Super Random Stuff!

Hi!
I know I know… I absolutely am not on top of anything resembling organisation or consistency!
I hope everyone is doing well.
Its been super icy cold… clear skies and frosty frosty mornings

Our current neighbours dont seem too bothered. Mind you… they are the noisiest bunch of cows we’ve ever had down the back.
Once they spot you in the yard, they all start bellowing at the top of their lungs and come stampeding over to stare at you!
Hilarious.

So… I just uploaded a bunch of photos,

I get out to Judes about once a week to work with her in her gardens and property. She feeds me awesome lunches and we do random jobs. Sometimes clearing leaves and making leaf mould compost and just using the leaves as garden compost, sometimes moving rocks. Other times rediscovering pathways and clearing gardens!

Last couple of visits we had been working on this pathway which had all but disappeared.
Very satisfying to unearth it.

In the garden on the left, Jude dug up this horrifying monster.
Its an Australian Paralysis Tick!! Obviously it must be full of blood but we didn’t recognise it as a tick at first because… HUGE!

Our garden has so much work to be done in it!
Every now and again I prioritise fixing up a section, but its pretty slow going.

The last time I cleaned the chook coop, I made some better steps for Gympie. Now they all happily use their new steps.
Although its going to be a pain to take out and clean with the next coop spruce up. I’ll have to think of something better but for now, Gymp. can get up to her spot without the agony of me watching her try to half fly and fall because she didn’t like the last arrangement of log steps!

A few weeks ago I finally put in a garlic patch!
The garlic was jumping out of its skin trying to grow in the box.
Now I am procrastinating about cutting up the rest to make garlic salt!

They have liked the frosts… this pic was just before they went in (so I am not even sure why I am posting this haha) but I checked them today and they are all up a couple of inches or so high already.

Frosty nasturtiums

Frosty calendulas

And yay for slack gardening skills letting the rocket go to seed… as I have a nice patch to collect fresh leaves from!

Another bigger thing we got done was the skylight!
Our old one was pretty much on par with a colander.
The leaks went from a one container affair to an 8 bucket event!
A friend did the work for us… pulled out the old one (it was dreadful!) and we ordered a new one – double glazed!
The roof was covered back over while we waited for the new skylight to come in and it was so nice not to have it raining in the dining room.
Benyu did a great job fitting the new one in – considering the mismatching size of hole vs new skylight! He has also left it so we can look up to the sky instead of the old perspex that was in the ceiling.

Mind you… overall its been worryingly dry. Autumn had hardly a drop!
Even now, at winters halfway mark, very little rain has fallen.

On the soapy front… I have been trying to stock up. I’ve quit Arty Duck. It was good to have my soap there, but I was finding it stressful to have to spend a whole day over in Smithton – plus the $$ to drive the hour there and hour back.
With the insane prices of olive oil as well, my margins are a bit slim. Since the sales weren’t super huge, I just decided to step back from that one.

(Above Golden Honeycomb and the three layered soap is pineapple and papaya (divine))
I am supplying a couple of more local places which is enough. No more markets booked in at the moment, but mostly doing a workshop each month.
And I changed my recipe so I am not having to re mortgage the house to buy the ingredients. The new recipe cuts way back on olive oil, increases coconut oil and I’ve added in both rice bran and sunflower oils.

And yes… I’ve had to start making my Christmas soaps!
Have I mentioned we are booked to return to Japan?
This time I am taking Jeff!
I have used all the soap $$ I got from the Cruise Ship Markets to get us the tickets back. We are booked to leave mid October and wont be back until end of November.
We have mostly planned to go to more rural areas to do hiking here and there!
Its been fun researching.
Of course we will spend some time in the usual areas as thats where a lot of our lovely friends are so we are looking forward to catching up.

Our friend Rachel is coming along, so we have been talking a lot about plans. She is also now friends with a bunch of my Japanese friends – So I am sure its all going to be quite memorable.

Over the next three months, I’ll pre book any markets that I know are upcoming and have my soap stocks up to scratch so I am not the maniac I was over last summer.

Definitely need to do this design again… a Nautilus swirl.
I did it as a demo for a workshop. Mind you. It was my first try ever!! (living on the edge doing it in front of students haha)

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out so I am super keen to do some more.

OK… what else on the craft front?
Above was just a sampler as I saw another lady at basket weaving do this crochet pattern…and weaving in a chain stitch into the double crochet gaps!
Filing this idea away in my brain for a later project…

I attended a card making workshop… that was a lovely afternoon.
Farm it Forward Tasmania has a ton of papers and whatnots to do such great cards and a very nice lady guided us through.

There was only two of us – but look at all the pretty cards that were made!
Mine were the red ones and my friend Michelle did the blue ones.

My friend Kazz ran her first workshop – to make Elf Ear Jewellery… so I had to go along to that! (Who doesn’t need elven ears?)
Its a slow process… esp if you haven’t done wire work. But it was fun to do.
We all managed to get one ear done. I have the stuff to make my second one when I get a chance! I loved it though!

And basket weaving! I am a bit strict with myself to set aside Friday Mornings to trot along to weaving. Its a real treat. Someone brings you a cuppa, and there are buns and cakes etc!
A whole big bunch of really creative friendly people attend, so I get my social fix for the week!
At the moment I am working on this ambitious project.
I found the vine like wood at Judes while we were cleaning up something. I couldn’t bear to throw it on the bonfire so it came home with me.
I’ve twisted up the top and handle, then have worked from the top down with the flax. (Usually everyone works from the bottom up.)
So… its just evolving slowly but I am loving the look of it so far!
It just takes SO long to do a lap around!! Mostly I’ve only had the time to work on it Friday mornings… while I am not eating or talking! Hence the … slow.

OK… That is about all thats going on… besides hiking so I have some chance of not cracking up on all the planned Japan hikes!

Stay cool if you are in summer and stay warm if you are in winter!

xx

PS… gorgeous wrapped sweets given to us by Yuri.