February is almost over, already! It is hot and a storm is brewing. A really big storm they are warning. If it brings rain that will be wonderful. There are all kinds of weather alerts for the next four days with flood watches and they are calling it an "event." Hopefully it is an event I can view while flaked out lol as I am tired!
My last hugely pregnant cow is still pregnant. If a good thunder storm doesn't bring her on nothing will. I have been checking her three or four times a day. Yesterday Tom was with me. I actually thought maybe she was in labor so I asked Tom if he had seen a calf born and it that was ok or did he find it a bit scary or upsetting. I told him I am a grown up and I find it scary to watch and I feel anxious, so it was ok for him to agree if he wanted. (In which case we would not hang around.) He said yes he had seen calves born and that was ok. She wasn't in labor as it turned out and there was absolutely nothing to see. As Tom shut the gate he got back in the car and said "Nana, when she is having the baby if you ring me up I'll come over and sit with you so you are not scared." 😊 I said that is so kind Tom.
All the other five calves are doing well. As you can see it is end of summer dry, however there is plenty of feed. (The building in the background is the cabin.)
The calves are quite tame and come towards the ute so I am able to get better photos as they are less shy.
We are putting in farm gates so that the cows can graze the driveway. Tom enjoyed helping dig the post holes.
I harvested a basket of Basil and made a double batch of Pesto. It's really delicious and I shared some of it. This will give me a few meals next week.
Chloe's fig tree is so big and has lots of baby trees coming up. We decided to dig some up and see if we can start new trees. They are pretty hard to dig as the ground is rocky and most have a roots that head back to the tree. But we got a fair few with pretty good root systems and are hoping for the best.
This is Chase helping. He is pretty good with a spade! In the end we had a good selection.
I hope to get a couple going in my orchard and some have been shared.
I really felt like some cake or biscuits. I made melting moments. They were glued together with pink icing and really delicious but they looked dishevelled, not like the neat perfect ones Nana used to make!
I made a double batch of gluten free scones.
The meal delivery service included chicken mini roasts and veggies...
Also a spaghetti sauce... which made a few meals over pasta....
The zucchini was free from the swap table.
The next day I used left over sauce to make a large lasagne and a smaller GF lasagne. The left side looks dodgy but that is Mum's half and she doesn't like cheese on top. In the morning I need to slice these up and freeze.
Another meal was beef kebabs on rice with veggies.
Little Ike has grown and he is so beautiful. 💖
My dear friend found me this pie dish in the thrift store. I have never seen anything like it. Not only does it have Bluebirds it has Proverbs scripture. This was surely custom made for me!!
Today I took eight dozen eggs to church. They were gratefully snapped up. Another lady shared a box of capsicums and tomatoes so I got some of those. I am thinking to decorate the egg cartons with Easter stickers so they are Easter Eggs.
This morning I was given a big bag of apples and tomatoes!
My niece and her partner brought me a whole butchered sheep and big bag of ground beef! Yes a WHOLE sheep. Yesterday my helpers cut it up and we got it portioned and frozen. This really blessed my freezer!
I ALMOST finished my quilt block and I made a heap of progress on the blanket.
I am trying not to let Lent pass me by quickly and instead do something each day and take time each day to appreciate it or just be grateful. I love the seasons of the year and I love the liturgical seasons as well.
It is my goal to somehow make a special Easter table setting that the kids will find exciting.
