The Week That Was 24th April 2022

Each week we try to live as frugally as possible. We have to, we don't have an unlimited income, we have a very, very limited income and a rather tight budget.

But that doesn’t mean we go without the things we need; we live the Cheapskates way deliberately. We long ago ditched the stuff that wasn't important to us, so we could have the things that are. It works.

We have everything we need, and after talking to Wayne, we have everything we want too. We have been and are truly blessed.

This week I stopped eating the raspberries and started putting them into the freezer. When there are enough I'll make jam.

Processed orders for dishcloths and started knitting more to replace them in our shop, Home Among the Gum Trees.

I have been checking the daily power usage on my phone. Our bill was going up, and our usage was going down. Something didn't add up, so I've been tracking it each day, and when the next bill comes in I'll be checking it to make sure it is correct. A phone call to our power company will follow, to discuss rates.

Placed a bulk order with Hindustan for soup mix and beans. Combined with a friend to get the free delivery (orders over $90 in Melbourne metro area), otherwise I'd have had to drive to Dandenong to pick the order up and with the price of fuel, that wasn't something I wanted to do in the Patrol.

Made a bulk batch of chilli. We had some for dinner on Monday night and the rest has been frozen for future meals.

Made a bulk batch of spag bol sauce by turning 500g mince and two cups rehydrated TVP into pasta sauce. Used some on Tuesday night, and bagged up another three meals for the freezer.

Packaged rice, soup mix and beans in mylar bags for long term shelf storage. Interesting experiment; the oxygen absorbers have worked in some of the bags, and not in others, yet they all came from the same packet and were opened and used at the same time.

Dropped Hannah's car at the mechanic for her. Twice.

Was very grateful for the rain we had on Monday and Tuesday. Rain water seems to really give the garden a boost and it saves watering.

Dried the washing on the clotheshorses on wet days.

Used the lamb bones to make soup. Put some in the fridge for lunches and bagged some up for Hannah. The rest is in the freezer.

Added a few drops of eucalyptus oil to the mop water to freshen the house.

Bought reduced Easter chocolate at Aldi to add to the baking stockpile.

Kept an eye on the garden to make sure the areas that have been seeded stayed damp. As a result there are already beetroot, turnips and parsnips peaking through.

Found Shapes marked down to 13 cents a box at the Reject Shop, with three months on the date. Bought six boxes and put them away for treats and birthday celebrations through the year.

Too good a bargain to pass up and they will keep for months past the BBD

 Used capsicums from the garden to stretch burrito filling.

Used canned potatoes, dehydrated onions, celery and carrots and the last of an A10 tin of tomatoes to make tomato vegetable soup for lunches.

What did you do to save money, time and energy this week?

The Week That Was 17th April 2022

Time gets away from me, especially if I don't add to my list as things are done.

One reason I've not posted is I've been busy! Strange that, considering it is the busy time of year, with the garden and preserving happening.

This week:

Stale bread was dried to make breadcrumbs.

Oranges and lemons were sliced and dehydrated for winter.

Dehydrated pizza sauce.

Dehydrated pasta sauce.

Laundry was dried on the clothesline on sunny days.

All our meals were cooked using ingredients in the pantry.

I finished a couple of dishcloths for the gift box, and two hanging kitchen towels that will be a gift.

I set AJ the challenge of researching printers. My printer stopped working and while I don't print a lot, when I need to, well I need to. I did price getting printing done but boy is it expensive so I'm hoping he'll find one, otherwise I wait until the EOFY sales and see what pops up.

I dropped my car at the panel beaters, they'll have it for three weeks. After waiting over three months, another three weeks is nothing.

Fed the fruit trees with worm tea.

The first Pink Lady apple on this tree and it's a beauty!

 Little oranges on the trees fed with worm tea this week

Put the veggie peelings into the compost.

Saved the cardboard from some parcels for the garden.

Planted up three limes and a lemon tree that Hannah bought me on clearance.

Ate fresh raspberries, straight off the canes, for my breakfast every morning.

Replanted peas, parsnips and mini turnips that were eaten by something.
Squashed a snail - at the very top of the orange tree! This particular tree is in a pot, on raised bricks and it's about 130cm tall. I can honestly say I have never had snails at the top of my fruit trees before, or at least I've never found them.

