Feather your Nest Friday, 28th February, 2025.
Today is very special. It's the last day of summer! Literally, all the planets have lined up! The weather for the next ten days looks very nice. Hopefully we are past the heat. Can you tell that is a relief!? I love the changing seasons but summer is the hardest here. Also... we can just be ready to move on. Well... I am ready!
Apples have been coming in from the tree, a few every day. This is an easier way to manage. I gave some to Mum. Some apple baking is coming.
I began making kitchen towels. They are very absorbent as they are two layers of cotton with a layer of flannelette in the middle. The flannelette is from a king size flat sheet from the thrift store. It is huge!
Once I had my idea straight I went through fabrics to mix and match prints and colours. Then I went through my trims and matched those up. I have a lot of little bits and pieces to use. Now I have about twenty cut out and in the evening I crochet the matching flower. This is really good fun.
I made scones for Mum.
I used the last zucchini in a slice. It was really good! Because I am getting eggs daily this was a close to free pie.
My big cook up was spaghetti sauce which used up most of the tomatoes. This made up heaps of meals full of goodness.
I had a lovely day having lunch with a friend. Then we went to the thrift/community store. I found a pale pink chenille bedspread!! And a set of crochet pale blue doilies. Next week you will see how I will use these! I knew as soon as I saw them!
To support this store I have made myself a rule to try and go once a week and to take a donation with me each time. Also Mum and Chloe have both found things to send with me.
I was given packets of snap lock craft bags.... perfect for sealing things like dried herbs. These will be so handy for kitchen/food hampers that I make up. It is wonderful having friends that keep their eye out for things that are useful!
Tom achieved a milestone reading his first ever book! I told me "I can read now." Like he woke up and suddenly was miraculously able to read. š
I wrote quite a few Happy Mail letters! It is also really fun to do. Hopefully after a year it will just be my habit forever.
How was your week? I hope you found little ways to get ahead and feather your nest!xxx
Dear Annabel, Tom is a wonderful boy! How lucky you are to be there with all this precious milestones!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are over Summer heat, also this means Spring will arrive here, too. We have some milder days now, the ice is melting on the river and I am waiting for some rain, althouhg they not forecast it. Everything is bone dry and, since we did not have snow, only freezing temperatures, there is no moist in the soil for plants. I have my first snowdrops in the flower garden.
Better days means eggs form the chick girls and lady duck, longer days out in the nature and longer walks with Charlie along the river. I started sorting the seeds and already planted indoors some garlic that started sprouting. But the herbes on the kitchen windowsill are happy and green.
I read an excellent book written by one of my favourite writer, Pamela Terry, *The Sweet Taste of Muscadine* and I painted a gift for my boy*s girlfriend, since they had a year of relation to celebrate yesterday. Isn*t young love beautiful?
And about marriage love, I baked my husband his favourite cake and he loved it. (for those who do not know me, I am a legend in not baking cakes or ruining even the simple ones). It was much appreciated.
Almost every day I took home lefovers from my workmates and more than half of the meals for the dogs, cats and chickens were solved this way. A big help that otherwise would have got in the garbage bin.
Tomorrow is the first of March and in my area the girls/women are given a little sign of Spring called *Martisor* (pronounced murtzeeshor) and we pin it on the coat/blouse/dress and wear it for the whole month like a brooch, tied with a cord woven from a white and a red thread. Sometimes it is offered with early flower Spring, like snowdrops or crocuses. Do you have any traditions for the first of March?
Happy Spring days / Happy Autumn Days for everyone - sending love from far away. Laura_s_world from Romania
Thank you Laura. Look forward to your letters and Annabelās blog every Friday. Both brighten my day. š
DeleteDear Laura, I love your Spring tradition/March celebration! Now we do not have anything like it! Yes! Better weather the hens will lay much more! This will be so good. I think for my chooks also Autumn I will get more eggs than summer as they dont like the heat at all. Collecting the food scraps from work I think is fantastic also do you notice how the chooks are more excited about scraps than pretty much any other food!
DeleteIt is lovely your son has a nice gf! That was very nice. Also making the cake for your husband was great! Now you have planted some seeds it is exciting to go into warmer weather for you. I have seeds to plant also... mine are peas, beans, other greens for Autumn. I hope the new week is going well! With love Annabel.xxx
Thank you for another lovely letter. I look forward every Friday to them. Your cards and envelopes are beautiful and must bring joy to whoever you send them. The towels look special with the crochet flower. You make everything so lovely with the Annabel touch. Love your sharing with us. Energy has been slow here after that virus. I have a wonderful husband to help me and an energetic dog to keep me going. I am blessed...............Nancy
ReplyDeleteDear Nancy, Thank you so much! A virus can really knock you out. I am so glad you have a helpful husband and as for dogs... if we could only have that energy! And enthusiasm! I hope you are feeling much better, with love Annabel.xxx
DeleteHi Annabel
ReplyDeleteThe change of season will be lovely for you, a relief from the heat. Your towel is beautiful and so is your happy mail, so pretty. Always good to find goodies in the charity shop.
