Sunday, March 11, 2018

Harvesting, Baking, Painting, Sewing, Reading




Greetings dearest friends & readers
Another week has rolled on by ..........
These pleasant autumn temperatures we are getting lately have been just wonderful for some harvesting here at Threadbear Cottage

I was gifted my Granny Smith Apple tree 4 years ago. The first year it bore no fruit, the 2nd year I picked 8 apples from it, the 3rd year I picked only 6!
Last winter every time I tossed citrus food around my fruit trees I would toss a generous handful around the Apple Tree.
This is the result . . . .


As the branches were so laden I picked all of the fruit last week - I did not bother counting them all!
I have been stewing & freezing apples galore - plus I took a large bag full down to our local Sharing Shed



Though my veggie garden looks a sorry sight & I am ready to empty it before my winter planting, it is still producing steadily .... tomatoes, capsicums & even the odd cucumber



I have been enjoying one of my all time favourite lunches, avocado, tomatoes & basil on toast with a generous dousing of black pepper


An old friend called in on her way north for a cuppa & a catch up.
She came bearing 2 pieces of Citrus Slice purchased from a cafe on her journey .... it was Sooo delicious &, as is normal for me, in the days that followed, I became fixated on citrus slice!
A quick google search & I managed to find a recipe that I felt closely resembled the one my friend had bought.
As I had some windfall oranges & lemons I baked a tray of the slice, which was indeed delicious with that real burst of citrus.
I used this recipe *here* if you would like to try it.


My friend Gail fell in love with the chair planter I made for her sister Joyce

She had a small wrought iron stool similar to the chair I had used, so I offered to paint it green for her, along with a small corner table she had .... once again Resene Amulet.

It is really enjoyable painting out on my deck area these early autumn days while the weather is no longer hot but still pleasant.

I have been asked to teach again this winter at a Rural Woman Craft Day ... you can read about the craft I taught last year in this post here
My instructions were to teach a handcraft that preferably could be made with no sewing machines, completed in approx 2 hours & something pleasant or appealing to "ladies of the older generation"

I struggled to come up with ideas this year but some time spent browsing Pinterest helped me quite a bit
 I decided upon these handstitched felt mice which I will be making into kits for the ladies

To stabilise them I filled the base with wheat, the top of their heads/facial area with wadding, but through the middle I filled them with dried lavender.
Needless to say they smell rather lovely! 
  

Jojo Moyes is most definately one of my favourite authors Ever.
I especially loved her series Me Before You & the follow up, After You
 
I was beside myself with excitement when I read she had written Book 3 in the series, Still Me, with more of Lou's adventures.
I can thoroughly recommend this book & once I had begun I could not put it down!


Thanks so much for your visits today dear friends,
I shall leave you with this photo of Blackie taken yesterday morning - I was late getting them their breakfast so he huffed off & caught his own!

He is looking annoyed in the photo, probably because Miss Pippi is on the path just to the left of the photo, doing star jumps!!  No doubt thinking the rabbit is all hers!!

Have a wonderful week ahead dear friends,
Be good & kind to yourselves & to each other,
with much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x




15 comments:

  1. Hmmm, for some reason, after reading this post I am feeling hungry! Wish I could make some lemon bread, but it is late. :)
    Those mice are adorable. I'm sure the ladies will love it (they are probably my age, after all).

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  2. The mice are a lovely idea, I am sure your ladies will enjoy making these and will feel a sense of achievement when they take their work home. I like the idea of the lavender inside, they would be lovely in a coat cupboard or wardrobe.

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  3. ooooO! Avocado, tomatoes & basil on toast, that all looks
    good enough to eat, and one of my most favourite snacks on
    a Sunday for tea..with plenty of olive oil..! Yum! Yum! :).

