Foxs Lane

Crocheting up my scraps.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:16:00 +0000

The problem.

The problem with my plan to crochet a queen sized granny blanket that uses up all my straggly half balls of yarn, is that I'm about a quarter of the way through and I've already finished the good colours.

My intention was to neaten up my stash. But in the process I've used up all the brights and all that's left is the greens, pinks and blues. Don't get me wrong, I do like those colours a lot, but the blanket is starting to look a bit flat, and that is not the random, stripey look I was going for.

The solution.

So I went out and bought some more wool.

And then I had to buy a new/old basket to put it all in.

Of course.

So now I am all sorted.

I wonder if I'll have to crochet a use up all my scraps blanket to use up all my scraps from this use up all my scraps blanket when I've finished it. Get it? Good.

So, I'm wondering, what do you do with all your woolly/fabric/paper/haberdashery scraps?
Do you have a special basket/bag/box/drawer?
Do you devise special plans/projects to use them all up?
Do you give them away? Hoard them? Check them out?
Do you love the look of a wool filled basket as much as I do?

See ya later hot potata! x

Dress making.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:42:00 +0000

My house looks like a jam factory.
There are crates of fruit, jars, clips, rubber bands, and lids everywhere you look.
There are cauldrons and preservers bubbling away.
The air is sticky.

And it is Friday and my kids are tired and cranky.
I am too.
This school business is exhausting. Draining.

Last night when everyone had finally gone to bed and the house was quiet I almost succumbed to a bit of a tantrum myself. But luckily I stopped myself and thought instead about happiness. What could turn that impending meltdown around and make me feel good? It had to be something just for me. Something good. Something that would almost certainly work.

Another dress!

Something plainish this time.

Some op-shopped denim.

The same tried and tested and fail safe pattern but with a lower neckline.

I considered some ruffles.

But ended up with vintage lace.

It worked too.
A few hours later I went to bed happy.

I can highly recommend dress making as therapy over a tantrum.

There is so much less drama and emotion involved.
It is easier physically.
It is kinder on everyone you live with.
AND you might even have a new dress to wear the next day.
Yay!

How are things at your place?
Are you all tired and ready for the weekend?
Are you cooking? Sewing? Making?
Is it hot or cold where you are?
What do you do to turn tantrum into terrific?

OK, I'm off to scrub bottles and stir pots.

I hope your weekend is sweeeeeeeeeeeet.
xx

ps. From now on I'll be answering questions in the comments section.
So if you ask me something, please come back and check for your answer.

Upside-down plum cake.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:22:00 +0000

We rugged up, put our boots on and set off down the hill.
She and I.
We carried a bucket we had high hopes of filling.
We tried to identify the different animal poo we came across on the way.
She liked to use a stick to flick the poo off the path.
I preferred to step over it.
She played sword fights with sticks and hanging vines.
She made funny karate noises.
She always won.
We found our purple plummed trees.
The fruit was not always ripe but we picked it anyway because the birds were enjoying it too.
She loved to chuck the bird eaten plums as far as she could.
She picked the low fruit and I picked the high.
She liked me to pass her my plums so she could put them in the bucket herself.
When she had finished picking the plums she could reach, she pointed the tippy toe ones out to me.
We danced from tree to tree and filled our bucket.
We walked up the hill home.
I carried the bucket and she carried a branch with some plums on it.
She called it her magic wand.
She turned me into a frog and a princess and a baby and a dinosaur.
At home, in the kitchen together, we cut up some plums.
We weighed out 800grams.
And we made this cake.
It is delicious.
The perfect mix of sweet and sour.
We believe that if you use great ingredients and bake with love, that sweet treats are good.
That a piece of cake can rival a friend's packet of branded chips in a lunch box.
That a piece of cake can fill a tired school afternoon with love and comfort.
That a slice with tea after lunch, can make the farmer boys' afternoon all the more sweet.
That the girl and the mama will feel proud every time someone has a piece of their cake and tells them how good it is.
That the mama who is struggling with being a school mama, will feel like she did something good.

Sweet Wednesday to you.
xx

Blackberry & yoghurt cake. A recipe.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

It's blackberry season here in southern Australia. And what that traditionally means for us landholders and farmers, is that for the next few weeks we can stop stressing about this prickly weed that takes over everything, and start enjoying her fruits. For a short amount of time we can reap the rewards of this crop that we didn't pay for, or spend time weeding, fertilising or maintaining.

The blackberry fruit is like something for nothing. Like a thank you for putting up with it.

