Pioneering

The subject of pioneering continues to be big for our family - initially encouraged by my interest in it and enthusiastically grasped by kids who have heard Little House on the Prairie and other stories.

We haven't learned much about our local history, I think because neither Hubby nor I have a personal connection to this place. On a day this week when winter decided to have a last go at us, we visited our local settler cottage museum.

The kids were fascinated that the very swing used by children over a hundred years ago is still in the tree.

This amazingly detailed dollshouse with working lights was gifted to the museum. We could have stood there for ages looking at the intricate details.

A slate, like the very one Anne bonked Gilbert on the head with! This thing is heavy - poor Gilbert.

A4 in front of one of Mum's favourite things - a Singer treadle machine. I want.

Pumping water would be fun for a while, but good, hard tedious work every day.

After our visit I was inspired to finish the girl's Little House costumes. I7 is having a lot of fun in her Laura regalia.

This photo screams Holly Hobbie to this '70s girl;-)

Some other thoughts on Pioneering:
* I bought Hubby a book on Handy Farm Devices in the hope we'll have a little handy farm for him to utilise it on one day.
* I had huge fun last weekend at a cheese-making course with a homesteading buddy (she's a real homesteader while I'm still just a wannabe).
* Thank you, Aunty Claire, for introducing me to the writings of Wendell Berry. I am getting so much soul nourishment from his descriptions of people connected to place, and his honouring of those who work and love the land.

(Eek - I should update here more to avoid long, disjointed ramblings.)

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has definitely sprung at my place. The winter knitting has been put aside and the sewing machine fired up as inspiration hit with Soulemama's new book, Handmade Home arriving. Did anyone else have the Reader's Digest Needlecraft book growing up? Mum had "disposed" of our old copy so I was super excited to find a copy for M (gonna be 10 in the weekend).

I put to use some Amy Butler decor weight scraps I'd scored and whipped up a pretty new mousepad for my ugly puter desk. Playing around with a bit of patchwork encouraged me to sign up for a beginners quilting class at my local fabric store for next year. Hubby and I are always keen to pick up new skills, particularly those we can pass onto the kids.


I replenished my supply of mama pads with some thrifted sheet remnants and gifted bamboo fleece. I'd already made my little sister and I matching "sheet pants" from the sheets. We were able to wear our pants and share a bed in a fancy schmancy hotel during a girl's weekend away recently.

The kids and I discovered a summer coloured candlewick bedspread and matching pink'n'yellow sheet to be turned into a Beach Blanket to Go.


I'm nagged by the thought that some of this creative energy would be better spent in a much needed spring-clean of our house. Oh well.

Selfish Knitting

I love that I have a Mummy who happily (apparently) knits for my kids so I can focus my knitting on MYSELF. I'm pretty sure noone else is gonna do it for me;-) I finally sewed on all sixteen buttons to my Sixteen-Button Cardy. You'd think the name would have warned me that there would be a bit of button sewing required. Doh. I should also have been put off by the wide neckline knowing that I am somewhat narrow of shoulder. So although the yarn is completely scrummy and it fits well I think the continual yanking back onto my shoulder may cause this item to not be worn much.

True Words

What I really miss is someone able to string an intelligent sentence together (that I agree with) and enunciate it properly;-)

Bread Matters

I'm not huge on posting food pics here because I'm not that good a photographer or food stylist. However, lately I've been making the BEST bread that I feel like boasting about. I got Bread Matters on Sandra's recommendation and apart from being an enjoyable, revelationary and revolutionary read it's opened new doors in my bread making. I cranked up a rye flour sourdough starter and use that with our home-ground wheat flour and usually some soaked grains to make a tasty, filling, long-lasting Vogels-like loaf. I do feel revolutionary making bread using no commercial yeast, just the wild beasties I've cultivated in my kitchen;-)

Nothing better than topping it with M(nearly)10's homemade grapefruit marmalade!

I use a fancy schmancy French loaf tin. It's double walled which helps give a nice evenly cooked, lovely crusted loaf. The finish is polished for non-stick-ness rather than the gross teflon non-stick stuff that eventually chips off into your food to poison you;-) I need to get a couple more so I can cook a weeks worth of bread on one day. One major benefit of the bread is its long-lastingness.

I love how our children's literature reflects stuff in our family life - as it should. The Giant Jam Sandwich baker doesn't add any strange preservatives to his huge loaf.

The only filler the In the Night Kitchen dudes try to add is Mickey;-)

Baker's Dozen Socks

I love knitting socks! Last week I finished my lucky thirteenth pair. They're comfortable, much prettier than bought ones, and wear really well. I've invested in a decent darning mushroom to keep them all in good working order. (Suppose I better learn to darn now.)













Now I'm just waiting for my new Socks from the Toe Up book to hit my letterbox so I can use the lovely yarn I've bought from the Joy of Yarn and Needlefood.

(Hey Judy and Christine - are my mismatching stripes making you twitch? Every time I see that happening I chuckle imagining you rewinding the yarn to make sure it wouldn't happen on yours.)

Our Play Garden in Winter

Our little play garden has pretty much been lying fallow over winter. We'd meant to put a green compost crop in but time rolled on and it hasn't happened yet.

The rhubarb is doing well. It's in the first year so we haven't been able to harvest any yet.

We transplanted some of last seasons strawberries and have put another ten crowns in the same bed - all snuggled under a layer of peastraw as winter hasn't finished with us yet.

We're probably a bit late with our garlic but we always think it's worth a crack trying new things. We put some shallots in as well.

Hubby built me a weeny poly house for my seedlings out of bits and pieces we have lying around. He'll pop a shelf or two in there next.

In the meantime I've started my spring seedlings: broad beans, roquefort beans, sugar snap peas, purple broccoli, rainbow beets, spinach, thyme, sage, borage and allysum. I'd like to try capsicum and chilli in the "hot house" as we've never had any luck with them here.

We're going to put a quick mustard crop in the community allotment, then "The Three Sisters" - corn, beans and squash. The whole venture is a great learning curve about soil quality, crop rotation and what our local seasons support.