From chores to treasures and back again.

 Phew — what a weekend. After seven short‑staffed shifts in a row, I was more than ready for some days off… though they turned out to be just as busy as the workdays.

Saturday started early when the first of two loads of laundry went into the machine before I went walking. Then the moment I walked back in from my early stroll I headed straight into the kitchen. A lemon cream pie was assembled, a huge roast of lamb tucked into the oven, a batch of feijoa jam bubbling away, and a chocolate slice cooling on the bench. Chooky was on Zoom, so I perched the laptop on the window ledge and had cheerful company while I worked.

Once the kitchen marathon was done, I claimed my chair and stitched hexies for a while. Then it was back to chores until our friends arrived — ready to help us tackle that enormous piece of lamb.

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And about those friends…

While I was working last weekend, Debbie and Ange went to the Altrusa craft sale — and they thought of me.

Ange gathered a bundle of batik pieces.

I’m sure I’ll find a use for them, but for now they’ve been squeezed into the batik drawer. Funny thing: I just took two queen‑size quilts out of that drawer, but you’d never know. It’s still very full. Shh… don’t tell Tony.

Debbie scored on my behalf too — a quilt kit.

The fabrics in the kit are batiks of course.

Debbie also found these two bundles of fabric.

She knows I'll use them up. 

Then came the big find. The pair of them were poking about together when Ange spotted a box tucked under a table. She pulled it out for a look… and they both agreed instantly it was a Loulee box. For the bargain price of $10, they brought home someone’s abandoned scrappy hexie project.

The papers are made from old school exercise books — little maths problems and rows of neat handwriting on the backs.

Some hexies were sewn into strips.

Some into larger pieces and there were piles of individually stitch basted hexies too.

Of course I tipped the whole lot out for a play and a tidy and then packed them neatly back into the box

A treasure, truly.

I have some incredibly thoughtful friends.

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We had a lovely evening with our friends, and after dinner we even played a game of Snakes and Ladders. Simple fun, but so good.

This morning it was back to chores — plenty to do before the children arrived. I got a chicken casserole into the oven, then we headed outside to finish the last few jobs before our big trip. The children came, lunch was eaten, more games were played, and now the cleaning up is done. Another quick trip out to the garden saw all but one task completed. That will have to wait until a trip to the hardware store.

Time at last to sit and sew. I need just five more hexies on my latest creation, and then it’ll be ready for quilting.

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2 more shifts at work.

6 sleeps.

A Different Kind of Morning Walk

This morning’s walk was a little different. It was still dark when I left the house, the kind of soft, in‑between darkness that feels like the world hasn’t quite made up its mind about waking. I turned left at the end of the road and headed down the hill into the scenic reserve.

The rain must have visited overnight — puddles glimmered faintly on the path — but the sky held itself together while I walked. Under the trees it was very dark, a deep, quiet sort of darkness that presses close but never feels unfriendly. The canopy above me turned the world into a shadowed tunnel, but the first hints of dawn were gathering behind it, just enough light to guide my feet.

The birds were waking too, shaking sleep from their feathers and chattering softly as they prepared for the day. Across the ravine, human life was stirring: warm squares of light blinked on in distant windows, and the faint smell of woodsmoke drifted toward me as someone coaxed their fire back to life.

As the daylight grew stronger, the reserve began to reveal itself. Colours slowly separated from the darkness — greens, browns, reds and gold.

By the time I climbed back up the hill and headed toward home, it was fully light. Not a bright, sunny morning — more of a soft grey, the kind of overcast day that feels gentle rather than gloomy. I’m perfectly fine with that. I did my garden chores yesterday in the sunshine, and my town chores are already ticked off.

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While I was in town yesterday, I looked out over Caroline Bay from the rooftop carpark.

The circus is in town. No, I didn’t visit.

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Today feels like a kitchen‑and‑sewing sort of day. On the sewing front, I’ve laid my crochet aside for now and picked up my hexies again.

Three of the four sides are now straight — well, as straight as a hexie can be. A little more work on the final side and it will be ready for quilting.

But first, I have a bowl full of feijoas waiting for attention. Some will become cakes, and some will head for the freezer.

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Nine more work shifts.

15 sleeps.

I might be getting a little bit excited. 

Crochet progress and counting down.........

Between work, walks and chores I've been picking away at my crochet projects. Retro Rescue is complete.

It's not huge, a nice lap throw size, or maybe even a good size to keep a little person warm in a cot.

I did a few rounds after joining the squares and finished it off with a cute shell edging.

Tada!  Done.

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Next, I pulled out a bunch of squares I made last year?

Maybe the year before?

Whenever, they have been sat waiting for me to use them. I figured I could do something similar.

