A Busy Kitchen....

Hello to all in Blog land...

I have been a little quiet here on these pages lately...

We have been getting some much needed rain this week...

220mls so far

The tanks are full and so are the dams.....In wet weather like this I have been 

making supplies as you can see below, the real kitchen and how it really looks :)

I have been experimenting with my soap, and I made this one

Honey, Oatmeal, Lanolin and Pumice Stone Garden Soap.

I also used my new mold that I have been waiting for, doesn't it look good with the bee on them.

I also made

Double Choc Fudge..

Seriously this smelled so good Robbie wanted to lick the bowl out hahaha should have let him....

For both of these I used my basic Soap method and then added brown colour and chocolate scented oil...For the Garden soap I also used basic soap and added. 2tbles Oats, 1teaps Honey, 30g ground pumice stone and 1 tbls Lanolin.

I am really enjoying experimenting with the soap....

Below is the last of the Goats Milk Soap, I am waiting for the latest batch to finish curing..

I have also been busy knitting dish clothes and washers. I do have a nice stack starting to happen..

I also made a Double Choc Fudge soy candle, my thinking here laying in the bath with chocy candle burning

whilst bathing with chocy soap....Chocolate fix done, calories NONE....

I know I'm either a genius or stark raving mad (going with the last one)

I then got in and made a batch of Washing Liquid, I put some Lemon Myrtle oil in this batch and it smells so fresh....Enough here for 2 months...

Before I new every one was wanting dinner with chocolate dessert hmmmm

Wasn't the most popular Mum around when they realized I hadn't been baking...

And tea well......

It was all leftovers from the fridge, they didn't know that though I told them it was

Curried mince and veges...BUT there clothes are gonna smell good and so will they....

Last weekend

My Mum, Chloe, Harrison and I took a road trip out to see my eldest daughter for her birthday and also my youngest grand daughter turned one.

 Here is Abby with her Great grandma opening her bear that GGmar made her.

There was lots of help on hand for Abby.

We also went into Roma for Jess"s birthday and had a wonderful day out..

Now I should really go and bake for my family

or

I could stay here and catch up on blogs.....

Blessings

Mandy

Autumn......

Autumn

IT is my very favourite time, with the heat behind us and the promise of cooler weather.

Cooler weather always makes me want to get in and sew, and now that Donna

is all clean I am enjoying sewing in her. I have been making aprons.

I also needed to put some new lace on some of my half slips and petticoats.

Most of the dresses these days are too short for my liking so I wear a 

half slip with a little vintage lace showing.

The big news is

I can knit!!!!!!

This skill has evaded me for years no matter how I tried....Well I got this Learn to Knit book from Lincraft with some other purchases free...It has been so help full that every thing has just clicked.

Below I present you with my very own first dish cloth...........

Ta DA

All right be nice girls hahaha

With the cooler weather and knitting :) reminds me I know longer

have my wood heater in the house as it got pulled out in the kitchen renos.

We have awhile yet before we will need it but we need to make a decision where to 

put it. The only option really is in this corner as the rest of the room is all windows.

As you can see below..

It will take up alot of room putting it in the corner, but I don't think I can give up my wood heater.

This house gets really cold in winter.

Enjoy your week

I am going to knit another dishcloth and then when I catch up with my Mum at the end of the month

she is going to teach me to crochet , then I can put little crochet edges around my dishcloths...

And no I can't crochet either...

Blessings

Mandy

Long Week end.

 I have had a busy week end here, long week ends do that if your not going away.

 

 

Saturday in between Soccer and football I spent baking up a storm, cakes biscuits and sour dough bread.

 

 

Sunday I tried a new bread recipe and was really happy with it, simple but good.

Bread

6 cups P flour,

4 teaspoons yeast

pinch salt

Tablespoon of bread improver

teaspoon sugar

dash good olive oil

Mix all together and add tepid  water until a nice sticky dough has formed.

Need for 15 min.

I put mine in the mix master and used my dough hook.

 

 

 

From this recipe I got a loaf of bread and 12 bread rolls above is the loaf and two rolls.

We  had them with pumpkin and cauliflower soup yummmmmo

 

I also bottled my first batch of Ginger beer. I'll let you know in 10 ten days how it turned out, good I hope.

My Mother in law has been here all week end and has been busy knitting me some dish clothes, and face washers. She is like a knitting machine, my supply is done again for awhile.

 



 

Today I finally got around to making the bunting for Harrison's room. I will show photos of it up later as he was sleeping when I took it over.

 

 How did you spend your long, wet week end????

 

Blessings

Mandy

Did you miss me????

I missed you all!!!!

My Internet hasn't been working for the last two days

and boy o boy did I miss it...

I wonder what I did before I learnt about blogging????

I have been busy though, knitting.

My scarf is all finished, and It

is now on it's way to my Mum for

Mothers Day.

I am going to make myself one as well as hubby,

he reckons he'll wear one(we'll see)

I have been busy mulching the garden beds.

There is alot to do when you do them all at once, so

it will take a good week to get them all done.

This is a quick post as Cassie has friends sleeping over

tonight and I have to get ready for that....

To all the Mums out there

have a wonderful

Mothers Day...

Blessings

Mandy

Sun shiny day..

The sun is shinning and the day is beautiful.

Even though I am fighting a headache

the day is still full of wonder.

I have been quietly sitting in the sun

trying to remember how to knit. Last

year my MIL taught me and I made one dishcloth.

With the weather getting cool I thought it was time to start

again. I will learn one stitch at a time, make a good size

block with each stitch and then sew them

all together like a patchwork quilt.

Well that is the plan any-way.

Later on as my head feels better I am planting

seeds and hoping to get the grass mowed.

To me mowing is such a pleasure not a chore.

I hope you are all getting some

Autumn/Spring sun today and enjoying it...

Blessings

Mandy

I Did It!!!

That's right people I present to

My First Dish Cloth.

I know, I know so sad a post dedicated to a dish cloth.

I can knit!!!!!!!!!!

Good-Bye Hong Jung

Today Hong has gone back home to Korea, after being here for three weeks, he really became apart of the family. I think that it is a great experience to have an exchange student I would recommend it to all families.
We started about five years ago, we usually have Japanese students so it was a nice change to learn about a different country. At the moment our prime minister Keven Rudd is in Korea with there prime minister and we have been seeing it on the news. Hong thought that this was great.

Good -Bye Hong we will miss you and your funny ways.


My Mother in law has been trying to teach me to knit (the poor thing) I am not picking it up at all, for the life of me I can't work out how to cast on. But it will not defeat me!!!!!!! Truly all I want to do is make a dishcloth how hard can it be! My M.I.L is ironing now I think that she would rather do that then watch me knit.

My M.I.L suffers from Alzheimer's and comes to stay with our family quite often. It is in the early stages still, but it is so sad to watch such a capable confident woman become so dependable on others. My F.I.L. passed away June last year so she lives alone. There is plenty to do and see here and no time to be board I think that's why she enjoys being here.

Untill tomorrow,

Mandy