twenty-six dollars in January

Writing this blog post today there were two choices: moan about the hot weather and how much I detest it, or note the month's op-shop purchases. I decided to do the latter. Even though there are a couple of days to go I know I won't buy more this month: it's back to school week and there are things to do on that front.

Anyway I spent $26.00, well short of the $40 I had budgeted.

I'll break it down, then explain it.

3 small towels - $4
1 double striped sheet $2
green bag $8
7 assorted children's books $3
4 old dress patterns $1.50
2 floral pillowcases $3.50
yellow cotton t-shirt $2.50
3 greeting cards and envelopes $1.50

1. The books, cards and patterns are for Hannah Hoch inspired collages I am playing with.
It is lots of fun. I've made one birthday card and am working on more. It is a hoot.
2. The sheet was for my son as he has poked holes with his Gollum toenails in the other old stripey Actil candy-striped one: both kids have these sheets for summer nights.
3. Pillowcases - unlike other clever people who make quilts with them - like my sister - I just use them on daughter's bed and sometimes ours. None match.
4. Green bag - to use as.... a green bag!
5. 3 small towels: they were all going to be cut up for a Pinterest-inspired patchwork bathmat for the downstairs bathroom, but I've decided the orange one is too good and this will be used as an actual hand towel.
6. The t-shirt is to cut up for t-shirt yarn. More Pinterest projects...




Now I am off to the pharmacy to buy Claratyne - I was at the doctor's surgery on Friday ( reason:nothing of interest) and was complaining about my 100 day cough and daughter's 100 day on-off runny nose. He told me there is more pollen about than in the last hundred years ( or something like that) due to the cold winter and wet spring which is why we're both ailing. I don't know why I added this to this post but thought if you have been similarly suffering it may be of interest.

come in to the garden at the end of January

I can feel myself starting to become neurotic ( yet again) about the absence of rain in January.

I looked up the monthly fall in the paper this morning: this year we've only had 22.8 mm; last year we'd had 89.6 by the same time. Our water tank is down to about a quarter full - this is all we use on the back garden and try to avoid using the mains water. The front is rarely watered and is planted to withstand drought. There is rain forecast tomorrow and those clouds in the photo surely mean something? (note- it has taken me so long to finish this post the clouds have disappeared. Sigh.)

I am wanting to completely re-do the front anyway - pull out some tired things and groundcovers that are out of control. Come Autumn it is garden barn dance ( change partners) time yet again.


Notes on photos:

1. sky, clouds

2. Black Boy rose has today produced its first flower. The other BB bush has not. Not impressed with these at all compared to Mr Lincoln. I may go all Henry the Eighth with these two and get rid of them, or give them one more year to shape up.

3. Foxgloves are still flowering. It's going to be time to plant the new lot soon!

4. Retro fan-shaped trellis for the Red Eden climbing roses cuttings from the old family home.
We are building up the European plants out the back. People walking along the track behind the house will look up from all the indigenous plantings and see technicolour Autumn leaves and in a few years, roses climbing over the fence. I hope the local "Friends" of the park group doesn't blackball us for contrariness/European planting. We have lots of Australian plants too, honest.

5. Lots of sunken brick paths have been lifted and re-laid. Not by me.

6. Lots of Brunswick Green paint has been put on around the place. Ditto.

7.First plectranthus ecklonii in flower. Yeeha! These say Autumn to me, long before the leaves turn. I have about 10 of them, which are only four or five years old - they are over two metres high and are great hiders of fences and neighbours. I broke off two little pieces hanging over a fence when I was out walking one day and the cuttings struck easily.

friday book reviews: 2 ripping yarns

I can't remember the last time I finished a book, then immediately rushed off to grab the next volume in the series because the cliffhanger sentence of the last line was such that I needed to read on immediately.

This was the case with volumes two and three of "The Hunger games".

I really liked volume one, but I thought these two were going to suffer from sequel-itis: they didn't.

The third volume is definitely the stronger of the two, but both are good old fashioned ripping yarns that the reader wants to go on and on.

I won't write about the plots of these books, because it would be too easy to give spoilers. They really have you on the edge of your seat. Once again, the violence and body count both surprised and distressed me ( remember it's young adult genre and most of the major characters are under 18) and there are some very gritty scenes and themes: post traumatic stress disorder is featured very strikingingly and movingly. At one point in the third book the story becomes a full-on war novel. While some of the characters are a bit under-written, others are complex and interestingly, not very likeable ( Katniss, the damaged heroine, for example). The futuristic slave society is simply horrible.

The film version of - I think the first book only? - comes out in March.

I started tearing up when watching the trailer so I'll have to see this on my own on a weekday morning so I don't mortify anyone else by sobbing aloud.

Ostraya Day

For my own entertainment, I made this Hills Hoist cake on Ostraya Day.

We have this book at work which some of us were looking at the other day, and basically a few of the work girls dared me to do it.

Mine is a simplified version: the one in the book has dollies clothes and tiny pegs on the line - on mine: paper socks cut from old magazine pages. There are also paper straws from Lark, Blue Tac ( book uses Royal Icing), an old Biro body. Freckles for pavers.

not spending (4):using substitutes in recipes and avoiding going to the shops for food

The kitchen cupboards are fairly shambolic and I’m using up half packets and bits of things that weren’t used up in the Christmas baking. Last weekend I made Nigella’s Christmas Rocky Road using old Marie biscuits, raisins, almonds ( not the hazelnuts pictured) and bags of choc bits instead of amaretti biscuits, glace cherries, Brazil nuts and good cooking chocolate. It was delicious regardless and the greedy boys ate the contents of the tray in 2 days.

I found a can of apricot nectar not used in the Christmas punch and am trying to come up with a way to use it. NOT APRICOT CHICKEN – both kids detest it as it seems to be a standard meal on every school camp they attend.

Maybe a cocktail……?

I’m also using the Internets to come up with good/ different salad recipes to use what I have in the fridge – “ sun dried tomatoes and pasta” came up with a beauty, also “grated carrot salad” ( who knew?) Yum.

Also, while I think of it Beck and Ramona from handmadelife are each doing a new food blog:

Beck is writing about daily breakfast and Ramona about every day family dinner. I am loving these and am getting lots of cooking inspiration from them.

dark

All the books I've read so far this year ( bar one or two) have been very dark , so I've picked an old favourite from the shelf to cheer myself up.

I got thoroughly overheated driving around in my car on appointments this morning ( despite air-conditioning) so I am taking the rest of the day off everything.

About to have a small expedition to Lincraft to buy iron-on mender because all my black t-shirty tops are falling into holes through age/ too much wear and they need surgery.

Then I'll buy an already cooked chook on the way home and this and salad(s) will be dinner taken care of.

39 days until Autumn begins...

... and I'm planning new knitting projects. I have two things to finish off but I'm going to try making some of these little hearts in between because they are lovely.

I'm not going to knit a banner, but I'm musing on some individual hearts to jazz up the elbows of some of my holey jumpers and cardigans.

This free pattern is on this most interesting site.