How was your week? How did you build up your nest? I hope opportunities came your way! I have a motto that when you have an opportunity say yes! You can figure out the details later, just say yes! xxx
You had a lovely week and such sweet grandchildren. I made strawberry jam this week. That felt good to have it done at a good price. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you Vickie! Strawberry jam is my favourite... although I am pretty happy with any berries! Well done!xxx
DeleteHello Annabel, this seems like a very productive week! Good meals!! How wonderful to be blessed with vegetables, fruit, etc. Hopefully the baby fig trees will grow into big ones. Truly amazing how beautiful God created this life cycle in nature. The calves look so beautiful too!!! The fur colour is the perfect match with the field colours. And then Tom!! He is the cutest boy with a loving heart.❤️ Esther
ReplyDeleteDear Esther, Thank you! Tom is coming back over tomorrow and I am dreaming up projects to do. I absolutely marvel at Gods creations, cycles, goodness and beauty. My calves are so tame they come right up to the ute now and have a sniff and lick lol. I hope you are having a good week! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteP.S. Ike looks so healthy and sweet!!! That pie dish Is a great gift! As is friendship. Esther
ReplyDeleteDear Annabel and lovely Bluebirds,
ReplyDeleteLOVE-ly photos with Tom (your biggest helper), Ike (he looks so happy sleeping there, I would make a picture on the wall with that), Sparky baby and the calves. They look great! And you are rigth, that plate was custome made for you, because you offer your friendship to us all over the world, too.
Not very much to report from Romania, the same problems, the same freezing temperatures, this morning the water was bone frozen and I can not wait for Spring to come. A lot of gardening ideas and flock management are discussed here with my husband and I want to try something new to me, the hugelbed/hugelkultur, because we have some fallen rothen trees and stumps and I can use them up. I already started to build them up with straws from the chicken coop, clean cardboards and will see. It is from Eastern Europe and Germany but I am not familiar with that. Will see.
The fig trees, a marvel in Chloe*s garden. This fruit, as well as oranges and lemons, are so expensive in our cold country. But I have a big quince tree with many young trees around and I will dig up a few for a coleague at work - her birthday is coming and a bunch of quince baby trees bit a bunch of flowers, as she really was looking for a quince tree for her orchard. And some chocolate, too.
Last time my words did not go through, maybe now it will be with luck. I wanted to say Ike*s blanket is going to be beautiful, and, yes, the colours somehow looks like Ike*s colours (as one of the lovely Bluebirds have said last week). Maybe you can add some sleepy animals on it, to help him sleep sweeter...
Sending many good wishes from far away,
Have a lovely weekend everybody,
Laura_s_world from Romania.
PS: I haven*s seen Maxine here very often, so a special hello for her - I was thinking of her these days
Thanks for remembering me. I haven't commented because I haven't had much to say that is relevant to the blog...
DeleteMy daughter moved back to a Certified Family Home yesterday. It's like adult foster care, not a group home. We waited almost a year for an opening. She's gone back to where she lived before so it is a REALLY good thing. She loves them and they love her.
As for me, I only lived alone for a total of about 4 months back in the Sixties. I didn't like it then and hope it is better now. I turned 80 on the 17th. With no backup here since my husband died, age is the main reason I wanted her in a safe place. I can see her on weekends and she can spend Saturday nights with me.
Also, an old boyfriend (from 1965!) and I have reconnected over the past few months. Surprising! He lives 350 miles away so we don't see each other often enough, but we talk on the phone daily for hours. He is a bit of a prepper, too, and gave me a 3-day supply of emergency food for my birthday! Is this guy romantic or what?? (Well............)
Annabel, such a lovely picture of Ike! I can already see the sweetness in that little boy. Your family is so lucky--and so is he!
Dear Laura, I hope Spring is starting to show up. At least some encouraging signs. Thank you for your kind words! I am so glad your comment came through! A Quince tree for your friends birthday would be a beautiful gift! I absolutely love Quinces! Thank you re Ike's blanket. I am past half way now. Sewing it together and doing a wide border I think will take a long time though!
DeleteHave a very good week Laura! With love Annabel.xxx
It looks like a lovely week Annabel. Rustic is the word you’re looking for with the biscuits! Getting all that meat is truly a huge blessing. I hope you get plenty of rain and everyone is safe and warm during the storm. Ike looks so peaceful! What a lovely thing for Tom to say, he is such a gem.
ReplyDeleteI did an extra day at work this week, so a tiring week but that will be a nice little boost at an expensive time of year. I baked gluten free blueberry muffins, coconut brownie, and a ginger loaf for a morning tea. They all turned out well so I have some more recipes I know turn out well with gf flour. We have another member of the family now diagnosed with Coeliac’s disease so the more successful recipes the better!
