Feather your Nest Friday, 19th June, 2026.

It was a very busy week.  It seems like a year since last Friday but I often say that!   There has been more rain which is so good.

My produce this week was mainly from my own garden!  I harvested a basket of Parsley. It had been rained on over and over and so fresh.

While I was picking this I could see a whole big bed of Parsley seed has come up and is doing really well.

I got four trays into the freeze drier and repeated that the next day.

I gave some to Chloe and added the rest to my pantry.

As I worked I saved the stems to freeze for my next batch of stock.

Also from my own garden I harvested some Broccoli.  I am so happy with it and have many more harvests to go!

Last week I mentioned purchasing a citrus juicer.  Oh my goodness I feel like a dill because this is a complete game changer and you also get more juice per fruit.   It is so quick!  If only I bought this a decade ago!

I juiced all the lemons in the kitchen and filled a one litre bottle.

Then I went into the garden and picked some more.

I know of a very full lemon tree to raid yet... but now my ambition is to get hold of lots of oranges. I think more mid to late winter will be the time as our state is really good for citrus trees.

I cut up pumpkin and three sweet potatoes that needed using.   This lot became soup.

I was given a beautiful basket of baby butternuts.  These are small enough to cut in half and roast them just like that.

Remember when I ordered Lamb scraps from the store and they sent me a roast?  Well I ordered again and they sent me lamb shanks.  I decided to freeze one and make one into bone broth.   The broth then became the base of Ike's first pumpkin puree.

The next day I used the bone broth and pumpkin but added the meat.   So this batch will follow the last.   Then he will be on his meat and veggies.  😊

I also took over a tray of frozen apple baby food.  So now he has variety.  He opens his mouth like a bird and his arms and legs go like an egg beater with excitement.

I made more apple crumbles.   I stopped putting the crumble on to take a photo of how simple I make these....  just slices, sprinkle of sugar, sprinkle of cinnamon....  cover well with a crumble.... butter, brown sugar, flour, muesli, cereal... whatever you have.  Taste it... if it tastes nice is will be good.

I got messages of appreciation anyway!

From the freezer I grabbed six litres, which I think is 1.5 gallons, of cream.   I thawed it out and made butter in four sessions.   I did weigh it and I got 3 kilos.... or 6.6 pounds of butter.

Plus a big jug of buttermilk.   Right now this is all in loaf pans in the fridge and tomorrow I need to slice, wrap and freeze it.   I looked up butter in our local store and it worked out to be $57 worth!    This was free as I traded for the cream with something else that was also free. 😎

I got to cut out more wool squares.  I only have a couple of pieces to cut up.  Then I will begin planning a lay out and sewing!   It is all beautiful pure wool.  A couple of pieces had holes.  Sparkie has new blankets!

My helper was here and it was sunny for a while that day.  The chooks got some spent broccoli plants and weeds.

I started using my bonus upright freezer in the shed.   This is where my butter will go when I get it wrapped up.   The rest will be fruit and veggies.   Taking out the tray of apples and the jugs of cream made some room in my chest freezer.

The fruit trees were pruned.  Tom is up in the cage helping.  Prune in June is how I remember! 

The broccoli seeds that I planted came up.  A lot of them!  I don't know if they will actually grow to full size and produce but I hope so!   I will need to move and share some but I will wait until they are a little bigger to do that.

I did a grocery order again and you guessed it I ordered the lamb scraps.  This time I got three large lamb forequarter chops.  Beautiful.  These will give me three meals.  It's like a lamb lottery!   

This bird comes for morning tea and lunch on the deck outside.   He is a little like a cartoon character.   Even while I was sitting at the table he was happy to pinch someone else's lunch.

My you tube for the week is -

Self sufficient Me.  He is really good.  I keep learning from him.  Very Australian!   Also funny.  This episode is motivation to get producing! 

I worked every day on my pantry and home organisation.  You wouldn't think it possible to be working on a pantry this long!  It paints a grim picture of what it must have been like in the first place.  I am getting somewhere though and it is far far more organised.  I will keep going next week.   

The stove in this house is sixty years old and I love it.  But fewer and fewer things are working.  I am thinking of facing up to getting a new stove.  So I am looking and considering.  But I am thinking if anything else stops working I am kind of in trouble.  

When you are organising you find things.  And it has a domino effect that means you end up working on another area.  But it is wet and the fire is going... this is good weather for cooking and working on these projects.

How did you build up your nest this week?  Keep your eyes turned on to the "seeing opportunities" setting. xxx