Feather your Nest Friday, 11th October, 2024.
I have a cup of tea while I look through the weeks photos and notes. There was no Back to Basics post as Monday and Tuesday I felt really under the weather. BUT I bounced back and the rest of the week was pretty productive! It was also a week of increase! I will get to that a bit later.
Last weekend I got busy making Lemon cakes to use up some eggs and lemons! I made four.
This one was going to Chloe's along with Orange extract and Pumpkin for Lily.
I am collecting two dozen eggs per day! Happy dance! Take a look at this. I took a photo because I am sure people don't believe some of my stories.
I got a bag of bananas on special so this weekend my cake will be banana!
On Wednesday I went to town to see my friend Wendy. I took her eggs as she is a great cook and she gave me a whole bag of fabrics and gorgeous ribbons!
A great trade! Also... on the list, for next time Harper and Scarlett are here, I have making scrunchies. These fabrics would be beautiful. The plan is they do most of the sewing, I do the tricky bits and we make enough for them and their friends.
Wendy also gave me something else in this bundle which I will get to in a bit!
Last week I said I was hoping for calf number 8. Well... Wednesday afternoon I wondered what on earth is up with the cows? There was a lot of bellowing and carry on so I hopped in the ute and went out. First I discovered calve 8 had been born either overnight or earlier in the day! And calf number 9 was just hitting the ground while several cows made a whole lot of noise about it.
When the girls were here I explained that signs a cow is having a calf are when she goes off on her own under a tree, away from the rest. Scarlett said she thought she probably wanted some privacy. I agreed. This cow was not getting any privacy at all poor thing. But everything seems to be fine.
Yesterday I went out to do the rounds and check on them all. Normally if I drive in none of them bother to get up or move but they all got up and ran flat out across the paddock in the opposite direction to me. The poor little calves were trotting along way behind. It was like I offended them. I was mystified. As I drove further I found out what it was all about. Two Kangaroos were bounding along the fence, not on THEIR side but the other side. None the less they were not putting up with Kangaroos.
Once they were satisfied the Kangaroos were gone they turned around and ran equally fast back to me!
I don't go too close to the newborns as I don't want to cause any problems. But the bigger ones are all very relaxed.
All week my table out on the deck was a mess of wildflowers as I make bunches and some to bring inside...
As I made breakfast yesterday I heard a whole lot of cheeping. Suddenly I realised it was the eggs in the incubator hatching. I was not expecting them until today but they had other ideas.
Three had hatched and had a whole lot to say about it. Six more were hatching!
So 2 calves and 13 chicks is pretty good for a week!
In the store I found bags of baguettes marked down dramatically and I got them for making the lunches when my helpers are here. (Plus the bananas I already mentioned.)
I began to go through my present cupboard. There is a lot in there! I have a lot of towel sets and tea towels.
After making soaps with the girls I have the bug to make more. Chloe picked me a bunch of Rosemary as I went to do a mens chunky green soap....
This is a weekend project. IF it works I might do a back to basics very simple soap recipe. Making your own soap is truly a basic and sooo much fun.
Now for a little story. I was talking to a friend who turned a whole spare bedroom into a pantry. She was showing me photos. It was completely awesome, like a shop.
In this house I am lucky enough to have a heap of bedrooms and one was Andy's office. The most I've done with that room is to pinch a desk for my cutting out table.
Even though I have done a lot of things I had never turned off Andy's computers to this day. Well, until Tuesday.
On Facebook buy, swap and sell I had seen this cupboard...
I loved it and Nan had one so much like it. I dreamed about getting it and racked my brain where I could put it but came up with nothing. So I decided to try to forget about it.
For some reason I had a mental block until the moment my friend told me about her room. It had never occurred to me that Andy's desk area he had set up does not have to be there anymore. I felt fairly confronted by this. I cleared the desk but I found it so difficult I asked my helpers to pack up the computers.
Anyway when I realised... I searched to see if the cupboard was still for sale! And it was! And strangely it was being sold by my helper Tim and his wife! So delivery was guaranteed!
On Tuesday the desk, chair and other office things went out and the cupboard came in. Then it tuned out Tim and his wife were keen on all of this so we did a trade and no money changed hands!
When I saw Wendy she gave me this apron... which also reminded me of Nan and her kitchen.
