If the stars, planets and tides align I hope photos will work for me tonight!
I believe... that with Ai, and hackers, and all the things going on that our days may be numbered online. So many people are reporting all kinds of problems with everything from their blogs to their bank accounts. Be vigilant and have paper copies of everything!
It has been one big week. I am not organised enough to report it in order so I will start with today. I have a lovely man using the cabin. He wrote to me ages ago and he used to work on this property many many years ago. It was his dream to come back. Recently I decided to say yes ok and explained to him about the cabin and my barter system. Well, wouldn't you know it.... his wife and him are organic gardeners, he is a fisherman and they preserve. He arrived with whiting, homemade sausages, dried liver treats for dogs, olives, herbs, so many fresh veggies. It all smells incredible.
I am menu planning (in my head) and will get to work on this all tomorrow!! How exciting!
During the week I did a celery harvest and filled this big laundry hamper. It is so super green.
My cook up was a big spaghetti sauce and then I made a lasagne to freeze.
Last week I was given local potatoes. They needed using, some were a little soft, damaged or slightly green so no time to waste. I followed The Farmers Wife and par boiled a heap, got them cold (and seasoned) then froze them. These go into the air frier, however many you need at a time and are ready in 15 minutes, golden and crispy! Now I am thinking of all the potatoes I've wasted over the years and I could have done this!
Then I made up mashed potatoes and froze in one cup amounts. I topped these with cheese them froze them. I just can pop out one when I want some mash.
One night I was tired and I put the spaghetti sauce over the potato and topped it with cheese and it was delicious!
My celery was chopped and I froze three big lots. I ls freeze dried Parsley and froze what would not fit in the trays. The frozen bits can go into stock.
Mum came for afternoon tea so I made scones and sent her home with a heap of them.
This week the boys came over and I hid geodes in a huge pile of rubble. So we had to hunt and dig for them then crack them open Well , we had a lot of rocks to crack and many were just regular rocks or clumps of soil. But then the first geode! Tom nearly lost his mind when he saw the crystals inside! He was literally screaming lol.
My ears are still bleeding.
Chase was happy with a hammer smashing clay clumps. No one lost an eye or a finger... we all looked like mad scientists with safety glasses on.
This was the best day ever apparently! I did this a few years ago with the girls. They went mad over it. I will have another round with my other Grandson when he comes to stay.
Mum made Lily a vest for next winter. My job is to finish the neckline and make her angel sleeves. And I am woking on a single bed size blanket.
It is still a work in progress and the yarn has a slight sparkle.
I am loving the colours of this blanket and it is all a use it up project.
It will have a really wide border and I can't wait to get up to that part!
This week the farmer took his bull home. I used reverse psychology as removing the bull had not gone well so this time I moved all the cows into the yards and guess who followed. So then the bull was loaded onto a trailer and the cows went back into my paddock. I had explained to the boys that coming up with a smarter plan is not giving up it is using your noggin. 😊
I kept working on my Spring garden. There are flowers everywhere and I think next week I can pick wildflowers and make up little posies to take to church for the ladies. And some for my vases too!
I offered my friend with the new baby boy a choice of pram sets (with the hats) and she chose the green and golden yellow. So the other set has gone into the gift cupboard.
What did you do this week to build up your nest, get ahead in any way? I like to think of ways to make future days easier when we need that bit of help. Those days happen for sure!
I thought of September 11 a lot. Even though I am in Australia that was a terrifying and horrific day. I hope today is a day of peace. xxx
Annabel, So happy you are back to being able to post your pictures. Your week has been full and fun with the boys. Your needlework and Mum's are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy week flew by. We will be traveling next week so I wanted to use up odds and ends in frig. I made hand pies with 2 apples that we left and sweet potato casserole. The sweet potato ones taste like pumpkin. I also used the remainder of the casserole to make muffins with dried cranberries and walnuts added in.
We were able to buy some tomatoes from an Amish stand this week, it has been wonderful having fresh tomatoes, nothing like what is in a store. We have been having tomato sandwiches and salads.
We made a pot roast and had 3 meals from it. From the meat that was leftover after the first night we then made sandwiches on buns we had in the freezer.
When husband cooked tortellini this week he was able to use up the tomato and the basil pesto in the frig.
I am still working on using up little bits of yarn, I was able to make another washcloth and might even get 2 coaster if I am lucky.
We have been busy getting the house and vehicles ready for winter.
Prayers for all Bluebirds!
Dear Rosanne, Have safe travels this week. Your meals sounded beautiful. I love a pot roast and garden fresh tomatoes too. I hope you have some good finds in your travels! With loveAnnabel.xxx
DeleteDear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful load of produce! You hit the jackpot! As did your grandsons, apparently. :) What a fun idea! I love all your crocheting, and your Mum is a knitting whiz!
