Category Archives: Tips and Hints

TRAVELLING TIPS

Since we have just completed driving a 2080 km round trip to Canberra and back I thought I would write some very handy tips that help when travelling long distances.

The gang at the bottom on the Black Mountain Telecommunications and Observation Tower
The gang at the bottom of the Black Mountain Telecommunications and Observation Tower in Canberra.

THINGS TO DO:

  1. Take and drink plenty of water;
  2. Stop every couple of hours and walk around – necessary for keeping the circulation going in your body – also necessary for toilet stops (because of all the water you are drinking);
  3. Take plenty of healthy snacks:  vegetable sticks and dip, fruit, nuts and dried fruit;
  4. Be prepared, cut your fruit and vegetables up and have it in handy containers or zip lock bags;
  5. Take wipes, or damp face washers to wipe sticky fingers;

OurRange_Deli_DeliPlatters_320_10THINGS NOT TO DO:

  1. Eat heaps of carbohydrates and greasy junk food, especially white bread and hot chips;
  2. Eat heaps of sweet lollies;
  3. Just drink soft drinks and sweet beverages;

These are a few hints to just give you an idea.  Basically to save money and have healthier choices  take your own snacks.  It seems to me the minute you get in the car you want to chew on something, my husband finds chewing keeps him awake whilst driving.  I find I eat too many carbs and it makes my ankles and feet swell and this is just plain annoying.

Now because I didn’t follow any of my own advice and keep to the above tips I am now going to have to do a detox to get my system back to normal.

A detox could include doing the following:

  1. Maybe do a juice fast, just a day or so;
  2. Cut out dairy and sugar;
  3. Stop eating potatoes and white bread – maybe get some sprouted grain bread to eat for a few days;
  4. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.

I am not a doctor or health professional, the above tips are things that I find works for me.  If you want to try a juice fast or something more severe please check out with your doctor first.

I hope next time you are travelling that it goes well and you arrive safe and sane!!

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CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS

I love giving gifts, it is a pleasure for me.

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We are a family who likes to make or do things ourselves and gifts for Christmas for the extended family are no exception.  I love to give them things that we have produced on our farm or something that I have spun or sewed or baked.

Christmas isn’t that far away now and it is about time that No 2 daughter and myself start thinking about appropriate gifts.  We usually make our own Christmas cards and send out about 60 of them.   We try and send these our the first week of December but sometimes it gets a bit later.

I was thinking this afternoon of what we could make to give.  Most

years we make up a hamper of goodies with homemade jam, a jar of our own honey, a block of homemade cheddar cheese, and some baking.

This year I want to add some homemade soap (need to get a move on and make it this coming week) and maybe I’ll get No 2 daughter to weave some oven mitts.

Here are some ideas I’ve had:

  • plum puddings in bottles (see recipe posted earlier)
  • feta cheese in olive oil with sundried tomatoes
  • cheddar cheese
  • woven pot holders
  • spun wool for the knitter
  • home made soap
  • honey
  • fruit cakes, yo yo biscuits
  • homemade pasta
  • knitted or crocheted dish cloths

Maybe you can package the gifts up fancy with a nice jar and spoon for the honey or by wrapping your baking in cellophane with pretty ribbon.12544568-sweet-honey-in-jar-with-drizzler-isolated-on-white

You might not have the ability to do these things this year, but maybe you could prepare for the coming years.

If you don’t have a homestead or land to use for bees or a milking cow or goat, you could just make some beautiful biscuits or cakes or both.  Who doesn’t love baking as a gift.  I know we certainly do.

JUST A WARNING:

This desire to make all our gifts can get a bit of a drag especially when you are running to a timetable, but it is something that I endeavor to do.  Just try and make sure that you have enough time and it doesn’t get stressful, otherwise it just won’t be fun.

What do you do for gifts, have you any more ideas for us??

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TIPS ON WASHING..

Washing seems to be a never ending job.  I finally get the basket empty and the next time I look it is full again.  I wash every day and my youngest daughter helps me with the hanging up and bringing in.

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Here are a few ideas that help us get it done a bit easier.

  1. Try and not let the washing get away on you… (easier said than done, I know);
  2. Get the younger ones in to help. We purchased a camping clothes line and our daughter hangs up all the little clothes on this;
  3. Fold your washing as you take it off the line (weather permitting);
  4. Individual drawers –
    • I have a couple sets of drawers in our laundry that I put folded washing into and then the individuals come and get their drawers and put their washing away.  Little ones may require help with this until they get the hang of it.  Mine don’t have wheels but you get the idea.

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I don’t use an outside line, I hang our washing under the verandah out the front of the house and it doesn’t fade in the summer and doesn’t get wet when it rains.  This can allow me to leave it there a little bit if I get caught up doing other things.

I hope these tips help you in your washing journey.

 

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER SOAP BITS

What do you do with leftover bits of soap??? I usually throw them away but I was given a good idea from a friend of mine. Take those left over bits of soap and place them in a large jar and fill up with hot water. Leave this soap soak for a couple of weeks and then stir regularly to dissolve. You can even chop or grate the soap before adding to the water. When dissolved (after a couple of weeks) use this liquid in your washing machine.

My friend uses it on their work clothes. Once you have used most of it top it up again with hot water and add more soap as it comes along.

PS: one thing to watch if using on good clothes is that you don’t get bits of soap that hasn’t dissolved on your clothes. You may want to pour it through a fine sieve into your washing machine.