An Upcycled Duvet Cover

Every so often I get annoyed with how inefficient and wasteful wrapping paper is. But, it looks so pretty.  Today, I've done something about it. I've started making fabric gift bags that are drawstring and lined.  They will be suitable for use for at Christmas, and other present-giving occasions. 

What's even better is that the fabric used to make them has been salvaged from a lovely duvet cover was damaged whilst being laundered.  Very little of the duvet cover will go to waste, and this will help reduce our consumption of wrapping paper in the future.

Oooh... I've just realised the matching pillow cases can also be used, and they will make excellent large gift bags.   

I'm

15 Minute Declutter: Restocking the Kitchen

The Saturday challenge from Week 1 was to declutter potholders, kitchen towels, tea towels etc. I was able to to do that, but it left me rather short. Short to the tune of only having two dish cloths!

A trip to the local supermarket didn't yield ANY results. Looking on-line at Mark and Spencer, and Lakeland did not result in any purchases. I just wanted 'clean and simple', not fancy patterns. Thankfully Amazon was able to supply.

  

Amazon was also able to supply a simple milk jug and a set of 6 coupe plates.

Week 1: Kitchen Countertops and Sink

Each week (starting on a Monday), the challenge is to 'read the challenge'. As Monday is my day off, it makes far more sense for me to not just read, but to do as well, and to fit in a few of that week's challenges too.

Monday's challenge: read the weekly challenge - this gives an over view of what to expect, and why it's being done. The reasons are important to me. I hate doing stuff because I have been told to do it. Give me a reason, and I'm on board!

Tuesday's challenge: declutter and organise kitchen sink area. Done.

Wednesday's challenge: clear kitchen counters. One of the presents I received from the Beloved was a new Kenwood food mixer. This is replacing a food processor we received as a wedding gift (almost 25 years ago). It's currently out on a work surface, and needs to be put away. The cupboard where the food processor was has been emptied and cleaned. I've gone through the items removed. Things that haven't been used in a year have been put in a box, and if they are not used by Easter they will be recycled/donated. The new food mixer is now away, freeing up a bit more space.

Thursday's challenge: clear kitchen table. We have no kitchen table.

Friday's challenge: declutter kitchen utensils, measuring cups etc. Done

Saturday's challenge: declutter potholders, kitchen towels, dish cloths etc. It's time for a whole new set of kitchen linens! I'm tired or having a mis-mash of randomosity in the kitchen.

Sunday's challenge: create a household notebook. I'm not sure I'm sold on this idea. We already have a financial folder where we keep important information. I think I would prefer to have a separate folder for each thing, eg finances, recipes, cleaning rotas etc. Most of this will be on my computer.

No Resolutions for 2017

This year, I have no new resolutions. Instead, I'm going to be undertaking a number of challenges.  

There's one on-going challenge, 52 weeks to an organized home. If I am unable to follow all 52 weeks it's not a problem. I dipped in and out of it last year and found it really helpful. The areas I tackled are still looking good, but could do with a re-fresh, and the rest of the house could definitely do with a bit of organisation. I don't expect my house to be organised within the year, but I know it will be in a better state by the end of the year than it is now. Baby-steps forward are what I'm after.

One of the challenges set at the end of 2016 was to establish an evening routine. This will be a re-establishment for me.  Previously, I would get ready for bed at 10pm, then sit on my bed in pjs, and listen to an audio-book whilst crafting. This really put me in a good frame for sleep. Sadly, when I developed De Quervain's disease (inflammation of the tendons in the thumb extending in to the wrist) this good pattern stopped.

My new pattern will be to start getting ready at 10, getting into pjs, laying out my clothes for the next day, reading and a little bit of crafting.

Christmas Treats

A couple of Pinterest ideas made in nom-nom form.

And so to bed!

Whew! That's another section done! This time in my bedroom.

On Sunday I split the bedroom into seven section, with the idea of doing one section a day for a week. This would result in a very tidy, clean bedroom Two sections have been completed. This makes me very happy.

During the 52 week challenge I sorted through a lot of clothes and did some serious decluttering in the bedroom. This hasn't stopped a load of stuff accumulating though. As I was moving things around I realised that four of the boxes were things belonging to my daughter. I think they are items she no longer wants, but I'd rather she gave them another look over when she is home for Christmas. I would hate to be getting rid of treasured items.