And so for a few weeks of every year, we get about with scratches up and down our arms and purple stained fingers. And during this time, there are always bowls of berries on the kitchen bench. There is always a big heavy pot simmering on the stove. There are saucers for testing jam readiness in the freezer. There are jars and jar lids being sterilised in the dish washer and in the oven. And there are always piles and stacks of jars of fresh, just bottled blackberry jam.

Every year I make jam. Hundreds of 300ml jars. Some for us, some for family and friends and some to be sold at farmers' markets. This year I've made about 30 so far.

But this year I've got a bee in my bonnet about expanding my blackberry horizons. This year I want to make blackberry other things too. Blackberry everythings.

It's just the start of the season, but so far I have made blackberry cordial with this recipe.

And blackberry and yoghurt cake.

This cake has been such a success that I've made it twice already. It's just so moist and delicious.
And most importantly, it's super dooper simple to bake.

Blackberry and yoghurt cake

A small bowl of blackberries.
A cup of yoghurt.
A third of a cup of oil.
Half a cup of sugar.
One lemon (juice and zest).
Two eggs.
One and 2/3 cups of self raising flour.

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees.

Line a cake tin with baking paper.

Measure and then whisk together the yoghurt, oil, sugar, lemon juice and zest until all combined.

Add the two eggs and whisk until combined.

Add self raising flour and keep mixing until you've made a smooth batter.

Pour a layer of mixture into your lined tin.

Sprinkle the blackberries over the mixture.

Pour the rest of the mixture out to cover the blackberries.

Put your tin in the over to cook for one hour or until the top of the cake is golden.

Pop the kettle on and enjoy a piece. Yum!

Next up for me is blackberry ice cream I think.

And then...who knows.

Do you have a favourite berry recipe?

A blackberry recipe suggestion?

Do you pick them?

Do you like them?

If you are in the other hemisphere, do you miss them?
Do you ever cook recipes you read on blogs?

Happy cake baking and happy, happy new week. xx

3 dresses I sewed..

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:25:00 +0000

So the girls went back to school and I finally pulled most of my clothes out of the caravan. The holidays are over.

And with that realisation came the realisation that I can no longer wear the clothes I wore on the road trip. Strange but true. I guess when you wear the same few things over and over and over and over, there comes a time when you cannot wear them anymore. A bit like the end of pregnancy.

So I decided to get busy and create a few dresses.

I love wearing dresses. They are easy. If it is warm, I wear them as is with sandals. If it is cool, I wear them with a little cardi over the top and leggings underneath. And if it is cold, I wear them with a cardi, a scarf and some boots. Easy peasy.

The old sheet dress.

This one is the prototype.
I'm not mad on that sheet design so I wasn't all that precious about getting it right straight away.
I found a picture I liked in a Japanese sewing book. (I'll fill in the details when I can find it).
I found a dress of mine that fits me well.
And I made a pattern.
And I made the dress.
And my farmer boy thinks it makes me look preggers.
But it is super comfy and great for wearing around the farm.

The old curtain dress.

This dress was made from an old hydrangea printed curtain. The fabric is quite stiff and holds it's shape well.
This front of this dress was made from the same pattern piece as The old sheet dress (above), but with the addition of darts for shaping and a longer seam down the front.
The back of the dress was cut taking about an inch off both sides.
All the shaping means that my farmer boy thinks it does not make me look preggers. Yay!
When I finished this dress and tried it on, I wrote on the twitter that I was thrilled that I had nailed my dress pattern.
I love it.

The old table cloth dress.

I made this dress out of an table cloth I'd been saving for a special occasion.
I really love that print.
This time I experimented with sewing the pockets on straight after cutting it out. After the shaping they became a bit crooked. Lesson learnt.
This time the neckline didn't really work. It's too high and the bias binding puckered. Facing?
But it's a great around the farm dress and a scarf hides all the problems perfectly.

And I like the red pockets. I think they're fun.

So now I have three new dresses. Hooray!!!!
Combined, they cost me about five or six dollars, that's including the binding.
And the best part is that I had everything here already. So that kinda justifies my floral fabric collecting addiction.

I think I'm ready for a new pattern now.
Hemming those three dresses can wait.
I'm thinking wrap around, maybe some crochet lace details.....

So that's me.
How about you?
Are you tired of your wardrobe?
Are you making something new to wear?
Are you making anything?
Do you love pockets as much as I do?

Happy weekend. xx

Our secret weapon.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:31:00 +0000

Wednesday.
The second last day of the summer holidays.
The second last day of seven months together.
A walk in the late afternoon.
Plums and blackberries picked.
And eaten.
And spilled.
And shared.
Time together.

Yesterday I tried to convince my farmer boy to chuck it all in, to hitch up the caravan and to head North again. Yesterday the impending school year felt overwhelming. Yesterday I wasn't sure where to begin. Yesterday I wanted to be free.