I’d been looking for cushions to fill a window seat and found some that are just right for 70% off.
We have pears and apples ready to pick, the apples aren’t pretty but at the very least they’ll be good to stew.
Enjoy your weekend, I hope it’s restful.
Jen (NZ)
Dear Jen, The extra day would for sure give you a little extra for the week. I find the Woolworths home brand GF flour the best one. Seriously most things just work out with it. I dont think things stay fresh as long though so I freeze things mostly. Once you have a good muffin recipe like the Blueberry you can just use any chopped fruit you have ie chopped apple... depending on what you have. Your baking all sounds delicious!
DeleteMy pears are ready too! The apples will be useful for a lot of things. You had a very busy week! With love Annabel.xxx
Dear Annabel, I love what Tom said, it is very thoughtful. I hope you get rain, I have been looking up news for your weather, as it does seem like a big thing. Hopefully, you can rest right through it. I love your meal delivery service and how you help your family. It’s lovely that you blessed others at church. My deal this week was that I got some second hand uniforms at the op shop for $2 each! My garden needs a bit of work, I’m hoping to do some today. I am also crocheting the blanket for my son, it’s slow, but there’s progress. Let’s hope he doesn’t want to change football teams lol The local shop has some cheap produce today so I will go there too. lots of love Bridget
ReplyDeleteBridge what great finds at the op shop! Uniforms are so expensive. Haha on the footie teams.... once a blanket is made thats a lifelong commitment! At church several people now bring along produce... so I took all the eggs and I cam home with so many tomatoes and two capsicum. It's so lovely.
DeleteWe did get so much rain, amazing! And it has turned to actual lovely Autumn weather! Have a good week! With love Annabel.xxx
Annabel you do so much each week. What a blessing of grandchildren that want to learn and do. I am deep into trying to get rid of stuff I don't need or want. It is a slow process as I can get carried away with getting rid of stuff I actually need lol. It's been a long time since I have seen a calf born. Miss those days. Jean
ReplyDeleteDear Jean, Thank you so much! Remember to keep things you may need in an emergency. I have picked up so many blankets and other items because people think the heating will never go out, this kind of thing. But I get rid of things that I think are useless ie just ornamental and ugly!
DeleteHave a lovely week! With love Annabel.xxx
Hello Annabel (and everyone),
ReplyDeleteThose calves are beautiful, just really nice well-conformed animals. I drive past a couple of angus ranches on my way home every day, and you are reminding me they will start having their babies soon, too. Your cooking looks wonderful as always. Ike is growing so fast!
This week I did a little baking and cooking, a little knitting, and found a nice bag of quilting cottons at the thrift. [There was also one completely hilarious print of (and I do apologize) shirtless construction workers - it escapes me what I will ever be able to do with it, but it did produce a huge laugh!] Last night I started four trays of seeds and tucked them into my little greenhouse. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, and tromboncino for veggies; hollyhocks, chicory, bee balm, and echinacea for flowers. Gomphrena and pansy seeds are on the way - Annabel, I loved your idea for pansies in the Greenstalk, they would be just perfect in my dark pink one, thank you! At work I won a pair of theatre tickets for Steven Sondheim's Company, so that will be a fun outing (I am taking my Dad). My employer offers free training programs, so I took two classes this week to increase my knowledge. Finally, I did a little rearranging to give the guest bedroom a refresh.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week.
<3
Kathy
Dear Kathy, I am laughing about the fabric. I am sure you can make someone else laugh with that. Oh you are ahead with the seeds! Pansies look like happy faces to me. They are glorious. Also you can press them and they keep really well for card making etc.