    And, the mice look lovely, quite unique..shurely not only
    for the 'ladies'...must be a couple, one each for Pippi
    and Blackie! :).
    And As for Blackie..What a hero..catching a bunny, l clever
    is that...hope he shared half of it with Pippi, though l
    doubt it! Bless!x
    And! And! Guess what l'm having for dinner to~day...though,
    mine will be roasted! :).

    Well, just gone seven over here..on my second lemon tea of the
    day...suns peeping through, nice and bright, and warmer to!
    Oh! Nearly forgot, the apples look lovely Julie...Eve would
    have been proud of them! :0).

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  4. The mice are so sweet Julie, I think I'll be looking at Pinterest later!
    Glad to see Jojo Moyes has written a third book, I've not long read After You, and just remembered by looking at your book cover that she got offered a job in New York at the end of the book. Will look out for the new one. xx

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  5. How lovely this time of the year is with autumn produce to devour. WE've not had a good year with our crops due to the spring and lately the humidity has put paid to our peaches. Luckiy we had a glut last year and we're getting enough to eat fresh if nothing much more! I think those wee mice will go down nicely with the crafting group. The lavender in them will be extra nice. I'm excited to hear of the new Jo-jo Moyes book - I enjoyed the frst two so will be looking out for this one!

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  6. Such beautiful produce from your garden Julie, they always taste better fresh from the garden. I am sure the craft ladies will love the mice, they must smell beautiful. The citrus slice sounds wonderful, might try it with gf biscuits in the base. Well done Blackie, one less bunny eating its was thru your garden. Will look out for the JoJo Moyes book, theybare great reading.

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  7. It's like a foodie blog! So many tasty tummy treats! We had 8 apples on our old tree last year, when I went to pick them to make an apple crumble there were none! This year there is one tiny one. The Jo-jo Moyes books sounds interesting, I am reading the first one at the moment. Blackie the big hunter! Bye bye little bunny...........

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  8. Oh, those apples look so yummy and fresh! Citrus slice looks good - she is definitely a good friend to bring it. Blackie is bringing home the bacon so to speak! Well done him! Those are the only mice I'd like in my place - dear Miss Mousie and her sister - very cute!

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  9. oh I just envisioned apple crumble looking at your grannies, and the citrus slice looks yum, thanks Julie I'm suppose to be on a diet, that's a cute mouse pattern, think I have that somewhere, yours look adorable, what's for dinner, rabbit stew:-) have a great week. Chris xoxo

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  10. Such a wonderful bounty from your garden. I too am a bit o a lemon slice addict lol! Absolutely love it! That is such a pretty green on the chair and table xx

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  11. Sorry to be so slow in commenting. Was thinking I already had. Need to get my act together. Those little mice are so cute. How many hours will you have to spend making up those kits?? Tell me that cat does not have a real rabbit? That sandwich sure does look tasty! You are just winding down your garden and we will be planting our tomatoes probably by May. Nancy

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  12. Maybe we should let Timothy outdoors so he could catch rabbits. I'm too afraid of the coyotes.
    Oh, your lemon dessert sounds scrumptious! Yummy!
    Those granny smiths are lovely! Well done! I saw the place where Granny Smith had an orchard when I was in Sydney.
    Take care, good crafter/maker/artist! love love!

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  13. Hi Julie ,lovely post ,i love homegrown fruit and veggies,your slice sounds lovely thankyou for sharing the recipe,love the little mouse that you are going to teach,it sounds perfect for the older ladies to make. Hope you have a lovely day my friend xx

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  14. I just love those little mice! Do you have a link to the pattern or will it be easy to find on Pinterest?

    Cheers - Joolz xx

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  15. Ah Julie you've been a busy bee! I love a good citrus slice and will definitely try the recipe. I have an abundance of apples, I think there must be 8 apple trees in my orchard some are doing much better than others but I am having trouble coming up with what to do with them all besides stewing and freezing them and giving them away!!!
    Blackie is doing a good job catching his breakfast, one less bunny to nibble the vege patch!

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