Today I'm not sure.

I love this place.
I love how things are so less complicated when we get out on the farm.
I love breathing in the clean air, playing with sticks, growing and picking stuff and getting dirty.
I love being together.

I have to remember to get out on the farm when things get too much this year.
To get everyone in boots and outside.
That'll get us through.
That's our secret weapon.

Do you have a secret weapon when things get too much?
Do you have a fail safe way of changing the mood?
Is it somewhere you go, something you make or something you do?
Do tell.

xx

Cheating on granny.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:49:00 +0000

So there I was crocheting away at my looooooooooong, biiiiiiiiiiiiig, queen sized granny blanket, when my mind wandered. Just like that. One minute I was excited beyond words at crocheting each double triplet into the space left the row before, and the next minute I wasn't.

I started to think about a rag rug. Very much inspired by Jodie's rag-a-long, I began contemplating methods and shapes and colour combinations. It took everything I had to stop myself from pulling down some floral sheets and ripping them into strips. It took almost more than I had to stop myself from doing a google search into ways of stitching the long braids together and a pinterest search for some rag rug eye candy.

But I succeeded. The rag rug will wait.

But the dress could not.

We came back from the beach and I made a dress.

An ugly sheet, just to get the pattern right, dress. But a dress none-the-less.

Not a few rows of the blanket.

And just like that the blanket has been neatly folded and popped on the shelf. A WIP (work in progress).

Hopefully I'll pick it up again soon.

I'm fascinated by that moment though. The exact minute when your current crush becomes yesterday's news. When your mind wanders. When something better comes along.

Is it inevitable in a slow burn project? If you rush and hurry can you beat it? Cheat it? I wonder.

Do you know what I'm talking about? Does this happen to you in your patch-working/novel writing/scrap booking/mosaicing/embroidering? Do you go back? Is there hope for the granny queen?

Last beach.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:15:00 +0000

At the end of last week, with a forecast for some beautiful, sunny days, we headed to the beach to squeeze the last out of of our seven months of summer holidays.

It's hard to believe that in a few days time we will be back in the school, uniform, lunch, activities routine again. Its hard to imagine how we will cope with appointments, meetings and schedules. With bed times and meal times and homework times and wake ups times.

So before all that starts, we headed off to the beach for a few days.

We've been swimming and digging and playing ball and exploring.

We've been walking through caravan parks and missing our road tripping life and talking about our next journey.

And we're loving hanging out with Miss Indi's friend Ethan, lent to us for five days. I know it's only short term, but things seem so much more balanced with a boy on board. Simpler. More active.

And despite the heat, I've been crocheting....and playing with my crochet.

And of course I've been op-shopping.

What's a trip to a small coastal town without the hunt for my buddies the Johnson Brothers and The Meakins? Who knows how the six of us plus luggage and thrifty finds are going to fit in the car on the way back.

Home again, home again tomorrow morning.

School uniform sorting, hair cutting, life organising for a few days.

And then the school year begins.

Deep breath.

What have you been up to lately?

Found any treasures?

Made anything gorgeous?

Been anywhere exciting?

Eaten anything delicious?

Do tell.

So random.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:26:00 +0000

I'm granny stripping.

I'm aiming to use up a lot of the odds and ends of balls of yarn that I've got rolling about here.

I'm making it queen sized to cover the foot of our bed in the winter-time, to warm our footsies. That means it's 441 stitches long which makes it sloooooooooooow going. I'm not certain how wide it'll be just yet. I think I'll know when I get there.

And I'm trying to choose the colours randomly. Not shut my eyes and grab one random, but more like pick each colour when I have finished the last. No long term plan.

I'm not so good at the old random. I prefer to have an order mapped out before hand. I feel more comfortable when I know where I'm going, what it'll look like in the end.

So this is a challenge for me.

Late last night after I finally popped the hook down and lay in bed I decided to rip it all out and start again in the morning. To hook a blanket that graduates in colour and shade through the spectrum. I know that would look good and it would be safe.

But this morning I changed my mind. I am going to keep going with the random. It's challenging me but so far I like the results and I am hoping that when there are lots of stripes, that the colours will blend a bit and the order wont be so important.

I think I can do it.

How about you? Do you do random? Or do you like a plan? Can you paper bag piece your quit layout ie. take the cut pieces of your quilt out of a paper bag and lay them as they come? (is that right Jules?) Can you randomly choose colours as you go? Do you have the end in sight or do you just make it up as you go along?

Whatever the weather, I hope you and yours have the most marvellous weekend.

Love Kate xx

cozy crochet.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:34:00 +0000

My farmer boy is a bit obsessed with cozies.