Busy canning/preserving season here. Our apple tree is just loaded this year, and I just can't keep up, even though I'm trying! I've dried slices, made applesauce and canned, froze, and refrigerated it, and made every kind of bread + dessert known to man that uses apples. Ha, ha. Also bought 40 lbs. of peaches, so I've canned a bunch of quarts plus we're eating those. Tomatoes are finally just starting, so I've been roasting cherry tomatoes and then freezing them to use in recipes that call for sun dried tomatoes. And we're still picking beans and blackberries to some extent. Next week I'm hoping to do salsa, can beets, make some apple chutney, and who knows what else! :)
Started some sewing for a birthday present, but all too soon I'll need to ratchet up the Christmas crafting. It's just starting to feel a bit like fall around here!
Have a great weekend!
xx Jen in NS
Dear Jen, Oh wow the apples sound fantastic and so do the peaches! The cherry tomatoes roasting... yum. That is a favourite of mine as a simple pasta sauce with a few herbs and bit of cheese. I can smell summer thinking of it!
DeleteI am glad you are sewing too. Mum came today and made a hat to make the wool blanket with the crochet edge. The hats just complete the set so well! I am just at the planting stage and know the end of summer stage can be exhausting to make use of everything and put up everything... but it is so good and important. Pace yourself! With much love Annabel.xxx
What a clever idea for the potatoes. Thank you for what you share - I love gleaning ideas like this!
ReplyDeleteI can just imagine Tom’s screams of excitement 😂😂😂😂 Spending time with grandchildren is a blessing indeed, though I am quite exhausted when they go home again. Ha ha! Currently I’m just beginning some regular days at my place with 10yo Cully May, helping with homeschool and simply enjoying having her around. Our focus for the homeschool part is learning real life skills - the things I learned being raised by my Nana and then later through my own experiences - skills that will do her well as she grows up and one day tends her own home and family.
Btw, you’re a wonderful example of that to your own grandchildren. ♥️
Have a blessed week!
Jennifer
Dear Jenny, I think these days will be the best homeschool of all. I would like to come spend a day a week with you and learn! Goodness the projects we could do! Thank you for your kind words! This week with the boys we are going to be looking for fossils! I m going to email you... With love, Annabel.xxx
DeleteA very nice week for you Annabel. Beautiful crocheting and knitting, a fantastic hands on activity for your grandsons, wonderful cooking and beautiful produce! I love bulls, they are such a combination of handsome beauty and power.
ReplyDeleteIt's still working up things from the garden here. I canned sauce and a little cole slaw. We eat something fresh every day and I have been freezing peppers and onions.
We discovered someone had been a watermelon and corn thief too.
I fit in a baking day when I can and made cookies, brownies and coconut cake.
I'm ready for Autumn and cooler days!
XOXO
Vicky
Dear Vicky, You have way more interesting critters than I do... or was it bunnies same as me? I hope you saved the rest of the plants. You have been so busy! But I am glad you have a good harvest coming in and can even fit in a baking day. The end of produce season is exhausting and we have a less defined cut off than you... you probably have to race against the clock before the really cold weather and snow where we dont get that.
DeleteChange of seasons is lovely. I do love the cycle and the different activities they bring. With much love Annabel.xxx
Dear Annabel and bluebirds,
ReplyDeleteA beautiful industrious productive week. I am happy to report that I finished wrangling my recipes into one book!! It feels so good. My daughter was born yesterday (11th but in 2006), I have been watching the Sept 11 specials too. She is 20 today. I am proud of her. She has decorated our veranda and is waiting on 4 young girl friends for a craft session before they head into town. It is a perfect Spring Day here. Wishing all the bluebirds peace in their homes. Love Clare
Dear Clare, Wow I cant believe M is 20! She is a lovely girl. I love she has crafting friends! Well done on the recipes. I probably need to do this. My best recipes are spread far and wide amongst a heap of books yet I go to them over and over. I am going to email you re next week. With much love Annabel.xxx
DeleteOn September 11, 2001 I'd been home only a few stressful days with a preemie. Today I am spending the day with my oldest grandchild. It's hard to believe it's been 25 years. I've personally been through a lot of awful things but that day was the only time I ever felt the world was falling apart and I didn't know what to do but hold my children.
ReplyDeleteWe went apple picking last week. Nothing better than eating a fresh picked apple! I have 1/2 a bushel. I *should* preserve some but I won't! They're too good eating fresh! (I will get more next month to preserve.) One night we had apple slices with peanut butter or Nutella for dessert. My grandson loved it!
Dear Margaret, I had a friend giving birth on the day of September 11 and it was blaring on the TVs as women were in labor. I thought good grief how would you deal with that. For you to have a new baby and this all happening I think would have been terrifying. Like we really didnt know what it meant and what to expect next!