Made a triple batch of focaccia filling. We had some for lunch on Saturday and I bagged up the rest. Hannah took some home, and the other packets are in the freezer. Used capsicums, zucchini and eggplant from the garden and garlic, onion and mushrooms from the preserves pantry. Only bought ingredient was tinned tomatoes, bought in bulk and cost 40c. Total cost for 8 meals for two: $1.40 (everything other than tomatoes were grown in our garden, from seed).

The eggplant were very slow this summer, but they are making up for it now. I'm picking 5 - 6 every day, good thing we like it.

Worked on Home Among the Gum Trees.

Bought a half leg of lamb from Aldi ($11.99/kg) for Easter Sunday dinner. Wayne is cooking it on the barbecue as I type, and the veggies are ready to go into the oven. The bones will be used to make soup for the coming week - it's going to be cool.

Planted a little wooden wheelbarrow with lavender grown from slips. The wheelbarrow is made from scrap pine, and I whitewashed it to take away the bright yellow-ish colour of the pine. Embellished it with a little wooden birdhouse I painted and distressed. We are thinking of adding both the wheelbarrows and the bird houses to Home Among the Gum Trees - what do you think?

Labelled Lacey's water bucket so everyone knows it is her drinking water.

What have you done to save money, time and energy this week?

How do I recycle these jumpers?

Here's a mid-week challenge for you: how can I recycle four of Wayne's old work jumpers?

The problem is the logo, it is embroidered on two and stamped on the other two. Because of the work he does they can't go to the op shop with the logo on them (for security reasons), but I can't get the logo off them.

They are otherwise in good condition (two are too big for him the other two are two small) so I'm looking for ways I can use them that won't be a security issue.

I've thought of using them as padding in pot holders and to make hot water bottle covers, even though they're not the prettiest jumpers they are pure wool.

So I need your ideas. What can you suggest? How can I recycle these jumpers, without compromising his company to stop them just going to landfill (which is what the other employees do - cut the logos out and then toss the jumpers).

The Week that Was 30/1/2022

Yesterday was our 33rd wedding anniversary. Where have those years gone? It doesn't feel like 33 years, it barely feels like any time has passed. Love, loyalty, faithfulness, kindness, caring, humour and adventure have filled our years together, and it's my dream they do for at least another 33 years!

Hannah brought me 10 kilos of onions and my plan was to slice and dehydrate, but the humidity wasn't good for dehydrating, so they have been sliced and frozen and I'll do them this week when it is cooler. The rest were sliced and turned into caramelised onions for the pantry. 

Wednesday was Australia Day, and we spent it in Bunyip State Park with a friend, just four wheel driving and enjoying being out in the bush for the first time in ages. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, and we had fun!

I had a quiet week in the craft room. It was hot and humid and just plain energy sapping.

A while back a friend gave me a sheet of clock faces to use on cards, so they were cut out and put in the box to use.

Cut out some apron card bases ready to decorate.

Of an evening when it cooled down, crochet was easy so two shower pouffs in lavender were completed. They will go into one of the gift tins/trays for Christmas.

The laces and ribbons are out of control, so small pieces of card and paper have been turned into bobbins and I'll wind them while I watch TV. I made quite a few of these last year and didn't keep any, but now I have a craft room the laces and ribbons can be on display, and the bobbins will keep them neat and (hopefully) look pretty.

While the bits of paper were out I made up some seed packets. I have an idea on how to use them to create gifts.

AJ gets coffee in little glass bottles. Sprayed them with chalk paint. They will be lovely on a white metal tray on my desk.

Lastly is the clock. The craft room needed a clock, and I wanted it to be pretty. A clock we had was redecorated and I love it.

I have a funny story. Hannah has been bringing Lacy down with her when she comes home for weekends, and she has been so good. I was worried about the garden but she's just pretty much ignored it.

Well we have rhubarb in a pot, and it was getting big, so I was very brave and split off a crown, the first time I've done it, and planted it in a pot next to the herb pots. It was growing so well, I was so proud. 

So the saying pride goes before a fall - well on Sunday just before Hannah left we were outside and she said "oh, oh, Lacy's been digging in the pots". When I had a look she had, but the rhubarb was gone! The pot was empty! I was devastated, almost cried. Then I thought that would teach me for being so proud.

On Friday night when they arrived, Lacy came in the front door and trotted straight out the back (I was thinking what a good dog she is, she knows to go straight outside) and I followed her.

Well that cute dog went straight to the rhubarb pot and started digging. I growled at her, but she kept digging - and she dug up the rhubarb plant! She had buried it!

