Feather your Nest Friday 5th August 2022.

It is raining as I write and water is laying now on some of the flats which gives us a little lake.  This is good!   

This week I got to do a few crafts I've been planning.  I really felt like making something pretty, something that smells beautiful,  a bit of luxury.  Topping up the gift cupboard can't hurt!    For ages I have saved lovely bottles so I had them in mind for something.  I settled on making rose diffusers... instead of reeds to diffuse your scent you spray the rose.   To go with them I made up scent bottles using Rose essential oils.   They smell lovely!


It was very uplifting playing with roses.  The "water" in the bottles is acrylic water that I got online from a florist supplier.   I made seven of these.

I also had 7 glass jars with lids.  These were from an op shop and I bought them as they were all full of brand new soaps.  The soaps have gone into the shoe boxes for Samaritans Purse Christmas gifts.    I washed up the jars knowing I could make gifts with them.    Last summer I dried a lot of roses and with my essential oil supplies I made Rose/Geranium and Ylang Ylang bath soaks.   They are Epsom Salts and Himalayan Pink salts.  They smell just gorgeous.  I am so happy with them.




I also made my favourite facial serum.  The base is Emu oil with Rose and Lavender, Frankincense.   It smells heavenly and soaks in so beautifully.  Anyone I have given this to asks for more.

So this all was fun and really added to my gift supplies.   I kept one of everything for myself too!

Another thing we did this week was to give Chloe a day of help.  Andy and our friend spent the whole day assembling a cubby house for Thomas.  No kidding this thing came in a million small pieces.  Chloe had spent hours already unboxing and setting it all out,  printing the plans and starting some assembly.   Tom would be in high school before she would ever get it finished!   I was on the support team and delivered morning teas and lunches.  


It was also the one day it didn't rain which was handy.

Thomas was just so excited and loves it!  




So the end result was very good!

Andy brought wood in from the paddocks and we stacked it together.


It has been pretty cold so we have gone through a fair bit of wood keeping warm.

Mum came for a visit and I tried a new recipe and made Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins.  They were really nice so I will make these again.


The Bantam chicks are doing well,  all eleven of them! 

Four older chicks were promoted to the main hen house.  They start off in a smaller coop inside the hen house until the hens are used to them then after a few days I open the door and they all get on just fine.

Another Bantam is sitting on eggs!

Quail are due to hatch tomorrow week.  There are THIRTY eggs in the incubator because of how the Quail man gave me extra eggs.

I made Lamb Roast,  Lamb Shanks for everyone and then a big lot of Butter Chicken and Raita using Mint from my potted plant. 

I am working on another extra post.   The only thing with these is I end up with less time for replies.  I read them all and I can't thank you enough!  Many wonderful tips and stories came from Get the Ball Rolling post.  Thank you.


How did you manage to build up your home this week?   I hope you had many opportunities!  
Be steadfast and diligent.  Think on good things.  xxx



















Comments

  1. Debby in Kansas USA5 August 2022 at 05:54

    I haven't commented lately, but have really enjoyed your posts. Such good messages and so important right now.

    Our beef is due for another big leap in price. The heat has been very hard on the cattle and I expect that's going to add additional pain to an already screaming pocket book.
    Our electricity usage is pretty high and we're not even keeping the house very cool. We've completely covered a bay window with thick poster board to block the sun.
    If it's not one thing, it's another.

    Those jungle gyms are so popular here. Kids use them when they're young and then teens use them to go sit and pout about all the unfairness in their lives!! The tween next door practices her flute up there! I think your grands will get much use from it.

    Love the roses. I think they'd be lovely on a bathroom counter. I always try and keep flowers on mine. It's funny. I wouldn't have thought my husband would care, but when I didn't have any fresh flowers for the little vase, he brought home a mini bouquet and said he loved the flowers in there!! You never know lol!

    Good week to all!

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    1. Thanks Debby. I saw a lot about people taking their cows to market because they just cant feed them. I can see what this means ... in another year prices are just going to be so much higher. I think electricity is set to continue to go up and up. And to be unreliable. Which is actually dangerous really. It is a time of so much change that we have to be really on the ball. It is lovely about your flowers in the bathroom and that your husband obviously appreciated this lovely touch. That is so nice. Have a beautiful week! With love Annabel.xxx

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  2. Thomas is so cute - his playset is wonderful. He will have years of fun.