While we were away on our caravan adventure, everything had it's own cozy. There was the spare wheel cozy, the esky cozy, the IMac had a cozy made out of my childhood sleeping bag and there were various other cozies and plans for cozies along the way.

After we got home and we became a TV only on the weekends family, he ordered a cozy for that too. Why should a big black ugly box take pride of place in the lounge room when it serves no purpose for five days out of every seven?

So I set to work making a big, colourful pile of granny squares.

I sewed in the ends and sewed them together.
I wondered when it comes down to it, which part actually takes longer: the crocheting or the darning?

And then I pinned the finished granny blanket onto a grey blanket from the stash.

Sewed the grannies in place.

And TA-DAAAAAAAA!!!!

A television cozy.

It's so much prettier now.

Don't you think?

And life is so much better without the television.

We are so much more creative.

We are reading and playing and listening to music more.

We are choosing carefully what we watch on the weekends.

We don't watch any ads anymore.

Our best friends are people not characters.

And we are achieving so much more.

I highly recommend it.

I highly recommend crochet too. I love it.

What are you making?
Are you crazy for cozies?

Ciao! xx

Choosing happy.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:44:00 +0000

A few days ago something a bit yuk happened. It wasn't terrible or life changing at all, it was just the way someone else's thoughtless actions affected me and my family. It gave me a bad taste in my mouth and an uncomfortable feeling in my tummy.

At first I felt angry and felt like going for a run or bashing the dust out of some rugs with a squash racket. Then I felt sad and felt like hiding in my bathroom and feeling sorry for myself. And then I wandered around aimlessly for a while not really knowing what to do with myself.

We have worked really hard to create the life we lead. We have discussed, we have prioritised, we have made plans and choices and tried really hard to live a life that makes us happy.

How is it fair that somebody else's thoughtless actions can threaten the happiness of my family?

And then it occurred to me that they can't if I don't let them.

Crappy stuff happens no matter what, but if I don't react, if I don't give it air, then it wont be so big and it will soon fade away and become part of the back ground.

My priority, my job, is to focus on the good stuff and to keep on living a wonderful life with my family.

If you're looking for us we're out on the farm collecting sticks and making tee-pees for the beans and peas, we're weeding, we're planting, we're getting a lesson on nitrogen and nodules and we're collecting the coriander seeds. It's simple but it makes us happy.

We're choosing happy.

I hope you are too.

See ya. xx

Eat. (pie pastry recipe)

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:26:00 +0000

One thing we talked a lot about while we were away was food.

We grow and sell organic food for a passion and for a living and are rather obsessed with the stuff. The fresher, the closer to your kitchen it was grown, the fewer nasties used to grow it, the better.

But still we are aware that unless you prioritise food, the more often you end up taking short cuts and finding yourself with some not so great food habits. I think that's what happened to us before we left. We were so tired from looking after the farm and growing great food to send off to other people, that we ended up putting some not so great food on the table for our family.

So while we were away we resolved to come home and to prioritise our family's eating habits. To grow and pick and cook and prepare from the kitchen garden/farm as often as possible. To prepare from scratch as often as possible. To eat local and organic and in season as often as possible. To include the kids in the process from start to finish no matter the messy consequences as often as possible. To experiment. And to start broadening our food horizons with new flavours and tastes and ingredients as often as possible.

And you know what? I think we are succeeding.

We have been making all our own bread and pasta and pastries and doughs. We have picked and used berries and lettuces and herbs and beans and garlic and onions and eggs and plums from the garden. We bought and swapped masses of produce at the farmer's market. We have introduced a few new menu items and experimented with some new to us flavours. And the girls have been involved and made a mess and had fun.

And I think making it pretty has made a big difference too. Using lovely crockery and cutlery. Having flowers on the table. Making a meal an event rather than a rush. Spending time as a family eating and talking (not with your mouth full) and enjoying each other.

To be honest I am dreading school going back. I am not good at rushing. A huge, important aim for me this year is to continue on with this food plan. Maybe we'll have to start menu planning. Maybe I'll have to get more organised. I think I can. I hope I can.

RECIPE: Easy Peasy Pie Pastry.

Gathered from lots of recipes, adapted over time.
Used for any sweet, fruity pie filling.

225g of flour
140g butter, cold, cubed
90g sugar
Zest of one lemon
2 egg yolks

Chuck flour, butter, sugar and zest in your food processor and mix.
Add yolks and a drop of water and mix to make into a dough.
(I love that moment when the mixture binds and becomes a smooth dough).