One of the boxes is full of things to be donated to a charity shop. We shall attend to this on Saturday. The rest is crafting materials seeking a home. For the moment, that home will be in my study. After Christmas, I will need to get into the study and declutter in there too.

What do I use, what do I need?

Whilst thinking, planning and designing the new house, I have been stopping and pondering what I actually need, and what I use. My conclusion is 'a whole heap less stuff than I have!'

I'm going to list all of the the household items I have used. This will help with the planning and design. It makes sense to ensure there's a sensible place for everything that is used regularly. It also means that at the end of a period I can get rid of things that are not used.

Here's the things I have used today, assembled in a useful sort of manner.

bedroom: bed, bed linens, duvet, pillows, bath towel, hand towel

electronics: Kindle, laptop, phone, phone charger

kitchen: cooker, frying pan, wooden spoon, veggie chopping knife, chopping board, fridge, plate, mug, kettle, larder, sink, draining board, utensils storage, cutlery storage, recycling boxes, towel

Back on the Wagon

A while back I started a challenge to declutter my house in 52 weeks. My thinking was that even if it only 'stuck' for a few weeks then it leave me in a better state. It stuck for a couple of months, and things (most especially in the kitchen) improved.

By and large, the areas decluttered have remained decluttered and organised. However, the pantry (ambient food storage cupboard) didn't get done. Yesterday evening, I made a start on it. There's 6 shelves, and two of them have been decluttered.

I called The Beloved and The Offspring to come have a look at my wonderful decluttering ability, and in the space of 8 minute another two shelves were done! Those were the two high ones, the ones I can't reach. I've no idea what I'm going to put in that space. Hmm... here's a random thought! Do I need to put anything in that space?!

-----

It appears the answer is "Yes!". In decluttering the lower two shelves I moved things around a bit. There's now a shelf for gluten-containing foods, eg pasta and breakfast cereals. There's also a shelf for non-gluten starches, eg gf breakfast cereal, rice, lentils, pasta, and rice noodles. Thankfully, all of the shelves are only half the normal depth of kitchen cupboards. I can store things on the front of the second highest shelf, as long as the items are at the front. The top shelf (which I can't reach unless I stand on something) now has paper napkins, paper plates, and plastic cutlery. If it's not used within 3 months it's going out.

Christmas Cake

The cake is made to a recipe my Mam has been cooking for 55 years, a very tasty, rich, dark, moist fruit cake. It's dense and juicy, with the cake part being a matrix to hold all of the fruit in place. The cake was marzipan-ed, then iced using fondant.  The holly and ivy were made from a mix of flower paste and fondant. The leaves were glued in place using royal icing, and the berries were also made from royal icing. 'Noel' was created by pressing in an embosser whilst the white fondant was still very soft. Later when the fondant had dried, Noel was painted using powdered food dye/pigment mixed with alcohol. (The alcohol evaporates very quickly, leaving behind the pigment.) A little Scani-inspired ribbon finished it off.

This cake will donated to a local charity that works with elderly people, providing friendship, lunch clubs, social activities, etc.

Christmas Cake recipe

175g butter

175g sugar

225g plain flour (I used Dove Farm's gluten-free flour)

1tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp baking powder

4 medium eggs

700g mixed fruit

1 Tsp ground almonds

1 Tsp rich dark treacle

Oven temps: 180C and 150C

Method

Cream the butter and sugar. Sieve the flour, baking powder and spice together. Beat the eggs. Add the flour and eggs to the butter and cream, a little at a time, alternating. Add the almonds and treacle. The bake in a lined tin. Bake at 180C for 1 hour, then at 150C for 2 hours.

This quantity makes a 20cm round cake, about 10cm high.

Designing a kitchen

Over the last few months I have been thinking about a house for the next stage in my life, a time when there's just two of us.

My current thinking is to have a great room (sitting room, dining room and kitchen) about 6m x 12m. The kitchen will be along one of the short walls, and a kitchen island on lockable casters.

Cake Decorating Classes

I've been going to cake decorating classes, and here's a couple of cakes (and a penguin) I have made at home.

