Feather Your Nest Friday, 2nd January, 2026.

I just had to type 2026 for the first time!  I bet I mess that up for a month or more!  

Chloe has 26 days to baby day. But who's counting!?

The lovely days after Christmas and up to New Year have been so appreciated.  I feel I am still enjoying this time a little longer yet. Reviewing is done, most of my planning... but I am still thinking.  I had a trip to the shops and for the first time in my life there was not one good after Christmas bargain and not one turkey.  Last year I managed to get three turkeys on a deal and they were so good in winter!  

I have come to the conclusion that "normal" isn't what it once was.  I've been thinking about this.  I won't say much now... it will become a post of its own.  But I feel that since 2020 normal never came back.  Australia is different.  Probably the world is different.  But anyway...  I went to town and found no good deals.  Instead I gathered necessities and a few nice items for the week ahead.

When I arrived home... two guys that were coming to stay in the cabin arrived.  They carried up a huge box of fruit and veggies and a giant bag of potatoes.  Then a box of cherries!  It was amazing!  All beautiful.  We sat down and had a chat.  My zero luck in town had turned into great abundance... but through unconventional means.  This is what we talked about.  These guys are just longing to move to the country but in the meantime I am their country home.  We help each other.  And that is where I think more success will be found... a community that shares resources and works together.  Things have changed.

So now I have a box of cherries...

Everything was super sized.  A huge watermelon.  This went over to Chloe's family.  A giant cabbage. Rockmelon.   There were red onions,  strawberries, peaches, nectarines and plums.

I am trying to think of other things not pictured....   oh, a pineapple....

The pumpkin I am storing and hoping it lasts until Autumn.  

We had a little NYE party at Chloe and Luke's.   At 6pm we pretended it was midnight and did the countdown and had sparklers.  😊   The kids thought it was great and we all shouted "Happy New Year."

We had a BBQ and it was lovely.  I think I will stick to 6 pm midnights going forward...

 

Today Tom came over.   The weather is warming up so we did more inside than outside.   We made honey crackles.

A lot got eaten before they made it into the paper cups.   But we still got a whole heap!  

We picked tomatoes to take home to Mum as well.

I have two big pots with trees that blow over every time it's windy.   My helpers loaded up rocks to top up my pots.

This worked a treat! 

I have so many little cucumbers coming on!  This is the most I have ever grown... providing they grow just a little more. 

I love to grow basil and it only seems successful for me after Christmas.  So I got heaps.

These are all in and have had a couple of mild days to settle.   Warmer days are coming next week so I will be doing a lot of watering.

A lovely friend gave me Mangoes! 

The onions from a couple of weeks ago...  I made the red ones into pickles...  in the end I had more liquid than red onions so I did one jar with brown onions.

I cut up the giant beef steak my brother gave me into potion sizes and froze.  It is such good steak!  I think I am set for most of the year.

And Sparkie.... tonight she is dead to the world because if Tom is here she wears herself out.   But mostly she wants to play! 

This year I took a little while to find a planner I wanted.  It arrived today!  So over the weekend I will be packing that full of info for the year ahead.   It is gorgeous and I'm thrilled!  Planning and list making... that is how to get more done.   

Thankyou for all your replies on my New Year posts!  I hope you feel up and running for a fresh start!   How did you begin to build up your home for 2026? xxx