Roll half of this dough out to line a greased metal pie tin and pop the other half in the fridge.
Pack your cool filling tightly into the pie bottom.
Paint the edge of your pie bottom with an egg wash mixture of one yolk and a splash of milk.
Get the remaining dough from the fridge and roll it out on your floured bench.
Pop it on top of the pie or cut it into strips and weave them like we did.
Use any remaining dough to decorate the pie.
Press the top onto the bottom around the edges.
Egg wash the top.
Cut air holes in the top if it is sealed.

Cook.
Our rhubarb/berry pie was cooked at 150c for about 50 minutes.

Breathe in those yummy pie smells. Admire. Get out some pretty plates. Eat with yogurt or cream. Enjoy.

Are you good eaters? Do you menu plan? Are you adventurous? Do you think about the ingredients? Are you trying to be better like me? Could you eat salad every day like me? Have you made/eaten anything amazing lately? What are you eating today?

See ya! x

Creatively speaking...

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:20:00 +0000

I am carrying this basket of yarny rainbows where ever I go.

I am hooking grannies.

I am trying to be good and sew in the ends as I go.
But not always succeeding.

I am playing with our farmers' market stall.

Think mixy-matchy table-cloths and rushed single layer unhemmed bunting.

I am playing around with my second quilt.
A mini, yellow, quarter version of Kate's pattern.
I think it might become a cushion cover.

We are shopping for paint to paint the whole house white.
Except the girls' bed rooms which they want blue.
I still would love a yellow kitchen but the farmer boy wont budge.

I am celebrating op shop treasures by draping them over everything that stands still for long enough.

One dollar for these two rolls of old lace! Can you believe!

And I am trying to style a few lovely corners of my home to make me feel better about the vast majority which looks like a bomb has gone off in it. Ahhhh school holidays. Love em.

What about you?
What have you been up to creatively?

Bye! x

The second tee-pee

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:14:00 +0000

I'm completely obsessed with childhood at the moment.
With stretching it. Prolonging it.
With getting out and getting dirty.
With making stuff and burning stuff.
With pretending and imagining.
With climbing and swimming.
With singing and telling stories.
With laughing.
With exploring and getting lost and falling over.
With grazing your knees.

There is a bit of a tug of war beginning in this house over independence.
Over mobile phones, shopping trips with friends and over outfits.

I acknowledge and remember those feelings.
But I am trying to slow it all down.
There is so much time for those things.

These times are precious and can be magical and wonderful.

Yellow.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:02:00 +0000

I am obsessing over the colour yellow at the moment.

It's so strange. Usually I am a bluey, greeny, grey-y kinda girl. Usually I barely notice the warmer side of the spectrum. Usually yellow is just that bit too close to awful orange and has me averting my eyes.

But at the moment I love yellow.

Give me lemon, gold, blond, daffodil, mustard, canary, straw or honey.

I think I must be sunshine deficient or something.

Whatever the weather, I am desperately trying to convince my farmer boy we need a yellow wall somewhere in the house and maybe, just maybe a yellow quilt or cushion.

How about you?
Are you loving the lemon?
Or are you hovering somewhere else on the colour wheel?

Bye! xx

Birthday boy.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:58:00 +0000

I know it's your birthday today, but you gave me the greatest gift of all.

This morning after we ate B shaped pancakes but before you filmed a movie with your new remote controlled helicopter, we collected the eggs. Just you and me. We were pretty quiet, just going about our business of collecting and feeding.

And then you turned to me and told me you were happy. You were having the most wonderful birthday.

What more could I want? Your happiness is everything to me.

Happy birthday farmer Bren, I adore you. xx

Bye!

ps. Thank you all for your lice stories and your other embarrassing moments. I love this community. I love that we are in this together. I love that you made me feel so much better about everything. xx

pps. The gorgeous Miss Cherie is organising a Stash and Treasure recyclers market.
When: Sat 14th January (that's next Sat) 9-2pm.
Where: Marrickville town hall, Marrickville.
What: A market for all artists, crafters, sewers, collectors and lovers of stuff. Bargains galore of art and crafters excess creative materials.
Wow: Miss Cherie tells me there are over 30 stalls booked. Amazing don't you think.
For more details check the blog; http://stashandtreasure.blogspot.com/

pps. I hope your weekend is all kinds of wonderful.

Quilt.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:40:00 +0000

The worst thing happened to me this morning. I'm talking nightmare material here. In fact I think what happened is the grown up version of that kiddie bad dream about going to school nudie.

My hairdresser sent me home because I have lice!!!!!

Can you believe??

And here I was thinking I was on top of those nasty little critters. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

And not only is this terrible for the obvious embarrassing, dirty Berty reasons, but I also am desperate for a haircut. Six months of beachy, road trippy behaviour has not been kind to these tresses. And now I have to wait until next Wednesday for an appointment.

