the to-do list for next year!!

well its nearly next year, and i havent written much on here over the past few weeks. Sadly not cos i was to busy with the Captain.....just cos there hasnt been that much to say! i was up to date with JYC til xmas day, but havent done any since then. i plan to do a few more pages but thats about it really.... dont tend to celebrate new years, so theres not much more to put in.
I've been reading some to-do lists of people on a forum i read and i thought i would put mine out there for next year....it might keep me on track!!!

SOOOOO......
1) Build up the finances in order to move out of current situation.
2) find studio flat to live in- late march/early April (studio to downsize outgoings and cull belongings!)
3) get better at successional sowing on the allotment
4) plant more for the freezer to reduce the need to buy vege throughout the year
5) be really ruthless when unpacking stuff in storage...i havent used/needed it for the past year!!!
6) visit some more european cities....hopefully the Captain will play a part in that!
7) see if its possible to save for a trip downunder for xmas 2010.
8) continue to learn about self sufficiency
9) make my own bread

i'm sure there will be more!. Whats on your list?

Happy New Year everyone!!.

Back up to date!

on my list of jobs today was to catch up with JYC...and i have!. am even toying with doing tomorrows this evening as i'll be with the Captain tomorrow night, and wont have any time during the day to do it.....just had a thought, i will hold off...cos i may do the Captain as the page instead of the prompt...best take the camera tomorrow night then!!.

ok heres day 4

day 5


day 6


and my cute snowman from the Rusty Pickle class yesterday.

no longer up to date!

i havent done yesterdays post....eekkkk!!, and so far today i havent done todays either!. altho i know what i'm doing for todays. still not sure on yesterdays!
However i have made the cutest xmas album this afternoon in a class with Lance Anderson of Rusty Pickle. i'll photograph it tomorrow and put it up along with my JYC pages....hopefully!!.

(the captain is on his way!!).

it's been a long day.....

Today i was assessed being an assessor to one of my candidates, which basically means my teacher sat and watched me with a learner, then asked me loads of questions!. with all this looming, i was awake at 430am stressing about how the day would go!.
Then abot 1130, when it was over i checked my phone to see the loveliest text from the Captain.....he cant wait til tuesday to meet up again, can we meet up on monday instead?. talk about instant destress!!. of course i replied YESSSSS!!!.

I got home tonight to find my first xmas card of the season, so decided to use that as my prompt for todays card prompt in JYC, as well as adding about my day and of course my text!!.

Phew!, still up to date with my JYC!!

Heres todays entry....it's on the weather. i wasnt actually going to do it on the weather cos the day was pretty uneventful.....until 230pm when i had to start my nursery and school pick ups....then the heavens opened and everyone got soaked!!. so theres a small journalling spot about the rain and then the photos of yesterday that i took!!.

Also heres todays decoration for the advent tree and a glimpse of my Baileys choccies, which i'm about to scoff!!.

Butter Tarts......and books.....

ok, a few people have asked what butter tarts are.....calories in a pastry case mainly, but also devine treats that my family only eats at Christmas time. i'll share the recipe and you can have a try yourselves....i have made them and taken them to scrapmates before!.

Canadian Butter Tarts
8ozs short sweet pastry
1 c sultanas
1 c brown sugar
1 egg beaten
2 TBSPNS butter
1/2t vanilla extract
1/2t nutmeg.

Roll and line 18 patty pans. Scald the sultanas with boiling water, then drain well. While the fruit is hot, add the sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and nutmeg.
Put a dessert spoon of mix into each patty case, and then bake at 180C/350F for 15-20mins.

One more photo to add for today.....i collect childrens christmas stories and when i was in Enfield this morning i popped into Waterstones and had a look at what they had....and came home with this haul!!. I love Splat the Cat, so am thrilled to bits theres a Christmas story to add to the collection!!.

JYC 1/12/09

todays entry....i'm currently up to date....lol!!.
and notice what i found in my pile of stash....i cant have noticed it when i was cutting up the sheet cos i'd have put it on the front!! (Santa flying a plane!!)


here for my scrapmates friends is how far i've got with my tree....just got the numbers to do and hang on, but ermmm....have lost one of the screws!!. then will decide if it needs anything else once they are on.