DeleteLovely that you won the tickets! Your Dad will love to go out with you! This was a very good week for you! With love Annabel.xxx
I am green with jealousy over the fig trees. I really miss Mum's fig tree, it kept the whole family in fig jam and dried figs and candied figs for almost 50 years. I'm rationing my one jar of fig jam to make it last. And I laughed at your comment about your beautiful melting moments- the kids call my "melted" moments because they are always odd shapes and sizes - they still devour them though. Praying the rain is useful and not damaging. We missed yesterday's storms, not a drop of rain at our place but lots of flooding around us.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry you missed the rain but maybe you still got some since... we got about an inch and a half. This was amazing! Nana had a very old orchard. There was a huge old fig tree. We used to climb it. Everyone used to have an orchard... very sensible! Have a lovely new week! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteMore in order of protecting our nest, we decided to move ahead with making a will. We have an unusual circumstance where one thing is in my name and the other in my husband's name. We wanted to be sure we each got the other portion in case one of us passed away, rather than risk losing it due to state laws. Now we know that if either of us dies, we have that in order.
ReplyDeleteI cooked meals at home all week long and finished off month two of doing a hard-core pantry freezer challenge.
To keep me humble this month, I was asked to tutor my grandson (3rd grade) with his homework...lol. The things I don't know! Seriously, I've learned a good bit this month and my grandson is rather shocked that I don't know it all.
I'm closing in on paying off a 2nd debt and will be ready to tackle the third and final one in this coming month.
Dear Terri, Very wise to organise your wills. It sounds like you had fun learning with your Grandson! He probably felt really smart!
DeleteGreat progress on your debts!I hope you achieve your goal this month that will be fantastic! And so early in the year too! With love Annabel.xxx
What a blessing for now and the future are your grandsons!! And girl, that pie plate - wow, absolutely precious and so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou bless your family so very much, and I was pondering the impact of this on your grandchildren as they grow up. You are an example of Jesus through the work of your hands, Annabel. 1 Thessalonians 11-12
Currently I am doing what I am able, and that is a lot less than before my knee accident. As well as a number of oriiginal knee issues from the accident last July, I have now discovered from the latest MRI that I have two "bone marrow oedemas" which are the source of much of the pain, and will take up to a year to heal, and possibly need drilling to relive the build up of pressure within the bones. I'm praying that won't need to happen, and am doing all I can physically to assist healing naturally. But I am not sad, just weary from pain and lack of sleep, and those are expected things...the most important thing is that I PRAISE our dear Lord for all the wonderful things in my life, most especially His Son and my Saviour, Jesus Christ. :-)
May He give you as much rain as you need!
Hugs
Jennifer
Dear Jenny, Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I am going to go look up about this in your bone marrow. I am so sorry because constant pain and not sleeping are torture. Im glad the MRIs revealed information/explanation... but I know knees take a long time to heal at their own pace. You are in my prayers. With much love Annabel.xxx
DeleteSIH ello Annabel and Bluebirds. I am in love with your Murray Grey calves, Annabel! They are the most beautiful creatures, and look gentle and inquisitive. Many years ago we lived in a dairying area for a couple of years, where my husband and I taught at a country school, and our children both reared calves as pets for Calf Club days. Those little Friesians were the most wonderful pets. Some days, we would find both children (aged 10 and 12) in the paddock with the calves, stretched out in the shade of a tree, the calves lying down and the kids using their warm sides as pillows. Some days they would read to the calves! Your photo of the calf between the tree trunks is absolutely stunning.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all that you do and all that you share with us. Take care of yourself.
Linda in NZ
Dear Linda, Oh you have wonderful memories. People dont know how lovely calves are until they've handled them. What a lovely time your kids had! Animals are just the best and way smarter than we realise. Mine are coming up to the ute to sniff and lick the tyres and my hand... and Im still waiting on that final calf!
DeleteThank you for your very kind comment! With love Annabel.xxx
Annabel Tom and Chase are such wonderful enthusiastic little helpers and you can tell they love to help. Your meals look delicious and I am sure Chloe is loving the love you are sending her and also the less time she spends in the kitchen while she recovers and spends more time with Ike. Oh how gorgeous is that photo of him nestled contentedly with his Mum.
ReplyDeleteYour photos make me miss my Murray greys from when I had my cattle farm and yes they are a very laid back breed of cattle that are easy to manage. The little calves are adorable. That pie plate is just adorable and certainly made for you.