Cake Decorating

C and I have enrolled in cake decorating classes. Last night was our first class, and it was great fun. People were there to learn, and to have fun whilst do so.

A neighbour is coming round for tea at 5-ish today. We have decided to make some biscuits and to use our new royal icing skills to decorate them.

The recipe I'm using for the biscuits is:

• 50g butter (soft)

• 75g caster sugar

• 1 medium eggs

• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

• 250g gluten-free plain flour

• 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 180C.

2.  Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla.

3.  Add the flour and baking powder.

4.  When the mixture has come together, chill for 10 minutes.

5.  Gently kneed the dough, then roll out to 1cm thick.

6.  Use cutters, and place biscuits on baking sheet.

7.  Bake for about 12 minutes until golden brown.

As usual, my attempts at following a recipe weren't spot on. The royal icing I made earlier used 2 and a bit egg whites. I combined the 3 egg yolks and the left over egg white and substituted them for 2 whole eggs. The rest of the ingredients were doubled. The mixture was split into two, and two heaped dessert spoons of Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate were added to one of the batches.

The chocolate dough was a bit dry, and the vanilla one a bit too soft. I cut out the vanilla biscuits, and then combined the leftovers into the chocolate dough. This gave a much better texture to the chocolate dough.

Mini-holiday mutterings

The start of September is always busy for me at work, and then there's a little breather immediately afterwards.  Yesterday and today are days of in lieu of hours already worked.  Then there's the weekend to contend with, and my usual Monday off.  :o)  Five days in a row with nothing I must do.  It is glorious.  Actually, the weather was glorious yesterday, and it's rather fantastic today.

My wrist is a great deal better than it was back in July, and I'm able to do short stretched of crafting again.  I'm trying to be sensible and not do too much at any one time, and it seems to be paying off.

A while back I started heading off to bed about and hour before I planned on going to sleep.  I would get ready for bed, and then sit and craft whilst listening to an audio book.  This is a fantastic way to ready the body for sleep, a nice, soft gentle way to relax.  

When I started doing this my sleep improved dramatically.  Not being able to craft (due to the damaged tendons in my wrist) had an impact on my sleep.  Whilst I am not up to my previously length of time spent crafting, just entering the routine again has brought benefits to my sleep.

As well as crafting - a Granny Square blanket from sock yarn, I went into town to help C select new frames for glasses.  There was a special offer, and one pair is pure Harry Potter!  We also headed out to "Boards and Brews", a board game cafe.  

Graduation Photographs

Hannah graduated with a BA Hons in Jewellery Design.  Here she is with fellow jewellers and contemporary design people.

More graduation photographs will follow when they have been downloaded and then uploaded.

Gradu-bear

What does a new graduate need?  A bear of course.

Tin foil hat time!

Oh boys!  Not being able to knit, crochet, cook or bake is taking its toll.  I've painted, drawn, and today was the day to make a tin foil hat with a rather fetching feather.

Hot, hot, hot!

Oh my! Hereford is hot. It reached 33.3 today. This is too hot for a little bear.

At lunch time I was looking for an idea of what to paint with my new paint set. I was advised to paint some that would make me happy. This is it.

Experiments with posting from my Kindle

I've never attempted to post from my Kindle.  Will it work?

Flat Out Missing!

During TT, one of the Isle of Man Constabulary officers went missing.  He simply disappeared!

PC Flat has done sterling work in the past, helping to remind people to slow down!  A plea was put out for information on PC Flat's whereabouts.  It appears that he might well have been Shanghaied by some Royal Navy sailors who had been helping as medics during the TT Races.  The local Constabulary are hoping PC Flat will be returning in around 11 months, having had a tour of duty with Royal Navy.

Manx Pie

A little pie I made today.

The filling was made from a tub of cranberries, the remnants of a tub of raspberries, a couple of apples, a sprinkling of cinnamon, and a metric tonne of sugar!  (That might be an exaggeration.)

The pastry contained 100g plain flour (Dove Farm), 75g SR flour (Dove farm), 100g butter, 1 egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of cold water.  The butter was rubbed into the flours, and then the sugar was mixed in.  Then the dough was brought together with the egg yolk and water.  It's a pretty sticky dough.  This was popped in the fridge to cool.  The stickiness decreases during this time.