Real life week...

Wow - I think I've just caught my breath again after that intensive 5-day tutorial!

How did you enjoy it?

What technique along the way did you find the most beneficial to you and your sewing?

I'd really *love* to hear more feedback from those who participated as it will help me plan future blog events for 2015,  so leave your comment below this post or below one of the 5-day tutorial posts. Thank you in advance! 

I'd love to show some things that were going on behind the scenes this past week. 

To be honest, I felt a bit like a duck some days, calm and in control above the water, and paddling for dear life underneath. Not in a bad way, mind you, but in a very productive way. In fact, I was paddling with Mr E as we made some decisions for our future.

The biggest decision was to sell our motorbike. If you're a long time reader you will know that we've have some wonderful long trips away on our bike. I even learned to pack only what was absolutely necessary and could fit inside a grocery bag - even for a 5 day ride!  There was an immense sense of freedom letting go of the daily trappings of life at home and heading off into the countryside behind my husband, the wind pushing against us and every sense heightened. This past year we've tended to ride mostly at night as we both love the cool dark evenings out on the road when life just seems quieter.

But it was time to let go of our bike (affectionately known as Camel)  and last night we said our goodbyes before the new owner rode it out of our driveway and into his future.

Mr E prayed over the gentleman and the bike before we waved farewell and we're sure he will have the time of his life, just as we did.

Princess Sophie spent the last few days lamenting the sudden absence of her nemesis, Mr Metallic Starling (you can see him here), and was far more 'needy' of attention than usual. It's not like her to eyeball the camera lens, but she seemed intent on being a star in my outdoor pics this week...

The next day she went searching for new fun and decided to hunt tiny lizards under the palm tree. I think she's missing Bob-the-dog since he left home to live with Blossom...

Our sugar-free / grain-free lifestyle has become second nature now and the daily routine of proteins, salad, fresh vegetable juice, fruits and coconut yoghurt seems effortless.  We rarely go to the supermarket nowadays, but shop twice a week at the local organic grocer. I've lost 3 kilograms in 6 weeks without trying, and my migraines have reduced by 80%.

We do have some gluten free oats in my homemade granola as it's Mr E's favourite breakfast.

Here was a fresh batch made on Wednesday when Blossom visited, as well as a gluten/grain/sugar-free apple & sultana loaf...

There was a blood moon this week, but I missed it that night. Very early the next morning I managed to catch a quick photo as it set under the palm trees...

The next morning I was up even earlier to get a photo of the moon higher in the sky. So beautiful, so big, so far away...

And you know, sometimes you just want to spoil yourself, don't you?

So I did.

I now have a few pieces of some Anni Downs fabric, and one day I'll make the panel up into a small quilt for the couch. It's such a happy print...and happy is  nice...

I was interviewed recently by Debbie Henry from Craftsy and if you'd like to read it you can do so HERE. You'll see some of my friends in the article too! It was all about Block of the Months and has rather an Aussie flavour. ;-)

Before I sign off let me invite you to visit THIS blog page because I've just launched my Stitchery Club and you're all invited!

 Enjoy your weekend!

hugs

There and back again!

My beloved drove away early Sunday morning with his mate, Dave, for a 4 day road trip down to Maryborough. This is where the annual Ulysses AGM is being held this year, and it was an opportunity for the guys to test ride the new Honda.

This is the bike my man wanted to check out in person...

 Turned out it wasn't as comfortable as he'd hoped, so then he tried out a new Honda Goldwing...

...which he liked much better.

Over the course of 4 days he drove for 38 hours, so I am just glad he got home safe and awake last night. At least we got to cross one bike off our list for the future. ;-)

While my man was off with his buddy I stayed home with Blossom and did some stitching, and re-arranging. 

I started with my desk, which was so loaded down with 'stuff' piled across it that I struggled to keep on track with my many to-do lists because I could not find them!

But now, bliss. All in it's place. 

 

 

On my sewing table I tweaked the centre block of my new BOM,  

"Shabby Roses Beauty"...

...by adding little applique corners.

 

I am loving these 'Hill Farm' fabrics by Brenda Riddle. 

They have brought my new design to life!

This BOM will run over 6 months and be available through my e-zine, Elefantz HOME. 

Block 1 will be released in the May 3rd issue. 

Subscription details HERE.

 

I've also drawn up a new Scripture-themed design, and will be stitching that over the weekend. 

This is something I want to do regularly...share God's precious Word with needle and thread. 

 

Something else I did whilst Mr E was road-tripping with Dave, was try a few simple grain-free meals.

