Hot, hot, hot.......

That's not an advertisement for a new product but a comment on the weather over here, in the Central West Plains of NSW, Australia, the last fortnight.

Temperature has broken local records at 45.8 deg Celcius. Thankfully the newly installed solar power system has saved us a small fortune as the air-conditioners have been in operation 24 hours a day, unlike previous years, as even the lowest night temperatures have been 24C or more. We had a hen die last week from heat stress. Ice containers cooling the water, wet patches on the ground where they can sit under the trees, and even shallow dishes to stand in didn't help on the day when the winds were hot and brisk. Two days before that one of our hens hatched 6 chickens in 44C heat! One died the next day, but it had a difficult hatch and was possibly blind so it may have been kinder that it did die, even though we took over the care and did our best for it.

Even the outside dog has been encouraged to come inside. She's 14 now so she feels the temperature changes more keenly.

 

Of course the cat is mostly inside as he "owns" the place....hahahaha....

The temperature dropped to 38C over the weekend but the humidity rose so the weather was still difficult to endure. I will definitely be glad when Autumn weather arrives with cooling breezes and the possibility of rain.

Mulching and deep watering infrequently has kept the  few vegetables and fruit trees alive, though my little Emperor mandarin has dropped all it's fruit. The lemon and the lime tree haven't flowered this year, but as they too are small, I'd rather the energy go into strengthening the tree than into fruit. The worms are still producing their type of fertiliser and I'm grateful for it as the compost isn't breaking down very quickly in this dry hot weather. Photo is about 2 litres of worm juice that I gather once a week.

I participated in a Christmas card swap last year, in a forum I am a member of, and received cards from 2 members in England. I should have posted these earlier, but it doesn't alter the fact that they are beautiful cards, and much work has gone into the making of them. Thanks again, Sarah and Josey.

Sarah's card

Josey's card

My card to Josey

Cheers,

Robyn Louise XO

Mystery Box reveal

Well, I finally had time to play with what was in the mystery box. The dyes, scent and cocoa butter and the sphere mold in the last picture.

 I'll obviously need more practice and there's more than one way to do this but I'm happy with how the first try turned out :). I painted the inside of the molds and poured the warm soap into them. Had a mild panic attack when the pigments bled and I could see colour in the bottom of the soap but it subsided as they cooled. The dragonflies are supposed to be purple with pale yellow wings! Need to do more research/experimenting in that department! Maybe colouring the soap mix is the thing to do.

The soaps on ropes should be nice and hard by Christmas and I can hand paint them with the pigments before then and give as gifts, except the defective one! I'll have to trial the painted soap to see if they run and how much. As they are approved cosmetic pigments they are deemed safe but a soap which colours the bathwater may cause a ruckus with one mother I know so uncoloured soaps will be the solution there. The ones below are cocoa butter soaps and those next to the mold,  are ordinary olive and rice bran oil soaps - before trimming.

All these are scented to some degree with cinnamon leaf oil as it has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. There's probably not enough to be an effective germ solution when washing but I was more concerned with the soap itself going off as, unlike commercial soap, there are no preservatives in this. Cinnamon is also an inhalant for colds and more appealing than tea tree or eucalyptus so it will serve multiple purposes in the soap.



I'll continue to experiment with my soapmaking with scents, colours and molds but the standard will always be Rhonda's recipe on the DTE blog . I have used soap made from Rhonda's recipe for washing dishes, making laundry wash and washing myself, including my hair, and it has never failed me. Sometimes basic is best even if variations are good for a change :)!

Cheers,
Robyn xo

Ends and Beginnings

I've had a bit of a blogging break over the holidays, from the end of 2012 to almost the beginning of February 2013, but here's a few photo collages so you know I haven't been idle :).

 Top left to bottom right: One of the hens decided to take time out from laying eggs to raise a family; DD13 and Whisky bringing home a Christmas tree; Dog on the tuckerbox - Gundagai; seems to be a lot of ways to go to Junee :) ; Only in Oz could you post your letters AND grab a beer at the same time!; Our old house in Junee being restored by the current owners.

A spot of ten pin bowling at the new centre in Wagga Wagga after Christmas. DS on the left and eldest DD on the right. Notice the absence of any photographs of me, lol?

Top left to bottom right: Now that's a mouse you can get your teeth into!; Here comes the rain again...; An unusual garden visitor; Just lazing around listening to music while it's raining outside; Another use for a wheelbarrow when the temp reaches 41C; My first soaps on ropes :D ; Granny square dishcloth.

Thanks for visiting! I really am going to try to post more often this year ;P!

Cheers,
Robyn xo

Whatever the weather, wherever you are.....

Wishing all my followers a Merry Christmas!

Cheers, Robyn xo

DTE-ers..possible Christmas card swap creations!

If you are thinking of being in the Down To Earth Forum Christmas card swap then it may be advisable not to scroll down or you could see a card you may receive.

The school hols may be over but it's not peaceful enough for me to be trying to sew a pattern I've modified. So I decided to fiddle around with my scrapbooking stuff as I've put my name down for the above mentioned swap. This swap is a little different as we are receiving a list of 9 names of swappees, that is our group, so we post a card to each of the swappees and receive one from each in return.

I googled "handmade Christmas card" then clicked on images for some new ideas and then put my own twist on them and this is what I've made so far.

Not a wonderful photo as it was taken tonight but it shows the glittery bits, even though the star on top of the tree is gold not multicolour sparkles. I would have put a multicolour sparkly star on it if I had one :). It's been a while since I've played with my scrapbooking supplies so I'm quite enjoying this. 

Hope you are enjoying them and the Blogtoberfest too!

Cheers,

Robyn xo

On My Mind...Handmade Christmas gifts

This is a Friday feature over at Down To Earth that anyone with a blog can join. To take part, post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it and link it back to the Down To Earth blog by saying you're part of 'On My Mind'. Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When you’ve done that go to Down To Earth blog and add a comment below the “On My Mind” post with a link to your blog. 

I’ve been in a few swaps lately and become a bit behind on some but the last one will be posted today.

These bags were made for 2 different Christmas swaps. If thet ri-pocket striped one looks familiar it’s because it’s the second one I’ve made but the fabrics are reversed and the pockets have been modified. It was for an online swap at Our Craft Forum. The card holder below it was an added extra.

This Christmas colours one was made for a local swap and it’s the first lined one I’ve made and also the first with an inside pocket. I should have been making these before as they are easier than I thought and are done using a modified pattern of the grocery bags with the handles sandwiched between the layers of lining and outside fabric then topstitching along the opening for extra strength.

I can see me making a supply of these for future gifts in various sizes and maybe with pieced or patchworked exteriors.

Now I have some family gifts to make. Some have been begun and others are either planned on paper or planned in my head!

How are you going with your Christmas list?

Cheers,

Robyn