sells for over £20 a metre in the shops!
    Now for the not so great, I had to put up sheer curtains as I am being baited by the kids over the back. I don't want sheer curtains, but I felt I had to have them. The only good thing is that they were a charity shop buy too, brand new and still in the packet. Now if the kids would only stop climbing over my gate.
    I just thought I would mention this here - we are now being warned that domestic fuel prices could reach £100 A WEEK, when the price cap comes up for review in October! I honestly don't know how people will manage.

    On that note, I hope everyone has a good week.

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    1. Dear Su, You are helping your neighbour so much! That is just lovely.
      Your thrift store buys were fantastic! With 5 m of the rug canvas you can make so many rugs!!
      Im concerned about the kids... are they little kids being silly or big kids being a pest?
      Interestingly we have a fuel (as in for tractors and cars diesel fuel) situation where the gov is removing a protection that did help farmers... they are removing this shortly and the fuel will go up 20c a litre in one day. This will hit farmers hard. I am very worried about households who wont be able to keep their homes warm enough. I dont know how people will manage either. I think a disaster could be looming. It is terrible. I hope you will be ready for winter in every way Su. With much love Annabel.xxx

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  22. Annabel,

    That is horrifying to see the prices in your stores!!! I do not know how some people are going to survive with the current prices in food, rent and medical. We went to Aldi's yesterday and the quality of their fruit and veggies were poor and we bought very little. It seems to be the same everywhere we shop. It's so informing to read what you and others are doing in these times.

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    1. Dear Belinda, I have serious worries over people living in freezing climates and the heating, food, fuel etc bills all at once. The things we once took for granted are now luxuries. Given the factors contributing to these prices and shortages I think we will look back in a year and wish for the prices we have now, as bad as they are. I am working on putting something up every single day. So far this is going well with more than one thing most days. With love, Annabel.xxx

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  23. Annabelle, I am so glad you were able to help your mom and spend that time with her. Praying for a full recovery. I had several days with my mom in May and July and It was priceless.
    You are such an inspiration. Always doing what you can to be prepared for your family. Always sharing and trading excess.
    I am still buying loss leaders, canning, dehydrating and buying freeze dried foods as price allows. It’s seems a little silly for just the two of us, but as God leads, I follow. God only knows who I am preparing for…
    I cannot believe the prices of your veg. No wonder so many Australians have a garden. We still have loss leaders of fruit, veg and even proteins at more reasonable prices. I got a piece of wild Atlantic salmon (mind you I am less than ten miles from the Pacific Ocean, but lol) that will give four good servings for $10 this week. I get a pound of good quality breakfast sausage for less than $3 at Aldi or Walmart, but WM is low on stock. Frozen corn and veg for less than $2 for 12 ounces. Most fresh fruit and veg can be had in season for less than $4 a pound. Eggs are much more than double previous prices, but at least they are available.
    I am grateful I can afford these prices, but I know many in my area cannot. I am so sad to think how much worse it is in other places.
    My husband is down with a detached retina for several weeks at least. One surgery this past Friday, another on Tuesday and hoping that’s it…
    Grateful we can live on my wages long term if necessary. Hoping he doesn’t lose sight in that eye…
    I was supposed to be the one who would go bling eventually, genetically, lol.
    This community means so much to me and I am so grateful for you all.
    Much love. Patti in Cali

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    1. Dear Patti, I think you are wise and you are shopping well! What you said about God leading.... it interests me that Christians world wide are stocking up unlike anything ever before including me. We all had the same message. mmm. I hope your husband is ok and that his surgeries have been a success. Anything with eyes is scary to me! I hope his sight will be ok.
      Have a great week! With love Annabel.xxx

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  24. Could you please give us a link to your gluten free recipes!
    Your scones look incredibly delicious.
    Do you have a recipe for the sausage rolls you make?

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    1. Dear Anon, thank you! My scone recipe is 4 cups of gf self raising flour, one level teaspoon of baking power (which is extra oomph) one egg, half a cup of melted butter, 2 cups of milk. Mix to a nice very soft smooth dough. Flour your board and cut out about 1 inch thick. Brush the tops with milk. They take about 20 mins in a hot oven. The sausage rolls... I buy the good sausages, split them open, add a little grated carrot and mix. Form back into sausage shape.. wrap in lovely puff pastry and bake. Thats it! How this helps you! Love Annabel.xxx

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