After I was politely informed of the disgusting parasites I positively fled to my car, soggy, just washed hair and all. I sat there for a while and contemplated my day. It was surely only heading downhill from there.

But then I remembered my year of happiness and decided not to give in. I tried some retail therapy in a few oppys - fail. I tried shopping for a new sundress - fail. I came home and tried to act happy at family lunch time - getting warmer. And then I decided that the only thing that would save this day would be to sew. More specifically, to finish my quilt.

So I did.

I ignored the load in the washing machine, I ignored the lunch dishes, I ignored half of the cries of muuuuuuummmmmm!!!!! I ignored my half decluttered wardrobe and all of the other jobs on my mental list. And I sewed. In fact I quilted.

I quilted lines. I made some binding. I bound the quilt (please don't look too closely at the corners). And then we took down the pot-holders and popped it on the wall.

And now I feel OK. My hair is a mess but I'm OK.

Time will tell if I'll be brave enough to keep my hair appointment on Wednesday though. I think I might need a change of hair dressers.

Is your hair itchy after reading this? Mine is. I hope my farmer boy likes the idea of lice combing my hair tonight. Pretty romantic huh!

So has anything embarrasing happened to you lately? Anything? Please help me feel better.

bye.
xx

Bread.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:28:00 +0000

One of the things making me oh so happy at the moment is baking bread.

I am madly, passionately in love with baking bread.

I love the whole floury process.

Choosing or altering a recipe. Gathering the flours, oils, yeast, seeds and sometimes sugar or honey. The measuring spoons and cups and jugs and bowls.

And then the measuring the mixture together and stirring and mixing and then kneading and kneading and kneading.

I love the kneading part the best. The rhythmic pushing and stretching. How almost like magic the sticky mixture becomes smooth and elastic. It is so physical and therapeutic.

And then over the next few hours, I love looking over to the side board and seeing the tea towel covered mixing bowl. It makes me feel like a good house wife, like a good mother, like a good person.

I love the pressing down of the risen dough. Squooshing the air out of it and reshaping it into a loaf, or rolls, or something else.

I love that bread dough is moody and temperamental. It reacts differently on hotter or cooler days. It somehow senses it when I am grumpy. Sometimes it let's me experiment with the recipe and at other times it reminds me that perhaps I need to read more about the make up of a dough and ratios and stuff before I go drastically changing them.

I love that most days a hot loaf, straight out of the oven, is sliced and spread with butter and oohed and ahhhed over. Whereas on other, not so cooperative days, it can be hidden under loads of toppings and no one is any the wiser as to your failure.

Apart from the fact that baking your own bread is cheap, healthy and a lovely feel good activity for you or for the whole family, it is deceptively easy. And I've read that homebaked bread is lower in gluten too.

It's as simple as googling some recipes, making certain you have the ingredients you need and having a go.

At the moment I am using recipes out of:
The River Cottage Family Cookbook
River Cottage Veg everyday
River Cottage Handbook No. 3 Bread
This white bread recipe
This challah recipe
This pita recipe

Every morning since we have been home I have made the bread dough mixture first thing, before I have even had breakfast or coffee. Some mornings I make it alone and knead the dough rhythmically almost like a meditation. And other mornings I have little helpers who like to measure in the ingredients and pull off bits of mixture to knead.

Every day in the late morning I punch down the dough and shape it and leave it to rest again.

Just before lunch every day I pop the loaf into the hot oven to cook and to fill the house with delicious bread cooking smells.

And then every lunch time and for the rest of the day, we slice up the loaf and enjoy it. YUM!!

Do you bake your own bread?
Do you have a favourite recipe?
Do you love fresh home baked bread as much as we do?

My crew are swimming in the house dam.
I'm off to join them.
Later dudes. xx

2012-The year of happy.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:40:00 +0000

I'm not making a list of new year's resolutions this revolution. I didn't keep my resolutions last year or probably the year before so there's really no point.

Instead I have decided to declare 2012 my year of happiness. The whole year!!!!

I've got a pretty good idea of what makes me happy and I'm going to dedicate the next year to implementing these things.

I realise it might come across as a bit self indulgent, but I know that when I am happy I am a better wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, person....so its also kinda not self indulgent at all.

I'm using My happiness recipe that I wrote while we were away as a starting point.
Love where you live.
Shake up the routine.
Love the ones you're with.
Remember how lucky you are.
Be brave and change.
You can do it.
Be more social.
Indulge once in a while.
Get active.
Eat well and drink lots of water.

Also not on that list are be creative, grow lots of stuff, read books, get outside as often as you can, beware of clutter, stop talking and start doing and remember that you are not responsible for other people's grumpiness.

It's an ongoing work in progress. I know I'm going to have to check in with this list and in with myself often but it feels doable this year.

