pre-loved chairs

I'm not an overly wealthy person and must admit, most of my home has been furnished with 2nd hand and preloved furniture over the years... In the beginning it was pure necessity as I purchased furniture from op-shops and clearing sales to fill my home as my budget couldn't afford new shiny pieces... But now, some 16 years down the tract (since I left home that is), my needs have changed and my family has grown. I am still a very budget conscious person and my love of recycled tressures has grown more than words could purely explain. I love the eclectic collection of furniture that I am able to give a new lease of life to and the warm home-y feel that it gives my rustic county home.... I am proud to know that most of the pieces in my home had another story to tell before they came to tell a story in mine. I celebrate these stories and share them with family and friends as often as I can.
 
The latest pieces to bring a new chapter to the story in my home are 5 pre-loved chairs. I was lucky enough to purchase these chairs from a clearing sale for $5 just over 2 weeks ago - yes that's right, $5 for the lot!!! 2 older style high-chairs and 3 turned timber stools.
 
Each chair has been tested by each of my little people...


But, it's my littlest person of all who has claimed this vintage high-chair, and it fits him just right - don't you think?

Now, onto the bread - it truly is a wonderful thing, is it not?

My love of its delicious, chewy, home baked, goodness has grown even stronger this past 5 weeks as I dive deeper and deeper into the world of Sourdough Baking.

Thanks to a cast iron pot, a super hot over, and a thriving starter I am producing artisan bread    E V E R Y D A Y!

And everyday it's new and different and exciting....

But the most exciting thing of all is the crumb - it's airy and chewy and tangy and simply delicious.

So, are you buying pre-loved furniture out of necessity for your family or you do it for the passion?

Or, have you started a Sourdough journey, like me? For so many years I was too scared to start and then one day (5 weeks ago to be exact) I simply dove in, gave it all I had, and haven't looked back!!!

Happy Tuesday Friends...... xxx

everyday

It feels so great to be back in the 'blogging world' again and all of your gorgeous comments on my last post really concreted that for me, thank you!

 

Since I last posted life has been slow, steady, and simple for us here on the farm - as it always is...

 

Spring is in full swing and I love that we are picking wild flowers from our paddocks EVERYDAY... These paper daisies are my all-time favourite and always remind me of my gorgeous friend Suzy's birthday.

We were lucky enough to squeeze a trip down south to Melbourne, to visit dear friends, last weekend. The long car trip saw me knitting on a sweet little project for my kids, tube socks. These were such a great knit and I love that they fit my littlest guy just right, even though they were meant to be for my littlest girl. I used Jane Richmond's fantastic 'Tube Sock' pattern, 2.75mm circular needles, and malabrigo sock yarn - not the best yarn for socks as it wears fairly quickly but gorgeous all the same...

This past 4 weeks has seen me dive into the art of Sourdough Bread Making. After growing my starter, Stan, for 10 days back on the 20th of September, I haven't looked back, I'm baking Sourdough bread EVERYDAY and loving that with every loaf I am learning something new. I'm definitely no expert and have a lot to learn and a long journey ahead of me but, at the moment, it's exciting and invigorating and so VERY rewarding....

For instance, this mini loaf sat on the top shelf of my fridge 'proving' for 2 days because I simply 'forgot' about baking it - 2 days is WAY TOO LONG - normally (or so I've read anyway). And when I did finally bake it - for 15mins longer than I should have,

it still turned out incredibly delicious!!! I love that I am yet to have a flop with Sourdough baking regardless of the mistakes that I make. Although the process of making this type of bread is much longer than with the dried yeast that I used to use I must admit, it is so much more satisfying and EVERYBODY loves it, even the kids... It's chewy and crunchy and earthy and DELICIOUS!

This time of year brings with it a 'glut' of fresh produce, something that I truly love, and this week I'm picking more fresh radish then my family can eat so I'm trying something new and exciting and preserving them - pickled radishes, who would have thought!

They're crispy and crunchy and spicy and sweet and tangy and salty and simply delicious - all at once!!!

And to make them, I simply sliced my freshly picked(pulled) radishes and popped them in a sterilised jar with a few cloves of garlic, some peppercorns, a teaspoon of salt, and some chopped parsley. I then boiled 1 cup of white vinegar with 3/4 cups of white sugar, poured it over the top of my radishes, screwed on the lid and left it to cool.

The next day for lunch, I cracked the jar and spooned some onto my salad - they are AMAZING!!!! My new favourite summer pickle, hands down....