And finally, cos its now December....this years first batch of butter tarts....(with my sous chef!)

YIPPEEE......IT'S DECEMBER!!!....

Couldnt resist starting the photos early....dont expect it this early every day!!. altho, my aim is to uphold photos every day as much as possible!.

ok heres the advent tree from Harrods without the 1st deccie ( next to it is the ornament, well one of two!, brought from Harrods as well)....


then a piccie of the tree with the first deccie, and my choccie for today and the scrapmates advent swap pressie....both unopened....


and finally, choccie eaten at 7am-ish, and pressie opened to reveal a set of Doodlebug rubons!.....


back later with a photo of day one of JYC!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas......

I spent the evening round at Allys last night decorating a Kaisercraft countdown to Christmas tree.....covering it with gorgeous Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses *swoon* (wish i'd done my JYC in this now!!).
This morning i've done a bit more....finished off most of the painting...got to paint the other other side of the tags and wait for the glitter glue to dry before adding the hooks and maybe an oversized snowflake!!.






Whilst there i also was given my bag of advent goodies from the Scrapmates advent swap....roll on tuesday...a pressie and a choccie a day....plus JYC = can't wait!.



Heres my choccie advent calender from M&S, and i also have a card one from Harrods that i havent set up yet.....i'll certainly add a picture of that when i get it ready....got to clear a space for it up out of enquiring fingers way!!.

Skype, and JYC.

WOW!!, so i'd heard people talk about Skype but hadnt investigated it before meeting the Captain. Yesterday i decided to try phoning someones landline thru Skype and it was fantastic....once you get over the fact you're talking to your computer screen!. I rung both my girlfriends in NZ, spoke for about an hour in total and spent the princly sum of £0.80!!!. i'll be phoning everywhere now!!.

I was talking to the Captain (on Skype!!), and telling him about my JYC class and album, and he asked if he was going to feature in it!. thats a huge dilemma.....i want to put him in, but if it all goes tits up in the new year, then i dont want an album full of those memories!. however if this is something thats gonna last the distance, i do want to record our first Christmas together......arrrggghhhhh!!!. i dont know what to do!.

one more wee moan....i love my new laptop its great blah blah blah, but i'm beginning to get a touch p'd off at the odd missed letter when i'm typing...surely i'm not typing to fast for you lappy???

this years Journal Your Christmas.....

I am now ready to begin....the album is made, the cover is done and the box of bits is organised. all that's left to do is find the missing 2 packets of MM embellies i've lost...one being the word fetti that i really want to use!!.





the bulk of the album is from the Making Memories Mistletoe range, with some Bazzill cs pages, theres a sheet of Hambly and a sheet of Basic Grey (really loving the eskimo kisses range this year!), and the covers are a sheet of heavy Hambly overlay.

i've stamped some journalling spots, cut out some other ones from October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket; cut up some pp to use on the pages and got my fav letter stickers from Doodlebug!. Roll on Dec 1st!!

Gutted......

The Captain was going to come to the UK today for a few days between flights. Sadly he couldnt get on any flights out of Singapore today, and therefore it isnt worth him coming now. I cant believe how gutted i feel at the moment. I had told myself to keep calm til i knew he was actually on a plane, but still the news that he isnt coming has really knocked me. I guess that means theres some feelings lurking in there somewhere!. Also i guess i have to get used to this cos he'll always come standby when he isnt working or on leave.
the small bright note is he'll be here for a month in 2.5wks time.

Quick trip to the Allotment!.

