Izzy's Blanket

Well here is Izzy's blanket well under way now.  I didn't get around to taking photos any earlier as I am on a mission to finish it so I can take it down to Sydney with me next time I go down.  Unfortunately, I am not sure if I will finish it in time as I have run out of the bright pink wool and need to find somewhere else that sells it as the craft shop I bought it from is closing down. A real shame as it is very handy at lunch time when I am at work. They say business is bad, I would love to get my hands on that place I am sure I could get it pumping.  It is such a funny little shop, really old fashioned like something from the 70's.  I think I will have to become more and more organised as all the craft store are becoming further away so no quick trip down to the shops anymore.  I suppose I will have to start buying on line, it's just not the same as touching and seeing the products.  

So where did I find this pattern?  On the attic24 blog I love, love, love this blog she is amazing I don't know how she fits it all in.  There are free tutorials with clear instructions and pictures and how to's.  Well worth a look.  A big thank you Lucy.

Cleaning Up The Back Yard

Here is Mark cleaning up the back yard and burning off some of the rubbish. Frankly I think he is a bit of a fire bug and will use any excuse to light a fire, he is always on the hunt for something to burn.  The yard needed a good tidy up anyway, since the chicken run change around there have been little piles of palm fronds and branches all over the place.  The clean up will allow me to make more gardens around the outside of the chicken run.  These will be more vegie patches, food for both us and our girls.  More pictures to follow so keep your eyes peeled.

Our Beloved Neighbour

I know I have been away ignoring my blog for a week or so, unfortunately Evelyn the old dear next door, has been ill and has since passed. Both Mark and I will miss popping in and seeing her everyday to have a chat, it is strange to look out the window and not see her light on we will miss her and so will our neighbourhood. 

Cream Cheese

Here is the resulting cream cheese made from kefir it is delicious, soft and creamy with a little bit of tartness and very good for you too.  

I made stuffed mushrooms with these beautiful large mushies I bought at the local markets.  Yum yum with baked potato and kumera what a treat.  Below is the recipe 

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 quantity of cream cheese or 1 packet of cream cheese, softened

1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon of dried dill leaves or 1 teaspoon of fresh dill

1 egg yolk

6 large field mushrooms

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Method

Wipe down mushrooms to clean any compost that may be on them.  Remove stalks and chop finely.  Place the cream cheese, stalks, garlic, dill, parsley and egg yolk in a bowl and mix well.  Divide the mixture between the mushrooms and bake in a hot oven for about 15-20 minutes.  Note: thyme or other herbs may be used instead of dill and smaller mushrooms may be used and presented as finger food, enjoy.

Kefir Creme Chees

Here I am making another batch of kefir creme cheese.  It has been very successful and tastes wonderful as well as being very, very good for you.  I will make a dip from this lot the previous batch I stuffed mushrooms with and they were amazing. No photos of the mushrooms as it was a little too dark.  Stay tuned to see what other kefir kitchen capers I get up to, maybe something sweet next? 

Chicken Run Redesign

Here I am half way through moving the three compost heaps, getting ready to move the chicken run.  I am wanting to redesign the layout so that it is surrounded by more vegie gardens.  The compost heaps will need to move to other areas of the garden. 

While digging the compost I found these in the bottom of each pile, they were huge the largest I have ever seen.

They are called curl grubs and can do some damage to the roots of some plants in the garden.  Needles to say they were not going to stay at my place any longer so they were dispatched to the girls immediately.  The girls had a wonderful time they must of had around four each!  I couldn't hold one in my hand for the photo as the slow pulsating movement made me feel sick.  Mark had no qualms whatsoever, the bottom picture is him with one of the larger curl grubs in his hand.  YUK!

Rain Forest Walk

Tidied the rain forest walk in my garden today at last.  It was something I was wanting to do for ages and my lovely girls (the chickens) gave me the perfect reason.  They little darlings had all escaped, apart from one, and ran rampant through the garden.  The mess was amazing they had a wonderful time and dug up two of my ginger plants!  Not too happy about that.
  So off I went and caught all the girls, which was no easy task they were having a great time and did not want to go home.  Then I started to tidy, well one thing led to another, I started to rake, then I started weed, prune and thin out all the ferns.  Four hours later with a beautiful garden and a pile of garden waste almost as tall as myself I felt very pleased and tired.  All I need to do now is load the van up with all the waste and take to the recycle dump.  It's great to feel the earth between my fingers, and under my nails!