Well I just laughed, what else could I do. Then I replanted the rhubarb and it's been a week and it seems to be doing OK, even after a week underground!

2022 Canning and Preserving Plan

Interest has been shown in my canning plan for the year, so this year, after watching and being inspired by Leisa from Suttons Daze, I have created a written plan that is decent enough to be shared. Usually I just jot down in my planner what I've done, how much and when.

I'll update it through the year as things get added to it, and hopefully it will also act as an inventory so at the end of the year I should know exactly what is in the pantry as far as canned and preserved foods goes.

Here's what I came up with - bare in mind that it may, and most likely will, change through the year, depending on what produce and meats are available. And it's just a basic list-  it may, and most likely will, end up being significantly bigger.

My plan differs from Leisa's in that I've noted how each thing is to be preserved - hot water bath, pressure canning or dehydrated, and I've included half pints, pints and quarts as the jar sizes because they are what I use most of. 

There shouldn't be a lot of freezing happening as I want to get away from being freezer reliant for our food storage. I just have the thought that if the power is out for any length of time, even with a generator, keeping three freezers frozen is going to be very hard work, if not impossible. So shelf stable preserving is becoming more and more appealing to me.

That's it for now! It can and will change, but by the end of the year it will all be well and truly done and on the shelves.

Gathering the Fragments 26/9/2021

This week started cold and wet! Not a lot was done, a migraine put a stop to me being too active for most of the week.

Washing was dried on the clotheshorses.

Caught the shower warm up water and tipped it into the washing machine.

Made 30 small fruit cakes for the cake tin.

Stuck to the TEOTWAWKI pantry challenge, making a loaf of bread and using up rolls and wraps from the freezer.

Used sausage mince to make patties for sausage breakfast muffins in bulk.

Chicken fillets were $4.99/kg at Australian Butcher so 4kg was canned as ugly chicken.

Chicken fillets were $4.99/kg at Australian Butcher so 4kg was canned as ugly chicken.

Ordered some stocking stuffers online as they were on sale and the estimated day we can get back to in-store shopping is 5th November. I can only imagine the chaos in the stores from then until Christmas.

Soaked the fruit and made one Christmas cake, wrapped it and put it away. 

Shredded the cardboard boxes from some deliveries and used it as the base for the fourth veggie bed.

Wayne's work jumper had a small hole in it, so I found some medici wool (very fine wool used for embroidery and tapestry) and darned it, then used a dark blue Sharpie to go over it to colour match to the jumper. Even AJ couldn't find the darn and he watched me do it! Jumper is now good to wear and we keep $70 in our pocket (yes, they are that much to buy!).

The weekend was forecast to be cold so a big pot of soup went into the pressure cooker, and it was so good!

Friday was a baking day.

And we survived the earthquake!

What a week we had.

TEOTWAWKI Pantry Challenge Day 9 22/9/2021

Breakfast:
1 tea bag
Milk
2 muffins
1 sausage patty
2 slices cheese

Lunch:
10 slices bread
1 bagel
Butter
5 slices ham
2 slices pastrami
7 slices cheese
Sauerkraut
Russian dressing
Wholegrain mustard
Butter

Dinner:
2 chicken fillets
MOO Condensed Cream Chicken Soup
1 tin coconut cream
1 pkt frozen casserole veggies
3 tsp curry powder

TEOTWAWKI Pantry Challenge y 8 21/9/2021

Breakfast:
1 tea bag
Milk
Orange juice
2 muffins
1 egg
1 sausage patty
2 slices cheese

Lunch:
8 slices bread
4 slices cheese
4 slices ham
Butter

Dinner:
Ravioli
Meat sauce (canned from pantry)
Grated cheese
2 bread rolls made into garlic bread (rolls from freezer)

Snacks:
4 fruitcake cup cakes
2 oranges

How are you going with your TEOTWAWKI pantry challenge? So far so good here. Honey and seeded mustard are the only things on the shopping list so far.

TEOTWAWKI Day 7 20/9/2021

 This is a great challenge; I'm finding that my stocks are pretty much what we use, with the variables being the fresh veg and fruit. We eat a lot of veg, not that you'd know it the last week, and go through a reasonable amount of fruit. I aim to get the 5 serves veg/3 serves fruits into each of us every day in one way or the other.

