Making Me Smile...

This week, with 3 kids under foot,I pulled on my boots and headed out to the shed for just a little while... DH has been collecting limbs from trees scattered over our farm for a good few months now and it felt so good to finally set to work making some rustic wooden buttons with them... I used semi green timber for this lot, 

 

and dry old aged timber for this lot...

 

I have about 60 buttons made so far and haven't even put a dint in my pile of sticks. I'm hoping to take them with me to an up and coming local market day in the park. I'm super excited and nervous all at the same time as this will be my first market day since closing my Shop over a month ago...

It's hard to describe in just words how I feel when I'm out in the fresh air watching my family..

My girls very rarely complain about the numerous jobs we set out to do on the farm and around our home each and every day, and 9 times out of 10 they do it with beautiful smiles on their faces...
 

Even the littlest member of our family loves to get out amongst it too...

 

Lately, whenever a moment is spare, my eldest girl has taken to making these...

Little fairy gardens for all the little itty bitty people out there that just might need them, and I love it!!! They're scattered all over our farm and often visited... ;)

Something that I get a lot of pleasure from, daily, is home-made bread... I've been making bread for my family for quite a few years now and hardly think twice about the process - it's part of my morning routine before we start school and and one of the last things I do at night before turning off the kitchen light. If its missed then we go without bread come lunch time. I like to prove my dough over night which makes the baking process come morning that whole lot easier...

We are big bread eaters in my home and I've now learnt to make just the right size dough to feed my family for a day, be it with rolls or in loaf form - I don't decide that til morning, today we're having rolls...

What's something that you do daily that makes you smile? Is it bread baking, getting your hands dirty in the garden, the smell of freshly cleaned clothes as you fold them from the line - I'd love to know... :)

My Waste...

A couple of weeks back we took a gamble here on the farm, as you do, and decided to plant a crop 4 weeks later than we normally would...

Well, this week our wheat is up, out of the ground, and making great progress thanks to the gorgeous weather we've been having... We're not expecting to harvest this planting, just hoping to graze some stock on it in a couple of months before sending them to marked...  

 

And with all of this gorgeous weather I've been enjoying many extended hours out in the garden; pruning, mulching, transplanting, and just generally freshening up..... I'm loving that the apron I was gifted by a gorgeous friend for my b'day last year is worn everyday!!! Deep front pockets make it simply perfect - thanks Cazy... xx

 

About 5 years back, for another b'day, I was gifted a 'mulch-er' and must admit that it would have to be up there with my all time favourite gifts!!! I've lost count of the number of wheel barrows full of mulch I've made and distributed around and throughout my garden this week not to mention over the past 5 years.....

 

Not too many days go past round here without all of us lending each other a hand both on the farm and in the home... This morning we were out in the yards in the crisp morning air before retreating to the warmth of our home to start out school day.... 

 

And I love that during the cooler months we get the chance to do most of our 'outdoor' work in woollens...

And lastly, about 6 months ago now I made a conscious decision to stop buying teabags. I hated that with each cup of tea I consumed (which for me is about 6 a day) I was creating waste!!!! So, when I found these cute little tea diffusers (oops, infuser) at a gorgeous Shop just down the road at Bourke I knew I was on to a winner... 

  

I use this EVERY day and each and every time I do I feel so gratified that I've made a decision to reduce the waste I produce, even if it is only just a little... I love that with each cup of tea I'm also reminded of the gorgeous ladies who served me in that Shop on that lovely day - Ladies who I'm lucky enough to call my friends... Thank you Anna, Charlotte and Tanya - I look forward to coming back to 'Carol's of Bourke' very very soon...

Have you reduced your waste lately???

Holidays...

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if my little family lived near a town, where when holidays were over kids toddled off to the local school while the Mum (and Dad's too in some homes) got the chance to organise the home again after a hectic holiday. But then I remember that my family lives on a Sheep Station, 70km's from any school with no access to buses, so school for us is done here on the farm and that sometimes means that actual 'holidays' so to speak are few and far between... 

So this weekend I didn't feel as guilty as I normally would when most of my time was spent doing very little as I readied myself for another Term of Home-schooling here on the farm... I mended busted knees in my eldest girls favourite pants...

 

Watched as DH taught the girls a thing or 2 about fencing...

 

Finished off a batch of Tomato Relish, with label writing help from my girls of-coarse...

 

Made bread - lots of bread. 

 

Picked oranges from our tree,

 

and made the sweetest orange juice I've tasted in a long, long time...

But most importantly I chilled out, a lot!!! And it felt really, really good... What did you do this weekend?

Focusing on the Positive...

As much as I've been trying to keep it all together these past few months, behind the scenes wheels have slowly been falling off my once fast moving car leaving this Mumma in a bit of a heap... Things still need to be done though, as most Mums out there realise, so I've just had to suck it up, take a deep breath, even count a little at times - anything to keep this car moving..

So for this blog post I'm going to focus on some positives and reflect on what I'm loving around my home this week....

I'm loving that weekly wood cutting expeditions (or 'wooding' as my girls like to call it) are family affairs and that our trusty old wood fire has provided us both warmth and food this year, nothing beats slowly cooked meats on fresh baked bread with relish in this home - how about yours?

 

I'm loving getting my hands in the dirt, excitedly digging up clumps and clumps of iris's this week - ready for transplanting - somewhere. These gorgeous bulbs do amazingly well out in our arid environment and seem to thrive when neglected - my kind of plant... I have plans of planting them the entire way around the outside of my house yard.

