Jessica Norris

I’m Honoured!

I have been quite touched to be nominated for the Liebster Award, by a blogger I’ve been following for a couple of months: Mended Wheels. What a lovely thought! I immediately googled what a Liebster Award is, because I’ve not come across it before, and now … I’m conflicted! The Liebster Award is basically aContinue reading “I’m Honoured!”

New chicks on the block

Today I took our Rhode Island Red rooster (Rose) back to the breeder, and swapped her for two new little chickens — this time, hopefully both hens! As soon as I arrived, Rose was welcomed back into the flock by three curious free-ranging ducks. Awwww. I may have been feeling a little sentimental, as I’veContinue reading “New chicks on the block”

Thinking outside the (compost) box

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to show you how much food scrap waste is generated by a small pre-school in one day: That’s a 5 Litre container, and it is almost full! This is mainly fruit peel from morning tea time, but there is also leftover fruit, and quite a bit of lunch scraps (mainlyContinue reading “Thinking outside the (compost) box”

Felt Cupcakes

Just a quick one today to show off some felt cupcakes I made for birthday presents! There is a pink set for Evie, and a purple set for her cousin. Both are turning two in March! These cupcakes will go with the teabags I made a couple of weeks ago. I’m also making up aContinue reading “Felt Cupcakes”

Rotating some crops

With my youngest daughter in preschool today — for the first time ever! — I found myself with a bunch of quiet time at home. It’s amazing what garden sounds you can suddenly hear when there is total peace and quiet in the house! I wandered through the garden taking some photographs and doing aContinue reading “Rotating some crops”

Keep frozens fresh by blanching

Whenever I have an excess of vegetable that will spoil and can be frozen, I prefer to blanch first. What’s blanching? Basically, you plunge the vegetables into boiling water for a minute or so, and then plunge them into ice water to stop them cooking any further. I freeze a bunch of vegetables this way,Continue reading “Keep frozens fresh by blanching”

Octopus Tutorial: Cover that Tush!

Welcome to part three of my series on making a softie octopus. By now you have constructed the body, and made eight plaited scrappy legs. In this tutorial I will show you how to attach those legs to the body, and “cover that tush”! 🙂 Preparation There are two quick things you need to doContinue reading “Octopus Tutorial: Cover that Tush!”

Rooster, or Hen?

We’ve been waiting for a couple of months now to determine whether the Rhode Island Red chicken we bought at the end of January is, in fact, a hen. She was sold to us as a hen, but we always wondered. Last weekend he heard a distinctively different sound from the chicken coop and wonderedContinue reading “Rooster, or Hen?”

Tips for laundering collared shirts

Wow, exciting post, huh? But seriously, this tip was a major win for me when I discovered it. I’ve been using home-made laundry liquid for about a year now. It’s so, so much cheaper than using ready-made liquid or powder. And it’s pretty quick and easy to make! After a few months of trying myContinue reading “Tips for laundering collared shirts”

It’s my birthday!

I’ve spent my day relaxing at home, nursing a cold, which means lots of archive binging on weaving sites. Why? Because I’m really excited about this landing in my living room last weekend (no, not a birthday present!) This is a four-shaft loom I borrowed from a friend of mine. This is a huge upgrade onContinue reading “It’s my birthday!”