I'm down to maybe one meal left of potatoes, but there is rice and pasta, and looking at the meal plan we'll have pasta tomorrow night and rice on Wednesday, pizza on Thursday so we should make it to next week without anyone noticing we've not had potatoes as often as usual.

Breakfast:
1 tea bag
Milk
2 muffins
2 eggs
2 slices cheese
1 orange

Lunch:
5 hot dogs
5 hot dog rolls
Grated cheese
Bbq sauce
Mustard

Dinner:
4 kransky
1 onion
Bbq sauce
4 small potatoes
1/2 bottle cream
1/2 cup UHT milk
1/2 onion
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Salt
Pepper

Snacks:
3 tea bags
3 tsp instant coffee
Milk

Made one batch of mini fruit cakes - 30 from batch
1kg mixed fruit
Cinnamon
Mixed fruit
Nutmeg
2 eggs
2 cups SR flour
Molasses
225g sugar

TEOTWAWKI Day 7 19/9/2021

Breakfast:
1 tea bag
1 tsp instant coffee
2 slices banana bread (freezer)
Butter

Lunch:
8 slices bread (freezer)
Butter
1 tin salmon
Cream cheese (freezer)
Vinegar

Dinner:
1 chicken (freezer)
5 potatoes
Small piece pumpkin
Peas/corn/carrots
1 onion
Cauliflower (freezer)
Gravy
Chocolate self-saucing pudding
Ice-cream

TEOTWAWKI Day 6 18/9/2021

Breakfast:
2 tea bags
2 tsp coffee
Milk

Lunch:
Quiche
5 bread rolls
Ham
5 slices cheese
Mustard
Butter

Dinner:
1 pkt corn chips
Haystack filling (from freezer)
Lettuce
1 tomato
1/2 cucumber
Grated cheese
Last of the sour cream - about 3 tbsp
Ice-cream
1 ice-cream cone

Snacks:
4 tea bags
3 tsp coffee
milk

Gathering the Fragments 19/09/2021

This week all the fragments are being gathered and used, every last crumb, because I am doing the TEOTWAWKI Pantry Challenge, and can't use any shopping I might get until 27th September.

Bread crusts have been turned into toast. Normally I dry them and whizz them for crumbs, but as any bread we get now has to be made by moi, crusts become toast. We have plenty of crumbs.

Thinly sliced a half a tomato for sandwiches. Only 1/2 in the fridge, so it has to last.

Writing the meal plan on the whiteboard on the fridge works. I wrote out lunches for the week, and of course our dinners. I've found we are eating much better than I thought we were.

Dehydrated 4 kilos peas/corn/carrots from the freezer to make room.

Saved the shower warm-up water and tipped it into the washing machine each morning.

Made some cards, two mystery cards, one a baby card, using what I have. 

Planted six capsicum seeds in peat pots and put them in an old croissant box in the front window. It's working well as a mini hot house, I planted them on Tuesday and already have three shooting.

Continued to work on the garden beds and moving dirt.

Four of the new beds should be ready for planting next week - the compost and manure will have had a couple of weeks to settle so the new plants aren't burnt.

Made some new pot holders for the kitchen, using scraps of quilt fabric from the stash.

What fragments did you gather this week? How did you use them?

TEOTWAWKI Day 5 17/9/2021

Breakfast:
2 croissants
butter
strawberry jam
scraped out jar of raspberry jam
1 tea bag
milk

Lunch:
5 meat pies
tomato sauce
bbq sauce
1 tea bag
milk

Dinner:
chicken fillet
1 cup rice
1 tsp chicken stock
1 pkt stir fry veggies from freezer
garlic
ginger
kecap manis

Snacks:
3 tea bags
3 tsp coffee
milk
1 banana

TEOTWAWKI Pantry Challenge Day 4

Breakfast:
2 English muffins
Butter
Strawberry jam
2 slices cheese
1 tea bag
Milk

Lunch:
2 hot dog rolls
2 hot dogs
3 bagels
Cream cheese
Smoked salmon
1/4 onion
Tomato sauce
Mustard

Dinner:
3 MOO pizza bases
Pizza sauce
Grated cheese
Ham
Salami
Jalapenos
2 eggs
2 slices bread
Milk

Snacks
4 tea bags
3 teaspoons instant coffee
Milk
1 banana

TEOTWAWKI Pantry Challenge Day 2

I've already found a gap that needs to be filled: honey!

