Since last week's frugal list post, Melbourne and the rest of Victoria ( the state I live in ) has been in a snap 5 day lockdown. I was happy to stay home and potter around the house, do some gardening and watch lots of YouTube clips. Thankfully Darren didn't miss out on any work shifts and I was able to reschedule a cleaning job to next week.
During the coolness of our mornings we've been working out in the front garden doing some tidying up. We've also pottered in the veggie garden, pulled a few weeds and generally admired the fruits of our hard work.
Here's what else we've been up to -
* Fed the compost bins every second day with kitchen scraps and garden clippings
* Made a big batch of brown sugar from scratch using white sugar and molasses.
* Mixed up a double batch of cranberry hootycreek biscuit dough. Some was baked for Darren as a Valentine's Day treat. The rest of the dough went into the freezer for future baking.
* Knitted a few more dish cloths and face scrubbies. I have a friend who is interested in buying some for herself and to give some as presents. As soon as she's made her purchases I'll put them up on Facebook if anyone is interested in buying some too. The knitted dish cloths are the only cloths I use to wipe down my stone bench top and stainless steel stove. They give a wonderful streak free finish.
* Planted 6 daisy plants I'd grown from cuttings. Now they are spread out around our front and backyard garden beds. They'll be a wonderful burst of color in a couple of months.
* Picked silverbeet and tomatoes a couple of times during the week to add to our meals.
* Used reclaimed bread bags to line our bathroom bins.
* Cooked up some excess tomatoes and froze them for future spag bol dinners.
* When out digging in the front garden I found 4 small lavender bushes that had popped up from nowhere. I've replanted them into better positions to fill in a few gaps.
* Saved lots of shower water and poured it into the washing machine.
* Harvested some of the sweetcorn we have growing in our veggie garden. Some was cooked to have with 2 of our dinners. The rest was blanched and frozen. I'll be picking another 10 - 15 ears of corn over the next few weeks.
* Found lots of brand new knitting / crocheting cotton in my local op shop at fantastic prices. Now I have a few more color options for the dish cloths and face scrubbies
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| Brown sugar from scratch |
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| Making brown sugar |
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| Cranberry hootycreek biscuits for Darren |
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| Our sweetcorn crop. |
OH! I'd love to know how you successfully took cutting from a daisy bush. I've never had any luck
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Wendy. So inspiring to see the fruits of your labour and your crafts. We continue to be as frugal as possible. I've started a savings fund to help with expenses around the house. Seems like we get ahead only to spend it on fixing something.
ReplyDeleteStay safe and have a great week.
Rachel :)
Hi Rachel. I think we all go through seasons on constant home repairs. We found putting our tax return into savings helped us get ahead.
DeleteThank yo for all your ideas. This week I bought mushrooms heavily reduced and have dried them. I now have months worth. I also dried some pears and apples.
ReplyDeleteThe cost of molasses here (USA) would make the do it yourself brown sugar more expensive than just purchasing brown sugar. I've done it in a pinch if I ran out of brown sugar. I'd definitely make more with molasses if it was cheaper.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately covid isn't done. I'm a vaccinated nurse who feels a little safer now. I appreciate that your area takes these numbers seriously and shuts things down to keep people safe.
Sheila
USA in 1 1/2 feet of snow in Michigan.
Hi Sheila. I'm all for keeping people safe but our state Premier keeps shutting us down due to their incompetence.
DeleteI hope you are staying warm and safe in Michigan..
Wendy, rumor has it that Facebook removed "all of Australia" from their site. Is it true? Are we now in the age where Corporations decide our future. I hope all is well, safe, blessed, and happy with you and yours!
ReplyDeleteAlison
No, we didn't disappear from Facebook but all new outlets were as well as some charities and essential services. Facebook is in negotiations with our government to strike a deal.
DeleteThis sounds silly, but I miss dumping kitchen waste into the compost pile. It's the middle of winter with 15" of snow on the ground. My garden is buried. But DS2 brought over some seed catalogs today and I'll spend tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon, looking through them and will dream of summer and my garden.
ReplyDeleteFrugal: Finding my fragments in my kitchen and using them up. Tonight I saved the liquid from our beef roast and will use that in soup over the next few weeks. It was so flavorful.
Hi, Wendy. Fresh, homegrown corn is one of my favourite things. I haven't been successful growing it here though. Yours looks so healthy!
ReplyDeleteThis week, I saved money on fuel by filling up petrol at $1.15 the day before it rose to $1.57 per litre! I have picked spring onions, ceylon spinach and herbs from garden and bought a dozen fresh eggs for $5 that are laid by chickens kept at school where I work. My beautiful mum sent a parcel this week which included clothes for my teenage son and vintage linens for me to sew with.
Have a lovely week.
Meg🙂