Happy 53rd Birthday, Russell

Yesterday was Russell’s Birthday... Love celebrating it. Russell, Tim, Josh and I went out for lunch at our favourite Chinese Restaruant and feasted :) Caramel mud cake was the order of the day for dessert :)

Always so good to see someone I love have their face light up when we all sing Happy Birthday! Love it! Never gets old :)

Onto Butter Käse

So next we wanted to try another cheese and this one sounded pretty easy to do. So we did... Now it’s waiting to mature in the bottom of the fridge too...

Russell’s New Toy...

Russell bought himself a 3D printer. He has been printing all sorts of things off that thing. My goodness. From pot plant holders to plant labellers that machine is just amazing. He is in the process of mastering window rollers so that we can replace some in our windows :)

Kombucha Candy

Make some more for Tim a couple of weeks ago... Needless to say he started picking at it when it wasn’t even don’t in the dehydrator... Love that he loves something that is so good for him :)

Camembert update...

Here is what the cheese looks like after about 3 weeks. Normally professionals would pat down the sides so that the mould doesn’t look so fluffy though we are keeping it as it is. We may pat one down later :)

Mummies at the Museum...

My baby sister and I went to Brisbane and enjoyed a day out in the city. We went to the Queensland Museum and saw some Egyptian mummies from the British Museum alongside allot of artifacts. We even took the train in which I had not been on in over 11yrs. That was surreal...

Afterwards, we wandered around Southbank and ended up in Max Brenner, as you do, for a Chocolate fix... That was just Divine!!!

Was such a lovely day out with Lis... I definitely slept well that night!

Making Camembert Cheese...

Russell and I went to a full day course on how to make a whole bunches of cheeses. We got to taste test previously made ones too. This was more of refresher for us as we have made cheese before. It was also a way for us to get out there and do stuff together. 

The next day, we decided to make Camembert Cheese... They are now waiting till they are ready to be eaten :)

Beautiful eggs...

Aren’t the most beautiful eggs??? My precious friend Rebecca and her hubby Mark have the chooks that produce these... They are delish and as they are so beautiful to look at they are hard to crack, let me tell you lol

Change in circumstances...

1st June saw me working for the last time in Disability. Working where I did will always be with me as it was a job I loved. I so didn’t want to leave though I had to. It was time. I had no choice. I was asked a few times if there was anything that could be done to change my mind and there was nothing, sadly... 

You see my health has not been the best for the last two years. In August it will be two years since I commenced getting bad headaches and migranes at times. I’ve had the CT, MRI, X-rays, everything you can think of scans done and trialed all sorts of therapies and medications. In the end the neurologist said it simply comes down to this... It may very well be hereditary and that I take on stress easily. My hand that I had operated on 3.5yrs ago has also started aching again and the pain now extends down my right thumb when I overdo any sort of work. I have my wrist in a wrap regularly and have commenced taking B12, Magnesium and Turmeric, on my Doctor’s advice. I didn’t want to take anti inflammatory medication so this is the way I am going. It seems to be working :)

Time will tell how long it will all take to get my health back on track. Until then, I will take it easy. I will do things slowly and take as long as I need. I need this body for a long time yet. 

Puppies happy being warm...

When that fire is on you can guarantee that chair is where the dogs will be... Jasper and Domino love that chair... Love the fire being on :)

25 Years Married...

27th March, Russell and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary... We went away just the two of us. We had a lovely time up the Sunshine Coast for three nights and came home very refreshed. We stayed right at the beach and our apartment had beautiful beach views. Was beautiful to wake up to the sound of the waves...

While we were away, our youngest, Josh moved out into his own unit. It was a most exciting and huge step for him to take. Originally he was going to wait to finish his Assistant Manager training at Hungry Jacks but he couldnt’ wait :) He has not looked back. He has grown and matured so much in a short period of time. So proud of him. Seeing he got the keys while we were away, Tim ended up helping him move. Great brother bonding stuff to do. Felt strange not being there for the big move though there was plenty left behind. Most went to charity and some was not able to be saved so went sadly in the bin. Some old toys went to kids that thought Christmas had come very early :)

Mother’s Day for my Mother...

Was wonderful to see all my siblings get together for my Mum’s Mother’s Day celebrations this year. We ended up near Bribie Island and spent the day. Was great to catch with everyone...

Friends...

Love it when friends can enjoy what we produce here...

Here is Karla enjoying our honey and fig jam ;)

Cold Brew Coffee

So I thought I would give Cold Brew Coffee a go... I have made it a couple of times since March and must say I am still working it out. I am not really getting the hang of it. Apparently, it is really easy. Easy to make and easy to adjust the flavour. Well, I am having issues with the flavour...

It doens’t get dark enough for me and then it is not strong enough either. I realise that I need to mill more... And I also need to give it a proper go. I have only done it twice. 

Off I go and make another batch...

Changes are afoot...

So Russell lets me in on his week long plans... He’s bringing everything out of the study and reorganising it. This is in anticipation of the arrival of the new computer...

