Back to Basics Challenge

From the 29th December

Sowing seed or Planting

Planning for The Future

I am planning to get some paint when my husband is out going to the dentist. Since we like Haymes undercoat it is a thing that has to be planned out as we live a way from the shops. It was closed when I was there last week.


Working for the Future

My husband made up a sewing kit for my son to take home with his machine. His brother brought it home for him after Christmas. It has his left handed scissors in it that he used when learning needlework, I think in Year 7. He is now in second year uni. My Mum is making up another one with other things in it like scraps. She is also putting instructions on the pichu pattern they made out of pieces of a bear pattern, a free drawing and whatever else they did to create the beautiful pichu. Maybe he should sell pichu patterns on ebay lol.

The jam was made. It made around 16-17 jars. Which we think in practise saved us $100. I always have jam for school lunches and I buy the $7 jars from our fruit and vege order. My husband is going to make another batch. Apparently our preserves cupboard is looking very empty. Which is a good thing, it means we are actually using what we make. There is only plum stuff left and lemon and jam melon jam. All the jam melon pickles and chutney is gone, which is sad.

My mil said to my husband while I was out shopping the other day that she felt sorry for him that he had to make sauce from wild apples a couple of years ago. So she is making him homemade tomato sauce! We haven't had it for years and every time we use bought sauce it is slightly upsetting, at least to me. It is not the same since I grew up on homemade ezisauce tomato sauce. We actually have a jam melon that is not off, from last year. So it would be good if I can work out the cheapest pickles and next pay buy the ingredients. We may not have our own when the other house is sold. One plant did come up in a pot here, not sure how it is going. Actually they may be ripe before the house is sold since we haven't got it ready for sale as soon as we would have liked.

Building Community

Learn a new Skill

My Mum was telling me all about the sewing my second son, 19 and eldest daughter 17 were doing at her house. My daughter had previously been doing a square on calico during the end of this year for a surprise. It was a quilt square for a baby quilt that was presented at church. The ladies each did a square.

My daughter had been visiting a married friend's house to sew and only had trouble with the lazy daisy stitch. My Mum took them to Spotlight, and my daughter got her eyes on some green and white material. It ended up as a cushion back, and she designed her own picture to embroider for the front on calico. Mum taught her how to get the design ready to stitch.

This meme comes from Belinda's blog.