08 November 2015

The Week that Was

Marigolds - not just colour for the garden but pest control for the tomatoes. I love their bright, happy colours!
Looking back I've managed to get a lot done this week that will boost our coffers or stretch our budget.

Planted cucumbers, more tomatoes, more zucchini and some rainbow silverbeet. The older zucchini plants already have flowers - yay! We may actually get a decent crop this year :)

Picked the oranges and mandarins off the fruit trees for morning teas.

Diluted a bottle of dishwashing liquid 50:50 with water. It works just as well diluted as it does full strength, and I'm getting two bottles for the price of one.

Finished off the Christmas gifts I was making.

Stitched some buttons on a couple of shirts so they can be worn again.

Cooked all our meals from scratch using ingredients already in the pantry, fridge or freezer.

Queried a bill I was sure had been paid - it had - so gratefully accepted the refund. It pays to keep track of payments.

Collected the water from the showers and kitchen and used it for cleaning this week. We've had rain so it wasn't need on the garden.

The boys helped me put another set of shelves in the laundry so I can finally get the stockpile sorted into a decent order and have it (mostly) in the one place. Now I can do a detailed inventory and make a list of the last few grocery items we need to see us through 2016.

Had a wonderful day yesterday with Pamela, Joy, Wendy, Maureen, Anne, Meg, Lee and Mel. We went shopping for card making bargains (and I think everyone picked up a few) then spent the afternoon making lots and lots and lots of cards - our most productive afternoon since the group started. Stay tuned for the instructions to make a lovely boxed set, perfect for a gift (teacher, thank you, birthday, Mother's Day, just because) that will cost you under $2 to make - really!


Gratefully accepted some Grosse Lisse tomato seedlings - they're now planted in tomato bags.


Also accepted some chili con carne seasonings. I don't buy ready-made seasonings, but these are perfect for packing in our camping tucker box instead of decanting and packing a jar from the kitchen. Chili is a great campfire meal and we have it a lot when we're camping.

Was surprised with a beautiful card and an extra special surprise gift from a beautiful friend. Wayne and I are overwhelmed at your kindness and thoughtfulness and we can't thank you enough. It was the perfect end to a lovely week. Thank you :)


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5 comments:

  1. Thats a good week Cath! I am glad you had the rain too. We had a good soaking. The farm did too.
    My tomatoes are doing well, I am excited to see about fifty baby tomatoes so far and loads of flowers.
    Your card making afternoon sounds like so much fun. I regularly snoop in the news agents at cards for ideas and to see the prices. They arent getting any cheaper I can tell you that! ($12.50! for one I liked!)
    Have a good new week. I am having a quiet and planning Sunday. I needed this! With love, Annabel.xxx

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  2. You had a great week Cath. I had so much fun yesterday and even made another card this morning for my nephew with the embossed paper and new paper I bought yesterday, came out great!
    Your very welcome for everything and thanks for everything you do for all of us, xxxx

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    1. You'll have to post some pictures so we can see them. I haven't packed up the table yet, in the hopes that I'll get some more cards made :) I'm looking forward to January already, I can't wait to make the OSW Pamela is putting together for us.

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  3. What do tomato bags look like? Do you make them up yourself with soil or are they a specific blend of something you buy?
    I've only grown well in the ground once. Would like to give this bag method a go-I have lots of concrete, if it would work on that.

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    1. Lisa, my tomato bags are just "green" shopping bags - you know, the cloth reusable ones from supermarkets. I fill them with tomato potting mix (it is formulated for tomatoes and other veg, costs around $4 a bag). I like them because they're easier to move than pots, having handles. But you can buy tomato bags from nurseries and hardware garden centres, they're about $5 each. Or you can just buy a bag of tomato potting mix, poke holes around the base with a screwdriver for drainage and plant the tomatoes straight into the top of the bag. Once they're finished you can add the potting mix straight to the garden or into the compost - don't reuse it for tomatoes, best to always start with fresh soil/potting mix.

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