Ordinary days of autumn...

 We've had no rain for almost a month now, so it's back to hand watering the garden just before sunset each night. The daytime temps for mid-autumn have been a consistent 31C (88F) and the nights 22C (72F)...and oh how I am longing for the day time temps to drop into the 20s, and the nights into the teens. I actually bought a cardigan this week in HOPE of actually getting a winter this year. Ha ha!! It's only a thin open-weave cardigan, but I shall enjoy wearing it when the time arrives. 

The Cubby - 

Around home I've been moving things about in our back undercover area. Cully May and Rafaella asked if I could fix up the cubby house and turn it into a cafe - hmmm. This spurred me on to re-organising the outdoor area so I could bring more natural light into my dark kitchen. By moving the cubby nearer the garden, my kitchen window was free to accept sunlight, and the children also have way more room to move about in this area. 

Anyhow, once this was done I sewed new curtains, added a faux potted plant and tablecloth, and a Cafe sign above the doorway. 

Here's where it used to be, in a corner with not a lot of light or space...but now the old couch is there, and the old cupboard which holds their Cafe bits and pieces, plus my kitchen window above the cupboard is no longer half hidden. 

I bought them a teapot, sugar bowl and milk jug at the op-shop, and they're using some of my old vintage tea cups and spoons as well. I forgot to take a photo of the three of them having a high-tea in their cafe on Tuesday, but believe me they loved it! 

For cold drinks and food they have pretty paper cups, serviettes and plates left over from birthdays last year.

I crocheted edged three tea towels, one each. 

I sewed pretty girl aprons for Cully May and Rafaella, and a sturdy boy apron for Charlie David. He thought it looked great with his Fireman's helmet. ;-) 

Apart from the $3 at the op-shop and another $3 for the faux plant at Reject Shop, everything came from what I already had on hand. The cubby has been given a new life after almost a year of non-use and the whole project spurred me on to finally moving things around out the back to better serve the whole family. There's suddenly a lot more space where it once looked crowded and dark...it's amazing how a little re-organising can produce this kind of outcome around the home. 

Behind the cubby is where my garden potting area resides. I have been gradually raising seeds for the garden - flowers and herbal plants mostly, but also snow peas and asparagus peas. Some have gone into the raised beds and grow bags already, and are doing very well. New seeds have just been planted and all going well they should be in the garden 4-6 weeks from now. Then I'll plant the herbs that need a much cooler temperature to germinate, especially coriander. 

I'm very grateful that we have such a large undercover area for these things, as for most of the year our tropical sun is very fierce to be out in. 

Sewing -

Another (almost) completed project is Blossom's 30th birthday quilt. I sewed all the blocks together and was able to take a few photos to show you the quilt top.

As the quilt top is mostly white, and the backing and binding will be too, I was made to realise that hand quilting it with a heavily shedding dog and cat inside would be too stressful. It would take weeks and I'd have it over my lap all the while, with it folded around me or laying over the couch (places our pets LOVE to sit)...so for such a special birthday gift it would need to be longarm quilted.

A lovely lady not far from us has it in her care right now and will quilt it in a leaf pattern which my Blossom requested (she loves leaves). We are so excited as the Lord provided the cost through two weeks of higher than normal pattern sales in my Etsy shop. He knew, before I did, that hand quilting a white quilt was not the best idea given our home situation, so we praise His kind and generous heart for this provision!

I am still enjoying sewing jar covers from my scrap fabrics, but have moved right on to embroidered ones. As the stitcheries all need to sit inside a 4" circle I decided to choose patterns from some of my previous quilt designs. I finished this one earlier today, and the little embroidery is from one of the Simple Days blocks, though I did reduce the size a smidgin...

I have two more traced and ready to stitch but intend adding a lace edge to them this time. I find this little project very relaxing, and my gift-box is filling with them so that's a real bonus. 

In the Garden -

Well, we had such a wet season this summer that there were no bees to pollinate my pumpkin plants. Here is the only pumpkin we grew (it's called a Queensland Blue), and we've named it Survivor, so I'm planning on making something special with it soon. Earlier this month I planted two new pumpkin plants in the front yard and as we're back to the dry season I might have plenty more to harvest by late spring. I planted our old favourite this time, a Kent (or Jap is another name for it) because we always get an abundant harvest from it.

Our fruit trees are doing well, especially the Mulberry, Pomegranate (has flowered for the first time), Lime, Fig and Barbados Cherry. The two passionfruit vines are also heavy with fruit.