This week we have planted out broad beans and red and white onions and sown seed for more broad beans. I picked daffodils to bring into the house.
I visited the supermarket early and stocked up with yellow sticker meat and fish for the freezer.
I baked a tea loaf for visitors tomorrow and made carrot, butternut squash and red lentil soup.
I spent several hours sewing a cot quilt for a new baby, I hope to finish it next week. Also cut out the fabric for a project bag I am making at sewing group to hold handsewing as I travel around.
Hope all Bluebirds have a good week.
Penny in the UK
Dear Penny, I love having a project bag to take everywhere with me. They are awesome gifts as well!
DeleteA cot quilt will be a beautiful gift! Taking a tea loaf is lovely too. Today I saw the price of a slice of cake and a coffee... everything is crazy expensive. And homemade is better.
I love broad beans and they come up so well. When I harvest them the goats get the left over plants at the end. So everything is demolished. I am trying some other types of beans soon, in my trough planters. I hope they will be a success!
Daffodils are a sign! Very bright and cheerful and warm days are coming! With love Annabel.xxx
How exciting that Tom can read now. That's such an important milestone. And I just love your tea towel. The flower is so pretty! And ruffles I just love ruffles in case I forgot to tell you, your tablecloth last week is beautiful. Im so glad your almost done with summer heat. I'm not looking forward to it here.
ReplyDeleteLet's see this week the hubby was given a bag of clothes and we passed on what was too big or he wouldn't wear, but he did end up with several like new sweat shirts.
I am still working on making meals or baking with things that need used so potato soup, chocolate cake that I added a box of pudding to the mix, BLTs, and the leftover bacon I added to green beans along with some onion .
I saved a few jars that I will be able to do something with and started a small sewing project. My granddaughter has been able to come over for a few hours to work on her quilt.
We have so thankful for all of the free wood we had gathered because we sure have been using a lot of it because it's been cold. And I dry most of the laundry by the wood burner.
I received a thank you card in the mail for banana bread that Rick had taken to someone. That was so nice.
I have been drinking lemonade or lemon juice mixed with pineapple juice and a little bit of fizzy stuff like coconut soda or club soda before bed and it seems to help me sleep some. I also quit putting sugar in my coffee.
Not a great week for me, but not too bad either because the rest is mostly daily chores and dealing with a spouse haha.
XOXO
Vicky
Dear Vicky, Tom loves home school and Chase has started early too. I am glad you like my ruffle tea towel Thank you!
DeleteI think it is so lovely you are sewing along with your Grand daughter and teaching her. She will be loving it.
Free wood is a huge bonus! And the thank you mail was very sweet!
I think a bed time drink is nice. I keep a drink next to me. Maybe it is the pineapple? I know since you wrote this you did get very good news! That is wonderful! With love Annabel.xxx
I might be in love with Tom!! What an excellent farmer he will be.That smile speaks of a love of life doesnt it?! Glad to hear you have had a good week, and some good op shop finds. Its been a tough week at work with long hours and too much adrenaline producing crises but i have started another compost heap, and am making tiny steps in the garden. It has cooled literally overnight hereā¦. Time to sort out some firewood i think! I have been collecting the pinecones off the ground and setting them aside. Have rearranged some furniture and am currently in the ābomb went off ā stage of tidying and sorting. Lols. Better get back to it! Just remember bluebirdsā¦. a tiny step forward is still progress, and some weeks holding steady without going backwards is good enough. Missy
ReplyDeleteDear Missy, Thank you! Tom is full of chatter now! I am sorry work has been so intense! To have managed garden work is amazing but also I hope it helped you. I actually love collecting pinecones and kindling. I also think baskets of pinecones look just beautiful. Yes I understand the bomb went off stage. I call it the signs of a struggle stage haha.
DeleteYou are absolutely right. Holding steady, keeping the home fires burning can be an accomplishment in itself! With love Annabel.xxx
Well done Tom š
ReplyDeleteWe are coming into spring here and I am so glad to have some dry days to look forward to and sunshine!
Our hens are starting to feel spring is coming too as they have just started laying again.
Love the idea of ā Happy mailā~ letter writing is a lost art.
Hope you have a lovely weekend.