I love to declutter and he knows it. He loves to hang onto things... Allot of things. He believes I should be happy he’s making a mess as he’s decluttering. I’ve seen allot of moving things around though not any gettting rid of or repurposing as yet... Hope that part comes soon ;)

Russell has been enjoying building his dream computer. Quite a setup. He’s had the Mac for nearly a decade so it’s getting very long in the tooth. Will be strange not working on a Mac... Not that I get on much. 

Building his computer...

More wraps made...

The pinking shears are doing a great job with the edges of the wraps :) Russell has made more of them. Loved using the large one for the cheesecake. Worked well. Didn’t quite seal so kinks still to work out. We don’t use resin in ours so that makes it a little tricky. It’s the resin that makes it tacky. Will keep working on it :) 

Cheesecake all wrapped...

Harvesting...

Our Nashi tree is fruiting at the moment!

Nice size :)

Fig eating and Jam time...

After work on Friday, I went to a property in Warwick and they had over 1000 fig trees... So many still had fruit on. The season lasts till end of June, so I may be back :)

I bought 2 trays for eating and took home a huge bag full of really small ones that I’ll be turning into jam. Tonight, I start. They taste so good! Yum!

Yummmmmmmm

Jam making fig... So good!

He is 21!

Tim turned 21 last Wednesday... So very proud of the young man he’s becoming. This last year he’s found a job and he’s gotten his Licence. He has done so well. And I know by the Grace of God he will continue to do so :)

Tim and I outside Chinese, that he wanted for his dinner :)

Josh, Tim and Russell. Tim wanted cheesecake for his Birthday cake so that’s what I made :) Enjoyed by the whole family!

More experiments...

While I have been away celebrating two special Birthdays, Russell’s been at it...

You take a melt and put at your feet. As it melts away it has beautiful and relaxing aromas that help you relax :) So delightful!

These melts turned into these...

Smells so divine!

Russell’s been experimenting with different ways of making the beeswax wraps and is finding better ways of coating the cotton! Today we got 5kg of wax that will be used for many projects... Woohoo... 

Made with Love... Couldn’t ask for more than that :)

Working towards Zero Waste...

Russell has been working on a hand wash that’s all natural. Here is his latest concoction. Smells so good and really does the job well. Love seeing it in the glass bottle :) It does need to be shaken before used as the diffferent ingredients do separate. 

He also made a room deodorizer. It lives in the bathroom for now. It’s a lovely lemon and lavender smell. It is supposed to be more of a gel, so still working on it. For now it is a lovely addition to the room. :)

He reused an old Cranberry Sauce jar :)

Grapes are ready for eating...

While Tim was washing my car last night, I went and watered the greenhouse. I have been eagerly waiting for the grapes to ripen so they could be eaten. Today was the day!!!

The are ready and ever so sweet. Time to cut them and feast!

Yummmmmmmy...

Headache and Tension Balms...

Spent time in town with Tim today and when I got home I had a lovely surprise waiting for me. Russell had made two different balms for me :) These particular ones help with headaches, something I’ve suffered from on a daily basis since July 2016.

The containers are small enough that I can take them with me to work as well. All I have to do is rub a little on my temples. Both smell so good. Can’t wait to try them :)

I have a very clever husband!

Ready for use...

Honey, honey...

Our flowhive has been flowing with honey. This weekend we will harvest two more frames. The other hive has also had two frames harvested. I love using pure honey. It’s amazing having the two distinct tastes from one harvest to the next, a month later. It depends on what is flowering off course. 

We have seeded about an acre with a Good Bug Mix from Green Harvest. This way good bugs come as well as loads of flowers for the bees. Love hearing them around the huge rosemary bush I have near my back door...

Our first frame about to be harvested...

The end product :)

Proud of our hard working bees. Happy to do what it takes to keep our hives healthy. They are so very, very important!

Early days...

Last year, I watched ABC’s series called War on Waste... It changed my life. Last week, my family and I watched The Plastic Ocean... It changed my family’s life... 

All four of us have been on a journey since to find non plastic options for everyday living. It’s a change in thinking though easy to start. We now have mesh bags for fruit and vegies. We also have stainless steel straws instead of plastic. When I went on a date with my youngest last Saturday, he asked for leftovers to please go into a cardboard container. Well done, mussels in Warwick, for having the option :)

When I think that all the plastic ever produced is still here in some form or another it makes me sad for my children’s and grandchildren’s future... 

Here are some of the other changes that have happened in our home in the last few weeks :)

From Plastic hair brush to wooden. Feels exactly the same just sounds a little different on my scalp.

Beeswax wraps instead of cling wrap. I still have some and will use that up and then it’s only these...

As my plastic pegs break I’m replacing them with bamboo pegs. The clip is recyclable.

Environmental friendly, toxic free and fragrance free cleaning replaces all my current cleaning products.

We have changed our toilet paper...

Had to keep paper towels so we get these ones now. Win, win!

Once my battery operated plastic toothbrush stops working it will be replaced with my bamboo toothbrush. For now I do use it for sleepovers at work :)

These are some of the small steps we have taken so far. More to come :)