Kitchen - 

Bread is baked a lot as it is a staple (sour dough and focaccia mostly), plus jam drop biscuits (cookies), banana choc muffins, curries, stews, bone broth, pesto (we have so much basil in the garden)...and the list goes on. Just today I sent a jar of pesto and a fresh baked focaccia over to Blossom. My dear husband spent all morning fixing her car, so I made food to deliver when he took her car back. It's very handy having a husband who trained as a motor mechanic before becoming a teacher, and now a car salesman! 

How are you?

I often wonder how you are managing in your week? My life is quite ordinary, and that's just how I like it. Each week has it's own natural rhythm that rarely alters, but within that week there are always new things as well. I find that the change of season brings with it new ideas to try, old ways to retire, fresh eyes to look around my surroundings, and new things to give thanks for. 

Anzac Day -

Today is Anzac Day here in Australia, a day we honour those who served in the armed forces through every war we can remember. It's mostly focused on the ANZACs though - Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought bravely at Gallipoli in 1915. More than 130,000 Australian, New Zealand and Ottoman troops died in that horrendous campaign. We will remember them. 

Blossom has been reading books to the children this month about Gallipoli, preparing them to watch the Anzac march on telly this morning. She sent me photos of the girls helping her make Anzac Biscuits while they watched the march. Last year both girls walked in the march as part of their school, but this year they are homeschooling so they studied it more deeply and understood why the march was so important, why the day itself has so much meaning. 

How is your April to-do list coming along? Have you been gradually marking things off along the way?

I am really pleased with how many things on my list have been accomplished - mostly big things that seemed too hard at one stage, but are now done. And to be honest, Blossom's quilt top was really weighing on me, but when I hung it up to take a photo my heart was bursting with joy. The Lord got me there, because for a while I wasn't sure it would be done in time. 

No matter what we have going on, if we hand it all over to God and ask Him to help us, He will. He never fails...we might fail (I can attest to that personally) but He will not. So if you've got a lot of weight on your shoulders right now, or a must-do list that seems never to shrink, or if you have so much going on you don't know where to start - go to the Lord in prayer. Humbly ask Him to show you the way. 

He showed me that my plans for Blossom's mostly white quilt would cause me a lot of anxiety and problems...and I had not even considered this until he showed me one morning in prayer! And once he told me, well...it was obvious, and I had been blind to it previously. And then He provided the money to pay for machine quilting. 

Honest, you may not think that's amazing in the same way I do, but I did not even ask Him for this...yet He loves me and He knew what I needed when I didn't have a clue. That's our God, ladies. That's our loving, caring, generous, forgiving, amazing, Holy God. 

Pray. Pray often. Open your heart to Him, obey Him, teach His Word to your children and grandchildren. Never doubt Him. Just trust. I couldn't live any other way. Why would I want to? The very best in my life is Jesus and you can't top Him. Amen!

Take care dear friends, and please let me know how you're doing in the comments below. Need prayer? I'll be praying for you. Until next time....

Hugs and blessings,

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Simple creative days...

When I think of Nana sweeping our little 3-room flat every day, there's always a mind picture of her in an apron, swishing back and forth with a millet broom - from the kitchen, through into the bedroom, and on into the living room, before opening the door wide to finish off on the tiny front verandah. 

There's something so homely and comfortable about a millet (straw) broom, standing by the back door, a sense of living in a different era, a quieter time, a more respectful time, a time when hard work was normal, and life was simpler. 

It's been on my mind for a while to buy one, but I really had trouble tracking one down as these days the brooms are predominantly synthetic, with long narrow rectangular heads and short plastic bristles. But then I had a thought to try a hardware store (yes, it should have been my first thought) and found one!

Very excited at spending just $22 on my millet broom with the strong and sturdy wooden handle, hubby had a chuckle and remarked "whatever makes you happy, sweetheart". Of course, at that stage he had no idea what my other plan was...for getting the broom was only the start. 

With this lovely old Lecien fabric which has sat on my shelf for about nine years, and a gorgeous length of very wide broderie anglaise cotton which was a bargain find at a op-shop before we bought this house more than five years ago, I set to work on my plan. 

How much prettier does it look now? Standing inside my front entrance it is a joy to use! I used the broderie anglaise as the lining, and let it peep out from under the outer skirt of the blue floral print.

I made a tie from more of the floral fabric, then stitched it in place about 1.5 inches below the top rear of the broom cover before gathering it around and tying in a bow. The cover is very secure and I am quite chuffed with it!