I scraped the last of the honey out of the jar and went to get one off the shelf to replace it, and there was none! Then I remembered that I stopped buying the honey that was often on sale at the supermarkets because of the honey scandal of it not being 100% pure, and was going to source a more local supplier that I could be sure sold only pure honey. So honey is on the shopping list.

Snacks:
3 teaspoons instant coffee
4 tea bags
Milk

Breakfast:
2 English muffins
Strawberry jam
1 banana
Honey
2 tea bags
Milk

Lunch:
10 slices bread
5 slices cheese
1/2 tomato
Butter

Dinner:
1 jar mince
1 tin tomato soup
1/2 packet spaghetti
Onion flakes
Garlic granules
Sweet basil
Grated cheese

TEOTWAWKI Pantry Challenge Day 1

Yesterday (13th September) was the first day of this challenge for us. 

How to keep track of what we used? It was a bit of an aha moment as I was writing the meal plan on the whiteboard, but well why not use the whiteboard? It's already on the fridge, it's easy to make notes on it and it can be used over and over. I know, I'm a slow learner.

So I'm jotting what we use each day on the whiteboard as we use it.

Yesterday was the first day of this challenge. 

Drinks:
3 tea bags
3 teaspoons instant coffee
milk

For breakfast we used:
2 English muffins
butter
raspberry jam
1 tea bag

For lunch we used:
5 hot dogs
5 hot dog buns
grated tasty cheese
bbq sauce
tomato sauce

For dinner we used:
4 x chicken fillets
Breadcrumbs
Tomato paste
4 x slices cheese
5 small potatoes to make wedges
Vegetable oil
Paprika
Garlic powder
Lettuce
1 tomato
1/2 cucumber
1/2 red onion
Olives
Balsamic dressing

A TEOTWAWKI Pantry Challenge

Hello Cheapskaters,

On Saturday, a lovely friend from The Netherlands mentioned in her beautiful post a challenge to live off our pantries as they are right now, for two weeks.

That is a brilliant idea, and here's why: if you don’t know absolutely for sure you can do it, then you need to assume you can't; that if there is TEOTWAWKI event, your pantry won't have everything in it to sustain you, your family, your pets, your home and your garden.

We all have decent, well stocked pantries. And we might all think we have everything we'd need for two weeks other than fresh milk/fruit/vegetables and perhaps bread.

But unless we attempt to live off what we have RIGHT NOW, we'll never know for sure.

So, with that in mind, I will be joining Petra and for two weeks, starting today, living from our pantry as it is right now.

Quite a few friends mentioned that they didn't want to do that because they are saving their pantries for an emergency; a few mentioned that they felt the need to keep stocking and didn't want to run their pantries down.

Cheapskaters, your pantry is meant to be used! If you are building your pantry and not using it, then that is hoarding, not stockpiling or pantry building and it is not saving money, time or energy.

A stockpile is a fluid thing. It is meant to change, and change often. It is meant to be used, and then refilled. It is not meant to sit in the house or shed and look lovely.

So keep stockpiling. Keep filling your pantry. I will be. Right now our pantry has more than enough (I think) of the basics and a few treats/luxuries/extravagances to last us a very long time. But after reading and thinking about Petra's thoughts, I need to be sure.

Of course I have my lists, and they are quite detailed, with exact quantities, but unless I test those numbers accurately they are just estimates.

Now I won't be using what I'm adding for the next two weeks - I will use what I have on hand as of today, and only what I have on hand. Any half-price or marked down specials or other shopping will be put aside for the two weeks so I know that only what is in the pantry will be used.

It will be a very worthwhile experiment and experience. I know that Wayne will say "we're out of such and such" and I'll tell him I'll add it to the list, but we won't be getting it or using it until after 27th September (that's when my two weeks will be up). There may be grumbles, but I'll deal with them - if this was a real TEOTWAWKI event I'd have to deal, and so would the rest of the household.

Seriously think about joining the challenge; I suggest you start today. Right now. Immediately. No running out and doing a top-up shop before you start.

If we do find ourselves in a TEOTWAWKI event we won't have time to run out and do a top-up shop and even if we could I can guarantee there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of other people all trying to do the same thing. If you thought the TP Wars of 2020 were bad, think of that scenario on steroids and you'll have some idea of just how time consuming, frustrating and potentially dangerous that will be.

I'll be making detailed notes of what I use, what it was used for, how much and what is in the pantry. This information will be very important in a TEOTWAWKI event because it will give me a picture of how long what is in the pantry will last without rationing, and then with rationing. This information will also help with future shopping and pantry rebuilding.