 

I'm loving that I have fruit on my 4 year old Valencia orange tree for the first time and that they are finally sweet enough to enjoy - my girls are super excited to make orange cake and juice this afternoon...

 

I'm loving that I have clever friends who inspire me and 1 friend in particular who's inspiration on the gardening front oozes from her skin each and every time we meet... These cuttings that she gave me are flourishing on the window sill of my kitchen, enjoying the morning sun.

 

I'm loving that all of the leaves have almost fallen from our Cedar trees, changing the way my garden looks in a surprising way, opening it up more than I ever remembered.
I can't stop thinking about what I can do with this bare, unproductive section of my garden... It gets all the hot wind in Summer and heavy frosts in Winter so I've had many failures in this space. 

Although unproductive I do love to visit this space!!! Maybe some kind of rusty sculpture? Mini green house using old windows? What do you think?

 

I'm loving that generosity has come my way in the form of something that I truly love - old stuff. Some wooden boxes, an old school bench, a cast iron table from a meat house, a galvanised mop bucket full to the brim with succulents and a 1950's kitchen cupboard have made their way into my furniture shed this week, waiting for a little love..

 

I'm loving that the sun has swung around just enough that I can now hang clothes round the side, under the verandah, out of the elements - a true sign of Winter in this home.

 

I'm loving that after a special friend sent me a secret package I was filled with inspiration and motivation on the preserving front again. Tomatoes have been soaking in brine overnight and are now ready for draining...

 

I'm loving that my girls are usually not too far away when I'm in the kitchen, helping out where they can - sometimes a little under my feet and in the way but I'm learning to breath through this and enjoy their company. The kitchen is the heart of our home and many hands do often make lighter work when it comes to hectic meal times round here....

Today we are making tomato relish!!

I'm loving that at least once a week we are enjoying camp oven dinners.
I'm even loving that my middle girl, Millie, has taken to waking at 3am and climbing into my bed for an early morning snuggle... I can still remember when my eldest, Connie, did this very same thing. I know that it won't be long before Millie grows out of it too so I'm embracing our snuggles for now, no matter how tired I am...

 

I'm loving the company of my eldest girl who in a very short time will be turning 7!! Has it really been 7 years since she made me a mother?? I'm also loving the fact that all she wants for her birthday this year is for her Mum to make her a blanket in her favourite colours...

 

So, after some time spent together choosing which colours go just right I am now loving that I get to create something for my sweet girls 7th birthday, something that she wants and something that she is simply going to love for a very, very long time..

What are you loving this week?

Little Shoes...

With the cool days upon us I find myself reaching for the hand-knits faster than I can wash them... So this past week I've been making little shoes for the smallest guy in our home to combat this problem... 

 

With 5 pairs now made and the first having been worn for a good week (with washing in between of-coarse), I can safely state that I now have a new favourite 'bootie' pattern... :)

The pattern can be found here and guess what??? It's a freebie too... :) It comes in loads of sizes and is super easy to switch out the yarn recommended for something in your stash - gotta love that...

The yarn I used for this batch of booties was 100% Baby Alpaca, super soft and super warm and apart from a little fluffing after the first couple of wears it seams super durable too... I only have 7 balls left in my Shop, they're down from $11.50 to $8.50 - check it out here or here...

What have you been knitting this week???

Feeling Special....

I feel super special this morning as I enjoy home-made tomato relish from a very dear friend on fresh baked bread...

 

There really is something special about home-made gifts, they're from the heart and just seem to taste that whole lot sweeter - don't you think??? :)

 

This week on the farm we've been busy putting some seed in the ground, a little late I guess but something is better than nothing - right?!?!!

And we've also been busy mustering in some lambs for market...

3 kids and myself have been loaded up on the trusty ol' 4 wheel motor bike for 3 days now - slowly bringing in the sheep... Tomorrow DH will truck some lambs off to market - fingers crossed they sell well for us...

 

On the 'shop' front I've got some super soft baby alpaca lace weight yarn by Malabrigo on Sale check it out on my website - www.jellywares.com

 

And if you're in the mood for a GIVE-AWAY, pop on over to my Facebook page and you could be the lucky enough to take home these hats...

'Ripple'...

I love me a good crochet project and there's none better, in my eyes, than a crochet blanket...

 

My go to crochet blanket pattern at the moment is Attic 24's 'Ripple' - I simply love how quick and easy this pattern is to hook up yet it's so effective once finished...

My blanket making yarn of choice would have to be Cascade Sierra... This yarn is a dream!!! It's 80% Cotton and 20% Wool making it perfect for everyday wear and chucking in the washing machine when the need arises... The blanket has been used and loved by my 4yr old for almost a year now, machine washed and line dried many a times and it still looks new - gotta love that... :)

Do you have a favourite crochet project??? What about a favourite blanket?

Winter...

I love it now that the temps have dropped, things seem to slow down around here as we snuggle into our handknits and enjoy each others company - knitting and stitching and baking and playing and enjoying regular bonfire's and camp oven dinners... 

 

Thankfully the days still have just enough Sunshine in them to lure us out of our toasty wood fired home, to play (and work), even if only for a little while...

 

Smores are by far my girls afternoon tea of choice these days as we slowly work our way round the farm burning through the piles of old limbs we've been stacking through Autumn... 

 

If you've been searching for a little hand knitted warmth for yourself then be sure to pop on over to my Facebook page as I'm having a Give-away of the hand-knitted kind...

 

It's for this shawl which was made as a display for my Shop and now it's up for grabs - be sure to pop on over and have a look, you just never know your luck...