one contented homebody

a vintage inspired life

Friday, July 10, 2015

A Busy Week and Some Savings

Here is what I have been up to this week.

I made a whole orange cake from gifted oranges.

 I have been adding pretty touches to my journal/diary. This is how I  keep on track with daily jobs and different things.  
I have a to do list and I write out a little scripture from the Bible.  At the top I add the weather showing the temperature with a sunny or cloudy picture.  I keep record of how many eggs I collect and how much rain falls as well as how many mandarins in weight I have harvested.  
So far I have picked 67.3kgs of mandarins and the tree is still loaded.

I  decided to make use of my fireplace to dry breadcrumbs.

And I hung bunches of parsley and thyme near the fire to dry as well. This was really successful.


 We did a flying trip back to our hometown to catch up with friends.

 Ceduna is located four hours away.
 My parents live along the way so we stopped there for a day and night.

 Although it was cloudy the whole time we were there, the water was glassy calm.



This is the view from our friends house. 
I can imagine waking up to this each day, simply lovely J

I took some cuttings from my friends geranium plants.  I love these old fashioned flowers.  They grow really well here as they are so tough and hardy.

A gift from my dad.  
An old trolley that has a tabletop with drop sides.  It is still at my parents house because we didn't have the room to bring it home.

Here are some strawberries that were given to my parents. These came from the local supermarket and were going to be  discarded. Having a friend whose family owns the store can be a real asset. This is a large ice cream container full, and I was able to bring them all home.

 I also brought home some pineapple,

 onions,

 and avocados. 
These were all given to my parents.
I wish I lived closer as mum cant always handle all the food they are gifted. She does what she can by making jams, freezing etc to use things up, but sometimes the food ends up being given to the chickens, which is still okay, and they definitely don't complain  J 

 I prepared the strawberries for the freezer. I will make some jam with these and use some in our smoothies.

 There were eight pineapples all up.   I gave one to my daughter and the rest I peeled, chopped and put into bags in the freezer.  I am going to make some jam from these too and add to smoothies, pizzas etc.

My mum had these two jars in her cupboard. 
They are quite large and will come in handy for storage in my pantry. There are also some smaller ones in the op shop that my mum is going to get for me.  I like the way that Annabel has decorated these types of jars for her pantry.

 Another gift from dad. 
This time a retro plant stand.

 I gave it a clean and added some furniture oil to the wood, then placed my coleus in it. This plant started with the tiniest cutting I brought home.  They are so easy to grow, especially in a well lit area.


 On to our savings from my previous post.
Here is the bottle full of $2.00 coins.

All counted and it held a total of $948.00.
Not quite $1000, but close enough.
We have put this money in a tin to use for our travels.
 

We are in for a rough, freezing cold weekend.  Next week will be much of the same.  I will be getting some jobs done inside with the fire going to keep us warm.


Stay cosy everyone J 




9 comments:

  1. Lovely blog post Tania.

    I feel like I have been over for a cuppa/cake and catch up.


    Hugs

    xxx

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  2. Tania, it seems much of Australia is going to have that cold weather pass through. I believe it will even reach parts of the Tropics. They won't be happy. LOL! There you go, you saved over $900 in that bottle and here I am still wondering where I can get a bottle from. Ha ha! Well done!

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  3. great post and lovely to get all those free things. I should start that change jar thing as well. Used to do that but had forgotten to do it since we moved.

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  4. Dear Tania,
    What a great lot of photos!
    I love the cake. I LOVE orange cake. And I have oranges too so I better get moving.
    I started the bottle challenge. I am amazed by this. I have it up and running anyhow now to see how long it will take to fill it!
    This is such an enjoyable post. I really like that you are using the heat from your fire to dry things. This is such a good idea.
    You have given me lots of inspiration. Lots of love, Annabel.xxx

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  5. Oh i love your diary. Such a simple thing to center your day. What on earth have you done with all that fruit?

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  6. That drop-leaf table is a gem - I cannot wait till you get it home, polish it up and see where you put it.

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  7. *You would be welcome anytime Kimmie xx

    *Come on Nanna Chel find a bottle, any bottle will do lol. Even one that can contain different coins would be a help :) xx

    *Yes Gill you should start the jar. A great way to save as you can see it growing. xx

    *Dear Annabel, glad to hear you have started the savings in a bottle. You will be pleasantly surprised. You inspire me more than you know too. Love Tania xx

    * Hiya Lynda, I mostly juice the mandarins, but have given away heaps too. xx

    *Yes Phil I cant wait to get the table home too. I have made plans for it already :) xx ps sorry for doubling up comments on your posts again...

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  8. Your recording book is a great idea. I am going to do that too, starting tomorrow!
    That many mandarins! Is that from only one tree? I need a mandarin tree!
    Great on the savings already - fantastic. I never miss the change I put in my jar and it adds up pretty quickly.
    I use the Moccano coffee jars for all my spices, nuts, seeds, etc. People give them to me as they know I use them. I have printed some labels from the internet and they are fantastic. I love repurposing!

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  9. Dear Jayne,

    Yes all those mandarins are from one tree. I would guess there will be the same amount or more left on it.

    I am going to start using those jars too, and I am going to ask friends and family if they have any they don't use. They do look so nice with pretty labels on :)

    xTania

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