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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Spending our savings money and other bits...

This was my kitchen table on Monday...
I just can't seem to get organised to do menu planning. I think my problem is that I overwhelm myself with all the recipe books I have. I pull them out and start going through them, but I still battle to write just one weeks worth of meals.

This is where I keep my recipe books. The folders on the second shelf and at the bottom are full of recipes and other bits and pieces from some of my favourite blogs.
I am so pleased with this little book...
My mother in law has been so kind as to write out some recipes for me and put them in this book.
This lady has beautiful handwriting and she writes everything this way.
A lovely keepsake.

We had our first frost for the year on Monday,
1C, but not as cold as what Linda is experiencing though.
The lawn with a nice coating of ice.

We have a new money tin,
and have started filling it.
This is going to take a while as this one is bigger than the last tin...
Hubby has been busy chopping wood to keep us warm this Winter.
He made up this frame after seeing something similar in one of the Earth Garden magazines.
Having a frame like this is a lot better than having the wood laying on the ground, and easier on the back muscles.
Getting quite a pile now...
For those that are interested in what we used our $711 dollars for.
This is a stump splitter...
We had to put more money towards it but believe it is a good investment.
No more chopping wood for hubby, something he has been unable to do since having his double hernia operation. (or so he says lol)
Makes life a lot easier...
Just let the machine do the work.
Tomorrow is supposed to be a pleasant day so I might try to get out into the sad vegie garden and dig some weeds and tidy it up a little. We let the chooks in there and they have scratched all the mulch everywhere looking for bugs but they didn't eat any of the weeds.

Hope you are all well,

xTania

16 comments:

  1. Hey Tania,
    No frost here as yet! A little foggy this morning,so Im assuming it will lift to a sunny day once again.
    Any snow down south yet ?? We dont really get any snow reports up his way.
    I cant menu plan either!But I always cook enough to last at least 2 days so Im only cooking the evening meal about 3 times aweek :0) Works for us.
    The log splitter looks great! And why not make a hard job easy !
    Your mother in law has beautiful hand writting!! In the days of computers I think we all have lost that skill,sadly.
    Have a great weekend :0)

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  2. I have trouble decided what to cook when I go through my recipe books too. I go through stages of menu planning and then I get lazy:0)
    We had a frost last Saturday morning our first for the year (we usually only get a few). Those block splitters are a great invention and will save your hubby's back a lot.
    Have a nice weekend

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  3. Wow, what a great setup for the wood, that frame looks incredibly practical.

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  4. Brrrrrr Been cold here!
    I too am trying to menu plan But instead I have just made up a list that I am adding to of what meals we all like and that are quick and easy.

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  5. Hi Tania, I can relate to being overwhelmed by the recipe books. I tend to just pick one, and see what I would like to make, then plan the rest of the week on "old faithfuls"- stuff that I can make with my eyes closed.
    Your handwritten recipe book looks lovely. How satisfying to have history preserved like that.
    I'll be getting Action Man to take a look at your post, I'm sure he'll be interested in the stump splitter...

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  6. Hi Tania

    I'm no good at menu planning either. I shop daily and we eat what takes my fancy at the time. Last night was Beef Stoganoff (MasterChef recipe) and it was very good.
    I think the wood splitter is a great investment for those hard-saved dollars.
    It's been a real winters week here, lots of rain and yes, we had a white frost too and temps about 11-14C. Even a thunder storm blew through the other night. Brrr!
    My garden is a disgrace at the moment - I must get out there and get stuck in soon to cut back roses and weed (haven't done that for months!!!).
    Have a nice weekend,

    Cheers - Joolz

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  7. Granny, I have a pic of our snow, my Mum says all the mountains got some in Victoria, I think.

    Since then it has warmed up a couple of degrees and it makes all the different. Most of Victoria seemed to have a black out for 3 or so hours yesterday, maybe country Victoria or the North East.

    But it was on again just before dark and I had the jug boiled for lunch just before it went off.

    I have gone through lots of stages with menu planning. I must have started it in 2003, not sure. At the moment I use Taste site, but have been going on others, and like to post my menu so I know where it is! My husband gets the link and uses the laptop on the table so we can see the recipe.

    The handwritten book is beautiful.

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  8. I am impressed at your spare change!

    I am also overwhelmed my meal planning. Too many good ideas. I use recipes from "Good Living" in the SMH as well. .... and then there are friends as well.

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  9. HI Tania

    I do my weekly menu plan for dinner on Sunday arvo before i go grocery shopping. I am currently using the recipe inserts I have in a folder from the magazine That's life. Before that I looked at one simple recipe book per week or otherwise I became overwhelmed.I look at ones I can manage after work so none are to hard. However finally doing a menu plan is a godsend as I no longer have a blank when it comes to a meal each night which is what happened before. I also know what meat to leave out to thaw. It has taken me 25 year of marriage to get to this stage. I need to get better at crock-pot recipes

    Karnak

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  10. Dont tell Shane about the wood-splitter! He'll want one too! :/
    We had a frost in Quorn last Tuesday; at 8.30am it was still 1cm thick and coated everything. I had to get out into the garden and squirt the veggies with water so they wouldnt burn, although I was a little too late with the capsicums: They dont look so good. :(
    ~S. xo

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  11. I am sure the log splitter will be a HUGE blessing, no only this season, but in years to come. Good job saving those pennies ... it looks like it's paid off well.
    Mrs.B

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  12. It's really weird how that happens...we end up spending our savings on stuff that makes life easier for the men! Next time, buy something for the kitchen, a little help with meal planning, lol. I hate planning meals. Takes so much time, then have to make out a grocery list, etc. I usually just wing it. Nice book your mother in law made, just beautiful. How sweet!!! And she does have the most beautiful handwriting!

    Liz

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  13. You have been busy. I know the feeling of being overwhelmed by menu planning. I have so many great recipes!

    I really like your blog. Keep up the good work!

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  14. I usually just have a months worth of meal ideas written up like a menu and make sure I'm stocked up to cook them. That way, we can pick and choose on the day what we feel like for our evening meal. It doesn't always work and we have take away occasionally but mostly it takes the guess work out of what to eat.

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  15. I can totally relate to being overwhelmed with cookbooks...I have a ton and i looking through them. Hope you can stop by for a visit.

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  16. HI Tania

    I have just come across your blog, and love reading about your adventures in the outback. I am from Brisbane so have quite different weather to what you would.

    I love your money tin idea, its great to see how much you collected and put it towards something so useful.

    Have a great day and come check out my blog if you have time www.pathtolivingsimply.blogspot.com

    Kim

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Your comments really make my day. Thank you for taking the time and for being so kind.