DeleteI LOVE fruit picking. If they are good eating apples you will get through them. I love apple and cheese. Add crackers maybe. Just delicious. With much love Annabel.xxx
Ah the photos were a success!’ Yay!! But yes I too believe our online exposure is going to be compromised more and worse as time goes on ☹️
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrific trade you received from your cabin guests. Well done on getting all your produce preserved, especially the potatoes, I saw that episode as well and had the same thought…all those potatoes that went bad or soft over the years could have been saved! I love the boys gem hunt, they will never forget that, especially the older boy 😁
I haven’t done a real lot to get ahead this week, still recovering from a big hike in the blue mountains LOL But the house is clean, there’s meals on the table every night (I even managed to squirrel 3 single serve meals into the freezer for hubby’s work dinners) and I got a little sewing done 😉
I can’t find my gardening mojo and I feel bad because I know I should be planting for spring. I just have to make up my mind to do it anyway! It’s important!
I am picking loads of strawberries. When I found out how loaded with herbicides and pesticides strawberries are a couple of years ago, I set about expanding my strawberry patch. It is far from perfect but this is the first year I am picking enough strawberries to cover our needs. All organic no nasties, that’s a good feeling!
Anyway take care Annabel
From Cheryl 🪺
Dear Cheryl, I am not sure about your growing season compared to mine but I am better to wait a bit... ie tomorrow we could till get a frost! So maybe you will be perfectly timed with the garden. Possibly do one thing a day, that is my method and it sounds non secular but it really adds up. Berries have so many sprays. Blueberries now have something that is banned in most countries but not here. So disappointing. Good job on the strawberry patch!
DeleteI got a lot of Bay Leaves to dry today... just in time to have them ready for Christmas. I loved your quilt block! With much love Annabel.xxx
I think I would be yelling too if I cracked open a geode. How exciting!
ReplyDeleteI was gifted a lot of chillies this week. I chopped and froze some and hung others to dry in the airing cupboard. I also made some previously dried ones into chilli flakes. I had some fennel heads that I had dried and I stripped the seeds from them and put them into a jar. I decided to check on my two small apple trees as I noticed that there were apples dropping onto the ground. Our hot Summer meant that many apples did develop properly and it looks like a lot of the others have been attacked by insects. I cleared up those lying on the ground and took the very small ones off the trees. Hopefully the others will be edible when they ripen.
Dear Tracy, Ive heard others say the apples dropped early due to heat stress. I hope the last ones can be saved. Chilli flakes are very handy. So is chilli powder. Great job on the fennel seeds too! I had trouble with my apple tree last season and got nothing... I am treating it for bugs and hoping this summer will be ok... but Im not confident. Despite this though I was given apples and picked road side apples and did ok! So you never know! With much love Annabel.xxx
DeleteYou have been busy, your blankets have so many colours that blend so well .I will be using some of your these ideas if you don’t mind during the winter as inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThis week we have had more rain so most of my time indoors. I have been going through my pantry stores to find the gaps and I have been storing more water, the government have been suggesting that we should be more prepared. I will be plugging the gaps in the next couple of weeks.
I have started to bring the beetroot in and processing it. I have also batch prepared and frozen stew and shepherd pie. Also I have made the usual cakes.
I walked past the blackberry bush this week and they have been cut down, I am glad I went back when I did.
Thursday we were in London at the hospital, it is a long day and we needed a couple of days to get over it. I am glad it is only a couple of times a year.
Keep safe everyone
Chris
Dear Chris, If you have wool and can work colours together to use up odds and ends it is fantastic. The really small bits go into the hats. I hav added so much to my gift cupboard this way. Plus its fun. And scarves are another possibility.
DeleteI have seen some of the reports on preparing in the UK. Water is a weak link for a lot of people. Just do your best. Some things like rice and pasta, sugar etc keep so long that they are always a good buy.
Oh no on the blackberry bushes! I am so glad you picked them. Im hoping they grow back each time? Well done on the freezer meals. They are truly assets! I am glad the big day in London is over, I do hope thing went well. I understand getting home after a trip and being so glad it's over! (And exhausted!)
When you plug the gaps remember over the counter medications and sugar and vinegar for your next year of preserving. With much love Annabel.xxx
I feel like such a slug when I read about you and the other Bluebirds. While you have been busy feathering your nests, I have been cleaning mine out. I have taken a hard look at what I will be doing in the coming years and many things will be going (or have already gone) by the wayside. I will still be prepared, with plenty of food and emergency supplies, but I've been getting rid of things I will never use again. This is a sad time of my life but also very freeing. Best of luck to all of you Bluebirds. I love hearing what you do.