It's been blowing a gale here over the last 36hrs or so, and yesterday as i was driving i suddenly thought sh*t, the shed roof!!. when Jim and i put the shed up, we didnt finished off the roof properly because i had thought at the time i would replace the MDF as well as the roofing felt. however over time the roof has held its own, so i just got some felt and Jim and i cut it to size, put it on the roof and secured it with a load of bricks....and thats the way its stayed for the last few months!. This morning dawned clear and calm so i popped up to the lottie and see my shed still standing with is roof firmly in place......phew!!. Jim popped out and said all he'd had to do was put back 2 bricks that had slid down!. I'm thrilled, cos i have very little time at the moment to sort the roof, and so if it survived this onslaught, it'll survive the winter pretty much!.
While i was there i harvested a pot of carrots and one leek for tonights leek and cheese risotto!.



In other news, i have made the carcass of this years JYC using MM's Mistletoe range, with a few extra pages from Hambly, and Basic Grey. now i need to think how i'm going to hold it together....my thought of the BIA is a bit iffy, cos it's already to thick!. I went and got my BIA and cropadile out of storage yesterday which will help with this project. i'll take some piccies soon to share.

I have discovered skype....the Captain and i have both downloaded it into our laptops and are aiming to use it while he's in foreign cities to minimise mobile usage and huge bills!. it works a treat....yesterday i have 2 video chats with him....him being in the lobby of a swank hotel in Moscow! he comes here next weekend for a few days, and i'm going to pick him up from Heathrow and take him to his mums, where we're both going to stay for a few days......something that excites and scares me in equal measures!!.

I'm going to be in a book.....

Last year sometime i was contacted about having my photo from here, along with some words i said on this blog,feature in a book about human emotion. well this book is going to be published next month and i cant wait to see it.
if you want a sneak peek at it, its here on amazon.
i'll do more of a post about once i get my copy!

oh!, and ......

i finished my Journal Your Christmas 2008 album!!. i only did up to 31st dec, then added a couple of pages with pics/bits of the rest of my time in OZ.
Now i can start to think about getting ready for the 2009 version!.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Twas the old 42nd birthday today!!. I got spoilt by my family and friends and the captain rung from the cockpit to wish me happy b/day...which he sung to me!. needless to say i'm acting like a silly schoolgirl!!. the scrapmates are finding it all very funny!. still...it doesnt happen to me often!.

this evening i took LM to her first live fireworks display!. right as they were about to start she decides she wants the loo!!. bless the wee girl...she hung on for about 15mins so she could watch up close!. i took a heap of pics on the firework setting on my camera, and tbh, they have all come out rubbish....i guess you need a tripod or something for it, cos they are just about all blurry!. sadly i didnt have time to take any on auto!. heres a couple that aren't to bad!.

A Childhood Memory remembered......

yesterday i had one of those moments where you see something and it brings back a memory from your childhood that you had long forgotten.
I have met an airline pilot and am at the beginnings of a potential relationship with him. thats the good news....the bad news is he's based in Singapore and only comes to the UK once every 4-6wks!.
Anyway, back to my memory......he was here in the UK for 48hrs, leaving yesterday afternoon. As he was getting into his uniform....in the bathroom...no mucky business people!.....i was looking at his hat lying on the table and suddenly remembered as a child when we used to drop dad (also a pilot) off or pick him up from the airport, i used to carry his hat. So i told the captain my memory and he let me carry his hat down to reception!!. twas a small thing, but such a strong memory. In the lift down the captain told me i could carry his hat anytime!.

Simply Beautiful......

Given to me last night......

JYC 2009

I was thinking i wouldnt do Journal Your Christmas this year.....i'm still living in, in a Jewish home and wont have many xmassy things around me. Then this evening, i've been reading a thread on UKS about whos doing it and why and i got to thinking....i could make it work this year. I could incorporate things about Channukah, which runs the week before xmas this year.
so, even tho i havent finished last years one, i think i will go ahead and start thinking about doing it again this year. altho, i will pull finger and finish last years one before starting this years one.....discipline girl....discipline!.
As someone on UKS said, it almost becomes a tradition in itself!.