I plan on lining the cupboard with pink rosey paper and continuing to work on this room to be a pantry (plus cutting out table!) I am really glad I had help on this.
Another story... I was in the thrift store and the lady serving me bumped her arm on a shelf and although it was a tiny bump she got a small cut. And although it was small it started to bleed a heap. She asked the other ladies if anyone had a bandaid? Clearly she didn't. She asked if the store had a first aid kit. It didn't. Clearly no one even had basic first aid in their cars! I said, "ok here would you like an alcohol wipe? Here is a bandaid? Do you want a sterile pad?" These things are always in my purse. She was most thankful. When I got home I replenished my little supply. However if I had needed more I could have gone to the car and got out a full emergency kit. My handbag carries a tiny cosmetics purse with soap leaves, tissues, bandaids, wipes and that is pretty basic and easy to fit. But the car carries everything including a wool blanket, water and a snake bite kit. At least have the basics. If you have not already done it take a look through my 30 days to better preparedness series. MANY ways to be better prepared are totally free!
Everything including the kitchen sink has been thrown at our American sisters. I hope you are all safe and your families are safe. It has been very distressing even just to see the news. Please report in and if you have things you learned please share them with us.
I hope you had a good week. How did you get ahead, build your pantry, home, garden or present cupboards? We LOVE to hear!xxx
Annabel, What a amazing week you have had. New calves and all the chicks that hatched. The cupboard is gorgeous, I love it! You had a very productive week despite not being up to par for a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteThis week has been a bit of work, our freezer died and we were blessed to find another to purchase. Monday we took everything out of freezer and into frig or coolers. We had only lost one item in the whole freezer. God truly blessed us there. It was good getting all the shelves organized according to variations of meat. It helped me also see what we truly had.
A container of pumpkin puree defrosted, so we had pumpkin raisin muffins and I made pumpkin pies, one to eat and one for the freezer. I even found my old recipe that I loved and used that, it was a hit.
I was able to crochet a bit more adding to my gift pantry. Between washcloths, soap bags and with the tiny bit of yarn left I was able to make one facial scrubby to match each. then went on to make potholders and dishcloth to match.
So it was a week of use what I have. We are also preparing for winter here, I changed the linen to flannel sheets and washing windows so they are clean to let sunshine in to help heat the house during the day.
Dear Rosanne, It is great you got a new freezer and set it up so well! This is my goal!
DeleteYour muffins and pies looked beautiful! I love pumpkin!
Clean windows always make the whole house sparkle. You did a lot! With love Annabel.xxx
Annabel that cupboard is absolutaley beautiful…. sharlene
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Sharlene! xxx
DeleteDear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteYou had a productive week, even with being under the weather. I pray that you have a rest filled weekend.
I love the new cabinet. It is gorgeous. We had a large bedroom that we turned into a food storage room, in our previous house. It was wonderful.
Our nation has been hit hard. The hurricanes and the fires. In Wyoming we have several large fires burning.Elk fire has burned 75,000 acres and is only 10% contained as of two days ago. It has been very dry in our state. This has been hard on the ranchers and wildlife.
Our weather has been unseasonably warm, also. Normally, this time of year our temperatures are 20 degrees cooler. To date, we have not even had a light frost. There is good and bad in that.
Hurricane Helene was catastrophic. That has weighed very heavily on my mind and heart for the past two weeks. I was finally able to connect with one cousin in South carolina and they were okay. They are in their 80's and I was very concerned. The other cousin, I have not reached yet. My entire maternal side is from the Carolinas.
I pray that all of the bluebirds are safe and well.
With much love,
Glenda
Glenda, I am in Spartanburg County, SC. Is your missing family member near me? Maybe we could make contact for you.
DeleteDear Glenda, I had the map so I could look where you are in relation to the fires. At first I had to figure out why they were calling the fire Elk too! Yes it has just been full on disasters. I am glad you are safe... I hope and pray you can make contact with your cousin and they are ok.
DeleteI truthfully didnt rest today but I plan to go a lot slower tomorrow! With lots of love Annabel.xxx
That is so kind of you Lana. The paternal side of my mothers family is in Newberry County. I spoke to another cousin and she said everyone was fine there. I was very concerned when I read that Newberry County was hit hard. Other than downed trees they are safe.
