Feather your Nest Friday, 27th December, 2024.

I hope you had a beautiful Christmas!  I had a bit of anxiety the days before...  unsure how I would do.  But I had so many blessings over two perfect days that I just felt very grateful.  

Christmas no 1 was last Saturday at Lucy's.   Since it is a two hour trip Mum and I took containers of things we had made and assembled a desert platter when we got there.  I even took my favourite big plate! 

The kids really like having the choices and selecting.  Leftovers were out back into containers for treats over the next days.

Lucy had the table looking so pretty and the kids had helped.  Sidney was very proud about it.   

The roses were from the garden.

It was just a happy happy day.  Mum and I have no trouble yakking for four car hours.  😊

Then we had Christmas Day Christmas with Chloe's family.    It was another perfect day.  

It was Lily's first Christmas.  Chloe made cards with the kids on the front...

For the meal I made the stuffing in rectangle individual muffin pans so they looked like bricks lol but neat to serve.  I made extra so spare meals could be plated up.

Also Nana's tomato pie.  I make this every year in honour of Nana L.   I have posted the recipe before.  As I made it though I thought mmm this could be used in other ways.   Last week I showed that I had a heap of Zucchinis.  So I fried up about six big onions then a heap of zucchini.

When this gets some caramelisation going on I add tomatoes,  pepper and oregano.

When ready to serve it looks like this...

It is covered in torn up bread and cheese and baked until golden.  I made myself a small one which I ate at home with some steak one night and left over turkey another.   But it could just be baked without the bread.....  and poured over pasta and it would be beautiful.  And it would go a long long way!  

This ... is similar to this dish I also made this week.  It was apparently once a Tin Tok sensation.   You slap a piece of Feta into a dish,  surround it with any combination/amount of onion,  tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum etc and bake it.  

Bake this and top it with fresh basil or oregano... and serve over spaghetti.... you can add any other cheese too...  more is more with cheese!   I made this because I have a lot of cherry tomatoes and this uses them up a big lot at a time.

Back to Christmas!   

Chloe provided foil trays and everyone took home dinner.  This was so nice.  It was another beautiful meal.  

Mum always makes the pudding.   Tom declared this was the best one ever! (forever is 4 years for him lol) 

But I agree it was!

It was a beautiful day.  Over both days everyone was very happy and the kids were all so excited and sparkly.  Just joy.

Mum gave me the gift of a heap of baskets to go on top of my pantry cupboards in "the shop."

They fit just perfect and imagine what I can store in these! 

The rest of the zucchini I processed and froze.  Some is still in the fridge to make pasta sauce in a few days time.   But all these were frozen...

I am getting plenty of eggs...

I made a trade.  This might not look like a thing of beauty BUT to me it is!

These are huge.  They were troughs.   But to me they are garden beds!  I traded the use of my cabin for ten days for several of these.  haha this is a different trade!  It is a tractor job to move them.  AND I have plenty of compost to fill them immediately!   I am so excited!  

Yesterday I left the cows come into the driveway to graze.  This is quite a big area which includes up around the chook yard and hay shed where there is quite a bit of grass, even some green grass.    In a few days it will be all mowed and a better firebreak and the cows think it's great. 

At the same time Justice turned 8 weeks old and I began to wean her to one bottle a day.  She wasn't too happy but she was talking to the cows who were right next to her yard now.  This morning she was not waiting for her bottle in her normal spot.   I got there and no sign of her.  So I called out loudly... then louder "Justice where the heck are you?"   Then I heard a moo in the distance.  Yep, she had escaped to go hang out with the rest of the gang.  But I called again and she came galloping up the driveway to meet me at the gate.  She drank her bottle then turned around and galloped back to the cows.  Well,  fine.   So I hope she hears me again tomorrow morning or is waiting.  😊

See how she looks good, after she was so little and frail now she is full on and breaking out of the paddock!

I was given cherries and lemons.

My last lot of chicks are now point of lay.  I moved the hens into the hen house and I got seven hens and two roosters.  That is amazing and they are lovely!  My year of building up my hens has resulted in a great variety and different coloured eggs... and some young ones that are not quite laying yet. I should be set for several years. 

Today I went into town.   I picked up all next years wrapping paper for 75c and quite a few deals.  The best was I bought three frozen turkeys!   For me this is the best price in years... which is $4 a kilo.   That is about half what I think is a good price.  So roast turkey dinners in winter will be beautiful especially as the kids love it,  they all love a roast.   I can plate up so many meals from each one.   My head was in the freezer rearranging things to get everything I found safely stored.  So it was worth the trip and a good day!

I really hope your were blessed this Christmas. 

This is the last post for 2024 and I have big plans for the new year.   Different times call for different actions.  I think I will post new years day to get the ball rolling.  But for now I am thinking over the year and making some decisions for the next.

How did you celebrate, build up your home or pantry or garden this week?  We love to hear!xxx