Around the Home...

First up I had to share this....

It was Grandparents week last week and this was set up in the shopping center.

Here I am with the Sutton babies.

Harrison, Sienna and Madison.

Speaking of Grandchildren (AGAIN I KNOW )

but.....Christmas is not that far away when you have 11 grandchildren and 11 children 

to organize pressies for.

I think this is the first time the sewing machine has been out in 6 months.

Instead of wrapping the presents I am making bags for them to go in.

That way they can be reused. These are for Mason and Phoebe in Charters Towers.

Mason loves Lego and Phoebe loves destroying it on him. I promised him

I would get Phoebe pink lego so she might leave his alone. hahah

So one bag down 10 to go !!!!!!!

Thursday is baking day.

I bake for my shop here so it is always fresh each week.

All left overs go for the boys morning teas that week.

The vege garden has gone mad and every thing is growing.
This was last nights salad. I only pick what I need daily.

I can't wait for these zucchinis as I have plant 4 different heirloom verities this year that I can save the seed from.

The daises flowered all winter and were the only color we had,this
is the last pic before I gave them a good hair cut.
I love the daisy such a simple beautiful flower.

Have a great week....

Mandy

 

Decluttering and Recycling...

I feel free, liberated even let me share why.

I cleaned my closet!!!!

  It was full, 

full of shoes, clothes, blankets, hats and  crap no one else wanted

arghhh

Before clean out

Took me all of 15mins...

In a crazed like state I just through things out with out thinking about it.

I have NEVER done a clothes cleansing like this. You know that skirt and dress you paid a fortune for 10 years ago...GONE. What about all the clothes from the op shops that you bought in a frenzy when you lost your weight AND have not worn!!!!! GONE. Then theirs the shoes 23 pairs I have thrown out, GONE.

Not to mention the hats....I don't even like hats! All the handbags I have collected over the years GONE....They were falling apart.

After crazed throwing

Much better.

Do I regret throwing 5 very large wheelie bin bags of clothes away? No... what I feel is embarrassed, embarrassed that I owned so much stuff....stuff that doesn't make me happy ...most of it I didn't like..

Now I love the items that I have kept they were the ones I wore all the time....I mean i don't go out that much any way.

After

I love my bedroom and am thank full for a my walk in robe that Bruce built me, now I'm not afraid to go in there.

Do you like my chair? a love seat I think you would call it.

My cleaver Bruce made it for our room from 2 old chairs, I need to make

some cushions for it yet but I love it.

I have been busy in the sewing room fighting the cat, I mean sewing haha

I made Charlie some clothes for his birthday with a Indian theme material.

They were a hit.

I needed to run to town on Monday and buy a new iron, ummmm came home with a over locker.

I have really wanted one for years and always been scared to use one, while I was in spotlight they were on sale for a crazy price...I knew if I didn't get one I would regret it....

Well I love it...

Went back through those bags of clothes looking for some I could refashion.

This dress was too high in the neck and choked me when I sat down, but I love the material...So I turned it into a skirt. The top I will hem and put back in the bag.

This top was a little short so I added some lace to the bottom of it, perfect now.

Have you ever had a major clothing breakdown? Or just me?

I want you too know I have no intentions of going out and buying new clothes to replace the ones I got rid of, that would defeat the purpose. No, now I will wear what I have and what I have, I love..

Blessings 

Mandy

Lazy Days.....

School is back on and our 2 weeks of Lazy days are over.

Spending time with William in the garden and just slowing down has been nice.

I love the light of Autumn and how it shines in through the door and warms the now cool mornings. I do love Autumn, I start to feel the need to sew and crochet and just make....

I am going to do some more sewing for the grand babies, Charlie has his first birthday coming up and the theme for his party is Indians so I am going to make him a out fit...

Also a dress for Sieanna and some little pants for Henry to start with..

I have also been experimenting with soap...

Below is Himalayan salt soap. Great for exfoliating your skin and help with healing blemishes.

Experimenting with soap making is so much fun and you are only limited by your imagination.

I am still doing 2 markets a month and enjoying them, but that is going to change soon as I start doing a weekly market.

Last Thursday I went with my friend to help her at the weekly Farmers market here in Toowoomba.