While I was listening to a podcast this morning I went through the fridge and freezer and wrote up lunch and dinner meals for two weeks, using what is in the pantries. We will run out of salad veg, but there are plenty of canned, dehydrated and frozen vegetables in the pantries. Fresh fruit will come from our trees, the fruit in the freezer and canned from the shelf. There is yeast and flour to make bread. I know we'll run out of fresh milk, but there is powdered, UHT and tinned milk in the pantry.

Right now, being only a couple of hours into the challenge, we're looking good.

There are two bottles of fresh milk in the fridge, 8kg of cheese, 5 dozen eggs, 2 lettuce, 2 tomatoes, 2 pkts hot dogs, 1 pkt smoked salmon, 4 cream cheese, butter, 2x600ml cream.

There is meat and chicken in the freezers or on the shelf, along with beans.

In the bread tin is a loaf of bread and a packet of English muffins. There are two packets English muffins and two packets bagels, as well as four croissants and six hot dog rolls in the freezer along with three packets of wraps on the shelf. They are all things that would be bought every fortnight, but if we run out there is flour and yeast and they're all easy to make.

I can't wait to see what the pantry looks like at the end of the two weeks and what I have on the lists.

On a note of caution: if you do join in (I hope you do) please don't post what's in your pantry. No one, even us Cheapskaters, needs to know exactly what and how much you have in your pantry - that is private and confidential! I talked about this a while back on our YouTube channel.

 I hope you join Petra and me! If you do, please comment below. I'll be posting every day with what we eat and what pantry ingredients are used.

Gathering the Fragments 12/9/2021

Sunday, inbetween rain showers, we worked on filling the veggie beds. They are big, and will take a lot of fill, and we are on a budget so buying in what we need isn't happening. This means as we put one new bed in place, we add cardboard and tree prunings to the bottom, then add sugar cane mulch, then we mix the soil from the old beds with compost, and with the soil we are digging out of another area we are working on, and using all that to fill the beds. We are buying the sugar cane mulch, but as we need it so we don't end up with too much. I found a couple of open bags of sand left from Thomas' fish tank experiment, so that was mixed in too.

Made more fruit cakes for Wayne and the boys. I think fruit cake is their favourite cake at the moment.

Started some lettuce, silverbeet and cucumbers in peat pots.

Had a double-up baking morning on Thursday to fill the cake tins and freezer.

Pizza danish and nutmeat rolls for lunches

 

Dried oranges to use later.

Dried frozen veggies to make room in the freezer.

 

Two kilos peas/corn/carrots dehydrated fit into 1-1/2 500g jars

 

 Dried strawberries - they've been cheap and plentiful the last couple of weeks. They'll be powdered to use in baking and icings and smoothies.

Had half a chicken fillet left from dinner one night, so I chopped it up, added some onion, garlic powder and condensed cream of chicken soup and make a chicken pot pie that we had for dinner last night with salad and wedges.

With the wind this week the washing has been outside on the line to dry. Nothing beats the smell of line dried washing.

Have six tea towels waiting to be hemmed then trimmed. The plan is to crochet the trim; it not only makes them prettier but strengthens the hems too so they last that little bit longer. And they'll go into the present box, to add to some other little things for gifts.

Started a stockpile shopping list. I've been restocking as things are used this year, but I have a few things I'd like to get ahead on. Having them on a list helps me keep track so things aren't forgotten.

To add to our preps the first aid pantry has been tidied and an order put in to restock what is missing.  

 

What fragments did you gather this week?

 

Gathering the Fragments 5/09/2021

This week seemed to drag. I woke up on Tuesday, and thought "oh, it's Saturday", then the alarm went off and I remembered it was Tuesday. That happened every morning! I needed my day off yesterday.

The weather was spring in Melbourne. Sunny and warm one day, pouring rain and jolly cold the next. The rain has been such a blessing, what is left in the garden in going great guns.

The lavender has started to bloom, it is going to be stunning when in full flower, and I can't wait to cut some for the house and to make sachets. I deliberately chose scented lavenders so the flowers could be used. I've cut some more for strikes too; a few more to fill in blank spots and some to sell when they are established.

When I sat down I wondered what I had accomplished, but looking at the list on the fridge, the days were busy.

*Topped up two small beds with worm castings and soil from one of the veggie beds we are moving.