My lettuce is currently in the category of 'out-of-control'. I have about 100 plants at the moment and we are loving eating this delicious leafy green EVERYDAY, but... I'm wondering, 'what else can I possibly make with it' - any suggestions?

In another garden bed, not too far away, I'm eagerly watching as our pumpkins are finally getting some legs. These pumpkins are very special as they are seeds from a dear friends delicious harvest from last year.

And, after many weeks of watching we finally have zucchini, lots of zucchini in fact, and before we know it there's sure to be a glut of these also. Zucchini relish is a favourite in my home and I'm really looking forward to filling up our stores for another year, very soon... 

After the flowers, knitting, bread baking, pickles, and vegetable growing there's always a little time for kittens, right? We have the cutest new additions this Spring, 'little-one'

and 'sooty'.....

Are you knitting, baking, preserving, gardening, or simply enjoying the company of new little additions this week where you are?

Jodie xoxo

Almost 2 Years.....

When I look at the date of my last post I almost can't believe that it's been over 18months since I was in this 'space'. An accumulation of things stopped me blogging back then, but mostly a follower who continually knocked me down with private messages full of detrimental content. As much as I tried ignoring and deleting the messages it still hurt, a lot! I had other things going on in my life at the time and after 6 months of being 'knocked down' I lost sight of what was important to me and why I actually 'blogged'. There are so many amazingly inspiring and supportive bloggers out there and I loved being part of this community. That is why after almost 2 years, I'm putting it aside and starting fresh. I'm excited and nervous and overwhelmed all at once. After such a long absence from blogging it's harder to put the words to the pictures like I did before so today I'm keeping it simple and sharing what I'm doing now, right now..... 

 

So.......Right now.......

 

I'm loving the parsley as it overflows from garden beds around my yard...

I'm searching for passionfruit flowers, and finding them, dreaming of vine ripened deliciously sweet fruit come Xmas to top a Pavlova....

I'm feeding my lettuce - they are EVERYWHERE!!! I'm growing more lettuce than I ever have before! - my young family is slowly growing {up}, enjoying this leafy green as much as I do. (Companion planting radish and onion with my greens this year has kept all bugs and pests at bay, so far...)

I'm potting silvery gems as my love of succulents grows stronger and stronger... These hardy plants have been my companions through horribly dry and hot Summers when NOTHING else would grow and for that I am extremely grateful.

And amongst all of the gardening

I'm simply enjoying how beautiful Spring really is, with lots of barefooted bike riding, and running through sprinklers, and late afternoon card games on the front veranda - enjoying the warmth and stillness that October always brings...

I'm driving not too far down the road, to a clearing sale and I'm kicking myself that I never 'put my hand up' and purchased this rustic industrial sewing machine...

I'm loving that although there are flies and hot sun and way too many scatter-burs about my kids are having fun (with their friends) and simply being kids. 

I'm watching the end of a day surrounded by rusty treasures as people proudly load their newly acquired possessions a top of trailers... I was lucky to buy some old timber chairs, a cupboard, a pile of glass louvers for our cottage, a new garden trailer, and a vintage 'homemade' cot...  

And lastly....

I'm finishing a blanket, a special blanket, that deserves its own {detailed} post!!!

Bye.... For now, friends.... xxx

 



Stickiness.....

There has been a 'stickiness' in the air this past week, teasing us really...... We so desperately need rain and on Thursday afternoon as we sat on the front porch, under a grey cloud, I couldn't help but prey for just a little rain.... My smallest girl stitched.....

 

And while she did, I rolled lace, hand dyed lace, onto little pegs to place on a little shelf that my biggest girl Connie made me....

 My biggest girl who is 7 is obsessed with all things timber at the moment and had been sawing and hammering and making me all kinds of things but my most favourite by far would be 2 little shelves (like the ones pictured below) - I can't wait to see what she makes next!

And then just like that, last night, it finally rained for us here on 'Darling Downs'.... And now for a couple of months, at least, we will no longer have to cart water to wash our clothes or clean our family and our pastures just might start to turn the slightest shade of green after God only knows how long of being a deep shade of red....

 So, this morning when I woke to puddles in the paddocks I sat, for a very long while, with my little-ones by my side and I hooked and it felt sooooo good!

And then I unpacked a huge box of 'happy-mail' that was delivered to the farm yesterday afternoon and updated my Website because after a very long wait it is finally back on-line!!!!! YAY!!!!

Slowing Down....

As the pace of 'life' round my home starts to slow in the lead up to Autumn I'm glad to be finding little snippets of time in my day for blogging again...

 

This week in the home schoolroom we have been embracing the joy that Autumn brings to our family - a crispness in the air that lightens our daily load and entices us to dig the earth again in preparation for our cool season vegetable growing. 