So lovely peeps, a big cheers to a wonderful and super-dooper happy 2012.
Thank you for sharing this great adventure with me and my gang and here's to many, many more.

Lotsa love,
Kate xx

Pretty spots.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:36:00 +0000

Strange old day. Unsettled feeling in my tummy. Can't seem to stick to a task. Feeling overwhelmed by the never-ending kid's craft area declutter. Missing my boy and my big girl who have been in Melbourne since yesterday. Can't think of what to make for dinner.

So I'm focusing on the smaller details. The details of my day today. There's so much to love when you look at the small stuff. It goes along with my theory that home magazines barely ever show you the entire room, they focus on pretty spots.

So here are some pretty spots that I'm loving from my day today;

I'm loving my wool basket and my growing pile of grannies.
I'm loving my little jug collection on the windowsill in the kitchen.
I'm loving capturing little moments in time on instagram.
I'm loving baking bread.
I'm loving that no TV or movies during the week make us be more creative, read more, play more and be less lazy.
I'm loving reading all about baking bread in River Cottage Handbook No.3 Bread by Daniel Stevens.
I'm loving that my girls are big enough to be great company for brunch out at Breakfast and Beer.
I'm loving playing the records of my childhood.
I'm loving the spontaneous dancing in the lounge room.
I'm loving it when the girls get lost in a game that goes on and on and on.
I'm loving the sunshine drying my washing.
I'm completely overwhelmed by Pip's post. Wow! And I'm in such ridiculously ace company.
I'm loving the kitchen garden.
I'm loving blue things.
I'm loving the hula hoop craze.
I'm loving fetta and rocket on everything for every meal.
I'm loving the thought of Emily coming to visit early in the new year.
I'm loving pretty pyrex.
I'm loving the lighter feeling I get every time I come back from dumping a load in the op/shop pile.
I'm looking forward to cider-o'clock.
I'm loving that my farmer boy and my big girl will be back before bed time.

Ahhhhhh that's better.

I hope there are just so many pretty spots in your day today too. Care to share a few?

xx

Tee-pee.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:14:00 +0000

A sunny afternoon.

A ride on the back of the ute.

The front paddock.

A bunch of friends and sisters.

Some bush poles, some baling twine and some rope.

A pile of old sheets.

An old blanket or two.

A tee-pee.

A loaf of bread fresh out of the oven.

Jars of homemade blackberry jam, Vegemite and hummus.

The tin of cookies we made and iced two days ago.

Colourful tin glasses of cold water.

A game of Sleeping Beauty, some mud balls and a bit of relaxing.

A bit of crochet.

All the while keeping watch on Buster and making sure that he didn't bust out.

Summer.

Holidays.

Bye. xx

Quilt top!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:42:00 +0000

One week after we arrived back home I decided I couldn't ignore the neatly packaged up, freshly serviced, sewing machine near the front door any longer.

One week after we arrived back home I was folding some fabric in my sewing room when I was struck by a sudden and very powerful urge to make a quilt.

I think at this stage in time I should tell you that I have never before made a quilt. I have possibly even made a little joke once or twice at the expense of my cutting up fabric and sewing it back together friends (sorry). I had always thought I might be irritated at the fussiness of quilting. That the exactness might not suit my personality. That quarter inch seams and self healing mats might belong to a culture I would never be a part of.

But like I said, the urge struck and who was I to ignore it.

So I gathered up some vintage sheets.
I measured them and cut some strips.
Then I dealt with an incident with Miss Pepper and the rotary cutter and some blood (lesson learned).
And I pinned and sewed the bits of fabric back together.
And then I cut them up again.

And then I got up on a chair and off the chair and on the chair and off the chair to fiddle with the design.

And then I sewed it all together and pressed the seams.

And ta-da!!! A quilt top!!

The wonderful and incredibly beginner friendly pattern is Kate's. I think the hardest part of the entire process was trying to take a picture without the wind blowing it up and around.

I'm a bit excited. And I can hardly wait until midday tomorrow when Merrilyn's shop opens and I can buy some wadding stuff.

Eeeeeeeeeeeep.

In the meantime, as I wait, I'm rummaging through my scraps drawer and googling beginner quilt patterns and dreaming about my next project. I think I'm hooked.

Merry, merry.

xx

My top ten tips for settling back home beautifully.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:53:00 +0000

One: Hit the home ground with a plan. Get focused and keep busy. Declutter, paint, plant a garden, organise your photos into ibooks or slide shows...

Two: Make your home beautiful. Fill jars with flowers, open the windows and let the sunny air in, play your favourite tunes, make your bed, pop your holiday souvenirs around the house....