For lunch on Tuesday I only needed two ingredients...

 Haloumi cheese is eaten 'dry-fried'. 

Heat the frypan as hot as it will go, thinly slice the Haloumi cheese, and lay the slices into the pan. Within a minute you can flip them to the other side and they have turned golden and the flavour is amazing!

Slice your apple, and when you have finished dry-frying the cheese, repeat the process by dry-frying the apple slices. They almost caramelise! Just a couple of minutes each side, and the flavour of the Haloumi mixes with the apple and you get a taste explosion when eaten together!

I used about 1/3rd of the block of Haloumi, and one apple - all up around 280 calories. I was so full afterwards that I didn't eat till dinner. This is definitely going to be enjoyed on a regular basis.

The recipe came from Sarah Wilson's "I Quit Sugar" book.

My beloved is having a rest day today, so I am going to enjoy having him all to myself!

I hope your day is restful too.

Hugs

Jenny

xx

Family time....

It has been a month since we left Charters Towers for the humid, beach-side city of Townsville. I have discovered that even though my son Sam, and daughter Kezzie, live just two hours west of us, it's not easy to get together any more!

So when Sam said he was coming to visit for the weekend I was over the moon!! My boy was finally going to see where we live, and we could celebrate him getting his drivers license the week before.

Blossom was extra thrilled at her big brother's arrival and it was only minutes before the fun and laughter began...

They spent all Saturday cruising around town in Sam's car, as well as visiting the toy sections of a few department stores. The Nerf Gun (above) was a huge hit in more ways than one! 

On Sunday Mr E and I left home early for a beach-side breakfast with the Ulysses Club...

It was very hot, so we stayed put under the shade most of the time. At 9am we all rode up to the Hervey Range Heritage Tea Rooms for a leisurely coffee and morning tea. I love riding with a large group! We visit the Tea Rooms every few months - you can see photos HERE from one of our previous trips.

After Mr E and I said farewell to our fellow Ulyssians, we rode to the Townsville Showgrounds to meet up with Sam and Blossom, who had taken part in a 300-car police escorted cruise around the city raising awareness of the need for a...

There were many classic cars, vintage cars, motorbikes, and regular rides all gathered at the Showground, so we walked around for an hour checking out as many as we could. Naturally Mr E was drawn to the bikes, while Sam headed round the cars...

Too soon the weekend was over and Sam had to leave. He has been doing up his car the last couple of months, and is so relieved to finally have his license, so we're sure to see him again soon. Yay!!

~~~~~

Blossom has settled into life here fairly well, though she spent most of her first two weeks looking for a new job. Praise God, she started work yesterday at a Pharmacy where she will undergo a 4-year traineeship as a Naturopath!

She is also picking up the needle and thread once more and setting her mind to some designing. In the next issue of Elefantz HOME you will find she is my guest designer, and I know you'll love what she has for you...

I am still working on my three Kitchen-themed designs for this issue, but I think I'll show you one of them to whet your stitching appetite!

My friend Wendy's husband, Joe, has a saying, "Cook with love...", and it's a pretty important component of my time in the kitchen as well. This cafe apron is sure to put a loving smile on your face as you cook, too!

Plenty of pocket space, and  don't you love the buckle!?

You'll love the other two designs I have for this issue, but I'll wait until just before the 29th to show you. 

If you want to subscribe to the magazine go HERE to do so.

~~~~~

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs

Jenny

xx

My not-scones....

Mr E and I have been patiently waiting for two very long weeks to ride our bike. The gear 'thing' broke and needed to be replaced but the part was not here in Australia - it was languishing in a Honda parts warehouse in the USA and would need to be posted and may not arrive too soon with all this Christmas mail between their shores and ours.

So, as I said, two looooong weeks, and no riding for us. 

Drives him bonkers, and I turn into a workaholic. 

Yesterday, as I'd just finished writing that last blog post to you, I heard a whoop from the lounge room. It was Mr E's phone call, summoning him to come collect that gear 'thing'! Oh yeh!! \o/\o/ 

Bless his heart, he spent the next umpteen or so hours fixing the bike gear 'thing' (you can see how well versed I am in motorcycle fixin' ) so that he could take me far, far, away and loose me from the dramas of the past few days. 

As soon as he headed out to do that gear 'thing' fixin', I wanted to bake something special for him, to bless him for standing right beside me the last few days and not expecting anything more than a piece of toast and a black coffee for dinner. 

He loves my fluffy scones, and they are quick and easy to make, so I gathered all the ingredients and turned on the oven.