Yesterday I promised hubby that I would have a very quiet week, as the past three (from before the cyclone to this past Sunday) have had a lot going on and he could see me fading. So a promise was made and must be kept, therefore I have chosen a few light overdue tasks to do around home, as well as reading, sewing, and making simple meals. 

This dress has needed repair for more than a year...an easy fifteen minutes of hand work and now it is ready to wear again. 

A book I started years ago and never got around to finishing...I'm enjoying it immensely, as it stokes my homemaker heart with old fashioned recipes and simplifying ideas around home. 

Finally, my health notes, taken when watching seminars or reading articles and books, are being transferred into one notebook...

...and I'm decorating the pages with stickers and cut outs as I go along. It's so nice to pretty-up notebook pages.

Blossom and I are both making our own cleaning products these days. Some we like, others we try new recipes until we find one we love. Last week I made a new batch of dishwashing liquid, after purchasing glass pump bottles cheaply at TK Maxx, and this is definitely the best dishwashing liquid recipe we have tried, so it's a keeper. I added a little sticker to front of the bottle...

The cheese & herb pie I made a month ago was such a hit, and so simple, that we had it again last night for dinner with a salad and leftover roast lamb on the side. The recipe will taste slightly different each time I make it due the availability of various herbs from the garden. Last time I had a lot of parsley, thyme and chives. For this pie I had no parsley (it all died in the garden due to the humidity and heat) but I did have sage, lemon thyme and garlic chives...it was still delicious. 

One of my favourite patterns from 2016 was this little pillow I designed with a quote from Mother Teresa. It has always been on display somewhere in our home, but I discovered last week that it had a large stain across the front from one of our 40+ indoor plants growing across it. 

The stain just would not wash out, but turned a dirty brown instead. So...I thought, make another. The colours are different, the fabrics different, but the sentiment is still there, and as I slowly work on this for a while each afternoon, I am happy to know it will once again be on display here. Those words have been a real guide to follow when I have frustrating days or have exhausted myself and feel on edge. Fortunately, now that I am embracing Stillness more, and stopping whatever I am doing before I reach my limit, those times should become rare. 

Have you noticed that when you make a decision to pull back, and deliberately choose to slow your day, or week, or month, that there's more opportunity to complete forgotten tasks, mend something, think more creatively, read books, and cook simpler meals? 

What do you do around home in quieter times? I'd love to hear what you have put your fingers, heart and mind towards lately. 

Oh, and I am slowly working on the cookbook I'll be sharing with you...it's a lot more involved than I first envisioned, but lovelier too. Here's a peek at the title page...

 Okay my friends, it's time to get the washing off the line, set the table for dinner (already made it - chicken and cous cous salad with fresh baked bread), feed the cat and dog, and await the return of my beloved from work.

God bless you in all the homemaking tasks you set your heart and hands towards. May you find joy in the simple, beautiful, ordinary things of life, and spread that joy to all who cross your path. 

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Tying loose ends...

 Does anyone NOT have an unfinished project somewhere in their home? 

Total confession here, I have quilt blocks which were sewn in 2009/10/11 that are still sitting in my sewing room patiently waiting for me to decide how to put them together, plus I have a wall quilt which I made very quickly (because I loved it!) back in 2018 and yet has never been quilted or bound. They are two loose ends I'd like to tie up before this year draws to a close. 

But first I had to complete that sweet scrappy hexie table runner I began a couple of months ago. It's been hanging over one of the dining chairs since August (you can see how and why I began this project HERE) and yesterday I made it my mission after lunch to add the binding, hand quilt and wash before sunset. 

Because the hexies had been made from lots of different scrap pieces I thought a scrappy binding would be the best finish, so rummaging again through more scraps I joined many lengths together until there was enough to go around...

Do you use binding clips? They were a game changer for me when I first bought them about five years ago. No more hair slides or pins needed...I love these little pink clips!

Once the binding was attached I hand quilted just inside the edge of the binding...

...and then around the hexie centre.

I had hand quilted alongside the hexies before adding the binding, but left these last two bits of quilting (1/4 inch inside the outer edge and 1/4 inch outside the hexies) until after the binding was attached and hand stitched down at the back. 

Here it is finished after being washed on a gentle cycle and hung in the sunshine to dry...

I love the raised textured feel of anything hand quilted after it's been washed!

