Cooking afternoon

​today I’ve been cooking all afternoon.  Lately on a Friday we have ordered takeaway.

Which isn’t a bad thing, but that kind of food can actually trigger a fibro crash. 

Too much fat, salt and unknowns 

So I’ve organised it all that I can have leftovers, which will feed us all weekend 

Mostly all home grown. Definitely all preserved by me. 

Doing the work in the preserving stage saves you work later. 

I’ve made a pasta bake and in the red casserole I’ve got creamy

Mushroom chicken. I’ve just added the rice.  It comes out like risotto 

Only with much less work 

I’ve got dessert all ready to put into the oven  

The easy dump cake, mixed berries with home grown plums 

White cake mix sprinkled on top and some butter 

Which will melt and make it nice and brown on top  

I made the bow pasta for Ana’s lunch tomorrow 

I’ve put extra veggies into the meat sauce so very healthy 

And finally 

Little cupcakes.  They’re made from an instant pancake mix  

These have chocolate chips in them. Because they’re a breakfast and not a desert mix 

It’s not over sweet  and a healthier option.  Well that’s what I tell myself anyway 

So now I’m good all weekend. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough for us to get some work 

done outside.  I’ve got pots that need  refreshing with an organic compost mix  

This is an easier job than removing a garden plot, and hopefully hubby will be able to give me a hand  

Now all I need is a good nights sleep.

Wish me luck 

Wordless Wednesday

​

One of those days

​you know the day. You start to do one thing, then on your way to get something 

Or the washing machine calls. You get side tracked and start another thing 

Then you go back to the first, detour and do a third thing and by the time you finish 

You haven’t actually finished any one of them. 

Like this

let me tell you all about this 

I got the gold thingy months ago. 

Then I ordered the beads. Two tiny packets with teeny tiny beads

Today I got the vase. So I put the gold thingy in keeping some out so it’s not all at the bottom 

Added one packet of beads and water.  I came back about ten minutes later and the beads had somewhat got bigger. So I thought ya know. It’s a big vase. I’ll add the second packet. 

Mistake.  Big mistake 

It stared to overflow, and those little suckers bounce. High and everywhere 

So I carefully took some out. 

Then more out 

And more out 

Finally I filled a two litre empty ice cream container.

To the top. I’m hoping it’s fine now. 

I might put a bowl under it. Just in case

In between doing all this. I also was putting stuff away and hanging 

Washing.

I had gone to the panda mart again to get some  sofa covers 

Let me tell you about this job 

The first cover was turned  round and round until I figured out how it went 

Then it’s pulling and tucking and trying to keep it even, so that the arm bits actually end up on the sofa’s armrests 

The second one was a little easier, but even so, it was a very hard workout 

I decided to stop at this point thinking I’ll go back and sort it later 

 Once I had rested and cooled down I ran into trouble 

I was on the floor fixing the square piece of fabric under the dining room chairs,

It had come down and was annoying me  

So I got down put it back up and pressed it back onto the Velcro.

Then I tried to get up. Oh my the pain. It made me cry out loud 

I sat back down and tried again a few minutes later  

Nope, wasn’t going to happen 

I needed help, but my phone was where I normally sit 

Way across the room. 

I slowly and carefully crawled all the way back to the chair dialled 

Hubby's number.  

It went to voice mail  he obviously was talking to someone on his phone  

So then I tried to ring wonder son.

He too was on the phone, like father like son!

So I texted them together saying whoever gets this first please come over

I’m stuck on the floor.

Meanwhile I tried again. Once again my body said, no

A few seconds after sending the text wonderson sent one back saying he was on his way.

Once he came in, we had a discussion on how best to tackle the problem 

He said just try to get up and I’ll put my arms around you from the back and pull you up. 

I had misgivings, but no choice, so I agreed

Well  let me tell you, I yelled out. Loudly 

He then got me some strong painkillers and I got them down  

I got a wheat bag  zapped it in the microwave and gingerly sat down  

Eventually the pain started to settle down. I decided to have a long soak in the bath.

I’m now sitting, again with the wheat bag and I’m feeling much better.

The moral of the story is, stick to one job at a time, so you don’t get 

All flustered and rush.  It really does end with someone getting hurt and crying 

And usually is me 

Section by section

​on todays agenda I was the clearing of the two small metal garden beds. 

They have been there for oh so long. I can’t remember at all what year I put them in. 

The metal has rusted and the weeds were so enshrined in them. That even using a pitchfork and shovel 

You couldn’t get it all apart. 

No wonder the poor plants weren’t growing. Let alone thriving 

So I started with this 

moving the frame was easy. It just pulled up. 

Digging through the dirt was a tad harder.  It only were the weeds packed tight 

But I had put a layer of red Scoria at the bottom to help with drainage 

The shovel kept hitting stone and it wouldn’t go forward without a gigantic push 

I used the fork to help break it up and that made the job a tad easier.

I had to carefully move the dirt as I had bulbs planted.

I did find quite a few, I also found some that had been strangled 

Bythe Kikuyu grass that has been the bane of my existence since moving here almost four decades ago. 

By this stage I was done. I had to ring hubby and see if he could come over and just help me move them.

I shovelled three large wheelbarrow loads out of that small garden  

I had two that were full I needed him to unload those, so I could finish filling the first empty wheelbarrow again 

I then asked him to bring me some potting mix me got in bulk, so I could replant the bulbs 

I purchased these over a few weeks.  Every time I went into the reject shop  got a couple more  

They were $10 each. I ended up with seven 

I used five for the bulbs, one bulb going into the green pot, and one little rosemary that had rooted when the branch touched the ground.  I put it into the cute chicken pot  I might give it to Ana to have and look after at home.

