Making something out of (almost) nothing

This weekend, we ended up doing some projects for the house.
On Saturday we went to a garage sale and I saw a coffee table I liked the look of - well, I liked the look of what I knew it might be!

This photo was taken part way through the sanding back. The top of the table was originally darker than the legs!

Only cost $10. I decided to do a two-tone look, with the top stripped back and the frame painted white. My loving (and very tolerant) husband stripped it all back. We deliberately left the edges a bit rustic/shabby chic.

We bought some clear Estapol and some paint (shade of white opal) which cost $60 but we have enough left over that when we find a similarly restoration ready dining table, we will have enough for that project too.

2 coats and a couple of hours and here's the result. I love it and now I just need to work out how to get rid of my old coffee table!

Project #2 - Work in progress! I am trying to make basket to collect our eggs every morning (I live in hope of huge hauls of eggs!). This basket uses stuff I already have around the house - some thin cord/rope and strips of left over material from previous quilts/projects I have made. I still have a long way to go (this much has taken me about four hours!) but I love how it is using up things I have stored away and getting rid of my material clutter!

Kids go back to school tomorrow and I go back to work and I'm anxious to see if I can still fit everything in once over 8 hours of my day is spent in the office. However, these holidays have taught me how precious time is and I'm making a concerted effort not to waste so much time. I have to set a time limit as to how long I spend on the Internet (otherwise 30 mins can turn into over an hour!) and I am limiting my TV time by only watching shows I passionately love - it's amazing how I can sit and watch what my kids are watching (which is usually crap!) just because the TV's on.

I hope you all have had great time with your kids over this school holidays but I must say - I am really looking forward to school going back and routine coming back in!

Pests and Panic - A day of tests....

Good weather and things to do in the yard means neglected housework - and I neglect housework at the best of times! But first things first, I had some pest eradication to do.
Our yard has been invaded by harlequin bugs. They are sap suckers so while it doesn't look initially like they are damaging a plant, it's sucking it dry on the inside. My dahlia was covered with them and all of a sudden, it looked absolutely terrible.

The dreaded Harlequin bug on my native Hibiscus

Thanks to Gardening Australia, I read that the best way to control this pest is a strong solution of cheap dishwashing liquid and water. Spray it on and it suffocates them.
Hey presto! Spray them and in a couple of minutes, they're feet up on the soil. Yay! Now I know what ate my tomatoes and I look forward to a better summer season next year without these little critters. I just need to spray regularly to keep them at bay.

 

A quiet day until....my beautiful puppy Roxy got her head caught in a fence! She dived to chase a weed on the other side of the fence and couldn't get her head back through! The yelps she made were horrific! Luckily it didn't restrict her throat or breathing so I just had to keep her calm until help arrived. Many thanks to my neighbour who was able to come to our rescue! We couldn't push her head back through as her ears where stopping her progress so my neighbour got the bolt clippers and cut the wire around - and voila! Roxy was free! Scary stuff and I really hope she's learnt her lesson! Consequently the housework will have to wait until tomorrow!

On another note, I made vegetable stock concentrate tonight. It saves soooo much money than buying liquid stock and I get to use the almost dead veggies from the fridge and I can use whatever veggies are to hand. Yes, I am lucky that I have a Thermomix, but I see no reason why anyone with a blender couldn't do it too. All you need is vegetables, herbs and salt. For non-thermo people, here is a link to a recipe you could use - remember if you don't have the veggies or the right amount, improvise with what you have - Vegetable stock concentrate


My stock was quite green this time due to the excess of zucchinis I've been blessed with!

Hopefully tomorrow doesn't contain the panic levels of today!



Green Eggs & Ham - Two down, one to go! - The start of my self-sufficient lifestyle

Been a busy weekend and I am loving looking at the results. My husband and I named our property "Green Eggs and Ham" due to the green views and the fact we are right next to the abandoned slaughterhouse.

However, now it has become my motto for my love of simple and grass roots living.

The green is for my garden - flowers but especially veg! I have quite a few things in harvest and have planted more for winter. There is nothing like seeing a seedling become a strong and healthy plant. I love being able to pick vegetables off my plants and smell their deliciousness.







 I enjoy my kids saying how they love "our" vegetables - veggies they previously didn't eat. I take pride in being able to give excess produce away to family and friends.

You don't get that when you buy all your fruit and veg at the shop.


Yummy!

The Eggs are for our chickens which we've only just acquired. I love watching them scratch around and I look forward to the fertile soil they are creating.


This is where my chickens get to scratch around all day! They love dirt baths under the tree.

They all have different personalities and I could spend hours just watching them. I feel grateful that they eat the scraps that otherwise would have gone to the bin.

If they didn't lay eggs, I'd still have them. But when they lay eggs, what joy at finding your eggy present in the box! I love wrapping my fingers around a still warm egg and taking it up to the house for my kids breakfast. It brings joy to my heart every day.

You don't get that when you buy all your eggs at the shop.


Thanks to our main layer, Sweetcake!

So next is the ham! We want to get some pigs but I'm still researching at the moment.

 

I'm still new at this caper but I love every second.

If anyone has any advice for me, please feel free to comment!

My new goal and daily challenge - will you tag along?

My dream is a self-sufficient lifestyle. In reality, this will be nigh on impossible to achieve. I work full time. I have three kids under 10. I have a husband who works full time too, and while he works at DIY during winter, I become a cricket widow when the summer months roll by. I don't have much money. I don't have much land (about half an acre). I have next to no experience. I study history part time at Uni. And, well, I can just be extremely lazy most of the time.
Having financial issues lately made me re-evaluate what I find important in our family. Is it the ability to be able to get what we want, when we want it, or is it more satisfying and fulfilling to make it ourselves, recycle something, or save up and be patient?
Well, that's what I want to find out. I can't say I'll post daily but I will use this blog as a bit of a diary and hope I can inspire others to seek new ways of doing things in the globalised and, dare I say, sometimes selfish world. I have ambitions - I want to make more household items, like cleaning products etc. I want to convert Mrs Beeton recipes from the 1800's to the Thermomix to try old school recipes in a modern way. I love animals and have started our menagerie this weekend by obtaining a gorgeous puppy and 9 chickens for next to nothing - and I am so grateful for them being part of our family and lifestyle. The kids are loving it too, and they are learning responsibility by having to put the chickens to bed every night.
I want to reassess every dollar we spend - what can we do without, what can we make do with, how can I get things cheaper? Our goal is to get out of debt (apart from the car and mortgage) by the end of the year, and to pay off our mortgage by the time the our eldest finishes high school (so we have 9 years - a big call!) and I certainly don't want to wait until I'm 70 to retire!
Of course, there is a need for our modernisation and globalisation in today's world, but I certainly don't want to be a slave to it. I'm not going to sell my car and start riding a horse to work, but there are other ways that I can make life more saturated with meaning for my children.
Come along for the adventure - try out some things and let me know about them - let's be proud of our work together.
Find me on Facebook here!