For MWG....

the reason i saved the seeds was cos those particular tomatos only come from one supplier of heirloom vege, and while you get a decent amount in a bag, it still costs quite alot and if i didnt save some seed, i'd have basically wasted that packet of seed!. The first lot of seedlings i planted were eaten by slugs!. Also, i want to get into saving seed and this is a good place to start.

make sure that if you do decide to save some seed, you are saving from non F1 tomatoes, as those ones may not grow true to type as they are hybrids.

heres the latest two pics....the top one is the seeds soaking and separating from the pulp, and the bottom one showing how all 4 toms eventually turned red!. i will take some more photos as the seeds are processed....over the next few days.

well....fancy that!!

i was having a look at the blog list on the aussie forum i visit, and my own blog came up on the list!!. i guess i'm going to have to update more often if more people are looking....or at least take a few more piccies!. really need to get an up-to-date shot of the allotment, esp if i can't get any more off the old laptop. thank full theres a few on here, so i can see how far i've come!

Harvested the tomato seeds finally!.

I finally spent a few mins getting all the seeds out of the 4 Amish Paste tomatoes i had brought in to try and ripen and save the seed from. I have loads of seed floating round the jar separating themselves from the pulp and they should be ready to dry in a couple of days.

Am getting the recipe cards done for the 2 swaps i'm in. Am all completed for the aussie forum one, just need to send. for the UKS one, i've done 5 of the 10 and have til the end of the month, so thats all under control!.

popped into M & S this arvo and picked up a tin of biscuits, so i can use the tin afterwards as my sewing tin!!. its in the shape of an open book, with lots of fun M&S scenes on the top from days gone by. its a nice big rectangle and will hold the scissors nicely!. the biscuits inside are rather yummy as well!!!.

Finally got to the allotment!.

With the college course starting and homework associated with that, i have struggled to give the allotment much time....thankfully its the winding down season anyway, but i still had a few 'must do's' to do!.
I spent 2.5hrs up there this morning and got all my onions and garlic into my newly dug bed, so am feeling alot better now things now....that was a big job, and i can now cross it off!. i've got red and white onions, and 4 varieties of garlic that i brought when i went to Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. sadly one of the bulbs was iffy at the base, so only 2 of the cloves were any good....but thats ok....i'll use one bulb and taste it, and if i like it, will use the second for seed for the following year!.
i pulled up all the plum tomato plants as well.....i rescued a good handfull of green toms and have put them on a tray in the closed growhouse, so maybe they will ripen in there in the sun. the 4 i have at home are all red now and i will harvest the seed tomorrow arvo, along with a few of LM's toms!.
the last job done today was the plant the loganberry in the berry bed.
so a good mornings work done.
i shall try and take a few new pics, as i havent yet managed to rescue the old allotment pics off the old laptop.

a big kiss to......

MWG!!!!.....
thank you for reading and commenting on my blog.....it puts a smile on my face to see you there. Miss you heaps and hope to see you up our way sometime soon.
lots of love,
the kiwi flavoured jelly xxx

attempting to add some pretty pictures!!

I've had limited success with my tomatoes this year....the early planted ones got eaten by slugs and that set me back in getting a plant to fruit before the frosts started.
i managed to grow some Amish Paste cooking tomatoes and by early sept had a truss of 4 or 5 beauties.....


then about 3 weeks ago i started to see threads on the grapevine regarding the colder nights and decided to cut that truss off and bring it indoors to continue to ripen so i could harvest the seed. i set them on a plate with some bananas and other ripe toms (LM's ones that grew brilliantly this year!), and finally this week, they have started to turn red....yipppeeee!!.


this is a picture of what i harvested at the allotment today....runner beans, purple french beans and yes, that is a strawberry!!. plus some other bean pods for drying and saving the seed!.

probably biting off more than i can chew!!

I have decided to have a go at making a quilt for LM using a pile of her old baby clothes cut into 6 x 6" squares, and backed with an old blanket she used to play on when she couldnt move!. I think its a great idea, just not sure if i can pull it off!!.
I'll finish the scrapping projects i've got first, then make a start on it over xmas, and hope to have a good chunk of it done before allotment season really kicks into gear in March!.

Still having no luck at getting the old laptop back on to a state where i can get more photos off it. I may have to hand it to someone yet who can at least get me to that point. Gotta get into the habit of backing up more!.