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    1. Thanks Cheryl, That is what we thought and when Chase is big enough he will enjoy it too! xxx

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  3. Oh Annabel, Thomas is a gorgeous boy!!! And that cute smile! God bless him and his family.

    I very much appreciate your extra work on your extra posts - it is a good homework for my mind and also like a boost of energy, which I especially needed last days, when I thought a lot of bad things are happening to us, like in a row....But with God help and praying we manage to got over some of them - TV and phone got repaired, we changed our old broken car with a new to us car, my husband got a new job which he seems to like it and a bit better paid, and about my sweet black cat and my pet rabbit, my heart is full of scars after loving and losing many of them along the years. I love all my fur babies and cry after all of them.

    These bad days showed me again the importance of having an emergency fund when something unexpected happens, a pantry to rely on when you feel unsecure, and the strength of a humble prayer. I will never be a minimalist as I can use up everything, or recycling or gifting to someone who needs clothes or plates or just glass jars for jam.

    My chickens are really golden in colour and in produce - I already barter with a dozen of eggs although I am very very beginner at being the egg lady. Thank you Annabel for encouraging me to get the chickens!

    The garden is a constant place to harvest and to work on preserving food for winter. I do something every day, drying herbs, put in the freezer, pickle cucumbers or preparing peach jam.
    Also working on a crochet blanket, a present for a little baby girl to be born in December.

    The rest is work from 8-17 and very very hot weather. Take care everyone, go hug your pets a little more and enjoy the weekend. With love, Laura_s_world in Romania

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    1. Dear Laura, I am so glad you got through the difficulties. Things do come in threes we always say. You are right... an emergency fund is very important, a well stocked pantry, back up items even.
      It is so great about your chickens doing so well! They sound to be settled in. The eggs will be such an asset and it is wonderful you already bartered with some! With the garden so busy each day you will have left over leaves etc to give the chickens. I give all the root systems etc too as they find bugs in them.
      Your every day approach to the harvest is great. It sounds like you are adding to every corner of your pantry as you go.
      The blanket will be a lovely gift. I am sorry for your losses I know it is heartbreaking. I love my pets too. Have a beautiful weekend! With love Annabel.xxx

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  4. Dear Annabel, Oh my gosh, your craft making is truly amazing. It all looks gorgeous. And how happy is your grand baby, that was a day well spent. My new chooks are settling in well. I have had two green eggs this week. I am getting more eggs each day as we get closer to Spring. Its been a slow week here. I feel that I have not achieved very much but I have managed to prepare good meals all week and this has been good for my family. I found out late today that a family of five would be joining us tonight for tea. I made sausage rolls, roasted potatoes, carrots and pumpkin and made cheesy cauliflower. Then I made Lemon Delicious for dessert from a cookbook I got at an opp shop last week. I felt proud of myself for being able to pull it all together in a couple of hours from items I had here. Goodluck and prayers for your Mum, I hope the days in the city are very productive and multiplying for you and that you are able to report some miraculous opp shop finds. Love Clare

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    1. Dear Clare,
      Thank you so much! How exciting to be getting coloured eggs! Good meals for the family are important. Especially in this cold weather!
      Your dinner for the visitors sounds beautiful! I love Lemon Delicious pudding! It all sounds lovely. Well done!
      Once the weather warms up the chooks will be laying so much! Your cartons of pretty coloured eggs will look amazing!
      Have a great weekend! With love Annabel.xxx

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  5. we are waiting on our 4th. great-grand baby. hopefully soon for the sake of mom. this week is a busy one. today i am blanching and freezing 100 ears of corn. also got 1/2 bushel of peaches, but they are still quite firm so they can hold. picked about 40 tomatoes , 5 cukes 2 zucchini and a mess of greenbeans this morning. the garden is finally comming in. must get busy. i'am very thankful to the ladies at church, they have been gathering fabric and notions from many sources for me when they found out that i have been sewing shorts and dresses for in the samaritans purse shoeboxes. this is a very good ministry to support. also our pastor and a group go to gineau bisseau africa every year to help build a school there and they take medical supplies and shorts and dresses for the kids too. well best get going, the corn is calling. take care. bonnie

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    1. Dear Bonnie, How exciting! I hope and pray I get to see my Great Grandbabies! Wow on the corn! That is fantastic! The peaches will be wonderful too. You have a great harvest and so much to use, preserve and deal with! I just love that you are sewing for the shoe boxes and the ministry in Africa. You are so busy and productive! I know you will be busy this weekend keeping up with produce but it is a very happy time dealing with such abundance! With much love Annabel.xxx

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  6. I’ve not commented before but I look forward to your posts every week! Our new hens should be laying by the end of the month. I finished harvesting/drying/storing echinacea for the next year….tincture and teas. Currently drying walnut leaves, feverfew, raspberry leaves for more of the same.
    It’s been so hot that I’ve been using the slow cooker for meals and supplementing with garden harvests.
    Was your lamb from this year’s lambs?
    Thanks for the inspiration!