*Put three tomato frames together and set them into the garden, ready to plant
*transplanted some older strawberries that had new runners on them into the smaller beds by the fence.

*Used all the cardboard I've been saving to put down in the bottom of the new veggie beds, then added all the apple tree prunings I've been saving, then a layer of straw before adding new veggie mix.

*Dug up the beautiful, beautiful soil from down the side of the house to mix with the new soil for the veggie beds. Nothing grows on that side of the house so we'll pull the garden out and lay down stone.

*Wednesday was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, so I switched up the meal plan and we had a salad. I boiled an extra egg and then enjoyed hard boiled egg, potato salad, lettuce and cucumber for tea on Thursday to use up the leftover salad bits. The boys of course had their pizzas.

*Went through the pantry, checking canisters. The sultanas, currants, raisins, craisins, apricots and mixed peel all had little amounts in them, so I tossed them all onto the scales, came in at 1038grams, and used them to make fruit cake. Then the canisters were washed and dried, ready to be refilled. And Wayne was happy to see more fruit cake.

*The whiteboard on the fridge is working really well for keeping track of little bits in the fridge. Everyone checks to see what it is, then uses those bits before opening a new jar or tin or making the same thing from the pantry. Is it saving money? Yes. Is it stopping waste? Yes, everything is used before it has time to go off. $6 well spent!

*Wrote the September meal plan on the whiteboard - having it on the fridge stops the "what's for dinner" question every afternoon.

Still Collecting Skills

As I read my friend Rosanne's link to the article "The World Is Still Short of Everything. Get Used to It" reminded me of a blog post a while back about collecting skills. Another one I wrote about collecting tools that don't require electricity to run them.  

I just looked back, the collector of skills post was over two years ago, way before any shortages had become common, or delays in getting things the norm.

When we have skills we can do for ourselves. My skills aren't anything amazing, just things that over the years I've picked up and learned because they are handy to have.

 Knowing how to grow the food you eat is a skill you will always use, that will stand you in good stead forever

The advantage is that if I have a skill that someone else doesn't, I can trade skills with them if I need to.

Oftentimes we overlook the fact that sewing on a button is a skill, and we are amazed at someone who either throws out the shirt or pays $12 for a seamstress to sew it on for them.

It's a simple skill, and easily learned. You don't need any fancy, expensive equipment - a needle, some thread and scissors will get that button sewn back on. And when you need a button sewn on, having the skill to do it is vital.

A vintage crochet pattern book, perfect for learning new designs for face washers and towels

The same goes with cooking. I'm no great cook. But I have learned how to steam or roast veggies, how to put together a basic roast dinner and make a decent soup and casserole. I've learned to bake bread and make jam. I can put a healthy, appetising meal in front of my family and not be ashamed of it. I've learned the skill of cooking homestyle meals.

As I read the article it became apparent that most of the world relies on technology to perform the skilful chores for them in some way or other. Our cars for example are so full of electronics that they can't be repaired if they break down - the "chip" needs to be replaced. Until that happens the car won't go.

We rely on mobile phones to be our to-do list, our address book, our appointment diary, our shopping list and our entertainment. I'm not sure too many people actually use them as phones any more. But when that phone stops working we have no to-do list or address book or appointment diary or shopping list or even entertainment. We've lost the skill of keeping hard copies of those things, a little notebook and pen so we can jot things down, the address book on the desk to refer to when sending cards. They are skills too - I wonder if because we've lost these skills that it's not contributing to the dementia pandemic? We don't use our brain in the way it was meant to be used, so it withers and dies.

I'm still collecting skills.

Right now I'm learning how to make hugelkultur garden beds.

Moving some of the fruit trees to set up the new garden beds

 

 I'm still learning to get a good sourdough starter made, and I'm practising making sourdough breads.

I've learned how to can mince and chicken, and chilli and chicken soup. I've learned how to can beans so they're ready to use. I'm learning more about canning every time I process something and I'm so glad I have this skill. It is filling our pantry with shelf stable food that will keep for years.

 Pressure canned mince - shelf stable, ready to use. Canning and any other form of preserving are good skills to have

A new skill I'm trying to master is lighting a fire with a flint. It's fun to try as a child, but I think it is a very good skill to have as an adult, when the ability to light a fire could be the difference between life and death (or at least eating warm food or cold food, or being warm or cold - you get the idea).

So don't stop collecting skills. Then shortages and delays won't be nearly as upsetting, stressful or intimidating.