Bronwyn sells eggs and chickens all pasture raised. Well she got talking to the lady that is running the markets about my soap, and I was invited to have a stall. Very exciting.....We will share a stall for now  and I will see how things go..

One advantage of your best friend owning a chicken farm is I have stopped doing my own chickens and just get them straight from Bronwym....Having a brother move in that is also a poultry butcher helps in the piecing of the birds as well...

I still do something though.......the cooking,

 nothing like a nice chicken pie for dinner...

Today I am looking after this little princess for a couple of hours which has been lovely.

 I hope you all enjoy your week and in Australia the long week end coming up.

Blessings 

Mandy

Happy Birthday Sieanna May......

This sweet little girl is one today....

Happy Birthday 

Sieanna May

This after noon we will be going in to have cake with 

the birthday girl..

The sewing room has been put to good use making Sieanna her out fits. You have seen the little top, well I also got the  romper made , just in time for her birthday.

I will post some photos later of her in it.

The spare room is all clean again, Bruce and Robbie moved the large table in here for me so I have plenty of room now.

Next on my list is getting back into scrap booking. I really want to do a album up of Greg's life for the kids.

Nice to have this room all girly again after being a boys room for so long.

Below is a rare moment when it was a clean boys room...Really no such thing is there? Clean and boys hahahah

The vege garden is coming along well with the cooler weather.

My brother who you can see in the pic has moved in here with us, and he is loving being able to 

get into the garden..

He reminds me of my Pop who was always out in his vege garden...

Love the cooler weather and being able to be out in the garden again. It got very hot this summer and I am looking forward to this cooler weather.

The asparagus is going wild and I am cutting it every day..Have you ever had it straight from the garden? Tastes just like fresh snow peas. yummo.

Enjoy your week All

Blessings

Mandy

Birthday and Sewing

This most handsome young man turned 13 yesterday...

Its hard to believe my youngest is 13,,,

Family birthdays are getting smaller all the time now that 4 of 7 of the kids live away...

We tease Will that he is like a only child hahahah

Robbie has moved out to the Donna the Donga
This was my sewing room that I loved, then Ben moved in there and now that he and Cassie are married and moved away I thought I would get it back...
Wrong...

Robbie being 18 (and the fact that it has air con) has moved in there,,,
So I get a spare room...
I will keep the single beds in here for now, but I have also moved my
sewing machine in here.

I also have more storage for my craft supplies that have been packed away

for over a year now.

I know this Horn sewing table is ugly, but it is so good to have all you need handy...

Yep this is it now, I've been sewing..

So I needed another table O and bring in the ironing board as well.

Next minute!!!!!! A mess..

I made my youngest grand daughter a little Easter dress and am busy making a romper as well.

Nice to have it all in the house, so I'm glad Robbie took Donna.....may be I should call it Donald the Donga now it belongs to Robbie...

A last photo of the birthday boy...

Markets tomorrow if its not raining.

Enjoy your week end

Blessings 

Mandy

Hello to a new week....and a beautiful day.
I do love Autumn weather, the cooler evenings see us coming inside earlier
which means I get much more crocheting done.

Above is a photo of my first crocheted scarf that I made. I started it over Easter while camping, it still has the smell of camp fire in it....
It was a good beginners pattern.

I am nearly finished my next project which is a lamp shade cover, I know it doesn't look like it yet. No pattern for this I am just making it up as I go along....Just got the edging to finish and then I will show you.

I am using Trap Art yarn for this mat. I discovered this while in Ipswich and haven't been able to get any more as no one sells it around us.
So I am now a supplier, my first order should arrive this week....I can't wait to get this finished, I think it will be for the lounge room.

The sewing machine has been brought into the house, as I have no sewing room again....We have Cassie's boyfriend living in Donna the Donga until he goes up north....Over the week end I just had to sew so in every thing came.....I made Kayleigh, Bruce's daughter some pillow cases she wanted.

Do you like my darling tray table, I picked it up last week end for $8, it matches my chair perfectly I think....

Yep I sure do enjoy the earlier evenings see how productive I've been? Mind you the house is a mess and I have 2 baskets of ironing I could be catching up on....Nah tomorrow I think I will go out into the garden....

Blessings

Mandy