Darren and I try to stay busy each day with various tasks around our home and garden. Spring arrived this month but we've had many days of high winds and cold weather. Still, we try to get outside each day even if it's just to do an inspection of the garden to see what's happening.
Darren is now staying home every day due to the current lockdowns and the effects they've had on the hospitality industry he works in. We are making the most of this situation by finishing off small home maintenance jobs, painting trims, doors and our bedroom. I'll be spending more time crafting and posting various handmade items for sale on my Facebook pages in the lead up to Christmas.
Here's what else we've been up to -
* Cleaned the dishwasher using bi carb and vinegar.
* Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.
* Made pita chips for snacking.
* Made plum sauce for the first time in 20 years. I used the plums from the freezer that my Dad gave me last Summer.
* Made chicken stock in the slow cooker then turned it into a big saucepan of chunky chicken and vegetable soup. We had some for dinner that night and the rest was divided into single serves and frozen.
* Made tomato relish using tomatoes we grew last Summer and froze. We will be giving some of the relish and plum sauce as presents. Some will be consumed by ourselves and a few will be sold to a friend.
* Baked and sold chocolate choc chip muffins to a friend who needed them for a couple of vulnerable family members.
* Sold a few jars of homemade jam and tomato relish to a friend who requested them.
* Sprayed white vinegar on a couple of bathroom towels that were getting a bit smelly. I let them sit for about 10 minutes while I sorted out the washing then washed and line dried them. They now smell like the great outdoors.
* Took a few more cuttings of plants in our garden. I'm not sure of the names ( other than lavender ) but I will post photos when they grow.
* Darren planted out many flower and vegetable seeds from the Woolworths seed give away ( 2019 / 2020 ). He is pleased to announce that many of them have sprouted. When you can't go to Bunnings to select and buy plants, you make the most of what you have on hand.
* Saved the washing machine rinse water and shower warm up water and poured it all into the washing machine.
* Used old bread bags to line our bathroom bins. This saves me from washing the bin inserts.
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| Tomato relish |
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| Plum sauce |
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. We hope you are out of lockdown soon. It seems never ending. I love reading how you both keep busy and frugal and the same time!
Thank for you posting your liquid laundry detergent. Can I ask if it keeps whites bright. I find the homemade powders started to grey my whites.
Have a lovely week and I hope Victoria reduces the restrictions very soon.
Take care:) Rachel
Hi Rachel. I'm not sure about whites staying white. We are always careful to wash whites separate. I do use laundry soaker from Aldi if something is looking a little grey.
DeleteI usually make a tomato relish and strawberry jam but haven't done so this year. This is because the stuff I made last year has not been used.
ReplyDeleteYou might need to start having jam on your toast and putting the relish on the table when eating chicken, ham or silverside. Alternatively you could give some as presents.
DeleteI love plum sauce, but totally missed the plum harvest this year.
ReplyDeleteWe almost did too. Our plums were well and truly ready for picking when we came back from Tassie early in Jan this year.
DeleteYour plum sauce and relish will make lovely gifts, Wendy. Wonderful that you could make them from your own produce. We were able to pick two tubs of mulberries this week from a friend's tree. They've been frozen ready to use in apple and mulberry pies. Friends came for dinner and to watch footy final last night so I made lots of pizzas from scratch and also some little lemon curd and strawberry tartlets. I had all the ingredients for the pizza bases and tartlets here. I just had to buy pizza toppings which I got at Aldi. Have a lovely week! Meg:)
ReplyDeleteI've never tried mulberries Meg but your plans for them sound delicious. I love your footy final food ideas. Better tasting than store bought.
DeleteDear Wendy ,
ReplyDeleteWell done on your plum sauce and tomato relish ,they will make beautiful gifts.
I hope Victoria and the other states in lockdown come out of it really soon Wendy . You and Darren have been very productive Wendy .
I love hearing about your week .I wish things were better for Darren and others in hospitality work and for their families .it must be so hard .
Thinking of everyone in lockdown .
Love Barb W.
I love canning. I didn't make any jelly or jam this year as I have a lot from last year. I did can peach halves, pasta sauce, lots of tomato juice and will be making salsa this week, as the garden is dying down. We share with our son & family that lives close by. If I make enough to share, I will put some in gifts for my co-workers and landlords of the farms we rent.
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