Bottling and Preserving

It is school HOLIDAYS!!! I LOVE HOLIDAYS!!!

(blog started Friday night)

draining the liquid

reducing/thickening

This Wednesday gone I attended a Bottling and Preserving Course with Rural Health.

There were 10 recipes and as it turned out 10 course participants so we took a recipe each. I took the marmalade as I have not ever made a marmalade before and as it turned out, I choose the hardest one ;) Lots of peeling, slicing the peel and boiling...and I had to write out my labels as there were not any left. 

It was a great experience to be working with people from our community that I had not previously meet and to be learning in such a fun atmosphere. It renewed my passion for getting a Fowlers Preseving kit similier to this one. Although I will look out for new or secondhand one on ebay or gumtree. I have also asked my mum for all of her old fowler  jars.

I have been preserving apples too; straps/roll ups, pies, dried rings, apples in jars (for crumbles or pies) and also been adding them to the sauces.

So as we sit now, just having finished watching a movie, jars are popping (sealing) and Aj chuckles as they do so.

combined goodies

what I bought home with me

I finished painting a car track on some MDF to go into a old cupboard draw. The kids love it and it keeps the track and cars contained.

I have painted a wall in the kids room, a nice neutral grey, I have also painted a set of draws in the same colour. The plan is to glue a map on the draw front. More pics as I get more done.

 

Planting in the rain

Ducks like rain and I love planting in the rain...with a big jacket on and my back to the rain that is.

Pink Cascade

I love planting in the rain as it means the plants get an extra watering. The natives I planted today were as follows:

Leptospermum – Pink Cascade

Leptospermum –Copper Glow

Grevillea - Flora Mason

Leucadendron – Safari Gold Strike

Leucadendron – Red Gem

Ozothamnus – Radiance

Flora Mason

I planted  #2, #4 and #5 up the back near the chook house to give them shade and shelter. The others I planted out the front, inside the fence. They will fill in the garden bed so that the road will be blocked off and the fence will not be seen. They will also attract birds to the yard. The Leucadendrons also make lovely cut flowers.

I also moved some roses*, planted a new rose and planted a new orange dahlia. I have some small foxgloves in a pot to grow before planting out the front in the cottage garden, as the ducks and chooks ate the last lot. 

*I know that it isn't the right time of year but I don't ever seem to do things at the right time. I cut the bushes back, getting rid of the up coming flowers and old leaves which means the plant focuses on the roots not flower production. I also water well for a while. 

***

The front yard

We have also been working on the Secret Garden/Cubby that we have put inside the Pittosporum trees in the front yard. We have one central tree and lots of runners that have come off it. Someone suggested using the inside of the trees as the cubby. We cleared the lower branches and some the the main tree trunks. Miss Z was the one to find it...she thinks it's great. I need to make a seat to fit around the central tree and I want to build a door with an old window on the right of the cubby garden. That and waiting for the trees to bush up, which I'm sure won't be that long ;)

On the plan to the left:

1. Pittosporum

2. Leptospermum – Pink Cascade

3. Leucadendron – Red Gem

4. Front path

5. Cubby cottage garden

Learning to use the chain saw and creating the doorway.

On the right is the central tree and seat position.

All done.

Butchering Day

March 19th was my last post. I can't believe it has been so long.
I have had trouble posting, and much on here at home.
An email from a friend and follower prompted me to get on and say hello and catch you up.

Here is the post from the butchering day.

Wednesday (the 27th March) was cut up the steers day.

At about 11.30 the butchers arrived and it was go go go. It was fast paced but I wasn't as stressed as I thought I would be. The first steer went into large bags per cut. Which was just as well as I was by myself. The second, went into meal sized bags which took more time but Aj was home and helping by then. We were blessed to have Friend#1 looking after the kids until 1 and then Friend#2 took over. I seriously could not have worked as well without the help so it was so greatly appreciated. The butchers were all done and driving away by 3pm. 

Beef cuts

I'm sure if I had wanted different I could have asked but the cuts of meat we were offered, and that I took, were as follows: 

Eye Fillet, Porter House, Scotch, 

Rump, Blade Steak/Roast, Oyster Blade, 

Rolled Roast, Silver side 

and anything left over minced.

We ate the best steak ever on Thursday night and it was only rump...can't wait for the eye fillets!

We went out to turn and rotate the meat in the chest freezer after dinner Thursday. None of it was frozen! The frezer was not coping with a full load. SO we sorted out the inside frezers and made things  fit. Only a few bags of mince and stewing steak had to remain out in the chest freezer. I think it would be okay if the meat was already frozen but the fan on it has not stopped running. We can't be sure it will not happen again next year and what if we have other things in the freezer? So it's off to buy a new chest freezer...some time before next years butcher :)

Slaughter day

Hello there. It feels like ages ago since I last wrote. I have started many blogs in my head but life has got in between my thoughts and the computer. Grr. Aj was on Senior camp last week and is on Outdoor Ed camp tomorrow until Friday so I seem a tad out of whack at the moment. Plus we seem to have taken a step backwards with Mr T so that doesn't help either.