A lot of time was spent away from home this week with appointments and interring my parents ashes (who both died a few years ago), with my sister. It was peaceful and healing for us both and DH and I stayed in a lovely motel apartment with an ocean view. How I loved to smell the salt air on the beach after such a long time of living in the country.
I did manage to stock the meat freezer on one trip with lots of great mardowns from IGA. We purchase 1 x 480g of BBQ honey sausages reduced from $7.80 to $3.90 ea, 2 x 480g trays of Rancho beef sausages reduced from $7.80 to $3.51 ea, 1 x 480g of Rancho beef sausages reduced from $7.80 to $2.50 ea, 2 x 480g of traditional style beef sausages reduced from $7.80 to $3.51 ea and 2 x chocolate cream filled sponge cakes reduced from $7 to $4.90 each. With a total saving of 48.28% or $30.56.
Happy with our savings and don't know why some of the rancho sausage trays were marked cheaper than others but I will take it lol.
Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead.
Lorna.
Dear Lorna, That was a big week for you. I am glad you could stay somewhere really nice by the ocean and you and your sister could carry out these last arrangements for your parents. The beach is very therapeutic I think.
DeleteYour meat bargains and stock up was fantastic. Meat deals are harder to find. These all sound really good. And the sponge cakes!
As time goes on these cows get more and more tame. I am still waiting on one calf so I am doing the rounds 3 x a day. Several thunderstorms and a full moon all failed to get her in labor!
Have a good week Lorna, with love Annabel.xxx
What a wonderful little boy Tom is - and so thoughtful. I hope that the last of the calves arrives this week and that all will be well.
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely sunny day here which means it is freezing again - minus 5C but feeling more like minus 16C with the wind - Winter is just not letting go. It's not looking promising for Spring either - the prediction is for colder and wetter than normal.
I have been carefully tracking my grocery spending - even as one person who cooks from scratch and has a decent pantry - I was shocked at what I spent in January - but - there were a lot fo good buys after Christmas and I needed quite a few non-food items which really add up. February was much better - half of January's amount. March will probably be up again but if I can alternate from month to month I'll be happy. I am writing everything down in a little notebook that I carry all the time and I am sticking to that. I check the weekly flyers for the best bargains and buy whichever protein is on offer that week.
For Lent I have decided to only eat meat on Sundays (Sabbath feast days) and the rest of the week I have mostly vegetarian and fish/seafood with a bit of poultry. I do a lot of prepping for the week ahead on a Friday or Saturday and that really helps. So far - so good.
On days when the weather means that I stay home I am trying to be productive by de-cluttering and doing some early cleaning. I have gone through my many bookcases and have decided to give away a number of books that I know I will never re-read. Some are going to friends and some will go to my church's collection for our Spring booksale. My bookcases need some breathing space and I do not have anymore wall space to add more so something has to give.
Have a wonderfil week and I hope that the weather isn't too bad for you.
Dear Margie, Well done on your spending tracking. Also on your efforts for Lent. I am trying to do something everyday to remember Lent too.
DeleteBooks are expensive so I am sure you sharing books with friends and the church will be greatly appreciated. They are a good donation.
Getting a head start on Spring cleaning is great too! With much love Annabel.xxx
Dear Annabel, your meals all look amazing and delicious. Truly a blessing for Chloe and her family. Tom is such a sweetie and his comment must melt your heart. To be gifted all that meat is fantastic and I’m very happy for you. To have a huge fig tree nearly ripe for harvesting will be wonderful and I’m sure you will turn the fruit into some delicious recipes. They are so expensive to buy right now and I love fig paste! You have had a fabulous week! xox
ReplyDeleteDear Stephanie, Thank you! Fig paste is one of my main goals... and I like that it keeps well for so long. I have nice little moulds for it too. The pear tree is now heavy with fruit... weighted down and droopy. The rain made them all grow a heap. I think I will be picking them in a few days. Many thanks, with love Annabel.xxx
Delete