With love, Heidi xx
Dear Heidi, I found during the hot weather writing a letter was something I could do quietly in the cool. But any bad weather is a good time to write, sew, knit etc. I hope Spring is going to be lovely and cheerful. It sounds like we are both good and ready for the change of seasons! With love, Annabel.xxx
DeleteWhat a lovely fabric for the kitchen towel! It adds so much to the atmosphere in a home and kitchen. I like your creativity.
ReplyDeleteTomās happy face š ā the world needs children for sure.
I have made hand soap and laundry detergent this week. You canāt help but feel rich when looking at all the bottles filled with that useful (and skin friendly!) stuff. Have a good weekend, Annabel. Prayers for all the Blueb. Esther (the Netherl.)
Dear Esther, I love to see bottles of soaps lined up. I also love jars lined up in the pantry! It feels very abundant! I always save both bottles and jars for all these things. A friend gave me that chicken fabric and I just love it! Many thanks! With love Annabel.xxx
Deletehello annabel, so enjoyed your towel ideas. they are so pretty. my kitchen has chickens also. i have a question, do you use paper cutouts or fabric for your happy mail? i would like to start this idea also. spring is comming here too. am anxious to dig in the dirt. have a good week. bonnie in southern pa.
ReplyDeleteHi Bonnie! I love chickens! These enveloped are decorated with stickers. You can use cut outs and paste them or draw... or stamp... I feel addicted to stickers now though! Cheap shops have a lot of stickers. I feel like a kid but I love the effect! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteAnnabel your kitchen towels are beautiful and even better you used used flannelette to line the inside of them. Your scones, slice and happy mail all look lovely. Bless Tom it is such an achievement for a little tacker to read his first book and I can tell he is chuffed too.
ReplyDeleteThis week was all about yard tidy up and weed spraying. DH trimmed the lilac hedge and one star jasmine hedge. I finished off spraying for weeds on the front footpath and am now half way down the yard to spot spraying paspalum, crab grass and other weeds before winter hits. We have had a bushfire nearby but fortunately it was put out and no homes were lost.
I did a staples and other grocery online click and collect shop to top up supplies after DH's recovery time of a month after back pain day surgery. With using my 4% off racq e-gift card, using a 5% off $160 online order, using $10 off rewards dollars and buying coca cola on half price sale I saved $48.05 on usual prices.
DH needed some cargo pants and shorts and we were able to stock up on them on good sales online through Rivers saving $1067.82 on their usual prices. I also picked up 2 linen blend blazers on clearance at BigW for $10 ea saving $56 on usual prices and a pair of cargo pants for DH for $5 saving $20 on usual prices.
We have been having a general tidy within the home and also have taken one big trailer load of prunings and other broken household items to the tip too so things are looking much better organised.
Have a great week ahead Annabel and everyone.
Lorna.
Dear Lorna, Thank you! You have a Lilac Hedge! How heavenly. That would just look a picture when flowering. So would the Jasmine hedge and the scent!!
DeleteI hope your husband is doing well after the surgery. Your savings on the Rivers order are mind blowing! There have been one after the other huge retail companies falling over... I know you did well earlier with clothes for yourself from another. What a time to buy.
I am so glad the fire was put out before homes were lost. That was a big close for comfort! It is so dry here we could still get a fire I really wish we could get some rain and get past that threat. I hope this week is going well! With love Annabel.xxx
Lovely towels, Annabel. So nice that Tom can read. That is admirable that he has learned!
ReplyDeleteYou have much to be thankful. Such a lovely family!
We were able to purchase a newer car that will better suit our family's needs.
I was blessed with many baked goods from a friend. This sustained my family while I was free to clean and organize. Still eating out of the freezer.
My chickens are laying more now that the days are lengthening.
Blessings to you all,
Leslie (Ohio)
Dear Leslie, Well he can read a book of three letter word stories! We had the cat sat on the mat when I started!
DeleteCongratulations on the new car! And how wonderful to be given the baked goods! What a bonus! Yes better weather will hopefully bless you will a lot of eggs... and me too as the chooks dont like the heat and Autumn is mild. Eggs are worth gold these days! With love Annabel.xxx
Dear annabel
ReplyDeletereading your blog reminds me of special times in the kitchen with my mum thank you for sharing
Thanks so much JA that is a lovely compliment! xxx
DeleteWhat a beautiful week you have had ! Just gorgeous. The blessing of learning to read will have tom set for life ! My parents and grandparents encouraged me to read every night before bed we would practice growing up. At school I recall the big cushion area when we were allowed to read. Oh how I loved it ! Now grown up I read a lot. Love Sonia in Sydney, Australia
ReplyDeleteDear Sonia, I agree! If we learn to read we can learn anything and it is wonderful. The kids are read many stories per day. They are big book lovers. I am so glad! It sets you up for life! I hope your week is going well! With love Annabel.xxx
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