Anyway, today we said goodbye and thank you to Angus and Scotch, our two steers.

We had a mobile butcher come out and dispatch them. It was really interesting. I have never seen an animal be shot. It was a nice clean shot between the eyes (never saw where it went in) and with a thud over 300kg of animal fell to the ground. I will spare you the details of the rest except to say it was a very quick process and I felt nothing but gratitude; both to butchers for their experience and to the steers for the meat that they are providing us. Also to our neighbour for the use of his tractor, saving a lot of time and effort in lifting and putting them in the coolroom, where they will hang until next week.

Yesterday we were blessed to have a local come out with a mini digger and dig us a MASSIVE hole for the offal. It only cost us a dozen eggs, such a blessing. So my exercise today was to partly fill it in the hole. The fat and some of the bones will go in next week when it is all cut up.

We will get a whole beast (Angus) for our freezer with three others sharing Scotch (½ , ¼, ¼). It is a massive process: the cutting up, packing, labelling and freezing, and who knows just how many cuts of meat there are. We will save all that though for butchering day.

Break through

We have had a break though with Mr T's behaviour!!!
While I saw aspects of many different disorders (lack of a better word) like aspergers, ADHD, or Executive Function, he never seemed to fit into the title properly. For example, too social or able to remember a sequence of tasks given. And their is a heart of gold there who seemed really upset when he did the wrong thing. 

I am not claiming to be an expert in these things but I have worked with teenagers with learning difficulties before kids and my mum has also had many years experience.

Why the change:
* he has been moved away from his classmates - helps with concentration and stops him getting into trouble as he cannot be bothered or be a bother to the person sitting beside him.
* He is getting harder work.
* I have stopped all sugary food in the lunch box. Really just my homemade cookie. He needs energy (the Graham's get tired and grumpy without food) but he is getting it through fruit and lots of it. His sandwich filling hasn't changed and I am giving him vegie chips (natural) as a snack/box filler.
* We have changed the night time routine so the the younger three kids go to bed and then we sit with Mr T and do spelling, reader etc He copes better on a full tummy, and without the distractions of his siblings. 
AND
* We have changed our prayer focus over him. Who would have thought...we should have done it agers ago!!! Praise God!

We have our cheery, beautiful little boy back. I see a change in our household too. He is happy to share toys that a week ago he would have made such a fuss over. A friend yesterday said that I seemed happy too. I am, I feel as though a weight has been lifted!

The other break though, my first sale on madeit. Some shoes. I am excited as sales mean more creating, like my latest brooches.

Have a wonderful weekend all.

What a wonderful weekend

Well it was a birthday weekend in our house. Miss Z turned four!

What a beautiful little lady you are. You are such a ray of sunshine to all that you meet. Your love of dancing, writing the alphabet and all things creative brings the family such joy. You have a wonderful sense of humour that makes us laugh even when the jokes aren’t funny.  You come out with the darnedest things and your understanding and use of words astounds me!

You are super excited to finally be four, and even more so that you have your very own kitten, Asha.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET. Love you more than words can say.

Thursday we collected 6 Australorp chicks to place under the Light Sussex who’s eggs were rotten. We also went to Miss Z's favourite café in Wynyard, Bruce’s, with a family friend. A lady my Grandma went to primary school with; my Grandma grew up here in Tassie.

Friday, her birthday,  we pottered here at home and had DIY mini pizzas for dinner.

Saturday was morning tea with cake.

Sunday, church followed by lunch, home at 3. I went for a snooze and there went Sunday J

Today is housework day. I like to try and do these as it means I can take it a tad easier during the week. Although with kids I do feel like I am just chasing my tail.

Oh yes, and Thursday evening I had all my hair chopped of. Well, almost all. Short enough that I can’t put it up anyways. I am loving it!

Creativeness

KEYCHAIN / KEYFOBS

Aj and a mate are writing school curriculum so I thought it was a great time for me to share some of my current creativeness with you. 

I have a MadeIt store where I am selling these things. Feel free to take a look. If you don't have a MadeIt account (which you don't need to look, but do need to purchase) contact me and we can sort something out :)

BABY SHOES

APPLIQUE TOPS

And These are some new plants for the garden. I just LOVE Geberas and couldn't buy them at my local nursery. I planted them today admits the wind. My garden is slowly but surely filling up. Now to remember to water them in this time of no rain.













We also slaughtered 8 meat chooks today. A few of them were huge. I roasted one this evening in a roasting bag. Something I haven't done before. It's dinner tomorrow night, so I'll have to let you know how it goes.