TOMATOES IN WINTER

Due to being away from home for most of our tomato harvest this year, I had to get creative if I wanted to use them up.   I used my amazing Squeezo to de-seed and skin the crop then I froze them in large containers all ready to make tomato sauce.

It had taken me this long to actually get it done and we couldn't be happier having yummy homemade sauce in the home again.

We are looking at purchasing an extra freezer (chest) to replace the fridge/freezer that was in the shed.  Just trying to weigh up convenience and savings of being able to buy bulk over the running costs.  I nearly bought one on our local buy, swap & sell but pulled out and decided to buy new instead.  I just didn't want to take the risk of it not working once we got it home, you hear that happening all the time with second hand white goods, so more saving for me.

WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW? I"M BACK

I didn't think I would be with so many work commitments and upheavals this year but I am right back on track and if you are still checking in, I'm here to stay.  I can't say the same for my craft blog, I'm unsure what to do there but I'm sure it will come to me.

I'm not going to go into detail about what I've been going though but with the start of a new financial year we are in a position for me to give up one of my jobs, you see I like my job but it's extremely inflexible when it comes to time off and time is what I will be needing due to Lachie getting into the State under 15's cricket squad.  There's so much time in Adelaide and I can't tell you how stressed I have been trying to navigate this.  Also, there's Sophie's dance, she wants to try competitions away and as it stands we simply can't do it as I can't get time off or change shifts so we are biting the bullet, getting back to living simply and being frugal.

I have spent a couple of weeks taking a hard look at our budget and with some cut-backs and being able to pay registrations for 12 months with tax money, we can get by.  I can't tell you how excited I am for this change and this week while I'm still working I will be bulk buying certain products to make soap, bread etc.

I've spent a lot of time in the garden getting my beds up to scratch for planting, they are all sown out now and I look forward to seeing some plants popping through.  Today we purchased 3 new chooks so we have 5 again which will see us right for eggs for all of that cooking I will now have time for.

Got to love freecycle, I picked up this sink to go on a frame I had that had a rotted wood top, now I have a potting, cleaning bench, just perfect for my needs.

I hope to give notice next week and then there's no going back and I'm excited.

Whole Food Kitchen

On Monday I will further my foodie journey by joining Heather from Beauty That Moves in her Whole Food Kitchen 2015 workshop.  Those that have followed me for a while will know that I have joined in on a few of Heather's workshops over the years and have loved every one of them.

I look forward to participating once again and learning even more from such a knowledgeable woman.  Bring on Monday.

AROUND HERE.....

Gosh time seems to fly by lately, I'm now working out of our home more than I would like to but now that Lachie has been selected into the State Cricket Training Team, we need more income to support all of the travel.

I took a little wander to my neglected vege patch today, well not that neglected as we've been picking lots of tasty cucumbers over the last couple of weeks and made some yummy pickles that I can't wait to try.

A couple of weeks ago I worked out that there was no way I was going to have enough tomatoes for sauce this year, so it was off to the farmer's market to buy a box.  My trusty Squeezo made it's annual appearance and now the tomato pulp is sitting in the freezer ready to make sauce this week.

My eggplants are coming along nicely but I'm afraid they may not get any bigger due to the cold weather we are now having, I might cover them tomorrow to try and keep some heat in.

I'm pulling the last of our carrots and totally stuffed up and haven't planted more as yet.

and the last of your very small amount of tomatoes this season.

So that's my life in the garden around here.  I hope it's nice enough weather for a bit of a tidy up in the patch tomorrow and some seed planting.

doTerra Essential Oils

Three weeks ago I became a doTerra Wellness Advocate.  After spending quite a considerable amount of time sourcing therapeutic grade essential oils, I took the plunge and signed up with doTerra.

When I received my first order of oils the first thing I did was open them up and smell.  Oh the smell, Absolutely devine!  I compared the aromas with other oils from different companies that I already owned and the difference was remarkable, I have since thrown out the other oils as there really is no comparison.

My love for essential oils and aromatherapy began 20 years ago and has been renewed with passion thanks to these beautiful oils.

doTerra (link to my doTerra web page, feel free to take a look).

MID WEEK MAKING

A day off work today and it started with a nagging headache, thank goodness I had my trusty peppermint essential oil, just a dab on both temples and within seconds my headache was gone.

Out came the sewing machine to whip up a pile of cleaning cloths.  My last pile had dwindled to next to nothing and as I had some flannelette sitting around, it took no time at all to cut some squares and sew them together.

The fairies basket is for the laundry/bathroom and the butterflies for the kitchen.

It feels like soup weather and some chicken noodle soup seems just right at the moment.  Using local organic produce, a few chicken legs from the freezer, homemade vegetable stock and rice noodles, this soup is delicious and nourishing.  I know what I'm have for tea tonight.

I am also re-visiting a great book and making bread with this method.  I don't know why I stopped making bread this way as it's so quick and easy.  Tonight we will use some of the dough for pizza bases as everyone agreed it's time to fire up the pizza oven.

IT'S TIME TO START THIS BLOG UP AGAIN - I HOPE YOU ARE STILL WITH ME

Oh my it's been so busy since I was last on this blog, I've missed it but have also lost my way a little with self reliance.  I now work 3 part-time jobs and with all the added sports travel I do for son No.2, I have to admit have fallen into more of a BLEH state of mind.

Our healthy clean eating plan has suffered, making household items and food from scratch has suffered and financially we have suffered due to this.  It makes me sad for what I have just let go over the last 6 months but now I'm back on track and determined to live a simple, healthy, productive lifestyle once again.

Of course as the seasons change, we change and life does get busier for some.  Financially it made sense for me to take on more work outside of the home, son No.1 finished year 12 last year and turned 18 last month, we lost quite a bit of financial support with this happening but he still lives at home so the expenses are certainly still there.  I'm not complaining, I'm grateful that we live in a country that supports families financially and now with all 3 kids getting older, I am able to work a little more to help support our family.

So I'm happy to be back on this blog and sharing how I go about making our lives simpler, cleaner and environmentally friendlier.