DeleteI hope your county was safe. My mothers maternal side was from Berkeley county and Charleston.
Prayers are continual for all the people that were devastated by this hurricane.
Many blessings to you,
Glenda
So glad you were able to make contact! Newberry is about an hour south of us. We have a lot of clean up to do and a destroyed fence but our home is fine so we are blessed
DeleteDear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful week for you, even though it sounds like some of it would have been very hard (turning off Andy's computers and moving out his desk). That cabinet is so beautiful and will make a wonderful "shop"!! It was obviously meant to be, considering the Tim aspect.
I'm not sure how much a package of 30 eggs would be here, but if you divided the price to see what they are for 12, it's definitely that or much higher here, depending on the variety. (Free range, etc. are much more.) Crazy.
We are in prep mode for Thanksgiving, here, which means clean, clean, clean, and tomorrow we'll make some pies and polish the silver, set the table, etc. Usually we celebrate on Thanksgiving Monday, but as one of us has to work this year, we'll have our dinner on Sunday after church. So, I'm going to put my slow cooker to use for the ham, which I've never done before...I hope I still will have some good crunchy bits to use for the gravy! Ha, ha. We have a new person from church joining us for the meal, so we are looking forward to being hospitable.
The leaves are beautiful right now...vibrant red and orange and yellow, and wouldn't you know it, a windstorm is forecast for tomorrow, which means good-bye leaves! :) It's nice to have harvesting be winding down a bit and thinking about settling into "hibernation" mode for a few months.
Thankful for this blog and for you, Annabel, and your community of Bluebirds!!
xx Jen in NS
You're going to lose a lot of leaves for sure but maybe the wind will blow them into your neighbor's yard! We are having a pretty fall here in northern Idaho and most of the leaves are still on the trees.
DeleteI agree, Annabel--what an amazing week you had! And you were even out of commission for 2 of the 7 days. I'd love to have even half your energy and ideas.
DeleteLast week I picked a big bag of Italian prunes/plums (the blue ones) and forgot about them in my garage. I found them today and they all seemed good. I made a plum cobbler tonight and they were just as good as they looked. So tonight I am freezing plums! Nice addition to my pantry and FREE, too.
I cooked double the other night and froze half of a chicken and rice casserole. I was really glad that you encouraged us a couple of years ago to keep about 7 ready meals on hand. We ate most of them when I had Covid. Now I am back up to...three. But working at it!
Best wishes to you and all of the Bluebirds around the world, especially those who were hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Dear Maxine, I am so glad you keep the ready meals topped up. The really are a help in a crisis. Plums are just beautiful. Plumb cobbler would be a stunning colour! Some in the freezer for later cooking will be lovely! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteAnnabel, I love your post. You have so inspired me this morning! Thank you so much! 🩷 Sue in NC, USA
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Sue! xxx
DeleteHi Annabel
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you haven't been feeling too good but things certainly fell into place as you felt better. The cupboard and office furniture swap was great and so were the lovely things from Wendy. The chicks are so cute! I could reach out and hold them in my hand, so fluffy.
I also haven't been well this week but a couple of days enforced rest were probably
needed . I was so grateful for all the medicines etc we keep stocked at home because no sooner did I start to improve than my husband became ill. A daughter offered to help if we needed shopping but we had plenty of supplies here. Now I'm a bit better I have been pottering in the kitchen. I've batch cooked and frozen ,braised red cabbage and apples, , tomato and black eyed bean soup,
spinach, potato and red pepper frittata and I've just prepped creamy cashew and
tarragon chicken.
I've started buying dry goods for Christmas and have booked my car in for
a pre winter service and tyre safety check.
Hope all Bluebirds in the US and around the world are safe.
PennyP in the UK
Dear Penny, Im glad you are feeling better and hope your husband is too. It is really good to get the baking items for Christmas. So far I got extra butter and all the dried fruit and dark sugar. I need to get coconut and condensed milk...
DeleteI hope you get a restful weekend! With love, Annabel.xxx
The cupboard is awesome! We were in a restaurant one morning and an elderly man scraped his arm on the bathroom door as he came out. His arm was bleeding all over and same thing, no one had a band-aid. But, we had our first aid kit in the car and were able to help.