After joining them I did a couple of rounds, then decided to add a round of smaller squares. They won't all be the same, I'm still using up scraps and leftovers. So this is going to be a very colourful and scrappy piece.  I have no plan regarding size or where to go after this round of smaller squares, I'll keep you posted once I decide. For now, I'm happy to have it on my lap on cool evenings. 

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We've been busy in the garden, today we cleared the small greenhouse. I picked 4 ice cream boxes of chilli peppers; they have all been diced and popped into the freezer.

The feijoas are starting to ripen, but I suspect that I will miss out on the main flush of them due to our trip. I'll let the neighbours know they can collect them. 

Our veg beds had a good tidy up and a mulch of leaves laid on them to keep the weeds at bay. 

There are one or two other jobs that need to be done before we go, but not today, time to sit and have a cuppa and pick up my hook.

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Has anyone else noticed that more and more comments now have a 'no reply' email address on them? I get my comments forwarded to my outlook inbox and usually reply from there. I generally manage to find the correct address as we have been emailing each other for more than a few years now, but it is so frustrating when we used to be able to just click on reply.

I do wish Blogger would get it's act together and stop changing things. 

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3 weeks today.

21 sleeps.

The Water Tank Walk.

Today is a very grey and overcast day, I'm so glad I took my phone with me yesterday to take photos of my walk.  I live in the burbs of Timaru and it really only takes a few minutes walking to get out of town and into rural areas. Eleven minutes sees me at the entrance to the scenic reserve if I take a left at the end of the road. If I turn right instead it takes just a few more minutes to reach green fields.  A peep through a thinner layer of hedgerow reveals equestrian land. There are lots of stables and grazing around town. The famous racehorse Phar Lap was born here in Timaru. 

As I walked my eyes were drawn to the colours of Autumn all around me and one particular hedge made up of bottle brush. Such a vivid red.

And there were berries too. 

My path continued and I saw this notice painted onto the ground...

Of course, there is always a golf course on the edge of town.

The foot path and road run right around the golf course.

I could see the pond and looked out for ducks, but there were none, I couldn't even hear them.

But there were Pukeko.

A water loving bird native to New Zealand.

I was delighted to see a whole family of them. 

As I carried on along the path, I could see the water tank in the distance and soon came upon it.

Much of the town's water runs through this tank for treatment before heading on along the pipes to our homes.

If I keep going along the road, things get a little more rural.

But I went around the water tank and along the road that divides the golf course.

Now it was on both sides of me.

On we go, straight ahead.

Soon the golf course came to an end and properties began to appear again. Some of them have rather iconic mailboxes.

In between those properties I could see countryside and waaay over there in the distance is the Pacific ocean.

Then I was back in the burbs, so I put the camera away. 

The cones?  A blocked drain, there was rather leafy puddle around it.

My walk took me just over an hour and was a very nice change of scenery.

Todays walk? It will be a half hour walk to work for a meeting, then another half hour walk home again. Nowhere near as exciting or scenic. 

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Before and after my walk yesterday, my time was taken up with chores and the grocery shopping.

Today I hope to spend some time sewing after I get home from the meeting. 

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A Sweet Little Kitchen Moment

 I mentioned the other day that I’d found eggs going for half price at the supermarket. Well honestly, what was I supposed to do — walk past them? Leave them sitting there on the shelf? Not a chance. So home they came with me, and suddenly I had enough eggs to open a small café.

Tony is rather partial to an egg custard, so I asked Co‑Pilot to help me adapt a recipe to make it keto‑friendly. What a hit — Tony absolutely loves it, and it’s definitely going on the “make again” list.

Here's the recipe, just in case you want to have a go. 

Keto Egg Custards. 

Ingredients

6 eggs

2 cups cream (heavy or pouring cream)

3–4 tbsp erythritol or preferred keto sweetener

1 tsp vanilla extract to taste

nutmeg (optional, for sprinkling)

Instructions

1 Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F). Place 6 ramekins into a deep baking dish.

2 Whisk the eggs, cream, sweetener, and vanilla together until smooth — no need to whip air into it.

3 Pour the mixture evenly into the ramekins. Sprinkle nutmeg on top if you like.

4 Create a water bath: pour hot water into the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

5 Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until the custards are just set with a slight wobble in the centre.

6 Cool, then refrigerate. They freeze beautifully — just thaw gently and warm if desired.

I wanted to make individual portions — partly for portion control, partly because Tony is not exactly known for stopping at “just a little bit more.” I went hunting for ramekins, only to discover that half of mine were already in the freezer full of keto crumbles, and the other half had migrated to the mancave where they were bravely holding screws, washers, and mysterious bits of model plastic. We’ve talked about that… clearly with limited success.

Anyway, I suddenly remembered a stash of small preserving jars that were just the right size, so I fished out a few and got busy. They worked a treat. You could also use pottery teacups or any small oven‑proof vessel you’ve got lurking in the cupboards.

I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as Tony did.