Normally we ease into winter here but this year it has arrived early....at least that is what it seems to me. I can remember the weather being quite balmy at the beginning of winter a few years ago but that is certainly not the case now. At least the sun is shining again after weeks of overcast skies and rain and there is nothing like enjoying the sunshine on a cold, frosty and crisp morning.
Today was the first time I have seen frost this winter although we may have had one last week and I was still under the covers staying warm and didn't see it but I was up a tad earlier today and crunched my way around the garden in my gumboots. I don't think my plants were damaged unlike last year when we had a severe frost.
When walking around the garden I can't see a lot of colour at the moment apart from ....
....the pansies I planted a few weeks ago. They always put on a nice show in winter thankfully.
I made some soap using Jan Berry's Palm-free soap, vegan, no butters from her book 'Simple and Natural Soapmaking' and added some fragrance oils that a friend sent me years ago which really needed to be used up. I had put off adding them to my soap batches as knew they would darken the soap but this batch was for the men and they couldn't care about the colour. I can't remember the names of the oils now but I think one was cinnamon spice and the other may have been pumpkin spice but whatever it was the soap spells delightful. I added some calendula petals as well. I dried a heap a while back so I really need to get organised and use them.
I hope everyone is doing okay in these tough times. I know a lot of people are struggling financially and of course there is the issue here in Queensland of renters having to leave their homes which are being sold and can't find anywhere else to live. Some are living in their cars apparently. The recent floods haven't helped either as many houses are now unlivable.
There are many good ideas on blogs I follow that might be helpful like Patsy's series For such a time as this . I have read Patsy's blog for years and she never ceases to amaze me. Annabel has lots of links to other blogs on her blog too The Bluebirds are Nesting on the Farm. Just look in her sidebar for them. There was also a young girl on TV last night who was sharing her saving tips. Her blog is Aussie Debt Free Girl.
We have always lived frugally as it was the way we were brought up and also it was because we had to. I do feel for young people today who are paying off a huge mortgage and now interest rates have gone up. Thankfully we paid off our house in the first few years of our marriage and that is a real bonus at this stage of our life.
Has anyone else noticed Blogger changes? I find I can't comment on blogs on my iPad as I get a message to sign in with Google even though I am already signed in. Then when I try to sign in again it just seems to go round in circles. Usually I can comment on my Android phone but the screen is so small it is difficult to write a comment. However, I still read my Blogger friends' blogs even though I can't comment so don't feel neglected. LOL!
Have a great week and enjoy the sunshine if you live in Queensland.
g'day,
ReplyDeleteisn't the sun delightful! though can't stand the freezing winds we are getting through here atm; my DD1 has told me this winter is going to be the coldest we've have in 15yrs, supposed to get down in the minus' in most areas, which we haven't had since the first couple of years we were here, i think -11 was our coldest & that was the first winter we had , the previous summer was awfully wet with the monsoons & cyclones, fun, ughhh.
your soaps are always amazing & lovely & those spice oils sound divine!
keep warm
thanx for sharing
Selina, I had heard that before about a cold and wet winter. I can hardly wait 😳
DeleteHi Chel, here we skipped Autumn completely and went directly from Summer to Winter. It got down to 6C here last night and isnt real warm right now. Cheapskates Chatter, on FB, is another great group for looking at saving money tips and how to make your dollars work for you. Rhonda, at Down to Earth blog, has a Library of info that is catalogued so easy to find a particular topic.
ReplyDeleteWe dont get the frosts here so I still have a pretty productive food garden. This is helping with keeping our food costs down. I, like you, am getting soaps made and have them ready for gifting.
Stay warm in front of the fire dear lady.
Jane I wish we had a fire here. It is freezing in our old house. Of course Rhonda's blog is always a treasure trove of information. Thankfully she is going to blog again. Keep warm up there.
DeleteCold weather and hard times -thank goodness we have both come through hard times before. It gives a measure of resilience. I am very concerned for the people who have no homes. I wish we could do something
ReplyDeleteYes I wish I could help more. Imagine sleeping in a tent in this weather. Hard times indeed ☹
DeleteWe have had very cold days (max 7 or 8 degrees) but the grey weather has meant the minimums have not not been cold enough for frost. Fortunately our home is warm but I know Queensland houses can be very cold in the winter time. I hope the cold snap moves on soon.
ReplyDeleteWe had a lot of frosts last week. Thankfully it is starting to warm up a little and I agree our Qld houses are cold. Brrr!
DeleteChel it's never straightforward for me commenting on my phone either. We live a simple and thrifty life as well, and it's the way I was brought up. Your soap sounds good enough to eat with those flavours lol. I adore pansies, my Mum used to grow them, didn't realise they were so tough though, through frost and all. We are in Cairns atm. and that's cold enough for our old bones. Hope you are keeping warm.
ReplyDeletePauline, I don't know what is going on with Blogger. I can't even reply to a comment on my own blog if I am on my iPad. Quite odd!
DeleteGosh that frost looks pretty cold. I've followed the Aussie Debt Free Girl for a while now myself and some of those fruit and veggie savings at the big fruit barn stores are not what I can get locally. Another Brisbane blogger shops at similar Discount Fruit Barns and I asked both them and ADFG where they shop so one day I hit a Discount Fruit Store out at North Lakes [no where near me but was up for a drive to check it out] and sadly on the day the F&V didn't look amazing. I've just started making some dishwasher powder and for years I have made our home made laundry powder. About 10 years ago I tried Rhonda's recipe for the liquid laundry stuff but I didn't like it so I have been making the powder ever since and that has been great. Sard Soap, Sunlight Soap, Borax [from Bunnings] and Washing Soda [Woollies on the bottom or top shelf]. This has saved me heaps of money over the years and I whip it up in the Thermomix and takes me less than 5 minutes. [you can search washing powder] on my blog for the recipe. I'm trying to fine tune other things too with the rise of just about everything in life. I booked into a soap making course [even though I made some 10 years ago] however something came up and I had to post it until the end of July. Have a good week and rug up, it's actually freezing tonight.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy. I am trying to write this on my phone as I can't even comment on my own blog while using my iPad. What has Blogger done? Fruit and veggie prices are pretty good here at our Farmers Market and the fruit shops. 99c kg for bananas this week.
Delete