Three: Do something you love every day. Bake, crochet, dance, write, draw...

Four: Don't force yourself to settle back into old, busy routines too quickly. Have some quiet time in the afternoon, take a Nana nap, snuggle up with a book and a cuppa, challenge your kids to a board game, take a blanket outside and read a book on the grass...

Five: Be active. Go for a walk every day, dance around your lounge room, jump on the trampoline, go for a bike ride, skip rope...

Six: Keep it fun. Eat pancakes for dinner, read aloud to each other, give each other manicures, have a party...

Seven: Change things around a bit. Move the furniture. Change the focus of the room. Be brave.

Eight: Make new rules. No TV during the week, kids set and clear the table for meals, chores, family Friday fun nights (thanks for the idea Rapps xx)...

Nine: Eat well. Plan meals, buy lovely seasonal ingredients, pick from your garden, try new recipes, get everyone involved in the prep, set the table with your best and fanciest stuff, light candles, eat together.

Ten: Be a tourist where you live. Explore the local area, go for long walks, visit the shops/farm-gates/wineries/restaurants/lakes/attractions, go on a picnic, row the lake...

And if all else fails, fake it til you make it. Pretend you are enjoying yourself and then you probably will.

This list is by no means law. It's just what's working for me at the moment three days after coming home. I was a little worried about how I would feel when the holiday was over. I was worried we would come home and I would be sad. I can be quite emotional like that. But I haven't. In fact I'm having a lovely time at home. So I thought I'd share my list here. Partly to remind myself and partly because it might possibly be of use to you when you get back from your adventures.

Happy travels - happy homes - happy Hannukah - happy Christmas - happy weekend. xx

Things I am liking @ home.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:20:00 +0000

(pics; our garlic, our bed, our kitchen table, our 80 Mile Beach-shell mobile, our raspberries).

Freshly Miss Jazzy cut flowers on the kitchen table.

Showering without thongs.

Our own farm produce.

Hot running water at the sink.

Our own eggs.

Reading.

Not bumping into each other all the time.

Sunlight streaming in through clean windows (thanks R xx).

Space.
The dishwasher.
Familiarity.
Not having to hunt for four one dollar coins whenever I want to do the laundry.
Walking around nudie-rudie.
Not going anywhere.
Berry picking every day.
Our own bed.
How happy the girls are with their classes and teachers for next year.

Music we never got a chance to upload to the ipods.

Walking the farm.

Our things.

The compost bucket.

How calm and content the girls seem to be.
Reading Pippi Longstocking together every night.
The space we are starting to feel on day three of the great declutter.
The quiet nights without TV.
Walking in the bush.
Meal planning.
Using the bits of crockery we bought on the trip.
Looking forward to Friday night-family movie night.
That feeling you get when you chuck out ten years of odd socks.
Rediscovering old favourites.
Knitting.
Home.

I'm hoping your home is a wonderful place to be right now.

Bye! xx

Artful Blogging.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:10:00 +0000

If I am to be totally honest with you and with myself, I am terrified of reverting back to the Kate I was six months ago. The Kate who lived here before our adventure. That Kate was happy but I think she was tired. She found it easier to keep doing the same things in the same way rather than making changes. The thought of painting walls or building things or putting new rules in place just seemed too hard on top of everything else she felt she had to do.

One of the biggest gifts from our trip is my new sense of who I am, what I want and what I like. I feel a bit like I did before I had kids. Like I have remembered me. I've come home with a vision for how I want this place to look and how I want us to live. We spent hours and hours discussing all our homecoming plans while we were still away and now it's time to start making changes. Straight away.

We came home with some definites that are keeping us on track; no TV or movies during the week, no microwave, a walk a day, as much outside time as possible and no being a taxi driver between kid activities until next week.

And then there's the decluttering (day two and we have filled the back of my car for the op shop and a skip is arriving later tonight for rubbish), the redecorating, the plans for outside and the farm plans.

I feel such an urgent hurry to get things done and put in place just in case the old Kate returns and I lose my motivation.

And while we were away the latest issue of Artful Blogging came out with my article and photos in it. It is such a beautiful magazine and I am thrilled to be part of it.

I wrote an article about a dress I once made out of bits and bobs sent to me from bloggers from all over the world. A zip from here, a doily from there...after I finished sewing the dress I packed it up and sent it to Miss Deb who then gave it to a little girl who had lost everything in the New Zealand earthquake.

Unfortunately for us Aussies, I think Artful Blogging is only available in America. Actually, when I asked Jennifer, the Assistant Senior Managing Editor, she thought I was the only Australian blogger they had ever featured. Just a little bit exciting I think.

I hope wherever you are that you are happy and motivated.
Bye now. xx