Autumn would have to be my most favourite Season of all!! I have trees that surround my farm house and come the end of March (start of April) their leaves turn a heavenly shade of gold that over the weeks progresses through the shades of reds and purples, til finally turning brown, symbolising the start of Spring - I love this process and long for it to begin as soon as the days become that little bit shorter, towards the end of February, a true sign of the changing of the Season!

above : : some secret Autumn 'leaf-y' knitting 

above : : collection of Autumn-y shades

 

And although it's still WAY too hot to be wearing layers of hand-knits, just yet, I'm finding that I'm still able to sneak little snippets of hand-knitted goodness into my everyday!!! 

With the slight change in weather the hours we are able to spend in the morning light, busying about our daily chores, is slowly extending and the littlest members of our family couldn't be happier - Summer, you have been hot and dry and cruel this year and we are well and truly ready to embrace Autumn!!!  

And what better way to celebrate than with an evening revisiting a favourite book (Amanda Soule you are a constant inspiration to me as a mother - thank you!), sipping sweet tea and planning some new Autumn/Easter outfits for a freshly washed and very well loved dolly, right?!

And tonight I'm doing some essential March garden-bed planning and seed ordering! - I'm thinking out side the square this year and am planting a few varieties of vegetables that would normally be grown in other Seasons (I'm such a rebel)!

And lastly - I couldn't help but share a picture of this super sweet little Valentine of mine...

Isn't it just the most perfect little necklace, ever?!

Seasonal Yarn Club.....

This morning while the kids played at the back step I set about my usual 'week ending' activities.... Mowing the lawn is one of them and as I laboured at this task I couldn't help but feel just a little saddened --- you see, I have a beautiful garden which I work very (VERY) hard at. But, a beautiful garden needs water, right!!? Well, we haven't had any substantial rain here on the farm for well over 12 months and the water supply that I use for my garden is all but exhausted - DH estimates approx 2 weeks left of watering and that's it!  

 

My house water situation isn't much better - probably 3 weeks left if I'm really careful!

So, to escape my reality, just a little, I pack up my kids and put on some nice clothes and we all head to town for the day on Fridays. I walk through the shops and go to the library and eat 'out' somewhere nice and visit 'whoever' and do the running around that needs to be done for the farm and it's just lovely! 

 

And I forget that we've been pushing scrub for hungry stock for way too long, and that my vegetable garden is almost non-existent because the constant run of 40'C+ days has all but fried everything, and that the damns are drying up, and that my rainwater tanks are near empty, and that the dust storm that came through last night has left a haze on almost every flat surface in my home, and I just breathe!!! And when I get home I'm better!!!

And I love that I live where I live, drought and all!!! I love that I have a husband who is strong and loving and when all looks grey and overcast but there's still no rain in sight, he pulls on his boots and takes us for a fly....

We've had this plane for well over 10 years now and she's definitely something we couldn't live without. She might not get up in the sky every day and sometimes even months pass without us looking at her. But, when we do go up in her, kids and all, it's just perfect!!

 

In the still of the morning, usually before the Suns had a chance to rise, I've been busily working away at 3 special projects --- a pink scarf for my Millie, a mystery KAL for me and some notes for a new 'idea' I've been playing around with....

 

A couple of days ago I launched a 'Seasonal Yarn Club' over on my Facebook page... The response has been amazing and with a few spots left I thought I'd share it with my blogging friends as well.

If you're on Facebook you can check it out here. Otherwise these are the details, copied for Facebook...

I'm launching something NEW and EXCITING here at Jellywares --- A Seasonal YARN CLUB!!!!!

My 1st 'YARN CLUB' will be for the Autumn Season and here's what's involved: for each of the 3 months of Autumn I'll be putting together a package unique to its month. Each package will contain a pattern/yarn combo specifically selected to represent what Autumn means to me.

By joining this CLUB you are signing-up to receive 3 individual packages; 1 in March, 1 in April, and 1 in May. Each package will contain yarn of the highest quality, a pattern to match, and a special "treat" (exclusive to CLUB members ONLY!). All packages will be posted via registered postage on the 1st Tuesday of each month.

THE COST TO JOIN MY AUTUMN YARN CLUB IS $74.95 (this price includes registered postage for all 3 packages).
To join simply email me (jellywares@bigpond.com) and I'll put you on the 'list'. Sign-ups close on the 21st of February and places are limited!!

note : : packages will be tailor-made for both KNITTING and CROCHET, please state your preferred technique when emailing.