This time I wanted to add something extra, to make them really 'spesh' for my man, so I opened a vanilla pod and scraped out all that lovely fresh vanilla paste and added it to the milk and egg mix. I even sprinkled my homemade vanilla sugar across the top for twinkles of my love.

 Don't they look sparkly just about to go in the oven?

A few minutes into the baking, and feeling quite pleased with myself, I began to gather up my utensils for washing; replaced the flour canister, the vanilla sugar, and the milk container - then I turned to put the butter back in the refrigerator.

But wait a minute? The butter?? Why was the butter still on the bench?!

Yep, no butter ( a major star of scones ) in the scone dough. I looked through the glass in the oven door at my already rising beauties and knew it was too late to do anything now. 

Jenny's Not-Scones had been born.

They continued to rise, and then slowly gather a soft golden hue...I had to make a quick decision. Do I toss them out, or do I give these little unknown not-scones an edible chance?

I'm a sucker for the under-dog. They deserved a chance.

Lathered in butter, and my favourite Analoth "Cherry Berry Jam" from New Zealand, I presented them to Mr E. 

I told him the story before the first sticky clump of jam touched his lips. He smiled, and ate one. I ate one. They were great!!!

And the moral of my story?

So you don't quite get the result you planned when you're trying with all your heart to do something really nice for a person you love, and you feel like a total dufus.

Don't let it get to you. 

Tell them what you did. 

And you just might surprise yourself. 

Cause they'll love you all the more.

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

PS: We went for that ride today and it was perfect. I'll share more about that tomorrow. 

Home, sweet home...oh yeh.

We are home!

Our 1000+klm Far Ride in 24 hours was fantastic, but oh, my tired behind is happy to be home. Same boots, same jeans, same socks...you get to a point - at about the 800klm point - where you just want to hit the shower and scrape off the sweat, dust and cinders (we rode through a bushfire).

Home was soooo appreciated when we turned the last corner and caught sight of our front gate. But let me start at the beginning...

We rose at 4.30am, had a quick coffee, some strawberries and yoghurt, and rode off at 5am. It was dark and cool, but an hour into the ride the sun made an appearance...

..and quickly we warmed. I had relished the early cool air because I knew it was only a matter of hours before we'd be scorched in the tropical sun.

And we were! It was a long hot ride down the coast before turning west from Mackay to our mountain destination, Eungella. This was only our second short stop in 6 hours. We just had to hydrate with some long cool iced teas!

We also needed a break before the ride up the mountain!

It is a very steep ascent with hairpin curves all the way and sheer cliff drops along the road side...

 It was so worth it, though!

The view from the Eungella Chalet was breathtaking. They even have a ramp for hang-gliders to leap from!

The rules of this Far Ride were for all participants to arrive at the Eungella Chalet between 11.30am-midday. 

 There were so many riders arriving with us, and I was glad to see a couple of other pillion wives as well.

 

 We even caught up with John and Andrea, fellow Ulyssians from the Townsville chapter. We had camped with them at Mt Surprise in July! (you can read about that trip HERE)

Once the formalities of signing in was over it was time for lunch and socialising....

then a good peek over that cliff drop...

 John and Andrea had their camera, so Mr E and I were able to get a rare photo together...

The bandana helped with the helmet hair for the first 600 klms, then it was useless. However, long rides like this don't happen all the time so I'll be wearing a bandana for our regular 250-300 klms rides on Mr E's days off from work.

In case you wondered, there were a couple of riders that arrived 20 minutes late and couldn't be counted in. Poor guys! We heard them roaring up the last of the mountain, only to discover they hadn't made it before midday.

All up we had around 60 people who had ridden from Victoria, Northern Territory, ACT, NSW, and of course Queensland. Mr E finally met many of the people he knows through an internet riding forum, and stories were shared back and forth over the 90 minutes we all spent at Eungella.

Of course, the time ended too soon before we had to ride back down the mountain and off to our various locations to complete the 1000 klms.

A few hours later Mr E and I were heading back up the coast between Mackay and Proserpine when we hit a roadblock. Bushfire!

30 minutes later - hot, thirsty, and covered in cinders, the road was opened and we continued on our way.

I was glad to see the bush firemen had saved a sugar cane crop, and averted the fire from claiming the home of the plantation owners. Our bush fireman certainly are amazing men and women, and with Spring temperatures around 36C (97F) all day, they had it tough.

Today we are sunburnt, sore, and tired - but happy. Can't wait to do another Far Ride in the future!

Hope your weekend was just as great!

Hugs

Jenny

xxx