I'd really like to get started on completing one of my other UFOs today but fact is I have more loose ends which need tying up over following days and if yesterday's table runner finish taught me anything it's that the sense of satisfaction and contentment you feel after bringing a project to it's conclusion can motivate you to begin tying up other loose ends as well - whether that be unanswered emails, a neglected bible study, cooking what's in your fridge before it expires, sewing on a few lost buttons, cleaning out the bathroom cabinet, finishing a small quilt - or in my case this week, writing patterns and decluttering my workspace in order to begin fresh as soon as possible with the next stage of what God has called me to do. 

If you've got some loose ends to tie within your own life and need some motivation why not begin with a small unfinished sewing, embroidery, papercraft, painting, baking, knitting, crochet or other crafty project? The sense of satisfaction afterwards is better than chocolate! Almost. Ha ha!

As you know, Blossom is quite a way along in her third pregnancy now, only 8-9 weeks until her little baby boy is due and as he's quite a large lad already and she has a number of health issues the doctor may welcome him into the world a couple of weeks early. So you can understand that her already limited 'free' hours of sewing (with a 2 and 4 yo in tow) shall soon draw to a close. She decided to have one last burst of creativity before bub arrives and has been making some more of those adorable cotton romper sets for her Etsy Shop.

We're heading in to another hot summer here in Australia so these would make perfect gifts for those dear littlies in your life if you're like me and don't sew clothes...

She's hoping to get a few more in there very soon before closing down for a long while.

If you're interested she will post worldwide so pop over HERE to see what's left on her shelves.

Okay, that's it for me today as I have a desk to declutter, wash, and reorganise. Oh, I do get excited about a sparkling clean white desk and a pot of fresh blooms on it. And of course, before I even begin tying that loose end there's lunch to prepare for my beloved. Think we'll feast on more of those delicious French Chicken Salad sandwiches (recipe here)...

Tell me, what loose ends do you need to tie? What will you begin with?

Biggest hugs

One year on and taking stock...

Blossom's little angel turned one on Friday, a very joyous one. 

Cully May is a light that never goes out, a little girl who liberally sprinkles laughter, cuddles and sheer delight over everyone she meets, but especially over us, her family. 

We spent the big day wandering the aquarium with Blossom's friend Laura and her little girl, Charlotte. Cully May adores Charlotte and they were so gentle and sweet together that there was a lot of   'awww, how cute are they'  from us adults. Charlotte, who is 8 months older, would run here and there to look at the fish and Cully May would take off after her, walking very fast but not able to run quite as fast as her heart wanted her to go. Such a precious time we had, but also a very calm and relaxing birthday outing. 

The photo below was taken walking through the big shark tank...

I love that Blossom follows her instincts and plans what is best for Cully May. 

A birthday party would have added a lot of stress to the day, whereas she wanted Cully to enjoy the celebration completely relaxed with no outside pressure, just giving her little girl a safe place to run, laugh, be inquisitive and entranced. The aquarium did just that. 

Among her gifts was the popover I told you I planned to make earlier this week. 

The fabric choice changed due to the amount needed, but my it turned out pretty!

As I no longer have a car Mon-Fri using what fabrics and trims are already at home is essential.

There was no bias binding in my stash so for the edges I used a large piece of pink gingham and made my own. 

More of the pink gingham became the front pocket and I added a hexie and button for extra cuteness.

Blossom was thrilled with the popover and Cully May will wear it when she comes to visit next week. 

I'm taking another little break from blogging as of today. 

The past month has seen my body and mind pushed beyond it's limits and the migraines are coming thick and fast along with chronic fatigue.

Next week I'm going to focus on eating only vegetables and fruit, sleep as much as my body requires, and generally treat my body with the respect it needs to mend.

My love for baking has been so personally satisfying of late that I've been neglecting the salads, juices and smoothies which used to be a normal part of our daily menu and I know this has contributed to my health decline, as well as gifted an unwanted weight gain.

It's not an easy thing, regardless of what health gurus may say, to eat 'clean' all the time, to avoid sugar completely, and to only partake of sweet delights on rare occasions.

Food, comfort food, is in my DNA. It brings me such emotional JOY to cook for my loved ones the old family favourites of my childhood and of theirs, so it won't stop...it will just slow. 

Soon enough I shall again enjoy them as treats in small quantities, complimenting the greater dietary needs of the lovely salads and plant based goodies I also know how to make.  

For a little while I simply ignored the need to balance both, so being away from the blog and spending a week (perhaps more) nourishing my body, spending more time in God's word, and sleeping if I need, is the prescription I intend to follow.

May your health be blessed, your mind clear, your heart happy and your hopes fulfilled...

till next time,