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    1. Thank you so much for commenting! It is wonderful you have new hens. Also I love that you are making tinctures and harvesting Echinacea! I am a big fan of Echinacea myself. No the lamb I used this week were both good deals from the butcher. I used the slow cooker a lot too this week.
      Thank you so much, I didnt get your name but welcome! xxx

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  7. Dear Annabel,
    I'm also in the read and not reply or short reply mode. There's so much to finish her before summer is over. We're in desperate need of rain and have been having days and days in the 90's. Some summers in Ohio we never hit 90 degrees F. I'm looking forward to starting my fall lettuce and broccoli crops soon. Your rose diffusers are lovely. I, too, have sprayed artificial flowers with fragrance and it is so nice when you can't have the real thing (wintertime).
    Thomas' playset is wonderful and the bay window on the clubhouse is lovely. What a special surprise that was for him. I always think it's nice when a new baby is born that the other sibling/s get a gift to feel special. Blessings, Laura

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    1. Dear Laura, Thomas has been so good, we have tried to do extra things with him. He loves this so much it is so nice to see. The heat is wearing. I hope you might get some rain! It is good to be able to plant fall crops as well. I also feel in winter that flowers in the house really brighten things up! Have a lovely weekend! With love Annabel.xxx

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  8. Annabel,
    Your baking looks better than what you could buy in a fancy bakery. How do you get it looking so good? You have an amazing eye for presentation and beauty. I always feel inspired and hungry when I see and hear about your cooking. You have many strings to your bow. Interior designer,gift merchant, specialised baker, superior host.🙂
    The gifts look fabulous. Your gift cupboard must be another place of great beauty.
    Wow no wonder little Thomas was so excited, that is a wonderful play hut for him and his little sister to enjoy together as they grow up. It looks like it is a really good quality hut
    Gosh we have had one of those expensive years this year. So far we are up to around $7200 worth. I should also say that $4307 was the new HRV we had installed. What a difference that has made. On Wednesday our microwave oven was the latest replacement after it just stopped working. A quick search online and we headed off to Briscoes for a replacement. Russel Jobs down from $500-200. They only had the display one left, so I asked if we could buy it. Yes, only it doesn't have the box and because it is the display unit we got another 10% off the sale price so $180 in total. We would never pay $500 for something we only use for heating things up in I also got a new duvet cover,, Royal Doulton cotton for $89 down from $189. So two needed purchases for a reasonable price. For here anyway.
    Have a great week and thank you for the wonderful extra posts, I am really enjoying them.

    Mandy(NZ)

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    1. Dear Mandy, Thanks! Well with baking I try to be generous. The muffin recipe I tried would have produced 6 tiny muffins at a guess so I doubled it. I cannot see the point of the mess of baking for a piddly result! I dont cook anything fancy. I decided wholesome rustic/country cooking is good on its own. You did great on the microwave and linen! Wow! Big savings!
      I felt good adding to the present cupboard. I have a lot of birthdays covered too now. Have a lovely weekend! With love Annabel.xxx

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  9. No wonder little Thomas is such a happy little boy. What a masterpiece. Your muffins do look professional and tasty Annabel. You have a good eye for presentation. Bernadette

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    1. Thanks so much Bernadette! Thomas has not stopped playing out there. Every time the sun is out anyhow! Have a lovely weekend! xxx

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  10. So many good things going on at your place, Annabel. That Thomas is adorable and I know he deserves and needs that wonderful cubby house! Your rose creations are gorgeous and will make beautiful gifts.

    I think people are waking up to what is going on in our countries. On our road in to town there have been several new houses built and the latest one is like a fortress with high iron fences, a heavy gate and something that looks like a look-out tower. No doubt they are building with security in mind. Another house has a solid bank of solar panels on their roof and a number of homesteads have added shipping containers which I imagine are to store their prepping supplies. Our two newest neighbors on our little road have moved here from cities (one from Austin) and one from near a college town (they said they couldn't keep poachers off their property!). These are all changes we've seen in the last year.

