Building from Scratch

My sister Eileen and I have been on a building spree of late.  We both love recycling old and creating something useful.  We both love Pinterest and we are inspired to have a go.  We have found like anything the more you do the easier it becomes.  Eileen has her own drill and today she bought herself a matching jigsaw.  I already have a drill and jigsaw and a circular saw and quite a few other tools.  This week I decided to use a present that I was given by my brother and sister-in-law for my 21st birthday all those years ago.  It was a beauty case and it has now become home to my drill and drill bits etc.  The first thing we built this week was a wood shed.  Last Sunday I saw a couple of pallets in a skip bin and so Eileen took the ute and asked whether we might have them.  They were very sturdy and made good walls for the shed.  The front is covered with a straw blind.  Next we decided we would build a potting table.  We used a coffee table as the basis.  We were able to get free wood from a pallet place that puts out what they don't want on the verge.  The lattice on the sides was generously given by my neighbour Lisa which was cut down and used to fill in the back.  We have made two shelves at the back and the shelf underneath will be used to store potting mix and tools.  Eileen had spare tiles from her bathrooms and these were used for the top.  All that is left to do is paint the structure in a cream and grout the tiles when they are dry.  It is so satifying to see a project come together and I will post a picture when the table is in place and completely finished.

Laminate Floor Cleaner

Laminate Floor Cleaner

1/3 cup of rubbing alcohol
1/3 cup of white vinegar
1/3 cup of water
3 to 4 drops of washing up liquid
6 drops of essential oil

Place into spray bottle.  Spray onto floor and mop with microfibre cloth.  This does not leave streaks.  We did not have rubbing alcohol and used Gin that was sitting on top of the cupboard.  It puts a whole new spin on Gin and Tonic.  When we bought the rubbing alcohol it is a lot better than the Gin.  The rubbing alcohol is cheaper bought at the supermarket as opposed to the chemist.  It gives you a sense of satisfaction to make something up and have it work.  Happy cleaning!!

Building a storage area

In an earlier posting I talked about building a storage area.  Eileen Mary and I today have been building the walls and roof for the storage area out of pallets, recycled colour bond and reeded decking.  Eileen went looking to buy large pallets and ended up coming back with 10 free pallets.  We placed these on top of each other and nailed and screwed them together.  Our friend Thomas helped us to make them more secure.  We had pieces of colourbond that were about 30 cms short so we decided to make them a bit quirky by adding reeded decking that we had acquired about 6 months ago.  Tomorrow we will paint the decking a colourbond in a cream.   We feel so blessed with what we are given and love the challenge of creating something like this.  The area is already in use and very useful.  We broke the head of a screw off at the back when we were putting up the reeded decking so we decided that that would make a good home to hang up the yard broom.  Sometimes you just have to think outside the square.

Start again

I went away with my family for Easter and did not have access to the computer so hence I wasn't able to post.  Today I decided to start again and continue on my journey to write in my blog each day.  We have had a few building projects on the go so I thought I would showcase them here.  We endeavour to go back to a simple way of living and today Mary and I have been working in the vegie garden.  I saw this little hot house on Pinterest and decided to build my own version.  About 12 months ago I sent for heritage seeds so we are going to start propagating from scratch and then letting a couple go to seed so that we can have ongoing seeds.   The picture on the left is from http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Square+Foot+Gardening+Greenhouse&view=detail&id=4B85DCF7A2006FC7BC01B9D87856B0A41872CE4F&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

We are using egg trays to propagate our seeds.  I will let you know how we go.

Eileen and I have been building a storage area out of pallets.  We will use tin on the walls and concrete sheeting on the roof.  It is so nice to recycle.  This is our outside kitchen alfresco dining area.  You can see the storage area behind the white wall.  We have an industrial gas stove which we will be using at a later date (under yellow cover) and this will be stored in this area until we need it.  Last night we had family night in this area with candles and soft music.  The only downer was that there were a few mosquitoes so next time I will have to burn some citronella.

Easter Eggs

Today I started off my day making peppermint chocolate crackle nests.  The lady who I bought the ute from gave me a recipe she had just tried out and it was a slice made with rice bubbles and peppermint crisps.  I thought I would make it for Easter. I put the mixture into patty pans and hollowed out to form a nest.  I then put them in the fridge to set and then decorated with little Easter eggs. Below is the recipe. Enjoy!!

 Peppermint Chocolate Slice

200 gram peppermint chocolate

180 grams dark chocolate

50 grams copha

5 cups of rice bubbles

3 x 35 grams peppermint crisp

Place peppermint chocolate and dark chocolate and copha in saucepan over medium heat.  Cook stirring for 4 - 5 mins.  Place rice bubbles and chopped peppermint crisps into large heatproof bowl and add chocolate melted.  Pour into tray lined with baking paper and put in fridge to set. 

Thank You

Well I feel like a new woman tonight.  My girls organized for me to be a model at our local hairdressing salon.  I could have whatever I would like but just had to pay for the colour and treatment.  I chose foils and a light brown colour and was pleasantly surprised when the hairdresser came to me and told me that my daughter Amanda had paid for my treatment.  I was so grateful to have time out to relax and read some magazines (I only read them when I go to the hairdresser).

 Today we made another batch of hot cross buns as yesterdays was such a hit.  

Well take care until tomorrow

Capture Cooking and Creativity

Today we cooked lasagne from scratch.  I ground some beef and pork using a mincer attachment Amanda my daughter gave me for the Kenwood Chef and added sausage meat and then fried this with onions, garlic and capsicum.  I then added tomato sauce that was in the freezer from a previous cook off.  I put flour and eggs and water into the breadmaker and set it on pasta.  It mixes up the dough.  Then you put this through the pasta machine to make lasagne sheets.  I had the mozzarella and ricotta cheese that I made last week so I used this with a cheese sauce to layer the lasagne with the meat sauce.  It was satisfying to know that everything in the lasagne was from scratch.  We had one for dinner tonight and the other is in the freezer.

This afternoon we made hot cross buns.  The recipe is below and they are very yummy.  I am certainly going to cook these again and maybe try choc chips instead of sultanas.

Hot Cross Bun Recipe

2 & 1/2 teaspoons yeast

3 & 1/4 cups plain flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup sultanas

1 egg

2 tablespoons margarine

310 ml water

Place in breadmaker and set on dough setting.  Knead on floured surface until elastic and springs back when pressed.  Divide dough into 12 pieces.  Shape each piece into a ball.  Place together on baking tray.  Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Place 1/2 cup plain flour and 80 mls water with 2 teaspoons sugar in bowl and mix together until smooth.  Pipe crosses on risen dough.

Bake buns 30 mins in a pre-heated oven at 180 C until golden brown.

Combine 2 tbls water, 2 tbls sugar and 1 teaspoon gelatine in microwave dish and microwave for 1-2 mins.  Brush over hot buns.

Makes 12 buns