But first I’ll make sure it survives.

One bed gone  

You can see the blue half barrel planter.  On the other side of that is another 

Metal garden bed. I’ll tackle that one in a few days  

I need to have a rest day in between.  

It will be clean and the area opened up once I’m done. That wicking bed with the pitchfork leaning 

Onto it needs a lot of attention too.  It will get to it, as I slowly clear the area and make it pretty and  functional 

Not to mention, it will have  nowhere for spiders, or slithering things to hide.

With the dogs it’s been years since a snake has appeared in our backyard, 

But as Trixie is mostly inside and teddy is just old now  I don’t want to take any chances 

I’ve showered and dressed, I hung a load of washing on one of the clothes horses, and a second 

Load is currently being washed.

I’ll do three loads of washing today and be all caught up .

Thankfully we have leftovers for dinner, I don’t think I’ll be in any mood to cook tonight at all  

The rains are here

Warning  a long post 

​this morning we woke to the sound of rain. Since I’ve not been sleeping lately, 

Due to the inability to breath,I didn’t hear it rain during the night, but it had rained quite a bit.

Because we had prepped for it, the fire lighting as easy as lighting a match, and the logs are all dry.

When I received the new iPad I successfully transferred all the information from the old to the new 

It was a little different to the process most people use. Because it was so old  the two versions didn’t “ talk” to

Each other. I had to do it all on from the cloud  

The only thing I couldn’t do is transfer the SIM card account 

There was a section to do it, but again  they didn’t talk to each other  

So I had to go into the shop  

The lovely young people were very nice said that they could do it in a second 

They went into the iPad and found the same section.  They asked me what version iPad did I have 

I don’t know  it’s ten years old  

At that point they looked at me  closed down the old tablet and got onto their computer 

Unfortunately, they had just had a whole new system put into their computers and it was being glitchy

Of course it was.  

Three young people tried to log on but were unable too 

The fourth person got in. Success 

After getting into our carriers app, the second problem happened 

We have more than just my iPad on a phone network  

Which one of the numbers was mine  

There is nothing saying who it belongs to, as the whole thing is under one umbrella 

Named both hubby and me together 

More searching 

More troubles getting into the different area of the website 

But finally, success 

They found which number belonged to me 

We then wrote it down and I was told that it might be a good idea to 

Add that number into my phone   

I did that the second I got home  

I waited an hour before trying to activate the new sim

And success  I did it  

It was a tad anxious for me, mainly because I felt like I was 

Being a huge pain to the people at the shop,  but they were all so very nice and assured me 

That it was actually a great learning experience. That made me feel better,  bless them 

The lovely thing was, that every person who got ropped into helping 

Made a comment about the cover I made. Each and every one loved it  

That really made me feel better.  I might be old and not so tech savvy, but I can sew 

When I finally had it all sorted, and  nice cup of tea after.  I sat down to work on the EPP.

I finished sewing along the row I had started and then placed it on the floor to see how I can 

Turn it into a square 

I laid it flat and turned round to straighten the other side.  When I turned around 

Quality control had parked herself right on the corner 

She kept a close eye on what I was doing  

I marked the corners on the long sides of the quilt top,

Then counted how many hexies I had to sew to make the shorter side the same 

Length, 

I then marked the hexi at the end so that I know how many rows I have sewn quickly without having to 

Count from the start again 

Both sides need sixteen more rows to bring it all into the equal rectangle 

That’s pretty much what I’ll be doing the rest of the day  

Hubby is inside watching the football, the fire is going, and all is well in our little world  

I’m betting it’s going to be many, many years, before I purchase another iPad or phone

It’s just too stressful for this old crone 

Feeling better

​after three days of not doing much at all I woke this morning feeling a whole lot better. I needed to go to the pharmacy to pick up meds and deliver another encyclopaedia of prescriptions to them. 

They keep it all there so I don’t have to remember anything. They even send a notification saying my meds are due. 

From there I went to art you can walk from art to the pharmacy in two minutes. Bonus 

I got home thinking I’ll clean the fireplace and get it ready to light tonight 

Rains are coming and a drop of temperature. We will see. 

But I didn’t need too hubby had done it and has been outside organising more wood 

He’s using the forklift to move the steel crates from the wood pile to next to the house 

There they are all lined up ready. 

The closest one is the current crate. 

Me I’ve been on a mission 

I’ve been out to check the water trough 

And given Dobby some carrots 

I’ve been in the kitchen cooking everything that needed to be used 

Tuscan meatball in the casserole  pumpkin and potatoes roasting 

The punnets of tomatoes and cucumbers that I cut up for Ana’s grazing platter I’ve cut up into a Greek salad  I’ll add onion and feta just before serving  

The strawberries and a few blueberries I’ve stewed and will be used in a dump cake for dessert 

So easy  

I took the scraps to the chickens 

They were out free ranging but I locked them up when they came in to eat  

Now they’re safe and sound  I don’t fancy going out in the rain to lock them up  

So I’m ready for an evening of staying in and just relaxing  

A person Saturday night I think 

Lonely Friday

​yesterday I had a conversation with my beautiful daughter in law and told her how I was 

Not well. I had caught Georgias germs and felt yuck

I was still happy to take the girls but DIL told me to rest and that she really didn’t want 

The girls catching it again. 

Which is totally understandable and why I told her about how I was. 

So I slept in and Ive pottered around not really doing much at all 

I did finish the iPad cover 

I added some Velcro and it shuts nicely 

I am feeling better than I was yesterday 

And I’ll be totally back to my normal self by next Friday 

I Have missed the girls today, but appreciated the rest.