    One way I've made some progress is making up some freezer meals: stuffed peppers, lasagne and chicken spaghetti. I found a wooden box that will be ideal as storage for extra spices - I need to add a few shelves and a way to hang it on the wall. I continue to keep our fruit trees and perennials watered as we are still very dry here. My okra is still producing and I will take extra to my friends at church tomorrow. I have no more room in the freezers until I find some time to can up a few things. In my food storage plan, I count the number of protein rich jars I have on hand (canned beef, pork, fish, etc.) and that tells me how many meals-from-storage I will be able to prepare by adding a carb (like rice or potatoes) and whatever veggies, fresh or canned to complete the meal. I need to take a new inventory so I will know exactly where we are with that.

    I have a few sewing projects going and unfortunately I need to do a bit of house cleaning. Time again to take baby steps, one at a time, and it will all get done. I'm also looking forward to the extra posts! They are so helpful. Have a terrific weekend everyone.

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    1. Dear Pam, Very good observations. Here I am noticing... everyone buying generators. Seemingly everyone now interested in growing veggies, chickens, pantry building etc.
      Well done on the freezer meals they sound delicious! The shelf will be fantastic too!
      Good job on watering the trees. There is no use losing the trees now, we have to get them through these times.
      I think your method of counting the protein jars is really good. Protein can easily be the lacking thing from food storage.
      Have a lovely weekend! I am in the city so I am getting to do some stocking at some different stores! With love Annabel.xxx

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  11. Thank you Annabelle for another beautifully inspiring post. I love the idea of your face serum!
    I have spent some time with my mom canning in the instant pot max. It is the instant pot with the canning function.
    She is at our home in Texas and she hasn’t really wanted a freezer or a big stockpile. My last few trips I have set up a stockpile of shelf stable foods under my bed. Ha!
    This trip we canned and canned and canned. That little canner only does 4 pints at a time, but we kept it busy. We canned so many pinto beans (she loves to eat these like a soup), gold potatoes, and beef stew. We stashed those under another bed along with more jars.
    The best news is that she is willing to continue on her own! This way, she can have cheap easy meals ready to eat! I am so thankful.
    If you are struggling with that giant All American Canner as you age, you might put the instant pot max on your wishlist!
    Keep building up your stores bluebirds.
    Much love to you all from Patti in California

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    1. Dear Patti,
      How nice to be canning with your Mum! How nice to have a homestead in Texas! Sounds like you have got her going and if she will continue that will be fantastic.
      Have you considered going back to the homestead to live? I hope you are well! with much love Annabel.xxx

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    2. Annabelle,
      You are reading my mind. I dream of going to that homestead in Texas full time.
      However, I am too young to collect my social security or withdraw from my 401k. My husband has some serious health issues and will retire in the next couple of years, so I need to be able to provide him with health insurance until he qualifies for Medicare.
      My job of almost 32 years in Cali pays very well and provides insurance. I have committed to my boss to stay a few years unless it becomes untenable. They agreed to a vaccine waiver for me and my staff. At some point I will be able to work from Texas, but not yet.
      I cannot wait to be on my land and in control of my destiny.
      Praying for God’s wisdom at this point. One of many reasons I love your blog and your faithful spirit.

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  12. Just lovely! May I ask where you purchase your emu oil?

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    1. In Australia it is in health food stores and online. You want pure emu oil in liquid form. It is amazing stuff!

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  13. I am just about finished with my slipcover project which has taken hours of time. I need to adjust the seat cushion cover and then hem all around and it will be done. My husband has sat and watched me all this week as I've worked on this and he finally said "You're just amazing..." LOL Necessity sometimes helps us do amazing things doesn't it? Especially if we want something pretty and the budget isn't pretty friendly.
    I am looking forward to the week ahead and seeing what I might accomplish. The tomatoes that I've been pampering along are about to get yanked up and put into plain old fashioned dirt. I've heard too many times that they need to be 'stressed' to produce. I have just the spot for them and no losses if they don't do any better than they've done so far, right?

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    1. Dear Terri, It is gorgeous that your husband has observed the process and realised what is involved and paid you such a compliment! Well deserved! Yes I would transplant the tomatoes and hope for the best! I hope they go on to produce a lot! I am excited for the week ahead too! With love Annabel.xxx

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