ReplyDeleteIt is two weeks today since we were hit by Hurricane Helene. We will be weeks or months getting everything repaired and done here. We learned that an LP generator was much more useful as we have many stored tanks of gas and were able to be up and running in a few hours but most of the town was out looking for a gas station that had power to buy gasoline and waiting for four or more hours in line. Cash was king. You need way more water than you think. We were fortunate to have neighbors on city water when our well was not powered. This kept our toilets flushed for that week. You have no idea how exhausted you will be until you are in the middle of a disaster. Once things start to open back up it is okay to go get meals from out or pick up free meals offered to get through. As soon as the power is back on get a dehumidifier going. Our house was so damp and a week later we are still drying out. Contact your homeowners insurance right away. They were able to sent help for us that we could not seem to get going on our own. We were fortunate to live in a neighborhood where neighbors know each other and were out clearing the roads of 19 downed trees and checking on each other before the wind had completely died down. One neighbor even cooked us dinner one night.
Dear Lana, You did well. People looking to buy gas and join a queue in a crisis have really missed the whole point. You do not want to be out there in that queue! Im so pleased you were prepared! I love your point about how busy you were. I see people say HOW will they be entertained? You will not have time for that. Hauling water, doing things manually and all this takes leaves no time. It is so fantastic you have great and helpful neighbours and everyone helped and worked. Thank you for your experience and tips from this! With much love Annabel.xxx
DeleteWhat a blessed week Annabel. I adore the cupboard you got and what a story to tell about the trade for it! I can imagine it was quite emotional for you to make changes to Andy’s office, but I’m sure he would approve. We are still rolling with the basics here. I’ve been doing extra shifts at work which adds to our financial preparedness so I guess that counts! Life on your farm sounds very productive at the moment.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely week 🪺
From Cheryl 💜
Dear Cheryl, Extra shifts and the buffer that brings to the budget is for sure preparedness! I hope you get a restful weekend! With love and thanks, Annabel.xxx
DeleteI love this post Annabel! I’m sorry you felt sick at the start of the week but what a week it turned out to be. I particularly enjoyed the story about the cupboard. Sometimes things just work out beautifully. You’ll really enjoy filling your new pantry!
ReplyDeleteWe are in our last week of school holidays and we’ve got some big jobs around the house done. I crocheted a baby blanket for a workmate whose wife is due in a few weeks. I’ve been trying to use up food from our fridge and pantry this week because everywhere needs a decent clean and it’s easier with less things to move! I love having a good supply of basics, it means we can avoid the shops if we need/want to.
Enjoy your cake baking, we’ll be doing the same here tomorrow!
Jen (NZ)
Dear Jen, I am the same... when the fridge gets low I figure this is my big chance to have a clean and wipe session! I am sure your workmate thought it was just lovely of you to make them a blanket! I am glad for you about the big jobs being done around the house. Im picturing you now doing back to school baking! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteThat cupboard was just meant to be, Annabel. It's so lovely and I can't wait to see what you do with it. I was the recipient of a free antique desk this week and it is my joy of the week for sure. We are very close to the area in North Carolina that had all the flooding from Hurricane Helene. The major roads through there are closed, so traffic is being rerouted through our area. It's a small price to pay compared to the devastation in that area. My heart goes out to them all.
ReplyDeleteThe chicks are so so cute! I'm in awe of new life. The cupboard is beautiful. God bless you. Esther (the Neth.)
ReplyDeleteDear Annabel (and everyone),
ReplyDeleteYou had a wonderful week! I love seeing the calves and your beautiful cooking and crafting. The price of eggs is shocking, but things are going up here, too.
This week I did a little baking, a little crafting, some lawn and garden clean-up for fall - the Greenstalks are still producing peppers, which amazes me. (Tonight we are supposed to get a frost, so I will pick the rest of them after work.) A stop by the thrift shop yielded a huge and gorgeous bouquet of silk flowers perfect for my living room. I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce, had dad over for dinner, and we took a little trip to watch the Morgan world championship horse show in OKC. Admission is free and it is a beautiful event - there are also many booths with gorgeous (and expensive) gifts for sale, so a great place to get ideas!
My home internet has been a bit weird, so hopefully this post goes through. I love reading about everyone's weeks and take a lot of inspiration from all of you ladies.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead.
<3
Kathy