ReplyDeleteDear Maxine, We all need to let go of the things that no longer serve us. I am glad you have a good pantry though. It is lovely to donate things that someone else will use or enjoy too. Thank you for your kind words! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteHi Annabel
ReplyDeleteWhat an exciting pastime for the boys, no wonder they loved it. I wish I could have a pink woollen vest like the one your Mum has made for Lily, it would be so useful and a lovely soft colour.
I had great finds in a charity shop this week. A new in its packet sleep bag for my granddaughter, £4 instead of £20, a new book for me and some Christmas card packs, 3 for 2 offer.
I bought several packs of yellow sticker meat for the freezer, it pays to be at the supermarkets early in the day.
I took a bouquet of flowers from the garden for my sewing group hostess and we received apples from a client.
I received two lovely bouquets myself, one from a daughter and one from guests.
I made a reduced sugar malt loaf cake, a pear pudding and my batch cook was a big gammon ham which I will portion out and freeze now we've eaten a couple of meals from it.
It's peak garden still, we used beetroot, cabbage, sweetcorn, chilli peppers, red peppers, aubergine, courgettes, potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers.
Next week I hope to do some more preserving.
My husband has repurposed a wall cabinet from the old utility room and put it up in our conservatory/ porch and we've filled it with garden kit which has cleared some of the clutter. More to do!
Wishing all Bluebirds a productive and safe week.
Penny in the UK
Dear Penny, I love vests. Look in the mens section as very fine pure wool vests appear there... my friend got the most beautiful one that would have been worth a small fortune and it suit her so much. Mens section!
DeleteYou had good finds and knowing early in the ay is the best time for the meat is handy knowledge. I took a leaf out of your book. I really agree taking someone flowers is beautiful. And flowers to buy are incredibly expensive... so today I piked wildflowers and can add some garden flowers to make up a bouquet for a gift on Friday. Even some for a vase for myself. Well flowers in the house is so uplifting!
It is great the garden is still producing so much and you have much more to use and preserve. Your backing sounds lovely especially pear pudding!! Pears are so summer/autumn to me. Mine have blossoms...
A gardening cabinet will be very nice. I have dug through my little cabinet which could do with a major organise and found cucumber seeds and got them planted. In another week I will be planting pumpkins which is exciting!
It can be exhausting dealing with the last produce but I hope you get all you can put up and meals made. This will get you way ahead. Yes there is always more to do lol it never ends! I am like a duck this week... I might look calm but my feet are going flat out under water! With much love Annabel.xxx
I know just what Maxine means. I've been examining my life and what I should expect reasonably in the years ahead and truth told, some things just need to go to the wayside and be a fond memory of what I used to do. I have plenty of food on hand and don't expect to be without that resource, but how I go about gathering it and preserving it will change in the future. My family no longer depends on me to provide for them. Instead, they provide for me! For my part, I'm trying to be very good about taking care of what I have and making it last in the best way for my own personal use.
ReplyDeleteI recall my Granny always picked up the fruit on the ground (apples specifically, but peaches, plums, etc.). If it had small peck from a bird or a few ants she'd take the fruit in and wash and preserve it. Green apples (those that fell before they'd ripened) were made into green apple cobbler and some apple pieces were frozen for cobblers later on. She also dehydrated apple slices, using screens on frames covered with cheesecloth that she sat in the hot sun and even in her car, which she'd park in the sun then load the rear window tray and the front dash with trays of apples. It was less humid in the car and certainly hotter. And she put up a ton of dehydrated apples in that way every single year.
I love the tip from The Farmer's Wife about the potatoes being freezable once parboiled. Ruth Ann Zimmerman on Instagram and YouTube both, dry cans potato chunks so they don't go soggy. She feeds them to her family. BTW her channel is a good resource for many of you homesteading sorts. She also sews, crochets, quilts, gardens...
Dear Terri, I like Ruth Ann and her family vey much! Nana cooked for us and used everything as you describe until she just no longer could. But she fed us until I was in my thirties. My Mum is the same making meat for her Grandkids up to 40 years old. And their families. We can make. big difference. In hard times too your wisdom will be what they seek.
DeleteI love the way the apples were dehydrated! Very inventive! With much love Annabel.xxx
Thank you for the lovely post and pictures! I'm amazed at how God has blessed your desire for produce to preserve! I shouldn't be surprised at God's abundance! Your grand boys had so much fun! I'm definitely taking notes for when my grandchildren are born!
ReplyDeleteThis week may be a wash for me, as I have surgery to deal with. However I was able to work on a quilt last week and get my blocks about a third of the way finished. I'm looking forward to good health to work on the house, kitchen, and sewing projects!
Blessings to you and the Bluebirds
Stacy in Virginia
Dear Stacy, I am not sure if you have had your surgery yet. I hope it has gone or does go very well for you. Rest and let yourself headland do not hurry.... healing cant be hurried. With much love Annabel.xxx
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