Thats about all for now....having a relax before college tomorrow.....dont like 5 day weeks very much!.

I'm going to keep this blog, otherwise i'll never end up keeping one!

* cut and pasted from the live journal one, which i am going to delete!

I hadn't been certain i had much to blog about here....i'm kinda in a 'no mans land' as i'm not in my own flat, not eating the way i want to etc, so havent kept up with this.
However over the past week i've sorted some life things out in my head and decided to get back to this and record the next part of my journey to root planting!.
I've decided that i want to be in Australia by the time my niece turns 3.....4 at the latest, so that gives me another 2-3 yrs here in the UK. Early next year i will move out of this place and into a studio in a bid to save some more money and to force me to cull some of the stuff i currently have in storage!. I only want to ship the essentials to OZ when the time comes.....not lifes essentials btw, my essentials!!!.
Tomorrow i start college for 12wks......i'm doing an assessors certificate and in doing some research have discovered this is a role in OZ as well, so that is good for the future....i'll use this few years to train up, gain experience then launch myself on the aussies!!. I'm looking forward to this change.....i'm about ready for a change from kids for a while so this is the perfect role for me....imparting my knowledge and experience in those who will do the caring. I'll still be nannying 3 days a week with the girls but in the new year will make the change to full time assessing work.
Tomorrow also marks the start of the 5 day week for me again after the best part of 3 years!. It will probably be that way now for the next 5 or so years so i can build up the money in order to buy some land in OZ to continue my dream of self reliance.

The dream remains.....to be self reliant as much as possible and that should be well and truely possible in Australia. At the moment i'm looking at land prices in northern Vic and northern NSW.......just getting an idea of price and whats around. both those areas seem to have good growing climates and a decent rainfall per year. I've reaquainted myself with an aussie forum on simple living and have got involved in a recipe swap on that!.
speaking of recipe swaps....i've also joined the UKS xmas recipe swap, so the old creative grey matter needs to get kicked back into gear big time.....10 6 x 6 recipes to be made, plus a couple for the aussie one, and on top of that finish last years JYC, and make a pressie for my parents to be posted by the beginning of dec!. Just as well the allotment is quietening down!.

The allotment has been fab this season, altho a few things have suffered the too much rain/not enough sun that has been this summer. my successes have been beans, strawberries, spuds along with a good handful of onions, leeks, raspberries, lettuce. my failures have been many!. mostly due to slugs/planting to late or lack of enough sun. my sweetcorn all grew but is running out of time....i doubt the cobs will be ripen enough!.
next year i need to learn successional sowing better, and plant more for storage foods.....tomatoes for cooking, beans for drying etc.

Theres a chance i'm being taken to New York at the end of Jan to celebrate LM's fathers 50th. If thats the case i am seriously considering bring back a proper pressure canner in order to help preserve and store my harvest. The cheapest way to get one is to bring one back, because you pay more for shipping the item than you do the item. I just need to investigate it a bit more!.
Another reason for getting it now is to use this time before going to the land to learn lots of skills that are going to liveblood skills once i get there. the allotment is one learning curve, and preserving the harvest is the next important one i believe.

WOW! mammoth post. i'll close for now, and see how many people are actually reading this!!. please comment if you do stop by for a look to see if i've done anything....would be nice to know someones reading my drivel!.

hmmm....just done a preview of this.....loads written and more to say!. LM's quilt, new glimmer mists!!!, new books!. i'll save them for another post.
I did notice and ad at the bottom....not sure i like that idea and may end up moving the blog again.....i've not found livejournal user friendly....perhaps its cos i dont use it enough!.
right outta here.....x-factors on in 15!.

ANZAC DAY

FOR THE FALLEN
LAWRENCE BINYON

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrows up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted:
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England’s foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the night.

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end they remain.

its been a while!

pinch and a punch for the 1st of the month!.

yes i know its been a while....i wasnt sure i had much to say and i would like to move to another blog host, but dont know which one, so til then, theres not much going on here!.