we grew stuff,

ate it

and are excited

bread and the adventures of the sour dough culture

A friend from the co-op helped us start our own sour dough culture. It's like a pet needing feeding. Now working through a 20 kg bag of flour. Our latest yum experiment - half rye with pecans. 

Freeform is good but loaf shaped ends with a cleaner oven and a glorious shape.

Dress-ups

We are the happy owners of a freecycle toy box. The original owner has had it since she was 6 and is now 44. (with applied maths that's 38 years) It's perfect size on castors in a light ply with rope handles. Now in constant use as a dress up box, a tea party table, and also as a second doll's house - the warehouse apartment(?)

Domestic remedies

When things get too much, what do you do? I try all sorts of things before remembering that what I really like is a day of domestic smallness. Today was just that sort of day: we baked Anzac biscuits in time for morning tea, made stock for soups of the future, Joy tried out cutting with a sharp knife (all fingers are still intact), made dinner for tomorrow, played with new boots (fine Italian craftsmanship is a cure for lots of ills) and read about the magic of Voom (The Cat in the Hat comes back - Dr Seuss). All is much better now.

big fan of the angry chicken

I am a big fan of the angry chicken - a blog. look it up, I'm not sure how to link...yes I could know by now...Anyway I have been enjoying angry chicken's blog for a few months now. And tonight I made a batch of the 'dirty hippie' (in a good way) home-made deodorant. I'm so excited that I had to write to thank Amy while I'm waiting for goop to set in the fridge. I used jasmine and lemongrass, and orange and clove, made two batches (half size) just to see which one I would prefer, mainly because I could not smell the mix so well after a while of mixing as there were too many essential oil mixes on my fingers.

potatoes again

potato stamps this time, going for the view outside; plane tree with bird visitors. 

sewing corner

Oh the happiness of a sewing corner, set up in the wardrobe, of course. Who needs that much wardrobe? not I. It had become the junk store, and with 'freecycle' junk can be gone. I sourced 2 cabinets at a warehouse that I thought was a furniture store but was actually not a store at all but some guys clearing up and moving out and it just so happened two file draws were looking for a new owner. A filing cabinet can hold a lot of sewing paraphernalia. Trusty cabinetmaker made up a table top to fit and voila sewing corner bliss. Sewing machine and overlocker always at the ready and hey presto there are skirts and pincushions and plans and daydreams aplenty.

Slinky Malinki strikes again

i heart the co-op

i heart the co-op...for the fresh fruit and veg, all in season, organic even, and a reason to venture out  to the park on a saturday.

things that put a spring in my step

playing children, broccoli anchovy pasta, glass jars of future meals, and the raspberry interior of the mirrored bathroom cabinet (finally)

gardening

Gardening on the balcony and playing hop scotch. Saw long healthy looking worms, hopefully the plants will soon be as vibrant.

Thanks for the gardening kit, Tracy. It's so well loved.

Party

sunny day luck, friends, family, playground, cupcakes and sausage sizzle

Birthday girl

presents with yawns, pancakes, cupcakes, kids theatre with friends, a sleep, more presents, and potato gnocchi for dinner with family...

favourites so far: dinosaur wrapping paper and ukelele

Sunday

What a lovely day; an unfurling tea flower, a coconut coffee sugar scrub in daisy dishes for ma and the grandmothers, some time to quilt, Miss Pettigrew lives for a day at the movies, library, yoga, lovely dinner and bath time with J. Could Mother's Day be any better?